Barrowmaze 5E, Session 13 - Searching for the Dragon's Lair

 

Today (Saturday, 12/13/25) we played our thirteenth session of Barrowmaze 5E. Having destroyed the Tablet of Chaos, the party was  determined to find and destroy the undead dragon that their scrying revealed to be in league with the Keeper of the Tablet.

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 5)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 5) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 5)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 5)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 5) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Arnd Cobblestone (Dwarf Cleric 5) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 5) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

14th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party decided to search for the undead dragon that seemed somehow bound to the Keeper of the Tablet. Omarion used the crystal ball to scry for the dragon, revealing its lair to be a huge, cavernous temple of Nergal. But the party still had no idea where exactly this temple was located within the Barrowmaze. 

     They decided to backtrack to an area they had glimpsed but not fully explored. They went through the tunnel from the chamber of the false tablet back to the part of the dungeon from which they had come. As they passed along the route towards the area they wished to explore, they were attacked by a wandering group of barrow harpies. The party managed to destroy them and move quickly to the new area in which they were interested. 

     The area turned out to be an extensive crypt used by the ancient cult of Nergal. They explored at least 3 separate burial chambers, fighting three mummies and, unfortunately, acquiring a curse upon Omarion (disadvantage on all saves until cured by a remove curse spell). 

     Seeing some dancing lights in a dark corner of the crypt area, the party moved to investigate - and discovered the lights were caused by a corpse candle who lured them into an ambush by two constructs disguised as support pillars - greater barrow guardians. The party fought fiercely to defeat these foes, including the use of two fireball spells. 

     After finishing these foes, the party decided to camp in the crypt for a long rest before continuing their exploration . . . 

Current PC XP: 10,937

Current Hireling XP: 10,450

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)
• "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (dwarf fighter hireling), killed by a Son of Gaxx (and subsequently the corpse was burned for fear he would arise as a new Son of Gaxx) (1/9/1000)
• Kasmut the Mongrelman, slain by crypt knights and barrow mummies in the Barrowmaze in a chamber adjacent to the one in which the false Tablet of Chaos was found (1/12/1000)

Barrowmaze 5E, Sessions 10, 11, and 12 - The Destruction of the Tablet of Chaos!

Over the last three weeks or so we played our tenth, eleventh, and twelfth sessions of Barrowmaze 5E. The party knew that they were close to finding and destroying the Tablet of Chaos

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 4)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 4) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 4)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 4)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 4) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Arnd Cobblestone (Dwarf Cleric 4) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 4) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

12th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party continued to explore the chambers around where they thought the Tablet of Chaos was, and found a way to a teleport circle - but had to battle their way through crypt knights and barrow mummies. They lost one of the mongrelmen hirelings - Kasmut was slain in the battle and the body defiled to such an extent that they could not be saved. They passed through the teleport circle into a library/laboratory, where they decided to hole up for a long rest.

13th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party entered the next chamber, where they encountered the Keeper of the Tablet, attended by hezrou demons and necrolytes. In the battle, the Keeper teleported away, and the party slogged through the demons and followers. They then look a long rest.

     Later that day, they entered the next chamber, finding coffers and chests full of treasure and a crystal ball. After another long rest to attune to the item, Omarion used the crystal ball to search for the Keeper, and saw him conversing with an undead dragon! 

     They used a teleport circle to teleport to the real chamber in which they found the Tablet of Chaos, but when they tried to acquire it in order to destroy it, the Keeper teleported to the chamber and began an all-out assault to keep them from the Tablet. The battle was fierce, and the Keeper was able to unleash some high-powered spells like power word kill and power word stun against them, but they finally prevailed, and Brother Binford destroyed the Tablet of Chaos using the Gauntlet of Palantis (destroying both in the process!). 

     The party was overjoyed to have finally destroyed the Tablet of Chaos!

Current PC XP: 10,173 XP (enough to reach level 5)

Current Hireling XP: 9,686 XP (enough to reach level 5)

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)
• "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (dwarf fighter hireling), killed by a Son of Gaxx (and subsequently the corpse was burned for fear he would arise as a new Son of Gaxx) (1/9/1000)
• Kasmut the Mongrelman, slain by crypt knights and barrow mummies in the Barrowmaze in a chamber adjacent to the one in which the false Tablet of Chaos was found (1/12/1000)

Barrowmaze 5E Session 8 - Clues to the Tablet of Chaos!

