The Wretched Crusade

The land of Barrow's Maw has played host to many adventurers, both fair and foul, in its history. However, few compare in their infamy with the one known as the Wretched Crawler. A necromancier, once native to the Ohm Basin, who fell afoul of ambition and lust for power, who forged pacts with all manner of foul beings in its quest for mastery over life and death. Shedding its mortal visage to become an immortal undead creature known as a Lich, the Wretched Crawler abandoned the Basin and its former colleagues. Like a cancer, it settled in the badlands north of the Merric Wood and began fortifying an abandoned fortress, while harassing residents as a petty warlord, in an effort to accrue more of the region's lost knowledge and hidden arcane power.

In time, the Crawler's presence within the Basin could not be tolerated by the good and godly. The adventurers of the Ohm Bastion, a local guild dedicated to peace and friendship, organized an effort to end the Crawler's dominion over

Mostly consisting of former Friendmakers of the Ohm Bastion, the party is out for justice and for blood— or whatever the lich equivalent is. They intend to end the lich permanently— to venture into its fortress and shatter its phylactery.

• Kyrry:
  • A tiefling Rogue/Cleric/Shadowbane Stalker, and former Crafter, Kyrry is well-equipped to deal with any traps the party might encounter. It is her blood that was used in crafting the Planar Tuning Fork.
• Ava, Crimson Prelate:
  • Founder of the Order Incarnadine, Ava is a Necromancer who abhors undead. She spends her days consolidating her territory, performing arcane experiments, and raising her daughter Molly.
• Earcorn Fardream, Eldrich Femboy:
  • Another former head of the Ohm Bastion, Earcorn is an elven Cleric/Warlock/Eldrich Disciple. The power of his Woke Moralist Beams is only matched by the softness of his thighs.
• Rainer Dufort, Radiant Master:
  • A Cleric/Master of Radiance, Rainer’s powers are well-suited to obliterating the Undead. He, like many others, once led the Bastion.
• Vaz:
  • Slightly underlevelled, Vaz is a powerful koblod Sorcerer just shy of sixth-level spells. At lower levels Vaz was content to throw around damaging Fireballs and Ball Lightning, but at higher levels they’ve learned the value of crippling debuffs as well.

(Only those NPCs which the party knew beforehand.)

• Wigglethum:
  • A foul necromancer of no small power, not allied with the Wretched Crawler but living on its plane. Ava found one of his spellbooks in the Basin and hopes to gain some advantage by returning it.
• Keyleth:
  • A drow Paladin and another former head of the Bastion, it was Keyleth who committed the organization to military action against the Crawler. Keyleth has long since Paragoned and has been crusading around the Wretch Plane. Unfortunately, no one woman can match the Wretch Plane’s resources— but Keyleth has certainly been trying. ¹⁾
• Equine Liberation Front:
  • An organization of centaurs and other sentients advocating for the freedom of all hoofed beings. The ELF has now been reported as being in active collaboration with Wretch's Forces, and have proclaimed the Crawler an ally to Equine Freedom.
• The Wretched Crawler:
  • An Evil, henious, and terrible creature; the first lich to establish itself in the Ohm Basin; the primary villain of this campaign and many expeditions besides; and the inventor of Woodcoin.

This was not the first time Rainer, Earcorn, and Ava had been to the Wretch Plane. A previous expedition had led the Bastion's forces against the Crawler's fortress, seizing the Crawler's stronghold in the Basin and pushing him all the way back through the permanent portal and further.

The native dangers of the Plane were well-known, and the party prepared to counter them. The entire plane inhibited healing, due to some foul bent, and required a caster level check for every spell. Teleportation was inadvisable; the entire plane was under some massive redirect and any attempt to so much as Dimension Door forced a separate save for each teleportee, or else get teleported to the Bad Zone.

The Wretched Crawler had specifically retooled the entire plane following the previous incursion. Ava had abused Rope Trick in her previous visit; now she was positive that hiding in an extradimensional space would have terrible results.

And of course the portal previously allowing admission to the plane was sealed; the party would have to find a way in, then likely trek across the entire plane to the Crawler's fortress.

Earcorn obtained items and derived spells to overcome the caster level check. Ava invented arcane dweomers to use specifically against liches. Kyrry researched the Planar Tolerance and Avoid Planar Effects spells, hoping to avoid the negative energies (though not the magical injunction against healing and teleportation). And Rainer? Rainer tried to find a way onto the plane in the first place…

Ava happened to have some saint bones lying around, on the condition that the Good-aligned members not ask where she got them. Kyrry was more than happy to donate blood; she expected to spill yet more taking down the Crawler.

A small tuning fork made of iron, heated over the burning bones of a saint, and then quenched in the blood of a Tiefling; precisely seven inches long, with one fork curled slightly inwards. They had a way in.

TBD: Write-up (could have sworn someone already did this) (Sorry, that was me but the wiki didn't save. I'm gonna get on it from notes. — Obbie)

(TBD: Dusty's notes go here)

TBD:

* Arrival and discovery of planar characteristics

* The city of <name>

* Meeting with Keyleth and raid on the Lich <name> Fortress

** Destruction of the Lich's Sacred Shield Phylactry

BashfulBob, Edith, and Ava, for writing RP heavily sampled or quoted;

Kyrry, Mona, and Gribbly, for playing the adventure and establishing their characters;

Edith, for creating the adventure in the first place.

And Obbie, BashfulBob, and [placeholder], for transcribing the session into prose.