Howdy Frank,
Deadlord36 wrote:Pillared Hall of
T1-4.
Is there a Pillared Hall in
T1-4? Hmm...
You know I also thought about just using the Pillared Hall from
S1 Tomb of Horrors - but that was too deep in. It would spoil all of the fun!
Deadlord36 wrote:Nice job substituting the Finlandian legends for Greyhawk ones!
Thanks! I went online and practiced the Finnish alphabet for a week to get a good accent for the Lovitar and Vanmoinen characters. The accent has a strange melancholy sound to it with accents being at the ends of words. Freaked my players out!
Gygax clearly had a yen for the fen - Mordenkainen being inspired by Vanmoinen. Even naming Iggwilv as the Louhi, Crone of Pojhola in the Gord the Rogue novels. The rest seemed to be a natural fit.
Even with Vanmoinen fighting by their side Iggwilv ground the PC's into powder.
Other fun parts of that place - the nexus room of S4 Lost Caverns of Tsojconth - is the Canyon of the Centaurs. Here is an excerpt from an email exchange I dug out regarding this encounter (the player's character is Auburn Ramthorn, an AD&D bard (F5//T8//B1), who has just been transported from the blue crystal grotto of the Greater Caverns of Tsojconth):
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Auburn suddenly appears in a box canyon on a bright, sunny day. Their appears to be no way out. The canyon walls are a sheer 30 feet of treacherous climbing. Narrow gullies cut into upper 10' edge of the gorge, including a fairly wide one cutting down to only 10' above the canyon floor. It, however, is choked with tons of rock and debris. Near one end of the canyon floor is an enormous live oak that rises to a height of some 35-40', its girth at the base can be girdled by two man-sized creatures holding hands around it.
Squinting through the suddenly blazing sunlight you see a group of 6 centaurs at the base of the great oak. They drag their hooves menacingly on the canyon floor, perhaps redying for a charge. You can hear the creak of longbow staves being drawn and can see the shining tips of long lances being held aloft by at least two of these equinoids and perhaps a morningstar or two being held by the others.
You also note a silver glint of some device or pendant suspended about the half-horse beasts' necks.
At 03:53
PM 5/9/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Using her new found Druid abilities, Auburn has the Entangle spell ready.
>She will attempt to snare all of the centaurs with the oak, surrounding
>grass, and any vines in the tree. If that works and it looks like they are
>secure, she will approach the centaurs, and relieve them of their
>valuables including the pendants. Aware of the spell duration, she will
>quickly move out of the canyon through the floor opening.
There is no "floor opening" it is more like a pit or rift with no visible means of exit other than a difficult climb (likely impossible for the centaurs).
You begin in the druidic cant, singing the ancient forest words taught to you by the druids of Golden Crescent.
The centaurs stutterstep, prance, and shift about, while one shouts with an Old Common accent, "Halt or we shall attack!" Their bowstaves creak with potential and their lance tips are dropped and leveled at you. You feel the thump of their weighty hooves through the earth beneath your feet despite their dozen or so yards distance.
Do you stop the singing of the ancient druidic spell or do you continue the effort to bend grass and bough to your will? (you have been casting for 1 segment)
You stop the spell and hands raised in a peacful getsure approach the centaurs. As you pass into the cool shadow of the live oak your eyes adjust to the more comfortable light. There is a distinct horse-like smell to the centaurs. The one who initially parleyed with you side-steps from the group and prances cautiously toward you, lance once again held aloft. As he approaches, you note a silver horshoe pendant suspended from a leather thong about his neck. It bounces against his bare, deeply tanned chest and glints with a polished brightness. The entire company of centaurs wear them.
"Hail, doughty warrior-enchantress. From whence did thou sayest came?"
You reply, "I was transported here from a place known as the Greater Caverns, in the Caverns of Tsojcanth. Iggwilv's old haunt."
"Ah, the evil witch-crone we calleth Ychbilch*. She hath haunted us naught for nigh 10 years now." The centaur pauses and looks keenly down at you, "Are thou her foeman or friendman?"
(* Ychbilch sounds like: Ick Bilck)
"Foeman", you reply firmly.
