Vaults of Volokarnos Playthrough - Narrative Report

This is a narrative report of a playthrough of The Vaults of Volokarnos, a level 1 B/X adventure by Gabor Lux (aka Melan) from his zine Echoes from Fomalhaut issue 9. Here is a link for the zine on Gabor’s shop (currently offering a 30% discount until 20 June!), and a link for the pdf on drivethrurpg. I initially discovered this module thanks to Bryce Lynch’s review on tenfootpole.

*Major spoilers* This adventure is a fine example of the “orcs in a hole sauna” genre, but do not read my report if you want to experience this module as a player!

Please note that there is A LOT more to the module than what was encountered in our game. Further, the report reflects my own DMing decisions, additions, house rules and misrules!

Please also note this report was not written to be enjoyed as fiction. It has no literary flourishes and makes no attempt to leave out irrelevant things and accentuate the exciting parts. On the contrary, it is intentionally meticulously detailed because I wanted to record everything that happened while it was still fresh in my mind, so that I could then carry out a detailed gaming post-mortem on it.

Eventually, I plan to put up two more posts about this game. One will be about how I prepped for the game - important because I don’t consider myself an experienced DM and two out of the three players were playing an RPG for the first time in their lives. The other will contain my thoughts on my decisions as DM and on the game as a whole.

Introduction

Three characters in search of adventure and gold arrived early in the morning by ship from Adelfia to the island city-state of Arak Brannia. They were Professor Leonardina, a magic-user and scholar, Clara the Cleric and Quintus, a thief, also known affectionately as Pickus Pocketmus.

Quintus was rumoured to be a descendant of a great hero of old who drove the Purple Worms away from the Kassadian Empire. Who knows if that was true, but Purple Worms had not been seen for many generations and Quintus was in possession of a dagger named “Purple Pain” which it is said would vibrate if a Purple Worm approached.

The Professor had received a letter from a colleague who had gone missing with the following cryptic text:

“With my last sight, I write this warning

Three apprentices went to the vaults

One went cold, the second was too far from the door..

I have seen too much, farewell”

She also had a map of a small island but did not know if its significance.

Clara believed in respecting the gods and was tolerant of all of the gods, which fitted in well with local customs.

On approaching Arak Brannia, they saw crowds cheering and partying in the streets. As their ship was boarded by the harbour guard, they learnt the cause of the celebrations - the gods had decreed that Arak Brannia’s hated rival, Thisium, would soon be destroyed! The rulers of Arak Brannia, the Councilmen, had accordingly announced a weeks-long festival.

The guard inspected the ship for smuggled goods and demanded 1gp payment for entry to the city, which the adventurers reluctantly paid. In good cheer, the guard advised them that they could find lodging at the Seven-Headed Cat situated on the Street of Particular Pleasures.

Entering the inn, they were made welcome by the innkeeper, Giacomo Gatto, a wily man in his mid 40s. Before they could place an order though, a herald of the Councilmen entered the inn and announced that the Councilmen, having heard of the infestation by orcs of the fabled Vaults of Volokarnos, had decreed that anyone who would drive the orcs out could keep their loot.

At this point, Giacomo made it clear to the adventurers in no uncertain terms that this was an opportunity of a lifetime for them to make their fortune, for no one would be able to tell which treasures the orcs had in fact looted. He encouraged them to make as many trips as needed. In fact, he was so enthused by the prospects of the party, that he positively insisted that they take up food and lodgings at his inn for free, in exchange for a small, undefined cut of any treasure recovered.

Though distrustful of his intentions, the party could not resist Giacomo’s strength of character. As a retired adventurer himself, Giacomo took them under his wing and strongly encouraged the young heroes to recruit additional companions for their venture. Giacomo was also forced to scold Quintus in thieves’ cant after the enterprising rogue scoped out the premises for prospective valuables to steal.

Preparations

In the inn, the following characters stood out as suitable for recruitment (most of the other patrons already being too drunk): a string looking northman warrior, a sickly looking but well armed lady, four crossbowmen playing cards and a street urchin lurking by the entrance. The party liked the look of the northman and wanted some muscle in their group, so approached him first. He was Wulf the Heavy, a survivor of the dungeons beneath Arak Brannia, and was quickly recruited.

Quintus was skeptical about the need for additional help, as he was slow to trust others and taken aback that the recruits would each require a share of the treasure in addition to their fixed fees. He almost persuaded his companions that the four of them should go alone, before Giacomo intervened, assuring the team that in his experience delves were dangerous and the bigger the team, the better.

