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Return to the Tomb of Horrors finally gets a Story Hour!
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<blockquote data-quote="James McMurray" data-source="post: 156031" data-attributes="member: 743"><p><strong>The party divided</strong></p><p></p><p>Kargur suggests that he and William prepare Detect Undead for the next day. Galrond heads back into the mansion to take some time out to scry for the cat as suggested. An hour later, he finds it. The cat is running around a construction site being chased by 3 burly men. It scampers up a fence, across a drainpipe, and in the process manages to drop a large bucket of paint onto one of the men's heads. The others redouble their efforts to catch the cat, but he is always a few steps ahead of them. He nimbly climbs up a nearby pile of debris in the site and sits atop it looking down at the men and licking his paws and rubbing his face. A couple of them toss rocks, but their aim is incredibly poor. </p><p></p><p>One of the rocks misses and hits a large chunk of debris on the pile. The cat leaps clear just as the stacked refuse from the construction site begins to collapse. As the cat saunters away, the men start cursing and cleaning up the mess.</p><p></p><p>It takes a couple of days to get the prisoners up and about. Kargur does not notice any of them being suspiciously healthy, nor does the cat show up again. The physical damage is fairly easy to fix just with William alone (although it will require three days of Heal spells to fix the mental damage on some of them). Its the malnutrition and psychological scarring that are the hardest parts. Heal will fix deep rooted insanities, but it can't let them look back at the past few months without risking a recurrence. The temple of Pelor is happy to tend to them while they recuperate. As they become ready to travel, the priests will inform the group and they can be teleported back to their homes. Of course, only those who lived in Shiboleth will be transportable via teleport, as neither Galrond or Billy have been to the cities North or West of the Swamp. </p><p></p><p>However, during this time Amastacia and William begin to debate taking these unfortunate souls on as followers. They are chilled by the thought of the prisoners' accounts of their captivity: Alone in the dark. The only light comes infrequently, in the form of two glowing orbs with a hissing voice, "You smell delicious. I will savor you." Then the sharp stab of pain as the skin is ripped from the neck. Weakness overcoming everything as lifeblood is drained. Moments before you drift into a blissful eternal sleep, another voice chants prayers to dark spirits and the energy flows back. Along with it the terror of knowing that this will never end.</p><p></p><p>Even less frequently, the light flares to a blinding level, and as your eyes become adjusted to it, you see a beautiful dark-robed lady. "Don't worry little ones, I'll free you from your fleshy prison." Behind her is another robed person, fully hidden from view. As your chains are loosened, you breathe a sigh of relief. Staggering towards the door, the unknown robed one moves to steady you, as it does, a black tentacle curls out from a sleeve and firmly holds you on your feet. The hood falls back, and staring back at you is a scarred a brutalized face, dripping a black blood from its pores. A scream wells up inside you and breaks free. You think you could not scream louder, then you realize that the creature before you has at least one human looking feature, and they are the eyes of Jacques, your husband."</p><p></p><p>Amastacia continues to pour through the old tomes. So far all she has managed to learn is that the Devourer is believed to be roaming far planes. The fact that that tidbit was scribbled in the margin of a book on weaponry indicates that it may take a bit of time for her to sort through the books more thoroughly. They do find a map however, which shows two previously unseen hidden rooms. </p><p></p><p>The group decides they should take a couple of weeks and pour through the tomes. They teleport back to the Black Academy, and enter the library. Although they do notice a few books are missing, they are curiously unmolested as they take several trips to gather all of the books. Back at the Mansion, the research begins in earnest. They find out the following things:</p><p></p><p> Acererak the Devourer roams far planes, and is setting in motion a great change.</p><p> Nuala rose to power in the Academy by staking the previous Headmistress, and plans to become a Lich herself once she has plumbed all of the Devourer's secrets.</p><p> The Tomb of Acererak is only the first, and the least of his holdings.</p><p> He has prepared a path to his stronghold, and he himself is somehow the key.