Menu
News
All News
Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
Pathfinder
Starfinder
Warhammer
2d20 System
Year Zero Engine
Industry News
Reviews
Dragon Reflections
Columns
Weekly Digests
Weekly News Digest
Freebies, Sales & Bundles
RPG Print News
RPG Crowdfunding News
Game Content
ENterplanetary DimENsions
Mythological Figures
Opinion
Worlds of Design
Peregrine's Next
RPG Evolution
Other Columns
From the Freelancing Frontline
Monster ENcyclopedia
WotC/TSR Alumni Look Back
4 Hours w/RSD (Ryan Dancey)
The Road to 3E (Jonathan Tweet)
Greenwood's Realms (Ed Greenwood)
Drawmij's TSR (Jim Ward)
Community
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Resources
Wiki
Pages
Latest activity
Media
New media
New comments
Search media
Downloads
Latest reviews
Search resources
EN Publishing
Store
EN5ider
Adventures in ZEITGEIST
Awfully Cheerful Engine
What's OLD is NEW
Judge Dredd & The Worlds Of 2000AD
War of the Burning Sky
Level Up: Advanced 5E
Events & Releases
Upcoming Events
Private Events
Featured Events
Socials!
Twitch
YouTube
Facebook (EN Publishing)
Facebook (EN World)
Twitter
Instagram
TikTok
Podcast
Features
Top 5 RPGs Compiled Charts 2004-Present
Adventure Game Industry Market Research Summary (RPGs) V1.0
Ryan Dancey: Acquiring TSR
Q&A With Gary Gygax
D&D Rules FAQs
TSR, WotC, & Paizo: A Comparative History
D&D Pronunciation Guide
Million Dollar TTRPG Kickstarters
Tabletop RPG Podcast Hall of Fame
Eric Noah's Unofficial D&D 3rd Edition News
D&D in the Mainstream
D&D & RPG History
About Morrus
Log in
Register
What's new
Search
Search
Search titles only
By:
Forums & Topics
Forum List
Latest Posts
Forum list
*Dungeons & Dragons
Level Up: Advanced 5th Edition
D&D Older Editions
*TTRPGs General
*Pathfinder & Starfinder
EN Publishing
*Geek Talk & Media
Search forums
Chat/Discord
Menu
Log in
Register
Install the app
Install
The
VOIDRUNNER'S CODEX
is coming! Explore new worlds, fight oppressive empires, fend off fearsome aliens, and wield deadly psionics with this comprehensive boxed set expansion for 5E and A5E!
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
A Lonely Path: a Shackled City Story Hour (the old version, see last post)
JavaScript is disabled. For a better experience, please enable JavaScript in your browser before proceeding.
You are using an out of date browser. It may not display this or other websites correctly.
You should upgrade or use an
alternative browser
.
Reply to thread
Message
<blockquote data-quote="Solarious" data-source="post: 2814091" data-attributes="member: 27346"><p>Chapter Three, Part Six (Reader's edit: Part Seven)</p><p></p><p>Abrina left Starbrow behind in Ghelve's bedroom with a small handful of food pellets she discovered in one of his drawers. She wanted to return as quickly as possible to Jzaridune, before any more creatures discovered her presence in the underground enclave.</p><p></p><p>The guardroom adjoining the chamber of giggles and rustling leaves was empty when she returned. The room where she had found Ghelve's familiar had no obvious exits besides the ubiquitous gear doors that she refused to challenge. Two choices remained: the unknown fork in the tunnel she had already explored, or the other tunnel that extended indefinitely beyond the light of her sunrod.</p><p></p><p>With a shrug, she ducked into the familiar tunnel and followed the unexplored fork.</p><p>OOC - Flip coin to determine right/left: heads, south.</p><p>Flickering light spilled from a great hall into the tunnel as she reached its end.</p><p>OOC - Listen check +4 against DC 10: rolled 6, failure.</p><p>Slowly, she lowered herself from the tunnel and stepped into the large hall, illuminated from end to end, corner to corner, by four bright lights. They flickered and danced like torchlight and drifted aimlessly about the hall, changing altitude and direction on a whim.</p><p></p><p>Eight black marble pillars supported the thirty-foot high ceiling of the majestic hall. The pillars were carved to resemble gnome artisans and warriors standing on each other's shoulders, bracing the vaulted roof with their collective strength. The walls were adorned with faded murals depicting gnomes in reverie--playing pipes, dancing, performing acrobatic stunts, drinking wine, and so forth. Abrina could almost hear the joyous exultation of the gnomes, as if the enclave had never been abandoned.