DM’s Preface
Some years ago, during lockdown, I ran Castle Xyntillan for my weekly group as an extra fortnightly midweek session. We also ran Star Wars d6, which was great fun. We didn’t run loads of Xyntillan – work schedules started to normalize and our midweek slots reduced in regularity – but we had fun. Something like 5 PCs and 4 hirelings died – I have their names recorded on my map, emulating Gabor. People got to level. We didn’t go much deeper.
This time, we went for a “whole day” (9.5 hours of play in the end, plus pizza time and hangout) summer special and went for Xyntillan, as some of the players wanted to play something that felt like quite old school D&D, including playing AD&D. We were expecting five players, so I said they had the following “cushion” magic items to start with:
Scroll of Raise Dead
2 x Healing Potions
Ring of the Ram (3 charges)
Wand of Magic Missiles (12 charges)
Shortsword +1
Expedition 1 (Sessions 1 and 2)
The Company
*Renard – Elf T1/F1 (Swashbuckler) – Clarky
*Astrid – Dwarf Pr1 (Luckmaiden of Haela) – Darren
*Lorenzo – Gnome I1 – Phil
*Morty – Human Al1 (Patrician Wizard) – Andrew
The Help
*Alexios – Byzantine Skutatos (Spear, Chain, Shield) - ML 7, Morty - Outlaw
*Zeno – Byzantine Skutatos (Spear, Chain, Shield) - ML 7, Morty - Paranoid
*Maurice – Noncombatant Porter - ML 5, Morty
*Norm – French Knight (Chain, Shield, Longsword) – ML 8, Renard – Pickpocket
*Owain – Welsh Longbowman (Studded, Dagger, Longbow) - ML 7, Renard - Has Own Retainer
*Robert – French Shieldbearer (Pavise, Chain, Shortsword) – ML 10, Owain - Sharpshooter
*Guillaume – Noncombatant Porter - ML 7, Renard
*Etienne – Noncombatant Linkboy - ML 8, Renard
*Christophe – Noncombatant Porter - ML 7, Renard
The party paid for some rumours and hired help in Tours-en-Savoy (Renard taking advantage of the chance of rumours at Madame Polidori’s, given his rather famous way with the ladies) and then headed to Castle Xyntillan. They initially headed up on to the western battlements and then down into the gardener’s shed beneath the west tower. The skeleton of a Halfling was there beside a bag of beans, his ribs exploded outwards – a casualty of our play five and a half years ago! The party took the lesson and continued onwards, fighting off the grasping hands of the corpses buried beneath the rose bushes (A3 Rose Garden). Heading into the largely empty rooms to the east, they scouted out the strange horses racing around a hallway (J11 Galloping Hall), and carefully avoided them as they prepared to break into a locked door (J12 Armoury). Renard dashed forward with a prybar hoping to break it open, and was really surprisingly successful. He naturally dived in to avoid the magic horses as they reformed at the bottom of the hall!
The party proceeded to find a stuffed rust monster in one room of the armoury, looted a variety of good condition weapons and armour and even a very battered set of plate armour. Then they investigated a locked cupboard from which banging was heard: after opening the door, an Animated Armour attacked! The large party was able to destroy it fairly quickly, though it wounded Norm the Knight badly and dinged Astrid along the way. After this, they headed out along the southern corridor and dropped in on a linen cupboard where Renard charmed the hairy local washerwoman (J10 Linen Closet). Two random encounters occurred after this in short order – Undead Lords (who were partially charmed by Morty’s noble manners) and Undead Ladies (who really, disturbingly, liked Renard). Getting a few directions from the washerwoman and the other ladies, the party headed to the grand bath (J1 Grand Bath), where they inspected a statue for its riddle (about the beast of Guell and a blind beast) and carefully avoided the water, seeing the stumps of salty legs in it (another victim from our first run!).
