There are four levels of this dungeon to go, including this one. As it is a temple of Elemental Evil, that means I have decided to include a Deranged Cultist among each of the cultist forces in each of these four levels thus creating a chance at summoning an elemental Aberration. The Deranged Cultist is additional to any leaders or unique foes generated by the system.
There is an elemental in the Aberrations list in the rule book. I have used that as the basis for creating unique air, earth, fire and water elementals. If the party moves fast enough, they can stop the elemental being summoned. Failure to do that will result in them having to fight it. I have no idea if I am overfacing the Thrappled Lemmings here, but this is meant to be an epic finale to my campaign, so I am ramping up the danger levels (I think). Let us see if the Lemmings get lucky...
Breakfast was a sombre affair. Wido had forgotten to load Jarnhauss the Mule up with beer and the Lemmings were grumpy because of that. Still, they had the entertainment of Hildegard the Healer visiting them. She had offered to heal any injuries, but no one required her attention, so they just gossiped and told her the news of their heroic activities. It never hurts to spread good publicity about yourself, you know.
Of course, being hospitable to a wandering healer comes at a price, and the Lemmings quickly found their rations being depleted. Hildegard was a bottomless pit when it came to food, even trail foods. After breakfast, Lysanthir went in search of herbs, but found none. Sir Thiebault took Fulrad hunting but they hunted in vain. It seemed that the activities of the local cultists had scared the game away.
With their bellies full, the Thrappled Lemmings wished Hildegard well and descended into the depths of the Temple again in search of more treasure. As usual, Fulrad scouted ahead for them. As he stealthily advanced into the dungeon, fog curled around his feet and flowed through the corridors. Visibility was poor as it rose and formed a misty veil over the whole dungeon that shifted in soft currents of air and hinted at monstrous shapes lurking just beyond. The gibbering of the previous level was replaced by a dull, rhythmic thumping, thrumming noise. Fulrad found himself moving in time to the faintly heard beat. It was alien but intoxicating, a foreign spell that could steal a person's mind. Taking control of his thoughts once more, he called the others to him and reported what his scouting had shown.
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| Lemmings enter from bottom left and bottom right. The deranged cultist is at the top of the map. Cavern tiles from Heroic Maps |
"This place reeks of treasure," he whispered, "I have identified several areas that could be fruitful, but be careful, because there's some kind of night fever forcing that rhythm out of your soul."
"Huh!" responded Sir Thiebault wittily.
"No," said Lysanthir, "I can feel it. The groove is waiting to for us. Stay alert and don't get swept away."
Sir Thiebault, who was tone deaf and a real buzzkill was none the wiser, but he ordered the Lemmings to advance anyway. There were two entry points to this level so they split up and moved out.
They advanced quickly through the twisting tunnels of the cavern, despite the fog that blocked their view. Fulrad suddenly rushed forward.
"Treasure!"
As he did so, three grotesquely colourful demons spotted him.
"Oh shit!"
"Formation, ladies!" shouted one of the demons.
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| Dancing queens |
As Fulrad retreated at full speed, Sir Thiebault and Drogo dashed through separate passages to aid him. The demons shimmied forward in time to the increasingly loud bass beat that echoed through the halls. They took a step to the left, and then a step to the right. They put their hands on their hips and made it abundantly clear that they would not leave the Thrappled Lemmings untouched. Their razor sharp nails extended six inches from their finger tips and glittered with eerie light. They flowed forward towards Drogo, who drove them back.
Involuntarily, he cried out "You can tell by the way I use my axe, I'm a woman's man. No time to talk!"
The fog in the corridors eddied more. A great soughing sigh flowed through the caverns.
"Ha, you're about to be blown away!" screeched a demon.
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| A deranged cultist flanked by demon allies |
Lysanthir feared the worst. A cultist had summoned an elemental and this fight was about to get even more serious. He feared it would be pure murder on the dance floor.
