Dubzaron Session 66: The Sword of Astral Existence (How to use treasure maps in real D&D)

Timekeeping: Session was played on 08/03/22 to 08/12/22. PCs can take actions 08/13/22.

Foreword

space dragon

I took about four weeks off of running sessions at the end of July. During that time the Patron Valdar ran one session as DM as a way of introducing his spaceman Patron with a bang. It worked since he went on to be a major for in #OperationMuscleThunder which you can check out on twwwwtter or my thoughts on it in this session report. 

I gave PCs the options to run sessions for eachother while I was on hiatus, or to let Patrons run sessions but there was only Valdar's session ran during that time. Surprising!

So anyway I came back to run Session 66 and the players threw me a curveball by saying "we found these two treasure maps... what are they?"  

I proceeded to make up the theme and style of the maps based on the assumed treasure value they'd find there. Some of this was done by asking the players "what do you think the place is like?"

Daria's player said one of the maps could be like a lost valley with servitor apes. Very cool! I already rolled on the random magic item on the map that it would be something with holy magic so I made a little backstory with the map that a Paladin went there to retire and be administered to by his servitor apes because he was so disgusted with "the corrupted temple". Kind of a Super Science play on St Benedict or something. Well they liked the idea but the rumors about what the magic item could do didn't catch their interest.

The other map had like 3 magic items but I took the general value of these and rolled them into being a unique artifact with a very high value indeed. The players had no idea for this place but I also rolled a scroll (iirc) that had a random spell on it that made the caster able to exist in the astral plane or beneath the deep sea. I used this to set a theme for the map:

Some guy (I forget his name) long ago rode his astral dragon into the Meniri Mountains but his astral magic failed and the dragon was frozen in time just after eating him. (???) Inside the paralyzed dragon's belly is the SWORD OF ASTRAL EXISTENCE. Players had no clue what it could do (still dont) but the name was too good. They went for it.

And that's how you utilize treasure maps in Real D&D when they come up on your random treasure stocking tables. Easy.

Session Report

The party traveled out of New Cyfaraun going south and west along the road, stopping at each border keep along the way so they wouldn't have to sleep outside at night and risk nighttime encounters. They've had some very bad luck with those!

No encounters of note until they got to Turos Erin, despite the trek taking them 3 days.

South of Turos Erin are the Meniri Mountains where the treasure map said the SPACE DRAGON met its final end. They trekked into the wilderness with their big part of PCs (no hench or soldiers!) and, on the first day, stumbled across a village of giant humanoids who I described as tending rice patties and such. Viet Cong Ogres! 

Daria (PC BladeDancer mid high level) used Winged Flight and her Roc to fly up into the air and aerial recon the humanoids, counting about 50. The creatures were hostile but Daria flew away from the party to lead them away and the party itself was able to run off into the hills and wilderness, successfully using Wilderness Evade. 

The next day the party was slowly trekking across the purple mountains majesty of the Meniri when they came upon some very large hostile lizards who chased them. This time the party FAILED their Wilderness Evade and the lizards caught them in combat at very close range (like 15 yards) as the party crossed a rickety rope bridge that emptied into a copse of scrubby mountain pines. 

They were attacked by 6 (six) basilisks. Oh no.

The party decided to flee yet again and most of the PCs rolled 6+ on their initiative so I ruled they ran off before getting a good luck into the baslisks' eyes. Proteus (PC Mage mid level) unfortunately DID look into the evil eyes and was turned to stone! (Statuest Proteus) There was some tension as we realized the mounts (including the Roc) would need to Save vs Petrification as well. But all the mounts saved so Proteus's Roc mount did not fly out of the sky, turned to stone, but instead fled with the rest of the party with the mage statue on its back.

Cyfaraun (Elven Spellsword level 1) intiative was slower than the basilisks' and while the elf did save vs petrification multiple times he was simply ripped apart by basilisks teeth. The new players' PCs, a bard named Allen A'Dulles and an another elven spellsword named Tamryn, were both turned to stone. There are now some very intricate looking statues near a lost rickety rope bridge in the Meniri Mountains. One of the other veteran players quipped at the two newbies "Welcome to the Campaign, fellas!"

The party members who escaped the basilisks regrouped and finished the day of travel. Later they came upon a jutland barbarian named Gront, a replacement PC for one of those who died. Elite play means rolling replacement chars fast!

They asked Gront to stay up all night on watch so he'd not be surprised by random wilderness encounters. Barbarians in ACKS are very good at surprising monsters and avoiding being surprised. Kind of like 1e Rangers.

During the night Gront awoke the party because about 90 yards away there were two massive storm giants directing a light storm drawing shapes in the sky. A husband a wife couple named Paul and Pauline Bunyan. They mostly ignored the party until Daria approached and befriended them, learning they don't lair particuarly nearby but this area is "Babe's Mountain", named so because it's where their pet Big Blue Ox died a century ago. They come here toe remember Babe's life and celebrate it with lightning shows. So sweet. I'm not crying you're crying.

The next day the party was able to pinpoint the six mile hex the treasure map had a big X on so went to Searching for Lairs; using my house rules of Treasure Maps giving a general idea but still needing to drill down on the exact X marks the spot. 

This could be played out as d&d exploration of the DM had the land drawn up as a really zoomed in wilderness map. But, since I don't like drawing a million maps, I just let the dice and ACKS fanstastic Lair Hunt rules do the work for me.

It took the party 4 hours to find the spot on the map even though Daria was using Speak with Animals to have her Roc help them with aerial recon. During those four hours they came across a goblin warband they decided to evade, successfully this time. Then they came across Gront's cousin Bront, a level 4 thief who was apparently following him looking to pilfer something rom the party. Bront was noticed and tried to run off into the wilderness but broked it and went tumbling down a cliffside hitting his head. He laid on the ground apologizing and the party decided to let him off with a warning.

Daria was the only PC that could possible hench Bront, since in ACKS you have to be at least 1 level (thus 5 in this case) to hench leveled npcs. She decided not to. Olivier (Paladin level 4ish) told Bront to go look for work in New Cyfarun for Legate Gaius but one assumes the thief has heard about Legate Gaiu's swift and brutal justice for breaking laws so Bront probably won't do that.

