DARK SUN: Session Log

Key NPCs
Tectuktitlay: Sorcerer King of Draj

Chief Rezak: Leader of the Tari of the High Warrens (Upper Sewers)

Key Locations
Athas: World

Draj: City State, one of several - though probably the largest and most powerful at this point in Athasian history

Arena:

Slave Pens:

Upper Sewers:

Dagolar's Lair (Lower Sewers):

NPCs:
Announcer: He announces the upcoming fights for the crowd, heckles the gladiators to amuse the crowd, and controls the monsters for the fights.

Semyon: former gladiator who was tied up as a lesson to other gladiators who lose fights. He was left to die from lack of food and water or from a blow from either a gladiator or monster (party saved him - very positive view of party)

Mirlon: a gladiator who is very vain. He claims to come from a rich family, but no one knows if it’s true. He was arrested and forced to fight in the Arena.

Gilal: a slave who tried to escape once and paid for it with her memory. She can’t think about escape now without having severe head pains. She was captured and forced to fight in the Arena, but hasn’t fought since the escape attempt.

Templar Pehtucl: in charge of the Slave Pens. He makes sure everything runs smoothly and that there’s always a fight going on in the Arena.

Kurzak: main guard in charge of the pens. He was given his post by the Pehtucl and is determined to serve well.

Bonecrusher: a half-giant and a monster trainer. If you take too much time getting to the door of the pens, he is sent to retrieve you to fight in the Arena.

Scar: King of the Pens - won title by [unknown]

Trustee: an old gladiator who can no longer fight. He walks the cells doing odd jobs and cleaning up. He used to be a guide in the wilderness, but was captured and forced to fight in the Arena. One day a mountain stalker broke loose and he killed it, saving an important visiting aristocrat's life. Now, he’s allowed to stay even though he can no longer fight in the Arena.

Dinos:is a slave in the pens who does the cooking for everyone. Dinos was arrested by a templar when he accidentally fed bad food to him. Although he was put in the pens to fight in the Arena, once another templar discovered what a good cook he was, he was assigned cooking duty.

Merzol: gang leader - unknown: killed before any information was collected

Session 1: Welcome to Draj: Blood and Sand

 * Party is captured by slavers and meets for the first time and is forced to fight in the arena for the Sorcerer King Tectuktitlay who uses the blood of slaves to feed his Defiler magics in order to build his great pyramid
 * Party saves Semyon and gives him water - he tells them about a gem as reward
 * Party fights Sabertooths and Gnolls
 * Party fights Baslisks
 * Straklai talks to Bonecrusher the monster trainer and half giant - they bond in only the way that that those with giant blood bond - over their size - Bonecrusher calls Straklai "little brother"
 * After hearing a conversation about things hidden in a hay stack - Sunewar kills Merzol and his gang with a breath attack in lieu of conversation
 * The party meets the Trustee and he tells them about the various inhabitants of the pens
 * Dara tries to steal the Trustee's keys but critically fails and is caught - surprisingly the Trustee doesn't seem to care much

Session 2: Crossbows, Gilal, Dinos, and the Veiled Alliance

 * Party fights 2 Inix and harvests meat and carapace from corpses
 * Dara and Xanlile return directly to the rest area after receiving unsettling visions of a great wounded iron beast and a woman in peril
 * Choristane speaks to Kurzak the head guard, and convinces Kurzak to sell him a crossbow at a discount - but Choristane uses the Suggestion spell and the magics are detected by the Templars (Defilers) - after being released from the spell Kurzak takes his crossbow back and the Templar warns of illegal magic use while in the pens - Choristane talks his way out of more severe punishment
 * The party speaks to Semyon who tells the party about the Veiled Alliance, a resistance group based in the villages in the wastes who supposedly are working to fight the sorcerer king - Choristane convinces Semyon that the party is in fact members of the Veiled Alliance and tasks Semyon with exploring the guard room so that he might prove his worth for membership
 * The party meets Gilal who has a psychic attack when the party brings up the idea of escape - Dinos the cook arrives, lays on hands, and heals Gilal who falls asleep - After being convinced of the party's goodwill, Dinos tells the party about Gilal's escape attempt and how the Templar put a mind block spell on Gilal so that she could never remember how she escape into the sewers - Dinos invites the party to visit him in his quarters
 * Dinos talks to the party in the kitchens - highlights include:
 * Dinos agrees to cook up the Inix meat but isn't able to do anything with the carapace - though he says that their is a renowned armorer in Teaquetzel, the largest village in the wastes, located a day or two north of the fields outside the walls of Draj
 * Dinos tells the part about ways of leaving the pens:
 * Death in the arena (most common)
 * Gaining renown through becoming "King of the Pens" - Scar is the current king - but even this is not true freedom - more like celebrity slave status
 * Escape through the city by fighting your way out of the arena itself - Dinos assures this is almost certain death as there is an army of soldiers in service to Tectuktitlay as he builds his pyramid
 * Escape through the sewers - Dinos knows of only two people who have ever made it to the sewers - Gilal (who was later captured in the sewers), and an unknown (rumored) escapee who made it to the sewers years before Dinos arrived - he is uncertain if this individual made it out of the sewers and into the fields outside the city - Dinos warns of the perils of the sewer that they are as dangerous if not more so than the arena and slave pens
 * Dinos tells the party that he has a way of unlocking the door in his living space without setting off the alarm - he uses the door to bring food to the head Templar Pehtucl.