Wanting to scout a path out, they then passed through the courtyards (A10 Inner Courtyard and A9 Inner Courtyard). Finding a statue of a blind beast, and remembering the riddle, they spoke to the statue, which spoke back! Gaining a little information about the other statues in the courtyard, the Illusionist reached for an orb held by the statue of a King – and caught it, resisting its negative magic, and gaining a temporary boost in power (a level)!
The party wanted to open under the cistern in the courtyard, but first they finished scouting their exit, heading to the gardens via the entrance passage (A8 Entrance Passage) and the guard post (A7 Guard Post) where they quickly defeated the two skeleton guards, aided by Astrid turning the undead. Then they returned, got a lot of men together to lift the cistern cover, and lowered Astrid down with a lantern. Very suspicious of the water beneath, they grappled the wall and carefully climbed down to the shore of the filthy pool (Q1 Cistern). They checked out a corpse on the eastern shore first, and Morty barely dodged some green slime hiding inside the sparse loot in the corpse’s bag. Zombies emerged from the water amidst the commotion – but Astrid turned them, too! Inspecting a statue on the southern side of the pool, they carefully levered out a large green crystal inside the statue’s skull. They had to fight off some swarms of crawling hands as they did this, but they accomplished this comfortably.
Heading west, they carefully inspected the rooms on either side of a corridor. Strange – but nonaggressive – floating eyes inhabited one room which also had water on its ceiling (Q2 Room of Eyes). The company had no real idea what to do here, so headed north into a room with a mosaic and 12 blind statues (Q3 Room of the Blind). Morty inspected the statues whilst Renard inspected the mosaic. Our lothario was promptly magically held, though his trusty hireling Norm evacuated him immediately. However, this didn’t stop a Reaper appearing in the hallway outside. The party, though, managed to pour out a lot of their remaining resources into slowing the Reaper whilst they hit it – Colour Sprays [DM note: the Reaper can see so I presume this works], the Ring of the Ram, most of the remaining Magic Missile charges...enabling them to defeat the strange being!
They decided it was time to leave, after Renard recovered from the magic afflicting him, and then headed up towards the gatehouse. Needing somewhere to camp, they checked out the stables (A5 Stables) and then entered the dark barracks (A5 Barracks), finding a group of skeletons who Astrid again managed to turn. The party chipped away at the undead, thereby clearing the area and allowing them to loot another battered set of plate armour.
Starting for town the next morning, the party arrived in Tours-en-Savoy with treasure and some experience. Astrid went to train with Father Brenard and Renard with Madame Polidori whilst the rest of the party gathered more hirelings and equipment for their next expedition. Cobbling the two damaged sets of plate together, they provided some field plate to Norman and paid for his training to 1st Level, which definitely helped his loyalty!
Expedition 2 (Sessions 3)
The Company
*Renard – Elf T2/F1 (Swashbuckler) – Clarky
*Astrid – Dwarf Pr2 (Luckmaiden of Haela) – Darren
*Lorenzo – Gnome I1 – Phil
*Morty – Human Al1 (Patrician Wizard) – Andrew
*Treebeater – Saurial F1 – Alex
The Junior Associates
*Norm – French F1 (Field Plate, Shield, Longsword)
The Help
*Alexios – Byzantine Skutatos (Spear, Chain, Shield) - ML 7, Morty - Outlaw
*Zeno – Byzantine Skutatos (Spear, Chain, Shield) - ML 7, Morty - Paranoid
*Maurice – Noncombatant Porter - ML 5, Morty
*Owain – Welsh Longbowman (Studded, Dagger, Longbow) - ML 7, Renard - Has Own Retainer
*Robert – French Shieldbearer (Pavise, Chain, Shortsword) – ML 10, Owain - Sharpshooter
*Apu - Hindoo Archer (Shortbow, Padded) - ML 7, Renard - crossdresser
*Dermot - Irish Gallowglass (Chain, Bastard Sword, Longbow) - ML 9, Renard - proactive/tries to anticipate employer
*Guillaume – Noncombatant Porter - ML 7, Renard
*Etienne – Noncombatant Linkboy - ML 8, Renard
*Christophe – Noncombatant Porter - ML 7, Renard
*Jerzy – Polish Drab (Chain, Halberd) - ML 8, Lorenzo - grumbler
*Phillipe – Noncombatant Porter - ML 9, Lorenzo
Choosing to enter by the Gatehouse (A1 Gatehouse) again, the party was intercepted by Gilbert Malévol the Fox (#1) and a dozen bandits. Renard, using his Fast-Talking ability, was able to convince Gilbert that it wasn’t a very good time to rob them, given they were only on the way in. The Fox let them leave with an agreement to pay a tithe in future.
