DM Carbide's Through a Cracked Mirror: The Dark Road (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

Krolmnite restores most of Ava's health.

Lesser Rejuvenate Eidolon on Ava: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Duncan feels the holy power of the Inheritor relieve his wounds some and draws his wand.

Me thanks. That's two o these damn things inna row. I'd think I need more bloody armor but ye cannae do much when a a freaking giant ball rolls over ye.

He moves to retrieve all his gear, keeping his Heavy Shield stowed, since it wasn't helping and holding his Heavy Pick in hand.
Better keep piercing weapons in hand since this place has more'n a few o these things.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

The party regroups, heals up, and moves on. This part of the dwarf road seems to have come through Starfall in good shape; by contrast with some of the other areas you've been through, this stretch doesn't seem to have had any work done on it recently.

Not much further, the finished stone tunnel intersects another natural passageway, which has had the fill scattered out of it. The scattering process, however, seems to have triggered a full-blown collapse, blocking the way ahead of the party. However, in examining the collapse and the cavern, Duncan thinks he can see some finished stonework in among the natural cave wall.

Profession:Blacksmith: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

That's worked stone under that collapse. Should be too deep but without tools could take awhile

"[b]How long would it take to clear it Duncan?[b]"

"Provide me some guidance Duncan, can all the debris be moved or will there be a risk of collapse if we do so?" The warrior walks towards the pile ready to assume the backbreaking labor.

Sorry, fluffed the description. HERE is a rough sketch of the area. The brown/black blob in the hallway is the collapse, the heavy black lines are finished stone, and the thin freehand lines are cavern wall. The finished stone in the cavern is only slightly blocked by rubble, but it looks as though flowstone in the cavern had grown over the finished stonework; most of it has cracked off, though.

...but it looks as though flowstone in the cavern had grown over the finished stonework; most of it has cracked off, though.

And by "it" I mean the flowstone, there. A curtain of thin rock had grown over most of the door, but the curtain has since cracked off.

Won't take too long, I think. I'll use me Pick to chip away the rest and we can keep on keepin on eh?

While he was not a mason, he was used to the repetative hammering of the forge. The stone never stood a chance.

Sorry for not responding so often. Been running around and really busy as of late, but I'm getting back into posting and slowly starting to get back into the rythm of things.

"I don't believe I have any magic that can help with this stone. If you have a spare pick or two we can join in." Krol speaks up, wanting to get through this place as fast as possible after their recent encounter.

The finished stone in the cavern, once the flowstone has been cleared away, is revealed to be a door. Carved into it, in archaic Dwarven, is the line "Here rest the Keepers of the Key." There is an obvious latch.

Duncan, and anyone else with Knowledge (Dungeoneering), can tell that the stone of the lintel and door are different from the cavern wall; it looks as if this was a stone building somehow covered by the stone of the cavern.

Duncan looked completely perplexed.
T'ain't possible...
The building is surely dwarf made but the thing is made from huge solid blocks. Besides the door, the frontage is a single piece. The sheer number o dwarves and logs and pigs needed to move it here...the tunnel ain't even wide enough in some spots. Gotta be magic what bought it down. Powerful caster needed too, considerin the weight.

Dashel looks at the stone door, his head slowly shaking back and forth, "Strange runes that are beyond my learning. Can anyone read the passage?" He then resoundingly enunciates a brief prayer, "Holy Inheritor send your blessings to reveal thy doors magics." He casts detect magic. A warm glow extends from the clerics palm over the the area as he concentrates his attention on the task.

Dashel, there are faint traces of magic on the door, as of a spell or spells cast long ago and largely decayed.

Everyone, the iconography on the door is perhaps unique in your experience of dwarf-decorated structures, in that the hammer motif is completely absent. There are stylized keys, and the centerpiece of the decoration is a key under an arch, directly over the inscription.

Knowledge (History) or Knowledge (Religion) checks, please.

"Whatever we're going to do, let's get it done quickly. Our quarry may grow in strength as we tarry."

I fidget and cast my gaze about the main tunnel, bow in hand.

"Hmmm, there is old decaying magic on the door."

Know Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Dashel, the Keepers of the Key are reputed to be a Dwarven sect, dating back to not long after the Quest for Sky. They made a devotion of ensuring some amount of hidden access to all Dwarven strongholds; they were suppressed quite a long time ago, though, for reasons not clear to non-dwarves.

