[quote="bobloblah"]
BRUTAL on the loss of those items.
[/quote]
I had decided that the armor and weapons would not have to save (as they were made of metal that could stand high temps), but the cloak and the ring (made of cloth and gold/silver) would have to save vs. spells as a 9th lvl mage with +1 to the save, so they only needed a 9+. They rolled REAL bad. They made the saves for their wands.
Plus I rolled WAY above average on the fireball damage, rolling 28 on 6d6.
Got some catching up to do. Here goes:
Rufus’ Raiders
We began the session describing the downtime activities the party was involved in from November 11th through December 24th (when the other party’s session ended).
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li>War dog - Finn, Hunting dog - Scout, Guard Wolf - Balto</li>
<li><strong>Murphy aka Telemachus</strong> – 1st lvl freed slave fighter – Labor, (others TBD), STR +2, WIS -2, CON +1</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Lazarus Deathbrood</strong> – Lvl 3 Cleric Exorcist – Sensing Evil, and Intimidation, INT -1, WIS +1, DEX +2, CON +1 CHA +1 Wears Banded Plate under a black cassock, armed with shield and sickle or a scythe, Budding Cleric of Death granted the daily ability to cast sanctuary 1x daily.</li>
The Raiders last adventure was in early November. The campaign calendar had advanced to December 24th (Yule eve). During that time, the Raiders were in Adamas. Dante was learning to gamble and Rufus continued his training with Boss Horner on how to become a gangster. At the end of November, Rufus and Dante got their share of Isaac’s Moon Pool business. Rufus also got a decent return from his investment in the Dock Boys gambling operations.
In December, Dante received a boost of gold and XP from the sale of a ring of protection +2 by the Village people. Dante decided to invest in the Dock Boys casino, and gave Rufus 5K gold to give to the Dock Boys to invest in their gambling operations.
Lazarus spoke to the Legate of Muntburg, who allowed him to build a temple to Death near the burial grounds outside the city. He hired an engineer to help with the construction.
Rufus completed his training with Boss Drake Horner (a total of 60 days), and learned a new proficiency – Profession – Gangster. He decided that he wanted to meet with the Don of the Dock Boys. He approached Boss Horner, who set up a meeting with his CAPO, Phillipe Verodart, who ran a bar in the Upper Docks. Rufus refused to tell anyone (DM and other players included) the purpose of the meeting. Phillipe agreed to set up a meeting with the Don, based mostly on the good word of Boss Horner and his reputation as a good earner. The next day, Rufus brought Dante to the meeting for backup.
They were taken to a back room and found Don LeFayd, a wild looking female warrior, CAPO Verodart, a dwarven assassin and Boss Horner. The woman was Magda ‘the fist’ Moreno, the Don’s personal enforcer. The dwarf, Ruthan Underforge, had the same role for CAPO Verodart. (Throughout the conversation I had the picture of the Don on the monitor/TV I use during play which included a list of his traits (Boundless, Honorable, Moralistic, Violent)). The conversation went something like this:
Don: Drake tells me you are a good earner for him. So what do you have for me today?
Rufus: Does Boss Horner have to be here? (Dante looks over at Rufus in amazement).
Verodart: Yeah he does, he’s the one who vouched for you.
Horner: This guy . . .
Rufus: Alright. So I think I should run Muntburg, not him.
(silence for a heartbeat)
Don: (quizzically) Are you KIDDIN’ me?
Rufus: I think it’s time for, whaddya call, some new blood.
Horner: Watch what you say next kid.
Rufus: I think I can do better.
Don: (loudly) This man vouched for you, stuck his neck out for you, taught you everything you know, and YOU STAB HIM IN THE BACK!!!!!!
Verodart: Don . . .
Rufus: (interrupting) well, I can fight him for it . . . (backhanded by Magda, leaving him with a bloodied lip).
Don: (angrily) What makes you think that I would even allow someone so disloyal even in the Dock Boys. The only reason you’re here is because of Drake. YOU’RE LUCKY I DON’T KILL YOU WHERE YOU F#&%ING STAND!!!
Horner: Boss, let me talk to him, he’s just a dumb savage.
Verodart: Don, give Drake a chance to talk to him.
Don: You got five minutes.
(Horner and Rufus leave the room to talk. Everyone stares quietly at Dante)
Dante: I’m just here to invest some money.
Don: (yelling) WAS ANYONE TALKING TO YOU?? WHO THE F*@% ARE YOU TO TALK TO ME??? GET THE F*@% OUT OF HERE!!!! (Magda moves forward and Ruthan raises his crossbow. Dante bows and leaves)
(Out in the hall – Rufus and Boss Horner talk).
Horner: (hurt) Kid, what are you doing? I brought you in, taught you the business, and now you try to steal from me? From ME? I treated you like family, like a son. Why didn’t you come to me first. C’mon, lets go in there and make it right.
Rufus: I’ll wrestle you for it. (Dante enters into the hall).
Horner: You broke my heart. I WAS going to have you start running the crews in Muntburg, but now . . . If you ever darken my door again, I swear I’ll kill you. Now get out of here before I change my mind and kill you where you stand.
(Rufus looks at Dante, for a minute considering making a stand here and now. Dante slowly shakes his head, “no way”, remembering where they are, in the home of CAPO Verodart, a place where everyone stops in silence in response to a single whistle. They hastily exit the tavern together).
At this point it was clear that Dante and Rufus were not going to get their 6300 gp investment back.
The Raiders made it back to Muntburg and entered the dungeon. They made it to the 2nd level without incident and began exploring. They found the signs of a recent battle, with several dead creatures believed to be hobgoblins. They encountered some wooden statues, 2 of which came to live and attacked. Despite their resistance to some of their weapons attacks, they were able to chop them up sufficiently.
*** spoiler***
The party managed to find a room with twin statues of Ares and Athena, both heads replaced with that of Terms Termax. There was a small magically locked coffer on a table between them. The party figured that that if they could cast the right divine spell it would open. Unfortunately they figured the right spell was bless and Lazarus wasn’t high enough level to cast it. They vowed to come back when he learned the spell.
*** end spoiler***
They found a room with several shelves and a white dagger, which Dante determined was magical. They also managed to fight some shadows, and luckily Lazarus was able to ‘magic up’ Rufus’ blade and the party defeated them. Unfortunately, Telemachus and Dante’s wolf were reduced to zero HP, and both were chopped up by Dante before either turned into a shadow.
