A row of four iron statues flank the room on either side, of elderly kings sitting atop thrones. They are NOT all identical statues; each one is a different and distinct old king. They all hold their hands outward as if to read a scroll or tablet, but their hands are empty.A crimson portal is set into an iron archway in the far west wall. On either side of the archway, the walls are embossed with the side-view images of two humanoid figures ‘pushing against’ the portal. You see the glint of something green in each of their eyes... gems, perhaps?
OOC: Those of you who want to be here (if you're still standing at the Cobblestone Path) may be here if you wish. No rolls needed, you just hop into the pit and take the corridor here. Let me know, and good luck! -MilwaukeeJoe
OOC: I was wondering why my latest post in the Cobblestone Path was being ignored until I realized it never got posted >.< I shall put that on hold then and join up with everyone else. I am still carrying the 10-foot pole lent by Hanrar, unless he wants it back
ReplyDelete[Tak-tha]
Tak-tha cautiously stepped into the room first, his eyes mostly focusing on the fog and the closest statue as he approached it.
Tech
Move along the upper row, not sure if it's row 2 or 3...row 2.5? to column I
Perception +23 RTTB (Roll twice take better), Dungeoneering +18, Nature +20 on the fog and the statue.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteThe mage steps forward, his eyes narrowing as he takes in the room, his breath coming in foggy clouds as he readies his staff. The hair on his arms and the back of his neck stand on end as magic arcs and crackles around the room, and he wonders if it is somehow leaking from the portal, or perhaps the basin.
He sweeps the ground before him with the end of his staff, searching for any trigger-plates or tripwires, proceeding slowly forward as he studies the faces of the old kings, searching his memory for their individual significance. His eyes are drawn to the basin set into the middle of the room, and as he draws near, he peers over the edge, looking inside of the massive bowl.
Tech: Arcana +19, History +19, [Religion +19?] Perception +10, move to F4
Brathu
ReplyDeleteThe paladin enters behind Hanrar and Tak-tha, gazing up at the kingly statues, hoping to recognize some of them, alternating his glances between the statues and floor, weary for traps...Upon reaching the basin, he looks inside...
OOC: Room entry macro: Stealth +10, Perception +15, History +13 on the statues, Arcana +11...if I get to the basin w/o falling for a trap: WHATS IN THE BASIN?!
Kin follows suite with the rest of the group, focused solely on the portal first, then to the regents who line the walls. Are these kings related? Are they from storm hold?". He ponders out loud.
ReplyDeleteOOC: arcana +13, history +13, perception +16.
[Yursil]
ReplyDeleteYursil follow in the group, carefully scanning the chamber. It was a least somewhat interesting, and that was saying a lot for the half-bored warlock. He idly gazes at the statues. Who were these men?
OOC: History +15, Perception +13, Arcana +15, Religion +15, Insight +13
[Hanrar/Tak-tha/Brathu/Kin Kuro/Yursil]
ReplyDeleteYou do not find any traps in the room, and you think that the cold fog might be coming from the portal. You detect a mild magical, nondescript aura.
If you draw close to the walls, you see that they are embossed with two murals. The first mural, which stretches across the top half of the walls, depicts skeletons hammering down onto a stone floor. The lower halves of the walls are covered in etchings of recoiling humans.
Looking into the basin, you see that it is filled with a stack of iron tablets. The top layer of the stack is readable, each tile containing a letter of the common alphabet. You see the letters: A, R, S, X. The rest of the tablets are hidden by the top layer.
Many of you examine the statues, and recognize some of them (from History checks) as the royalty of Stormhold.
1. King Phillip, a womanizer and draconian ruler blinded by paranoia
2. King Tolgan, who ascended to the throne by murdering his father, King Phillip
3. King Hector, who poisoned King Tolgan. Likewise poisoned by King Ardus
4. King Ardus, who was hanged during an uprising led by Prince Matthew
5. King Matthew, strangled by his mistress on his birthday
6. ???
7. ???
8. ???
Now that you're closer to the portal, you can see the eyes of the humanoid embossed images are emeralds.
Wait... Kin Kuro finds something else... a secret door in the northeast corner! It is VERY well hidden (required a DC31 to locate). However, the means to open the door are not known.
OOC: Map to be updated on my lunch break in 90 minutes. Will have numbering for the statues and the secret door.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDelete"It seems these lords all met a rather interesting end, or at least led a particularly immoral life..." The mage muses as he picks up one of the heavy iron slabs, gathering them up to see if other letters lie beneath, perhaps giving some clue as to the mystery of this room, the secret doorway, and the glimmering ruby portal.
TRAP!
ReplyDeleteWhen Hanrar starts to sift through the iron tables, suddenly the iron doors slam shut! You see the visible energy of an Arcane Lock appear briefly over the doors before vanishing.
You then hear the faint sound of whirring gears and rushing sand echoing from somewhere in the walls. It reminds you of an hourglass...
Hanrar sees that there are 27 letters in the basin. Quickly taking them all in, every letter is there... and a second "I" which is different... rendered in Mithril?
