Clarshh’s Sepulchre

This summer adventure is from the convention game I ran on sunday. I ran the same adventure on friday, but didn’t take enough notes. Also, I have given a summary, partial and otherwise, for other groups that have run this adventure. It’s a favorite of mine. It’ll likely be the last time I blog about a group running it. I have other materials, I promise!

For those interested, this adventure can be found in Dungeon Magazine issue #53, beginning on page 20. The adventure was written by a Mr. Willie Walsh.

The party, newly formed and just getting to know one another, I just been betting down for the night when they were interrupted by the hooting of a large owl that began speaking to them!

It claimed that it’s employer was offering a lucrative contract with a flat fee plus a percentage of found treasure. The party acknowledged their interest and followed the owl to its employer.

What they found there boggled the mind. They found a 12 ft tall Giant in well tailored clothing with a deep baritone voice declaring its name to be Sereen. Sereen was an arcane, one of a mystical travelling race, who traversed the very planes of existence!

Sereen offered them a contract: 1000 gold pieces reward each plus 20% of all monetary treasure found and the loan of a magical weapon, in exchange for bringing out a cube of force from the sepulcher. He refused to disclose the location, to avoid the prospect of claim jumpers.

The party agreed and set out the following morning, traveling with Serene on his wagon to the town of Lammdon. It was here that the party was told there’s location was north of this town, about 50 miles and further up the trail where Sereen would give them the final clues to find the entrance to the sepulcher.

Gearing up for any last minute equipment, the party anxiously went to bed to wait their travel the next day.

Heading out, the party forded a river (A), and later came to a road marker (B), with a symbol of Nergal, an evil god of the dead.  This depiction was of a man wielding a shield in front of himself, his other arm stretched behind and above him.

The party continued onward eventually coming to the ruined town. It is here that Serene gave the clues that he found to find the location of the sepulcher entrance.

The party had many encounters during their search of the town and attempts at deciphering the clues. They fought stirges in the old inn (5), a giant toad in the old butcher shop (7), an illusionary troll in a hovel (17), shadows while looking up a chimney (16), and a rattlesnake outside of a tailor’s shop (2). They also cleaned out and purified a fountain (11), accidentally broke a spigot (14) to the cistern (10) and flooded the bathhouse (14). They upturned barrels to find a key in the cooper’s place (12), and found some long dead adventurers with a decorative belt buckle and a helm of comprehend languages (13).

The party gathered the necessary items and spread them in the correct gatehouse, opening the trapdoor that was magically hidden, leading to the sepulcher.

Going down, they had a brief combat with an ooze before finding, through a series of a trap puzzle involving a descending ceiling, a hallway mausoleum for esteemed members of the cult. Unfortunately, one of the members had been turned into a ghast!

Making short work of that, the party continued on through a series of secret doors until they finally came across the true entrance to the sarcophagus of Clarshh.

Guarding it was a strange creature known as a crypt thing that would not let them pass. After initiating combat, which caused the crypt thing to activate its ability to teleport mass numbers of people to away from the dungeon (in actuality at the beginning of the dungeon had an attempt to tell them to leave), the party fought valiantly, and survived, taking the loot and winning the module.

All in all, it was a wonderful game experience, made better by the ability to play in person with a good chunk of my normal Sunday group.

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Until next time, Dear Readers…