Barrow of the Forgotten Story Hour - Complete! 8/13/08
High Cleric
First Post
I did once have a character for Buck Dharma from BOC. Luckily, as a bard, he didn't make it too long.
When Abixicab (that isn't right, I know) mentioned it, I thought it was Eptesicus he was talking about (a genus of bat). There is however an actual genus called Eidolon 9more info than anyone needed)....
Glad to be helpin the count on the new Hot Thread.
When Abixicab (that isn't right, I know) mentioned it, I thought it was Eptesicus he was talking about (a genus of bat). There is however an actual genus called Eidolon 9more info than anyone needed)....
Glad to be helpin the count on the new Hot Thread.
Bootsy – 5th/1st Level Gnome Sorcerer/Fighter.
Celtir – 6th Level Elven Cleric.
Frankie – 6th Level Dwarven Barbarian.
Tristan – 6th Level Human Paladin.
Wencis – 6th Level Aasimar Incarnate.
It was dark in the room where Frankie stood watch over his companions. They had retreated back to the room with the beds they had found on the first floor to rest. The seven beds were musty from the years of neglect, but once they stripped the moldy bedding, they were more appealing then the cold stone floor.
Finding this place more than a little creepy, Frankie had kept his greataxe in hand throughout his entire watch. As he was checking the blade for the hundredth time he thought he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Readying his axe, he rose to confront whatever it might be. What he saw confused him and he paused for just a moment. Hovering there before him the transparent torso of a beautiful Drow female. Frankie’s jaw dropped as she smiled for just a moment and then the flesh of her face seemed to melt away and the suddenly screaming skull lunged at him as if to bite at his face. Frankie winced as its distended jaws approached his face and just as it seemed it would sink its teeth into his flesh it disappeared.
“Wake up! Wake up! We have a… a situation here!”
The companions quickly jumped out of their beds, grabbing the weapons they kept close at hand and looked around franticly. Seeing nothing they looked to Frankie.
“It was here, right in front of me, a free-roaming, vaporous, full-torso apparition.”
Bootsy shook his head as he climbed back into bed, “You were dreaming. Wake me when whatever passes for morning in this place actually arrives.”
Frankie turned and hefted his axe, “Are you suggesting I was asleep on watch?”
Celtir stepped forward and raised his hands to calm Frankie. “No one is suggesting such a thing, but whatever was here is gone now. We’ll continue our watches as planned and hopefully nothing more will come of it.”
As his companions returned to their beds, Frankie cast a suspicious eye about the place and resumed his watch.
Having refreshed themselves as much as possible in such a dismal place, the companions returned to where they had left off. Passing the charnel pits once again, they came to the far end of the room where they had broken through one of the stone doors. Beyond was a small square room, much like the one at the other end of the walkway. Stone stairs descended from the two doors and between the two sets of stairs was an iron spiral staircase going up.
As Tristan stepped onto the first iron step, there was a flash and a loud bang.
“Are you ok?” Celtir asked.
“Well, my ears are ringing, but beyond that it’s nothing serious,” Tristan said as he continued up the stairs.
Reaching the top, the companions arrived in a short hall that widened into a massive chamber. Closest to the stairs were stone pews. On the far end of the room was a stone stage and in front of that was a huge stone table that was at least ten feet long. Rusty shackles hung from the four corners of the table. Three smaller stone desks and chairs were arranged between the dais and the pews. Two stone doors, both open, stood near each other on the northern wall and a closed door was farther to the east on that same wall. A shut stone door was set on the southern wall, not far from where they stood.
The companions spread out as they entered to examine the room. Frankie and Celtir had just enough time to see the rooms beyond the open doors were filled with books, when the air suddenly crackled with power and three amorphous creatures glided into view. A roiling cloud of blurry blackness darted from under the eastern table and engulfed Tristan before he could even react. A rotting stench preceded a red-tinged gray vapor as it slid out of one of the open doors and tried to do the same to Frankie. He quickly dodged to the side and slashed at the ooze with his axe. Celtir found himself under attack as well and leapt to the east as a writhing wormlike form of blackness slithered out of the other door.
As Tristan pulled himself free and slashed at the creature, Wencis and his Soul spark attacked the creature that had had engulfed the Paladin as well. Bootsy ran up to add his contribution and the creature boiled away as a sheet of flame covered it.