"Then I call thou friendman to centaurs", he says with a broad grin. "Calleth me Hessus Shadowhoof", he says. "By what name doth thou go?"
"Auburn Ramthorn", you say. "What are you doing down here?", you ask, trying not to be impolite.
Hessus shakes his head and says, "I was hunting down the entrance to Iggwilv's lair with my adventuring group", he says, gesturing to the other centaurs. "Treasure hunting", of course. "This area was said to be an entrance but there is truly no means of entry." "A gyarthquake struck as we searched the canyon and we became trapped." "We are good climbers not and hath been trapped and much vexed for three days." He looks back to his companions and back to you, "Will thou helpeth escape us?"
At 08:58 AM 5/11/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Auburn says to Hessus "You truly are in a difficult situation, but perhaps
>there is still hope in finding the entrance to the caverns and out of this
>canyon that has trapped you. I have had extensive training and am well
>skilled in the art of locating hidden and obscured passageways." Then she
>adds, "Do you or any of your men have any further details of this being an
>entrance to the caverns"
Hessus shakes his head, "No. The only information we have is folktale and fearbabe talk." "Oh, and an old crone gave us these charms", he says lifting the silver cord from which the horseshoe pendant depends. The witch claimed them as "keys" from Ychbilch herself.
>If they have no obvious clues she continues "Come under the shade tree and
>rest while I take a closer look at this beautiful tree."
"Thou art truly a kind and noble soul to aid us so", says a younger centaur cynically. "Trulse! You are as rude as an ass!", says Hessus as he shifts his massive equine body into the offending youth. Turf and earth fly as he drives the young centaur toppling over. The tremor from the massive hooves shudders the ground you stand upon. With an almost whinny-like exclamation the truculent young centaur restands, defiantly at first and then abashed, slowly sidestepping and prancing back into the shifting herd of adventurer-centaurs.
Mollified, Hessus, now obviously perspiring in the heat, says simply, "Thank thee, we will heed thy kindness."
>To help win their favor Auburn will sing common upbeat songs, ones they may
>have heard, while she searches the tree. She searches the ground around
>the trunk for tracks or wear marks leading into the trunk. She will next
>search the trunk for secret doors and any carvings. If unsuccessful she
>will move stones around the tree and lower branches of the tree looking for
>levers.
Singing a chorus to an unfinished adventuring ballad of your's as you search brings an atmosphere of comaradarie and familiarity with these fellow adventurers. So too, it bring clarification and focus to your task at hand. Your elven heritage has bestowed you with a keen eye but alas, nothing out of the ordinary is dicovered about the tree and its environs.
You note the more relaxed gathering of comrades-at-arms when you rejoin the herd of adventurers. A ruddy centaur wine is being passed about, no doubt powerful enough to get a colt pissed, let alone a partial-blood elf like yourself.
After you report your findings Hessus offers you some of the hearty wine, "I hath watered this downe for thy thirst." "'Tis too bad about the tree. I am certain it holds the secrets of this place as trees are wont but as thy investigations revealed, it does not hold the key to our escape."
Later as the herd stands sleepily, and perhaps even slightly drunk beneath the shade of the live oak you begin to investigate the remainder of the canyon. Alas, your search reveals nothing, despite 4 hours of searching. The canyon is as originally described with no hidden secrets.
At 08:45 AM 5/12/00 -0500, you wrote:
>She reports her lack of success again after searching the Canyon. Aware
>that they may be hungry after 3 days and not sure of their diet, she offers
>them some of her rations. She'll accept a drink of their wine.
Hessus gestures to several lumpy saddlebags lying on the cool grass turf, "We hath honeyed-oat cakes and wine aplenty". He offers you a draught of wine in a clean leather jack, "Here's a quench for thou".
>She asks to examine one of the pendants, and searches it for markings.
Thrulse, the callow youth, prances forward listening and eventually sidesteps near enough to offer you a look at his pendant. "You may examine mine", he says with tinge of contrition in his voice.
