This long, low corridor is decorated with hieroglyphs and carvings depicting kings, gods, and sphinxes in orderly geometric rows. The ancient Osiriani hieroglyphs on the hallway’s southern walls proclaim more of Pharaoh Sekh-pa-Mefer III’s deeds and accomplishments in life. Midway down the hall, the carvings depict his death, funeral, and interment in his pyramid. As the corridor continues to the north, the scenes show the dead pharaoh rising as a deity, and continuing his rule over his subjects as a god-king. The hallway ends in a T-intersection about 150ft ahead. Just before the end of the hall is a stone door on the left.
As you travel, scanning for dangers, Rowdy notices a slight draft coming from the left, about halfway down the hall. Pausing to examine more closely, he notices a cunningly-hidden door on the West wall of the corridor. It contains no obvious means of opening, just carvings of sphinxes that look like they could be pressed inward. One sphinx has the head of a falcon, one a female human head, one a jackal head, one a male human head, and the last a ram's head.
DC 19 Knowledge (arcana):
These are representations of a hieracosphinx, a gynosphinx, a cynosphinx, an androsphinx, and a criosphinx, respectively.
Knowledge (arcana):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 Sense Motive:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Oiur smirks. "Mmm. That's impressive, as I have no idea! What valuable insights does it offer, then?"
N Male Ratfolk Alchemist (Eldritch Poisoner) 4 | HP 23/23 | AC 18 T 14 FF 15 | CMB +2, CMD 15 | F: +4, R: +7, W: +1, +1 vs Fear, +2 vs Poison | Init: +3 | Perc: +11, SM: +0 | Speed 20ft | Ranged: Blowgun +7 1, Melee: Bone Dagger +7 1, Mwk Spring Blade +8 1d3, Tailblade +7(+2) 1d2 Note: all (often + Poison / 2d6 Sneak Attack) | Extracts: 1st 2/3, 2nd 2/2 | Active c.: HA
Knowledge Arcana:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19
"Ah yes - well spotted! Curious - these are all different types of Sphinxes. I seem to recall our Pharaoh being tied to the hieracosphinx, no?" he says, pointing at the first symbol.
"Presuming this secret door can be opened, maybe the hieracosphinx carving is the one we want?" Oiur takes a nervous step back. "Although maybe one person can try that."
The Professor takes his time examining the door, checking for hidden mechanisms within. He spots a suspicious slot above the door, carefully hidden, which looks like it could house a blade.
Ibb hovers over the professor's shoulder. Sure you don't need help detectorin'?
See, you gotta push the HIRE-ACE-O-PINKS.
He rubs his head. It's a mystery which one.
His fat finger hovers in front of the falcon: stupid tricky birdies… then the jackal, looks like that stupid doggy who stole my pancakes last week while I napped in that alley… then the ram's head, looks like old mr. wiggles from the farm, but he liked kicking me in the brains…, the man, No… looks like mustache man who sent us here… that one's gotta be a trap too…
After careful examination and even more careful disassembly, an axe hangs partway out of the slot, tied in place and its mechanism disconnected so that you're fairly certain it will not fall on anyone.
The button depresses under your finger and you hear a click above you. Thankfully, the trap was successfully disabled or a bad day may have just gotten worse. Nothing else happens when you press the button.
They're all large magical beasts. Heiracosphinxes tend to be violent thus much shorter lived than the rest. They and criosphinxes are much more common gynosphinxes or androsphinxes. Any of them can be the offspring of a gynosphinx and any other, depending on the circumstances of their conception. I'm going to need some more specific questions if you want more than that.
N Male Ratfolk Alchemist (Eldritch Poisoner) 4 | HP 23/23 | AC 18 T 14 FF 15 | CMB +2, CMD 15 | F: +4, R: +7, W: +1, +1 vs Fear, +2 vs Poison | Init: +3 | Perc: +11, SM: +0 | Speed 20ft | Ranged: Blowgun +7 1, Melee: Bone Dagger +7 1, Mwk Spring Blade +8 1d3, Tailblade +7(+2) 1d2 Note: all (often + Poison / 2d6 Sneak Attack) | Extracts: 1st 2/3, 2nd 2/2 | Active c.: HA
It was after I finished pressing all 5 that we heard the click, which makes me think it's a sequence of some sort. Maybe age, or rarity, some internal hierarchy, strength. Just trying to assemble data points.
