Tomb of Horrors (4e) - Group 2, Part 2
Game Master Rev Rosey

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair keeps firm hold of the squirming box as the gith attempts to take it back.

"What the Abyss are you doing? Those things are dangerous." rasps the sailor.

Maid

Barel and Raya both swipe successfully at the Curse Slaad as it wanders towards the door, producing two more slaad spawn for their pains. Mud erupts around the door as Barel's attack severely damages the outsider and the Curse Slaad's throat ripples ominously.

Disablement checks (4/6) DC30

Thom
Curse Slaad - BLOODIED; marked by Barel; immobilised to end Barel's next turn
Spawn 3
Spawn 4
Raya
Barel (reach 2)

Freeport ships

Jeez, don't these things know when to take a hint? Thom thinks to himself as he continues working to disable the portal.

Arcana 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (7) + 23 = 30

Maid

The portal fizzles slightly as Thom's work weakens it further.

Dripping with an unpleasant goo, the Curse Slaad jabs a thoughtful claw into Barel, leaving a horrible residue in the wound.

Claw (AC). On hit Curse Slaad makes a secondary attack v Fort. On hit, target contracts Chaos Phage.
1d20+23=37 v Barel. Hits. 2d10+3=13
13 damage to Barel
Secondardy attack v Fort
1d20+21=31. Hits.
Barel contracts stage 1 Chaos Phage

The dwarf feels something slide into his body.

The slaadlings bound towards Barel and Thom, and slam into the pair.

Iron Cohort gets an OA as S3 goes past.

Chaos Slam (AC). On hit target is knocked prone. On miss, slaad spawn explodes v Ref.
1d20+22=35 - S3 v Thom. 12 damage and knocked prone
1d20+22=42 - S4 v Barel. 12 damage and knocked prone
12 damage to Barel and Thom and they are knocked prone.

Disablement checks (5/6) DC30

Raya
Barel (reach 2) - prone
Thom - prone
Curse Slaad - BLOODIED; marked by Barel; immobilised to end Barel's next turn
Spawn 3
Spawn 4

Freeport ships

Raya provoked from the Slaad too, if he wants the hit.

Delay until after Barel.

Oh Boy..infected by a parasitoid! It is fun when work and play come together (my PhD was all about learning in parasitoid wasps)!

Barel swats at the bites on his arm, but ignores it for now. He concentrates on the Slaad again, this time getting a bit peeved at its having the gall to hit him AND knock him down. He stands and then swings a mighty blow at the creature in the hopes of keeping it where it is a few more moments.

MOVE: Stand from prone.
STANDARD: Weight of the earth (melee)--(9)+21= 30 VS AC
on hit: (3)+13+3+6+2= 27 damage and he is slowed UEMNT.
Minor: Mark the slaad again.

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair tries to judge the intentions of the gith. Does he seem like he is intent on arrest? Is he genuinely concerned about the box? Insight 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Rev, I was looking through the stats of the Iron Cohort and I do not see any damage stats for it. As far as I know, the only effects it can do is intercept a monster's attack. If the IC can take the charge for Thom, it will do so, otherwise I do not think it can damage the slaad. Let me know if the IC does get a slam attack, if so he would take the OA

*facepalm* so much for my plan of action. Oh well, to be expected when you are in combat. Turn will follow later, maybe even an interrupt or two.

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair hears sincerity and a strong undertone of panic in the gith sailor's voice.

Maid

@Thom. Wasn't sure about IC as all these summoned critters work slightly differently. Slaadling 3 is heading straight for Thom and will completely ignore the tin can at the side.

@Raya - ah, apologies. Not sure if that is exactly the right word. OA from Curse Slaad below

Claw (AC). On hit Curse Slaad makes a secondary attack v Fort. On hit, target contracts Chaos Phage.
1d20+23=40 v Barel. Hits. 2d10+3=18
18 damage to Raya
Secondardy attack v Fort
1d20+21=22. Miss.

Raya takes a nasty wound from the Curse Slaad but has enough inner strength to withstand its attempt to implant her.

Barel's axe bounces off the rubbery skin, but it still receives a stern reminder about who is should be attacking.

Disablement checks (5/6) DC30

Raya
Thom - prone
Curse Slaad - BLOODIED; marked by Barel; immobilised to end Barel's next turn
Spawn 3
Spawn 4
Barel (reach 2)

Freeport ships

Sweet, er uhm. condolences Barel.