OOC: I will assume that Princess Teryn is in the chamber, for sake of "Don't Split the Party". However, her player gets a choice to be in or out and must decide quickly.
[Brathu]
ReplyDeleteThe doors sealed, Brathu moves to protect the others from whatever may come out of that portal. "There is a place for words, and a place for steel! Which is this!?"
OOC: Move to D3, ready action to charge any unfriendlies which appear...
[Tak-tha]
ReplyDelete"Puzzles," Tak-tha mumbles to himself as he slips past the others. "Who has time for puzzles?" After passing the basin, Tak-tha lets out a few clicks, preparing a trap in front of the portal in case anything comes through. Once done with that, he cautiously approaches the portal, getting himself close enough to examine the humanoids and the gems in their eyes.
Tech
Hunter's Thorn Trap in front of the portal
Assuming the portal is in column A, move to the B column and inspect the portal and the humanoids around it
Perception +23 RTTB, Dungeoneering +18
Finally, swap to Aspect of the Dancing Serpent just to prepare in case something comes through
[Tak-tha/Brathu]
ReplyDeleteBacked by Brathu, Tak-tha inspects the area of the portal. Both humanoids engraved on the wall have a single emerald eye from which tears of oil slowly drip. Those gems look like they might be removable with enough finesse and skill.
The emerald eyes can be removed with a DC 23 Thievery check, if you wish to make the attempt.
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DeleteOOC: Oh jeez. Yep, Teryn will be in the room. About the emerald eyes of the engraved humanoids, do they each have two eyesockets, but only one eye each? As in, does each humanoid have an empty socket? I'm not sure why we should want to remove them, but maybe these eyes related to the green gem eyes in the skull we picked up from the first room? I wouldn't go through that portal in its current state except as a last resort...
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like something bad is going to happen unless we solve this puzzle. My guess is that we need to give each king the correct tablet? My first thought was that each king gets the tablet with the letter of their murderer on it, but then I wouldn't know what to give King Matthew. Is there a way to determine more about each king? Or will further history checks reveal the identity of the remaining kings? I'll give it a shot if so (History +8). I'm not sure what the murals are supposed to tell us, other than "undead rule, humans drool."
Why is there an extra mithril I tablet?
OOC: Two eye sockets (like a one-eyed Jack), two gems. Also, unless you have some magic item that grants divine answers, no more skill rolls will determine the king's histories.
DeleteOk, even though Teryn hasn't made a previous history check on these guys? No problem if so, just wanted to make sure.
DeleteOOC: I rolled for the entire party, including Teryn.
DeleteGot it, thanks.
DeleteTIME'S UP.
ReplyDeleteAs you debate on where the place the iron tablets, you hear the loud click of a gear somewhere within the wall and the chamber begins to flood with a sickly green gas. You recognize it immediately - Cloudkill. You do what you can to minimize the effect. Perhaps you fire off a cantrip, or cover your mouth and nose. The reactions help... perhaps a little.
When the cloudkill dissipates, Kin Kuro and Tak-tha are DEAD. The rest of you are not faring much better. The arcane lock visualizes once more, the dissipates fully. The doors are now unlocked. You are free to leave if you wish.
OOC: Normally in the table-top version, there's a silent 5-minute timer for this puzzle. I translated this to 24 hours in this play-by-blog, which expired at 11:49AM today. Cruel? Yes. Unfair? Yes. Fourthcore? Hell, yes.
The Cloudkill required you to make DC31 Endurance checks. Only Hanrar succeeded. The rest of you lost 3d4 healing surges, which I rolled individually lest a single high roll wipe you all out.
Brathu has 1 healing surge remaining.
Hanrar is unaffected.
Kin Kuro is dead.
Tak-tha is dead.
Teryn has 2 healing surges remaining.
Yuril has 4 healing surges remaining.
Players and lurkers, I'll need two new dungeoneers! Please send in your dnd4e files as described in the original Call for Crusaders. I will choose from the applicants and let you know if you're in or out.
Pick up the pieces, crusaders... you're down but not OUT.
As the cloud kill dissipates, Brathu races into action, the tiles spelling iron lich up and down the statues...letters facing towards the statues!
ReplyDeleteOOC: FUCK!
Tiles go to spell out iron lich, iron at statues 1-4; lich at 5-8...the mithral I goes on statue six.
[Brathu]
ReplyDeleteA valiant effort, but it is in vain. Nothing seems to happen.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeleteQuickly pulling his cloak over his nose and mouth to keep from choking on the noxious fumes, the mage winces inwardly as two of his fellows go down. He watches Brathu place the tablets into the waiting kings hands, but the arcane lock stays in place. Quickly, he pulls the iron slabs from their grasp and switches the places of the 'I's, praying that the action does not trigger another foul trap.
Switch the mithril 'I' with the iron one.
OOC: The arcane lock on the (non-secret) door dispelled after the cloudkill hit. You can walk out without any trouble.
