The World of Weirth is a setting much like a Hyborian Age, with danger at every turn, Swords & Sorcery magic, demons and mad prophets. Check the World of Weirth tab above for more info, including a draft of the Player’s Guide.
Episode 10: The Mask of Zenopus – Part II
The Apprentices are at 11 Zazel, night-time, or 12 Zazel morning
Today’s date: 10 Zazel – Late afternoon – Core Characters
Continuing down the hallway, the crewe found it went on for over 200 feet! It ended in a large natural cave, partially floored with sand and over half-covered with water, which seemed to connect to the river. Pulled up on the shore were two longboats. As Lieres poked his head out someone in one of the boats took a shot at him with a crossbow!!
There is a bit of an archery battle with these strangers, which the strangers lose.
In the second boat is a girl, tied up and gagged. The crewe untie her. She introduces herself as Shamirovar and says her father is a Priest and Elder. She seems to be in a bit of a panic, doesn’t get out of the boat. Rather, she demands she be pushed off shore and rows away, stomping on the bottom of the longboat in an odd rhythm. After she paddles out into the dark, there is a splash, as though something large had been dropped in the water.
The crew take this opportunity to explore this little lair. They perform the Ritual of Departure for the sailors? Pirates? they’ve killed. They find some food and ale, and consume it.
While they are eating another boat arrives, being rowed in by four more Pirates (?) and a fifth with a feathered cap, standing in the prow. Everyone hides. As the Pirates are disembarking Aziagos and Oxardozius draw down on them and there is a parley.
The “Captain” introduces himself as Captain Gulovir.
The Captain trades the party two bottles of whiskey and an admonition to “avoid the southern cave there” for his own crewe’s freedom.
The clever adventurers take the two bottles of whiskey and hustle up the northern passage, back the way they came.
Elapsed time under the ruined Tower’ = about five hours. It’s likely close to sunset, up above.
Hustling up the passage, they noticed a green glow coming from around the curve of the passage ahead. Adora and Lieres creep ahead to check it out. They see a dark figure approaching, in tattered robes with eye sockets that burn with a bright green flame. Just looking at this apparition makes them feel queasy and ill. They are able to take it down with a couple of crossbow shots. It appears to have passed on, and Lieres creeps up to check it out.
It is a skeletal figure in tattered robes, nothing in the pockets, but a gold ring on the pointer finger of its right hand. Lieres takes the ring and stashes it in his pocket.
The crewe make their way back to the trash room to strategized, decide to see if the map is correct and try to go around the large room, the Darkling Lair as Lieres called it.
The large room to the N of the Darkling lair is a partially-collapsed burial chamber. Ten sarcophagi are partially buried under dirt and rubble at the north end. The last sarcophagus, all the way at the end of the line, has a broken lid and no occupant.
Adora speculates this sarcophagus is the source of the green-flame-eyed skeleton they encountered in the tunnel earlier. She is on alert for more undead.
They notice that one sarcophagus had a defaced Hex of Departure, but the lid is intact, so they repair it and move on.
A trio of Grave Rats slither out of the rubble as the crew is exploring, are quickly dispatched. These creatures are disgusting, like a furred serpent with the face of a rabid rat and ten pairs of fleshy, tentacle-like “legs”. These creatures are faster than they look!
They manage to make it to the stairs and up to the surface with no further mishaps. It is full dark!
They return to the town and pay a 2 SP entry fee, then return to their rooms at Master Ploon’s home. They meet in Ploon’s study for a bite to eat and some vino, discuss some of what they have learned with Maisara and look in Praxitele’s book about the Belowdark. Apparently the Deathslime attracts the centipedes, and the Grave Rats emerge to eat the centipedes. The grave rats burrow in rubble and loose stone.
After the convo they retire, with no real plans for the morrow.
We are not done yet…stay tuned!
LFG Playtest Campaign 1 – The Shadow of Evil Chaos is an experiment with a new (to me) game system, Low Fantasy Gaming, and a new magic hack designed to bring the atmosphere of danger from the pulp novels of Swords & Sorcery. We are playing fully online over a Discord Voice server, using some home-brew maps, art and characters designed on the HeroForge 3D printing site.
Follow all of the posts here: LFG Playtest Campaign 1.