Even as this one creature disappeared another took its place. An insubstantial humanoid shape emerged from the dais and slashed the Soul Spark with its claw-like hands.
Celtir found himself pursued by one of the creatures. He fired his bow at the creature as it advanced on him time and again, he finally found himself boxed into a corner. He quickly opened the door in the northeastern corner and stepped through, hoping to avoid the creature, but it slid through the doorway before he could close it. He raised his holy symbol and a burst of light filled the rooms healing his companion and searing the Shadow that attacked the Soul Spark.
Frankie found himself in the same boat as Celtir, constantly retreating as the amorphous blob tried to engulf him. Though the creatures seemed easy enough to hit, his axe seemed to slide right through the ooze, blunting the effects of his powerful blows. He focused on adding more brute strength to his blows, rather than finesse. Finally, as he was running out of places to go, his axe slid through the creature and it seemed to melt away to nothing.
The Shadow clawed at the Soul Spark again, draining away more of its strength. The Soul Spark responded with blasts of energy. A few seemed to pass right through the creature but most seemed to sear the Shadow. Wencis called forth a light that cast the entire room in bright light and then attacked with his hammer.
Their own opponents destroyed, Frankie and Tristan helped where they could and the companions finally felt they had gained the upper hand. One more blast from the Soul Spark was all it took and the Shadow was destroyed. At almost the same time, Celtir’s arrows finally finished the ooze that had pursued him through two rooms.
Their opponents defeated, the companions turned to examine the contents of the three rooms they found themselves in. In the first, they found little beyond the stone furnishings. The second room had a small stone font on a slender stand near the door. Beyond that, along the northern wall, a stone desk and chair were set. The western wall was dominated by carved bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. Part of one shelf was fashioned into a scroll rack.
In the third room, bookshelves were carved into the southern wall and two smaller sets were carved from the northern wall. Stone desks also jutted from the northern wall, each with a stone chair in front of it. A pair of similar chairs faced each other near the middle of the room. A small font on a slender stand occupied the southeastern corner. There was a door along the eastern wall and just to the north of that door, an iron spiral staircase rose into the ceiling.
A thorough search of all the rooms uncovered many interesting items. In the study, they found a magical pair of black silky gloves, a scroll of Identify and a small monocle. They also found a few interesting texts discussing the methods of creating magical mirrors and a rambling journal by a man named Maroe. Within the journal were what appeared to be the mad ravings of a man bent on revenge against the Nobles of Pedestal through the creation of a magical disease.
In the library the only interesting text was a spellbook, also the property of Maroe. Within the book Celtir found a list of words written in a language he could not understand, though the Elven equivalent seemed to be written at the bottom of the page.
Their search complete, the companions gathered in the library. While Bootsy identified the various items they had found, the companions discussed their next move.
“Up or doors?” asked Wencis, indicating the stairs and the two doors, one in the library and one in the audience hall, that they had yet to open.
It was quickly decided to see what was beyond the doors. The plan of action having been decided, they turned to Bootsy who seemed intrigued by what he had found. “This monocle is used to help Identify magical items, very useful to us, since none of us know the appropriate spell to do so.” This announcement was met with much enthusiasm as the companions pulled out the many items they carried that they knew to be magical, but were unsure of their function.
Trying to cover more ground the companions split up to open both doors, but found that they both led to different areas of the same massive chamber. The smell of rich earth suffused what appeared to be a graveyard. Soft, dark soil made up the floor beneath their feet. Rows of graves stood in perfect lines, marked not by tombstones but by simple stone stakes etched with Elvish runes. A stone building, its walls covered in etched death symbols stood in the southeast corner. To the east a stone ledge overlooked the graveyard and a carved stairway, its steps broad and shallow provided access to it. A rounded, natural looking ceiling loomed overhead. Flowstone formations jutted from the dirt or hung from the ceiling, one forming a natural column. Once again the companions spread out to examine their surroundings.
Celtir and Tristan stepped up to the mausoleum to open the door as the others examined the graves. As the door to the mausoleum opened, they heard a grating wail reverberate throughout the room and the temperature suddenly dropped. Turning toward where Wencis was examining the graves behind them, they saw a baleful figure with burning red eyes and bathed in darkness, rise from a grave. All three companions called to Bootsy and Frankie who were examining the graves in the far western portion of the room.
