Machodor Sessions

Saturday, 4 April 2026

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 141 (Machodor #92): Return to the Tomb of Kistomerces

The boys are back in town

Introduction

Between session #82 and now, certain things have been happening behind the scenes—so much, in fact, that it has been split out to a separate downtime report: Bumblebore in the Future.

Reader(s) will probably have concluded from previous session reports that the Tomb of Kistomerces is a barely reskinned version of the classic Gygaxian module, S1 Tomb of Horrors. As sufficient time has passed from the events of this session, I can weigh in with some editorialising on that module. I will give as much information as possible, however you will probably find it useful to read along with the module, available on archive.org and elsewhere.

Timekeeping

This session began on December 11th 2025, with the player characters adventuring until the 13th. Downtime for these characters begins on the 14th.

Player Characters Present

Sever the Wrathful (Level 9 Pegasus Corps Ranger of Machodor, wielder of Were'shbane and wearer of the Girdle of Cloud Giant Strength, rider of Mustang) with henchman Thomas (C6), and Rabbit (FMT 445)
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 the Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher) with henchmen Rhoikos (M5) and Steelvein (F5)
Sheamus (Level 8 Irish Fighter from Brovenloft, rider of the Rocket Cycle and wielder of the Drewblade) and henchman McScales
Gurt the Green (Level 6 Paladin of Machodor, wielder of the Liberator, bearer of the Fabled Ice Jewel of Frigia, wearer of the Armour of Most Superior Defence, rider of Artax)

Downtime

While the heroes were in Brovenloft, the Dragon Cult Leader made a move. Full details to follow; but, in short, an army of Firenewts captured Castle Irish—renaming it Castle Inferno. Instead of dealing with this disaster directly, however, the adventurers chose to follow Giuseppe's lead and head back to the Tomb of Kistomerces. There was something there the Paladin needed. In the remaining downtime they staged in Guarda for the expedition.

Session Report

With the lift capability available to the party, they chose to fly directly to the outskirts of the area leading into the Tomb, finding a canyon near the "Snake Cave" to stash the Rocket Cycle with McScales to guard it. They soon retraced their steps from previous expeditions and approached the tomb proper.

A note on running this module. One of the difficulties of running S1 is that there are a great many unspoken assumptions about how the party is expected to go about exploring the dungeon. Many rooms contain binary outcomes that must be adjudicated with analogue inputs, with the result that a lot depends on players giving DMs instructions about what their characters do.

Despite its fearsome reputation for fiendishly difficult traps, a patient party can relatively easily move through the place, unless they are unfortunate enough to commit certain acts that Gygax has pronounced a death sentence on.

The expected route is apparently for the party to go through the depiction of a door hiding a real door at (4) down the hall in area (10), through the hidden tunnel into area (13) to pick up the Ring of Protection +1 from one of the chests—to later use that ring to open the secret door at (15).

In sessions #79 to #81, our party of Machodorian adventurers initially became split; with some going to room (7), pulling the levers there in the correct direction and avoiding certain death (thank you Giuseppe) before returning to (3) via a hidden tunnel and then meeting up with the rest of the party in 11. They then followed the first hidden crawlspace tunnel and missed (13) entirely, passed the secret door at (15) using Sever's prize Ring of Warmth before they camped in the corridor beyond, and then found the way south and eventually confronted and defeated the "fake" Kistomerces in (18). When faced with the fake collapsing tomb, the party had no apparent means of egress—an awkward situation to adjudicate, but one that was managed by chasing them as far as the chapel at (14). Later they continued their retreat along the black line until returning to corridor (10) and finally making it out via the route marked in red.

You're going to want to click this one.

