Summary
The party continue with preparations for winter and the explore the next level of the dungeon, meeting some very strange people.
Party Members
- Verasha - Level 4 Druid
- Pipam the Younger - Level 4 Thief
- von Plarf - Level 3 Elf
- Zoltan - Level 3 Dwarf
- "Rusty" the Talasum - Level 3 Fighter
Followers
Jaro (Verasha's war boar); Grub (Verasha's other war boar); Alois (Porter and Cook); Walter of Potsdam (Man-at-Arms); Tatana (Woman-at-Arms); Baba Tonka (a brown bear) and 3 War Hounds
Session Recap
Deciding to spend some of the money well earned from the last delve, von Plarf decided to spend some of it on herself, going on a two week carousing bender that ended up with her leveling up.. and also incurring a 600 gp debt after a botched game of dice with some other adventurers in Greytown.
While she was busy doing that, the rest of the party focused on preparing for the winter and securing the dungeon. With the first four floors now very firmly under their control (and the control of their allies), the party brought in workers to build a wall and solid stone door, restricting access to level 5 of the dungeon. With some of the beefier talasumi put to guard duty, the group ventured further down, now knowing they have a safe route to retreat.
The first thing they discovered is that the dungeon was now markedly different on the fifth level. The walls and floor looked different from the catacombs above or the caves that connected to them. They also discovered the source of the gusts of wind - two sizable holes in the floor producing a constant stream of wind and seeming to have no bottom. The walls of the dugeon were also carved with gargoyle faces, with holes placed in their mouths producing a constant whistling or howling sound. They also found some strange tapestries hanging on the walls in one of the rooms, their designs seeming a bit nonsensical as if created by a shitty AI image generation software. They decided they wanted those for their future manor so took them down and stored them for later.
Exploring the dungeon the group ran into a room containing a pair ofcarion carcass crawlers, easily dispatched through a Sleep spell. Going through their disgusting nest and feeding room the party found the half-devoured remains of some soldiers, one of which carrying a strangely ornate and distinctive shield. It was quartered and with each quarter designed with ornate reliefs depicting the elements of Fire, Water, Earth and Air. Picking up the shield and loot from the room the group ventured east, and found what looked to be the fallen warriors' companions. Four fighters, all clad in full suits of plate armor and bearing simplified versions of the quartered shield, approached them.
While she was busy doing that, the rest of the party focused on preparing for the winter and securing the dungeon. With the first four floors now very firmly under their control (and the control of their allies), the party brought in workers to build a wall and solid stone door, restricting access to level 5 of the dungeon. With some of the beefier talasumi put to guard duty, the group ventured further down, now knowing they have a safe route to retreat.
The first thing they discovered is that the dungeon was now markedly different on the fifth level. The walls and floor looked different from the catacombs above or the caves that connected to them. They also discovered the source of the gusts of wind - two sizable holes in the floor producing a constant stream of wind and seeming to have no bottom. The walls of the dugeon were also carved with gargoyle faces, with holes placed in their mouths producing a constant whistling or howling sound. They also found some strange tapestries hanging on the walls in one of the rooms, their designs seeming a bit nonsensical as if created by a shitty AI image generation software. They decided they wanted those for their future manor so took them down and stored them for later.
Exploring the dungeon the group ran into a room containing a pair of
Both groups were rather suspicious and mildly confused of each other. The party had no idea how these people had gotten down here without going through the upper floors, the warriors in turn were very tight-lipped and refusing to answer questions. After some stilted attempts at negotiations (how do you do that when one party simply refuses to talk?) the leader of the warriors, a woman named Anna, brought over some more plate-clad warriors and the two groups returned above ground, going through the upper floors.
As they emerged in the ruins of the manor, the warriors left towards Greytown, though taking an odd route to get there. The party were all thoroughly confused s to what had just occurred, but decided to not worry about it too much and simply went back down to continue exploring level 5.
After having to disable several traps, the group found themselves in a room with some more gargoyles. Instead of the obvious attack by the gargoyles, however, the group were ambushed by four strange looking talasum that emerged from behind the statues. These looked gaunt and off, like badly taxidermied versions of the shaggy beings the party had allied with, their eyes being dull and not very reflective. The quartet were also completely silent, not saying anything as they paralyzed Rusty and attacked the others, eventually being ripped apart by Baba Tonka and missile fire.
Since the party were stuck waiting for Rusty to snap out of his paralysis, they decided to spend the following turns poking around the room, and indeed they found a trapped and locked container within the mouth of one of the gargoyles, getting some solid treasure from there. They were interrupted by another one of the oddly gaunt talasum, but it was quickly dispatched by liberal application of animals and steel.
