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Message: <blockquote data-quote="Brakkart" data-source="post: 2251523" data-attributes="member: 19617">DM's Log of Session Twenty EightRunning down the corridor and into the lounge, Jebodiah caught up with the rest of the group in time to see the King fall to a combined attack by Ki and Ash, the paladin dealing the killing blows to the kobold monarch. At that the resolve of the remaining kobold priest broke, he throwing down his mace, and prostrating himself on the floor, tail up in the air.From the priest the party learn that the main passageway between the gatehouse and further into the Lode was collapsed by the dwarves when they departed, but that the kobolds found a hidden tunnel which leads south. They also learn that the only group of kobolds to explore down this tunnel, several years back, never returned. In return for sparing the rest of the tribe, the party take the magical items of both the master sorcerors, the king and the priests, gaining a couple wands, a belt, a short sword, a couple pairs of bracers and a nice haul of various potions.With the kobold tribe massively depleted in strength and numbers, the party feel safe enough in camping out in the upper level of the gatehouse for a day to rest up before proceeding further into the old dwarf hold, and they observe the tribe packing their things, they knowing that this home has become unsafe now that the portcullises have been breeched and the major strength of the tribe wiped out, the remaining priest, warriors and junior sorcerors knowing that they could never hope to defend the place against another attack.So it was on Nightal 8th that the group opened the entrance to the hidden tunnel and proceeded further under the mountains, marching for more than 10 hours before the tunnel turned suddenly turned to the west and then again south, the sides of the tunnel featuring several doors. While Gylippus easily spotted and disarmed the first trap the party encountered (the mouldering kobold bones at the tunnel sides were a dead giveaway), the second proved tricker and a lightning bolt zapped along the length of the party )who were forced into single file by the narrowness of the passageway). Hanging back then, the others watched as Gylippus and Ash went to work, the sneaky wizard spotting and disarming traps and picking locks, while the burly paladin would take the risks by moving forward first or opening the doors.To his credit, Gylippus only missed one trap, and that was because Ash got impatient and stepped ahead of the mages careful searching, getting blasted with a Flame Strike as a lesson in caution. Though the going was slow, it was safe from then on, and the party soon found a staircase leading down, and then a large hall in which a number of dwarven constructs were stood motionless, from the way their arms ended in hammers, picks and drills, it was clear that their primary use had been in mining. As the others studied a map engraved on one wall, Zamtap started examining the basic automatons, looking to pry loose a few parts for the Gondsman he was putting together.It was while doing this that he noticed the constructs were all facing a central spot, and that lying there was the smashed form of a strange metallic beetle. Trying to move it,. he noticed the head of one of the constructs move to follow the beetles path, and so threw a blanket over it to conceal the beetle, dragging it away then without further inciting the constructs.Dragging it into an adjacent chamber and (with a little help) hauling it onto a stone table, he set to work examining the strange thing, soon joined by the others, with Aeron and Gylippus taking an interest also, the rest of the group standing about and watching the trio get to work. the beetle turned out to be a very advanced type of construct, clockwork in nature, and between the three they soon worked out what it was... an Electrum Clockwork Horror. Explaining their finding to the rest of the group (along with a description of just what the horrors are capable of), there was some discussion on whether the party should turn back, no-one really wanting to confront a hive of the things.Aeron and Zamtap were adamant though, they had to be destroyed, the genasi stressing that the horrors were a threat to Faerun every bit as nasty as the Yuan-ti, while the priest cited that such things were abominations in the eyes of his church, Gond's dogma being that the purpose of technology was to make life easier and serve humanity (and gnomekind too), not to annihilate them. Convincing the others that they had a hell of a fight ahead of them, the spellcasters in the party adjusted their selection of magics for ready on the morrow, taking into account the immunities of their foes to be. The party rested, knowing that they would need to be in full strength for the onslaught to come.DM's Notes:A session light on combat, but high on roleplay this week (who'd have thought that in the midst of a Dungeon Crawl?). I like to vary things. The evil DM in me was tempted not to have the ruined horror in the hall, and let the players walk into a battle unprepared. I decided against it as I have a lot of campaign plotted out after this and I do actually want to run it.Having said that, I purposefully picked the Clockwork Horrors for a few reasons:1. They are truly nasty opponents, and I was sure that Phillip and Gareth could really get some good roleplay out of facing them.2. Zamtap is close to 8th level, which will be his first of Techsmith wherein he will gain a Gondsman (construct bodyguard). Thus I wanted a technological foe, so that he had a good source of the various mechanical bits and pieces he will build this thing out of, giving a logical reason for it to suddenly turn up.3. I'm a big fan of Stargate SG-1 and the Clockwork Horrors make for a nice homage to the dreaded Replicators. This was commented on by most of the group!</blockquote>

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