OLD SKOOL CAMPAIGN DIARY - TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL, PT 6

THE HEROES:

• Anton Loyalar: Oeridian Paladin of Heironeous
• Coppyr: Halfing Monk
• Eli Pendar: Flannish Cleric of Pholtus
• Tharn: Dwarf barbarian of the Fireforge clan

After reviving Prince Thrommel, the group plots on how to escape with the freed prisoners and settle on fighting the goblins while the prisoners exit through the umber hulk tunnel.  The plan is executed and the heroes fight and kill most of the goblins, but as the prisoners escape, Commander Feldrin enters the dungeon jail with hobgoblins, still searching for the heroes, and finds them fighting the goblins.  He and the hobgoblins engage the heroes but are promptly defeated.  The heroes escape with the prisoners through the tunnel and head back to Nulb in a wicked blizzard that sprung up out of nowhere; another freak weather phenomenon likely brought about by the temple's elemental summonings.

Once in town Prince Thrommel announces his intention to get a horse and to leave immediately so that he may return to his land and prepare an army to address the threat the temple poses.  The heroes object due to the prince's fainting spell in which he was non-responsive similar to how Coppyr was, suggesting that he may also be under the influence of the strange force, but the prince was adamant about leaving and borrowed money from the heroes in order to purchase a horse and supplies on the road back.

After the prince leaves, the heroes return to the temple via the abandoned farmhouse well they entered through before and head into the temple through the original entrance they first found, but this time it was being guarded by hobgoblins and an ogre.  The heroes take these guards out quickly and enter through the hidden door and sneak back in through the temple of the Elder Elemental Eye, and as before, Coppyr is suddenly struck by the same force that has overcome his senses and caused him to speak in a strange, unearthly voice.  This time he just goes catatonic and Tharn has to pick him up and move him along out of the temple.  The group reaches the hall leading to the Water Temple and see two of the strange armored water elementals standing guard.  The creatures do not attack them, but simply appear to be preventing anyone from entering the Water Temple, so the heroes continue onward into the black room where they encountered shadows before.  This time the room is unoccupied, so they enter and use a key found around Commander Feldrin's neck to open the vault.  Within they find many treasures piled upon the floor and three chests. 

End of session.

DM'S COMMENTARY ON THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL, PT. 5

Okay, we are getting to the point where I'm getting a bit tired of this adventure.  I figured it would happen, as I can only maintain my interest in any given story for a finite amount of time, and we've been in the Village of Hommlett/Temple of Elemental Evil for 6 months now.  I'm ready to wrap this thing up, but the problem is the heroes are not progressing very rapidly.  Part of the problem is that they weren't very stealthy in infiltrating the temple, so the temple is on high alert and searching for them.  This means they can't find a place to take a short or long rest without someone finding them.  They also didn't make a very good impression when they were in Nulb, so leaving the temple to rest there isn't a much better option, especially since the ToEE forces are also searching for them there.  So it's been difficult for them to work through much of the dungeon. 

However, we are at a crossroads in the adventure now.  The heroes have found Prince Thrommel and will likely exit with him early in the next session.  They'll probably take him to Verbobonc next to ensure he makes it back to Veluna safely.  This is a huge break from the adventure which means the temple leadership (Hedrack) will accelerate plans and begin a massive offensive using the elementals they've already summoned.  I could have this go a couple of different ways: I could diverge from the adventure and proceed with the course these events have taken, which would start a new elemental war and the PCs would be recruited by Thrommel to take part in it.  Or I could tell the players that Thrommel is handling the situation from here on and they're services are no longer required, freeing them to pursue other adventures.

Normally this would be a no-brainer for me and I'd continue the course that this adventure has taken.  However, I started this campaign with the intention of revisiting several of the classic D&D adventures.  I only wanted to kick it off with ToEE, not have it encompass the entire campaign, which if I pursued current events, that's what will happen.  I would like to have them enjoy Against the Giants, White Plume Mountain, Expedition to the Barrier Peaks, The Lost Caverns of Tsojcanth, etc., so I'm torn. 

I think what I'll do is give the players the option to join Prince Thrommel in taking down the ToEE, or if they'd rather take on some other quests that the Knights of the Hart now can't pursue because they're being redeployed to address the ToEE threat.  Whichever the players choose will be the way we'll go.

