Age of Worms Campaign Diary – 01/10/2017 The New Age

AGE OF WORMS CAMPAIGN DIARY - 01/10/2017 "THE NEW AGE"

Heroes:

• -          Samilar
• -          Micah
• -          Halimyr
• -          Captain Olaf

The heroes arrive on Wyrmcrawl Island and find the black obelisk, emitting the same energy as the ziggurats, and the towering figure of Kyuss beside it, along with three gigantic green Overworms.  The heroes waste no time and move in to attack.  Initially, Kyuss ignores the heroes as the worms intercept them.  But as they begin to cut the worms down, and start targeting Kyuss with their attacks, the worm-god diverts his attentions from the obelisk to the interlopers. 

Initially, the battle seems one-sided, as the heroes are nearly overwhelmed with the worms and Kyuss, but they had plundered Dragotha’s treasure hoard and having acquired the Sword of Annihilation and restored the Rod of Seven Parts into the Rod of Law, they had great magic at their disposal.  Despite Kyuss having killed and decapitated Captain Olaf, the hero was restored with a Wish.  Despite Kyuss decapitating Micah, twice, she was restored with Wishes.  Though taking significant punishment from Kyuss, enough to kill many mortals many times over, the heroes persisted and fought with all of the power at their disposal, whittling down the worm-god. 

Micah used the Sword of Annihilation, which had a dire effect on Kyuss.  Through the combined efforts of the heroes and the use of the Sword of Annihilation, the mortal form of Kyuss was reduced to tattered robes and a smattering of worms that slithered into the earth.  All that remained of the worm-god was his divine energy, which fled into the obelisk.  At that point, Samilar struck the obelisk with the Rod of Law, shattering the rod and causing the obelisk to crumble, sending a wave across the globe destroying all of Kyuss’ minions and ending the short-lived Age of Worms.

The heroes regrouped and rest afterwards.   The seven parts of the shattered Rod of Law disappeared.  After resting, the heroes return to the floating manor of Tenser to find Balabar Smenk leading a revolt against their ally Hella Darkore and the loyal survivors of Diamond Lake.  The heroes shut the revolt down and Smenk is placed in irons by Captain Olaf.  Hella shows Olaf her gratitude and offers to return to Greyhawk to restore the city.  A scroll floats down from Tenser’s manor to Halymir, pronouncing him the new owner of Tenser Manor.  A butterfly appears to Samilar reminding him of his obligation to the Great Druid to return to the Isle of Mists to assume stewardship of the Tree of Knowledge.  And finally, Micah is urged by the Sword of Annihilation to find her ancestor and namesake, Micah of the Flames of Sunndi, who was last known to be in the Feywild in the service of a Fey Lord.

So ends the Age of Worms and so begins a New Age for Greyhawk.  What will this age bring?  We shall see…

CAMPAIGN DIARY - THE TWIST

Session Date: 12/27/2016

The heroes depart Greyhawk by flying on the back of the dragon form of Samilar and make it to a nearby copse of wood where the find several refugees of Greyhawk huddled, frightened and pleading for help.  The heroes had already decided to move on to their next stop to rest, which was to go back to the giant fortress in the Rift Canyon which is near to where Dragotha’s lair was located.  The heroes agree to take the refugees with them and they use Samilar’s druidic magic to move through a large tree and to return to the druidic circle left in the fortress by the Order of the Storm a thousand years ago.  Within the fortress that is now oddly quiet and seemingly bereft of giants, the heroes provide provisions to the refugees and rest and plot their next moves.  First, Halimyr attempts to scry in on Dragotha’s lair by focusing on the monolith, but instead of seeing it within Dragotha's lair as they expected, he sees it on an island in a jungle, surrounded by giant Kyuss Worms and with the enormous vermin-form of Kyuss working on the monolith’s runes.  Kyuss somehow senses the scrying and crushes the sensor, breaking the link.  

