Rise of Korbal Part 4

Kal-Arath Solo Actual Play. Battle barge dungeon.

Finally Korbal finds himself in the city of Zubran. A Fairly, big city that is a waypoint for many travelers. There exists a heavy trade in many varied goods.

Korbal winds his way around until he finds what he has been looking for: The newly minted Temple of Malakai. It sits in an out of the way corner of the city. He sits at a nearby tavern on a barrel in their makeshift patio. Korbal watches and listens for much of the day. He learns they are preparing a feast followed by a sacrificial offering to Malakai in 3 days.

Korbal watches and makes his plan over the next few days. The night of the feast is also the night of the new moon. He is excited to doom the followers of Malakai and sorrowful for Tolan. On the evening of the festivities Korbal acts like any other zealot of Malakai, carrying a basket of fruits and breads.

PRE check: fail, fate point used to pass. 

No one takes special notice of him as he makes his way to the kitchens. He finds a secluded corner and as the menial cultists get ready to bring out the feast, he casts Abstinence, causing the food and drink to be corrupted with very lethal poison. He brings a dish and sets it at one of the tables and watches as many of the zealots begin feasting. It takes a few minutes before the effects start to take hold. Korbal sidles up to the main table near the altar and tries to cast Clouds Descend To The Earth to really make this night memorable, but feels a stab of pain in his chest as it fails. No matter, he has completed his good works. The cries of pain and panic are left behind as he walks away. Not far from the temple he takes out Tolan’s skull and looks at it sorrowfully. “Well friend, it is the new moon and Lady Gorm demands her sacrifice.” He drops the skull to the ground and crushes it with his foot. Korbal walks off, once again, utterly alone.

1 XP.  Mystics in Kal-Arath need to take on a Doom. Korbal must sacrifice something important every new moon or his pact with the Demon Lady Gorm may break.

This session above was difficult to envision. I had a hard time seeing the temple and imagining how it could all play out. I left it for a week and found inspiration from Visions of Kal-Arath and jumped back into the swing of things.  

Weeks later, Korbal finds himself traveling the grasslands, generally meandering in a southerly direction. He is following an old path, mostly overgrown. Not too far in the distance he sees some tall shapes sticking above the grasses of the next rise. As he gets closer, he is able to tell that it is the broken remains of a great battle-barge. The path he has been following is actually old ruts in the grasses from one side of the huge wheels. This is too valuable to pass up.

Korbal takes a very cautious approach, watching and slowly making his way closer. The battle-barge is massive. Far bigger than he imagined, having only seen them from afar until now. It is slightly canted to one side. The broken and bent spears and lances bristling all over once declared menace and commanded fear. Some tattered flags flapping loosely in the wind seem to depict crossed axes - reavers perhaps? Korbal continues to make his way along the side, still keeping distance. He cannot help but marvel at the creatures that pulled this magnificent machine. He moves in for a better look at the four massive dinosaur corpses. Incredibly large chains still attached to the colossal frames and long necks. He runs his hands along the dried and desiccated hides. “Oh, Lady Gorm… could we perhaps get them to rise up? Even move just a little? I bet they’re like big puppies!” With no answer forthcoming, Korbal moves on, dreaming of commanding undead hordes and him at the helm of a battle-barge just like this.

Still no sign of movement around the barge, he can sense a sort of power emanating. It’s comforting. Korbal passes under a massive spoke, the wheel laying off to the side. How can this prize still be here? The steppe seems endless and still holds many mysteries. Korbal steps around a body with a sword in its back, hefts his own spear and gets closer to a hatch. He pauses as he hears movement inside.

Another hatch just behind Korbal bursts open and a crazed looking man attacks Korbal with a flail. He dodges, stepping back and casts Clouds Descend to the Earth. Thick ghastly fog covers them all. Korbal is clipped by the flail. He hears a cough behind him, doesn’t dodge in time and catches a sword thrust along his arm. Korbal spears one scavenger in the chest and dodges another sword thrust before finishing off the second scavenger. Korbal, winded and bleeding, catches his breath. He pauses to apply some Zhar’um to his wounds. He casts Decay is the Way of All Things over one scavenger and slinks off to rest further away in the grasses. Korbal asks the undead scavenger who else is in there, but the scavenger can only stare. Korbal sets him to keep watch while he gets some rest.

Room 1: NPC: scavengers. Hostile. d6 HP. 5 and 6 HP. 0 armour. Flail and sword d6. Morale 7. Clouds Descend to the Earth 1 damage for 6 rounds. Fate point used and failed to dodge one attack.

