The Pyramid of Shadows (Inactive)

Game Master 137ben

"The arboreans...they have been attempting to seed plants into the fabric of the Pyramid. It is a dangerous game they are playing, far more than they know."

"Seeding plants? What is it that you fear will happen if the Arboreans continue?"

Gemheart waits to hear the response to Jan's question.

"Who is your ally and what might compel his aid?"

Krezen watches the exchange absolutely fascinated by the fact they are talking to such a unique creature.

"The ally of mine in question is known as Harumon. He is an elemental hybrid who spent many years studying transmutations. Though, after his last illness, his interest in dealing with those outside his own clan has diminished. Though he has pledged fealty to me, I am reluctant to force him to do more than he is comfortable doing, barring a very good reason--if reversing the petrification of your acquaintance could be to our mutual benefit somehow, for example. As to what may motivate him, you ought to ask him directly if that is your intent. "

Turning to Jan, she responds

"The power that binds the Pyramid together is quite potent, and includes regenerative capabilities which allow it to recover from things like the portal from the Far Realm that was opened on the second floor. If the arborean's seeds managed to work their way into the foundations of the Pyramid, they could potentially be affected by the Pyramid's innate powers. The seeds could become so potent that they smother the inside of the Pyramid, or they could extend to other planes. Or, perhaps the Pyramid's fabric is not as powerful as is commonly believed, and the arborean's seeds could in fact damage the Pyramid, endangering everyone inside. There is much I do not know about how the Pyramid stays together, and messing with its foundation can be very dangerous.

"Hmm..." Jan thinks for a moment.

"If these seeds might extend to other planes, could they provide a route out of the pyramid? Is that what the Arboreans intend?"

"If that is their goal, I have to wonder if the goal might be worth the risk."

"And what do you mean by the Pyramid's 'innate powers?' What powers are those?"

"What clan is Harumon of? Perhaps i can do something about his illness. Your minion gains utility, and I gain the tiny boon I seek."

"Harumon used to belong to a tribe that lived on the border between the fire elemental plane and Mechanus. Now, in the Pyramid, his new tribe is that of my followers and I. Some time ago, he encountered a vile shapeshifter of sorts in the Pyramid, and got into a fight. The creature managed to suck out Harumon's fire from his body, which is truly devastating for one who is part fire-elemental. If you could heal him, it would certainly make a difference."

At Jan's prodding, she continues
"It is unlikely such seeds could create an escape route--though they might duplicate into seeds that spread to another plane. I confess I do not know all of the Pyramid's secrets, though, so it may be possible."
"As to the powers of the Pyramid, you have no doubt seen some of them: its exterior is a tiny portal which travels the Great Wheel and can suck anyone in. It provides eternal sustenance and nourishment to its inhabitants, yet allows none to escape save those traveling to Baator. It has withstood three centuries of prisoners trying to destroy it, always to recover from anything short of the death of its first prisoner. As to its more subtle capabilities, the fabric of the Pyramid is said to corrupt the mind towards its purpose, a trap developed by the architect of the Pyramid."

Pausing for a moment, she inquires
"Is there anything else you desire of me?"

"Where can we find Harumon? I suppose we won't delay you firther and we will seek to aid him in exchange for him undoing a petrification, and thereby also aid you that we may come calling later."

"As to its more subtle capabilities, the fabric of the Pyramid is said to corrupt the mind towards its purpose, a trap developed by the architect of the Pyramid."

Jan rubs his chin. "Insidious. That way the prisoners become their own guards."

He turns back to the Empress.

"How does one resist this corruption? I have no desire to become a slave to this pyramid for all eternity."

Are there any other subjects we need to cover?

"The corruption of the Pyramid seems to be rare, or at least, full corruption is. Some have speculated that all factions within the Pyramid are driven in part by the Pyramid's power, but beings rarely fall under the complete domination of the Pyramid's creator. Alas, as it is rare, its exact cause is still unknown."

Turning to gemheart, she concludes
"You may find Harumon in the chamber to the southwest of the Grand Stairs on the first floor."

"Thank you. Yes, I think there was one who was truly corrupted. Mad. Spoke of coconuts and surrounded itself with strange colleagues."

"Have you any thoughts as to how one might escape from this place? I need to get back to... well, where I came from."

