Session 17 - Scene 4 (of 6)

The next day, everyone decides to no longer mention the gold as they gear up and head out to continue their mission.  Krolec identifies the first target of the day to be a small barrow near the temple they finished at the previous day.  Finding it empty, they quickly torch it and move on to the next barrow, one of the larger double barrows.

As Krolec and Mitka search the outside, Mitka spots a nameplate over the barrow – "Fusille".  He has finally found the tomb of the Fusille Family where Pace's treasure was hidden.  

Mitka tries to act casually at the name, but Leigh remembers him mentioning it before when they talked with Varys.  Mitka explains coolly to the others that it means it is a place of great danger, and that he should go in first to make sure everything is OK.  Most of the group reacts skeptically, but Merend is all for Mitka going in alone if that's what he wants to do.  However, Merend's taunting has the opposite effect, causing Mitka to lose his nerve and hesitate going in alone.

Mitka's moment of opportunity is lost as Krolec approaches the tomb and opens one of the doors.  Near the entrance is barricaded up with debris.  Krolec has Leigh illuminate one of his arrows and he fires it in.

Through the holes in the wall of debris, Krolec can see a couple of crypts lying in state, but no signs of immediate danger.  He begins clearing out the debris on one side of the door and moves quietly inside.

Once in, he grabs the arrow and tosses it in further, revealing another crypt sitting just behind the first two.  He also spots something strange moving in a far corner, and alerts the others.

Mitka steps back and readies his crossbow as Krolec identifies the creatures as a pair of ochre jelly spawn.  Merend prepares himself to move along with Rhogar once he maneuvers into position, while Zena readies herself to attack once the jellies emerge from the tomb.

The ochre jellies advance, moving out of the tomb and heading straight for Zena and Sa-ika.  Zena attacks with her readied sword, but fails to strike.  Luckily for her, the jelly misses as well.

Sa-ika, however, is not so lucky, as one of the jellies hits her, causing her skin to begin to burn from the acid.  Sa-ika quickly recovers from the acid burn, but fails to hit the jelly with her swordburst attack.

From afar, Leigh uses her scorching burst to blast both of the jellies while Mitka hits one of them with his crossbow and Merend hits the other with his flame strike.  Krolec, however, misses with his two shots.

Rhogar moves up, slicing into one of the jellies with an enfeebling strike.  Zena tries to follow up with a brash strike, but misses.

The jellies fight back, striking out at Rhogar and Sa-ika.  They miss Sa-ika but hit Rhogar with their acidic tendrils of ooze.

Sa-ika responds by hitting one with a swordburst.  Leigh then melts one of them using her scorching burst, while Mitka finishes off the other with his handspring assault.

Everyone then takes a quick breath then proceed back into the tomb.

Session 17 - Scene 5 (of 6)

As Sa-ika makes her way to the back of the tomb, she spots a large nest of beetles – including one giant tangler beetle, two medium-sized fire beetles, and a couple of swarms of small scarab beetles.  Before anyone can react, the fire beetles advance on the group and douse Sa-ika with a double blast of fire, gravely injuring her.

Merend immediately leaps into action, saying a healing word prayer to help her recover.  Zena also advances, attacking one of the beetles with her footwork lure maneuver.

The giant tangler beetle response by grabbing Zena in its pincers and crushing her.  Suddenly, Zena and Sa-ika find themselves surrounded as three more large beetles – blood scarabs – erupt from the ground, sealing them off from the others.  One of them attacks Sa-ika, but misses.  The other two score hits on Merend and Krolec; who uses his nimbleness to quickly move out of the way of further danger.

Krolec fires off two arrows at the beetles, but misses.  Mitka tries to retreat and climb atop one of the crypts for a better viewpoint, but has trouble pulling himself up.

In the back, Leigh lets loose a scorching burst spell, blasting the blood scarabs.  Rhogar casts his sacred circle to protect the group, then blasts one of the fire beetles with his poison breath.

Out of flames for the moment, the two fire beetles proceed to attempt to bite Zena and Sa-ika, but fail to penetrate either's armor.

Sensing that the group had placed themselves in a poor tactical position, Merend yells for everyone to retreat.  Naturally, no one pays his suggestion any mind.  He then follows up with another healing prayer for Sa-ika, leaving himself open for the blood scarab in front of him to get in a free hit.

Merend then prepares to cast a blast of fire against the beetle, giving the beetle another opportunity to attack him.  The beetle lands a grievous wound on Merend, causing him to lose consciousness and fall from atop the crypt he was standing on.  His head slams into the stone floor with a loud crack.

Trying to return the favor of his assistance to her, Sa-ika uses inspiring words to rouse Merend out of his comatose state and return some of his vigor.  She then uses her dimensional warp to swap places with Zena, and yells for the others to make a run for it.

