Black Sands Campaign Main Page

UPDATES: December 15, 2010. Added the Rod of Nature's Wrath, Anor's Blessing, Session 29, and Postmortem.
July 7, 2008. Added session 28 and Nate's Multilayer Ruse.
July 1, 2008. Added session 27, Lotus' Backstory, Master of Storms, Seven Skulls, and the Battle of Scorched Earth
June 23, 2008. Added session 26, and "NMR live" to the NMR poster page.

World Information:
World Background
Maps: Semferia, Waecleft area, Westlay
Kingdoms
War of the Ten Kings
Cities and Shop Inventories
The Battle of Scorched Earth

Characters and Backstories:
Basic Character Information
Flynn's Backstory
Nate's Backstory
Jakob's Backstory
Lotus' Backstory and Master of Storms
Ike's Backstory
Anor's Blessing
Ninja Mongoose Rockstars logo
Ninja Mongoose Rockstars poster

Custom Rules, Spells, and Items:
The Thirsting
The Yuan-ti Taint
Spellsinks
Seven Skulls: a dice-based gambling game
Death and Resurrection Rules
Programmed Constructs
Teleportation Rules
Rules for Spot Checks and Illusions
The Manifold Path
Spells: Shatter Mind Blank, Mass Unluck, Nate's Multilayer Ruse
General Magic Items: Ranger's Compass, Runestaff of Construct Control
Personal/Custom Items: heightened spellshard: unluck, ki straps, Rod of Nature's Wrath, Rod of the Mongoose, Tent of the Flamms
Silent Hunter's Garb: Fox's Bite, Mask of the Fox, Fox's Poise

Session Logs
Chapter 1: Troubled Times
Session 1: wherein six diverse adventurers set out on a road trip and share many odd foods
Session 2: wherein Ike makes jerky out of Lotus' little friend, and an ambush doesn't go according to plan
Session 3: wherein Flynn wears a manly pink badge, a fork attacks, and spies get jacked
Session 4: wherein a messenger gets ninja'd, and an outpost does too
Session 5: wherein Jakob acquires a pen, a bottle of wine, and an inactive golem.
Session 6: wherein Serpenti spies spread sands, and sneaky singers and sorcerers slaughter snakes.
Session 7: wherein organized goblins bring about chaos
Session 8: wherein an arms race leads to blended goblins, a salty giant, and a dead dog
Session 9: wherein an escape from one outpost leads to the retaking of a second and the arrival at a third
Session 10: wherein specialized gear helps the NMR make short work of dinosaurs and dragons
Session 11: wherein the big picture comes into focus, and a dead dog isn't the worst part of Kelzun's day

Chapter 2: Trading Blows
Session 12: wherein an archery contest winner gets a trophy, and arrows beat antimagic
Session 13: wherein a spellsink is captured and an outpost is besieged
Session 14: wherein an outpost, a spellsink manual, and a Ghern commander are captured, and Rojin is defeated
Session 15: wherein some vrocks and wraiths fail in their assaults, and some junior kingsmen are impressed
Session 16: wherein a gazebo on a grassy knoll turns deadly twice
Session 17: wherein prisoners are freed, snakes are killed, and NMR leaves a calling card
Session 18: wherein a failed quest leads to an exploding temple, and the calling card gets bigger
Sessions 19-20: wherein a kingdom is crushed, a king is slain, and a city is buried

Chapter 3: Storm and Shadow
Session 21: wherein Jakob throws dogs and giants, and the undead become merely dead
Session 22: wherein Master Michael's gravesite is the site of another death
Session 23: wherein discretion proves the better part of valor
Session 24: wherein everyone slays their fair share of goblins
Session 25: wherein Flynn thwarts his brother and we thwart some assassins
Session 26: wherein the Ghern become allies, and Nate's bluff fails
Session 27: wherein Nate's old foes, Jakob's deceased master, and Posiccuit's guides join the team
Session 28: wherein five Waste Lords learn the folly of working alone, and eleven adventurers prove the value of teamwork
Session 29: wherein one god is fooled, two gods die, and fate wins out
Postmortem: wherein six players talk about the game

Postmortem

1) General thoughts on the campaign
Jeremy: 2 thumbs up
Scott: can't believe you made it all up
Tom: epic scope, and the game grew appropriately
Rachel: got into the story and really cared about it. We were loyal to the land; in Cauldron it was mere convenience. The interwoven backstories helped.
Tony: The political challenges and such were really cool.
Jeremy: I get the sense this was Catherine's playground and she really enjoyed it.

STORY QUESTIONS
2) How was the tone (dark/light)?
Jeremy: It was dark but not discouraging. There was a struggle for all the right reasons.
Tony: much like Anor - struggle builds character.
Jeremy: Flynn mirrored it. Started lighthearted, but grew serious.
Rachel: we're never gonna be serious, but we were anyway.

3) How was the level of mystery?
Jeremy: seemed like Tom and Tony could follow it well.
Tom: the black sand mystery was cool
Catherine: Shackled City's mysteries were too opaque.
Tony: yeah. Enough of these mysteries, we solved ourselves.

4) How about the method of building backstories?
Rachel: was nice. Created a skeleton and then someone creative fleshed it out. Made me get involved.
Scott: Ike not having a backstory... actually worked.

5) Did you like the story?
Everyone: DUH!

WORLD QUESTIONS
6) How was the versimiltude?
Jeremy: for a fantasy world, the interactions were well thought out. Empires and kingdoms had reasons, culture, and history.
Rachel: the whole world had a history.
Tom: the custom mechanics helped.

7) Were the enemies tenacious, credible, and threatening?
Jeremy: always characteristic and intelligent, not just melee basheriffic.
Tom: felt like you were willing to gank us
Jeremy: I wonder if they were tenacious enough. Sometimes they couldn't sustain, like they ran out of big guns.
Tony: yeah, they tended to spread out damage too much.
Tom: because we were so ninja with our illusions and such. Bad guys never knew what to hit, and we could take things that should've been way too big for us. That's what NMR was built for.
Jeremy: yeah, fights were way off the XP table.

8) were the play aids like maps, store lists, and discounts helpful?
All: yes, cool.
Tony: the area discounts were nice and thematic.

9) How was the balance between railroading and too-open?
Jeremy: rubbed up against the rails a little bit but not often. Only one bad experience (the first Kelzun fight.)

10) How was the game difficulty?
Rachel: definitely harder than Shackled City.
Tony: the later stages were easier, but I don't know how much harder they could've been made.
Jeremy: from the Sid Meier comment (easy fun / hard fun) the balance was a little towards easy
Rachel: there were never "you can't win this" fights
Tom: there were plenty of really big fights, both in terms of being really tough and just being large scale
Jeremy: the scale was much better. The fate of the plane hung in the balance
Catherine: we were never the biggest things in the world
Scott: the Lord of the Rings analogy is good. It's on an epic scale.
Jeremy: we're not the focal point of everything, but we're doing key things.
Tom: we could succeed or fail at accomplishing really big things.

11) Balance between text and playing?
Rachel: we were involved in big stories. That helped make the text ok.
Scott: I understand that others need it.
Rachel: the story grew at the end. It was necessary.
Tom: the story enhanced the fights. There's a difference between fighting a huge snake and fighting Senneth, the source of the black sands.

12) What did you think of the custom rules like:
- teleporting - Tony: we were smart enough to use teleport and then dimension door to avoid the delay. Jeremy: worked out more reasonably for both us and the bad guys.
- constructs - Tom: loved the programming, wish we'd used it. Rachel: nice puzzles. Tony: Brilliant.
- Death - Jeremy: far better than cheezy, blocking, anti-cheeze cheeze. Scott: less accounting. Tony: the 5th level revive should've been slower or something. Tom: resurrection quest was great. Success or failure, Flynn will be a better king for trying it.
- the Summoning room - Scott: highlight of the campaign. Rachel: I kept trying to explain it to people during the week. Tony: with such a big level difference, I never expected it. Never thought it could work. Jeremy: I had a little inkling. It seemed inevitable. Rachel: totally worth it. Scott: quote me on it - fucking awesome. Tom: it was a nice capstone. Catherine: it was hard making bad guys who showed what the combined party could do. Everyone: the rune mechanic was cool.
- custom powers and items - Jeremy: cool, limited to a couple of unique things. Rachel: they let my character grow. Tony: I loved items tailored to my character. Tom: good variety between characters. Tony: stacking 3 class levels was nice.

DM STYLE QUESTIONS
13) how was pacing?
Jeremy: you and Tom make a good team. We're a bunch of goofballs and you kinda have to ride us.
Rachel: having a schedule for the epic fight helped.

14) what was your favorite mechanical encounter?
Rachel: the battle of white fields and nuking the temple
Tony: the early goblin fights with good use of terrain
Jeremy: the huge charisma/diplomacy battle with Abel. Heavy involvement there.
Scott: the guys with antimagic tricks
Tom: the fight in Old Rojin. All sorts of abilities at all different levels got used. And I think our answers here show, we're looking for different things from the game and you gave them to us.
Jeremy: and it allowed Catherine to grow.

15) Who were your favorite NPCs?
Tony: Enigma and the giant brothers
Rachel: yep, enigma and Anor
Scott: Snow... oh wait, different campaign...
Catherine: Minnelin
Tom: Abel... he wasn't fully a villain
Jeremy: Crazy Jared
Rachel: he'll always be a favorite

16) who were your favorite villains?
Rachel and Jeremy: Abel
Tony: Vash
Tom: Ghern -- they were lawful and motivated
Scott: Kelzun with the 1/4 mile of death

17) what about your favorite organization or nation?
Catherine: Westlay
Jeremy: agreed, the contests and festivals they held were collegiate, not brutish
Tony: the marruspawn were original, intriguing, and myserious
Tom: the kingsmen

18) what was your favorite story arc or event?
Scott: the epic summon
Jeremy: there are lots to choose from
Rachel: when we saw the mindfog guy back in session 1. Also the stormchild thing
Tom: gathering allies, not just going to bash things
Catherine: Michael and Jakob's quest
Tony: I don't want to sound too selfish, but yeah, those.

19) what was your favorite role-playing by someone else?
Rachel: Jakob donating to orphanages and monasteries
Tony: Flynn and Nate sticking to their roles, and Ike's jerky
Catherine: Nate's pragmatism
Tom: Lotus's different state of mind. Also Ike sleeping, rolling over to crit the wolf, and going back to sleep.

