TOTAL BULLGRIT

The Fiendish Oerth

Dungeons & Dragons Game Story - this is the recorded tale of a short-lived D&D campaign.

The posts here start oldest junk on top, down to latest stuff at the bottom.

They awakened from a deep sleep feeling invigorated and immediately alert. As they sat up from where they were lying on the ground, three things surprised and confused them: the sky was a deep and unnatural crimson; all around them were the remains of some recent great battle; and they were sure they were dead just a moment ago.

The four men looked at each other curiously: two humans, one in leather armor, the other in chainmail; a halfling in studded leather; and a robed dwarf. They were all dirty and bloody -- signs of having fallen in a violent struggle -- and all wore a similar device on their clothing. A four-pointed star surrounded by a horizontal crescent moon in each quadrant. As they stood up with their weapons cautiously held ready, nearby vultures took an interest in them.

Two carrion eaters stopped feeding on a corpse to stare at the group, and three dove down from the sky. The black-feathered birds were as big as the halfling, and very aggressive. After the initial attack from above, the two others took wing to join the fight. The leather-clad human fought with longsword and short sword, the chain-clad human fought with bastard sword and spiked shield, the halfling flicked a whip, and the dwarf cast a defensive spell then worked with his quarterstaff. The vultures nipped with their beaks and tried to scratch with their clawed feet, but only the dwarf was injured before the creatures were dropped.

Once the birds stopped flapping and twitching on the ground, and the four men took stock of themselves after the exertion of battle, each realized how he felt stronger, faster, and more mentally awake than he remembered himself as. It was an amazing feeling, both invigorating and startling at the same time.

The group then took a closer examination of their surroundings. The halfling estimated the dead to total in the many hundreds. Some dead were humans and elves, some were orcs and gnolls, and some were bestial and twisted humanoids, unidentifiable. All looked to be dead only less than a day. In the distance, in most directions, they could see some movement on the field, and in one direction was sign of habitation. Scattered and distant fires sent black smoke into the red sky. There was no sun, but a few clouds of a lighter red floated above the smoke. The air felt oppressive, and the foursome felt the 'wrongness' of the world to their very bones.

They cautiously gave themselves a minimal introduction to each other: Simon, a human ranger; Cedrin, a human fighter; Salem, a halfling cleric of Fharlanghn; and Lorgard, a dwarf wizard.

They then examined and searched the dead about them for extra equipment and valuables. They found no coins or valuables, but Cedrin collected a crossbow and bolts, and Salem, the halfling, collected a couple halfspears. They then noticed that their own bodies had apparently been looted of their personal coins. About this time they noticed a group of creatures coming towards them from across the corpse-strewn field.

At first the foursome could make out only that the three approaching creatures were tall humanoids, but as they came closer it became apparent they were hairy, dog-faced men -- gnolls armored in scalemail and shields, with evil cackles and ready battle axes. When both sides were near enough to identify each other as enemies in the recent battle, the gnolls charged.

A fired crossbow bolt whizzed past one dog-man, but a thrown spear cut across the exposed leg of another. Then hand-to-hand battle was joined. The gnolls were taken down fairly quick, one by the dwarf wizard's quarterstaff alone. Then the dwarf searched the defeated creatures for valuables. He found only a small amount of coins, which he offered to split with the others.

Upon closer examination of the gnolls, the foursome saw that these creatures were different than what they remembered of the race. These creatures had deep-black fur, streaked with a bit of red, and sharp facial features. One gnoll even had small horns sprouting from its forehead.

Then the group noticed their own differences from what they remember of themselves. They all had gold-tinged skin, silver hair (and beard on the dwarf), and pale blue eyes. They had no memories of the great battle or of anything since heading, alone, towards a city for a "special mission". Their only memories at all revolved around personal feelings and circumstances. No one knew where they were or why they were there.

Upon mentioning their lack of memory, only the dwarf mage could remember the name of the city: Veluna. This name was familiar to the halfling cleric, and he said it is the holy city for the deity Rao, in the Archclericy of Veluna. But they still didn't know why they were going there, how long ago that was, or why they were now in the middle of a battlefield.

They decided to stick together, and head towards the buildings in the distance.

To be continued . . .

Here are the Player Characters' names and stats:

Simon Greyhand
Human Ranger 1 - NG
leather armor, longsword, short sword
Str 18, Dex 18, Con 14, Int 18, Wis 18, Cha 14

Salem Godspeed
Halfling Cleric of Fharlanghn 1 - NG
studded leather armor, buckler, whip
Str 12, Dex 20, Con 16, Int 16, Wis 20, Cha 14

Cerdrin Deren
Human Fighter 1 - CG
chainmail, spiked shield, bastard sword
Str 20, Dex 16, Con 20, Int 12, Wis 16, Cha 12

Lorgard Grundar
Dwarf Wizard 1 - NG
robes, quarterstaff
Str 14, Dex 14, Con 22, Int 20, Wis 14, Cha 12

They were built using the Point Buy Method, using 28 points. But after their first battle (with the fiendish vultures) they realized they were much more than this.

They got +4 to all stats from a template (but the Players had no warning, and were quite surprised). Yes, this puts them into the super hero range. That was my intention -- they will be up against some serious opposition/challenges (you will read how and why in below posts).

The template is a modified version of the half-celestial from the official books (minus the spell-like abilities). The PCs will be learning more about themselves as they go.

This campaign, including the significant boost to Player character power is very different than my normal campaigns. I usually run a straight by-the-book campaign, but I wanted to do something really grand this time. After 20 years of playing lower-power games, usually at low levels, I had a strong hankerin' for something super. Unfortunately, I chose the wrong time to try this.