Onesipe advanced towards a likely spot for treasure. As he did so, the floor under him broke up. He only just managed to leap back to safe ground as a poor of toxic sludge was revealed. Wido moved quickly past him, followed more slowly by Lysanthir who was muttering something about staying alive. He had a feeling he knew who they faced now and he was not happy. The demons of Dimension d15 c0 were tough and deadly. It was easy to forget this when you saw them. They looked like brightly coloured shiny happy people and they would have you swaying in time to the rhythm of their whims even as they eviscerated you in a typical d15 c0 inferno.
Meanwhile, the demons were chasing Drogo through the corridors. One caught up with Fulrad, who slew it, with the aid of Sir Thiebault. Drogo and Sir Thiebault then turned to the other two in the group. They had found their groove now and the demons died quickly. Fulrad had time while they did that to check out an interesting feature in the cavern ahead, only to find himself dancing back at high speed from a pit full of toxic looking sludge that changed colour rapidly, his boot heels melting where he had partially fallen in.
On the other flank, Wido and Lysanthir had been spotted by more of the demons. Wido's spear wove patterns of death as Lysanthir egged him on. Green ichor oozed from wounds on the demon's bodies as the two groups parted to catch their breath before returning to the fray.
Seconds later the onslaught began again. Lysanthir was driven back and Wido stepped in to the fray aided by Onesipe. Between them, they cut the demons down. Two ran from the fight, but the rest lay dead before our heroes. As the infernal beat died down, the deranged cultist took to her heels. She would live to face our heroes again, but the air elemental she had summoned was now flowing ominously through the caverns towards Lysanthir, Onesipe and Wido.
Onesipe fired a bolt at it, but it passed right through without hurting it. Then Wido engaged the creature but neither he nor the elemental could gain any advantage. Fulrad rushed up to take up a firing position and joined the fight. After an age, Onesipe spotted a break in the swirling winds surrounding the creature's core and shot a bolt straight through it. The creature spasmed in agony. Wido saw this and stepped in, driving his spear into the same spot. The monster flailed and lashed out, throwing Wido ten paces back through the air to smack against the cavern wall. Winded but unharmed he picked himself up again.
Lysanthir had moved up to support Wido and was now the elemental's target. He flailed wildly with his staff in a bid to fend the creature off. It's first blow was stopped by his ring of protection and then he drove it back enough to get some breathing room.
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| Air Elemental from the Temple of Elemental Evil board game |
As Wido returned to the fight, Drogo and Sir Thiebault raced up to attack. The monster was badly wounded but still dangerous and it was at times like this that the Thrappled Lemmings came together as a team. Onesipe and Fulrad fired as quickly as they could. Lysanthir tried to distract the elemental, while the others weaved in and out in a complex dance of swordplay. It was a miracle that none of the party was wounded but by supporting each other and working together, it was also only a matter of time before the air elemental fell. That honour went to Drogo whose axe clove through the howling gale around the creature to find its soft centre. The caverns were stunningly quiet after it fell.
"Right, let's loot the heck out of this place," announced Lysanthir, breaking the silence. The Lemmings set to with a will. They had sustained cuts and bruises but their supply of bandages had held them together
The resultant pile of treasure made the Lemmings very happy, even if they had disturbed a few more of the demons and set off a trap that nearly killed Drogo. Fortunately, Lysanthir was on hand with a Heal spell and the Lemmings en masse were more than a match for a few demons. They returned to their camp above ground to rest up before continuing their quest for even more loot.
That went better than I feared. On paper, the elemental's Armour and Toughness are a real challenge, but the sheer number of attacks made and the party's superior Combat Skill really told. The Elemental won a couple of rounds of melee but did not take any of the party out of the fight, so they were able to bandage their wounds and carry on. With so many attacks being made against it, it was really only a matter of time before I got lucky and beat both its Armour and Toughness. Still, it could have gone the other way and badly with worse dice rolling, especially with the elemental having +2 to defeat both Armour and Toughness. It would only have taken one lucky hit for a Lemming to be lost.
Air Elemental
- Speed 5
- Combat +1
- Damage +2/+2
- Armour 4
- Toughness 6
- MP 3
- RR 3
- Traits: Ethereal, Lash, Wings
The idea is that it is hard to damage because it is composed of air and that it gusts in a way that drives its attackers back. Being an air elemental, it can also ignore terrain penalties by drifting over them.