Finall the party found the treasure map location which was a massive dragon that appear to have been petrified into a giant obsidian statue. It was sticking out the side of a mountain with its mouth open as if screaming or using a breath weapon. Daria (or the roc?) flew up to the mouth to secure a rope and the party all climbed up and delved into the belly of the dragon statue (or petrified creature?)

Inside and climbing in the throat then down towards the stomach they were set upon by astral demons which looked like shadow puppets of various creatures; with the shadow full of a starry night sky that twinkled and spun. The party easily despatched a single such "demon" near the neck of the dragon shaped dungon. 

Once in the stomach they came upon 4 such creatures shaped like humanoids with animal heads. Exact shapes were difficult to decipher due to the shifting night sky nature of them. They were guarding or worshipping a black sword that was floating in the center of the "room" and casting starry planeterium style lighting around the walls. Below it was a black stone chest built into the floor.

The humanoid astral demons could actually be hit and damaged, apparently, and Olivier and Daria pushed into the room to engage them. The party assumed maybe they could only be hit by magic weapons but it turned out to not be the case.

One of the new player's second PCs, a venturer, was killed when he got so bold as to strike into the room to attack with a short sword. His body was sucked into and/or turned into the void of space, unrecoverable, upon death. Later the same thing happened to Americus the Cleric. (RIP)

Two of the humanoid astral demons were killed in a round or two but they had been calling for reinforcements from the starry lights above the room. Two such lights floated down to the floor and formed into large predator catlike shapes made of stars. Many of the remaining enemies attacked and hurt Billy the Explorer quite a bit before he disengaged from the melee, backing into the hallway (intestine) to escape and regroup. He was close to death and Mortal Wounds check's weren't an option if one died here. 

The dwarven craftpriest, Olivier, Daria, and Gront were able to connect with enough melee attacks to eventually down the remaining enemies before anyone else was seriously injured or killed. The creatures, upon death, sucked up like into a void and disappeared, making a whooshing sound or something similar to letting air out of a balloon. PCs cajoled me into giving demonstrations of many of the odd sounds.

Gront and the Dwarf were directed to check out and open the chest since "they're level ones (lol)" but it was not trapped or locked. Inside was 6000 gp, two scrolls and a potion which the party bagged up. Daria plucked the floating sword out of the air but that led to the entire statue structure earthquaking and collapsing. PCs were asked to make save vs paralysis checks like in a dungeon chase to escape the structure before it collapsed completely because it wasn't a normal floorplan but the inside of a dragon Jonah style.

Gront was the only one who cut it close but his Climb ability, being a jutlander, helped him deal with the collapsing dragon mouth hanging from the precarious rope and he made it safely to the ground as the whole massive place smashed to the ground behind him sending up plumes of dust and smoke. On the trek back to Turos Erin there were no particularly dangerous encounters, during camp as well. One random encounter was a friendly Cleric who met them a few hours outside of Turos Erin stating he had a vision to come heal them and help carry Proteus's statue body back to town. He didn't have a Flesh to Stone spell, sadly. The party ended in Turos Erin.

Afterword

I had also recruited some new players to the campaign between sessions, feeling as though we needed new PC blood as some of the legacy players are evolving into Domain and Patron play. This was most certainly a trial by fire as it was a very lethal session indeed. As far I could tell the new players took fine to the madness and lethality and were quick to roll new PCs in time to still get credit for the eventual Big Score. Well played fellas.

Hex Crawling in ACKS can be terrifying. It's designed to assume you do it around Level 5. But similar to 1e and running with a Ranger and/Or druid it becomes more feasible if you have an Explorer PC (or two) around. The Explorer is a bit like the 1e ranger insomuch as he makes it harder for you to get lost. He also makes it easier for you to run away from wilderness random encounters. Both of those likely saved the party a TPK or, at the very least, gave the PCs enough time to engage with the mini-dungeon at the end of the treasure map.

It was exhilerating to come back to DMing after about a month off and have to make up nearly everything from whole cloth as I went. The random encounter charts were banging and I really enjoyed the things we discovered in the Meniri Mountains. Thanks to all my players, both old and new, for helping to keep things fresh and exciting even as we close in on 70 sessions.

Deceased

Dama (L1 Venturer) played by RR.  Current total xp: 75. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Darius LeVay (L1 Assassin) played by JB. Current Total XP:451. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Donald the Guardsman (L1 Fighter) played by MP. Current Total XP:570. DECEASED. Intra-party justice in Session 3.

Felix (L1 Thief) played by Nicholas. Current Total XP:431. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Hektor (L1 Paladin) played by Moai. DECEASED. Cause of Death: goblin warg rider throat removal surgery in Session 2

Leonidas the Inquisitor (L1 Cleric) played by RR.Current Total XP:498  DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Mard the Mage (L1 Mage) played by Nicholas. DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Yolo Baggins "My friends call me Swaggins" (L1 Gnomish Trickster) played by J. DECEASED. Paralyzed and eaten by ghouls in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Jack Filcher (L1 Thief) played by C. DECEASED. Shot full of arrows by Inthorn's brigands in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Swoleous Maximus (L1 Paladin). DECEASED. Captured then drawn and quartered by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Damianus (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Captured and beheaded by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Bucky (L1 Barbarian). DECEASED. Became a illegal pit fighter during his downtime. Had two bouts to the death, winning the first and losing the second. Was killed by Young Jack Sparrow who sashayed into the ring, drank rum, and mogged on Bucky before putting a dagger into his ribs, killing him. This happened during downtime between Session 17 and 18.

Broll Wolf-Eater (L1 Barbarian). Current total XP: 1079. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Brother Franklin (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Decapitated by a mad cultist of a Lovecraftian slime thing in Session 19.

Felix the Elder (L1 Bard). Total XP 825. DECEASED. Captured by mad cultists and fed to a Lovecraftian slime monster in Session 19.

