I'm going to use this thread to outline the occurrences of each day's events in the Sensate Murders questline, as there weill be players who are only able to take part in some of the events, while others may just hop in for one or two as time permits.
The thread will be locked so only I can post on it. Any players wishing to make IC posts regarding this, please create your own threads here or in the bio forum.
Please note that most things posted here will be OOC knowledge that only the players present for that event will know, and should not be metagamed by those not involved.
Ceremorph's July 2011 Quest Updates
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*Ceremorph
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Part 1: The first death
The dead body of a Sensate was found stuffed in a barrel of ale in Khazeet's storage area. Investigation revealed that the deceased had been tortured before death, and that the body's soul had been taken somehow.
Part 2: Sensate Slaughter
Four more bodies were found outside the Festhall, all in similar states to the first. It was determined that all of the deceased had positions of importance in the Faction. Harmonium and Guvner investigations were begun. Factol Erin Montgomery assigned the reformed succubus Fall-From-Grace to liaison with the investigators.
Part 3: Disgust and Delight
The dismembered hand of yet another Sensate was discovered, with a mysterious sign painted in blood on the palm. Harmonium officer Xasaria and Guvner aide Caelus Nin drafted a group of civilians to help in the investigation and moved to the Festhall to speak with Grace. While there, they discovered that Factol Montgomery had been attacked, and something stolen from the Sensorium: the recorded memories of a pair of succubi who had visited the vestige of the lost Demon Lady Shami-Amourae in the Wells of Darkness. The twin succubi were interviewed, and revealed that they had received one of their lost lady's memories during their visit, and something in those memories may have held some secret about the Prince of Demons, Demogorgon, who had been the Demon Lady's lover before imprisoning her in the Wells.
Part 4: A Less than Loving Daughter
Thinking that Demogorgon's servants might be behind the murders, Xasaria and Caelus rounded up another group of adventurers and set off to visit the Temple of the Abyss, there to interview a priest of Demogorgon. He had few answers, but suggested that Malcanthet hated Shami-Amourae even more than his master. Next, the group sought out Fall-From-Grace, asking her about a possible connection the succubus twins had alluded to. Grace revealed that her mother Red Shroud (who had sold her into baatezu slavery as a child as a means to lessen the influence of her father, a Balor who planned to use the girl to wrest Broken Reach from Red) facilitated the cult of Shami-Amourae's pilgrimages to the Wells, and might have more information. The investigators were told of a portal to broken reach, and that a gift of rare poison might make Red Shroud friendly towards visitors.
The dead body of a Sensate was found stuffed in a barrel of ale in Khazeet's storage area. Investigation revealed that the deceased had been tortured before death, and that the body's soul had been taken somehow.
Part 2: Sensate Slaughter
Four more bodies were found outside the Festhall, all in similar states to the first. It was determined that all of the deceased had positions of importance in the Faction. Harmonium and Guvner investigations were begun. Factol Erin Montgomery assigned the reformed succubus Fall-From-Grace to liaison with the investigators.
Part 3: Disgust and Delight
The dismembered hand of yet another Sensate was discovered, with a mysterious sign painted in blood on the palm. Harmonium officer Xasaria and Guvner aide Caelus Nin drafted a group of civilians to help in the investigation and moved to the Festhall to speak with Grace. While there, they discovered that Factol Montgomery had been attacked, and something stolen from the Sensorium: the recorded memories of a pair of succubi who had visited the vestige of the lost Demon Lady Shami-Amourae in the Wells of Darkness. The twin succubi were interviewed, and revealed that they had received one of their lost lady's memories during their visit, and something in those memories may have held some secret about the Prince of Demons, Demogorgon, who had been the Demon Lady's lover before imprisoning her in the Wells.