</p><p></p><p>The forty-foot wide hall widened to sixty feet at the south end, where Abrina saw a large circular pool enclosed by a semicircular, one-foot high veined marble wall. Carved into the wall above the pool was a gnome visage with water spilling from its wide grin, the sound of trickling water filling the chamber.</p><p></p><p>Two piles of rubble, one in the near corner to her right, and another to her right in the far corner at the end of the hall, added elements of imperfection to the grand hall.</p><p></p><p>Abrina hefted her spear, certain that the skulk that had escaped through the tunnel not long before hid somewhere in this chamber, but she could not see the creature anywhere.</p><p>OOC - Spot check +4 against DC 42: automatic failure.</p><p>She called upon Ninurta's favor and slowly began to walk down the hall.</p><p>OOC - Casts divine favor.</p><p>After her first step, she heard a whistling in the air and a crossbow bolt clattered against the wall behind her. In the distance, at the other end of the hall, she heard a short growl, and wasted precious seconds trying to figure out exactly from where it came. The second bolt that skidded against the stone floor only inches away prompted her into action, and she dove for the nearest pillar.</p><p>OOC - Surprise round. Skulk attacks from cover, +3 against AC 17 (flat-footed): rolls 15, miss. Abrina's Spot check +4 against DC 20 (Hide check +22, -20 sniping): rolls 16, failure.</p><p>Abrina's initiative +1: rolls 17. Skulk's initiative +2: rolls 21.</p><p>Skulk loads crossbow, attacks: rolls 16, miss. Abrina moves to pillar for total cover.</p><p>Abrina took slow, deep breathes, straining to hear any noises that might give away the skulk's movements, and heard nothing. Her heart pounding loudly in her ears, Abrina peeked from around the marble pillar in hopes of catching a glimpse of the hidden creature. She nothing.</p><p></p><p>Clenching her spear for strength, she whispered a quick prayer to Ninurta and dashed from behind the pillar. She passed the next one as another crossbow bolt flew through the empty space just behind her, and she skidded to a stop behind the second-to-last pillar of the hall, pressing her back firmly against the cold stone.</p><p>OOC - Skulk's ready action. Skulk attacks +3 against AC 17 (flat-footed): rolls 9, miss.</p><p>Abrina clasped both hands on her spear, pointing it upward, and prayed to Ninurta for his blessing of size. She felt His touch upon her, and the pillar began to rub against her back as she grew in height and the floor fell away beneath her.</p><p></p><p>She stepped from behind the pillar, now much smaller to her than before, and peered into the shadows behind the pillars as another bolt was loosed in her direction. It struck her, glancing off her chain armor, and Abrina smiled as she saw the outline of the creature.</p><p>OOC - Abrina casts enlarge and steps out from behind pillar. Skulk's ready action. Skulk attacks, +3 against AC 16 (-1 size, +0 Dex): rolls 7, miss. Abrina's Spot check +4 against DC 21 (Hide check +22, -20 sniping): rolls 24, success.</p><p>Abrina lowered her weapon, grasping it tightly with both hands, and charged the creature with a yell as the skulk stared at her with wide, luminous eyes. She ran the creature straight through, her spear jutting out its back as the creature's eyes rolled back and its crossbow fell from its limp hand.</p><p>OOC - Abrina charges, +8 (+2, +4 Str, -1 size, +1 divine favor, +2 charging) against AC 16 (+4 cover): rolls 18, hit, 14 damage. Skulk at -4 hp.</p><p>At least one more, she thought to herself, roughly removing her spear from the skulk and wiping off its gray blood on its small pack it carried. Wonder where they could be?</p><p></p><p>With the skulk on the ground, its skin slowly shifting color to match the stone floor, Abrina examined her surroundings as the dancing lights cast flickering shadows throughout the grand hall. The rubble at the large end was gathered at the entrance to another tunnel, and two archways were open on either side of the fountain. Two other archways, she had noticed, were at the other end of the hall, as well. Glancing at the map, she returns to the tunnel entrance of the hall and takes the passage to the left, entering a smaller hallway.