[SPOILERS!] Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.

Hi all;

I will be using this post/thread to detail each session of my players upcoming attempt to play through Expedition to the Demonweb Pits.

Watch this space in the next 3-4 weeks as session-by-session reports begin to get posted.

I will post a short background/history on each of the characters in the coming days.

DF

Very cool I will be watching...can't wait. I haven't read it yet, yes i own it. I'm just slow and busy.

With the threat of the Red Hand now defeated, the remaining members of the adventuring party have gone their own way.

The Halfling Ninja decided to base herself in Brindol, and became an important member of the Lions of Brindol.

Skrat, the Halfling Spellthief/Assassin, realised the position he had found himself in, and took over ownership of Vraath's Keep. Over the months since the defeat of the Red Hand, Skrat has used his collected wealth from his adventuring to repair the keep and has also managed to attain a small settlement worth of hired and volunteered help.

The Keep has been built up to the extent that it is now a self-sustaining business. Skrat still helps out people in Elsir Vale, if the price is right, and has become a noted, respected and somewhat feared member of the shire.

The insignificant jobs and missions he is paid to perform has started to bore the adventurous Halfling, and he longs for the excitement of once again delving into the unknown with a group of other adventurers. Until recently, this has been impossible to do, as he has not had contact with any such people. But this has changed just recently.

On his last trip to Brindol, Skrat was confronted by a 'not too sharp' Half-Orc Barbarian, who demanded that the Halfling give up all his possessions. Skrat didn't take too kindly to this attempt at robbery and a brawl ensued. What the Half-Orc lacked in 'smarts', he definitely made up for in brute strength, and combat ability. The Halfling found himself using every tactic he had, and some that needed to be made up on the spot, to try and defeat the Half-Orc. Even Skrats poison attacks did little to sway the lumbering halfbreed. The battle drew to a close eventually however. Skrat was all but defeated, his wounds were deep and severe, but the Half-Orc was in no situation to take advantage of Skrats injuries. As a final act of defiance, as the Barbarian swung his GreatAxe towards the Spellthieves limp body, Skrat plunged his poisoned dagger deep into the crotch of the Half-Orc, causing it to lose it's grip on it's weapon and crumple to the ground. Skrats blade barely missing the femoral artery. The Spellthief held the blade at that point, and the two made a tentative deal.

Skrat, the Halfling Spellthief/Assassin, and Boorls, the Half-Orc Barbarian, were now adventuring partners. Skrat realised that no matter what their individual talents and prowess equated to, two people did not equal an adventuring group. More bodies were to be needed.

Awesome, are there to be any more posts regarding this particular module? Cool to see RHoD character carried over to demonweb. If this one turns out to be half as good looking as RHoD, I'll definately look into it.

Can't wait to see how this ends up going, as it's pretty much what I was planning to do, but starting with Shattered Gates, then Red Hand and demonweb.

Bleh on Shattered Gates. That module was surprisingly bland. Waaaay too much "if they have torches, it looks like this. If they don't, it's dark. If they have darkvision...." I don't need that. I need "If they come in doing this, this happens. If they come in during this time of the day, the creatures are doing this." It's just pointless for shattered gates. Well, I take that back then. Shattered gates just wasn't what I was looking for *at all*. Though for somebody else, it may be the perfect module. It actually seems like it may be fun if I ran it RP instead of maps and minis (but sure enough, my minis collection is ridiculous)

Two characters! You think that isn't enough to take on the entire EttDP adventure?

Well, your right. Stay tuned for an update. My next gaming session is due to start within the hour and I... WILL... have an in-game update [with spoilers] ready for everyone within the next 24hrs.

DF

Awesome, I look forward to reading.

Boorls wandered the front wall of the Keep. A light fog hung low over the trail that lead up the hilside to the huge main doors. Through the mist emerged a human. Dressed in what amounted to no more than rags, and armoured in what looked to be nothing but bark, the human was halted before he reached the gate, by Boorls' booming voice.

Once the human had been detained by the guards on duty, Boorls approached and questioned the stranger. Introducing himself as Leif, the human requested an audience with Skrat, the lord of the keep, on behalf of the Kiri Tori Elves. Boorls questioned the human further and a messenger was sent post haste to Skrats location deeper in the keep. Skrat agreed to meet with Lief, and the human was beckoned into the courtyard.

Lief introduced himself to Skrat and proceeded to inform the Halfling of the plight of the Kiri Tori Elves and the possible danger facing Elsir Vale. After lengthy conversations, Skrat and Boorls areed to aid the Elves and to investigate the possible Drow incursion.


Skrat called for Sebastian, his personal physician, and he was told that he would be joining his liege on this mission.

The adventurers organised their belongings and headed out into the early morning mist.

Our adventurers for this campaign are currently...