Templar Flavius Africanus (L1 Cleric). Total XP 7. Killed by the claws and beak of mad harpies in Session 19.

Xendi (L1 Explorer). Total XP 6. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Yllmeeton (L3 Shaman). Total XP 4,563. Bludgeoned by the corpse of a bowmen by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Longinus (L2 Assassin). Total XP 2,036. Had his face ripped off by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Mandonio (L3 Fighter). Total XP 4,779. Charred to a leprous crisp by diseased Dragon breath in Session 22.

Corydon (L1 Joker). Total XP: 0. Burnt to a crisp by chimera breath so thoroughly his corpse wasn't even fit for the crows. Died with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. that's life and as funny as it seems... some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream... In Session 25.

Donny Keebler (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP 2,238. Had his legs burned completely off by chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Marina (L2 Fighter). Total XP: 2,204. Burnt into ash by a chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Gundro (L2 Gnomish Trickster). Total XP: 2,575. Had his mouth and tongue bitten off by a lizardman ambusher in the dank sewers below Cyfaraun in Session 26.

Polydoros (L1 Fighter). Total XP: 0. Had his legs ripped off and eaten by Akira monsters in the dark canopy of the Viaspen Forest in Session 28.

Odrum (L1 Explorer). Total XP: 287. Javelin to the heart from the hands of weird vine goblins hidden in the walls of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Garvin the Nutless Wonder (L1 Mage). Total XP: 0. Fell off the side of Ferigno's lair 20 feet to his death in Session 30.

Blackmoon (L1 Assassin). Total XP: 768. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while stealing treasure from Ferigno's dragon horde in Session 30.

Xanthus (L2 Cleric). Total XP: 2,364. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while hanging out on the roof of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Lord Zyklon (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP: 0. LORD ZYKLON DISEMBOWLED LORD ZYKLON upon finding himself on the losing side of the Desolation of Turos Tem.

Turin (L1 Cleric). Total XP: 0. Eaten by Wargs in Session 32.

Rat Face (L2 Thief) Total XP: 1,577. Seemingly grabbed in the dark by a Xenomorph in Session 36. In a sinkhole your party can hear you scream! 

Smarticus (L1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Captured by a Xenomorph in Session 36 for all the party to witness. Taken deep into a sinkhole.

Hearticus (L1 Cleric) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 after projectile vomiting all over himself from the stink of sewer sludge.

Mickey Mouser (L1 Thief) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 in the happiest place on earth: the Cyfaraun sewer!

Aenes (Level 1 Paladin) Total XP: 62. Swarmed by giant flies in the sewer beneath Cyfaraun in Session 40.

Acianus (Level 1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Chopped to pieces in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue from behind and quickly forgotten about by his compatriots who saved MadEye and lamented Hardar instead. But I'll never forget you Acinanu nanu...nanite... nananaa...

Hardar (Level 2 Mage) Total XP: 2,832. Chopped up in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue as he held his Darth Vader Choking Grip spell long enough for his compatriots to escape an unwinnable battle. His dream to become the most evil being in the universe suffers eternally the indignity of being remembered for self sacrifice and laying his life down for his friends.

Nubbs (Level 3 Thief) Total XP: 4,017. Swarmed by scarabs which bored into his ears and brain in Session 45.

Grummz (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultgard) Total XP: 0. Ripped limb from limb by a throng of skeletons and their undead golem leaders in Session 46.

Grommzs (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultguard) Total XP: 2,168. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in session 48

Rapunzel (Level 4 Priestess) Total XP: 11,540. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in Session 48.

Schizo (Level 1 Mage): Total XP: 0. Frozen to death by an assassin's guild ruffian bard wielding a Wand of Cold in session 54.

Marteen (Level 1 Thief): Total XP: 0. Fell to his death in Lamalla's Temple upon a pile of dragon horde gold. Corpse eaten by Sheila the Beautiful, an Ancient Blue Dragon in session 56.

Ambrose (Level 2 Cleric): Total XP: idk. Strangled to death by cursed octopi in a canoe on Lake Laman claiming the Sinister Stone of Sakkara for Law and eventual destruction in session 63.

Traiticus (Level 9 Fighter): Total XP: alot. Head split in half by Froggo's bronze magic "Fren Axe" during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Alina (Level 7 Mage). Cut in half at her belt line by Froggo's bronze magic "Fren Axe" during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Olgar McKenzie (Level 5ish Barbarian). Soul eaten by Stormbringer wielded by the Manson the mad assassin during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Celeste (Level 7ish Witch). Soul eaten by Stormbringer wielded by the Manson the mad assassin during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22. Said Ancient Soul caused a backfire effect and blasted Manson's face off leaving him dead in the sea foam.

Allen A'Dulles (Level 1 Bard): Petrified by a basilisk in the Meniri Mountains in Session 66.

Cyfaraun (Level 1 Elven Spellsword): Eaten by basilisks in the Meniri Mountains in Session 66.

Tamryn (Level 1 Elven Spellsword):  Petrified by a basilisk in the Meniri Mountains in Session 66

Allen the Bard (Level 1 Bard): Petrified by a basilisk in the Meniri Mountains in Session 66.

UnNamed Venturer (Leve 1 Venturer): Killed by astral demons and sucked into the vacuum of spacetime in Session 66.

Alexa this is so sad play "Space is the Place" by Spacehog

Dubzaron Session 64: Return to the New Badlands (and Operation Muscle Thunder)

Session Played on 07/06/22 and ending on 07/16/22. Actions available again on 07/18/22.

Session Report

The party was able to secure many troops from Legate Gaius (high level Fighter PC/Patron) to return to the New Badlands. The party goal was to check into the Scaled King's former fortress and see if they could find some extra loot that may have been hidden or left behind.  

"buncha slack jawed froggers around here"

There really wasn't much to the session so I'm going to knock out the plotting pretty quick then discuss how my recent ruling on Mass Combat XP splits instigated this session and probably the recent #OperationMuscleThunder downtime stuff that just set the #BROSR on fire.

It took the party 10 days to march out to the Scaled King's fortress because, in ACKS, armies have to rest for 3 days out of 7 of marching to resupply and feed livestock and such. 

