Hello, and welcome to the Kaverns & Kobolds Klub!
In this thread, I, the dungeon master, will be honing my skills in hosting a third edition dungeons and dragons adventure over an online medium, with a team of four promising adventurers who embark on a a treacherous quest. On their adventure, our heroes will encounter magic, monsters, tragedy, treasure, traps, and much much more. Will they survive the ordeals I've prepare for them? The dice shall decide their fates.
Our story takes place around a small mining village known as Duvik's pass:
Duvik’s Pass is a small town nestled within one of the few valleys that cross through the Serpentcoil Mountains. It has long been a waystop for travelers and adventurers seeking to rest aching limbs and drown painful memories within her gates. Moreover, it has also gained attention recently as a potential power in the area’s commerce, due to a discovery of substantial silver deposits buried in the mountains nearby. Over the past three years, the men of Duvik’s Pass have burrowed into the ground seeking the wealth therein. Able-bodied folk from neighboring villages flocked to the town, hoping to lend their strength within the mines and garner some share of the prize. A wide variety of creatures may have had their own reasons to cross these mountains, but it was the smell of silver that drew the nose of a certain merchant-wannabe some time before our story takes place.
Schlomo Goldsteinbergwitz Jr. was a young goblin who travelled across this region some six months ago. The goblinoid came from a rather prestigious family of (((merchant))) Archivists in a far away region, and like all in his family, he had a nose for silver, the silver of Duvik's pass. Schlomo Jr. had only just finished his bar mitzvah and unpacked his presents when he got wind of a the prospects that'd been dug up in the promising town, and so he made off towards those very mountains, taking a dozen of his uncle's irreplacible bank notes with him. Infuriated, his uncle, Harold Goldsteinbergwitz, placed a heavy bounty on the theif's nose, prosising a reward of 4,000 gold pieces to whoever could bring back the young prospector, alive.
It's for this reason that our heroes, to be described, have gathered in Duvik's pass. Each of these young lads happened to pick up wind of the bounty as they were crossing the mountains. They've traveled far for the chance at fortune, perhaps even bumping into eachother once or twice along the way. The four cloaked figures enter the town at different entry points, stopping and asking less-than-friendly commoners for directions that may lead them to their fortune. To call the townsfolk unfriendly would be an understatement, as each of our four cloaked heroes would find brutally clear as they make frustrated ill attempts to communicate with the locals. The entire town seems to be on-edge, paranoid, and almost hollow in some ways. Our four unnamed heroes would find that the promising village of Duvik's Pass isn't all it was cracked up to be, at least not since a grim misfortune that had befouled the town long before their arrival.
Hope and industry of Duvik's Pass turned to despair and potential ruin with the advent of the Burning Plague four months ago. It began quietly enough, with the miners returning home from their work at nightfall complaining of blistering sores and an unbearable thirst. Shortly thereafter, the town’s livestock was decimated by an unknown illness and her crops began to wither. The elders of Duvik’s Pass declared that the well water had been soured by an unknown disease, but by then the Burning Plague had already begun claiming the young and the sickly. To make matters worse, the last few men still strong enough to plumb the wealth of the mine have yet to return from their last endeavor. The townsfolk know not what happened to their loved ones; they continue to await the return of their missing sons and husbands, while praying for an end to the sickness that continues to spread within their home.
Needless to say, few of the despairing commoners have anything nice to say to the cloaked strangers traveling about the town looking for clues to the whereabouts of the goblin merchant; some turn away in disgust, others point in various directions, some even throw rocks, but most of them just shrug in ignorance. Frustrated and annoyed, the four cloaked figures eventually find themselves marching across the town in the same general direction; they shuffle awkwardly alongside one another, trying and failing to avoid eye contact, perhaps vaguely aware of their common prospects. Together, willingly or not, the haphazard squad make their way to the town's largest pub and community center: The Old Plot Hole Inn. One by one, they squeeze past each-other through the doors of the tavern.
1357 replies and 70 files omitted.
>>120942The runes are written in a convoluted mixture of Orcish, Abyssal and Draconic, but Lucy can read it clearly with her cantrip. They begin to glow faintly as she reads them.
Roll a Will Save
>>120945The pillar does
not turn her brain to mush by forcefeeding her 6 gorrillion years of orcish history.
Lucy is able to tell the the statue is a monument to Gruumsh One-Eye, the patron deity of the orcs.
At the top of the pillar, a line reads:
Gather and breed, and your numbers shall flourish.Rise up in hordes and seize that which is rightfully yours.Raid. Kill. Conquer.Followed by several eons worth of runic script that would take a high DC Decipher Script check to understand (you're welcome to try, it's a class skill for you), pertaining to a clan of orcs who inhabited these mountains for centuries: The Ice Orcs known as the Tornclaw People.
