Threnody of Kings

Summary

Adventure Threnody of Kings (The Fourfold Undoing)
GM Mandos
Season Spring 825 WK
Night Monday
Location New Windsor
Level Mandos Extreme (Probably just high)

Party

• Kilroy - The Rune Man - Dean PL
• Aryan - Legendary Hero - Stephen MS & Scribe
• Serendipity - Lady Dark - Lisa
• Vychan - The Giant - Sean
• Father Broc - Voice of the Light - Chris
• Lyric - Charming Dwarven E&E - Michelle

Employer

Father Broc on behalf of Ipos & Seir

Mission

To inconvenience a Demon.

Payment

70,000sp Miscellaneous gems and coins from a generous and willing benefactor.

Obligatory Astrology Readings

From the Guild

Four thrones in shadow, four crowns of decay,

Each rules the night and keeps dawn far away.

One wakes the dead with a whisper of bone,

One feasts on cries till no joy is shown.

One flies with fire on a serpent’s wing,

One laughs in circles where madmen sing.

When four fall silent, the dark shall give way,

And light finds the world at the break of day.

From the Lords of Stonehaven

Six fools in tatters, with fire in their eyes,

Set forth ‘gainst the monarch where graveyards arise.

His crown is of marrow, his breath a cold gust,

His armies are bone, yet they crumble to dust.

Though wisdom says “flee,” still the mad march on in,

For madness, not reason, may grant them the win.

The dead fear no dagger, no spell and no sting—

But lunacy laughs at the Necromant King.

Scribe Notes

Why we should work for demons

Duesday 1st Thaw

Broc invites us to meet up with him in the backroom of a pub in Seagate to smite undead and save the world. Also there are two representatives of Astronia and Ipos to answer questions.

Oswin

Edwin

Mutual self interest is the motivation here, there is a common enemy and potential threat to Alusia from Renelle & Barbatos. The aim is to significantly reduce the power of the Demon Barbatos.

A temporal uncertainty has been identified whereby Barbatos' Kings could be powerful or weak depending on the actions of members of the Seagate Guild - us.

The home of one of the king-lieutenants has been recently identified, Renelle, a plane that Broc can get us to.

Specific actions required:

1. Go back 15,000 years to the right time (as determined by Seir) to kill the king without disrupting timelines.
2. Destroy a Crystal powering Vaelor's defences.
3. Kill the King Vaelor Dreadcrown, King of the Thousand Graves, Necromancer, has an undead army, pacted to Barbatos (Barbie). If we kill him then he will go to hell earlier
4. Capture alive his Rune Mage to discover the way to the next king.

King Vaelor was in contact with the other kings so determining what planes they are from and how to get there will allow you to take out the other three kings if time and ability allows.

The three other kings are:

1. King Dravain Thorneward, The Red Pactkeeper
2. King Seridyn the Wyrmbinder, Breaker of Dragons
3. King Eldamar IX, the Crystal-Seer of the Obsidian Eye

The Demons are waiting for us at Elowen's reach in the Kingdom of Vael Theryn. It is on the coast to the west of Insel de Freheit. From there the demons will send us to the correct time on Alusia, then we will travel to Renelle and complete the mission.

We hang around for 3 weeks while the mages learn the Exsanguination Counterspells.

The guild Astrologers are getting very twitchy about the polarised readings to do with hell. They're considering consulting a summoner:

• Balthus, a mad, friendly(ish) summoner.

Serendipity does some Astrology.

Duesday 22nd Thaw

We portal to the Filgiso then through the cave to the Isles. There we speak to Chaaf (appearing as an old Elf).

• He's a fan of us acting to reduce the power of Barbatos who has the power of Unsealing.
• Janthro may know more about the motivations of Ipos & Seir.

We ask about protection from life sensing and heart/blood concealment. Chaaf can't do that but pops out for an hour and returns with Vidal. Vidal takes some blood from each of us and returns about an hour later with:

• 6 vial of potions that will mask our blood for about a week.

