Re: The Twilight Tomb: OOC
It's pretty much long one dungeon crawl from here on. You're all actually trapped in this plane, and need to find the key to unlock the portal to escape. There's items to find though, include spell-scrolls, and limited supplies to buy off the orcs and hobgoblins.
By the way, Authiel and Iodaem will be retiring. They'll hang around to defend the orc camp, but won't join in on the adventuring. I didn't make their characters available to be taken over as they're a couple in-character and out, and their players are still around.
I'll try to summarise the game so far.
Jorn and Slove (and some other PCs no longer with us) were in the city of Furthinghome in Aglarond when they were approached by a merchant named Tulin Fairweather. He was transporting goods across Aglarond when he took a shortcut and got lost in the Yuirwood, he foolishly camped near an ancient star elf structure, a stone circle. The next day, he found the special item he'd been transporting missing, apparently stolen by monsters, according to the nightmares of a young teamster. The item in question was the Grail of Shargrailar, the horn of a notorious black dragon turned into a drinking horn, though with no apparent magical properties or significance. Fearful of the Masters of the Yuirwood (an order of rangers and druids who protect the forest and the ruin), Tulin hired the PCs to retrieve the item on the quiet.
Subsequently, Tulin had some troubles with the people who'd hired him to transport the horn after he returned dejected to Furthinghome, and was mugged by their representatives. The PCs fought off these bad eggs. [I probably should have stuck closer to the module.]
Later, on the road into the forest, Jorn and Slove gained some new PCs (Gurgun, Allessandra) who joined their quest and lost others. They were attacked by gnolls, first in a failed ambush, then in a brutal nighttime assault. [I really should have stuck closer to the module, and avoided this time-wasting.] The gnolls had some stolen elven ranger gear, taken from a mysteriously slain Master found later in the forest.
Eventually, the intrepid explorers found the stone circle that Tulin had camped at. Close study and knowledge of star elven history revealed it to be portal to their otherworldly realm of Sildeyuir (or somewhere in the neighbourhood), though it only functioned at night. They waited, until the portal activated, and spirited them away through the night and across the planes.
What they found was not Sildeyuir, but a complex of glass towers linked by slender bridges, built on rocky outcrops from a storm-lashed sea, beneath an eternal night sky. Exploring they found the place to be called Tir'in'tiral, the abode of an ancient star elven mage, with magic school and library. Except the placed was stripped bare in ages past, and ruined in places.
Exploring, they found the place to be a warzone, and they were wandering through its bloody aftermath. On one side there was a mixed troop of orcs, hobgoblins and taers (yeti-like creatures). On the other, undead, mostly elven skeletons and zombified orcs and hobgoblins. Plus some nasty pets on each side.
By virtue of being alive and not-undead, the orcs and hobgoblins offered alliance with the party, and took them to their besieged camp. Their beleaguered half-orc leader Thraka explained that were a mercenary squad, formerly led by Tolg'byri the Star Worm, who sought the arcane secrets of the star elves. Then they were brutally attacked by the undead, their clerics slain, found to their horror that they could not go back through the portal (it was one-way), and holed up in their current location. To make matters worse, one of their number, a half-orc witch named Savera slew Tolg'byri, mentally dominated her former mate Thraka, drove off an old lieutenant, and made herself leader over the fearful band.
Sensing something was up, the PCs sought out Savera, challenged her and she turned out to be a yochlol, a demon of the drow. After an epic battle, she was slain, and the PCs returned triumphant to the camp, and allowed Thraka to remain as leader. Gurgun, a monk of Oghma, got to tell a rousing story, and gained some credit with the hobgoblins.
Now, they need to explore the rest of the glass towers, and seek out the lich said to rule the undead. Tolg and Savera believed he possesses the key to unlock the way back through the portal. Else, they're stuck in Tir'in'tiral forever - or until the undead finally overrun and kill them, and then get raised again.
To catch up, I recommend reading the 'The Rains Fell On Furthinghome' thread, from post #361 onwards. This will describe the stone circle and your journey through i. Then skim through the current game thread 'The Citadel Of Glass' for anything that looks important, particularly posts 1 (arrival) 7 and 12 (what the place looks like). The rest you should pick up. Also check out the 'The Night Realm' thread for mechanical effects of the plane.
Jorn, and Allessandra if you read this, can begin posting in the current game-thread immediately.
Nikolai, and whoever else joins, I'll try to insert you soon. Either you'll be fresh through the portal, or the generic tied-up prisoners kept by Tolg or Savera. I have to decide which is more practical.
BTW, Jorn's a bit of a veteran. He began in the Shaar / Great Rift region, then journeyed with Slove to here after that closed. So you two are buds, or at least, familiar travelling companions.
