PbP Gameday #3: GM Silbeg's Thornkeep: The Accursed Halls (Inactive)

Game Master Silbeg

Fighting through his frightened state, 'Sven' again raises his scythe, sweeping it down into the other goblin scrub, hoping to reduce the goblin female's counterparts to zero.

Scythe: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 8 - 2 + 2 = 12
Damage: 2d4 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2) + 6 + 3 = 14

"Well, she doesn't speak Taldan, but should we at least try to capture this one alive?" asks Arturo, distractedly looking back to his companions, "The new Zog might appreciate it - and she's not a bad looker, for a goblin. Would be a shame to smear her brains all over the floor!"

The party is left to wonder if their companion is truly blind or simply uses organs other than his eyes for seeing.

Murgmo (the female oracle goblin) tries to cast on the defensive
concentration: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

She succeeds, casting Burning Hands once more (area of effect is highlighted on the map)

Arturo: Ref: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Vox: Ref: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Sven: Ref: 1d20 + 3 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 3 - 2 = 18
Arturo and Sven save, taking 1/2 damage
fire damage: 3d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 3) = 7

She then collapses, bleeding out on the floor.

Poochie is up, then Chuffy.

"To hell with it," says Arturo grumpily shaking cinders from his cloak, "Let's just kill the b*tch."

Deftly moving around the obstruction, the nagaji again raises his sword and two-hand swings attempting to make the annoying goblin into two dead goblin halves.

"If you will not listen to a wise nagaji talking sense, then I will need to check your head to see if it is filled with anything other than fermented apples and deadly slugs."

2-handed greatsword & Flanking: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 2 = 13
greatsword damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 2) + 4 = 11

Just as Ophiuchus rares back to swing his greatsword, a vision of Merian superimposes herself over the goblin. "Show mercy, my love. Don't become that which you hate." The nagaji is staggered by this, and it throws off his swing, which misses the goblin.

The goblin, however, was not even really watching Ophiuchus swing, as he was more focused on Murgmo's fire, and the Strong Guy that is in his face. This earns Sven a stabby-stabby from Chuffy.

short-sword attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4 Perhaps Chuffy was also shaken by the apparition, which Ophiuchus thought only he saw.

Einhard, having been given a command to attack, attacks the downed goblin. bite: 1d20 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 4 = 12 bite damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Roudi and Arturo are up.

Singed and tired of fighting these persistent little goblins, Arturo closes his mouth for once and darts back in to the fray with his deadly blade, assaulting the pimply little creature behind him.

Arturo scimitar attack vs Chuffy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Scimitar damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

And finally the little bugger goes down.

On the female you find:
potion of cure light wounds
2 vials of acid
masterwork chain shirt (small)
masterwork longspear (small)
5 green peridot in a belt pouch (worth 25gp each)

The other three have the typical dogslicer, shortbow, and 19 arrows (all small).

There is also a wooden chest with a crude lock under a pile of supplies.

"Ooh!" exclaims Arturo upon seeing the locked chest, "I just love treasure chests!"

The rogue casually steps over goblin corpses on his way over to the chest. After checking it for traps, he does his best to pick the shoddy lock.

Arturo disable device: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27

"I"m sure it's too much to ask for," Vox begins, standing nearby to Arturo, watching the mustachioed gentleman deftly pick at the lock of the chest. "But I don't suppose we could find something that's sized for something larger than a goblin..."

Letting his rage subside, the Brute leans against a nearby wall wearily as Arturo works on the lock, trying to keep a lookout for any other agressors. Well, besides his own comrades.

I am going to try and save a few spells, I have 2 left.

"All who need healing, I will heal you. It is good to fight the living again, and kill them dead. Those who stand in our way will fall like a dead tree in a gentle summer breeze. Who will be around to hear it though?"

CLW Wand Me: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
CLW Wand Arturo: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW Wand Vox: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
CLW Wand Vox: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW Wand Sven: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
CLW Wand Sven: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

"Ooh, look! A chain shirt in my size! A rare find, you can't imagine how hard it is to find my size from stores," Roudantaimi admires the armour, sniffing it. "Eww, it smells like goblin, better clean it up." Roudantaimi cleans the shirt with prestidigitation, removes his old hide armor, and tries the looted one on.

