Stonehell: A Prisim... a pause

 Session 332 was played on 8/16/26

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

The crystal chamber seems to require the doubling of something, but Morgana’s understanding of the runes is iffy at best, and so Morgana and a couple of the meatsticks head back up to talk to Rocky, leaving the rest of the party within the Crucible to keep the doors from closing on them. 

Because it’s been less than a day since they last visited Rocky, they just chat, and camp out with him until the clock resets and he can answer questions again. Inquiring about the Crucible, Rocky tells them that they must mirror image someone within the crystal chamber, and that future rooms within the crucible will require more magics to unlock, and that Morgana will need to do something with the power from the crown.

Thanking Rocky, they head back down to the Crucible and see about unlocking the crystal chamber. 

---

This was our final session of Stonehell before the passing of Rob... the story will continue.

 Someday.

Stonehell: Door problems

 Session 331 was played on 8/9/26

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

Moving on past the smouldering bodies of the plated apes, the party heads into the strange chambers on the edge of the map. First up into a room filled with pillars topped with lenses, and a door that repels any attempt to go near it. 

Many attempts are made. Lor’Koth gets closest, and it’s only when his thoughts turn to opening the door that he found himself walking away from it. Various shenanigans are shenanned, but nothing from ropes and hooks, throwing people, or magical enchantments succeeded. Finally Morgana used a powerful Dispel Magic on the door, and for a brief moment the repel effect was paused, and the party rushed through into a blood stained circular room.

The basin and blade in the middle of the room, and the 3 sets of locked doors The meatshields play rock paper scissors to decide who’s going to bleed. Lor’Koth “wins” and takes the knife to his hand and starts to bleed into the bowl. Sooner than expected, there’s a trio of clicks, and the doors swing open. From behind the party, the lenses on the pillars also shift their focus. 

Moving forward, the party checks the next rooms. These are also circular, but have different contents. The ones to the south east and south west have summoning circles, while the central one has a large crystal emerging from the floor. Each chamber is also covered in magical runes.  

Stonehell: Hair raising apes

 Session 330 was played on 7/26/26

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

After getting Nick’s eyes taken care of, the party gears up and heads to Stonehell, straight for Rocky. As usual, the inhabitants of the top level of the dungeon gave the party a wide berth… almost as if there was an early warning system set up. 

Rocky was happy to see the party, and enjoyed his snack. Once the pleasantries were out of the way, the party asked their questions, trying to get as much info on the Crucible as possible. Rocky confirmed that it is on the 3rd floor, and was made by the Plated Mage, and should be able to disenchant the crown. This was mostly confirmation of what Boris told the party, but confirmation is always a good thing. 

Thanking Rocky, the party decides to head to the Quiet Halls, down to level 2, and take the elevator to 3. Things go smoothly until the elevator arrives on the 3rd floor, and they were greeted by half a dozen baboons augmented by the plated mage with a variety of magi-tech components. They were ready and charged, and blasts of electricity zapped the party. Morgana responded with a fireball that left 6 smoldering corpses in place of the augments. Koltic shared around touches from his staff as everyone worked on getting their hair to stop standing on end. 

Stonehell: Tears of the Mother

 Session 329 was played on 7/19/26

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

Traveling down the mountain the party stumbles upon a family of ornery mountain goats. “It’s never just goats” Blotto warns… 

And he was right. While the party bypassed the grumpy goats without injury, shortly after the sounds of battle were heard around the bend. A troop of dwarves were getting into it with a group of kobolds 3 times their size. It was fairly evenly matched. The focus of the fight was a cart laden with silvery ore. 

“What seems to be the fuck my fine fellows” Blotto yells at the assembled mobs with Morgana boosting his volume. 

The fighting paused, and the assembled hosts looked up at the party. In return the party looked at them with annoyance, and Nick, remembering the dwarves who just recently visited his castle, stomped down to get some answers. The dwarves, of the Silver Moon clan, thinking a party with a dwarf in it would be more on their side (Ha!) went on about how the silver was cursed and dangerous and their claim to the ore was one that went back generations and they’re just trying to keep everyone safe.

The kobolds, on their turn explained that their god gifted them the tears of the mother from deep within the earth, and their task was to share the ore with the world.

The bickering went on and on. 

“Okay, we’re in the middle of this… do we really want to go down into the mine and figure out what’s the deal? Or should we see if we can talk to the god by touching the ore?”

