DM Commentary

This adventure started with a casual decision I made in the middle of writing the Grail Quest adventure. In the crystal cavern hidden behind the Grail Tower (aka The Tower of the Lovelorn Knight), there was a Hall of Many Doors, with a pit at the end. On a whim, I decided to have you find a set of ancient bones, and strange cards bearing names like "James St. John" and "Isaac MacAllister". It was intended as just a way of making you, as players, go "WTF?!?".

Epilogue

Having defeated Tynillios and his collection of the party's alter-egos, the party debated about how long to wait before returning to Earth. The Gatestone pointed to a weathered flagstone in the center of the tower's floor, and Earth's was the only facet still glowing green on the Gatestone. After healing up as best they could without an overnight rest, they decided there wasn't likely to be any danger waiting for them back on Earth, now that Twynillios was out of the picture. Placing the Gatestone on the flagstone, they pressed the facet for Earth, and felt the familiar stretching sensation.

The Final Confrontation

The party took an extended rest after defeating the SpellWeaver, and then prepared to leave. They were reluctant to leave all that valuable-looking loot behind, but could find no way to separate any item from the rest of the hoard. The Gatestone only had two facets left untouched: the one for Earth, and one more unknown universe. Pressing that facet, they felt the now-familiar stretching sensation as they were transported across dimensions.

The SpellWeaver

Having survived their encounter with the gremlins, the party paused to catch their breath and bind their wounds.  They searched the room, but found nothing magical (or almost anything that wasn't broken, shredded, or befouled by the gremlins). That just left the doors in the far corner of the room, so arranging themselves, they pushed them open.

Don't Feed Them After Midnight

After finishing off Professor Frink and his robots, the party spent some time healing up and searching the room. They didn't find anything of interest on the bodies of the Professor or his assistant, but Chuck was worried about the machinery that still hummed and crackled in the corner. There was a very female robot hooked up to the machinery, and although it appeared completely inanimate, Chuck decided that he'd sleep better if he smashed it up a bit. The Gatestone now pointed almost due east, but the only obvious exit from the room was to the south, so the party spent some time searching (unsuccessfully) for secret doors along the east wall.

I, Robot

The party was still in battle with the alchemists and their plants, but the tide had clearly turned in their favor. Phil managed to escape the vines that had ensnared him and tried to put some distance between himself and the creature. The lone remaining active alchemist slipped away from Joe and hurled a couple more vials of chemicals his way, but it was too little, too late, and he soon became compost for the greenhouse. The party briefly considered leaving the plants alone, but another Caustic Cloud from the Vine Horror Spellfiend that left Joe blinded (again) quickly changed their minds.They had little trouble finishing off the two remaining plants, then delivered a coup de grace to the Held alchemist and his master. There was more rustling and movement from the far reaches of the greenhouse, suggesting that more of the plant creatures still remained, but for now, all was quiet.

Better Living Through Chemistry

Having fended off the welcoming committee that had demanded the surrender of their weapons and magic, the party took a brief rest and then checked the Gatestone. It seemed to point towards the building they could see on the hill a mile or so away, so they set off.

I Feel Funny

The party had defeated a strange assortment of monsters, robots, and ray-gun wielding baddies, and used the Gatestone to transport themselves to the next unvisited universe. They found themselves standing on a floor of chipped and weathered marble. Crumbled walls, columns, and arches surrounded them, and if there was ever a roof to this place it was long since gone. Behind them stood a half-domed grotto holding a statue of a winged woman, almost like an angel, but the face of the statue was weathered to the point that it was impossible to tell whether she was benevolent or cruel. Despite the long-abandoned and ruined nature of the rest of the building, water bubbled merrily in a fountain before them.

Long Ago, In a Galaxy Far, Far Away ...

The party had completed their mission for the King of the Fire Elementals, returning (very reluctantly) to Ravenloft to bury the gem he had given them, creating a new-born volcano in the process. They hurriedly returned to Castle Lightningspire, ignoring the bodies of the dead circus folk strewn about outside, and used the Gatestone to re-close the gate.

The Fortress of Glass

At the urging of their oracle, Queen Amal and her Amazon warriors had agreed to to take the party across the "Lake of Fire" to the "Fortress of Glass" - whatever that meant. Mounted on the Amazons' pterodactyls, the party flew up the side of the volcano at the center of the island, and over the lip of the crater. At that moment, the oracle's words made sense. Below them, the caldera was a filled with a lake of molten lava, seething and bubbling. Rising from the center of the sea of magma was an island of black rock. Seeming to grow out of the rock itself was a tower of black obsidian. At a command from the Queen, the flight of pterodactyls banked as one, and began descending towards the tower.

