Egyptian-Annulus Trial

[David]

A couple of other notes -- I suspect Moorak will be "too tall for this ride" so if we re-pitch the game as 5th to 10th, I'm fine. In that case I'll play Malok (8th lvl mage). Also PCs from the SECOND Panthiad game who are ON WORLD may also play (at least the first run or two).

[David]

Around 1:30 in the afternoon, the Egyptian heroes returned to the battlefield of Grabford. During the intervening hours, Garlok lead a team, including Timrith, Malok, Ael'Mara, TC, Kenmu, Zevi, Zandra, Zarabell, River, Jyolli, Doby, Darya, and Thera, to slaughter the conventional troops beseiging Grabford. By the time the Egyptian team returned, the handful of surviving hobgoblins and pair of orcish shaman fled, leaving everything above the surface in human hands.

Borlon's team immediately set to work. Casting commune with nature from the center of the battlefield, the high priest located and identified the remaining forces of Iuz. The party then moved to a location roughly above the elder vampire-mage's resting place. Although a number of wraiths and spectres spotted them, the continual (sun-)light stones from the priests of Ra kept the undead at bay. Once in position, Borlon used scrolls of detect undead and locate undead to find the vampire-lord's precise location. This was followed by call upon faith for each of the scrolls of ariel servant and then find traps. While in the middle of an augury, a pair of type I demons and a handful of skeletons attacked. All were destroyed within seconds. Borlon then cast (sun-)light on the servants, handed them grains of sand with (sun-)light on them. Their instructions were to follow the soon-to-be-cast track of light and keep the vampire busy. Meanwhile, Khefriseniset cast a Moorak's anchor directly above the resting vampire's lair. And in turn, Borlon used his scroll of seeking light of the unliving to find the elder vampire-mage (sometimes being unique has its drawbacks!).

The heroes split up -- Adama, Ishmopha, Nefra, and Borlon followed the ariel servants, while Maatkaure and Sahara remained to protect Khefriseniset. Borlon and Nefra were momentarily delayed destroying a horde of undead. Meanwhile Adama tried and failed to breach the entrance to the vampire's lair. Within were the sounds of combat. Finally, Ishmopah revealed the hidden entrance and Adama blew a hole through the bone walls. Unfortunately, an invisible barrier prevented him from entering, while dozens of skeletons with explosive runes on their foreheads waited within...

Equally unfortunate, the vampire elder was resistant to the daylight -- only with luck did the ariel servants manage to get the better of him and only because the anchorblocked his dimension door. Borlon unleashed his Rod of Ra[/i] while Sahara joined the group and invoked the gloves of Seeker, but the undead mage survived even this. Meanwhile, more demons arrived, forcing the rest of the heroes into combat.

Backed into a corner, the vampire needed to destroy the (sun-)light stones, so he unleashed a dispel magic once he got past the ariel servants. This took out all the stones as well as most of the defensive spells on the heroes. It also nullified the von Garik's refusal preventing the heroes' entry. Ishmopah invoked his bracers of blinding strike to spring on the vampire and Sahara used the gloves to finish him. His nearly 300 years of unlife were over...

The heroes then made short work of the remaining demons. Several of the vampires were directly below the heroes' location along with most of the spectres and wraiths. Then Borlon located another vampire mage -- although Natasha proved no match for a quick teleport to her location and a bit of (sun-)light.

Sahara, Maatkaure, and Adama secured the vampire elder's lair, bringing his loot to the surface. Meanwhile, Borlon, Nefra, Ishmopah, and Khefriseniset went hunting the remaining undead. The hunters had some trouble with the yeth hounds who fled the (sun-)light at amazing speed, but were highly-resistant to even magic weapons. It was only burning hands from Ishmopah and Khefriseniset that did them in. A roomful of wraiths and lesser vampires was even less lucky -- Ishmopah unleashed a fireball in their midst, the heroes protected from the backblast via endure heat spells.

After several hours, the heroes finished the few remaining demons, 8 lesser vampires, 8 wraiths, 4 spectres, 10 yeth hounds, and all the remaining nastiest. Two full-blooded vampires escaped, but without an army to support them, their days terrorizing Furyondy were over.

Victorious beyond imagining, the Nereganti group gathered the fallen vampires' treasures. The siege of Grabford was clearly over, bringing true peace to the region. The Annulus was theirs. Each of the victorious heroes were "normalized" to Oerth, allowing those living off-world to return. In addition, the Egyptian pantheon offers each heroes some SMALL reward for their good work, such as spells, a minor magical item, knowledge, or treasure/valuable baubles. Eeps were 32,302 each!

[Artec]

the small reward is that the Treasure we already diveed up from the vampire lair?

[David]

Howdy Ray,

No, the gods come bearing presents. Those gifts can be either knowledge (for instance, I believe Nefra is going to ask where he can find a holy kopesh while Borlon wants the precise wording to tell the efreeti in the bottle to release the power of the Lizards' Claw for Ra on Torsh), new spells (such as, for mages, a host of Nereganti spells, or for clerics logical spells from the various other books which aren't on the core list [but NOT totally new spells!]), minor magical loot (maybe a +1 <whatever> or some potions or some talismans or tokens or other items on that level), or major bling (the Egyptians, men and women both, were known for wearing LOTS of guady jewelry!). Does that make sense? Specificially NOT on the table are anything that would change the person (no special abilities or attribute changes, unless cosmetic), alter abilties, change class stuff, etc.

[Artec]

clear, thanks