[Ambrose]
What the heck, Ambrose thinks, I've kissed stranger things to get what I wanted. Leaning into the image of the succubus' face, he purses his lips and returns the offer of a kiss with a kiss.
[DM]
Three things happen when Ambrose kisses the image of the succubus. First, he hears her chuckle very softly. A mocking soft laugh, as if she knows what's coming up and is delighting in the fore-knowledge.
Second, Ambrose receives a vision within his mind. It is of a massive, fleshy, purple, three-pupiled eye set into the floor, and somehow Ambrose knows this abhorrence of reality lies somewhere within the deeper part of this very chamber. The sight of this... thing.... gives Ambrose a chill like he's never felt ever. As the images fades, he sees undulating purple energy rising up from the three pupils...
Third, Ambrose is pulled straight through the wall as if it weren't even there! He stumbles right into the ethereal vorpal skull-blade trap, and it's all he can do to quickly jump back and avoid the blade as it shoots out of the floor! His hand pushed against something mushy in the process.... and he realizes it's a pile of goo that was once his best friend's face!
Tech: 11 points cold/necrotic damage. Amborse is down to 17 of 28 hp. Actually, this damage was from two attacks, one for opportunity, one for being on the trap's turn.
Meanwhile, Joryn and Finding get a closer look at the second vestibule. In the west side, they see snarling stone demon faces set into the wall, set around another of the strange cube devices. This cube device is blank.
In the east, strangely empty. Another cube though, a SUN showing. As the two are about to explore further, Joryn gets a strange vibe from the floor. Did it ripple? For a moment it looked oddly flat, like it didn't show the shadows properly.
The way past the second vestibule is blocked once again by another soul wall.
[The Traps!]
In the first vestibule, darts fire from the holes in the eastern alcove, peppering Vondal, Tharl and Ambrose. Ambrose and Tharl are hit, and can tell right away that there's something coating these darts. The smell is unmistakable - rust monster saliva!
Tech: Vondal took 6 damage (natural 20) and Tharl 5 damage. Both are wearing hide armor, so are immune to the nasty rusting side-effect of the darts. Vondal is pushed 1 and is in the "danger zone" of the blades. The blades missed him.
The stone demon faces of the western alcove, second vestibule activate as well, vomiting forth a fountain of burning black pitch!
Tech: Luckily, nobody was in the second vestibule, so nobody got hit by the blackfire.
Time for the truly horrific...
The main hallway is filled suddenly with a wave of undulating purple energy, as if pushed from the further areas of the chamber. Joryn, Finding and Ambrose are caught in the blast!
Joryn and Ambrose are pushed back but manage to survive it. Finding is not so lucky. The blast disintegrates all of Finding's equipment, clothing... and flesh. Yet Finding still stands, a skeleton. She looks down to see her hand, a skeleton's hand!
Tech: Misses against Joryn and Ambrose. A hit on Finding. Finding is now a skeleton until she fails her first save against the effect. The moment she fails a save, she collapses to a pile of bones.
Now, to give you that Twilight Zone feeling, I will offer that the slaying screen recharges on a 5 or 6! Insert evil cackling laugh here!
Initiative
18 Joryn
17 Tharl
07 Vondal
07 Finding
06 Ambrose
05 1st Vestibule - Fiendish Rust Monster Saliva-Coated Iron Dart Wall
05 1st Vestibule - Ethereal Vorpal Skull-Blades
05 2nd Vestibule - Blackfire Jets
05 ??? Vestibule - Deathwave
What the heck, Ambrose thinks, I've kissed stranger things to get what I wanted. Leaning into the image of the succubus' face, he purses his lips and returns the offer of a kiss with a kiss.
[DM]
Three things happen when Ambrose kisses the image of the succubus. First, he hears her chuckle very softly. A mocking soft laugh, as if she knows what's coming up and is delighting in the fore-knowledge.
Second, Ambrose receives a vision within his mind. It is of a massive, fleshy, purple, three-pupiled eye set into the floor, and somehow Ambrose knows this abhorrence of reality lies somewhere within the deeper part of this very chamber. The sight of this... thing.... gives Ambrose a chill like he's never felt ever. As the images fades, he sees undulating purple energy rising up from the three pupils...