This time around, having already been made aware that adventurers from Sidon were exploring the place, the party carefully proceeded along looking for tracks and signs of these others. As they suspected the enemy had moved through the hidden door at (4), they avoided that route and—after a period of trial and error to remember the combination—went via the misty archway teleport (5) to (11). Upon reaching the long corridor (10) they did search around it thoroughly, finding the route to room (13). Here they handily avoided the traps and retrieved the Ring of Protection from the silver box—Fluid pocketed it—while a Ring of Delusion gained from the Sidonian party some sessions back was sacrificed to get past the secret door at (15). The party confirmed things were as expected in the fake lich room (18), before readying their stock of Dispel Magic spells for the secret door at (17)—which they had discovered previously but had not been able to open. Gygax does not specify what level the sealing spell is; I assumed level 18, that being the minimum for the process of becoming a Lich.

However, here was the first sign that someone was ahead of them: the door popped right open. Even though it was protected by such powerful magic, there is nothing to suggest it would be magically re-secured after first being opened, at least in the short term.

The party cautiously advanced into room (19), the Laboratory and Mummy Preparation Room. I really dislike all the time-wasting measures in this room—perhaps of some utility in a tournament setting where real time is at a premium, but in a normal campaign session they are mostly tedious.

Unbeknownst to the party, the only useful item in the room—the Gold Key—had already been taken by the Sidonian party (with Bumblebore in tow), and the grey ochre jelly guarding half of it had already been killed by them. Later in the session the Machodorians returned here and experimented with the vats enough to discover that something key-shaped had been taken from them, which was an interesting turn of events—part of the conceit of having the Sidonian party ahead of them in the tomb was to mitigate some of the timewasting in rooms like this. However, because the party chose to come back and fiddle with the stuff in this room, and thus had agency, the effect was entirely different.

Next they came to (20) the huge pit filled with 200 spikes.

This 10' deep, open pit completely fills the passageway and extends so as to make jumping across it totally impossible for most creatures. Ergo, the pit must be crossed by climbing down and walking across it, then climbing up the other side.

Well, not when you've got Sever and his Wings of Flying—or quite a number of other possibilities from spells and items. First, Rabbit scouted ahead invisibly and drew a round of magical spikes for his trouble. Once the danger was known, Sever ferried the party over one at a time to the far side.

The party explored the full length of the corridor and took their time to search it thoroughly until the secret door to (21) was found. This room's trap(s) are another head-scratcher for me; it is difficult for the players to interact with the room in a way that makes sense and while still presenting a meaningful risk. In this case, as soon as the vibration issue was known, players hugged the floor to avoid the danger of falling down.

The Sidonian party had already come through here ahead of them, triggered the green slime tapestry on the left wall, and exited via the secret door hidden behind it, leaving the Machodorian adventurers a warning about the main threat in the room.

The tapestries, which appear to feature weed-grown rocks and green and golden tan scenes of undersea life, are specially anti-magic treated creations of green slime and brown mold. If they are torn, they instantly turn into green slime and cover each and every player character/character standing before them, each covers a 20’ long by 10’ deep area of floor when it falls. Covered characters are turned to green slime and gone, with no recourse possible due to the amount of slime. Note that the tapestries can be handled normally, just not yanked so as to tear them (and they are well affixed at the top); however, if any character is holding one when the room becomes agitated, it is 75% probable that the jerking motion will tear the thing.

Sever discovers a spear trap

In the event, after a brief period of cautious exploration, Gurt strode into the room and immediately began messing with the remaining tapestry on the right wall—just as the room started agitating wildly. Lucky for him I rolled over 75%!

Crawling on his belly, Fluid led the way out of the room through the secret door and into the curved corridor beyond, stopping at the descending stair. However, the rest of the party were not content to move on, as Sever's sword Were'shbane had detected precious metals in the various containers in the room.

Taking full advantage of the lack of random encounters in the tomb, the adventurers crawled around the room—to avoid any chance of falling—and slid the containers out of the room to loot them, leaving those in which the sword did not detect anything behind. This meant leaving the empty trunks—and the coffers which contained one to three angry asps, which was half of them. The party didn't know it at the time, but Were'shbane really saved them from a nasty and venomous surprise.

The heroes caught up with Fluid and moved on. Searching thoroughly, they avoided the pit trap at the four-way intersection using Find Traps, but were unable to discover the secret door at (23). Suspicious that further secret doors must exist in the area, they nevertheless moved on to find area (22)—a magical cavern of gold and silver mists.

