Welcome to the Dark Side is the first episode of season 2, Escape from the Bloodkeep.
Introduction[]
"A tale of evil and darkness: 'Escape From the Bloodkeep'. Behold, a land of ash and shadow, choked by sunless and starless skies. The vast plains of Khal Ravenwrath, smoking with craters, and the breeding pits of orcish armies. Spiders, worgs, and bats cover the land of Gorgar, whose armies seek to forever stomp out the forces of light within the world of Elna. Beyond the Bog of Despair, and the towering mountains that surround the Door of Doom, past even, Ro'ro'ro'ro'ro'kin'drath, The Scary Volcano, there rises, endlessly towards the sky, a towering fortress of vast obsidian might, who seeks to pluck the very stars from the sky: Athagduar, The Bloodkeep. And, atop its utmost spire, the flaming maw of Zaul'Nazh, Lord of Shadows, who bends his ceaseless will to the unmaking of the world. Forever stand The Bloodkeep, and woe betide its foes forever."
Synopsis[]
The episode starts with a brief description by the DM of the lands of Gorgar and The Bloodkeep. Then, each of the PCs is introduced in turn: Efink Murderdeath, Sokhbarr, Leiland, Lilith, Maggie, and, lastly, Markus St. Vincent.
As the PCs are called to the Throne Room for their final battle council before they plan to destroy the world of men, elves, and dwarves, they meet some of the keep's residents: Keldriel, Ipskix, Olag, Hobbert, and Frod.
In the Throne Room, they meet Zaul'Nazh, and convince him they've almost found his Crown. As Zaul'Nazh explains his plans, he suddenly interrupts himself and explodes, leaving only a small ember. At the same time, the undead legions of Zaul'Nazh perish, proving that he is gone.
Efink uses her divination and discovers that Zaul'Nazh has gone to the Nightmare Realm, and is gone. However, there is a piece of him still remaining in the mortal plane: Leiland. As the group heads to the Library of Madness, they notice that the vermin is leaving the Bloodkeep because the structure is unstable.
In the library they discover that the Crown was forged by Zaul'Nazh in the Scary Volcano,based on an artefact given to him by Gogmoth. Leiland discovers that Zaul'Nazh will be destroyed if his Crown is ever destroyed, and that it can only be destroyed in the Scary Volcano. The group concludes that this is what led to the sudden death of their lord, and embark on a quest to the Scary Volcano.
In the Scary Volcano, they discover two halflingsm plus Telmeir the Calm and Kasara the Beige, and battle begins.
Locations[]
Featured Characters[]
The Lieutenants[]
New[]
Mentioned[]
- The Lava Mog
- Gogmoth
- Hork
- Stalker
- Lyssandra Half-Elven