No one really wanted the dungeon route, so Nick and Blotto and Borumar agree to touch the ore at the same time. Borumar wears gloves, so it didn’t have any effect on him. Nick saw a flash of thousands of eyes peering out of the darkness deep into his soul, before the darkness consumed him, and he was left blind. 

Blotto had a vision of swimming under dark waters and being consumed by a massive maw. 

“Boris can fucking handle this!” Nick yells. “Koltic, get me home, and fix my eyes!”

Meanwhile Morgana noticed that the ore seemed to be attracted to the vial of Gloom Crown Goblin Pee, and when brought close together, the ore reshaped itself around the vial, completely sealing it in… oops?

Stonehell: The Gloom Crown

 Session 328 was played on 7/12/26

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

While the A and B team spend some down time engaged in various activities, including making an asparagus beer (Blotto and Koltic), a note arrives from Boris requesting Morgana’s presence. Of course everyone makes the trip out to his fortress monastery. It sits solidly to the northwest, on the side of one of the mountains, and while there’s a “road” to get to it, the path isn’t easy or always safe. Nevertheless the party arrives without complication. After sharing drinks and catching up on the gossip, Boris reveals that since the Gloom Crown has been in his possession, he’s had to increase the protections on it twice, and has fended off multiple attempts to breach his vault. 

The current chest is a steel, salt, and lead lined box with several enchantments forged into it. He takes it out to show the party. While discussing things the Gloom Crown attempts to whisper to Blotto to once again take it, and bring an era of goblin control upon the world. Blotto is unimpressed, and generally ignoring what Boris, Morgana and Koltic are talking about, and he and Borumar discuss the possibilities of infusing some goblin pee with the dark magic of the crown. This of course leads to trying to find out. 

“Let’s let it marinate.” 

No one really wanted to get near enough to dump it out anyway, though Morgana does take an initial sample before closing the box.

What Blotto and Borumar missed was that Boris’ research and prayers have revealed that there exists within Stonehell a tool called the crucible made by the Plated Mage locked away somewhere in the upper levels of the dungeon and it should have the power to destroy the crown. In reviewing the maps that Boris has, slightly out of date, the only section of the upper levels that hasn’t fully been mapped, to the best of their knowledge is the round connected rooms between the eastern quarters of level 3. 

After a hearty dinner and a good night's rest, head out for the manse. 

---

Rappan: Stone Doors and Fairy Monarchs

Session 327 was played on 4/26/26

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

Borumar chats briefly with Tink before he turns his attention back to the door, opening it, and ushering the party though. Tink explains that they find themselves in the realm of King Almander and Queen Kazsha… the fairy court across the river from Nick’s castle!

Sorting through the loot the party has on them, it’s decided that the emerald they’d collected would make a reasonable gift to offer when they ask for ongoing permission to use the stone door to enter Rappan. Tink bounds off to the court to let them know of the parties arrival through the door, and Nick and Co. follow at a more leisurely pace. 

Queen Kazsha is enchanted by the gift, though the king seems less pleased. Perhaps it was too nice a gift? Nevertheless the graceful monarchs grant Nick’s request, and not only that, but over the course of a single day and night craft an enchanted path under the river that only the party (and those the fey allow) can use! A passage big enough for horses even! 

With that, the party makes their way back to the castle, and makes plans for their next adventure.

Rappan: Doors

Session 327 was played on 4/26/26

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

The 6 figures reach toward the party. Koltic holds up his holy symbol, and the meat sticks charge forward. They’re tough like jerky, but the juju zombies go down easily enough. The pool in the center of the room… flows. Borumar, reluctantly, takes a dip in and has a look. A long tunnel, maybe 80 or 90 feet stretches off to another chamber. There are forms moving about, but he doesn’t get a good look before deciding to come back and report. 

Rather than risk a swim, the party heads east down a winding tunnel that emerges into a room with 4 doors facing each other. Of note is the fact that the doors are not against the walls, but stand freely about 5’ from the walls. 

Clearly this is something for Morgana to investigate, and everyone else hangs back. The doors, and the frames holding them are of oak, and well made. Otherwise nothing particularly interesting about their construction can be seen. They are not locked, nor trapped, but are absolutely magical. Starting with the south door and going clockwise, this is what they see when the doors are opened.
S - Swirling portal
W - familiar shadowy cavern with a large squat ziggurat. 
N - A meadow, day time, butterflies and other bugs can be seen. The smell of spring and sunshine wafts through. Maybe near the keep?
E - A blast of heat as a desert is revealed. A pair of statues flank the door, and beyond a pack of lions feast on something… someone?