</p><p></p><p>Armed with this meager knowledge, and the tidbits they have gleaned from the journal of Galen, they head into the tomb. Sending Cristoph ahead into the first of three entryways, he finds a large pair of double doors at the end of the hallway. When he opens them, a loud grumbling sound is heard, and he turns to run, only barely diving past the massive block of stone sliding into place to seal him into the cave. Having seen the bare stone wall behind the doors, the group moves to the next entryway.</p><p></p><p>Moments into the place, their protective magics begin to wither and fade under the oppressive pallor of the place. They find themselves in a highly decorated hall filled with Mosaics of Torture chambers, Wizardly workrooms, and human-like slaves building vast fortresses. To their immediate left is a mural of two large Jackal-headed men holding a box, but the box itself is real, and protrudes from the wall. Experimentation with it finds an invisible lever inside. Pulling it causes the floor around the box to open up into another pit, and then rapidly close again. Cristoph's quick thinking had him pull the level while suspended form the wall via his Boot of Spider Climbing, and thus he avoided another plummet.</p><p></p><p>A 2' wide red tile path winds its way down the hall, and Cristoph elects to follow it, searching for traps every step of the way. Only 15' or so into the place though, he misses the first pit trap, and falls 30' onto two sharp spikes. Where the first spike pierces his leg, he skin begins to turn gray and flake away. Activating his magical boots, Cristoph quickly clambers out and receives healing from his father, which seems to fix his leg. </p><p></p><p>Even more careful now, he decides to move in again, this time staying off the path. He spots three more pits along the way, and Billy follows him, while the remainder of the party follows at a "safe" distance. About 40' in, he suddenly notices words engraved into the path, and moves back to read them:</p><p></p><p>Go back to the tormentor or through the arch,</p><p>And the second great hall you’ll discover.</p><p>Shun green if you can, but night’s good color </p><p>is for those of great valor.</p><p>If shades of red stand for blood the wise</p><p>Will not need sacrifice aught but a loop of </p><p>magical metal – you’re well along your march.</p><p></p><p>Two pits along the way will be found to lead</p><p>To a fortuitous fall, so check the wall.</p><p>These keys and those are most important of all,</p><p>And beware of trembling hands and what will maul.</p><p>If you find the false you find the true</p><p>And into the columned hall you’ll come,</p><p>And there the throne that’s key and keyed.</p><p></p><p>The iron men of visage grim do more than </p><p>Meets the viewers eye.</p><p>You’ve left and left and found my Tomb</p><p>And now your soul will die.</p><p></p><p>Remembering the torture chamber motif earlier in the chamber, the group heads back. A few minutes later, they have pried the plaster away from a painting of a door, only to find a real door underneath. It is directly behind a pit however, and Cristoph's boots are all that allow him to go through. He moves ahead and opens the door, entering the hallway behind it. As he opens another door, he sees 4 6' tall vaguely humanoid figures made of crackling energy ahead. They are secured to the floor via chains of pure force, which fasten to collars around their necks. As he watches, the chains begin to melt away, and Billy, who had stayed in the main entryway but at a place where he could see, lets loose a fireball. As it bursts around the creatures, the flames are dimmed, while the creatures inside seem to grow larger. Cristoph slams the door shut on the now 6 1/2' tall beings. From behind it, he hears the faint sound of metal clasps slamming shut.</p><p></p><p>Billy recognizes the creatures as Mana Elementals, beings made of the stuff of magic. Although not truly elementals, they are called that for lack of a better term. They are masters of the magical flow, and if captured in a device known as a Mana Prism, can be used by unscrupulous mages to power spells. Billy warns the group not to use magic on them, as they feed on it. Kargur leaps across the pit and prepares to enter the fray, whilst the remainder of the group debate what to do. Cristoph reopens the door and the once-again chained elementals are freed. As battle commences, Kargur slams one of the beats with his sword. The creature does seem phased by the blow, but the sword's electrical emanations die out as the thing feeds on its enchantment, then strikes back. As it feeds on the mana from which life flows, Kargur feels sharp pain in his neck and throat. </p><p></p><p>William prays to Heironious out in the hallway, and cast a Formation spell, rearranging the group into a more combat worthy setup. Kargur remains on the far side of the pit, while Gundarag and Lanis are also transported there. Cristoph is placed back in the hallway, where he won't be able to fight, but he doesn't mind as it was the warriors who were moved forward. </p><p></p><p>Billy remembers that Mana Elementals feed on all magics which are near them, but that Dispel Magic can