They had a map to the center of the New Badlands which use to be a swamp before Drakon built a ditch to drain it. What the PCs found when they arrived was the Frogmen were gone and the lizardwomen were left behind. With no regular swamp terrain around they were just starving out. Even so I ruled a while back that beastmen females will fight to defend their home(s) even though they won't go raiding.

So the lizardfemales were NOT going to simply just let all this humans come into their walls. 

The PCs set to assaulting the walls and they did a Heroic Foray during the first round of mass combat. This was an interesting little set piece where Daria (PC Bladedancer mid-high level) flew up on the wall as, I think it was, Brian (Level 1 Wonderworker) cast Wall of Smoke so the lizards on the wall couldn't hit the rest of the party with ranged weapons. 

The PCs mostly handled their business during the Heroic Foray as they sliced up the lizardwomen guarding the parapet and we finished up the Heroic Foray. The mass combat round then triggered and the rest of the lizards were handled and killed. Some imprisoned for later questioning in the like. 

The party didn't realize the lizardwomen were all starving and had like a -3 on all their attacks and such so really the combat was a bit of a cakewalk.

Daria and the team then questioned the lizardwomen and learned that some months back a ritual with the Stone of Sakkara went awry and the Scaled King's shaman(s) summoned the Frogmen through the portal and their was a mass battle at that time, leaving Froggo the victor due to sheer numbers.

Froggo and his folk moved on to go look for food.

The Party searched the dungeons below the Fortress and found Dairin's old library which was worth a bit in GP (and thus XP). 

We wrapped up after that but not before Brian, MadEye (PC Venturer mid level i think) and Gaius started scheming about how they were going to reclaim the New Badlands while using this fortress they captured as their staging point. 

Afterword

I knew all along that taking the Scaled King's old keep wasn't going to be too challenging. So my enjoyment of the session came from describing the New Badlands (same as last time the PCs adventured there) and seeing how much scheming the players were doing with regards to what the future may hold for this space on the map.

The New Badlands wouldn't even exist if Palatine Drakon hadn't Drained The Swamp so it's particularly interesting seeing a terrain on the map due to Patron actions and then PCs trying to exploit it for their own ideas, cash, prizes etc.

When they went to the New Badlands the first time about a month previously the PCs petitioned for me to change the rules I was using for Mass Combat XP distribution. Adventurer Conqueror King System: Domains at War Campaigns states pretty clearly that the General of an army gets the lions share of the spoils and treasure (and thus XP for both) when his army is used.

My players petitioned the writer of ACKS, Macris, to be like "are you sure, boss?" and look for some sort of loophole. Finding it in Macris stating that "sure the general can hand out spoils to commanders and such as he wishes". So the PCs came to me for a ruling.

My ruling was that up to 50% of treasure (thus XP from same) could be doled out to adventurers for XP as long as the PCs were of sufficient level to qualify to be Lieutenants at the army scale in question. 

It sounds like alot of rules wrangling I'm sure and perhaps you don't follow it. But the takeaway is the PCs were claiming they'd have no reason to use their armies in Session Play for XP and the like since only the General of the army would be leveling.

Well that would be lame, we wouldn't want a Campaign without session play army battles. Sounds like the worst sort of 5e dnd.

With my house rule the game can no work as I'd prefer insomuch as army Generals get the big payout but mid level PCs and the like can still get a piece of the spoils (assuming the General wants to be giving). 

I believe this allowed and led directly to #OperationMuscleThunder

Operation Muscle Thunder

If you don't know what #OperationMuscleThunder is then please check out this link where I turned the whole event into a big story thread which I posted LIVE on the twitters. 

The bottom line is Drakon finally gathered his massive army and marched it on Chief Froggo and the Frogmen. But in middle of this Valdar the Starman (Patron Starman) used his UFO to bring Timur (PC Barbarian mid-high level) and Kyle Oconner (Patron Barbarian high level) into the field to try and hit Froggo from the side. But Manson (Patron villain Assassin level ???) snuck onto the field with the evil magic sword Stormbringer and just murdered a ton of important henchmen.

The whole thing was madness. A dozen or so players and patrons make downtime requests live trying to find an edge (or just survive!) a massive war and small scale skirmish combat with the fate of the region hanging in the balance.

Some folks on the ACKS Discord asked me how I juggled all this and honestly it wasn't that hard. All that is required is the ability to scale combat up and down based on numbers of participating units. ACKS explicitly spells out how to do this in Domains At War for Mass Combat units. The BDubs trick was scaling it DOWN to be suitable for D&D size skirmish combat. 

The most important part of it, however, is the players. This is not the sort of event that can be set up like a plot in the DMs mind. You can't plan for an Operation Muscle Thunder, as a DM. It comes about by allowing Patrons and PCs to do whatever they like within the confounds of the game's rules. They find the exploits, tricks, and strategies they think will work. They communicate to eachother about alliances and targets of opportunity. Then there is a force of motion between them all (or in this case Drakon) who decides when it's time to strike.

And strike they did.

Manson the Assassin was killed, Froggo was destroyed, Drakon took some losses but also copped massive spoils and treasure, and Valdar grabbed up Stormbringer and flew it into space to "throw into the sun". The last of which is still in the works so stay tuned and check out #StormbringersFate on twitter for the unfolding tale.

The bottom line to this is that 1:1 time allows everyone to be on the same page enough to work out these sorts of events. Time is a resource that some PCs and Patrons exploit to its fullest and some let slip away like sands through the hourglass.

The result is players easily engaging with the campaign world in ways most of us always wished we could when we began playing D&D as kids. But without the #BROSR methods it is often untenable or the DM just forces the issue.

You can have this sort of campaign too if you channel the Muscle Thunder Mindset (TM) and give #BROSR methods a go.

Deceased

Dama (L1 Venturer) played by RR.  Current total xp: 75. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Darius LeVay (L1 Assassin) played by JB. Current Total XP:451. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Donald the Guardsman (L1 Fighter) played by MP. Current Total XP:570. DECEASED. Intra-party justice in Session 3.

