Bleak Generation

Another two-session compilation, because the first was a levelling up and downtime session, and I made almost no effort to prepare Sigil after so long. Downtime mostly requires making NPCs. Make the names in advance. I used u/minotaur36191’s excellent rules for turning PCs into questgivers to expedite Ragados’ gaining of the required reagents.   I asked the party to make backup characters in event of their deaths, planning to use them as the adventuring party Jerryx hires. Only Ragados obliged, but it’s one fewer name. A Planar Adventuring Party for you to Steal Galina, F Gnome Cleric, NG, from Tradegate in the Outlands. The oldest party member, and the leader. She’s spent a lot of time defending settlements from fiendish Blood War incursions, and seen enough death to last a lifetime. Calm, honest, and philosophical. Indep. Kathne, F Gnome Barbarian, CN. From the Prime (Toril). She’s beautiful but short-tempered and gullible (WIS is her dump stat). Very, very fond of ha...

The drow had been clear, even as his vampiric form disintegrated. Kill Erehe. He’s in Menzoberranzan.   Don’t let him remember, and don’t let these guys get him first. Any questions, well, you’re free to ask the dust. And with that, our adventurers had fully looted Tcian Sumere. With considerable relief, the party returned to Ranais. Ragados administered a karate chop of Catnap to his colleagues, and then it was time for a blissfully undead-free march home. Back in Sigil, eating again at the Hellfire Bowl, the planewalkers began to worry about their find. The Demonomicon was an item that could change the balance of the multiverse. It could end the Blood War, M’narr mused, or even the great war of Law versus Evil. What if someone found out they had it? Someone powerful? The book needed to be hidden. As the party rested in their apartment, Jerryx appeared blushing at the door. The poor bariaur never learned the password for stopping M’narr’s magic mouth alarm, which blared out...

Well, I guess my players have the Demonomicon now. If anything bad happens, I have no one to blame but myself. For now, they’re already regretting taking it, and I’m going to enjoy that good feeling while it lasts. I don’t know what practical uses it’ll serve in the campaign. While Kiaransalee erased all knowledge of Orcus from the multiverse, an artefact of the Demonomicon's level should be able to retain the facts of what happened, and that’s why the Demon Prince wanted to keep it hidden. There are few other ways in-game to relay this adventure’s considerable backstory. The illusion of the corridor/forcefield to the void bamboozled the players very well – perhaps too well, because even with two hints from Vlaakith they nearly missed it. I gave 12-Bar inspiration for guessing the “opposite of belief”, and if I hadn’t done that, the party would probably have given up. The slog was not exactly fun. I'd probably just go for a neverending corridor next time, rather than somethi...

With 12-Bar and Ragados watching on, M’narr probed the huge tome with his pallid fingers, teasing out its secrets. The book – the Demonomicon – was easily the most powerful and terrible object they’d ever seen. Probably too powerful. But that wasn’t going to stop them from nicking it, so M’narr put it in the bag of holding. Only slightly worried by their success, their attention turned back to finding the missing prisoner. The throne room was the first port of call. The great black diamond in the throne held no answers, though it nearly held doom for M’narr as he removed and identified it. The Gith dropped the gem just in time to see it crackle and vanish into nothingness, returning to its anonymous creator. The scrying pool still showed a drow and a visage, but was similarly useless. After exploring and exhausting all other rooms, only one chamber remained: the “front door” of Tcian Sumere; the fortress’s gateway to the Endless Void. At the end of this corridor, the shimmering force...

The visages’ defence holds. Still no one suspected their illusion last session. I used the Madness of Orcus d100 table from Out of the Abyss/Mordenkainen’s Tome of Foes for the church bell insanity effects. Top Tip: Glyphimhor Decide in advance what Glyphimhor will talk about, and what he wants from the players, otherwise things will get comically awkward. I decided Glyphimhor mostly wanted to watch PCs grovel and beg for mercy, remind 'em of the good old days. I didn’t bother to stat him in full, but if a fight breaks out, use the same mental stats as a balor, give him about 65HP, remove all his attacks, give him the 3 spells in the adventure, i.e. fear, suggestion, ray of enfeeblement. Orcus or Tenebrous? I am going to call a spade a spade, and the Demon Prince of Undeath the Demon Prince of Undeath. Why not Tenebrous? Reasoning as follows: 1. Orcus is an exciting villain 2. The party’s played this game for ages, there’s nothing wrong with throwing them a frickin bone...

Back in the temple we were. Into the bag of holding went the dodgy gold band, best not touch it right now. The tunnel exiting the temple led to the last unexplored room of the fortress. Expecting deadly combat, the employees of Truetemper’s Solution braced themselves and hopped through. Inside, they found the next chamber was all but empty, with only a shaft of dark blue light illuminating the dark. M’narr inspected the odd faces carved into the stone of the walls, and Ragados searched for hidden doors and threw a bit of food (dried banana) at the light. Soon all that's left to do in the room was touch the light, so Ragados gives it just the tip. Of his finger. The light wanes and a monstrous withered figure appears: a balor, perhaps? But conspicuously weakened. It loomed over them with a wicked grin, and demanded they grovel. After briefly weighing up the situation, the party decided it best to grovel. Thus began a conversation with the withered demon. Quick to take offence, it ...