Expedition to the Ruins of Castle Greyhawk [3.5 D&D]

Game Master Stiehle

Reonnyn shakes his head in frustration here, "Keep in mind who the true threat is here, not only to us but to the City of Greyhawk here! While Kalystis is indeed a foul demon spawn here she is NOT our true foe here! Any assistance we can be provided here must be accepted, rather than tossed aside here!"

"The life of a single mortal seems a fair trade to rid the world of the presence of a demon who may kill dozens or hundreds of others," says the big man. Gear doesn't immediately move to attack but he hadn't spoken up to agree to the succubus's terms, either.

Moonday, 17th day of Planting (i.e. April), 597 C.Y.
Weather is cloudy, very rainy and kinda cold.
Current time is about 3:00 p.m.

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Though split on how to deal with Kalystis's demands, in the end the demonic drow refuses to divulge any further information and her life is ended there in her prison. Perhaps they will be able to find the imprisoned fey (if she even truly exists, for it crosses their minds that Kalystis might have lied about that) on their own. At the very least though, they know of the tunnels through the Underdark and the fact that the cavern guarded by the demons and the powerful cleric has been unstable for a long time - as evidenced by the widespread destruction of the buildings and the temple dedicated to Nerull. They also know how to reach Vayne in the Halls of Beckoning...

I'm going to move us along here... didn't seem like everyone was going to agree with her demands, and she would indeed rather die on her own terms rather than spill everything she knows and hope for mercy. If you're headed to deal with the demon archers and the cleric, let me know of any buffs you might give yourselves before that battle - and if you're headed there directly or planning to take a rest before doing so.

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" First, Before we take another shot at that cleric, we need to rest...I want to be at full capability before trying her again. The last two tries have been too close for comfort. Also, Gear, I have seen a powerful cleric question the dead before. Will your faith permit such necromancy?"

Ok, definitely rest before we try the cleric. Also, is speak with dead an option Gear?

Gear nods. "Yes, though the bodies of powerful evil beings are known to resist." (Just pointing out an evil creature will get a Will save and his DC isn't very high since he's built to buff.)

He looks over at the recently executed demoness, no regret on his face. "I haven't asked for that particular blessing today. If you want to ask her about the hostage I will have to pray on it."

Gear nods. "Yes, though the bodies of powerful evil beings are known to resist." (Just pointing out an evil creature will get a Will save and his DC isn't very high since he's built to buff.)

He looks over at the recently executed demoness, no regret on his face. "I haven't asked for that particular blessing today. If you want to ask her about the hostage I will have to pray on it."

"Well, I guess we add a corpse to the loot pile... Also, I might be able to help you out with that little resistance problem. But for now, let's take ourselves off to the hidden chamber and rest."

Ok, so speak with dead on another day. As mentioned I might be able to help out; I am not sure if mind fog will work, but I could try...Or maybe find a consecrated area (temple maybe) where the will saves of evil creatures are penalized. Meanwhile, we can go to F19A to camp.

"If we are going to rest, we might as well do it here. I doubt many came to this area since she was imprisioned alone." Sobok suggests.

Good point. If she had other visitors they would possibly have feed her.

Reonnyn shakes his head, "I think the other room we rested in is safer. Plus not too many comfortable spots to sleep in here..." pointing to the rough cavern floor.

"Then we can return to the previous location." Sobok says. Sobok looks around and says, "But it might be good to patch ourselves up before leaving this area."

Rest here or in the secret room, either works for me. Fair point on the healing though Sobok; Gear, over to you...

Spamming the Cure Minor Wounds cantrip gives full healing as long as we're out of combat.

"Sorry, was anyone hurt? I didn't realize she hit anyone. Let me see that," says the big man as he walks over to the wounded.

3.5 cantrips are not endless. You can cast a number per day equal to what you memorized. You can conver any spell slot into a cure spell, but you are still limited to your number of zero level spells per day. Or 6 uses.

Godsday, 18th day of Planting (i.e. April), 597 C.Y.
Weather above ground is unknown.
Current time is sometime in the wee hours of the morning, party has been awake for 0 hours.

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The party makes their way back to the forge, the rooms and halls still lay empty save for the bodies of the monsters and soldiers of Iuz that still lay where they died. Rats and other insects both large and small feast upon the moldering remains, and at the site of one old battle a pair of carrion crawlers have claimed the bodies away from the smaller vermin. The fact that these passages and rooms remain silent and unoccupied is disturbing, to say the least. It would seem that their purpose has been served, with no need to re-occupy them. If so, where are the weapons and armor now? Stored somewhere to outfit the invaders after they have arrived from the lands of the demon cambion far to the north? Are they even now being donned and readied by thousands, perhaps tens of thousands of soldiers swarming up from the Underdark through the caverns beneath the deep stairwell that lies within the ruins of Nerull's temple?