They ran into a magically locked door, which Rufus managed to chop down with his axe. The noise attracted a group of zombies, which were easily turned and dispatched. Unfortunately there were 2 wights behind the door. Lazarus was unable to turn them. Rufus’s blade was still enchanted by Lazaru’s spell. Using his last spell slot, Lazarus enchanted his scythe. Dante was struck by the cold claws of a wight and felt his lifeforce drain away (losing a level!). The party finished off the undead and found several chests of treasure.
Deciding to go back to town, they headed out of the dungeon. Going back through the room with the dead hobgoblins, they found a larger, savage looking hobgoblin checking out the remains. As it moved to attack, it shrugged off Dante’s slash, and slashed him back, paralyzing him! The party watched in fear as it’s wounds started to heal! They finished the creature off, waited for Dante to recover, and made it safely back to town.
After a quick trip to Adamas and the sale of the magical dagger, Lazarus leveled up. He went to the temple of death in Adamas and interviewed several young priestesses of death. He decided on a young noble woman who lost her parents to disease. Returning to Muntburg, Dante, Lazarus, and the young priestess went back into the dungeon. They ran into some hobgoblins in the same room they had dispateched the throgrin, which they quickly defeated. They returned to the room with Area and Athena , cast the appropriate spell, opened the box and discovered a small gem. They headed back to Muntburg without incident.
(The PC Lazarus was complaining on how his character seemed underpowered compared to the Assassin and Barbarian. WHen he talked about retireing him and starting over as a mage, they talked him into hiring a mage henchman instead. Rolling well he found a 2nd lvl mage. His ability to enchant weapons (a reskinning of sharpness only given to clerics of Death and Ares) was the only reason the party was able to defeat the shadows and the wights. By the time he came back and obtained the magial gem from the dungeon, he started to realize that clerics are o.k. after all).
Rufus’ Raiders - Expedition 2
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li>War dog - Finn, Hunting dog - Scout</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Tendo - </strong> Lvl 2 Mage Soothsayer – Soothsaying, Performance (Storytelling), Theology Has Magic Mouth, Protection From Evil, Sleep (pulls out dandelion, blows seeds to cover an area causing sleep). Young mage seeking adventure and knowledge. </li>
</ul>
</li>
The Raiders started in Adamas on January 15th. They had to pay two separate mages to identifiy the magical gem as a periapt of health (first attempt failed). It prevents the holder from contracting any disease and was worth 25K gp on the open market. They missed the roll for the book and the first roll for the gem. Murray would try again in February.
Lazarus had a special weapon made, a silver karisigama (chain sickle). During this time, Dante worked on his gambling. Once the weapon was completed, Dante worked on showing him how to use it (martial training proficiency). They waited until the end of the month in Adamas before heading to Muntburg. Isaac was able to double the number of moon pool water sales and Dante and Rufus got a good return on the first month of rentals from the townhouses they built in Muntburg (treated as a business investment roll).
They headed over the snowy roads to Muntburg. In Muntburg, they headed into the dungeon. Entering through the old dwarven stairs, they made it to the stairs down to the reliquary with only a short delay while Dante sliced up some giant centipedes eating the remains of a goblin corpse.
They engaged in brief exploration, including the discovery of a former undead creature (12 foot spinal column attached to a skull), and a plundered storage room. They found another storage room full of 5 man sized burlap bags, all tied at the top. Each were filled with a struggling mumbling figure. Dante opened one, only to find a zombie who tried to bite him. Dante managed to kill it and Lazarus turned the rest. AS they struggled to get away in their bags the party made short work of them.
As the party started to search the room, they heard something in the hallway beyond. Dante peered into the hall to see the edge of torch light. He hid against the wall while and waited for the other party to reach them. The rest of the party closed the door. They discussed the issue and decide to rid themselves of their dungeon rivals once and for all.
The Fist of Zeus opened the door, remaining in the hallway. Lazarus and Rufus spoke to them inwork together greeting. Jehanna (having been previously been turned female after having his legs restored in Adamas) happily greeted a fellow cleric (the clerics of death were quick to join followers of Zeus and Tyche against the Termaxians) and suggested that the parties work together. The Raiders happily agreed to lead the way. Dante continued to remain out of sight crouched against the wall.
As the Fist entered, Dante waited until the heavily armed front row passed and struck the mage Genevote. The Fist were not surprised, so initiative was rolled. Dante’s quick reflexes paid off and he managed to take down the mage with a quick strike. He was unable to wound the heavily armored cleric Jehanna of Zeus. Next to act was Tendo. He cast sleep, managing to put Dante’s hunting dog and Jehanna to sleep. Dante ordered his wardog to rip out Jehanna’s throat, killing her as she slept.
The fighter of the fists, Justinian Ondart, struck at Dante, missing. The remaining cleric of Zeus, Symon, cast hold person, freezing Dante in his tracks. Rufus swung at the Fist’s heavily armored dwarf, Yurain Suregrip, as did Lazarus. The dwarf missed in his attack.
Tendo was unengaged and managed to cast sleep in the second round. Dante’s wardog made his save, however the fighter Justinian did not and the wardog tore out his throat. Symon Cato, in his anger, moved to kill the paralyzed Dante, however Rufus moved past the dwarf, taking a slash from his axe, to engage Symon. Rufus struck him with a mighty blow. Symon Cato struck back. Lazarus ran away from the dwarf, shrugging of a glancing blow from the dwarf, to reach Dante.
Lazarus managed to win initiative and poured a health potion down Dante’s throat, freeing him from the paralysis. Rufus finished off the cleric. The wardog engaged the dwarf. Finding his compatriots all down, the dwarf tightened his resolve shouting curses at the treachery of the Raiders. He eventually fell to the combined might of the party.
The party revived the mage. She responded “Why? What did we do to inspire such violence”. Dante was all business, interrogating her on where their residence was in Muntburg. After the interrogation, Rufus slit her throat. Looking down at their carnage, Dante used his divinely given Detect Magic ability and they collected the magic items of the fallen. They ended up with 2 magical shields, a potion of healing, a clerical scroll, and a magical Warhammer. They put the bodies into the bloody bags formerly holding the zombies, tying up the ends and left them in the dungeon to rot. They managed to leave the dungeon without incident.