Borumar is volunteered to go through the north door. “To the keep, to the keep” he whispers as he steps through. On the far side of the door, he finds himself in the meadow, Behind him is a stone ruin, maybe an old cabin? And yes, there’s a door. With a shrug he closes it, steps back, and… waits. Back in the dungeon, the party watches as he closes the door, and they wait. Eventually Borumar gets bored of waiting and goes to open the door, but it’s locked. The hair on the back of his neck prickles, and he looks around, feeling watched. Not seeing anyone he picks the pock on the old door… and then out of the corner of his eye he sees it. A giant badger in the grass.

“Hello! My name is Tink” the badger growls politely. 

Rappan: Orcus' Blessing

Session 326 was played on 4/19/26

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

Beyond the stream the party follows the tunnels heading north, then east, then north again, finally arriving in another massive rocky cavern. Their light is unable to reach the far end of the room. Keeping one wall in sight, they move forward carefully. Moving around small boulders they eventually spot a large pillar rising out of the ground and up into the darkness above. Along the wall they spy some rat tunnels, and some… wider than rat tunnels, but nothing anyone in the party would want to explore. 

In the relative emptiness of the cavern a distinct sound of flowing water begins to be noticeable ahead. But there’s another sound… scales on stone. A rasping, hissing sound. And not small. Then they see the long large forms… basilisks! Morgana drops invisibility on the party and everyone crouches hoping the lizards have a terrible sense of smell. Luckily for the party, it seems they do. Interestingly, Aroon and Koltic both touch rocks with runes carved into them, and suddenly a purple glow spreads throughout the chamber. The glowing rocks aren’t everywhere, they outline marked paths through the cavern. Morgana takes a look at the runes… they’re “Orcus’ Blessing” 

Avoiding the basilisks they take the path they’re next to out of the carven. The tunnel opens up to an ornately carved bridge in one direction, and up a set of stairs in the other. The party opts for the stairs, hoping to find a way back to the surface. After a long and zigzagging climb, they emerge into a chamber with 6 pale humans, their eyes, noses, and mouths sewn shut. They moan, and lurchingly reach toward the party. Are they saying “brains” or “kill us”? It’s hard to say.

Rappan: Does that sound weird to you?

 Session 325 was played on 3/29/26

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

Continuing their exploration to the east, after finding nothing of value among the ashes of the undead pond ooze, they come to a cave warm and humid, alive with fungal growths. Checking to the east, the caves seemed drier though with weird sound effects… there was a rushing stream, but the sound of it was dampened somehow. While seeing the extent of the effect, Nick was attacked by a wraith, and his strength drained. Nick killed the monster in return. 

Exploring a little more, Nick was again surprised by some rust monsters. Thankfully his armor resisted their curious probes, and Blotto rushed forward to help corral them away from the party, but keeping them along in hopes of being able to add them to his herd. 

The stream is fast and cold, and about 20’ across. Clearly dangerous to cross. Various methods of crossing are discussed, but eventually an ice bridge is deemed the safest for everyone, including the rust monsters. 

Once across the rushing water the sound all sounds normal again. The party spots a large box, half buried a bit of the way down the cave along the edge of the stream. They spend a little time digging it free of the mud and rocks, and open it up. It’s a coffin, and within are the jumbled remains of a human and his ceremonial bronze armor, emblazoned with the symbol of the army of light. They take the fancy armor, and replace the bones, building a cairn around the box. 

Beetle Knight

Taking a pause from our usual game as Josh was off on vacation, Lanse offered to run Beetle Knight, an RPG based kinda on the setting of the Hollow Knight video game (of which I know very little) but basically you play bug knights on quests to solve mysteries. The report below covers all sessions from May through June. 

https://brookletgames.itch.io/beetle-knight-quickstart

We rolled up our characters randomly and ended up with:
Milax the Slug
Harvey the Fire Ant
Charlotte the Spider

In the town of New Elm, we meet up with some refugees from Old Elm, and then find and talk to the mayor. Old Elm has been beset by wasps behaving somewhat out of character, and a weird glittery atmospheric effect everyone is calling “The Glimmer” Those who linger in The Glimmer become trapped, mentally, repeating actions over and over.The mayor wants us to find his daughter, and help deal with the Glimmer and/or the wasps. 