Felix (L1 Thief) played by Nicholas. Current Total XP:431. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Hektor (L1 Paladin) played by Moai. DECEASED. Cause of Death: goblin warg rider throat removal surgery in Session 2

Leonidas the Inquisitor (L1 Cleric) played by RR.Current Total XP:498  DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Mard the Mage (L1 Mage) played by Nicholas. DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Yolo Baggins "My friends call me Swaggins" (L1 Gnomish Trickster) played by J. DECEASED. Paralyzed and eaten by ghouls in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Jack Filcher (L1 Thief) played by C. DECEASED. Shot full of arrows by Inthorn's brigands in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Swoleous Maximus (L1 Paladin). DECEASED. Captured then drawn and quartered by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Damianus (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Captured and beheaded by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Bucky (L1 Barbarian). DECEASED. Became a illegal pit fighter during his downtime. Had two bouts to the death, winning the first and losing the second. Was killed by Young Jack Sparrow who sashayed into the ring, drank rum, and mogged on Bucky before putting a dagger into his ribs, killing him. This happened during downtime between Session 17 and 18.

Broll Wolf-Eater (L1 Barbarian). Current total XP: 1079. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Brother Franklin (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Decapitated by a mad cultist of a Lovecraftian slime thing in Session 19.

Felix the Elder (L1 Bard). Total XP 825. DECEASED. Captured by mad cultists and fed to a Lovecraftian slime monster in Session 19.

Templar Flavius Africanus (L1 Cleric). Total XP 7. Killed by the claws and beak of mad harpies in Session 19.

Xendi (L1 Explorer). Total XP 6. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Yllmeeton (L3 Shaman). Total XP 4,563. Bludgeoned by the corpse of a bowmen by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Longinus (L2 Assassin). Total XP 2,036. Had his face ripped off by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Mandonio (L3 Fighter). Total XP 4,779. Charred to a leprous crisp by diseased Dragon breath in Session 22.

Corydon (L1 Joker). Total XP: 0. Burnt to a crisp by chimera breath so thoroughly his corpse wasn't even fit for the crows. Died with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. that's life and as funny as it seems... some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream... In Session 25.

Donny Keebler (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP 2,238. Had his legs burned completely off by chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Marina (L2 Fighter). Total XP: 2,204. Burnt into ash by a chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Gundro (L2 Gnomish Trickster). Total XP: 2,575. Had his mouth and tongue bitten off by a lizardman ambusher in the dank sewers below Cyfaraun in Session 26.

Polydoros (L1 Fighter). Total XP: 0. Had his legs ripped off and eaten by Akira monsters in the dark canopy of the Viaspen Forest in Session 28.

Odrum (L1 Explorer). Total XP: 287. Javelin to the heart from the hands of weird vine goblins hidden in the walls of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Garvin the Nutless Wonder (L1 Mage). Total XP: 0. Fell off the side of Ferigno's lair 20 feet to his death in Session 30.

Blackmoon (L1 Assassin). Total XP: 768. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while stealing treasure from Ferigno's dragon horde in Session 30.

Xanthus (L2 Cleric). Total XP: 2,364. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while hanging out on the roof of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Lord Zyklon (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP: 0. LORD ZYKLON DISEMBOWLED LORD ZYKLON upon finding himself on the losing side of the Desolation of Turos Tem.

Turin (L1 Cleric). Total XP: 0. Eaten by Wargs in Session 32.

Rat Face (L2 Thief) Total XP: 1,577. Seemingly grabbed in the dark by a Xenomorph in Session 36. In a sinkhole your party can hear you scream! 

Smarticus (L1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Captured by a Xenomorph in Session 36 for all the party to witness. Taken deep into a sinkhole.

Hearticus (L1 Cleric) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 after projectile vomiting all over himself from the stink of sewer sludge.

Mickey Mouser (L1 Thief) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 in the happiest place on earth: the Cyfaraun sewer!

Aenes (Level 1 Paladin) Total XP: 62. Swarmed by giant flies in the sewer beneath Cyfaraun in Session 40.

Acianus (Level 1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Chopped to pieces in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue from behind and quickly forgotten about by his compatriots who saved MadEye and lamented Hardar instead. But I'll never forget you Acinanu nanu...nanite... nananaa...

Hardar (Level 2 Mage) Total XP: 2,832. Chopped up in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue as he held his Darth Vader Choking Grip spell long enough for his compatriots to escape an unwinnable battle. His dream to become the most evil being in the universe suffers eternally the indignity of being remembered for self sacrifice and laying his life down for his friends.

Nubbs (Level 3 Thief) Total XP: 4,017. Swarmed by scarabs which bored into his ears and brain in Session 45.

Grummz (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultgard) Total XP: 0. Ripped limb from limb by a throng of skeletons and their undead golem leaders in Session 46.

Grommzs (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultguard) Total XP: 2,168. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in session 48

Rapunzel (Level 4 Priestess) Total XP: 11,540. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in Session 48.

Schizo (Level 1 Mage): Total XP: 0. Frozen to death by an assassin's guild ruffian bard wielding a Wand of Cold in session 54.

Marteen (Level 1 Thief): Total XP: 0. Fell to his death in Lamalla's Temple upon a pile of dragon horde gold. Corpse eaten by Sheila the Beautiful, an Ancient Blue Dragon in session 56.

Ambrose (Level 2 Cleric): Total XP: idk. Strangled to death by cursed octopi in a canoe on Lake Laman claiming the Sinister Stone of Sakkara for Law and eventual destruction in session 63.

Traiticus (Level 9 Fighter): Total XP: alot. Head split in half by Froggo's bronze magic "Fren Axe" during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Alina (Level 7 Mage). Cut in half at her belt line by Froggo's bronze magic "Fren Axe" during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Olgar McKenzie (Level 5ish Barbarian). Soul eaten by Stormbringer wielded by the Manson the mad assassin during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22.

Celeste (Level 7ish Witch). Soul eaten by Stormbringer wielded by the Manson the mad assassin during Operation Muscle Thunder on 08/09/22. Said Ancient Soul caused a backfire effect and blasted Manson's face off leaving him dead in the sea foam.