"Don't worry," Arturo says to Vox, "Market price for a small weapon is much the same as market price for a large one. We won't be able to use them now, but they'll still fetch a fair purse of gold. I don't suppose Roudantaimi is too upset in any case."

Arturo smiles gratefully as Ophiuchus heals his burns. I wish that wand also fixed my cloak. Ah well, perhaps I'll find a priest who can mend it when we get back to town.

"I'm not sure I have such an appetite for killing the living, Ophiuchus," says Arturo with a slightly quizzical look on his face, "But it is indeed good to be facing off against something other than the wakeful dead. As for who will hear our enemies fall - we will, my friends! Then the strong brute with the beautiful voice at our side can sing tales of our prowess for all who didn't hear it first hand."

Arturo continues to work the lock, eager to discover what is inside.

In the chest, Arturo finds 200gp, 400sp, a potion of cure light wounds, and an arrow, which is magical.

spellcraft: Poochie: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
spellcraft: Jaender: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Poochie figures out that it is an arrow of sleep.

I assume you're ready to move on, then?

The lower portion of this chamber is a pool of still, green water. Large rectangular columns support a series of shallow stone steps and landings, climbing from the southern part of the chamber toward a rough, recently excavated tunnel to the north.

Sven walks out to see three goblins playing dice. They look up, surprised! No surprise round... though

Arturo is up!

Ready to move!

"Well, Strong Brute and Ophiuchus, why don't you lead the way?" asks Arturo, pocketing the healing potion, "Oh, and I forgot to say earlier, but we've found these healing potions. We should use those next time, rather than draining your wands. I feel bad that I haven't contributed to this group's collection of healing wands (I'll have to pick one up soon)."

**EDIT** Cyrus'd by the GM!

Arturo moves up and takes on the new Poog (relying on their flat-footed condition to get past without AoO).

Scimitar attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Scimitar damage, incl. sneak attack: 1d6 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + (3) = 10
Scimitar crit confirm: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Crit damage if successful: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Just realized that Silbeg might not know I posted if he already read the last one... so... here's another post pointing to the one above.

Arturo rushes up, and decapitates the poor goblin, who was only playing his game.

Now pissed off, the other two move to attack. Chuffy moves around (the long way) to get a flank on Arturo when the blue bimbo moves. He waits with his shortsword for her to get in place. She then moves (5') and draws her sword. The two attack.
shortsword w/ flank: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 + 2 = 15
Chuffy shortsword w/ flank: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 2 = 24 Chuffy crit confirm: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 + 2 = 15 damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2

The "Chuffy" finds a definite gap in Arturo's defenses, but cannot take full advantage of it.

Party is up (Arturo being last)

"Crazy rogues always overextending and getting themselves into trouble... at least its a couple of goblins and not some crazy undead creatures..." Jaender laments as Arturo is suddenly flanked by the diminutive creatures.

Stepping around the corner, he sees the blue goblin, and spits out a gout of fire in her direction.

Fire Spit, Ranged Touch, Into Melee, PB: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 1 = 25 for Fire Damage, PB: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

With that done, he pulls his crossbow out, just in case these buggers hang around for a few more seconds.

5' adjust, standard to fire spit, move to draw crossbow, though I should just say that I always walk with that thing out....

The blue goblin takes a vicious scorching from Jaender, but is still standing... barely.

"More goblins? Ah, we come in peace, bringing you flowers... Oh well, not then.." Diplomacy not an option this time either, Roudantaimi moves onwards for a better line of fire. Aiming on Chuffy, he pulls the trigger.

Musket, PBS: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Musket crit confirm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Damage, PBS,FA: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Extra damage if crit: 3d10 + 15 ⇒ (10, 9, 3) + 15 = 37

Gah, scary dice rolls...

"Chuffy" blowed up.

The female sees this... collapses... crying.

"A Goblin... crying? He must have owed her money... Could there possibly be any information we could gather from her?"

Jaender wonders out loud as he wanders into the room, the threat apparently ended.

Let me know if I shouldn't be walking in "out of combat" yet...

Edit: HOLY GUNPOWDER BATMAN!!!!!

Arturo tries to end her misery.