Returning to Muntburg, Dante snuck into the Fist’s rented townhouse, using a key recovered from their bodies. He found some gold and Genevote’s spell book, written in Ancient Thulian. Tendo, unable to read the language, took the book anyway. He began to spend all of his spare time trying to learn Antient Thulian. After a quick trip back and forth to Adamas to sell some magic items taken from the Fist, the party went back in to the dungeon.
Um, wow. How’d you adjudicate Horner’s reaction?
[quote="Hardrada"] Um, wow. How'd you adjudicate Horner's reaction? [/quote]
It was already established that Boss Drake Horner was judmental and outspoken, but wasn't a killer. The first lesson he taught Rufus was, "You can't collect anything from a dead man; if you take a man's life you take what he has, but if you take a man's will, you take what he earns, and that's a lot more". The Dock Boys are interested in income over violence. Previously he beat and tortured some thugs who tried to extort the church of Hera (a big no no as the Don is very pious), but kept them around.
Rufus had given Horner over 4K gp over 5 months in tribute previously, invested an additional 1800 gp, and brought an additional 5K gp in from Dante. I had already decided that Boss Horner was going to turn over the syndicate in Muntburg to Rufus, and his new proficiency would allow him to do it. Really all he did was ask the wrong person for the promotion; he didn't steal anything, didn't kill anyone, etc.
Maybe I was a little soft on Rufus (the other PCs watched in horror as he RPed the situation). But Boss Horner knew that if a fight was started it would be to the death and several thugs would die before the PCs were brought down. The Dock Boys were content to keep the over 6K the party had invested in Dock Boys businesses and called it a day.
Now the Don would killed him wthout hesitation. Probably even gotten his own hands dirty in the process, but NOBODY crosses the Don and lives.
As an aside, Boss Horner's decision paid off, sa a very successful mission (yet to be written up) resulted in Rufus giving 10K gp in order to get back in with the Dock Boys. With that much cash, Horner leveled up and is in line for a promotion to a CAPO.
Sounds likeit was awesome to play through, and your experience underlines why judges should exercise caution in building money sinks. Players can come up with some good ones on all their own!
The other party is buying up land and building houses like crazy. Part of me loves it, part of me wants to tell them they'll need that cash when they start clearing hexes.
I got behind on my adventure logs for the Raiders because a lot happened in a short time (my son is home from college and we had a couple sessions in a short time). Lazarus, Dante, and Dante's henchman Barney came upon a hard to reach altar of law on level 2b of the dungeon, and they both converted to worship of the divine poower of law! Lazarus became a cleric of Law (switching his weapoons and spells) and Dante and Barney became paladins! (the players companion version). They also cleared out much of level 2b, recruited the hobgoblins on the level, paid the Crimson band to stop all other adventurers from coming into level 2b, found lakes of azoth, located a machine that converted raw azoth into magical compounds, and agreed to take the leader of the wererats out of the dungeon. I am still working on those adventure logs for the campaign website (https://dwimmermountthevillagepeople.obsidianportal.com)
In the meantime I did manage to keep up (kinda) with the adventure logs of the village people. They occurred after the missing adventure logs from the Raiders. (As E.G.G. always said (but I didn't fully appreciate until now) keeping accurate time records is vital to a campaign).
(Note there are two seperate sessions of the Raiders missing from the narrative)
Village People - Session 6
The Village people celebrated Yule in Adamas. By the next time the VP played, the campaign calendar had advanced three months. Each PC received their share of Isaacs’ Moon Pool operation and subtracted their monthly expenses. A lot of campaign activities occurred via the campaign forum. Each PC had something to do:
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li>Hired a shaman – snake healer,</li>
<li>considered creating potions or scrolls but realized he didn’t have the requisite monster parts, and</li>
<li>spent 60 days learning collegiate wizardry (which I have house ruled adds +1 to all spell research rolls, +2 at 7<sup>th</sup> level and +3 at 13<sup>th</sup> level).</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li>Hired a sage to investigate Altrusian (ancient lizardman) culture and to allow him to study the language. </li>
<li>Satisfied with her work, he hired her on as a henchman (a 4<sup>th</sup> level sage), although with the understanding that she could take outside work if she was not working on anything for him,</li>
<li>Purchased additional materials for his library to send to Tariq’s home in Muntburg, and</li>
<li>spent 60 days learning the ancient Altrusian language. </li>
</ul>
</li>
When the Village People returned to Muntburg, Eduardo (AKA Keyser) met with Legate Verodart. The meeting began cordially. Eduardo put forth his plan to purchase about 96 acres (about 16 hexes on the map of the area immediately around Muntburg) for 50 gp per acre. The Legate needed to know more before he would allow him to purchase that much land within a mile of town. He wanted to know what ‘Keyser’ was planning. Keyser explained that he wanted a place for the businesses of Muntburg to expand, benefiting all. ‘Keyser’ would provide security, allow businesses to build there, and would be willing to collect taxes for the Legate. He would also aid with infrastructure costs. All in all, it was a reasonable offer, especially if ‘Keyser’ would be willing to pledge fealty to the Legate . . . . and then the PC rolled snake eyes on the reaction roll.
“I’ll let you build on the land for the same deal as before, an initial 20% fee for infrastructure, which I will match. Let’s see how that works out for a few months before I let you have that much land” said the Legate in a forced air of politeness. “I appreciate your offer for assistance, but I really do have to work”. As ‘Keyser’ left he thought he heard the Legate mumble something about ‘uppity adventurers not knowing their place . . .’ and ‘Phillipe was right’.
Returning to the Scroll and Flask to mourn his sorrows over his missed opportunity, Eduardo received a message that a dwarven merchant was looking for him. Intrigued, he agreed to meet with him. Eduardo recognized Thoric Brewmaster, the dwarven merchant with whom he had struck the deal to have sole franchise rights for his clans quality ale. With him was a grizzled and scarred Vaultguard he introduced as Azum Strongaxe. He stated by congratulating ‘Keyser’ on his recent financial successes as a result of his family’s ale. “Now, didn’t you wonder how you got that lucky, more than doubling your investment in less than 6 months? There is a reason I choose you. I know about your trips under the mountain. There is a favor I would ask of you so we can strengthen our bond.” ‘Keyser’ agreed to hear his request.
Thoric explained that his family had faithfully sending several dwarven warriors each generation to protect the secrets of Dwimmermount. After a period of 10 years they would return to the clan. However, several dwarves were overdue, including his cousin, Borin. If the Village People could find out what happened to him, and the other dwarves, he would be eternally grateful. He would also provide a contract providing exclusive rights to sell a delightful Brewmaster Clan brandy in the North. ‘Keyser’ accepted. Thoric pulled out a bottle of his family’s trademark brandy and they spent the rest of the night drinking to their bargain.
