Trollopulous Adjusted Session 150 (Machodor #101): Pulling a Rabbit out of Cthugarak

           

There he is, but where is he?

Introduction

Sent alone into Cthugarak to steal heat-cloaks for the eighty or so humans rescued by the party last week, Sever's henchman Rabbit fails to return.

The night before a session I like to do a little mental exercise I think of as "convergence thinking" about the campaign state, along with making any necessary adjudications ready for the next day. The part of my brain that is always running the campaign in the background suddenly spits out abductions for me. It's a really good way to prepare the mind for what might happen; it's also a good middle ground between "no-prep" and "just-in-time prep". In this case, almost like reading a book, I knew what had happened to Rabbit and set about being ready for the party to try and find out.

Timekeeping

This session began on March 12th, with the player characters adventuring until the 13th. Downtime for these characters begins on the 14th of March.

Player Characters Present

Sever the Wrathful (Level 10 Pegasus Corps Ranger Lord of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and the Rod of Lordly Might, wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C7), Poindexter (M6), and Rabbit (FMT556)

Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings, current wearer of the Cloak of Druidish Awesomeness)

Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of Sanctus Draconis Interfector and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) with henchmen Bishoy (F6), Tawadros (F6), Steelvein (F6), Rhoikos (M6)

Dead-eye Donny (Level 5 Monk)

Downtime

Rabbit, henchman of Sever, was rolled up precisely according to the rules for henchmen on page 35 of the DMG by me, he ended up with exceptionally good stats and so qualified for Fighter/Magic-user/Thief. My running joke about this is that he is "too good" to stay in the party. Perhaps as payback, Sever's player Brig has been setting him tasks that would be challenging for any normal henchman. In this case I evaluated the mission as difficult, and the roll did not come up in the half-elf's favour. Instantly abductions filled my mind, and in moments I had decided on this outcome: trapped in the Drake's Ember Rest after suspicious patrons called in a patrol, Rabbit escaped via the sewers. Incidentally, I had been hoping someone would go down there as they are a unique feature of the city: instead of water, they are flushed out by periodic lava flows.

Cthugarak sewers

Avoiding fire snakes and fire toads, not to mention the lava flows, Rabbit found himself driven into the arena quarter, where he was captured and forced to fight in the gladiatorial games! I opened my copy of ACKS: Capital of the Borderlands, and turned to a section that would work for this situation.

Unrelated to the above, some other crazy stuff happened that I still can't reveal, but when I can I will come back and link it here.

Session Report

Sever was clearly worried when Rabbit failed to return, but what would he do about it? I certainly had no set idea; but I did know what information was available. I expected them to go to the Drake's Ember Rest and ask questions there. However, the ranger chose a totally unexpected method: the crystal ball retrieved from the treasure vaults.

At 10th level (Ranger Lord), rangers are able to employ
all non-written magic items which pertain to
clairaudience, clairvoyance, ESP, and telepathy.— PHB, p.24

The major function of this device was to give its possessor greater control over transportation via the living fire braziers and a limited scrying capability; would it work for this? Rhoikos, the magic-user who was the keeper of the sphere, tried to find Rabbit, but failed. The players decided this was due to the fact that the lair was in a different plane of existence. But what if it was used while standing in the pillar of living fire on the Island of Sacrifice? Who knew? But sending Rhoikos down with it was deemed unwise; Sever would do it himself. And, yes, rangers can do that, you know:

I can safely say I have never seen this rule come into play before. Now Sever tried to find Rabbit and it worked: he saw the image at the top of the session report. Though relieved to see that he still lived, in some kind of cell with a motley variety of other prisoners—though uniformly tough looking, the crystal ball was of course not able to pinpoint his location. Sever kept viewing and at one point observed firenewt guards come in and leave with one of the other prisoners. These wore a tabard bearing the image of a saurian figure in coiling flames. Meanwhile, Rabbit had detected the tell-tale distortion caused by the scrying and responded by pointing to a sewer grate in the middle of the floor of his cell: an attempt to indicate how he had gotten in, but would the party understand?

Sever returned to the lair and explained what he had seen. In fact they showed remarkable study of the city and soon came to the conclusion that everything pointed in the direction of the Flamesaur controlled Arena Quarter.

ACKS

Leaving the freed human prisoners behind in the lair, the party used invisibility 10' radius and travelled back down to the island, crossed the causeway to the city, and had Sever carry them one by one over the walls using his Wings of Flying and super strength. Soon enough they were making their way through the city down Eastpyre Avenue. The imaginatively named "Arena Quarter" was soon before them. They set off into the side streets optimistically; however, the warren-like streets were difficult to navigate—even with the Arena towering over the tops of buildings clearly visible—touts of various unsavoury kinds tried to lure them off the path into their establishments, but these were consistently rebuffed. Finally the party arrived at the centre of Cthugarak's entertainment, the Arena.

Now, all along I was expecting this to turn out to be resolved by violence, either directly via infiltration and then fighting their way out, or perhaps going undercover and having to defeat gladiators themselves. Instead, they went to the ticket stalls and purchased tickets like anyone else in town. Talk among the other customers was all about the new "knife-eared" fighter who was undefeated in the arena. Sever buttonholed the ticket seller and chose to play the part of an aggrieved slave owner who had heard his slave was fighting as a gladiator. After being handed off to progressively more important functionaries, the adventurers were given VIP seats in the south section of the main stands, with a good view of the "King's Box" if he was to attend today. He did not. I used a table in the ACKS supplement to generate various fights which the heroes watched over the rest of the morning. Then finally Rabbit himself came out and won another victory, over a half-ogre. The crowd went wild.

Afterwards, Sever confronted the Flamesaur overseer, Maximus, in the basement of the arena and made his case that Rabbit "belonged" to him. The super-tough but not overly smart firenewt was unable to prove otherwise in the face of rival-house Blazenewt troops present serving as guards for the arena who, apart from military responsibility, were also responsible for regulating the slave trade. The Flamesaur was forced to admit he had captured Rabbit when the henchman had trespassed, and, after sufficient recompense the ranger was able to retrieve his "slave." This was a really fun side mission that amazingly was resolved peacefully.

Now the party returned to Lord Inferno's lair and for the first time fully investigated things in the laboratory area. Previously, unable to open the door and unwilling to force it, the heroes had only observed from the outer walkway the endless rows of towering columns stretching into shadow-cloaked depths, each a massive rotating carousel that could turn to display its stacked pods – four or five levels high, man-sized orange-glass cylinders gleaming faintly with ember-streaked fluid and the coiled silhouettes of lizard-things within. Now, it was in ruins.

The wall on either side of the door showed clear signs of being dug through by umber hulks; within, they found the trashed remains of what appeared to be breeding experiments. They found evidence to suggest these breeding programs were responsible for the creation of many of the evil creatures which plague the Bandit Mountains: first and foremost firenewts, but also firedrakes, lava children, and also experiments on existing creatures such as ophidians and presumably also umber hulks. The walls were stacked high with cylinders containing the remains of such experiments, all stamped with the sigil of Za'rathul, the true Lord Inferno: three linked rings from which a single ember dangled, with the words N'gha Fomalhaut below.