Skrat, Halfling Spellthief/Assassin - CE.
Boorls, Half-Orc Barbarian - CN.
Lief, Human Druid - LN.
Sebastian, Human Cleric - CG.

DF

**Disclaimer - Some minis have had to be substituted in certain places. But hopefully those minis will not ruin the 'pictures that backup the text'.**

As the adventurers trudged through the thick undergrowth of the Witchwood, they came across a hospice building on the side of a small dirt track. Sebastian looked over the apparently well kept building and came to the realisation that it must have been one of the travellers rest areas built and maintained by the followers of Fharlanghn.

A unanimous decision was concluded, and they decided to bunk down for the night. Only a few hours later, while the adventurers were organising the last of their belongings, a loud noise was heard outside. Boorls went to a nearby window to see if he could spot anything out in the treeline surrounding the building, but he was unable to discern any obvious shapes. Another loud cracking noise broke the relative silence of the nighttime woods, and the adventurers gathered their equipment and headed outside to investigate.

Upon exiting the building, Boorls was consfronted by 4 Ogre Zombies. As Skrat and Lief exited the building, they too saw what was making all the noise.


The battle with the Ogre Zombies began with Skrat taking aim and hurling a sling bullet at the closest of the lumbering undead. The shot struck true, and the bullet dissapeared deep into the rotting flesh of the monster. The four Zombies then advanced on the adventurers, but only one of their number was able to make contact with any of the party members. The zombie swung it's Greatclub at Boorls' head and missed completely. This enraged the Barbarian and in a frenzy of strikes, the Ogre Zombie was felled by the Half-Orc. Boorls bellowed out something in Orcish and turned to see a small monstrous spider appear from nowhere right behind Skrat in a shower of magical sparks. Unbeknownst to the party, two unseen enemies were making their way around the back of building. Lief used his shapeshifting powers and took on the form of a Dire Wolf and bit deep into the festering flesh of another of the Zombies.


As the battle ensued, the Ogre Zombies were cut down one after another by Boorls. Skrat was kept busy with what seemed to be a swarm of small Monstrous Spiders that kept appearing as if through some sort of magical portal. Lief continued to attack the Zombies with Boorls. The until now, unseen Drow Barbarians that had made their way around the back of the hospice, now charged into the adventurers in a bloody rage. The first of the Drow swung his Greataxe at Lief who was still in Dire Wolf Form, but was unable to wound him. The second Drow went after Skrat, but the nimble Halfling was able to dodge the Drow Barbarians attack. As Boorls moved in to attack the final Ogre Zombie, all the enemies begun to glow in a red light, which faded as quickly as it appeared. The Ogre Zombie was felled where it stood. The Drow didn't last long after the slaying of the last Zombie.

Lief cast his Light spell to illuminate the are above a small hillock over the trail, but nothing appeared to be there, even though a voice was heard in that direction. Almost instantly, the area again went dark, but this time, it was darker than the night itself. In a shower of violet and red swirls, a Howler appeared on the edge of the darkened area.

Boorls, who was already headed in the direction of the hillock, swung at the Howler, but was unable to make contact with the large beast. The darkness seemed to bend any source of light that was in the area, and this caused the Half-Orc to miscalculate his attack. Lief changed form to that of an Eagle and flew over the road and onto the top of the hillock. Skrat headed back towards the building incase they were again flanked, or attacked from the rear.


Boorls once again attacked the Howler after succsessfully dodging it's attack and the beast took a painful blow to it's midsection. Lief remembered something that the Kiri Tori elves had told him about Drow tactics, and he changed back to his natural human form and cast Dispel Magic on the darkened area. The magical darkness lifted and standing ten feet away from Boorls was a Drow Cleric! The cleric cast Sound Burst on the Half-Orc and stunned him. Skrat took aim at the Drow but got his sling tangled around the large door handle on the door to the hospice, and fumbled his shot. Lief attempted to cast Call Lighting on the Drow, but was unable to penetrate the Clerics Spell Resistance. The Drow moved up to the stunned Barbarian and cast Contagion on him, causing Boorls to fall under the effect of the Cackling Disease.

Boorls quickly snapped out of the stunning effect of the Sound Burst, and proceeded to slice and dice the Drow Cleric, and killed her where she stood.

The party gathered what they could find amongst the bodies and went back into the building to rest and recuperate. Inside, Sebastian had removed himself from the safety of the underside of one of the beds and proceeded to heal those who had taken damage in the battle. A letter was found on the Drow Clerics body, but no-one could understand it. Sebastian was given the job of deciphering the script and keeping watch while the other members rested. The next morning, upon exiting the hospice, Boorls searched the sourrounding area, and was able to make out tracks that lead in the direction of the previous nights enemies advance. The party agreed to follow the tracks as far as they could, to see what may be found.