Heading into the entrance passage, the company turned south, inspecting the statue of the zombie near the entrance to this area (B1 Nook) and then heading down and west, ending up in a well-maintained soldier’s bedroom (B2 Serjeant’s Room) which had a few useful bits of adventuring gear in it to loot. Seeking to map out the loop, the party continued west and then north, carefully moving past some webs (but not inspecting the rooms from which they seemed to emanate). Coming back round to the entrance to the servants’ wing, they inspected a small door which led into a privy shaft. After some debate, they took the risks and climbed up into a rather toilet above, and then out into a hallway with the statue of a caveman (C8 Nook). Choosing to head east (rather against their usual practice of heading left!) they scouted out the door to a room and then headed into a gallery of busts (C10 Bust Gallery). They observed a few points of interest: a bust without a shadow, a bust with gems for eyes, and a sword driven through a third bust’s head. They detected that the sword was magical. They ended up having two random encounters in this area: first with the Undead Ladies they had already met, who flirted rather outrageously with Renard and who gave some information as to the nature of the busts, including that the sword was a Lawful sword wielded by a former adventuring guest; and Gregor Malévol (#8), a nonaggressive cockroach man who mostly just wanted to follow and watch the company. He promised only to eat them after something else had killed them.
The party took the gems and the intelligent sword, Scrupulous, which they gave to their Lawful Good henchman Norm. Treebeater went to inspect the strange light effect on one of the busts which meant it did not have a shadow. It promptly stole his shadow, draining his fortitude (-2 Con). Now heading south, they entered a seemingly haunted room (C6 Séance Room). Rather worried about the risks of staying inside, they carefully removed the heavy chest from within. They worked out it had a false bottom after opening it, and found anti-vampire equipment and 3000gp (good thing they brought so many porters!).
Now heading west into a room inhabited by chained hunchbacks of the Office of Red Itors (C5 Records Room), the company engaged the sweaty freaks in discussion about what sort of information might be garnered from the voluminous paperwork and concluded it wasn’t worth the bother.
Now heading back east and then south, the party arrived in a light reading library (C4 Lesser Library). A search through the shelves unearthed a lost manuscript of von Schreck’s music as well as a spellbook containing a powerful dancing spell. However, the time spent searching led to a moment of vulnerability, as the foul ghoul Guy Malévol the Jocular (#28) attempted to sneak up on them. His insane laughter rather gave the game away, however (they rolled that they were surprised, but then I realized they’d have heard him, especially with hirelings on watch). He still managed to get his licks in quickly, using his Wand of Polymorphing to turn Lorenzo into an Ogre! The magical energy did not stop Lorenzo’s heart, but it did take his mind, with the new Logrenzo a rather confused and dim-witted friend of the party who only wanted to go and find people to eat. Lorenzo had, however, unleashed a Burning Hands first, and Treebeater’s charge led to Guy’s death. Gregor took his cousin’s re-death in stride, finding it intriguing rather than anything. The company took the wand – it turned out to have 99 charges left! – and decided to leave whilst the going was good, bearing in mind Lorenzo and Treebeater’s situations.
Heading back to town, they sent Lorenzo and Treebeater to the hospital, whilst Renard trained in both his skillsets and Morty traded in the spellbook to receive training from the Ben Mordechai, the town’s curio dealer (Lorenzo would train later, upon recovery).
Always a good time in Xyntillan. Great report!
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