Lesson: Never, ever, try to run an epic, high-powered campaign without letting the Players in on the idea, and getting their buy in from the start. This was a bad mistake on my part, as an experienced DM, but fortunately it turned out that  three of the four Players had no problem with this campaign concept or start. In fact, two of them directly said it was "Very cool."

I would love to try this campaign again, but I will definitely get full Player buy in before starting. Although telling the Players about it all kind of ruins the surprise. But, thinking long and hard on it, I think I'd rather loose the surprise than have things go to Hell in the opening game sessions. (No pun intended.)

Bullgrit

The four recently revived "soldiers" made their way slowly across the day-old battlefield, stepping over and around the corpses of humans, elves, orcs, gnolls, and strange twisted creatures. They were headed for the village they could see to the . . . in that direction. The red sky held no sun, so compass directions were impossible to determine. The black smoke of burning buildings served as the only major landmark they could head towards. In all other directions was just more battlefield debris.

Simon the human ranger, and Salem the halfling cleric of Fharlanghn spotted movement among the corpses ahead. Something was crawling low to the ground, trying to avoid being seen while apparently moving to get in the group's path. Salem said nothing, but Simon spoke quietly to Cedrin the human fighter and Lorgard the dwarf mage, to warn of what he saw. The group had been walking with their weapons in hand and ready, so they continued their movement toward the distance village without outward sign of taking guard.

When the creature reached their intended path, it stopped and successfully concealed itself among a group of corpses. Someone said, "Be ready." As the group got within about thirty feet of the last spot they saw the hidden danger, it leapt up and snarled. The creature was a nasty, decayed beast with wicked teeth and claws. Its physical position and black eyes were aimed directly at the halfling on the far right of the group.

None of the group were surprised, thanks to the ranger's warning, and Cedrin the fighter was first to act. He immediately charged, and with one massive swing of his bastard sword, the beast fell.

There was a silent pause as four pairs of eyes searched the immediate area for other movement. There was none. So they moved forward again. Salem suggested they move double time to reach the potential safety of the village buildings before other wandering creatures discovered them. Everyone agreed, and the group hustled across the battlefield.

Jogging around and hopping over corpses and debris made for more difficult movement, but they closed on the village much quicker. When they were within a long-range spear throw of the village, they saw movement between two buildings ahead. The group stopped.

About half a dozen humanoid creatures emerged from an alley, and turned to move away perpendicular to the group's direction. The creatures were dressed in various pieces of armor, with army insignia, but they carried no weapons. Two were humans, one an elf (each with heraldic devices like what the group wore), and two others were orcs (in tunics showing the opposing army's symbol). They all looked dead, and moved with an obvious slowness. One of the zombies noticed the group and turned his walking towards them. Simon, Salem, Cedrin, and Lorgard winced as the other four walking dead turned their heads and feet to follow the first.

Cedrin fired his crossbow at the approaching undead as the group waited for the slow moving creatures to close some of the distance between them. Then they charged forward to attack. As the two groups met, Salem held forward his holy symbol and channeled positive energy through himself. The sickly and oppressive air of the battlefield weakened his attempt to turn the zombies.

His three companions took on the animated corpses, trading minor blows with them, before Salem could try his holy channeling again. But the second effort proved powerful, and the zombies turned and fled.

"Follow them; see where they go," said the halfling cleric. Cedrin hustled back to pick up his dropped crossbow, but the others charged forward to give chase to the zombies.

To be continued . . .

The five zombies shambled into the village grounds, fleeing from the divine positive energy channeled by the halfling cleric. Lorgard, the dwarf wizard, lead the chase after them, with his quarterstaff ready to attack. Simon the human ranger and Salem the halfling cleric were right behind the mage. Cedrin, the human fighter, was a bit far in the rear.

The zombies were several yards ahead, and ran past a burning village building. The passing forms caught the attention of creatures inside the flame-filled building. Two small flames licked out of the structure, and stood on their own. Lorgard pulled up short, and Simon and Salem stopped right behind him.

The self-standing fires had a vaguely humanoid appearance of thin stick figures, about the size of the halfling, engulfed in thick flames. They charged forward at the dwarf mage, cackling with the sound of a campfire. Standing at the mouth of a partial alleyway, Lorgard was the most available target for the fire elementals, so they attacked him immediately. Within moments the mage was writhing in burning robes. When he fell to the ground, Salem and Simon stepped up to take on the enemies. But two more flames jumped out of the blazing building.

Salem took a blanket from Simon, and ignoring the flaming arms being whipped at him, he set to snuffing out the flames burning the unconscious dwarf. Simon attacked the flame creatures with longsword and short sword. A moment later Cedrin joined the fight.

Salem showed great bravery by ignoring the licking flames about him and staying concentrated on his fallen companion. The halfling managed to extinguish the badly burned dwarf, and touched him with a minor spell to stabilize his fading life. Moments later, the two humans had destroyed the flaming enemies.

They had only a moment to catch their breath and wipe off the heat-induced sweat on their brows before the zombies they had been pursuing reappeared, coming back from where they had fled.

Simon knelt down beside the still unconscious dwarf, and spread out the blanket Salem had used to beat out the flames. Cedrin stepped forward to intercept the re-approaching zombies, and Salem pulled forth his holy symbol again. To the group's left other unknowns approached from between two village homes.