Eduardo woke up with a headache, a strange map, and a foot-long metallic rod, made from a strange metal. He dimly remembered that he was to follow the map, taking the rod to an area on the map, opening a doorway to the dwarven area of Dwimmermount. This was what dwarves from Vol Darul had been doing for centuries. When he found out what happened to x, he was to find and speak to Azum in Adamas.
Dave also had business to attend to in Muntburg. Dave cast fellowship and met with Julia, who noticed that he was different. All of Dave’s hair was now white, and when she met his eyes, she felt that he could see straight into her soul, baring all of her bad choices. (On her this added +1 to reaction rolls).
“Julia, you have done very well. Hera smiles upon our church. My recent brush with death has changed me and made me realize what is important. As you know Hera requires that her followers marry and raise a family. I have had this medallion of Hear made for you (500 gp). It pales in comparison to your beauty and devotion, but please take it as a sign of my feelings for you. I hope that you would consider getting to know me better. Maybe eventually becoming my wife”.
Julia sat in stunned silence (the result of the reaction roll, was uncertainty, even with +5 in bonuses (since it was marriage only a 12+ would be sufficient). She began to blush, replying “Brother-Disciple Dave, I don’t know what to say. I am honored, but . . . I never have considered you that way. I have nothing but the utmost respect for you. I have always been your humble student. I never considered I could be seen by you as anything but a servant. I will need some time to think on it.” Dave looked into her eyes and said “I understand. Please know that whatever you decide, I will respect it as Hera’s will.”
Note: This would only be sexual harassment to modern eyes. It did make me feel a little uncomfortable as we were playing it out. Thankfully he made sure not to put any pressure on her to comply. Now if she said no, and Dave retaliated, this could cause a problem with Hera. I did tell the player that Clerics/Priests of Hera needed to be married by 7th level (Mother or Father) so I guess he suspected he could get there soon.
Dave also went to the temple of Zeus in Muntburg to talk to Vicar Louys Herint to mend fences. Dave began diplomatically (and enhanced by fellowship) stating “My recent brush with death has made me see the world in a new light. I want to put any bad blood behind us and work together to strengthen the bonds of our churches and the faith of the people. Muntburg is growing rapidly and needs our guidance. Let’s work together”
Unfortunately, Dave’s new aura made Vicar Henrint feel shame for his actions in the past. Dave’s bad luck with reaction rolls didn’t help. “At last you recognize that the Temple of Zeus is supreme. If you are willing to act subservient to me, I will agree to recognize Hera’s role here in Muntburg. Just remember your place”
Dave seethed quietly for a heartbeat before responding. “Hera and Zeus are equals. Each has their role to play”. Herint was not so measured. “Don’t think I don’t know what you’ve done. Stealing money from the Temple of Zeus by taking money from Legate Verodart designated for me. You may have him fooled. You may have even fooled Bishop Saidon, but not me. I know those that you travel with. They play with foul arcane magics and chaotic forces.” He started to shake with rage as he spoke. “Where was Hera when the Termaxians befouled the minds of men and made slaves of us all? Hiding, that’s where. It was the Temple of Zeus that led us to freedom, and through Zeus that a new empire will rise!”
As Dave stormed out in anger, Herint screamed after him. “A reckoning is coming! The Inquisition will be here soon. Nothing is hidden from their eyes. They will root out the corruption that is the Village People. And then you will feel the full power of the Temple of Zeus!”
The Village People were almost happy to get back to the relative serenity of the dungeon. They decided to follow the dwarven map to find Borin.
Village People Expedition:
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Lenny Davos </strong>– Lvl 2 Fighter – (Legionary) – FS (Weapon +Shield), Siege Engineering – STR+2, INT -1, WIS -1, DEX +1, CON +1, CHA +1 – Heavily muscled former soldier from Adamas, wears Plate + Shield, fighting w/ spear or a silver short sword.
<ul>
<li><strong>Mysty</strong> – pixie familiar – Animal friendship, tracking.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mycah Pyrus</strong> – Lvl 3 Shaman – (Snake Healer) – Divine Health, Laying on Hands, Healing – STR, DEX, CON -1, WIS +2 – Armed with a staff.
<ul>
<li><strong>Reggie</strong> – small python – HD 2</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Ukla the Quick</strong> – Lvl 3 Barbarian (Pit Fighter)–Running, Combat Reflexes, Gambling – STR +1, CON +2, CHA -1 – Ex-gladiator turned adventurer – fights with net and trident.</li>
<li><strong>Onde Vrazic</strong> – Familiar imp – Mimicry x2, Arcane Dabbling, Alertness</li>
<li><strong>Delwyn</strong> – Lvl 1 Village Witch – laying on hands, healing x2, familiar – Str -1 Int+1, WIS +1, DEX +@, CON -1, spell signatures based on potions, salves, balms, or foodstuffs.
<ul>
<li><strong>Bernard – </strong>Familiar – golden lab – laying on hands, soothsaying (sniffs butt), animal husbandry</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Angela of Hera</strong> – Lvl 3 Cleric (proselytizer) – Divine Health, Diplomacy, INT -1, WIS +1, DEX +1, CON -1, wears Plate and armed with a billhook (polearm). </li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Nakai</strong> – Altrusian (ancient lizardman) Elder Skull – Labor(culinary)x3, Labor (butcher), Knowledge (Gems), Knowledge (Altrusian Culture)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Tuccia Florio – </strong>Lvl 3 Explorer (pathfinder) – Tracking, Precise shot x2, DEX +2 – wears chain and armed with a crossbow and hand axe – sent to scout a path to the ruins of Lloreac. She has with her two hirelings (potentially henchmen):
<ul>
<li><strong>Shalla of Athena</strong> – Lvl 1 Bladedancer (Bringer of Mercy) – Laying on Hands, Healing, wears leather under robes, armed with curved swords and a x-bow.</li>
<li><strong>Mala</strong> – Lvl 1 Barbarian (Death Dealer) – Ambushing, Climbing, Survival – DEX, CON +1, wears leather, armed with spear. </li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
(And a guest appearance from a member of the Raiders:)
The Party did load up on healing herbs (for a change[KC1] ). They entered through the dwarven door and travelled through Issacs’ moon pool operation. They followed the map to the stairs to level 2B. There they found a large number of Crimson Band mercenaries. They would not allow them to go downstairs. Illyrio confronted them, but they were told they had to talk to the Crimson Band to get permission.
