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SirJoe
July 22nd, 2007, 03:36
Under the Spire of the Dread God


(With special thanks to Sal Conti)

When the bloody tide of the Dread God - he who shall remain unnamed - arrived, it was in the form of the Black Spire. Standing one-thousand feet, it speared into the Good Earth of Baba Ganush and settled untouched for a week and day while the sages and mages and kings and knights debated and argued over the best course of action. Of course, that was inaction.

We all know the folly of that time. Men and women too comfortable from years of peace and fortune. For as our leaders thought, the Black Spire wove its tendrils deep through our soil. Roots of evil took hold, drinking up the life of the land… growing… and the when the fruit of evil was ripe, out came the monsters.

A decade of war began. Royals were felled and heroes born. Battles lost and won. The land broke. The sun turned the color of spilled blood.

It was only through the combined strength of our four neighbors, who looked on with fear at what had taken hold in our once grand land, that the minors of the Dread God where pushed back, until at last the Great Final Battle took place. Every last beast has been slain, or driven back into the Black Spire to lick their wounds.

But you know that battle. You were there and you carry the fresh scars. And now you think it is time to rest? No. You have one last act before your can put down your sword and spells. You will enter the Black Spire and destroy its heart, least the evil grow again. Go good champion… and may glory await you!

Summary

The Spire of the Dread God is a classic dungeon crawl of megalomaniac proportions. As a mercenary in the Great Final Battle, you were looking forward to payday. Instead you’ve been frog-marched to the entrance of the Black Spire, given a rousing speech, and promptly pushed inside “to do one last job.” Right.

Characters, Players and Attendance

Everyone is welcome! Any standard class, race and alignment is fine, as are skills and feats from noteworthy publishers (eg, WoC, Mongoose, etc.) Just make sure that you include full descriptions of feats, skills etc on your character sheet if they are not part of the SRD. You’ll start at 1st level and work your way up quickly… or die trying.

The campaign is written in an ‘opt-in’ format, meaning that your character can be a part of any sessions that you can attend. If you miss a session, we’ll just assume your character is sleeping in a corner somewhere while the others’ do all the dirty work (and getting the loot!) If your character enters the game late in the action… well then, I guess you have been captured by the enemy and have just been found by the rest of the intrepid heroes.

I expect to run this weekly, perhaps bi-weekly. You should expect lots of action, combat, spells, traps and perhaps even a little bit of romance.* The server will remain up at least three evenings a week (+10GMT) so you can look in and see what’s been happening and add your heroes.

Requirements:
· Fantasy Grounds 2
· 512k Internet connection or better
· Skype (optional)
· A good sense of humor

Calendar Link

https://www.fantasygrounds.com/calendar/index.xcp?id=192

PS.

If another GM wishes to run sessions as well (perhaps in another time zone?) then I am happy to share the server files. (Collaborative / remote GM’ing… hint, hint SmiteWorks!)



* Actual romance not included. The manufacturer bears no liability for damaged egos caused by misuse. Warranty void if heart broken.

scytale2
July 22nd, 2007, 10:06
I am keen, if somehow these timezone issues can be conquered.

SirJoe
July 22nd, 2007, 11:05
Feel free to recommend other times to me. I can always run a few 'late night' (my time) sessions.

andrew woodhead
July 24th, 2007, 06:20
i'm interested. i'll work out a character and register on the calendar.

SirJoe
August 3rd, 2007, 12:42
Diary of the Mad Scribe

Day 1.

It was a tough day all round. First battling the hoards of the Dread God back into their evil abode, then getting jipped-out of your pay by being thrown into the very place from whence evil sprung.

Our band of unlikely companions were ill me in the dark of the entrance chamber, scarcely having time to even shake hands in greeting when Gravid, a rather brash human, walked into a pool of human remain only to set off the most basic of dart traps. Thus Gravid was rendered unconscious.

He was saved by the quick-witted, though just as quickly soaked in the black filth of the fallen, Lynn. Ever brave, Lynn crawled forward, leading the party past certain door to come to a junction.

From one door, left ajar, the group heard the distinct sound of “mooing.” A tentative entrance was made, to discover a winding set of corridor, a secret alcove with a magic shield that gaurds against charges and finally a brief encounter with a minotaur, which was roundly hacked by Gravid. Naturally, Gravid was just as equally hacked and, once again, rendered unconscious.

Luckily, Raith had already misdirected the beast somewhat with his spells, and our heroes beat a hasty retreat.

Finding another door, the party surprised several goblins. One attempted to escape and call for “Monty.” A brutally quick battle ensued.

In the middle of the room was a raised platform and a large barrel. Gravid, true to form, set of this trap by attempting to get to the barrel and found himself caged and being tossed from side to side while the barrel rolled over him. It was the quick thinking of his comrades that deactivated the trap. Stabbing at the barrel, fine port began to flow.. and flow… and flow… and flow…

Our heroes have made yet another hasty retreat, barring the door as they left, but it appears that the port is still flowing well in the room…

SirJoe
August 10th, 2007, 04:16
With puddles of port lapping at our heroes feet, they scurried back down the hall to a door they found previously locked. On there way they find new friends: cleric Zinko And Mog. Using a brass key recovered from the goblins, they open the door to discover a temple full and humanoid and animal skeletons. More savage combat ensures with our heroes being victorious, although Gravid is seriously wounded. Luckily, Zinko calls upon the grace of Talso heals the party. A quick search of the room reveals little, but the heroes locate “The Red Book of Bones.”

After sealing up the room, the party slept and awokesome what refreshed. As they open the door they discover that the port has continued to rise and is several inches deep right along the hall way. Paying it no heed, the heroes try to last door and unlocked and begin to walk down a short hall to a larger set of locked double-doors. The sounds of combat and cheering can be heard from beyond. No letting obvious warnings get in the way, the heroes break open the doors and are quickly whisked into a Goblin arena, battling against 3 highly trained ogres: Onk, Donk and Monk, who is a monk. A bloody and extremely tense battle ensures, with an enlarged Gravin being pounded into unconscious (yet again), Raith raising the recently killed Monk to fight for the party. Lynn backstabs, Mog proves his fighting prowess with a war axe, and Zinko prays while slugging it out. Eventually (and amazingly) the heroes survive and are rewarded with cheers from the goblin audience, and showered with rotten meat and a pint of beer.

Making their exit, the party locate the Northern-most end of the entrance hall and through much cunning solve the puzzle of how to advance past the “It Takes To Tango” doors (no spoilers as to how that was done, other than to hint it involved unseen servants, skeletons, and not a single dance step.) Unfortunately, even with all there cunning, they failed to realize that they were standing on an entrance to a giant ant nest. Once again, much pain followed, with our heroes finally exiting Northwards, locking in an angry ant swarm.

What will happen now? Will our heroes even go back to the minotaurs? Will the ants get int their pants? When will the flow of port ever end?!

Stay tuned, or join in: Aust EST 7:45 each Thursday. Server up frequently on weekends for character uploads. Everyone is welcome.

scytale2
August 10th, 2007, 06:28
Gah - another taking the name of Talos in vain....

A fun and tough session, which all would enjoy, even if just to look at Sir Joe's extraordinarily beautiful dungeon maps.

For the word "grace" above, substitute "omnipotence" - Talos is no pansy god...

Pheonix-IV
August 28th, 2007, 08:48
This looks quite entertaining. I certainly have to congratulate you on your imagination.