As they emerged in the ruins of the manor, the warriors left towards Greytown, though taking an odd route to get there. The party were all thoroughly confused s to what had just occurred, but decided to not worry about it too much and simply went back down to continue exploring level 5.
After having to disable several traps, the group found themselves in a room with some more gargoyles. Instead of the obvious attack by the gargoyles, however, the group were ambushed by four strange looking talasum that emerged from behind the statues. These looked gaunt and off, like badly taxidermied versions of the shaggy beings the party had allied with, their eyes being dull and not very reflective. The quartet were also completely silent, not saying anything as they paralyzed Rusty and attacked the others, eventually being ripped apart by Baba Tonka and missile fire.
Since the party were stuck waiting for Rusty to snap out of his paralysis, they decided to spend the following turns poking around the room, and indeed they found a trapped and locked container within the mouth of one of the gargoyles, getting some solid treasure from there. They were interrupted by another one of the oddly gaunt talasum, but it was quickly dispatched by liberal application of animals and steel.
GM Observations
Another session of pausing the game in the dungeon. It still feels a bit weird, having been very strict about ending games back in town or at least a safe location for my previous two campaigns.
This session also presents a shift for the campaign overall. Not only have the group secured the first 4 floors of the dungeon, cut off access to the 5th and gotten enough funds to get their manor built, but the 5th floor and onwards is when Dyson's Delve starts to get a lot more complex in the relation between the various factions within it. The strange warriors the party encountered being one such.
For me the reason I played them as oblique and refusing to answer questions (while asking plenty of their own) was two-fold. Part of it is simply that they are similarly trying to learn about the party as the party was trying to learn about them. And part of it is that they represent a larger faction within the dungeon that I have yet to quite figure out how will react to the actions of the players in the past 10 sessions and what that means for the dungeon itself.
This has been a consistent issue for me as a Referee in both previous campaigns. At about session 10 or so, the party usually have started to properly set themselves up as parts of the campaign's setting, having goals and having interactions with enough various factions that the game's position becomes rather complex.
This session also presents a shift for the campaign overall. Not only have the group secured the first 4 floors of the dungeon, cut off access to the 5th and gotten enough funds to get their manor built, but the 5th floor and onwards is when Dyson's Delve starts to get a lot more complex in the relation between the various factions within it. The strange warriors the party encountered being one such.
For me the reason I played them as oblique and refusing to answer questions (while asking plenty of their own) was two-fold. Part of it is simply that they are similarly trying to learn about the party as the party was trying to learn about them. And part of it is that they represent a larger faction within the dungeon that I have yet to quite figure out how will react to the actions of the players in the past 10 sessions and what that means for the dungeon itself.
This has been a consistent issue for me as a Referee in both previous campaigns. At about session 10 or so, the party usually have started to properly set themselves up as parts of the campaign's setting, having goals and having interactions with enough various factions that the game's position becomes rather complex.
That is, of course, one of the beauties of sandbox campaigns as opposed to plot-focused affairs. A plot never becomes much more complicated than it was at the beginning, since ultimately the players are there to simply walk their way through it, rather than create it. Conversely, a sandbox game can generate quite complicated and complex situations that are more or less unique to each group of players that play in it.
And as one of the main problems I always fight with as a Referee is becoming overwhelmed by having to keep track of too many things, that has been a problem for me as well. In this specific case I have intentionally kept the campaign very tightly focused on the dungeon under the manor, plus I've not done a lot of radical changes in the dungeon itself based on the actions of the players. And that has worked well so far, but now the game is reaching a state where that will begin to actively break the fiction of what has happened in the past 10 sessions. The Dungeon, and the setting by extension, simply has to respond.
It ties into a broader problem of me not having the mental load to do much scheming and plotting and figuring out the moving pieces, due to a combination of life and also running a play-by-post game simultaneously. The PbP game is now over, so I am hopeful that will give me the bandwidth to properly let this campaign become more reactive and from there - living. We will see how that goes.
And as one of the main problems I always fight with as a Referee is becoming overwhelmed by having to keep track of too many things, that has been a problem for me as well. In this specific case I have intentionally kept the campaign very tightly focused on the dungeon under the manor, plus I've not done a lot of radical changes in the dungeon itself based on the actions of the players. And that has worked well so far, but now the game is reaching a state where that will begin to actively break the fiction of what has happened in the past 10 sessions. The Dungeon, and the setting by extension, simply has to respond.
It ties into a broader problem of me not having the mental load to do much scheming and plotting and figuring out the moving pieces, due to a combination of life and also running a play-by-post game simultaneously. The PbP game is now over, so I am hopeful that will give me the bandwidth to properly let this campaign become more reactive and from there - living. We will see how that goes.
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