Goodman Games

Tonight our party will begin DCC #58 The Forgotten Portal! This particular group has taken a long hiatus after Isle of the Sea Drake and we're finally ready to get underway. Jaguar-Paw joined the party after Isle to repay a debt and he's been having visions of something terrible beyond a great waterfall...he has implored the party to help him follow the vision and it has led them to the foot of Atotzin.

I anticipate that we'll be able to trek to the Shrine by the end of this first session. I've got the Apocalypto soundtrack ready on the iPod (along with our usual Conan the Barbarian soundtrack and a few Midnight Syndicate albums) and I can't wait!

I'm hoping to finish in three sessions. Would anyone else care to chime in with their experiences running or playing in this adventure?

Bruchard,

I love reading your prose, so please post your seesion logs (or provide a link) so we can get updates on how the breaching goes!

Thanks!

I'll see what I can do! We're not keeping a narrative log of this adventure, but I award XP for write-ups and short written pieces. We've gotten one so far, and I'll post them as I get them.

The party consists of:

Jaguar-Paw, Human warlord
Aulora, Deva Sorceress
Goruman, Eladrin Paladin
Ana, Human Invoker
Simon, Human Ranger

SPOILERS!

Aulora’s mind raced. Terrifying memories of drowning and dying under water filled her mind as she and her companions ventured deeper into the underground lake. None of her companions knew the sheer terror of feeling their final breath of air escape their lungs and the horrifying weight of the cold water as it fills their lungs, sinking them to the bottom… but Aulora knew. She knew because she had experienced it during her past lives. She had died several times under water, and the thought of dying that way again filled her with terror. As her companions ventured into deeper water, she could go no further.

Fortunately, one of her companions, a human ranger named Simon, noticed her fear and returned to her side to help her. He gently held her arm and stayed close to her side as they slowly moved to rejoin the rest of the party. Aulora was still frozen with fear, but with his comforting touch, she managed to wade deeper into the cold water.

But then it came. A monstrous crocodile emerged from the murky depths and attacked the companions. The battle was fierce, with several of Aulora’s companions viciously attacked and dragged under water by the crocodile. Simon had to leave her side to help fight the beast. Aulora was afraid to move. She dared not venture out into the deeper water to help her friends. She silently berated herself for her fear, but she stood rooted in terror. Her feeble attempts to use magic to assail the beast were ineffective; her magic not forming properly through her jumbled mind. Finally, filled with shame, she was able to slide back to the shore and onto drier ground.

With feet planted firmly on soil, she focused her anger; anger at herself for her weakness, and anger at the crocodile for harming her friends… more precisely, for hurting Simon. She couldn’t bear the thought of him dying alone in the cold dark depths. She formed the magic in her mind, and with a shout of focused anger, she let fly the roiling and turbulent energy from within.

A massive burst of energy sprang from her hand and flew towards the crocodile. The magic energy slammed into the beast with a brilliant shower of sparkling motes. As her brave companions fought the beast, she reformed the magic energy and let it fill her completely before releasing it towards the vicious crocodile. Again she damaged it, and she nearly wept for joy at being able to aid her brave companions… particularly the brave ranger.

Finally, after a terrible battle, the ranger plunged his twin swords into the beast and killed it. The adventurers were victorious!

As her companions continued to wade to the other side of the lake, Simon looked back to Aulora, noticed the fear returning to the beautiful Deva’s face, and returned to help her across. Aulora smiled warmly at the ranger, and gratefully accepted his offered assistance. Together they made it across and rejoined their companions.

SPOILERS

As far as session details, the party decided against swimming whenever possible. The Paladin was decked out in plate, and he was fearful of sinking. Indeed, it nearly happened a handful of times! They fashioned a raft to cross the large pool at the foot of Atotzin and nearly everyone fell into the water once it became very rough (and a failed Nature check meant the raft bashed up against the cliffside, spilling them over). Sputtering and wet, they were able to make it to the shelf. Once inside, they had their hands full with the crocodile. It grabbed Ana and slipped down to the bottom of the 10' area. The rest of the party frantically went after her and the Paladin fey-stepped on top of one of the columns for a better vantage. He challenged the croc, banging his sword against the column, and the beast surged towards him, releasing Ana. The croc slammed against the column, dumping the paladin into the water where he was summarily attacked and forced underwater. Thanks to Simon and Aulora, the beast was slain and they headed further into the cavern.
The battle with the frogs was short-lived, thanks to three straight criticals by Aulora!
The stair was located and the party ventured upwards...
They encountered the mummy and defeated him, although by this time the Paladin was down to one healing surge. Then came the T-Rex. The bone pile made for a fantastic battle and the Paladin was in the jaws of the dinosaur with 5 hit points and no healing surges left when Jaguar-Paw brought down the behemoth with his spear. It was very tense and exciting!
The party was taken to the village and met the elder, who related their plight.

This was a natural stopping point, so we packed up, eager for the next session!

Two of the party had contracted Mummy Rot and I had to allow the village shaman to cure them. It nearly killed Ana, who needed to roll a 5 or better on the heal check...and rolled a 6. Phew!