Zena takes a moment then decides to heed Sa-ika's advice, heading away from the battle for the door.  As she leaves, the tangler beetle crushes Sa-ika with its mandibles while one of the blood scarabs tears into her with its own set.  The other two blood scarabs burrow back into the ground and emerge up next to Leigh, striking her twice.  And to add further injury, one of the scarab swarms begins crawling over Sa-ika as well, tearing into her with their vicious jaws.

Hoping to still save Sa-ika, Krolec climbs atop one of the crypts then uses a shadow wasp strike on the tangler beetle.  He follows it up with a second arrow hit with his evasive strike.

Mitka also completes his climb onto one of the crypts.  Moving next to Leigh, he uses his adaptable flanker ability to deliver a powerful torturous strike on the blood scarab, followed by a disheartening strike that kills it.

Leigh teleports herself out of immediate danger using her fey step ability, then strategically blasts a blood scarab beetle and one of the fire beetles with balls of rolling thunder.  She follows it up with a shock sphere blast that injures the fire beetle again as well as the other blood scarab beetle standing next to it.

Rhogar summons the might of his paladin's judgment and slices into the blood scarab beetle.  A second attack on it with his invigorating smite kills it.  

Across the room, everyone begins to think the tide of battle is turning to their favor.  The enthusiasm is short-lived, as the fire beetles engulf Sa-ika and Rhogar in their blasts of flame.

Over behind the crypt, Merend picks himself off the ground.  He attempts to use his healer's mercy, but fails.

Sa-ika tries to maneuver herself into a better position.  She shifts out of the beetles surrounding her, using a swordburst in between for good measure, and moves back to the narrow hallway connecting the two barrow sections, attempting to limit the beetles' tactical position.

Zena, moves back into the battle and uses her harrier's ploy to slice into the remaining scarab beetle near Mitka.  However, she is unable to kill it, leaving it free to hit Mitka with another attack.  Mitka responds with a disheartening strike on the beetle, killing it.

Back over at the hallway, the scarab swarms advance on Sa-ika, downing her with its attacks.

From the back, Krolec fires two more arrows off, both finding their mark in the tangler beetle's chitinous shell.  Leigh also assists, sending out a scorching burst that hits all but the scarab swarm.

Rhogar attempts to fight off the scarab swarm with his shielding smite, but misses.  He then uses his healing touch to revive Sa-ika, but her recovery is short-lived as she is blasted into unconsciousness again with another blast of flames from the fire beetle.

Merend attempts to help Sa-ika recover again, using his cure light wounds spell.  Once recovered, she stands up and shifts back away from the beetles, trying to get herself out of danger.  But, she is unsuccessful, as the swarms advance on her and Rhogar, knocking them both unconscious.

Nearby, Zena moves up and attempts to aid by cutting into the front fire beetle.  Krolec then finishes it off with a couple of quick arrow shots.

Mitka, using his crossbow, attempts to finish off the large tangler beetle in the rear of the pack, but misses.  Leigh, however, is able to kill it off with a scorching burst that also hits the other beetles, though the fire beetle doesn't seem to mind it.

On the ground, Rhogar feels his life slipping away as he slides towards death.  The effect is accelerated quickly as the fire beetle engulfs him in flames, turning him into little more than charcoal.  Several group members gasp in horror at the sight of his charred body.

With the situation growing desperate, Merend calls forth a beacon of hope, restoring Sa-ika to consciousness once more.  He then takes a minute to attend to his own wounds.  But once again, Sa-ika's revival is short lived, as the scarab swarms tear into her anew, sending her once again to the ground.

Zena attempts to fight back at the swarms, hitting with a brash strike.  

Krolec and Mitka, however, stay focused on the fire beetle, hitting it with one arrow and one crossbow bolt.  Leigh also blasts it again with another scorching burst.  The beetle responds with a blast of fire at the comatose Sa-ika and Zena.

As Merend misses with a flame strike of his own, Zena once again decides a retreat is in order as she has no way to save Sa-ika from dying.  The scarab swarms then move in and devour what was left of Sa-ika.

Krolec feels it is time for the group to fall back.  Providing cover fire, he hits the fire beetle with one of his arrows.  Leigh does likewise with a scorching burst that hits all of the remaining beetles.

Mitka, however, does not fall back with the others.  Overcome with his desire to find Pace's lost treasure, he stands his ground, confident that they can prevail.

Merend, seeing Mitka standing his ground, also fails to retreat, deciding he can't leave a man behind.  He attempts to kill off the fire beetle with his exacting utterance spell, but fails.  As Zena heads out the door of the tomb, Mitka is felled by the scarab swarms surrounding him.

Krolec, still trying to hold off the advancing beetles, fires two shots into the fire beetle, killing it.  Leigh attempts to hold off the swarms by blasting them with another scorching burst, and Merend with his sacred flame.