We use Dwarf tunnels and portals to get to a coastal cavern, North-West of the isles.

In a couple of hours, we fly about 600 miles west to the mainland, lots of small coastal kingdoms where we ask for directions and make our way to the Kingdom of Vael Theryn. The capitol has significant stone walls and battlements.

We land and walk into town to meet the demons at The Demon's Wing Inn. Seir does all of the talking (because they assume we won't trust anything Ipos says), they will send us back in time, they believe (based on Astrology and equivalents) that where we are here when we transfer through to Renelle

We ask and Ipos gives Vychan, Lyric, and me Illusory Auras of Greater Undead Vampires. We're also gifted a version of Heroism that doesn't add defence.

• +21% vs Fear.

Then Seir sends us back through time... we're on the coast near the edge of a forest.

Why nobody likes Elves

History Day 1

After 8 hours of ritual, we portal through to Renelle.

We're in a very similar forest on the coast. We spend an hour fortifying then fly north.

About 100 miles north we can see an unnatural dark storm with a sharp edge. Flying towards it, we pass some villages and towns. Stopping to visit a village, they are all Elves who go inside and hide without saying a word. Moving on to a fortified town (20 miles from our portal), we are met by Elven guards at the gate that agree to call their lord to talk.

They speak Eldaran but it seems their magic lamps at the gate make everyone understand each other. Their Lord is a standard Elven haughty bigot, lots of magic. He's distrustful, agrees to meet us at dusk in The Glade - implying this will establish whether we can be trusted.

We hang out at their glade a short way out of town, three nobles and entourage turn up at dusk.

• Vaelor was with the Drow during the Great War, has drained most of the life from his realm, regularly sends troops out to attack (but not for a couple of decades).
• Never friendly but Vaelor used to engage in diplomacy. About 2,000 years ago the storm arrived and they stopped talking.
• Storm is 300 miles across, a few thousand feet high, dark/misty from 30', dark/inky black from about 50' above ground up. Anything flying more than about 50' altitude is struck by lightning.
• Humans to the west.
• Vaelor has adepts (some human) leading/enhancing his undead which makes them much tougher.

Turns out they are all bigots with few redeeming features.

We camp in the forest near the town.

History Day 2

A guard brings us two gifts:

• Shield of Protection from Lightning and loud noises
• Gauntlets of Lightning - bolts of enhanced lightning on successful strikes

The Elves send a scout (magically enhanced ranger) to show us the way to a previous battlefield, near the storm. Broc & Kilroy chat to the spirit of one of Vaelor's minions.

• Vaelor & his crystal are near the centre of the storm
• Crystal is at the centre of a structure
• They have underground defences and may have sub-terranean ways in/out
• The spirit had no special life/blood detections

Divination of the Storm & Experimentation:

• Lightning, Fire Lightning, Scatter the Leaves (like Whirlwind Vortex)
• Fire Lightning is resist for half and half of the damage is 'True Damage'
• Stronger towards the middle
• Air and Fire Special Counterspells will help protect us
• Doesn't trigger based on auras
• Doesn't trigger on insubstantial or non-solid (Windwalk / Gaseous Form)

Why we didn't fly in

We use crystals to scry below the centre of the storm. There's a Keep on top of a rock outcropping, a river branching around it. Tower contains a crystal and a cauldron of blood. Some people (mostly Elves, some humans) moving around.

We fly back south, to our arrival portal location and return to Alusia.

Then fly back north on Alusia and find the rock promontory.

10 hours to make another portal, some rest and then through we go.

History Day 3

We emerge in a dead forest a couple of miles out from the promontory - at the edge of their protective dome. We approach by horse (half the party) until we can see the lights of the castle.