 

Saturday (11/1/25) we played our eighth session of Barrowmaze 5E. The party decided to continue to delve into the depths of the Barrowmaze dungeon . . . 

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 3)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 3) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 3)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 3)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 2) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 2) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

11th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party awoke in their "safe room" in the dungeon, having taken an extra-long rest to recover and prepare to face the terrors of the dungeon. They decided to check out the northernmost edge of their map and see what progress they could make, They had decided to make it their mission to find and destroy the Tablet of Chaos. 

     They found a room that appeared to be a chapel, with a large statue behind an altar. They heard muttering and grumbling from under the floor, and found a pit trap containing a dwarf cleric named Arnd Cobblestone. Arnd had fallen into the trap and his companions had fled. They freed him from the trap and he became a new hireling of the party. 

     The party experimented with making offerings on the altar, and finally discovered that sacrificing an enchanted chain shirt produced an effect - the statue animated and offered to answer a question. The party carefully worded a question for the statue to tell them how to get to the Tablet of Chaos. The statue began to give them directions through the lightless corridors of the dungeon to the area where the tablet supposedly rests. The party does not think the statue necessarily gave them the shortest or safest route to the Tablet of Chaos, but they do believe that the information is genuine and that following its directions will lead them to the tablet. 

     With a long trek through the dungeon ahead of them, the party decided to stock up on supplies. They made the four-hour trek back to Helix, where they did some shopping, including for at least ten days worth of rations for each member of the party, Then another four-hour hike back into the Barrowmaze and back into the dungeon. They were lucky enough to avoid any encounters during this time. 

     The party began to follow the oracle's directions to the Tablet of Chaos. They encountered a party of tomb-robbers, and negotiated safe passage (the tomb robbers were heading west and the party was heading east). The party then looted the room they had vacated. 

     Next the party came across a battle between the Acolytes of Orcus and the Necromancers of Set. They joined the Acolytes and helped defeat the Necromancers, then negotiated another safe passage. Omarion looted a talisman of the dead from one of the Necromancers, learning that he could only attune to it if he were a sincere worshipper of the evil god Set. 

     The party passed through and looted several more chambers. Eventually they discovered an odd wand of secrets and tested it out in a nearby room - discovering a pit trap and three secret doors. They actually already knew where one of the secret doors was, because it had been revealed to them in the oracle's directions. 

     The party actually passed through a different secret door to check out the area and establish a safe place to camp. The room they explored contained four giant carnivorous flies, which they had to defeat, but then they were able to establish a safe place to camp until the next morning. 

Current PC XP: 1654 XP

Current Hireling XP: 1187 XP

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)
• "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (dwarf fighter hireling), killed by a Son of Gaxx (and subsequently the corpse was burned for fear he would arise as a new Son of Gaxx) (1/9/1000)

The NEW roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 3)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 3) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 3)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 3)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 2) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Arnd Cobblestone (Dwarf Cleric 2) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 2) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

Barrowmaze 5E Session 7 - Back to the Dungeon! Zombies, Rot Grubs, Crystal Statues, Sons of Gaxx, and the Gaunlet of Palantis!

 

Saturday (10/18/25) we played our seventh session of Barrowmaze 5E. The party decided to return to the dungeon this times . . . 

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 3)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 3) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 3)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 3)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 2) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 2) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

10th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party set off for the Barrowmaze early as usual, and arrived without any random encounters. They had decided to return to the dungeon and explore the edges of their map. They fought some zombies, and dealt with rot grubs.

     They battled two animated crystal statues and discovered a secret chamber in which they discovered a powerful relic of Law, the Gauntlet of Palantis. Based on their research, the party believes this magical gauntlet could be a key to destroying the Tablet of Chaos, should they ever locate it. Unfortunately, it can really only attune to a Lawful Good cleric or paladin, so the only character in the party to whom it could attune is their hireling, Brother Binford.

     The party found a couple of runic tablets in an otherwise empty crypt. Remembering that most such tablets contain curses, the party placed these tablets into a bag without attempting to read them, and decided to offer them for sale to their patron, Mazzahs the Magnificent, when they get back to Helix (if he has any interest in such things). 

