DM Deinol's Crypt of the Everflame
Game Master deinol

"A very good idea Drummer!" Yarroth says. He claps Anon on the shoulder and sighs, "I am sorry about the loss of your shield...perhaps we can come back and retrieve it later."

"There isn't anything of magical interest here, and now that you are done with the wheel, we problably can move on. Do you think we should check the other passageway before going back to the portcullis?"

"Anton, if you want, I will loan you my shield. You tend to wade into the thickest part of the battle, so you certainly need something. I will just have to accept being a very large target for the time being."

"That purple fungus and the strangely burned carrion make me very nervous. Let me try one thing and then let's just move on to the portcullis."

Drummer heads back to the junction, then fishes in his pack and comes up with a torch and flint. Humming softly to himself, he sets the torch ablaze, then sings it a song in some strange language. The torch floats from his hand and drifts into the hall full of fungus. At Drummer's urging, it pokes at the fungal tendrils here and there.

Let's see what THAT does.

Anton nods at Yarroth - "I'm grateful to you nonetheless."

Anton smiles and slaps Tarric on the back, perhaps a bit harder than the portly cleric is used too. "Your offer is much appreciated, Tarric! However, I think I may simply use my sword with both hands for a while. I still have plenty of armor, but if things go bad, you might wind up needing that shield."

"I say we press onward to the core of this foul place."

I'm up for direct, but if you guys want to look around a bit more, I'll follow.

"What's Drummer up to?"

"Never mind. I can see now that I was turned around, this just leads back the way we came. Let's go around this odd fungus and head toward Kassen's tomb itself."

Provided I haven't provoked anything, let's just proceed to the raised gate.

"Sounds good to me." Tarric peers around Drummer at the fungus, then shrugs and turns to go back to the portcullis.

The floating torch singes the fungus, but the damp mold doesn't light on fire.

You make your way back to the room with the portcullis. It is now raised to the ceiling. You open the door to the next room. This chamber has a number of recesses carved into the walls and a fissure in the ceiling. There are a number of shelves which hold the bones of the dead. A large amount of bat guano covers the floor. There is another passageway on the east side of the north wall.

Map Updated.

I wonder if there is anything of interest in the recesses? Well there is one quick way to find out.

Tarric utters a quick prayer and looks for any disruptions in the magical weave as he stands in the room full of bat guano. Detect Magic

"I hope none of these piles of bones are actually skeletons. I think that I have already had my fill of those particular undead."

Readying his weapons, Yarroth follows the others into the room, keeping his sences sharp for any movement or sound.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

"There isn't anything magical in here...unfortunately. I guess we can push on to the next room and see if it is the tomb."

"Let's tread carefully here - I mean that literally." Anton says, looking down at the excrement covering the floor. He wrinkles his nose as he walks slowly into the room, his sword grasped in both hands in a guarded posture. Looking up at the fissure in the ceiling, his voice lowers to a whisper."Something has been getting in here - from somewhere. Profound, I know.

He moves a bit faster to the passage on the north wall.

"Can't be too much farther. Let's see who's behind this, and finish it."

You move down the hall and it turns east again. The vaulted ceiling of this vast chamber shows significant signs of damage, with numerous cracks along its surface. In the center of the room, a 10-foot-wide bridge crosses a deep chasm. On the south side, a pair of stone statues watch over the end of the bridge in front of a set of grand brass double doors. The statues depict villagers holding shields and spears.

"More statues, a bridge over a deep pit, and some ominous looking doors. Nothing out of the ordinary here, right? Yarroth, you seem to be good at sniffing out traps. I'll stay back here with Tarric and maybe ask him to tell me about some esoteric something or other. Better yet, can any of you detect evil?

I'm not going to be a lot of help here yet, but it would seem prudent to check everything out before we go barging in!

"More statues? What happened with the last ones?" Tarric asks, peering through the gloom at the stone statues.

"Unfortunately, I didn't ask for the power to detect evil eminences, so it looks like it is up to Drummer."

Yarroth moves forward and examines the bridge and statues.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Drummer shakes his head ruefully. "Good and evil aren't really my strong suit. I'm trying to decide whether this look epic, or just dangerous."

Some kind of knowledge/perception check to see if the bridge looks sound, or perhaps whether there's something hiding in the chasm waiting to pounce on us.
1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

It looks like a perfectly normal bridge.

Drummer looks at the bridge skeptically. "It looks sound, but still. This place has been full of nasty surprises. Probably best to cross the bridge one at a time, in case it's weaker than it looks."

How long is this bridge?

The bridge is ten feet wide and twenty feet long.

"I'll go then." Anton cautiously starts walking across the bridge, keeping his eyes open for any sign of trouble.

Perception 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Drummer readies a rope from his pack in case it needs to be quickly thrown. He even ties a few loops in the end to make hand holds.

"This place... I'm normally cautious, but this place has made me downright paranoid. So far we've been attacked by the dead, by statues -- twice! -- by our own reflections, bats and frogs. Not to mention the hidden pits, deep water, and whatever burned those corpses back in the fungus room."

"Regardless, we must carry on. For honor, perhaps for glory, but most of all, for Kassen!"

"Now that is an interesting thing to say...is it for Kassen as in: we are happy to be saving Kassen? Or is it: for the glory of Kassen? It would be an interesting question for a bard who finds himself on an adventure, as you would feel equally pulled to aid as well as to take an account of the story that you are participating in."

"Sorry...nevermind. I pontificate when I am nervous."

"I will be happy just to rescue the poor villagers who were captured and dragged through these halls."