"Is this still the right direction? I mean... do we need to turn and go overland or what?"

"This appears to an entrance to a dwarven stronghold, the Keepers of the Keys once protected this door. The magic is decaying which is probably why we have located it that and divine guidance." He looks over to Duncan, "Can you read and make sense of the inscription that could provide us access."

I read a fair bit on quite a few topics. Mostly religion and stuff for killing things. I ain't no sage.

The dwarf looks over the door and will read the text out loud for for everyone's benefit.
Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

The text is what I said before. Duncan, you don't remember any more about the Keepers than Dashel did, but what troubles you about the iconography of the door is that the central key looks a bit too flamelike for your comfort. The flame under the arch is the symbol of Droskar, the Dark Smith.

Duncan sees the symbol and spits on the ground.

See that Rune there. That's Droskar's mark. Shameful excuse for a god. Was one o Torag's finest smith's till he was caught stealin and copying an takin credit fer others work. Believes in any means ta achieve yer goal. Including stealing, murder and slavery. If his followers had anything ta do with creating this, many slaves would been worked ta death makin it.

Duncan readies his Greataxe again.
"Here rest the keepers. ..probably a tomb. Be ready Warpriest. Everybody back up.

Duncan steps back 20FT and Casts SIFT. Using the spell to inspect the Latch (poison?)and floor (trapdoor) and ceiling (falling block) as if by touch. Deliberately fumbling about, hoping his errant forceful 'hands' will set off any trap.

Dashel will step away from the potential blast zone and he casts divine favor form his wand before Duncan does anything rash. He follows that with a shield of faith from his wand.

Duncan examines the area around the door carefully and observes nothing out of the ordinary.

I don't think sift exerts any pressure.

ETA: When Duncan eventually tries to push the door open, he finds neither poison, hostile magic, nor pit traps. The door moves in about half an inch, then sticks.

Observing Duncan pushing on the door, "Put some back into it or do you need a hand?

Dashel and Duncan push high and low, and are able to get the door open a little more. The hinges are probably full of mineral deposits.

"...will this still take us the right direction though?" Eretria asks hesitantly taking a step back as the two men push on the door.

Dunno. Ask the Cassian. Worth checking though. Hold Dashel. Got some oil in me pack fer the hinges.

The dwarf rummages around and produces the promised flask and works some into the hinges, needing a boost to reach the top one.

Let's try that.

The little dragon flaps off Duncan's shoulder and squeezes through the gap they have already made and finds a high perch near the door, ready for a quick escape.
{{Wait, Duncan friend. Silf will check for enemies and tell adventures of danger}}

Blindsense, Darkvision Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Besmarial transforms into a dove and makes its way into the collapse, squeezing through places even its normal form could not pass. After a few minutes it returns. "The collapse is over twenty feet through, but the passage after that continues in the same direction as far as I could see."

Silf can see that on the other side of the door there is a hallway extending out of sight (it may open out at the edge of the pseudodragon's perception, but it's hard to tell). There are alcoves on either side of the hall every ten feet or so, with stone biers in the two alcoves closest to the door. Those alcoves are otherwise empty. The hallway appears to run parallel to the passage you've been following (see updated sketch HERE, although it doesn't show the alcoves because the GM was too lazy to try to draw them in). The hallway is silent, and Silf sees nothing moving.

Duncan nods at the information from his Dragon buddy and the Cassian.
Well, no offense you lot, but I'd rather not dig out a collaspe if there be a worked stone way around it. If we try to dig it we could bring this whole section down on us wit out proper gear, an I ain't no miner, I'm a smith. The door has my vote and woe ta whatever's in there.

{{Silf, come back ta me buddy}}

The pseudodragon emerges from the putative tomb.

"The dwarven door looks operational, perhaps this will lead to our fate." He then shoves on the door a bit more after Duncan oils the hinges.

Dashel feels the door shift slightly; the oil has helped, but the debris in the hinges still offers some resistance. Duncan puts his back to the door as well, with little more success. Then something in the hinges cracks, and all resistance ceases. The door moves freely...into the opposite wall, with a loud crash.