But the swarms are resilient.  They continue to bite at Mitka, eating him alive. With Mitka dead, the remainder of the group quickly exit the tomb.

Session 17 - Scene 6 (of 6)

Once outside, Krolec has everyone barricade the door enough to keep the beetles inside, hoping to come back and finish them off later while recovering the others.

However, moments later the ground begins to shake.  It seems the tunneling from the blood scarab beetles has weakened the structural integrity of the barrow.  

As it collapses into the earth, a huge explosion of fire spews forth into the sky.  The group surmises that a nest of fire beetles must have been crushed by the falling stones.  The whole mass is swallowed into the earth, becoming a pit of fiery stones that will burn well into the next morning.  Everything that was inside the barrow would now be burned into ashes.

With no remaining hope of recovery, Merend solemnly reflects that this will now be the tomb of their fallen comrades as well, and says a brief prayer.

That night, Merend receives a vision from the Raven Queen.  She pronounces that as his allies died serving her cause, she has granted them leave from the realm of the dead to return to finish their mission.  Merend stays silent as the goddess further explains the three will return in new, unfamiliar forms, but will contain the remains of the souls of his friends.

The next morning, the group wakes to find three humanoid figures standing outside in the cemetery – one shorter male, one taller male, and one female.  All have gray, scaly skin and dark black hair with long black nails.  Their eyes are black, with small glowing red centers.  They are clearly not "alive" in the traditional sense...

Session 17 - Session Notes

If it seems like a long time since I updated last, its because it has been a few weeks.  The last session got skipped because I was getting ready to go on vacation, which was just as well because I spent the entire previous week dealing with house-related problems.

Anyhow, this session sure got off with a bang.  Eager to jump right back into the fray, the group got to meet up with kung fu zombies.  I thought it would make a nice change from the normal zombies (the actual encounter setup was heavily taken from the module I've based most of the encounters on - The Barrow Grounds, by Expeditious Retreat Press, but adding kung fu attacks was my idea).

I had no idea that damn gold in the offering plate would cause so much disharmony.  They spent forever arguing about it.  And just when it would seem like the thing was settled, they'd start up again.  They even continued arguing over it after the session was over, long after the whole matter had been settled.

The Fusille tomb is another encounter I heavily modified - removing the original enemies and replacing them with a massive pack of beetles, just for something different.  The encounter was definately scoped to be on the difficult side, but a series of bad luck made it much worse the the PCs.  Still, I think it was the poor decisisions and tactics that made the biggest impact - particularly with Mitka.

The actual last scene was added after the session was over and I had time to talk to the players of the dead PCs.  All three agreed to go with my idea of using revenant versions of their characters until the end of the cemetery mission (I'd had it in mind for weeks, if anyone should have died - wasn't expecting three though, but it still fits in well).

I'm interested to see how the others will handle it.  I've already pre-empted the other players by gently reminding them that trying to kill the revenants or refusing to have anything to do with them would risk the wrath of the Raven Queen.

Session 18 - Cast of Characters

Merend - Dwarf Cleric
Al Trueism - Human Wizard
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Silas Ballard - Human Avenger
Scrag Graveborn - Half-Orc Warden
Zena - Human Fighter
Rhogar - Revenant Paladin
Mitka Karamazov - Revenant Rogue

Session 18 - Scene 1 (of 7)

Merend quickly explains to the others about the vision he had from the Raven Queen the night before, and how their friends have been returned from the dead to finish the mission.  He then turns their attention to the unfamiliar figures outside.

Trying to ascertain their state of mind, Merend begins to question the revenants about who they are and what they remember.  The female figure stays silent with a look of forlorn while the males explain that they only partially remember who they were.  The taller of the two explains that their memories are hazy, and they have rough memories of working with a group to clear the cemetery.  Merend confirms that they are, indeed, their former comrades.

Leigh is curious to know what will happen to the revenants once the cemetery is cleared.  The taller revenant, who everyone concludes is Rhogar, explains that they will go away again, returning back to death, once the cemetery mission is finished.  Merend tries to discuss the possibility of delaying the cemetery mission to keep them around longer, but both Rhogar and the shorter figure, who is obviously Mitka, forcefully assert that all they are interested in is clearing the cemetery.

Merend tries to figure out if the revenants can leave the cemetery, but Rhogar only responds that they have no desire to.  Others in the group quietly scoff at the idea of bringing revenants into town.  Merend then tries to ask more about what they remember about their pasts, but is quickly cut off by Mitka – who states that their pasts are no longer important, and with such inflection as to leave no doubt that they do not wish to discuss the subject any further.

Sensing that the revenants are fairly single-minded and contain very little of their former personalities, Merend brings the discussions of their nature to an end and refocuses on the mission at hand.  Krolec suggests that he and the female revenant, the one who must be Sa-ika, go off and scout around the area while Merend leads the others to go through more of the tombs.