Amazons

After spending the night in the village of the little people who had befriended them, the party began looking for any signs of boats, fishing nets, etc. that you might expect in a village of people living this close to a body of water, but saw none. Before venturing off to the island that the Gatestone was pointing to, they decided it might be wise to try to communicate with the locals. They summoned the chieftan, B'bao, and Chuck cast a Tongues spell, which gave them about 10 minutes to ask their questions. B'bao, and his son, F'uada didn't seem terribly surprised by his use of magic.

Dino-mite!

Having abandoned the surviving members of Professor Fulcroft's expedition in the caverns deep below the Demon's Mouth, the party once again used the Gatestone to travel to another universe. When they arrived, they found themselves in what appeared to be a natural cavern, ~30’ in diameter. The walls were decorated with odd paintings. Some were outlines of some shape, as if the artist painted over something. They looked, well, kind of like hands, except they’re much bigger than any human hands, the artist would have to have stood on a stepladder, they only had four fingers, and the thumb pointed the wrong direction. But other than that, they looked just like hands. There were also nine symbols painted at regular intervals around the cave. Upon inspection, they proved to be crude versions of the symbols etched on the facets of the Gatestone.

The Mines of the Mi-Go

The party had made their way to an icy chamber in the center of the underground complex beneath the Demon's Mouth. The Gatestone pointed to a featureless section of wall, with no apparent opening. As the party stood discussing their options and looking for secret controls, the wall suddenly shot open of its own accord. A blinding light shot forth; Mary, Brett, and the Professor were temporarily blinded.

Swallowed by the Mouth

Having survived the descent into the Demon's Mouth, the party set out exploring their surroundings. They were surrounded by a vast cavern, extending off an unknown distance in every direction. There was an obvious crater in the bat guano that covered the area beneath the shaft (but not inside the cavern itself), and a path through the guano indicated that whatever had fallen had been drug off. Mary followed the trail, and soon found the skeleton of a deer. Many of the bones were shattered, consistent with a 200' fall, but they also showed signs of having been gnawed on. No one could identify what kind of animal had done the gnawing.

Into the Mouth

The party had found themselves in the pleasant New England town of Bethlehem, New Hampshire, in 1928. They had made the acquaintance of Professor Quentin Fulcroft, who was leading a small expedition in search of an unusual local geographic feature called the Demon's Mouth. The party invited themselves along, since the area the professor planned to explore was in the general area pointed to by the Gatestone.

Slouching Towards Bethlehem

Having defeated Gondolfino and his minions at Castle Lightningpsire, and having transferred their minds back into their own bodies, the party was ready to move on. They just had one problem - the little girl, Jane, who they'd rescued. Confident that the next world they visited would have to be better than one filled with undead, they elected to take her with them. Using the Gatestone, they felt themselves being stretched impossibly thin ...

Getting in Touch With Yourself

Our freakish heroes were embroiled in combat, seeking revenge against their maker, Gondolfino, and his evil clown minions, with hopes that somehow they could return to their own bodies before their minds became too weak. One clown had fallen, but another still fought, while the third was strapped to the table of Gondolfino's infernal device, hideously transformed into a travesty of a woman. Gondolfino himself had disappeared, but Phil seemed to be able to sense his presence with his snake's senses, although he didn't seem to be capable of hitting him.

Get Your Freak On

Trapped in bizarre circus-freak bodies and imprisoned by the evil circus-master Gondolfino, our characters' fate seemed bleak. Within a day or two, if Gondolfino could be believed, their minds would succumb to the strain of trying to adapt to their new bodies and they would become gibbering idiots, living out the rest of their days horrifying the paying guests at Gondolfino's circus.

You Don't Quite Feel Like Yourself

In their attempt to rescue the young girl, Jane, who had dashed off in search of her recently deceased parents, the party had become embroiled in combat with a swarm of undead who were somehow allied with denizens of the Circus Gondofino. Things were looking promising, however. Only a handful of the undead remained standing, along with just a couple of roustabouts, and three of the four big cats were down. However, something or someone was still casting spells at the party, and the clowns were unaccounted for.