20) what was your favorite session?
Scott: EPIC SUMMON!
Jeremy: we were just rollin' and being funny that whole time.
Tom and Catherine: the cleric scrying on himself.
Rachel: we got so much joy out of that
Scott: taking the bow out of Ike's hands really pissed me off
Tony: Jakob jumping on the nightwing

21) was the boss fight good?
Rachel: very good. Would've got boring if it was longer.
Jeremy: watching Tony unload... damn!
Tom: the enemies had personality
Tony: they felt like good threats, like they could've killed us.

22) what engaged you the most?
Scott: I was always engaged, every week.
Jeremy: that's remarkable. It remained fresh and exciting.
Tony: there's only one group I've had this much fun with. Never had a series of campaigns last this long. Story involvement, characters, backstories...
Rachel: I liked being part of the campaign world and backstory
Tom: I liked watching other players succeed
Jeremy: we all had moments where someone else pulled something off and we're all "YAY"
Catherine: Tony and Tom's synergy scares me
Scott: it felt like I was stealing the show sometimes
Tom: we were all so badass. We all stole the show. And we built good relationships.
Jeremy: you created a playground other people wanted to play in.

Session 29/52, 2008-07-10: Shadow and Storm

Session 29/52: wherein one god is fooled, two gods die, and fate wins out

Players (Characters)
Scott (Filthy Ike; Rain)
Jeremy (Flynn Flamm; Grokk)
Tony (Brother Jakob's ghost; Roland; Amber)
Rachel (Lotus; Horkina)
Tom (Nathaniel Graythorne; Garlen)
DM: Catherine

As the parties stood in Anor's grove, Anor spoke once more: "Last comes the destroyer." A sandstorm arose, blowing everyone but Horkina and Rain back into the trees, and a huge black cobra emerged next to Anor. The cobra god Senneth bit at Anor, poisoning the great tree, and Anor's thunder blew Senneth back. As Anor began to wither and die, the parties materialized in a small plane that looked much like Anor's sacred grove. At its center, where Anor would be, was instead a plaque that read as follows:

-----

Semferia is a small plane by most standards. It is no vast cosmos of stars and planets, but instead a four-thousand mile wide bubble. The ground is flat; its ocean bumps right up against its outer wall. The sky is an image--an ever-changing illusion upon the barrier between plane and void.

Such artificiality is unusual for the gods, but Semferia was not designed as a place to live. It was designed as a battleground--an arena in which mighty titans and even deities themselves could fight for sport. Its outer walls constrain those who enter within for that purpose, and its broad fields offer fine turf for epic battles.

For eons, titans and demigods clashed over the fire-blasted plains, piling up mountains and tearing valleys in the earth. Yet as ages passed, Semferia fell into disuse as grander arenas were built. As the last of the titans battled for supremecy, Anor, seedling of Obed-Hai, entered the plane on his own quest.

Anor was a young deity, not yet truly counted among the gods. It was in Semferia that he was to earn his name by taming the last of the titans, quenching the fires, and sowing the seeds of life. He was to transform Semferia into a vibrant paradise full of both paragons of nature and pinnacles of civilization; this would be his masterwork, and then he would ascend beyond the stars, having achieved a greater rank.

He created first the icy north, which sent cooling winds out over the scorched rock, and then he began to plant grass under the feet of the clashing titans. It was crushed at first, for life is a fragile thing, but it was never eradicated. In time, the children of Anor grew and struggled and so became strong. Eventually the titans were overcome and the forests marched unhindered across the north.

Anor did not hurry to tame all of Semferia, for he wanted life to struggle. Civilizations began to grow, and more than once were nearly destroyed in cataclysmic war; yet they were stronger for it. The beasts in the deep places of Semferia forever beset its tiny towns, yet because of them, heroes arose. The feral wild was the pride of Anor, but its larger purpose was to sow greatness among those who are good. Anor showed his love by storms.

But another had designs on Anor's seedlings.

In ages past, Senneth was born--the dark bastard son of Mershaulk. He followed a darker path than his father; while Mershaulk taught pain and treachery, Senneth served death and thirst. When he came of age, the rivalry between them was intense. He desired to usurp his father's domain and subtly started cults on many planes among the Yuan-ti, and in some places--especially desert places--overthrew Mershaulk completely.

For an age, they battled across many planes for the devotion of the Yuan-Ti, who were happy to play one against the other. For another age, they battled by blows, the ancient green python and the young black cobra wrestling for dominance among the stars between the planes. Senneth was the stronger in open battle, but Mershaulk by cunning and treachery always overcame or evaded him. In the end, neither could gain the upper hand.

At last, Mershaulk declared that he had grown tired of the rivalry, and that they should fight their last upon Semferia, that ancient proving ground. Senneth, in his impatient arrogance, took Mershaulk at his word, and was glad to at last confront his foe head on. But Mershaulk deceived; he waited for Senneth to enter Semferia, and then shut its outer doors against him. Laughing, he crushed his rival's cults, while his son remained trapped on the tiny plane.

In his rage, Senneth murdered many of the battling titans, before settling down in his Black Hole in the south to brood and plot what revenge he could.

His anger and hatred had been simmering for long centuries when Anor appeared and Semferia began to see life. Civilizations flourished, both in the north and the south, and some took Senneth as a god, and his power grew. But Senneth's gains were minor; he yearned to see years of life are drained away by untimely death and unquenchable thirst. He watched and waited as life grew until he reckoned that it was strong enough, and then set forth to destroy it. By slaying every living creature and dessicating every green plant, he could grow strong enough to escape, and rise to challenge his old rival.

One by one, he sought out beings of power and like mind, and recruited them to his cause. He sought not devotees, but allies, and exchanged power for favors. To Omenankh, he promised glory; to Aol, ascention to deity and assistance in the rebuilding of the Empire of Thirst. To Kelzun he promised great divine power and help in her war against her own demon lord. Shinsiri and Oshirex he lured with arcane power and secrets only gods could uncover. To Vash he promised dominion of Semferia in undeath as the final state of all things. He named them the Waste lords and set on them a broad quest: to slay all living things in Semferia. Time went by and they grew in power as they achieved Senneth's goals and he achieved theirs; in the end, they rivaled even their own dark lord.

The Waste Lords and Senneth together wove deep plans, and each played his own part. Omenankh led spies, while Aol sought lost tribes. Kelzun spread lies and subtle corruptions and instanities; she ensorcelled Wisdom and many Marru leaders in a net of insanity and half-truths and fanned the fanaticism they had always professed. Oshirex turned his wizards and dragons to spies and warlords, while Shinsiri learned the secrets of the waste. Vash slew princes in secret, stealing those things the north would need most to survive, and he waited for his chance to burst forth and make an end.

Senneth's plans were deep and seemed infallible--then all at once, they began to come undone. His greatest ally was murdered under his own mountain. The civilizations of the north united against the armies of Mizram and presented an equal foe. In the end, even his inevitable black sands were imperiled under the storm of Anor.

Anor was a gadfly to Senneth--a lesser deity, but Senneth had tolerated him to prey on the life he created and reap death. But now life could survive on its own, and Anor's storm represented a threat to Senneth's last hope of escape. So in his wrath, he bid the Waste Lords to destroy Anor, and he set upon them enchantments of great power for the task. One by one they fell, even though Senneth had sacrificed much to ensure that no power on the plane was great enough to oppose even one of them. The clash of armies turned against him, and the storm yet grew; it seemed that all Senneth had worked to achieve would come undone. At last, in his arrogance and wrath, he appeared in Anor's sacred grove to finish the task himself. He was powerful, having grown fat on recent death, and felled Anor with a single venemous bite.

But Anor was not surprised, for he was a doomsayer, a god of fate, and he had already sown the seeds of Senneth's destruction. He bequeathed his mighty storm to the master he had created for it, and then with his last breath raised up his own set of champions.

-----

The parties found themselves rested, and more than that, they found Anor's blessing resting on them. All were divine, with the resistances, immunities, and powers that come with it, though this was merely a temporary state. Lotus wildshaped as a squirrel, and Nate cast his Multilayer Ruse to make her look like a squirrel as well. He used another casting of his ruse to disguise Horkina, Grokk, Rain, and Garlen, and a third to disguise himself, Flynn, Roland, Amber, and Ike. Flynn hasted the parties and began singing. Amber provided various spell protections, including Mind Blank. Lotus said "my mind is blank. I've entered into a state of nirvana." Then the party reappeared in Anor's grove as the huge tree crumbled in a pile of ash, and Senneth, with his runes of thirst and death, stood over the ash pile.

Roland fired off three empowered, enhanced, maximized moonbows at the great serpent (2430 damage). Ike fired a series of arrows, including a critical hit (181). Garlen led the group in a charge, and he, Rain, Grokk, Amber, the freshly-materialized Jakob, and Horkina all struck at Senneth (in order: 287, 113, 145, 43, 88, 119.) Jakob's ghostly form laid into Senneth (426) and Rain siezed the opportunity, taking a cheap shot (105) and triggering Senneth's Thirst rune, which wounded all who were nearby. Senneth spoke a word and demanded the lives of all nearby mortals, but Anor's blessing had temporarily granted godhood to both parties. Senneth then turned his full attention on Amber, and with a series of bites, left her lying dead on the battlefield. Horkina's attacks (496) and Grokk's Raging Mongoose strikes (372) both wounded Senneth. Nate used telekinesis to pull Amber's body away from Senneth, and Rain shadow blinked next to her and revived her with a spell from his ring. He slipped back beside the black snake, and Amber triggered fire seeds (212). Lotus bombarded Senneth with rocks (102) and continued hiding in the forest, knowing that Anor's storm must continue for the black sands to be defeated.

Roland repeated his series of moonbow spells (with crits, 2700), triggering Senneth's second rune of Death. The symbol of death did not affect any party members. Ike fired a precise shot (98) and Garlen stabbed at Senneth (754), and then gave Amber tactical advice that allowed her to act before Senneth could. She healed the whole party and then landed a critical hit with Lucent Lance (480). Rain's series of jabs (366) and lingering damage (131) left Senneth in fairly bad shape. The snake turned his attention on Grokk, triggering his Fortunate Fate and leaving him nearly dead after. Horkina (529) and Grokk (199) kept up the assault. Nate, seeing Senneth nearly dead, created an image to taunt him: the graphic seen in Senneth's temple, with various parts crossed out and marked with who had killed them. Fittingly, Roland's next series of moonbows killed Senneth.