harm them, and he unleashes an area Greater Dispelling. The first of the four beasts is completely disrupted, and the remaining three seem hurt badly. A rapid follow-up Greater Dispel from Galrond finishes them off, and Amastacia leaps towards the now clear room. She misses by a hair, and the beautiful bard plummets into the pit. At the bottom, the spikes slam into her chest, and her entire body rapidly turns gray and dead. She is left looking like a mummy without wrapping. Gundarag and Cristoph pull her to the surface, and place a Resurrection salve on her, which restore her to life, and cleanses the poison from her body. William recognizes it as Negative Planar Essence, an incredibly deadly poison made from liquefied matter from the Negative Material Plane. As the group begins to jump across, Billy decides not to risk it and touches William and Galrond while opening a Dimension Door for them to step through.</p><p></p><p>They enter the door, but do not come back out in the Tomb where Billy had intended, instead finding themselves stranded in the Astral Plane. Looking around to get their bearings, they see a hulking 4 armed demonic figure. "So, foolish mortals, you dared to explore Acererak's Tomb?"</p><p></p><p>Acting quickly, the three spellcaster enter battle. Finding themselves on the plane of magic, they are astounded at the power they feel coursing through them. Billy lashes out with a Quickened (via the plane) Disintegrate, followed by a flurry of magic missiles. William unleashes Destruction spells, but the wash harmlessly over the beast, foiled by its spell resistance. Galrond however finishes it off with a flurry of Magic Missiles and a Maximized bolt of pure magical energy. The taunting beast failed to even act before it was destroyed, and the now confident group decides what to do. Knowing they must get back, they know they have to find a way to rest so that William may pray for a Plane Shift spell. </p><p></p><p>Pooling their knowledge of the plane (no pun intended) they determine that travel is generally done via color pools, and that of the four planar destinations they can remember, Opal pools lead to the Blessed Fields of Elysium, a very nice place to rest. Propelling themselves forward by sheer force of will, they begin to search for one, a process which will take them approximately one week. Due to the nature of time on the plane though, they will not even notice how long it takes.</p><p></p><p>Back on the prime, the group has done a bit of exploring. Cristoph has found a complex of small interconnected rooms with secret doors. However, every step he takes in the rooms sends a blue bolt hurtling from the walls or ceiling to slam into him. As he reached what appears to be the last room, he finds no more exits and returns to the group, burnt by the many magic missiles. Kargur lays hands upon him and the wounds are healed. It is at this point that the group realizes the Cleric, Wizard, and Sorcerer are nowhere to be found. Realizing they are now without magical transportation or true Healing capabilities( Amastacia can heal, but nowhere near as effectively as William) the group decides its time to hide. They do not want to continue travelling through this trapped place, and fear leaving the area because Nuala would likely attack them.</p><p></p><p>They decide to hide out in the Academy proper, staying in the darkness until their friends return. With only Gundarag's eyes and Kargur's Goggles of Darkvision to guide them, they hunker down. They've only got 5 days worth of food for the group before Lanis will be forced to venture into the swamp to forage for food, but even when that happens, they still do not want to travel. They know that the only thing they have which will stop the Necromancer from scrying on them to pinpoint their location is the shelter of Darkness. Amastacia's Detect Scrying reveals at least once per day when the group is scried upon, but other than going stir crazy from being grouped together in the dark for a week, nothing untoward occurs.</p><p></p><p>Meanwhile, back on the Astral, the spell casters travel onward. 12 hours into the trek, they come across a group of 4 large blue-skinned beings flying rapidly in another direction. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, they avoid the Djinnis (and thus miss out on an opportunity to leave the Plane sooner). They also attempt to avoid all other encounters, which include:</p><p></p><p> A Bebilith that they are unable to avoid. They kill it, but not before it manages to shred William's Chain Shirt of protection from negative energy.</p><p> The group of Djinnis returning from whence they came, this time carrying a large covered chair on their shoulders.</p><p> A group of 5 Githyanki standing guard outside a Fortress (another, slightly more dangerous) method of travelling back to the Prime)</p><p> A Priest of Tharizdun. This time, it is the encountered creature which avoids them.</p><p> A Robed figure, with Stars Embroidered on his robes.