Seeing Glanbir's passion for smiting undead, Reidoth suggested that the party check out the "Brown Horse," a tavern on the west side of town where the road from Neverwinter comes into Thundertree. He mentioned that a hoard of the undead vermin where gathered up in the bar much as they had in life. Reidoth on the other hand went south to finish scouting the hide out of the Dragon Cultist the party defeated last session. Always eager to spread the light of Lathander into the darkness, Glanbir led the party toward the west. Jarvin had an epiphany while he prepared to blast the door to bits with his wand of magic missiles then realizing the dry flamable condition of the door, he burned it instead. Inside were several of the hard to kill undead menaces. When the first one walked out investigating the destruction of the door, Bryndon Burned it with his arcane fire. But that didn't stop it. It kept coming, slowly and methodically. Seeing there were several in the building, Jarvin cast web covering the entire inside of the tap house with sticky thick spider webs. This slowed the already shambling creatures even further and gave the members with ranged attacks a chance to shine. During the second round, a new comer wearing fancy clothing and armor showed up and shot a yet unseen zombie and alerted the party to the presence of more coming around the building from the north. He unfortunately got more of their attention than he bargained for and was soon facing two of the foul abominations. Even with the years of expensive training his father had paid for, he was unprepared for the accuracy of their attacks. While Rook and Glanbir and Bryndon set themselves to destroying the few zombies to come out of the building, Jarvin turned and returned the favor by burning one of the two zombies attacking the new comer. Just as the battle was finishing, and when Jarvin was again questioning the loyalty of Reidoth, he appeared from the brush and explained that he had investigated the Cultist lair and found no one there. He went so far as to check for tracks leading away and feels confident that you eliminated all of them. At this time he thanked the party for destroying the two largest nests of undead here in Thurndertree and offered you humble hospitality of his abode so that you could rest from your taxing battle with Venomfang. While most of the party gratefully accepted, Jarvin treated the old Ranger with a certain level of contempt that the poor old man couldn't understand. Having had an entire afternoon and night to talk to the newcomer, the party soon found that his name was Atlas Lex and that he was sent here to try to "encourage" the party to help him recover an artifact of great power that had been stolen from his family in Waterdeep. The ancient artifact Wave was stolen the same night that both Blackrazzor and Whelm were stolen from two other noble families. These "Lords of Waterdeep" were very impatient to rescue these artifacts which are in essence the symbols of their own nobility. The current Lord Protector of Waterdeep is weak and being manipulated by different factions on the council, therefore the father of Atlas sent him on this mission to find the "Heroes of Phandalin" as your fame has already started to spread. He hopes that you will be able to aid his son in recuperating the artifact known as Wave. As to the future of the other two, their disposition could affect the politics of Waterdeep greatly, but Atlas has no mandate to recover them. He did however bring with him a copy of the "ransom letter" his father received. It seemed to concord with what the party had already learned from the Black Spider's correspondence from his Zhentarim contact. The next day, rested and refreshed, the party said their good-byes to the old man. He was going south into the wood to make a report of your activities to Reythion, the Arch-druid of the "Mother's Milk" druid circle that is the true ruling body of the woods. He told everyone that should you ever find yourselves in need while in Neverwinter wood, you should ask to be brought before Reythion. He implied that the druid would gladly repay your efforts here. He then disappeared into the woods with but a quip from Jarvin. A two day journey then started. Your excellent mounts could have pushed on further, but your posteriors couldn't take the beating anymore. You rested near the base of the famous Mount Hotenow that erupted 30 years ago devastating civilization here in the northern Sword Coast. An uneventful night followed. Next day brought you within sight and within 5 miles of White Plume mountain. While still a few miles away, you stumbled on a very poor village barely surviving on the edge of the wood and marshlands that surround White Plume Mountain. Rooks Orcish features scarred four children who had been happily playing in the mud and muck that surrounded