The Rubble Rousers found themselves standing back on Possicuit, and the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars returned to the summoning room, where they were soon greeted by a huge radiant dragon named Throdenthurirl, who needed some assassins to help him kill some spell weavers who were working on a dimensional gate. Their work shut down the gate, and led to an explosion creating a place that was later called the Demonskar.

-----

It is not for mortals to know where deities go when they die. Suffice it to say that the halls of stories in the heavens are bigger and more complex than mortals might imagine. But Anor has not taken his place there yet, for his fate is not yet known. For most deities, their part in the story of the world is ended when they are slain, but Anor is a god of fate. His seeds were already sown in the soil of time when he fell. He argued before his judge that he had achieved his quest already; all that remained was to watch it unfold. Ascention would overrule even death, so judgement was withheld until time should reveal all. Even now, the entire celestial court watches as the years pass by in Semferia and Anor's marks of doom unfold.

As for Semferia, the battle is won and the tide is turned. The Battle of Scorched Earth was fierce and terrible, and thousands fell slain upon the scorched forest grounds. The Kirani rangers hid in trees and illusions, while the southern mages approached in darkness, teleporting out to blast wide swaths with arcane fire. Jinle'a led a contingent of Frost Giants and Spellsinks right up the middle, pinning Wisdom in place, and she slew him in single combat. The eagles of Westlay killed many of the elite southern wizards, as Mizram's abominations threw the Westlayan foot soldiers like straw. The tales of the battle are many; there is little space to describe the heroism of the Little Chariot Run, the Gambit of the Unstable Device, the War of Dragons, the Thundering Charge, Derrix' Coup, or the Thousand Axes of Rogar and the Iron Door. Jacob of the Manifold Path was there, as were all the heroes of Westlay and Waecleft, many monsters from under the mountains, Minellin and all the kingsmen, and friends and foes indescribable from every corner of the earth.

In the end, the darkness was dispersed, and the Westlayan archers, together with Ivani and Kirani, rained destruction down on the foe. Mizram was destrucive, but when the battle turned, proved to have little staying power and shattered. Many teleported away, but many could not and were pursued through the night. In the fading light of sunset, well over thirteen thousand lay dead in the ashes of the Enchanted Forest, including over four thousand of the northerners. Alex, Minellen's spellsink apprentice, had been a repeated target, and had already fallen five times when at last the abominations held the ground until he could not be revived. Spirits of valiance, Charles of Eonsburg and Jearn of Waecleft had ridden with the fateful charge that turned the battle, and suffered the brunt of the retaliation by Mizram's wizards, and could not be saved. Rogar himself had perished atop a pile of those he had slain; when he had thrown all his axes, and those he wielded had broken, he fought on with the splintered shaft and his fists until at the last he was overcome. Joanna had many close scrapes on eagleback, and was even felled once by Mizrami mages--but was narrowly saved by the heroics of the monks of Lonely Sparrow.

Throughout the day, deep clouds grew from one horizon to the other as a gargantuan rainstorm gathered. In the early evening, as the last beams of sunlight slipped below the horizon, and the shadow retreated south at a full run, the clouds let a light rain fall. It tasted sweet, and in time turned to healing, and washed away the wounds of many who lay unconscious on the field. It was the gift of Anor, won by the heroes of the north and beyond, at the Battle of Storms in the east. Clouds of steam hissed up from the ground as here and there the rains found their mark, and the black sands were washed away.

In the days and weeks ahead, Semferia awoke to an age of hope. Ancient evils that had haunted her since time unremembered had awoken and been vanquished, and though they brought great destruction, the peace in their passing was greater. Much of a generation had been lost between the battle of Scorched Earth and the plague of the Thirsting, yet those who remain saw the promise of an age of peace.

The buildings and walls of Westlay are ruined, its cities sacked and buried. Yet the people were saved at Oxhorn, and do not seem discouraged at all by the loss. They speak of building anew, building aright, building things the way they always should have been. The air buzzes with talk of founding cities, starting businesses, starting families. They also speak fondly of their new king Flynn, who worked for a time to set the kingdom in order before attempting to resurrect his father, and hoping at the least for peace and reconciliation during the resurrection quest.

The land itself bears many hurts, but the Order of the Inevitable Seed is fresh with purpose. Always Anor had restrained them from making Semferia too green too soon, but now the time to achieve that final quest has come. Overnight they have transformed from caretakers to crusaders. Their excitement is visible, and they have already begun to debate how best to bring about Anor's vision, now that it is up to them. Lotus, too, started bringing lifegiving storms throughout the continent.

Still, the sands have left their scars; wherever they sat most thickly, the land refuses to be healed. Shinsiri's swath remains barren. The battleground at White Fields will never see its proud orchards again. Many heroes are fallen, and many friends. The people of Westlay are anxious to mark the passing of a great king. Waecleft, too, mourns a beloved king--and those who are wise mourn not one champion, but two. Brothers Jakob and Michael are both numbered by historians among the heroes who fell in the war, though Jakob's ghost still concentrated on destroying the wraiths under the mountain.

In the ages to come, the waters of Semferia will always taste sweet, proof against disease, and a second wind in the face of death. Life grows especially hearty on such nourishment, and Semferia would become known in time by the strength of both its heroes and its beasts. In some of the deep and dry places, the black sands still linger, but they are confined there, as they cannot stand the sweet water in the places where life thrives.

Even in Anor's absence, there is no shortage of storms in Semferia. Kelzun has returned to her fortress in the abyss; without ally or obligation, she ignores for now the plane of her birth. Oshirex has returned to his worship of the void, deep under the world. Vash is gone, but leaves behond the Mount of Shadow, which is haunted deeply, though its malice no longer has a grand vision. In the wild places of the world, dragons prowl and ancient horrors hunt. Yet the war of the Black Sands has left in its wake many heroes, and the wise do not worry about the fate of the world.

Alliances made temporarily for the war dissolve; Smerdon goes back to its icy brooding, while Ghern turns to struggling with internal affairs. Jinle'a struggles to reform her new people, ruling the proud and tough hobgoblins with a righteous iron fist. Filthy Ike went off to the desert in search of stuff to shoot, though Nate left him with a sending stone in hopes that he could occasionally be called on to shoot very specific stuff.

The Last Watch of the Ten Kings leaves many of its rangers to other pursuits, returning to comparative sleep through the peaceful years. Nate became their leader, focusing on creating monuments of the wars and linking the people of the world together. As the War of the Black Sands passes into history, the Kingsmen and the old man at their head remain and watch, and remember ancient alliance.

Anor's Blessing

During the final battle with Senneth, each character received all benefits from this list. At the conclusion of the battle, the characters retained the specific benefits where their names are listed:

- Immortal. Do not age, or need to eat, sleep, or breathe. Treated as Divine Rank 1. (Nate, Rain, Roland)

- Increase hit points to maximum per hit die. (Horkina)

- Increase base speed to 60'.

- Divine bonus to Armor Class +1. Deflection bonus to AC equal to charisma bonus. (Flynn)

- All attacks are considered to be epic and follow your alignment for the purpose of bypassing damage reduction. Attack rolls to not automatically fail on a 1. (Ike, Grokk)

- At-will use of Greater Teleport.

- Immunity to polymorph, petrification, and shape-altering attacks.

- Immunity to energy drain, ability drain, and ability damage. (Lotus)

- Immunity to mind-affecting effects.

- Immunity to electricity, cold, and acid.

- Immunity to disease and poison.

- Immunity to stunning, sleep, and paralysis. (Garlen, Amber)

- Immunity to death effects and disintegration.

- Damage Reduction 15/epic.

- Spell Resistance 33.

- Darkvision and low-light vision range: 1 mile. Remote sensing: view any area devoted to you or in which your name is mentioned. (Lotus, Garlen, Amber)

Rod of Nature's Wrath

The Rod of Nature's Wrath: a magic item, granted to Lotus

Functions as a Rod of Empower Spell, 3 uses per day for a spell up to 6th level, but may only be applied to spells in tune with the local environment:

Forest (trees and undergrowth) -- Plant, Animal, and Poison spells
Swamp or Ocean (standing water) -- Water and Acid spells
Desert (high temperature) -- Fire and Dehydration spells
Arctic (low temperature) -- Cold, Paralysis, and Sleep spells
Underground (below 30 feet of earth) -- Physical damage, Stone, and Earth spells
Airborne or Plains or High Hills (100 foot hemisphere of open space) -- Electricity and Force spells

Session 28/51, 2008-07-05: Inevitability

Session 28/51: wherein five Waste Lords learn the folly of working alone, and eleven adventurers prove the value of teamwork

Players (Characters)
Scott (Filthy Ike; Rain)
Jeremy (Flynn Flamm; Grokk)
Tony (Brother Jakob's ghost; Roland; Amber)
Rachel (Lotus; Horkina)
Tom (Nathaniel Graythorne; Garlen)
DM: Catherine

The Ninja Mongoose Rockstars and Rubble Rousers materialized in Anor's sacred grove, a clearing surrounded by thick trees and a hurricane. They had a brief conversation with this god of fate, storms, and nature, whose avatar was a huge tree. Nate was particularly curious about the "fate" part, Lotus the "storm" part, and Amber and Garlen the "nature" part. Anor planned to begin summoning a storm in the morning, and Lotus would imbue it with Anor's sap in the evening, washing away the black sands. Anor knew the waste lords would come one by one to try to stop him once he'd begun. Lotus kept trying to hug Horkina, saying something about "kindred spirits", which led Horkina to ask "can someone get me away from this fucking flake?" As the group was planning for the next day's fights with the waste lords, Minellin sent NMR a message: "Mitzram has assembled several powerful wizards and abominations. Can you and your allies deal with the threat?" Roland scried on the area, Flynn hasted the parties and started singing, and Nate disguised Rubble Rousers to look like Minellin, Jinle'a, and some giants.