Whatever had gone on here, the heroes had missed it, or most of it, they soon concluded. But there was something going on in a far corner: an umber hulk-dug hole going down. Cautiously they descended into the hole, down a tunnel, continuing until they reached a chamber that was fed by other similar tunnels and in which a fight was already going on.

Combat#1: 4 Umber hulks vs Ophidians

Rounds: 3

Result: Party win

Highlights: 

Highlights: Fluid using sticks to snakes against snake people. Sever using speak with animals to tell the snakes not to target the party. Essentially creating a combination spell that Giuseppe called speak with sticks. The ophidians were fighting the umber hulks and the heroes soon joined in targeting the latter. Soon they discovered what the issue was between the two groups: the umber hulks were trying to dig further down and the ophidians were trying to stop them, and failing. Rabbit went around to backstab and found another tunnel going down, but he soon came back running when he saw an umber hulk down there breaking through the bottom of the ground and apparently right into the Plane of Fire!

Several players had previously guessed that the whole lair was an artificial construct sitting in another plane. Now, with a massive incursion of searing flame from the breach the umber hulk had made, they had proof. Too late to stop the breakthrough, the party fled the way they had come, while the remaining ophidians tried to exit through a different tunnel. The party made it back up to the lab and dived for cover to avoid the sudden blast of fire and pressure; the ophidians were not so lucky.

It was clear that the very structural integrity of the place was now in question (later Fluid would stabilise the fracture, for a time, using the combination of mud to rock and rock to mud). This made bringing out the prisoners (and loot) all the more urgent.

The heroes now returned to Cthugarak and searched for a good place near the walls they could rent out and use as a staging area to bring the human prisoners before taking them out of the city disguised as slaves. The two closest quarters were the temple quarter—run by House Ignisalam—and the Outcast Quarter, run by the Scorchvipers. They chose the latter and, after seeing off a mob of thieves, they found a warehouse near the city wall that suited them. Securing this facility involved all the paperwork the city's bureaucracy could bring to bear, featuring one Chandera Emberdrake, a mid-level clerk with an evident taste for bribes, and that was a lot. The details were finalised in downtime and will be covered in the next session report, but the loot and XP for the last few sessions up to this one are included below.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 0 Miles

Downtime begins on: 03/14/26
Combats: 1
Rooms mapped: 
Combat rounds: 3
Losses: None

Treasure & Items

100,000ep

50,000gp

10,000pp

Gems: 1000 gp Peridot, 1000 gp Ruby, 110 gp Onyx, 110 gp Zircon, 12 gp Malachite, 120 gp Smoky Quartz, 1000 gp Black Sapphire, 1000 gp Diamond, 1000 gp Emerald, 1000 gp Garnet, 1000 gp Pearl Total: 7,352

Jewellery: 7000 gp Medallion, 6000 gp Pendant, 8000 gp Ring, 1600 gp Arm Band, 300 gp Goblet, 200 gp Bracelet Total: 23,100

180,452gp equivalent.

Scroll (MU, 4 spells) 600xp (divided between henchmen magic-users)

For the following items, readable impressions been have blended into those of the characters who have possessed them, so Identify spells can't be used. In places I've listed what you have determined about their abilities from trial and error.

Ioun Stones * 6 (currently with Donny) all are 300xp (Psicorps will give you 5000gp for the grey one)

• pink & green sphere adds 1 point to charisma (18 maximum)
• pale blue rhomboid adds 1 point to strength (18 maximum)
• incandescent blue sphere adds 1 point to wisdom (18 maximum)
• dusty rose prism gives +1 protection 
• scarlet & blue sphere adds 1 point to intelligence (18 maximum)
• dull grey arrow head burned out, “dead” stone

Circlet of Insight (currently with Rhoikos, see discord for details) 1000xp 

Stone (currently with Donny) No obvious properties 3,000xp 

Crystal Sphere (M) (currently with Rhoikos) allows limited teleportation and scrying when standing in a column or brazier of Living Fire. 1000xp 

Longsword of Dancing (currently with Bishoy) 4,400xp

Spear (currently with Fluid, he knows what it does) 2000xp

Greater Identify used on these:

Scabbard of Nerfing(F,T): This magical scabbard causes any blade drawn from it to become a harmless nerf-sword. However, the sword in that form will damage muppets, and does double its normal damage dice when doing so. 1000gp

Wings of the Fearful Charge(F,C) (currently with Giuseppe): When worn by a rider on a charging mount, these feathery wings generate a fearfully loud rushing wind. Enemies so charged must save vs spell at -2 in order to stand and face the wearer's attack. A failed saving throw will cause the opponent to turn its back to flee at the last moment, providing the wearer a +4 bonus to attack it from the rear and causing any nearby confederates to also make a similar saving throw or follow. 

In mass combat these wings invoke a powerful illusion, if worn by a lone rider the illusion will take the form of 19 other similarly armed and garbed riders wearing like wings. If the wearer is in a unit of cavalry, the entire unit will appear to be wearing the wings. The effect will cause any unit charged by the wearer to make a morale check, with a penalty based on the relative difference in apparent strength of the units. Your DM may need to adjust these effects based on the situation at hand. 1,500xp 

Saddle of the Efreeti Prince (currently with Sever): This magical saddle can change shape to fit any mount from a small pony to a huge ancient dragon and accommodate a rider of up to storm giant size. For combat, the pommel extends to support a shield and lance in such a way as to increase the average damage from a successful hit: if the weapon damage is 3d6, find the maximum possible result of 3d3 (i.e. 9) and add 3d3 for a final damage formula of 9+3d3.

The saddle can also magically adjust to:

. accommodate up to 6 additional human sized passengers, or 

. alternatively, it can change shape allow carrying freight below the mount. 

The saddle also performs as a Ring of Feather Falling on both mount and rider(s). 

None of these abilities give the mount any additional weight carrying capacity beyond the normal amount. 1,500xp

Pair of Golden Skulls: as Chime of Opening 3,500xp 

Robe of Magic (M): Serves as armour equal to AC6. Adds +1 to saving throw scores. Damages non-magic-users who touch it. 1,500xp 

Monsters

Gold coin golem 14,550xp

Silver coin golem 14,550xp

Coin Dragon golem 14,550xp

Platinum coin golem 14,550xp

4 Umber Hulks 5,728xp

271,280 XP &  186,452 GP Assignment

Sever (E) 36,171  xp & 24,860 gp

and Thomas (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

and Poindexter (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

and Rabbit^ (E) 19,085 xp & 12,430 gp

Fluid  (E)  36,171  xp & 24,860 gp

Giuseppe (E)  36,171  xp & 24,860 gp

and Bishoy (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

and Tawadros (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

and Steelvein (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

and Rhoikos (E) 18,085 xp & 12,430 gp

Donny (E)  36,171  xp & 24,860 gp

^Extra 1000 XP for his gladiator side-hustle

Graveyard

Gurt the Green (Paladin Level 7), drew the Void card from the Deck of Many Things in downtime after session #147

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User Level 6), caught in the explosion of the dying gem coin golem in session #147 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Marco Valtieri (Fighter Level 4), immolated and burnt to a crisp by Vyrathax in Lord Inferno's Lair in session #146

Oblate (Illusionist Level 3), killed and eaten by the Nathruk in the Skalrath in session #140

Eniac (Magic-User level 1), killed by a poisoned Grothak spear in session #137 

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User level 4), smashed by a Mummy fist in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Thomas (Henchman Cleric level 6), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Josef Ironbeard (Dwarf Fighter level 1), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126.