Dante, who travelled with Isaac into the dungeon, heard the commotion and met the party. Illyrio, angered that the Crimson Band would ignore the despot’s orders, had to be talked out of fighting. The Chandler brothers, retrieved by a merc, showed up. The Village People and the Raiders agreed to sign a non-compete pact on the 1st level and level 2b (both of which had been relatively cleared). They travelled to the Crimson Band’s fortified portion of the 1st level to sign an agreement.
When they got to the front entry of the dungeon, a misty doorway magically appeared in a wall (which had never happened before). The party ignored it and signed the agreement. Dante agreed to join the party for their expedition (perhaps to make sure that he could make clear that the Azoth belonged to the Raiders).
On the way to the 3rd level, the village people stopped at a room with symbols on a series of pillars. By pressing the symbols in the right order, Tariq , Jace, and Dave were hit with a surge of divine energy. Jace (Remove Fear) and Tariq (Fellowship) were able to handle it and gained the ability to cast a divine spell. Dave tried multiple times (being drained of HP until next level) but eventually was successful (Detect Danger).
The party made it through to the 3rd level (the reservoir). They were amazed to see a working azoth fountain (although covered by a dome of clear material). They entered a room with a worn mosaic showing a partial map. The party followed the dwarven map to a room with a crack in the floor. Suddenly 8 giant ticks entered the room from the crack.
The party fought the ticks but found out that once they ticks bit someone, they became affixed to the victim. Attempts to hit the tick resulted in Angela being struck by a party member. Eventually Jace figured out that he could just grab one and pull it off (STR vs. STR roll), throwing it away from the victim. The victim was hurt as the tick was pulled off. They also figured out that they could strike any tick affixed on their own person very easy to hit. As they were recovering, a final tick, almost twice as large as the others, came from the crack. The party managed to kill the ‘tick king’.
The party spent some time healing up before continuing to explore. A wandering monster check ended up with 8 more ticks, who came up behind the party. As battle ensued, 8 more ticks entered from the next room, attracted by the noise. By the time the party was finished they had killed 23 giant ticks in under an hour.
SPOILER ALERT
The party passed a statue of Vulcan (the god of craft, who appears as a dwarf) with his head replaced with Terms Termax. They also discovered a room with an unaltered 9 ft tall Vulcan statue, columns, and a curtain to the south. When they pulled back the curtain, revealing some stairs down, the statue animated. Thinking quickly, Eduardo pulled out the rod given to him by Thoric and the statue went back to it’s pedestal.
They next room held three doorways on a raised circular platform. When Eduardo approached the doorway marked on the dwarven map with the rod, a shimmering misty doorway appeared (like the misty door that appeared on level 1). The party entered the mist and found themselves in a small 20 by 20 foot room with the stone form of a dead dwarf.
SPOILER ALERT OVER
They entered into a large open area covered with grey black metal and alchemist resin on the floor. They saw a fight going on between two groups of dwarves, although one of the groups was outnumbered 6 to 3. The party yelled at the battling dwarves and asked if they knew Borin. One of the 3 outnumbered dwarves claimed HE was Borin. The party joined the combat to help out Borin’s group.
As they joined in the combat they got a closer look at the dwarves they were fighting. They were a little less stocky, with more angular faces and gray toned skin. They turned out to be tough opponents, as they were both hard to kill and heavily armored. The party turned the tide of battle, however one of the strange dwarves escaped, and one of them made it to a southern hallway, screaming for help before being killed.
His dying cries were answered by a rampaging earth elemental and the sound of armored dwarves charging. Jace started casting and a small portal opened to the elemental plane of fire, resulting in an explosion of flame that damaged the earth elemental (and killing several advancing evil dwarves). Before the party could investigate the room they came from, they heard arcane chanting and the elemental was all of a sudden caught in heavy webbing, blocking the hallway to the south.
Borin and his two dwarven allies thanked the party. They explained that the other dwarves were evil copies of dwarves created by a group of Termaxians. Borin refused to give details of what happened, but the Termaxians were a problem in Dwimmermount. When the party offered to help, that it was a dwarven problem. The party asked him to return home, as requested by his cousin Thoric. He refused to leave, saying his mission was not done, and that it was a manner of honor. He did ask the party to take a message back to Thoric to “send reinforcements. Tell him ‘Sparky’ sent you”.
They found a small jeweled box left by the Termaxian dwarves. They also briefly explored the level and found:
The party fought another wandering earth elemental. Tariq used his necromancy to fire a bone needle, which rotted away the legs of the creature, allowing the party to take it down. The party went back to the closet, activated the portal, and returned to level 3b.
Before returning to town, the party decided to check the other two mystic portals. One led right to the 1st room of the dungeon (where the party had seen it before). The other ended up in some caverns, which led to hallways carved from the stone. The carving lacked the precision of other areas. It led into hallways with statues of a being in strange armor.
The hallways encircled a large chamber with a spiraling stairway down a large pit. At the top were columns covered with a black vine material recognized as shadowstuff, full of negative energy. At the bottom of the pit was a larger statue of the armored figure holding aloft a glowing lantern. No one recognized him, but Dante drew Dwimmersmite. The sword recognized the statue as being of ‘The Iron God’. He was a champion of law who battled undead and became the leader of a small cult of followers. The sword reminded Dante “don’t trust those spellcasters” as he was put away.
Dante and Dave touched the glowing lantern and felt the divine power of law flowing through their body (healing Dave of his drained HP!). They also touched the statue and felt as if they were protected from undead.
When they came up from the pit, they decided to take the shadowvine (for Tariq). It was dangerous to touch, so they put on the suits (which they believed were protective suits). Although it wouldn’t cut with normal weapons, the party had magic weapons to cut it down and put it in some boxes they found in the level with the dwarves (level 6B). (Of course, by using two of the suits, they could no longer sell them for XP!).
Using the misty portals, they made it out of the dungeon without issue.
On the path to Lloreac
Village People Expedition:
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Lenny Davos </strong>– Lvl 2 Fighter – (Legionary) –Heavily muscled former soldier from Adamas, wears Plate + Shield, fighting w/ spear or a silver short sword.
