Novalia Campaign Session 30

Andrzej

• Eduardo del Cuchillo, Thief 1

Matt

• Su’zhan Thatcher, Barbarian 1

The 3rd day of Dolor, the 1181st year in the Era of Compact, about noon.

Eduardo, Su’zhan and Hardwin (being played as a henchman in the absence of his player) stood over the dead body of their companion, Johan. They pressed on, hoping to find the remaining secrets of the tomb.

After searching the stone soldier statues for traps and finding nothing, Eduardo snuck south and found a room covered in yellow mold. On the far side of the room was a closet with ancient rotted vestments. The characters could see gold thread glinting.

Su’zhan poked at the mold with an unlit torch and it shot spores into the air at him, but he managed to dodge back and avoid breathing them in!

Then the party made the fateful decision to try to tiptoe across the mold to reach the closet. Su’zhan’s first few steps didn’t trigger it, but Hardwin’s armored boots did. Spores filled the air and Su’zhan and Hardwin began choking and gasping for breath. Eduardo leapt forward to try to pull Hardwin back, but inhaled a lungful of spores in the process. Within a minute, all three men lay dead among the spores.

Part 2, after the TPK

Andrzej

• Adhar, Paladin 1

Matt

• Morrin Elderbrook, Explorer 1

Dolor 24

Three weeks later, another pair of adventurers wandered into Rosenfeld. Adhar and Morrin immediately learned about the horrible events at the tavern. Hans Weimann, whose life had been saved by Johan, told how the men had not returned, but no one in town had the nerve to go back in. The arrival of the paladin steeled Hans’ resolve, and he equipped himself to lead the adventurers to the tomb.

Inside, the pair quickly followed the footsteps of their predecessors through the insect-damaged wall into the termite queen’s chamber, then into the room with the sarcophagus. There they found Johan and the others. Hans picked up Johan’s holy symbol, and they began troubleshooting the problem of the mold again.

This time, Adhar had the idea to throw a torch and found that it burned the mold pretty effectively before dissolving. Morrin recklessly threw a cloak onto the mold and… inhaled poisonous spores. With Morrin gasping and coughing up blood, Adhar prayed for him, invoking the intercession of his dead son (a callback to an older campaign with alternate universe Adhar).

DM aside: at this point I made a roll to see if a miraculous cure would occur due to this intercession. This may sound a bit like “mother may I” or “rule of cool” gaming which generally goes against my gaming philosophy. But it made sense to me given the worldbuilding and situation. Anyway… the die fell perfectly for Morrin and Adhar.

Mysteriously, Morrin’s choking stopped and he slowly regained consciousness. He was left incapacitated and in need of a week’s bed rest.

More throwing of torches followed, igniting the cloak and eventually Hardwin’s flask of military oil. The mustard mold was burned away. The party noted that the smoke drifted away down the south hallway, not toward them. They proceeded into the room after the smoke cleared, and looted their former characters. They also grabbed the handful of gold thread which had tempted them to their deaths earlier.

To the west, Adhar and Hans found a room filled with embalming tools and amphorae. Adhar was surprised to sense no evil enchantments, but they smashed the amphorae anyway.

To the south they came to a dead end, with a mechanism for pulling part of the sandstone wall aside. Adhar opened the door and sunlight shone in! They found themselves back in the entrance chamber. From here they returned to Rosenfeld and scored a decent haul of xp. Since Morrin had some xp from previous adventures, this was enough to bump him up to level 2.

The party at this point believed the tomb was clear of enemies, but wanted to haul away the remains of their friends for burial. But since Morrin was weak and the Dirge fast was near, they waited in town until the end of Dirgetide. In the meantime, Hans was officially hired on by Adhar as a henchman, and three farmhands agreed to help haul the bodies for an exorbitant fee. The silver sword was given to Karla, the widow of Marcus, whose death had begun this adventure.