Arturo scimitar attack : 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Scimitar damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

If he is successful in this attempt, he will loot their corpses and search the room for anything interesting.

"A Goblin... crying? He must have owed her money... Could there possibly be any information we could gather from her?"

Not any more... Arturo finishes her.

The three have the usual goblin crap, but their pot has some interesting things.

a pair of silver earrings (worth 25gp)
60 gp
110 sp
a potion that Jaender identifies as Lesser Restoration
spellcraft: Ophiuchus: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
spellcraft: Jaender: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

moving on...

This large chamber appears to be a natural cavern with small yellow crystals glittering in the walls. A level flagstone path clings to the western wall, but most of the room is an open chasm. Uneven columns of rock jut from the chamber’s depths, matching the height of the flagstone floor to the north and south. Water streams down from the roof of the cave and pools thirty feet below around the bases of the rock columns. A rickety ladder lies on the ledge of the cliff at the room’s northern exit, along with torches and a barrel full of pitch.

The strong brute gives Arturo and Ophiuchus yet another quizzical look. Why did this nonsense of singing keep coming up? Was his voice that good...could he perhaps join a traveling band? A new wealth of possibilities opens up in the brute's mind, options he had never considered before this moment. Why should he let life pigeonhole him into any single role?

Well, he could think about that later. They had the living to make dead up ahead, most likely.

He grabs a torch from the stack, rolling the tip of it in the pitch at his side and lighting it, then tossing it to the cavern floor below.

How rickity is the ladder? Does it appear to be long enough to use it as a bridge to cross between the columns? We could all methodically work our way across from column to column to get to the south side.

Jaender takes a few moments to take in the sights of the room. He picks at the crystals glittering in the walls, fascinated by their twinkle, like little stars underground. He takes in the cavern ceiling and the pool below, particularly when strong brute tosses a torch down there, keen on what might happen when it hits bottom.

These don't happen to be big enough crystals for the door do they?

Sven lights a torch, and throws it down. It falls about 30 feet, and lies at the bottom, sputtering. At this time, from above, three insectoid creatures with two pairs of bat wings, a tangle of thin legs, and a needle-sharp proboscis come flying down from above.

They surprise the party. Two of the tiny creatures attack Sven, one attacks Ophiuchus.

bug1 vs FF Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 Attached, and 1 point CON damage
bug2 vs FF Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 Attached, and 1 point CON damage
bug3 vs FF Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 Attached, and 1 point CON damage

The brute cries out in surprise as the things attach to him, dropping his scythe to the ground. He pulls out his club, trying to wallop one of the things attached to him.

Club: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Not even sure what penalties might be applicable.

"AAA, giant mosquitoes! I'll get it off you, Sven. Just be very very still! Dooon't move, this is a tricky shot!" Roudantaimi sets the barrel toward one of the bugs stuck on Strong Brute.

Musket, PBS: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Damage, PBS, FA: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

"Ack! These things keep coming out of nowhere! Sven! Poochie!"

Jaender reacts as quick as he can as the weird little creatures drop from the ceiling. He puffs out another breath of fire at one of the ones on Sven's back.

Fire Spit, Ranged Touch, PB: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 1 = 17 for Fire Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

"Get it off! Get it off!""

Realizing that he can actually hit it, Ophiuchus swings at the thing attached to him.

2-handed greatsword: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
greatsword damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 = 9

'Sven' digs deep to not scream like a little girl when Rudy swings the barrel of his weapon at Sven. He can't help but wince as he hears the almost immediate BOOM that follows.

We really need to work on getting some Knowledge (arcana)!

I don't get many skill points, but I have been thinking the same thing... I can probably do that at the next level up.

The party totally destroys the vile bugs in seconds. Sven is feeling a little weak, as is Poochie (though the nagaji isn't showing any signs of weakness).

You notice a 12' ladder on the landing, of obvious goblin construction. You also notice the yellow crystals studding the lower area of the room, 30' below.

I take it the ladder isn't going to be of much use getting down...

"Well, friends, looks like the only thing to do is to get down and check out those crystals," says Arturo, cheerfully pulling out a rope and grapple from his large sack, "Thank you for continuing to hold this for me, Strong Brute. Ah, here we go. Let's hope they fit into the doorway! Otherwise, we'll have to scour this level to figure out if we can find the rest."

