Greetings, fellow adventurers! After a brief hiatus (for Windows updates and other crucial matters!), we returned to the perilous depths of Undermountain with the masterful guidance of GM Wintermute. Last time, our heroes had just brokered a tentative alliance with a group of goblins. What unfolded in session three was a fascinating mix of illusion, combat (both direct and indirect), and a tantalizing glimpse into the deeper secrets of the Mad Mage's domain!
Session three picked up right where we left off, with the party standing before a group of six goblins who had just been battling a carrion crawler. Gala Door, our cunning illusionist wizard, immediately seized the opportunity. Leveraging his malleable illusion, he transformed his earlier silent image into a terrifying replica of the carrion crawler, making it appear as if it had been easily defeated. To further the deception, he used prestidigitation to create a squealing sound as if from the defeated creature.
This display of illusory power had the desired effect. When Gala Door then strode into view, enacting a dramatic force choke and crush on the illusionary beast, the goblins were awestruck. One goblin, in particular, yelled something in Goblin. Using a quick casting of comprehend languages, the party learned he was shouting for help.
Capitalizing on this moment of fear and awe, Gala Door, with Fanus acting as a translator (since comprehend languages doesn't grant the ability to speak the language), presented himself as an “elf Lord” pleased with their bravery. Through clever words and a further display of illusion, making it appear as if he was bestowing power upon the goblin who first noticed the illusion (Goblin 19), Gala Door convinced the goblins to turn against the bugbears that ruled them. The goblins, thoroughly convinced of the party's power, bowed down and agreed to their commands. They pointed to the south as the location of the nearest bugbears and eagerly rushed off to enact their newfound rebellion. It was a masterclass in using illusion and social manipulation to avoid a direct fight!
With the goblin “allies” dispatched, the party continued their exploration. They noted a small hallway to the south and a larger room to the north. The northern room contained a 14-foot tall granite obelisk covered in bloody handprints, surrounded by alcoves containing crude goblin beds.
However, the allure of a mysterious mirror proved too strong to resist. The party backtracked to a dead end they had previously encountered, where a large mirror was mounted on the north wall, framed with a carving of a human wizard wielding a wand. After some initial observation, Anna, recalling the inscription on the harp relief from the previous session (“gaze upon me with bronzed visage and secrets shall I reveal”), put on the bronze mask they had found earlier.
Immediately, Anna vanished from the hallway and reappeared in a 30-foot square stone room. Behind her was a mist-filled open doorway, through which she could partially see the hallway she had just been in. Within this new room, she found the other half of the broken ten-foot pole they had encountered earlier. Most surprisingly, seated in a high-backed chair was a figure who introduced himself as Halaster Blackcloak, the Mad Mage himself!.
This “Halaster” presented Anna with a bizarre proposition: ask him three questions about Undermountain, and two of his answers would be true, while one would be false. Anna, taken aback, quickly asked:
- How do I get back out through the door?
- Where is the most valuable item in the mountain that's easiest to get?
- Can you repeat that, what's your name?
“Halaster” responded that there were many valuable items, mentioned a Rod of Lordly Might, and stated his name was “Halaster Blackcloak”. As he finished speaking his name, his body began to transform into slush and fall to the floor. It became clear that this was likely a magical copy or simulacrum of the Mad Mage.
Anna attempted to throw the broken pole back through the misty doorway, but it bounced off. Upon removing the mask, she reappeared in the hallway. Her tale of meeting the Mad Mage, or at least a convincing copy, left the rest of the party both intrigued and wary. Gala Door also tried on the mask and found himself in the same room, confirming Anna's experience. He learned from the “Halaster” that a powerful legendary weapon was located on the second level, near the Hall of Statues.
The party decided to mark the mirror as a potential gateway to another level. GM Wintermute revealed that this particular gate could lead to level 10 of Undermountain, but it had safeguards requiring a certain level to pass through.
Continuing their exploration, the party proceeded down a long hallway brightly lit by ever-burning candles floating in shallow ditches. Anna attempted to take one of the candles but found it magically affixed and still burning even when removed from its niche, with hot wax dripping.
Their bat familiar, sent to scout ahead down a western corridor, suddenly stopped mid-air, as if caught in something invisible. Anna deduced this was likely a gelatinous cube due to the clean, acid-etched appearance of the dungeon.
A tense standoff ensued with the gelatinous cube, which was indeed revealed when Gala Door sent his mage hand ahead with a lit candle. Initiative was rolled, and the party engaged the slow-moving but dangerous creature. Through strategic use of ray of frost to slow it down, ranged attacks, and careful movement to avoid its engulfing form, the party managed to defeat the gelatinous cube. Inside the cube, they found some armor and a greatsword that detected as magical. Ritually identified, the greatsword turned out to be a +1 greatsword.
After the encounter, they explored a nearby empty ten-foot square room, which GM Wintermute jokingly suggested could be the cube's resting spot. They then continued down the brightly lit hallway, which looped around.
Scouting ahead with an illusion of Evoru, Gala Door detected two bugbears in a curved hallway beyond a door. The party opted for a surprise attack. Anna stealthily moved into position. Gala Door cast silent image of a ridiculous-looking dwarf to distract the bugbears as Anna unleashed a crossbow bolt. A chaotic battle ensued, with javelins flying and Gala Door launching frostbite spells. Despite some initial hits, the illusion proved surprisingly effective at drawing the bugbears' attention. Ultimately, the party made short work of the two bugbears.
Searching the bugbears revealed nothing of value beyond their morningstars. The party then proceeded into the curved hallway where they had encountered the bugbears. Halfway around the curve, Gala Door sent his illusion ahead and detected a commotion. Six goblins were hiding behind a tipped-over stone table, engaged in battle with something unseen by the party.
This is where the session concluded, leaving us on a cliffhanger as to what the goblins were fighting and how our adventurers will proceed! Session three was a testament to clever tactics, the power of illusion, and the ever-present surprises that lurk within the Dungeon of the Mad Mage. We eagerly await our next descent!
GM Wintermute also shared that the other corridor split into unfinished hallways and reiterated the massive scale of Undermountain with its 23 sublevels. The adventure is far from over!