Merend decides on the tomb in the northeastern most corner of the map.  The group gets into formation, and begins heading out.  But it isn't long before their trip is stalled by the appearance of a raven with a scroll tied around its foot.

The bird lands on a tombstone nearest to Merend.  Merend walks over and retrieves the scroll, after which the raven flies away.  The others stand by idly as Merend reads the scroll silently to himself.  He then paraphrases the contents to the others, explaining that it's another message from Varys explaining that people from the town are coming to pay a visit and they should be careful with them.

The scroll is then handed over to Al to check for any magical enchantments or hidden messages.  But Al is unsatisfied with the abbreviated explanation by Merend and proceeds to read the full message aloud:

"My friends, your pyrotechnical display last evening has not gone unnoticed.  Those who have taken an interest in your progress are planning to send a delegation to call on you today.  I suggest you use your utmost discretion in this matter.  Yours in the Raven Queen, V"

Leigh proceeds to perform the check for magic that Al ignored, noting that nothing about the scroll is magical.

Mitka suggests that he and Rhogar should not be seen by the delegation.  Merend isn't too worried about it, but agrees in the end it would be for the best.  He initially suggests using the groundskeeper's building they have been using as a hideout, but Mitka quickly shoots down that idea.  As they are no longer among the living, the revenants cannot cross the barrier to enter.

With few options and unsure how much time they have, Merend then decides to split up the group.  Mitka and Rhogar will head to the northwest most area of the cemetery while Merend and the others stay by the main gate to the graveyard in the south.  Al makes sure that he and Leigh are placed strategically on the far sides.

Session 18 - Scene 2 (of 7)

A little over an hour passes, and Merend finally hears the approach of people on horseback.  Out of the forest emerges a knight with a retinue of eight cavalrymen.

The knight announces himself as Sir Eric Pembridge.  Seeing Merend standing in the front, he asks if Merend speaks for the group.  Merend affirms that for this day, he does.

Sir Eric goes on to say that everyone in the city could see the explosion of fire the previous night, and many were concerned the group was trying to burn down the city.  With a snide touch of arrogance, he demands to know what the group is up to, making sure to point out that his father is a powerful man in the city.

Merend tries to be diplomatic, explaining the group is clearing the area of the evil undead, and even remarks that perhaps Sir Eric and his men would like to assist.  He goes on to say that with twice the men, they could finish the job much faster.

But Sir Eric hesitates, saying that he would agree to stay around as an observer, or perhaps as the leader.  Leigh's temper starts to flare and she begins to interject but Merend quickly hushes her to try and keep the conversation civil.

Instead, Merend suggests that it would be too much work for their group to do their jobs and try and keep Sir Eric safe.  Sir Eric laughs off the suggestion, explaining that he is a trained warrior and has his elite force of men to protect him in any event.  He goes on to snidely suggest that there is no real danger in the cemetery and that the reports of undead in the area are largely just stories told by superstitious peasants.

Merend then suggests that Sir Eric and his men have a look around, perhaps even check out the center of the cemetery.  But Sir Eric's eyes narrow at Merend's suggestion.  He blankly states that he believes Merend may be trying to trick him into a trap.

Merend then tells Sir Eric to pick a different area.  He says Sir Eric and his men can pick any barrow they like, and Merend will have his team pick a different one.  Once again, Merend makes his appeal that the two teams working together could clear the area faster.  But Sir Eric quickly blows off his suggestions, once again blankly stating that he does not trust the dwarf.

Al, sensing that Merend is getting nowhere, decides to intervene.  Pushing himself forward, Al graciously explains to Sir Eric that as a fellow human, he can understand the distrust of dwarves.  Merend stands silent despite being quite upset, but moreso because Al insulted his authority than because of his racist statement.

Sir Eric seems to respond better to Al.  He condescendingly remarks that Merend isn't even the most objectionable of the group, while staring directly at Scrag.  Scrag starts to utter a comment when Al cuts him off by agreeing with Sir Eric that their group is full of unconventional types.  Sir Eric asks Al how he can stand to be with such a motley crew, with Al responding with a pithy comment about them needing his superior human wisdom and guidance.

Sir Eric then makes a pointed comment about Al's father, Lord Truevalue.  He says that the advisor of a friend of his father's, a man named Salazar, had some interesting things to say about the lord.  Al inquires what they were, but Sir Eric explains the comments would not be fit for the polite conversation they are having.  Al laughs and agrees that sounds like his father.  Sir Eric seems to bond with Al, telling him he appreciates his droll sense of humor.

Al is then able to talk Sir Eric into having Al accompany them to the center of the cemetery, as his superior men should be able to handle anything that they encounter.  Merend watches as Al heads off with the men.