"You wish to leave the Pyramid entirely? The only way I am certain of is through death, as the dead do not remain here."

"If that is all," the otyugh asserts, "I shall be on my way. I wish thee luck in your endevour to..escape, as you say."

She passes you by and darts with what seems to be supernatural agility down the stair.

With the otyugh gone, the third floor corridor becomes remarkably quiet. If you want to go back to the first floor, getting there is easy and uneventful. In the chamber immediately south of the Grand Stairs on the first floor, the west corridor would lead back to a room Gemheart has been to: namely the one with Vyrellis' body and a bunch of traps.

I just realized it's been more than a year now since I updated the map of the Pyramid's first floor. If I'm gonna have NPCs give directions like "in the chamber to the southwest of the Grand Stairs," I should probably fix that. Hold on....

"As I recall, there were a great deal of traps in that room."

"Do you wish to explore this area further before seeking this Harumon?" Jan says to Gemheart.

"If we come this way later we will have to pass through the exhaustion trap again."

"I'm not sure what we would find. There's trash, and anything valuable probably belongs to the Queen."

"I'm not sure what we would find. There's trash, and anything valuable probably belongs to the Queen."

"Is this the residence of the queen? I thought she was just visiting this place."

i thought we were in her area

i thought we were in her area

Didn't we find the Medusa in her area? And then the Medusa told us to look up here?

Okay, there seems to be a miscommunication between Gemheart and Jan, and possibly me. You initially found the medusa in the Otyugh Empress' area on the first floor, and she told you to go to the third floor. Harumon would be on the first floor, to the north of where you found the medusa, or to the west of the grand stairs. When Jan asks about exploring "this area," is he referring to the hallway on the third floor where you were just talking to the otyugh, or to the area on the first floor where you'd need to return to to find Harumon?

thanks for the clear-up. the place is a maze which is inherently confusing. even searching the thread with google doesnt help because "third floor" or "first floor" isn't a narrow enough search to get me the info, so it requires going through 62 pages (or asking the DM who has the notes)

"You are right. I have been easily confused at times since my fight with that crazy gith. Or was he a lich? I can't recall. We can search here if you like."

Yes, I mean this area. Since we will have to go through that trap if we come here again, but have shaken off it's effects at the moment, I wouldn't mind looking around.

BTW are you OK going forward with the STR damage you took? I have no way of healing that.

"I wouldn't mind poking around while we are here. I'd rather fight skeletons over shadows though. Krezen, what do you think?"

Also remember that you currently have a bunch of friendly NPCs following you. If you're planning on doing any stealth while exploring, take that into account.

As you appear trapped in indecision, a flash of lightning crackles down the hallway, and the shimmering spectre of Karavakos appears.
"Fools! The petrified mortal is worth nothing! One of the three splinters of me you must destroy is close by, to thy southwest! He is the skeletal necromancer of this floor, and he is the most powerful Splinter by a fair margin. Destroy him if you want to escape."
With a cackle, the phantom projection of the tiefling fades away.

"Well that makes the petrified figure all the more intriguing."

Jan looks at the others.

"Does he always give you marching orders like that?"

I was waiting for a response, but overall I want to continue as long as the others think they can. This message gives us a bit more incentive though. Do the splinters tend to have lots of treasure?

Krezen hasn't posted for a few weeks. Anyone heard from him?

havent heard from him. treasure, no. not a whole lot of that around here.

"I don't recall, but I am inclined to say yes."

"Perhaps we should have a look at where this Sammar went."

Jan goes quietly down to the south end of the hallway, and peers around the corner.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Well, since Krezen appears to be even more MIA than me, let's keep going for the moment.

Around the corner, the corridor opens up into an irregular, crescent-shaped room. A nauseating stench of death and decay wafts from the darkness ahead of you. The ceiling is barely high enough for the tallest among you to walk upright, and the darkness seems almost malevolent in its intensity. Niches in the walls hold dry bones and the scraps of funeral wrappings.

The center of the room is dominated by an ancient looking collection of marble pillars, with cracks and alcoves carved into them. There are two other visible exits to this room: a door to the southeast and a door leading west. Sammar is not here, nor are there any other obviously animated creatures here.

The room you find

I'm going to post a map of this chamber tomorrow.