Morrin also loaned Adhar his sword - an ancient weapon that had once belonged to a Paladin long forgotten.

Victor 5

The party set out on the day after Dirgetide and re-entered the tomb. While the farmhands carefully gathered the human remains, with Hans watching over them, Adhar and Morrin began searching the tomb carefully.

After some time painstakingly searching the Termite Queen’s cave, Morrin heard a sudden, unearthly scream, which came from behind the stone wall! Through the stone floated the ethereal shape of a man, his face twisted with hate and anger. Morrin held his nerve and reacted with sharply honed instincts. He struck the apparition with Marcus’ silver dagger, slashing it apart.

A second ghost followed, and managed to touch Morrin. At the ice cold touch he felt part of the warmth of life leave him, but he fought on bravely and Adhar came to his aid. Between the Paladin’s magic sword and the silver dagger, the undead spirit was dispersed.

Enemies defeated:

Mustard mold

2 Haunts

Treasure:

Silver sword

Silver dagger

Gold from the idol of Kaleth (1000 gp)

11 garnets

Gold thread (50 gp)

XP gained:

PC: 797

Hench: 398

Current XP totals:

Adhar: 797 / 2750 (level 1)

Morrin: 2095 / 4000 (level 2)

Eduardo: dead

Su’zhan: dead

Hardwin: dead

Hans Weimann 398 / 2000 (level 1)

Novalia Monster Manual: Giant Raven

Raven, Giant

Legend has it that the giant ravens are descended from ancient ravens who feasted upon the bodies of the titans, slain by their thousands in the Titan Wars that nearly wiped them from the face of Kedu. These massive corvids have a wingspan of up to 15 feet, and display semi-human (or even greater) intelligence.

Giant ravens display a strange fascination with magic, and have an innate ability to absorb it.

Giant ravens despise their debased beastman cousins, the Ghurans. They will occasionally use their magic to aid lawful forces fighting against Ghurans or chaotic wizards, despite being neutral creatures with no love for civilization. They will sometimes befriend arcane casters, or serve other powerful beings in exchange for magic items.

Unlike most monsters, giant ravens’ ability to gain XP by absorbing magic means that they are present in the world at higher levels. See Advancing Monstrous Henchmen (ACKS II Judges Journal p. 352). An adult giant raven has 4*** HD, and therefore requires 36,000 XP to advance to 5 HD. Giant ravens may advance in HD past the normal limit of 9 for man-sized creatures, but only gain 1 hp at levels 10-14.

Combat:

Giant ravens have an intellect of 4d6 drop lowest, minimum 9. Each giant raven has spellcasting abilities as a Wizard of his HD, with bonus spells in his repertoire if he has an INT bonus. Giant ravens need not make any physical gestures to cast their spells, and can cast while flying, even though they lack the ability to hover. However, they cannot cast without speaking. Giant ravens lack the ability to enchant magic items, due to the effect of their magic absorption.

Giant ravens are clever, cautious and often cruel. They will take any opportunity to use stealth or magic to make a fight unfair, and flee anything close to an even fight. When they have the upper hand, they are vengeful and ruthless.

As scavengers, giant ravens have acute vision, acute olfaction and immunity to mundane poison and disease.

Magic Absorption:

Giant ravens may absorb magic from spells and magic items. Whenever a spell is cast directly against a giant raven, he may attempt a spell saving throw to absorb it. Whenever a spell indirectly affects a giant raven, he may attempt a spell saving throw to partially absorb it. As a combat action, a giant raven may attempt to absorb an existing spell effect as if casting counterspell. If the counterspell succeeds, the spell is absorbed.

When a giant raven partially absorbs a spell it has no effect on him, and he recovers 1 hp. When a giant raven absorbs a spell it is completely dispelled, and he recovers health according to the spell’s level:

Spell level	Effect
1-3	The giant raven is healed as if he had rested for one day.
4-5	The giant raven is healed as if he had rested for two days.
6	The giant raven is healed as if he had rested for three days.

