ForceUser's Vietnamese Adventures Story Hour! (finis)
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ForceUser
Explorer
I don't know how it stacks up to Gay Parie, but I've only met one person who disliked it here, and he's a nut anyway!Sammael99 said:Great stuff, ForceUser !
Maybe I'll look for a job in San Diego...
On a more sober note: traps don't kill rogues. Rogues who forget to take 20 on Search checks kill rogues. This has been a public service announcement. Thank you.
Sammael99
First Post
ForceUser said:I don't know how it stacks up to Gay Parie, but I've only met one person who disliked it here, and he's a nut anyway!
I actually lived in San Diego, but I was 2, so my memories are kind of vague (a long driveway, a sledge in the christmas snow, and evil neighbour kid...)
Maybe I'll send that one to the rogue in our party...
ForceUser
Explorer
Session Three, Part Ten
TRAN WHISPERED, “Well?”
“It doesn’t appear to be trapped,” declared Mai.
“Is it or isn’t it?” pressed Lei.
Mai paused, “It’s…its not.”
Vinh nodded in the dim light of the torches. “Okay. Step back, then.”
“Not yet,” she replied, “It’s locked.”
The adventurers stood in a short stone hallway that branched off the arching foyer. The hall ran about twenty feet and ended in a rusty ironbound door. After a brief search of the second floor landing that had yielded nothing of interest, the party had climbed down and continued exploring the large chamber. They found a narrow hallway in the corner near the ladder, a wide hall in the center of the foyer’s back wall, and this corridor opposite the first hallway. Mai had spent several minutes examining the door they’d found at the end of it, careful positioning her torch to shine light into the cracks around the doorjamb. It had proven solid – too solid for anyone but a master trapmaker to have tampered with. Recalling the flipping bridge of death and the trick ladder, this insight did not comfort her. For their part, the others did not complain about her extreme attention to detail. Tran and Hien whispered quietly to one another, but Tam remained silent as he hung to the back and covered the party’s rear with his ghost light.
Glancing at the lock, Mai produced a six-inch whip-thin strip of steel, hooked at one end and serrated at the other. Pondering for a moment, she chose the hooked end and crouched in front of the door. Blowing an errant strand of hair from her eyes, she inserted the pick and methodically probed the locking mechanism. Lei held a torch for her while she worked. Minutes later, her patient effort was rewarded with an audible clack as the lock released. Standing up, Mai stretched her legs before weaving her way back along the narrow corridor past her more stout companions.
Lei had been in front behind the rogue, and with an affirming nod at Vinh, he stepped up and pulled on the door’s iron ring. Rusted shut with age, it barely budged. Bracing himself, the mercenary tugged harder. Vinh, for his part, covered the fighter with his kama-do. With noisy reluctance, the elderly portal ground open, revealing another short hall that ended in another ironbound door, this one at the bottom of a five-foot step down. Lei entered, waving his torch in front of him while holding his spear at the ready. Determining the corridor was empty, he called the others forward. Mai came up and examined the second door, and after several minutes of study determined that it was free of both traps and locks. Again, the others held back while Lei braced himself and yanked open the door. This one swung out more easily, unveiling a bizarre bamboo-floored chamber beyond.
Holding his torch aloft, Lei wondered at the strange design. The room’s “floor” was a thick bamboo latticework tied together with strips of cured leather in a crosshatch pattern. The bamboo poles were unusually thick; perhaps eight inches in circumference, and the holes in the lattice were all roughly four inches across. A crude construction such as that used in scaffolding, but very sturdy. Lei stuck a foot out and tested it. Springy, but not much. The bamboo lattice covered all of the room’s visible floor space in the torchlight, and seemed to cover some sort of lower chamber or pit. Above, the ceiling disappeared beyond the flames, and the walls curved away from the portal in a way that suggested the room was circular.