As the Slaad strikes at Raya, she channels her divine connection into the beast, filling its chaotic mind with her own style of spirituality, leaving it wracked with confusion.

Immediate Interrupt: Specter's Shield. Cursed Slaad's defenses are lowered by 6 UEOMNT. Which is why I needed to provoke.

Raising her shield further, the paladin commands, "Back. Back to your portal. Heed me!"

Siren Voice

1d20 + 21 ⇒ (8) + 21 = 29 to dominate Slaad.

Command Cursed Slaad to run back into its portal.

She puts her hand towards Barel.
"Let it pass, Barel. Thom, tell me you're done!"

Move to o4.
Minor: Mark S3.

Thom nods in response where he is sprawled on the ground. "Yeah, just a few more seconds here..."

Immediate Interrupt: Use Bracers of Defense. Power (Daily): Immediate Interrupt. You can use this power when you are hit by a melee attack. Reduce the damage dealt to you by the attack by 10. Total Damage = 2.
Delay until after Curse Slaad.

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair looks dubious. "Like I said, we're just making a delivery. What's in here?" I knew this was a bad idea, he thinks to himself.

Thom grimaces in concentration as he tries to close the portal completely...

Arcane 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (17) + 23 = 40

Cloudbreaker

"Slaad eggs. Burn them before they hatch." All three gith look completely panic stricken.

Maid

Oh, well played :D

Raya calls on Ioun to demoralise the Curse Slaad and then imposes her will upon it, driving it over the flickering portal.

The Curse Slaad ripples it throat muscles and unleahes a horrible croak. So overwhelming is the sound that anyone unlucky enough to be affected staggers helplessly trying to stifle the sound.

Croak of Chaos (Fort). Close burst 4, enemies only. On hit target slides 4 squares.
Targets IC, Thom, Raya, Barel
1d20+18=37 v IC. Hits.
1d20+18=26 v Thom. Hits.
1d20+18=38 v Raya. Crit.
1d20+21=23 v Barel. Miss.
1d10+6=15
16 damage to Raya
15 damage to IC and Thom

Unable to stop themselves, Thom, Raya and the Iron Cohort stumble over the portal alongside the Curse Slaad.

Barel merely shrugs. He's heard far worse in the mines of his old home.

Disablement checks (5/6) DC30

Thom - prone
Spawn 3 - marked by Raya
Spawn 4
Barel (reach 2)
Raya
Curse Slaad - BLOODIED; marked by Barel; immobilised to end Barel's next turn

Freeport ships

How odd...I swore I posted after Rev's post. Anyway his roll is posted above (total of 40.)
Current HP total 67/84.

We cross posted. I got all excited and then remembered that the Curse Slaad still needed to act. Which it did and pulled a nasty trick on you and has yanked Thom, the Iron Cohort and Raya into the portal. If you use that roll now, you'll go through with the critter.

Objection! ;)

The cursed Slaad is still dominated until end of my next turn, or until we hurt it, I asked Barel to choose not to take his OA so it could get to the portal without interruption. It took the action I told it to do, it *should* not be able to do more, unless there's more to Slaads than I know. ^_^

Maid

Objection sustained. Sorry about that, I'm just an idiot.

Before the Curse Slaad can do more than twitch a muscle, Thom slams the portal shut over the creature.

Ignore the portal graphic. I can't get rid of it without redrawing, which I'd rather not do.

The spawn crash again into Thom and Barel, seeking to push them over.

Chaos Slam (AC). On hit target is knocked prone. On miss, slaad spawn explodes v Ref.
1d20+22=32 - S3 v Thom. 12 damage and knocked prone
1d20+22=36 - S4 v Barel. 12 damage and knocked prone

Barel (reach 2); prone
Raya
Thom - prone
Spawn 3 - marked by Raya
Spawn 4

Freeport ships

You do just fine, Rev. ;)

Raya murmurs another quick prayer to help mitigate Thom's woes, adding "Excellent work, Thom."

Shield of Devotion
Thom regains 12 HP, Raya gains +2 to strike that spawn

well that was a fun roller coaster ride!

Barel stands up and wollops the frog spawn adjacent to him. He then looks to the other side of the ship determining if they still need his assistance, before taking a deep breath and feeling much better.

