D&D 4e: Things To Do In Gloomwrought When You're Dead 2

[Poh Tun Kai]

Dammit, got the title wrong, which screw up search results when we go
back to look for old posts. Reply to this one, not the last one,
please.

The next session is at CC on Saturday, 7 November, 2009. Starting at
2:30pm if we can get everyone there. Again, bring your player books,
character sheet and your character mini.

[Kumiko Yamazaki]

Oh..ok  My mistake.

Look forward to more brutal murders and suicidal axe smashing.  :)

Now...I has a special staff.

It makes ice.

DWL

--
=============================
Dare Sensei - The Legend of the Doctor - changed.

http://sensei.sttrinnians.net/

[Razzman Khaliff]

can it make ice tea?

[Poh Tun Kai]

Also, in response to the query the other day, I am giving a one-time
50 XP award for character background story. Doesn't have to be a long
one. If someone wants to write session reports like the one I wrote
for the first session, that would be worth 50 XP a pop too.

[Poh Tun Kai]

GLOOMWROUGHT, the City of Midnight
Location: On the coast of the Stormy Sea, in the Shadowfell
Population: Approximately 12,600
Government: Prince Rolan the Deathless, a human noble, is nominally
the ruler, but true power resides in the hands of various merchant
factions, secret societies, and the mysterious beings known as the
Keepers.

Known Locations in Gloomwrought:

Lin Mercyknife's Laboratory, near the waterfront
City Market, in the Plaza of Gargoyles
The Bloody Vengeance, orc pirate ship at anchor in the port
Raven Eyre, temple of the Raven Queen

We'll start the next session right after you've had a short rest next
door to Underhill's shop in the market. Lin is going to suggest going
to a proper inn, the Dark Moon Inn, to rest up in the long term. Or
you guys could suggest alternative destinations, like the Raven Eyre
or even the pirate ship. You probably don't want to stay at
Underhill's shop since you just slaughtered somebody there and Kalash
might return in full force, and you don't want to go back to Lin's
place since her debtors might show up again.

[Kumiko Yamazaki]

Enma Ai wants to open her own shop there, selling dead fail mage body parts.

DWL

[Dick Scurvy]

GaaH!!!! I wish I could play.. Sounds like a cool setting to play. Has
a Freeport vibe to it..

[Dessan]

Good question. If we bring the staff to a desert community struggling
to get by with scant water supplies can we make a fortune selling them
ice? :)

And btw I checked the previous thread and saw no discussions on the
distribution of loot. Like can I have the residuum for example? I
collect junk and shiny stuff

Hehe and yay for the Freeport vibe. The pirate elf approves

On Nov 3, 10:33 pm, Razzman Khaliff <incubusman...@gmail.com> wrote:
> can it make ice tea?
>

> On Tue, Nov 3, 2009 at 8:53 PM, Kumiko Yamazaki <pretty.c...@gmail.com>wrote:
>
> > Oh..ok  My mistake.
>
> > Look forward to more brutal murders and suicidal axe smashing.  :)
>
> > Now...I has a special staff.
>
> > It makes ice.
>
> > DWL
>

[Poh Tun Kai]

D'oh, I said debtors when I meant to say creditors.

Also, there's a good reason for the Freeport vibe. I've included some
orc pirates from Freeport here. The Bloody Vengeance is the pirate
ship from Death In Freeport.

BTW, the residuum is part of Enma's starting level 4 package. So good
luck getting it out of her hands.

[Poh Tun Kai]

Last session we had three Level 4 encounters (2 combat and 1 non-
combat). Chen (Rolin), Razzman (Vandemar), Jonathan (Varis) and Doug
(Enma Ai) were all in attendance.

Combat encounter: At Lin's suggestion, the party visited the house of
Gothgar, Warlock of the Brock Pact, member of the Brock Pack,
colleague and debtor of Lin Mercyknife. You fought a Deathjump Spider,
three Web Terror Spiders and a Spider-Filled Zombie (Gothgar). Lin
nearly died but was revived by Vandemar's efforts. She muttered
something about "Daddy" while she was drifting in and out of
consciousness.

Noncombat encounter: Night fell and the party was trapped on the
streets of Gloomwrought, when the bells tolled and the buildings slid
and rose and sank like living things, as the city reconfigured itself
all around you. With Varis and Vandemar holding the walls back, you
managed to find its way to Lin's favorite watering hole, the Dark
Moon.

The barkeep and owner of the Dark Moon, a halfling named Half-Pint,
was able to fill in the party on some of the goings-on in Gloomwrought
in the days leading up to the Day of the Living holiday. He also had
heard of Varg, referring to him as Varg Mercyknife, son of a local
swamp witch. The you learned that Varg was Lin's older brother (or at
least half-brother, as they had different fathers). You also found out
that Varg had left the city a year ago, after some sort of falling out
with Lin, and since then both of them had fallen heavily into debt
after borrowing from various city factions. Varg owes a great deal of
money to the Tenebrous Cabal and the Veiled League. Meanwhile Lin
scammed a few silver pieces off a drunken drow mercenary named
Ithanor, who complained that his horse had run off with a unicorn on
Unicorn Hill.