Part 4: A Less than Loving Daughter
Thinking that Demogorgon's servants might be behind the murders, Xasaria and Caelus rounded up another group of adventurers and set off to visit the Temple of the Abyss, there to interview a priest of Demogorgon. He had few answers, but suggested that Malcanthet hated Shami-Amourae even more than his master. Next, the group sought out Fall-From-Grace, asking her about a possible connection the succubus twins had alluded to. Grace revealed that her mother Red Shroud (who had sold her into baatezu slavery as a child as a means to lessen the influence of her father, a Balor who planned to use the girl to wrest Broken Reach from Red) facilitated the cult of Shami-Amourae's pilgrimages to the Wells, and might have more information. The investigators were told of a portal to broken reach, and that a gift of rare poison might make Red Shroud friendly towards visitors.
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*Ceremorph
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- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Part 5: Dealing with DemonsThe group of adventurers, some old, some new, embarked on a trip to Broken Reach after Aide Caelus procured a pair of rare poisons as a hostess gift. Traveling first to a tanar'ri tavern in the abyssal city, bribes managed to prevent a fight with an overly amorous Udrizu and gain directions to the Keep of Red Shroud.
Once meeting the powerful demoness, the group explained their dilemma, and it was decided the only way to get to the bottom of the mystery was to attempt to discover just what was on that Sensory Stone... and the best way to do so would be to follow the path of the succubus twins, visiting the vestige of Shami-Amourae in the Wells of Darkness.
Red agreed to assist the group in reaching the Wells, on the condition they performed a task for her. Now, the adventurers await word from Red.
Once meeting the powerful demoness, the group explained their dilemma, and it was decided the only way to get to the bottom of the mystery was to attempt to discover just what was on that Sensory Stone... and the best way to do so would be to follow the path of the succubus twins, visiting the vestige of Shami-Amourae in the Wells of Darkness.
Red agreed to assist the group in reaching the Wells, on the condition they performed a task for her. Now, the adventurers await word from Red.
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*Ceremorph
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- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Part 6: Hirelings Do the Darnedest Things
Xasaria, assisted now by the Harmonium erinyes Annavkah, collected a new group of citizen deputies to assist in whatever came next.
The planar merchant Seethe turned out to be the one contacting them about procuring a pair of prophecy-spouting gibberlings, currently the property of a Lady's Ward gem merchant. Seethe had evidently tried to buy the pair under contract with agents of Red Shroud but failed; the party was asked to attempt this themselves.
A criminal plot was laid out. Anna distracted the merchant by taking him to the Barracks for questioning on (completely false) smuggling accusations. While he was gone, Xas assisted the others, including a Hive Ward thug, the mage Reginald, a young dragon, Hodor the ogre, and others in overpowering the guards and making off with the gibberlings. During the course of the robbery, one of the guards was killed and the house burned down.
Back at the inn with the Gibberlings in tow, the group bickered over who did what. Seethe made an appearance, and told them they needed to deliver the gibberlings to Red Shroud, in return for what they sought.
Xasaria, assisted now by the Harmonium erinyes Annavkah, collected a new group of citizen deputies to assist in whatever came next.
The planar merchant Seethe turned out to be the one contacting them about procuring a pair of prophecy-spouting gibberlings, currently the property of a Lady's Ward gem merchant. Seethe had evidently tried to buy the pair under contract with agents of Red Shroud but failed; the party was asked to attempt this themselves.
A criminal plot was laid out. Anna distracted the merchant by taking him to the Barracks for questioning on (completely false) smuggling accusations. While he was gone, Xas assisted the others, including a Hive Ward thug, the mage Reginald, a young dragon, Hodor the ogre, and others in overpowering the guards and making off with the gibberlings. During the course of the robbery, one of the guards was killed and the house burned down.
Back at the inn with the Gibberlings in tow, the group bickered over who did what. Seethe made an appearance, and told them they needed to deliver the gibberlings to Red Shroud, in return for what they sought.
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*Ceremorph
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- Joined: Thu Jan 01, 1970 12:00 am
Part 7: Onwards and Downwards
Tied up with paperwork and other annoyances, Xasaria ceded control of the investigation to the guvner Caelus Nin, who reassembled the civilian auxilaries (including several new faces) to forward the investigation.