On the other side of the door, the part can see essentially what Silf described: a long hallway, with alcoves every ten feet or so. There's signs of a little bit of water ingress at the bottom of the door frame' other than that the interior is dry and nearly dust-free. The first two alcoves are empty except for plain stone biers. Over each of the nearest alcoves is the same symbol that was on the door. The only sound is your breathing, and the dying echoes of the door's impact.

Proceeding down the hall, the next set of alcoves is decorated with the same symbol; the righthand bier is empty, but the lefthand platform has an occupant. The dessicated body of a dwarf, wrapped in a winding sheet, is laid out on the slab.

The next set of alcoves is decorated with the same symbol, and both biers have bodies on them, wrapped the same way as the first one you saw.

The next set of alcoves is decorated with a slightly different symbol; the key is less stylized and less flamelike, and the arch has a less pronounced curvature to it. The biers in each alcove hold dwarf bodies in ceremonial aprons (at least, Duncan doesn't think they'd be particularly functional).

Ahead of you the hallway extends another forty feet or so, then opens into a larger chamber with what appears to be a central dais or platform. The other side of the larger chamber cannot be clearly distinguished from where you are.

I'll pause here to let people react. There is as yet no sign of anything other than the dead.

Dashel instinctively whispers a prayer for the dwarven souls and this intrusion on their burial location. Lady of Honor forgive us for disturbing these souls, let them continue to rest.

Eretria will follow quietly behind, trying to be careful not to disturb the dead as they pass through.

It sounds like the marching order is Duncan and Dashel leading, Elesandira and Selveshanea taking either a flank or rear guard, Eretria and Krolmnite in as close to the middle as they can manage, and Ava taking rear guard. Sound reasonable?

That marching order works for me right now. If someone steathly wants near the front, I have no problem dropping back.

Let's do it

There are four more sets of alcoves before the central chamber, all of which are occupied. The transition in symbology and grave wear continues as well; the key-in-arch changes by steps into a key over a doorframe, and the aprons the bodies wear become more and more functional.

The central room is octagonal, around forty feet across, with a single body on a stone bier in the center. However, before you can enter the room something is going to happen.

Ava hears a slight scraping sound behind the party and is the first to glance back over her shoulder; her reaction was noticed by everyone in the party except Selveshanea and Besmarial. The first three bodies the party went past have risen from their rest, and are making their way towards the group with a terrible anger in their eyes. They are still wrapped in their winding shrouds. Although their beards--finely braided, with jewelry worked into the braids--are still intact, the hair on their heads seems to have fallen out. Dashel and Duncan both recognize them as mummies; with their Knowledge check results, in fact, they remember that these undead carry a rotting disease that can infect anyone they hit, their strength is immense, and their mere presence can cause their enemies to despair. Oh, and they're vulnerable to fire.

Surprise round:

Initiative order

Duncan
Elesandira
(Selveshanea; can't act during the surprise round)
Ava
Mummy 3
Eretria
Mummy 2/Dashel
Mummy 1
Krolmnite
(Besmarial; can't act during the surprise round)

At the top of the surprise round, the trio is just over thirty feet from Ava, and just over forty-five feet from the front of the party. I'll get a map up later today.

Duncan sees what is coming.
He kisses his Greataxe.
I'll make ye proud boss. Promise. Yer time ta shine, Warpriest.
Duncan had used his judgements for the day. He knew this was going to be a difficult battle to survive.

He casts DIVINE FAVOR.
He looks to the casters as the mummies close.
They're bloody strong and carry disease. Stay away from em and fire's yer best weapon

"Fire... beautiful... I can do fire." Eretria will say with a smirk on her face.

Eretria will cast Mage armor on herself, preparing for the mummies.

He casts bless for everyone's benefit, "I'll be sending waves of holy righteousness to cleanse the rot from these lost souls."

Bless +1 att and saves vs fear.

DM how long did it take to fight the last creature, then open the door, and travel to the current position? I ask because I had previously cast divine favor on myself with a wand but don't know if it is still in effect.

Dashel, you have two rounds of divine favor left. The map is HERE.