It appears to be a common horseshoe on a cord of woven silver wire. There are no markings an the item does not bring to mind any lore of the Flanaess, Oerik, or Oerth. Examining the others you gather the same minimal observations save that you note an unwillingness for the centaurs to remove the pendants. Instead, you examine them as they hang about their thickly muscled necks. You get the impression that these necklaces cost them dearly to obtain.
>She asks "How many pendants do you have in total and do you know their
>origin?" She ask what land that we are currently in, asks what is their
>homeland. She will tell them of her homeland, and if they seem interested
>she will tell them of the Emancipators.
You ask your question and there is a pause while Thrulse looks to Hessus with deference. The stallion nods his assention and Thrulse turns back to answer you, "We each hath one for a host of six. The crone Baba Yaga gave them to us at her hut within the Fetid Fens of Muscovia". A shadow of some terrible memory crosses Thrulse's brow but then he continues, "The hag gaveth details naught, save that these were Ychbilch's gifts."
Hessus' basso voice booms in at this point, "As to what land thou currently exist, you stand within a canyon gouged into the Elythian Plains. Our home is in the Elythian Highland Meadows, many days travel from here."
The centaur's gather and listen thoughtfully to your tales and eddas of the Emancipators. The destruction of the Slave Lord's in the Pomarj captures their interest best and elicits a number of lusty shouts and meaty slaps on their fellow's flanks. The end of your tale gives rise to Hessus' comment, "Thine fellowship wouldst be in fine company with the followers of Issek of the Jug. They too are are foemen of slavers, those of Slavers of Calishbad on the coasts of Arandiba."
>After examining the pendant's physical shape and any markings, she tries to
>recall if there place in the caverns that the pendants may work as keys.
>
>Her next thought is if they do not work individually, then maybe the
>pendants can be combined to form a single object or key. She will ask for
>their assistance.
They appear as any normal iron horseshoe would and are without markings of any sort, even a ferrier's mark. You can think of no place in the caverns with such a shape. Further, your examination reveals these to be individual objects with no apparent interconnection to others of their likeness. They are, in fact, quite mundane.
>If this doesn't yield success, she will begin work on physically getting
>out of the canyon. She'll climb the tree and survey the rim of the canyon.
You scale the tree easily, much impressing the equinoids below. As you reach the boughs climbing becomes even easier. You feel at home among the rippling leaves and swaying branches. A zephyr rustles through, cooling your perspiring brow. The air is cool and sweet with the scent of grass, a relief from the stifling heat of the canyon floor below.
Looking out from a height of some 40 feet you see a vast plain of shifting grass spreading out in all directions. At the edge of the canyon you note the rock and debris clog the low gully that cuts down to 10' above the canyon floor. A gnarled grayish-black stump seems to hold the whole mess back. The other minor gullies that cut into the upper 10' edge of the canyon are fairly free of debris.
>She asks if they came down the low gully and examines it to determine if,
>with work, it could be cleared.
Hessus cups his hand and shouts up, "Yes, the one clogged with the rock fall!"
>Next she says she is sure she can climb her way out of the canyon, "Are there
>friends of your nearby that I could reach to help in your release from these
>walls?"
Hessus shouts up again, hands cupped, "No. Thou wouldst have to cross the Elythian Plains. Thou wouldst get lost in its vastness unless thy skill of star-walking is good".
At 10:11
PM 5/12/00 -0500, you wrote:
>With her 50 foot rope and the aid of the centaurs she will attempt to pull
>the stump blocking the rock fall. She will ask the two largest of the pack
>to let her harness the rope around their shoulders with most of the rope
>left between them. The rope between them will then be secured to the stump
>rapped around it and using spikes. She will then start them pulling,
>lending her strength to the team.
Climbing up the gully wall to the debris choked gully is an easy task. Clambering over the jagged rubble and deadfalls you make your way to the grayish-black stump that hold it all up. Looping the rope securely around the stump and tying it off you toss the remainder of line down to the herd of centaurs on the canyon floor. Thinking better of it, you decide to freeclimb down the canyon wall and not use the rope fastened to the stump as a rappelling line.
Hessus takes the rope and loops it around his torso until it is low on his waist. In his basso voice, he bellows, "Stay thou from the landslide, lest thou be injured". With that the rest of the centaur-company sidesteps and back peddles to a safe vanatge point.