The party learned that Varg had sent Kalash to meet tiefling merchants
from Sigil for some unknown purpose, and that some gnome and drow
mercenaries were providing security for the meetings. While Rolin
tried to get Varis to sleep with him (er...), Vandemar and Enma Ai
went out to do some scouting and saw Kalash's spelljamming ship, The
Yearning, hovering over the waters of the harbour.

At the Raven Eyre, church of the Raven Queen, Enma and Vandemar met
Simon the acolyte and Hakeswill the High Priest. Hakeswill was
interested in their imperfectly raised condition, and eagerly asked
for more information. He also told Vandemar that another paladin of
Pelor named Hamish the Golden had come to town a few months back,
slaying a vampire lord and chasing down the followers of Lord Brock,
then departing on a quest to destroy Lord Brock, but without finishing
off the hordes of vampire spawn that now stalk the swamps outside of
the city. Enma didn't trust Hakeswill and instead turned to Simon to
ask him for information on Hakeswill's "academic activities" with
other scholars in town. Simon promised to find out.

After an extended rest in the inn, the party set out the next morning
to find Lin's mentor, Master Denzel. Lin said that the power of the
Brock Pact had failed and Enma suspected that Hamish had successfully
defeated the lich lord to whom Lin and the Brock Pack had sworn their
pact with. If Denzel yet lived, he might be able to help with the
party's quest. If he was dead, yay looting time! At the city gates
Rolin got mistaken for a relative of Prince Rolan, lord of the city,
and you also met a young paladin of Kord, Magram, who warned you that
the city would shift back into the mortal world come dawn the next
day, the Day of the Living.

But the trip out into the swamp shouldn't take long, claimed Lin, and
you hired a Dark One ferryman for 5gp each (did you remember to pay?).

The Dark One deposited the party deep in the swamp, and just as you
were setting out, a visejaw crocodile attacked, and four swarms of
needlefang drakes showed up to take advantage of the confusion.
Fortunately, Enma's Fire Angel was a great swarm-slayer, even if she
kept getting knocked down by drake attacks, and Vandemar managed to
save the party's riding horse from the crocodile at the cost of taking
a dip in the river. Varis also got soaked jumping around chasing the
crocodile, but together the two Vs were able to hold the front line.
Rolin tossed around Wrath of Winter and various healing effects as
needed. Lin was mostly useless and spent the fight hiding. Again.

When you finally arrived at the twisted ancient tree that contained a
portal to Master Denzel's dungeon, Lin led the way with her portal
key. But as soon as the party entered, something happened. Everyone
started to choke, unable to breath. You learned that your life quickly
drains away outside the Shadowfell. You cannot survive outside the
Shadowfell in your new existences. So now your quest is to find a cure
for your condition! In the meantime, since Denzel's dungeon is in the
mortal world, it's off limits. And since Gloomwrought shifts into the
mortal world tomorrow, staying there will be suicide.

Lin announced that she had another cunning plan, while Enma decided to
cast a ritual to set up a hidden campsite. And on that note, we ended.

The party earned 700XP per encounter. Also, I gave out some minor
quest rewards for learning about what new abilities your imperfectly
raised condition gives you (immune to some poisons, lose 1 healing
surge/turn outside the Shadowfell). Another 400 XP for minor quests
(50 each PC).

2500XP to be divided four ways among party members, or 725 each if I
remember correctly.

Treasure for the encounters:
Gothgar's house had a Scroll of Detect Secret Doors and 25gp worth of
components for casting it, a Rod of Time Distortion +2, some other
wand that Lin snatched for herself, and 20sp worth of cooking
utensils.
The crocodile and drakes had nothing.

And now, a song.

Alligators snap at your ankles
And branches snap at your brain
If I ever get through this swamp alive
I'll nevermore pray for rain

This must be the place, and still
Somehow it don't seem right
That something in the moon
Could change these endless days
To lonely nights

I take a stroll down by the sea
And walk along the pier
Then I slip and hit my head
Now's the time to fear

See the surface, see the rocks
See my past fly swiftly by
I feel the water in my lungs
And wake up screaming for my life

In my blue heaven
There's a bottle of Pontchetrain
Chalmette by moonlight
To take away the pain

Card sharks and blue harps
And dolphins who can leap
In my Blue Heaven
Where I can laugh
And I can weep

Black shapes zip into corners
The big lads start to crawl
To holes of their own making
In the cracks within the wall

Snakes and rats and spiders
I know that they're still there
I pray to God that I may sleep
Without a hope, without a care

In my blue heaven...

Felines and sea lions
And rain on the beach
In my Blue Heaven
With angels who are out of reach

In my blue heaven...

Nightingales sing
And the bells they will ring
In my Blue Heaven
The Bells of Hell
Go ding-a-ling-a-ling

(Philip Chevron / Darryl Hunt)