Nate teleported the parties a short distance away from the camp, and then Nate and Flynn cast dimension door to bring NMR-RR into the middle of the camp. About thirty marruspawn wizards and fifteen abominations looked both shocked and amused for about a quarter of a second. Then Lotus' Mass Drown spell killed four wizards and an abomination, and Roland's Field of Icy Razors killed four wizards and wounded another abomination. Garlen and Rain each killed one abomination with several strikes, while Grokk did it with just one critical blow. Horkina took out a pair of wizards with one axe still behind her back, and Ike blasted one more with an extremely precise shot. Amber put a blade barrier on a group of fleeing wizards. Garlen's White Raven Hammer stunned another abomination. Roland's Firebrand erupted all around, killing over a dozen wizards and wounding many abominations, six of which he finished off with a quickened Moonbow. Rain shadow-blinked next to one of the few remaining abominations and stabbed it repeatedly in its sensitive bits, killing it. Ike's precise shot took out another abomination, and Horkina left the last one near-dead with a solid hit. Nate cast Otto's Irresistable Dance, and the final abomination waltzed right into Horkina's axe and died. The party gathered up a large amount of treasure, and Roland planeshifted to sell it all. Horkina paid Lotus a large part of her share to stop trying to hug her.

In the morning, back in Anor's sacred grove, Roland cast Mind Blank on everyone, and also brought the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars into the telepathic bond. Amber cast Mass Fortunate Fate and Mass Conviction. Grokk dragged some rocks in from the trees surrounding the clearing. Nate cast Nate's Multilayer Ruse to make Garlen look like Nate, Horkina look like Amber, Grokk look like Flynn, and Rain look like a flying squirrel (outer) or Grokk (inner). Amber looked like a bird, Lotus looked like a squirrel, Flynn and Nate looked like rocks, Ike looked like a tree, and Roland looked like himself, but with his flaming eye on the wrong side. Nate also disguised a pair of rocks, one to look like Nate (inner) and a rock (outer), and another to look like Flynn (inner) and a singing rock (outer).

At sunrise, Anor intoned "first comes Omenank, who lurks in shadow and preys on the weak", and a cloud of darkness surrounded the grove. Rain spotted a group of about 20 blackscale yuan-ti ninjas approaching with Superior Invisibility. Flynn cast Haste and began singing, and Ike, Lotus, Grokk, and Horkina got true seeing from either themselves or Amber. Garlen ran to where Rain had seen a blackscale and started swinging, killing it. Lotus cast Mass Drown, killing one herself. A pair of more elite blackscales materialized from etherealness and attacked the rock that sounded like Flynn. Another pair materialized around Roland and tried to decerebrate him, but he resisted their psionic attacks, and their attempts to stab his vital organs were foiled by his many magical defenses. Omenank, with runes for "stealth" and "dagger" on her head, slipped out of the ground next to Flynn and prepared to attack. Jakob's ghost materialized to protect his old friend, and Omenank suddenly found herself lying between Grokk and Horkina. She tried to decerebrate Horkina but failed, and her attempt to cast Fuse Flesh was interrupted by Horkina's axe. Horkina felt justified in training to interrupt spellcasters.

Ike opened fire on Omenank with six arrows, leaving her seriously wounded. Rain, wearing armor of the celestial battalion, charged in from the air and started crippling Omenank. After two strikes, her strength was completely drained and her "stealth" rune triggered, healing her completely. Four strikes later, she was again paralyzed and her "dagger" rune triggered. Horkina laid her axe into the waste lord, chopping off several of her fingers before finally killing her. Grokk charged at one of the elites attacking the Flynn rock, and a pair of critical hits split the enemy into more pieces than anyone wanted to see. Nate used telekinesis to push another elite away from Roland, and Amber's Holy Word took out a large pack of blackscales. The blackscales, still oblivious to the illusion, started attacking the Nate rock, Horkina (who they thought was Amber), and Garlen (who they thought was Nate), and were completely ineffective. Roland's intensified Maw of Chaos killed one of the elites and one blackscale, and he stunned a second elite. Garlen stunned the remaining elite with White Raven Hammer, and the party quickly dropped the remaining foes.

Mid-morning, Anor again spoke "next comes Aol, who goes straight for the heart." As Flynn cast haste and began singing, Aol teleported into the grove, riding atop the Tarrasque. He had four marruspawn abominations and four marruspawn clerics along, and they surrounded Anor. Aol had two runes on his head: "immunity" and "ferocity". Aol and his Tarrasque both attacked Anor, gashing his bark. Garlen jumped and swung at Aol with a White Raven Hammer strike, stunning the huge abomination. Roland empowered a sonicbrand spell and killed three clerics, wounding some abominations in the process. His quickened moonbow finished off two abominations, and snake's swiftness allowed Rain and Grokk to strike at the Tarrasque. The two remaining abominations kept attacking Anor. Horkina hit the remaining cleric with three solid swings to bring him down, and landed four more solid blows on the Tarrasque, including one critical that brought the beast down. Ike put a series of arrows into the nearest abomination, stunning it with a headshot. Rain flew in at Aol, but only landed one hit on the thick-skinned creature. Amber used a miracle scroll to keep the Tarrasque dead, dispelled all of Aol's protection spells, and healed Anor somewhat. Nate's Slow spell failed against the still-standing abomination, but a big bolt of lightning from Lotus' storm badly wounded Aol.

Jakob materialized and started punching Aol as Garlen's Flanking Maneuver, plus some luck from Nate, gave Grokk, Horkina, Rain, and Jakob each an extra chance to hit the enemy. Roland's pair of Snake's Swiftness spells let each attack again, and Horkina triggered Aol's invulnerability rune, which healed him and gave him immunity to elemental damage. Roland's moonbow killed one of the remaining abominations, and Ike's longbow killed the other. Horkina and Grokk pounded on Aol, and his second rune triggered, speeding him up as he healed again. Rain's attacks and Nate's unluck spell proved useless. Lotus healed Anor and Amber put a wall of stone between him and Aol to keep him protected. Aol turned his attention on Horkina, who he dropped with a series of attacks, but she stood right back up due to Fortunate Fate. "We don't have fancy runes, but this works just as well", she said. Rain drew his antimagic dagger and stood under Aol, nullifying his magical speed. Garlen, Grokk, Horkina, and Ike all laid into the enemy, and Amber healed Horkina. Roland tried to distract Aol with a slapping hand, but he shrugged it off. Aol's next attack on Horkina was far less effective, and soon the impact of axes and shortswords brought him down.

About noon, Anor said "next comes Kelzun, who relishes pain, seeks to sow chaos, and overwhelms with the swarm." Soon, Kelzun flew in from the west, with runes of "protection" and "insanity" on her head. She raised her fist, and three balors and nine vrocks appeared. Flynn kept singing while Roland informed the party that she had both Repulsion and Antilife Shell protecting her. Garlen's arrow storm struck each of the enemies, wounding them all. Ike focused his arrows on Kelzun, striking her six times from his hiding place in the trees. One balor charged at Horkina, thinking she was Amber, and dealt a trivial wound. Two others charged at Garlen, thinking he was Nate, dealing minor damage. Flynn moved behind Anor for cover as Rain shadow blinked behind a balor and filled it with holes. The exploding balor wounded Roland and killed the previously-wounded vrocks. Horkina took out another balor, whose explosion somewhat harmed Nate. Kelzun focused her spells on Roland, twice trying to cast Eternity of Torment and twice being turned away by Roland's duelwards.

Amber cast Mass Heal, which hurt Kelzun and closed the party's wounds. She then dispelled most of Kelzun's protections, pushed her to the ground with a downdraft, and dimensionally anchored her to keep her from teleporting away. Roland removed the rest of Kelzun's spells and triggered a new duelward, swapping places with Grokk in the process. Grokk leaped to kill the last balor, and Nate's unluck spell was again useless. Lotus sent some lightning at Kelzun, who shrugged off some of the damage. Then Garlen yelled out "I HATE DEMONS! EVERYONE GET HER!" and led with a Warmasters Charge, while casting rhino's rush, smiting evil and flying into a rage. Jakob materialized and piled on, along with Grokk, Rain, and Horkina. Horkina's strike triggered Kelzun's first rune, and Rain's series of stabs soon triggered the second. Kelzun tried to drive Rain insane, but his mind-blank blocked the effect, and her attempt to cast Wrack gave Horkina a clear shot with her axe, which in turn gave Rain an opening to stab her. Ike's arrows and Grokk's axe soon sent the third Waste Lord back to her phylactery.

Early in the afternoon, Anor said "fourth is Shinsiri, who walks alone. He buys time with his storm." As Flynn sang, a tornado covered the grove and pulled him into the air. Shinsiri appeared next to Anor, with runes of Sand and Thirst on his head, and storm spirits appeared next to each party member, trying to grab them. Shinsiri started withering Anor, quickly draining his life. Garlen charged around the edge of the tree and hit Shinsiri eight times, including three critical hits, sickening the half-dragon and triggering his first rune to create a barrier of sand. Lotus transmuted the sand into rock and then into mud, and Shinsiri's protective wall slumped to the ground. Roland cast Mind Poison twice, draining Shinsiri's wisdom and triggering his second rune, which created a dessication aura. Rain shadow-blinked opposite Garlen and charged at Shinsiri, landing every single strike (125d6+272, +210 from CON drain = 924 damage.) The half-dragon died, and his storm spirits dissipated.

As dusk settled in, Anor said "last is Oshirix, who embraces the void. He will enchant and paralyze, patiently waiting for the prize." Flynn again inspired the group for battle as the red dracolich Oshirix, with runes for Eternity and Stillness on his head, approached from the east. Eight extremely large dragons, with marruspawn wizard riders, flew in from all sides. Roland let loose a pair of acidbrands, killing three of the wizards and wounding all of the other wizards and dragons. He followed up with an acid moonbow, which killed three dragons and sent their riders falling to their deaths. Garlen's arrow storm took out the last two wizards, and Ike's arrows took down another dragon. Amber's Sunburst and Sunbeam each wounded Oshirix, and she blinded one of the four remaining dragons. Nate shattered a dragon's mindblank and dove under a rock, hoping to avoid detection. Lotus' arc lightning wounded two more dragons.