The mighty thews of Hessus' flanks bulge and ripple with incredible strength. His hide-tough lower back protects him from the abrading rope. Hessus' hooves shift back and are kicked into the turf for leverage. Slowly, Hessus' hindquarters lower and the tremendous power of his four legs inexorably lever him back. Above, in the debris chokes gully the grayish-black stump give a loud crack and then several pops in succession as long-dead, gnarled roots give way to living muscle. Hessus kicks his heels in, driving them deeply into the turf. The shock of each hoof-fall send a tremor through you boots. Then Hessus stumbles back. Keeping his legs under him he drives back with momentum and earth and rock fly.
In the gully above, the stump bursts from its ancient root-hold with a shower of earth and straggling roots. Instantly, the whole debris jam roars down the slope as rocks strike eachother with sharp reports and deadfall branches snap under the weight of earth and stone. In a short, deafening moment the canyon roars with echos and then falls silent. A cloud of dust comes like a ghost, silently gliding into the canyon floor. It finally passes and you can see a ramp of debris sloping perfectly into the gully and out of the canyon.
The last of centaur-coughing ceases and all realise what has been accomplished. A cheer goes up from the centaurs, "Huzzah! Cheers to Hessus! Cheers to the Noble Auburn! Huzzah!"
With that the centaurs gather up their saddlebags and pick their way up the slope. They are all free of the canyon.
Above, at the rim of the canyon, the sweet cool air of a late spring evening passes over your perspiring brow. The centaurs are all celebrating with songs and meaty slaps on their fellows backs. Wine is poured freely. Hessus prances up, his hooves clip-clopping jauntily, "Huzzah! Indeed! You impress us all with your ingenuity, skill, and kindness. What can we ever do to repay you?"
At 09:06 AM 5/15/00 -0500, you wrote:
>"Repay me?" Auburn questions quietly. She pauses and firmly replies "Yes,
>you can repay me Hessus!" And then louder and with great joy "You and
>your men can repay me" she pauses again to lift a cup of wine" by
>remembering this day as the day when we first met, toiled hard and
>established our bond of friendship! She exclaims "I drink to Hessus and his
>mighty band of centaurs! "
A great cheer goes up from the herd of centaurs as they pitch camp for the coming evening. The cheers and laughter are soon replaced by the brilliant tune of a pennywhistle being played by the old centaur Fethos. As they settle into their work Hessus has a moment aside with you.
>After celebrating the day, she reminds Hessus that before they met, they
>were after the same goal, the Lost Caverns and its treasure. She explains
>that her party has already uncovered many secrets of the Caverns, and they
>were searching for perhaps its biggest treasure when she disappeared.
>She offers to guide the centaurs to the entrance she knows of, through the
>mountains. She says "There we will meet the Emancipators," she pauses as
>she clutches the pendant around Hessus' neck, "and together maybe we can
>uncover the Cavern's last secrets."
Hessus listens to your words carefully nodding his head in assent. When you touch the pendant to lift it, sparkles to life with a brilliant illumination. Startled you drop it and Hessus exclaims, "Hephaestus' Forge! It's not done that before! Zeus'blood what hath thou done?" Hessus cautiously lifts the pendant with his own hand but it remains inert. He looks to you with one eyebrow arched. The other centaurs have stopped their work and gather around Hessus and yourself. A barely audible murmur rustles through the herd of adventurers.
At 11:39 AM 5/15/00 -0500, you wrote:
>Auburn states "Know not what I've done." Further, "But perhaps, I have the
>ability to unlock an undiscovered power of your pendants that could help
>deliver us to the Caverns."
"Perhaps she is a servant of Ychbilch, here to take us into confidence only to trap us later", grumbles the old stallion Fethos. "Nonsense!", shouts Trulse. "Auburn is our savior!" There is a stir amidst the herd of adventurers and an uneasy murmur. The Hessus booms, "Athena forfend yon idiots from using addled minds!" He turns to you and smiles kindly, "Thou art our trusted comrade. Proceed with your hypothesis."