Clara spoke with the sickly fighter, being the only one unafraid of her coughing. She was Lucille the Seeker - a fighter in search of a cure for her malady. Perhaps the healing waters of the Vaults would aid her malady?

The four crossbowmen were Antonio the Steady, a competent looking fellow, Blotus the Half-Empty, a cynical sort, Claudia di Fortunata, who seemed to be winning the card game, and Donazello the Tangled, an agile young man, frequently wistfully looking at a locket with a picture of the beautiful Menodora.

Finally, the urchin was Venicius the Delver, a local kid with an odd accent, eager to join the expedition, offering to carry a torch for them and to direct them to the Vaults in the first place.

Quintus recruited Wulf and Venicius, Clara took pity on Lucille and Donazello, and Leonardina paid the remaining three crossbowmen to be her bodyguards.

The party was now ready to depart. But at this point Giacomo strongly suggested to the adventurers that they would profit from talking to some old locals to get some additional information on the Vaults. Sceptically, especially after discovering that the locals would only get talkative after 1gp of ale or 2gp of wine, they nonetheless chatted to two such old men. They learned that the wondrous baths were once very close to the entrance, and the vaults would be beyond those. They also learned that not long ago, a group of dwarves had set out in search of a royal tomb in the vaults, but had not been seen since.

As the party was finally about to head off to the dungeon, Giacomo advised popping over to the Temple of the Gods of the City on the way. There they met the Arch-Priest Pomponio Sera and were assured that they could rely on his services, including raising the dead - for a price, of course. Looking around at the images of the local pantheon, Clara was drawn to Irlan of the Shining Lamp, Leonardina to Rualgar, god of the keys, and Quintus was enthused by Zeltar, the god of adventurers. With that done, they finally proceeded along the road out of the city and into the Vaults of Volokarnos!

First Expedition

The party followed the road out of the city, walking for two hours amidst abandoned until they reached the entrance to the Vaults. Here they agreed on a marching order: Quintus, Venicius and Wulf in the front rank, Antonio and Claudia in the second, Leonardina and Blotus in the third, Clara by herself in the fourth, and Lucille and Donazello guarding the rear. Venicius and Leonardina carried torches.

They inspected the entrance cavern and found an ancient mace buried in one of the dried up fountains, giving it to Claudia to use instead of her dagger.

They party went through the east door, marked No Entry. They spun the obelisk and with the dagger sign facing the north, the north door swung open, revealing an empty corridor. The party spun the obelisk a few more times. When nothing happened, they searched the room and found a secret alcove in the south. While picking up the gold, the back row was surprised by two giant carb spiders who had crawled along the walls and ceiling out of the northern passage. The spiders were fast, but Lucille and Donazello dodged their attacks. Quintus, as the fastest member of the team swung round and pushed his way closer to the front, so he could unload his crossbow at the spiders. Unfortunately, his shot was wildly inaccurate and the bolt hit Donazello square in the back, killing the unlucky retainer outright. The spiders attempted to drag Donazello’s body away, but the other team members were more accurate, Antonio the Steady in particular, and soon both critters were dead. After a short debate, the party agreed to leave Donazello’s body hidden in the alcove and collect it on their way out of the dungeon.

The party opened the door to the east and then came up to a richly decorated door with a gilded lock. It looked complex and consisted of various gears. Quintus got down to inspect the lock. The rest of the party stood in formation, with Clara and Lucille staying put in the t-junction, noting that the corridor to the east was damp and concluding that the thermal springs were that way. Inspecting the door, Quintus also noticed a small stud that could be slid down. Choosing between the handle and the stud, he pushed the stud and a secret door in the northern wall opened up.

The party abandoned the door with the gilded lock and went down the long-abandoned passage. After a few turns, they heard the musical notes of a harp, swiftly followed by arrows in flight. Unable to see further down the tunnel Quintus was convinced that they had set off a trap and the party debated how to remove it. The sound of further arrows galvanized them into action and they made haste towards their assailant. They discovered a living statue and instead of attacking it, they cut the strings of the harp. The statue was left mindlessly continuing its motions, unable to let loose.

The party saw that to the south there was a lever for opening the hidden door out. They listened at the door first and heard the sound of stomping and numerous orc voices. They made out something about following the orders of Brutus. They debated their options - return along the passageway and explore the long corridor to the east, which presumably led to the orcs’ lair or burst through the secret door and surprise the orcs. They were about to launch their attack when they heard a loud and commanding voice amongst the orcs, demanding to know if there were any reports from the looters at the outpost in the west, telling the orcs to prepare for the shipment in three days’ time and talking to someone named Jacopo. The party guessed this leader was Brutus and decided to go west to seek out the orcs there.