The mists are silvery and shot through with delicate streamers of golden colour. Vision extends only 6'. There is a dim aura of good if detected for. Those who step into the mist must save versus poison or become idiots until they can breath the clean air above ground under the warm sun. At the centre of the cavern is a beautiful grotto in which dwells the siren.

Encounter #1: Aeoline the Sylph

Rounds: N/A

Result: Freed by the party

Highlights: There was a long-outstanding quest that a couple of the adventurers had been separately tasked with—to find a missing Sylph. This seemed like the perfect place for her to be, in lieu of the module's siren. Half the party failed their saves and "became idiots", though some of the crueller of us remarked that with Gurt (the 8 Intelligence Paladin) this was not a noticeable change.

Fortunately Fluid made his save, and the druid is always prepared to "parley" with exotic females in out-of-the-way places. Barely had the Sylph's situation been conveyed before he said, "Oh, you should come with us!"—and I'm not sure the party even had time to notice the two sacks of loot that disappeared when he did so.

The grateful Aeoline healed the stupefied party members, and all were persuaded that her grotto would be a fine place to rest and recuperate before exploring further—in downtime, and next session.

Session Statistics:

Wilderness travel: 64 Miles

Downtime begins on: 12/14
Combats: 0
Rooms mapped: 4
Combat rounds: 0
Losses: none

Treasure & Items

N/A

Monsters

None

0 XP & 0 GP Assignment

Sever (E)

and Rabbit (E)

and Thomas (E)

Fluid (E)

Giuseppe (E)

and Rhoikos (E)

and Steelvein (E)

Sheamus (N/A)

Gurt (E)

the real treasure was the Sylph we freed along the way.

Graveyard

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

Tuesday, 24 March 2026

Trollopulous Adjusted Secret Downtime Business (Machodor #82-#92): Bumblebore in the Future!

Happy days

Introduction

Before the events of Session #92 can be told, I need to give you a glimpse into the timestream ahead, this is the story of Bumblebore the Bookish.

In session #82 he stepped into a magical pool and was granted a wish. Keeping the knowledge of this boon to himself, he travelled with the party back to Guarda with his henchman Gilthaniel and familiar O'Malfoy, and thought, and thought—until, finally he was ready. The following story is lifted directly from the Discord chat, slightly edited for readability.

Scratching his Firedrake familiar, O'Malfoy, the magic-user muttered, “Oh my friend, I Wish I was a proper Wizard.”

Time to use some of that "discretionary power"

How to adjudicate this Wish? At the time I had been reading the Elric novels for the first time (you might catch that in some of the writing below). Incidentally, I agree with Jeffro's Appendix N chapter on Elric—available from amazon, and don't forget his latest on kickstarter! Anyway, I seriously considered something like this:

The words leave your lips and the multiverse takes note. Gilthaniel locks eyes with you. Centuries of experience look out from behind those eyes.

"Bumblebore—"

Then the light begins. Cold fire, winter-star white, bleeding from his fingertips, from the silver ends of his hair, drawn across the room toward you by something that cares nothing for your horror and nothing for his loss. You step back. It follows. You raise your hands in warding, but the gesture is a candle against the outer dark.

The light enters you, and God help you, it is magnificent. Three hundred and more years of mastery surging into you—and you receive it, and you cannot stop, and you are monstrous, and both things are true at once.

You watch him diminish. What remains is a shape in a chair that is not longer your henchman, no longer a living being at all.

O'Malfoy presses away against the hearth, horror in his eyes.

You stand at the centre of your room with more power than you have ever possessed.

You are, now, a proper wizard.

You had always wanted to know what that felt like.

I could have gone with that, I though it was kind of cool. However, I instead chose a direction that I felt was more likely to work towards convergence than diffusion.

DM

A thunderclap shakes the air, though the sky over Guarda remains a pitiless blue, unmarred by storm. The words—"SO BE IT"—burrow into your skull, not as echo but as verdict, a doom pronounced by some vast, indifferent arbiter whose laughter is the grind of spheres in the void. You feel a shift then, a subtle warp in the weft of things, as if the Lords of Law and Chaos themselves pause their eternal game to note your fate.