Hammer and arrow both passed harmlessly through the creature as Bootsy and Frankie ran up to assist their allies. The wraith stepped forward and slashed at Frankie but the Dwarf was too quick and dodged out of the way. Striking back with his axe, Frankie was dismayed to see it pass right through the creature. Tristan slashed at the Wraith, but his blade passed right through, without harming the creature as well.
Readying his hammer to strike once again, Wencis was shocked when a hunched corpse quietly slid out of the loose earth, barely disturbing the soil of a grave right next to him. It had long white hair, dusky skin and bulging, lidless eyes. Dirt caked its body and its mouth had been sewn shut. Silently the creature raised its arms and smashed Wencis, quite literally, into the ground. In the blink of an eye, Wencis found himself trapped in a shallow grave.
Celtir ran toward the creatures, raised his holy symbol and called on the power of Solonor once again to destroy the undead creatures before him and a burst of positive energy seared the flesh of both creatures. Missiles from one of Bootsy’s wands flew unerringly at the incorporeal wraith striking it in the chest. Tristan’s blade slashed at the corpse-like creature as the Soul Spark burned it with soul energy, eager to destroy the creature that had entombed its master.
Pushing away the urge to panic, Wencis focused his thoughts on escaping from his earthen prison. Using all the strength he could muster, Wencis was able to rock slightly back and forth, which was enough to allow him to pull his arms up by his head as the soil around him was loosened by his movements.
The battle up above was going well for the companions. Frankie swung around and his axed sliced through the corpse creature and the upper and lower halves of its body dropped to the ground separately. Immediately after it fell, a magical burst from Celtir and a slash from Tristan finished the Wraith.
Gathering around the spot where they last saw Wencis, they could tell he was working himself free. The companions looked at each other, looked at the progress Wencis was making, then, with an unspoken agreement, they all watched as he dug himself out. It took him slightly less than thirty seconds for him to pull himself all the way out of the hole.
Spitting out dirt and wiping the grime from his face he looked at his companions, gathered around him with smiles on their faces. “Thanks for the help there guys,” he said with a wry smile.
Celtir laughed, “Bah, we knew you’d get out. We’d have been there for you if we had any doubt.”
After some quick healing, Celtir and Wencis went to reexamine the Mausoleum.
Tristan saw where they were headed and called after them, “Don’t do anything sacrilegious.”
The two of them nodded, smiled and waved back to acknowledge they had heard him.
Wencis looked concerned for a moment and turned to Celtir, “What do you think he considers sacrilegious?”
“We should be fine, Bootsy’s not with us.”
Within the mausoleum were two great sarcophagi, their lids carved to resemble a Drow male and female lying in state. They stood atop stone biers on each side of the small chamber. The air was musty and full of dust.
The Stone lids pivoted easily but remained connected to the coffins they sealed. The one with the carving of the male was empty. The other contained a breathtakingly beautiful Drow female covered in a shiny burial cloth and dressed in regal Drow finery. A quick examination revealed some fine jewelry as well. A quick look was all they got as they heard a cry from Bootsy and Frankie warning them of danger. Running out of the mausoleum they found that Frankie and Bootsy had gone up the stairs to the overlook.
The overlook was also a natural cavern containing flowstone. It was also home to at least two creatures. Tristan had already run up the steps and there he saw two creature attacking Frankie and Bootsy. Bootsy was being grappled by a gaunt humanoid that had drawn and desiccated flesh crusted with flaky material. It was gibbering madly and apparently sucking blood from a wound in Bootsy’s arm.
The creature attacking Frankie was a large, emaciated, hairless, salt encrusted giant. It was at least eight feet tall, with sunken and blazing eyes. Its parched and gasping mouth was pulled back from yellowed teeth. Judging from the amount of blood covering Frankie, it also packed quite a punch. Even though he had been sorely wounded in the creature’s initial rush, Frankie stood his ground, frothing at the mouth and striking back with his axe. Just as Tristan arrived to help, he noticed Bootsy, who seemed almost as angry as Frankie, activate a wand. His view of what was happening to his companions was suddenly lost when he was engulfed in the ball of fire that followed.
Celtir – 6th Level Elven Cleric.
Frankie – 6th Level Dwarven Barbarian.
Tristan – 6th Level Human Paladin.
Wencis – 6th Level Aasimar Incarnate.
