11/21/2025 – Geeks & Games – A New Hope

The company retraced their steps to the ruin that once belonged to Ramlaat, a war god the world no longer remembers. Cad muttered that zealots of Lady Shug had seized the site, and the walls supported him—furious old Sylvan scratched over older words, promising doom to heretics. Outside, dim mushrooms bled light. Inside, Adder plucked one, and for some time danced around spiky, skittering fungi only he could see.

They chose a north hall. The staircase clicked, tilted, and became a slick chute that dumped them onto a bed of iron spikes. Chaos followed: bodies impaled, frantic bandaging, a torch sputtering in the dark. Kicking at the spike bed, they noticed a hollow sound; prying revealed a bricked wall. In half an hour of hard work, they broke into a winding natural passage that ended at double iron doors etched in antique elvish-dwarvish script. Magic and muscle both met a dead surface; the doors neither stirred nor scarred.

Back in the main hall, a dais held a ram-headed statue, its face melted and eyeless but for onyx gems that gleamed like stars. Wisdom wrestled with greed. Greed won. A taut bowshot popped one eye, then another. Stone shivered. The idol lurched to life, vines peeling as its granite fists came down. The fae-touched swashbuckler darted in and laid a stunning touch; Adder’s gathered energies caved the statue’s side; Cad pressed with steel. The idol toppled—but victory triggered a new threat. A thunderous blast blew the far wall open; dust roiled, and four skeletons staggered out, two with bows, two with short blades. The fight turned savage. Arrows found gaps, blades bit, and under that relentless tempo Malcor the wizard fell, followed by the swashbuckler. Outnumbered and bleeding, the survivors dragged a comrade and fled the ruin.

After rest, they returned with a northborn barbarian and found the scene unchanged except for a fresh breach into a crypt. Cad raised his holy voice and shattered most of the undead where they lay; the remaining bones were chopped down. The tombs yielded funeral masks and tidy grave goods. Above, a loft of scroll tables crumbled at a touch except for a narrow angled strip that made sense only when wound around the glyph-etched rod they’d taken from the statue; the hieroglyphs locked into place as a working arcane scroll of alter self. Below, a cracked black altar watched over a shallow well of foul water and a platinum chalice. With a dare and a steady hand, they dipped, rinsed, and teased a muck-caked key from the well. At the cavern doors the strange script shimmered and layered a new meaning over the old: the down under.

They sold the onyx, packed the masks, and held the key that the ruin itself seemed to recognize. With a dead idol behind them and the words the down under glimmering on the iron, the party stood on the threshold of whatever waits below.

OUTLINE:

Return to the Ruin, Mushrooms, and the Treacherous Stairs

• The party revisited the ancient, moss-covered temple once belonging to Ramlot, now daubed with Lady Shug’s zealotry in old Sylvan.
• Adder ate a glowing mushroom and hallucinated swarming, spiky fungi.
• A staircase collapsed into a ramp, dumping the group onto spikes; several dropped and were hastily stabilized.
• While clearing the spike bed, they discovered a hollow wall and pried open a bricked section.

Hidden Passage and the Sealed Iron Doors

• A winding natural tunnel led to ornate iron double doors etched in antique script.
• Attempts to force or blast the doors failed; the surface seemed warded.
• They marked the location and withdrew to explore the other halls.

Hall of the Ram and the Idol’s Awakening

• They found a dais with a ram-headed statue, its face half-melted, onyx eyes glittering.
• Choosing greed over caution, the group shot both eyes free.
• The statue animated, shedding vines and swinging stone fists.
• A fae-touched swashbuckler stunned it; Adder’s force ripped stone; the party toppled the idol.

The Crypt Bursts Open and the Retreat

• An explosion blew open a wall; dust boiled and four skeletons advanced with blades and bows.
• In the brutal fight, Malcor fell, then the swashbuckler; the survivors dragged a comrade and fled the ruin.
• After rest, they returned with a northborn barbarian.

Looted Tombs, Scribe’s Loft, Black Well, and the Key

• Cad turned most of the undead to dust in the exposed crypt; the rest were cut down.
• They looted funeral masks and grave goods.
• Upstairs, decayed scrolls crumbled, but one angled strip aligned into a functional scroll of alter self when wrapped around the statue’s rod.
• Downstairs, a black altar and foul well hid a muck-caked key; rinsed with a platinum chalice, it gleamed with power.
• At the cavern doors, the carvings shimmered to read the down under, promising a new descent next time.

NPCs:

• Angry Dryad: A watchful spirit that once prowled near the entry, better left undisturbed. The party gave her territory a wide berth this time.
• Animated Ram Statue: A vine-draped idol that sprang to life when its onyx eyes were taken. It fought with stone fists before being shattered.
• Lady Shug: A rising divinity whose zealots have claimed the ruin, overwriting older words with fervent Sylvan threats. Her shadow looms over the temple’s new order.
• Ramlot, Lost God of War: An unremembered war-god whose statue still brooded in the hall. His faith has faded, but his iron and stone traps linger.
• Reveling Satyr: A fey reveler hosting an endless party below with bewitching music. The group avoided his hall after warnings that guests rarely leave.
• Skeleton Archers and Swordsmen: Four chain-clad dead who surged from a burst wall to ambush the party. Twice they tested the company; the second time, they met dust and steel.
• The Nymphs: Enchanting attendants to the satyr’s revel. Beautiful and dangerously distracting, they are best left alone.