As they rounded the corner, they noticed a lever for operating a secret door which they had previously gone past. They also heard voices by the entrance into the tunnel. The mage recognised the language as the halfling tongue and could understand that the halflings had followed the party and discovered the secret passage. Deciding to trust the little folk, the party spoke out to them. The halflings were barefoot and each had a lucky platinum piece tied on a string around their neck. They were friendly, explaining that they too were adventurers, but were not strong enough to take on the orcs. Learning that the passage led to the orc camp, the halflings decided to explore eastwards. The party meanwhile decided to pull the lever and go through the door to the west.

The first room they entered was a burial niche, but it was clear that it had already been looted. They went west again, barging through the door. On the other side of the door they rushed into eight orcs, busy with looting a burial ground beneath a huge dolmen. The orcs also had five large wolves behind some portcullis doors in a corner, who began to howl and gnash their teeth, eager to be let loose. One orc rushed to open the wolves’ cage with a set of keys, while the others rushed at the adventurers.

The party decided that now was a good time for a Sleep spell and sent four of the orcs to sleep, including the key bearer. They also joined combat and started shooting up the orcs, quickly leaving just two alive. In a dramatic twist, Venicius the torchboy rushed to grab the keys off the floor, but slipped in a pool of blood, sending the keys flying before the feet of an orc, who promptly managed to open the wolves’ cage. A long battle of attrition commenced, but with the remaining orcs and the wolves hemmed in and the party making good use of ranged fire, including a lucky throw of a rock by Venicius, the party eventually triumphed, bloodied but with no casualties.

The party inspected the room and the sarcophagus in the wolves’ den. Uninterested in the rusty armour within, they noticed that the bottom of the sarcophagus seemed to move when they disturbed the armour. Expecting the worst, they readied themselves and moved the bottom further - to reveal a glorious horde of 3,000 gp! They collected this as well as the orcs’ loot and decided that this was a sensible time to return to town. They decided to go back along the route they already knew and not risk any new rooms, even though they could guess at some of the connections. Just as they were about to leave the room, they heard a soft snore from one of the enchanted orcs. Without hesitation, they slit the necks of the sleeping orcs.

I couldn’t resist adding a couple of AI generated images to break up the wall of text. This and the following two images were rendered using ChatGPT 4o.

They encountered no one on their way to the exit and were about to leave the dungeon when suddenly they remembered about poor Donazello. The other retainers grumbled at the thought of leaving his body behind, lest the same befall one of them. Reluctantly, the adventurers ventured back and collected Donazello’s body from the alcove. On their way back, right in front of the exit they met four cloaked men, their leader introducing himself as Erasmus. They did not appear threatening and said they were explorers, but noted the sacks of loot and quizzed the party in detail, including their names and where they were staying. The party was mostly honest, but at the last minute, Quintus gave them directions to the Five-Headed Dog tavern. With that over, the party returned to town and divvied up the loot.

Each retainer other than Venicius received a half share of the loot. Claudia also revealed that she had won 400 gp from gambling and used this to buy herself a suit of plate mail. The party spent some of their funds on upgrades, with Quintus buying a longsword, Clara buying plate mail and Leonardina an extra throwing dagger. The retainers frittered their gains away and the heroes were generally reluctant to pay for any upgrades for them.

Finally, arrangements were made for Donazello’s funeral. His half-share was used to cover the expenses. Arch-Priest Pomponio did offer to raise him from the dead, but the party baulked at the stated price of 5,000 gp. Word was sent round that the young man who had been so in love with Menodora was soon due for burial. But just as his coffin was about to be lowered, a courier arrived and pushed a large money pouch into Pomponious’ hands. It contained exactly 5,000 gp and the attached envelope simply said “Bring him back. Menodora, Pirate Queen”. Incredulous, the party retired for the night.

Second Expedition

The following morning, just as the party was about to set out for the Vaults for their second time, they heard that the halfling settlement just outside of the city walls was in commotion. They had received a platinum piece on a string, covered in blood, with a message that unless the orcs’ treasure was returned, each day another halfling would be killed. The party resolved to rescue the halflings, as well as explore the western part of the dungeon.

Donazello was back in the team, although slightly more frail. “Did I die a good death?” he asked. “All I can remember is a sharp pain in my back.” The party assured him that he died bravely, stung from behind by a giant spider. Along the way to the Vaults, they met a shepherd, who told them that he has heard that inside is a lake and those who look into it shall turn into a salt statue!