I hear ya. You can make the usual monster identification rolls for each type if you want to know specifics about that type (defenses, special attacks, etc). As for those other things: You know that gynosphinxes and androsphinxes tend to look down on the others, you know that all of them are incredibly long-lived, with the exception of heiracosphinxes which tend to die violently within a few decades. You know that heiracosphinxes and criosphinxes are the most common.
You also know that there's a whole lot of pyramid you haven't been to yet, including two paths you did not take from the entry room after fighting the mimic.
Oiur shifts their weight to their back foot. "I think I'm on board with Eugressia. We can always come back, and other sections may give us the information we need to access this door."
Rowdy sighes. ”I think we outta find ourselves somethin’ to do in this pyramid other than waste time pushin’ them damn buttons. Eugressia has the right ideer. We passed us a perfectly smashable door a ways back.”
Sounds like one vote for the door you just passed, directly west of the boat room. You also have the T-intersection up ahead, a stone door up ahead, and two other options back at the beginning (going straight through from the mimic room, and going into the other hidden door).
Oiur nervously eyes the dangling blade and its frantic clicking. "Sure, let's try the other door. Think on this one, Professor; I think we can rule out the Ibb approach here."
A third for heading back to the door that was west of the boat room! And minor note: I assume my dancing lights have been illuminating all of these scenes? Like, no shafts for sunlight or anything?
That's correct, no shafts to sunlight or windows or such.
You move back to the plain stone door you recently passed and take your time examining it for traps. You find nothing but a door. It's heavy, but unlocked, and thus yields easily with a small amount of encouragement from Ibb. As the door swings slowly open, grinding on its ancient hinges, it reveals a plain, unadorned room with several piles of ancient bones and rusty weapons and very little else. As you watch in horror, these bones form into five humanoid shapes, one in the back with four arms carrying four short swords and dripping with bloody gore (red). The other four suddenly (with the conventional two arms) burst into flames and advance, the heat palpable from the hallway! The four-armed skeleton begins to advance but then seems to recoil from the heat!
What the heck is that thing with four arms? DC 16 Knowledge (religion):
Four armed skeletons such as this one are called mudra skeletons. This one also has the bloody template, the gore able to knit it slowly back together after a wound. You know that skeletons in general are most susceptible to bludgeoning damage. One more question for each 5 by which you beat the DC.
What the heck are these burning things? DC 11 Knowledge (religion):
These are burning skeletons, like normal skeletons but for their fiery aura which deals fire damage to anyone that gets too close or that they attack. You know that skeletons in general are most susceptible to bludgeoning damage. One more question for each 5 by which you beat the DC.
Sir Ibb's Raven Familiar (Sage/Figment) | HP 11/21 | AC 18 T 16 FF 16 | CMB +6, CMD 11 | F: +4, R: +4, W: +4 | Init: +2 | Perc: +10, SM: +2 | Speed 10ft, Fly 40fy (Average) | Active conditions: None. | Arcana+10, Dungeon +10, Engineering +9, Geo +9, History +10, Local +9, Nature +9, Nobles +9, Planes +18, Relig +18
Why is Irp's knowledge so high?:
Hey Dennis, Irp is a figment and gets an evolution pool; he took skilled for knowledge(religion) today, which gives him a +8 racial bonus on one skill. He can change it every morning; Irp figured religion would be a good one for this adventure.
Too excited to listen to anyone's advice, Ibb charges in with his butter knife! All he hears is the word "mudra," which unfortunately sounds very much like another word.
"Maybe fire stops the mudra's regeneration? It's shying away from the oth—IBB!" Oiur's shout quickens their pulse, and the sound's desperate energy reaches out for the others. They grit their teeth and step into the doorway in the hopes of keeping the skeletons away from Rowdy and Eugressia. If that messes up anyone else's plans, I can change where I move!
Ibb points to fiery other skeletons. What Eugreeia said. Hmm. I wonder what special attacks they have…
1 question: special attacks
Their normal claw attacks deal additional fire dame. Anyone who hits them with an unarmed strike or natural attack takes fire damage. Anyone who starts their turn adjacent to them takes fire damage. Anyone next to them when they are destroyed takes fire damage. Anyone who looks at them funny takes fire damage. Anyone who even thinks about them takes fire damage. I just took fire damage typing this.
Oiur begins to sing as Eugressia blasts one fiery skeleton with a magic missile. Ibb, meanwhile, hears the command to mudra, and mudra he does, his butter knife doing less damage than he expects but still enough to scatter the bloody bones of the mudra skeleton. Red is down. Irp, you expect that it will take at least an hour for the bloody gore to knit it back together.