<ul>
<li><strong>Mysty</strong> – pixie familiar – Animal friendship, tracking.</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Mycah Pyrus</strong> – Lvl 3 Shaman – (Snake Healer) –– Armed with a staff.
<ul>
<li><strong>Reggie</strong> – small python – HD 2</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Ukla the Quick</strong> – Lvl 3 Barbarian (Pit Fighter) – fights with net and trident.
<ul>
<li><strong>Barnabus Bannon</strong> – Fighter 2(Corsair) – Searfaring, Swashbuckling, STR +1, INT,WIS,DEX -1 <strong>– </strong>wears leather armed with dagger and shortsword<strong>.</strong></li>
<li><strong>Michael Thomas</strong> – Fighter 1 (guardsman) – Alertness, Signaling, , STR, DEX, CHA +1, INT -1 - wears plate mail and armed with a glaive</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>Onde Vrazic</strong> – Familiar imp – Mimicry x2, Arcane Dabbling, Alertness</li>
<li><strong>Delwyn</strong> – Lvl 1 Village Witch – laying on hands, healing x2, familiar – Str -1 Int+1, WIS +1, DEX +@, CON -1, spell signatures based on potions, salves, balms, or foodstuffs.
<ul>
<li><strong>Bernard – </strong>Familiar – golden lab – laying on hands, soothsaying (sniffs butt), animal husbandry</li>
</ul>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Angela of Hera</strong> – Lvl 3 Cleric (proselytizer) –wears Plate and armed with a billhook </li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Nakai</strong> – Altrusian (ancient lizardman) Elder Skull –</li>
</ul>
</li>
<ul style="list-style-type:circle">
<li><strong>Tuccia Florio – </strong>Lvl 3 Explorer (pathfinder) –
<ul>
<li><strong>Shalla of Athena</strong> – Lvl 1 Bladedancer (Bringer of Mercy)</li>
<li><strong>Mala</strong> – Lvl 1 Barbarian (Death Dealer)</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li><strong>The Villagers</strong> – Lvl 2 Mob – Survival, Cap’n - Otto – Labor (butcher) – STR +1, WIS -1 - wears chainmail and armed with a variety of one handed weapons </li>
</ul>
</li>
The village people travelled to Adamas to try to sell two of the environmental suits. Keyser spoke with Azum Stormaxe about Borin, telling him what happened. Tuccia also reported back from her scouting trip to Loreac. Most of the city was flooded, and all of the stone gates were closed. Entry was possible over some old docks leading into a lake rising out of the marshes, but that area was controlled by lizard men. Another entrance (by canal) was controlled by ogres. She managed to sneak into the city and found evidence of goblins, trolls, and what had to be a dragon flying overhead! She also located an abandoned guard building about a ½ mile out of town bordering the lake which would be a perfect spot to hole up.
Jace talked to his Altrusian (ancient lizardman) skull. It agreed to help them with the lizardmen. The village people hired 20 marines, Illyrio recruited a mob henchman, and Keyser instructed Ukla to hire some fighter henchmen, one of which was Tariq’s old henchman Barnabus the ne’er-do-well corsair.
During the few weeks of hiring everyone, we handled end of month expenses. Keyser’s business made a fair amount of money and everyone profited from their share of Stocker’s Moon Pool business, granting campaign xp to the PCs. Keyser decided to cut bait and increase good will by gifting his entire cottage business (worth about 18K) to the Legate of Muntburg in a gesture of good will (and to build up his XP bank in anticipation of starting another PC). Tariq managed to determine the formula for making more of the nutrition packets, which require azoth to make. Dave, who had purchased the formula for making healing potions from the temple of Hera in Adamas, was able to make 2 healing potions (failing his roll on 2 more).
The party travelled to the city-state of Yarm. On the road they came upon Bishop Johann of Death, the fabled undead hunter, with his two henchmen. He had heard of the Village People (Dave’s efforts to spread the word being successful) and asked them about undead in Dwimmermount. He was on his way to Muntburg to investigate stories of people going missing, and a few bodies being found, bloodless. The party wished him luck and he went on his way.
In Yarm, they bought a large barge, relying on the marines and Barnabus to guide it upstream to Lloreac. They also purchased two oxen and hired a drover to assist with them to aid in pulling the barge upstream from the shore. They travelled slowly upstream for a few days, passing by fields being cleared for planting. On April 12th they were passing through lightly forested banks when a number of mounted armed men approached. Claiming they were representatives of the law, their leader, Murray, demanded 100 gp tribute. Illyrio, riding along the shore on horseback, countered with 75 gp, which the bandit accepted. He ordered one of his men to take the gold, and they left the expedition alone.
That night, during the first watch, Ukla noticed a group approaching the camp. He awakened the troops. The camp was surrounded by a large number of men, approaching from all sides from out of the wooded area, archers on foot, and a few on horseback. Out of the middle was a small group of heavily armored men on warhorses. One of the men stepped forward and asked what the group was doing on the land of the ‘Grim Band’. Keyser quietly told his imp to take a quick invisible count of the total number of bandits.
Dave spoke up that they were the Village People. A quick roll determined that the bandits had heard of them. The horseman asked for more tribute. When they asked for how much, the response was “Well, what do you think is fair?” Illyrio challenged the horseman to a fight. A deal was struck that each group would wager 100 gp in a one on one match. The horseman had one of his men step up, pausing to take a sword from another horseman and fight Illyrio.
Illyrio lost initiative. The bandit took a swing with the sword, striking Illyrio, who failed a save and found himself paralyzed! The bandit took the gold and returned to the group of horseman. (At this point I decided that the bandits had a 35% chance of believing the stories of the VP to be exaggerations and demand everything or attack. The party rolled a 15 on 1d100). The spokesman demanded that they leave everything and march back to Yarm. When they refused he ordered an attack!
The only secure side was the river. A few marines remained on the barge, the rest prepared for battle. The group of heavily armed horseman charged towards the camp. The bowman at the edges began firing into the camp. Before the horseman reached the camp, Jace (winning initiative for once) cast fireball, bringing down the warhorses and a few of the horseman. Tariq summoned some zombie berserkers and sent them towards the right flank. Dave charged forward to remove paralysis by healing Illyrio. The bandit archers managed to take down several marines, wounding the Villagers, and hurting some of the henchman.