“Weird,” said Lei. Vinh and Woo, who were also close enough to see into the room, agreed. “Tam!” called the monk, “Come look at this.” From behind, the wu jen exclaimed, “Everyone get out of the way; we are bringing our ghost light with us.” Grumbling, the party backed out into the foyer so they could avoid being caught in the radius of the frightful illusion. Satisfied, Tam trudged forward with his spell gliding ahead of him. He thrust it into the room, illuminating what was previously unseen.
The chamber was, in fact, circular, and the ceiling was domed and made of rough stone. Below the bamboo lattice, two wooden walkways hugged the walls, with ladders leading down to a dirt floor twenty feet under the bamboo. In the center of the dirt floor lay an open pit roughly ten feet across. On the floor of the far wall sat a closed bamboo gate. Beyond the gate lay the dark maw of a cave. Atop the walkway below on Tam’s left stood a large double door. Above those double doors sat a closed trapdoor in the lattice, with a short ladder leading down. Peering closely, Tam noted what appeared to be large bones in the pit.
“This was some sort of arena,” he declared. “We see a double door over there under a ladder.” He pointed, then made room for the others to look. Something crept upon the domed ceiling above, but the wizard had failed to notice.
“Go down or go back?” asked Vinh. “We could check the other passages.”
“Let’s see what lies behind those doors,” said Woo, “This place held significance for whoever lived here.”
No one objected, so the party crept forward. Vinh, Lei, and Woo went first, carefully stepping across the lattice to the trapdoor. Bound only by simple leather, they called Mai over anyway to inspect it for hidden threats. After two minutes, she declared it trap-free, so they cut the cord and swung it open. The nimble monk was the first down, landing with a creaky thud on the dubious walkway. He stepped out of the way and drew his jiann while he waited for the rest to descend. Lei came down next, followed by Vinh and Mai, and then Hien and Tam. Tran started down the ladder last, moving awkwardly in his masterwork chain mail. He landed with a grimace, but smiled at Mai gamely.
As he began to step away from the ladder, a cigar-shaped form dropped from the ceiling and dove like a torpedo through the opening of the trapdoor. Tran looked up, but before a reaction could register on his face, darkness exploded from the creature’s body, and an inky cloud of utter black fell upon the rear portion of the party.
Tran began to scream.
Caught momentarily off-guard, the others stood flat-footed in surprise. Tam stumbled blindly backward, erupting out of the oily darkness and coughing as he pressed his back to a wall. Above, his ghost light wavered, and he hastily redoubled his concentration.
Noises clashed out of the darkness. Crunching sounds, followed by screams, followed by the jarring noise of metal against wood. Something in the darkness slurped. Shaking off his horror, Woo plunged into the inky area and swung his jiann toward where he heard the sound of combat. Finding only air, he retreated, torn by conflict: press the attack and possibly injure his companions, or stand his ground and do nothing? He despaired. Vinh moved in next, chipping his kama-do’s blade on stone walls as he futilely tried to engage the unseen assailant. Lei hefted his spear, then dropped it and drew his scimitar. He paused, then started forward, then paused again. Indecision wracked his face.
From within, something jangled and fell heavily to the floor. Those nearby felt a whoosh of air, and then more horrific crunching noises. Simultaneously, Hien began to scream – a howl of utter, animal pain. Crying out, Woo dashed back into the inky darkness. He closed his eyes and tried to remember Sitaigung’s lessons. The water is calm. Ripples still the surface. Feel the energy of utter stillness. He blocked out the thought of his dying friends, their screams, the noise of panicked adventurers around him, and concentrated on his arm, his sword, and his target.
Guided by ch’i, he struck true.
His weapon penetrated a bony carapace before sinking into soft flesh. He jabbed a second time and missed. Outside, Vinh moved in and swung again, and his kama-do bit deep this time, driving whatever it was to the floor in a pulpy pile. They heard the thump of another body falling over at their feet. Thinking quickly, Tam dismissed his spell and plunged into the darkness, groping around for his friends. He found one, metallic and heavy. Tran. Gripping the noble’s feet, he dragged him out into the torchlight. Woo and Vinh bent down and felt for Hien, quickly finding him and dragging him out as well.