A giant raven may absorb magic from a magic item while resting. While absorbing magic, the giant raven has no need to eat. The magic is slowly leached away, empowering the raven. The process of absorbing enchantment from a magic item progresses at the giant raven’s research rate (using HD for level) multiplied by 3 (since it progresses 24 hours a day), and the process is complete when the item’s base cost has been reached. Items with charges may be drained one charge at a time. Other weapons must be absorbed all at once, or the progress is lost. When absorption is complete, the giant raven gains XP equal to the item’s base cost.

Example: Albus the 4 HD giant raven has slain the Cthonic sorcerer Phrixus and stolen a +1 dagger. The dagger’s base cost is 5000 gp, and Albus’ research rate is 25 gp. Therefore, absorbing the magic will take 5000 / (25 * 3) = 67 days. Cronus, eldest of the giant ravens (14 HD) with a research rate of 14,500 gp could absorb the dagger’s enchantment in less than 3 hours.

When resting in an elemental place of power, ravens passively absorb magic power in the form of XP. Each full day of rest in a minor elemental place of power grants 15 campaign XP (450 per month). A major place of power grants 30 (900 per month) and a supreme place grants 60 (1800 per month). Factoring in campaign XP thresholds, this means that a giant raven in a minor elemental place of power will eventually reach 5 HD, a giant raven in a major elemental place of power will eventually reach 6 HD, and a giant raven in a supreme elemental place of power will eventually reach 7 HD.

Ecology:

Giant ravens are sometimes solitary, but more often congregate in family groups near elemental places of power. They typically mate for life and both parents care for their few young. They care nothing for the trappings of civilization, and build nests much like their animal counterparts. These nests are typically filled with baubles, gems and pretty stones, along with drained magic items.

Spoils:

A slain giant raven can be harvested with Animal Husbandry, Labor (Butchery) or Trapping for the following components useful in magic research:

• Eyes (1 stone, 60 gp, Bewitch humanoid, Discern Invisible)

• Claws (2 stone, 120 gp, +2 weapon, slicing blow)

• Brain (2 stone, 120 gp, Avian messenger, discern magic)

Encounter notes:

A giant raven nest will include two adult parents (the male and female are difficult to distinguish outwardly) and 1d3 young. Young have 1d3 HD and deal 1d4 damage with their talons. They have spellcasting abilities matching their HD but cannot absorb magic items or spells.

Primary Characteristics		Secondary Characteristics
Type	Animal (sapient)	Expedition speed	192 miles
Size	Man-sized (5 st.)	Supply cost	3 gp (carnivorous)
Speed (land)	20’/60’	Training period	None (sapient)
Speed (fly)	160’/480’	Training modifier	None (sapient)
Armor Class	4	Battle rating	0.21
Hit Dice	4****	Lifespan	E/1.66/20/27/50/75/100/125
Attacks	2 (talons 7+)	Reproduction	One egg every 5 years
Damage	1d6 / 1d6 slashing	Untrained value	300 (A), 500 (J), 1000 (E)
Save	M4	Trained value	5040
Morale	0
Vision	Acute vision, night vision
Other senses	Acute olfaction
Proficiencies
Normal Load	1.5 st.

Encounter Setup
Lair chance	10%
Dungeon Encounter	Solitary (1)
Wilderness Encounter	Solitary (1) / Nest (2)
Alignment	Neutral
Treasure Type	Special per nest: 90% 1d4 any magic item 90% 1d8 ornamentals 50% 1d4 jewelry For each magic item present, there is a 90% chance that the item is drained of magic and no longer enchanted. Magic weapons and armor are merely masterwork, potions are ineffectual, scrolls burnt up, etc.
XP	19 (1 HD young) 47 (2 HD young) 110 (3 HD young) 300 (4 HD) 800 (5 HD) 1320 (6 HD) 1840 (7 HD)

 

Novalia Monster Manual: Ghuran

 

Ghuran

Ghurans are rangy, cunning beastmen created by the ancient Etheri, fusing men with corvids. They average about 5’ tall, with crow heads, black feathered torsos, taloned hands and feet, and a 10’ wingspan.