The Graveyard Shift. Part 1
It was dark in the room where Frankie stood watch over his companions. They had retreated back to the room with the beds they had found on the first floor to rest. The seven beds were musty from the years of neglect, but once they stripped the moldy bedding, they were more appealing then the cold stone floor.
Finding this place more than a little creepy, Frankie had kept his greataxe in hand throughout his entire watch. As he was checking the blade for the hundredth time he thought he saw movement from the corner of his eye. Readying his axe, he rose to confront whatever it might be. What he saw confused him and he paused for just a moment. Hovering there before him the transparent torso of a beautiful Drow female. Frankie’s jaw dropped as she smiled for just a moment and then the flesh of her face seemed to melt away and the suddenly screaming skull lunged at him as if to bite at his face. Frankie winced as its distended jaws approached his face and just as it seemed it would sink its teeth into his flesh it disappeared.
“Wake up! Wake up! We have a… a situation here!”
The companions quickly jumped out of their beds, grabbing the weapons they kept close at hand and looked around franticly. Seeing nothing they looked to Frankie.
“It was here, right in front of me, a free-roaming, vaporous, full-torso apparition.”
Bootsy shook his head as he climbed back into bed, “You were dreaming. Wake me when whatever passes for morning in this place actually arrives.”
Frankie turned and hefted his axe, “Are you suggesting I was asleep on watch?”
Celtir stepped forward and raised his hands to calm Frankie. “No one is suggesting such a thing, but whatever was here is gone now. We’ll continue our watches as planned and hopefully nothing more will come of it.”
As his companions returned to their beds, Frankie cast a suspicious eye about the place and resumed his watch.
----------
Having refreshed themselves as much as possible in such a dismal place, the companions returned to where they had left off. Passing the charnel pits once again, they came to the far end of the room where they had broken through one of the stone doors. Beyond was a small square room, much like the one at the other end of the walkway. Stone stairs descended from the two doors and between the two sets of stairs was an iron spiral staircase going up.
As Tristan stepped onto the first iron step, there was a flash and a loud bang.
“Are you ok?” Celtir asked.
“Well, my ears are ringing, but beyond that it’s nothing serious,” Tristan said as he continued up the stairs.
Reaching the top, the companions arrived in a short hall that widened into a massive chamber. Closest to the stairs were stone pews. On the far end of the room was a stone stage and in front of that was a huge stone table that was at least ten feet long. Rusty shackles hung from the four corners of the table. Three smaller stone desks and chairs were arranged between the dais and the pews. Two stone doors, both open, stood near each other on the northern wall and a closed door was farther to the east on that same wall. A shut stone door was set on the southern wall, not far from where they stood.
The companions spread out as they entered to examine the room. Frankie and Celtir had just enough time to see the rooms beyond the open doors were filled with books, when the air suddenly crackled with power and three amorphous creatures glided into view. A roiling cloud of blurry blackness darted from under the eastern table and engulfed Tristan before he could even react. A rotting stench preceded a red-tinged gray vapor as it slid out of one of the open doors and tried to do the same to Frankie. He quickly dodged to the side and slashed at the ooze with his axe. Celtir found himself under attack as well and leapt to the east as a writhing wormlike form of blackness slithered out of the other door.
As Tristan pulled himself free and slashed at the creature, Wencis and his Soul spark attacked the creature that had had engulfed the Paladin as well. Bootsy ran up to add his contribution and the creature boiled away as a sheet of flame covered it.
Even as this one creature disappeared another took its place. An insubstantial humanoid shape emerged from the dais and slashed the Soul Spark with its claw-like hands.
Celtir found himself pursued by one of the creatures. He fired his bow at the creature as it advanced on him time and again, he finally found himself boxed into a corner. He quickly opened the door in the northeastern corner and stepped through, hoping to avoid the creature, but it slid through the doorway before he could close it. He raised his holy symbol and a burst of light filled the rooms healing his companion and searing the Shadow that attacked the Soul Spark.
Frankie found himself in the same boat as Celtir, constantly retreating as the amorphous blob tried to engulf him. Though the creatures seemed easy enough to hit, his axe seemed to slide right through the ooze, blunting the effects of his powerful blows. He focused on adding more brute strength to his blows, rather than finesse. Finally, as he was running out of places to go, his axe slid through the creature and it seemed to melt away to nothing.