DF

**Disclaimer - White Areas around and in caverns are considered walls. 'Stacks' of tiles are to show raised areas. (These things will be fixed as time goes on (black card beneath the tiles, and some scenery needs to be scratchbuilt).**

The adventurers followed the tracks, and were led to a cave opening in a small hill. With the tracks leading inside, the party decided to follow them in. Once inside the cavern, they were confronted with a large space divided by a deep but narrow chasm. On the opposite side of the chasm were two Drows mounted on large lizards.


The adventurers entered the cavern and preppared for battle, but the Mounted Drows didn't move. Skrat took aim at one of the lizards and fired a sling stone. The Drow rider pulled hard on the reins causing the lizard to rare up and the sling bullet missed it's target. Then both of the Drow were enveloped by a shroud of darkness. Boorls attempted to leap across the chasm, but was tripped by the Drow rider with his Spiked Chain. The Barbarian fell to the bottom of the chasm with a hard thudding sound, but was predominantly unharmed. Lief took the form of an Eagle and moved around a wall of rock to try and get a better vantage point.

Skrat continued his shooting with his sling, but changed his target to that of the rider instead of the mount, and he hit hard. Nearly dismounting the Drow. Boorls composed himself and moved further along the floor chasm in an attempt to get out of the rift. As he reloaded his sling, Skrat was confronted by two floating orbs of light that darted about infront of his position. Lief was also confronted, but by a dully illuminated form of a human. Lief believed this to be a ghost and backtracked the way he had came. Boorls exited the Chasm and attempted to attack the floating balls of light that he thought were Willo-Wisps, but his greataxe passed straight through them. Skrat ignored the floating globes and fired again at the Drow, barely scraping the humanoids shoulder with his shot.

Lief changed form again to that of a Dire Wolf and moved into position to be able to jump over the chasm. At this point, a Tanar'ri Demon appeared near the Druids position and flew down between the Halfling and the Human, showering them both in spores. Boorls turned and attacked the demon cutting deeply into it's flesh, but the wounds seemed almost superficial. The hit should've all but removed the demons wing, but instead seemed to do very little to the outsider.

As Skrat fired again at the mounted Drow, the Tanar'ri took a swipe at the halfling, but was unable to make contact. Skrats shot also missed it's target. Lief changed form back into a human. and cast Call Lightning on the second of the mounted Drow, but was unable to pentrate it's Spell Resistance. Before Boorls could act, the Tanari'ri demon let loose a horrifying screetch, which stunned the Barbarian. The Drow that Skrat had been shooting moved forward over the Chasm and attacked the Halfling, slamming it's Spiked Chain into the little humanoid. Lief, and the now unstunned Boorls, attacked the Tanar'ri and caused massive damage to the demon, causing it to take flight and retreat deeper into the cavern system through a passageway at the end of the cave.

Boorls then went on a rampage of slaughter, along with the Dire Wolf form of Lief. The remaining mounted Drow and their lizards were hacked down, and the party quickly advanced down the passage that the Tanar'ri had escaped through.

DF

Having run down the passage that the Tanar'ri had fled through, the party now found themselves standing in a large deadend of a cavern. Upon a perch then feet above the ground was the wounded demon. Taking up significant space in the center of the room was a screen of some sort, pulsating with a soft blue light.

Skrat took aim and attempted to knock the demon from it's perch. His bullet found it's target, but the Tanar'ri held it's ground. As the party moved deeper into the cavern, the demon took flight and moved to the furthest corner of the room, in an attempt to put space between it and it's attackers.


Boorls moved up onto the demons perch, while Lief moved towards the pulsating blue screen. He then changed back into his human form and cast Call Lightning on the demon. The attack was succsessful and a bolt of lightning hit the outsider hard in the center of the back. The Tanar'ri then flew to a spot between all the adventurers and again shrieked. This again stunned Boorls and also this time stunned Lief. Skrat took a step back from the demon and fired two bullets at it. Boith hit their mark and the Tanar'ri screeched in pain. When the demon moved in to attack the halfling it had mistakingly moved within reach of the stunned Barbarian. When Boorls shook of the effect of the stun, he attacked the demon in a frenzy of blows and felled the beast where it stood. Upon searching the cavern, the party found Elven boots and a cloak fashioned in the same way.

A yell came from the preceeding cavern as Sebastian called for assisstance. Once he was helped from the clutches of the Chasm, he told Skrat that the letter appropriated from the dead Drow Cleric had instructions on it for the use and activation of a portal. In order to activate the portal a bit or bridle was required. If either of these items were passed through the portal then that would act as an activation key, and the portal could be used by up to 6 individuals, before it would again fall dormant.

Not owning or having any mounts of their own, the party was lost as to a way to activate the portal. Eventually one of them had a bright idea and they tried it out. It worked, and they advanced through the portal, and on to the next part of their adventure.

**This was the end of todays session. Now I have much reading and prepping to do before we play again.**

I always enjoy your write-ups DF and this one's no different!
I need to move to Australia :)