Jan steps back and whispers to those behind him:

"I see a room with two doors. There's a big rat in the room, and I can hear skeletons walking around behind the southeast door."

When you say "giant rat" do you mean the size of a normal Dire Rat, a small creature? Or bigger than that?

"Alright. I am prepared."

Sorry guys - last couple of weeks have been a VERY busy mess...

Krezen nods at both Jan and Gemheart - "If we gotta go through, we gotta go through" - he adds.

"All right, let's go... but careful. In this place, I doubt there are normal rats. For all we know it could be Baalzesquiggle, Demon Prince of Rats."

Ready to move forwards. I will cast shillelagh on my staff as we head in.

As you step into the chamber, a pair of pale, lean figures emerge from behind the central pillars. One is heavily armored and holds a spear, the other carries a sword and shield. The figures gaze towards you with their glimmering, purple eyes, holding out their weapons but not advancing.

The first opens their mouth, inquiring
"You--are you the intruders?"

"Are you dangerous?"
Stammers the second.

Meanwhile, from the north of the room, a trio of giant rats, each nearly than six feet long, emerge from the crevices. The rats have black and blue swirls of fur and bear long, silvery teeth.

The scratching at the southeast door, meanwhile, becomes louder.

Knowledge: Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
I don't have knowledge (arcana)

Jan flashes a smile.

"Intruders? I prefer the term 'explorers.' And we are only dangerous to our enemies. Who are you?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (7) + 14 = 21

religion: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
arcana: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

"Yes, who are you? And who left you in the state that you are in? I am Gemheart. We move through this place as we will, but we are not here specifically to intrude upon you. Are these your rats?"

Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Arcana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

"We are not looking for a fight, but for a way out" - Krezen adds.

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

"Explorers, I see."

"Who left us in this..state? Ah, you mean dead. Some time back, our tribe was assaulted by a powerful demon. I was torn in to shreds."
"I wasn't, but I did die as well I froze to death, that demon seemed to like the cold. Later, our master found our bodies and brought us back like this."
"Indeed, these rats fight along side us. Or, they would, if you were intruders."

"Who is your master? And what can you tell us about this demon you faced? Was it here in this pyramid?"

Gemheaet did not respond, as he also had intended to ask who this master was.

"Our killer was a nasty mezzodemon known as Trathkul Zorn. He used to be a major force in the Pyramid, with plans to conquer the entire realm."

"Although, it didn't work out for him,"
continues the other wight,
"as last we heard he was trapped in a layer of ice and unable to move around."

"In any case, after we were slain, our bodies were found by Kravak, an incarnation of an ancient and powerful necromancer. He brought us back to life as wights, and since then we have been bound to him. "

"We ought to warn you, though, that our master does not normally entertain visitors. If there is something you want from him, you may be out of luck."

Jan looks at Gemheart.

"Could this Kravak be the splinter?"

"I believe they all are."

"I believe they all are."

"Ah, I see. Kravak could indeed be Karavakos."

He turns back to the wights.

"Have you ever heard someone call your master that? Karavakos?"

"Our master has been known by many names over the centuries."

"But now, you must state your intention here. It is not uncommon for our master to receive visits from so-called 'explorers' who have nothing but hostile objectives. If you believe your presence here is in our master's interest, please state why. If not, leave, or we will be obligated to command the rats to devour you unless you."

Jan leans back towards Krezen and Gemheart.

"Shall we?"

I have no problem picking a fight here if you guys want.

"One last question, but I am ready" - he winks at Jan, then turns to the wights - "Do you take lightly to being under orders from this... Kravak? Would you welcome freedom from his will?"

Worth a try, after all they are intelligent undead ;)

Gemheart nods, amenable to whatever is implied by "Shall we?"

"It is irrelivant. Our master's dominion over us cannot be broken, save by his will or his death. But if your intentions are hostile, then this cannot be avoided."

Okay, this fight is going to be rather hectic, due to the large number of NPCs on both sides. On the map, please specify which square you want you character to be standing on. You should have entered the room at the door on O45-O46 (orange means a door). The grey is ordinary floor, the black are walls. The door at P53-P54 is the one with a noise coming from behind it. The rats are R1-R5, the wights are W1-W2. I'll place the friendly NPCs after you decide what squares you are one.