Lidras, sorry also need a DC 11 Dex or Strength save (your choice). You slip 5 ft for every point you fail the save. You are currently 30 ft up from the hole in the ceiling.
Tiny grains of sand start to rise from the surrounding stone, covering the spider in a thin film, crackling as it hardens...but the spider shakes it free.
Those on the ground, if you want to try and take an action, Lidras is now 35 ft up and the spider 40 ft up from the peak of the hill in the display room.
Katra sighs and calls down holy fire on the massive beast. She also calls down ranged healing on Lidras.
An inner glow of energy emanates strongly from the spider's cephalothorax momentarily, and the sickly sweet stink of burnt spider flesh soon follows.
Katra, to get into firing position you must climb the hill just below the illuminated chimney. When you reach the peak, you find an invisible force pushing you strongly down the hill.
The spider scrambles down towards Lidras, obviously not hindered at all by the cramped space, venom drip dropping down from its metallic fangs...
...but Lidras slips down just as its mouth pincers close, narrowly avoiding decapitation.
Round 1:
Spider
Lidras, and others <-- UP
Lidras explodes from the roof hole, with the spider chittering quickly behind him. However, the spider does not emerge into the room.
Katra proves out just how stubborn a Dwarf is, and how hard it is to move one that refuses to be moved.
As Lidras comes streaking back into the room and begins blasting the hole, Katra says "Easy there killer. No sense in wasting your given power on a foe that refuses to fight."
Shivering from the cold, Cloud nods his thanks at Katra. Then mumbles under his breath, "Grrr... I'm getting very tired of this place."
As Lidras drops out of the chute attacking, Cloud hurries towards the hill, very ready and willing to kill something - but promptly finds himself knocked back. Laying on the ground, Cloud curses his fate.
Rolling on the grass like a kitten, Pisco attacks his own tail...batting it about as the warm sun shines down on him!
Katra sighs, mumbles something in Dwarven, and then walks over and slaps Pisco across the face...Hard.
WIS Save:
The warm sun plays across the field of rippling grass, making the stalks dance and sway in the warm breeze. Pisco sighs in contentment and rolls over to see his friend Katra approaching through the grass. He smiles warmly and goes to greeter her, then everything starts spinning, including his head. It feels like someone has hit him with a baton, and as his eyes clear, he can see Katra standing there. Anger sweeps over him as the feeling of warmth and peace fade from his senses, to be replaced with the sting of the slap.
What the hell Katra! Why did you do that!?"
His claws sheath and un-sheath unconsciously as he tries to keep a handle on his anger.
"You were being mind controlled by this place. Stop it." is all Katra says in response, as if commanding you to stop could somehow increase your willpower.
Rubbing his cheek and muttering under his breath, Pisco follows the dwarf out of this area of the room. He looks back once, wistfully, then turns his back on the place.
On closer inspection, the western door has the word Tlazoteotl ceremoniously engraved, meaning "mother goddess of the earth". Beyond the door is a modest-sized room with 2 lumpy piles of earthy material in the middle of the floor. Across from the door in the southeast corner, a glazed flask rests on a small shelf. In the northwest and northeast corners are two more shelves on which rest a small urn and a thin stone cylinder radiating dark magic.
Katra will wander up to one of the lumpy piles of earth and smack it with the flat of her new axe.
*squeeeek!* a high pitched squeal shatters your eardrums as the chattering roar of a large crowd follows behind. The earthy lumps have a mouth, then 2, then 8, then 64 all chopping and smacking a thousand different lines of thought...with twice as many varied color eyes buldging and peeking in every angle. Some of the mouths seem to be hocking, getting ready to spit up something foul...
Round 1:
Lidras, Pisco, Cloud <--UP
Gibbering Mouthers
Katra
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Lidras stares in horror at the...thing. He felt like he should have known what it was, that it was on the tip of his tongue. Already unnerved by his shadow, the spider, and now this, his instinctual attacks were clumsy at best. He just hoped that the creature was even clumsier as the Eldritch Blasts flew towards it.
Lidras' hopes play out, with both blasts burning through the revolting mass spraying a bright yellow frothy, puss-like, liquid onto the cramped stone chamber's walls.
Round 1:
Lidras, Pisco, Cloud <--UP
Gibbering Mouthers
Katra
"Dear Moradin, make it stop!" shouts Katra, barely above the din.
Pisco strikes out at one of the strange mounds (red), rapidly clawing the rubbery flesh.
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
Whoops you are right. I was looking at a different version of the character. He should be 4/2...sorry for the confusion
Pisco pummels and claws at the mouther until it is a messy splotch of teeth and bruised eyeballs.
Cloudrunner steps into melee with the other chatty aberration, shearing at it with his sharpened volcanic blade...