The Shadow clawed at the Soul Spark again, draining away more of its strength. The Soul Spark responded with blasts of energy. A few seemed to pass right through the creature but most seemed to sear the Shadow. Wencis called forth a light that cast the entire room in bright light and then attacked with his hammer.
Their own opponents destroyed, Frankie and Tristan helped where they could and the companions finally felt they had gained the upper hand. One more blast from the Soul Spark was all it took and the Shadow was destroyed. At almost the same time, Celtir’s arrows finally finished the ooze that had pursued him through two rooms.
Their opponents defeated, the companions turned to examine the contents of the three rooms they found themselves in. In the first, they found little beyond the stone furnishings. The second room had a small stone font on a slender stand near the door. Beyond that, along the northern wall, a stone desk and chair were set. The western wall was dominated by carved bookshelves that stretched from floor to ceiling. Part of one shelf was fashioned into a scroll rack.
In the third room, bookshelves were carved into the southern wall and two smaller sets were carved from the northern wall. Stone desks also jutted from the northern wall, each with a stone chair in front of it. A pair of similar chairs faced each other near the middle of the room. A small font on a slender stand occupied the southeastern corner. There was a door along the eastern wall and just to the north of that door, an iron spiral staircase rose into the ceiling.
A thorough search of all the rooms uncovered many interesting items. In the study, they found a magical pair of black silky gloves, a scroll of Identify and a small monocle. They also found a few interesting texts discussing the methods of creating magical mirrors and a rambling journal by a man named Maroe. Within the journal were what appeared to be the mad ravings of a man bent on revenge against the Nobles of Pedestal through the creation of a magical disease.
In the library the only interesting text was a spellbook, also the property of Maroe. Within the book Celtir found a list of words written in a language he could not understand, though the Elven equivalent seemed to be written at the bottom of the page.
Their search complete, the companions gathered in the library. While Bootsy identified the various items they had found, the companions discussed their next move.
“Up or doors?” asked Wencis, indicating the stairs and the two doors, one in the library and one in the audience hall, that they had yet to open.
It was quickly decided to see what was beyond the doors. The plan of action having been decided, they turned to Bootsy who seemed intrigued by what he had found. “This monocle is used to help Identify magical items, very useful to us, since none of us know the appropriate spell to do so.” This announcement was met with much enthusiasm as the companions pulled out the many items they carried that they knew to be magical, but were unsure of their function.
Trying to cover more ground the companions split up to open both doors, but found that they both led to different areas of the same massive chamber. The smell of rich earth suffused what appeared to be a graveyard. Soft, dark soil made up the floor beneath their feet. Rows of graves stood in perfect lines, marked not by tombstones but by simple stone stakes etched with Elvish runes. A stone building, its walls covered in etched death symbols stood in the southeast corner. To the east a stone ledge overlooked the graveyard and a carved stairway, its steps broad and shallow provided access to it. A rounded, natural looking ceiling loomed overhead. Flowstone formations jutted from the dirt or hung from the ceiling, one forming a natural column. Once again the companions spread out to examine their surroundings.
Celtir and Tristan stepped up to the mausoleum to open the door as the others examined the graves. As the door to the mausoleum opened, they heard a grating wail reverberate throughout the room and the temperature suddenly dropped. Turning toward where Wencis was examining the graves behind them, they saw a baleful figure with burning red eyes and bathed in darkness, rise from a grave. All three companions called to Bootsy and Frankie who were examining the graves in the far western portion of the room.
Hammer and arrow both passed harmlessly through the creature as Bootsy and Frankie ran up to assist their allies. The wraith stepped forward and slashed at Frankie but the Dwarf was too quick and dodged out of the way. Striking back with his axe, Frankie was dismayed to see it pass right through the creature. Tristan slashed at the Wraith, but his blade passed right through, without harming the creature as well.
Readying his hammer to strike once again, Wencis was shocked when a hunched corpse quietly slid out of the loose earth, barely disturbing the soil of a grave right next to him. It had long white hair, dusky skin and bulging, lidless eyes. Dirt caked its body and its mouth had been sewn shut. Silently the creature raised its arms and smashed Wencis, quite literally, into the ground. In the blink of an eye, Wencis found himself trapped in a shallow grave.