From the cavern entrance, the party went north, admiring the frescoes on the walls and pocketing a chisel. They were once again lured by the “No Entry” sign on the eastern door and entered the skull crypt, which connected to the previously explored areas, as they expected. Seeing the thick cobwebs, they expected an attack from a crab spider and killed it off easily. They searched the room and found the pottery with 900 gp. They also retrieved the shield from the dead orc in the room, which was painted purple and bore the symbols of the Imperial Legion IV. The shield was given by Clara to Lucille.

As the party was about to return to the hallway, the door opened and eight humans walked in. They claimed to be merchants and when pressed, admitted that they wanted to talk to the orcs about doing business. The adventurers were suspicious and unimpressed and told them to leave. On their way out, Quintus quietly pickpocketed one of them, but only got 8 gp.

The party returned to the hallway and continued north, entering a steaming room of bubbling pools. They were extremely wary of the pools, remembering the warning of the shepherd! They were not in the room long before a spear was thrown at them from the room to the east and ten orcs charged towards them. The orcs accused the party of stealing their treasures and warned that they would not let Brutus down. The party had time to meet them in melee in the connecting passageway, limiting the ability of the orcs to leverage their numbers. Moreover, the party’s crossbowmen took position on the flanks, just behind the pools (but careful not to step in them). The party felt the odds were in their favour, declining to cast Sleep on the orcs. The orcs did manage to knock Lucille unconscious, but she was healed back up by Clara.

I call this “Lurtz from Orkopalypse Now”

A few rounds in to the combat, the party heard banging on the door in the south room of pools and cries for help. Realising that the halflings were held there, the party ordered Venicius to open the door, which he could not, as it was locked. At the same time, Erasmus and his three companions were spotted rushing up to the fight from the entrance passage. “It is I, Erasmus, come to help” cried the human’s leader and proceeded to stab Blotus, while his companions picked out and stabbed Venicius and Donazello. Venicius and Blotus fell unconscious, while Donazello’s soul once again departed his body. “Return our treasure!” demanded Erasmus.

Now it was time to cast Sleep, agreed the party, and Leonardina obliged, knocking out the four bandits, then helping Antonio bandage up the wounds of Blotus and Venicius. The orcs fought on to the death, and were eventually slaughtered. Antonio once again proved that he was steady and efficient, while Quintus and Wulf struggled to land any blows. After the battle, they decided to test the effects of the pools and Clara threw a dead orc body into one of them. It turned soggy, but did not turn into salt.

Searching the dead orcs, the party also found the keys to the storeroom and released the nine surviving halflings. The party debated all heading back to town to heal up, but then decided to ask the halflings to carry the unconscious but stable Venicius and Blotus and the very dead Donazello back to town.

They then noticed the orcs’ cart and coffer of coppers in the adjoining room and locked this up in the storeroom. Heading north they entered the second obelisk room and, like before, they spun the obelisk around a few times and waited. Nothing at all happened. They proceeded to search the room and discovered a secret alcove to the west. They collected the coins there and Wulf appraised the brazier itself as potentially being worth something. The brazier was difficult to carry however, so they went back to the cart and decided to return to town, catching up with the halflings.

Back in town, Donazello was buried. This time there was no last minute rescue by Menodora. The party divvied up the loot and healed up. They also received 100 gp each from the grateful halflings. Quintus and Clara were very close to levelling at this point, while Leonardina trailed them significantly. It was also not obvious what they could do with all their gold at this stage, although Quintus did acquire studded leather armour fr himself and delighted Venicius with a set of leather armour, while Leonardina upgraded Antonio and Blotus’ chain mail to banded armour. “I wonder if there any other ways we could get some experience?” mused Leonardina.

Such an opportunity now presented itself. The famous tradition of carousing presented itself. Quintus was the first to go all in, selecting the fines wines, whiskeys and even the famous ale of the Black Friars and drinking himself silly. Clara and Leonardina were sceptical about the process, but were pressured to go along, with Quintus lending Clara the money she needed. The next morning Quintus awoke with an awful hangover and even tried to postpone the expedition. Nonetheless, both Clara and he now felt more experienced and ready to handle more dangers. Meanwhile, after her drinking session, Leonardina received a vision from Rualgar requesting her to seek out and seal up the Shrine of Chaos, whatever that meant.