>She suggest going back to the tree. There she will ask to touch the other
>pendants to see the effect. While holding a glowing one she will examine
>it for any change in markings.
It has the same sparkling brilliance effect. It too is free of any glyph or ferrier's mark, even while sparkling. You repeat this for all of the pendants with identical results.
>Prior to wearing one, she states "This pendant may only affect my kind, and
>it could cause me to vanish" If I do, I wish you all well.
An unhappy wrinkle furrows Hessus' brow and Trulse sidesteps alongside him. "That would be a sad turn of events indeed", Trulse says with a sober countenance. Then Hessus booms in, "If you are willing... I will allow it. "Though it saddens me at the thought." He places his hand endearingly on your shoulder.
>She will then rough out a map with their help of how they may get to the
>caverns if she leaves them.
"Thine map makes sense naught. Y-Yatil Mountains? I hath naught heard of the range", says Hessus." "And Ket, Perrenland, Bissel... What are these places you list?", says Thrulse quizically. "Shoudn't the Aurobos Mountains ring 'round the whole? "And thou've listed the Elythian Plains naught. Forsooth, what is this place you draw?"
You state, "It is the westernmost part of the Flanaess, on the continent of Oerik..." Then you state "My world is called Oerth."
Hessus is agape at your unfamiliar words. Thrulse chimes in quickly, "You are upon the southernmost portion of the Elythian Plains, on the island of Greyce, ringed 'round by the Aurobos Mountains, crowned at the north by Mount Olythius." He pauses and looks around the listeners and then turns to you, "Are these familiar to you?"
"No", you say stoicly. A bable breaks out amongst the centaurs for just a moment and then Hessus states in astonishment, "Then thou art from Gyarth naught." He turns his head slightly and says, "Then thou must return if it comes to pass. We will miss thou 'beit a short comaraderie for us", he states with a twing of melancholy.
>She graciously asks Hessus the dagger question, and if positive, gives him
>all the coins on her.
Readily they offer you much of their wordly possesions: saddlebags, honeyed- oatcakes, hunting knives, light lances, morningstars, their great centaur longbows and clothyard arrows, and more sundry items. Alas, none of these bears the slightest hint of enchantment or superiority. Only Felthos, the old stallion, offers a gift of any interest. He hands you a bit of grass, woven together in a strange fashion.
"This is a 'grass harp' or 'grass whistle'. It is what we use to call for help from our herd." He awkwardly shows you how to use it. Place on your tongue like a reed on a woodwind you blow making a squeaking, crescendoing buzzing-sound. It almost sounds like a bug but carries quite far. Felthos seems pleased that you are so taken by the simple object. Then he downturns his head for a moment and says quietly, "Forsooth, forgive and old war-centaur from speaking so. Thou art deserving of praise, not my earlier abashment. I ask thine forgiveness."
With that you place your hand on the old centaur's arm and smile kindly, "You are forgiven and thanked for the gift." You then return to the task of the horseshoe pendants.
>She will ask to wear a pendant (not
>Hessus') to see its effect on her while standing by the tree. She asks the
>centaurs if they notice a change. She will continue to wear it while
>walking around the canyon.
A tension fills the air as you stand before Trulse, the callow youth who mistrusted you at the outset of the adventure. "I am truly sorry for my ill treatment of thou noble and kind Auburn. Forgiveth my youth and impertinence." You smile kindly and nod. The impending possibilty of your permanent departure causes a sudden surge of emotion within you. Unexpectedly tears well in your eyes as Trulse lowers his noble head and the pendant dangles before you.
'What beautiful possibilities this strange world would have held and what splendid companions these centaurs of the Elythian Highland Meadows would have made', you think as you lift the pendant from Thrulse's neck. As you do so, the very air around you sparkles with brilliance, becoming more dense until you can barely see the saddened faces of your too-short-befriended centaur comrades. An instant later they are gone from view and the sweet smell of spring grass is replaced by the fetid smell of hot, dank, air in the Greater Caverns of Tsojcanth. Once again you stand before the glowing-blue crystalline grotto. Your companions are nowhere to be found.
Futures Bright,
Paul
