Dead Man's Party



Adventure Status: Complete

Team Roster: Jun-Tijax, Isam

Location: Dapplewood Sanitarium

Significant NPCs: Zander

Report Summary:

Most infamous of the occupants of Dapplewood Sanitarium was the necromancer Nigel Blackheart, who was imprisoned there after being tried for practicing the necromantic arts to create undead soldiers for an invading army and was found to be insane. Nigel died eight years after being taken into custody and was buried in the catacombs underneath the sanitarium, but rose soon afterwards as a powerful wraith. When reports reached headquarters of a large number of undead rising and migrating to the sanitarium, Tomb Wardens Jun Tijax and Isam were assigned to investigate and deal with the situation.

While traveling to the Sanitarium, Tijax and Isam encountered several groups of zombies heading towards the sanitarium. They also encountered Dapplewood's ranger, Zander, who assisted them in exterminating one of the groups. Against his recommendations, they insisted on pressing onwards and so he escorted them to the boundaries of the Sanitarium grounds, though he refused to leave his woods to accompany them inside. He was witness to Strike Team 13's initial assault on the front gates and the undead gathering there. While the Warden pair was successful, Zander was unimpressed by their unprofessional demeanor and poor cooperation, sending a complaint via messenger bird to Headquarters.

Strike Team 13 successfully gained entrance to the Sanitarium and set about exterminating most of the undead there, encountering (but not attempting to close) an interdimensional rift to the Negative Energy Plane, which was the source of power that created and called undead creatures from the surrounding area to the sanitarium. The team failed to uncover why the rift had been created, nor why Nigel Blackheart had risen and begun assembling his undead army. They did, however, successfully defeat the wraith, who was fortunately lost in madness and was unable to perceive events on the Material Plane, and recovered a number of valuable and magical goods. In addition, Cleric Isam demonstrated a number of creative uses for fire spells and excellent tactics regarding the use of a consecration spell, while Jun-Tijax demonstrated a growing resistance to the paralyzing attack of ghouls and related undead. With Blackheart's defeat, the rift sealed itself and those undead created by its unholy energies were destroyed.

Strike Team 13 was reprimanded upon its return for unprofessional conduct, receiving a partial pay cut and directions to improve their interpersonal skills.