What sticks out the most though are the red runes on the far side of the pillar, glowing brightly. They're written in Abyssal moreso than orcish. The markings were carved by
the Shaman Jakk Tornclaw, as a prayer to Gruumsh to Smite Down the "weak ones" who inhabit these valleys. They also tells the story of the fate of the Tornclaw Clan:
The pillar tells the tale of Jakk of the Tornclaw clan, an Ice Orc shaman who sought vengeance upon the people of Duvik’s Pass for an old wrong. It was ten years ago that Jakk saw his tribe slain by the humans of the valley. The young Jakk was one of the few of his clan to survive a concentrated effort by the militia of the Pass to eradicate the threats nesting in the mountains above. The Tornclaw were made up of savage barbarians and powerful shamen, but they were outnumbered, out-maneuvered and eventually destroyed by the human militias that stormed the mountains after a grueling and bloody war. Jakk, only a fledgling adept at the time, managed to escape the carnage with his life and several relics of his faith, at the cost of his pride and glory knowling that his brethren were no more. Jakk stored the treasures of The Tornclaws' faith in one of the clan's secret temples and wandered the mountains alone, wallowing in grief for his people, and shame in not having died in battle with his brothers.As the years passed, Jakk devoted his life to watching the men of Duvik’s Pass and their efforts, and preparing his revenge. His prayers to Gruumsh One-Eye, the God Of Vengeance, gave him resolve as he watched the “weak ones” steal the riches that should have been his clan’s. After the god revealed to him the secret of the Burning Plague, Jakk used his newfound power to infect the springs feeding the town’s wells as well as the other creatures dwelling within the mines and across the mountains. He bided his time, watching from the shadows as his plans slowly came to fruition.Yet all had not gone as planned. Gruumsh, being a harsh deity who values strength above all things, had decided to test his disciple. Jakk had contracted the Burning Plague himself and had, despite his prayers, not been able to escape its grip. Although he grew near to death, the shaman would not rest until all of the peoples of the valley are laid low. He maintained his encampment by the springs below the earth, continuing to reinforce their corruption awaiting another sign to prove himself to his lord. Lucy can also see the glyphs begin to fade from their statue, their glow having dimmed ever since the shaman was felled.
It seems as though the cause of the curse that ravaged this land has been defeated, or at least from what she can make out.
There's more to be read, but she'd need a decipher script check to make out the messages in the orcish runes and surrounding paintings.
That means y'all can leave.
[1d20+4 = 21]>>120947>>120946Lucy tries to make out the script
>>120949Nice check.
Time to make up some orcish history.The paintings around the caverns describe many centuries of orcish history. The orcs of the surrounding mountains revere caverns such as this one to have been created by Gruumsh, so that his people would always have a place of refuge after battle. One such painting describes their lord poking holes into the mountains with his mighty spear. The paintings suggest that several such sacred kaverns exist in this region.. but none of them are really precise in location. The Tornclaw were a clan of adepts who practiced in and guarded these kaverns, until their fall 10 years ago.
The Tornclaw were allegedly descendants of the first humanoids to have inhabited this region. The glyphs and paintings describe their god shepherding the Ice Orcs from the mystical "white lands". They were herders, raiders, and nomads, and they both hunted and venerated the white dragons who followed them from their old homeland. Their violent but intimate connection to the dragons was so deep that over the eons they became more dragonlike themselves, turning frosted white with silver hair and icy blue eyes. The Tornclaw themselves were only one tribe of many, but perhaps the furthest south-dwelling of all of the Ice Orcs who made the pilgrimage. They had good relations with most of the surrounding Orc clans of the mountains, trading, hunting, and even fighting alongside each other at times. They too shared an eternal jihad against the elves of the forests beyond the valleys, and the far side of the cave is dominated by a battle scene that depicts orcs, elves, humans, goblins, dwarves and dragons of various color in an all-out brawl.
A diminutive, one-eyed fish nibbles one of isla's fingers (dealing no damage), the peculiar creature seemingly having suffered no ill effects from the waters that just moments ago seem foul enough to force saving throws.
>>120952Lucy takes a moment to appreciate their history.
Is the spring that was poisoned near the kavern?
>>120954The waters in the pool surrounding the statue run off in various connections, trickling away into cracks to small to squeeze through.
Another part I forgot to mention was that the Tornclaw revered elemental water. They considered these springs in particular to be sacred, because they were connected to the groundwater across the mountains.
The water was visibly contaminated just moments ago, but cleared as Jakk drew his last breaths.
>>120955Lucy walks over to isla and tries to drag her out of the kavern along with yeeck
>>120957Isla is conscious and can move on her own freely.
Yeeck, i'm going to decide is barely conscious too, because reasons.
>>120958Ah i didnt realize she was awake.