Heading south out of New Elm, the party encounters Lauphy the snail, who is waving around a bit of lilac root that is coated with a shimmery substance. Explains that the lilac root helps ward off the effects of the glimmer, and makes it extra tasty. 

Further down the road, a blowfly is speeding north toward the party followed closely by a dragonfly! The blowfly screams for help, and the party prepares to do what it can when the dragonfly sprays everyone with a brown mist… making everyone desperate to mate with it! Fortunately for the party the only one able to fly up to the dragonfly was the blowfly, and he was quickly dispatched, and his body carried off as a snack. 

Later the party encountered a pair of wasps that warn of white ants and the golden curse. Naturally the party ignores this. Further down the road there’s a first real taste of the glimmer, a gingery spicy glow, and a wasp repeating a series of actions that probably made sense at one point. Using a big of scavenged lilac root, the slug whacks the wasp a few times before enough was knocked from her that she could regain her senses. Unfortunately not much was gotten out of her as she then flew away. The Slug decided to try the glowing root, licking the glimmer from the root and getting high as a kite! 

“I’m perfectly fine… “

Dear reader, he was NOT.

Closer to Old Elm a flee was being chased by wasps. The slug hugged the flee while the party talked to the wasps. The wasps weren’t interested in talking, and make things literally hot for the party before the fire ant slaughtered them. The flee thanked the party and then fled. 

Arriving in Old Elm, the party scouts around the stump before heading in. The concentration of Glimmer was much stronger, and Milax the slug needed to keep whacking the others in the party. Within the stump, they encounter some guard wasps, fight and kill them, followed by a mother in law millipede. She was anxious to find her granddaughter. She’s so obnoxious, but the party agrees to keep an eye out. 

Splitting away from her, the party finds a trail of chalk like powder.. They follow it finding numerous crumbly corpses of ants.

The party encounters wasps fighting and losing to the powdery white ants. Harvey talks to them as best he can (they speak a very old dialect) and we’re brought before the Queen. Her throne reeks of the Glimmer, and seems to be the source. Milax and the Queen both use their Lust powers, Milax on the Queen, the Queen on the party. Milax the slug and the Queen make out in front of EVERYONE sloppy style. 

While everyone watches, both horrified and disgusted, as Milax gets the queen extra slimy, the party smashes the throne, and the ants begin to crumble. Milax tries to hold the queen together, but even as powerful as she is, the ancient magic holding her together fails, and she crumbles in his… arms? 

---

 

There were a few other things that happened over the weeks we played this, but my notes for these sessions were frankly terrible, and I’m lucky I’m able to put this all together in anything that resembles a coherent narrative. Mind you, that’s a failure on my part, not on Beetle Knight, and I would absolutely play this again!

Rappan: Rocks and Ooze

 Session 324 was played on 3/22/26

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

Exploring the area around the tombs, but away from the spider queen, the party found some charcoal drawings and then a passage leading up… hundreds of feet up, at about a 35 degree angle. With few places left to look outside the webbed sections, the party headed up…  eventually the path leveled out and opened up into a circular cave with a large funnel in the middle of the floor sloping down 30’ to a roughly 10’ hole. Morgana used her wizard eye circlet to look below. 

Down the hole was another rough passage that soon opened up into a massive dark chamber with a very rough rocky floor covered in sharp scree. With nowhere else to go, the party used ropes to get down the funnel and into the large cavern. Moving across the scree was time consuming… but not completely fruitless. A long dead body bearing a signet ring of a notable family from Bardsgate. 

Exploring several of the tunnels out of the large cavern first found some dead ends, but then one that opened up into a second large cavern, this one with less loose rocks, and a still pond in the middle. Blotto excitedly casts a line into the water… except that the line didn’t go into the water, but landed with a plop onto it. A giant ooze! It whipped a psudopod at Blotto, smacking him hard, and the chill feeling that seemed to sap his strength was unlike any ooze he’d ever had the displeasure of encountering, while being more like the attack of a powerful undead!