the impoverished village. Luckily, Jarvin's more polished form of speech helped calm tensions when the parents of the children came out to see what was going on. One among them seemed to speak for the entire settlement when he asked, cautiously but respectfully, what business the party had here. This darkhaired lanky hunter had hidden depths in him that few in the party saw. Atlas, due to a good insight roll and his magic helm, was able to catch glimpses of Rooks Father who had come this way recently. He noted a deep sadness in the dark man, but didn't want to tip his hand by prying further. After more questioning and an act of kindness by Rook, the mood relaxed and the man explained that none who ever go into the mountain return. He told you all that he knew of its ways and entrances. He also revealed that his son, William, went to the mountain to try to recover the great wealth that is rumored to contained therein. That was 6 months ago and the lad hasn't been seen since. Trying to maintain his dignity he told the noble Atlas to keep his money, that he would lead the party to the "Dead Gnoll's Eye Socket" and then all the way to the "Wizard's Mouth," but would go no further. (He still has a family to provide for.) The only boon he asked was that you return his son to him. (In whatever form you find him) He was true to his word and revealed to the party a secure dry cave where your mounts could be sheltered only 3 miles from the mountain itself. He then led the party up to the "Wizard's Mouth" where a jet of hot water vapor issued forth from an 8' wide 8' tall passage that ran 40' feet into the side of the mountain. The "exhale" lasted about 30 seconds. It was followed by a brief respite of 2 or 3 seconds, then came the "inhale" which lasted about as long as the "exhale." Here he bid farewell and gave his promise to comeback every day for a period of two weeks, not believing that he would ever see you again, to tend to your animals in the cave. Again, Rook with a kind gesture touched the man's heart and he shook the Orcish giant's hand as an equal, as a "Man." Being left on a very small ledge half way up this mountain, the party started the process of trying to ascertain how they might enter the cave without being either blown off the mountain, scaled by the steam, or sucked into the unknown depths of the volcano. Jarvin used the scientific method and stuck his hand in the jet of vapor. While red, his skin wasn't blistered. The temperature, at least here at the cave mouth, was not lethal. He then threw his bedroll in and found the suction didn't seem strong enough to do the party any harm. He then timed his entrance with the "inhalation." He waited 15 seconds after it started and them made a dash for the end of the passage. He found himself facing a horizontal crack in the stone of the far wall. This is where the whistling steam jet comes from. At the last moment he ducked down below the crack before the heated steam came back out. In the 3 second pause that followed he tried to explain to the party how to make it to the end with out hurting themselves. He also began investigating and found a watertight hatch under the 8 inches of muck that covered the floor. Even Rook's great strength failed him when he tried to turn the rusted wheel. But with the help of his friends, he was able to open the hatch and reveal a ladder that descended 20 foot to a landing that led to a spiral stair that continued to descend inside a 20' by 20' vertical shaft. The staircase was badly rusted but appeared to be sturdy. The air inside the passageway was warm, humid, and rather foul. You reached the bottom of the stairs with a splash—the floor was submerged beneath a foot of murky water! Atlas racked his brain trying to understand how these stairs could have supported the years and corrosion, but to no avail. He had not the engineering background needed for calculations. Jarvin on the other hand wasn't concerned about the stair that had already been passed. He was more concerned about the floor that couldn't be seen under the foot of muck that covered it. He was also quick to tell the Monk to go ahead with his spider staff tapping on the floor like a blind man looking for some sort of trap. Jabril didn't have to lead very long before he came to a corner. Turning the corner revealed a once majestic, but now rather mangy and bedraggled androsphinx who squatted in the space where the three corridors converged. A wall of force along the south side separated the androsphinx from the party who approach from that direction. The creature seemed to loath his guardianship of this passage but was bound to fulfill his duty until his master was destroyed. He told the party that you had two options to get past him. One was to try to circumvent the force fields that surrounded him, he only hinted at what he might do if you tried