And I just realized that I haven't been rolling for some characters. Copied and pasted the wrong template that had the die results from that first go rather than die rolls. Whoops! In the interest of sanity, I'll let it slide but will fix it for the remainder of the maze.
Fingalad begins to feel the weariness of walking so long, but says nothing. Up to you guys if we keep going or not. The vibrating/rumbling isn't a good sign.
GM, will we be able to use the CLW to offset the fatigue effects?
Male Dwarf Fighter1/Wiz5 | Max HP 65 | AC 15* (T11/FF15) | F: +8 (+10)* R: +2* W: +5* | Perc +15 | Init +0
Holy moly, it's a complicated maze. I'm not sure if I'd rather be mapping and trying to solve one as a player, or playing this weird maze mini-game where everyone is rolling assist checks and it seems like nothing is happening for 10 iterations/hours!
It's nothing against Sior, it's more a question about the scenario author's intentions/goals.
We might as well push at least one hour to gain the fatigued condition. Hopefully only 1-2 people actually become fatigured. Let's assume Dunkel is good with 2-3 wand charges to press on an extra 2 hours today.
Aye, I wasn't thinking about this portion when bringing it to a PbP. It's hard enough to do it online in VTT, but can be more enjoyable in person. That said, I do agree. Endless skill checks are annoying in the best of times. This requires more than eight successful checks with a DC 25(!!!) for a sub-tier 1-2. Blarg, eh? On the up side, you're almost through.
Now at the dead end previously mentioned and the walls starting to vibrate, you go down the way you came only to see the chalk line terminate at another wall. Did you just get back to that same deadend???
No other option left to you, you backtrack from the deadend once more. The leftward-curving passage deadends yet again, but turning around to backtrack reveals a brand new passage that slopes gently upward. Did we mention the vibrations and shaking are increasing in intensity?
I agree - let's rest. Clearly minutes don't seem to matter here, and I would rather not see a TPK because we are all fatigued when something nasty does occur.
Kamda bends over, his hands on his knees and his face red as he huffs.
Ach... Restin' again... May be a good idea. What in the nine hells did tha Minotaur get 'imself into...?
Kamda grumbles some more about how Dunkel is probably right about just diggin' through the maze, and how Kamda himself would be willing to pay for the "Deluxe Diggin' Package" if it meant not having to keep trudging through this maze. Right befor he nods off into a nap, he speaks to the group.
Anyone else gettin' tha feelin' tha this maze be more'n it seems? We been puttin' down trail markers, chalk lines, you name it, but they ain't seemin' to matter much. Almost like someone enchanted this durned place. I'll be glad to get outta here...
Once again, nothing happens during the night, but the vibrations and rumblings have made it difficult to really get any relaxation in. That said, you wake refreshed.
Male Half-Elf Transmuter 7 (Core) | HP 47/58 | AC 13/12/11 | F +10, R +7, W +9 (+2 vs. enchantments, +1 vs. divine spells) | CMD 15 | Init +6 | Perc +3 | Active Conditions:
Zephyr kneels on his sword, uttering a short prayer to Abadar punctuated by his huffing and puffing. "...And I shall forever remain your humble servant should I never have to do that again," you can hear him say as his voice fades in and out of audibility.
CORE Male Human (2.0A CORE) Pal 2 | HP 21/22; AC 20;TCH 13; FF 17; F +7; R +4; W+5; CMB +5; CMD 18; INIT +4; Smite 1/1; Lay on Hands 1/3; Arrows 19/20 | Wands: CLW 47/50
Ranor sets his heavy shield on the ground. His breathing seems labored as sweat dots his brow. Hopefully we have reached him in time.
Perhaps we have met with success. Hopefully we find the Master Bull alive and well through those doors.
Fingalad surveys the room for anything unusual.
Perception:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18 Also the whole nine yards of Detect Magic.[/oo]
When they are prepared to enter through the door, he touches each member of the party and murmurs some words in Elven. [ooc]Resistance Cantrip on the whole party. The first one should expire about 30-36 seconds after we go through the door, if anything should happen next.
As everyone makes their preparations, Fingalad finds magic is literally everywhere. All around them. In the very stone which makes this last leg of the Tangle.
You gear up and move towards the end. The comforting embrace of the bronze door ahead slips further away. The world spins as colors and sounds blend together into a sickening maelstrom. The chaos passes just as quickly, but the passage is suddenly gone and instead there is now only a scrap of rock, surrounded by inky blackness dotted with distant points of light. Fractured sounds, like whispered curses, float across the darkness.
The only other occupant looks at you from an eyeless form, its toothed mouth whispering the echoes of chaos and madness.
CORE Male Human (2.0A CORE) Pal 2 | HP 21/22; AC 20;TCH 13; FF 17; F +7; R +4; W+5; CMB +5; CMD 18; INIT +4; Smite 1/1; Lay on Hands 1/3; Arrows 19/20 | Wands: CLW 47/50
Get behind me! Ranor yells as he leaps at the creature with flail and shield.