Koltic held up the thick glass of the bottom of a beer mug and cried out to his god, and the lady of drunken vision answered, dramatically, as the entire lake ooze crumbled to ash

Rappan: Slip N' Slide

Session 323 part 3 was played on 3/15/26

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

“Don’t go down the well!” was the advice heard multiple times around Rappan… It was finally time to ignore that advice and see what was actually down there. About 100’ down the party splashed into about 2’ of water in a rough cave with passages heading out to the north and south. Both were on the tight side, and twisty. Heading north they begin to explore, but reach a slippery section and and up sliding deeper than planned, landing with another splash in a split stream that circled a small island in the cave. A trio of ancient trolls, GurKrang, Wersuch, and Zulbey talk to the party. They’re too old to bother with the “grr-arg” and unnecessary fighting. Adventurers are an unpleasant bunch and it’s easier to talk with them. 

Feeling a little lost, the party agrees to chat, and gets the lay of the land in the area, including some weird burial mounds, and a spell casting giant spider queen. To the best of the knowledge of the trolls, the tombs are untouched… the party give the trolls a gold nugget, and heads off for the tombs, doing their best to avoid the spider queen. 

The first tomb is a secured by a stuck door, and beyond is a single room, with a sarcophagus upon which is carved a face that looks remarkably like the one of the wizard specter in the Temple of Orcus! The name Narosh is inscribed upon it. Morgana smashes the effigy, and the party loots 3 scrolls and some jewelry from inside. They then burn what’s left of the body. 

Onward to the second tomb, it turns out to be much more elaborate! An entire stepped pyramid! Morgana attempts “Knock” on the magically sealed tomb, but the spell fails. She uses Passwall to create an opening into the tomb, but immediately releases a lightning fast creature, barely knee high, that looks like a semi-transparent brain on 4 legs! Even the mighty magical weapons of the party seem to barely hurt the creature, and it takes a frustratingly long time to kill the thing before it can… do whatever it was trying and failing to do. Within the tomb was the treasure horde of a king! Gold, gems, jewelry and a magical cloak of eyes!

Rappan: The Temple of Orcus

Session 323 part 2 was played on 3/15/26

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

Continuing on, the party comes to a barracks chamber, with 6 beds and chests. One of them has a lightning trap, but Borumar takes care of that. Morgana checks and finds all the chest glow with magic, as does the doorway out of the barracks, which is trapped with a glyph of warding, as well as a scythe trap! Nothing good can be beyond it, so Koltic casts Protection from Evil and Bless on the party. 

Beyond the warded trapped door is a hellscape. A 7 pointed star shaped room with a double set of stairs leading up to a platform in the center of the room suspended over a boiling pit of lava. A statue of Orcus dominates the far wall. A small army of orc and human warriors and priests stand between the party and the stairs, in addition to the high priest up on the platform, and several figures shrouded in darkness. 

Morgana wastes no time and drops a fireball in the middle of the mob, dropping most of them. The warriors charge in, spreading out to avoid any retaliatory fireballs or lightning bolts. It doesn’t prevent a nasty teleport effect that grabs Morgana, Koltic, and Borumar and brings them to the underside of the platform, right above the semi-solid lava. Thanks to some magic tokens, they avoid falling into the lava, with Morgana activating her fly spell. The meatsticks hack the remaining fleshy opponents down. The shadowy figures charge in… Demons! Aroon takes the brunt of the charge, but his fancy swordwork keeps their claws from rending him to bits. Morgana blasts the figure on the platform with lightning, but he shrugs it off. 

The high priest then teleports Nick, Lorkoth, and Jameth into the air above the lava. Morgana zips over to knock the trio to the edge of the lava, saving them from a burning hot death. Koltic uses Finger of Death on the figure on the platform, and that he couldn’t shrug off. 

Pausing for a moment, they almost missed the spectres that flew out of the wall and tried to get the party. Koltic turned one, and the others were injured before fleeing into the rock wall. 

Gathering the loot from the room, and tossing the remaining bodies in the lava they find a secret door leading into a small crypt with 4 coffins, and the stairs down to level 5. 

Finishing off the spectres, they loot the coffins, and teleport home. 

With the threat of the Temple of Orcus taken care of, Morgana spends some time in her workshop, creating Tokens of Feather Fall for everyone.Borumar has Koltic make 2 sets of gauntlets of grease, one for himself, and the other for Blotto. While all this is going on, the Meatsticks took the B team and cleaned out the remaining undead from The Mouth Of Doom. 

Rappan: What's in the bags?!?

