Centrum Glacies Session 135: Allips
Week 135 of the Dungeons and Dragons Campaign in Centrum Glacies continues as the party encounters and fights off Allips, ghosts driven insane by forbidden knowledge.
Like my other campaign, I’m turning this one into a book series. You can check out the first one here.
Anyway, just like my other campaign, there is a whole lot going on and I don’t want to elaborate on every moving piece in the story. You can see the whole thing in the book series.
!!!Trigger Warning!!!
This story deals with a cruel world with some horrific twists. So far, this campaign has featured: Animals getting killed, Genocide, lots of body horror, evil cults, brainwashing, torture, psychological warfare, child abuse, and slavery.
Most recently, the party helped cause a complete planetary genocide. Save a few survivors, no one remains from that world. They are still grappling with this unfathomable loss of life and their role in making it happen. It is clear that their suffering is far from over. They can only hope they don’t cause untold pain to an even more untold more.
!!!Final Trigger Warning!!!
Trapped in a hallway in a dark crypt, ghosts called Allips attacked the party through the walls. Their very presence made the group shiver, and their very touch was filled with madness. These creatures were capable of speech, but all they were capable of saying were different variations of how they intended to share what they had learned.
Unfortunately, the Allips had a method to make sure the group would not run away from the mad ghosts. The creatures made a hypnotic sound that convinced several members of the party not to fight back. Instead they released their hold on their weapons. The ghosts made use of this charm ability to draw the group closer. Specifically for the express chance to spread their madness and forbidden knowledge.
Most of their attempts to share this deadly knowledge fail. One of them even phased through Jyona. She might have been curious about this forbidden knowledge, but her protection runes recognized danger and protected her.
Kisara was the one exception. She was swarmed by Allips. And her lower endurance compared to the rest of the party made her easy prey. Luckily for her, the Allips were not trying to kill anyone. After all, they wanted to share what they had learned. Unfortunately, simply sharing that knowledge threatened to drive her mad.
Recovering from Madness
Eventually the Allips were dealt with. But not without a heavy cost in damage and resources. Trent cast a restoration spell to heal any mental damage Kisara suffered from after their battle. The group took a short rest to recover from their encounter. They knew more enemies likely lurked in this place. And they needed to be in top form.
It didn’t take much longer for them to find more monsters. This place seemed to be filled with Allips. And all of them seemed excited to share their forbidden knowledge with the party. Once again, the group found themselves in a narrow hallway where the ghosts had an advantage.
Wrap Up
Given the sheer number of creatures that have gone mad in this place, there must be something worse lurking in the cave. The party is holding their strongest spells for whatever else calls this place home. Hopefully whatever else lurks in the darkness doesn’t destroy them first.