Dungeons And Dragons + The Haunted Keep

The Campaign continues... after an unsuccessful barter for some horses with Post-Apocalyptic Pete, the party leave the Comeback Inn and relative safety of the village to find the root of strange occurrences at the nearby abandoned keep. On route, beneath a full moon, they discover they are not alone. Hundreds of undead are also shambling towards the keep! Outrunning the skeletal menace, the Haunted Keep soon looms above. An impressive monument to dwarven stonework, the keep stands short and squat, like a lego block dropped from the heavens. The party cut a track through the purple sward.

Your host for the day, Lewis! Welcome to the Haunted Keep. Stay a while... stay forever!

Running from the hordes of undead amassing around the keep, our intrepid explorers solve the riddle above the entrance (thanks Fingers!), scoot inside and bolt the double doors (after failing to climb the back wall).

The moans of the living dead can be heard outside as the keep is explored. Alyssa finds a lever but decides not to pull it. 

Bones of fallen soldiers are scattered throughout the rooms.

"I've got a bad feeling about this..."

A small regiment of skeletons springs into action, upturning tables and firing finger bones that explode on impact.

Erin, a Paladin of the Order of the Horse, hurls a flask of oil at the table and retreats to the door. Fingers MacGee offers his pyrotechnic skills and soon the room is alight. A fight begins at the doorway. Meanwhile, Alyssa opens a chest and starts pulling out linen and blankets. Ariel Axemaiden loots the skeletal remains of a long dead warrior. The Bard discovers a hidden bottom with coins and a surprise! At the bottom of the chest was a three-headed snake with strange markings. Ariel made short work of it with her axe, cutting the viper in half.

Someone's at the door! The 'Bard' stops her looting to throw a sheet over the skeleton, while Ariel the Elf boots the blanket of bones back into the burning room.

When the fires die down, the explosions cease and the smoke clears...

The party ascends to the next level. Please note the amazing modular design... brought to you by DWARVEN FORGERY™.

The obligatory kitchen and stores level.

Some cleaver action. When the Head Chef is sent back to the land of the dead, his animated utensils fall lifeless also.

An armoury. Now we're talking!

Top right room (food store) is filled with strange scarab beetles. Sacks, boxes and barrels full of the blighters. More on this later.

Onwards and upwards. Another level, another battle with bone warriors.

Erin hacks and slashes, while Fingers and Horsepuncher Jones fire deadly missiles.

The Elf and the Bard fight a hooded spectre with Tourette syndrome. Use is made of the bed, blankets and flaming oil. Alyssa notices afterwards that the green hood is unmarked by the flames. She wears it and starts swearing profanities!

Horsepuncher Jones manages to damage one of his hand crossbows. The fight is finished with a longshot from Fingers MacGee.

Like a d6. Oh look, a hidden door.

Which leads to a hidden treasure room. With fake treasure! It's a trap! When disturbed, the floor tiles give way and send poor unfortunates down to the storage room filled with hungry scarab beetles! The scarabs seem strangely attracted to Horsepuncher Jones, who starts eating them. Yummy. Alyssa throws down some rope and the party regroup and head upstairs once more.

"Go back!" says the statue at the end of the corridor. Then it blasts Alyssa with a bolt of lightning!

Lord Fortesque! Or something like that. His introduction is somewhat similar to chattering teeth. For a death knight that wields an eldritch blade, his etiquette is sorely lacking. After the fierce battle, Blackrazor (the sole-sucking sword) is wrapped carefully in Erin's cape. It talks! "You are what you eat. I suck through the feet."

Pop!

A Wizard's laboratory, owned by the Liche Loboticus. His vague history lesson helps to explain the brown goo, skeletal soldiers and guardians of the keep. They are the last bastion of order keeping the realm of Chaos at bay... and he needs a hammer... 

...to smash this magical mirror. Why? Not really sure. Anyway, the hammer is somewhere beneath the keep. Back to that lever on level one guys! 

Returning to pull the lever on the first floor of the keep, a stairway is revealed and the party descend into the depths of the unknown. Note the awesome stair design. Yes, more DWARVEN FORGERY™.

Many of the antics on this lower level can be explained by the above photo.

Idols bearing Jade stones and mysterious tentacles abound!

The source of the tentacles is found. Horsepuncher Jones charges at the purple monstrosity. Note: a classic 1980s Grenadier miniature superbly hand painted by Lewis. No plastic pre-painted miniatures here!

Horsepuncher Jones goes down. Closely followed by the Elf and Paladin. Oh, yes, Fingers MacGee drinks a potion. He disappears from sight but a thump is heard soon after, as he too falls over, paralysed. The quick thinking Bard throws the urn from the Death Knight's chambers at the monster. It shatters and explodes in a magical cloud of sparkle-dust, giving all who breath it an unhealthy dose of the mind-altering powder.

Too graphic for your mortal eyes. Suffice to say, drugs are bad. Mmm, k?

All in the corridor succumb to the powerful hallucinogenic effects of the narcotic. Alyssa the Bard, wrapped in her Hood of Tourette, is immune. Feck! Almost tripping over the paralysed and invisible body of Fingers MacGee, she borrows an axe from Ariel to finish the creature. Hack. Hack. Hack. 

The party discovers the final idol and retrieve another piece of Jade.

But wait, there's more.

"Wow, I love what you've done with the place!" A new dilemma for the group. How to best these Champions of Chaos and unlock the portal?

"Who do you serve?" In order to save her comrades, Erin wields the powerful Blackrazor, sacrificing her own humanity.

Given her new perspective, Erin dons some Chaos armour while the party proceeds to insert the Jade 'keys' into place and disappear through the weird portal.

"We're not in Kansas anymore, Toto!" The party gaze in wild-eyed wonder at their new armour and equipment.

Mega City One!

Waiting for the hammer to fall.

Lock and key.

Hatchet Higgins celebrates in the new Temple of the Axe, built with a generous donation from the party!