Now wondering where the monolith was, they decide to have Samilar do reconnaissance of Dragotha’s lair to see what the best way in would be and what the potential threats were.  Samilar turns into a bat and flies the 30 miles or so to the lair and sees that the giant army has taken the fight to Dragotha…and is losing.  There are two levels to the lair; one on the surface of the canyon where there is a large fissure that the dracolich uses to fly in and out of and a ground level entrance that is located on the canyon floor.  Both were swarmed with thousands of Kyuss Spawn and gargantuan Kyuss Worms.  The giants were battling on both fronts, seemingly closer to their target at the top of the canyon, but also apparently being overwhelmed on both fronts by the sheer number of enemies.  To compound the problem, every giant the fell rose again as a Kyuss Spawn to fight against them.  In addition, the ground level entrance was also guarded by four dragons – a white, red, green and blue.  The fissure at the top of the canyon was itself guarded by five gargantuan worms that could snap at any who attempted to fly into the entrance.

Samilar returned to the giant fortress and the group decides to use magic to get a close to the lower level entrance as possible.  They materialize behind the giant army and see that things are worse on the ground than what was visible from the air.  The princess of the giants, whom had fought beside them against Brazzemal the dragon, had already been turned into a Kyuss Spawn and many giants were starting to flee the battle.  The heroes decide to go to the surface entrance instead and just attempt to fly in past the guardians.  Captain Olaf, wearing Micah’s Wings of Flying,  leads the way, drawing the initial attentions of the worms, but as they attempt to snatch him out of the air his magical displacement effect protects him from their bites and allows the others to fly in behind him unhindered.

The group wind their way through the fissure and emerge in an enormous cavern filled with Kyuss Spawn.  The gigantic skeletal form of Dragotha rises up to greet them as it senses their arrival and green flames of necrotic energy flares up within its eye sockets and rib cage.  The heroes, expecting an immediate attack, are surprised when the dracolich speaks and invites them to talk.  The heroes cautiously descend from the ceiling, spreading out to avoid being the target of a breath attack, and Dragotha proceeds to tell them that they have been manipulated from the start to get them to this point.  The dracolich beckons another to join him and from a side chamber the early nemesis of the group, the man known as the Faceless One, emerges and joins the undead dragon’s side.  The two proceed to tell them that they have been led to this point in order to do what they could not, which is to rid the world of Kyuss and to end the Age of Worms.  The heroes were skeptical, pointing out that the two were servants of Kyuss, why should they believe them?  Dragotha and the Faceless One state that they are both weary of being servants to Kyuss and, much like Lashonna sought freedom from Dragotha, they seek freedom from Kyuss.  In addition, the Faceless One wanted more than anything to be restored to human form.  And finally, neither wanted the endgame that Kyuss sought to bring about, which is the annihilation of this multiverse so that his master, Tharizdun, could emerge and recreate it in his image.  The Faceless One informs them that, since their discovery of the Whispering Cairn, they were set on the path to restoring the Rod of Law to destroy Kyuss.  He tells Micah that she was chosen to be the bearer of the Sword of Annihilation, which is the only thing that can destroy the obelisk that serves as the prison to Kyuss and as the gateway for Tharizdun, as the sword could only be wielded by one of the bloodline of the Flames of Sunndi who created the weapon.  Dragotha and the Faceless One manipulated the heroes, using pawns such as Lashonna, to lead them where they needed to go in order to grow in power and gain the artifacts needed to end the Age of Worms.

The dracolich shows the heroes a box engraved with familiar markings of the Wind Dukes of Aqqa and Samilar could sense that the final piece of the Rod of Seven Parts was within.  However, Dragotha stated that his one condition for turning over the shard was that they return to him that which he desired – his phylactery, which he knew was in their possession.  Initially the heroes were resistant and considered fighting their way out of this and forcibly taking the phylactery, but they realized that they were out-numbered and likely outmatched in power by the Kyuss spawn, the wizard and the dracolich.  Weighing their options carefully, they agreed to the exchange and carefully presented the phylactery as Dragotha presented the Ro7P shard.  The exchange is made and the Faceless One tells them that he can transport them via a teleportation circle to where Kyuss has taken the monolith, which is at a place called Wormcrawl Island in the jungles where Kyuss’ former homeland. 