Alexa this is so sad play "Witchy Woman" by The Eagles

Dubzaron Session 63: Sunken Stone of Sakkara

This session was played on 06/29/22. Rest is required 06/30/22/ so PCs can take actions on 07/01/22.

Foreword

This will be a rather long foreword because I am going to explain as briefly as possible all the elements that went into play during the campaign's 1:1 Time downtime and Patron actions that led to the goal/mission etc of this session. The PCs session was all about securing and destroying the Sinister Stone of Sakkara; the titular artifact from the module of the same name from Autarch. This is the module we started with in session 1 and it took 63 sessions and like 20 months to "finish" the module. In our own weird BROSR way. 

so much trouble for such a small er... watermelon

Please take note that almost all of this happened due to actions taken by real players controlling PCs and Patrons in downtime. This is what you get get when you run a multifocal D&D style wargame in real time "in the background" of your regular weekly session play. Follow BROSR methods and you can have the same.

First let's start with the Scaled King. He was a Patron who retired from the campaign recently but, up to that point, was a major threat gathering forces and raiding out of the Viamir Marshes. Palatine Drakon, also a Patron, knew he wanted (had to?) kill the Scaled King but felt it might be easier to weaken the Patron first. So he decided to Drain the Swamp. 

Building a canal, eventually given the name Drakon's Ditch by the PCs, took a few months. The draining started and within a week or so the swamp itself was no longer considered Swamp Terrain, but Badlands terrain. 

During that time frame is when the Scaled King player retired from the campaign. I felt that Drakon attacking the Scaled King's forces, if controlled by me as an NPC, would be kind of boring and anti-climatic. So when the Frog King forces from another campaign came to me and offered to move his Patron to the Dubzaron setting I was stoked. I cooked up a story that the Scaled King did a ritual with the evil Stone of Sakkara that got botched and summoned the Frog King's forces. 

I ran a mass combat of the frogs vs the lizards and the frogs came out on top. So Froggo had the Scaled King's little fortress but, more importantly, he had the Sinister Stone of Sakkara. 

My players have told me I should mention how the Stone even got to the swamp in the first place. It is the titular artifact from the ACKS 1 introductory module that was the setting of my campaign since session 1. Darin the Mage (a Patron who Drakon killed some months back) secured the Stone from the dungeon of the module by marrying the evil big bad lady at the bottom of the dungeon. She was his evil kween and no one messes with Dairin's kween. Dairin took the Stone (and his kween) to his swamp abode before being killed trying to help Ferigno the Green Dragon (also a patron) from being killed by Drakon's army.

So anyway the Frogs were chilling in the scaled king's fortress until they realized the swamp was drying up (Drakon's ditch). So they went looking for greener pastures (muddier swamps?). That brought them to an island on a lake just outside the city of Dubzaron.

Rapunzel (PC Witch level 5 i think) got wind of this fact via rumors and Commune and used her swanmae cloak and a bunch of fancy sneak spells to fly out to the island, sneak into Froggo's tent, and steal the Stone. Froggo had painted the stone to look like a watermelon to disguise it. So of course that became part of all our jokes and memes and tweets and session humor.

Rapunzel flew as a swan back to Dubzaron and decided to go to a small man made lake in the fancy Lake District to sleep off her adventure; planning to take the Stone to interested parties the next day (Drakon was her first stop I believe) to see what pay-out they might give her for having secured it.

So I checked out the powers on this artifact in the module. Seems if it's not below ground it grows these crazy blood vine things across the land at a staggering pace if it has grown really big from blood sacrifices made to it. Well it's the size of a watermelon so yeah this was going to be wild. 

Rapunzel woke up on the island which had now become a Lovecraftian nightmare. What's more, since this was a fancy island for the city's rich folks to float their pleasure crafts around for fun, the richest and most powerful nobles in the city were angry and scared about their island looking like a terrifying jungle of pulsing blood vines. By the time Rapunzel woke up the nobles had already demanded the city guard investigate and had also demanded the Patriarch of the Temple fix the problem. The latter didn't take kindly to the demand and didn't show up until later.

Rapunzel saw some guards rowing out to the island and she cast Sleep on them and started digging up the place she just buried the Stone. Then she died. How?

One of the Stone's other powers is the ability to summon and demand service of those with Chaotic alignment. For unrelated reasons Leonard Smalls (Patron Assassins level 9+) was in Dubzaron that morning so was within range of the Stone's influence. He failed his saving throw vs spells and was enthralled by the Stone to secure and protect it. He had gotten out to the island just as Rapunzel was dealing with the guards and he was hiding in the bushes. When she was busy digging the Stone back up he backstabbed her doing like 45 damage. Dead af

If you'd like to know more about Rapunzel and her downtime mission with the Stone you can check out this link where the Player wrote their own session report thing. 

Smalls took the Stone and some noble folks (NPC) gathered on the shore noticed him carrying a big sack. He distracted them somehow (i don't recall the details) and jumped in the sewers. He had some adventures down there but was able to find his way out of the city before an APB was put out by the guards and eventually Drakon. Drakon, later that day, locked down the city completely with the permission of the NPC ruler.

The Patriarch eventually showed up at the Lake and burned the entirety of the island (just to be safe) including Rapunzel's corpse who was deemed a heretic for switching her class to Witch and for being on an island with evil vine things. NPCs assumed it was her doing. About 5 of the PCs were messaging me in downtime about "recovering Rapunzel's body" and "recovering her swanmae cloak". The Patriarch didn't like her so he was like nah brah.

Some PCs became involved in the hunt around the city during the lockdown and this became it's own big thing; including Billy (PC Explorer like 2 or so) getting arrested along with Timur (PC Barbarian level 5+) for trying to access the dungeons underneath the town's fortress. Both were acquitted about a week later.