Your wish granted, you experience a moment of discontinuity—immense new power coursing through you—then you are back in your familiar room in Guarda, a wizard! Yet, not everything here is familiar: symbols of strange gods in place of the crucifix over the fireplace; your henchman Gilthaniel, sitting nearby a moment ago, is nowhere to be seen. Your eyes dart around, and are relieved to land on O'Malfoy curled up, sleeping; but, on inspection, are his red scales a darker hue, the tufts of coarse eye lashes—white?

Bumblebore

I go to my bookshelves and examine my spell books (there are many of them, many more than before).
I look outside and ponder the weather and the season (it looks like late Summer, no change)
I examine the strange symbols and think on what being(s) they represent (They looked like things he had seen in Guarda before, associated with caravans from Sidon, Byblos and Tyre: A Brass Idol of a bull; Crescent Moon and Trident emblems woven into the room's purple curtains; above the hearth, a stone relief depicted a kraken entwined with a galley, its tentacles framing two onyx eyes that glinted in the lamplight.)
I measure O’Malfoy’s length and width. (about what he remembered, although the little firedrake familiar seemed to have an added quiet dignity of age.)

DM

As you step back from looking out the window at the weather, and get ready to start looking around for Gilthaniel, you see, out of the corner of your eye, someone observing you from the opposite side of the room! You turn and see before you an ancient wizard, unknown to you–yet somehow familiar, watching your every move. Heart quickening, hand twitching toward your Wand of Paralysation, you brace for an unknown threat. But as your eyes lock onto the figure, the truth crashes over you like a wave breaking on a rocky shore.

It’s no stranger. The image reflected in a large mirror, is you—or rather, a version of you that seems torn from a tale of fantasy. Your reflection is ancient, weathered, with a long, flowing beard as white as frost, cascading over robes you don’t recall owning. The face staring back is lined with years, eyes deep-set and glimmering with a weary wisdom—and something more. You resemble a sage from legend, like the great wizards of old you once read about in Minas Mandalf’s library, a figure akin to one from those curious tales O’Malfoy once whispered of during late-night chats. Yet, this is no storybook hero—it’s you, transformed.

Your breath catches as you step closer. The mirror reflects a man aged far beyond the 31 winters you remember. You note that his hands—your hands, clutching a scroll of parchment–tremble slightly as you raise them to touch your face, half-expecting the reflection to diverge. It doesn’t. The white beard, the ancient and pointed floppy hat, the eyes with something strange about the pupils—all real. O’Malfoy, curled by the hearth, stirs and lets out a low, rumbling purr, his darker scales catching the fire light.

Bumblebore

What have I done? What have I become?
I nudge O’Malfoy awake with one toe. "Are you okay my friend?"
He stirs lazily, "Bumblebore, you look funny, what's that scroll in your hand?"
I hold up the scroll as if just noticing it and read it silently.

DM

It reads:
"If thou gazest upon this scroll and marvel at thine own visage, then my work has borne fruit, old friend. I, thy future self, sensing a rift in the weave of time crafted over long years the spell Bumblebore’s Ameliorate Temporal Anomaly. This enchantment, now active, reveals a wrongness that should not be. Peer into thine eyes: thy pupils bear interlocking circles, etched with the visage of Minas Mandalf’s Astronomical Clock–Horologium, now long gone. To preserve thy sanity, the spell veils the memories of these other timelines–though in dire need thou may yet reveal them. Seek the cause of this temporal fracture and mend it, lest many souls—thine own among them—fall to ruin. Begin at the Tomb of Kistomerces, that accursed vault we left unfinished in our youth, swayed by fleeting diversions. I feel that our fate was somehow altered back then."

DM (the following morning)

You wake slowly, morning light spilling through the narrow window. As you open your eyes, your look right at the mirror—and freeze; it was no dream.

Your pupils are no longer those of a simple human. Instead, they are intricate miniature versions of an astronomical clock: concentric rings and delicate hands silently spinning, marking not just hours but entire ages and mysteries beyond.