The private chambers of the marshal is in much better shape than the rest of the place, with the thick rugs covering the cold, stony floor - providing plenty of space for everyone to find a place to sleep. The canopied bed itself is luxuriously comfortable of course, with its soft mattress and brightly colored silk blankets. Those who have yet to see the place marvel at the chandelier of purple and red crystal that hangs from a hook in the center of the ceiling, and there is also a chair and table for writing or reading, if needed. The teak armorire against the south wall completes the comfortable furnishings in a room that would otherwise be yet another dank and cold chamber laying deep within the ruins of Greyhawk. Obviously the marshal had little patience for such dungeons and went to great lengths to make himself as comfortable as possible while stationed here.

Moving through the secret door, the adventurers re-visit the black stone disc surrounded by runes. Though currently inert, if the words of Kalystys are to be believed, the red-haired cleric holds the key that activates the teleporter - which will lead them to the Halls of Beckoning and into the lair of Vayne. The party makes plans for confronting the evil cleric of Iuz and her demonic minions on the following morning and then get some much needed rest. After a solid ten hours or so of rest, during which time the watch shifts report nothing of note, the adventurers make ready for the long trek to the ruined temple of Nerull...

Not too worried about healing, you all have plenty of time to rest and nobody was terribly wounded. Sobok is correct in that cantrips are not endless in 3.5, so do keep track of all your spells when casting them. The trip to the ruins of Nerull's temple can be made in about two hours, assuming no delays are encountered. Let me know what buffs you plan and when you intend to cast them, then we'll get started! I've got your 'old' buffs below so I don't have to re-write them if you cast them again. Just as a reminder, the last bit of the journey is a rather long spiral staircase down into the huge, natural cavern where the ruined temple, several collapsed buildings, a fungus forest and an underground river can be found.

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Reonnyn eyes the bed greedily, before he sighs and takes a spot on the floor trying to get comfortable, with limited success.

Later as the group gets ready to head out he turns to the others, "How are we going to force the flame-haired b**** to yield the pass phrase to us? I know she won't be as...accommodating as Kalystys was! Somehow I doubt she will have the phrase written out in plain view either!"

Reonnyn will have his standard invocations (Beguiling Influence, Devil's Sight, Dark One's Own Luck (CON)) in effect.

"She's a mortal, unlike Kalystys. Take her alive, and a day or less and I can break her will with enchantments."

Kalystys was an outsider, this cleric seems to be human. I have Dominate Person + Mind Fog; given the time to set it up, she's takeable.

"But that question is putting the cart before the horse. The real question is what is our tactical approach here? Do we try another sneak for scouting?

He will activate his ring of the darkhidden before leaving the secret room.
About 10 minutes before the end of the long spiral staircase, Fash will cast Spider Climb, see invibility and message (to link the party in whispered communications).
About 1 minute out, he will casts Expeditious retreat. I might cast Arcane sight as well, but before I do I want a ruling from GM West if the "This spell makes your eyes glow blue" bit of the text will have negative consequences for stealth checks and/or invisibility.

Reonnyn grimaces here, "I think scouting is a must here, but I know she would be expecting this. I am sure she will have prepared defenses to defeat our tactics. If I was her I would place magical wards on the staircase to warn her of our approach. Too bad Cora is not around...her summoned creatures would help here." He muses, "Perhaps a distraction of some kind so she will show her hand. Could we summon some aid perhaps?"

"Whatever else we do we need to move in fast. If they've got more of those archer demons we need to focus attacks on them individually to take them down fast. Can anyone create a cloud to block they're vision at range? Or maybe whip up some wind so their arrows get blown away?"

Does anyone have the haste spell?

...

Does anyone have the haste spell?

I do have haste, and I could block vision at range with illusions or fog clouds. The problem with this is that's I'm usually busy doing point.

Gear nods at Morrow. "It sounds like you had the most trouble with the archers. We need to get to them and clear them out as quickly as we can. Once they're gone we can surround the cleric and beat her unconscious." He looks at the others. "I have a scroll you might be able to use- it turns you into mist. But if you already know her game plan from last time, we just need to get in there before she can buff herself and the demons up and start killing them."

If there's enough room, Gear will cast Righteous Might on himself but since it's only rd/lvl he'll need to wait until the combat begins.