Session 18 - Scene 3 (of 7)

Less than an hour later, Merend watches as Sir Eric comes charging past him on his horse, heading out of the cemetery and back into the woods with a look of utter terror on his face.  He is shortly followed by apparently the only other survivor of his men, a soldier now missing an arm.

Minutes later, a roughed-up looking Al appears.  He simply states to Merend that Sir Eric's men weren't so elite after all.  He has little of valuable information to add, just that they encountered a mix of skeletons and zombies, and utter chaos ensued.

Merend has the others go get Mitka and Rhogar from their hiding places.  The group then spends the rest of the day relaxing and laughing over the incident; with the notable exceptions of Mitka and Rhogar, who appear to fail to find any humor in it.

That night, Merend originally offers to spend the night outside with Mitka and Rhogar (who do not need sleep), but changes his mind after it begins raining.  Al, wanting to prove he is more rugged than the dwarf, sleeps outside instead.  The night passes without incident.

Session 18 - Scene 4 (of 7)

The next morning, Merend decides to resume their normal mission.  With Krolec and Sa-ika still off scouting, he plans on heading to a nearby small barrow first.  When they arrive at the barrow, he reminds Mitka that Mitka is usually the one to check the doors first.  Mitka responds that he has a vague recollection of performing that duty.

Mitka proceeds to announce that the door is not trapped.  Merend has Scrag advance on the door, which Mitka announces is locked.  Scrag prepares to break down the door, until Merend stops him, explaining that the rogue can pick the lock.

Once the lock is picked, a lighted stone is tossed inside.  The crypt is empty except for the normal catacombs of bodies.  Merend instructs Scrag to quickly burn it down without bothering to spend any real time searching; he wants to get moving.

The next couple of hours are spent eliminating two more areas – an empty plaza and a large double barrow.  After that, he leads the group to another small barrow.  This time, however, something is different; Mitka discovers a poisoned needle trap on the door.

Once Mitka disarms the trap on the door and picks the lock, Merend reminds everyone that more traps could be inside before having Scrag open it.  Once the lighted rock is thrown inside, everyone can see that the barrow appears to be empty except for a crypt at the back.

Scrag immediately moves inside, moving then jumping to the side of the chamber, hoping to avoid any traps.  Merend immediately warns him (and everyone else) not to move.  He has Mitka quickly search for traps, but Mitka finds nothing.  Zena moves in to the opposite side of Scrag and holds the tactical position.

Convinced the area is safe, Al decides to move in himself and approach the crypt.  As soon as he gets near, he sets off a trap in the floor.  A cone-shaped object pops out of the crypt and begins spinning, firing off large blades in every direction.  Somehow, Al manages to duck in time, but Zena and Scrag are both hit.

Unsure of what to do, Scrag holds back in the corner.  Leigh tries to examine the trap from afar – she ascertains it is not magical, but mechanical in nature.  As the trap continues to spin and fire off blades, Zena is hit again.  Al is also cut by the jagged flying blades while Scrag manages to avoid them this time.

Scrag decides not to wait.  Moving up towards the crypt, he brutally strikes into it with his axe using his strength of stone.  But the trap proves more solid than he expected, and is not felled in one blow.

Rhogar begins advancing into the area.  He remembers in life his use was to protect others.

Mitka is unimpressed with the lack of undead, and nonchalantly moves up to the trap.  He tries to disarm it, but has difficulties remembering how mechanics work.

Zena follows Scrag's lead, rushing up and striking into it with a harrier's ploy maneuver.  Meanwhile, Al decides to fall prone and hide behind the crypt to avoid being hit again.

Silas and Leigh strike at the trap from afar; Silas blasting it with his angelic alacrity while Leigh uses her magic missile.  But the trap continues to spin, hitting Scrag and Silas with its deadly blades.

Scrag decides to hit back, slicing into it with his axe again.  Rhogar finally makes it to the crypt as well, nudging Al out of the way and striking with his invigorating smite.

Mitka's memory gets clearer, and he begins to disarm the trap.  But he can tell it will take a while.  Before he can finish, Zena lands a final blow that shatters the trap into pieces.

Merend then has Scrag and Zena open the crypt.  Inside, the group finds a large bag of gold.  Leigh estimates it to be around 120 pieces.

With several people injured, Merend decides to have everyone go back and rest for the night.

Session 18 - Scene 5 (of 7)

After another uneventful night, Merend has the group head back out again.  They manage to clear out three more empty barrows and a plaza before the impending evening forces them back to rest again.

The day after that, Merend finally has them head up to the barrow in the northeast corner; the one he originally planned to hit three days ago.

When they arrive at the barrow, Mitka performs the usual check for traps and unlocks the door while Scrag throws in the illuminated stone.  Zena is positioned back as the rear guard while the others focus on the barrow.  Inside appears to be a typical empty barrow with a crypt at the back.