The group delivered the gibberlings to Red Shroud, who revealed in an unpleasant way that the gibberlings' prophecies were a result of one having the Tooth of Ahazu, one of the legendary Teeth of Delvar-Nar in its mouth; how it got there is a mystery. Red offered the tooth, along with the Tooth of Shami-Amourae, which she already had in her possession, to the group; their tie to two beings imprisoned in the wells would allow them to act as the portal key. She also assigned her henchmen (and possibly consort, judging from his actions), the wispling Shadowfire, to escort the party to the Pit of Prisoners, which contains the portal to the Wells.
The group successfully used the portal, and found themselves at the bottom of a hundred-foot pit, along with a mysterious black pool (that the party's halfling, Crystalia (?), glimpsed a figure within), a shuddering mound of stinking flesh, and three powerful abyssal ghould feeding on the mound. Combat ensued, and the party managed to defeat the ghouls, but that left the flesh mound free to grow, necessitating a hasty exit via the ogre mage Ran-bao's innate flight ability.
Out of the well (which was that containing Argolchier, a demon lord slain centuries ago by mortals), our heroes found themselves in a blasted landscape of rough ridges, cut through by marble pathways. They looked at (but did not descend) several other wells, not yet finding that of Shami-Amourae, as well as avoiding a ruined keep overlooking the area. At a crossroads, they found the corpses of a group of planar adventurers, cause of death unknown. And with this mystery at hand, the chapter came to an end.
What lies within the Well of Shami-Amourae? What perils stalk the haunting landscape of the Wells of Darkness. What lurks within the keep above? Who is Ahazu the Siezer, and what part does he play in this? And... just who was behind the Sensate Murders? Find out next week (okay, actually tonight), same bat time, same bat channel!
Tied up with paperwork and other annoyances, Xasaria ceded control of the investigation to the guvner Caelus Nin, who reassembled the civilian auxilaries (including several new faces) to forward the investigation.
The group delivered the gibberlings to Red Shroud, who revealed in an unpleasant way that the gibberlings' prophecies were a result of one having the Tooth of Ahazu, one of the legendary Teeth of Delvar-Nar in its mouth; how it got there is a mystery. Red offered the tooth, along with the Tooth of Shami-Amourae, which she already had in her possession, to the group; their tie to two beings imprisoned in the wells would allow them to act as the portal key. She also assigned her henchmen (and possibly consort, judging from his actions), the wispling Shadowfire, to escort the party to the Pit of Prisoners, which contains the portal to the Wells.
The group successfully used the portal, and found themselves at the bottom of a hundred-foot pit, along with a mysterious black pool (that the party's halfling, Crystalia (?), glimpsed a figure within), a shuddering mound of stinking flesh, and three powerful abyssal ghould feeding on the mound. Combat ensued, and the party managed to defeat the ghouls, but that left the flesh mound free to grow, necessitating a hasty exit via the ogre mage Ran-bao's innate flight ability.
Out of the well (which was that containing Argolchier, a demon lord slain centuries ago by mortals), our heroes found themselves in a blasted landscape of rough ridges, cut through by marble pathways. They looked at (but did not descend) several other wells, not yet finding that of Shami-Amourae, as well as avoiding a ruined keep overlooking the area. At a crossroads, they found the corpses of a group of planar adventurers, cause of death unknown. And with this mystery at hand, the chapter came to an end.
What lies within the Well of Shami-Amourae? What perils stalk the haunting landscape of the Wells of Darkness. What lurks within the keep above? Who is Ahazu the Siezer, and what part does he play in this? And... just who was behind the Sensate Murders? Find out next week (okay, actually tonight), same bat time, same bat channel!
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*Ceremorph
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Part 8: The Tooth, the Whole Tooth, and Nothing But the Tooth
They may not have been the reason for the adventurers' deaths, but without question the Abyssal Ghouls wanted that tasty flesh... and oh look, there's some live flesh to dine on as well? More ghouls attacked the party, but were driven off at cost. The ogre mage Ran-bao was taken to death's door, and others were sorely injured in the battle.
Afterwards, a demonic creature calling itself the Caretaker appeared, warning our heroes that the Wells might be a place of pilgrimage, but were still dangerous. Those who tarry too long might find themselves in more danger than they could survive.