Third, Ambrose is pulled straight through the wall as if it weren't even there! He stumbles right into the ethereal vorpal skull-blade trap, and it's all he can do to quickly jump back and avoid the blade as it shoots out of the floor! His hand pushed against something mushy in the process.... and he realizes it's a pile of goo that was once his best friend's face!
Tech: 11 points cold/necrotic damage. Amborse is down to 17 of 28 hp. Actually, this damage was from two attacks, one for opportunity, one for being on the trap's turn.
Meanwhile, Joryn and Finding get a closer look at the second vestibule. In the west side, they see snarling stone demon faces set into the wall, set around another of the strange cube devices. This cube device is blank.
In the east, strangely empty. Another cube though, a SUN showing. As the two are about to explore further, Joryn gets a strange vibe from the floor. Did it ripple? For a moment it looked oddly flat, like it didn't show the shadows properly.
The way past the second vestibule is blocked once again by another soul wall.
[The Traps!]
In the first vestibule, darts fire from the holes in the eastern alcove, peppering Vondal, Tharl and Ambrose. Ambrose and Tharl are hit, and can tell right away that there's something coating these darts. The smell is unmistakable - rust monster saliva!
Tech: Vondal took 6 damage (natural 20) and Tharl 5 damage. Both are wearing hide armor, so are immune to the nasty rusting side-effect of the darts. Vondal is pushed 1 and is in the "danger zone" of the blades. The blades missed him.
The stone demon faces of the western alcove, second vestibule activate as well, vomiting forth a fountain of burning black pitch!
Tech: Luckily, nobody was in the second vestibule, so nobody got hit by the blackfire.
Time for the truly horrific...
The main hallway is filled suddenly with a wave of undulating purple energy, as if pushed from the further areas of the chamber. Joryn, Finding and Ambrose are caught in the blast!
Joryn and Ambrose are pushed back but manage to survive it. Finding is not so lucky. The blast disintegrates all of Finding's equipment, clothing... and flesh. Yet Finding still stands, a skeleton. She looks down to see her hand, a skeleton's hand!
Tech: Misses against Joryn and Ambrose. A hit on Finding. Finding is now a skeleton until she fails her first save against the effect. The moment she fails a save, she collapses to a pile of bones.
Now, to give you that Twilight Zone feeling, I will offer that the slaying screen recharges on a 5 or 6! Insert evil cackling laugh here!
Initiative
18 Joryn
17 Tharl
07 Vondal
07 Finding
06 Ambrose
05 1st Vestibule - Fiendish Rust Monster Saliva-Coated Iron Dart Wall
05 1st Vestibule - Ethereal Vorpal Skull-Blades
05 2nd Vestibule - Blackfire Jets
05 ??? Vestibule - Deathwave
Ah, Fourthcore!
MilwaukeeJoe
Vondal quickly jumps across before the hidden opening closes. What's in here? What test is this? He mutters to himself.
ReplyDeleteJoryn pauses and looks at the skeletal Finding. "Not you too. This chamber will be the death of us all." He grits his teeth in anger and turns to the section of floor he caught the strange shadow effect on. He looks carefully at it to get a strong feel for just what is going on with it and measure his next action carefully.
ReplyDeleteTech:
Minor Action - Check out the floor to see if I can't ascertain what is going on with the floor (spot traps) Insight+1, Perception +3
After that check, will choose next action.
Joryn's steel gaze pierces the illusionary floor! The illusion covers a 20' pit across the entire vestibule. Covering the bottom of the pit are a mass of foul bones, perhaps those of demons or devils. Certainly not human bones!
ReplyDeleteFinding rattles gently as she stands in mute horror, jawbone limp, and eye sockets wide as if trying to vocalise an eternal scream.
ReplyDeleteOOC: My word. So, what can/can't I do in this state other than try desperately for that saving roll?
Joryn turns back to his comrades, "Don't be deceived, this floor is illusory! I'm going to forge on!" Joryn then leaps forward in an attempt to cross the pit and force his way through the second green screen of souls.
ReplyDeleteTech:
Move: jump (Athletics + 6) over the pit in the next vestibule and slam through screen (Athletics?)