Then it strikes you: the wheels have moved! Your consciousness is no longer adrift in some distant future but fully anchored back in Guarda, on the morning of September 18th, 2025 AD. Yet, even as the world around you is the present that you know, your altered eyes remind you that time’s river still flows through you—an endless clockwork turning in the depths of your soul.

As subsequent days pass, you find that each time you go to sleep, you do not dream, but rather awake as either "Future Bumblebore" or "Past Bumblebore".

Bumblebore

Past Bumblebore immediately resolves to start keeping a detailed journal.
Future Bumblebore reads back through his journal trying to locate the entry for... (details available upon request)

DM

You crack open your spell books, not sure what to expect. Along with your other spells, you find entire pages covered in "fuzzy, indistinct writing"—lines of script that shimmer and blur, as if viewed through morning mist or a warped pane of glass. Some runes drift slowly as you watch, never fully settling into focus.

When you squint or tilt the page under the lamp light, the symbols appear to ripple and briefly sharpen into fragments of meaning—a snatch of a spell formula here, the ghost of a diagram there—before blurring again the moment you look away. The ink feels both ancient and not yet dry, the handwriting teasingly familiar, like a note you left for yourself in a dream.

Every attempt to concentrate on these entries seems to tug gently at the back of your mind, threading half-remembered moments from another time and place. You realise these spells must be echoes from your future self: their details are out of reach until you consciously write, define, and claim them for your present. Only then will the letters anchor themselves on the page, resolving into crisp, usable arcana—unique magic, born from the loops and tangles of your own mysterious journey.

You may choose 1 spell for each spell level you know (1,2,3,4) to invent.
Use the normal DMG method but you don't need funds or a library.

Epilogue

These were the new spells Bumblebore used in session #84. After this, unfortunately Dundermoose found that he had some issues that would take him away from the game for a while. In an elite move, he allowed Bumblebore to become what you might call a Campaign Character, holding him with an open hand and allowing me to fit his actions to the campaign. And so I did.

By the time of session #92, Future Bumblebore had researched the history of the Sidonian party that had cleared the Tomb of Kistomerces—who they were, how they survived the horrors of the Gygaxian tomb, and when they set out. For Past Bumblebore, that departure was imminent. Giving up on accompanying the heroes he knew, and after taking certain precautions, he instead used his future-gained knowledge of them to insinuate himself into the Sidonian party—and went with them to the tomb. Little did he know that the party of heroes was only days behind.

Tuesday, 3 March 2026

Trollopulous Adjusted Session 140 (Machodor #91): Showdown in the Skalrath

The Skalrath

Introduction

Happy New Year and apologies for the extended delay in publishing session reports. I will be playing catch up for the next little while. As sufficient time has passed since this session happened to avoid spoilers, I'm going to give a bit of extra background that might help set the scene. In 2022, the Brovenloft domain leader Kangsta Wrapper was famously defeated and killed at the battle of Sesilvania. However, less well known is that before the battle the great mummy lord made a discovery within the deserts of the dry domains: the burial caves which we've been calling the Skalrath.

Kangsta was vastly more powerful than everything in the place, so I tracked him as he went from tomb to tomb, binding every mummy he found in service him, and scrawling his own graffiti in various places. Then he went to the most powerful denizen of the place, wiped the floor with it, and in its place secured a weapon system he had created, to keep it hidden while he was away. Alas, he never returned, but the changes he made were still in effect when the Frogmen unwittingly breached the entrance with their swamp-making magic item—and were drawn inside. They decided that this was a great place to keep the Nathruk (aka Froghemoth).

However, the evil nature of the place has a way of raising the dead as its undead guardians. One of these was the soul of J. Jumper Jameson, erstwhile muppet reporter whose soul was consumed by the Froghemoth in a previous Braunstein. When he got raised as a ghost-muppet he unknowingly retraced Kangsta's journey around the tombs. Being quick on his feet, he managed to convince the various mummies that he was working for the mummy lord whom they served.