It was all very funny to me since I knew Smalls was already out of town with the Stone. Unfortunately for him he blundered by going to Turos Orn to secure supplies for his escape into the wilderness (or wherever he was planning to go with the Stone). Turos Orn is the seat of Drakon's Palatinate and was on High Alert with like a million soldiers on hand mustering to march into the former swamp. I made some checks to see if they'd question or accost Smalls and the answer was yes. 

Smalls escaped towards the lake and used lycanthropy (he's a wererat thanks to PCs sending him into the sewers to hide a few months back) and was swimming all ratlike towards the island were the Frogs were seated; intending to bring it back to them for protection.

But Drakon's guards and his hench Cleric Lucia captured him. Before being captured Smalls dropped the Stone in the lake a mile or two away from shore, where it rested until the session play.

Smalls was captured and tortured for information until he admitted it was in the lake so Drakon's people had begun dragging the Lake to find the stone. Could the PCs claim the stone and their reward in time before the Patron nabbed it himself and would not pay out? Find out below!

Session Report

The party gathered horses and rode from Dubzaron to Turos Orn. Heading down to Lake Laman they found Legate Lucia, a hench of Drakon, commandeering fishing boats to drag the lake. The party convinced her to allow them 3 canoes and 3 rowers to do their own PC scheme to try and find the Stone of Sakkara in a grid pattern. She was happy to allow these Drakon irregulars their own irregular approach to the problem, Viaspenicus (BriarWhisper) being among the party helped.

Ambrose (PC Cleric level 2 i think) caught a bunch of fish while the party was discussing with Lucia. The fish were cursed mutants which screamed the names of every dead loved one Amrbose had ever lost. They also sand the melody of Thus Spoke Zarathustra when they tired o mocking the cleric.

The Party tried to Intimidate the fish and Speak with Animals to tell them where the Stone was. The fish were less than helpful (Neutral intimidation).  So the party tied a bunch of the fish on leashed (???) to a canoe and tried to gauge their mad reaction as a way of divining where the Stone may be underwater. Raven (Elven Ranger hench to Briarwhisper), with animal handling, gauged their reaction well enough to follow the fishes' mad movements and get a concept of where they might be trying to return. After an hour of searching the party's canoes were attacked by a cloud of stirges which Brian (PC Wonderworker level 1) killed with a Wand of Cold.

Lucia's grid was dragging the Lake by this time and may have "beat" the pcs to finding where the Stone might be. When the party felt close, thanks to Raven's animal handling the fish and said fish going bonkers like piranha on a feeing frenzy, Daria cast Detect Magic and sensed great magic at the bottom of the lake. The water was mucky so vision was unclear due to recent rains.

This is when Ambrose suggested something foolhardy/brave/mad/hilarious. Ambrose the Powerfist Cleric, wearing plate armor, tied a rope which BriarWhisper held in the canoe. He jumped into the water holding his breath and felt around on the bottom to find the Stone. Floor of the lake was a nightmare of pulsing blood vines and purple lightning, black ground. He began to get close to his end of breath held oxygen but saw something painted like a watermelon and grabbed it, and pulled on the rope for Briar to pull him back up. He fumbled the process, almost dropping the Stone, and was attacked by a school of fish which had mutated into an Abomination. The bites connected but Ambrose saved vs paralysis and successfully tugged the rope. Briar reacted quickly pulling him to the surface in one round. Brian cast Protection From Evil wherein the fish Abomination couldn't attack the party's 3 canoes. Two giant octopi came to the surface and attacked. 

Brian the Wonderworker fell pretty early in the fight but Marn picked up the Wand of Cold and was blasting it in the octopi's faces. Even so, the huge creatures were mad with rage to protect and re-acquire the Stone and they were strangling and gripping nearly all those who were part of the battle.

The canoes were swaying to rocking as octopi tentacles were severed and PC's blood was flying. Briar set up a rugby scenario and successfully passsed the Stone to the only canoe whose members were not engaged in life or death combat. Raven caught the stone, getting it out of melee and drawing off an abominable octopus. Daria by this point had cast Winged Flight and was as an angel looking down on the scrum. The Stone was tossed to her and she took off towards the shore and after a couple miles to the attention of Lucia's armada who followed her into landfall. The other PCs fought on.

Butchers bill of the combat was 2 of the 3 canoe rowers and Ambrose dead to constriction. Brian and BriarWhisper also fell but Marn was able to use healing prof to triage. He rowed the seriously injured party members back to shore even as severed tentacles flopped about on the boat.

Daria requested Turos Orn troops standing on the shore surround her in case forces of Chaos were in wait on the shore. Lucia's boats landed and her forces joined Daria. Lucia demanded they destroy the Stone immediately and Daria was not one to say no. Breaking the thing with warhammers and such was an extremely slow process as it had grown so massive with many hitpoints due to all the sacrifices made to it since the START OF THE CAMPAIGN. Daria said the names of some of it's honored victims upon each strike. "This is for Mandonio! And this is for Legate Valerian!" etc. 

The party's canoes arrived about the time the final blow had been struck. The stone broke into 3 equal pieces of the Tablet of Destiny, a portion of spacetime that had existed since the universe began. Lucia requested the pieces but the Party pointed out to me how might they even say no? Lucia honored Drakon's 10,000 gp reward. Party received Milestone XP of 10,000 for 'turning 3 pieces into the Temple'. 

Lucia threw a banquet for the party into the night celebrating this great success for the gods of the Empyrean.

Afterword

This extremely interesting and important session happened due to Patron Play and 1:1 time. Get both into your own campaign as soon as you can. You won't regret it.

Deceased

Dama (L1 Venturer) played by RR.  Current total xp: 75. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Darius LeVay (L1 Assassin) played by JB. Current Total XP:451. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Donald the Guardsman (L1 Fighter) played by MP. Current Total XP:570. DECEASED. Intra-party justice in Session 3.

Felix (L1 Thief) played by Nicholas. Current Total XP:431. DECEASED. Poison gas in Session 3.

Hektor (L1 Paladin) played by Moai. DECEASED. Cause of Death: goblin warg rider throat removal surgery in Session 2

Leonidas the Inquisitor (L1 Cleric) played by RR.Current Total XP:498  DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Mard the Mage (L1 Mage) played by Nicholas. DECEASED. Frozen undead blistering cold aura left his skin frostbitten and broken in Session 6. Body not recovered.