Want to save standard for if I fail or if I get through screen and make next call.
OOC: Finding can do all the things he normally can do, including attacks and skill checks. He's unarmed. Somehow he speaks even though he has no vocal cords. So strange!
ReplyDeleteJoryn clears the pit of bones easily, and avoids the skull-blade as well! Joryn is now at the second wall of souls.
ReplyDeleteTech: You still have a Standard and Minor action to take.
OOC: Maps updated in original post and updates in Vitals tab.
ReplyDeleteFinding, surprised at not having collapsed in a heap, carefully tries moving her fingers. Despite her lack of lungs, vocal cords and tongue, she lets out an involuntary yelp as she sees the yellowed phlanges twitch by her side. She steadily lifts a hand up to her face, fingering her jawbone, teeth, moving her way up to the vacant eye socket. Slowly she inserts an experimental digit.
ReplyDelete"um, you guys, I seem to be a skeleton, but I can still see, and talk, and think," she calls hesitantly to the others. "I don't know how long this is going to last, I might collapse in a heap at any second."
Her bony hands continue roving up and over her skull. As they travel along her horns, she grips solidly the broken point on her right one. "Well, at least I'm my own pile of bones," she murmurs to herself.
Resolutely, she shrugs, and goes back as far as is safe to take a running jump over the illusory floor, joining Joryn ahead of her.
Tech: running jump over pit (athletics +2, from memory, I'm posting from my phone so can't check). Do I get a bonus for being significantly lighter than normal? :) will see how that turns out before taking further moves. Do I need to make saving rolls at the end of each turn, or each encounter?
Finding leaps with surprising agility and lands next to Joryn, safely across the illusion-covered pit.
ReplyDeleteTech: Like Joryn, you have a standard and minor left. As for saving vs collapse, it's every round.
Joryn lands, tucks into a roll and continues moving forward trying to bash his way through the wall of souls!
ReplyDeleteTech:
Standard action: Move through the barrier (Athletics + 6) and stop at edge of next vestibule to see what lies beyond.
Landing with a clatter, Finding turns to examine the illusory floor. Is there a way to make it solid?
ReplyDeleteTech: skill check: arcana +8 for the minor. If it's do-able, use the standard to solidify the floor. If not, I'll dispel the wall of souls and then go for the saving roll.
Joryn bashes through the barrier with ease, taking only a little pain in the process.
ReplyDeleteTech: Down 1 healing surge, 8 remaining.
Finding has heard that it's possible to imbue illusions with the stuff of reality, but it's a difficult challenge. She focuses her mental strength, but it is not enough.
Tech: Rolled a 12, which is too low. You can try again if you wish. You will need a DC 20 to succeed.
OOC: More to come regarding the third vestibule!
"Not sure if this will help, but I got some clues while on the outside." Ambrose makes a quick synopsis for the others about his visions before entering the first vestibule. Everyone now knows what he saw and heard.
ReplyDelete"We need to charge as best we can down this hall of traps to kill that massive, fleshy, purple, three-pupiled eye creature set into the floor, before it blasts more of us like Finding or worse. We can try to clear traps if time permits and move to the side if momentarily halted to avoid that necrotic blast."
OOC:
Free action to yell what he knows. More to follow tonight hopefully.
The third vestibule is a little different than the other two. Larger, more space (OOC: See map). Warding the way further are two statues, life-sized depictions of a bald marilith riddled with piercings. Both statues grip long shards of cold iron in each of their six arms.
ReplyDeleteAt the end of this new vestibule, blocking further passage, is a handle-less iron door the color of congealed blood. It is set into an archway comprised of blocks of twitching muscle. Several 1' wide
patches of flesh have been stretched over the muscle, glyphs burnt onto their surface.
To the east and west are more of the rotatable cubes, set into the walls. Both are set to the blank side.
OOC: Map coming tonight.
OOC: Alas, made the roll to see if Finding survives this round. She will not. Smoke 'em if you got 'em! Because once this round is done, she will be a dead pile of bones.
ReplyDeleteVondal is startled for a moment and blinks. Then says while holding his weapons ..."I am ready! Come on spirits!"
ReplyDeleteOOC: so do I have one more round left, or am I out immediately?
