Brelich Shadowdark Session 19

The exploration of the horror show of the Temple continues. Aggressive utensils, more survivors, a crazy chapel, classrooms, and cellars. A lot of other things happened as well…including learning more about what happened here at the Temple…but that all needs to be below the break due to spoilers. This is going to be another pretty abbreviated recap.

Everyone was in attendance for this session. There will, obviously, be spoilers for Nightmare Over Ragged Hollow from The Merry Mushmen along with our mangling of this very fine adventure. My GM comments, as always, are in italics.

4th of Fall

• Still in the dining room, all of the utensils on a shelf in a closet were starting to move. Everyone moves to get out of the way and the utensils fly off the shelf to embed in the opposite wall.
  • An agate ring remains on the shelf. When brought into the dining room, a voice comes from the body on the table. It is Felicity, the squire to Lady Constance.
  • She and Lady Constance, the paladin, had come to the Temple at the request of the clergy here.
    • Something evil was happening.
    • Tobias arrived and was covered in a black goo. He was taken to the cellars to be placed in a cell.
    • An artifact was also stored in the vault in the cellar.
    • Some evil quickly spread in the Temple and Lady Constance raised the dome to contain it.
    • Felicity is dead, it is just her spirit speaking.
      • The agate ring is placed on her finger. It glows for a moment and then fades. Felicity no longer responds to questions. Marlena puts on the ring and feels comforted by it.
• A classroom was explored next.
  • A cackling can be heard coming from all around within. A number of children’s bodies are in one corner with Brother Adam’s body in front as if he had been shielding them.
  • A giant witch head extrudes from the ceiling and attacks when the room is entered. It is defeated.
  • No survivors in the room.
• The group proceeds downstairs to the main chapel. Decorative gargoyles have come to life and are attacking an armored woman who is defending a “fort” made of pews.
  • It is Lady Constance and the party joins the fray. Some “angels” emerge from the stained glass windows and attack the party with razor sharp wings.
  • The battle is not an easy one. Lady Constance falls despite the group’s best efforts. Most of the party is pretty hurt by the time they prevail.
    • Lady Constance, now an image in the remaining stained glass, provides some information to the party.
      • Tobias came to the Temple covered with the Dolorous Ichor. Somehow the Tobias Ichor merged with the Crown of Dreams, and artifact, in the Temple’s vault.
      • A living nightmare started, she brought up the Golden Veil to contain things, and had been fighting off the gargoyles for the last ten minutes or so. (Time is clearly not functioning correctly within the Temple.)
      • The Ichor is vulnerable to acid. The Primordial Blade will also slay it along with the wielder of the blade.
      • Felicity’s ring (the agate ring) will help protect Marlena (i.e., +1 Ring of Protection).
      • Her spirit fading, Constance offers one last favor…healing one person. Dieter receives her blessing and feels a bit better.
  • A survivor, Doris, is found in Fort Pew. The group escorts her up to the bell tower and get her out and returned home (she is the wife of the tailor, Laban, that the group had assisted early in the adventure).
  • The library off of the chapel has imps and a demonic ball of fire. Katherine and Hans (Liesl’s sister-in-law and nephew) are cornered…she is trying to hold off the fire with a chair.
    • The party is able to get both survivors out and then close the door to keep the fire contained within.
      • Katherine and Hans are escorted out.
• The party heads down to the cellars.
  • They spot an abomination “patrolling” the main corridor. Brother Seth has become some monstrosity.
    • Seeing this, the party realizes that they are no longer in any shape for another fight.
      • They head up to the small chapel a few floors up that seemed comforting and safe. They are able to get a rest.
• They head back down to the cellars. Brother Seth Abomination (aka BSA) does not seem to notice them and just continues it patrolling. They stay a short distance behind it and start to check out the cellar.
  • A number cells (as in monk not jail) are down here. They are appropriately horrifying for the current milieu. Some bodies are spotted being absorbed into the walls and floors.
  • They then find Tobias in one of the cells. He is horribly transformed, bloated and filling the cell. Embedded within whatever it is that he has become is the Crown of Dreams.
    • Tobias Thing (aka TT) screams and Dieter and Marlena run in fear…straight at the retreating BSA.
    • Liesl and Liam do their best to stop and delay them so they don’t reach BSA.
      • Liesl grabs the remaining vial of acid off of Dieter.
      • She goes back and throws it on TT and then closes the door to that cell.
      • Liam tries to keep the others from running into BSA.
      • A moment or two later, Liesl opens the door. She is ready to use the Primordial Blade.
      • Dieter struggles and continues his fleeing, just about to reach BSA.
      • Liesl raises the blade and sees that Tobias is no longer moving. Dead?
      • Dieter is just inches from BSA.
      • And then the lights all go out!!!

That’s where we ended the session.

Have we come close to the conclusion of the tragedy at Ragged Hollow? Maybe? If so, what comes next for our heroes.

Our Saturday night Savage Pathfinder game has come to its conclusion. We are going to start playing a Shadowdark game then too. I’ll just say that, as much as I love Savage Worlds, I don’t think I’ll ever run Savage Worlds for Pathfinder again. I’ll save details on that when (if) I get around to doing a post-mortem post on that campaign.