Celtir ran toward the creatures, raised his holy symbol and called on the power of Solonor once again to destroy the undead creatures before him and a burst of positive energy seared the flesh of both creatures. Missiles from one of Bootsy’s wands flew unerringly at the incorporeal wraith striking it in the chest. Tristan’s blade slashed at the corpse-like creature as the Soul Spark burned it with soul energy, eager to destroy the creature that had entombed its master.
Pushing away the urge to panic, Wencis focused his thoughts on escaping from his earthen prison. Using all the strength he could muster, Wencis was able to rock slightly back and forth, which was enough to allow him to pull his arms up by his head as the soil around him was loosened by his movements.
The battle up above was going well for the companions. Frankie swung around and his axed sliced through the corpse creature and the upper and lower halves of its body dropped to the ground separately. Immediately after it fell, a magical burst from Celtir and a slash from Tristan finished the Wraith.
Gathering around the spot where they last saw Wencis, they could tell he was working himself free. The companions looked at each other, looked at the progress Wencis was making, then, with an unspoken agreement, they all watched as he dug himself out. It took him slightly less than thirty seconds for him to pull himself all the way out of the hole.
Spitting out dirt and wiping the grime from his face he looked at his companions, gathered around him with smiles on their faces. “Thanks for the help there guys,” he said with a wry smile.
Celtir laughed, “Bah, we knew you’d get out. We’d have been there for you if we had any doubt.”
After some quick healing, Celtir and Wencis went to reexamine the Mausoleum.
Tristan saw where they were headed and called after them, “Don’t do anything sacrilegious.”
The two of them nodded, smiled and waved back to acknowledge they had heard him.
Wencis looked concerned for a moment and turned to Celtir, “What do you think he considers sacrilegious?”
“We should be fine, Bootsy’s not with us.”
Within the mausoleum were two great sarcophagi, their lids carved to resemble a Drow male and female lying in state. They stood atop stone biers on each side of the small chamber. The air was musty and full of dust.
The Stone lids pivoted easily but remained connected to the coffins they sealed. The one with the carving of the male was empty. The other contained a breathtakingly beautiful Drow female covered in a shiny burial cloth and dressed in regal Drow finery. A quick examination revealed some fine jewelry as well. A quick look was all they got as they heard a cry from Bootsy and Frankie warning them of danger. Running out of the mausoleum they found that Frankie and Bootsy had gone up the stairs to the overlook.
The overlook was also a natural cavern containing flowstone. It was also home to at least two creatures. Tristan had already run up the steps and there he saw two creature attacking Frankie and Bootsy. Bootsy was being grappled by a gaunt humanoid that had drawn and desiccated flesh crusted with flaky material. It was gibbering madly and apparently sucking blood from a wound in Bootsy’s arm.
The creature attacking Frankie was a large, emaciated, hairless, salt encrusted giant. It was at least eight feet tall, with sunken and blazing eyes. Its parched and gasping mouth was pulled back from yellowed teeth. Judging from the amount of blood covering Frankie, it also packed quite a punch. Even though he had been sorely wounded in the creature’s initial rush, Frankie stood his ground, frothing at the mouth and striking back with his axe. Just as Tristan arrived to help, he noticed Bootsy, who seemed almost as angry as Frankie, activate a wand. His view of what was happening to his companions was suddenly lost when he was engulfed in the ball of fire that followed.
The Graveyard Shift. Part 2
An instant later the Fireball was gone and he saw everyone, except Celtir and Wencis who were still below, had been caught in the Fireball. He also noticed that everyone, including their opponents, had survived with only minimal damage from the blast.
Bootsy vented some of his anger toward the wand. “What the hell kind of weak-assed Fireball was that!” He yelled as he flung the wand away in frustration. Bootsy refocused his energy toward trying to break the death-grip this creature seemed to have on him. Compounding the problem, Bootsy could feel himself tiring from blood-loss as the creature drained more of his blood. Seeing that Bootsy was in rough shape from the tentacle faced creature that was attacking him, Tristan quickly ran over and healed some of his wounds.
Fearing for the life of their companions, Wencis dismissed his Soul Spark so that he might refocus his soul energies as Celtir backed up to get a clear shot with a spell at the undead creatures up above.
Frankie was on his last legs. One more hit from this large creature would kill him and it had yet to miss. Torn between staying and dieing or retreating to fight another day, Frankie finally made the painful choice and withdrew, jumping off the cliff in his retreat.
