Curse of the Crimson Throne Recap # 74 [RPG]

 [Wealday, 5 Arodus 4708 A.R.]

The Harrowed Heroes have made the fateful choice to spend a second night in Scarwall, a choice that brings with it great danger.  Goldcape, standing watch with Rocky, sounds the alarm as long fingers of black smoke somehow press through the walls all around the ostensibly-disguised campsite!  Two vaguely-humanoid shadowy shapes and a translucent ghostly figure emerge.  Rocky panicks at the unnatural sight and bolts, carrying Goldcape (and the room’s only source of light) with him!  “Hammer . . . bearer . . . “ croaks the ghostly figure, pointing a long, skeletal finger at The Reckoner.  Blinded by the total darkness and still wrapped in his bedroll, The Reckoner’s completely unable to defend himself as the shapes swarm and begin to drain his life force with the merest touch!

Anorak leaps to his feet, ready to do battle as The Reckoner pulls on his mask of the mantis so he can see his attackers.  Severely weakened, he nonetheless manages to pull himself up and race from the room.  Yraelzin utters some arcane words to make his robes glow, shouts “spectre!” and attacks with a volley of glowing missiles launched from a nearly-drained wand.  Goldcape bravely rushes back on foot, her blessed longsword at the ready, and joins the fray.  Once Rocky’s initial panic abates, he flies back in and together he and her master destroy one of the spectral haunts.  When The Reckoner returns, having had time to recover thanks to the others’ intervention, he quickly dispatches the remaining foes.  Magical scrolls and wands manage to assuage the wounds—physical and spiritual—incurred in the early morning assault.

Nonetheless, The Reckoner is frustrated and angry that no one detected the attack, that Rocky panicked, and that somehow the attackers knew to target him.  He proposes the group should leave Scarwall, purchase more supplies, and return.  Anorak, however, is reluctant to leave—he says he’s not even sure it’s possible, and even if it is, wonders if it would be possible to return. Goldcape and Anorak, who both suffered intense and unnerving dreams overnight, discuss whether there’s a safer way to rest in Scarwall.  Anorak comes up with the potential solution of crafting a magical wand that will allow everyone to stay awake, all night long, while feeling as if they’ve had a good night’s sleep—at least until they exert themselves.  The decision is made for Anorak to start on the project immediately.  Although it will take several hours, Goldcape can rest while The Reckoner and Yraelzin stand guard.

 

But after the traumatic attack and angry debate that followed, one crucial question has been forgotten.  What happened to Lorien?

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GM Commentary

This scenario seems very short (just one encounter and some RP about crafting a wand), but I honestly can't remember why.  There must have been an interruption of some kind that forced us to call it short.

A lot of GMs forget about the Unnatural Aura ability of wraiths, but they can wreak havoc on mounts and animal companions, as we saw in the opening round here.  Similarly, this encounter showed the advantage of having darkvision because The Reckoner's need to don and activate his mask of the mantis in order to fight the attackers left him very vulnerable.

I think the wand that Anorak intended to craft was for the keep watch spell, which has always been a problematic spell for the game.  The rules for sleep and fatigue aren't detailed well, and the addition of a low-level spell that allows PCs to bypass one of the key limitations in the game (the need to rest) is problematic because it then opens the door to players asking questions about what other activities they can do while magically awake on watch all night.  It's also an example of "magical trivializes all obstacles" in the game.

Lorien's player was absent from the session, but I think returns in the next one.