CMB vs Anton: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Anton cautiously makes his way across the bridge. About halfway the statues on the other side suddenly rush forward, pushing Anton backward off the bridge. He manages to keep his footing and does not fall into the pit beside the bridge, ending up back before the bridge. The statues draw back to where they began.

"Aaah!" Anton, not seriously hurt but a little shaken, exclaims. "I knew it! Sometimes you decide to be brave and go first, and almost get pushed off a bridge. Eh."

"Maybe there's some kind of magic at work here - like we need to speak a pass phrase, or something. KASSEN! LET US THROUGH!" he shouts, not really expecting anything.

Is there a knowledge check to recall a similar trap/device from any of Tarric's reading?

"Perhaps you just need to be really spry? Or we might be able to cross without setting foot on the bridge..." Tarric ponders as he watches the statues send Anton sprawling.

Lets say we somehow sling across the chasm, can we get behind the statues? Are they recessed into the wall?

Well now that I know it is there, is it possible to disarm this trap with a disable device roll??

Here's a pic of the room.

Ok, it's only 15 feet long, not 20. There is open space on either side, so a jump is possible. Yarroth can try to disarm the triggering mechanism.

"Three times, now. Thank you Anton for your courage."

Drummer looks thoughtfully at the rope he was knotting.

"Hold up, I may have a way around this."

OK, even 20' is in range of mage hand. I'm sure I can loop the rope around the statues. Is there anything on the far side I could hook it to? The mage hand isn't dextrous enough to do tying, but if I knot it here I'm sure I could lower loops onto things.

Anton looks over at Drummer and smirks. "Courage and stupidity are both sides of the same coin - at least that's what my uncle used to say. I'll leave the clever stuff to you."

Yarroth looks over the bridge, now that he knows what he is looking for, and attempts to disarm the trap.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

Yarroth carefully lifts the pressure plate with the point of his dagger. He wedges a series of small rock shards under the plate to disable the triggering mechanism. After a few minutes of this, he is confident that it will stay up.

"Why, Yarroth, that is marvelous work."

Tarric follows the group into the next room, keeping a wary eye on the statues and the door behind them as they cross the bridge.

"I am sorry that I did not see it sooner. My apologies Anton. I am kinda new to this ."

"Nicely done. Shall we?"

Anton looks at his companions and smiles. "Well then, shall we try this again?"

He moves across the bridge to the large set of doors, and attempts to open them.

The wide brass doors swing open on silent hinges to reveal a vast crypt. The only light emanates from a torch mounted above the crypt, flickering with a pale golden fire. Tall pillars march across the chamber, ending at a dais on the far side, on which is set a large stone sarcophagus.

A single form rests beside the coffin, that of a comely woman in tattered clothing. She appears to be asleep or unconscious.

As you enter the chamber, a dry, mirthless laugh can be heard from the dark recesses of the tomb. “So, Kassen’s heroes have come to fight me again. You will make fine minions in my army of the dead. Come and meet your fate.” With that, a wicked-looking skeleton strides into view wearing polished mail and brandishing a cruel sword in both hands. A cold blue flame burns in its empty eye sockets. Four more skeletons follow behind him.

Asar Init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Skeletons Init: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Anton Init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Drummer Init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Tarric Init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Yarroth Init: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Skeleton To Hit Anton: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Skeleton To Hit Drummer: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Skeleton To Hit Tarric: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
Skeleton To Hit Yarroth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Asar To Hit: Anton 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

The skeleton's charge forward with scimitars, but even taken by surprise you stand ready to defend yourselves.

Yarroth strikes out at the nearest of the skeletons with his heavy mace, hoping to down it quickly.

Attack-Melee: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Arrrgh...not this again!!!

Tarric, some healing or turning would be great. At 3hp I'm a sitting duck.

Drummer begins to pound out a fight song with his maces against any available surface.

+1 to hit and damage, y'all. Make it count.

Sorry, Tarric is unaware that you are significantly injured. You need to say that you need some help out loud. I try not to metagame too much. Also, Tarric is not really happy with how well turning has worked out for him so far. He has tried twice and failed miserably both times. So he isn't too sure that it works as well as advertised.

Tarric focuses on the skeleton before him, turning an attack from the skeleton's weapon on his shield before he strikes back, as hard as he can to buy some breathing room.

Attack +1 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
dmg +1 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

"Tarric. Stop missing skeletons and start healing heroes already."

"What? Oh. Oh! Sorry.."

Tarric, I think you tried turning something with channel resistance. Or they just lucked out on their saves. Anton still has a turn before the enemies go again.

Anton is shaken by the sudden onslaught, but quickly regains his composure and sets to work smashing through the line of skeletons. "For KASSEN!" he screams as he swings at the skeleton with the glowing blue eyes.

Attack 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Confirm Critical 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Damage (Heavy Mace) 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Now that's a nice way to start out! I'm not quite sure where I'm at HP wise (16/20?). Not quite enough to pop a healing potion yet if Tarric is going to channel - but a possibility next round.

Anton's attack smashes hard against the blue-eyed skeleton's helm, cracks appear on his skull. Angrily, he tries to knock the mace from Anton's hands.

CMB vs Anton's CMD: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Anton grips his mace tightly, refusing to yield to the skeletal champion's advance.

Scimitar vs Anton: 1d20 ⇒ 4
Claw vs Anton: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (17) - 3 = 14
Scimitar vs Drummer: 1d20 ⇒ 5
Claw vs Drummer: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (17) - 3 = 14
Scimitar vs Tarric: 1d20 ⇒ 13
Claw vs Tarric: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (14) - 3 = 11
Scimitar vs Yarroth: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Claw vs Yarroth: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (18) - 3 = 15

The skeletons attack with a flurry of blades and claws, but you stand firm before their onslaught.