We prepare to fly, I take off first and get attacked by Air Elementals. We kill a couple of them and wear a lot of lightning bolts until we work out they only bolt in response to being attacked. Pinning them down we move away, half the party teleporting to the crystal in the tower, the rest fire-running up the side of the castle.

In the tower, Kilroy destroys the crystal, Vychan destroys the blood in the cauldron, the explosion of the crystal does some damage.

Outside we can see the castle inhabitants retreating into the main building across a ravine and dropping the portcullis behind them.

Kilroy detects undead: 20 Liches, 1 Greater Liche, 1 Wraith Lord, 20 Wraiths, 20 Greater Enslavers, 12 Death Knights

All of them over there and most below ground level.

We cross over and start punching through the bound roof - we estimate it will take 10-15 minutes to make a hole big enough for Vychan.

Why we love slaying undead

We head over the side of the bluff and tunnel in at the level where the greater undead have gathered. Preparing ourselves while Kilroy bashes the bound earth away, we then charge in.

100' x 200' throne room, 6 spiral stair pillars to upstairs.

We throw Black Lightning, Lightning, Rune Walls, Blackfire, Broc's undead slaying aura, and lots of melee damage.

The Greater Enslavers possess the living, enhancing them to Greater Undead and then moving to a new host when their host is killed - unless you're striking their insubstantial presence.

The Big Bad Greater Lich King takes hundreds of damage, then slays some of his living minions to heal; from his throne he throws spells, strikes with his staff.

Life Draining Wraiths are nasty if you let them hit and the Death Knights take a bit of killing.

Floating Skulls shoot fire bolts with unavoidable True Fire Damage, smashing the big ones leaves a medium one, smashing that leaves a small one.

Why they hired us

We get the Dark Elemental and Karryhun to close on and restrain the king then concentrate on his troops. It takes a minute but we eventually kill them all and then destroy the king. Meanwhile the teleporting assassin (Bamph II) has fled.

From the King:

• Staff - Increases rank of Necro Spells, Necrotic Wave (1 per day), soul storage, kills plants, regenerates undead.
• Book - Necro Focus, raises the dead (1 per day), always able to cast necromancy, Dark Vision, Protective Bone Bookmark
• Sword - Increased damage under moonlight
• Broadsword - On a successful strike, may exactly repeat that strike (twice per day)
• Robes - Bonus to one college of magic
• Bracers - You dodge being knocked prone

Broc detects the portal is below us, Vychan can see there are stairs below the throne dais, Lyric cracks the doors open, Kilroy uses the throne to command the dais to open all the way. Downstairs we find a large open permanent portal to another plane: The Blighted Vale.

We search the rest of the castle, portal the surviving living to outside the necro Kingdom - Elves to the south, Humans to the west.

History Day 4

We prepare then I step through the portal and snap back (Seren's Bracelets), 5 seconds for me, 10 minutes for them. Stepping through again, I immediately step back and only 5s have passed. We all go through, we're on a desolate basalt plain. A vast chasm about 60 miles north. This seems to be a small plane/nexus, we find 3 other identical portals, the first two in tunnels in the chasm, the last north or the chasm.

Karthoon

South side cavern in chasm.

Thornsong Expanse

North side cavern in chasm. Was used about a week ago.

Deep Crimson Sky, forest of transparent trees, crystalline animals, background music - everything there makes music of some sort, contributing to the world song.

Veylara

North of chasm.

I scout through the portal to Thornsong and bring back some samples to study before we all go through.

Why we're not charging in

We're in a 1,000 yard circle of dolmans. Looking from on high, we're on a coast, the forest covering the land is in three wedges of colour: Blue, Red, Green (with some blending at the borders).

• West (inside the dolman circle) is a farmstead, a half crater further away - red, hated by Crysari
• North is a Large Crystal Tree - green, dancing, singing
• South are glades in the forest - blue, peaceful

At the farmstead, we approach the crystalline humanoid, it doesn't talk, DA: Long-lived sentient, GTN Crysari. Keeper of the peaceful glade. We manage to communicate by thinking things while touching and DAing her resulting colours. Her strongest (angry?) reactions make us bleed.

