The Top of the Bottom of the Multiverse: Campaign Diary

The cold black metal of the sphere was the only thing standing between them and the Endless Void. And no known way back, until M’narr divined the portal key. The party passed through the unsettling vacuum of the building’s connecting tunnels, finding a room with huge windows that offered views of the nothingness outside, and some gravity to boot. Trying their best to ignore the scratching noises from the other side of the window, the party continued upwards, past a table covered in weird papers (yoink), arriving at the top floor where a small cloud of vivid blackness eyed them inscrutably. What did it want? What was it doing here? Even with magic, its motives were as alien as its form. M’narr spread some of his newly acquired papers on the ground to show it; the thing lashed a corrosive arm to indicate a particular piece, the paper turning to dust at its touch. Best leave it to an uneasy truce.

Back to the lifeless spheres. Progress abruptly halted when a horde of ghouls, hungry for flesh, surrounded the trio. Manoeuvring in zero gravity was difficult for the heroes; but the ravenous horde were effortlessly mobile, cornering them from above. Ragados blew them back with an upward thunderwave, buying some time but alerting the whole fortress to their presence. Overhead, a most unwelcome sight: visages. Bad news. Realising that a protracted battle with the visages could be devastating, M’narr concentrated through their illusions and whipped up a steel wind strike. The visages were cut down just in time for a third assault from another wave of ghouls. By now, the weightless chamber had filled with dismembered limbs and entrails – but even these were dangerous, coalescing into fresh monstrosities antithetical to life. When the greybeards told horror stories about this Plane, they really weren’t kidding.

Our heroes survived, but badly needed rest, heading back to the quiet top deck of the observatory to recover. Despite the efforts of some unnaturally resilient zombies, the party healed up and continued on. Noting the risk of being completely bamboozled by the maze of identical black spheres, the heroes marked each new chamber and explored in straight lines.

First they found an unnatural vat of green putrescence: M’narr, unchallenged in his position as the party Instigator-in-Chief, destroyed it at a distance, injuring the everyone in the process. Back in the maze of iron spheres, they found their dark cloudy ally had gone exploring, and got into a fight with some ghouls. They fought at its side, but 12-Bar’s armour got half-rusted from its indiscriminate blasting. Exploration of their next discovery – a vile laboratory – was cut short when 12-Bar moved a table and got sucked into the hidden passageway underneath. The trio emerged in a throne room, where they found a tattered map of Arcadia, a murderous pot plant, and a scrying pool depicting a dark elf and a visage deep in furious concentration. Through one of the adjoining doors they found a small treasure cache, looting the lot. Ragados reckons the sword they found belongs to a Balor.

The party has gained significant wealth and power from Tcian Sumere already – but their health is dwindling, and they’re still without an escape route. Their survival could hinge on the mere decision of which chamber they enter next.

I can’t wait.