Yolo Baggins "My friends call me Swaggins" (L1 Gnomish Trickster) played by J. DECEASED. Paralyzed and eaten by ghouls in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Jack Filcher (L1 Thief) played by C. DECEASED. Shot full of arrows by Inthorn's brigands in Session 12. Body not recovered.

Swoleous Maximus (L1 Paladin). DECEASED. Captured then drawn and quartered by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Damianus (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Captured and beheaded by Inthorn the Brigand warlord in Session 12. Posthumously named "Petty Hero of Turos Tem" by Legate Valerian. Ashes offered a place of pride in the Hospital.

Bucky (L1 Barbarian). DECEASED. Became a illegal pit fighter during his downtime. Had two bouts to the death, winning the first and losing the second. Was killed by Young Jack Sparrow who sashayed into the ring, drank rum, and mogged on Bucky before putting a dagger into his ribs, killing him. This happened during downtime between Session 17 and 18.

Broll Wolf-Eater (L1 Barbarian). Current total XP: 1079. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Brother Franklin (L1 Cleric). DECEASED. Decapitated by a mad cultist of a Lovecraftian slime thing in Session 19.

Felix the Elder (L1 Bard). Total XP 825. DECEASED. Captured by mad cultists and fed to a Lovecraftian slime monster in Session 19.

Templar Flavius Africanus (L1 Cleric). Total XP 7. Killed by the claws and beak of mad harpies in Session 19.

Xendi (L1 Explorer). Total XP 6. DECEASED. Carried off by harpies after falling for their enchanting song in Session 19.

Yllmeeton (L3 Shaman). Total XP 4,563. Bludgeoned by the corpse of a bowmen by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Longinus (L2 Assassin). Total XP 2,036. Had his face ripped off by Rosie Odonnel hag in Session 21.

Mandonio (L3 Fighter). Total XP 4,779. Charred to a leprous crisp by diseased Dragon breath in Session 22.

Corydon (L1 Joker). Total XP: 0. Burnt to a crisp by chimera breath so thoroughly his corpse wasn't even fit for the crows. Died with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. that's life and as funny as it seems... some people get their kicks, stomping on a dream... In Session 25.

Donny Keebler (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP 2,238. Had his legs burned completely off by chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Marina (L2 Fighter). Total XP: 2,204. Burnt into ash by a chimera fire breath in Session 25.

Gundro (L2 Gnomish Trickster). Total XP: 2,575. Had his mouth and tongue bitten off by a lizardman ambusher in the dank sewers below Cyfaraun in Session 26.

Polydoros (L1 Fighter). Total XP: 0. Had his legs ripped off and eaten by Akira monsters in the dark canopy of the Viaspen Forest in Session 28.

Odrum (L1 Explorer). Total XP: 287. Javelin to the heart from the hands of weird vine goblins hidden in the walls of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Garvin the Nutless Wonder (L1 Mage). Total XP: 0. Fell off the side of Ferigno's lair 20 feet to his death in Session 30.

Blackmoon (L1 Assassin). Total XP: 768. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while stealing treasure from Ferigno's dragon horde in Session 30.

Xanthus (L2 Cleric). Total XP: 2,364. Choked to death by BOB from Twin Peaks while hanging out on the roof of Ferigno's lair in Session 30.

Lord Zyklon (L1 Elven Spellsword). Total XP: 0. LORD ZYKLON DISEMBOWLED LORD ZYKLON upon finding himself on the losing side of the Desolation of Turos Tem.

Turin (L1 Cleric). Total XP: 0. Eaten by Wargs in Session 32.

Rat Face (L2 Thief) Total XP: 1,577. Seemingly grabbed in the dark by a Xenomorph in Session 36. In a sinkhole your party can hear you scream! 

Smarticus (L1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Captured by a Xenomorph in Session 36 for all the party to witness. Taken deep into a sinkhole.

Hearticus (L1 Cleric) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 after projectile vomiting all over himself from the stink of sewer sludge.

Mickey Mouser (L1 Thief) Total XP: 0. Gored to death by giant horned beetles in Session 39 in the happiest place on earth: the Cyfaraun sewer!

Aenes (Level 1 Paladin) Total XP: 62. Swarmed by giant flies in the sewer beneath Cyfaraun in Session 40.

Acianus (Level 1 Mage) Total XP: 0. Chopped to pieces in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue from behind and quickly forgotten about by his compatriots who saved MadEye and lamented Hardar instead. But I'll never forget you Acinanu nanu...nanite... nananaa...

Hardar (Level 2 Mage) Total XP: 2,832. Chopped up in Session 42 by a six armed demon statue as he held his Darth Vader Choking Grip spell long enough for his compatriots to escape an unwinnable battle. His dream to become the most evil being in the universe suffers eternally the indignity of being remembered for self sacrifice and laying his life down for his friends.

Nubbs (Level 3 Thief) Total XP: 4,017. Swarmed by scarabs which bored into his ears and brain in Session 45.

Grummz (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultgard) Total XP: 0. Ripped limb from limb by a throng of skeletons and their undead golem leaders in Session 46.

Grommzs (Level 1 Dwarven Vaultguard) Total XP: 2,168. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in session 48

Rapunzel (Level 4 Priestess) Total XP: 11,540. Torn to bits and eaten by trolls in Session 48.

Schizo (Level 1 Mage): Total XP: 0. Frozen to death by an assassin's guild ruffian bard wielding a Wand of Cold in session 54.

Marteen (Level 1 Thief): Total XP: 0. Fell to his death in Lamalla's Temple upon a pile of dragon horde gold. Corpse eaten by Sheila the Beautiful, an Ancient Blue Dragon in session 56.

Ambrose (Level 2 Cleric): Total XP: idk. Strangled to death by cursed octopi in a canoe on Lake Laman claiming the Sinister Stone of Sakkara for Law and eventual destruction in session 63.

Alexa this is so sad play "Come Sail Away" by Styx