Simon wrapped the dwarf in the blanket and began sliding him back away from the scene. Cedrin engaged the first zombie to reach him. Salem held forth his god's symbol and channeled power again. And the three figures approaching from the left called out to them for identification.

The first zombie fell to Cedrin's bastard sword and spiked shield, and the others again turned and fled. Salem then gave a detailed look at the new arrivals to the scene.

A human in chainmail with shield and mace, wearing a tunic matching their group's army device, was flanked by two elven archers in scale mail. "I am Rayson, priest of Rao the Peaceful," the human introduced himself.

"I am Salem Godspeed," the halfling offered, "cleric of Fharlanghn."

The human and elves approached the group cautiously. And the group held their positions to accept the approach, cautiously. Salem recognized the white heart symbol on the Raoist, and mentioned, "we have an injured friend."

Simon brought the still-smoking dwarf on the blanket back around the corner to show everyone.

"I can't help him now," said Rayson, "I have expended all my magic for the day. But all of you can come with us for shelter. I can tend to your friend, and heal him in the morning." He and the elves motioned for the group to follow them, and they lead the way to a village home they had taken as a haven.

Inside the small building were two human warriors with scale mail and spears. The group was invited inside, and after all were in, the doors were closed behind them. Inside was a makeshift barracks for the five men. Bedrolls were spread on the floor, a few chairs were scattered about, and a table was pushed against the far wall. Packs of army ration were piled in a corner.

Simon laid the wrapped dwarf on the table, and Rayson examined him. Lorgard's clothes were badly burned, his hair a bit singed, but he was not in danger of passing from his wounds. Simon's spell was enough to keep the sturdy dwarf alive. If he awakened, he would be in great pain. All hoped he would simply sleep till they could use magic to heal him.

The human warriors and the elf archers watched the surrounding outside area through cracks in shuttered windows. Rayson introduced his companions, and the group introduced themselves to their hosts. Rayson asked what unit they were with, and why didn't they retreat with the army.

"We awoke just a couple hours ago, on the field," answered Salem. "We can't remember the battle."

Rayson was examining each of them from where he sat in a small chair. Salem, Simon, and Cedrin each felt the eyes of four soldiers regarding them also.

"You look like two humans, a halfling, . . . and a dwarf," said the Rao priest. "But different than any others I've seen." There was a touch of awe tempered with suspicion in his voice.

The three looked back and forth at each other, again noting their gold-tinged skin, silver hair, and pale eyes. "We also don't know why we look this way," said Salem. "This is not how any of us remember ourselves."

Simon and Cedrin gathered some rations to eat what they figured was breakfast. Salem took a chair across from Rayson. The halfling had to almost climb up into the human-made seat. "We don't even know where we are," he said.

"You really have no memory?" repeated Rayson. "You don't know where this is?" he continued, waving his hands slightly to show his statement referenced their overall location.

Salem leaned forward inquisitively. "Where are we?"

The priest of Rao looked back at the halfling cleric for a moment, then moved his gaze across the two humans also. "We are in the Abyss," he said.

To be continued . . .

At this point, the PCs have risen a level.

Simon = Ranger 2
Salem = Cleric 2
Cedrin = Fighter 2
Lorgard = Wizard 1 / Fighter 1

Lorgard's Player never told me he wanted to multiclass wizard and fighter until they gained a level. In my character creation guidelines, I told them we would use the half-level rules in the Dungeon Master's Guide for anyone who wanted to multiclass at 1st level. The Player said he saw that guideline, but didn't know what it meant. Why didn't he just ask me? He couldn't answer. So I let him multiclass just to get on with the game. After all, the rule only makes a difference for one level -- the first, and we were past that now.

Bullgrit

The Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 1, part d

There was a stunned silence in the room for many moments.

The Abyss. Part of the deep, dark, and utterly evil nether world. The place where the most depraved and malicious souls go after physical death.

"What do you mean we're in the Abyss?" Salem asked. Cedrin and Simon had stopped eating, and were intently listening.

Rayson gazed deeply into the halfling's eyes, confirming to himself that these three, and the fourth lying unconscious on the table, were honestly lost.

"From what I understand," began Rayson, "it started in the Empire of Iuz about a century ago. Something or someone created a major gate to the Abyss. Teachings say that the opening to the netherworld was really more than just a gate -- it was a hole between the planes. This hole allowed the Abyss to pour into our world, slowly at first. But as more demons and evil pushed through the portal, the wider it grew. Now it flows over the lands quickly enough to watch. This village was enveloped less than two years ago."

"What is this village?" Salem asked.

"Eastfarm," answered Rayson. "This is the Veluna side of the Velverdyva River. What used to be the Kingdom of Furyondy, on the other side is completely in the Abyss. Veluna will be absorbed within a year or so.

"We've been lucky so far," he continued. "Most of the demons are in the eastern lands fighting the devils."

"Devils too?"

"Yes. In what used to be the old Great Kingdom, Hell has been brought into this world just as the Abyss grew from Iuz. The demons and devils now fight their eternal Blood War between the two 'gatelands'.

"Tales of refugees over the decades describe the old lands of Nyrond and Urnst as blasted battlegrounds now, full of fiendish armies."

"What happened at this battleground, here?"

"The Holy Army of Veluna came here to stop an invasion force of orcs and gnolls from crossing the Velverdyva. We destroyed the bridge to stop them, but they made it across anyway. Then our army met theirs -- we survived, and they broke up. But there was a lot of confusion on the field. There were several powerful demons leading the humanoids, and though the orc and gnoll formations collapsed when hard pressed, the demons wrought great destruction on our men. Their humanoid forces fled in several directions, and our army had to fall back towards Veluna City to regroup."