Session 3: Dune Reapers and the Haunted Room

 * The party is summoned to the arena and the announcer says that the party will be tested by the "monster trainer's finest" -
 * They face 3 Dune Reaper Drones - highlights include:
 * Sunewar tears the scythe-like claw from of the Dune Reaper's body
 * Xanlile learns about casting time
 * Malice climbs a stone pillar but is thrown when a Dune Reaper launches itself into the air - Malice rolls and strikes its under side but is ultimately incapacitated
 * Dara does massive damage on a sneak attack bloodying a Dune Reaper in series of blows in spite of being a state of utter terror
 * Straklai tries to grapple with a Dune Reaper but learns that even the strength of a Goliath is relative when facing the wastes larger and more deadly creatures
 * The party experiences the "high noon" heat of Athas combined with an oven-like feedback loop due to the construction of the arena where the temperature rises 20-30 degrees in less than a minute - they finish the fight before any serious health risks are experienced - but just barely
 * They return to the pens and take a short rest and Xanlile uses his healing spell successfully
 * During the short rest they are met by Semyon who tells them that he went to the guardroom under the false pretense that he was delivering a message from Dinos about food - Semyon learned that the is an ornate chest in the guardroom and a wardrobe - he overhead the templar and guards talking about the upcoming fight between the party and Scar and his gang - it appears the templar might have some kind of "arrangement" with Scar
 * The party "initiates" Semyon into the Veiled Alliance and gives him a straw badge and tells him to wait for their instructions
 * The party searches out the Trustee - they find him outside the haunted room - they figure out that there is not handle or keyhole but the door can be opened by simply knocking
 * Straklai investigates and finds button on the north wall next to the bookcase which opens a secret door - in the next chamber they find a spectral being illuminated by eerie candle light - Straklai successfully interacts with the spirit learn that the spirit desires to be released from this plane but is kept from doing so by a large spherical gem - Straklai invokes the divine through his skills as a paladin and releases the spirit - the gem changes colors and the candles go out - they find a chest in one room containing a spell scroll, health potion, and gems.

Session 4: Escape from the Pens
The party rests and is called once again to the arena, however this time the announcer has something special in store. They quickly learn that they will be pitted against Scar, the King of the Pens and his gang. Unbeknownst to all, Scar is actually planning to attempt an escape. After a hasty discussion the party decides to follow Scar back into the pens to fight their way to the sewer entrance. When asked about what they will do in the sewer, Scar simply answers "we'll cross that bridge when we get there." The party is immediately confronted by a large group of guards and half-giants that is led by a templar. Combat ensues. Pehtucl, the head templar, joins the combat but is overwhelmed by Ogrin and Dara. Pehtucl begs for his life and offers to show the party the way to a secret passage that leads to the sewer entrance. Pehtucl offers the party 4 guavas that he claims have magical boons when eaten. The party takes the guavas and a obsidian sword that glows with blood red energy from the chest in Pehtucl's bed chamber. Ogrin binds Pehtucl's hands but the templar informs them that the secret door is actually in on of the monster pens... and that they will most likely have to kill the monster in the pen to get through. Pehtucl tells the guards to back off and he leads the party to the pen. On the way, Choristane and Dara investigate Kurzak's quarters. Choristane triumphantly finds Kurzak's crossbow and pilfers it - a happy revenge for the bard. The party regroups outside of the monster pen and they quickly devise a plan as they realize it will be only minutes before every guard in the pens finds them. Scar tells his gang that they need to prove themselves and Scar watches in unsettling amusement as his gang is torn apart by a mountain stalker. The mountain stalker engages and Scar steps forward to take the full brunt of its attack. He survives but is badly bloodied - a fact that Scar seems to enjoy. Pehtucl suggests that the party use the guavas to gain health benefits and possibly the benefits of "Bless." Choristane tosses a guava to Malice and Scar. Scar throws back his guava and prepares to attack the mountain stalker but suddenly begins foaming at the mouth. He collapses to his knees, eyes bleeding, and slumps to the ground stone dead. With Scar dead the party prepares to fight the wounded mountain stalker.

Session 5: Escape Continued and The Sewers
The group begins the fight against the mountain stalker. Pehtucl, pressed a little to close to the mountain stalker by Choristane, soon was nothing more than a pile of biological material on the floor. After dispatching the mountain stalker and finding a secret entrance at the back of its cage, Ogrin decides to create a rearguard and tells the party to run. Ogrin opens the second cage of the mountain stalker to create a diversion. The party uses the dead mountain stalker to prop open the secret door allowing Dara to sprint out. The party cruises up the secret passage and gets close to the sewers. Nearing the sewers, an ambush is set as the guards of the prison all arrive at the same time. Choristane, Xanlile, and Malice decide to charge the ambush to allow Straklai, Dara, and Sunewar to get to the sewers. In a blaze of glory, Choristane, Xanlile, and Malice are able to disrupt the attack, but each finally loses their battle against the Sorcerer King Tectuktitlay's slave pits.

