Rappan: Dealing with Druids

Session 281  was played on 05/04/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Needing as much info as possible Nick plans to reach out to Drusilla the Druid, but wants to bring an offering. Koltic communes with his goddess to see what might be acceptable…

Would she like alcohol as a gift?
No
Gems?
No
Something that can be provided by magic? 
Yes/No

Morgana collects a cutting of the vampire roses from her garden and the party heads to Drusilla’s grove. The ride through the woods is oddly empty… the grove is not. An oversized owlbear and a large wolf sit waiting. THe party calls out, and Nick cautiously approaches. The wolf morphs into Drusilla, and Nick gives her the plant. He asks about the dragon. She met it, and it decided that it wouldn’t intrude on her territory. Nick wants her help. She wants a spell cast from a scroll. Passing a box with the scroll and a small scrap of grey/brown fur Morgana inspects the scroll, says she’ll need some time to prepare. 

The party returns to the keep, and Morgana makes use of the library. Over the course of the next day she learns it’s a unique reincarnation spell, one designed to work on any living thing, not just humanoids. Rather than risking using it at the keep, or trying to copy it (a not insignificant chance of ruining the scroll and failing…) the party returns to the grove the next day. 

This time the grove is empty, and the party waits just outside it for half an hour before Brusilla arrives, wanting to know why they’ve returned. Morgana explains that she wanted to cast the spell here. The ritual doesn’t take long, and from the small scrap of fur comes a great white unicorn. Drusilla is thrilled to have her old rat companion back, and in such a magnificent form, and shares with the party the location of the dragon’s lair, a swamp to the southwest of the castle.  

Returning again to the keep, Morgana returns to her manor to research a Scry spell. Meanwhile Koltic starts brewing a batch of Protection from Poison potions. 

Morgana finishes her research and casts the spell, seeing through the eyes of a lizardman. It can see its companions are digging a tunnel, and then it turns to see a great green dragon on a massive tree stump. The dragon wears at least 2 rings, a circlet, and a necklace. 

Gains: 
Kills: 
Losses

Rappan: Black Monastery is haunted!

Session 280 was played on 04/27/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Continuing through the monastery the party comes to a room with a table set with a gold plate and silverware, and a voice begging “a crumb for the poor? Please give some? Please give?”

Blotto goes into the room and drops a coin onto the plate and the voice goes quiet. He then takes the plate and suddenly 2 black floating figures materialize and attack! The party is a little surprised, but recovers and handles the 2 apparitions quickly.

Further on, a ghost girl appears in a hallway, screaming and running through the party. Aside from a chill and some goosebumps, there doesn't appear to be a lingering effect. Just beyond is a framed picture on the wall of the girl, but as a vampire! It's a good likeness and high quality, and Nick tried to take it down, but it was solidly secured to the wall, and he broke it. Upside is that it revealed a hidden space behind the painting containing 4 healing portions!

Next the party comes upon the skeleton of a minotaur. Leathery bits of flesh and hair still cling to the body. Beyond is a door through which infernal chanting can be heard. As no one speaks infernal, no one knows what was being changed, but the fact that it was internal signaled it wasn't good.

The party prepared for a flight, and opened the door. The volume blasted up, and half the party was deafened before the door could be closed. Borumar got a quick look, seeing a dozen 1’ holes in the floor. Blotto tossed in a troll larynx.

Deciding that they'd had enough, they start to back track, and at one point the lights all go out. Moving along, waiting to be ambushed, they (the non-deaf ones) hear the changing getting louder, then a bell, and then a moaning…. But they emerge from the magical darkness and make their way to the stables to get their horses, leaving the Black Monastery for another time.

Arriving the next day back at the keep, the kobolds report that a green dragon visited, poisoning the fields and giving them a month to leave before it would be back.


Gains:
Kills: 2 ghost things
Losses

Rappan: Black Monastery Orcs and Spiders

Session 279 was played on 04/20/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Continuing through the Black Monastery’s weirdly shaped rooms and corridors the party next comes to a barricaded door. Forcing their way through, a dozen orcs take issue with having their space invaded, but a dozen orcs are no real threat to the party, and their corpses are looted for a decent amount of treasure, including 2 dozen gems and a dozen silver daggers…

In another room the party encounters a full plate clad knight with a pair of glowing swords. Blotto and Esmerelda charge the knight, who disappears as Esmerelda’s feathery feelers are about to touch the knight’s armor. Its disappearance reveals a 3’ hole in the floor, out of which emerges a trio of giant spiders. 2 are killed and the 3rd flees back down the hole. They pour some burning oil down after it.

Finding a quiet barracks, the party bunks down for some food and rest.

Gains: various coinage and a dozen silver daggers
Kills: orcs, spiders
Losses

Rappan: Black Monastery Yellow Lightning

Session 278 was played on 04/13/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Finding another secret door, the party checks it out, while the orcs slowly shuffled off the mortal coil. Opening the door, they see only darkness. Blotto chucks a troll larynx in, and no one hears anything. They close the door and backtrack to the last branching hallway.

