Previously: Orve, Vaskin, Orchard (all Patrick) and Rowntree (David W) set out from the city of Wetham to investigate rumours of a Dread Rabbit, a big demonic creature that rises every thirteen years from slumber to wreak havoc. After a few encounters with a small Grogan, psychic rats and giant mucus worms, they retreat to the nearby town of Bilge...
...around the fireplace they talk with Chastity Zome (noisms, returning to join the party with a new character) a herbalist/cleric who is dressed as a woman but has an Adam's apple and a bad falsetto voice. Chastity seeks adventure and the opportunity to do God's will, so agrees to join them as they return to the warren under the hill.
In the morning they leave and head north again. They encounter some curious chubby saurian creatures outside the warren, that have constructed a poorly covered pit trap. After slaying two, they try to communicate with the third. Chastity has a mancatcher and is able to hold it at bay while they try to make themselves understood. In the end, they release it and it runs away.
Venturing in again, with Rowntree still hearing the occasional "Free... me..." whispered into his brain, they look around some more. A partially flooded corridor leads to a great sealed stone door; they crack it open and see a big Grogan, complete with eight stone blade arms. Although it is in a room filled with black diamond chips they decide to close the door quickly and run away.
A statue gambles with them for a short while. They move on and start to smell animals and hear creatures running about. After avoiding some weak and sick looking giant rabbits, they encounter four vicious and healthy looking giant rabbits; the party are experienced though, and are able to take them all out quickly. They soon find the Dread Rabbit itself - thirteen feet long, big, stinking, muscular and with a demonic rabbit skull for a head. After debating the best way to proceed, they decide to simply all attack the sleeping monster. After two rounds of hitting it (during which it wakes) the beast is slain!
They find some intriguing treasures - including a portrait of an NPC they met which is over 500 years old - and move on. Rowntree encounters the source of the whispering in his brain, a vase containing the spirits of 10,000 wind demons. He smashes it, freeing them, and in exchange they grant him a boon: every day, as dawn breaks, he will wake screaming as the wind whispers a secret into his mind.
After encountering some demonic statue golems (Weaves, description to be written up soon) Chastity is knocked out and the party decides to run for it; they head back to Bilge and rest for the night, before heading on to Wetham for information and to get back to running their bar, The Grotesque Cudgel. No-one died, hurrah, but in their absence the mystery of missing Elsa Holmen deepens, and Arvik Bleeve the alchemist has filed what passes for civil charges in Wetham - pay a fine within three days or face him in a game of Large Chess...
TO BE CONTINUED?
Notes
XP Watch: 1674XP in total, quite low for games that I've run. Treasure found tended to be objects rather than coins. No level rises.
Welcome (Back) To The Party: Great that noisms could join us! There was a lot of humour at the table last night. I might have set the tone when I said that a fairy swooped over the inn that they were staying at, saw their noble intentions to slay the rabbit and then gave her life so that they would get some HP back. As Patrick said, "You've introduced fairies into your setting now, you have to be consistent!"
Giant Rabbits' Feet: The large rabbits had their feet sawn off and carried. Table ruling means that they can be used once to trigger a re-roll for a player or to avoid a killing blow. A foot of the Dread Rabbit was removed and taken back to the city to see if someone could help make it into a flail...
Pub/Inn Name Watch: The party stayed at The Shrieking Bastard (the sign outside is a stylised version of The Scream) and the secret whispered into Rowntree's mind is that someone at The Hunting Queen is not what they appear to be.
I like the idea of the giant rabbits' feet being actual lucky charms -- who suggested that? -- and I can't wait to see what happens with that dread rabbit foot.
ReplyDeleteI think Patrick might have suggested it, via his INT 3 fighter Vaskin (who is two goblins stood on shoulders hiding under a big coat).
DeleteWhen they got back to the city, most of the PCs stood around thinking about whether or not to investigate the disappeared opera singer, or to find some way to get out of paying or fighting Arvik Bleeve. Vaskin on the other hand decided to go off and find someone who could help turn his giant rabbit's foot into a flail :)