Separated by the unnatural cloud of inky air, the adventurers worked fervently to save their companions. Hien, who wore no armor, had fared badly. His breastbone had been gouged and shattered by some wicked implement, and his breath came shallow and rapid. He bled from deep slashes as though he had been clawed from behind. Blood and other fluids rattled in his lungs, and gushed from his mouth as he convulsed. His left leg jerked uncontrollably, and his hands clawed at Woo’s robe. Woo, Lei, and Vinh called upon their lay knowledge of the healing arts to try and save their friend.
“No, hold it there!” cried Lei, “You have to stop the bleeding!”
“Get his herbs! Where are his herbs?” said Vinh as he dug through Hien’s pouches.
“Hien, stay here! Stay here! Vinh, hold his head! Give me that cloth! No, the other one!” Woo yelled. The three warriors worked desperately to staunch the flow of blood. Mai stood quietly aside and watched, worry plain on her face.
“Help us!” they heard from across the darkness. Mai scrambled through and saw Tam bent over the aristocrat’s savaged form. Blood lay everywhere around the wizard, on his clothes, in his hair, all over the walls and floor. Tam pressed a wet, red wad of cloth – the wu jen’s jacket – over Tran’s chest. The noble did not move. Not knowing what else to do, Mai ran to Tam’s side and grabbed the bloody cloth as well, pressing hard.
Vinh had found Hien’s clotting herbs, and he now sprinkled them liberally over every wound he could see. Within seconds, the shaman stopped convulsing and lay still. “Give me that!” said Woo as he swiped the pouch from Vinh. He rocketed through the room and over to Tran’s side. “Move!” he blustered desperately at the others, and they jumped back. Woo tore aside the blood-soaked jacket and gagged as he looked at Tran’s injury. The noble’s chain hauberk had been chewed apart and his breastbone devoured. A gaping six inch hole lay in his chest, and with sickness welling up in his stomach, Woo noted he could see the noble’s internal organs, partially eaten. He upended the bag of herbs anyway, and cried out in dismay as scant particles wafted out to settle in the wound. They had used them all on Hien.
Woo began to disrobe frantically, then locked eyes with the wu jen. Tam held his gaze for only a few seconds, but to Woo it seemed like an eternity. Time slowed to a crawl, and the monk sat back and hung his head. The three of them sat beside their friend until the others arrived to take in the grisly scene. As Lei began to shake his head in dismay, Tam looked at Vinh and spoke.
“Tran is dead.”
TRAN WHISPERED, “Well?”
“It doesn’t appear to be trapped,” declared Mai.
“Is it or isn’t it?” pressed Lei.
Mai paused, “It’s…its not.”
Vinh nodded in the dim light of the torches. “Okay. Step back, then.”
“Not yet,” she replied, “It’s locked.”
The adventurers stood in a short stone hallway that branched off the arching foyer. The hall ran about twenty feet and ended in a rusty ironbound door. After a brief search of the second floor landing that had yielded nothing of interest, the party had climbed down and continued exploring the large chamber. They found a narrow hallway in the corner near the ladder, a wide hall in the center of the foyer’s back wall, and this corridor opposite the first hallway. Mai had spent several minutes examining the door they’d found at the end of it, careful positioning her torch to shine light into the cracks around the doorjamb. It had proven solid – too solid for anyone but a master trapmaker to have tampered with. Recalling the flipping bridge of death and the trick ladder, this insight did not comfort her. For their part, the others did not complain about her extreme attention to detail. Tran and Hien whispered quietly to one another, but Tam remained silent as he hung to the back and covered the party’s rear with his ghost light.
Glancing at the lock, Mai produced a six-inch whip-thin strip of steel, hooked at one end and serrated at the other. Pondering for a moment, she chose the hooked end and crouched in front of the door. Blowing an errant strand of hair from her eyes, she inserted the pick and methodically probed the locking mechanism. Lei held a torch for her while she worked. Minutes later, her patient effort was rewarded with an audible clack as the lock released. Standing up, Mai stretched her legs before weaving her way back along the narrow corridor past her more stout companions.