     The party had a hard-fought battle with a Son of Gaxx before deciding to retreat to a "safe" room in the dungeon and camping there until the next morning . . . 

Current PC XP: 1590 XP

Current Hireling XP: 1123 XP

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)
• "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (dwarf fighter hireling), killed by a Son of Gaxx (and subsequently the corpse was burned for fear he would arise as a new Son of Gaxx) (1/9/1000)

Barrowmaze 5E Session 6 - Investigating More Barrows!

 

Saturday (9/20/25) we played our sixth session of Barrowmaze 5E. The party decided to investigate more of the barrows on the surface rather than return to the dungeon . . . 

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 2)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 2) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 2)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 2)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (Hill Dwarf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 1) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

9th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party set off for the Barrowmaze early as usual, and arrived without any random encounters. They had decided to investigate some of the barrows on the surface rather than return to the dungeon. They had to excavate the first one they chose in order to enter. Once inside, they experimented with some bathing pools, found some minor treasures, fought two Sons of Gaxx (one of which slew "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut and infected his corpse with rote grubs. The party later burned his corpse for fear that he might arise as a new Son of Gaxx). They explored two more barrows. They also fought two wood golems and an ochre jelly hidden in a jeweled goblet. They found statues with gemstone eyes, and used mage hand to steal the gems without dying from the obvious traps. And they found a barrow with a verdigrised bronze door which could not be opened without a key - and the mongrelmen followers informed them that they had seen such a key in the possession of a mongrelman sub-chief known as Horned One. So there is some thought that they might seek out Horned One to try to obtain that key . . . Anyway, after exploring a few barrows, they decided to head back to Helix. They got a late start back, and could hear the snarls and howls of the horrors that emerge in the Barrowmaze at night behind them as they hastened to return to town to sell their loot . . . 

     They PCs did get enough XP to level up to 3rd level at the end of the session. Alivin O'Harris chose the archetype of the Hunter, Feles Pugnat chose the archetype of the Eldritch Knight, and both Omarion Zolond and Sariel Moonblossom acquired second level spells . . . 

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)
• "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (dwarf fighter hireling), killed by a Son of Gaxx (and subsequently the corpse was burned for fear he would arise as a new Son of Gaxx) (1/9/1000)

Barrowmaze 5E Session 5 - Back to the Dungeon - Carnivorous Flies and Ghouls!

 

Today (8/24/25) we played our fifth session of Barrowmaze 5E. The party decided to return to the dungeon and try to fill in some gaps on their map . . . 

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 2)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 2) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 2)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 2)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (Hill Dwarf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 1) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

7th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party set off for the Barrowmaze early as usual, and arrived without any random encounters. They entered the dungeon and started to explore areas of the map they had left unfinished. They fought a gray ooze (damaging the weapons and armor of Alivin O'Harris, though they later replaced his damaged battle axe with a +1 battle axe) and a couple of giant carnivorous flies, and then pressed on to an area where they fought even more giant carnivorous flies in a room with the demolished ruins of a statue. They did find some murals that gave some hints to the history of the Barrowmaze that they had previously gleaned from a runic tablet - the ancient death-god, Nergal, gifting his favored priest with a special tablet, the Tablet of Chaos, then sending his followers into the Barrowmaze . . . Having used up a lot of spells and resources, the party retreated to a "safe" room (previously secured as a base) and took a long rest . . . 

8th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     When the party finished their long rest, it was in the wee hours of the 8th. They explored a defiled crypt, where they fought a ghoul - Sariel turned the undead, and as it tried to flee, Omarion captured it, tied it on a leash, cut off its arms and jaw, and kept it. They then entered another defiled crypt, where four more ghouls awaited them. After this, the party decided to return to Helix for rest, recovery, and restocking . . . 

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)

Barrowmaze 5E Session 4 - Into the Barrowmaze - Hired Help, Barrows, and Dungeons

 

     Today (8/24/25) we played our fourth session of Barrowmaze 5E. Having decided previously to alternate exploration of barrows and the dungeon beneath them, the PCs planned to resume exploring the barrows at the start of this sessions. 