"Why didn't you go with the army?" Simon asked.

"My responsibility was to support Captain Moortine and his infantry company. The captain fell with most of his men when they pursued fleeing gnolls. A horde of minor demons attacked while we were too far from the main army. Only a few of us escaped the ambush, and I wasn't able to rejoin any large group. These men," he indicated the four warriors watching the windows and door, "joined me when we escaped the chaos of the battle. We fought our way here, using most of my spells and channeling power doing so."

Rayson continued to answer their questions as they all alternated through resting, eating, taking watch, and checking on the unconscious dwarf. He explained that the border of the Abyss was about 3 days walk to the southwest, and Veluna City was another 3 days beyond that.

Those watching outside noted the occasional zombie group walking through the village. There was no way of really telling time in this situation; the outside sky stayed a deep crimson, never dimming or brightening. But it seemed only a few hours when Cedrin and Simon started noticing that their cuts, scratches, and aches from the "morning" battles were healing. Then Lorgard gasped, opened his eyes, and then sat up from where he had been lying on the table.

Silence again overtook the small home as everyone stared at the dwarf mage in burned robes. He was awake but in some not inconsiderable pain. His most serious burns had started healing, and his minor blisters had disappeared. Salem and Rayson stepped up to the dwarf and examined his body.

"Uhg," was Lorgard's first word, quickly followed by his first sentence, "Where are those damned flamers?"

A quick examination of the mage and his companions showed that they were healing quickly, but in an otherwise normal fashion. Their wounds left minor scars, and the dwarf's major burns left discolored patches of skin. Rayson noted that they weren't really regenerating, merely healing faster than normal; in hours rather than days.

Simon and Cedrin caught their newly revived companion up on the current situation, and Salem and Rayson discussed what the group should do next.

Rayson said he needed to go back out on the field to collect the body of his captain, and to return with it to Veluna. "Do you want our help?" offered Salem.

"I can find the captain's body with these soldiers' help," answered Rayson. "Perhaps you could investigate where the zombies are coming from. They are all headed southwest through the village to the Veluna road, so I suspect someone or something is controlling them. Do you think you could backtrack them to their origin?"

"We'll do what we can," said the halfling.

When everyone was well rested, and healed, and Rayson estimated that it was probably "morning" outside the Abyss, the clerics and wizard began their prayers and studies for spell preparation. Simon said he wanted to get out of the house for a scouting look at the nearby area. He wanted to find a bow and quiver of arrows. He asked if anyone needed him to look anywhere in particular.

"See if you can find some spears for me," said Salem.

"I want a warhammer," said Lorgard. "I need something better than that staff."

"Very well," Simon said, "I'll see what I can find." He strapped on his swords belt and went to the door.

One of the human warriors commented, "You sure you want to go out there alone?"

"I'll be alright," assured the ranger.

He was only gone a short while. He was back in the house with three halfspears for the halfling, a warhammer for the dwarf, and a short bow with arrows for himself before the priests and mage were finished with their spell preparations. "Saw a pack of black wolves wandering in the village, but they didn't see me. Otherwise looks still and quiet out there."

Soon everyone made ready to leave their temporary base. "Natural creatures born under the Abyssal sky are always evil, twisted with fiendish taint," warned Rayson. "And they are the least dangerous beasts you'll see here. Minor demons are all about: dretch and manes especially. Be very careful. May peace and reason protect you."

Rayson and his four guardsmen left together to find the body of their captain. Salem, Simon, Cedrin, and Lorgard left to investigate the source of the zombies.

To be continued . . .

Game Commentary

The Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 2, part a

Simon, the human ranger, and Salem, the halfling cleric, took point for the group as they stalked their way through the ruined village. About half the buildings had been destroyed by fires, and were still smoking. Here and there they could see a dead body of one sort or another, but most of the carnage was to one side of the village -- the south, according to Rayson's earlier explanation of this territory. They made their way in the direction that the Raoist cleric had pointed them as east, towards the bridge across the Velverdyva River.

While stalking from building to building, Simon and Salem spotted a large, badly burned ogre zombie shambling down a street. It hadn't sensed them yet, so they got the jump on it. The halfling leapt out throwing a spear, and the ranger charged out with longsword and short sword drawn. The two of them went to work on the lumbering animated corpse for a few moments waiting for their comrades to round the corner and see the situation.

Lorgard, the dwarf mage/fighter, and Cedrin, the human fighter soon joined the fray. The dead ogre got a couple of heavy slams in with its massive fist, but it was taken down in quick time by the four surrounding attackers.

"This zombie was going the same direction as the others," observed Salem.

"Seems we're headed the right way, then," said Lorgard.

The foursome resumed their advance towards the river. As they walked, they discussed what they expected to find. "Must be a group of necromancers," Lorgard said.

"But how many?" asked Salem.

They decided to just wait and see. No use trying to guess, when they would learn for sure very soon.

They reached the edge of the village, and there was only a road leading to the river, a few hundred yards away. There was plenty of trees and plants here, as would be expected around a river, but they were all dark and twisted, poisoned by the Abyss. The area here showed signs of battle: dropped weapons, trampled and torn ground, but there were no dead to be found. As if they had all arisen and walked away. Which, of course, is probably what had happened.

The group continued on to the bridge. It was a large stone structure supported by heavy timbers, but it was collapsed in the middle of the river. Rayson had said the Velunan army had destroyed it to prevent the orcs and gnolls and demons from getting across. But the enemy army had crossed never the less.