Lei had been in front behind the rogue, and with an affirming nod at Vinh, he stepped up and pulled on the door’s iron ring. Rusted shut with age, it barely budged. Bracing himself, the mercenary tugged harder. Vinh, for his part, covered the fighter with his kama-do. With noisy reluctance, the elderly portal ground open, revealing another short hall that ended in another ironbound door, this one at the bottom of a five-foot step down. Lei entered, waving his torch in front of him while holding his spear at the ready. Determining the corridor was empty, he called the others forward. Mai came up and examined the second door, and after several minutes of study determined that it was free of both traps and locks. Again, the others held back while Lei braced himself and yanked open the door. This one swung out more easily, unveiling a bizarre bamboo-floored chamber beyond.
Holding his torch aloft, Lei wondered at the strange design. The room’s “floor” was a thick bamboo latticework tied together with strips of cured leather in a crosshatch pattern. The bamboo poles were unusually thick; perhaps eight inches in circumference, and the holes in the lattice were all roughly four inches across. A crude construction such as that used in scaffolding, but very sturdy. Lei stuck a foot out and tested it. Springy, but not much. The bamboo lattice covered all of the room’s visible floor space in the torchlight, and seemed to cover some sort of lower chamber or pit. Above, the ceiling disappeared beyond the flames, and the walls curved away from the portal in a way that suggested the room was circular.
“Weird,” said Lei. Vinh and Woo, who were also close enough to see into the room, agreed. “Tam!” called the monk, “Come look at this.” From behind, the wu jen exclaimed, “Everyone get out of the way; we are bringing our ghost light with us.” Grumbling, the party backed out into the foyer so they could avoid being caught in the radius of the frightful illusion. Satisfied, Tam trudged forward with his spell gliding ahead of him. He thrust it into the room, illuminating what was previously unseen.
The chamber was, in fact, circular, and the ceiling was domed and made of rough stone. Below the bamboo lattice, two wooden walkways hugged the walls, with ladders leading down to a dirt floor twenty feet under the bamboo. In the center of the dirt floor lay an open pit roughly ten feet across. On the floor of the far wall sat a closed bamboo gate. Beyond the gate lay the dark maw of a cave. Atop the walkway below on Tam’s left stood a large double door. Above those double doors sat a closed trapdoor in the lattice, with a short ladder leading down. Peering closely, Tam noted what appeared to be large bones in the pit.
“This was some sort of arena,” he declared. “We see a double door over there under a ladder.” He pointed, then made room for the others to look. Something crept upon the domed ceiling above, but the wizard had failed to notice.
“Go down or go back?” asked Vinh. “We could check the other passages.”
“Let’s see what lies behind those doors,” said Woo, “This place held significance for whoever lived here.”
No one objected, so the party crept forward. Vinh, Lei, and Woo went first, carefully stepping across the lattice to the trapdoor. Bound only by simple leather, they called Mai over anyway to inspect it for hidden threats. After two minutes, she declared it trap-free, so they cut the cord and swung it open. The nimble monk was the first down, landing with a creaky thud on the dubious walkway. He stepped out of the way and drew his jiann while he waited for the rest to descend. Lei came down next, followed by Vinh and Mai, and then Hien and Tam. Tran started down the ladder last, moving awkwardly in his masterwork chain mail. He landed with a grimace, but smiled at Mai gamely.
As he began to step away from the ladder, a cigar-shaped form dropped from the ceiling and dove like a torpedo through the opening of the trapdoor. Tran looked up, but before a reaction could register on his face, darkness exploded from the creature’s body, and an inky cloud of utter black fell upon the rear portion of the party.
Tran began to scream.
