Caverns of Thracia: Sessions 1-4
My party and I have been playing Caverns of Thracia for few sessions already, and I would like to give the overview of their actions up to this point. For each successive session, I will post an individual session write-up that will be much shorter than the one below.
The players began above ground, searching for an entrance within the bits of ruins. With one member of the party a veteran of the dungeon, they took some time deciding whether the main entrance or another should be used. They decided on the main staircase and descended. Throughout the first floor they were besieged by lizardfolk, giant poisonous insects, cultists, and a minotaur. The party then explored the level, beginning the theme of taking every single hidden passageway they found, no matter the other choices.
Jumping a chasm put them directly into cultist territory, where they fought against a series of armored and sometimes spellcasting Thracians, descendants of the ancient people that built this place, and trying to catch a small half-elven slave boy. Scaling down a sheer cliff face that was once crossed by the now burnt-down bridge (the aftermath of my last party's exploration through here), they found themselves on the second level of the dungeon, on the stony banks of a dark underground river, with the boy nowhere to be found.
They explored the remains of a halfling's hut, looted the interior, and headed downriver. There, they chose to explore a marbled hall over a staircase leading upward, but waiting for them at the end of the hall was a living stone statue. Because of a little miscommunication, the party runs towards the statue instead of away, and fight it for a couple rounds before retreating. They hide under a stone bridge where they find a few jewels and a giant rusty key. The statue walks up the stairs, allowing the party to continue down the hall, looking for secret passageways. They find one, and quickly forget all about the boy.
Heading down a short staircase, the party comes up a wall with two doors, one above the other with only a small ledge allowing access, the party decides to scale up to the top door, find a secret door and pass through it instead. They fight an ancient ghostly guardian in one-on-one combat, climb a short staircase up, and arrive upriver on the second floor. Spotting a massive spider, the party immediately attacks (not giving any chance at communicating with it, as it is intelligent) and the spider is forced to flee after a short combat.
They travel downriver chasing the spider before losing it, focusing now on a series of small mud and stick huts built in the shallow water. Inside one they find a brass key, and immediately start looking for a lock. They find another secret door which opens with that key, and enter. Within, they find a series of chambers, another secret door, a strange, gold mask (which they immediately put on) and a small shaft leading down into another hallway. They rappel down into a new room complex.
Within, the party investigates a round room with a strange mechanical contraption and a large hole in the middle, with light and mist pouring out. Moving on, they find a locked door which just so happened to be the exact lock for the rusty key found earlier. Through the door they find a series of cells, one of which turns out to be occupied by evil shadows, which the party barely manages to defeat. They find a switch, which opens a passage behind them.
Retracing their steps, the party finds part of the hall they had just traversed to be filled with a strange, magical darkness that their darkvision could not pierce. They immediately decide to enter the chamber without first securing any sort of light source, and hang on to each other as they walk blindly towards an ominous thumping sound. Eventually, they arrive at a large obsidian statue rhythmically pounding its weapon into the floor. One party member approaches it and tries to communicate with it, almost dying in the process.
The rest of the party scurries around the edge of the room, trying to open the massive brass doors on the opposite wall, but are unable to find any method of entry. One party member then comes up with a plan to have the statue destroy the doors. Surprisingly, this half-baked plan works exactly as intended and the party proceeds into the interior, leaving the statue behind (as the hole it made in the door was too small for it to pass).
That is where we left off. The party has yet to explore this room, and have already passed up more than a few secrets, hidden doors, and treasure. We'll be continuing on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Edit 10/10/2018: My group and I have decided to move this campaign to Saturdays, and will be continuing on the 13th. I will be writing after each sessions, so look for write-ups on Saturdays nights or Sunday mornings.
Gameplay
The players began this game with little back story or information due to it being an oldschool dungeon crawl. They were a group of adventurers each of whom is looking for treasure or glory which they heard could be found in the newly discovered ruins out in a far-away jungle. I did not have any true location in mind, and the backdrop was unimportant, as the focus is fully upon exploration of the dungeon.The players began above ground, searching for an entrance within the bits of ruins. With one member of the party a veteran of the dungeon, they took some time deciding whether the main entrance or another should be used. They decided on the main staircase and descended. Throughout the first floor they were besieged by lizardfolk, giant poisonous insects, cultists, and a minotaur. The party then explored the level, beginning the theme of taking every single hidden passageway they found, no matter the other choices.
Jumping a chasm put them directly into cultist territory, where they fought against a series of armored and sometimes spellcasting Thracians, descendants of the ancient people that built this place, and trying to catch a small half-elven slave boy. Scaling down a sheer cliff face that was once crossed by the now burnt-down bridge (the aftermath of my last party's exploration through here), they found themselves on the second level of the dungeon, on the stony banks of a dark underground river, with the boy nowhere to be found.
They explored the remains of a halfling's hut, looted the interior, and headed downriver. There, they chose to explore a marbled hall over a staircase leading upward, but waiting for them at the end of the hall was a living stone statue. Because of a little miscommunication, the party runs towards the statue instead of away, and fight it for a couple rounds before retreating. They hide under a stone bridge where they find a few jewels and a giant rusty key. The statue walks up the stairs, allowing the party to continue down the hall, looking for secret passageways. They find one, and quickly forget all about the boy.
Heading down a short staircase, the party comes up a wall with two doors, one above the other with only a small ledge allowing access, the party decides to scale up to the top door, find a secret door and pass through it instead. They fight an ancient ghostly guardian in one-on-one combat, climb a short staircase up, and arrive upriver on the second floor. Spotting a massive spider, the party immediately attacks (not giving any chance at communicating with it, as it is intelligent) and the spider is forced to flee after a short combat.
They travel downriver chasing the spider before losing it, focusing now on a series of small mud and stick huts built in the shallow water. Inside one they find a brass key, and immediately start looking for a lock. They find another secret door which opens with that key, and enter. Within, they find a series of chambers, another secret door, a strange, gold mask (which they immediately put on) and a small shaft leading down into another hallway. They rappel down into a new room complex.
Within, the party investigates a round room with a strange mechanical contraption and a large hole in the middle, with light and mist pouring out. Moving on, they find a locked door which just so happened to be the exact lock for the rusty key found earlier. Through the door they find a series of cells, one of which turns out to be occupied by evil shadows, which the party barely manages to defeat. They find a switch, which opens a passage behind them.
Retracing their steps, the party finds part of the hall they had just traversed to be filled with a strange, magical darkness that their darkvision could not pierce. They immediately decide to enter the chamber without first securing any sort of light source, and hang on to each other as they walk blindly towards an ominous thumping sound. Eventually, they arrive at a large obsidian statue rhythmically pounding its weapon into the floor. One party member approaches it and tries to communicate with it, almost dying in the process.
The rest of the party scurries around the edge of the room, trying to open the massive brass doors on the opposite wall, but are unable to find any method of entry. One party member then comes up with a plan to have the statue destroy the doors. Surprisingly, this half-baked plan works exactly as intended and the party proceeds into the interior, leaving the statue behind (as the hole it made in the door was too small for it to pass).
That is where we left off. The party has yet to explore this room, and have already passed up more than a few secrets, hidden doors, and treasure. We'll be continuing on Wednesday, Oct. 10.
Edit 10/10/2018: My group and I have decided to move this campaign to Saturdays, and will be continuing on the 13th. I will be writing after each sessions, so look for write-ups on Saturdays nights or Sunday mornings.
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