Red: field of poppies that explodes while red crystal figure laughs. King Thorneward. She'd be very happy if we killed him. He lives in the half-crater, 3-tiered building, he lives at the base. He soaked his crown in blood - literal or figurative? Something he was given? Corrupting event or demonstration of his evil? 50-60 'people' in each tier, singing songs of pain and death. Strong effects from concert singing. Robed figure with a chain of 20 slaves came through the portal and went to Thorneward. Crystal/crown in the hill/wall of the bowl. Protections in the red area: blood hedge, crystal animals. Light effects (flash of light) may reflect back on us or boost them. Darkness is likely to diminish them.

We do some experimentation then move into red about 100', set up a runeward, then Seren hits their fortress with Black Lightning causing lots of damage.

10 minutes later (while we're recharging) they raise a glowing dome over the crater. The next Black Lightning splashes over the dome.

While we're moving to prepare a 3rd location we are attacked from below by a giant crystal worm (GTN: Lithoworm). While trying to restrain it, Lyric successfully sleeps it. Kilroy then controls it.

Why no enemy survives contact with our plans

We finish fortifying and decide to wait a while to see how long they can maintain their shield. After a while they start throwing explosive magic at us which is mostly blocked by our Rune Ward. I throw some enchanted plants back at them. I release an illusory fog to cover us for the next 20 hours. Kilroy builds a bunker which shields us from the occasional blast that gets through the ward. Seren creates a massive explosion by scarring the nearby plants. We have lunch.

Then we Shadow Walk to the hill behind them and attack. Kilroy and I leap down to the king in the middle and get mobbed by his elite guard who deal a lot of damage. Their mages concert cast attack and protection magic. Mass Fear is ignored by those under the protection magic. Vychan reflects one of their attacks causing deaths among their casters. Kilroy decimates the King's resistance, the King then resists Sacrifice and Black Lightning, then fails to resist an uncontrolled Dark Sphere.

Session 8

History Day 5

Loot and Expenses

Purchases

Invested Spectral Weapon 5 charges of rk 16 x 2

Value: 10,000sp + 1,000 each

Necrogeny Potions rk 20 x 3

Value 3,000sp + 300 each

Enchanted Hair Braid for Lyric

10,000sp + 1 FT

Buffs & Mil Sci

Buffs and Enhancements

Long Term Buffs (assumed always on)

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Ar	Br	Ki	Ly	Se	Vy
Strength of Stone (Vy)	20	+20 EN	21 hrs	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y	Y
Armour of Earth (Vy)	20	+42% Def +1 DR	10.5 hrs
Rune Shield (Ki)	20	25% Def +5 AP, 2 SG.	10.5 hrs	Y		Y
Shadowform (Se)	20+	42% Def	10.5 hrs					A
Witchsight (Se)	15	See Invis	8 hrs	-
Str of Darkness (Se)	19	+11 PS	200 min	Y		Y		A
Smite (Ki/Br)	20	On Strike: D+21, Knocked prone	21 hrs	Y		Y
Greater Heart Rune (Br)	11	Heals 13 EN on taking EN dmg.	21 days
Rune of Truth (Ki/Br)	6	PC + 2xRk + Greater % to spot illusions/hidden/disguised	7 hrs			Y
Cold Resistance (Ki)	8	Prot vs -12 deg, -3 dmg from cold	9 hrs	Y		Y
Willow Healing (Br)	10	3 En per pulse for 9 pulses	14 hrs

Short Term Buffs - Cast as Needed

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Ar	Br	Ki	Ly	Se	Vy
Enchant Weapon (Ly)	16	+17% SC +6 damage	21 mins	Y
Rune Weapon (Ki)	20	Acid, (D-5) +8 for D10 pulses	21 hours			Y