A Day (and Night) at the Circus

Having visited the Menagerie and Freak Show, the party decided it was time to visit the Big Top. After buying their tickets, they were ushered into the tent, where rough bleachers had been erected. A small band was playing cheery tunes, while roustabouts circulated among the crowd selling snacks. With a fanfare from the band, a diminutive, round man entered with a flourish. He was dressed in a bright red coat with long tails and a high stiff collar, and shiny black riding boots. He had a mustache waxed into precise curls, and his hair was oiled and brushed back almost into wings on either side of his bald pate. He carried a large megaphone which he used to address the crowd.

A Trip to the Fair

After surviving their encounter with a pack of apparent werewolves, the party began healing up. They were concerned about the bites of the wolf-like creatures potentially infecting them (having all seen werewolf movies), so they also began casting Cure Disease spells just as fast as the party's clerics could learn them. They heard children's laughter from the midnight forest around them, which only added to their sense of paranoia. However, the rest of the night passed uneventfully.

Escape

Their attempt to sneak undetected into the castle having failed, the party found themselves once again stripped to their skivvies and thrown into a dungeon cell. Total silence reigned - obviously their captors had experience with spellcasting prisoners. The party wished their sense of smell was also magically muted, as the odor of urine, feces, blood, and death filled their nostrils.

Out of the Frying Pan, Into the Fire

Having used the Gatestone to leave Merlin's cavern, the party found themselves standing on a grassy plain, surrounded by a circle of weathered, standing stones, very much like Stonehenge. The land in front of them sloped gently upwards, and a large castle could be seen several miles in the distance. The peaceful scene before them is at odds with the sounds coming from behind them: a tumult of shouts, screams, thundering hoofbeats, and loud crashes.

The Crystal Cavern

After their untimely deaths, our party found themselves in a warm dark tunnel, with a bright light at the end. Distant music could be heard from the direction of the light. As they moved towards the light, it receded away, finally vanishing with a distant flash. The sound of music was replaced by mocking laughter, which also faded away. They floated in the darkness for what seemed an eternity.

Rest in Peace?

When last we saw our intrepid adventurers, they were at the bottom of a pit, under relentless attack by flaming bats and crystalline scorpion-like creatures. They had come in search of some information left behind by the great mage Merlin after he disappeared some 1500 years ago, but things had gone horribly wrong.

Down the Rabbit Hole

The party was in a pub in Bath, having just listened to Avalon tell them that he believed that a rebel wizard from his home world of Arcadia, named Twynillios, was behind the recent attacks on the party. While they were still trying to digest this news, Joe received a phone call. He stepped out to take it, then returned and took Ice aside for a private conversation. When they returned, Ice was looking nervously over his shoulder, and Joe was even grimmer than usual.

A Fallen Comrade

Everyone was living more or less peaceful lives, keeping your distance from your former comrades and hoping that your past would stay firmly in the past. Sadly, it was not to be. Jerry, who was monitoring a variety of government databases for any activity related to the party's known identities, suddenly got a flurry of hits looking for information on Harry. Apparently someone had queried the FBI's IAFIS database with Harry's fingerprints, and that caused all hell to break loose. Jerry decided he'd better warn Harry that someone was on his trail, but when he called the special number for Harry, someone else answered his phone. Thoroughly spooked, Jerry went on the run.

Modern Weapons

Guns have a normal To Hit based on character class and level. Treat as normal missile attacks; dexterity bonus on both THAC0 and AC apply. Guns have an attack rate (number of attacks per round), and an ammo usage rate based on the type of attack. They each have an ammo capacity, and require some amount of time to reload when they’re out of ammo. Characters need to keep track of their ammo usage themselves. Each caliber weapon uses different ammo; weapons of the same caliber can interchange ammo.

Current Character Info

In the 10 years that have passed since your escape from Area 51 and your engagement with Tesla's magic-using Nazis, each of you have gone your separate ways. You've made sure to keep each others' cell phone numbers in case of an emergency, but beyond that you've had little contact with one another - no Christmas cards, no 5-year reunions. You were each given new identities by the Qabbal, and you know those identities for each other, but you don't know if anyone has taken another assumed identity. Here's what you know of each others' whereabouts.

My First Blog

I now have a blog. I feel so ... dirty. I never wanted to be one of those people. Oh well - it's only for D&D. It's not like I'm going to go around sharing my every insipid thought on what music I like, or what I think about Brittany Spears, or what I ate. Although we did eat at this really good Cuban restaurant in Durham last night, called Cuban Revolution. I had a steak sandwich called "The JFK", that came with black beans and rice, and was ....  OH MY GOD - IT'S HAPPENING!!!