The group eventually made their way to the Well of Debased Eros where Shami-Amourae is imprisoned. Valentine began to manually descend the well with rope, and came face-to-face with huge, four-armed, apelike creatures: Gorallons, deadly creations of Demogorgon. The beasts moved to the top of the well, leaving the person going down (with no exit) for later, and confronted the group. It seems they had for some time been willing to relax their guardianship in return for certain disturbing favors from the succubi coming to visit the well; Caelus, thinking quickly, summonned a succubus of his own to keep them occupied.
Within the well, which seemed to have yet another horrible guardian, a massive retriever, but it seemed willing to allow visits to the pool. Caelus and Catarianna both touched the surface of the pool, and each received three prophetic visions for their trouble. However, no more seemed to be possible.
Back up top, the group moved towards the fortress atop the plane's highest mount, Overlook. There, batlike humanoids called Varrangoin stopped the intruders, insisting that only "the Heirs of Ahazu" were welcome within. Realizing that the only way past, Caelus inserted the Tooth of Ahazu in his own mouth, and the group returned to Sigil to wait for the Tooth to bond with Caelus.
(( And now we're waiting on the Overlook area to be added to the module. With that in mind, the campaign will resume either Friday evening (midnight GMT) or Saturday afternoon (5pm GMT), depending upon the area's insertion. ))
They may not have been the reason for the adventurers' deaths, but without question the Abyssal Ghouls wanted that tasty flesh... and oh look, there's some live flesh to dine on as well? More ghouls attacked the party, but were driven off at cost. The ogre mage Ran-bao was taken to death's door, and others were sorely injured in the battle.
Afterwards, a demonic creature calling itself the Caretaker appeared, warning our heroes that the Wells might be a place of pilgrimage, but were still dangerous. Those who tarry too long might find themselves in more danger than they could survive.
The group eventually made their way to the Well of Debased Eros where Shami-Amourae is imprisoned. Valentine began to manually descend the well with rope, and came face-to-face with huge, four-armed, apelike creatures: Gorallons, deadly creations of Demogorgon. The beasts moved to the top of the well, leaving the person going down (with no exit) for later, and confronted the group. It seems they had for some time been willing to relax their guardianship in return for certain disturbing favors from the succubi coming to visit the well; Caelus, thinking quickly, summonned a succubus of his own to keep them occupied.
Within the well, which seemed to have yet another horrible guardian, a massive retriever, but it seemed willing to allow visits to the pool. Caelus and Catarianna both touched the surface of the pool, and each received three prophetic visions for their trouble. However, no more seemed to be possible.
Back up top, the group moved towards the fortress atop the plane's highest mount, Overlook. There, batlike humanoids called Varrangoin stopped the intruders, insisting that only "the Heirs of Ahazu" were welcome within. Realizing that the only way past, Caelus inserted the Tooth of Ahazu in his own mouth, and the group returned to Sigil to wait for the Tooth to bond with Caelus.
(( And now we're waiting on the Overlook area to be added to the module. With that in mind, the campaign will resume either Friday evening (midnight GMT) or Saturday afternoon (5pm GMT), depending upon the area's insertion. ))
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*Ceremorph
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Part 9: Perhaps You Overlooked It
With the Tooth of Ahazu in Caelus' mouth, the Varrangoins recognized him as suitable for entry into the fortress of Overlook. Within, the group explored, discovering hints at an ancient battle, as well as encountering more of those damn Abyssal Ghouls and a family of fiendish Nightwings. Finally, however, they made their way to the great tower, the floor of which was laid out in a mosaic, the tiles of which changed colors when touched or stepped upon. Creating the symbol of Ahazu on the tiles caused the mosaic to fold back, revealing another, hidden well.
Within, the well was discovered to want to try to pull people in... but Caelus' possession of the tooth prevented that potential horror. A bargain was made with the imprisoned demon lord's vestige, where the means to release Shami-Amourae from her well would be given, in exchange for a more powerful inhabitant to be found to replace her. The catch? If our heroes could not do so, Ahazu possessed the power to pull them into the well to suffer a fate worse than death! Still, the deal made, the group left with a Tome of Infinite Spells with a single page remaining, containing a specialized version of the Freedom spell which would release Shami-Amourae from her prison, and returned to Sigil to rest.