Delete[Teryn]
ReplyDeleteAs soon as the fumes spew, Teryn reflexively throws up her hands to her mouth and nose to avoid breathing the gas, but suffers terrible coughing spasms nonetheless, her strength sapped away. After recovering from the shock of her two comrades' sudden deaths, Teryn sees that shifting the tablets around after the trap has sprung has no ill effects and decides to try something. "The key to opening that secret door has got to be related to some special positioning of these tablets. And I'm guessing it's in the mithril I plate." Once Brathu is done with his experiment, Teryn does one of her own, slipping the mithril I tablet into each king's hand in turn, starting with King Philip and pausing after each to see if there are any effects.
Afterwards, Teryn will move towards Tak-Tha's body and retrieve her thieves' tools. "I'm sorry you did not live longer, friend. I would have liked to get to know you better." And then: "Brathu, perhaps you should see to your brother's things? We could certainly use what he left behind."
OOC: Holy crap that was rough. What now?
"We need to leave...regroup...we have failed here and I have lost a family. This lich must pay!". Brathu retrieves Kin's body and carries it back to the cobblestone pathway.
ReplyDeleteOOC: grab Kin's body and retreat. Looks like we'll get nothing more here. What's the policy with looting bodies?
You are allowed to take items off of dead crusaders, assuming they are still intact (i.e., not disintegrated, melted by acid, etc).
ReplyDeleteTak-tha had:
Warning Weapon +3 (Short sword)
Golden Blade +3 (Rapier)
Feytouched Armor +4 (Feyhide)
Kin Kuro had:
Crusader's Weapon +2 (Morningstar)
Spiritlink Armor +3 (Stonemail)
Potion Bandolier
Holy Gauntlets (heroic tier)
Diamond Bracers (heroic tier)
Boots of Levitation
Sacred Mask
Cloak of Displacement +3
Symbol of Divine Light +4
Potion of Invulnerability (heroic tier)
Potion of Healing
Potion of Water Walking
Bag of Holding
Adventurer's Kit
As much as you try, it seems that the letter tablets do nothing in the king statues's hands. You missed the opportunity, it seems.
ReplyDeleteSo that leaves the portal and gems of this room, or heading to the southwest (unexplored passage), or back to the Cobblestone Path to explore northward.
OOC: Starting to take a look at the dungeoneer applications, will let you know shortly.
[Hanrar]
ReplyDeletePushing open the massive iron doors behind them, the mage sighs, crouching down and hefting the fallen thri-keen onto his shoulders, gravely carrying him back to the shallow pit they had descended. He grunts as he repositions the scout and climbs up from the pit, puffing slightly as he slumps the deceased chitinous member of their group onto the cobbled floor of the hallway.
Climbing out himself, he once again lifts the body and proceeds to carry it into the first chamber, setting him down on the tiered staircase at the bottom of the stone throne. He takes the blanket from his adventurer's kit and shakes it out, laying the brown cloth over the Thri-Keen's inert form. "Rest well, adventurer." The mage growls in his gravelly voice.
The soft sound of footfalls coming from the staircase make him leap up, rushing towards the open area between the pillars and brandishing his staff, the end crackling with arcane power. "Who goes?!" He growls, peering at the shadowy figure that descends the staircase.
[Vesten]
ReplyDeleteThe figure enters the room and surveys it quickly before speaking. A small smile crosses his face.
"Well met! I see my mistress has brought me just in case. I hope it was a worthy death that brought them into the Raven Queen's presence."
Bowing to Brathu, Vesten speaks, "I see you're of a more traditional order. I hope that won't be a problem."
He offers his hand to each in turn before straightening his robes and adjusting the straps on his backpack. He also draws his staff and then bows his head before taking a deep breath.
"I'm ready whenever the rest of you are."
No Tech this move
The stern paladin shakes Vestens hand, then immediately starts to rally the troops. He leads them to the mysterious pathway back within the pit...."we move forward, and this time, we cannot fail"
ReplyDeleteOOC: I believe we're all pretty much in agreement. Let's get this show on the road!
[Hanrar[
ReplyDeleteLowering his staff slowly, the ashen mage nods to the newcomer. "Then waste not any more of our time. We have lost two of our fellows and I do not look forward to carrying your corpse to these stair as well..." He turns with a sweep of his cloak and proceeds back through the open doors.
Rappelling down into the pit, he rejoins his companions at the entrance of the 'Iron Galley', tapping his staff on the stonework floor. "Shall we investigate the further passage?" He casts his gaze across the faces of the long dead kings, a grimace of disgust crossing his face. "I'd soon enough be done with this foolishness and see the Iron Lich destroyed for his trespass."
Adjusting his pack, he returns to the main hallway and begins down the southern passage, stopping halfway down and searching the walls and floor, examining them for any trace of trap-triggers, 'sniffing' the weave for any disrupting arcane presences. He keeps a wary eye on the iron statue at the far end, distrusting the constant presence of their dead eyes...
Tech: Move to E11-'Stairway into the Depths', Perception +10, Dungeoneering +10, Arcana +19, ready Freezing Burst on the statue at B11
The adventure continues with the Fane of Sight.
ReplyDelete