Simon and Salem checked the river's edge for clues while Cedrin and Lorgard stayed on the road watching for trouble. The water was a sickly gray color, and smelled of sulfur. They found nothing of interest around the bridge. The two then moved downstream along the shore continuing their investigation.

About a hundred yards down, they found where an army had seemed to walk out of the river. The bank was trampled and rutted by hundreds of marching feet. Simon and Salem walked up, away from the riverside to examine the ground further into the battlefield. They had moved out of sight of their two companions still down at the bridge road, but they felt safe. The area was still clear of any corpses, though the signs of the battle was still evident.

"This area shows no sign of wet traffic," commented Simon. The ranger led the halfling around the field, double checking for signs of water or mud. The hundreds of tracks in the area were not made by a wet army.

Salem agreed with the ranger's thoughts. "They came out of the river, but not through the water."

"How can they do that?" wondered Simon. "There are no boats. No bridge here."

"A mage or priest may have parted the water," suggested the little cleric. Then he noticed movement in the distance. "Look," he said to his companion.

Simon stood up from where he had been crouched, examining tracks on the ground. A few hundred yards away there were about half a dozen figures standing about in a group.

"What do you think that is?" said Simon. The distance and the red glare of the Abyssal sky made it difficult to make things out. All they could tell was that the figures were humanoid. One of the figures crouched or knelt down, stayed there a few moments then stood back up. Then two other figures stood up from where they had been lying on the ground.

The ranger and halfling looked at each other. Obviously they had found where at least some of the zombies were coming from.

"What should we do?" asked Simon.

"Let's go up there and talk to them," answered the halfling as he shifted his hat down over his eyes and pulled his cloak around his shoulders.

To be continued . . .

Game Commentary

"You're going to just walk up there and talk to them?" asked Simon.

"Yes," said Salem. He had pulled his hat and cloak down and around to conceal his unusual features (gold skin, silver hair, pale eyes).

"What about that," Simon pointed to the Veluna shield device patch on the halfling's cloak.

"Oh, yeah." Salem pulled out his dagger and proceeded to cut the patch off.

"We should go get Lorgard and Cedrin," said Simon.

"OK," agreed Salem, "you go get them, I'll go up to the necromancers myself."

There was a pause as Simon seemed to think the halfling's plans were faulty. But the ranger hustled off to go back to the bridge to collect the mage and fighter waiting for them to return. Salem tossed the patch onto the ground, then casually walked towards the mysterious group in the distance.

As Salem got closer to the group he could make out more details about the figures. Six men in breastplate armor and Veluna uniforms stood around another man in black robes holding a tall staff. The armored men held no weapons, and turned to look at the approaching halfling. The robed man noted his guards' attention and turned to see Salem also. Salem tried to keep a casual stride even when he got within a hundred feet of the group and could tell that the armored guards were zombies, and the robed man was an orc.

The orc barked an order to the front three zombies, "Kill him."

The zombies shambled forward. Salem waited for the animated corpses to close with him, then he pulled out his symbol of Fharlanghn and channeled energy towards the undead. The approaching zombies pulled up short, turned and fled back to their master.

"Hold still little man," snarled the orc, and he cast a spell at the halfling. But Salem felt no effect and just strode closer to turn the remaining three zombies.

When the last of the zombies fled from the scene, the black-robed orc seemed a little nervous. "Flee yourself, runt," he grunted and cast another spell on Salem. But the small cleric shrugged off the fear effect and moved up within range of his whip.

The orc cast another spell, this time on himself, and disappeared. Salem could just barely hear movement where the orc had been standing, but then nothing. He guessed he was alone now. He watched the fleeing zombies get smaller and smaller in the distance.

To be continued . . .

Simon appeared from around a tree near the river bank.

"We were beginning to wonder what happened," said Lorgard.

The ranger motioned for the mage and fighter to follow him. "We may have found the necromancers," he explained. "There's a small group of people on the battlefield, and we think we saw them animate a couple of corpses."

"Where's Salem," asked Cedrin.

"He went to talk to the group," answered Simon.

Cedrin and Lorgard looked at each other as they moved to follow the ranger along the riverside. Soon they reached the spot where Simon had left the halfling cleric. Simon picked up the discarded Veluna patch.

"Is that him by himself?" asked Lorgard, pointing to the sole, small figure standing on the field in the distance.

"That's where the group of necromancers was standing," said Simon. They hustled towards their comrade.

Salem watched his companions approach. He was smiling when Simon asked, "So, what happened?"

"Six of them were zombies, and one was an orc necromancer," the little cleric explained. "The necromancer didn't even let me get close to them before he sent his zombies to kill me. I turned them way. Then the orc tried casting spells on me, but nothing happened. When I got close to him, he disappeared."

"Disappeared?" repeated Lorgard.

"Where was he standing?" asked Simon.

"About ten or fifteen feet right there," Salem pointed.

The ranger knelt down and examined the ground. He could tell the recent tracks from the battle field mess. "Did he have a staff?"

"Yes."

"He walked off that way," said Simon.

"That's the direction I sent his zombies running. They eventually stopped, then turned towards the village, and walked off as a group," Salem added.

Simon started following the tracks of the necromancer, noting the staff tracks beside the footprints. His companions followed behind him.

Lorgard was thinking aloud, "Surely it is more than one necromancer making all the zombies we saw walking through the village last night."

"Well," said Salem, "there was only one right here."

