Dungeon of the Mad Mage, adventurers league storylog

General/Looking For Group
1

Sp I decided to document the progression of the Hardcover during AL games. If i missed somthing, just write me;)
Session 1

So our party met in the renowned tavern called - the Yawning portal, where adventurers, thrillseekers, charlatans, merchants and even noblemen gather for a drink and enjoy the latest gossip. Adventurers have not for long set their sights at the fabled Undermountain- the dungeon of the Mad Mage Halaster Blackcloak. They have met several interesting people, that even further peaked their interest in the Undermountain, namely a bard named Marttrim Mereg, that gave them a pouch with 3 moonstones, each costing roughly 50 gp, that they ought to deliver to a woman in Skullports tavern called Flagon and the Dragon named Cal’Al Claddani. They also met a strange dwarf, who they suspect was not who he was supposed to be. He promised a very powerful bow of elven craftsmanship to whoever would deliver him any news about a throne of a former elven kingdom of Illefarn, and infomation about the dwarves that took it. They also met Obaya Uday a priest of Wakuen (god of Trade) . She promised them high rewards for any historical relics found in Undermountain. . Alas they spoke, and slightly confronted lady Rosznar, that offered them a “favour” if they were to find her missing brother or at least deliver a report about his wereabouts. He tried to get to Skullport through Undermountain and vanished. She described him as a young beatiful man, and that he wears a signet of their house.
After that, the bard overheard a rumor between two soldiers about Gythyanki, that were inexplicably settling in Undermountain, either to kill a colony of mind flayers on the lower levels, or to train their young in the art of combat. There were also assumptions that they might be planning an assault on Waterdeep from the depth of the dungeon.
After a rather uneventful descent into the well, the party overheard someone behind a secret door, who was presumably watching them, though the mechanism, did not unravel itself to the party, and they had only one way to go. As they entered a room with carvings of demons on the walls, the party managed to find a secret passage behing the carving of Nalfishne(pig demon). As they entered the sewage room, they saw a statue, with something inside. Though as the fighter stepped into the sewage he was immediately attacked by a local ooze. After defeating the slimy opponent, the party examined the statue, and found a powerful incantation, that replenished their strength, and eased the move forward as they entered a room, with many pillars and two bugbears, who, after witnessing the party immediately retreated deeper into the dungeon. The party decided to follow them, and after going through a dug tunnel saw a statue of a naked lady, whose head was missing. After further investigation, they found a serpentine head, that fit the statue perfectly. After going for a bit of a loop, they stood before the mirrored chamber, where the Fighter decided to break one of the windows, releasing the trapped shadows in the process. Defeating the shadows, wasnt easy, but they eventually succumbed. The party then investigated the windows, and the bard dispelled one of them, recealing a secret compatment behind, with a golden plate, with Halasters face carved in it. Then following the bugbears, and subsequently defeating them , the party took a short rest, and made a deal with Halaster himself (and his secretary Bertaha) , who helped recover their comatose comrade from the effects, of the intellect devourer, They also saw hordes of gobling retreating after seeing the bugbears destroyed. Following them, they encountered a statue of a heavyweight nude man, with a sign in common reading “gaze upon me with bronzed visage, and secrets shall I reveal. “ Using a plate as a mask, the bard was immediately transported into the demiplane, where he saw Halaster himself who offered him to ask the mage 3 questions, on one of which he would answer with a lie, and two others - truthfully.
The answeres were as follows.

  1. Are you dead?
  • Not really, im kind of a lich, if you call me that…
  1. Whats with the Gythyanki?
  • They are in the Crystalline labyrinth, rallying their troops, to defeat mindflayers, on the lower level, and also they send out their young here to train in combat.
  1. Where is the greater tresure?
  • Riiiight to your left, and then straight ahead.
    They then encountered goblins, and bugbears, that retreated swiftly in a room with a strange obelisk. After defeating them , the party was left alone in the room.
2

sounds like you had a lot of fun, but maybe put the story part in spoiler tags, just to be sure :slight_smile:

3

did it work?

4

nope didn’t work, if it works you see it all blurred, like this: try playing around with the positioning of the tags (i’ve got them in different lines on my summary post)

5

It worked, thanks.