Casting forth two bolts of holy energy, Celtir was aiming for the creature that was grappling with Bootsy. Being so far away and on lower ground, he found it hard to pick his target and ended up hitting Bootsy with both bolts. Since Bootsy was neither undead nor extra-planar, he suffered no ill effects.
Finally arriving at the top of the stair Wencis charged his hammer with soul energy and crushed the skull of the creature that held Bootsy. Free of its grasp, Bootsy looked to the giant undead creature that remained. He noticed some of its wounds seemed to be closing. He dusted himself off a little before launching a Scorching Ray into the creatures face.
Tristan and Wencis both attacked the creature as it stepped forward and pummeled the Paladin. Celtir fired two more bolts that both hit the giant creature, searing away some of its flesh. Finally as the creature’s fist slammed into Tristan once again, he brought Merthuvial around in a great arc and struck its head from its shoulders.
The companions looked around and each seemed surprised to find all the others were still standing. Even Frankie was wearily making his way back up the stairs.
With the combat ended, Bootsy looked to the corpses of the creatures. “I hope these guys have something good.” He was extremely disappointed.
A quick search revealed a stone door in the northern wall and a small pool hidden behind some pillars. Discouraged by the lack of treasure and noticing Tristan was moving to examine the door, Celtir and Wencis returned to the mausoleum to collect the jewelry and the fine silken shroud.
Up above Tristan opened the door and found a cool and damp room that was nothing more than a narrow ledge that ran around a twenty foot wide pit that dropped into darkness. The air smelled of salt water. Looking over the edge, he saw an iron grate about twenty feet down. The silence of the room was broken by the sound of one of Bootsy’s acid flasks shattering on the grate. Unsure of what to make of this place, they left to rejoin the others and return to the iron stairwell in the library.
At the top of the stairs they found an oddly shaped room with mirrors. The western wall of the room stepped westward forming an alcove and a number of smaller wall surfaces. Embedded in or formed from these smaller walls were six large mirrors. There was a door in the northwestern corner. Most everyone averted their eyes from the mirrors, except for Celtir who stepped up to the closest one. “Show me Fadheela,” he commanded. For a moment nothing happened.
After that moments pause, there was a loud grinding sound as glass extruded from the westernmost mirror. Two mirrors that flanked the alcove made similar but quieter sounds. A hulking figure formed of glass emerged quickly into the western alcove. Glass spiders boiled forth from the flanking mirrors. As they rose, their translucent interiors glowed with a faint blue light.
Reacting quickly, Bootsy summoned his magical energies and faded from sight. The others attacked. Frankie's axe smashed against one of the spiders as Tristan and Wencis attacked the large creature with sword and hammer. Celtir set off a burst of sound that caused a small amount of damage to two of the creatures. The spiders bit at Frankie and Wencis, causing minor injuries, but the large creature pummeled Tristan with two mighty blows that left his face bloodied and his ribs broken.
As the others continued their attack Bootsy moved to the door and opened it. Beyond he saw a short, narrow hallway that ended in another door. Confident that there was more than one escape route, Bootsy turned to assist in the ongoing combat.
Frankie kept up his attacks against one of the spiders and cracks were starting to show where his axe was striking the creature. The creature was biting back, but Frankie seemed unconcerned with the small wounds inflicted by the spider. Wencis struck at the other spider, slamming it with his hammer infused with soul energy. Celtir switched back to his bow, hoping to inflict what damage he could.
The large glass creature was pounding Tristan over and over again. The amount of damage he had sustained would surely have dropped a man with less stamina. A bright spark jolting one of the spiders preceded Bootsy’s return to the visible spectrum. The spider shattered into a million shards that seemed to dissolve on the floor.
The spider in front of Frankie finally shattered beneath his axe and he turned to strike the large creature. Seeing Tristan sorely wounded Celtir called upon Solonor and a positive energy burst lit the room, healing some of the wounds all of his companions had suffered.
With all their attacks focused on the large creature, cracks were finally starting to show as Bootsy stepped forward and zapped it with a Shocking Grasp. Seemingly angered by the attack, the construct lashed out with both fists at Bootsy but was unable to land a blow on the quick gnome.
Seeing an opening, Tristan brought his blade down on the head of the construct and it shattered into tiny shards that disappeared as had those of the spiders.
Bootsy let out a breath. “I’ve got nothing left in the arsenal. I think it may be time for a break.”
End of Session 10.