Lucy Takes the Shrunken heads off the ork's corpse and then looks around for anything that was hidden in the kavern by the ork
A few weird mushrooms, those weird eyeless fish, cracks and chasms too narrow to squeeze through, lots of silver leaf on the cave paintings (don't bother scraping, it's thin as heck), more paintings, unintelligible runes... not much else here.
Evidently, Jakk hasn't hidden anything in this particular kavern, aside from his immediate equipment.
Not even any rations on him: he guy was wasting away, spending his every waking moment hexing the waters.
Oh yeah, and the blue barrier-thing vanished in a few minutes.
The zombies haven't responded though.
>>120960Isla stretches while still floating on the lake as she opens her eyes.
"That felt horrible," she comments as she glances around the area.
>>120963The "demon" is laying on its back across the kavern, with its head cut off and its scaly armor slowly disintegrating.
Lucy is currently reading the pillar, her eyes glowing and muttering strange tongues as the prophetic glyphs feed her information.
Yeeck is visibly wounded, but twitches somewhat. He raises a thumbs up to signify that he's okay.
The water seems a lot cleaner than when she stepped in it, it's gone from murky red to crystal clear. The temperature is pleasant.
A diminutive, one-eyed fish nibbles at one of her legs, apparently having suffered no ill effects from the recently corrupted waters. A few others swim about the pool, their singular eyes breaching the surface of the pool, seeing clearly in the dim blue light from the luminous moss in the kavern.
>>120964She breathes a sigh of relief.
"Thank goodness. Maybe that'll stop this plague thing."
Isla glances at herself, knowing she's floating on the water with her clothes on.
"Ah, bugger."
She looks to the edges of the lake for a place to leave the clothes to dry for a bit.
>>120965There are a few stalagmites near the walls of the kavern that might work for that, maybe 15-20 feet away.
The kavern's floor is otherwise sculpted bare, with no obstacles or interposing structures, other than the statue on the pillar.
>>120966Lazily swimming over to the stalagmites, she proceeds to drop her goods in a small pile as she starts to take off her clothes slowly, starting from her boots to her chest, sneaking a wary glance to try and hide her privates with a spare arm if she can manage.
After that, she finds a comfortable spot at the edge of the lake neck-level deep as she gives a small sigh.
>>120967The stalagmites were near the walls outside the pool, but I'm going to just put a couple sticking out of the hot-springs. There's a few smooth rocks in the pools too.
Yeeck is all but KO. Lucy is the only immediate humanoid that might see her, and shes barely dressed herself. The pillar is big enough to provide total cover, even if the angry one-eyed god statue looks a bit unnerving, staring down judgmentally at the mortals who killed his ordained priest.
It's really not a lake, persay but a subterranean spring, the pool being 30-35 feet across, it's deep enough to submerge completely in at its deepest point. It runs off in a small creak across the kavern and branches off into a small hole.
The water is is pleasantly warm, getting hotter at its deepest point. She feels almost refreshed by the purified springwaters.
A few more one-eyed fish swim about lazily, their pale pink bodies gliding through the clear waters, their enlarged pectoral fins almost making them look like diminutive angels.. or demons. They recoil slightly as she lights her torch, their singular eyes dilating in the increased light, but they go back to swimming peacefully in a few moments unaccustomed to visitors in their little sanctuary.
>>120968While the statue itself is kind of unnerving for her from how there could be a second demon lurking in the statue, waiting to jump out, she figures they would have jumped both at once instead of trying to get the jump on them after one of his buddies died.
She looks in the water, a bit curious of what's in it aside from fish, as the pleasant heat coats her body, an arm trying to poke one of the fish out of curiosity.
(This is way better than a lake or pond.)
>>120969There doesn't seem to be much visible to her in the dim torchlight but rock and a bit silt, the fishes only visible near the surface of the pool.
They circle the statue, seemingly roused from hibernation now that the waters have cleared.
Poking a fish is going to require a touch attack, lol.
>>120972She frowns, seeing the fish as a little time sink as she relaxes and waits for her clothes to dry.
Her finger tries to touch another fish.
[1d20+4 = 17]<Touch attack >>120973The fish is poked.
It blinks and wriggles in distress and tries to swim away, darting off into a deeper zone where the torchlight does not reach, albeit rather slowly.
>>120974She giggles.
"Nice."
Putting her head in the water, she seeks for something of note under the water.
>>120975Some movement near the bottom, although nothing she can make out, lacking low-light vision.
>>120976Isla, being the adventurous, reckless human that she is, disregards the lack of visibility as she attempts to swim to the bottom, exploring her surroundings with her touch.
>>120977The pool's deepest point is near the base of the statue, isla can feel the force of hot water gushing from a hole, fish swimming around it, seemingly picking at detritus.
