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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Demetrios1453" data-source="post: 9663698" data-attributes="member: 6801060">Curse of the Azure Bonds (Part 36): The Cave of the Beholder (Part 1)[ATTACH=full]405837[/ATTACH]Being led along dark corridors is never good news...[ATTACH=full]405838[/ATTACH]...especially when you're led to a beholder![ATTACH=full]405839[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405840[/ATTACH]Oh, you're all heart, Dexam...[ATTACH=full]405841[/ATTACH]It doesn't matter what you choose, as you and the beholder's minions are immediately interrupted...[ATTACH=full]405842[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405843[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405844[/ATTACH]I get the feeling these two don't like each other very much. Also, no matter who wins, we're not in for a good time. I guess we'll need to make sure neither wins![ATTACH=full]405845[/ATTACH]No!!! You've destroyed that magnificent mustache!Well, that quickly narrowed our foes here down to one. Also, TSR was not happy with SSI killing off a major FR NPC here so nonchalantly. Technically, the games were part of FR canon (as were the Dragonlance ones in their own canon), and thus Fzoul's death was supposed to reflect in the real game world. This was quietly glossed over, and Fzoul continued on, quite alive, to menace adventuring groups in the setting. After this, canonical NPCs always managed to escape or be banished without technically dying, or were replaced by suspiciously similar substitutes.Canonical or not, Fzoul's death here does have one rather beneficial result for us...[ATTACH=full]405846[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405847[/ATTACH]And then there was one.[ATTACH=full]405848[/ATTACH]Such a great guy.[ATTACH=full]405849[/ATTACH]Hey, we need that![ATTACH=full]405850[/ATTACH]So now we're in a real mess. The two forces fill the room, each fighting the other, but if we try to move through, a group of one or the other factions will try to block our way. We grimace and try to make a dash for the exit across the room. There's a 36% chance each step that we'll be drawn into the melee...Step one...[ATTACH=full]405853[/ATTACH]Well, nothing to do but fight. There's several minotaurs, two priests, and two high priests.Brin and Bragor immediately go to their tried-and-true method of clearing out the masses and interrupting spell casters...[ATTACH=full]405854[/ATTACH]Brin's goes off first...[ATTACH=full]405855[/ATTACH]Very annoyingly, it took several minotaurs to just 1 HP each. It's so, so annoying when that happens...[ATTACH=full]405856[/ATTACH]Bragir's goes off...[ATTACH=full]405857[/ATTACH]37 HP is enough to take them down in one shot, if they fail their saves, thankfully...Things have cleared out quite a bit, with quite a few foes down to single digits.[ATTACH=full]405858[/ATTACH]The minotaurs do gang up on Bant, and actually do some significant damage before we can take them down. The priests and high priests are slowly picked off by arrows or chopped up by the melee...[ATTACH=full]405859[/ATTACH]Soon, their morale breaks, and the remaining foes surrender.[ATTACH=full]405860[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405861[/ATTACH]Again, some nice XP, but this time...[ATTACH=full]405862[/ATTACH]Buffy can level![ATTACH=full]405863[/ATTACH]There's some decent magic treasure here, let's see if any of it are upgrades. Thankfully, the all the other combatants in the room politely keep their distance as we try out various weapons and armor...[ATTACH=full]405864[/ATTACH]The weapons aren't upgrades, but the plate mail +2 will definitely help our fighter/magic-users! In fact, it will also equal Brother Baltor's boring old non-magical banded and ring of protection +3, so we can equip him with the plate so that Buffy can get the ring, which will be of great help to her.[ATTACH=full]405865[/ATTACH]There are only two sets of the +2, but even a +1 will help the magic-users, so the +2s go to Brother Baltor and Bragir, while Brin has to settle for the +1. Probably temporarily, since we'll likely have to fight more high priests (who have the +2) here shortly.And beyond getting the nice ring, Buffy can now gain a level![ATTACH=full]405866[/ATTACH]The good news is that Bant and Brother Baltor aren't too far behind, and, given the XP for this fight, they will only need about 3 - 4 more combats for them to also gain a level.[ATTACH=full]405868[/ATTACH]The exit is so near, yet so far...Step two...[ATTACH=full]405869[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405870[/ATTACH]At least there are fewer of them this time, and some of the priests are actually within melee range, making damaging them, and thus keeping them from casting spells, much easier.Brin goes to the old standard...[ATTACH=full]405872[/ATTACH][ATTACH=full]405873[/ATTACH]Again, there are a couple of minotaurs with just 1 HP. Brin needs to do better to get that extra point of damage![ATTACH=full]405874[/ATTACH]Checking Buffy's equipment list, it appears that we've exhausted her necklace of missiles, sadly.[ATTACH=full]405875[/ATTACH]Some of the minotaurs get around the flank and menace Bragir.[ATTACH=full]405876[/ATTACH]But he's able to get off his fireball.[ATTACH=full]405877[/ATTACH]Which, thankfully, outright kills the minotaurs in the radius, if they fail their saves.We take down the last of the priests...[ATTACH=full]405878[/ATTACH]Which causes the minotaurs to flee...[ATTACH=full]405879[/ATTACH]Since they run past my melee, only one escapes, with just a single HP. Which is quickly dropped to zero after a final arrow...[ATTACH=full]405880[/ATTACH]More good XP.[ATTACH=full]405881[/ATTACH]And some more sets of plate mail +2. Brin takes one, and now everyone is now set up with some pretty decent ACs. However, people are beginning to take some noticeable damage...[ATTACH=full]405882[/ATTACH]Only one more step to the door!Step three...[ATTACH=full]405883[/ATTACH]Sigh. There's only about a 1-in-3 chance for an encounter when going through the altar room, and we've had the bad luck for it to happen it all three times...[ATTACH=full]405884[/ATTACH]The wall causes several priests to be in melee range again, while bunching up the others. And bunched up groups call for...[ATTACH=full]405885[/ATTACH]We are getting dangerously low on them, though...[ATTACH=full]405886[/ATTACH]Bragir hits above 33 HP, which thankfully drops any minotaurs that fail their saves.Brin follows up...[ATTACH=full]405887[/ATTACH]Her damage is yet again below 33 HP, but these have all been wounded previously by Bragir's. The entire group in the back go down from the combined damage of the two fireballs...This quickly leaves us with just four foes, all next to our melee...[ATTACH=full]405888[/ATTACH]The melee and arrows quickly cut through them...[ATTACH=full]405889[/ATTACH]The minotaurs try to run again, only to be cut down as they try to escape..[ATTACH=full]405890[/ATTACH]We get a similar amount of XP again, and similar treasure. With nothing in that would be an upgrade, we just leave it all behind.[ATTACH=full]405891[/ATTACH]We've reached the door. Buffy is able to pick the lock, and we go through, leaving the chaos of the altar room behind![ATTACH=full]405892[/ATTACH]We quickly make camp and try to heal and rest up. It's still dangerous, as random patrols might interrupt us, but it's worth a try (especially as I saved as soon as we got through that door!).We heal and rest up, and memorize spells...[ATTACH=full]405893[/ATTACH]And we are able to rest successfully! Presumably the bad luck of getting so many encounters inside the altar room was balanced by the good luck of being able to get in an uninterrupted rest.[ATTACH=full]405896[/ATTACH]With that, we leave the chaos of the altar room behind, and start our exploration of the remainder of the Cave of the Beholder. We need to get the Amulet of Lathander, and that's currently in the possession of the titular beholder. We'll start that exploration next time!</blockquote>

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