Notes from a Recent Campaign
--DM's notes presented unedited, for your amusement:
The Temple of
Camelsast
--Camelsast is a demonic gnoll-like beast, sometimes
depicted as a sand dragon, which is a chaotic demon that was cast into the
mortal realm long ago. In his true form he has the body of a camel spider, the torso and upper arms of a gnoll, the head of a goat and the side tentacles of a froghemoth. Lazy DM uses modified Balor stats if somehow it comes to blows with him (but see more below).
--The Temple was once a fortress dedicated to a lost order
called the Adonari. The Knights of this order were killed twenty-five hundred
years ago when Camelsast took control of the temple. The old knighthood was a
dedicated order which served the enigmatic deity called Bashtron.
--About a century ago, shortly after the fall of the Dark
Pharaoh, the devils of Avernus, following their general Razzadien, invaded the
temple and slew its priests, then fought with Camelsast and drug him to the
Nine Hells where he was imprisoned in the City of Dis. Razzadien was slain in
the battle and his remains rest at the center of a powerful planar anomaly that
permanently binds the temple to the plane of Avernus, first layer of Hell.
--Camelsast has a ring of ancient keys which he keeps. Some
of these keys bind the dark chains of the fallen angels which were bound to the
Dark Pharaoh Xauraun 150 years earlier . These keys are hung around his neck in a deep, burning pit in the
city of Dis. (side note: these were the plot goal of the group entering the temple)
--The body of Razzadien is located in the main hall of the
old temple, a moldering mass that is covered in crystalline black blood. Any
who enter the circle around the body, or touch the crystalline blood are
transported to Avernus. The body is
haunted by a specter of Razzadien, who will inform the PCs that they must
journey to Dis if they seek the keys of Camelsast. He offers to take them there
for a price….his price is that they must promise to take his crystallized heart
and present it to Dispater himself. He’s lying (a bit) though; any who touch
the crystalline bones will seem to be transported to Avernus anyway.
--The interior temple has the following guardians:
o
Undead specters of the lost knights who once
inhabited this fortress and worshipped Bashtron
o
A lone Nabassu (adult) named Grath which has
taken Camelsast’s name and claims to be the demon
lord so that the gnolls will worship him. He even has his own unholy amulet and ring of false keys! The keys are actual gate keys, one each to: Acheron, Mechanus, Dis, Arborea and the Material Plane.
o
A horde of hooked horrors occupy the darkest
corners of the temple
o
A gang of derro led by the antipaladin derro
Crucix occupy the lower regions of the temple as well, studying the phenomenon
of an Abyssal tomb ruptured by an Infernal invasion. They are sworn to seek a
way to restore Razzadien to life that they may remove his lawful evil
corruption from the temple, but prior efforts to take his heart to Dis have
proven fatal to those who tried….and each time the heart reappears 13 days
later in the corpse’s chest.
o
A Nonaton modron and his small army arrive in
search of a group of rogue modrons. The Nonaton is named Cherish-223-00067. He
won’t take no for an answer. (In the actual game the group had the three rogue
modrons with them).
Journey to Avernus
and dis
--Avernus is the first layer of the Nine Hells, and the
point of entry for most all creatures. Bypassing Avernus is very difficult.
--The anomaly on this side is a great claw rising from the
earth in which the adventurers appear when they interact with the dead
Razzadien. A pair of spinagons watch it, waiting patiently for evidence of use.
The spinagons are Kratus and Strakos, and they will try to flee if approached
to bring word to the nearby fortress of scars and the salt devil Ruukalos that
there are invaders.
--A crude path winds through the rocky, devasted countryside
of the land, littered with volcanic glass and shards. Cracks filled with
boiling water and swimming pools of mewling, worm-like lemurs can be seen.
--The Fortress of Scars is ruled by the salt devil Ruukalos,
who will send forth an army of Legion Devils to investigate the new arrivals.
He is advised by a petitioner named Ruvan Mool, a Galvonarian vizier hanged for
treason last year by the Caliph, now working hard to become a lesser devil.
--“Safe Spots” in this region include the Blade’s Cut, a
scar in Avernus where a portal to Acheron can be found. A legion of bladelings
led by General Crossika stand guard, waiting for the next great war between
Acheron and the Hells. They will show antipathy to the humans, but will aid
them if the adventurers promise to return with intel on Dis or other major
fortresses of hell.
--Another “safe spot” is the Tower of Mugalin, a lone
sorcerer of ancient power who dwells on this plane studying the movement of
Tiamat in her ancient prison. His many telescopes allow him to study that land
at a safe distance. He explains that Tiamat’s Hellish form is a vessel, an
aspect, and that the spirit of the goddess roams the multiverse seeking
reincarnation. He speaks with an accent and explains he is from a kingdom
called Pellucid (Chirak, four centuries old). If the PCs stay overnight, in the morning the tower is gone, turned to ruins and dust. Beneath the tower is a passage to the legendary Dungeon of a Thousand Gates, an ancient demiplane created by Mugalin after he went mad some centuries ago. Foolish adventurers may brave the dungeon and find a gate to Dis....if they have a key.
And on to Dis
--The Riven Path is the passage along the cliffs leading to
the second layer, the hot and untenable land of Dis. Armies of the dead march
along this path seeking deeper passage into the Nine Hells, driven by legion
devils and spinagons. Masquerading as the shroud-covered lemurs is the only way
to pass in disguise.
--Alternatively, a wild ride down the River Styx, including
a terrible waterfall, is another way, but bathing in or drinking the water
instantly destroys all memories of who and what the person is. Passage by
Charonic ferryman is possible, but he charges a steep sum to escort the
living…a solid diamond worth 10,000 GP. The only diamond of such value in the
area is in the diadem of Ruvan Mool, at the Fortress of Scars!
--Once at Dis, the winding, cutting, burning canyons open up
to the iron city, which glows with an eerie burning light. Passage in the city
is difficult, and it is filled with all manner of infernal beings.
--Asking around draws attention but reveals that the
“former” demon Camelsast is serving his life sentence in the Asking Pits. This
information is known to most, but a fallen deva named Cryosine offers to help
the PCs. She is remorseful in her ways, and if it is revealed they seek to
restore a fallen seraph see will see this as a chance at redemption.
--The deepest, largest pit contains the fallen demon lord,
whose exposure to this land has changed him forever to a lawful evil fiend. As
a bound pit fiend he still seeks escape and will bargain with the PCs to cough
up his chain of keys if they free him, but that they will suffer a terrible
curse if they don’t fulfill their portion of the bargain.
--The pit guardian of the Asking Pits is a Pit Fiend named
Rugose, who serves Dispater directly. He is also one way the group could ask to
see Dis, especially if they bring Razzadien’s heart. If they mention this task
to Cryosine, she will warn them that Razzadien sets them up….he owes 1,001
souls to Dispater and they will be given to fulfill his obligation, slain
immediately and raised as lemurs.
--No matter what, Camelsast cannot escape until he can
answer the question of the Asking Pit, which is “Name the form of your
disgrace.” The answer is: Camelsast himself, but he can never see this through his own
hubris. If an adventurer answers, then they free him (in error or by design).
He will cause havoc and attack the pit fiend Rugose, giving them accidental
time to escape. Cryosine, if allying with them, can take them to a portal which
leads them back to the material plane, though she is not sure 100% where. The
portal opens to a dark cave in a mountainscape of the DM's choice. (Note: in the campaign the group actually took Razzadien's heart to Camelsast and gave it to him; I ruled that this actually freed him, after which he attacked Rugose.)