Once again, Scrag does not wait before deciding to act.  His plan is to get a running start in the barrow corridor and use it to jump further into the barrow area.  Unfortunately, he finds out during his run that the corridor is trapped with spears that emerge from the floor when stepped on.  Scrag does manage to avoid a couple of the spears during his run, but is injured by one of them before performing his jump.

But trouble for Scrag does not end there.  Three small, evil-looking humanoids emerge out of the darkness – dark creepers.  They immediately begin to surround Scrag and stab him with their daggers.  Just as Scrag believes the situation cannot get any worse, two more figures emerge from behind the crypt in the back of the barrow – a pair of foulspawn grue.  They attack him with their misshaped claws, tearing into his flesh.  Scrag responds by transforming into his panther form and furiously assaulting one of the grue.

Back at the entrance, Mitka begins disabling the first of the spear traps while Leigh blasts all five of the creatures with a scorching burst.  Al attempts to assist with his phantom bolt, but fails.  As does Merend with his sacred flame.

Rhogar, not wanting to wait for all the traps to be disabled, charges in to assist Scrag.  On his way, he is hit by two of the spears.  He charges at one of the grue with his valiant strike, but misses.  Silas, not wanting to risk the traps, decides to hold back.

Just then, more creatures emerge from behind the crypt in the back of the tomb – a pack of four dire rats.  They quickly surround Scrag and bite at him.  He suffers a couple of wounds from the assault.  The foulspawn grue also slice into him with their claws.  

Scrag is barely able to keep standing from all these grievous injuries and is forced to take a moment to recover himself.  He then decides to perform a tactical retreat, running back over the spears.  Unfortunately, he is again pierced by the spears and ends up collapsing just inside the barrow.  Mitka tries to quickly disable the spear now directly below him, lest it activate again and impale Scrag, but is having difficulties.

Meanwhile, the others focus on the group of creatures inside.  Leigh blasts a group of them with her shocking sphere.  Al follows up with a flaming sphere that blasts one of the rats and partially blocks the hallway, hoping it will slow their advance.

Merend, in healing mode, casts his cure light wounds spell on Rhogar while blessing Scrag with a healing word.

Rhogar also decides a hasty retreat is in order.  On his way out, he is struck by one of the grue and a spear, but still makes it.  One of the spears also impales Scrag again while he still lies prone, but Merend's healing word allowed him to recover enough to survive it.

The rats begin moving past the flaming sphere, attacking Mitka and Scrag at the end of the hallway.  Both luckily manage to avoid being hit.  Silas attempts to blast the rat attacking Scrag with his angelic alacrity, but misses.

Back in the barrow, the dark creepers and the grue decide to move back away from the flaming sphere.  The dark creepers begin throwing daggers, hitting Mitka twice.

Scrag crawls his way out of the barrow and stands himself up while Mitka retreats behind Rhogar and Merend for protection.  Leigh blasts at the rats with a scorching burst, then moves to the back of the group and fires off a second burst.  

Al then uses his magic to move the flaming sphere towards the rats, and then moves himself back with Leigh. Unfortunately for Rhogar, Al had moved the flaming sphere too close to him.  After being burned, Rhogar moves himself to a safer position.

Merend goes on the offensive, using his exacting utterance on the rat closes to him.  The rats then advance, biting Silas and Scrag.  The two are hit again by more daggers from the dark creepers.  Worse, the foulspawn grue use their psychic powers to get into Silas and Scrag's brains.  The dark whispers they hear in their minds begin to overpower them, and Scrag collapses.

But Scrag is not down for long.  Through pure luck and determination, he wills himself to recover from death's door, regaining consciousness and some of his vigor.  Silas holds back and takes a moment to recover himself as well.

Mitka does not notice this, as he is focused on the rats.  Rats make Mitka think of swarms, and he has very bad memories of swarms.  He becomes consumed with fury and desire to kill the rats.  Charging at one of them with his handspring assault, he does just that.  But he takes no pleasure in the kill, only regret that he is not close enough to kill another one immediately.

Leigh is focused more on the dark creepers and the grue, now convinced that the grue are the biggest danger.  She blasts the lot of them with a scorching burst.  Al follows suit, allowing his flaming sphere to drop while blasts the grue with a force orb.

Merend is focused on healing the injured.  He uses his healer's mercy to allow the badly wounded to recover.

Rhogar advances on the lead rat, slicing it in half with his invigorating smite.  He then calls forth a sacred circle to protect his allies.

The two remaining rats advance, biting into Scrag and Silas.  Silas attacks back with his angelic alacrity, but is then hit by a dagger from the dark creepers.

One of the grue then blasts Silas with another mental attack.  The strain is too much, and Silas' frontal lobe rips itself apart, killing him instantly.

Mitka, still focused on the rats, moves over and performs a torturous strike, killing another of them.  Scrag attacks the other one, knocking it to the ground with his earth grab.