Session notes
Some tough fights in that one. I got a few of them down to single digits and even got Tristan to -4 (Thank goodness for Die Hard).
Even got to grapple the gnome. I think that combat showed why Bootsy’s collateral damage doesn’t bother anyone (as a player). He’s not vindictive, he’s just chaotic. Showing that he was willing to suffer the damage right along with anyone else reinforces that sentiment. It was only a coincidence the Fireball did very little damage.
Frankie finally got to deal some power attack damage, which helped considerably with all the DR they were facing.
Celtir (and by this I mean High Cleric) loves the Spell Compendium. Every game he seems to come up with something I never heard of. It certainly helps Clerics be more offensive, which when combined with the Positive Burst healing allows him to put his spells to good use.
Tristan is definitely not afraid to die fighting. Even at -4 (Then healed into the single digits) never left the front line. Considering his last character stole everything that wasn’t nailed down and considered the party treasure his own (everyone else just carried it for him) he’s doing great with the paladin.
Wencis. Well I’ve already said I have no idea what this character does. But his hammer overcame most of the DR faced that night, and his ability to add electrical damage helped considerably as well.
Some tough fights in that one. I got a few of them down to single digits and even got Tristan to -4 (Thank goodness for Die Hard).
Even got to grapple the gnome. I think that combat showed why Bootsy’s collateral damage doesn’t bother anyone (as a player). He’s not vindictive, he’s just chaotic. Showing that he was willing to suffer the damage right along with anyone else reinforces that sentiment. It was only a coincidence the Fireball did very little damage.
Frankie finally got to deal some power attack damage, which helped considerably with all the DR they were facing.
Celtir (and by this I mean High Cleric) loves the Spell Compendium. Every game he seems to come up with something I never heard of. It certainly helps Clerics be more offensive, which when combined with the Positive Burst healing allows him to put his spells to good use.
Tristan is definitely not afraid to die fighting. Even at -4 (Then healed into the single digits) never left the front line. Considering his last character stole everything that wasn’t nailed down and considered the party treasure his own (everyone else just carried it for him) he’s doing great with the paladin.
Wencis. Well I’ve already said I have no idea what this character does. But his hammer overcame most of the DR faced that night, and his ability to add electrical damage helped considerably as well.
Peteinmaine
First Post
Wencis
Aside from no one knowing what exactly Wencis does, he makes lousy conversation as a burrowing mammal. I can't believe I wasted the spell like ability
Abciximab said:
Aside from no one knowing what exactly Wencis does, he makes lousy conversation as a burrowing mammal. I can't believe I wasted the spell like ability
mundinironhand
First Post
Peteinmaine said:
Playing with this group i'm finding that we're more about power than finesse. which makes me wonder about which soulmelds to shape. the soulspark sucked up 3 hits from the shade each draining 3 strenght! considering all the damage he soacks up, i find it hard to not use him. with all the dr we're facing the holy hammer +2 seems like a solid choice and the incarnate avatar boosts my armor by 3. leaving only one choice left, which so far has been guantlets that let me charge my attacks with electricity, adding a wopping 3d6 of damage to one attack as a move action. other choices i've considered is a mantle of flame that deals damage if i'm hit, a shirt that gives me SR between, or the apparition ribbon that lets me reroll any miss chance on incorperial beings. most likely once the soul spar gets to a very damaged point i'll unshape the meld and rapidly bind the mantle of flame.
Playing an incarnatre is interesting but not my niche, still considering either a whisper gnome theif, who can silence enemy spell casters, a goliath fighter with fling enemy(both in races of stone), a whisper gnome shadow mage(in the same book as binders and truespeakers), a sword sage(book of nine swords), or some kind of monk looking to prestige class as a shadow sun ninja(book of nine swords) have also considered a druid no idea on race yet.
High Cleric
First Post
Wencis' post (previous by mundin ironhand) was essentially correct - power over finesse. The Spell Compendium definitely enhances the cleric offensive capabilites, Light of Venya/Mercuria etc essentially act as the equivalent of a mage's scorching ray while the holy/axiomatic/anarchic storm is the equivalent of a fireball (area effect blast) against outsiders and undead. Helps keeping up with the Joneses...
Peteinmaine
First Post
Wednesday's comin
Does anyone smell somethin' Burnin!!
Does anyone smell somethin' Burnin!!