Matthias Steelvein (Henchman Fighter level 4), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Sever the Wrathful (Ranger level 9), Killed by two pains in the Annis in session #122. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Anri (Henchman Magic-User level 4), found dead with a ghastly chest wound in the Ice Castle, with her heart missing she was unable to be revived, in downtime after session #122 

Symeon (Henchman Cleric level 2), Only strong enough to wear studded leather, he was torn to shreds by Troglodytes in session #121

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 3) Effected by the Imprisonment spell touch attack from a Styx Devil in session #117. Might not be dead, but is definitely at least six feet under for all intents and purposes.

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 6) killed by a poison needle trap in session #114 RAISED FROM THE DEAD (with a roll of 94!)

Solaire the Fallen (Henchman Fighter (paladin) level 3) killed by Stone Giants acting as catapults in session #114

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 1), reduced to 0 hit points by white dragon breath when climbing down a rope ladder in session #108. Killed not by the fall; but by the sudden stop at the bottom. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Ignatius the Smiter (Cleric level 1), horrifically mutilated and killed by double hit from a Shoggoth in session #106

Domby (Henchman with Dex 5), double surprised and turned into a pin cushion in session #87

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3), killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), wrong place, wrong time; killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe to the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 149 (Machodor #100): Easy Looting, Hard Fighting

           

Introduction

Welcome to Machodor session 100. When the chance to DM in the Trollopulous campaign came my way back in 2023, I never imagined I'd reach triple figures. The ride isn't over yet — onwards to 200!

Having camped right next door, the party lost no time travelling to the dungeon this week, intending to spend the whole session clearing out the last of the defences in the treasure caverns of Lord Inferno's Lair. But someone, or something, was also interested in the treasure.

Timekeeping

This session began on 5 March 2026, with the player characters adventuring until the 6th. Downtime for these characters begins on 7 March.

Player Characters Present

Sever the Wrathful (Level 10 Pegasus Corps Ranger Lord of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and the Rod of Lordly Might, wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C7), Poindexter (M6), and Rabbit (FMT556)

Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings, current wearer of the Cloak of Druidish Awesomeness)

Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of Sanctus Draconis Interfector and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) with henchmen Bishoy (F6), Tawadros (F6), Steelvein (F6), Rhoikos (M6)

Donny (Level 5 Monk of Machodor)

Downtime

Now wise to the "fool's gold" illusion cast over the coins and jewellery, the heroes made extensive use of Giuseppe's holy sword to dispel magic over their haul, working through it piece by piece until he finally scored a success. This allowed them to fill their sacks with the genuine treasure beneath. Poindexter found that the door to the Laboratory area had been forced open by some unknown means; unwilling to take the risk alone, he withdrew to report the discovery.

During this period a Blood Moon occurred. At the moment of the Blood Moon sacrifice, a tremor rolled through the lair, and an incantation echoed in every mind, over and over: "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Cthugha Fomalhaut n'gha-ghaa naf'l thagn!" The resulting psychic shock took some time to shake off.

Afterwards, all the cubes in area 1 were found sealed shut — presumably they were now filled with fresh sacrifices from Cthugarak. This posed a serious problem, since only Echellet had ever possessed the ability to open them, and the party's only known means of egress had been via the braziers of living flame inside each cube.

Session Report

They made their way through the treasure cavern, knowing that only two of the six sub-caverns were now still protected by the coin-golem magic. These were a central area and a northern area they had briefly explored but chosen to avoid after finding some sort of Sphere of Annihilation. Once again avoiding this area, they chose the other, and soon had the familiar sensation of something "alive" within the heaped coins. That was expected — Coin Golems — but there was something else moving within the treasure, and it was making loud chomping noises.

Combat#1: 4 Xorn

Rounds: 3

Result: Party win

Highlights: Fluid investigated the movement and noise and, suddenly finding himself looking into the maw of a strange creature, threw himself into the action. Having been alerted to the presence of one such creature buried in the treasure, the others stood out to the party, and so the adventurers piled in to smash them. The xorn responded with their powerful bites, trying to even the score a little; but, as is their fashion, when only one remained in round 3, it adjusted its molecular structure and passed down through the floor of the cavern to escape. To where exactly was an open question.

Without this they'd be stuck in the lair forever. 

Finding something alive in here since they had defeated Vyrathax was unprecedented, so they set about searching for where the xorn had come from. It didn't take long to find massive holes in the walls around the fire door leading back into area 3. These looked like the handiwork of umber hulks — which prompted some confusion, as I was thinking of when the party first encountered umber hulks long ago in the Cavern of Ithaqua, before remembering they had actually been chased down the lava tube by umber hulks just a few sessions back, on their first journey to Cthugarak. At any rate, there was no sign of them now, or any other interlopers, so the heroes returned to their task. (They would encounter the markers of these marks in a future session.)

A longsword-sized scabbard was found, followed by a box of strange stones, and then something matching the description of the item Za'rathul had enigmatically challenged them to find: a Crystal Ball — the key to travelling to his quasi-plane. The party positioned themselves for the inevitable fight that would follow any attempt to remove items from the area. They expected a coin-themed man-shaped golem, but what they got was something else entirely. This golem was the main defender of the entire cavern, and not only that — the heroes would soon find it was even tougher and had one particularly special feature: it could call for help.

Combat #2: Coin Golem Dragon

Rounds: 3

Result: Party win

Highlights: The dragon had a number of powerful area-of-effect abilities that pummelled the front rank, but the weaker casters had deployed themselves far enough back to stay out of its range. Fluid attempted to entangle the golem with no effect, then dropped back and tried a dispel magic. Sever popped his Wings of Flying and charged in. The golem could repair its damage by drawing huge piles of loose coins into its body; in fighting this foe the heroes were literally destroying treasure, but as there appeared to be no alternative they carried on regardless. 

A particularly fortunate combination of hits, targeting what the heroes took to be a weak spot, stunned the dragon, and the party piled on damage before it could recover. In its death throes, however, it let out a hideous screech of anger and pain — and the call was answered from the north.

The first thing the heroes saw was the Sphere of Annihilation drifting towards them, followed by a Platinum Coin Golem wearing a black circlet. The response was near panic.

Now, it's not really obvious at all how you'd actually weaponise one of these things in combat — it seemed to me that any interaction with it at all carried significant risk. So I was looking forward to seeing what would happen next.

