GREYHAWK CY 576: GREAT LEGENDS RETOLD -- CAMPAIGN THREAD

[MacConnell]

Being a bit diversified and not wanting to rely solely upon his magic, Sphynx takes a step forward, quickly draws, and throws a hunting dart at the cultist he just burned.

OOC: to hit(ranged): d20+8 = 19 + 8 = 27 damage: d4 = 2 sneak: 2d6 = 7

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

GM: ROUND ONE INITIATIVE: Sphynx: 28 Quixt: 26 Nimbar: 18 Hawke: 9 Remaining Cultists: 6

Sphynx throws his dart at Cultist #3, who is still reeling from the Scorcher spell, still writhing in pain, and still completely unprepared to defend himself. The dart lodges in his throat, sparing the party from further screaming; the Cultist collapses in a heap, gurgling, choking on his own blood as he bleeds out to emptiness. Strangely enough, the Cultist welcomes death, his dedication to Set being absolute, and his pain being too much for even a fanatic like him to bear.

GM: Cultist #3 is down and dying [-5]

Cultist #2 get slammed by Quixt's Magic Missile spell, but despite the painful onslaught, his determination to stay in the fight overpowers all other desires, and he remains standing... for the time being.

Hawke charges Cultist #2, looking to end this fight quickly.

Spoiler: Combat Data

Hawke ends the Cultist's life in a matter of moments, as he charges his un-prepared opponent, leaping into the air, and coming down on him with a whirlwind of blows, which has the result of inflicting more than one grievous injury, the worst of which is Hawke's trademark cracked skull.

GM: Cultist #2 DIES. [-18]

Almost as quickly as the ambush begun, it is over. All of your foes are either dead or dying. Everyone: What do you do?

 

[Aust Thale]

Quixt:
Speaking quietly to himself.
"This isn't going to go unnoticed. We should move quickly. Hopefully, no one else is coming up from the caves."
He listens carefully down the stairs to attempt to hear anything that might have been alerted to their presence.
(Listen Check = 11)
Not hearing anything, he moves quickly from tent to tent, careful to avoid magical alarm traps that may have already been set. If the tent flaps are ajar, he peeks inside to make sure that there are no surprises. He then checks the cultists for magic items and perhaps rose gold, but otherwise leaves the bodies where they died. Anything remaining alive receives their dispatch from Oerth quickly and quietly.
"I'm concerned about magical alarms being set inside as well. We caught them in the middle of the preparations. We should use that to our advantage. Let's come back for their equipment later."

 

[MacConnell]

Sphynx begins moving toward the cave entrance, after retrieving his dart.

Spoiler: Cast Spells

Druid:
Magi:
2nd Level: 3
Scorching Ray

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

The whole party follows Sphynx, because everyone agrees that time is of the essence, and that the party should strike now, whilest they have the advantage.

Hawke re-iterates, "Good, good; I still think that their forces must be waning. There's no way they can guard every entrance, with the losses we've inflicted so far."

The party goes down the stairs for a second time, finding the landing zone empty and silent. They advance forward (north) and it is obvious that this section is deserted; however, people HAVE recently been here. Where the Cultists fell in battle, are now bloodstains, which have seeped into the porous, unworked, stone floor.

GM: See Battle Map Below.

Spoiler: Updated Battle Map

The party knows that the northeast tunnel leads back outside, to the switchbacks on the edge of the ravine. Directly north, there are a pair of doors which stand ajar; you are fairly certain that the room in question is where the Cultists came from, possibly their sleeping quarters. The hallway also turns left (west) and continues onward, into unknown territory. There is also a closed door on the northern-most section of the eastern wall.

EVERYONE: What do you do?

 

[Aust Thale]

Quixt;
Moves to G21 and looks for traps on closed door on eastern wall, looking west down the hallway and through the door on north wall (ajar) to make sure nobody is watching beforehand. (Trapfinding Search = 13).

 

[MacConnell]

Depending on which direction the door opens, Sphynx moves up to stand on the most advantageous flank of Quixt.

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

GM: SUPPLEMENTAL INFO: EXPLORATION MAPS: Spoiler: Beyond The Door Spoiler: Down The Western Hallway

 

[Tellerian Hawke]

While Quixt is busy checking the door, and Sphynx is providing backup, Hawke and Nimbar sneak ahead down the sloping western hallway, to take a quick peek around.

GM: Nimbar Move Silent Check: (14) Hawke Move Silent Check: (14) Hawke Hide Check: (17) Nimbar Hide Check: (25)

The hallway, and the other hallway it connects to, seem to both be deserted. From the south, coming from the area marked as 55 on the map, there seems to be flickering torchlight, reflecting off of a highly reflective surface. To the north (on the connected hallway) the passageway continues beyond the range of sight. But it appears to be well-lit the whole way. It is obvious that this part of the cave complex is occupied by Humans (the Wendol.)

Hawke and Nimbar return, apparently not having attracted any unwanted attention. As they return, Quixt has just finished checking the door. There don't seem to be any traps. Because of his magically enhanced shielding, Hawke volunteers to open the door. He turns the knob carefully, and opens it. The door opens outward. In front of the party is a lit stairwell, going down to what appears to be a sub-level.

GM: For speed of gameplay: The Wendol, believing themselves superior, have not bothered to trap the hallways in this part of the complex; however, there may still be Alarm spells in place. Basically, the party can explore this part of the complex in any order they choose. Just make sure to tell me whether or not you all are trying to detect magic in any way, and then let me know by number (55,60,61,62,63, or 64) which area you'd like to explore first.

EVERYONE: What do you do?

 

[MacConnell]

Sphynx listens to the information provided by Hawke and Nimbar. "At this point, I am thinking that we close this door as if it has not been disturbed and finish exploring the rest of this level before descending further into this modified cave system."