Citadel of the Sun-Kings Campaign Diary
Session 6: The Rain Before the Behemoth
The Party
Also present:
What Happened
The party began this session in Najad, where they finally remembered to buy a tent. Not just any tent, though—a ten-person tent. More like a yurt, really.
They set out west along the caravan road, crossing the Bridge of Karhul over the Yalga River before veering northeast toward the rumored Dome of the Iron Behemoth. On the second morning, they awoke to a surreal and unsettling sight: towering alien mushrooms, 10 to 15 feet tall, had erupted from the surrounding dunes overnight. Their oily caps glistened in the morning sun, and the desert wind carried shimmering golden spores like glass motes. The group was deeply unsettled, but with no source in sight, they pressed on.
Later that day, they encountered another bizarre scene: a petrified grove in a sunken depression. Among the gleaming white trees, a dozen animated skeletons were hacking away at the stone trunks with rusted tools and weapons. The skeletons took no notice of the party, and the group decided to keep their distance.
On the third day, it began to rain—a rare event in the Red Wastes. The party immediately wondered whether the strange fungal growths were connected to the coming storm, perhaps anticipating it in some unnatural way.
The Dome
As the rain fell, they arrived at a wind-scoured tell of red earth, partially buried beneath the shifting desert. Only the corroded bronze dome remained visible, rising slightly from the sand. Climbing to the top, they found no oculus, only a jagged fissure at the dome’s apex, plunging into darkness as rain cascaded down into the structure below.
They lowered a lantern on a rope, revealing a 60’ drop to a floor below, with a semicircular balcony 15’ above the floor along the northern wall. The party hatched a plan: Kheperkare would descend and use a second rope to reach the balcony. Then, using the Titan Spear’s ability to impale itself in stone, they would create a zipline to the balcony that each character could shimmy across. They determined that descending safely in the rain would take each person a full turn.
Ramu, Idrusa, and Hasoom descended first. Ardamin followed, but halfway through the crossing, the group heard something in the chamber below: the sound of grinding metal. Everyone froze in place as an 8’ tall, bull-headed automaton of black iron walked into the chamber. Its joints shrieked with strain, its glowing red eyes scanning the shadows. The rain helped obscure the balcony, and the creature—clearly the Iron Behemoth—eventually left without noticing anyone.
The Upper Level
Now thoroughly spooked, the group hurried Kheperkare down and moved through a northern passage off the balcony. The first chamber was illuminated by flickering crystal lanterns and decorated with murals depicting a vast alien realm beneath a mantle of stars. Demonic manta-like entities filled the sky, and alien towers rose from darkness. The script beneath read: “Beyond these mirrors lies the Realm Below Night, a realm of ancient chaos, where in but a few steps one may cross the world.” The air smelled faintly of gas from the lamps. The group remarked that this room would’ve been very useful before their earlier mirror journey.
They continued west and found a small altar and fountain. Three golden-glowing arrows rested on the altar, alongside a sealed clay jar. The jar glowed faintly even through the clay and was sealed with melted metal. The party deduced that this was the jar of sunfire they’d been seeking. The fountain, upon testing, held holy water.
The Night Haunters
Exploring north, they passed through a junction to a chamber filled with large bronze pipes and a single door. Something moved overhead in the pipes, but avoided the lantern light. Proceeding through the door, they entered a vaulted chamber reeking of guano and sour wine. A massive bat statue loomed over a hoard of treasure. Six smaller man-bats clung to perches above, and a seventh—much larger, with milky white eyes and crude jewelry—dropped to the floor.
The creature spoke broken Old Darhanic, which Idrusa understood. It asked: “Why you come? Seek power or shinies?” Idrusa gave a somewhat ambiguous reply. The leader, who introduced himself as Oridemos, proposed a deal: slay the man-bats’ enemies (giant ants and a “tiger-woman and her vile minions”) and they would receive a share of treasure. The tiger-woman mention caused confusion, but the group agreed to hunt ants first.
Battling the Ants
Heading east, the group found the colony entrance but was attacked by four massive black ants, each 6’ long. Kheperkare took a heavy hit for 7 of his 10 hit points, and Idrusa cast Sleep, putting two ants down. Based on the effect, the group deduced they were 4 HD monsters and shifted to a more cautious strategy, eventually killing the remaining two.
Returning to Oridemos, they pledged to return with oil to burn out the colony, and were rewarded with a jeweled collar from the treasure hoard.
The Workshop
The group returned to a door they’d previously skipped. It opened into the second floor of a two-story workshop. The upper gallery had bronze railings and splintered scroll racks. A corpse lay sprawled in a corner with its throat torn out and sharpened, filed teeth. Idrusa investigated the scroll racks while Hasoom rappelled down into the lower workshop.
Below, Hasoom found smashed mechanical parts, bronze gears, and ruined jars. Half-buried in rubble was a large bronze plate. Recognizing this as a schematic Andaz would pay for, Hasoom tied a sling around it. Kheperkare used the balcony railings and his ogre strength to hoist the 120-pound tablet back up.
Meanwhile, Idrusa recovered three items from the scroll racks: a scroll, a wand, and a large electrum coin etched with a sun on one side and crescent moon on the other.
With nothing left on the upper level, the group prepared to descend and explore the dome’s lower chambers. We ended the session there.
Campaign Notes
- Notable NPCs: Oridemos the man-bat, the Iron Behemoth (encountered)
- Loot & Treasures:
- Jar of sunfire (sealed)
- 3 golden-glowing arrows
- Holy water (fountain)
- Bronze schematic tablet (for Andaz)
- Scroll
- Mysterious wand
- Rune-etched (magic?) coin
Referee’s Notes
This was easily the most impactful play-testing session so far. There were a few things about the placement of items, room descriptions and layout that I will need to make edits for in the final revision of the module. Great stuff!
We get the first hints of something else going on in the desert with these weird, towering mushrooms, and a wandering encounter with the Iron Behemoth in probably the best way to see it without having to deal with it. If not for the rain, poor Ardamin would have been in real trouble (no spoilers, but those red eyes aren't just for show.)
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