The dragons flew down into the grove and started breathing cones of sand. One blew Flynn off into the surrounding hurricane, and two left Nate and Lotus seriously wounded. As one approached Nate, Jakob materialized and pounded it to death. Oshirix dispelled Rain's protections, and tried the same on Roland, but duelward blocked his attempt. Oshirix' powerful breath killed Lotus, left Rain nearly dead, and left Roland very glad for Fortunate Fate. Roland cast Field of Icy Razors, killing two dragons, and Disrupt Undead, causing Oshirix' first rune to trigger and provide the dracolich with fast healing. Roland followed up with an empowered acid moonbow, leaving Oshirix in bad shape. Horkina killed one of the remaining dragons. Garlen cast Lions Charge and attacked Oshirix, triggering his second rune, which made the dracolich far more dangerous in melee. Amber revived Lotus and used Mass Heal to bring Roland, Lotus, and Rain back to relative health. She followed with another sunburst and sunbeam on Oshirix. Ike took down the last of the dragons. Grokk turned his full attention on the dracolich beside him, and with a critical hit, killed the last Waste Lord.

A few minutes later, Flynn came walking back through the trees, soaking wet from the hurricane. He exclaimed "Worst. Fight. EVER."

wastelord rune count: Rain 3, Horkina 2, Garlen 2, Roland 2, Grokk 1.
wastelord kill count: Grokk 1.5, Horkina 1, Rain 1, Ike 0.5. One "party" kill.
Grokk critical hit count: 5

The Battle of Scorched Earth

Troop numbers for the battle of scorched earth:

Master of Storms

The Master of Storms is of kindred spirit with the wild thunder. She gains the following innate abilities:

Stormfriend: A master of storms in unaffected by any storm she controls. She can stand firm in the center of her tornado, direct her hailstones to fall around her, and see right through the whiteout of her own blizzard.

Summon Storms: Swift action. A Master of Storms summons and controls a small storm (5' radius) appropriate for the climate and region. Each round she continues to summon, the storm grows by 5' in radius, with no upper limit on size (after 8 hours, continuing requires a Con check DC 15 + 1 per previous check each hour). Freely control the initial intensity of heat, cold, wind, rain, and cloud cover. As long as she controls it, the storm remains always centered on the summoner, matching her movements at a maximum speed of 100' per round. If she ceases summoning for longer than a minute, or moves (or is moved) farther from the storm's center than it can follow, control is lost. All supernatural elements dissipate, and the storm becomes natural (but will likely continue). This power may also be used to take control of an existing storm; the area under control grows by 5' in radius per round spent summoning.

Imbue: Standard action. A master of storms may imbue a controlled storm with elemental power or natural materials. The effect covers the entire storm, and remains in place for the life of the storm or until dismissed. Any storm may only be imbued with only one condition at a time.

Healing [Shower] – All living creatures in the area of the storm heal 1d6 hit points per round.
Nourishment [Shower] – One hour of rain nourishes a living creature enough to avoid hunger or thirst for three days.
Acid [Any Rain] – Storm deals acid damage once per round. Shower: 1d6; Downpour: 2d6; Monsoon: 3d6.
Quiet [Flurry] – Sonic effects minimized. Listen checks at -2.
Peace [Any Snow] – All creatures receive a +2 bonus to spell resistance and saves against spells or magical effects.
Shout [Any Thunder] – Rolling thunder deals 2d6 sonic damage every 1d4 rounds.
Uplifting Spirits [Light Breeze] – Ignore effects of fatigue.

Intensify: Standard action. Choose an area inside the storm. Choose a radius and a number of d6 damage to deal (up to twice your caster level). This area persists for 2d4 + 3 rounds, with a reflex save 13 + charisma bonus for half damage. Reduce the radius of the controlled storm by 15' for each 5' radius of intensified area and for each die of damage (The intensified area must still fit within the storm). This area moves with the storm, in relation to the summoner. A storm may have only one intensified area at a time.

Rainstorm – Acid; Monsoon – Bludgeoning; Windstorm – Bludgeoning/Slashing/Piercing; Extreme Heat/Cold: Fire/Frost; Lightning: Sonic or electrical; Hail: Bludgeoning; Snow: Cold; Firestorm: Fire

Smite: Standard Action. The full energy of the storm may be focused on a single target, dealing incredible damage. Summon forth a single giant gout of flame, a bolt of lightning, a block of hail, or a gust of stinging sand upon a single target within the storm. Choose a number of dice (up to a maximum of five times your caster level), and deal that to a single target. Reflex save 17 + charisma bonus for half damage. Subsequently reduce the radius of the storm by 5 feet for each d6. The storm requires 2d4 rounds to react before this action can be used again.

Storm Types and Typical Effects

The Master of Storms may change the characteristics of the storm she controls at will, so long as the storm meets the prerequisite.

Category	type	prerequisite	effect
Wind	Light Breeze	-	No battlefield effects.
-	Gale	-	Ranged attacks suffer -4. Medium creatures checked (Fort DC 15).
-	Hurricane	[Storm 50']	Ranged attacks impossible. Snow/dust/sand/flying grass grants total concealment beyond 5'. 1d3 damage per round from particles. (Cumulative with other storm-related damage). Medium Creatures Blown Away (Fort DC 20); Huge checked. Increase temperature severity by one.
-	Tornado	[Storm 50']	Ranged attacks impossible. Snow/dust/sand/flying grass grants total concealment beyond 5'. 1d6 damage per round from particles. (Cumulative with other storm-related damage). Large creatures blown away (Fort DC 30); Gargantuan checked Increase temperature severity by two.
Temperature	Mild	-	No battlefield effects.
-	Moderate (Heat/Cold)	-	Fort save (DC 15) once per hour or take 1d4 nonlethal damage.
-	Severe (Heat/Cold)	-	Fort save (DC 15) once per ten minutes or take 1d4 nonlethal damage.
-	Extreme (Heat/Cold)	-	Take 1d6 points of damage per 10 minutes.
Cloud Cover	Overcast	-	No battlefield effects.
-	Stormclouds	[Storm 50']	-
-	Superstorm	[Storm 150']	-
Rain	Shower	[Overcast]	Light rains. No battlefield effects.
-	Downpour	[Overcast]	Exposed dirt becomes muddy & difficult terrain. Ranged attacks suffer -2.
-	Monsoon	[Stormclouds]	Standing water 2' deep (difficult terrain). Ranged attacks suffer -4.
Lightning	Thundershower	[Overcast]	Lightning flashes in the clouds overhead.
-	Thunderstorm	[Stormclouds]	Once per minute, any given square has a 2% chance of a 3d6 lightning strike.
-	Superstorm	[Superstorm]	Once per minute, any given square has a 5% chance of an 8d10 lightning strike.
Hail	Wheat-sized	[Stormclouds]	Deals 1d4 bludgeoning damage.
-	Fist-sized	[Stormclouds]	Deals 2d6 bludgeoning damage.
-	Melon-sized	[Superstorm]	Deals 4d6 bludgeoning damage.
Snow	Flurry	[Overcast, Cold]	Terrain becomes slippery (per Grease; save DC is 13).
-	Blizzard	[Stormclouds, Cold]	As above, plus whiteout conditions, plus 1' snow buildup per hour.
Firestorm	Firestorm	[50', Extreme heat, Gale+ wind, inflammable terrain]	Terrain burns. Deal 10d6 fire damage per round to every square.

Seven Skulls

Seven Skulls is a dice-based gambling game popular in the frozen north, especially among the Frost Giants. The game is played with seven twelve-sided dice: two per player, and three common dice. Each player puts one coin in the pot before rolling his pair of dice behind a screen, and must pay a second coin if he wants to continue after rolling. If both players have paid to continue, the first player (or a tournament official) calls out "skulls roll!" and rolls the three common dice. At this point, players may bet up to three coins, call the other player's bet, or raise a bet by an equal, double, or triple amount. Once the final bet has been called, the dice are shown, and the winner takes the pot. Play continues until one player is out of coins, with first chance to bet and "first player" status alternating between the two players.

Dice are compared based on the three highest-scoring dice among the five available (a player's 2 personal dice and the 3 common dice). Dice normally score their face value, but if a player has a triple, each die is treated as one number higher, and those are his scoring dice (so three 7's are scored as 8-8-8.) The third-highest die is compared first, with the highest taking the pot. If this is a tie, the second-highest die is compared, and finally, the highest die. If all three dice are tied, the pot is split.

Scoring Examples:
A has 12-6. B has 9-8. Common dice are 11-10-9. A scores 10-11-12, B scores 9-10-11. 10 beats 9, so A wins.
A has 12-6. B has 9-8. Common dice are 11-7-5. A scores 7-11-12, B scores 8-9-11. 8 beats 7, so B wins.
A has 12-6. B has 11-6. Common dice are 11-5-3. A scores 6-11-12, B scores 6-11-11. 12 beats 11, so A wins.
A has 12-6. B has 8-8. Common dice are 11-8-3. A scores 8-11-12, B scores 9-9-9 due to the triple. 9 beats 8, so B wins.
A has 12-6. B has 11-8. Common dice are 11-8-7. A scores 8-11-12, B scores 8-11-11. 12 beats 11, so A wins.
A has 12-6. B has 11-8. Common dice are 11-8-8. A scores 8-11-12, B scores 9-9-9 (rather than 8-11-11). 9 beats 8, so B wins.
Note that, if the common dice are a triple, both players automatically score the same and the pot is split.

Terminology and slang:
"Skulls" - the twelve-sided dice.
"Drop" or "drop the skulls" - allow the other player to take the pot; analogous to folding in poker.
"Goblin" - low-scoring die.
"Dragon" - high-scoring die.
"Ettin" - paired player dice.
"Big Ettin" - a pair of 12's for the player dice.
"Dog" - a triple, named after the three-headed Cerebrus.
"Big Dog" - a triple that includes the highest common die. Guaranteed to be the best hand.
"axe" or "axe mark" - dice with a wide split in value, like 12-3 or 11-1.

Lotus' backstory

The thunderstorms were especially intense the spring Lotus was born, so her cries had to contend with the rolling thunder. Her parents had named her after the hope of peace, but many in Cheela knew her as Nooyahyoulae, the StormChild. The wind blew her out to the woods, and she drifted back in her own time, bearing exotic tales and natural wonders.

Cheela was a small place--the huts and fields of a few simple farmers. The land was common, and all equally worked and shared its bounty. Lotus was far too wild for this mundane system, and did not work consistently. Still, none thought poorly of her for it; the girl was good luck, and had a way with the seeds. Her wild dances through the corn did far more good than anyone else's full day pulling slugs off and weeds up.

