A Nice Day for a . . . Dark Wedding

Setup

We did a President’s Day delve with the father-son group we’ve been running for the last six months or so. We have Bernie the cleric, Hugh the fighter, Richard the barbarian, and Xad the dragonborn wizard. The group was investigating an area down on the Fifth Level that seems to have been overtaken by undead, cultists to Orcus, and some demon-worshiping berserkers. At the end of last session they found a large audience chamber with a huge statue of the Demon Prince of the Undead, and behind the statue was a secret door which opened up into a series of natural caverns.

First, I should back up and point out that I had adapted this groovy Dyson Logos map for the adventure. This map has lots of interesting areas that call out for exploration. Instead of the temple being the entrance to the complex, it was the heart of it and the PCs started in the northwest. The large room in the southwest was the audience chamber, and the group proceeded east into the natural caverns.

Adventure Recap

• They came upon a large, dank cavern with a particularly disturbing feature: enormous hoofprints pressed deep into the living rock floor of the cavern, running southeast to northwest. As the party marveled at this sight, three abyssal maws appeared and attacked. (These nasty horrors are probably the best new monster from the third edition Monster Manual II, and have been updated to 5e in Volo’s Guide to Monsters. Plus I still have a bunch of these miniatures from the old Dragoneye set.)
• The group smashed open the door and surprised three priests of Orcus. Xad let loose a fireball followed up by a silence spell from Bernie. At that point it was pretty much all over but the crying. One of the priests tried to escape, but before he was killed he cried that "the wedding will still continue!" The group found a scroll detailing the history of the cavern: Orcus himself is said to have walked there eons ago when the world was young, and as such the cave is venerated by the cultists. The group took the raiments from the three dead priests: each has a headpiece adorned with great ram’s horns.
• The group took the cavern exit to the west and followed the passage until they found the way blocked by a throng of 14 animated skeletons. Hugh, though, thought fast and while wearing the ram’s horns commanded the skeletons to let the group pass. A quick Charisma check later and the group proceeded down the stairs.
• They filed past a disturbing statue of Orcus to find a stone door and a small cell beyond. Inside was a large stone slab, upon which were spread fine cloths smelling faintly of perfume. Continuing on, the passage opened up into a narrow chamber with a ceiling soaring high above. Looking up, the group could see the bottom of a wooden bridge some 20 feet above. Half a dozen zombies guarded the way, but using the priestly raiments the group commanded them to march back and fight the skeletons.
• Richard climbed up to the bridge level and threw a rope down to the rest of the group. The group entered the antechamber to the northeast, which was guarded by a gargoyle-like demon. Again the headdress allowed them to command the demon to let them pass.
• Beyond was a great, dark temple chamber with an enormous statue of Orcus. Before the statue supplicated a grossly fat woman. Beside her was a pale girl and two berserkers. The party tried to bluff their way in, hoping to save the girl, but the cultists instantly saw through the ruse and attacked. Xad unleashed his second fireball and Bernie held one of the berserkers, whom Richard quickly dispatched.
• A dark, booming voice from beyond the void condemned the woman for allowing infidels into the unholy space, and to everyone’s surprise the girl fell upon the woman, ripping her throat open and drinking her blood. While Hugh attacked the berserker, Richard charged the girl. Skeletal hands erupted from the floor around Bernie and Xad, but both spellcasters were able to avoid being grabbed.
• The girl grabbed Richard and nearly bit his throat, but he battled back and was about to destroy her. But before she could fall the berserker rushed to her side and offered up himself as a sacrifice. She gladly accepted this gift, draining his life and restoring herself to full strength.
• But then she faced the full party. Bernie called up a ring of angels to surround himself. Xad summoned a swarm of daggers as Hugh and Richard brought their steel to bear. With a scream the girl dissipated into a shadow that rapidly fled and was soon lost to the Dungeon. The group searched the temple and discovered a secret hoard hidden beneath the statue. Laden with treasure, the group returned to Delvetown.

Rewards

XP: A Nice Day for a . . . Dark Wedding

	Starting XP	Award	New XP
Bernie	6,500	3,737	10,237
Hugh	6,500	3,737	10,237
Richard	6,500	3,737	10,237
Xad	6,500	3,737	10,237