Leigh attacks the grue and dark creepers again, killing one of them with her scorching burst.  Al blasts the other with his phantom bolt.

Merend, however, does not want to continue the fight.  He is filled with dread that they are about to lose even more team members again.  He quickly moves in and pulls one of the doors to the tomb closed.  Rhogar follows suit, closing the other while Scrag kills the remaining rat outside.

Mitka, disappointed that Scrag killed the rat he intended to kill, moves back.  Leigh holds herself in anticipation of the creatures inside charging the doors.  Al likewise moves himself into a more strategic position, as does Merend.  

Rhogar takes a moment to rest and recover himself.  Inside, a dark creeper attempts to open the door but Rhogar is able to hold it closed.  However, the other door is not being held, and one of the grue is able to open it.  Scrag immediately moves in front of him and attacks with his strength of stone.

With the door open, Leigh spots the group standing inside and blasts them with a scorching burst.  Mitka then moves into a flanking position and kills the grue with a disheartening strike while Al blasts one of the dark creepers with a phantom bolt.  Merend finishes it off with his daunting light spell.

Rhogar tries a different tactic, slamming open the door on the dark creeper inside.  Using his great strength, the door slams open forcefully, leaving a splatter of blood and bone but little else behind it.

With all of his companions dead and facing the large group, the last dark creeper suddenly announces his surrender.  Merend is not amused.

Session 18 - Scene 6 (of 7)

After briefly considering "holding trial", Merend consigns himself to the idea that they will have to deliver the creeper to the proper authorities in town.  He has the creature tied up and has Rhogar interrogate him.

The dark creature is quickly intimidated by Rhogar and proceeds to explain that he and his companions (and their pet rats) were a group of thieves called the "Shadowland Strikers".  They've been hiding out in this cemetery for the last few weeks, raiding the nearby tombs.  He points out that the group is free to take all the treasure they've found in exchange for not killing him.

Merend is more interested in what the creeper knows about the area.  Although he gains no knowledge about the center of the cemetery, he is able to eliminate a large section of tombs based on areas the creepers already hit.

Once that is done, Merend turns his attention to the treasure.  According to the creature, it is being stored in the crypt.  Merend has Mitka check it for traps, and then Al and Scrag open it.  The crypt is filled with a large pile of treasure – several hundred coins of gold, silver, and copper combined with several pieces of fine jewelry: a ruby ring, a pair of sapphire earrings, a ruby brooch, and a tiara adorned with a couple of diamonds.  Mitka feels odd at the site, feeling he should have more of an emotional reaction than he does.

The group gathers up the loot, their prisoner, and the body of the fallen Silas and head back to their headquarters for the night.  They plan to rest up then take the creeper into town in the morning, along with bringing Silas back to the temple of Erathis.

Session 18 - Scene 7 (of 7)

That same night, some distance away in the city, five shadowy figures meet under the cover of darkness.  The first of the men is highly agitated.

First Figure: "You've heard what happened?  It's unacceptable.  He's in a terrible state now and I've lost a whole unit of men!"  

Second Figure: "The plan was sound, you simply didn't send enough men."

First Figure: "Are you volunteering your men?"  

The second figure stays silent.

First Figure: "That's what I thought.  So what are we going to do about this?"

Third Figure: "It's disgusting, having that group of barbarians in the city.  And amongst all of those evil races, to think that it was a human that got your men killed."

Fourth Figure: "You'll recall, my lords, I did advise against this move."

First Figure: "The plan was sound, we simply need a larger force to deal with them."

Fifth Figure: "No, he's right.  This requires a more careful approach.  We have to find a way to gain the advantage first."

Fourth Figure: "I suggest you start by sending a message."

First Figure: "A message?  You mean, like a letter?"

Fifth Figure: "Not that kind of message.  He means we have to exert some pressure."

First Figure: "How?"

Fourth Figure: "You need to convince the others that it is no longer to their advantage to continue to oppose you in this matter."

Second Figure: "But how, exactly?"

Fourth Figure: "To use the crude vernacular of the streets, 'somebody's got to go.'"

Session 18 - Session Notes

Well, this turned out to be one of my favorite sessions.  To me, it had everything - traps, monsters, roleplaying, treasure, and death.  

Plus, it was the perfect opportunity for me to add some backstory via the scene 7 epilogue (which was sent out to the players after the fact via email, like most of my foreshadowing stuff usually goes).  I was particularly happy I finally got a chance to slip in the Sopranos line at the end.  Also, the scene is designed to indicate certain people are having the conversation - but is it really who the players will assume it is?  Only time will tell...

The game also moved fairly quickly without the Krolec and Sa-ika players around, as they tend to overthink and overplan things, which can often slow the game to a crawl.

I wanted to start out giving a little bit of time to see how the new group interaction would go.  It wasn't quite as interesting as I was hoping for, with the newly undead members and all, but the Krolec and Sa-ika players are the ones more interested in characterization and they were missing.

