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Underground Grotto, below the Hollow, inside the Peylon Tree, continuous...
Underground Grotto, below the Hollow, inside the Peylon Tree, continuous...
One by one, the four heroes slide down a pole of light. But after the first five meters or so, it becomes clear-- there's *ten* more to go!
The way down is completely dark, save for the yellow glow of Hank's arrow of light that makes their transit.
HEROES
HEROES
AAAAAHHHH~~~~~~!!!!
GM says:
GM says:
Make an ACROBATICS check.
Bobby's ACROBATICS (12), rolls a ⬙(15) = Success!
Diana's ACROBATICS (14), rolls a ⬙(2) = Fail!
Hank's ACROBATICS (14), rolls a ⬙(3) = Success!
Sheila's ACROBATICS (14), rolls a ⬙(5) = Success!
SHEILA
SHEILA
NGGH!
DIANA
DIANA
A~~aaah!!
BOBBY
BOBBY
AAAAAHHHH~~~~~~!!!!
HANK
HANK
OOF!
Bobby fails to catch himself and roll the way the others do, and so he tumbles head over heels, smashing into the tangled roots that anchor the dirt walls of the damp, subterranean grotto. Everyone finds themselves flung bodily into piles of fruit rinds, remains of large rotten yellow peylon fruit that litter the floor.
The chamber appears more eerie, dimly lit only from the pole of light.
Bobby's FALLING DAMAGE D6 = (5). OUCH
SHEILA
(looking at her hands, now sticky with old fruit)
SHEILA
(looking at her hands, now sticky with old fruit)
Ewwww....! Does fruit grow *under* trees in this world?
SUDDEN STRANGER
SUDDEN STRANGER
All right, that'll be enough tumblin' about! What's all this!? What are you about?
The strange halfling-like man stands at the ready, perched on a particularly tangled root for vantage, holding his spear to keep the heroes at bay. His blue cloak, and his sleeves and trouser legs, are stained with rotten fruit pulp.
HANK
(rising to a knee, keeping his hands up where he can see them)
HANK
(rising to a knee, keeping his hands up where he can see them)
Sorry if we startled you, sir. We are on a quest, you see, to retrieve the treasure that we have learned is here in this tree. We come in peace.
BOBBY
(getting straight to his feet, cracking any kinks left from the fall)
BOBBY
(getting straight to his feet, cracking any kinks left from the fall)
Unless we're after the same thing! In which case, I'm afraid we'll have to fight ya!
SUDDEN STRANGER
SUDDEN STRANGER
Aaaaa! Fresh peylon fruit, you say? I'll fight ya for it, for sure!
DIANA
(hastily getting up)
DIANA
(hastily getting up)
What!? No! Not fruit, no. Put up your club, Bobby.
(to the stranger)
I'm Diana. This is Hank, Sheila, and Bobby. We're on a quest for Dungeonmaster. For a Piece of a Rod of great power. It might be crystalline? Many of them have been cyrstalline.
GM says:
GM says:
Make an PERSUASION check, with a boon.
Diana's PERSUASION (8), rolls a ⬙(19, 14) = Fail!
DIANA activates her pride: "I can make friends with anyone."
Diana's PERSUASION (8), rolls a ⬙(10, 2) = Success!
SUDDEN STRANGER
(putting up his spear)
SUDDEN STRANGER
(putting up his spear)
Oh! So *not* the peylon fruit, then? Hee! That's a relief. I would really have hated to have to hurt you all for it. Don't know anyone Dungeonmaster. I'm Riffel Kender, Champion Warrior of Curiousity.
SHEILA
(joining the others)
SHEILA
(joining the others)
So you're an enemy of curiousity?
RIFFEL
RIFFEL
No! I'm a warrior whose *cause* is curiousity. Hee, hmm, I see now how that can be confusing.
HANK
HANK
Well, look around, team. The Piece's gotta be around here somewhere.
Riffel settles into a comfortable pose within the roots of the wall, watching the heroes begin to scatter about the room, poking into various places of the loamy floor and rummaging through fecund piles.
RIFFEL
RIFFEL
'Course, if it's a real powerful piece o' treasure, then it's probably been picked up by the Soldiers of Soth and taken to Three Moons Vault by now.
BOBBY
BOBBY
Soldiers of What?
RIFFEL
RIFFEL
Lord Soth! The biggest baddest meanie in Krynn! Vestige of the Catacylsm! Ruler of Dragnaar! Death Knight!
DIANA
DIANA
Well, maybe, but the Finding Stone says the object is here.
SHUDDER! The entire grotto rumbles, the sound and shuffling of which nearly tosses all the heroes to the ground.
Riffel tumbles head over end to land on the floor, now a writing mass of roots.