MOVE: stand from prone.
STANDARD: Weight of the Earth--(19)+21= 40 vs AC
on hit: it is obliterated--(9)+13+3+6= 31 damage and is slowed UEMNT.
MINOR: second wind--back to full HP.

Raya shifts to N3, taking a quick swing at the last slaad spawn.

Virtuous Strike
1d20 + 22 ⇒ (12) + 22 = 34 for 1d8 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Cloudbreaker

"What were they doing on your ship if you want them destroyed that badly?" Lanthair asks.

Cloudbreaker

The gith grins at so innocent a question.

"We were paid. Very well paid."

Maid

Raya and Barel easily finish off the slaad spawn and are now free to look more closely at the area.

Thom staggers to his feet and nods to Raya. "Good thinking there." He then scans the area for auras or anything else of interest.

Arcane check take 10; total 33.

Cloudbreaker Is there anyone still visible on the deck of the ship?

Arishat can see Lynore and Lanthair in earnest discussion on the deck of Cloudbreaker.

Raya looks about, "You did all the work, we just kept it busy...Any idea where the portal came from?" She assesses Thom, then Barel's conditions.

Anyone down HP before surges are spent?

She frowns as she looks over Barel's wound. "That's odd, sort of a slime here, are you feeling alright?"

Heal 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22 to identify issue at hand.

"Keep that up." Arishat yells over at her mercenaries. "I want to see you wheeling in formation and able to split around a mast before I'll be satisfied." She looks at the possible watchmen. "Excuse me a moment. I'll just go and see whether there's a problem on the ship." She swaggers up the gangplank and over to the crewmen. "Something wrong, gentlebeings?"

Cloudbreaker

Quelled by Prioska Kutrigur presence, the mercenaries attempt to follow her instructions. Alfie and Mervin simply nod as they head away to keep anyone else out of the area.

The gith swing around to include Arishat in the conversation.

Maid

Time to do a little detective work.

Thom's arcane skills suggest that the portal was opened by the Curse Slaad. Given the utterly chaotic nature of such creatures, it might have done it for fun, but there is no way of telling.

Run me up some Perception checks please, everyone and Heal and Nature checks on the body parts lying around.

Heal 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10
Nature 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Perception 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

Guardian Iatos surveys the room, though her thoughts waver back to Barel's condition.

Heal 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (15) + 16 = 31
Nature 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Arcana 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Perception 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

Maid

Raya looks at the entry wound a realises that Barel is going to need good care in the next few days. A slaad egg has been implanted in him and is even now working its way towards his brain.

Putting aside her concerns for the moment, she joins Thom in an exploration of the room. They manage to piece together what seems to have happened. Somehow the gnoll crew must have got hold of a slaad egg. Bringing it to their own ship, and unattended, it hatched and devoured the crew, maturing insanely fast and then opening the portal.

It looks as if GarbageBeGone's clearance team were among the victims. The only question now is where the original egg came from.

At Raya's examination, Barel is disquieted with her assessment of his predicament. He has been through a lot, and doesn't want a slaad popping out of his head...that would put a damper on his day. Perhaps ale will help; so he pulls out his everlasting cask of liquid gold and quaffs a large volume. He states "Alcohol kills what ails you, right?!" Only after several large drinks does he even consider trying to sort out the happenings in the room (and since it has already been figrued out, he was of no help anyway!).

Barel has a +20 on his endurance checks, so a good night's rest (or maybe several) should see the demise of the slaad larva wriggling around inside his arm. However, he does not realize that and will possibly drink himself to oblivion, unless Raya or a doctor suggests otherwise.

Okay this is a bit tricky, I know that diseases only really change status after an extended rest, but a slaad embyro is a living thing that can be removed. I see no reason for this not to happen, at the very worst, treat it as my Heal check for Barel tomorrow.

After piecing things together, Raya looks back to Barel. "Barel, sit, we have to get this thing out of you." Assuming he submits, which seems to be his mood.

Insight on Barel 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

Raya re-examines the wound, using a long thin knife for this sort of purpose. She dabs the infection with water, lays out a long cord for possible use as a tourniquet. "Just keep calm..." She urges, trying to gently probe the wound for signs of egg infection.