that. The other was to answer his riddles. The riddle game is sacred amongst all goodly creatures of Faerún and is even respected out of fear by evil creatures. Not wanting to fight this powerful creature, the party quickly asked for a riddle. The first was a hard one, though as with all riddles once you know the answer it seems simple enough. A slave I've been and shall remain. To a cruel mistress I'm tied with invisible chains. Yet I always put on the same brave face. She keeps me her prisoner, but leaves me some space. What am I? When not able answer the riddle, the great creature offered to give you a simpler one. Intrigued by the first, Jarvin asked to hear the lines again. The androsphinx complied and then Jarvin offered his guess. A gynospinx he said. This got a long hearty laugh from the sphinx who only said, "Oh, how I wish I had those chains binding me." He then muttered something about it having been a long time. Still unable to answer what you now know to be the "Moon." He gave a simpler riddle with the same answer. Round she is, yet flat as a board Altar of the Lupine Lords Jewel on black velvet, pearl in the sea Unchanged but e’erchanging, eternally Rook, who's intimidating presence belies a keen intellect, shouted nearly at the same time as Jarvin the answer; "Moon." With that the invisible barrier in between you and sphinx disappeared. Now the party was able to converse less confrontationally with the sphinx who turned out to have a great deal of knowledge of who had passed this way before. Finding that Rooks father had taken the Western passage, the party soon asked for another riddle to clear the way west. The sphinx obliged with this. "With potent, flowery words speak I, Of something common, vulgar, dry; I weave webs of pedantic prose, In effort to befuddle those, Who think I wile time away, In lofty things, above all day. The common kind that linger where Monadic beings live and fare; Practical I may not be, But life, it seems, is full of me! And so adventurer I cry, can you tell me what am I?" The sphinx was flexible with the answer as more than one answer might be correct. Almost at the limit of time the sphinx had allowed, Jarvin said loudly; "unimportant questions." This of course is what riddles are and the sphinx lowered the force field guarding the western passage. Here we decided to end today's session. Only three players were present and I was myself very sick. I hope to see Alex and Stefis back and ready to play next week. I also hope Jabri has overcome his own health issues as well as his technical issues. I enjoyed today's session. I hope you did too. This was my first time running any part of White Plume Mountain. I would be glad to entertain any suggestions you have as to how I might do better. My players who have made it to Curse of Strahd are loving it. I hope you will soon be able to start that module also. It is very immersive. White Plume mountain is known as a "fun house dungeon." It can be the opposite of "immersive." You might find there are times you have to suspend your disbelief to enjoy it. Keep in mind that it was written over 40 years ago when D&D was in it's infancy. Back then things didn't always have to make sense. In those days you could be fighting a goblin faction who was fighting kobolds in the same cave system and then you just might run into a vampire for a "random encounter." That's how the game was played and also the reason the authors of Ravenloft created Strahd Von Zarrovich, they wanted a more immersive story of Gothic horror than a random vampire in a goblin cave. That said, I think WPM (White Plume Mountain) will be very fun and a good distraction after LMoP. At least we've been able to tie both Atlas' and Rook's stories into it. For those who didn't pay attention or for those who missed today's session, I will post below the introductory paragraph again. "This version of WPM is designed for a group of four 8th-level player characters. Your players will need both brains and brawn to successfully complete their mission, as there are situations here which cannot be resolved by frontal assault. If your players are unused to hack-proof dilemmas, they may find this adventure frustrating or even boring. But if your players are used to using their wits, they should find this an intriguing balance of problems and action. Unless you are used to mastering lengthy adventures, it will probably take more than one session for a party to investigate all three branches of the dungeon. If this is the case, it would be best if the party were required to leave the dungeon and reenter upon resumption of the game. If they stay in the nearest village (several miles away) they will be relatively safe, but if they camp near White Plume Mountain it would be a good idea to roll for random encounters." The following is all the info I got about the village. I