W34 Planning

A page for planning after W33: Hell on Wheels. - - - Planning about Session 34 ->

The Grey Company is presently encamped with 80 untrained Barbarians on the slopes of Scather's Volcano. Within the volcano is Scather's immense hoard of loot, but it is guarded by Slumath (Wizard 11) and his gang of Zombie Fire Giants, regular Zombies, at least some of Scather's sons (young Black Dragons), and a group of Were-Boar mercenaries with whom we're on friendly terms.

Slumath is aware of our presence, and tolerant for now. He will not allow us to enter, but has proposed that we could guard the perimeter while he concentrates his forces to protect the interior. We exchanged some of our less-useful spells for a copy of his customized Animate Super Zombie spell, that we may study it.

Some observations:

  • Slumath isn't a total jerk. Mareth and the Gynarch think he's honorable and valiant. He may be less evil than we are…
  • Zombies, even Fire Giant Zombies, are just a speed-bump for our Clerics. Animate Dead is a terrible spell against adventurers.
  • The Were-Boars like us, but are okay with Slumath too. We could probably pay them to stay out of it.
  • We've got several Wizard-killer spells (power word: stun, polymorph other, silence 15' radius, etc.); we've just gotta get close enough
  • Slumath may have a crystal ball (or an invisible Griffon-rider) since he saw us coming
  • The army of Barbarians costs a whopping 80 gold per month.

Proposals on the Table

Raid Slumath Raid Hell Raid Pharaoh's Tomb Go After Frost Giants
Pro We're already here. Gold comparable to Pharaoh's Tomb. Slumath is much weaker than Balrogs, Beholders, or Anubis. Fighting a couple Dragons and Zombie Fire Giants would be METAL. If we delay it will only get harder Maldoor is awesome. Raiding Hell is METAL. Death, where is thy sting? Pteradactyl Riders have necklaces of jewels. We've got this planned out in some detail. Tons and tons of gold. Outsmarting Anubis is METAL. It's time for Gus Battle-Drinker to earn his keep The Giants are the ones we're after anyway, so if not now, when?
Con Slumath may have bad-ass scroll spells. Dragons. Trouble getting the gold out. Killing Slumath because he won't give us the gold his Elves fought and died for is kinda evil Enormous beasts in the jungles, including Lemures and much larger horrible monsters. Currently no way to store peoples' souls or to revive them in our world. Anubis is far, far worse than Slumath and arguably worse than a dimension of monsters. Friction with John Fighter. We really don't know that much about the Frost Giants or their set-up. They're Size XXL.

A Proposal for Planning Next Session

Please, whichever direction we choose to take, let us decide early on so that those who choose to do so can focus our carousals on preparing for the mission and we can spend valuable session time doing the thing itself rather than planning it out.

We will potentially meet next on 3/12 (3/19 has also been suggested). I propose the following:

  1. Any plans of action which will be considered must be proposed as part of the above table by 3/4 (if you don't know how to add to the table then put your proposal in a post here asking that someone add it up top for you)
  2. Starting on 3/5 we will begin voting on a course of action for our next session (again, if you don't know how, post it and ask someone to put it up for you)
  3. Voting will take place over the course of the the next two days, up until the end of the day on 3/6
  4. After that the plan can be further hashed out and refined — though this may also allow Tavis to refine his plan
  5. Only those who intend to be present for the session may vote, though anyone can present an argument for a particular course of action

I propose the above as a framework and people can make suggestions or amendments or tell me to go to hell ("Give my best to Maldoor!") etc.

Votes for Courses of Action

Raid Slumath Raid Hell Raid Pharaoh's Tomb Go After Frost Giants
Eric G.
IO
Quendalon
MikeLyons
James
Flying Ace
foner

The Ninth Menegril's Suggested Plan for Raiding Hell

During Session 32 Carousing, Obscura obtained the following from the Ninth Menegril:
- a ring of astral metal. This is currently existing on the Astral Plane; apparently when Obscura enters that plane, it will be waiting for her. It sounds like it's the size of a ship's porthole, big enough for a human to pass through.

- a chime. This is something Obscura has in her possession; it looks like it's made of frozen quicksilver. It has the property of causing the astral-metal ring of materializing into the nearest material plane.

- a rod. This is an example of the standard plane-traveling apparatus, and is like a physical URL: you can only go someplace if you have a rod of the proper metal to attune your planar-travel-spell to the plane you want to go to. There are standard metals for known planes, but since you're headed for an unknown plane, this rod is attuned specifically and only to the astral metal ring.

- a scroll of planar gate. Using this scroll will allow you to create a reusable portal between the homeworld gate which you have chosen (by placing the rod inside that gate) and the astral-metal ring (which you have presumably transported through the astral plane to the subworld you are seeking, and then used the chime to make this ring material within that world so that using the gate takes you directly to the subworld and not to the astral plane just outside it).

So the plan you worked out with the Ninth Menegril is:
1) leave the rod inside the gate through which you want to return
2) enter the astral plane with Myfanwy's dreaming ritual
3) schlep the ring through the astral plane to the sub-world
4) hit the ring with the chime to make it materialize in the sub-world; if you're holding onto the ring when it's struck, you will also materialize there
5) cast the planar gate spell from the scroll to turn the ring into a gate linked to the one where you left the rod in step #1
6) now that you've established stable gates on each side, you can travel back and forth between the sub-world and the Prime Material Plane as desired by passing through these gates

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