"If I'm remembering my studies on necromancy properly," continued the dwarf wizard, "it takes a small onyx gem to cast the spell to animate corpses. So many zombies is very expensive."

They reached the place where the orc necromancer had met up with his zombie guards. According to what Simon was reading of the tracks, they all walked away together towards the burned village. The group decided to continue their pursuit. The tracks went into the village, through the village, and out the other side along a dirt road. The group could see a fort on the hill about a mile away. Rayson had told them about it, and that it had fallen to the invading army. Simon lead the way down the road.

To be continued . . .

Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 2, part d

They each heard it. An anxious growling noise from behind those bushes, just ahead on the left of the road. They stopped and waited, weapons ready.

The creatures trying to hide themselves for an ambush were too excited to be patient, so they leapt out of their concealment and charged forward. Three small, feral, gray-skinned . . . things . . . shouted and growled as they each tried to be the first to attack the party.

But the group was ready for them. The three bestial, halfling-sized creatures clawed and bit to little effect. Their bodies resisted much of the damage the party's swords, whip, and hammer tried to deal, but Cedrin's great strength and bastard sword managed to slay one immediately. As its head fell off, its body exploded in a spray of acid, stinging everyone nearby.

"What the hell was that!" someone shouted.

In several more moments, the other two creatures were struck down, and more acid sprayed about. Though no one was seriously injured, everyone was rather annoyed by the explosive deaths of these unknown creatures.

"These must be some of the minor demons Rayson mentioned," Salem commented.

"Not fun," Cedrin said.

"Agreed," said Simon, "but let's move on."

They followed the necromancer's and zombies' tracks along the road some more. A trail turned off the road and lead up hill to the fort. "They went up to the fort, looks like," said Simon, examining the foot and staff prints in the dirt.

Some trees and brush along the road gave the group a little cover from the fort, about two hundred yards up the low hill. The hill had been long ago cleared of vegetation to make a clear view of the area from the fort. They could see the front gate looked to be destroyed, and a ten-foot section of the wall on this side was collapsed. The only movement they could spot was a lone figure standing at what had been the front entrance.

"Should we just go up to the front?"

"Let's walk around and check out the other sides first."

It was agreed that the Simon and Salem would scout around, and Lorgard and Cedrin would wait at the road as they had done at the bridge. The ranger and halfling cleric left the fighter and dwarf mage.

This time, though, both returned. "There's another hole in the wall on the other side, and there's a hole in the keep itself at the back," explained Salem. "And the one tower at the corner of the wall looks to have collapsed on the inside. It has a hole in the other side, and it looks like only the outer shell is still standing."

"Any guards?" asked Lorgard.

"None that we could see," said Simon. "And the windows at the top of the central keep are shuttered."

"Where do we go in?"

"Let's go straight in the keep part, in the back hole."

It was agreed that they'd sneak around to the "back" of the fort and enter through that hole. The entire group this time sneaked around through the trees and brush at the bottom of the hill. They then hustled up to the stone wall. The hole was an almost perfect circle, and only a little debris covered the ground. They approached the hole from one side and carefully looked in.

The chamber the hole gave access to was once very elaborate, but was now demolished and gruesome. The tile floor was shattered and scarred, torn tapestries hung in shreds, and six columns lining the length of the hall had bodies tied around them. The corpses had been cut open at their abdomens and their gore was hanging to the floor. At the far end of the chamber were half a dozen orcs.

"Orcs?" said Lorgard when Salem mentioned what he saw. "Great. Let's get the fight on."

The dwarf mage immediately cast a shield spell on himself, then stepped into the hole and charged forward. Simon, Salem, and Cedrin looked back and forth at each other, then moved in to the fight. The dwarf did well against the orcs; he felled two by himself. Cedrin slew two others, and Simon and Salem handled what seemed to be two sergeants of more experience than the base grunts.

There were two doors off either side of the chamber, and the party immediately moved to be prepared for reinforcements. "My spell will wear off quickly," said the dwarf, "I don't want to wait." He went to open one of the doors, but Cedrin grabbed him about the collar of his robes and kept him from moving forward.

The dwarf complained, but Simon and Salem urged him to wait, as they didn't want to fight on two fronts if someone came in the other door. But after several moments of no surprises, they listened at the doors. Nothing.

Lorgard wrenched his robe from Cedrin's grip and opened his door. He rushed into what was apparently a small dining area. Scattered dishes and unfinished food sat on a few tables, but there were no enemies. The dwarf moved through the room to the only other door. He opened it and moved into a pillaged pantry. He didn't bother looking around the small room, he just went to the next door and listened just a moment. Upon hearing orc voices he smiled and opened the door. His companions sighed and followed him through the rooms. Someone commented, "We probably need to take a prisoner."

A pair of orcs stood surprised in the kitchen. They had been leaning on their axes talking when the battle-hungry dwarf barged in with a warhammer held high. The first orc was felled in one blow. Lorgard spun on the second and shouted, "Give up!"

The stunned orc released his weapon and raised his hands to ward off an attack. The dwarf's comrades filed into the small kitchen and back up the dwarf mage. "Get down on the floor," the dwarf ordered.

The orc did as instructed, and Salem pulled out rope to tie the orc up. Simon checked the only other door from the room and found a quiet interior hallway with other doors. He closed the kitchen door and stood listening at it.

Lorgard knelt at the prone orc's head, and spoke in the orc language, "Where's your chief?"

"Down in the basement," was the answer.

Further questioning revealed the stairs down were on the other side of the main hall where they entered. They left the now hog-tied and gagged orc on the kitchen floor, and backtracked to the main hall where they had entered.