They come to a door that has a lot of noise coming from behind it. In a somewhat regular pattern, an oscillating screaming, crackling, and popping. Waiting for the sound to dull down to its lowest point, they open the door, and see a yellow humanoid running toward them made of bound lightning! Nick sets his spear, but gets hit instead. The rest of the party, with help from Morgana, take it out.

Searching the room they find a small secret door on the floor, and under it, a pouch with some cold and a ring set with 8 diamonds.

Exploring further, they come to a violet door, within which are 5 columns, and irregular rainbow lightning. Blotto steps in and pees on the nearest column, and gets zapped, instantly sprouting bat-like wings. Borumar steps in and gets zapped, and his eyes glow red as he gains dark vision. They find a satchel in the room, and blotto feeds it a troll larynx. The bag eats it, or more accurately, the ferret in the bag does.

Gains: 200gp, diamond ring, ferret
Kills: lightning elemental
Losses:

Rappan: Jam session in the Black Monastery

Session 277 was played on 04/06/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Returning to the Black Monastery, the party finds the back gate down, and magically repaired. Following the same process as last time, Esmerelda eats a hole in it, and Blotto and Borumar use the crank to open it for the party to get through.

Heading in and to the east they come across a group (growth?) of troglins, which are quickly cut down, looted, and burned. They find a secret door that opens to a corridor that opens into a chamber with an iron maiden in the middle of it, surrounded by musical instruments. A pair of orcs are playing along with the music emanating from the torture device. Blotto starts grabbing at the unclaimed instruments and joins in on the noise.

The party briefly puts up with the concert before knocking the iron maiden over. The music stops and the orcs collapse. A quick check shows they’re hovering at death’s door. Under the iron maiden was am ornate skeleton key with the number 42 incorporated into the handle, and a note:  

“This is the key to everything”

Gains: ~350gp in assorted denominations, a ring, a key
Kills: troglins
Losses:

Rappan: Black Monastery & Beasts

 Session 276 was played on 03/30/25

Morgana, wizard 10 (Rob)
Borumar, Triton Thief 11 (Josh)
Blotto, Goblin Fighter 8 (Lanse)
Nick, Fighter 9 (Me)
Koltic, Cleric 9 (NPC)
Aroon, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Jameth, Fighter 8 (NPC)
Lor’Koth, Dwarf 8 (NPC)

Heading north the party comes to a chamber with a large 6 limbed beast, the unholy result of some wizard's experiments. The body and horns of a rhino, the face of a fish, with ogre or giant arms welding swords. Blotto charges in and with a swing of his mighty (fishing) pole arm, drops the monstrosity with a single hit. Morgana harvests some choice bits for her own experiments.

Among the treasures found in the chamber is a locket with miniature portraits of a young man and women. The young man has a tattoo on his arm. The beasts arm has the same tattoo…

Heading east they come to a large stable, with 14 stalls, each containing a misty/ghostly looking horse. They aren't aggressive, so the party explored the room. Boronir found a loose floor board, underneath which are jars of glitterfull lotion. Nick finds a secret door, behind which is a tack closet (why was this hidden!?!).

Morgana rubs a little lotion on her hand, and it becomes misty, just like the horses. They share out the lotion and use it to get 8 of the horses and bring them out of the ethereal plane, and conveniently there's enough tack in the closet for all the horses.

Harnessing up the horses, the party brings them home to the keep. On the ride, Morgana and Boromir blip ethereal for about 200 feet. Morgana is looking forward to investigating this more thoroughly!

Gains: 8 ethereal horses
Kills: cursed fish-rhino thing
Losses:

May ‘25 In Review

Yet another busy month with work. The audit wrapped up, and there was a work retreat, which flowed directly into a short vacation in the woods of New Hampshire. It was all great, but exhausting. I always want a vacation for myself, a day or 3 to recover after a trip like that.

Gaming
Because of the travel, and the work, several sessions of both the Stonehell/Rappan and my work game  got canceled, but on the upside, I got to play with my coworkers in person again! We played a long, late session of the Painted Wastelands. I’d hoped to run a couple nights, but it didn’t work out.

In the home game, we’re facing off with a green dragon, and the first battle didn’t go so well for the party. Thankfully the cleric knows how to bring the dead back. Next time, we’ll be better prepared.

Miniatures
Again because of the travel, I didn’t get to finish as much this month as I wanted. I did start a lot of minis, and I’m sure next month will see a whole lot of them finished, but for this month, I managed to finish off a few things, including the last of the pepto Norkers. Pink was an unexpected choice, since I’d planned on making them yellow, but I’m happy I went this way. 

Media
Ghosts
Game Changer seasons 4-5
Resident Alien season 3
The Wild Robot
Orion and the Dark
Her story

Loot
On my way to the retreat I stopped at a game store and snagged some great minis.

I also had the Box of Goodwill from the Reaper forum pass through, and I managed to add more to it than I took. But this is what I snagged:

Goals for June
Catch back up with session reports