GM: Sean Nittner
Players: Adrienne Mueller, Ryan Fox Squire, Eric Fattig, Demian Kendall
System: Shadowdark
After escaping the Tomb of the Sea Wolf King, with hobgoblins still on their tail, the party took their (very flimsy and overburdened) raft down river towards another dungeon that Rosk had heard of…The Lost Citadel.
Cast
- Ixil (Demian)
- Malchor (Ryan)
- Gendry (Adrienne)
- Rosk (Eric)
Journal
Set out on their rickety raft down stream…
Rosk tells the group of a place nearby where they can lay low and maybe find more loot… THE LOST CITADEL…just don’t touch the fallen.
Malchor and Rosk debate about what to do if you absolutely have to, but leave the matter unsettled.
Using their poles, they push along the bottom of the creek [Amaranth River] to navigate west. Gendry notes the sounds of the hobgoblin pursuers in the distance…
The party takes note of a grove further down river where time flows strangely. Malchor is intrigued, but they opt to continue to the Lost Citadel. [Rosk noted that he was hatched in such a grove].
Malchor and Ixil come to an agreement, swapping Ixil’s Dagger (Prophecy Fulfilled) for Malachor’s Wand. Ixil is better able to use it because it’s a Wand of Trance.
Rosk and Gendry work together to secure the raft in the river bed where no one would think to look for it [underwater].
The party continues into the grassland and spot the LOST CITADEL. Mighty structure made of great red stone.
Ixil peeks within the yawning front entrance, sees and entrance room decorated with colorful murals and great pillars.
Malchor informs the party that he may be able to master the spell of light…if they can rest for the night. The party sets camp for the night.
Gendry relates the bawdy tale of how he got his scar, to the party’s horror and amusement. [Later, he goes looking for firewood and on a small towhead finds a grove of trees surrounding shrine with a bull head that no wildlife will go near. He collects the wood, begs his pardon to any bull deity he might have offended and makes his way back.]
Ixil, drawn by strange forces stumbles across a secret passage into the citadel.
ENCOUNTER CARD DRAWN
Three spiderfolk emerge from the darkness and start eyeing the party, openly covetous of the party’s gear. [Char (filthy, nosy, aways spitting up webbing 🕸️), Kreel (groomed, critical, wears cape ), Slaask (hunched, surely, doesn’t talk much, has an old injury)]
Rosk tries to persuade them that the greatest treasure of all is friendship, but they don’t buy it. Openly slavering over Rosk’s sword…
Gendry attempts to de-escalate the situation and offers to sooth the pain of one who is nursing old wounds. This does placate them, and the two groups come t an awkward detente.
Malchor successfully convinces the spiderfolk that there’s treasure to be had by waylaying the hobgoblin jailors. Perusing the party the scamper into the darkness [An agreement made that the party will pay 20gp per hobgoblin head they return with. Char did steal Rosk’s sword be he caught on in time and got it back]
The party rests and Machors masters the light spell. They proceed to the secret entrance, noticing that it is made of worked stone and unusually tall. Strange hoofprints lead inward…
Gendry notes the stone is not locally quarried stone. Someone went to great expense to import it here…
Malchor imbues Gendry’s club with light. 🔥
The party delves ever deeper, finding twisting hallways littered with pieces of broken terracotta.
Rosk finds some intact terracotta pots and roots around within finding some coins and a small doll [as well as getting his hand covered in ash]. Ixil does the same. Could the “sand” be cremated remains” [they wonder].
The party pushes further within finding a door at last. It almost sounds like a whimpering animal is on the other side.
Malchor opens the door, revealing a large room. At one end, a great stone bowl is set into a raised counter. More terracotta jars rest in the corners. Murals on the wall depict subjugated goblins filling bowls with gold and wheat beneath the watch of red-armored humans. In the corner and emaciated man shivers and whimpers.
The man introduces himself as Guiseppe Baldini, and herbalist. He seems eager to befriend the party, although somewhat meet.
There’s and adjacent room fill additional jars, all though these are all sealed. Additionally the room reeks of brimstone. Rosk notices a larger shadowy something moving along the ceiling down the hallway… [an omen card drawn]
Ixil opens a side passage to find a long passageway leading into darkness.
Malchor sets expectations with Giuseppe: tag along and lend a hand when asked, or stay here in this room.
Malchor curious about the murals drops a coin in the bowl and watches it vanish. He’s left with a feeling of being blessed instead [luck point]. He grills Giuseppe about what he knows about the bowls…Giuseppe admits he’s seen this trick before, but wouldn’t consider climbing in himself.
Around the corner Gendry finds the remains of Orwen, Giuseppe’s traveling companion, slain by a trapped bull statue.
Rosk tries to wrest free Orwen’s armor and weapon while Ixil pulls iron spikes and other loot from the falling adventurer’s backpack.
TORCH RELIT
Malchor recasts light extending the spell. He warns the party to be careful, the trap might still be dangerous.
The party finishes getting everything of value off of Orwen’s remains. [Including a locked of Orwen’s love Josie, which Giuseppe isn’t willing to swear on his life and the wrath of all the gods and the heroes of yore that he’ll return, but he’d still like it]. Hearing a noise in the hals like clinking metal [another omen], Malchor chucks one of the sealed jars down the hallway, and it bursts into a stinking cloud.
ENCOUNTER DRAWN
A chittering giant centipede descends from a dark corner of the previous room and scuttles toward Malchor and tries to grasp him with it’s monstrous tentacles. The party overcomes the creature in a great battle. Somehow emerging unscathed despite the creatures best efforts. Malchor blasts it with magic missiles, Ixil inspires supernatural rage, and Gendry and Rosk batter it. Spooked [after the fight], the party returns to the surface. [Malchor grabbed two more of the sealed jars on the way out]
End of Session
Thanks for note taking Demian!
Thanks for the pics Ryan!
Thanks for the mapping Adrienne.
Thoughts on this game
At the start of the game I gave everyone a chance to change their character’s beliefs since we were going into a new dungeon. No one took me up on it, but I think that’s a good practice to continue.
A lot of folks wanted to play characters who had the LEAST xp (rather than the most). I like that we’re getting some of the lesser played characters (Ixil and Gendry) some attention. Malchor, however, will level up any minute now!
Twice Gendry tried to harvest monster bits and twice I had him make wisdom checks and when he failed them said they could not be moanfully acquired. I think I should have instead asked what he would use to collect and contain them and if Adrienne thought of something (or if we worked something out together) just said it happened. Alternatively I could have had the failure represent not having a good way to hold them, so they took up extra item slots or had some other deleterious effect.
Greedy Char, who likes to butt into everyone’s business, and who digs around in the mud for treasure, and who produces too much sticky goo so he has to spit it out all the time, and who steals whenever he can, may be my favorite npc to play so far. I hope he comes back.
We did random hex crawling and rolling for terrain, weather, and encounters. It was pretty cool. The charts in Shadowdark are fire! 🔥
I also love the NPC generator tables at the back of the adventure. Char, Kreel, and Slask FTW!
There is likely a settlement nearby, I made a chart for the kinds of settlements they might find. If anyone decides to avail themselves of all the coin they took from the sea caves, I’ll find out what it is!
This session had more roleplaying and a slower pace, in part because they spent time outside or in camp, and in part because they were just getting into the dungeon for the first time. Compared to the previous session, which was tense and dramatic through out, this was much more sedate. I also think the light spell helps ameliorate some of the desperate searching for torches, which took some tension off. We’ll see if it ratches up naturally the deeper they delve!
How does Rosk feel about violence now? I think I’ll ask Eric next session!