OLD SKOOL CAMPAIGN DIARY - THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL, PT. 5

THE HEROES:

• Anton Loyalar: Oeridian Paladin of Heironeous
• Coppyr: Halfing Monk
• Eli Pendar: Flannish Cleric of Pholtus
• Tharn: Dwarf barbarian of the Fireforge clan

Upon defeating the ogre and hobgoblins guarding the entrance to the dungeons below the Temple of Elemental Evil, the heroes descend into the well to join their companion Coppyr, who had hidden below and taken out two hobgoblins who had tried to get reinforcements.  However, when they get to the bottom, they find Coppyr acting strangely, speaking in a monotone voice, urging them to follow him because there were others down here looking for them and that he knew another way in.  The heroes were unsure of what to make of this and after trying to snap the halfling out of it unsuccessfully, they decide to take him back up the well.  Once at the surface, Coppyr snaps out of the trance he seemed to be in with no recollection of it.  Upon descending again, Coppyr once again succumbs to this strange trance, again urging the heroes to follow him to a secret entrance.   The heroes decide to chance it, since there were sounds of others in the tunnel, and they follow the halfling down the shaft to a rough area.  The entranced Coppyr points at a rough patch of wall and, upon inspecting it, the wall crumbles to reveal another rough tunnel, clearly not dug by humans or humanoids, but by some kind of burrowing creature. 

Tharn leads the way in to the tunnel, as his kind has a better sense of direction when underground, and they proceed to follow it until they reach an end that leads up into a dark room that Tharn believes to be part of the dungeons under the Temple.  Coppyr, who has now snapped out of his trance again, looks into the room with his magical goggles and sees an enormous insect-like creature feeding on the remains of a giant spider.  The heroes throw caution to the winds and attack the creature, which Tharn identifies as the subterranean terror known as an umber hulk.  They fight the beast until it drops, but before they can rest, they hear sounds coming from an adjoining hallway.  They hide and see goblins in the hallway excitedly talking amongst themselves about the now dead umber hulk.  Luckily the goblins don't enter the room, but they instead run back to alert their companions.  The heroes take this opportunity to gather up a few things they find on the floor and to enter a door on the southern end of the room.  Within they find a jail filled with about a dozen people and a hobgoblin standing guard.  The hobgoblin was shocked to see the heroes enter and he attempts to fight them, but falls quickly to the heroes' might.

The heroes then calm the prisoners down to avoid alerting the goblins to their presence.  The goblins, now numbering nearly two dozen, filed into the umber hulk feeding chamber and start playing on its carcass.  The prisoners tell the heroes that the hobgoblins and bugbear bring new prisoners in periodically and take others out to be sacrificed at the elemental temples.  Worried that more hobgoblins could be on the way, the prisoners urge the heroes to get them out, but with the numerous goblins in the other room the heroes look to the other two exits from the jail.  One exit is the one where the hobgoblins usually enter, bringing more prisoners or taking them away, so that way did not seem very safe.  The other exit was unknown and the prisoners say the hobgoblins never go in or out that door.  So the heroes open the door and find a short hall with two more doors; one unadorned and the other bearing the symbol of the Knights of the Hart.  This intrigued Anton and he proceeded to open that door. 

The room beyond is revealed to be a lavishly tiled tomb bearing a stone sarcophagus in the center.  The sarcophagus, made of white marble, is carved with symbols of the Knights of the Hart and the Heironeous religion, including what appears to Eli's trained eye, to be some glyphs of warding of evil creatures.  The heroes decide this is as safe a place as any to hide the prisoners as they rest from their recent fights and they bring them all into the crypt. 

While resting, Tharn notices a chip from the lid of the sarcophagus, which comes from the sword that adorns the majority of its surface.  That's when they notice that the stone the sword is carved from doesn't seem to be the same as the rest of the sarcaphagus lid.  They find where the chip came from and within the hole they see the glint of metal.  They begin scraping the stone off, finding that it is a much softer material that was painted to look like the marble of the sarcophagus, and underneath the material is a real sword.  Anton carefully brings the sword out and it blazes to magical life in the knight's hand!  Anton immediately recognizes the sword as Fragarach; the famous sword wielded by the missing Prince Thrommel.

The heroes immediately decide to open the sarcophagus to see if Thrommel is within, but they find a horrific sight; a desiccated corpse lies upon the lavish velvety interior.  A wooden stake is embedded in the chest and fangs protrude from the mouth.  Anton confirms this to be Thrommel, having seen him as a youth, but somehow the noble knight has been turned into a vampire.  The once handsome, vibrant knight who always wore the bright colors of the order has now been reduced to a darkly clad undead monster. 

However, as Coppyr jumps up to get a look at what everyone else is leering at, he says that he sees a normal human inside.  That's when they all realize that an illusion has been cast upon the body and they decide to pull it out of the sarcophagus.  Once they do, the glammer breaks and they see the prince as he truly is, and they find that he lives!  The prince awakens from whatever stasis he had been placed under and is very confused, asking where he was, who these people are and many more questions.  Anton explains to the prince that he has been missing for 10 years, having been abducted from his chambers the night before his wedding, and that he was presumed dead.  The prince was shocked to hear this, but quickly accepted the facts and regained his noble composure and mantle of authority.  He tells the heroes that they must get these poor people out of this vile place and they all begin planning how to proceed.

End of session.