Cheela had no army. Really, she leaned more toward plowshares and pruning hooks than swords and spears. She instead enjoyed the protection of the Enchanted Forest. Semferia was dangerous, and the forest itself was wild, but the Ivani were vigilant and rightly feared by the evil and superstitious things of the world. The elves never let vile deeds go unpunished. What was wild and evil looked elsewhere for easy prey, and Cheela remained blissfully unaware.

Of course, old tales are sometimes tested. The Ironleaf orcs were as superstitious as the next tribe, but ghostly elves in the future were one thing, and wealth right before their eyes . . . well, that was something else entirely. Cheela was situated atop a rich iron vein, and the orcs wanted it. Ironleaf led a band of fearful scouts into the forest and to the huts of Cheela, flinching at every step lest man, elf, or tree should smite them. Instead, the Cheelans invited them to share in the autumn feast and rested them for the night. The orcs immediately smelled weakness. The forest had not smitten them; the men were not armed and did not seem to think it constituted a problem that the orcs *were*. And the iron smelled rich indeed. The scouts left with smiles and not a drop of blood spilled. Then Ironleaf returned the next day assembled for war.

The fight was swift and brutal. Many Cheelans fled to the woods. Many could not. Many who did were devoured by the dangers of the wild. Lotus escaped easily, for the wild had long been home to her, but friend and family were gone. In the months that followed, she watched as the orcs burned miles of forest to the ground and tore long gashes in the earth. She smelled the stink of their garbage and the poisons of their machinery, and her tears turned to wrath--no less for the crime against the earth than for home and kin. She named herself an agent of vengence, and sought an alliance with nature.

Her power grew, and in time she chanced upon allies meeting in the woods. Four woodling druids bearing the mark of the Order of the Inevitable Seed were talking with a handful of elven rangers. They were clothed with the grace of the forest, and had an aura of wild power. Heedless of any impropriety or politesse, Lotus burst into their meeting and forcefully demanded their help in avenging her home. It was granted immediately; news of an orc settlement drew grim looks upon the faces of the Ivani, and the mine set flames in the eyes of the druids. They set out at once for the ruin of Cheela.

The fight was swift and brutal. The elven arrows were sharp, but the druids were deadlier. No mercy was shown to miner or merchant, slave or master; all who contributed or profited from the mine were fair game. Rocks burst in violent explosions, and the ground shook and opened crevices to swallow the villians. Lotus herself wove slithering vines over the barren ground and entangled many of the orcs--then suddenly created razor sharp thorns as they grappled with them. The mine was flooded, and the stink of it purged. Cheela was avenged, and the superstition of the Enchanted Forest vindicated.

At their parting, the druids told Lotus, "Rightly do they name you Nooyahyoulae; you are a storm in spirit, and shall grow to be the master of storms. Anor shall summon you when the time is right, and your storm shall wash away the shadow."

Session 27, 2008-06-27: Unlikely Allies

Session 27: wherein Nate's old foes, Jakob's deceased master, and Posiccuit's guides join the team

Players (Characters)
Scott (Filthy Ike)
Jeremy (Flynn Flamm)
Tony (Brother Jakob)
Rachel (Lotus)
Tom (Nathaniel Graythorne)
DM: Catherine

As the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars sat in the Dancing Bear tavern, Lotus returned from a walk out in the woods, and said "Guys, I'm not high, I swear. But listen, you'll never believe what happened! I ran into the four woodling druids who helped me avenge Cheela! One of them told me 'It is time, Stormchild; Anor summons.'" Some of the party looked over at Nate, who insisted "I had nothing to do with this."

Lotus continued: "The druids told me that Semferia was once a barren waste--intended for battle, not for life. Then the god Anor came into the world, and sought to make it green. His first efforts were dashed against in the mighty battles, for a life is a fragile thing. Yet life is destined to succeed; no unmoving challenge can suppress its nature. Struggle is its nature, and in struggle it thrives. In those ancient battles, Anor sowed the seeds of all life that was to be, and in the end it was victorious.

The Order of the Inevitable Seed (where the woodling druids are from) is devoted to finishing the quest of Anor. It is said that one day the whole land will be a lush continent, and then Anor will ascend to his rightful place in the stars. For now, he makes his abode in the sacred grove on the eastern peninsula. They said it was too holy a place for them, but I was summoned there! It was awesome, a place surrounded by the wildest storms and trees and animals! The druids put their hands together, and took me to the edge of a thicket knit of trees, and then disappeared. The trees wouldn't let me pass until I proved my strength, and there were immense wolves that came after me, but they had no taste for fire. Then I was caught up in a cyclone and lifted up into it. Lightning and thunder kept striking, and I was like a spirit in the storm, and I knew what it was like to be a storm. I was one with the storm!" Nate again piped up "I swear, I haven't cast any spells on her!"

Lotus continued again: "This was way more awesome than your spells. I knew how the winds and rain thought, and I knew the spirit of the storm -- I knew what drove it. I knew its purpose. I knew what it wanted. And all of a sudden, I was standing in a quiet grove next to an immense evergreen, and Anor talked to me. He said 'Well done. I name you the Master of Storms. Return to me when I call, and we shall wash away the shadow.' Then a soft breeze blew over me, and I was standing in the forest outside Ghern, still dripping wet."

A while later, Thameor showed up and started talking with Nate. Soon, the conversation turned to the oracle given to Jakob. At the words "if then the shadow holds the key", Thameor piped up -- "I know what key that is! It's the key to Kirani! It must be! Ten years ago, the prince was passing over the unlit pass, and the key was stolen! Normally this would be no big deal, as the moon spirit within the key simply reforms it in the hands of its master, even if it's destroyed... but whoever took it is very powerful, and has somehow kept the key and the spirit imprisoned. If our great city can again be reached, we may be able to win this dark war. Jakob must return the key!"

Shortly thereafter, Minellin joined the impromptu meeting. He congratulated NMR on their recent work in gaining the Ghern as allies, and Thameor on possibly solving the riddle. He also shared that the armies of Westlay, Waecleft, Tindell, Ghern, the Ivani, and others were gathering in the burned forest to make their stand against Mitzram, and that with the help of the elves of Kirani, they might even stand a chance. He also shared that the party would be sent to Mitzram's capital in two days, and that the tree sap was a highly effective cure for the Thirsting.

As Nate went outside, he saw smoke signals coming from the north. "It looks like the frost giants are having their yearly competitions. I'd love to go beat them all at gambling one last time. And I bet they don't like deserts any more than we do, so if we can get their attention by winning a few of their contests, maybe we can convince them to fight alongside us." The party agreed, and Nate teleported the party to the gate by the frosty mountain. A guard piped up "what you doing here?" Nate responded "I'm here to beat everyone at Seven Skulls and take their money." "You think you can play Seven Skulls?" "Yeah, when I was in your army 155 years ago when you lost the war so badly, I used to beat everyone. Unless the game has changed since then, I'll win." "Game is the same. OK, go ahead, I'm sure someone will be able to use you as slave." "If they survive being disintegrated, perhaps." With that, the party headed up the mountain.

First up was the mammoth-slaying competition. As a mammoth entered the arena, the first giant competitor started throwing rocks at it, and after cornering it, pounded it with a mace. The crowd cheered his decent time of 84 seconds. Other competitors did similarly, though none approached the ages-old record of 28 seconds. Soon, it was Jakob's turn, and he stepped into the arena with Flynn cheering him on. The gate opened and the mammoth crossed the line, starting the timer... and Jakob's pouncing charge, flurry of blows, and mind-shock fist killed it in just under six seconds! The frost giant crowd went wild with excitement! Ike was up next, and with Flynn cheering him on, prepared a shot with Fox's Bite. As the mammoth entered the arena, Ike loosed his arrow and landed a nearly-perfect shot, slaying the mammoth before the clock operator could react. Frost giants were on their feet cheering for the new mammoth-slaying champion. Lotus asked "are we going to be eating mammoth jerky, like, forever?"

Up next was the arena wrestling competition, and Jakob and three giants squared off. One giant attempted to push Jakob out of the center section, but couldn't get a hand on the quickly-moving half-ogre. Another pair of giants pushed on each other, and one slid across the line, being declared "out". Jakob grabbed his opponent and, with a comet throw, sent him 25 feet beyond the "out" line and into the arena fence. The remaining giant found himself in the same predicament -- he couldn't manage to grab Jakob, and Jakob easily tossed him just a few feet short of the other. Nate led the giants in a cheer of "N-M-R! N-M-R! N-M-R!" as Jakob did celebratory backflips.

Finally, Nate played his way into the championship round of Seven Skulls. Though he struggled to lift the massive wooden dice, he was quite capable of reading his opponent's intentions and bluffing, or not bluffing, his way to big wins. During the game, Jakob chatted with the giants who had been so impressed with him, talking about the desert people from the south coming to turn lakes into desert. Soon, word spread in the crowd that the foreigners were just as upset about the new desert to the southwest as the giants were.

At the awards ceremony, Jakob was granted a large golden belt with the logo for the "Wrestling in the Tundra Foundation". Ike was told that, normally, the mammoth-slayer got a mammoth trophy, but since he was an archer, he'd be given gloves taken from an archer they'd killed long ago: Fox's Poise. Nate piped up "I remember that battle. I killed 3 giants by making them fall off a cliff chasing an illusion." "Yeah, good times. Lots of killing. You clever little guy." With that, the giant presented Nate with a large silver twelve-sided die that he could barely lift into his bag. Then Nate addressed the crowd: "giants of Smerdon, we have come a long way, not just to participate in these contests, but to warn you of a great threat. Jackal-headed jerks from the south are coming to turn your lands into a desert, just like they did to the lake southwest of here. A hundred and fifty-five years ago, your enemies fell before you one by one until they united and drove you back. Now, we will all fall one by one before the desert creatures unless you unite with us to drive them back. And they will turn your beautiful frozen wasteland into a horrible hot wasteland!" The king spoke: "we hate deserts, but I'm not sure about fighting these weird creatures." Nate, remembering what motivated the giants in the past, called back "they don't wear armor. They're really squishy and fun to kill." The giants sent scouts to look at the desert-ized lake, and when they reported back that Nate had told the truth, hundreds of giant warriors began their march to meet with the rest of the armies of the north. In the mean time, Lotus asked if the giants wanted more snow. After her superstorm buried the area, they said "OK, that enough!" Lotus made a sad face and asked "don't you want more?"