Caught momentarily off-guard, the others stood flat-footed in surprise. Tam stumbled blindly backward, erupting out of the oily darkness and coughing as he pressed his back to a wall. Above, his ghost light wavered, and he hastily redoubled his concentration.
Noises clashed out of the darkness. Crunching sounds, followed by screams, followed by the jarring noise of metal against wood. Something in the darkness slurped. Shaking off his horror, Woo plunged into the inky area and swung his jiann toward where he heard the sound of combat. Finding only air, he retreated, torn by conflict: press the attack and possibly injure his companions, or stand his ground and do nothing? He despaired. Vinh moved in next, chipping his kama-do’s blade on stone walls as he futilely tried to engage the unseen assailant. Lei hefted his spear, then dropped it and drew his scimitar. He paused, then started forward, then paused again. Indecision wracked his face.
From within, something jangled and fell heavily to the floor. Those nearby felt a whoosh of air, and then more horrific crunching noises. Simultaneously, Hien began to scream – a howl of utter, animal pain. Crying out, Woo dashed back into the inky darkness. He closed his eyes and tried to remember Sitaigung’s lessons. The water is calm. Ripples still the surface. Feel the energy of utter stillness. He blocked out the thought of his dying friends, their screams, the noise of panicked adventurers around him, and concentrated on his arm, his sword, and his target.
Guided by ch’i, he struck true.
His weapon penetrated a bony carapace before sinking into soft flesh. He jabbed a second time and missed. Outside, Vinh moved in and swung again, and his kama-do bit deep this time, driving whatever it was to the floor in a pulpy pile. They heard the thump of another body falling over at their feet. Thinking quickly, Tam dismissed his spell and plunged into the darkness, groping around for his friends. He found one, metallic and heavy. Tran. Gripping the noble’s feet, he dragged him out into the torchlight. Woo and Vinh bent down and felt for Hien, quickly finding him and dragging him out as well.
Separated by the unnatural cloud of inky air, the adventurers worked fervently to save their companions. Hien, who wore no armor, had fared badly. His breastbone had been gouged and shattered by some wicked implement, and his breath came shallow and rapid. He bled from deep slashes as though he had been clawed from behind. Blood and other fluids rattled in his lungs, and gushed from his mouth as he convulsed. His left leg jerked uncontrollably, and his hands clawed at Woo’s robe. Woo, Lei, and Vinh called upon their lay knowledge of the healing arts to try and save their friend.
“No, hold it there!” cried Lei, “You have to stop the bleeding!”
“Get his herbs! Where are his herbs?” said Vinh as he dug through Hien’s pouches.
“Hien, stay here! Stay here! Vinh, hold his head! Give me that cloth! No, the other one!” Woo yelled. The three warriors worked desperately to staunch the flow of blood. Mai stood quietly aside and watched, worry plain on her face.
“Help us!” they heard from across the darkness. Mai scrambled through and saw Tam bent over the aristocrat’s savaged form. Blood lay everywhere around the wizard, on his clothes, in his hair, all over the walls and floor. Tam pressed a wet, red wad of cloth – the wu jen’s jacket – over Tran’s chest. The noble did not move. Not knowing what else to do, Mai ran to Tam’s side and grabbed the bloody cloth as well, pressing hard.
Vinh had found Hien’s clotting herbs, and he now sprinkled them liberally over every wound he could see. Within seconds, the shaman stopped convulsing and lay still. “Give me that!” said Woo as he swiped the pouch from Vinh. He rocketed through the room and over to Tran’s side. “Move!” he blustered desperately at the others, and they jumped back. Woo tore aside the blood-soaked jacket and gagged as he looked at Tran’s injury. The noble’s chain hauberk had been chewed apart and his breastbone devoured. A gaping six inch hole lay in his chest, and with sickness welling up in his stomach, Woo noted he could see the noble’s internal organs, partially eaten. He upended the bag of herbs anyway, and cried out in dismay as scant particles wafted out to settle in the wound. They had used them all on Hien.