 Session 323 part 1 was played on 3/15/26

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

The 10’ down (to the next level?) was not far physically, but the sense of dread that pervaded the hallway at the bottom of the ladder was heavy enough to crush a lesser party. The hallway continued before coming to a stair, leading to another hall, a room full of junk, a portcullis and black ooze trap (fireball and oil took care of that), the smell of old body odor, a room full of mud with bubbles stinking of farts. Finding no other path, the party carefully crosses the mud to a crevice in the wall. 

Beyond the crack the party discovered 8 ogres. They failed to land a blow upon the party due in large part to their recently discovered ability to deflect hits! Each of the ogres had a bag, and they had the following within:

1. 3 dead giant rats, a wheel of cheese, 140gp, 3 flasks of oil, large shiny rock
2. Body of an elf with elven chain and sword, 200gp, 6 silver tipped arrows
3. Pot of grease, only kinda sealed
4. 2’ square silver mirror, ring, 30gp, “The wanderings of Helman Hairfoot”
5. Ivory scrollcase w/ 10gp and a map, silver helm, 44gp
6. Body of a wizard, silver dagger, 4 rocks, chewed up spellbook, 60gp
7. Body of a halfling, 3 vials of holy water, 12 xbox bolts, 120gp
8. Cloak, earring, 6 iron spikes, 10 fresh oranges

The bodies were all at least a week old, if not more… where did they get fresh oranges??

Using speak with the dead, they chat with the elf, and decide to bring the elf, halfling, and wizard back to life. Morgana teleports everyone back home and Koltic gets to raising the dead. This took a couple of days, and everyone would be bedridden for a couple of weeks. The wizard was talkative, the elf ready to return home, and the halfling decided to hang out and serve as scribe for the party. Of course they all needed weeks of time resting, so the party teleported back to the dungeon once they were all safely tucked in bed with a host of kobolds at hand to help take care of them.

Upon teleporting back, it turned out the smell of the ogre’s chamber had not improved, and their bodies were crawling with vermin. 

The party pressed on…

Rappan: Back to the dungeon

Session 322 part 3 was played on 3/14/26

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

A week after the dwarves departed, the party gears up and heads off to the mausoleum. With no gargoyles in sight, the party heads in and down, encountering a pair of black skeletons. Most of the party falls under their fear effect, and runs. After regrouping they try again, and take them down. Down on level 2 they head to the ghoul and ghast tunnels, and stick Koltic up toward the front, and he destroys them with waves of his hand, while the meatsticks keep him safe. The party then loots their lair, collecting a decent selection of treasure, including some very fancy dwarven plate mail. If only the local dwarves weren’t such dicks. 

Descending to level 3 they encounter some orcs who warn the party to “Go Back!” Needless to say, the party did not go back, but they did collect $200 their treasure. Pushing on, the party reaches the doorway to the Orcus temple complex. The dwarves want the party to take care of it, and they will…. Exploring around some of the rooms only briefly explored, the party finds a trap door in the floor, with a ladder leading down… a mere 10’. 

“Okay, who’s first?”

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Once again, we were playing together in person, and our game session ran very late the first night, hence why I split this up into 3 parts. Expect the same for the next couple of posts.

Rappan: Dwarven Uselessness

Session 322 part 2 was played on 3/14/26

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

Blotto, somehow, ends up being the one to go out and meet with the dwarves as they arrive and immediately begin to erect a number of tents. Riding upon Esmerelda the Rust Monster, the dwarves keep a wary eye on the goblin as he approaches, but otherwise remain silent. 

“Excuse me my good bitches, what seems to be the fuck?”

The dwarves faces sour at the goblin’s words, but they remain silent, and continue their work. More residents of the keep emerge to watch the dwarves, but it’s a full day before any speak to a non-dwarf. “You have caused issues for the Davin Clan, and we will summon you when we are good and ready!” Is all Nick gets when he goes to check on them the next day.

Another day passes, and then another before they finally deign to “summon” the party to talk. By this point Nick is feeling insulted nearly beyond words. In full armor he leads the party to the main tent of the dwarves. Within is a raised platform with a long table upon it. 6 dwarves sit in fine chairs on the far side of the table. There are no chairs on the other side. They stare at the party in uncomfortable silence. 10 minutes pass. 

“No, I’m not doing this.” Nick turns and tries to leave, but the tent is magically sealed. “So help me, you will let me out or I will cut my way out through you” Morgana teleports Nick out before he can cause any bodily harm. 