The Circlet on the golem's head, which was obviously providing some means of controlling the sphere,  was a discoverable item back in sub-cavern two. I'd had a vision of someone reaching to grab it out of the coins and watching the golem's eyes light up in response, and the whole head turning towards the unlucky adventurer, but the party had never been brave enough to look for it, so that moment never came to pass. In the ensuing battle, the importance of the circlet was immediately recognised, prompting a number of attempts to pry it off the golem's head, but to no avail.

Combat #3: Platinum Coin Golem

Rounds: 8

Result: Party win

Highlights: Fluid responded by casting hallucinatory forest, hoping to confuse the golem and hinder its control of the sphere. This didn't achieve the desired effect, only serving to complicate everyone else's actions instead. Giuseppe used his sword's ability to taunt the golem and draw its attention. Sever pulled out his Rod of Cancellation and flew in to attack with it; though he struck several times, the luck of the rolls once again failed him (the same thing happened against the Iron Golem back in session 76). 

 

As soon as it was in range, the golem spewed out a gloopy spray of platinum that slowed anyone it touched, catching a few in the front rank. The rest had fanned out at the first sight of the sphere and turned invisible by various means.  Donny, by now knowing his spear was useless against golems, spent the fight frantically searching through treasure — at a very safe distance — for something more useful. 

Rhoikos tried a dispel magic on the golem with no success, then started a battle of wills to seize control of the sphere, with the result that it began drifting towards him instead. The hapless magic-user nearly lost his footing in the treacherous field of coins but managed to keep both his balance and his head.

Finally the golem was beaten down, but it wasn't finished — puddles of platinum re-formed into smaller versions of itself to keep fighting to the last. Everyone made Terminator 2 jokes but actually that comparison hadn't occurred to me at all, though of course I laughed along and pretended otherwise.  Fluid tried heat metal in response, but, like many druid spells that take a while to get going, the battle was over before it could do much. The fight lasted long enough for Bishoy's Longsword of Dancing to finally show what it could do.

Having again ended the session with two more dead golems to show for it, this time the aura of the whole treasure cavern seemed to shift as the magic that had animated the golems dissipated. The heroes left the Sphere of Annihilation where it had stopped and retreated once more into the safe area to rest, recuperate, and plot a way to escape with the loot.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel: 0 Miles

Downtime begins on: 03/07/26
Combats: 3
Rooms mapped: 0
Combat rounds: 
Losses: 

Treasure & Items

Iuon stones * 6

Scabbard

Circlet of Insight

Sphere of Annihilation

Crystal Ball

Monsters

Coin Dragon golem 14,550xp

Platinum coin golem 14,550xp

XP &  GP Assignment N/A, carried into session #101

Sever (E)

and Thomas (E)  

and Poindexter (E) 

and Rabbit (E)

Fluid  (E) 

Giuseppe (E)

and Bishoy (E) 

and Tawadros (E)

and Steelvein (E)

and Rhoikos (E)

Donny (E)

Graveyard

Gurt the Green (Paladin Level 7), drew the Void card from the Deck of Many Things in downtime after session #147

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User Level 6), caught in the explosion of the dying gem coin golem in session #147 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Marco Valtieri (Fighter Level 4), immolated and burnt to a crisp by Vyrathax in Lord Inferno's Lair in session #146

Oblate (Illusionist Level 3), killed and eaten by the Nathruk in the Skalrath in session #140

Eniac (Magic-User level 1), killed by a poisoned Grothak spear in session #137 

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User level 4), smashed by a Mummy fist in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Thomas (Henchman Cleric level 6), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Josef Ironbeard (Dwarf Fighter level 1), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126.

Matthias Steelvein (Henchman Fighter level 4), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Sever the Wrathful (Ranger level 9), Killed by two pains in the Annis in session #122. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Anri (Henchman Magic-User level 4), found dead with a ghastly chest wound in the Ice Castle, with her heart missing she was unable to be revived, in downtime after session #122 

Symeon (Henchman Cleric level 2), Only strong enough to wear studded leather, he was torn to shreds by Troglodytes in session #121

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 3) Effected by the Imprisonment spell touch attack from a Styx Devil in session #117. Might not be dead, but is definitely at least six feet under for all intents and purposes.

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 6) killed by a poison needle trap in session #114 RAISED FROM THE DEAD (with a roll of 94!)

Solaire the Fallen (Henchman Fighter (paladin) level 3) killed by Stone Giants acting as catapults in session #114

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 1), reduced to 0 hit points by white dragon breath when climbing down a rope ladder in session #108. Killed not by the fall; but by the sudden stop at the bottom. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Ignatius the Smiter (Cleric level 1), horrifically mutilated and killed by double hit from a Shoggoth in session #106

Domby (Henchman with Dex 5), double surprised and turned into a pin cushion in session #87

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3), killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), wrong place, wrong time; killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe to the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 148 (Machodor #99): The Return of Za'rathul

            

Introduction

After an unexpected detour to Minas Mandalf, the heroes return to the Lair of Lord Inferno to cash in, if they can.

Timekeeping

This session began on February 26th, with the player characters adventuring until the 28th. Downtime for these characters begins on the 1st of March.

Player Characters Present

Sever the Wrathful (Level 10 Pegasus Corps Ranger Lord of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and the Rod of Lordly Might, wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C7), Poindexter (M6), and Rabbit (FMT556)

Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings, current wearer of the Cloak of Druidish Awesomeness)

Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of Sanctus Draconis Interfector and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) with henchmen Bishoy (F6), Tawadros (F6), Steelvein (F6), Rhoikos (M6)

Donny (Level 5 Monk of Machodor)

Downtime

Downtime, which began a few hours after session 98 ended, saw Connor pull another card from the Deck of Many Things they had retrieved from the treasure cavern. Having drawn two very bad options previously, he clearly felt his luck had changed; it had. The Moon card gave him one Wish (it could have been up to four).

"I wish to safely transport the treasure, party, and rescued prisoners to Minas Mandalf."

Arriving in the middle of a Valentines Day crowd was not appreciated by everyone in the party.

Gurt now claimed the Deck for "safekeeping," but then declared he would draw three cards. One of those was the Void, which sent his soul to some unknown outer plane and also caused the deck to disappear. His empty shell of a body is now being looked after by his henchman Cedric in the halls of the Machodor Planarcorps.

The Wish had interpreted "rescued prisoners" broadly, which meant everyone from Echellet to the four firenewts, Thalrek, Ssethkar, Vesthra, and Zharuuk, had been brought along with them. These were promptly arrested and placed in a secure location in the city.

This new situation meant the adventurers could cash in their loot, which turned out to be a bit less than hoped. The treasure was protected by an illusion ensuring that, no matter how careful, coins were brought out in a ratio of 1000 copper, 100 silver, 10 electrum, 5 gold, and 1 platinum piece (see the end of session 98 for details).

The remainder of downtime was used for training and to get PCs into position for the next session. Giuseppe, who as a paladin has an enormous XP requirement, instead visited his family in Rome, Brovenloft, with Echellet. 