To be continued . . .

Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 2, part e

Simon listened to the door. No sounds on the other side. He looked over his shoulder at his companions standing behind him in the main hall and shook his head. He opened the door and they all moved in quickly. The room beyond was just a waiting room. The carpet was bloodied, the tapestries torn and pulled down, and the once fancy furniture was now scarred and battered. The orcs were treating this once finely appointed fort very poorly.

There were two more doors, one in the right wall, the other to the left. A stairway to the left of the door they were entering through lead up to the next level of the keep.

"Well, do we go up or look for the downward stairs?" asked Simon.

Everyone agreed to continue to the basement to find the chief. They'd go up after that. They opened the door in the right wall and found another demolished room, with no other door, but with a stairway down.

"OK, how are we going to do this, exactly?" Simon again questioned.

"We need to take out the necromancer as soon as possible," said Salem. "He might be only one of a dozen, but we have to stop him from making more zombies."

"How do we know he's downstairs?" asked Lorgard.

"The chief is in the basement," said Salem, "and the necromancer is probably either the chief or working with the chief."

"Are we sure about that?" said Lorgard.

"Who's up there!" came a shout from downstairs. Lorgard identified the language as orcish.

The sound of a pair of booted feet walking up the steps prompted them to their battle stances. Lorgard walked over to the top of the stairs just as an orc soldier's head came above the floor's level. In one quick swing, the dwarf mage smashed the orc's skull with his warhammer. The orc collapsed and fell noisily back down the stairs.

Immediately, Lorgard ran down the stairs. The others followed close on his heels. At the bottom was just another demolished room, with the dead orc sprawled on the floor. Bloody graffiti was marked on the walls. The vulgar and vile orc swears and curses were understood only by Lorgard, and he didn't read anything aloud.

The group moved on through the basement finding only barracks originally built for human soldiers, but now ransacked and recently used by nasty orcs. But they found no orcs in the barracks or halls till the very back of the basement. A pair of orcs they found in a guard room put up a decent fight, but they fell like the others earlier. One did manage to shout a warning to his chief, apparently in the next room, before dying.

The party quickly readied to barge into the chief's room. They readied at the door at the rear of the guardroom. Simon pulled the door open, Lorgard charged in, and Cedrin and Salem followed immediately. But the room they entered was just a sitting room with unfinished food and ale on a central table. There was another door.

Again Simon opened the door and Lorgard was ready to move in. But this time the dwarf paused, sensing a trap. He moved forward just a bit, not quite entering the room. Just barely he could see movement right beside the door inside the next room. He leapt in quickly, warhammer ready block an attack.

To be continued . . .

Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 2, part f

The orc chief was waiting right beside the doorway with his axe raised to strike down the first enemy to enter. Lorgard parried the axe blow and Simon rushed in as the large orc recovered from his swing. The ranger and dwarf fighter/mage tried to flank the big orc, obviously more fiendish than the others they had seen, but the chief was wily to that tactic and kept his back to a wall.

Ranger and dwarf exchange a couple blows with the chief until Simon took a serious axe cut across his chest. The ranger was forced to fall back out of the orc's reach. Salem moved into the room snapping his whip at the orc to draw attention away from his wounded comrade. The whip wrapped around the chief's greataxe, and with all the strength the little halfling could muster, he snatched the axe right out of the big orc's hands. The axe fell to the floor with a clatter.

Lorgard smacked the orc with his warhammer when the chief picked his weapon back up. Simon pulled himself together and rejoined the fight. Salem's whip was driving the chief mad. Salem snaked the whip through the orc's legs and yanked him off his feet. Dwarf and ranger took advantage of the chief's problems and soon pounded and stabbed the big orc to death.

Cedrin hadn't entered the already crowded room. He stayed at the door watching and listening down the guard hall. When the battle ended, he looked in to make sure his friends were still standing. They were, and Salem had used his magic to heal the grievous wound Simon had taken. They then checked out the chief's den.

The room had been a barracks for four soldiers, but two of the beds had been overturned and pushed against a wall. The sheets and blankets for those beds were piled up on the floor. Signs of something having used them for a bed were evident. The chief obviously was using another bed for his own, and the fourth bed was used as a treasure trove. A pile of gold coins, silver coins, and a collection of valuable odds and ends scavenged from around the upper fort were laid on that fourth bed. Salem used a orison to detect for magic on the bed, but there was nothing radiating an enchantment. He used the bed sheets to wrap up the items in a make-shift bag.

Lorgard used a cantrip to examine the chief's body. He found some coins in his purse, and an earring of mundane creation, but a pair of bronze bracers were revealed to be magical. They added the chief's personal belongings to Salem's sheet sack. They then walked back out to the guard area to discuss what to do next.

"So, do we go back to the village now?" asked Simon.

"We haven't finished with first floor yet," said Salem.

"My spells are pretty much used up for the day," added Lorgard.

They were pumped up mentally to take on more action, especially after the victory against the orc chief. But they were almost exhausted physically and magically, especially after the battle with the chief. Before they could come to a consensus, a secret door opened in the brick wall beside them.

All four companions jumped to their guard against whatever might come out of the door, but it turned out to be human soldiers.

"Thank gods," one of the two soldiers said, "someone finally came back."

The second soldier stepped into the room and looked at the two dead orc guards. "Have you killed them all?"

"No," answered Salem, "just some. Most are out of the fort somewhere."

"We killed the chief," said Lorgard.

"We've been hiding in this secret corridor for a while now," said the soldier. "We retreated down here with our wounded when the orcs took the keep."