Woo began to disrobe frantically, then locked eyes with the wu jen. Tam held his gaze for only a few seconds, but to Woo it seemed like an eternity. Time slowed to a crawl, and the monk sat back and hung his head. The three of them sat beside their friend until the others arrived to take in the grisly scene. As Lei began to shake his head in dismay, Tam looked at Vinh and spoke.
“Tran is dead.”
Vymair
First Post
Poor Tran, he had come to the Imperial City with hopes of an administrator's life. In his months with us, he was happiest during the cleanup of the Golden Dragon after the battles against the Nezumi, for administration was truly his calling and his gift. For some reason unfathomable to Vinh, Tran's path in life was led away from the that which brought him happiness to die in fear in a remote temple to a creature of darkness.
After their current circumstances are resolved and Tran has been properly laid to rest, Vinh plans to return to the monastery for a period of meditation and contemplation on the mysteries of the Tao.
After their current circumstances are resolved and Tran has been properly laid to rest, Vinh plans to return to the monastery for a period of meditation and contemplation on the mysteries of the Tao.
Old Fezziwig
Thanks for the sour persimmons, cousin.
Re: Session Three, Part Ten
Nice stuff, ForceUser. I just read the whole thing in one sitting and I'm wicked impressed. How long has this group been playing together? They seem to be really in tune with each other, which has certainly staved off major disasters for them. Well, except for Tran (poor Tran), but they probably couldn't have helped him and Hien both without possibly losing both of them.
Anyhow, very cool, to be sure.
Best,
tKL
Nice stuff, ForceUser. I just read the whole thing in one sitting and I'm wicked impressed. How long has this group been playing together? They seem to be really in tune with each other, which has certainly staved off major disasters for them. Well, except for Tran (poor Tran), but they probably couldn't have helped him and Hien both without possibly losing both of them.
Anyhow, very cool, to be sure.
Best,
tKL
ForceUser
Explorer
Re: Re: Session Three, Part Ten
As for Tran and Hien, what an awful night of bad luck for the player group! First they got dumped in a pit, nearly killing several party members and plunging almost all of them to single digit hit points. Then Mai nearly fell to her death again on the ladder trap, then they got punked by one measley 1 HD Darkmantle. The thing that killed Tran and nearly killed Hien had 9 hit points! Adding insult to injury, neither Tran nor Hien made a single stabilization roll, and nobody left standing had any points in the Heal skill! Luckily, you can use it untrained, so those guys were rolling their Wis modifiers against a DC 15 every round. Hien they finally managed to save (after a snafu where we though he was dead at first), but Tran just....ran out of time. You should have seen the shock on their faces. It was a very, very bad night for the PCs.
Of course, the following session, they kicked ass. Karma is cool that way.
Most members of the current group have gamed together for anywhere from two to seven years, although Vinh's players (Vymair) and Woo's player (Hjorimir) have gamed together since I was in grade school! The group is tough to challenge since most of the players have a keen understanding of 3E feats, skills, spells, tactics, and how to use them together to maximum effect. Because of this, I've told them frankly that the kid gloves are off. I don't flub die rolls behind the screen and I don't pull any punches with regards to what the monsters may do (but I do make an effort to roleplay those monsters correctly).Kajamba Lion said:
As for Tran and Hien, what an awful night of bad luck for the player group! First they got dumped in a pit, nearly killing several party members and plunging almost all of them to single digit hit points. Then Mai nearly fell to her death again on the ladder trap, then they got punked by one measley 1 HD Darkmantle. The thing that killed Tran and nearly killed Hien had 9 hit points! Adding insult to injury, neither Tran nor Hien made a single stabilization roll, and nobody left standing had any points in the Heal skill! Luckily, you can use it untrained, so those guys were rolling their Wis modifiers against a DC 15 every round. Hien they finally managed to save (after a snafu where we though he was dead at first), but Tran just....ran out of time. You should have seen the shock on their faces. It was a very, very bad night for the PCs.
Of course, the following session, they kicked ass. Karma is cool that way.
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