ITEMS:

• Cold Steel Longsword: Cad’s favored blade, steady in the crush and cold against stone and bone alike.
• Funeral Masks: Hammered masks taken from the dead, rich with tradition and coin value.
• Glowing Mushrooms: Pale fungi that inspire visions and poor choices when sampled. Beautiful, treacherous, and memorable.
• Glyph‑Graven Rod and Scroll of Alter Self: A metal rod etched with wandering lines that, when wrapped with a narrow angled strip, forms a readable arcane scroll. A clever pairing salvaged from the ruin.
• Grave Goods: Silver thuribles, ointment jars, and crystal vases of ancient makeup bundled from the crypt shelves.
• Onyx Eyes: Twin gem eyes pried from the ram statue. Valuable and provocative, they awakened the idol when removed.
• Ornate Iron Key: A shallow-well key crusted in muck, now clean and faintly glowing. Its presence made the door’s script whisper the down under.
• Platinum Chalice: A heavy, gleaming chalice found at the black well. It helped rinse a foul, mud-caked key clean.

LOCATIONS:

• Black Altar and Shallow Well: A cracked blackstone altar beside a shallow well of foul water, rimmed with a platinum chalice. The well hid a muck-caked key.
• Burst Wall to the Crypt: A newly blasted breach opening into rows of sarcophagi. Skeletons marched from here before the crypt was subdued.
• Hall of the Ram: A pillared chamber with a raised dais and a melted ram-headed statue holding a glyph-graven rod. The onyx eyes glinted before the idol awakened.
• Hidden Cavern and Iron Doors: A winding natural tunnel ending at rune-scribed iron double doors that resist blade and spell. With the key nearby, the script shifts to reveal the down under.
• Ruined Temple of Ramlaat: A squat, ancient stone temple veined with black moss and encircled by glowing mushrooms. Its carvings are defaced and overwritten by Lady Shug’s zealots.
• Scribe’s Loft: A raised workspace of decaying scrolls and papers. One angled strip survived to align with the statue’s rod.
• Trap Stair and Spike Pit: A treacherous stair that collapses into a slick chute, dumping intruders onto iron spikes and concealing a hollow wall.

FACTIONS:

• Followers of Lady Shug: Zealots who have claimed the ruin, overwriting its past with fervent Sylvan proclamations.
• Ramlaat’s Forgotten Faith: The remnant traces of a lost war-god’s cult. Its traps and idols endure though the worship does not.
• The Satyr’s Revelers: Fey partygoers who lure the unwary into an endless celebration in the lower halls.
• The Thieves’ Guild (Town): Quiet hands that tax the unwary during their carousing and keep an eye on sudden wealth.

QUESTS:

• Breach the Iron Doors: Gain entry past the warded iron doors hidden in the cavern to reach what lies below.
• Bypass the Deadly Stair Trap: Survive the collapsing stair, uncover the hollow wall, and make the descent safe for future forays.
• Explore the Temple and Uncover Its Secrets: Delve into the ruined shrine, avoiding the satyr’s revel, and learn what remains of Ramlot’s legacy under Lady Shug’s shadow.
• Identify or Trade the Rod‑Scroll: Decide whether to keep and use the alter self scroll wound on the rod or sell it in town.
• Pacify the Crypt: Confront and end the skeleton threat spilling from the burst wall into the hall of the ram.
• Recover the Onyx Eyes: Seize the gems from the ram statue’s sockets without being destroyed for the attempt.
• Retrieve the Hidden Key: Find and recover the key hinted at by the foul well and altar.

PLAYER CHARACTERS

• Adder: A volatile kineticist whose curiosity gets the better of him, he sampled the glowing mushrooms and battled through hallucinations. In combat he phases and hurls crackling force, caving the living statue and later helping to break the skeletons. Quick to improvise, quicker to run when the odds go bad.
• Cad: A cautious priest who remembers when the shrine honored Ramlaat, even as he now navigates Lady Shug’s rise. He steadied the group through calamity, warded allies, and ultimately shattered the dead with a resounding turn to clear the crypts. Cad carries a cold steel longsword and weighs reverence against the realities of survival.
• Fae‑Touched Swashbuckler: A nimble skirmisher with a fey-born touch that can stun even stone. They darted in to numb the living idol at a crucial moment, but later were cut down amid the skeleton surge when the wall exploded and the dead pressed in.
• Malcor: A sharp-eyed wizard who brought precise arcane bolts to bear against the animated idol. In the sudden, dust-choked clash with skeletons he was overwhelmed and fell, a grim reminder of how quickly the ruin punishes mistakes.
• Northborn Barbarian: A hard-bitten fighter from the north who joined on the second delve. Light on armor and heavy on grit, he shouldered loot and steel alike while helping finish the last of the undead in the crypt.
• Ozzy: A charismatic loudmouth with notoriously poor judgment, he was eager to kick in doors and volunteer for ‘talking’ despite minus-common-sense instincts. He helped seize treasure in the idol’s hall and survived the skeleton ambush by the skin of his teeth, only to be dragged out under fire.