A few days later, the party met Minellin at the teleportation circle in the eastern forest. The plan was to take some casks of poisoned, fake sap to be distributed in Mitzram (an effective way to take out already sick marruspawn), steal or destroy magic items from an important factory, and scout out a meeting of the Wastelords. Passing through the circle in Marruspawn disguise, the party placed the poisoned casks in a warehouse alongside a dwindling supply of useable sap. Then they moved toward the nearby magic item production area disguised as supervisors from the capital. Several tables were lined up neatly atop dry brush next to an oasis. Three powerful wizards and several subordinates created scrolls at the tables, and four burly guards stood over racks of weapons, armor, and various other items.

Lotus quietly began creating a heat wave, and Flynn switched the Rod of the Mongoose to one ear down to keep the sound of his lute from carrying. Ike positioned himself next to one of the biggest wizards while Jakob positioned himself next to another. As Flynn began playing, Ike released a nasty stench that (due to Nate's luck) drifted right into the nose of the nearby wizard, leaving him choking on fumes. Ike blasted another wizard with Fox's Bite, killing it. Jakob's Ancient Mountain Hammer left the final powerful wizard nearly dead. Lotus increased the wind and temperature all around the tables full of scrolls and dropped some arc lightning on the nearby guards, and Nate cast Otto's Irresistable Dance on the wizard next to Jakob. Jakob leaped toward the guards Lotus had just wounded, killing two of them with a flurry of blows. Flynn knocked over a table of scrolls into Lotus' superheated area. Ike moved away and took a precise shot at one of the two remaining guards, seriously maiming him. Lotus lit up her firestorm, killing the dancing wizard and leaving the nauseated wizard badly burned, and her arc lightning took out the guards. Nate disintegrated the final wizard, and the party started stuffing the shiniest magic items into bags of holding. As several marruspawn wizards approached to investigate the firestorm, Lotus turned the storm into a firebolt to melt the remaining treasure, and Nate teleported the group away. Among other treasures, the party recovered a luckblade, which was used to boost Lotus' wisdom. Flynn kept the blade and saved the final wish for later.

The party moved on to the next phase of their plan: kill a group of guards and replace them, infiltrating a meeting of the wastelords. As the guards made their scheduled meeting in a tiny outpost, Flynn played a loud note. Ike stood between a pair and released noxious fumes, but the guards had been eating chili earlier and hardly noticed. Ike also shot a guard. Jakob tossed one guard into another, Lotus drowned one, and Nate's Phantasmal killer made another die screaming. Ike's five arrows and a critical hit from Jakob killed two more guards, and Nate's Phantasmal Killer destroyed the last one. The party disguised themselves to look like these guards and went into the capital. Just before the meeting, the party exchanged all but one of their red coins for gold at a nearby marketplace; Nate held the final coin as a souvenier. This is what the party experienced at the temple:

To reach the temple of Senneth, you must walk past the bone-fields. Literally hundreds of captives are bound with leather cords and abandoned in the sand to die of thirst. The moans of the doomed mingle softly over the shards of scoured bone continually washed up by the sands. The quiet cruelty of the waste here reigns supreme.

Steps lead up through the mouth of a giant black snake; inside is a marble courtyard open to the air. A huge mosaic on the floor depicts Senneth's holy symbol: the black cobra and the words of fate. There are everywhere depictions of thirst and waste and death. Mosaics, illusions, even live-action drama--here and there around the temple, captive creatures are parched in most elaborate ways.

It is just after dark. The air that had been a blast furnace during the day suddenly drops to a bitter cold. The black marble floor is still quite warm underfoot. It shines under the full desert moon.

Marruspawn clerics and blackscale Yuan-Ti mingle around the edges of the courtyard, performing their minor duties and discussing fine points of dark theology. Toward the center, five marruspawn stand tall in robes, outlining an empty square. These are the guard you are here to releive. At their head stands a tall marruspawn in golden robes who is studiously bowed to by all the rest. Ashne, the head cleric. Seeing their replacements, the guards gladly leave, glad to be away from the dangerous creatures who are about to arrive.

The hour strikes, and the Waste Lords begin to arrive.

A black shadow creeps over the outer wall, nearly invisible in the dark. You can make out the form of a Yuan-Ti superabomination--her black skin writhes with embedded snakes, and her eyes glow yellow in the dark. Her body is covered with arcane tatoos and incomprehensible symbols. The air around her hums with quiet energy. With catlike grace, she leaps--or flies--from the wall and neatly flips twice in the air before landing adroitly in the center of the square.

Ashne intones: "Welcome Omenankh, Instrument of the Inevitable, high priest of Senneth".

The ground vibrates slightly under your feet as rumbling steps shake it. Above the edge of the steps appears the massive head of a jackal, with deeply feral eyes. As he rises over the steps, his ears brush the upper teeth of the snake--he's twenty-five feet tall if an inch, three times the size of the biggest marruspawn abomination you've ever seen. As he reaches the summit, he throws back his head and howls at the moon--and they can probably hear him in the icy north. A dozen of the nearest clerics immediately turn to salt, though one does not. With an approving laugh, the ebony creature thunders into the square.

Ashne intones: "Welcome Aol, Memory of the Ancients, Lost champion of the Marru."

In the distance you hear echoes of deep shouts and growls in some vile tongue, as though all of the abyss were having a party on an airship. The sky grows lighter to the south, and then suddenly over the wall arises the outline of a skeletal dragon surrounded by many winged creatures. A horde of demons begins to circle overhead, taunting all the stone serious folk below. Two massive Balor descend to perch on the wall, and the skeletal dragon descends before them. Then you see its rider--a dessicated woman in black armor, wreathed in flame. She raises a fist to the sky, and overhead the army falls silent. One by one they descend to perch on the southern wall. As she approaches, you recognize her face--it is Kelzun, but she has changed. Fully half her face is covered in demonflesh, and she sports a new pair of horns and wings. Last you met, her sheild bore the unholy symbol of Demogorgon; it now blisters with the rune for insanity. With an inferno blast, she dissapears from where she stands, and reincarnates in the center of the square.

Asnhe intones: "Welcome Kelzun, Queen of Corruption, Usurper and now Youngest of the Demon Lords."

Overhead, the air begins to stir. Sand kicks up in clouds, and soon the sandstorm blots out the stars overhead. It intensifies to a hurricane many feet above the ground, and all you can hear is the sound and fury of the storm. The sound alone shakes the ribcage, and even here on the ground, stinging grit bites your flesh. Some of the clerics--in the process of unfossilizing their bretheren--are interrupted in their task, and mutter low and dark curses. At the center, the storm finally coheres into a massive tornado, which snakes down towards the square. The wind is horriffic, and many of the clerics are thrown off their feet. The twister finally obscures the center of the square with sand, and then lifts again--revealing a man in long blue robes, with the head, wings, and horns of a blue dragon.

Ashne picks himself up and intones: "Welcome Shinsiri, Stormchief, Last of the sand emporers."

Overhead, there is the sound of many heavy wings, and looking up you see a flight of sand dragons. Fully eight collassal beasts beat the air with their wings, and at their head, a massive dragon with long-rotted flesh and holes in his wings. As they approach, you see that the dragons bear riders--marrutact wizards in golden robes, and surrounding their mounts are clouds of mist and forgetfulness. They land near the northern wall, and the air around each wizard crackles with intense energy. Their leader, a collossal dracolich, lands in the square in a blast of intense heat.

Ashne intones: "Welcome Oshirex, Spawn of the Void, Silent Chief of the Dark Secret Woven into the World."

The Waste Lords all arrange themselves around the outside of the square, and a few minutes of low chat ensue. As they make small talk about armies and torments, secrets and powers, it is clear they are all waiting for something. Suddenly, the warm marble is shot through with a deep chill, and each of the Waste Lords grows quickly silent. The stone seems to whisper and then to shriek, and overhead the stars slowly begin to wink out. The form of a black wraith flies over the moon before being joined by another and then another, and the sky is clouded with black. Slowly, like smoke arising from a smouldering fire, a giant black wraith mists up from the floor in the center of the square. His deep red eyes communicate unfathomable hunger. He nods briefly to acknowledge each Waste Lord in turn.

Ashne intones: "Welcome Vash, The Unlit Shadow, Lord of Death Under the Mountain, and Chief of the Waste Lords."

Vash nods his dismissal, and Ashne bows and leaves.

Vash: We are all here. Let us begin.

Oshirex briefly casts a spell, and the waste lords grow silent. Yet it is clear by their faces that they are holding converse, asking and answering questions.

Flynn subtly reaches his hand down and flips both ears up on the Rod of the Mongoose, and he begins eavesdropping on the conversation.

Aol: -- but four days' journey from the scorched fields, where it appears the northerners want to make their stand. They have drawn unlikely allies to themselves, but still Mizram has the upper hand. The battle promises to be long and bloody, but I see no other allies in the region which could further sway the tide.

Omenankh: Kirani may arise.

Vash: I have seen to it that it will not. I stole the key ten years ago, before the Forgotten People began to whisper about our threat, and it is safe in my wraithhold. I shall guard it personally until the end.

Omenankh: Kinari may yet arise.

Shinsiri: It is all one whether it does or not. Mizram may yet lose, and we still prevail; they are but one means to an end. The black sands now saturate the north; the time for total transformation has arrived.

Aol: Is the blood provided sufficient?

Shinsiri: It is. While the armies of the north look west, I can run unhindered throughout the east, and rain blood down upon the wild places. I have summoned one bloodstorm already, and the results are spectacular--the sands consume the plants like dry straw before fire, and the desert is made. Yesterday, I was able to fly two hundred miles, and left behind me a twenty-mile swath of new-made desert.

Kelzun: Then there are two roads to victory. Should Mizram win, we can bide our time while the empire destroys the tiny pockets of life throughout the land. Should they lose, the north is still weakened, and Shinsiri can rain bloodstorms down upon the land unhindered. Most can't survive in the kind of desert he'd summon anyway. We've come a long way since we relied on natural lakes.

Omenankh: The paths to victory are in fact three. After empire comes shadow.