As the Faceless One prepares to send the heroes to the island, he warns them that they must first destroy the mortal form of Kyuss, for he is the link between the realm where Tharizdun is imprisoned and this multiverse.  The monolith must not be destroyed while Kyuss’ mortal form exists, else Tharizdun will be free to enter this multiverse.  Once Kyuss is destroyed, his essence will flee back into the monolith, and only then should it be destroyed by the Sword of Annihilation.  Finally the Faceless One warns the heroes about the shadow of the obelisk, for it is through that which Tharizdun himself exerts his will.

The heroes prepare to be transported to Wormcrawl Island.  Samilar completes the Rod of Law by joining the final piece to the others in his possession and the rod immediately reacts negatively to the presence of the Sword of Annihilation held by Micah.  The sword also reacts to the completed Rod of Law, urging Micah to attack it.  Samilar and Micah restrain their weapons, but realize that these two artifacts represent Law and Chaos and are driven to destroy one another and that they must fight to keep the weapons from overwhelming them, adding another layer of complexity to the already impossible task before them.  But, true to their nature, the heroes, ready themselves for the final conflict with Kyuss and the Faceless One completes the sequence to activate the teleportation circle, whisking them off to the far-away lands where Wormcrawl Island is found.

Upon arriving the heroes see the giant obelisk rising up before them and it’s shadow moving independently from the position of the sun. They see the giant worms writhing around it and they see the form of Kyuss behind the obelisk working the ritual that is transforming the moon into an engine of destruction.  Kyuss and the worms sense the presence of the heroes and the stage is set for the final confrontation…

End of session.

CAMPAIGN DIARY - ENDGAME REVEALED

Previously on the Age of Worms Campaign…

Our heroes were using tunnels under the city of Greyhawk to get to the wizard’s guild ziggurat where a piece of the Rod of Seven Parts is kept.  They found their way blocked due to a cave in and had to exit the tunnels to get to another tunnel that leads to the ziggurat, but to do they had to cross the city Samilar the Druid intended to use his magic fly Micah over the worm-infested river to the tunnel entrance on the other side, but they were detected by one of the giant worms roaming nearby and it somehow alerted all of the Kyuss Spawn in the area as well.  The worm sprayed Samilar and Micah with necromantic acid which spawned even more worms from the contents of its gut.  The two managed to escape the brunt of the attack and Samilar deposited Micah atop a building near the manhole covering access to the tunnel they sought.  Samilar flew back, changed into a giant eagle to enable him to carry the last two of the party, but when he arrived and Olaf and Halimyr emerged from the tunnel, a nearby group of Kyuss Spawn ran over to attack, getting off some swipes as the eagle flew off with its two passengers. 

Micah, using her cloak of invisibility, was still somehow being detected by the eyeless giant worm, but she was stealthy enough to keep it from locating her and she moved over to the locked manhole to await her companions arrival.  When they got there, she picked the padlock and the group entered the tunnel.  Halimyr dropped a wall of force atop of it to prevent the spawn or worms from pursuing.  The group then made their way towards the ziggurat and upon reaching that area they found their way blocked by a magic-protected portcullis.  They managed to discharge the magic contained in the bars and made their way underneath the ziggurat, finding an entrance.  But Samilar sensed that the shard of the Ro7P was located down a separate tunnel, so they followed that until they reached a large cavern.  Within was the shard that was protected by a huge silver dragon that turned out to be their contact from the city of Alhaster, Lashonna, who was not only a silver dragon, but also a vampire and a thrall of Dragotha.  Lashonna had aided them in locating other shards of the Ro7P in exchange for the heroes finding Dragotha’s phylactery so that the dracolich could be destroyed and Lashonna freed from its control.  But she now tells the PCs that Dragotha somehow learned that the Ro7P was now in play so he sent her to guard this shard and since she is his thrall, she had no choice but to guard it with her (un)life.  A battle commenced as Samilar turned into a bronze dragon and flew Olaf (armed with a dragon slayer sword) over to meet Lashonna, but she met them halfway and paralyzed Samilar with one of her breath weapons.  Olaf, unable to reach the flying dragon, began to make his way over to the shard, but Lashonna intercepted him.  Meanwhile Micah and Halimyr used their magic and ranged weapons to pepper the dragon with spells and arrows while she fought Olaf.  The warrior was able to kill the dragon’s mortal form, but she turned into a vampiric mist and told the heroes that she was now helpless to stop them from taking the shard and finishing their mission. 