6

Session 2

. After dispatching the Bugbears our Adventuring party suffered some changes, due to ever shifting portals and Halasters influence on the underdark. Swiftly, they explored the obelisk in the room. As the wizard did touch it, he started hearing a secret message - “I cast my eye into the future and see in yours a perilous descent. South of here, beyond a secret passage, waits the Two-Headed King. Look to his left. There you will see the path you are destined to take.”
After that the eye went motionless. It seemed like its purpose was fulfilled. As they ventured deeper to the east, they encountered a dug tunnel, leading somewhere. After the rogue had thrown a piece of bone inside, he had alerted the Gricks in the other room, as well as a Grick Alpha, the matron of the colony. After a prolonged fight, they defeated the woms, and went ahead, entering what seemed like a part of gricks hatchery. After your rogue, alerted the other gricks, the party had to fend off the beasts. After avoiding a near death, they cleaned the room, and rested for a while. Then they proceeded further, where they encountered a strange man hisden in the closet. He appeared to be very distressed, and gave them a book filled with different spells, and after telling them that he was separated from his party he was hunted down by gricks and hid in the closet.
After destroying the hatchery, the party went north, where they saw a floating eye that eminated Halasters magics, after convesing with the Mad Mage for a while, they continued their journey into the Zigzag hall, where they were attacked by a crazed air elemental. Then they traveled deeper, into the forgotten halls of a former dwarven civillization, there in the guard tower they found remnana of armor, of a former guard of this place. After opening the door, they encountered a wererat, that fled the battle rather quickly. The party decided not to follow it, and rather went further into the halls, seeing the guest rooms, and the VIP Suite. There they talked with Halasters “secretary” who told them, how to get to the best tresure. But they didnt expect on what was to come. They went through a long corridor into a large room, where they say something resembling a map, and a revenant, trapped in a giant hole in the floor. They went ahead to their prise, to the Big Ears watpost of the Xanathars guild. The battle however had proved to be a hopeless one, and after taking some damage the party fled the scene.

7

Session 3

So went on as the party rested after barely escaping death at the hands of the Xanatars guild. They talked to Halaster a bit, who was insulted by you warlock and decided to test partys mettle, and then prank them with two illusory death tyrants. In the end, the warlock was forced into a contract with the Mad mage himself. Then they decided to make a second attemp at the Big Ears Watchpost, but as they approached something happened that they could not predict. Most of the remaining defenders were dead - owerwhelmed by strange aparritions, that were storming the watchpost. As the party swiftly dispatched the shadowy creatures, they noticed that one of the corridors was covered in thick black goo, that exuded maliciousness. Though curiosity pushed the party further into the tunnel. Along the way they were met with personifications of their worst nightmares, that grew more and more malicious as they pushed through. They fough shadow assasins, planning to eliminate your rogua as a Disgrace to the guild, making him question his pride and capableness. A resounding orchestra played in the next room, determined tobring despair to your cleric, though upon death they were all merged into the nightmarish goo. Next screams of agony and cries for help permiated through your Bards mind, as his sister seemed to be in grave danger. She berated him for leaving her, claiming that she died never being able to find happiness. But as he ran for the voice, she suddenly burst into a scream, and tried to posess his body, though he managed to resist it. Your rogue swiftly destroyed the ghost, with a precise strike. By the end, they were forced to fight an undead unicorn, a horrible beast, that manifested himself out of the worst memory of your “cleric” khm, warlock. The fight was brutal yet, the party came up on top. As they reached the next tunnel, they started hearing voices of strange people “you abandoned us, you let us die” as Halaster briefly appeared to tell the party his warning, what they were about to see was the price, for meddling in Mad Mages affairs. They were in a small room, where they saw a man, lying on a single bed. He was constantly twiching, as if witnessing a bad dream. Any attempts at waking him up were proven futile. They then read a sign that said - that the only way to witness the truth is within a dream itself. As your elven, and half elven friends kept watch, the two other adventurers, one of them - you lizardfolk, who was granted by Halaster some hefty body alterations. In the dream they saw this man, berated by ghosts of his fallen comrades, torturing him with painful memories of their deaths, as Halaster watched, and enjoyed the show. Through clever dream manipulations, the party freed the man. As they woke up, and calmed him down, they uncovered that his nake was Kye, and he was once the leader of an adventuring party with aspirations at killing Halaster himself, though in the end he dispatched them easily and tortured him for quite some time already. He gave them several maps that he made suring his adventures and some useful information. He told that Halaster was indeed not a lich, and one of his aprentices - Ezzat turned into one to dethrone Halaster. They also learned of a woman, also a former Halasters student that is currently plotting a coup againg her former master.
Also he told them of some sigils, that Halaster created - unique spells, that do not exist in the outside world. And also told two things he knew about undermountain.
SCHOOL OF MAGIC
Rumor has it that a wizards’ academy has opened on one of Undermountain’s levels. It’s not known who runs this academy- perhaps one of Halaster’s apprentices or the Mad Mage himself- but many mages have been drawn down to it. What wizard wouldn’t want to glimpse the powerful magic gathering dust in the depths of Undermountain?

SPIRE AND SNAIL
Deep within Undermountain is a vast cavern containing a giant stalagmite that has been hollowed out to serve as a wizard’s tower, perhaps even a refuge for the Mad Mage himself. The tower is guarded by stone constructs. No one knows what dwells inside. Not far from this tower lurks a most peculiar creature:
a giant snail with a shell of pure gold.