One of the charging horseman stood up and started carving through the marines and took down Mala. Wielding the paralyzing sword, this was obviously the real leader of the bandits, Jack Grim. Illyrio and Dave took him on in the middle while Tariq’s and Jace’s berserkers took the right flank and Michael Thomas and Barnabus and a few marines took on the left flank. Keyser, Ukla, and the healers held the middle and assisted where they could. The imp returned and gave Keyser the totals; about a hundred bandits.
A few of the mounted leaders on the left flank charged into the center and were taken on by the Villagers and Ukla. After a pitched battle, the leader finally went down after taking down Illyrio, who lost his arm (again!). Morale eventually broke and several of the gangs fled. When the fight was over, 70 bandits lay dead and one of the lieutenants was captured. The bandit Murray, who had accepted the 75 gp earlier in the day, was among those who escaped. They interrogated the remaining bandit, who offered to take them to their camp, but pointed out that the survivors would immediately break camp. After a brief discussion, the party decided to not follow them into the woods. They did manage to treat all of the fallen marines with spells, lay on hands, and the healing proficiency, and despite a few sever injuries, only one of the marines (and a few nameless members of the Villagers) died.
The party took the barge in the morning back upstream to Yarm. They took the body of the Bandit Leader Jack Grim back with them, receiving a 1000 gp reward. Each of the Marines were given a 20 gp bonus for the battle. A few members of the party took the injured Illyrio and the dead marine back to Adamas for healing. Illyrio was restored and had no ill effects. The marine retired, becoming an alcoholic.
The party decided to have Murray sell the paralyzing sword. They had a 10% chance to sell the sword for 60,000 gp. They rolled an 11 on d100. A representative of the legate was willing to buy the sword for 40,000 gp. After a tie vote (Jace didn’t vote), a die roll resulted in the sword being sold. As a result, most of the party and henchman levelled up. Illyrio recruited another 10 marines and headed back to Yarm.
The party left Yarm and made it to the Murklands on April 26th without any encounters. They continued to slog upstream with the oxen pulling the barge upstream when they sighted something flying towards them. As it got closer they saw a large dark green/black dragon. Everyone scattered into the marsh to hide, cutting the oxen free. The large dragon landed on the barge, tearing open the deck cabin looking for any possible treasure. Finding none, it grabbed one of the oxen in it’s huge claws and flew off.
The incident repeated itself the next day, with the dragon taking the remaining ox. Luckily, they arrived at the abandoned building discovered by Tuccia and managed to set up camp inside, within a short trip to the ruins of Lloreac. They had a restless night, but no dragon came.
The next morning the party took 3 canoes and approached the original docks of the city. A group of lizardmen arose from the water. Jace and the skull spoke to the lizardmen, who, it turned out, was a tribe that respected the Altrusian elders. They agree to take the party to a sub-chieftain.
On the way to meet with sub-chieftain, the party and the lizardmen patrol ran onto a group of 3 trolls and a troll champion. Using good tactics, a fireball, a timely acrobatic backstab, and the chomping of Dave (who had ‘skin-changed’ into a tyrannosaurus rex), the party managed to defeat the trolls in the knee-deep water. They pulled the bodies out of the water onto the raised porches of the remaining buildings and set them on fire, but not UNTIL Tariq had collected the troll’s blood. (The party had loaded up on military oil in anticipation of fighting trolls).
The lizardmen, who had stayed back and watched the combat, were impressed. They took the party directly to Chief Olassio. The party was taken to a large warehouse on the docks once used to build ships. Jace and the Altrusian skull convinced the tribe to allow them passage in return for some of the parties supplies. The party moved up their entire force to the lizrdmen area and we ended the session there.
WAY behind, but here goes:
The Village People into the Library
The next morning the lizardmen offered to act as guides to avoid the trolls. Taking 4 canoes they took Ukla, Shalla, Mala, Lenny, Angela, and Tuccia; leaving the other henchmen to guard the barge. During their approach they heard the sound of wings and scattered as they saw a black dragon fly overhead. The dragon circled a few times before flying away into the swamp.
The party and the lizardmen guides made it to the ruins of the library. After debating which entrance to use, they ended up going up the stairs into the main entrance. The light streamed through the tattered roof above the open foyer. The party was scared away from an open office seen through a half-door by a patch of mold (remembering how they almost died from spell casting mold in Dwimmermount).
Moving past the foyer stairs into rows of damp books, they were attacked by arcane cadavers (adherers from the old fiend folio). After handling them, the party heard voices whisper “come on, let’s move the gold before they find us” from over heard. Suspicious, they sent some summoned berserkers upstairs through closed doors. After sounds of a struggle, 4 very quick emaciated creatures leapt from the balcony above and joined in combat. These creatures were tough, hit hard, and as some blood spilt onto Lenny, he found himself losing points of wisdom!
During the fight a large bolt of silvery black energy blasted through the party, taking down most of the henchmen. Illyrio immediately tried to track it to it’s source. He turned the corner to face a partially skeletal creature glowing with arcane power. Tendrils of azoth flowed from it’s hands as it tried to wrap around his throat. He made his saving throw, however, and battle was joined.
Meanwhile Lenny eventually was reduced to 0 wisdom. His visage changed, and he began to cry out in agony. When he glanced up, the same strange silvery glow was in his eyes, as he moved to attack. Luckily one of the party mages was able to summon some berserkers to assist Illyrio, while the rest of the party took on Lenny and the rest of the termaxian husks.
After a pitched battle, the party was victorious. They attended to the wounded. Lenny was dead, but Dave cast Cure Disease immediately in an attempt to have him brought back to life. Shalla was severely injured and Mala was scarred. Many of the party’s healers were not with them, however, and most of the healing magic (potions, spells, skills, etc.) were used up. The party moved into the open secret door disguised as a book shelf. They found an alchemical lab, the personal chambers of the termaxian skeletal-mage, 10K gp worth of tomes for a magical library, and a fair amount of treasure. On the body of the mage they found some fancy boots. They also found a gallon of raw azoth, a spellbook, a scroll, and a giant bronze head of Terms Termax.
After they closed up the secret door and prepared to search upstairs, they heard a large splash from outside. They quickly moved to hide as the main doors burst open and the head of a black dragon peered inside. After a few breathless moments of the dragon sniffing around, they saw it leave and heard it take flight.