Straklai, Dara, and Sunewar find themselves in an area with large rodent people warrens. Upon entry they find out they are in the lower warrens, under the control of Churr. Churr explains that they are being ground under the foot of the rodents of the high warrens. They have left them to die and stole their magic staff that would regain Churr and his companions power. If the party assists Churr, he'll help them get out of the warrens and give them the staff after Churr has regained power. The party travels with a group of guards and finds a room that has been closed for some time. They are able to open it with some effort and find a room that seems untouched for some time. In the room, they end up fighting a mimic, and find a note that says:


 * My brother Dagolar - Get revenge - must find the staff - gain entrance to his lair - I vow...

The party then moves to the door that the lower warren rats explain is the entrance into the high warrens. The party asks the guard to hide and move up to the door and see another rat man on the other side of the door. After speaking with Regic, who will not open the door, Straklai is able to pull the door open a small amount which puts Regic on high alert. After some conversation, Regic realizes he can't do much to keep the party out, so agrees to allow Dara, the smallest of the group, in to discuss with Chief Rezak. Dara is able to convince Chief Rezak that they are great warriors and can assist Rezak. Chief Rezak explains that the high warrens and low warrens are in conflict and believes that the leader of the low warrens, Churr, has kidnapped his daughter. The party explains they had to come through the low warrens and did not see Rezak's daughter. Upon hearing this, Chief Rezak realizes it must be Mikquetzl who has taken his daughter. He asks the party to rescue her, and he'll give his helm of great worth.

The party then takes a long rest. After the long rest they head to the skull temple to see what they can learn.

Session 6: Miquetzl Overthrown and the Rescue of the High Warrens

 * Straklai converses with the the skull elders - learns more about Dagolar - "Dagolar is our creator. If you desire to seek out Dagolar you need the Staff of Parting. Seek him out and you too may be transformed."
 * Party heads to Miquetzl's ritual room - they are stopped by Miquetzl's crazed followers, but the followers learn that the party is escaped gladiators and they bring them to Miquetzl who can use influential and skilled followers
 * The party confronts Miquetzl, who plans to take back the sewer by destroying the High Warrens and the Skull Temple - presumably to get the Staff and confront Dagolar (I don't think this was revealed before Sunewar breathed acid all over everybody)
 * A fight ensues! The cultists knock over braziers and the room is engulfed with flames. Miquetzl disappears and starts blinding people with magical Chameleon Gloves. Straklai is blinded but successfully prays and has his attacked guided by divine forces - Straklai cuts off Miquetzl's hand.
 * Sunewar is bitch slapped and is blinded - after the fight Dara tries to cure him but ends up just making him deaf too
 * The party rescues the chief's daughter who warns them of an attack on the Skull Temple -
 * The party returns and successfully defends the High Warrens and Skull Temple
 * The party is given the SoP - Straklai locates the Staff of Parting in the drain within the Skull Temple

Session 7: The Flushing Tunnels

 * The party is given two guides to see them out of the sewers - Zit and Saki
 * The party decides to go to the Flushing Tunnels - they have some issues scaling the slippery wall
 * A Red Slaad emerges out of the murky water - Sunewar engages while Straklai tries to scale the wall - Dara is thrown across the pool into the wall, and begins to sink in the muck
 * The Slaad lays eggs in Sunewar's chest but Straklai prays the gay away
 * Dara is knocked back into the muck
 * Sunewar is incapacitated but the party finishes off the Slaad
 * The party returns to the High Warrens to rest but are warned that Drajan soldiers have entered the sewers in great numbers and are sweeping the sewers for the escaped gladiators - the party needs to leave now if they are going to have a chance at making it
 * The party tries a skill challenge for the first time - they try to slip past the city guards but are seen - they take arrow fire but are able to flee to the entrance to the lower sewers aka Dagolar's Lair - they use the staff and the murky waters part, revealing an ornate door with two large bulbous eyes
 * They descend and enter Dagolar's Lair

Session 8: Dagolar's Lair

 * The party meets Ogrin again and saves him from a locked cage.
 * Ogrin decides to investigate a hole and finds an ooze. The party ends up destroying the ooze, but Ogrin has his armor and a sword corroded (-1)
 * Ogrin finds a horn on a corpse. He blows it and Dara finds the result to be extremely unsettling. The party is very apprehensive of being present in this "area."
 * The party then meets Mow... They don't trust him but he mentions he can help them kill Dagolar.
 * He recommends they kill some guards to get a Houndshead Amulet to get past the door.
 * Upon getting through the door, the party finds an odd area full of magic. Deformed statues, prophesies of the future, and statues of Dagolar's enemies.
 * They meet Keldar. He writes their names down in his book and asks how they'd like to die. Confused the party's response is fairly non-reactive, they are then ambushed by shadow creatures and a pudding ooze creature.