</p><p></p><p>Smaller passages branch off at right angles, leading to more gear doors. Abrina skipped over them and ascended two short flights of stairs leading up to a seventy-foot long, thirty-foot wide octagonal gallery with a fifteen-foot high vaulted ceiling. She stepped into the gallery with her nearly spent sunrod to see twenty web-shrouded pedestals standing about the room, and walls showing signs of having once born tapestries and other fixtures. However, the items once displayed here have long since been removed. Two familiar flanked either side of the empty gallery.</p><p></p><p>Abrina's footsteps echoed in the large, dusty room as she walked slowly from pedestal to pedestal. Everything was gone, but she could not help but wonder what magnificent works had been beheld in this very room by the gnomes of so many decades past. She began to imagine mesmerizing landscapes woven from silk and gold adorning the stone walls, sculptures of marble and bronze depicting nobles and lovers displayed upon the pedestals. She wondered what could have caused the gnomes to abandon their home, what disaster had struck, and why strange, unnatural creatures were wandering their ancient halls and kidnapping children from the city above.</p><p></p><p>Abrina sighed and turned away, descending the staircase and leaving the lonely gallery behind.</p><p>OOC - Abrina gained 600 xp for defeating the skulk.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Solarious, post: 2814091, member: 27346"] Chapter Three, Part Six (Reader's edit: Part Seven) Abrina left Starbrow behind in Ghelve's bedroom with a small handful of food pellets she discovered in one of his drawers. She wanted to return as quickly as possible to Jzaridune, before any more creatures discovered her presence in the underground enclave. The guardroom adjoining the chamber of giggles and rustling leaves was empty when she returned. The room where she had found Ghelve's familiar had no obvious exits besides the ubiquitous gear doors that she refused to challenge. Two choices remained: the unknown fork in the tunnel she had already explored, or the other tunnel that extended indefinitely beyond the light of her sunrod. With a shrug, she ducked into the familiar tunnel and followed the unexplored fork. OOC - Flip coin to determine right/left: heads, south. Flickering light spilled from a great hall into the tunnel as she reached its end. OOC - Listen check +4 against DC 10: rolled 6, failure. Slowly, she lowered herself from the tunnel and stepped into the large hall, illuminated from end to end, corner to corner, by four bright lights. They flickered and danced like torchlight and drifted aimlessly about the hall, changing altitude and direction on a whim. Eight black marble pillars supported the thirty-foot high ceiling of the majestic hall. The pillars were carved to resemble gnome artisans and warriors standing on each other's shoulders, bracing the vaulted roof with their collective strength. The walls were adorned with faded murals depicting gnomes in reverie--playing pipes, dancing, performing acrobatic stunts, drinking wine, and so forth. Abrina could almost hear the joyous exultation of the gnomes, as if the enclave had never been abandoned. The forty-foot wide hall widened to sixty feet at the south end, where Abrina saw a large circular pool enclosed by a semicircular, one-foot high veined marble wall. Carved into the wall above the pool was a gnome visage with water spilling from its wide grin, the sound of trickling water filling the chamber. Two piles of rubble, one in the near corner to her right, and another to her right in the far corner at the end of the hall, added elements of imperfection to the grand hall. Abrina hefted her spear, certain that the skulk that had escaped through the tunnel not long before hid somewhere in this chamber, but she could not see the creature anywhere. OOC - Spot check +4 against DC 42: automatic failure. She called upon Ninurta's favor and slowly began to walk down the hall. OOC - Casts divine favor. After her first step, she heard a whistling in the air and a crossbow bolt clattered against the wall behind her. In the distance, at the other end of the hall, she heard a short growl, and wasted precious seconds trying to figure out exactly from where it came. The second bolt that skidded against the stone floor only inches away prompted her into action, and she dove for the nearest pillar. OOC - Surprise round. Skulk attacks from cover, +3 against