KC's Age of Worms

Game Master Kobold Catgirl

Farrukh examines the interior. He sees numerous crushed bones and moldy clothes upon the floor of the cylinder.

"I think this door may ACTUALLY have eaten people."

"I don't think I want to get in there."

So, red slot, empty. Orange slot, nothing. Yellow slow, mold and toilet. Green spot, shaft and warped humanoids. Blue spot, nothing. Indigo spot, elevator. Violet lantern, ???

Is that right?

Cuetzpalli goes to examine the skeleton in the blue alcove while Farrukh goes down the indigo elevator.

I think the Red one had an elevator too, just none of us got in it. He said the same thing about doors and a small chamber there.

That's about right. Map's been updated to reflect that.

Farrukh, you might be confused because the sarcophagus initially pointed at the yellow lantern and brought up the elevator, but you guys ignored it and kept moving.

Carina looks up from the hole under the green lantern.

"There's some bodies at the bottom down there." She points down the hole. "They looked kind of warped from where I was standing."

The figures were standing upright, for the record.

Cuetzpalli goes into the elevator that Farrukh was scared too, bending down to examine the bones.

The doors slam shut.

Less alarmed this time, Tanith looks to the others. "Another lift?"

Carina races over, uneasily eying the lift.

"Just wondering: is there a way to open these lifts from the outside? Like the button back down the other shaft?" She starts looking around for a button or switch that could open the doors.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

The doors slam shut with me inside? Or outside?

inb4"Reflex save or be crushed Cuetzpalli".

With you inside.

Without warning, the contraption smashes down into the ground--and into Cuetzpalli within.

Cuetzpalli takes: 2d6 ⇒ (4, 6) = 10.

By the way, I forgot to mention this, but Farrukh did notice a small pouch during his scan. It contains some coins and a small ruby. This a bad time?

The elevator slowly cranks back up, giving Cuetzpalli a chance to breathe. He and those outside hear an ominous whir.

You have two rounds before it comes down again.

So what am I supposed to do? I don't even understand what's going on now...Farrukh went and saw a trap, but didn't tell anyone? Then set it off by stepping on it, but it was delayed for two rounds? Then I went in because I thought he hadn't actually gone in or seen anything, because he said "I don't want to go in". So now I'm trapped in a death elevator with no way out because the situation wasn't described accurately? Can't we retcon it to, "Farrukh sees a trap mechanism." and then tells us, so we don't walk in?

Scrubbed. I'm going to bed, Script Frenzy starts in the morning. Try to decide on the party's next course of action by then.

The sarcophagus does nothing if pointed at the violet lantern.

Eh. What do we have to do to pry the doors open. Str checks?

Farrukh runs quickly to the door and tries to pry it open and let Cuetzpalli out.

"I don't trust that door. Crushed bones are a bad sign and we've already seen one crusher trap today. Let's spin the sarcophagus again."

Wheel of morality, turn, turn, turn. Give us the treasure (or acid burns).

Okay, so our only other option appears to be rappelling down the green lantern's shaft. Creepy...

"Maybe we should try to open the actual sarcophagus, and see what's inside?" Cuet will go over to the sarc, and examine the lid, to see if it could be lifted, and if its trapped.

Take 20 on perception on the sarc.

Carina reaches out to stop Cuetzpalli.

"Wait! Robin opened that already--there wasn't anything inside but a fire trap and dust."

"Oh, thanks. I must have missed that. Well, it looks like our only option is down the green shaft. I've got some rope, I don't know if it will be long enough. Does anyone else have any?"

I've only got 25 feet of rope. But, lets tie a couple ropes together, knot them, and then descend the green shaft.

Tanith retrieves his own length of rope and offers it.

Carina walks back over to the green lantern shaft and looks down it again. This time, she looks around for anything sturdy enough for a rope to be tied around... or failing that, for ledges that could serve as makeshift handholds for climbing down.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Cuet ties the ropes together and then knots them. Removing the green lantern, he ties the rope around its hook and tosses it down the hole. He sets the lantern aside for the moment. If it looks like the rope reaches the ground below, he will climb down.

Take 10 to climb down the knotted rope. Spiny will guard the lantern/hole.

Clarification needed--the green lantern does not emit light unless another light source is inside. The lantern provides no inherent light, it's just a filter. Last I recall, you put the torch that made it glow in the orange lantern.

Regardless, the response is the same, but do you still want to bring it instead of a normal torch (or the everburning torch that was originally inside)?

You don't have enough rope to knot it and still reach the bottom, but it doesn't matter. Also, Tanith, where is that rope coming from? It's not on your sheet.

Cuetzpalli easily scales the rope. The acid beetles have burned the walls of the chute, giving easy footholds to help the barbarian lower himself to the ground.

Dozens of bas-relief figures similar to the one on the sarcophagus lid stare disapprovingly from the walls here--the shapes Carina spotted just beyond the reach of her darkvision. Many sport crossed arms and stern expressions. A few of the statues' heads are missing, and some have huge chunks torn out of them. Others have a weird melted appearance, as if they've been sprayed by something terrible.