The heroes claimed the shard, but as they started to depart, but just then a massive rumbling came from the ziggurat above.  The mist that was Lashonna told them that the “ritual” had begun and when they questioned what she meant, she said that it was the beginning of the end and that their time was now limited.  If they didn’t destroy the monolith to stop the ritual, everything they knew would be destroyed.  When the heroes left, they saw what she meant.  From a distance they see that the ziggurat was projecting a green beam of necrotic magic towards the moon and that similar beams, presumably from the other ziggurats the heroes knew existed on other parts of the continent, were also striking the moon and that a darkness was spreading over it.  Somehow (perhaps it was having read the Kyuss histories from Tenser’s library, perhaps it was information gleaned from the Wind Dukes of Aqqa, or perhaps it was knowledge imparted by the Talisman of the Sphere, but Halimyr and Micah instinctively knew that the moon was being transformed into a Sphere of Annihilation, and at the rate of the spreading darkness, they had less than a day to stop it.  This was the endgame for Kyuss and, according to Lashonna, Kyuss' master THARIZUN!

The session ends here.

CAMPAIGN DIARY - GREYHAWK

Previously on the Age of Worms Campaign…

 

Our heroes had fought Martaugh and his dwarven retinue in his throne room and though many of the dwarves were killed, Martaugh himself refused to fall.  He dealt a killing blow to Captain Olaf (who was saved by his magical amulet) and bullied his way through Micah’s summoned berzerkers to retrieve the Sword of Annihilation from Halimyr, who had taken it from the king with the Talisman of the Sphere.  But before Martaugh could retrieve the sword, Halimyr produced a wall of force around the dwarf, trapping him within.  The wizard then used his magic to disappear and reappear on the back of Samilar, who was in the form of a brass dragon.  Samilar then used his draconic breath weapon to put many of the dwarves in the hall into a magical sleep.  Meanwhile, Micah helped Olaf by pouring a potion of healing into his mouth, reviving the captain, who promptly joined Halimyr atop the dragon’s back.  Samilar then proceeded to fly out of the throne room.  After a bit of taunting of Martaugh, Micah followed the dragon out upon her magical figurine of wondrous power.  The group flies through the dwarven city, bursting out of the entrance and flying out into the plains beyond.

 

Once out of the stronghold they find a good sized tree that Samilar could use his druidic power to transport the team to the courtyard of Tenser’s floating manor.  There, Hella greets the heroes and helps them to heal up and rest.  Micah confronts Balabar Smenk, who continues to try and get the survivors of Diamond Lake to follow the Worm God.  The heroes discuss their next move, which is to either go to Greyhawk and attempt to recover the next segment of the Rod of Seven Parts, which is located somewhere within the ziggurat of the Wizards Guild of Greyhawk, or to find Dragotha’s lair and obtain the final piece of the Ro7P.  They settle on going to Greyhawk first, and the group uses the magic available to them to transport to a wooded area near the walls and Olaf leads them to one of the hidden entrances that lead into the tunnels running below Greyhawk.   The group follow Olaf through the tunnels on their way toward the ziggurat, but they are blocked by a cave-in and forced to back track to other tunnels.  Olaf tells the group that they must exist the tunnel they are in, cross the nearby river and enter another tunnel if they want to get to the ziggurat underground.  Micah climbs out of the tunnels with her cloak of invisibility activated and scouts the area.  She immediately spots a number of Kyuss spawn nearby, but then spots giant pink and green worms and an even larger figure that somewhat resembles the Faceless One, but who towers over the surrounding buildings, walking up the river towards the north end of town.  Micah returns to the sewers, reports what she saw and the group discuss a plan to fly her across the river.  Samilar does the honors, but the is detected by one of the Kyuss spawn that someone seems to alert the other surrounding spawn and a nearby giant pink worm.  The giant worm moves to attack the flying druid and this is where the session ends.