It was this host of mummies and other undead that in session #90 defeated the players, delivered them to the Nathruk to eat, and dropped their weapons into its pool. However, by now Nachfortha, the most powerful of the mummies—a high-level magic-user cleric—had begun to suspect he had been duped by the former news-frog.

The source I used as the basis for the Skalrath was the excellent ACKS module: Secrets of the Nethercity. In the module the entrance is under a sewer with sewer sludge draining down into it, so it was easy to instead make this water draining from the swamp, and then change everything else sewer related inside to a swampy equivalent. I changed the ancient elves for humans, and the writing system to Egyptian hieroglyphics.

Timekeeping

This session began on December 4th, with the player characters adventuring in Brovenloft until the 7th. Downtime for these characters begins on the 8th.

Player Characters Present

Fluid the Druid (Level 9 Druid, "Scourge of Trollopulous", former wearer of the Ring of Kings)
Giuseppe (Level 8 Paladin of Rome, Brovenloft, wielder of the Dragonslayer and the Shield of Protection from Missiles, rider of Bonecrusher)
with henchmen Bishoy (F6) and Tawadros (F6) and Rhoikos (M4) and Steelvein (F4)
Sheamus (Level 8 Irish Fighter from Brovenloft, rider of the Rocket Cycle and wielder of the Drewblade)
Gurt the Green (Level 6 Paladin of Machodor, wielder of the Liberator, bearer of the Fabled Ice Jewel of Frigia, rider of Artax) with henchman Cedric (C4)
Oblate (Level 3 Illusionist)
Connor (Level 3 Fighter)

Downtime

With the players having arrived in Dublin at the end of last session, downtime in the city included: a trial, a duel, a prophetic dream. It all culminated in an agreement between Sheamus and Connor McGregor (NPC Fighter Level 9) that saw Connor use his Rocket Cycle to fly the heroes across Brovenloft—all the way to Rome, and from there to Machodor. As some know, Minas Mandalf can be reached from Rome via a certain method involving a large stone pine-cone. Meanwhile the characters with the dervish in the swamp tried a Commune spell to find out whether their friends were still alive. The answers were inconclusive and so they began the session alone in the voice channel, not sure what would happen.

Session Report

I had the players from the previous session join today's session in a private Discord voice channel while the others used the normal one. We had a new guy who might also have been joining, but technical issues prevented him from doing so. The possibility of him showing up though meant that the PCs in the swamp were expecting the portal from Trollopulous to open; but when it did so they were astonished that their missing companions stepped through (and the other group joined the normal session voice chat).

Once both groups swapped stories of their recent adventures, they were ready to once more sally forth to the Skalrath, this time with the renewed urgency of reclaiming their weapons and items lost in the previous session's debacle. Having returned to the dervish by plane hopping via Machodor, Sheamus' invisibility bracer had recharged; so the main risk in slipping through the ranks of the besieging frog army was someone accidentally stepping out of the 10' range of his bracer while they couldn't see themselves.

They reached the Skalrath without incident and retraced their steps (starting from A1 on the map: down to A4, then D1 to D3, then D6a) into the exact area where they were ambushed last time. This time they were careful to eliminate skeletons as they went, rather than leaving them lurking in their rear.

Combat #1: 20 Skeletons

Rounds: 2

Result: Party victory

Highlights: Successful turning from the party saw most of the skeletons flee down the corridor while the remainder were smashed to pieces.

Halfway along the corridor was an alcove where a broken marble bust had toppled from a pedestal, opposite that was a bas relief image of the warrior mummy they had killed some weeks back—depicted in life. There were Old Kingdom hieroglyphics that were obviously original, but nearby was scrawled a New Kingdom glyph (by Kangsta when he passed through). It depicted a female looking figure with subtle indications that it was male, which the players recognised to mean—"Trap".

They decided to leave it alone, missing out on opening the secret door and the treasure beyond (oh well). When they reached the next section they deliberately antagonised the skeletons there so as not to leave them at their backs.