Male Half-Elf Transmuter 7 (Core) | HP 47/58 | AC 13/12/11 | F +10, R +7, W +9 (+2 vs. enchantments, +1 vs. divine spells) | CMD 15 | Init +6 | Perc +3 | Active Conditions:
Taerel starts singing quietly,
"Michael Rennie was ill
The Day the Earth Stood Still
But he told us where we stand
And Flash Gordon was there
In silver underwear
Claude Rains was The Invisible Man..."
Laughing my ass off in the chef's office after reading your song. Thankfully no one is here to reprimand me!
The two warriors make short work of the whisperer. As it falls, its body melts to mist which moves to envelope all of you. As it clears, you find yourselves waking up again. At least, you think you're waking up? After that, it's hard to be sure.
The door before you beckons you to safety. Well, beckons you to the room beyond.
Yeah, that was a bust. High sub-tier is better. Anyway, that's the best I can update at work right now. Will post new map when I get home.
Fingalad looks at the rest of the party in wonder. "What... what mystery was that?"
Before they go through the next door he again murmurs a spell over each member of the party. Resistance cantrip on the whole party before we go through the door. The first recipient's should expire after the first 30 seconds through the door.
The door in front of you is nothing worth noting aside from the intricate designs adorning it. Opening it, you reveal that which is beyond.
This chamber is lined with symbols like those near the entryway. There are obvious signs of a recent struggle, including blood and the corpse of a morlock. Drag marks slide through a pool of blood formed around the head of the morlock, indicating a large creature was pulled through the sealed door on the east side of the room. The door in the east wall is intricately formed from bronze. Four interconnected, circular windows reveal a confusing series of cogs and sprockets within. Levers, dials, and knobs protrude from the frames surrounding the window, but nothing appears to be an obvious latch.
Kamda speaks up while knelt down inspecting the blood.
Aye, if ye count smashin' em ta bits with me axe ta be "good". Otherwise, nah, I ain't yer man. This blood stain's interestin' though.
The pool of morlock blood is specked with its own bone fragments. The oddity is in the small tufts of brown fur which flost amongst the sanguine life liquid. It would seem a large animal or furred humanoid was dragged through the pool creating that lovely design on the floor.
The door, meanwhile, glares its challenge at Dunkel and Fingalad.
The door groans followed by a series of metallic clicks before the great circular plates on its face spin and rearrange at random. Levers spin and knobs turn, protrude, or retract, creating a rearranged mess of clockwork oddities. With a metallic creak, the bronze door in the west wall slams shut and bolts with an definitive clang. A few moments of ominous silence hang in the air briefly before a rushing, gurgling mass of water starts pouring in through several five-foot-wide chutes in the ceiling. Within seconds, the water is at your knees and still rising.
You have stumbled upon another puzzle. It seems to be intended that the user 'out-smart' the door. You think you have a minute before the room fills with water.
CORE Male Human (2.0A CORE) Pal 2 | HP 21/22; AC 20;TCH 13; FF 17; F +7; R +4; W+5; CMB +5; CMD 18; INIT +4; Smite 1/1; Lay on Hands 1/3; Arrows 19/20 | Wands: CLW 47/50
Seeing the gears and levers begin to hum and groan makes Ranor take a quick step back. Panic enters his face as the room begins to fill with water. In all my years I have never seen anything like this.
Int Aid Another:1d20 ⇒ 2
Ranor attempts to help but just seems to get in the way.
Kamda speaks up to the group as he realizes what the blood stains mean.
Our minotaur friend was this way. Looks ta me he killed one a them beats ye slew out side tha door, and then was dragged off. We be on tha right track.
When the room starts to fill with water, he curses loudly and starts looking around for a way out.
I ain't fer bein able ta breath under water! We need ta get outta here! Int check to Aid Another:1d20 ⇒ 6
Though not intelligent, the devices in the door react to Taerel's whir and click in frustration before rearranging themselves again. As it does so, one of the vents in the ceiling closes, leaving only 4 spewing water into the room.
One down... Dunkel? Fingalad? Zephyr? You wanna try anything with this before Taerel starts again?
Male Half-Elf Transmuter 7 (Core) | HP 47/58 | AC 13/12/11 | F +10, R +7, W +9 (+2 vs. enchantments, +1 vs. divine spells) | CMD 15 | Init +6 | Perc +3 | Active Conditions:
CORE Male Human (2.0A CORE) Pal 2 | HP 21/22; AC 20;TCH 13; FF 17; F +7; R +4; W+5; CMB +5; CMD 18; INIT +4; Smite 1/1; Lay on Hands 1/3; Arrows 19/20 | Wands: CLW 47/50
Calming himself Kalendir begins to focus and look at what the others are doing though he doesn't quite understand it.