</p><p></p><p>Finally reaching an Opal color pool, they step through it and their hunger and exhaustion catch up to them. Galrond and Billy pass out immediately, and William only manages to stagger to an idyllic stream before he too passes out. </p><p></p><p>Awakening some 12-15 hours later, the group quenches their hunger with a Heroes' Feast, then Plane Shifts back to the prime and teleports to Lopolla, where they find out it has been almost a week since they left. They scry upon their friends and find that they are in the dark, whereupon they guess that they are still in the Academy, and travel there, using Locate Object to track down Kargur's shield. The group is rejoined, and they once again reenter the tomb of Acererak.</p><p></p><p>Back at the complex of doors, and more thorough (and painful) search find two more doors, which deposit the group in a second mosaiced hall. This one is decorated with many human and human-like figures, each one holding a large colored sphere. Following the message in the path, they find an entryway through the red and black orbs, which are illusions covering small crawlspaces. After much debate, they elect to go through the red one, as the "great valor" part leads them to believe that it would be more dangerous.</p><p></p><p>Cristoph crawls ahead, with Billy yet again following (albeit at a safer distance this time). At the end of the crawlspace, Cristoph finds a small hidden door. When he opens it, the floor tilts and dumps him, tumbling and unharmed, into a small chamber with three chests made of Gold, Silver, and Wood. Checking diligently for traps, he opens the Gold chest. Looking in, he sees a swarm of 1' long Cockroaches, whose feet and mouths drip with green slime. As the creatures swarm out and over him , he slams the chest's lid back. Unfortunately, Cockroach demons can compress themselves to fit through any crack, and they swarm out at the hapless Rogue. Several fly and crawl on to him, biting and scratching. Where their mouths hit, the green slime begins to erode away his flesh. Another group charges into the tunnel after Billy, and begins to swarm over him.</p><p></p><p>William reacts quickly, and shouts a magical battle cry down the passageway, stunning many of the Cockroach demons on Billy, while Amastacia's attempt at a Color Spray is ignored by the vermin. Meanwhile, Cristoph manages to kill one roach, but the others drag him to the floor, nearly dead.</p><p></p><p>As Billy flees the crawlspace, William decides his only chance to save his son is to crawl in with him. He risks a Flame Strike, knowing his son to be adept at avoiding spells, but miscalculates. Although he does torch every roach, he also kills his son with the blast. After using the next-to-last salve, the group decides to retreat and recuperate, that they might reenter the tomb later, more properly prepared.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="James McMurray, post: 156031, member: 743"] [b]The party divided[/b] Kargur suggests that he and William prepare Detect Undead for the next day. Galrond heads back into the mansion to take some time out to scry for the cat as suggested. An hour later, he finds it. The cat is running around a construction site being chased by 3 burly men. It scampers up a fence, across a drainpipe, and in the process manages to drop a large bucket of paint onto one of the men's heads. The others redouble their efforts to catch the cat, but he is always a few steps ahead of them. He nimbly climbs up a nearby pile of debris in the site and sits atop it looking down at the men and licking his paws and rubbing his face. A couple of them toss rocks, but their aim is incredibly poor. One of the rocks misses and hits a large chunk of debris on the pile. The cat leaps clear just as the stacked refuse from the construction site begins to collapse. As the cat saunters away, the men start cursing and cleaning up the mess. It takes a couple of days to get the prisoners up and about. Kargur does not notice any of them being suspiciously healthy, nor does the cat show up again. The physical damage is fairly easy to fix just with William alone (although it will require three days of Heal spells to fix the mental damage on some of them). Its the malnutrition and psychological scarring that are the hardest parts. Heal will fix deep rooted insanities, but it can't let them look back at the past few months without risking a recurrence. The temple of Pelor is happy to tend to them while they recuperate. As they become ready to travel, the priests will inform the group and they can be teleported back to their homes. Of course, only those who lived in Shiboleth will be transportable via teleport, as neither Galrond or Billy have been to the cities North or West of the Swamp. However, during this time Amastacia and William begin to debate taking these unfortunate souls on as followers. They are chilled by the thought of the prisoners' accounts of their captivity: Alone in the dark. The only light comes infrequently, in the form