Self Only Buffs

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Ar	Br	Ki	Ly	Se	Vy
Mind Shield: rk		+10% +2/rk MR vs Mental Att.		10				13
Herbal Lore		+10% +2/rk to find herbs		10
Tracking		+10 +2/rk Tracking %		10
Navigation		Increase Navigator ranks and safer travels		16
Evil Eye		-rk off MR vs				9
Aerial Affinity		1+rk/4 steps better Temp & Wind on weather table		20					20

Senses and stuff

Magic (caster)	Rk	Effects	Duration	Ar	Br	Ki	Ly	Se	Vy
Sense Danger (%)		Mind Talent (or equivalent)		-		75%
Detect Ambush (%)		Ranger (-5/rank of opposition)		151		124%
Enhanced Vision (Rk)		Pierce fog/obscurement. Chance of Detect Illusions on pass action.		20		18
See Invis (Rk)		Effective rank for seeing invisible		20		18
Spirit Vision		See spirits				7
Dark Vision		Excellent vision in the dark. 250' range.
Second Sight		See Spatial Anomalies		8
Detecting Ley Lines		Active - See Ley Lines within 1500'		10
Stealth (%)		Standard / Ranger Outdoors		204		141

Aryan Mil Sci (rk 13+)

Unengaged Initiative: D+60

Melee Only: +18% Def, +18% SC, +18 IV, +1 End of Pulse Pass Action in melee

Raise Morale +6 WP

(When Aryan is in melee) -17 dice mod on Fear/Morale Checks & Fear Resistance; -33 on Fright Table.

(Within 28' of Aryan) +15% to resist Fear/Awe & -15 on tables. (Elven Military Pins)

(Within 26' of Kilroy) +15% to resist Fear/Awe & -15 on tables. (Elven Military Pins)

(Within 25' of Vychan) +15% to resist Fear/Awe & -15 on tables. (Elven Military Pins)

Aryan's Callisthenics

+1 AG (For all that participate in 1 hour of morning exercises, lasts 1 day)

Herbalist Meals/Broth

5FT for meal or 6FT for broth/tea (Aryan rk 10)

Special Tea (26 doses, 1 dose will do up to 23 people and last 23 hours per dose)

Gives drinker +10 SC and IV, +1 Spell rank on all spells, one step better mana, +2 FT and +2 WP

Enhance Enchant rank 16 & 20

Rk 20 is also rk 10 in a second aspect

Watch Order & Camping

1	2	3	4	5	6	7	8	9	10	11	12
Vychan				Aryan				Broc
Lyric		Kilroy				Serendipity				Lyric

Marching Order

Skirmish Formations (Front)
Default Aryan Vychan Broc Lyric Kilroy Serendipity	Double File Aryan Vychan Broc Lyric Kilroy Serendipity	Single File Aryan Vychan Broc Lyric Kilroy Serendipity

Astrology

Lucky Numbers (Seren)

Aryan	Broc	Kilroy	Lyric	Serendipity	Vychan
74	41	51	44	--	92

Calendar

Spring: Thaw 825 (10)
	Moonday		Duesday		W'ansday		Th'rsday		Frysday		Reapsday		Sunday
		Candlemansa	1	Guild Meeting	2		3		4		5		6
	7		8		9		10		11		12		13
	14		15		16		17		18		19		20
	21		22		23		24		25		26		27
	28		29		30		1		2		3		4
Spring: Seedtime 825 (11)
	5		6		7		8	Rites of Thunor	9		10		11
	12		13		14		15	Equinox	16		17	Eostre	18
	19		20		21		22		23		24		25
	26		27		28		29		30		1		2
Spring: Blossom 825 (12)
	3		4		5		6		7		8		9
	10		11		12		13		14		15		16
	17		18		19		20		21	Floralia	22		23
	24		25		26		27		28		29		30	Walpurgisnacht