Session Report

Staging at Fort Wrath, the party prepared to retrace their steps: flying to a hidden cave about a mile from the entrance to King Snurre's halls, then travelling along a 3-mile lava tube back to Cthugarak and on to Lord Inferno's Lair.

News came in that a favourite son of Fort Wrath, Harold Wolfshead, had been ambushed and killed by dragons in an attempt to approach Castle Irish. Sever did not shed a tear. 

Many thanks to Bradford C. Walker for playing Harold all this time.

The trip back to Cthugarak was relatively uneventful. They had one problem, because of being teleported out they had not exchanged their heat cloaks for pendants, which in return they would be expected to trade in again at the Basalt-Gate Tower. Sever blustered that they had, in fact, forgotten something, and were therefore aborting their plans to leave the city; somehow the bailif bought it.

They entered the city and spent the night at the same inn as their last visit, the Drake's Ember Rest, an opulent four-storey caravansary on Westflame Boulevard. Fluid was recognised by the barkeep, Vsskara, but they had moved on again before he could make his move on her.

The next day, after a walk through the bustling streets, they used invisibility and Sever's Wings of Flying to get over the wall and onto the causeway to the Island of Sacrifice, and were soon back in the Lair of Lord Inferno. His illusion on the throne, previously disbelieved, had returned. The players were ignoring it and moving on when the head turned to face them and delivered an involved speech. They were courteous enough not to interrupt, though I had prepared for that possibility with multiple magic mouth spells. The apparition forewarned them that it had taken the "dragon orb" for their own safety (!) and challenged them to find a certain similar looking item among the treasure that would give them the ability to challenge him in his current location: a quasi-plane of existence, one that combined properties of the Positive Material Plane and the Plane of Fire.

"You broke into my house, stole my property, murdered my servants,
and my PETS! And that is what grieves me the most! You killed my dragon."

They discussed the ramifications of this information as they moved through their former bedroom area and discovered that the "Soul Gem" was gone; presumably Za'rathul or one of his agents had been through and collected it, as he had also done with the "draconic sphere" they had found previously.

They then re-entered the treasure cavern. This consisted of 6 sub-caverns, two of which, 1 and 4, they had cleared previously.

As soon as they stepped into sub-cavern 2, they had the familiar sensation of something "alive" within the heaped coins: coin golems.

To manage searching, I had broken each sub-cavern up into 20 sections. The treasure was overlaid with several kinds of magic: one hid the true nature of any coins collected, as detailed above, while another allowed the coins to shift and hide special items. When this was in play, each section required 6 turns to search before a roll could be made on the table to find something. There was a table of items that could appear in any sub-cavern, and items specific to the each. If any of these special objects were found and moved from the sub-cavern, a guardian golem would manifest from the coins; if the golem was defeated, the sub-cavern could then be searched in 1-turn increments.

Thus began a long search of the sub-cavern. After some hours, Fluid discovered a wooden staff and Rabbit found a fine cloth robe. Later, Giuseppe found two linked golden skulls, an item reputed to open the sealed doors under Castle von Necro. When the paladin tried to move them out of the sub-cavern, a great mass of gold "dust" suddenly flew up from the coins, blinding anyone who failed their save (a version of the 2e spell glitterdust). Those who were not blinded saw a golem take shape from the gold coins.

Combat#1: Gold Coin Golem

Rounds: 2

Result: Party win

Highlights: After winning initiative and dealing a flurry of damage all around it, the fearsome construct's magic resistance let it down in the first round: it was slowed while prayer went up, followed by a barrage of magic missiles. As well as the casters, enough of the party's big hitters had made their save against the blinding dust to cause significant damage. Though only a few of the fighter types had +3 weapons and could hit the thing, the melee damage, combined with the spell damage, was significant. The golem was soon reduced to broken rubble of precious metal.

The party pulled back out of the treasure caverns to the bedroom area to regroup and heal up. Once they had done so, they returned to sub-cavern 2, where Bishoy was rewarded with the discovery of a fancy longsword. After more searching turned up nothing interesting, they moved on.

Sub-cavern 3 immediately posed a quandary. As well as the "feeling" of something in the coins, there was a sphere apparently hovering over the treasure:

a 2' diameter sphere of absolute blackness.

After a little discussion, they decided not to mess with this ominous item (shame!) and moved on to sub-cavern 5. Searching here turned up much treasure: a saddle made of red dragon leather was found by Sever, Donny found a bit of polished agate that took his fancy, and some potions were also recovered. At the sixth hour, Giuseppe found a clearly magical tome of some kind, sitting among the coins, open to a page of writing he could not read. He closed the book, and it disappeared at once, leaving its true nature a mystery.

Finally, Sever uncovered something large buried in the coin. When he stood it up to see what it was, a mirror, his reflection took form and emerged to attack!

Combat #2: Sever Clone

Rounds: 2

Result: Party win

Highlights: With a copy of the most powerful player character under my control, I gave an evil laugh and tried to do as much damage as possible. I went immediately to the charged powers of Sever's Rod of Lordly Might and used the fear effect. Sadly, everyone but Bishoy made their save. 

 

Instead of blindly charging in, the players were clever: they manoeuvred around the mirror, attempting to tip it over before more images could emerge, all while helping Sever deal with his evil twin. A well-placed dispel magic from Rhoikos sent me pulling out the DMG, where I found this: 

If this spell is cast upon a magic item it most certainly will have the effect of causing it to be non-operational for 1 round thereafter if the item does not make a saving throw — if the item is not in the possession of any creature, then the item gets no saving throw, and it is non-operational for 1 round. Note that artifacts and relics are NOT subject to this effect. Any dispel magic spell must be cast directly at the object, not anything or anyone else, to be so effective.

— DMG, p. 41

I decided to split the difference here and treat the item as being in the possession of a creature (the as-yet-unformed body of the golem in this area). The percentage roll went the party's way, and this prevented an evil Giuseppe from stepping forth. Before it could return to operation, Rabbit knocked the mirror face down. Then the party used their magic weapons to smash it to bits.

Bishoy returned later after shaking off the fear spell and sheepishly joined the search for more treasure. By now the heroes had noticed that certain magic items were somehow tied directly to the defences in each cavern, and that trying to remove them would cause a golem to attack. This knowledge allowed them to take precautions to keep the weaker party members safe.

Combat #3: Silver Coin Golem 

Rounds: 4

Result: Party win

Highlights: The party had organised their formation to limit the chances of the henchmen magic-users getting killed, and that was just as well, since this enemy had 4 long, chain-like appendages that could reach as far as 40' to strike. Both sides exchanged blows in the first round, and Bishoy was disappointed to find that his newly found blade was not strong enough to damage the enemy. On the next round, the golem split fully into four cloud-like zones of sharp, spinning coins that inflicted damage on anything they hit, without apparently being able to take any damage in return, including from magic missiles. However, Rhoikos brought out his new spell, wall of ice, which he dropped horizontally on the swarms; they collapsed under the pressure, proving that wide-area spells did affect them (which was my idea all along, and it was good to see the players catch on quickly). The golem was forced to reform its body to get out from under the ice and found itself taking damage from the big hitters, Sever and Giuseppe, who could not seem to miss (his trip to Rome with Echellet in downtime having done the paladin a world of good). This plus magic missiles saw the golem destroyed in 4 rounds.