Eventually the dwarves speak, and tell the remaining members of the party in the tent that the armies of Orcus are on the rise, and that it’s because of our meddling in Rappan. As such they demand that the party fix it. 

With that the party is dismissed. The dwarves pack up their camp, and march back off into the woods. “Of all the bloody useless…” Nick could be heard to yell as Morgana told him what they said. 

Rappan: Vomited Up from the Mouth of Doom

 Session 322 was played on 3/14/26

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

After returning from Rappan, Morgana and Koltic spend some time removing the curse that Jameth had fallen under, then began working on a ring of featherfall for herself. The meatsticks trained on the cleave special attack together. Koltic spent his off time making potions and also communing with his god. In his drunken stupors holy trances he was warned that a great danger was threatening all around Rappan, and would descend upon them in a matter of weeks. Using his Commune spell, he learned over several weeks that the danger wasn’t from the dragons, but would come from the Temple of Orcus within Rappan. 

Around this same time kobolds from the Mouth of Doom showed up. Things were emerging from the depths… undead and demons. They fled and reluctantly came to Nick’s keep for help. Shortly thereafter Drusilla showed up at the keep to complain about an excess of orcs and skeletons and things from the pits (demons) suddenly being all over the woods, and blaming our actions for stirring things up.

Morgana used her magic eye to check out things at the Mouth of Doom and found a full military camp set up in the field outside the mouth. Mostly skeletons, with orc command, and several frog demons over the orcs, including one on a big floating golden throne.  A total of about 200 troops… While the skeletons weren’t a big concern, at least for the party, the demons, and potentially the orcs as well. On the other hand, letting a swarm of skeletons overwhelm even the best fighter isn’t a good idea. 

Knowing the lay of the land, the party planned a quick strike against the small army. Morgana obviously serving as artillery, while the melee members of the party would close in after to mop up.  

The battle was messy. Starting things off with some fireballs worked extremely well for the mooks, and even the orcs, but the demons had the advantage of being both resistant to magic and fire damage… So Morgana tried a lightning bolt. It was moderately more effective. Unfortunately the demons chucked some fireballs back at the party, and summoned more demon friends to help them. Lor’Koth took the fireball hard, and dropped, Jameth nearly joining him. The sight of the fighters charging toward the remaining demons got the demons to charge right on back. This resulted in the demons finally clumping up just enough for Morgana to drop an ice storm on them. What that doesn’t take out, Nick, Blotto, Borumar, and Aroon finish off. 

From the various corpses a large pile of loot is recovered, including the (no longer floating) golden throne. 

Checking out the entrance of the Mouth of Doom, glowing red eyes can be seen within. Morgana chucks a pair of fireballs into the Mouth, setting them to go off one near the entrance, and the next one deeper down the main hall. 

They take the loot back to the keep. The next day kobolds rush to inform the group that a troop of 2 dozen dwarves is marching on the keep and is only a short distance away!

Stonehell B Team: Wafflehouse and Kidnapping Attempt

Session 321 was played on 2/22/26

Sonara, Wizard (Rob)
Adorellen, Elf (Me)
Glimmer, Kobold (Lanse)
Kessaren, Cleric  (Cindy)
Loahn, Halfling  (Josh)
5 Kobold meatshields (Pibble, VI, Rags, Suv, Zurn)
2 Hobgoblin meatshields (Vorkvul & Gralvar)

Continuing their exploration of the Asylum next brings them to a Fey WaffleHouse staffed with redcaps. They chat a bit with some of the patrons, but avoid actually eating anything. A Gentleman Ghoul is hanging out, and they sell him some of their pixies, and acquire some rumors about Fire Giants in the deep,intrigue in the  Vampire court, and among the Vryellia, and rumblings from the Plated Mage. Sonra keeps out of the Wafflehouse, standing just outside, trying to look at once menacing and invisible so no one bothers her. 

Moving on, they come to a stream cutting through a wide section of the hallway, and across it a small field of mushrooms, who invite the party to rest, relax, and enjoy a mushroom and egg omelet. They just happen to have some eggs, and a frying pan, and a premade woodpile for a fire… the party declines, but does pluck a few mushrooms, and they take the eggs and frying pan. Then Sonra fireballs the mushrooms, just to be safe.

At the next doorway, they find a grumpy old woodsman. He threatens the party, and Sonra decides to further take after Morgana, and fireballs him. It doesn’t hurt him as much as it seems like it should, so the Kobolds charge in and hack at him till he falls. Pibble, excited, tries to raise him, succeeds, but loses control of the fresh zombie, and the kobolds have to put it down again. 