AC 17 (flat-footed): rolls 15, miss. Abrina's Spot check +4 against DC 20 (Hide check +22, -20 sniping): rolls 16, failure. Abrina's initiative +1: rolls 17. Skulk's initiative +2: rolls 21. Skulk loads crossbow, attacks: rolls 16, miss. Abrina moves to pillar for total cover. Abrina took slow, deep breathes, straining to hear any noises that might give away the skulk's movements, and heard nothing. Her heart pounding loudly in her ears, Abrina peeked from around the marble pillar in hopes of catching a glimpse of the hidden creature. She nothing. Clenching her spear for strength, she whispered a quick prayer to Ninurta and dashed from behind the pillar. She passed the next one as another crossbow bolt flew through the empty space just behind her, and she skidded to a stop behind the second-to-last pillar of the hall, pressing her back firmly against the cold stone. OOC - Skulk's ready action. Skulk attacks +3 against AC 17 (flat-footed): rolls 9, miss. Abrina clasped both hands on her spear, pointing it upward, and prayed to Ninurta for his blessing of size. She felt His touch upon her, and the pillar began to rub against her back as she grew in height and the floor fell away beneath her. She stepped from behind the pillar, now much smaller to her than before, and peered into the shadows behind the pillars as another bolt was loosed in her direction. It struck her, glancing off her chain armor, and Abrina smiled as she saw the outline of the creature. OOC - Abrina casts enlarge and steps out from behind pillar. Skulk's ready action. Skulk attacks, +3 against AC 16 (-1 size, +0 Dex): rolls 7, miss. Abrina's Spot check +4 against DC 21 (Hide check +22, -20 sniping): rolls 24, success. Abrina lowered her weapon, grasping it tightly with both hands, and charged the creature with a yell as the skulk stared at her with wide, luminous eyes. She ran the creature straight through, her spear jutting out its back as the creature's eyes rolled back and its crossbow fell from its limp hand. OOC - Abrina charges, +8 (+2, +4 Str, -1 size, +1 divine favor, +2 charging) against AC 16 (+4 cover): rolls 18, hit, 14 damage. Skulk at -4 hp. At least one more, she thought to herself, roughly removing her spear from the skulk and wiping off its gray blood on its small pack it carried. Wonder where they could be? With the skulk on the ground, its skin slowly shifting color to match the stone floor, Abrina examined her surroundings as the dancing lights cast flickering shadows throughout the grand hall. The rubble at the large end was gathered at the entrance to another tunnel, and two archways were open on either side of the fountain. Two other archways, she had noticed, were at the other end of the hall, as well. Glancing at the map, she returns to the tunnel entrance of the hall and takes the passage to the left, entering a smaller hallway. Smaller passages branch off at right angles, leading to more gear doors. Abrina skipped over them and ascended two short flights of stairs leading up to a seventy-foot long, thirty-foot wide octagonal gallery with a fifteen-foot high vaulted ceiling. She stepped into the gallery with her nearly spent sunrod to see twenty web-shrouded pedestals standing about the room, and walls showing signs of having once born tapestries and other fixtures. However, the items once displayed here have long since been removed. Two familiar flanked either side of the empty gallery. Abrina's footsteps echoed in the large, dusty room as she walked slowly from pedestal to pedestal. Everything was gone, but she could not help but wonder what magnificent works had been beheld in this very room by the gnomes of so many decades past. She began to imagine mesmerizing landscapes woven from silk and gold adorning the stone walls, sculptures of marble and bronze depicting nobles and lovers displayed upon the pedestals. She wondered what could have caused the gnomes to abandon their home, what disaster had struck, and why strange, unnatural creatures were wandering their ancient halls and kidnapping children from the city above. Abrina sighed and turned away, descending the staircase and leaving the lonely gallery behind. OOC - Abrina gained 600 xp for defeating the skulk. [/QUOTE]
Insert quotes…
Verification
Post reply
Community
Playing the Game
Story Hour
A Lonely Path: a Shackled City Story Hour (the old version, see last post)
Top