 

CAMPAIGN DIARY - MARTAUGH THE MAD: 11/29/16

Martaugh the Mad

The heroes teleport to the designated meeting place where the silver dragon vampires Lashonna agreed to meet them for their exchange.  Lashonna had agreed to acquire Prince Zeech’s shard of the Rod of Seven Parts in exchange for the heroes finding and retrieving the phylactery of Dragotha; her master that she desperately wants to be freed from.  The heroes inquire as to what she will do with the phylactery and, surprisingly, she says nothing.  She tells the heroes that she cannot take the phylactery because Dragotha will instantly know if it is in her possession and will force her to bring it to him.  Instead, she tells the heroes that she will need for them to destroy it and the only way to do that is to trick Dragotha into breathing his dragonflame on the phylactery.  She reminds the heroes that they need to get the shard of the Ro7P that is in his hoard and that a confrontation with Dragotha is inevitable.  She tells them what they can expect in the lair; lots of Kyuss spawn in and around the lair, lots of dragons, and, of course, Dragotha himself.  She also says that the Black Obelisk that Kyuss is imprisoned within is also in the lair, last she heard, but it can only be destroyed with the whole and fully functional Rod of Law.  She tells the PCs that they are not yet ready to face Dragotha, then turns into her gaseous form, dropping the shard of the Ro7P, and leaving them to decide their next move.

The heroes return to Magepoint with the new segment of the Ro7P attached and mull over what to do next.  They could go to Dragotha’s lair, where the next segment of the Ro7P is located; or they could go meet with the dwarf king Martaugh who has another shard of the Ro7P and is also in possession of another item the heroes need – the Sword of Annihilation; or they could go to Greyhawk and try to acquire the last shard of the Ro7P from the ziggurat where it lay and that is likely guarded by the Faceless One and all manner of Kyuss spawn.  They decide to meet with Martaugh the Mad to try and convince him to give them both the shard and the sword to help save the world.  Halimyr does some scrying in Martaugh’s throneroom to get an idea of what they would face and sees that he has a host of dwarves within his halls, a priestly advisor and two pet black dragons.  They grab some items from Tenser’s treasury in case they need to bargain with Martaugh and then they teleport to the Kingdom of Ratik where Martaugh’s fortress is located.

The heroes arrive on the trade road that leads to Martaugh’s mountain fortress.  The road is busy with all manner of merchants, traders and slavers moving along it.  They see the fortress nearby and the trade road that zig-zags up the mountain pass to the entrance to the fortress that is carved in the likeness of a dwarf king’s head with the mouth being the entrance.  Three dwarf soldiers notice the heroes arrival and approach them asking their business.  Micah addresses the dwarves, demanding an audience with King Martaugh.  The lead dwarf laughs at her and she punches him right in the face, flooring him.  The soldier’s two companions burst out in laughter at their comrade being humiliated by a woman and an elf at that.  The soldier gets up to retaliate, rage turning his face bright red, but his companions hold him back and say that perhaps they should take her to the king and see how he deals with an elf in his kingdom.  The humiliated soldier seems to like that idea, so the three take the heroes up the trade road and into the mountain fortress.

Inside the mountain is an expansive dwarven city and the heroes are escorted to Martaugh’s throne room.  Micah is initially looked upon with suspicion but she had donned a Belt of Dwarvenkind prior to leaving Magepoint and its magic seems to mitigate the dwarven animosity against elves enough to allow the group to pass without difficulty and to approach the throne room.  Within, they find Martaugh on his throne, massive mug of ale in one hand, his two dragons on either side, and his advisor behind the throne.  Micah moves swiftly to the steps leading up to the throne and beseeches Martaugh, asking for his assistance in dealing with the threat posed by Kyuss that, although has not yet reached this coast, will eventually consume the world if not stopped.  