of two glowing orbs with a hissing voice, "You smell delicious. I will savor you." Then the sharp stab of pain as the skin is ripped from the neck. Weakness overcoming everything as lifeblood is drained. Moments before you drift into a blissful eternal sleep, another voice chants prayers to dark spirits and the energy flows back. Along with it the terror of knowing that this will never end. Even less frequently, the light flares to a blinding level, and as your eyes become adjusted to it, you see a beautiful dark-robed lady. "Don't worry little ones, I'll free you from your fleshy prison." Behind her is another robed person, fully hidden from view. As your chains are loosened, you breathe a sigh of relief. Staggering towards the door, the unknown robed one moves to steady you, as it does, a black tentacle curls out from a sleeve and firmly holds you on your feet. The hood falls back, and staring back at you is a scarred a brutalized face, dripping a black blood from its pores. A scream wells up inside you and breaks free. You think you could not scream louder, then you realize that the creature before you has at least one human looking feature, and they are the eyes of Jacques, your husband." Amastacia continues to pour through the old tomes. So far all she has managed to learn is that the Devourer is believed to be roaming far planes. The fact that that tidbit was scribbled in the margin of a book on weaponry indicates that it may take a bit of time for her to sort through the books more thoroughly. They do find a map however, which shows two previously unseen hidden rooms. The group decides they should take a couple of weeks and pour through the tomes. They teleport back to the Black Academy, and enter the library. Although they do notice a few books are missing, they are curiously unmolested as they take several trips to gather all of the books. Back at the Mansion, the research begins in earnest. They find out the following things: Acererak the Devourer roams far planes, and is setting in motion a great change. Nuala rose to power in the Academy by staking the previous Headmistress, and plans to become a Lich herself once she has plumbed all of the Devourer's secrets. The Tomb of Acererak is only the first, and the least of his holdings. He has prepared a path to his stronghold, and he himself is somehow the key. Armed with this meager knowledge, and the tidbits they have gleaned from the journal of Galen, they head into the tomb. Sending Cristoph ahead into the first of three entryways, he finds a large pair of double doors at the end of the hallway. When he opens them, a loud grumbling sound is heard, and he turns to run, only barely diving past the massive block of stone sliding into place to seal him into the cave. Having seen the bare stone wall behind the doors, the group moves to the next entryway. Moments into the place, their protective magics begin to wither and fade under the oppressive pallor of the place. They find themselves in a highly decorated hall filled with Mosaics of Torture chambers, Wizardly workrooms, and human-like slaves building vast fortresses. To their immediate left is a mural of two large Jackal-headed men holding a box, but the box itself is real, and protrudes from the wall. Experimentation with it finds an invisible lever inside. Pulling it causes the floor around the box to open up into another pit, and then rapidly close again. Cristoph's quick thinking had him pull the level while suspended form the wall via his Boot of Spider Climbing, and thus he avoided another plummet. A 2' wide red tile path winds its way down the hall, and Cristoph elects to follow it, searching for traps every step of the way. Only 15' or so into the place though, he misses the first pit trap, and falls 30' onto two sharp spikes. Where the first spike pierces his leg, he skin begins to turn gray and flake away. Activating his magical boots, Cristoph quickly clambers out and receives healing from his father, which seems to fix his leg. Even more careful now, he decides to move in again, this time staying off the path. He spots three more pits along the way, and Billy follows him, while the remainder of the party follows at a "safe" distance. About 40' in, he suddenly notices words engraved into the path, and moves back to read them: Go back to the tormentor or through the arch, And the second great hall you’ll discover. Shun green if you can, but night’s good color is for those of great valor. If shades of red stand for blood the wise Will not need sacrifice aught but a loop of magical metal – you’re well along your march. Two pits along the way will be found to lead To a fortuitous fall, so check the wall. These keys and those are most important of all, And beware of trembling hands and what will maul. If you find the false you find the true And into the columned hall you’ll come, And there the throne that’s key and keyed. The iron men of visage grim do more than Meets the viewers eye. You’ve left and left and found my Tomb And now