A large glyph identical to the one on the amulet points down to a short corridor to the north that ends in a four-way intersection.

Map.

It's part of the cleric's kit.

Kit, Cleric's

Price 16 gp; Weight 32 lbs.

This includes a backpack, a bedroll, a belt pouch, candles (10), a cheap holy text, a flint and steel, an iron pot, a mess kit, rope, soap, a spell component pouch, torches (10), trail rations (5 days), a waterskin, and a wooden holy symbol.

Tanith leans down and peers into the darkness. "Is it clear enough for us to follow?" he asks aloud.

Ah, alright. Also, amended the map--only Cuetzpalli has descended. The other figures are just there so you can place yourselves, as Docs doesn't let you copy between documents.

Carina gets on the rope and climbs down.

Taking 10 here.

She reaches the bottom, but not nearly as gracefully as Cuetzpalli.

"Looks like those beetles had fun with those statues, didn't they?" She says, pointing to the statues with the melted faces.

With that, she produces a vial and starts nervously twirling it about her fingers, looking all around for more of those acid-dripping things.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

It sounds like we're all going down.

Gripping the rope tightly, Tanith lowers himself down as well. "Look out below!"

Farrukh follows, and puts himself in a position where he can see ahead and scan for danger.

1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10 +2 vs traps.

Dice pls

Carina hears the faint sound of something heavy clacking against stone. She can't tell which of the four passages it's coming from.

Robin pauses, then pats his steed. "Wait here. Stomp anything that tries to eat you."

He climbs down behind the rest of the group, and, feeling optimistic after the initial roughness of the group's adventures, gives a happy shout as he climbs. "Look out, chaps! Adventurers on the move!"

Carina puts a finger to her lips.

"Shh... we're not alone down here."

"Who's down here with us?" the big man replies in a harsh whisper as he spins around gracelessly.

Robin's shout echoes throughout the chamber for a few seconds. When the echo dies, Carina notices that the clacking sound has stopped.

"Something going *clack clack clack*. Don't know where it's coming from." Carina grips the vial in her hand tightly.

After Robin's shout... "It stopped. I think it heard us." She shoots a quick glare at him. "Thanks very much."

"Dammit Robin if whatever it is kills us I'm going to haunt your ghost for all eternity."

Nothing immediately happens.

Still on edge, Carina whispers to Farrukh.

"Could you maybe scout ahead and see what that thing was? If you see it, please, come straight back here."

"Can do." he whispers back.

He creeps forward in the gloom.

Stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 +2 vs Traps.

I keep forgetting I'm the Stealth/Perception guy of this group and not just "the other beatstick" so if you'd keep reminding me like Carina just did I'd be grateful.

I had intended to leave the everburning torch in green, I used some of Erip's lamp oil that we found in those rags near the entrance to light the orange lamp. I don't know if someone else grabbed the everburning torch, but I don't have a hand free to hold a light.

Cuetzpalli moves to flank the door, drawing his shield off his back, and readying himself should something charge into the room.

And there's no way anything here can make that Perception check, so you're good.

Farrukh slinks ahead, squinting to make something out in the gloom--and then finding he doesn't have to anymore. He realizes there's a pale light coming from the eastern hall. A large beetle-shaped shadow is approaching from this direction, and Farrukh sees two smaller ones further down.

There is something orange on the floor. It looks a little bit like the mold, but it's too hard to tell in this light.

Farrukh also hears a sound like that the swarm that killed Erip made—the sound of thousands of crawling insects.

It is too dark to see down down the other too passages.

Map.

Cuetzpalli moves to flank the door,

Just FYI—there's not a door.

Put myself in the square I want to be in for now.

Farrukh heads back to the rest of everyone.

"Okay, so there's more big bugs, and what sounds like another swarm of acid beetles, along with some weird orange mold."

"I think this could possibly turn out okay if we're really, really careful."

Robin draws his bow. "Beetles! Excellent! I have a good feeling about them this time."

Do you have any particular plan/marching order?

Carina pales as Farrukh reports on the beetles.

"Oh, great."

She looks suspiciously at Robin as he draws his bow. "Can't say I have your optimism, but okay..."

For marching order, here's what I propose:

Cuetzpalli
Farrukh
Carina & Tanith
Robin

I think a good plan would be for the front-liners to focus down any large beetles while Carina concentrates on blowing the beetle swarms to pieces. So far, she's the only one who's proven she can reliably damage them.

This is how I would do it....

Tanith and I stand shoulder to shoulder on the red line. Carina stands at the orange circle. Then Farrukh sneaks over on the green line. To start the fight off, Robin follows the yellow line, carrying the light source. The beetles start to chase him as he shoots them. Once they hit the intersection, readied actions trigger and we pincer them. If that is more brown mold, the last thing we need is to throw fire anywhere near it.

Map

I like that idea, Cuetzpalli, but there's still the issue of the acid beetle swarm. Those things hurt like hell, and I'm the only one who can damage them. I'm afraid Farrukh will end up drawing them in as well, and I want to keep friendly-fire to a minimum, if at all possible.

That's really the only thing I'm having doubts about. Everything else is fine.