Combat #2: 20 Skeletons

Rounds: 4

Result: Party victory

Highlights: An almost carbon copy of the first combat—successful turning from the party saw most of the skeletons flee down the corridor while the remainder were smashed to pieces.

They pushed the door open and took in the scene of their previous defeat. This time the area was unguarded and empty of life (and un-life).

They pushed open the heavy cedar door into D7—a cold shiver ran through the company as they recognised the balcony where they'd been routed—thankfully now deserted. The stone balcony ran north-south across a 50'-wide cavern floor 20' below, its balustrades were intricately carved with Old Kingdom motifs. Magma stalagmites hung menacingly from the 30'-high ceiling like frozen ripples; while swamp water flowed below from the west, splattering eastward over a precipice save where it dribbled down 10-wide steps.

With no further opposition, the adventurers pushed ahead into D8, crossing the bridge and going down a staircase beyond into the cavern below (C2B). From here they were able to follow the water without having to wade through it (L1), finally Giuseppe sensed his sword down a sunken stair on their left.

When the party realised the stairs ahead led down into flood‑black swamp water (L2), Oblate quietly shifted himself to the very front of the marching order, staff probing each step like a blind man’s cane. Whether it was selfless courage or simple foolishness, the effect was the same: a perfect target for the hidden Nathruk’s tongue.

Combat #3: Nathruk

Rounds: 1 surprise segment, 6 rounds

Result: Party Victory

Highlights: The Nathruk erupted from the black pool, its barbed tongue lashing out 10' to snag Oblate and drag him into its huge maw—failing to swallow him whole, but this was no mercy—his fellows could only look on in horror as the illusionist was chewed up for over three times his maximum hit point total.

The monster was now exposed to view from the waist up, its yellow underbelly just under the surface. Giuseppe moved forward bravely to draw its attention, but that wasn't his only motive. The paladin sensed within the water his sword that was magically attuned to a matching item he had won in Trollopulous recently—he called to it and the weapon appeared dramatically out of the swamp water and landed in his hand. Now the paladin faced the monster's full fury, besieged by its four tentacle-like arms.

Gurt and Sheamus waded in hoping their weapons had also been dumped there, but had no immediate luck—and then found the Nathruk was not alone; ten undead Grothak Frogmen rose from the depths, brandishing spears.

Henchman Rhoikos knew their tactic: leap into the party's ranks from above. His player declared the magic-user would cast Web squarely in their flight path, anchoring it to the cave walls overhead—high enough not to split the party's casters from the fighters around the Nathruk as it eyed Giuseppe for second breakfast.

This was a calculated risk: leaping attacks count as a charge, meaning their long spears would go first against melee defences—regardless of initiative outcome—but against a spell it is a different matter; "the speed factor of a weapon also determines when the weapon strikes during the course of the round with (opponents casting spells) DMG p66". The initiative result favoured the party, the spell went off and most of the Grothak were caught in the web, helplessly flailing at their enemies below.

Fluid cast Summon Insects. The Druid had always wanted to summon giant ants with this spell, a 30% possibility "if they are in the area". The original module has a colony just a few rooms over. Sure enough, giant ants appeared and swarmed along the Nathruk's outstretched tentacles, harrying the beast's body.

Giuseppe had the monster's attention and the other henchmen dispatched the webbed Grothak. Soon Gurt had retrieved his sword from the water as well, and the party were getting on top. It was then that the ghostly form of J. Jumper Jameson appeared. I explained to the players that the usual magical aging and fear effects attendant on seeing a ghost did not apply to humans viewing the ghost of a muppet, which was received with general approval. Of course it wouldn't.

Does it get more BROSR than this?

The apparition pleaded with the party not to kill the Nathruk, as doing so would in turn cast his soul into oblivion. Whether this was true or not, the heroes were not convinced to change their course of action. In response, Jameson tried to use Magic Jar to take over Giuseppe. This failed, but the attempt was enough of a concern that Gurt used his ability—as a member of the Machodor Planar Corps—to go Ethereal; he knew that in that form he could attack the ghost with his sword and hit him hard. Now Jameson turned his attention to Sheamus, the Irishman had found the Drewblade in the pool and was lifting it—with the proper form—required to activate its Strength power. This gave him 18/00 Strength just as the Magic Jar succeeded; causing him to turn his blade on Giuseppe.