Vash: And the shadow stands ready. My legions of wraiths beneath the mountain stand ready to wash over the land. Mizram may make an empire. The northerners may try to recover. It is all one; when the shadow arises, it shall scour all life from the land, Mizrami, Northerner, or any other.

Aol: You are deceived, my friend. The Marru shall come first.

Vash: Yes, you think we play the fool. Mizram thinks we are its fools, and I think Mizram is ours. But that battle is between powers greater than both you and I. I for one am content to play my assigned part and rule my promised empire; if the fates decree otherwise, I am content with that too.

Omenankh: It is inevitable. The shadow comes, and then the waste.

Vash: What your deity tells you is inevitable, and what he is actually able to bring about, are entirely different things.

Kelzun: Speaking of deities, has anyone accounted for Anor? He called a Master of Storms a week or so ago. I think he might be planning to undo the sands.

Shinsiri: That cannot happen! If he tries, we shall have to slay him!

Kelzun: Are you sure? Anor himself?

Shinsiri: You question what we have become? Immortality means immunity to old age, not death in combat. Anor is a god of storms and rest, and I know storms. I for one do not fear him.

Kelzun: Your funeral. But I expect you're right. We cannot lose the sands.

Vash: Then we are decided. Shinsiri shall scorch the east, while Aol watches the west. If Mizram wins, that is for the best; they shall do much of our work for us. If they lose, I shall swarm forth with the shadow legion and destroy what remains. And if Anor begins to summon a storm, we must all stop what we are doing and bend our effort to destroy him.

Oshirex: It is said. It is done.

One by one, the Waste Lords disappear into the night with their respective armies. The Mizram clerics carry on, reverently oblivious to their callous allies, and the desert moon shines down on the cold marble mosaic. Before departing, Ike steps across Senneth's symbol at the center of the temple, leaving a vile stench behind.

The party returned to Lonely Sparrow to report the news to Minellin, who replied "This is grave news, indeed... yet there is a glimmer of hope. If Jakob can return the key, then perhaps not all is lost. With Kirani, we may yet withstand Mitzram's assault, and perhaps Anor will be able to withstand the Waste Lords. It seems our only hope is for Jakob to complete his quest. And I have recieved word, Brother Jonathan is at Jade Feather. Jakob, you should speak to him." The party went to Jade Feather the next morning, and Jonathan spoke:

"Brother Jakob! I have wanted to meet you; Brother Michael spoke of you often. He was so very proud of you.

"When Father Lawrence sent to me, I refused to tell where to go until I could look you in the face. You have to understand, this quest is impossible--it is futility and suicide. Vash is invincible, and his wraiths are legion. Michael could not possibly have gotten the key out, and you are not even a master yet.

"He sent for me because he had been told he needed one of my black daggers to prevail. I don't use them much; they're little last-ditch rods for getting out of forcecages and the like. He apparently needed to get *into* one.

"We met on the unlit pass, and he led me to a rough hole in the mountain. I volunteered to follow him in, and for days we kept company under the mountains. We were continually beset by wraiths and spellthieves. It took many days to explore the tunnels, but at last he found what he sought: the wriathold of Vash.

"It was a massive chamber under the mountain--a full a mile wide, and nearly half as tall. The walls were bored through with nightcrawler holes, and looked like swiss cheese. All manner of abominations crawled over the ground, but the wraiths were the key thing--thousands of them swarmed in the air, constantly going to and from their dark lord.

"My heart sank, but Brother Michael was intent. 'After all, I am bid to defy fear.' He crept along the roof of the chamber, spider-walking to the apex, and then let go. I watched him fall those many feet to the floor. With the dagger outstretched, he piered the force wall, and entered the anti-magic field surrounding the table holding the key. Picking it up, he wrapped it carefully in a cloth, and then turned to look.

"Vash had come, and the wraiths were thick. With one nod, the fields of force were gone, and the wraiths pressed closer. With a second, the anti-magic field was dismissed, and Michael was swarmed. He could not get out, and so he took a mighty leap at the wraithlord himself.

"I shall never forget what I saw: One black hand reached out and touched him, and then he was no more. That's it--no struggle, no nothing. Just oblivion.

"I cannot understand why the oracle would lay such a burden on the shoulders of Brother Michael. It is an impossible task. I hope you do not take it up."

Jakob replied: "I have no choice. I must return the key." With that, Brother Jonathan handed Jakob one of his special daggers and retired.

As the party reached the beginning of the caves, with little indication as to where exactly to find Vash's chamber, a voice intoned "return the key." It was Brother Michael, or rather, his ghost. "Seek the wraith", he said, materializing and leading the way into a nearby tunnel. Over the next hour, Michael's ghost appeared time and time again to show the way toward Vash's chamber. Soon, a nightcrawler appeared, biting at Jakob but missing the surprisingly agile half-ogre. Flynn began singing and Ike fired five force arrows. Jakob's flurry tore the nightcrawler's flesh in several places. Nate and Lotus both tried to help, but their spells weren't powerful enough. A pack of dread wraiths emerged from the floor, with one attacking Ike and another attacking Nate, who both resisted the withering touch of the wraiths. Michael materialized and tossed one wraith through a nearby wall. The nightcrawler again bit at Jakob, and Jakob again deftly avoided its angry maw. Flynn cast Haste, and Ike's six arrows brought the nightcrawler down. Jakob stepped between the two remaining dread wraiths and pounded one into oblivion while hitting the other with a defensive rebuke. Nate's telekinesis was ineffective, but Lotus' cure spell caused significant harm. The wraith couldn't manage to hit Jakob, and Ike finished the battle with a few more arrows.

When the party finally reached Vash's chamber, Lotus cast death ward on everyone and passed Jakob a crystal that would protect him from wraiths and the like. With haste and inspiration from Flynn, Jakob took off running, covering a half mile in about 40 seconds. As he grabbed the key, Vash and his wraiths swarmed around the wall of force. Vash boomed out "what are you doing with my key?" "Your key?" Jakob replied. Vash brought down the wall of force, and Jakob started running back toward the party. As Vash prepared a spell, Jakob broke the key in half, releasing the moon spirit to return to the elven prince. Vash's maddening whispers dropped Jakob into a stupor, and the wraiths swarmed on him, killing him. Moments later, he rose as a wraith.

As he passed into the ethereal world, he felt the hungers of the wraith at the edge of his consciousness, telling him to turn and consume the living. The soft voice of Vash urged his control. Yet some combination of legendary discipline and psionic training allowed Jakob to deny this for a time. The shrouds and forms of the material world passed away, and he saw things clearly. Vash, the giant wraith, now appeared as a middle-aged man with an arrogant smile; the black billows of his wraithly robes faded away to the material world, leaving only the mundane dress of an accomplished sorcerer. The ghost of Brother Michael looked solid, moving with restraint and grace over some imagined surface. Jakob's equipment laid in a heap on the floor, but he carried wraith copies of those items most dear. The once-tattered robe of Brother Michael that Jakob had worn for so long now appeared whole--if worn.

In the distance, the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars glowed with emotion, wishing to reach Jakob, slay his wraith, and revive him. In another direction, Brother Michael approached Vash from behind as his attention was fixed on dominating Jakob. This was a drill they'd run a hundred times together; Michael trips, Jakob tackles. Jakob flinched momentarily under the massive psychological itch, knowing he had but a few moments before the final descent into madness. He turned to face Vash.

Michael stepped forward and tripped the huge wraith. In the distance, a spell from Nate boomed out loudly "Tripped by a ghost! OWNED! You suck, Vash!" Jakob stepped forward and attacked the unarmored sorcerer-wraith, swinging with mightly blows (285 damage.) Vash responded with a beam of disintegration that missed Jakob, and another that hit Michael, but the ghost-monk's legendary concentration allowed him to shrug off most of the damage. For Michael, time seemed to stand still as he smashed his fists into Vash, and Jakob's searing, mind-shocking flurry (313 damage) slew the Lord of Wraiths.

With their master dead, the dread wraiths began spreading out, moving without purpose. Jakob began to lose control and move with them, but Michael stepped forward and slew him. The rest of the party still wished to reach him, but thousands of wraiths blocked the way. As they closed in, Lotus loosed a sunburst, and Nate teleported the group to the scorched forest.

Minellin soon found the party, greeting them with the news that Kirani had been reached and the elves were massing for battle, and showed them the battle plan. The Waste Lords had three ways to victory: Mitzram could win, Vash the shadow could overrun the land, or they could slay Anor. With Vash dead and the elven army joining the fight against Mitzram, the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars had but one task remaining: protect Anor. Fittingly, Lotus heard his call -- he planned to bring a storm to wash away the black sands, and she would be needed. Before the party headed out, Gindralin, prince of Kirani, approached with a silver paintbrush in his hand and said "I have held this for a hundred and fifty years, looking for the right time to use it. That time is now." He loosed the paintbrush, which began painting a celtic knot on the ground beneath the party.

Suddenly, the Ninja Mongoose Rockstars found themselves in a perfectly hemispherical room, a hundred feet high and a hundred feet in radius. The white roof and floor emitted soft, pleasant light, and no shadows were visible anywhere. A shrine to the north was covered in silver holy symbols of various greater and lesser gods -- Heironeous, Eholonna, Kord, Pelor, Corellon Larethian, and many others. The walls held various inscriptions, again in glowing silver runes: "For those who fight alongside us", "for those who cannot fight for themselves", "for those who have gone before", "for those who are yet to come", and so on. Concepts of unity, freedom, honor, and continuity dominated the messages. A large sign to the south (marked "D&Dbay") described various magical items and their costs, displaying a new group of items every so often, though it wasn't apparent exactly how often. Time flowed vaguely, seeming to both rush by and stand still.

At the center of the room was a large circular table. An image projected above the table showed a perfect map of the sacred grove and its environs. There were four empty comfortable-looking chairs around the southern end of the table. The six chairs to the north were variously occupied, ignored, illuminated, and overburdened by their respective inhabitants. One was a veritable castle of books, another a castle of kegs. A twitchy centaur was on his feet before the party finished entering the room. The ugliest elf they'd ever seen looked up from the magic item console--which he had been continuously refreshing--and seeing Lotus called out, "Hey, baby--wanna see my sword?"

The party, including Ghostly Jakob, reached level 17. The Rubble Rousers remained at level 27.