Ghurans are mortal enemies of the intelligent giant ravens.

Combat:

Ghurans were bred for scouting, skirmishing and ambushing, and this instinct is deeply ingrained in them. They wear no armor and cannot withstand any kind of head-on engagement. When ambushing, they prefer to hide or glide into place silently before peppering the foe with arrows and retreating. In battle, they are often employed to drop darts and military oil on formations, and to strike soft targets like artillery crews, mages, scouts and spotters.

If encountered in a nest, ghurans are quite willing to abandon home, eggs and young rather than fight to the death.

Ecology:

Ghurans reproduce after the manner of their avian ancestors. A female will lay a clutch of 1-6 eggs each year in early spring. Like most beastmen, their mating behavior is based strictly on strength and dominance, with the most powerful males acquiring large harems and jealously guarding them. Aside from a slight size difference, female ghurans are difficult to distinguish physically.

Spoils:

A slain ghuran can be harvested with Animal Husbandry, Labor (Butchery) or Trapping for the following components useful in magic research:

• Flight feathers (1/6 stone, 6 gp, winged flight, flight, lay of the land)

Encounter notes:

Each unkindness of ghurans is led by a champion with 1+1 HD and a +1 damage bonus. Each conspiracy of ghurans is led by a sub-chieftain with AC 3, 2 HD and a +2 damage bonus. Each great nest of ghurans is led by a chieftain with AC 4, 2+1 HD and a +3 damage bonus. Ghurans fighting with a chieftain have +2 morale, but still favor retreat over direct engagement.

Ghuran leaders are very often shamans. There is a 10% chance for each champion to be a 1st level shaman. There is a 50% chance for each sub-chieftain to be a 3rd level shaman. And there is a 90% chance for each chieftain to be a 5th level shaman. All shamans have crow familiars.

Standard ghurans are unarmored, and armed with shortbow and dagger. There is a 10% chance that all the bowmen are equipped with poisoned arrows (death saving throw at +2 or suffer 1d6 poison damage after 1 turn).

Primary Characteristics		Secondary Characteristics
Type	Humanoid Beastman	Expedition speed	120 miles
Size	Man-sized (10 st.)	Supply cost	0.5 gp
Speed (land)	30’/90’	Training period	1 month (sapient)
Speed (fly)	100’/300’	Training modifier	None (sapient)
Armor Class	2	Battle rating	0.03 (individual), 1.8 (unit)
Hit Dice	1-1*	Lifespan	0/0.75/9/12/22/33/44/55
Attacks	1 (talon or weapon 11+)	Reproduction	1d6 eggs per year
Damage	1d3 slashing or by weapon	Untrained value	16 gp (adult), 8 gp (juvenile) 4 gp (egg)
Save	F1	Trained value	168 gp or more (sapient)
Morale	-1
Vision	Acute vision, Night vision
Other senses	Acute olfaction
Proficiencies	Sneaking 6+
Normal Load	2 st.

Encounter Setup
Lair chance	2%
Dungeon Encounter	Unkindness (2d4 Ghurans) / Nest (1 Conspiracy)
Wilderness Encounter	Conspiracy (2d6 Unkindnesses) / Great Nest (1d10 Conspiracies)
Alignment	Chaotic
Treasure Type	B (per conspiracy)
XP	6 (ghuran), 21 (champion), 29 (sub-chieftain), 59 (chieftain) With poisoned arrows: 7 (ghuran), 27 (champion), 38 (sub-chieftain), 71 (chieftain) Shamans: 33 (champion), 50 (sub-chieftain), 95 (chieftain)