Secrets from the Vault - tales from DCC 2005 Tournament

[superfan]

Chris suggested that I and other contestants in this year's tourney could win prizes, fame, and banish the pain of TPK with an account of our adventures in the Vault. Here is my humble first step to record the tale of our group, "This horn blows" (explanation later). Hope you enjoy the account of our trials and tribulations.

Dedicated to my new friends and party members, Chris, Aaron, and Pete. We gave it our all !!!!

Group Name: “This Horn Blows”
3rd place winners DCC Tourney #2
Episode #1 Arrival

Tired, cold and weary, the Adventurers step onto the ice sheet. Ice crunches beneath their boots while the howl of the wind roars in their ears.

In the lead, a small kobold, Ynnen, carefully pulls himself forward, head down into the wind. He bends, clawing at the ice, as a gust nearly pulls him off the mountain face. A black short sword lies strapped to his back while delicate metal tools hang at his belt. His sharp yellow teeth seem to glow in the snowfall as he turns back to check on his less agile companions.

Behind him, Variander, holy symbol in hand, prays for warmth against the unending cold. He trudges onward with heavy steps, memories surfacing from their two week ordeal. Mumbling curses to the Frost Gods, he smiles. The priests could never completely banish the lessons of his roguish upbringing. Grinning, he reaches down, and casually tosses a small ball of snow over his shoulder.

Seemingly unaffected by the whipping wind, Glynn the Sorcerer follows. His red cloak, conspicuous against the white, glows slightly as the ice hits an invisible shield of force, bouncing away. Wagging his finger, the swarthy face peers from beneath his rune covered cloak. “You’ll have to do better than that.”

Bringing up the rear, Loros the Ranger scowls. Gods! How he misses the color green! Still, his people's pact with the Silver Dragons must be honored. The missing wormling brought home safe. His hired companions paid. The kobold likely returned to whatever local prison or thieves’ guild he escaped from.

The young dragon lies trapped at the entrance of the Vault, he thinks, tail buried under an icefall. Or perhaps research in the ancient cave ruins has kept him, entranced by knowledge of his ancestors.

But why then the pervasive worry….the dread? The last week has seen the cold intensify, the clouds darken, and their collective mood fall. Surely this can’t be natural as he pushes his way through a small crack in the ice. Ahead, his companions have halted, looking upwards.

“We’re all going to die here”

The words fall from Glynn’s lips, dropping like icicles, into the sudden stillness.

One hundred feet above, a massive stone dragon, wings unfurled, jaws open, appears to leap from a dark cave, hanging as if frozen, waiting for the command to fall and devour them. A sheer cliff of ice, polished to a mirror sheen, stands before them.

From the clouds above, a booming voice, “WHAT DO YOU DO?”

[Tindalos]

Wow.

[superfan]

Terrifying journey into fear....wish I could have been a fly on the walls of the other groups....can't imagine how they survived the level draining beams, dragon shades, mosaic constructs, HIDEOUS traps, oozes, etc.

Tomb of Horrors FEH.....these guys know how to make a killer dungeon.

Once again, hat's off to the winners. 4 hour sessions with killer dungeon = very tough.

I'll stick to Dundjinni mapping! Less stressful!

Ben "superfan" Waxman

Better to play Ynnen and die, than not to have played at all.

[Save Vs. Death Ray]

Give us more, Superfan!