Third Expedition

The party set out for the third time and again bumped into the same shepherd along the way. He mused that there is no way the orcs are acting on their own and that they are perhaps getting help from within the town. He also enquired about anyone turning to salt. The party were not impressed and quickly bid him farewell.

They went along the northern passage again and again walked straight into an ambush. This time five orcs attacked from the eastern room, but as the party turned to face them, five more orcs jumped out of the bubbling pools behind them. Furthermore, out of the sixth pool jumped out a particularly large half-orc. “Hello, Brutus!” they greeted him. Brutus offered to spare their lives in exchange for his treasure, but the party was ready to fight. Sleep was cast immediately and Brutus himself slumped to the floor, just after grazing the mage with his battle axe. The rest of the battle was short - the orcs killed Blotus, Leonardina slit Brutus’ neck and took his set of three keys. Disheartened by their losses, the orcs soon surrendered.

The party tied up all the orcs but one and locked them up in the storeroom, together with Blotus’ body. The orc they held on to, Trevus, promised to guide them to the orcs’ lair in the east. They questioned Trevus about the timing of the next shipment, but he was not of much help, other than to say that Berto the Ogre is the one due to arrive. First they went north, avoiding the cobwebbed room. They stopped to survey the Legate’s mausoleum, admiring the walls and statues. Clara considered putting the statues together and even tried a few bits, but Quintus was convinced they should hurry and that there was nothing of interest in this room..

They left the room through the east door and entered the catacombs passage. They touched the tomb of the Northerner, but the unnatural chill scared them off. They discovered that the body of Gualtieri Calderara was but an illusion. They refused to go anywhere near the magnetic sarcophagus of Magnetto Barozzi.

They continued south, then turned east into the hall of giant columns. At this point Trevus the orc made a run for it, shouting to his comrades. From behind the columns appeared four orcs who threw flasks of oil at the party. Meanwhile, from the other side of the hall, five more orcs appeared including some with burning arrows. Clearly they wanted to set our heroes alight! However, the party (other than Quintus and Wulf) proved to be much better shots than the orcs and quickly reduced their numbers until they too surrendered and were tied up.

The party now entered the secret dock. Wearily, they made their way to the orcs’ barracks. Searching the room, they found a man hiding under one of the tables. This was Jacopo, who explained that he was forced to help the orcs out with numbers and such. All he said about the Shrine of Chaos was that the orcs paid tribute to them, but he did not know how to get there. The party did not trust him and tied him up. Asked about the orcs’ treasure, he said that he would be happy to share it with the party. This enraged Quintus who was ready to torture Jacopo. Seeing his intent, Jacopo cried out that the treasure was in Brutus’ room to the west.

Quintus picked the lock to Brutus’ room and the party entered the room. They found Brutus’ chest and Quintus attempted to unlock it, but failed. They then decided to smash it open with the old mace they found at the start of the adventure. Of course the old mace broke apart upon impact! At last, Leonardina remembered that she had Brutus’ keys and unlocked the chest. Inside, amongst other things, they found a spellbook with Jacopo’s name written on its front. Jacopo begged for its return, but Leonardina told him he could have it back only once she was done with it. In the meantime, they were intent on taking him to prison in Arak Brannia, although somewhat softened their view of him after the spellbook’s discovery.

The party were not overawed by their haul this time. They had a sense that they were missing something more. Indeed, they were certain that there were further passages south and that there was a secret door somewhere here. They searched and did indeed discover that behind the south wall there was a secret stairway down, but this ended in a dead end. Somewhat disappointed, the party headed for the exit using the secret passageway, entirely forgetting about Blotus and the captive orcs.

Just as they were about to leave the dungeon, Leonardina noticed how the set of keys from Brutus jangled as though animated and then she received a vision from Rualgar saying that she she has missed something, but should forget about the Shrine of Chaos. At this point, Quintus realised with a flash that the merchants must have been on a pilgrimage to the Shrine. He was ready to extract a confirmation of this from Jacopo, but he begged that he did not know the Chaos worshippers. The keys pulled Leonardina back in the direction of the orcs’ lair. The party retraced their steps, discovered the looted goods by the dock and then, opposite the exit from the secret passageway, a secret door was revealed to them. Inside was the orcs’ real loot! Quintus took the sword, Clara took the potion and Leonardina picked up and immediately read the scroll.. A swirling portal appeared, ready to take the party to a new adventure!

Just when you thought AI was super realistic, it gives out charming nonsense like this.

Phew! I hope anyone who got to the end of that found it enjoyable! Stay tuned for my follow-up posts on my prep for the game and an analysis of how it all went.