Right as the golem was destroyed, Bishoy's sword leapt from his fingers to "dance" in the air for several rounds before returning to the surprised henchman. Giuseppe would later compensate Bishoy and give the sword to Steelvein, since the latter's mutation forces him to eat food in the 5th round of combat; it is the perfect weapon for him.

The golems have been a lot of fun to play, and the attentive reader might guess there are still more to come in this location. I generally don't make up monsters that are so different from anything in the Monster Manual, but this lair seemed to call for something out of the ordinary. Their base abilities are all sourced from iron golems, which is interesting, since a single one of those constructs gave the whole party a big scare not so long back.

With another day over, and another two dead golems and some treasure to show for it, the heroes retreated again to rest, recuperate, and plot their downtime actions. 

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel:  33 Miles

Downtime begins on: 03/01/26
Combats: 3
Rooms mapped: 2
Combat rounds: 8
Losses: none

Treasure & Items

Many sacks of coins transported out of the treasure cavern for later processing

Staff

Gold Skulls

Sword of Dancing

Feathered wings

Monsters

Gold coin golem 14,550xp

Silver coin golem 14,550xp

XP & GP Assignment N/A, carried into session #101

Sever (E) 

and Thomas (E)

and Poindexter (E)

and Rabbit (E)

Fluid  (E) 

Giuseppe (E)

and Bishoy (E) 

and Tawadros (E)

and Steelvein (E) 

and Rhoikos (E)

Graveyard

Gurt the Green (Paladin Level 7), drew the Void card from the Deck of Many Things in downtime after session #147

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User Level 6), caught in the explosion of the dying gem coin golem in session #147

Marco Valtieri (Fighter Level 4), immolated and burnt to a crisp by Vyrathax in Lord Inferno's Lair in session #146

Oblate (Illusionist Level 3), killed and eaten by the Nathruk in the Skalrath in session #140

Eniac (Magic-User level 1), killed by a poisoned Grothak spear in session #137 

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User level 4), smashed by a Mummy fist in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Thomas (Henchman Cleric level 6), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Josef Ironbeard (Dwarf Fighter level 1), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126.

Matthias Steelvein (Henchman Fighter level 4), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Sever the Wrathful (Ranger level 9), Killed by two pains in the Annis in session #122. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Anri (Henchman Magic-User level 4), found dead with a ghastly chest wound in the Ice Castle, with her heart missing she was unable to be revived, in downtime after session #122 

Symeon (Henchman Cleric level 2), Only strong enough to wear studded leather, he was torn to shreds by Troglodytes in session #121

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 3) Effected by the Imprisonment spell touch attack from a Styx Devil in session #117. Might not be dead, but is definitely at least six feet under for all intents and purposes.

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 6) killed by a poison needle trap in session #114 RAISED FROM THE DEAD (with a roll of 94!)

Solaire the Fallen (Henchman Fighter (paladin) level 3) killed by Stone Giants acting as catapults in session #114

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 1), reduced to 0 hit points by white dragon breath when climbing down a rope ladder in session #108. Killed not by the fall; but by the sudden stop at the bottom. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Ignatius the Smiter (Cleric level 1), horrifically mutilated and killed by double hit from a Shoggoth in session #106

Domby (Henchman with Dex 5), double surprised and turned into a pin cushion in session #87

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3), killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), wrong place, wrong time; killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe to the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 147 (Machodor #98): Lord Inferno's Treasure

         

Introduction

Last session the heroes of Machodor slew two great dragons — Vyrisara and Vyrathax — in the depths of Lord Inferno's Lair. Now they turned their attention to what every adventurer fights for: the hoard. But, as Echellet had warned them: the treasure itself was a deadly enemy.

Timekeeping

This session began on February 19th 2026, with the player characters adventuring until the 12th of February in game time until the 14th. Downtime for these characters begins on the later on the 14th

Player Characters Present

Sever the Wrathful (Level 10 Pegasus Corps Ranger Lord of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and the Rod of Lordly Might, wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C7), Poindexter (M6), and Rabbit (FMT556)

Slippery Pete (Level 10 Master Thief, wearer of the Hat of Disguise and wielder of the Black Dagger)

Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings, current wearer of the Cloak of Druidish Awesomeness)

Sheamus (Level 9 Irish Fighter Lord from Brovenloft, rider of the Rocket Cycle and wielder of the Drewblade)

Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of Sanctus Draconis Interfector and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) with henchmen Bishoy (F6), Tawadros (F6), Steelvein (F6), Rhoikos (M6)

Gurt the Green (Level 7 Paladin of Machodor, wielder of the Liberator, bearer of the Fabled Ice Jewel of Frigia, rider of Artax) with henchman Cedric (C5)

Connor Lugh (Level 4 Irish Fighter from Brovenloft)

Downtime

Victory in Lord Inferno's Lair had been won in blood and fire. Vyrisara and Vyrathax, dead and consumed by the fire that sustained them. But the party now found themselves in possession of something of more enigmatic danger than a dungeon full of hostile creatures: the private chambers of a dragoness and the sorcerous artefacts that had kept her alive.

Examination of the great cavernous chamber had revealed the following:

Vyrisara's bed — an enormous bed similar to what humans would use, only scaled for a huge ancient red dragon. Beside it, more modestly, Echellet's own sleeping place.

The Soul Gem — a gem of unusual depth and lustre, housed in a crystal box on a stand positioned between the two beds. This was the mechanism by which Inferno's sorcery had merged Echellet's soul with the body of the slain Vyrisara. 

Two pillars of living flame — vertical columns burning with the supernatural fire drawn from the quasi-plane of Living Fire. Each contained a dragon heart, still beating. 

The party confirmed that summoning magic functioned normally in Area 5, unlike in the sacrifice cubes of Area 1. The would not starve.

A considerable portion of downtime was spent probing the various sections of the lair rather than plundering it. The party had Echellet's own warning ringing in their ears:

"Beware! Inferno is no ordinary wyrm. His power is vast, but his lair itself may prove deadlier still. Wards of ancient sorcery guard treasures there — relics, artefacts, bindings — that could turn a hard-won victory into defeat. Do not enter lightly; the hoard is not mere gold, but instruments of dominion that whisper and hunger."

They also found:

• The treasure room (Area 4) comprises roughly six distinct caverns, each containing items radiating both magic and evil in unsettling combination.
• The door to Za'rathul's laboratory in Area 3 was sealed by a mechanism none in the party could identify, let alone bypass.
• Detect magic was of no practical value in Area 4 — every cubic foot of the place radiated magic.