He's got a Gaseous Form scroll that somebody could use if we want to do that.

"She has likely continued to try and improve her defenses. Scouting to find out what else is around would be good. But the last thing added was able to sense you there." Sobok says.

Godsday, 18th day of Planting (i.e. April), 597 C.Y.
Weather above ground is unknown.
Current time is sometime in the wee hours of the morning, party has been awake for 2 hours.

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The adventurers make their way along the abandoned corridors and travel for a couple of hours before approaching the staircase down. There they pause, for they can see light up ahead - which is unusual. After taking a long listen, they can hear distant voices as well, not shouts or the like, just regular talking - though too far away to make out any words. Acting as the scout, Fash moves closer and leaves the others behind, getting about as close as he can without taking any undue risks of being seen or heard. The gnome can see a handful of guardsmen, maybe a half-dozen or so - but he gets the feelings there are others outside his rather limited line of sight. Some of them are clad in heavy armor and armed with enormous blades while others wear lighter armor and have bows and short swords.

The chamber lies about a hundred feet distant from Fash's position, the others are about fifty feet behind him with their light sources extinguished for the moment. The gnome has no problem seeing into the room, as there are a lanterns positioned here and there, mostly along the walls or against the pillars so as not to be in the way. For guardsmen, Fash figures they're doing a pretty piss-poor job of it. He's still a bit too far away to hear the idle chit-chat they sometimes engage in.

Let me know how you approach, it doesn't look like they're being terribly attentive - in fact from a distance they look kinda bored and/or sulky.

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@GM West, to be clear, this is the chamber where the spiral staircase starts (and goes down for a long way before getting to the smashed pyramid).
Also, can I have that ruling about using Arcane Sight and stealth? Because if it doesn't impact stealth, I am casting Arcane sight as well...

Fash promptly retreats back to the party and uses a Message cantrip so they can chat without being overheard "There are guards at the top of the staircase! Human looking. I spotted 7, 3 in heavy armor with two-handed swords, and 4 with lighter armor, bows and short swords. I suspect more out of sight. Not to mention maybe more trouble than just guards... I hope this isn't Iuz's army coming through... Now that I have linked us to communicate, I am going to sneak ahead and see what I can find. If I start screaming for help, come a running please...

Fash already has his ring of the Darkhidden active. He will cast See Invisibility and Spider Climb. He will activate his Cloak of Shadows ability (I really should have had it on already, but it is definitely on now; and it allows hide in plain sight.).

Having reported, Fash goes back to scouting, sneaking forward for to peek into the chamber; both for a closer look at the guards and to see whatever other shoes are waiting to drop...

stealth: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 = 49
9 rank +2 dex+4 racial +4 small+5 Cloak of Elvenkind +5 boots of elvenkind

Spot: 1d20 + 14 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 14 + 2 + 5 = 34
14 rank +0 wis+2 racial +5 eyes of the eagle

Listen: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 14 + 2 = 19
14 rank +0 wis +2 racial

@Gm West, how high is the ceiling in here

"Why did we not see these guards before?" Reonnyn mutters softly to himself. "Sounds like the flame-haired B**** is resorting to using cannon fodder now."

As Fash approaches the guards Reonnyn whispers to him via Message, "Capturing the leader here is wise, see if you can find him."

Morrow nods at the word. Possibly human soldiers? Or cannon fodder as a new alarm system. "Something more we'll have to fight through."

Fash moves in like a ghost, finding that there are a total of ten soldiers, four of them with the heavy armor, six with the light. Though his eyes are glowing blue, it is not terribly bright - especially when he keeps them slitted. Still though, it's possible they could be noticed, especially at a close distance... The chamber is quite large, its ceiling about forty feet high.

The soldiers do seem rather sullen, tired and grumpy. They're complaining about pulling 'double duty' in guarding the room against 'stupid treasure hunters roaming around' instead of getting much needed sleep after a long march and making disparaging remarks about the red-haired cleric who ordered them up here. It seems she isn't liked very much...

I'd say the glowing eyes would give you a circumstance penalty of -5 to your Stealth checks. Up to you whether it's worth it or not. And yes, this is the room 'upstairs' from the cavern with the ruined temple - which lies about a hundred feet down the spiral steps.

Gear goes over to Sobek and Morrow. "Where did she get human guards from? How did they get down here?"

To Fash, he Messages "Are they carrying any magic? Do they seem like they will be a problem for us?"

Suggesting using Kn:Local to try to ID the guards to estimate their HD, if that's a thing that's possible. Also Detect Magic/Spellcraft to see how high level their gear might be.

