Nightwick Birthday Bash

Yesterday was my birthday and I had the time so I ran a session of Nightwick Abbey for some of the online regulars. Here's what happened:

On the first day of Primus, the new year in the World of Nightwick and also the feast day of St. Gax himself, members of the leadership of the Howling Kommandos including the Zenopolitan fanatic Stavros, the frogling guard Fredrick Bull, the misshapen hunchback Abraham Nermal, and the enigmatic frogling wizard Gold Tiger decided to make their way to Nightwick Abbey.  After participating in the traditional rites of St. Gax's day - receiving floral necklaces and floral print shirts - they made their way into the edge of the Fog-bound Forest and up to the infamous abbey.

Stavros had taken over the role of mapper, since neither Uein nor L'Earl de Camembert were present. He decided that the party should make their way to level three by passing through the first two levels by a route he indicated to them.  This worked until they arrived on the second level.  As soon as they opened the first door they found themselves confronted with a creature consisting of a number of bodies rotting together in a gibbet.  They knew that these creatures could be very troublesome, even deadly, if not taken out quickly and so they sought to destroy it as fast as possible.  Stavros rushed forward wielding his magic sword and lopped off a few extruded limbs in the hopes that it would give Fredrick a chance to move up and strike as its attention was turned.  The creature, in a rage, turned its remaining limbs to stavros and began to squeeze him against the cage.  Fredrick was unable to get his sword through the gibbet's iron bars, but a shot from Abraham ended the caged one's unnatural existence.

Nearer the site of the "Orange Julius" which one took up part of level 2 - until the party killed the "new management," a powerful Knight of Armadeus - they encountered a group of cultists of the Elder Eye.  These cultist were performing sadomasochistic tortures on themselves and their fellows. Stavros, horrified, announced "they are seeking the devil's yogurt!"  Gold Tiger placed many of them in a magical slumber.  Stavros then ran in and declared "This is the pleasure of the Lord!" as disemboweled one of the cultists.  The other cultists seemed disturbingly encouraged by seeing their comrade die, shouting things too terrible for even the dungeon master to repeat.  The combined efforts of all in the party made short work of these degenerates.

All save one of the sleeping ones, who Stavros had the others to leave alive in the hopes that he might be questioned.  From him they learned many things. First, that the cult on the lower level was attempting to expand up now that the Bleeding Baroness and her followers were slain. Second, the name of the three chief lieutenants of Armadeus: Eligos the Master of Things Seen, Orobas the Master of Things Unseen, and Valax the Master of Things Hidden. Also from him they learned that he had been called to the abbey from the Realm by "the Master," but that others had been recruited in the shanty town outside of Lychgate.  He indicated where their barracks was on level 3. Finally, he indicated that the two remaining seals needed to unlock a strange door on level 2 were found "in a crypt unlike the one where you found the first" and "near a statue of Valax." This information learned, Abraham pithed him with a stiletto, hoping it would be a quick, painless death for one who sought so much pain.

Upon reaching the bottom of the stairs to the third level, the party remembered that each time they had stepped off the steps they had heard eerie laughter echo from the ossuary at their foot.  Before stepping off Stavros announced he would "test their humor," and asked "Knock knock."  A ghostly whisper of "who's there?" was heard.  "Vengeance of the Lord."  "Vengeance of the lord who?" "I am the Vengeance of the Lord!" he announced as he stepped onto the floor.  Laughter echoed followed by a whispered "you wish..."  Abraham attempted a similar joke, weaving in a threat based on their destruction of a shrine to the Horned One called the Horned Shrine.  Unfortunately, the ghostly voice was just confused because it knew little of the happenings in the outside world.

After this, a debate about where to explore on this level began.  The party ultimately decided to look immediately east as they had all forgotten what was in that room, and saw a door leading away from it on the map.  Opening the door they found 22 mites engaged in a bowling game. They continued the game with only the score keeper looking up to interact with the intruders. Stavros asked if the devil-men they now remembered were in the room to the north were still placing bets on the game.  The score keeper gave hand gestures that confirmed this, and the party decided to leave rather than confront the devil-men and potentially have 22 mites at their back.

Exploring a set of chambers to the east of where the cultists' barracks was indicated to be, they found an area where the abbey seemed even more alive than usual.  The halls were fleshy and inflamed, and the very air seemed humid and active as though it were breathing laboriously. In these chambers the party found a set of enochian letters written on the ground.  They produced a dim, yellow light and seemed to cut the abbey as though they were binds or chains.

Near one of these letters, they found a warlock and his servant dressed in the same attire as the cultists they had fought previously (though the warlock wore a silver mask). They attempted to surprise these men, and did so, but the warlock was able to notice the attackers after they had killed his subordinate.* The party quickly gained the advantage, but before being slain the warlock subjected Abraham to the Finger of Death spell he was granted by Armadeus.**  If not for the favor of the God of Law, Abraham would have died and become a foul servant of the damned!

After killing the warlock, the party quickly made sure the adjoining chambers looked as they expected - a set of four rooms with enochian glyphs - and then returned home.  Before coming to the exit, they heard the distant wailing of a child of stone, but decided it was best to run out rather than face it.

Monsters Defeated: 1 Caged One, 13 Cultists, 1 Warlock

Treasure Gained: Silver Mask (250gp), scrolls in crowleyan describing the wales seals may be broken

XP Per Player: 581 (from monsters and treasure)

* I think I am interpreting the 5e rules right to say that once you say "I'm going to attack" that initiates a combat round and causes an initiative roll to see when the surprised creatures lose their surprise condition.  Abraham's low initiative score meant that the plan to snipe them with his assassination ability was foiled.  I may houserule this, but I'm not sure what other rules this interacts with or if I'm interpreting it right in the first place.

** I did not describe it at the time, and have forgotten to all previous times, but the warlocks they fight on the first level each have their left eye removed under the mask.