     Before we got to that, however, we started with the arrival of a caravan in Helix from Ironguard Motte. The caravan was in the employ of the Silver Standard Merchant Caravan, and had hired double the usual number of guards: a company of adventurers called the Fearsome Fivesome AND a bunch of independent adventurers. It was reported that the reason for this heightened security was a sharp rise in attacks by undead along the roads, some bearing the mark of the Black Legion. The PCs decided to hire some additional muscle before returning to the Barrowmaze, and so approached the independent adventurers (I used the pregen characters published with Barrowmaze for these characters): they ended up hiring Freelik of  Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 1), "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (Hill Dwarf Fighter 1), and Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 1) at a rate of 2 gp/day each. The increase in "firepower" was assumed to be worth the split in XP . . . 

The roster of characters:

• Tanya - Sariel Moonblossom (Half-Elf Cleric of Arcantryl 2)
• Eli - Omarion Zolond (Drow Necromancer 2) 
• Aidan - Alivin O'Harris (Human Ranger 2)
• Christopher - Feles Pugnat (Tabaxi Fighter 2)
• Hireling - Freelik of Glossimir (High Elf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - "Killer" Kelg Barrelgut (Hill Dwarf Fighter 1) - 2 gp/day
• Hireling - Brother Binford (Human Cleric of St. Ygg 1) - 2 gp/day
• Mongrelmen Hirelings: Kasmut, Kenamon, Qalhata, Somintu, and Werenro

5th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party set off for the Barrowmaze a bit later than usual (by about half an hour) because of the time taken to negotiate the hire of the hirelings. Along the way, they spotted two withered corpses along the path. They investigated, only to be set upon by two coffer corpses. The party quickly realized that non-magical weapons had little effect on the monsters, and switched to their meager magical daggers and spells to defeat them. 

      Arriving later than usual at the Barrowmaze, they explored the first mound to which they came - it was sealed, and so required some work with sledghammers to open. They found two skeletons (not animated), bowls of coins, and two decorated but fragile amphorae. 

     They then investigated a second mound, another one sealed requiring sledgehammer work to open, and found a sarcophagus; they opened it and faced a zombie draped in black cloth. In the battle the amphorae from the first mound were shattered. They defeated the zombie and claimed its treasure - a gold necklace with a jade scarab and a ring of protection +1 (claimed by Omarion, for the first time raising his Armor Class from 10 to 11!). 

     At this point, having spent much more time than expected hammering away at sealed tombs, the party decided to return to Helix before it got too much later. On the way they could hear the snarls and growls of the terrors of the Barrowmaze, but they managed to get back to Helix without incident. 

6th Day of Hardfrost, 1000 GCY

     The party got their usual early start to the Barrowmaze, intending to return to the dungeon beneath the burial mounds today. 

     This time they decided to explore a passageway to the north that they had previously bypassed. They entered a quiet crypt in which there was some graffiti ("Beware the Minotaur"), to which Feles added his own ("Feles was here"). They entered a second quiet crypt where they fought a giant spider and retrieved a hoard of electrum coins. Then they entered a defiled crypt in which they faced a phantom and found a runic tablet detailing the History of the Tablet of Chaos. 

     As a side note, this was randomly rolled - there are many runic tablets in the Barrowmaze, most of them bearing curses, but this one was purely informative, and of potentially epic importance, too. The tablet told of the ancient death-god Nergal and his Tablet of Chaos, which had power over death and the undead. It was said that the ancestral builders of the Barrowmaze brought the Tablet of Chaos to this place, and that it is possibly the reason the Barrowmaze is such an accursed place swarming with undead. It even hinted at the method of destroying the Tablet of Chaos (possisbly by sundering a law-aligned magical item or artifact against the Tablet of Chaos, thus destroying both!). 

     After this, the party explored a seemingly empty room beyond a portcullis, then found a secret door to a hidden chamber where they fought six zombies. 

    Finally, they explored one more chamber, smashing through a bricked up doorway to encounter a room with four shadows. They defeated the shadows in a hard-fought battle, then retreated back to Helix to recuperate . . . 

Valhalla (R.I.P.)

•  Imeni the Mongrelman, beheaded by Varghoulis the Dread Knight and his Crypt Knights of the Black Legion (1/3/1000)