The scavenger's body collapses, waking Korbal. Night has fallen and he can see light flickering from the top deck of the battle-barge. Korbal makes his way back in the moonlight to try and get to the heart of the barge. He makes it inside the room the scavengers were in. Pale rays of light from the moon illuminate just enough for Korbal to make out the broken crates and stacked weapons. He creeps into the next room to find another scavenger sitting near an altar, nodding off. Korbal silently comes up on him and stabs him through back. He casts Decay is the Way of All Things, and the scavenger stumbles upright. Korbal, leaving the brass lantern, motions for him to lead the way along the small hallway into the next larger space. It looks like a ritual chamber of the likes used by those performing spells of corruption.

Korbal quickly grabs the undead scavenger and pulls him back just as he is about to walk through an alarm trip wire. He bids the undead scavenger to step over and Korbal follows. The room is lined with skulls, many with runes and sigils carved in them. Korbal runs his hands along them. It is so cozy here. He stops and picks one out, tucking it in his side bag. He looks over at the undead scavenger. “Nothing personal, I just don’t see us being friends.”

Room 2: guarded item. Brass Lantern. Room 3 Trapped ritual chamber. 

After another short hall, a desiccated and dried body lying around here and there, Korbal comes to a narrow staircase leading up to the second deck. He again stops the undead scavenger from setting off an alarm tripwire. They step over and Korbal eyes the shells and hollow metal shapes that would alert someone to their presence. They pass some alcoves with bunks and Korbal hears faint voices from further on. As he and his companion creep closer, he hears the voices speaking about breaking something down. His undead companion stumbles and braces itself on the wall. The talking stops and Korbal commands his undead companion to charge. He notices how spells seem to flow with greater ease as the fog from Clouds Descend to the Earth envelopes the area.

Stealth check fails. Clouds Descend to the Earth 5 damage for 3 rounds.

As Korbal comes into the room, the last of the three scavengers chokes his last dying breath. Korbal steps around the bodies, his companion among them, and peruses the battle room. Many weapons line the walls. Four huge ballistae peak out of hatches in the side walls, two on a side. Korbal sees what the scavengers were speaking about. A heavy looking door is blocking the route further along the deck. There are cuts where the scavengers were trying to bypass the door. Korbal casts Decay is the Way of All Things on the burliest looking scavenger and commands it to help turn a working ballista. Once it is pointed at the door and they load a massive arrow, the undead companion fires it while Korbal takes cover. The dusk settles and Korbal winces at a chunk of wood sticking out of the chest of his companion. They step through the wreckage into a room with tables. It appears to be an eating area. Other rooms have storage and more sleeping alcoves. They come to more stairs leading to the upper deck. Korbal can sense the raw power of corruption above.

Second deck: Room 4 Alarm trapped hallway. Room 5: Foe. Room 6: Empty.

Korbal and his companion climb the stairs into the open air, the deck is larger than expected and lit brightly in the moonlight. A hissing sounds alerts Korbal to a hulking Ghoul in front a beautiful statue holding a sickly green crystal. The undead scavenger moves to intercept the Ghoul as Korbal casts Clouds Descend to the Earth. The scavenger’s hit bounces off the armour of the Ghoul who grabs the undead scavenger. Korbal’s undead scavenger companion collapses in the grasp of the Ghoul. As the Ghoul turns to Korbal he throws his spear, taking it in the chest as the corrupting fog finishes it off.

Upper Deck: Room 6: Ghoul guardian next space. 9 HP. Claws d6 damage. Initiative, critical success: free attack. Clouds descend 3 damage for 4 rounds.

Korbal is utterly enthralled by the corruption crystal housed at the top of the statue. It depicts skeletal humans and other creatures entwined, arms reaching upward and to hold the crystal. Korbal tries to release the crystal, even raising the Ghoul to help. It is simply too massive to deal with on his own. He breaks into the cabin area and finds a dead reaver, the captain by the looks of him laying across his table of maps and jewelry. Korbal takes what he can carry and finds a special item, an enchanted amulet.

Sadly Korbal leaves the battle-barge for whomever will find it next and turns south heading towards the jungles of Lhar.

Battle Barge: Operated by Roving Reavers. Large 8 areas. 3 decks. 8 wheels. Pulled by 4 huge dinosauroids. Features: Brig, Ritual chamber. Weapons: Catapults, Ballista, Corruption Magic Crystal (+2 to corruption spells). Held up to 150 people. Bristling with spears and lances.

1 XP. Amulet +1 armour. 

Notes:

I used Visions of Kal-Arath for the Battle barge dungeon. Fantastic zine with tons of content! Great art. I highly recommend checking git out.

Korbal was so close to dying by the 2 scavengers in the first area of the battle-barge. He had 1 HP left. His main spell can hit so hard sometimes - but if it misses he can be in serious trouble.

Kal-Arath by Castle Grief