your soul will die. Remembering the torture chamber motif earlier in the chamber, the group heads back. A few minutes later, they have pried the plaster away from a painting of a door, only to find a real door underneath. It is directly behind a pit however, and Cristoph's boots are all that allow him to go through. He moves ahead and opens the door, entering the hallway behind it. As he opens another door, he sees 4 6' tall vaguely humanoid figures made of crackling energy ahead. They are secured to the floor via chains of pure force, which fasten to collars around their necks. As he watches, the chains begin to melt away, and Billy, who had stayed in the main entryway but at a place where he could see, lets loose a fireball. As it bursts around the creatures, the flames are dimmed, while the creatures inside seem to grow larger. Cristoph slams the door shut on the now 6 1/2' tall beings. From behind it, he hears the faint sound of metal clasps slamming shut. Billy recognizes the creatures as Mana Elementals, beings made of the stuff of magic. Although not truly elementals, they are called that for lack of a better term. They are masters of the magical flow, and if captured in a device known as a Mana Prism, can be used by unscrupulous mages to power spells. Billy warns the group not to use magic on them, as they feed on it. Kargur leaps across the pit and prepares to enter the fray, whilst the remainder of the group debate what to do. Cristoph reopens the door and the once-again chained elementals are freed. As battle commences, Kargur slams one of the beats with his sword. The creature does seem phased by the blow, but the sword's electrical emanations die out as the thing feeds on its enchantment, then strikes back. As it feeds on the mana from which life flows, Kargur feels sharp pain in his neck and throat. William prays to Heironious out in the hallway, and cast a Formation spell, rearranging the group into a more combat worthy setup. Kargur remains on the far side of the pit, while Gundarag and Lanis are also transported there. Cristoph is placed back in the hallway, where he won't be able to fight, but he doesn't mind as it was the warriors who were moved forward. Billy remembers that Mana Elementals feed on all magics which are near them, but that Dispel Magic can harm them, and he unleashes an area Greater Dispelling. The first of the four beasts is completely disrupted, and the remaining three seem hurt badly. A rapid follow-up Greater Dispel from Galrond finishes them off, and Amastacia leaps towards the now clear room. She misses by a hair, and the beautiful bard plummets into the pit. At the bottom, the spikes slam into her chest, and her entire body rapidly turns gray and dead. She is left looking like a mummy without wrapping. Gundarag and Cristoph pull her to the surface, and place a Resurrection salve on her, which restore her to life, and cleanses the poison from her body. William recognizes it as Negative Planar Essence, an incredibly deadly poison made from liquefied matter from the Negative Material Plane. As the group begins to jump across, Billy decides not to risk it and touches William and Galrond while opening a Dimension Door for them to step through. They enter the door, but do not come back out in the Tomb where Billy had intended, instead finding themselves stranded in the Astral Plane. Looking around to get their bearings, they see a hulking 4 armed demonic figure. "So, foolish mortals, you dared to explore Acererak's Tomb?" Acting quickly, the three spellcaster enter battle. Finding themselves on the plane of magic, they are astounded at the power they feel coursing through them. Billy lashes out with a Quickened (via the plane) Disintegrate, followed by a flurry of magic missiles. William unleashes Destruction spells, but the wash harmlessly over the beast, foiled by its spell resistance. Galrond however finishes it off with a flurry of Magic Missiles and a Maximized bolt of pure magical energy. The taunting beast failed to even act before it was destroyed, and the now confident group decides what to do. Knowing they must get back, they know they have to find a way to rest so that William may pray for a Plane Shift spell. Pooling their knowledge of the plane (no pun intended) they determine that travel is generally done via color pools, and that of the four planar destinations they can remember, Opal pools lead to the Blessed Fields of Elysium, a very nice place to rest. Propelling themselves forward by sheer force of will, they begin to search for one, a process which will take them approximately one week. Due to the nature of time on the plane though, they will not even notice how long it takes. Back on the prime, the group has done a bit of exploring. Cristoph has found a complex of small interconnected rooms with secret doors. However, every step he takes in the rooms sends a blue bolt hurtling from the walls or ceiling to slam into him. As he reached what appears to be the last room, he finds no more exits