Agree that they're most likely just a tripwire to make noise and alert the real threats.

Gear, that's a good idea. Fash can make a Knowledge [History, Local or Religion] check as he can see them. The roll can be made untrained. The rest of you can't roll until you see them up close, but once you can you can give me the same roll. I won't allow such a roll to estimate their HD or anything, but I'll tell you they look like hardened veterans. Assuming Fash has his Arcane Sight going, he can see their weapons and armor is magical, and they have pouches that have magic auras inside as well - likely potions.

Ok,
1) no arcane sight, not willing to take the stealth penalty. So I don't know about the magic gear
2) Anybody identifiable as a leader?
4) Can I tell if the guards are humans or something else? (ie. do I suspect they have darkvision? Because lanterns on the floor are not going to illuminate the ceiling at all...

K Local, untrained: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
+6 int

Fash whispers a report to the other using Message, and contemplates his next move...

WRT to tactics, things to do: 1) Get you guys down the hall to melee without getting shot full of arrows 2) block the staircase temporarily, so no help comes 3) But first, scout the side chambers to see if there are any surprises hidden in there...

"Combat is going to make noise unless we have some way to put silence at the stairs down. ?? Could someone cast an illusion on someone? Possibly a demon that could be leading us to meet with the leader below? Intel on the forces above in the city?"

Sounds like low level flunkies, cannon fodder as an alarm system.

Fash observes the soldiers and deems that most are human, save for two of the ones wearing light armor who look to have elvish blood and one of the armored warriors who definitely has orc heritage in his own features. The lanterns shine brightly out to a distance of about twenty feet or so, and dimly out to forty feet. The ceiling dances with shadows, but is not entirely unlit. He doesn't note anyone deferring to a leader, but he notes that their armor and a few weapons bear grim designs. He takes a few moments to examine them from a distance and realizes they represent the kingdom of Iuz.

"Can we try drawing them out into the corridor? I think there is a spell that creates dancing lights, maybe that will work? At least we will see how disciplined they are..."

"Trying to draw them away might be wise, but combat is loud and so it is still likely to be heard." Sobok says.

Just gonna try to brainstorm OOC for a second.

Try the same thing we did on Kalystys and cast an illusion on ourselves and try to Bluff our way past and onto the stairs?

Does anyone have Mass Invisibility? We could pull back and re-memorize spells and try to sneak past.

Looking through the Cleric spell list, I saw Lesser Planar Ally- again, would require re-memorizing spells but we could try to summon something (earth elemental? celestial badger?) to Burrow us down to the middle of the stairs and avoid the guards altogether?

Bad idea: fog cloud/silence the western half of the room and just bum rush the stairs, hoping we can get past and get to the cleric?

If we could silence the stairs we could possibly kill them all....

Sorry I'm being slow at posting.
wrt to tactical planning, I can block the stairs, either with a shadow evocation wall of ice (a bit iffy - they could chop through it given time), or with a shadow evocation Otiluke's Resilient Sphere. Those would stop both sound and anybody running down.
But in the meanwhile, a bit more scouting

Fash sneaks his way around the chamber (ready to cast expeditious retreat and run like hell if someone makes him...) (Following the dashed pink line). He wants to see a) what, if anything, is in the side chambers (like say, another shift or two worth of guards...), b) is there evidence the guards have been here for long (food prep, bathroom spot).

stealth: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 = 44
9 rank +2 dex+4 racial +4 small+5 Cloak of Elvenkind +5 boots of elvenkind

Spot: 1d20 + 14 + 2 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 14 + 2 + 5 = 33
14 rank +0 wis+2 racial +5 eyes of the eagle

Listen: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 14 + 2 = 35
14 rank +0 wis +2 racial

I like the idea of blocking the stairs and taking out these mooks.

With a bit more searching around on feet that only make the barest of whispers, Fash finds no evidence they've been here very long. The privy is found in farthest corner of the northeast room and the gnome judges it's been used for a day at the very most. There's evidence of rations having been eaten, and some water casks and skins in the southwest chamber, where he finds two more of the light armored archers talking while they eat.

It seems that this group was the advance scouting party for the 'army of Iuz' that is making their way through the Underdark. They're unhappy because upon arrival, instead of some much needed rest, they've been tasked with guarding this access point against a group of unknown adventurers that "bloodied the b$%ch's nose," as one of the soldiers put it. The overall belief is that it was a group of treasure hunters that won't be back anyway after one of their number was killed by one of the demons.

