Saturday 2 April 2016

Nezznar's Journal and notes

He's from Menzoberranzan, contains a rough map with rough directions to the city in the Underdark.

Also map of Wave Echo mine.
Journal contains origins of Nezznar, of house Baenre. Contains info regarding leads to  other places on Sword Coast.  One is the medusa's tomb, as yet undiscovered.

Concerns dominated by being summoned for judgement by his superiors, priestesses of Lolth, and of failing his test and being turned into a drider by the yochlol demons. Lots of praise to Lolth follows.

Yochlol: Demons. The "handmaidens of Lolth" who live in the Abyss. Drow high priestesses can summon them with rituals. They can appear as columns of gas, or an amorphous column with one eye, or even a giant spider or beautiful female human or elf. They can contact their goddess Lolth telepathically.

Journal entries are mostly Nezznar moaning about the light, having to live in caves instead of real buildings, and his difficulties in keeping notes. Moaning about overland travel. He would kill for a massage.

Other general information about the drow from the Underdark comes through in the journals;

That the drow worship Lolth and believe they are destined to be rulers of darkness.
That their magic equipment loses their magic after one hour in sunlight. Much of the enchanted equipment carried up to the surface became mundane upon hitting the cursed daylight.


He's also moaning that doppelgangers can't  be charmed into doing things, and expresses frustration that they can always read his mind, so he has to be honest. They're too useful, and they know it, and that his offer has to be sincere.

He was sent out on a mission several months ago by superior, Narcelia Baenre (Cleric of Lolth), of house Baenre. He is one of many agents sent out to investigate areas of magical power. Sent with a group of drow to investigate the lost Mines of Phandelver. However, unknown to his peers, two of his servants (Slith and Kheel) were doppelgangers who he promised to pay handsomely for their services, and provide an opportunity  to get themselves and their young out of servitude to the drow in Menzoberranzan.

When they got enough leads, he had his doppelganger's kill the other drow so as to get all the credit.

Used doppelganger agents and magic to strike deals with the Bugbear King Grohl of the Cragmaw tribe (Although Nezznar never went in person, they hate elves). Targor Bloodsword and his sons are thankfully not in charge, as they are more interested in waging war on Phandalin than working with Nezznar and getting paid for bounties and kidnapping. Lord Albrek (Glasstaff) was considered approachable when the doppelganger in Phandalin read his thoughts, and found his true nature suitable. He wanted magical knowledge, and kept asking for Nezznar to teach him the spell Invisibility.  He's only granted him potions so far, but he isn't able to cast yet. He's probably trying to brew them himself with a lab in the ruins he calls home.

When the Rockseeker dwarves found the mine, the thought reading doppelganger's had already read their secret knowledge, and were ready to strike. Giant spiders in the mine responded with affinity for the Drow, a blessing from Lolth.


The last journal entries show Black Spider's attempts to tie up loose ends and the party's disruption. No record suggests he was aware that one doppelganger was captured by PCs. By all accounts, his entries and increasingly frantic handwriting show frustration, his plans foiled by people so... UNCHARISMATIC.



Nezznar also makes notes on the ecology of the wraith in the mine. Worries about it's ability to spawn specters. Several bugbears drained of life, their spirits raised and rained the life out of more bugbears. So, he stopped sending in bugbears. Doubts creatures killed in this way can be raised from the dead. And notes to self "even then, I am more than 10 days travel away from a cleric who would be willing to cast raise dead on my corpse. Perhaps once I could have used Glasstaff, but he's dead now. No, I would rather not pass over to the judgement of the spider queen without more to my name".

Also notes presence of a beholder (he deduces it is one from fleeing bugbear descriptions). Again, Nezznar has not actually fought it himself. It guards forge of spells.

Finally, Nezznar imagines  there is more to the mines, to be uncovered once the operation is secure but that there will be an excavation effort to uncover it all. Hobgoblin slavers should solve the problem.

Saturday 19 March 2016

Lost Mines of Phandelver - nearly at an end

Lost Mines of Phandelver (Spoilers ahead)

For the last few months every fortnight I've  been running the starter box for a group of seven. All but one are new to the game (and me to dming 5ed), but they've done excellently at learning the rules and solving problems in unpredictable  ways.

In the first cave with the cragmaw goblins, they killed the Bugbear leader but bargained with the remaining goblins for the life of the captured Sildar Hallwinter, leaving without a fight.

In the Redbrand's  hideout at Tresendar manor, bribed the Nothic with offerings of food then locked it in a store cupboard.

Destroyed Thresendar manor by blowing up the alchemy lab and burning everything they could see.

After ousting the Redbrands, pressured Town master Harbin Wester to leave and seeing to election of mining guild (and Zhentarim agent) Halia Thornton.

They all joined the Zhentarim.

Captured and dragged back to Phandalin the 'drow' (doppelganger) for interrogation by Zhentarim agents, which leads to...

Their asassination of the Rockseeker brothers (on orders of the new townmaster), so that the newly acquired doppelganger can take the former of one of them and publicly 'sell' the rights to their claim to the Zhentarim.

The Doppelganger may hang around for longer in it's  new employment, tightening the Zhentarim  grip on Phandalin in coming weeks.

The party are at present in the final dungeon, and then will go after Vermithrax in Thundertree. There are seven of them, so they'll probably be fine, sadly...





Sunday 24 January 2016

Astartes of Charity; 80 painters paint 80 Ultramarines for Cancerresearch.org




http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/space-marine-army-/111881147037

From the Facebook group 'Astarte's of Charity'; 80 painters from all over the world painted 80 marines, with all the money going to cancerresearch.org

The army consists of;

Calgar
Captain
Apothecary
Chaplin
Command squad
4 full tactical squads
2 devastator squads
3 assault squads
Terminator squad
Terminator assault squad
A citadel carry case

Free shipping anywhere in the world.

And a certificate of thanks containing the names of all the gamers, players and hobbyists who took part

If you want it, to bid on it! If you don't, please share so that someone else can! Let's get as much as we can for such a worthy cause!

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/space-marine-army-/111881147037