Sheamus has a history of running amok when charmed, this situation was no different, and he laid into the paladin with gusto.

One more round and Gurt defeated Jameson's ghost in the Ethereal plane, and Giuseppe held off Sheamus while finishing off the Nathruk with the help of the others. But the danger was far from over, Nachfortha—invisible—had been watching the whole fight, gauging the strength of the party.

Scarabs started appearing from nowhere, they moved onto the cavern floor and began using their bodies to form words that the PCs could read (I'm thinking about that scene at the end of Flash Gordon with the flying Hawkmen). The words said:

This place belongs to NACHFORTHA: great magician and cleric.

I have seen enough to know that the people of this time pose me no threat.
I will return to my tomb and await the return of my master: KANGSTA WRAPPER (the fool J Jumper Jameson was not his messenger at all)

Finally, the scarabs spelled out this dismissal:

There was some muttering among the heroes about searching for this guy, but instead they grabbed the Vreshka (the swamp-generating magic item that must be destroyed to return the land to normal) from around the neck of the dead Nathruk, and began the return trip to the dervish camp. Outside the Skalrath, the swamp was already starting to recede, and when they reached the dervish caves the siege had lifted and they were received as heroes by Reverend Mother Ramallo. She was overjoyed that her younger sister, Sheena, had somehow survived. Bishoy and Tawadros were awarded magic scimitars and, their prophecy fulfilled, the portal opened to allow the party to return to Trollopulous.

Session Statistics:

Wilderness travel: 64 Miles

Downtime begins on: 11/23
Combats: 1
Rooms mapped: 2
Combat rounds: 0
Losses: Oblate

Treasure & Items

Gold trinkets and coins 54gp

4 Vases 28gp

4 Canopic jars 100gp

silver inkwell and stylus 10g

small gilded cedar incense altar with 25 sticks of

frankincense 625gp

chryselephantine statuette of a unicorn with onyx horn 500gp

four terracotta canopic jars of embalmed organs 100gp

Conical boars’ tusk helmet with a winged crest 250gp

Sickle-shaped short sword with a hilt fastened in the shape of a six-armed demon

+1/+3 vs humans 4000gp

Contents of the box from the Nathruk pool:

Platemail+3 2,750 xp

Cloak of Protection+4 4,000xp

Vreshka (swamp making device) magic seems to be inert outside of Brovenloft, but as a jewel it was worth 10,000gp

The following two items contain evil spells from that decadent old kingdom civilisation and were claimed by the authorities in Minas Mandalf (compensation listed in Gold Machos):

long scroll rolled around a pair of bone handles carved with glyphs 30,000gp

six terracotta scroll jars containing carefully rolled vellum magic-user scrolls 6,000gp

2400gp Greater Identification costs deducted

Monsters

10 Undead Grothak Frogmen 2,700 xp

1 Nathruk (Froghemoth) 10,060 xp

1 Ghost of J Jumper Jameson 2,291 xp

Nachfortha (deemed the party unworthy and left in a huff) 0 xp

70, 718 XP & 53,267 GP Assignment

Fluid (E) 9,062 xp & 6,885 gp

Giuseppe (E) 9,062 xp & 6,885 gp

and Bishoy (E) 4,530 xp & 3442 gp

and Tawadros (E) 4,530 xp & 3442 gp

and Rhoikos (E) 4,530 xp & 3442 gp

and Steelvein (E) 4,530 xp & 3442 gp

Sheamus (E) 9,062 xp & 6,885 gp

Gurt (E) 9,062 xp & 6,885 gp

and Cedric (E) 4,530 xp & 3442 gp

Connor (E) 9,062 xp & 6,885 gp

Sheena (NPC*) 2,757 xp & 625gp

* only a nominal share of the loot because she stayed behind in Brovenloft when the treasure was sold in Minas Mandalf, she claimed the incense and altar.