A search upstairs found a locked office. A search revealed a hidden safe, which Eduardo opened. They also discovered 4 adjoining rooms loaded with books. Unlike the books downstairs these books were in good condition because of magical de-humidifiers in each of the rooms. The party spent some time going through the books and discovered that each room covered a different subject – history/other worlds/astral theory, divine topics, animals/monster/natural world, and everything else. They found books on all of the known worlds, and lots of special books as well. Some highlights:
Of special interest was a book with the divine spell formulas for 2 new spells, Ox’s Health (18 CON (and resulting increase in HPs) + ADV on poison saves for 6 turns) and Owl’s Wisdom (18 WIS + ADV on spell saves).
While they were looking through the tomes they heard a cry of alarm from one of the henchman. The roof creaked as a large figure landed on the roof. The head of a black dragon peered down from holes in the foyer roof. A second, slightly smaller black dragon head came in through the main entrance! This dragon spoke, demanding that the party show themselves, or the dragons would tear the library to the ground.
Illyrio and Tariq spoke to the dragon in the doorway. The dragon asked what happen to the Termaxian Berol Kral? After a few nervous looks the party told the dragon they had killed him. The dragon congratulated them on their victory and thanked them for their assistance in collecting some treasure for the dragons. The dragon demanded that the party give them 10,000 GP worth of treasure and first pick of all of the magic items recovered. The party agreed, but asked for one hour to get it ready. The dragons agreed and both of them flew away.
The party went over their options. They decided their only course was to comply. The party quickly collected up enough treasure and put all of the suspected magical items together. When the dragons came back (one on the roof, knocking a few support beams into the foyer) they brought some goblin servants who took the treasure. The dragon choose the spellbook of the mage (and scroll). Illyrio asked what the name of such magnificent and beautiful dragons were, rolling an 11 (+1 for CHA). The dragon was more than happy to speak of the power of Onyx and Deathclaw and was pleased with the party’s deference to their betters.
Illyrio took advantage of this good will. He got Onyx to agree to have Deathclaw watch while the party removed the books out of the library in return for a promise that he would speak well of the dragons to the lizard men. He also promised to bring several cattle in tribute the next time he visited Lloreac. The party retrieved their remaining henchmen, the barge, and the marines. They spent 12 hours boxing up the majority of the valuable books. Deathclaw watched with minor interest from the roof, keeping the trolls, ogres, and goblins away.
The party also managed to salvage about 5K gp worth of lab equipment, all of the remaining treasure and the Bonze head. Jace managed to figure out how to remove the de-humidifiers, only damaging one in the process. They put them on the barge as well.
The party shared some of the recovered trade good treasures with the lizard men. Although they had some difficulty with weather, they made it back to civilization with their books and treasures intact. After a quick trip upstream to Adamas, they paid for Shalla and Lenny to be risen. Shalla was shaken and left the employ of Tuccia. Lenny was shell shocked and started easily when ever confronted with a bright light or loud noise. Lenny choose to retire and Tariq offered him (and his sprite familiar) a job as a gardener.
A few PCs and henchmen leveled up. Jace made plans to build a separate library in Muntburg near Illyrio’s orphanage. Identify spells were cast (with a few redos due to poor rolls) and the boots were Boots of levitation (put up for sale). The head was a Brazen Head, a device for communicating directly with Terms Termax and other brazen heads. Unfortunately, it did not seem to work.
Eduardo asked Ukla to let Barnabus go, but Ukla liked Barnabus, so he remained in Ukla’s employ. After some time spent learning spells, the Village People returned home to Muntburg.
Ooh, I want the rules for that Mice of Gold ritual.
[quote="GMJoe"]
Ooh, I want the rules for that Mice of Gold ritual.
[/quote]
So basically it turns mice into an equal weight of gold. Since a single mouse = approx. 1/2 an ounce it takes 32 mice to equal a pound. Since 10 lbs of gold = 1000 gp,, 1 lbs = 100 gp. You also need 1 lbs of refined azoth. It's kind of a fools errand as you need about 32,000 mice to double your investment with a chance of failure.
That's a whole lotta mice you have to breed and keep alive for several weeks. I can only imagine the costs of henchmen, cages, food, separating males from females, a warehouse with shelves of mice, and finally finding a way to avoid local leadership from finding out the party is breeding enough mice to ruin a city to try to turn them into gold.
Nothing like an unreasonable requirement to cause players to come up with crazy plans to fulfill them. Truly a joy for a GM.
So, there's no limit on the number of mice that can be affected? What level is the ritual? (The figures you gave suggest first level. Is that right?) Does the ritual have a maximum range or require line of sight to each mouse, or could you cast in the middle of a town to play havok with the economy, causing countless people to find tiny gold mouse figurines in their homes? (Come to think of it, this spell could end plagues.)
How much is azoth worth?
It's a level 8 ritual. Refined azoth is 100 gp per ounce and basically unavailable for sale ( although one party has access to an unlimited amount). The area of effect would be maybe a 50' radius. The problem would be finding enough mice, although I could see animal growth or enlarge being used. A single mouse is only worth 50 gp.
I might put a limit on the total value. My highest level mage from either party is 6th level so I have some time to mull it over.
Ah, looks like I miscalculated. Thanks for the correction.
Yeah, I can see how it'd be hard to make a profit with that ritual. Unless you came up with a cheap and permanent mouse-summoning spell, of course. Hmm...
Now, if that ritual could turn smurfs into gold, that would be another matter entirely. You could build a whole campaign around that :-)
I'm surprised at how well your players handled the dragons! My players would have attacked the dragons then party-wiped, then complained it wasn't level appropriate. Arrgh, new school has ruined them!
The player who plays Illyrio is actually an old school player who I played with back in the 80s. Several of the other players are his kids. We played a campaign before this and I impressed upon them the need to read the add players handbook suggestions. They learned that it's better to run and come back with a plan then to die. I might have printed out the old school primer and asked them to read it as well.
Nothing angers a party more than someone who takes away their Xp and gold. They plan on going back and getting their treasure back when they are higher level. I've come right out and told them that balance is NOT a thing. My struggle is how much info to give them so they actually have a choice.
I couldn't have given them any more warning about the dragons. If they would have run out after Deathclaw peeked his head in, I would have let them get back to the lizardmen, as long as they didn't roll an encounter. Greed made them stay and they payed a price. It'll all work out for them once a few humidifiers are sold.
The other PC party are my son and his friends. They only know the old school way, since that's the only type of game they've played. They have really taken to it. I haven't had a chance to write up the summaries of that group,but they cleared out a level by going back through the map and figuring out likely secret door locations. Now they have Dwimmersmite, a magic sword capable of finding secret doors (but not the way to open them).