Heal 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (16) + 16 = 32

"I think I got it, that's good, but I wouldn't call you 'safe' yet. We'll go back to the temple, to ensure you're going to be just fine." Concern ripples through her tone, as she looks the warden in the eyes.

Even though she is unable to remove the parasite, Raya does manage to stabilise Barel. The dwarf's iron constitution will do the rest in time.

The morning Endurance check still needs to be made. Your Heal check wasn't high enough to cure him.

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair attempts to nod deferentially to Arishat, but cannot hide his concern. "These fellows were telling us a bit about this... cargo," he says.

Barel will certainly submit to Raya's ministrations...after another slug of ale. "Anyone else want some of this?"

He winces a little when she pulls out the stiletto and tourniquet, but otherwise is unaffected by Raya's actions. At some point, he looks at Thom says "Don't you wish this is you? You could be receiving her personal attention right now...then again, there is that minor issue of frog larvae drilling through your skull."

Thom's face grows noticeably redder as Barel mentions Raya to him. "Ahhh...well maybe I could do just fine without THAT kind of attention Barel." He decides to partake of the ale provided, which after the bout of coughing and choking had the desired effect of hiding his reaction to the attractive paladin.

I wonder if Lureene is going to kill me the next time I summon her...

"This ship will probably need full quarantine, to ensure there's no other slaad spawn, but I think we've dealt with the problem at least. Let's get back to shore."

Cloudbreaker

Lanthair attempts to nod deferentially to Arishat, but cannot hide his concern. "These fellows were telling us a bit about this... cargo," he says.

"Well, if they have a problem with it, getting that problem off their ship doesn't seem like a bad idea. As long as it can be done without those possible guards having to take notice."

"Slaad's not a good business. Plus not sure how Raya will feel about it. "

Cloudbreaker

"Destroy them while you can and nobody will be the wiser. And hurry up about it. They're writhing. Whatever you do, we need payment. 10,000 gold we're owed."

The gith seem unperturbed about losing their dangerous cargo, but firm about getting paid for the delivery.

Maid

Raya, Barel and Thom make their way up to the Maid's deck. Along the dock they can see Arishat's drill team doing their best to make her proud, while on the adjacent ship they can see Arishat herself, Lanthair, Lynore and three gith in deep conversation. Lanthair is clutching a small box.

"I wonder how that's going..." She says absently, before approaching the guards from before. reporting in. "Ship should be quarantined for a few days, there was a creature aboard, a slaad. It killed the crew, and the garbage team, most likely as well. It *could* have made more during its time there, but there were no other living souls found, so it is quite unlikely. Urge the city's investigation to be cautious in case of anything else." She nods to the previous guard, if he's still there. "You did good letting us through to investigate."

She surveys the mercenary training, remarking to the same guardsmen "What an odd thing to see...." before slowly investigating this puzzle as well. As if she wasn't expecting to see it.

Mervin and Alfie nod nervously. Raya notes that the pair seem a little intimidated.

well she did go in with standard clothes and came out in full plate, not to mention Barel's wound.

Coming on top of a close encounter with Arishat, it's left them feeling a bit put upon.

Ahh I see, well good thing I have insight trained.

Guardian Iatos pauses, sensing the guardsmens' emotions. 'This is just as much my duty as anything else I do...' She keeps her back to the guards for a moment as she digs through her purse.

"You two have had a trying day, you showed courage and good judgement. It may not be much, but I ask you accept this as a courtesy. It is no bribe or hush money for letting us aboard, for you are not bound to keep anything secret. It is merely a tool to thank you."

100 GP offered to the guardsmen, probably a small fortune for the two...

"Very nice of you, miss." Mervin nods approvingly. "Much appreciated. Only goes to show you can't judge a book by its cover, doesn't it Alfie?"

"Merv had you tabbed as a do-gooding, interfering type," explains Alfie.

"Which you are, miss, but not offensive like some. Anything else we can do for you?"

Alfie gestures expansively at the wheeling troops on the dock. "As you can see, it's a bit busy here right now."

Cloudbreaker

"If these eggs hatch in infect you, what use will 10,000 gold coins be? You ought to pay us to take them off your hands and save you from the grisley death they portend," Lanthair says. He may not care much for material goods, but he knows 10,000 gp is an outrageous sum.

Raya laughs, "Oh I'm the worst sort of do-gooder...you don't even know." She heads off to the training mercenaries, looking around for her compatriots.