The roots slither in and among themseles, until a curtain of them part, revealing a tree monster emerging from the darkness behind.
TREE MONSTER
TREE MONSTER
Enough! The kender speaks the truth! The treasure you seek... is no longer here! And since it is so, so must be your presence! Begone!
HANK
(drawing his bow, but keeping it low to the ground)
HANK
(drawing his bow, but keeping it low to the ground)
Who are you!? What are you talking about?
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
I am Gazaia! The very spirit of the Peylon tree! And you are intruders, as my Treekin has tried to explain to you. So many intruders! Intruders!
GM says:
GM says:
Diana, make an AWARENESS roll for insight, with a boon from Vecna's Link.
Diana's AWARENESS (11), rolls a ⬙(10, 15) = Nope! Never mind.
Diana stays Hank's hand, shaking her head but not articulating.
SHEILA
SHEILA
How do you know these soldiers were here? That they took anything?
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
I saw them! Saw them I did! Oh, my poor, poor tree...
(Gazaia lowers herself to a particularly large root, caressing it as if in mourning)
This tree used to be such a strong tree. Magic! But the black-garbed soldiers arrived. Stole the fruit, stole the magic piece. Ever since then, we've been wasting. Wasting away...
HANK
HANK
What do you think, Diana?
DIANA
DIANA
I dunno... But it *does* seem true that each world we visit, the Finding Stone acts a bit weird.
HANK
HANK
Fine.
(to GAZAIA)
We're sorry about your tree. There's no need at all for us to stay. We will leave and find our treasure another way.
RIFFEL
(suddenly jumping to his feet)
RIFFEL
(suddenly jumping to his feet)
Great! To Three Moons Vault, then!
BOBBY
BOBBY
Okay, now hold your horses, buddy.
RIFFEL
RIFFEL
Pshaw! I can take you there! The only thing we need is... a peylon fruit!
BOBBY
BOBBY
Oh, sure. How convenient!
RIFFEL
RIFFEL
I mean it! We'll need it for the Borthak!
BOBBY
BOBBY
What are you even talking about?!
SHEILA
SHEILA
Forget it, Bobby!
(turning to Gazaia)
Gazaia, do you have any fruit that we can use?
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
There is but one final pelyon fruit!
The drybark dryad makes an open gesture, while her chest cavity unfolds into a vacant space-- where is held a peylon fruit. Its giant egg shape appears wrapped in folded segments of its rind, like a dragonfruit mixed with a pineapple.
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
But to part with this, I must demand an item of much magic! Something to seed for power to grow.
BOBBY
(hugging his weapon)
BOBBY
(hugging his weapon)
Well, you can't have my club!
SHEILA
SHEILA
It's fine. Here.
Sheila takes off the new amulet she found-- its magic catching the light to send brief but intense lens flares.
Gazaia's twig-like fingers undulate as they reach forward, entwining the necklace and holding it up for inspection.
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
Yess.....
SHEILA
SHEILA
It's proof against detection. Maybe it can work for the whole tree, offering you some privacy...
(she's riffing, making it sound as convincing as she can)
From those who... survey the land, with... evil intent?
GM says:
GM says:
Diana, make a BLUFFING roll.
Sheila's BLUFFING (11), rolls a ⬙(4) = Success.
In response, Gazaia floats even more forward, held aloft by the roots that entangle her. Sheila reaches in to the dryad's proffered chest cavity. With thinly veiled disgust Sheila does her best to pluck the fruit from within.
SHEILA
(regardigng the giant egg-like fruit)
SHEILA
(regardigng the giant egg-like fruit)
It's kind of... warm? Is it supposed to be warm?
Gazaia re-folds into her form and retreats into the grotto wall, the roots slithering around and about as before.
As she disappears into the darkness of the writing mass, she intones...
GAZAIA
GAZAIA
Be satisfied with the gift of the peylon fruit. Now, and finally, BEGONE!
continued in 8.5 Bittergrass Fen . . .
GM FOOTNOTES:
I was never going to make the heroes take full falling damage from 15 meters (50 feet), which would be 7D6 acc. to the rules. It's a magic firepole, something they've probably had to do a number of times in their adventuring career. Still, just doing D6 felt anticlimactic. I know in some adventures, there's a "succeed with a roll or take a Condition", which in retrospect I should have used. More guidence the GM section of the book might be helpful on this point-- a "succeed or Condition" should be a helpful tool for normal play. It gives some fairly serious consequences without literally "killing" the characters.
The "Pride" mechanic comes from Free League's other system "Forbidden Lands." Not only does it help with characterization/ role play, but once per session, a PC can earn a free re-roll if the action matches their Pride. Now, if they *fail* the re-roll, they lose the Pride entirely and have to do some adventuring to get a new one. Gives players role-playing opporutunities and control over failures? Nice.
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