had to create a scene and names and backstory rather quickly and with very little detail given to me. I hope my impromptu character creation wasn't too transparent. I believe I named the settlement "Woodvale." The headstrong lad who set out to find fame and fortune and help his parents have a better life was "William." I can't remember William's father's name. If you do, please post it. His wife was unnamed, but had blond hair and clear blue eyes, while he was dark and had long black hair. He was a Huntsman or woodsman or sorts. Also something of the head man in the village. Anyways, here's what I was given about the scene and the "town." "The party has arrived at White Plume Mountain, which stands alone in a vast area of dismal moors and tangled thickets. They will probably arrange to leave their horses and possessions either at the nearest village (about 5 miles from the mountain) or hidden in the Dead Gnoll’s Eye Socket, a small natural cave in the side of a hill about 2 miles from the Plume. There is really no other shelter available. The villagers know about the cave and may have mentioned it. If the party leaves no guard, they will just have to trust the villagers not to steal their belongings. (Dishonest villagers will have to weigh their fear of White Plume Mountain against their certain belief that the party will never be seen again.) The cave is easily barricaded to keep out unintelligent wandering monsters. White Plume Mountain is an almost perfectly conical volcanic hill formed from an ancient slow lava leakage. It is about 1,000 yards in diameter at the base, and rises about 800 feet above the surrounding land. The white plume that gives the mountain its name and fame is a continuous geyser that spouts from the very summit of the mountain another 300 feet into the air, trailing off to the east under the prevailing winds like a great white feather. The spray collects in depressions downslope and merges into a sizable stream. Steam vents are visible in various spots on the slopes of the mountain, but none of them are large enough to allow entry. The only possible entrance into the cone is a cave on the south slope known as the Wizard’s Mouth. This cave actually seems to breathe, exhaling a large cloud of steam and then slowly inhaling, like a person breathing on a cold day. Each cycle takes about 30 seconds. Approaching the cave, the party will hear a whistling noise coinciding with the wind cycle. If it were not for the continuous roaring of the Plume, this whistling could be heard for a great distance. The cave is about 8 feet in diameter and 40 feet long. At the end of the cave, near the roof, is a long, horizontal crevice about a foot wide. (I got that one wrong) The air is sucked into this crack at great speed, creating the loud whistling noise and snuffing out torches. Shortly the rush of air slows down, stops for a couple of seconds, and then comes back out in a great blast of steam. This steam is not hot enough to scald anyone who keeps low and avoids the crevice, but it does make the cave very uncomfortable, like a hot sauna bath interrupted by blasts of cold air. The ceiling and walls of the cave are slick with the condensed steam that runs down them. The floor is covered with several inches of fine muck. Only careful probing of the muck near the back of the cave will reveal a small trapdoor with a rusted iron ring set in it. Once the muck has been cleared away, a successful DC 20 Strength check is required to pull up the encrusted door. Magic such as knock or passwall can also help open or bypass the door. Directly beneath the door is a 20-foot-square vertical shaft and the beginning of a spiral staircase that leads down. XP: 500 xp - 10 Ash Zombies 3600 xp - For successfully bypassing two of the 4 force fields surrounding the Sphinx. His total xp value was 7200. 4100 Total xp divided by 6 = 683 xp each. Loot: 1 Potion of Healing (Already distributed) 1 Potion of Flying (Already distributed) 6 Rations (Five after Jarvin threw his away) Inspiration: Han. I feel like you were just getting your feet wet with the role play. I hope to see much more from you when you become comfortable with the group. You still have an inspiration from last week that I don't remember you using. Don't forget to add it to your sheet. Mike. You did very well today. You were more vocal and you didn't have any tech difficulties. You role played with the father of William and with the other PCs. You had a very sincere "Human" moment with your giant half-orc. Please take an inspiration if you already used yours. Dan. You led the role play much as you did last week. I appreciate your efforts and I hope next week we will be able to get back to our full group. Seems like this is vacation season. Please take an inspiration if you don't already have one. Even if Jarvin was being a dick to the old Ranger. :)