Freed from the draconic curse, Echellet was herself again — mostly. But ordeal had left its mark. She suffered from bad dreams she could not recall upon waking. She felt, with unnerving certainty, that some connection still existed between herself and Vyrisara — and that Vyrathax's fate was still an open question.

One night, Sheamus and Giuseppe followed her closely as she walked — eyes open but not seeing them — through the living-fire door into Area 2, the throne room, and south into Area 1. There she opened one of the sacrifice cubes, displaying an affinity with the living fire that was stronger even than theirs, releasing the prisoners inside. She appeared to be reliving a memory — whether hers or Vyrisara's was impossible to say — of a time when she had desperately wanted to get into that cube.

While Sheamus and Giuseppe were occupied following Echellet, Fluid attempted to extinguish one of the two pillars of living flame using pyrotechnics. The spell did not touch the supernatural fire; instead it filled the bedroom chamber with thick, billowing smoke.

Slippery Pete, never one to waste an opportunity, used the obscuring smoke to "examine" the Soul Gem in its crystal box. When the smoke finally cleared, the thief was unconscious on the flagstones. And deep within the gem — in a place that had certainly been empty before — a strange image could now be seen by anyone who looked.

The episode was wrapped up when Giuseppe managed to dispel the effects of the gem and return Slippery Pete's soul to his body.

With the lair secured and intelligence gathered, Sever and Giuseppe made the descent back to Cthugarak and collected Gurt and Connor Lugh, who had been waiting in Fort Wrath. The full party was now assembled for what was to come.

Session Report

Surprisingly, with a treasure hoard right next door, there was considerable discussion before the party decided to go there at all rather than somewhere else entirely not somewhere else in the lair.

At first the going was easy. In the section right beyond the door everyone started filling sacks as they went, giving a preference for jewellery and gems over coins; but they were also looking for useful magic items— and for the golden skulls rumoured to serve as the key to the dungeon under Castle von Necro.

DM Note: I had set up a search method similar to the bone cave in the Hill Giants' Steading from module G1. Each cavern had 20 subsections that could be searched; each search generated a roll on that cavern's treasure table.

Systematic searching proved impossible — the coin piles simply flowed back to fill every gap they made, and with the whole cavern blazing on the magical spectrum, detect magic was useless. Worse than that, the heroes sensed a strange presence in the coins, as though they were moving in such a way as to actively conceal more valuable items.

Eventually they found a metal bottle, which Gurt bagged but did not attempt to open (sigh). Not long after, they found a book — this too was bagged without examination. At last, after a full day's searching, Giuseppe turned up two flasks of what appeared to be potions.

They retreated through the living fire door into Area 5 to regroup and rest for the night. However, though their sacks were bulging with coin, the items they had gathered were nowhere to be found. This caused much groaning and speculative looks at Slippery Pete, who protested his innocence in the strongest fashion. There was nothing for it but to sleep and try again in the morning.

Come morning they pushed back through the living fire door. This time, their sacks already near-full of coin, they simply raked through the hoard looking for items of more value. After many hours they turned up a tome — in fact, the tome — that they had bagged and lost the day before.

Slippery Pete immediately took the tome to a corner and began to read. Nothing untoward happened, so the others continued searching.

Then it was Connor's turn to find something — a Deck of Many Things. The deck was immediately recognisable for what it was; drawing from it would have consequences, though of what kind no one could say.

Connor drew two cards, one at a time: Ruin (K♠) — "Immediately lose all wealth and real property" — and Flames (Q♣) — "Enmity between you and a devil." Both draws were bad, yet neither was instantly fatal. Connor, as a journeyman adventurer, had little accumulated wealth to lose — but what he did have was gone. He decided that was quite enough and pocketed the deck.

At the tenth hour, Sever found the same pair of potion flasks Giuseppe had found the day before. Convinced the whole thing was some sort of illusion, he didn't touch them.

As they began to retreat for the second night running, Connor noticed a hand — made entirely from coins, connected to a tentacle of the same — reaching for the deck of cards in his pack. The fighter grabbed on tight; quick-thinking Sever slashed at the coin tentacle.

The moment it was cut, the treasure pile shuddered — and then, slowly, something within it began to rise.

 

Combat #1: Electrum Coin Golem

Result: Party win

Rounds: 4

Highlights: The coin tentacles functioned as evard's black tentacles from Unearthed Arcana, adapted to allow pickpocketing — which explained the disappearance of the items the party had gathered the day before. Discovered at last, the golem abandoned concealment and attacked. Several characters were caught in the grasping tentacles and held fast, while the golem itself moved through the coin pile with unnerving ease, smashing anyone within reach.

Sheamus was engulfed in a fist of swirling coins; the force of the blow tore the Drewblade from his grip. It skittered away and was lost among the shifting coins. Casting about for any weapon, he closed his hand around something that felt like a sword hilt, pulled it free of the clinging coins, and rejoined the attack.

The party soon found that only magic weapons could harm the golem — but after several hard rounds they prevailed and the creature came apart. Whatever presence had inhabited this section of the cavern was gone with the destruction of the golem. 

The heroes pulled back out to the bedroom area to regroup and heal up from the battle. Once they had done so they were ready for more. 

In the second cavern — the one that had held Vyrathax — they found something that jogged their memories of session 30: a diorama depicting each kind of giant standing in a circle around a central figure of a titan. Within it sat an orb of carven white jade radiating evil so strongly that not one of them was willing to lay a hand on it. In the end, Giuseppe asked his henchman Rhoikos to shift it with unseen servant. There was some question as to whether the orb came in under the spell's weight limit (200 gp weight), but even as it started to move, the coins and gems around it began to lift into the air, forming hypnotic patterns that snared the attention of most of the party — leaving them standing there staring like idiots.

The flying coins and gems began to coalesce. By the time anyone realised what was forming, the golem was already upon them.

if only it came with more brains

Combat #2: Gem Coin Golem

Result: Party win with losses

Rounds: 3 
Highlights: Sever shook free of the enchantment and attacked; Fluid cast insect swarm; and Slippery Pete bravely put his book down and fired off a shot with his hawkman pistol. 

Had the golem been intelligent, I would have had it target a hypnotised opponent, granting automatic hits at full damage against a helpless target — enough to kill almost anyone. However, it was not smart, so I rolled normally to determine its target, and Sever's number came up.

Like the first golem, this one could only be harmed by sufficiently powerful magic weapons — but as they struck it, they could see gems being destroyed. They were literally fighting the treasure. When it could take no more, the golem exploded in a cloud of shrapnel, catching Rhoikos and blowing him to pieces.

As with the previous combat, they retreated to the bedroom chamber and rested. With sacks full of treasure they had every incentive to pull out — but they now had many human prisoners with them and no ready means of getting them safely out. The session was over.

Addendum:

When the players awoke and logged on discord, they found this update:

Weary and battered, you trudged back to Room 5 — Echellet's chamber — after the Gem-Coin Golem's defeat. You obtained much treasure, sacks full, but victory tastes bitter: Rhoikos lies dead, shredded in the final glittering explosion that rent the hoard asunder. Connor, hollow-eyed, pulls the Deck of Many Things from his pack. "One last draw, lads — for him."