Then came my chance to slip the party another note.  I'd thought up that idea earlier this week - once again, trying to break up the monotony of just going through and clearing graves.  I also love it when I can give out handouts.  I thought, surely someone would notice that big explosion, and who better than the people who are already afraid of them.

So, that leads us to the Sir Eric encounter.  Originally it was just supposed to be a bit of roleplay and discussion, but many of the players usually try to hatch their schemes to get NPCs to do something for them or weaken themselves.  I thought, why not let it work for once (with the skill challenge won by Al, of course).  That led to the rather humorous scene of Sir Eric running for his life with the rest of his men dead.  It also gave another good foreshadowing that the center of the cemetery will be a difficult, deadly place.

The clearing of the areas was pretty much as described in the write-up; we began playing out the first empty one then I pretty much handwaved the rest away as a montage scene.

The trapped barrow was added at the last minute by me.  I just wanted something different, plus I know I'm a bit behind on getting the group some treasure.  I specifically added the trap to the door since they always check the things.  It will likely be the first and last one they find.

The shadowland strikers encounter is heavily modified from its original Barrow Grounds module beginnings (once again, from Expeditious Retreat Press).  I had to beef up the encounter (the PCs are in the level 3-4 range now) and I added a shitload of new treasure.  I thought this would be a great opportunity to realistically explain a large group of treasure.

I always intended the dark creepers to surrender once their muscle was dead, but they didn't have a chance before two were killed (I was particularly impressed with the door crushing death - it was just an improvised 1d4 + strength roll).  Scrag setting off all the traps was hilarious as well, particularly when he risked dying because he fell onconscious on top of the trap.  And if the Al character seemed even more prone to taking risks this session, it probably has to do with that player getting ready to move out of state as part of his retirement.

Silas' death, though, was completely a case of bad luck.  He died by the grue getting an unexpected recharge roll plus a really bad damage roll.  He died by one hp.  Still, I wasn't too worried about it because there was a lot of treasure in there and they would have enough to ressurect him.  I even made sure to point out that the temple would surely give a discount for Silas as one of their own.  I didn't really want yet another revenant in the group.

At this point, I see about one to two more sessions to go before we get to the big cemetery finale.  Next week I plan to confine the action to the city with the plot hinted at in the epilogue.  And there is one more major area in the cemetery to go before I'll bring them to the center.

On the other hand, since the revenants can't really go into town, I can perhaps split the group and have the revenants (and perhaps a couple of others) finish out the cemetery while the others follow the city plot.  Then bring everyone together for the big showdown the next week.

Session 19 - Cast of Characters

Krolec - Elven Ranger
Leigh - Eladrin Wizard
Merend - Dwarven Cleric
Silas - Human Avenger

Al - Human Wizard
Sa-ika - Revenant Swordmage
Mitka - Revenant Rogue
Rhogar - Revenant Paladin

Session 19 - Scene 1 (of 10)

Krolec gathers a small force to head into town – including himself, Merend, and Leigh.  Al volunteers to lead the revenants (who can't leave the cemetery) in clearing out some of the remaining barrows.  Zena and Scrag are sent off on recon patrol of the area.

Despite Krolec being the leader, Merend's more forceful personality ends up taking over the group heading into town.  He decides they will drop off Silas' body at the temple of Erathis first, then deal with their captive creeper.

When they arrive, Merend explains that Silas fell in battle in the cemetery.  The high priestess is naturally sympathetic, and offers to do the ceremony "at cost" for 500 gold.  Merend, unsatisfied, begins to bargain with her, explaining how he feels the temple should raise Silas for free, or at least a greatly reduced cost, because he is essentially their servant.  The priestess explains that although Merend has a point, the temple has a great many servants and many missions but limited resources.

Observing closely, Leigh deduces that the priestess would likely respond to an appeal to the common good of the town.  After she informs Merend, he explains to the priestess that they will need Silas to help with the final battle in the cemetery, or else all the deaths (four so far) will have been for nothing.  The priestess, swayed by his argument, agrees to the bare minimum price of 300 gold.  She also agrees to help further by offering to sell their remaining stock of six healing potions at a two for one price.

But, being a bit miserly, Merend is not satisfied.  Neither, for some reason, is Krolec.  Both men are still convinced that they shouldn't have to spend any of their own money.  They try to get the priestess to lower the price further by a pathetic set of bluffs and light intimidation, but are easily rebuffed.

In the end, Leigh hands over the 300 gold for the resurrection and they do not buy any of the healing potions at the time, but mention they might later.  They then leave, with Merend showing obvious signs of disgust.  Back in the temple, the high priestess mentions to her subordinate how she fails to understand how these men can act with such hubris.  She worries they are destined for trouble should they not alter their path.