What Do I Know?

So what happened in our last DCC game?

The party ran into various forms of custom undead creatures.  An ooze made out of discarded organs, an undead assassin, a cabal of wizard apprentices that were more powerful if all three of them were casting in conjunction, an undead berserker charged with necrotic energy, shadow snakes, and a bear zombie with sharks for arms.

The group also faced deadly traps that required multiple saves, one to avoid damage, and the second to avoid maiming.  As far as the maiming went, only the wizard suffered the secondary effects of the traps, as the wizard had his brain pan pieced with a spike that did intelligence damage.

There were also several magic items designed to cheat death (see my previous posts).  Many of them were used before the session was out.  Alas poor Raoul the executioner with the awesome full name was one of the permanent casualties, after he first successfully filled out the Balance Sheets of Necessity and survived his first death.

What was interesting about this session is that there were three hallways on either side of the main hallway, and one big set of double doors at the end.  Normally, if the players perceived something as the “boss battle,” they have, in previous campaigns, headed strait there, wisdom be damned.

This time, I set up that area as being where the potentially helpful NPC was in residence, and where the items that would help with the rest of the dungeon were situated, and the players had their characters head to the double metal doors last.  Remember Judges/GMs/DM . . . never assume your players will do anything predictable.

In the crypt of the caretaker of the dungeon, the ghost of the priest of Death explained the purpose of the dungeon.  The extradimensional space was set up to contain death cheating items that the priesthood of Death wanted guarded.  He died defending the dungeon from an evil necromancer’s army of undead, mainly to keep the last prize, a chalice that grants vampirism, from falling into the necromancer’s hands.

The priest told the party that he could do anything without a body, and wanted to “ride” one of them, and tried to make a deal so that they could take the chalice to the priesthood of Death and keep their plundered items.  Unfortunately, the priest couldn’t match the merchant’s price, and the threat of having the priesthood of Death after them didn’t deter Groot.

A graverobber that was in the tomb and had just been woken up from a stasis trap  (replacement for poor Raoul) decided to make a deal with the priest, but Groot was having none of it, and unlocked the door to the chalice room, as well as the undead monstrosity that was waiting within.

When the undead serpentfolk attacked, he tore into the group pretty viciously, and on top of that, the ghost of the priest was upset enough about the chalice being taken by someone that wasn’t going to bring it to the priesthood of Death that he was ready to attack.  So I was a bit concerned about a TPK.

While the rest of the adventurers were busy surviving the multiple attacks from the serpentfolk, both party wizards decided to massively soul burn themselves, one casting chill touch for maximum effect, and one casting magic missile for maximum effect.

The magic missiles were used to blow up the serpentfolk, as well as the ghost of the priest of Death, leaving the party free to deliver the gift of vampirism to the merchant that hired them.

Still surrounded by an aura of massive cold, one of the wizards took point exiting the extradimensional space, which blindsided the Deathguard waiting for the adventurers on the other side of the portal, nearly killing them with cold before the fight ever started.

So now the group has two exhausted, physically strained wizards, in the Lost Graveyard, waiting to get home and collect their reward.  Hopefully without the priesthood of Death finding out about them having the chalice or knowing that they slaughtered the Deathguard stationed at the Lost Graveyard.