Arturo will take some time to knot his rope, and then secure the grapple end to somewhere solid (any volunteers to hold it for him would be appreciated) and then scale down the wall to the floor below.

Unless the wall angles inwards, this should be a DC 0 climb: bracing against a wall using a knotted rope. Unless the DC exceeds 14, Arturo will just take 10 (his climb check is +4).

The brute silently hands over Arturo's possessions. He had forgotten he had been carrying them. He will descend with Arturo, once the rogue has cleared away from the rope, on the off chance 'Sven' slips and falls.

Arturo is easily able to climb down. He is able to chip out several of the deep yellow hued crystals. He ascertains that they aren't worth anything, but might fit in the doorway's slots.

Sven follows down, safely, as well.

and then....?

Arturo will survey the situation to see how hard it would be to get the other side.

It's actually quite tricky to decide what to do next without the full map of the parts of the Accursed Halls that we've explored so far in context. Any chance we can get more complete map?

You aren't completely done. There is the passage that goes off to the east... and then the door. But, I can make the maps available.

Full Accursed Halls Map

Jaender watches his companions closely as they gather the stones from the floor, making sure that nothing else jumps out from the shadows. Once that is complete, and they make their way back up, Jaender speaks up.

"We can use this ladder, if it is strong enough, to move across these pillars. Watch..." Jaender huffs and puffs and muscles the rickity ladder so it spans the gap between the ledge and the first pillar. That done, he beckons someone else to join him.

"Once two of us get here, or as many as can fit on this pillar, we will move the ladder so one or some of us can move to the next pillar. Then we move the ladder so that the rest of us can get onto that first pillar. We just bounce the ladder back and forth, moving one at a time to each pillar in a big chain until we are all across!"

"Oooorrr.... you could just wade through the water to the other side and we can throw a rope down to you. Whatever works" He says with a smile.

The brute scratches his head at Jaender's plan. Then he shrugs. The little man was surely smarter than he was. He waits for others to go across first, afraid his bulk will destroy the ladder.

Little man that burps fire, what you say makes sense for monkeys and people who climb things for fun. Not only am I afraid of the dark, but being very high up makes my head light and I want to fall off. Which way should I go?"

Looking like I have a -3 climb

"Given our relative, er, sizes," begins Arturo diplomatically, "Perhaps it would be best for everyone to climb down and then for Jaender and I to do the ladder trick. Once across, we can then drop the knotted rope down for the rest of you to climb (or if you can't climb it, when Strong Brute gets up, he could haul you up after)."

Smiling at his modification to Jaender's plan, Arturo waits for the first nod of agreement and then scampers back up the rope to place the ladder and begin. Such fun to be had in these halls! Gemstone puzzles and ladder tricks! Oh my, what will be next? Probably some more goblins to show who's best. Maybe I'll learn how to speak with them...

"I'd rather join the ladder team", Roudantaimi muses, looking down to the depths. "Short legs, water and gunpowder don't mix that well."

Moving on... gonna say that between the group of you, you figure it out. The climb check is low enough that you can take 10, and even Poochie makes it through safely!
As you walk through the hallway leaving the Conjury, you see:
A framework of old timbers shores up this hallway’s cracked and uneven ceiling. From the west comes the sound of falling water. In the middle of the hall, a large stone block lies on top of the corpse of a crushed goblin.

Arturo: Perception: 1d20 + 5 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 - 1 = 24
Jaender: Perception: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (11) + 7 - 2 = 16
Roudantaimi: Perception: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 - 1 = 22
Sven: Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Vox: Perception: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 2 = 25
Ophiuchus: Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Einhardt: Perception: 1d20 + 5 - 3 ⇒ (15) + 5 - 3 = 17

The youth removes his coil of silk rope and commences to tie it around Einhardt. The wolf looks almost embarrassingly at Vox as he winds the rope around her torso, weaving it in and out of the animal's harness, before hoisting the beast off the ground and lowering her gently to the pool beneath.

Once the wolf has reached the bottom, Vox quickly climbs down after her, and takes hold of the strand of silk rope, hoping to keep it out of the murk as much as possible before ascending the opposite side.

Bah! Cyrus'd!