The Queen of Diamonds gleams in his grip. A wish, but he must use it fast. The warrior looks around and mutters something that sounds like this: "I wish to safely transport the treasure, party, and rescued prisoners to Minas Mandalf."

And just like that, you are no longer in Lord Inferno's lair, and neither are:

38 humans (Irish fighters, Cthugarak foreigners, criminals, slaves, etc.)

4 Firenewts: Thalrek (Ignisalam), Ssethkar (Scorchviper), Vesthra (Pyrotoad), Zharuuk Embercoil (Emberdrake merchant, low-rank trader)

2 lava children, 1 ophidian

You find yourselves in the middle of Minas Mandalf's Cathedral Square, noon.

Your sacks of glittering treasure thud to the flagstones around you. Pilgrims streaming from the cathedral doors post-Mass, arms laden with roses for the Feast of St. Valentine — still solemnly observed in Machodor — halt in stunned confusion. Agamanon  himself  (NPC Cleric level 12) pauses mid-benediction on the steps, crozier raised, eyes widening at the sudden arrivals.

Gasps ripple; a rose-petal shower halts mid-air. "Miracle!" one pilgrim cries; guards double-time from alleys, halberds low — then raised in a passable salute as they recognise some of you. Agamanon descends, voice booming: "By the saints — what vision is this?"

Chaos swelled to cheers as word spread — and the flag of Machodor flew overhead in a winter sky already showing the first signs of spring.

Session Statistics: 

Wilderness travel:  0 Miles

Downtime begins on: 15/02/26
Combats: 2
Rooms mapped: 1
Combat rounds: 7
Losses: Rhoikos

Treasure & Items

The treasure was covered by an illusion, when this faded its true worth was revealed!

20,000 copper pieces

2,000 silver pieces

200 electrum pieces

100 gold pieces

20 platinum pieces

Along lots of worthless paste gems and brass jewellery.

However, the illusion was not able to prevent the adventurers collecting some worthwhile items:

2000 gp Amethyst, 2000 gp Topaz, 3 gp Hematite, 30 gp Turquoise, 300 gp Rock Crystal, 400 gp Rock Crystal, 450 gp Sapphire = 5,203

11000 gp Brooch, 6000 gp Necklace, 7000 gp Statuette = 24,000

Eversmoking Bottle 2,500gp

Tome of Understanding 8,000xp (read by Slippery Pete who turned over 8,000gp and left)

Deck of Many Things (is actually 0 XP and disappeared, see downtime in session 99)

Magic Two-handed Sword 7000xp (Sheamus)

Monsters

#97 Vyrisara 10,758xp

#97 Vyrathax 10,758xp

#98 Electrum coin golem 14,550xp

#98 Gem coin golem 14,550xp

97,819 XP & 40,203 GP Assignment

Sever (E) 11,226 xp & 4,467gp

and Thomas (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

and Poindexter (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

and Rabbit (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

Fluid  (E) 11,226 xp & 4,467gp

Slipper Pete^3 (S) 2445 xp & 0 gp

Sheamus^1 (E) 9,307xp & 4,467gp

Giuseppe (E) 11,226 xp & 4,467gp

and Bishoy (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

and Tawadros (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

and Steelvein (E) 5,561 xp & 2,234 gp

and Rhoikos^2 (E) 4,652 xp & 2,234 gp

Gurt^5 N/A

and Cedric (E) 4,339 xp & 2,234 gp

Connor ^4  (E) 8,695 xp & 4,467gp

^1 asleep for the Gem Golem fight

^2 killed in the Gem Golem fight

^3 fought in session #97, but spent most of #98 reading, refuses any share of the treasure (most noble)

^4 not in session #97

^5 gone before XP allocated

Graveyard

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User Level 6), caught in the explosion of the dying gem coin golem in session #147

Marco Valtieri (Fighter Level 4), immolated and burnt to a crisp by Vyrathax in Lord Inferno's Lair in session #146

Oblate (Illusionist Level 3), killed and eaten by the Nathruk in the Skalrath in session #140

Eniac (Magic-User level 1), killed by a poisoned Grothak spear in session #137 

Rhoikos (Henchman Magic-User level 4), smashed by a Mummy fist in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Thomas (Henchman Cleric level 6), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Josef Ironbeard (Dwarf Fighter level 1), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126.

Matthias Steelvein (Henchman Fighter level 4), Killed by a Symbol of Death in session #126. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Sever the Wrathful (Ranger level 9), Killed by two pains in the Annis in session #122. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Anri (Henchman Magic-User level 4), found dead with a ghastly chest wound in the Ice Castle, with her heart missing she was unable to be revived, in downtime after session #122 

Symeon (Henchman Cleric level 2), Only strong enough to wear studded leather, he was torn to shreds by Troglodytes in session #121

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 3) Effected by the Imprisonment spell touch attack from a Styx Devil in session #117. Might not be dead, but is definitely at least six feet under for all intents and purposes.

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 6) killed by a poison needle trap in session #114 RAISED FROM THE DEAD (with a roll of 94!)

Solaire the Fallen (Henchman Fighter (paladin) level 3) killed by Stone Giants acting as catapults in session #114

Paul (Henchman Paladin level 1), reduced to 0 hit points by white dragon breath when climbing down a rope ladder in session #108. Killed not by the fall; but by the sudden stop at the bottom. RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Ignatius the Smiter (Cleric level 1), horrifically mutilated and killed by double hit from a Shoggoth in session #106

Domby (Henchman with Dex 5), double surprised and turned into a pin cushion in session #87

Luke (Half elf Fighter/Cleric level 1), tragically killed by a normal hydra while trying to cauterise one of its neck stumps in session  #86

Gurt the Green (Paladin level 3), killed by a hydra bite in session  #86 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Pleasance (Footman level 0), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Siegward (Henchman Fighter level 1), killed by a phase spider bite in session #81

Tawadros (Henchman Fighter level 4),  killed by a phase spider bite in session #81 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Patria (Footman level 0), killed by a two headed snake bite in session #81

Deltacron (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 1/1), threw his last flask of oil at, and was level drained to death by, a Vampire in session #76

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), wrong place, wrong time; killed by Sever the Ranger in session #72 RAISED FROM THE DEAD

Petrov the Prestidigitator (Magic-user level 1), killed again by the toxic gas of an Achaierai in session #72

Red (Paladin Level 1), always popular with the ladies, he was eaten up by a female Roc in the Pizza Slice of Doom during session #67

Jacques Ocular (Magic User level 1), a fat green worm burrowed into his head and turned him into a Son Of Kyuss in Brovenloft in Session #43

Pino (Dwarf Footman level 0), Killed by a Frost Giant axe to the head in session #39

Paro (Dwarf Fighter/Thief level 2/2)  Killed by Winter Wolves and frozen in session #39

Zabib (1/2 Elf Fighter/Magic User level 1/1), Killed by Frost Giant rocks in downtime prior to session #39