"Did Oswal find you," asked the other soldier.

"Who's Oswal?"

"He's a halfling who fought with us. He's the only one who could get out to look for help."

A quick discussion explained that the secret passage lead to the basement of the tower at the corner of the outer wall. But the interior of the tower had collapsed in the siege, and only the halfling could work his way out of the rubble. The orcs had been constantly guarding the room where they now talked, so the soldiers dared not open the door and reveal their location. There were wounded men down the secret hall; some who were unconscious. Twelve men in all, six wounded.

The companions told the soldiers to go back into the tower and wait. They'd be back later to help bring them out. But right now the orcs who lived in the barracks would be back sometime, and they had to take them on before risking to bring wounded men up through the fort halls. The soldiers agreed, and went back in and closed the secret door.

Simon, Salem, Lorgard, and Cedrin hurriedly went back up to the ground level of the fort.

To be continued . . .

Fiendish Oerth Game Story - game session 2, part g

Back up the stairs they went; back through the doors into the waiting room where another door and the upward stairway was.

"Shouldn't we go back to the village now?" said Simon.

"Yes," agreed Lorgard, "we're pretty much spent right now."

"We should clear this level before stopping," argued Salem.

The group debated for a while before deciding to go along with Salem's idea to finish exploring the first level before stopping. They opened the next door and again found a once-fancy room but no orcs. But this room did have a large set of heavy double doors, like would be found at the front of a inner keep.

"These might lead outside," said Simon.

Simon and Salem listened to the doors. They heard sniffing on the other side. The ranger and halfling looked at each other for a moment, then the sniffing on the other side became a loud wolfish howl that even Lorgard and Cedrin at the back of the room could clearly hear.

"Let's open the door just a crack," suggested Simon.

Salem stepped back and held a spear ready to throw. Cedrin stood ready to charge, and Simon and Lorgard took the door handles. They pulled the doors just enough to get a view beyond. About five feet away stood a large black wolf in the red light of the outside sky, staring at them and growling. Simon and Lorgard pulled the door more open, and Salem threw his spear. The weapon went high and missed the wolf.

Behind the wolf, standing in the courtyard were five orcs and at the back a towering ogre. Lorgard charged the wolf with his hammer, Simon ran into the group of orcs, Cedrin stepped up beside his dwarf comrade to take on the wolf, and Salem ran out but stayed back so he could throw another spear.

While Simon took on the five orcs single-handedly, Lorgard and Cedrin tried to quickly take down the big wolf. But where the ranger's dual swords were cutting down orcs with but a single stroke, the dwarf's and fighter's hammer and sword were doing only minor wounds to the wolf. It was like the beast could shrug off all but the hardest attacks.

Salem throw a spear at the ogre and hit it precisely on its thigh, but the point didn't stick. The weapon just bounced back and fell to the ground at the giant's feet.

The ogre stepped up beside the wolf and slammed his greatclub down on Lorgard. The dwarf staggered under the massive blow, but he held his balance.

Simon had taken down three of his opponents, but another came running up from where it had been standing at the front gate.

Cedrin was backed into a corner by the vicious wolf. Salem threw his third and last spear at the ogre but again the point didn't harm the thing.

The ogre smashed his club down again on the dwarf, and this blow crushed the fighter/mage. Lorgard crumpled to a bloody heap. The giant then turned to help the orcs who were falling around the ranger, but Salem snapped his whip at the ogre to bring his attention away.

The wolf knocked Cedrin down to the ground and tore a ragged bite across his throat. It howled in victory.

As the last orc dropped, Simon stepped up to the ogre with both swords ready to slash. But the ogre brought his greatclub down again in a mighty blow, and the ranger was sent sprawling unconscious to the dirt.

Salem, the lone companion still standing snapped his whip at the ogre once more, then ran around the giant to retrieve one of his spears. The big black wolf caught the little halfling in mid act, and Salem fell unmoving.

THE END.

Game Commentary

And so the campaign ended in the second game session. I had long and epic hopes and plans for this campaign. All three of the Players present at the end said they liked the campaign. But the troublesome Player said he didn't like his character and wanted to make and bring in another.

In hindsight, thinking on the game conversation, and thinking on the troublesome Player's wish to make a new character, I realized that the campaign wipe out had been at least somewhat orchestrated by the troublesome Player. He was trying to get his character killed, but ended up getting everyone killed. Why didn't he tell me earlier that he wanted to change characters? Well, the answer to that is easy; he'd already demonstrated he was a troublesome Player.

I don't blame the whole fiasco on him, though. I was the one who created the campaign plot and story. I set things up where changes in Players and/or characters would be more difficult than a normal D&D game. And it was me who didn't realize this Player would just be more problematic as the game progressed.

I should have started this new group with a less intense campaign set up, with a more loose arrangement. And I should have either dropped that troublesome Player before the game started (since I had ample evidence of how difficult it would be to DM for him), or worked a way to minimize his ability to kill the campaign.

After this ending, I could have restarted the campaign, but the wind was out of my sails for DMing it. Part of the excitement for me, and I hoped for the Players, was the PCs learning what was going on in the campaign. Restarting just didn't interest me at that time, immediately after the failure.

The troublesome Player offered to run a campaign for us. And we all agreed. And we spent the next three months in a frustrating campaign. Yeah, I was an idiot. But that's a tale for another post.

The good thing about those experiences is that when I left that troublesome Player turned DM, I was able to bring the two best Players with me. And they are still with me, and we are having fun, years later.

Bullgrit