The day prior to this, the heroes had done some research on Martaugh to get a better understanding of the dwarf king and how to deal with him.  They learned that 100 years earlier Martaugh, as well as a relative of Micah’s, had been part of a band of heroes that operated out of the southern country of Sunndi and were known as the Flames of Sunndi (FoS) after having stopped the machinations of a corrupted Heironeous priest from summoning Orcus and his host of demons and undead.  The FoS had quested to forge a mighty weapon that could destroy the mighty demon lord and cast him back into the Abyss.  The weapon, the Sword of Annihilation, successfully destroyed Orcus’ physical form and the killing blow was dealt by Martaugh.  Afterwards, Micah’s relative (also named Micah) and the party’s paladins Jhixal and Caltosh, had tried to convince Martaugh that the Sword of Annihilation was too dangerous and that it needed to be unmade now that the threat of Orcus had passed.  Martaugh refused to listen to reason and, according to some bard’s tales, this was partially due to the friction between he, Jhixal and Micah, who the dwarf seemed to have a fondness for.  Micah and Jhixal were said to have been involved with each other and Martaugh’s jealousy, coupled with his belief that the sword was his legacy, resulted in a fight.  Martaugh managed to overpower the others and took the Sword of Annihilation and left the Flames of Sunndi. 

Over the next several decades, Martaugh and the Sword of Annihilation traveled the lands, acquiring followers and amassing an army in which he used to conquer the lands to the north of Sunndi, finally settling in Ratik.  Martaugh consolidated his power there and his bloody trail earned him the moniker of “Martaugh the Mad”. 

Now, Martaugh looks down upon the figure kneeling at the steps leading up to his throne, and sees the likeness of his former companion, who he has not seen in 100 years.  Intrigued, King Martaugh asks who this bold and foolhardy elf is that barges into his throne room bearing the countenance of his long lost love and demanding his aid.  Micah says that she is the great niece of the Micah that Martaugh knew and again tries to convince him to help them stop the Age of Worms from spreading into his lands.  Martaugh seems unconcerned with this, but he stands and tells Micah that if she is who she claims to be then she may touch the Sword of Annihilation without fear of being consumed by it, for the sword would not harm the bloodlines of those who participated in the forging of the weapon.  Micah was initially hesitant but reached out and touched the blade and passed Martaugh’s test.  Satisfied that she was who she claimed to be, the dwarf king told her that he is unconcerned with matters outside of his kingdom.  Micah tried to reason with him, offering him the items that they had taken from Tenser’s treasury, but Martaugh wanted none of it.  The king did tell Micah that there was one thing that she possessed that he wanted from her and was willing to give her the shard of the Ro7P in exchange for the exact whereabouts of Micah’s aunt. 

Micah knew that her aunt had left the Flames of Sunndi 100 years ago and went to serve Queen Yolande of the elven nation of Celene, but had disappeared some time ago.  Knowing of Martaugh’s fondness for her, Micah had used one of Tenser’s scrying crystals the night before to see if should could locate her aunt in case she needed her help.  She did manage to locate the elder Micah in the Feywild in the service of the Erlking – Master of the Wild Hunt.  But the Erlking did not take kindly to the magical scrying into his domain and the scrying crystal shattered.

Before she could respond to him, Martaugh told his advisor to create a zone of truth around them to ensure that the elf spoke truthfully.  The priest did as he was bade and Micah told Martaugh that her aunt was in the service of the Erlking in the Feywild.  Martaugh seemed pleased with this information and gave Micah the shard of the Ro7P.  He rose from his throne to make preparations to invade the Erlking’s realm when Micah asked for one more favor – to borrow the Sword of Annihilation so that Kyuss may be destroyed with it.  Martaugh scoffed, saying that the sword will never be held by another, and turned to leave. 

Meanwhile, Micah’s companions watched this scene from behind her.  When King Martaugh turned to leave, refusing to give up the Sword of Annihilation, Halimyr pulled out his Talisman of the Sphere that the group had acquired in their very first adventure together back in the Whispering Cairn, and used its power to gain control of the sword, which had a Sphere of Annihilation embedded within it.  Martaugh, unsuspecting of any attempts to wrest the weapon from him was unprepared with Halimyr used the talisman, and as a result the sword flew from Martaugh’s hand and landed in Halimyr’s.  An enraged Martaugh turned at this treachery, his face red with rage, and the heroes then realized that they were about to fight a legendary warrior in his own throne room, with dozens of his servants and two black dragon pets.

End of session.