ReplyDeleteOOC: So far Finding has only expended a minor action. So you have a standard, move and possible second standard action if you burn your action point. After that, it's done.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Can Ambrose safely walk around the blades up to the edge of the pit? What are her options to get there?
ReplyDeleteOOC: Ambrose... first off, since you're starting your turn on a trapped square, the skull-blade gets an attack on you. Rolling... hit for 8 points of cold and necrotic damage. You are bloodied.
ReplyDeleteOk, with that out of the way, your option here is to attempt an acrobatics DC 13 to try to avoid the blades as you pass through them. If you succeed, you move through safely. If you do not, the blades get another attack on you.
Giving up on the floor, Finding stands, turns and attempts to free the souls trapped in the second wall.
ReplyDeleteTech: dispel magic, Arcana +9. will act on move/action point when I see if I'm successful here.
OOC: Finding, you'll need to reselect your actions. There are no more unbroken soul walls. There were two, and Joryn busted through them both. The last one broken revealed the third vestibule with the unusual marilith statues.
ReplyDeleteOOC: ah, no worries, I'd misunderstood, I thought Joryn just pushed through, I didn't realise the wall was broken as a result.
ReplyDeleteFinding steps forward after Joryn into the new vestibule. She crosses the room to the giant doors and looks up at the twitching surface of the archway. "Yuck", she says aloud. "This place is an absolute horror." ignoring her repulsions, she starts to look and see if there is a way to open it.
Tech: move to the doors (E15? 16? The rows don't match on the map). Arcana +9 to see what the deal is with the doors. Will spend action point for a final move on outcome.
As Finding enters the third vestibule, both marilith statues' arms begin to rotate, slashing across the chamber with the iron blades.
ReplyDeleteOOC: That's six arms each! No attacks yet, per se, but they act on their initiative, which is coming up. I assume you don't go any further and perform the arcana check (detect magic) from where you're at.
Finding senses magic on the glyphs about the door, and could decipher them is she could read Abyssal.
She also catches out of the corner of her eye, a small secret cache door at the base of the left marilith.
As she relays what she learns of the glyphs to the group, Finding feels herself weaken. As she turns to explore the cache under the left statue, her tail and legs collapse from underneath her. Desperately she reaches up to her head, blindly fingering for the reassurance of her broken horn, but the decay is too quick, moving up her spine and tearing apart her shoulders. Quickly, using the remains of her energy, she makes an attempt to dispel any magic in the statue nearer to her, hoping to make it safe. As she completes her attempt, her skull finally begins to fall to the ground. She manages for a brief moment to hold her jawbone in place.
ReplyDelete"My friends, it has been an honour."
She does not see whether her last efforts are of any benefit.
Tech: Spend action point, attempt to dispel on nearest statue (arcana +9), die.
Cursing to himself at the sudden blade attack, the bloodied elf sees no other choice than attempt to jump clear of these damnable blades. He springs to the other side using a push off the door behind him to help.
ReplyDeleteOOC: Will use Shield encounter power, immediate interrupt, if hit by a blade for +4 AC until next turn.
Ambrose shield spell blocks the blade just in time! He springs forward and manages to clear the skull-blade trap with ease.
ReplyDeleteTech: Since it's immediate interrupt, and the last attack hit you with exactly what was needed to hit your Reflex (which shield also helps), I will refund the HP you lost: 8. You're back up to 17 hp and were never bloodied.
OOC: Vitals tab updated. 09/14/11 08:05 CST.
ReplyDeleteFinding's magic seizes up the left marilith for a moment... will it be enough? She then collapses into a pile of bones.
ReplyDeleteOOC: The left marilith will be unable to make attacks until the start of what would be Finding's next turn.
Smiling at the successful jump, Ambrose is emotionally twisted downward at seeing Finding collapse into a pile of bones. Now a second one gone! His mind still races to figure a quick end to this death trap.
ReplyDeleteHe plans his next jump.
[Vondal]
ReplyDeleteAlas, what Vondal expects does not happen. No spirits come to attack (or aid) him.
OOC: One last person waiting on - Tharl. Will give him today/tonight to post, and then will proceed with trap attacks tomorrow!