and returns to the group, burnt by the many magic missiles. Kargur lays hands upon him and the wounds are healed. It is at this point that the group realizes the Cleric, Wizard, and Sorcerer are nowhere to be found. Realizing they are now without magical transportation or true Healing capabilities( Amastacia can heal, but nowhere near as effectively as William) the group decides its time to hide. They do not want to continue travelling through this trapped place, and fear leaving the area because Nuala would likely attack them. They decide to hide out in the Academy proper, staying in the darkness until their friends return. With only Gundarag's eyes and Kargur's Goggles of Darkvision to guide them, they hunker down. They've only got 5 days worth of food for the group before Lanis will be forced to venture into the swamp to forage for food, but even when that happens, they still do not want to travel. They know that the only thing they have which will stop the Necromancer from scrying on them to pinpoint their location is the shelter of Darkness. Amastacia's Detect Scrying reveals at least once per day when the group is scried upon, but other than going stir crazy from being grouped together in the dark for a week, nothing untoward occurs. Meanwhile, back on the Astral, the spell casters travel onward. 12 hours into the trek, they come across a group of 4 large blue-skinned beings flying rapidly in another direction. Deciding that discretion is the better part of valor, they avoid the Djinnis (and thus miss out on an opportunity to leave the Plane sooner). They also attempt to avoid all other encounters, which include: A Bebilith that they are unable to avoid. They kill it, but not before it manages to shred William's Chain Shirt of protection from negative energy. The group of Djinnis returning from whence they came, this time carrying a large covered chair on their shoulders. A group of 5 Githyanki standing guard outside a Fortress (another, slightly more dangerous) method of travelling back to the Prime) A Priest of Tharizdun. This time, it is the encountered creature which avoids them. A Robed figure, with Stars Embroidered on his robes. Finally reaching an Opal color pool, they step through it and their hunger and exhaustion catch up to them. Galrond and Billy pass out immediately, and William only manages to stagger to an idyllic stream before he too passes out. Awakening some 12-15 hours later, the group quenches their hunger with a Heroes' Feast, then Plane Shifts back to the prime and teleports to Lopolla, where they find out it has been almost a week since they left. They scry upon their friends and find that they are in the dark, whereupon they guess that they are still in the Academy, and travel there, using Locate Object to track down Kargur's shield. The group is rejoined, and they once again reenter the tomb of Acererak. Back at the complex of doors, and more thorough (and painful) search find two more doors, which deposit the group in a second mosaiced hall. This one is decorated with many human and human-like figures, each one holding a large colored sphere. Following the message in the path, they find an entryway through the red and black orbs, which are illusions covering small crawlspaces. After much debate, they elect to go through the red one, as the "great valor" part leads them to believe that it would be more dangerous. Cristoph crawls ahead, with Billy yet again following (albeit at a safer distance this time). At the end of the crawlspace, Cristoph finds a small hidden door. When he opens it, the floor tilts and dumps him, tumbling and unharmed, into a small chamber with three chests made of Gold, Silver, and Wood. Checking diligently for traps, he opens the Gold chest. Looking in, he sees a swarm of 1' long Cockroaches, whose feet and mouths drip with green slime. As the creatures swarm out and over him , he slams the chest's lid back. Unfortunately, Cockroach demons can compress themselves to fit through any crack, and they swarm out at the hapless Rogue. Several fly and crawl on to him, biting and scratching. Where their mouths hit, the green slime begins to erode away his flesh. Another group charges into the tunnel after Billy, and begins to swarm over him. William reacts quickly, and shouts a magical battle cry down the passageway, stunning many of the Cockroach demons on Billy, while Amastacia's attempt at a Color Spray is ignored by the vermin. Meanwhile, Cristoph manages to kill one roach, but the others drag him to the floor, nearly dead. As Billy flees the crawlspace, William decides his only chance to save his son is to crawl in with him. He risks a Flame Strike, knowing his son to be adept at avoiding spells, but miscalculates. Although he does torch every roach, he also kills his son with the blast. After using the next-to-last salve, the group decides to retreat and recuperate, that they might reenter the tomb later, more properly prepared. [/QUOTE]
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