Surprise round (ongoing):

Initiative order

Duncan-cast divine favor
Elesandira-
(Selveshanea; can't act during the surprise round)
Ava-
Mummy 3-moved up
Eretria-cast mage armor
Mummy 2-moved up/Dashel-cast bless
Mummy 1-moved up
Krolmnite-
(Besmarial; can't act during the surprise round)

I've moved the mummies up. After Elesandira and Ava have acted, Ava, Selveshanea, and Elesandira will have to save vs. despair (Will, DC 15; bless will add +1 to your saves) three times. Everyone else will have to save twice; your third time will come next round.

surprise rd:
Duncan feels the magical fear assault his mind.
Will,Steel Soul, Glory of old, Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 5 + 1 = 31
Will,Steel Soul, Glory of old, Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 5 + 1 = 31

Rd 1:
Will,Steel Soul, Glory of old, Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 5 + 1 = 27
He then throws off the magical Aura's with ease.
Stand fast. We can do this. Focus fire on the lead one.

He charges the lead Mummy, Activating his BANE.
Bane, Bless, DF, Charge, PA: 1d20 + 7 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 2 + 1 + 3 + 2 - 2 = 31
DAMAGE, Bane, DF, PA: 1d12 + 1 + 4 + 2 + 2d6 + 3 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 4 + 2 + (5, 6) + 3 + 6 = 31

1/2 it's hp in one shot. BAM!

Dashel feels the attempts to weaken his resolve but he battle back,

Will, bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 1 = 20
Will, bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 1 = 20

I'll post my RD 1 action now, since tomorrow will be a bit hectic till the afternoon.

RD 1:

Dashel moves forward following Duncan.

Feeling but shaking off the mummies attempts to sway his resolve, he loudly enunciates his prayer to Iomedae, "Lady of Light your divine strength shines through me bringing fortitude to my companions and harm to those that oppose your radiance." He casts: Channel.

I retcon'd the earlier post in favor of a channel.

channel positive energy, Save DC 16: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 3, 6) = 13

For Round 1:

Will vs Despair: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Will vs Despair: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Apparently Eretria does nothing but stand there now. Since I can't ever seem to roll above a 5 on willpower checks even though its my best save.

At least the despair aura is a one-shot, and the durations don't stack.

First aura duration: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Second aura duration: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Eretria third will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

When the sorceress realizes what she's facing, a thousand campfire tales come back to haunt her--the ancient ones who rule the Lost Fortress of Mekshir, the unquiet dead of the Labyrinth of Shiman-Sekh--and her concentration wavers for just a moment. Long enough for the dark power of the creatures to overwhelm her mental barriers. The lapse is only momentary, though, and when the third mummy advances its aura has no further effect on her.

Eretria is paralyzed with dread for the surprise round and Round 1, and didn't get her spell off.

Elesandira fires an arrow at the lead mummy, but her shot goes wide. Her concentration does not waver, though, as the undead move in.

Surprise round (ongoing):

Initiative order

Duncan-acted
Elesandira-acted
(Selveshanea; can't act during the surprise round)
Ava
Mummy 3-moved up
Eretria-paralyzed
Mummy 2-moved up/Dashel-acted
Mummy 1-moved up
Krolmnite
(Besmarial; can't act during the surprise round)

Botting more folks.

Ava begins to advance towards the lead mummy, but as she closes the miasma of despair surrounding the trio brings her to a halt. Before her master can act he, too, is stopped by the mummys' auras.

Ava is paralyzed for two rounds; Krolmnite, for one. (Dashel's bless was the difference between four rounds and one, btw.)

Surprise round (final):

Duncan-acted
Elesandira-acted
(Selveshanea; can't act during the surprise round)
Ava-moved and paralyzed
Mummy 3-moved up
Eretria-paralyzed
Mummy 2-moved up/Dashel-acted
Mummy 1-moved up
Krolmnite-paralyzed
(Besmarial; can't act during the surprise round)

Round 1:

Initiative Order

Duncan-charged and attacked
Elesandira-
Selveshanea-
Ava-paralyzed (final round of paralysis)
Mummy 3-
Eretria-paralyzed (final round of paralysis)
Mummy 2-/Dashel-channeled
Mummy 1-
Krolmnite-
Besmarial-

The dwarf charges the lead mummy with a cry and lands a devastating blow with his axe. Your blow did a little less damage than you would have expected, Duncan.

Elesandira is up! Current map is HERE, including Dashel's advance and the effects of his channel.

Hopefully guys can post. Bring it. Mummies are awesome.