Katra, Lidras, and Clourunner need 2 saves. First is a DC 10 str save vs speed reduction to 0 due to aberrant ground boiling under foot. Second is a DC 10 wisdom save against the insane babbling, rolling a d8 on a fail for confusion effect.
Cloud hisses and paws his ears closed, clearly disturbed by the chatting and random thoughts.
The chomping mouths slither across Katras adamantine shin guards...
...but they fail to locate any good flesh. Another mouth opens a glowing ball of mucus is ejected, splattering just next to Pisco in an intense flash of radiance.
Round 1:
Lidras, Pisco, Cloud
Gibbering Mouthers
Katra <--UP
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Taking flight (as much as he could with the ceiling) there was little the creature could do to ground him. And, so focused was he on marshalling his arcane blasts. He could feel his shadow slip away, speeding towards the babbling horror. He could see his shadow, monstrous as it was, showing him where to attack. It was so clear for him to see, even though he was certain nobody else could see the What was happening. He felt like he couldn’t miss as he slammed two blasts of energy into it.
The supernatural effects wash over Katra, who merely scoffs and then calls the flames of the forge into her new axe and swings it at the creature.
DEX Save:
Switching from the dead mouther to the still active one, Pisco again slashes out with his claws.
Attack:
Damage:
Flurry of Blows (2/4 Ki)
Attack:
Damage:
Attack:
Damage:
The shadows twisted for Lidras, painting indicators like ancient elven straw-bosses drawing the dark energies out of him and flowing into the sorcerous wreck.
Katras' axe ignites in dwarven forge fire, but the chatoic bubbling of the mouther slips past its most searing arcs.
Pisco finds it childsplay to slash the odd assemblage of parts apart, delivering a myriad of claw sandwiches into the myriad mouths.
Cloud finally snaps out of it and lunges face first at the mouth mound...
...tearing it apart ferociously heedless of the puss-like explosions and flying teeth.
1 dried potion
1 cylindrical stone
1 jar with the heart of a once living creature
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Lidras came back down and looked over the wreckage. ”What a disgusting pair of creatures. You can tell much about the builders of a place by the guardians they choose. Would you all mind if we rest for a short while? That took something out of me, and if there is no immediate danger I’d like to be at my best for whatever comes next.”
Katra gives Lidras a once-over and says "You don't look injured." She will secure the first two magic items in her pack and leave the jarred heart where it sits.
Cloud looks at the disturbing remains with disgust. ”Not sure I trust these things not to... whatever they do at us again. But this room does look like a secure space if you need a little time, Lidras.”
Shoveling the mouther remains outside, you brace the door and regain your thoughts for a moment...
potion of hill giant strength
rod of the pact keeper +1
yuan-ti heart (legend/arcana has it those who consume these specially treated organs are forever changed and gain an insight into the world of snakes)
"Would you like some tea and a blanket while you rest Lidras?" Katra asks and then chuckles before finding a wall to prop up against and take a nap.
After your luxurious rest in the crap-hole of the mouthers, you might look around for another way up that doesn't involve spiders. Heading west out of the display room, you spot some free gold at the end of the hall! A pile of golden coins is heaped on the floor. On top of the gold rests a skull missing its lower jaw. In the right eye socket, a black spider has made a home. Several bones are piled with the coins, and the hilt of a broken sword thrusts up from the mass.
As you get closer, Pisco and Lidras spot a few secret doors that seem much more obvious than others in the lower dungeons...
...it seems to be otherwise a dead end.
"The huge pile of gold seems like a trap. Pisco?" asks Katra of the Tabaxi.
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Lidras ignored the others as he sat down cross-legged to rest. He stared intently at his shadow. It was strange...his power felt limitless at times. But it was possible to ‘mark’ someone else with it. To take a sliver of his...curse? Gift? Disease? Whatever it was. To take it and put it on them. It made his Eldritch Blasts so much more powerful. But it left him feeling empty. Hollow. Like a piece of his soul was missing. It came back, after resting for a bit. But it bothered him how little he understand what had happened to him, or what he was becoming. Part of him wanted to tell this to the others. But he was afraid of their reactions. The dwarf especially. What if they tried to ‘purge’ him? Or tried to cure him? Because as scared as he was, he was afraid that without the power, he would be nothing. Part of him was ashamed to admit that.
—-Later——
”Probably. But worth checking out.”
Rod, varies (requires attunement by a warlock)
While holding this rod, you gain a bonus to spell attack rolls and to the saving throw DCs of your warlock spells. The bonus is determined by the rod’s rarity.
In addition, you can regain 1 warlock spell slot as an action while holding the rod. You can’t use this property again until you finish a long rest.