Fash, give me one more Stealth check as you head out.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 9 + 2 + 4 + 4 + 5 + 5 = 48
9 rank +2 dex+4 racial +4 small+5 Cloak of Elvenkind +5 boots of elvenkind

It's like they never knew a wraith blew through their little encampment... Feel free to rejoin your companions with the information gleaned.

Fash slips back to the party, and draws them a way back from the guards, for a quick, whispered planning session.

"They're Iuzites, advanced guards from the army that's coming. They figure this is a waste of time, us being 'treasure hunters' who won't be back after losing poor Verdan. They b!+&~ like veterans, so I figure they're probably decently tough. There 12 of them, 8 archers, and 4 heavies. But we have to get down there and shut that passage! If these guys are up here, how many of them are down at the broken pyramid?"

He takes a deep breath and continues [smaller]"First things first though, these guys. I can block the stairs temporarily, ten minutes or so, with shadow magic; I'll need your help Reonnyn. That'll give us a window to get in and settle these dorks... I don't really like charge down the corridor in the face of 8 archers, especially with a front-line that might hold for a bit in front them. Anybody got any clever ideas? I could use an illusion to cover the rush. You guys would know it's an illusion, so you'd have a better chance of seeing through it..."

Ok, blocking the stairs. Reonnyn (using invisibility) and I sneak through the encampment and down the stairs 80 or so feet (put the block at the bottom so any runners they send are wasting a couple of rounds...). Then I cast a Shadow Evocation Otiluke's Resilient Sphere at him (Radius 11', should block the whole staircase). He voluntarily fails the saves, and it takes full effect - physically invulnerable and immobile for 11 minutes. Reonnyn uses Flee the Scene to escape the sphere.

Does anyone have anything that could be used as glue? It would be really funny if I snuck through there again, and added some glue to assorted archers' quivers.

"The fact they have no idea who we truly are works in our favor. They will underestimate us (hopefully) and thus we can take advantage..." Reonnyn grins evilly.

That sounds like a good plan Fash. Before we cast that spell we need to first make sure there are no additional surprises waiting at the staircase bottom.

"Could somebody put a cloud at the end of this corridor? Then we wouldn't have to run to them while facing a hail of arrows. They'd know we were coming, but wouldn't have any targets until we were on top of them. With haste we should be able to slice through them quickly."

Gear shrugs at Morrow's question. "I have a few smokesticks. They don't last long but we could pop them to make a smokescreen for a few seconds."

Sounds good to me. Gear doesn't really have anything useful other than running in hitting dudes real hard.

Haven't heard from Sobok, but have from everyone else...

"OK, so the plan is Reonnyn and I will sneak in and set up a shadow magic resislient sphere to block the staircase. Then we sneak back up here, I cast a haste on everyone, and then fill the corridor with an illusion - probably a giant cloud of bats. Maybe I'll add a vampire lord come to taste test the new snacks or something, just to draw fire. You guys use the illusion as cover to run up and beat them down... Maybe take a prisoner or two for interrogation; they might have some idea of what else the cleric has got up to down there... Anybody got any additions?"

OK, so the plan I'm seeing involves heading down the stairs to cast Resilient Sphere to block it - however, the spell requires a target that gets a Reflex save. You would need to get a creature down there to cast the spell on, I do believe. If you do that, the sphere is 11' in diameter, so I'll allow the broad stairwell is wide enough to accommodate that and it seems immovable, so using to block the stairwell for the duration of the spell. So bottom line, you need a target to cast the spell AND it needs to fail the save.

The plan is Fash and Reonnyn go down the stairs (Fash hiding and Reonnyn using invisibility). Then Fash casts Shadow Evocation Resilient Sphere on Reonnyn, who voluntarily fails his saves (both will and reflex)... and then uses Flee the Scene (dimension door) to escape the sphere.

Got it! Go ahead and make your Stealth checks. How far back along the passage is everyone else? I figured you're all hanging back far enough that it's basically impossible to be seen or heard by the guards - about a hundred feet or so with no light sources lit.

Reonnyn mutters darkly under his breath, "I hope this works..." as he twists his ring here vanishing from sight.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 20 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 1 + 20 = 49

If anyone wants to move closer than 100' to the entrance, please let me know how close you're getting and give me a Stealth check (be sure to include AC penalties) and I'll presume you are not using a light source (i.e. moving slowly through the darkness, I'll figure at about 10'/round.) If nobody speaks up, I'll presume you're all about 100' away when Reonnyn and Fash head down the steps. I'll wait for a Stealth check from Fash and then make a post.