She cannot swim to the bottom and hold the torch at the same time.
There's two rocks that look like they might hold a torch if she wanted to set it down though.
Meanwhile, I'm going to have Chef leave the room with the rats and explore the next tunnel, since that's what he wanted to do. He notices the springed pitfall trap, and carefully balances around the side of the hole. He comes up to a vast cavern, dimly illuminated by glowing fungus.
[1d20+1 = 21]
Chef goes the opposite way that he went the first time. Heading into the main room of the mine, and then going right instead of left.
>>120979Depending on whatever it is you just tried, it probably succeeded.
What do you do?
[1d20+1 = 8]>>120980Chef is attempting to find the guy he came here for. Where is Chef currently located?
>>120981The guy he came here for was the dead goblin he saw near the entrance.
He found the Banker's Stamp, but no bank notes.
He's located in the main mine, as illustrated in
>>120244Cables hang from the upper groto leading to a ledge, and Chef can see another tunnel on the far side of the kavern.
>>120982Chef investigates this newfound tunnel that he spied.
>>120983The tunnel is dark, long and runs downward, a sickening stench hangs in the air as he marches downwards.
At what appears to be the halfway point, he finds a dead, mutilated kobold, and an empty sack.
The tunnel ahead appears to lead into a larger cavern at the edge of his darkvision. The air is hot and humid, and the smell is atrocious.
Now, does he enter the tunnel? Is he sneaking or searching?
>>120984>>120985Chef rubs his hands and loots the kobold. He then sneaks farther ahead.
>>120987The kobold has already been looted, it seems. It's bag has been slashed open. All that's left on it is a dirty set of leather armor.
>>120988He takes the leather armor and sneaks further into the tunnel.
Rolling move silently
>>120990The tunnel is littered with corpses and shambling rats. The air is thick, the stench of decay is unbearable, and he finds it hard to breath.
If there were any creatures in this room, they haven't responded to him.
There's another tunnel ahead. A faint blue light glows at the end of it.
[1d20+1 = 3]
Rolling a will save to see if he has the balls to press forward.
>>120995I mean, he's not subject to a fear effect, but he might not want to stay in this room for too long...
Roll Fortitude
I'm probably going to stop doing these on-board announcement things. I'm preoccupied with exams, and I can reach you all on discord much more easily.
As for the adventure, there's really not left of this saga other than getting back to town to get your rewards and level up, and maybe introduce a couple plot devices. spoiler. It's kind of a shame this thing dragged out over the coarse of a month, but I guess it just couldn't be helped; life happens.
As for the KKK... idk what to make of it. I did learn quite a bit from this """""""""""""one-shot""""""""""""", but it really depends what the group thought. After the party wraps up, I'd gladly explore any ideas for games you would like in the respective channel. I've kept content preparation on the backburner, but I really would rather wait until Rhyd's player is finally free again so we could all play together. I feel kind of bad for leaving him out, since i picked this module with him in mind.
I was aiming to keep the entirety of this adventure on the board for archiving purposes and my own personal taste, but I could go ahead and move it to discord now if you would prefer it. A couple players expressed discomfort in playing on the site, and I'm suspecting that perhaps this might not be the best medium for a high-speed game... Still, I find it comfy.
It looks like it may be quite a while until we have every player present. Exam seasons are a bitch. Because of that I think I'm not going to DM anymore plot-based modules for a while, since I'd rather have the whole group together when we finally have the time; I've got plenty of site-based content prepped if players would like to explore the region in the next month or so though. It depends what the rest of you would like to do; I'm pretty burnt out from college though.
Chef is free to continue through the tunnels until he bumps into the party. Lucy has read everything I'm willing to let her decipher without being able to speak Orcish. Yeeck can walk, and will probably continue to be alive in the time being, in case his player gets his life back together (good luck, m8). He'll follow the party out of the kavern when they decide to leave.
Pic unrelated
Alright, I'm off of work. Hopefully I can DM Rhyd's arch later, if his player finds the time.
I know I already made the RP arch on the server, and this medium has been agonizingly slow, but could we just get to the outside of the cavern before switching? I wanted to keep this adventure on one thread.
I'll note that Chef's psicrystal, since i rolled its perception, would alert him of the presence of passive creatures in the charnel pit (it's the zombies). I'm going to just shove him into the next tunnel sneaking, because I don't feel like running the encounter for the second time, and also because they'd tear him to pieces without a chance.
The first thing he sees before him is a monolithic statue of a fearsome one-eyed god in the center of a pool of running water. Blue moss illuminates the room so that he can see the entire kavern with his low-light vision.
Two bare humanoid legs seem to be sticking up out of the pool.
Also, Chef has not designated his psicrystal's personality type. He'll have to decide sooner or later.