They grab his ax, and decide to finish their circuit of the Asylum and get back to the Korners. Before they can make it, just outside the Korners they’re ambushed by a party of Vryllia! Half the party is magically Held, but Sonra, Kess, Glimmer, and Zurn resist the effects. Sonra lobs a fireball, dropping half of the dozen elves. Another blast of Hold spells nabs Glimmer and Zurn, but Sonra drops another fireball, despite the fact that the elves had closed in. She succeeded in dropping the remaining elves, but also caught most of the party, dropping all the kobolds and Adorellen. Kess managed to get some healing for Adorellen, but the kobolds were too fried to save. 

Sonra, looting the bodies, collected 6 wands. Later, while in the Korners, a letter is dropped off to her, addressed to Morgana. 

Gains: 6 wands (Hold x2, Fear x2, Enemy Detection, Fireball)
Kills: Woodsman, Mushrooms, Vryllia
Losses: Kobolds, Fred

Stonehell B Team: Fairy Magic, Keep Out!

Session 320 was played on 2/15/26

Sonara, Wizard (Rob)
Adorellen, Elf (Me)
Glimmer, Kobold (Lanse)
Kessaren, Cleric  (Cindy)
Loahn, Halfling  (Josh)
5 Kobold meatshields (Pibble, VI, Rags, Suv, Zurn)
2 Hobgoblin meatshields (Vorkvul & Gralvar)

Stepping into the first glen from the dungeon door, they looked around. The late afternoon sun shown down on the glade, and the party poked around, looking at the large rocks, when they heard the telltale giggling of pixies. Sonra and Adorellen both snap out a pair of Sleep spells, while the pixies try to use Web on the party. There’s a brief fight with the few conscious remaining pixies, and Glimmer ends up with several more bottles stuffed with grumpy fey. The quickly head back through the door and into Stonehell closing it behind them before the sleeping invisible Pixies wake up. Loahn writes “stupid pixies” on the door in chalk. 

The next door opens into sun dappled wood with a rustic wood cabin a short walk from the doorway. They close the door and write “More pixies - Fairy magic - Keep out” on the door. Deeper into the asylum they find a padded cell, with clouds floating near the ceiling. They nope out of that room too. 

Finally circling around to see what remains of the portal room, the answer is “not much.” The fireballs made a mess of the chamber, and everything was burned, or at least covered in ash and scorch marks. Sonra is nervous the whole time they spend in the room, expecting something to happen… The hobgoblins find a small stash of silver coins that survived the inferno. Otherwise there was nothing left to recover from the room. 

More exploring finds an illusionary floor over a pit trap, but the trap was marked on their map, so no one fell into it. Then a room with a labyrinth carved into the floor of the room. Pibble walked the spirals of it, and gains a minor boost to his necromantic powers, but with a chance to lose control of them. One of the heads he had animated on its own, says his name is Fred. 

Gains: pixies in jars, Fred
Kills: Pixies
Losses:

Stonehell B Team: Weird Water

 Session 319 was played on 2/8/26

Sonara, Wizard (Rob)
Adorellen, Elf (Me)
Glimmer, Kobold (Lanse)
Kessaren, Cleric  (Cindy)
Loahn, Halfling  (Josh)
5 Kobold meatshields (Pibble, VI, Rags, Suv, Zurn)
2 Hobgoblin meatshields (Vorkvul & Gralvar)

Departing the Korners, the party descends to The Reptile House and is immediately set upon by a squad of lizardmen! The fight lasts a little longer than expected with such a large party, but the lizardmen only manage a few lucky scratches before all being cut down. Unfortunately they weren’t wearing much, and didn’t have anything of value on them.

From the Reptile House they cross back over to the Asylum, and head straight for the Water Weird’s fount, and as soon as the door is open Kess casts Purify Water, killing the elemental creature. They retrieve Karl’s collapsible 10’ pole, and down at the bottom of the water are the sparkles of more, but it’s too far down to reach. Sonra uses her bracer and changes into a croc, diving into the water. She fish out some coins and 3 magical crossbow quarrels. She returns to her usual human-ish form and they press on.

Checking the rooms across the hall, they find a forest glen through one door… 

Gains: silver & gold coins, +3 crossbow bolts x3
Kills: lizardmen, water weird
Losses: