The Deep Levels!
We’ve delved a lot of dungeons throughout Order of the Amber Die’s history. We’ve delved a few megadungeons too. There is this cool thing that happens when you pass the two-thirds mark of a megadungeon; in 2014, it happened when we reached the eleventh level of The Emerald Spire. In our earlier years, it happened when we reached the third poster map of the Ruins of Undermountain. It happened again during this marathon, when we landed on the eighth level of the Abomination Vaults. You’re close to the end. You can feel the immensity of the megadungeon above you, instead of below you. Barring teleportation, it takes longer and longer each time you trek back up to the surface. Everything is a bit more serious—the pressure to succeed is greater. You’re in what we call “the deep levels” of a megadungeon. Just reaching the deep levels is enough for hand-slaps and hugs around the table, but in the back of your mind is what awaits at the bottom.To reach the deep levels of the Vaults, we first had to get past some devils who ran the prison level. Quite a few of them actually, but as devils go, one was more important than the rest. Determined to reach the bottom of this megadungeon and stop Belcorra, we cut a deal…with the devil. This is Order of the Amber Die and we’re playing the Black Powder Cadre, so one deal wasn’t nearly enough. We cut DEALS with devils. You can’t hand our GM a whole section of the Adventure Toolbox titled “Infernal Contracts,” without expecting him to entice us into nearly every contract available. Yet, when Adam asked our party of gunslingers if we had Legal Lore, you’d think the answer would be nothing short of silence and smirks. Instead, our Player Captain argued two marathons ago that every human gunslinger in the group should take Clever Improviser, which Matt said was one of the best feats in Pathfinder 2E. Legal Lore, you say? Why, we seem to have a party of outlaws and aspiring attorneys here!
If you need to get caught up, here is our story from the other levels of the Abomination Vaults:
This marathon saw a couple of gunslinger cameos as additions to the Black Powder Cadre. Grundak, “son of Bashdak,” is an orc gunfighter who joined us with his Barricade Buster from Pathfinder Treasure Vault. It’s worth adding that the clip on the Barricade Buster was impressive; the rest of us were busy reloading while the rookie was plugging away. We were also accompanied by a new companion from Pathfinder Lost Omens Impossible Lands, following the Way of the Triggerbrand and offering some potential melee backup. Our final cameo was from Auralee, playing the cocky yet enigmatic “Lady Sniper,” who likes to wait a while before unslinging her arquebus and quick-scoping a kill.
- Adventure: Hands of the Devil/Eyes of Empty Death
- Marathon Length: 59 hours
- Session Hours: 40hrs, 30min
Every marathon feels different, and for this one we played our hours on level seven under the red light, which made for some serious immersion. We spent most of our three-day weekend trying to locate fragments of a pentagram that would allow us access to the levels below—along with permission from Urevian, a phistophilus. Tess Rajani, wife of Carman Rajani (the future mayor of Otari), signed away her firstborn in what she swore was a deal that outwitted even a contract devil. To make this moment even more intense, Adam laid an actual contract in front of Theodora to sign!
Highlights from Marathon 5:
□ Some of the devils in this megadungeon wield wicked Hellforged weapons. On level seven we found the Hellforge itself, then riddled its smith with bullets. Did you think we’d pass up a new forge, when one of us is married to the most famous blacksmith on this side of Kortos? “The Rajani Hellforge” is now operational, and ready to give Carman the boost to his reputation he’ll need in the next run for mayor! Should we mention our ownership of the Hellforge was part of the deal we signed?
□ Just like the levels above, we encountered more bearded devils on level seven. It could be something that every group experiences while playing the Abomination Vaults Adventure Path, but sustaining an infernal wound from a barbazu is definitely a rite of passage in the Black Powder Cadre. Thanks to PathfinderGuns & Gears, Cauterize effectively shuts down the worry of dying from one of these wounds, and it leaves a nice scar – we like to show them off.
□ We came across a gug that wanted nothing to do with us. Out-of-game, our vets have something personal against gugs. We faced them in The Emerald Spire Project, The Giantslayer Endeavor, and The Strange Aeons Experiment. Now one was right in front of us, sitting quietly in some kind of prison cell. We made a firing line and let the powder fly— only to be served once again by the power of a gug, regardless of what Pathfinder edition we’re in! Across the team, its Furious Claws ability spread out 207 damage in a single round with a few critical hits in there. The ground was littered with facedown gunslingers, and it’s the closest we’ve been to TPK.
□ We stumbled across one of the most memorable chambers of the entire Abomination Vaults so far: a stasis prison, holding an array of nasty creatures that formed a threat level high enough to cause the Core Rulebook to combust. Luckily, it wasn’t the prison that opposed us, but its witchfire warden. Our guns have names, and it was Vlai’s scattergun called “Collateral” that lit up the air like flak. Keep flying lady, you’re easier to hit.
□ One of the things we love about delving a megadungeon is how you get to make a different entrance onto each level, and level eight was hard to beat. We descended on an elevator into a large cavern filled with water, docks, and a few boats. Cypress Hill prepped the scene with “Cock the Hammer” as we spotted forms moving below – undead forms to be precise. One ran for a door and only made it to the handle. Another tried to launch a skiff and never had a chance. We dumped lead on them until the shouts of “cease fire!” echoed off the walls.
Character Deaths
□ With the assistance of devils, kind of dying doesn’t count. It’s all in the fine print.
The Arsenal
There were the occasional doubters when we started this all-gunslingers project. After reaching level eight of the Abomination Vaults, it’s about time to take some credit for just how well this party has handled the majority of what this megadungeon has presented. Let’s be clearer: we’ve just downright trashed a lot of encounters. First off, each gunslinger’s Initial Deed means that many of us start combat with hands free, which means on round one we can draw silversheen, a redpitch bomb, or even grab an edge if we need to. Do you think it’s a ghost? Have our Way of the Drifter draw her ghost touch shortsword. Oh, it a levitating seugathi? Pull! A hulking bone gladiator with resistance? Rocked it with concussive weapon traits. Creatures that climb walls? Just lead them a bit. Fearsome gibbering mouthers? Here’s some extra bludgeoning damage from the harmona gun. Mobs that rush you? That’s what hip-firing with Risky Reload is for. Just make sure to act out blowing on the tip of your barrel after the last shot is fired.
Best Quote from Marathon 5
(staring down a denizen of Leng and his companion—a giant crawling hand)
Zoric: “We should try talking to this guy.”
Tess: “Can’t talk to the hand…”
Current Situation
We disembarked from the elevator down to level eight, then Vlai gave the order: search and destroy. After cleaning out a couple of rooms containing bog-soaked undead, we debated whether or not we wanted to use one of the skiffs to explore the waterways down here. Water and firearms don’t mix, so we’ll likely keep scanning for another path around the level.
More Content:
Our table was brought to life with the help of Blue Table Painting for the miniatures, and Black Bard Studios for custom adventure-specific miniatures/terrain.
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