With the Tooth of Ahazu in Caelus' mouth, the Varrangoins recognized him as suitable for entry into the fortress of Overlook. Within, the group explored, discovering hints at an ancient battle, as well as encountering more of those damn Abyssal Ghouls and a family of fiendish Nightwings. Finally, however, they made their way to the great tower, the floor of which was laid out in a mosaic, the tiles of which changed colors when touched or stepped upon. Creating the symbol of Ahazu on the tiles caused the mosaic to fold back, revealing another, hidden well.
Within, the well was discovered to want to try to pull people in... but Caelus' possession of the tooth prevented that potential horror. A bargain was made with the imprisoned demon lord's vestige, where the means to release Shami-Amourae from her well would be given, in exchange for a more powerful inhabitant to be found to replace her. The catch? If our heroes could not do so, Ahazu possessed the power to pull them into the well to suffer a fate worse than death! Still, the deal made, the group left with a Tome of Infinite Spells with a single page remaining, containing a specialized version of the Freedom spell which would release Shami-Amourae from her prison, and returned to Sigil to rest.
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*Ceremorph
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Part 10: Where There's a Well, There's Away
Finally, the group returned to the Wells of Darkness to procure the freedom of the imprisoned Succubus Princess Shami-Amourae. To reach the pool at the bottom of her well, however, they had to battle their way against still more of the eponymous ghouls, as well as powerful four-armed Gorallons and the Warden of the Well, a powerful Retriever. Still, they survived, allowing Caelus to cast the spell from the book, freeing Shami.
But no sooner was she released, before what had seemed to be an ornate necklace came to life, and the powerful demoness attacked the party! The necklace turned out to be a Chokesnake, a demonic symbiont capable of controlling its host, and a deadly fight ensued, leaving several members of the party lifeless and success only coming from the providential use of spells.
Freed of the Chokesnake's influence, Shami finally spoke with the party, revealing (from her visions) the murderer to be the Archpriest of Demogorgon in the Temple of the Abyss, then whisking them away to a hidden abyssal demiplane to offer rewards to her saviors before plotting revenge against her imprisoners. Shaina, Valentine, and Catarianna stayed behind for private conversations with the demoness, returning to Sigil at a later time.
The End.
Thanks to everybody who took part in every one of the adventures, and I hope you all enjoyed the ongoing (yet non-world-shaking) nature of the campaign. I definitely enjoyed myself.
If you were part of this, feel free to post your own impressions here; I'd love to hear from you!
Finally, the group returned to the Wells of Darkness to procure the freedom of the imprisoned Succubus Princess Shami-Amourae. To reach the pool at the bottom of her well, however, they had to battle their way against still more of the eponymous ghouls, as well as powerful four-armed Gorallons and the Warden of the Well, a powerful Retriever. Still, they survived, allowing Caelus to cast the spell from the book, freeing Shami.
But no sooner was she released, before what had seemed to be an ornate necklace came to life, and the powerful demoness attacked the party! The necklace turned out to be a Chokesnake, a demonic symbiont capable of controlling its host, and a deadly fight ensued, leaving several members of the party lifeless and success only coming from the providential use of spells.
Freed of the Chokesnake's influence, Shami finally spoke with the party, revealing (from her visions) the murderer to be the Archpriest of Demogorgon in the Temple of the Abyss, then whisking them away to a hidden abyssal demiplane to offer rewards to her saviors before plotting revenge against her imprisoners. Shaina, Valentine, and Catarianna stayed behind for private conversations with the demoness, returning to Sigil at a later time.
The End.
Thanks to everybody who took part in every one of the adventures, and I hope you all enjoyed the ongoing (yet non-world-shaking) nature of the campaign. I definitely enjoyed myself.
If you were part of this, feel free to post your own impressions here; I'd love to hear from you!