Revival of the Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Cellion

After that big blast of fire, Colvyn increase his fighting skill with his divine magic. He then unleashes a hail of arrows on the closest troll. What other horrors are we going to find here?

Longbow1 vs Blue: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 16
Longbow2 vs Blue: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 32
Longbow3 vs Blue: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 16

Damage1: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 17
Damage2: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 17
Damage3: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 = 15

Buff: Divine Favor

"Clear the way for us, will you?"

Kargas grins as lightning wreathes his form. "Gladly," he rumbles as he strides into the room, hardly waiting for Kellek's fireball to disperse. Keeping the stone wall at his back, the half-orc darts into position where only on of the trolls can get at him and slashes at its legs, aiming to hamstring his foe and then finish it off.

Rage, Shield of Faith, Mirror Image; attacking Blue with Power Attack, Furious Focus, & Arcane Strike active
Attack: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25 Damage: 2d4 + 10 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 10 + 9 + 2 = 28

Boom indeed

The green troll screams in agony as it lashes out at Guiness. Although he parries the claws, its jaws rake his arm. (7 dmg) Meanwhile the other two trolls rush toward Kargas. Their frenzied attacks only manage to shatter two of his images.

|||| INIT ||||
Guiness (7 dmg)
Astrid
Kargas (4 images)
Colvyn
Kellek
Green Troll (42 dmg)
Red Troll (32 dmg)
Yellow Troll (32 dmg)

Guiness erupts into a flurry of attacks at the green troll, stepping up and attacking the red one if the green one falls.

Dragonfist Attack vs. Giant: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 13 + 1 = 29
Dragonfist Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 15 ⇒ (1) + (5) + 15 = 21

Dragonfist Attack vs. Giant: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 1 = 11
Dragonfist Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 15 ⇒ (6) + (5) + 15 = 26

Steel Headbutt: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 1 = 27
Steel Headbutt Damage: 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Steel Headbutt Confirm: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24
Steel Headbutt Damage: 1d4 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Colvyn lights up his bow on fire and then aim for another troll. He sends another volley, hoping to down the thing so that Kargas can move to another one and finish the fight.

Longbow1 vs Yellow: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 21
Longbow2 vs Yellow: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 14 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 27
Longbow3 vs Yellow: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 9 + 1 + 2 + 2 - 2 - 2 = 12

Damage1: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + (3) = 19
Damage2: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + (3) = 22
Damage3: 1d6 + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 1 + 2 + 2 + 4 + (2) = 19

Buff: Divine Favor

With the trolls on the back-foot, Kargas steps up to the nearest and attempts to cut it down!

Same bonuses from last round, but adding Elemental Weapons for a +1d6 of electricity
Attack #1: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34 Damage: 2d4 + 10 + 9 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (4, 4) + 10 + 9 + 2 + (3) = 32

Attack #2: 1d20 + 12 - 3 ⇒ (17) + 12 - 3 = 26 Damage: 2d4 + 21 + 1d6 ⇒ (1, 1) + 21 + (2) = 25

Astrid holds a spell in reserve, waiting to see what the trolls do next.

Kargas' first swing cuts down yellow and his second grievously injures red.

Red, enraged and bloody, bellows as he claws and bites at Guiness. His attacks just aren't able to breach past the dwarf's defenses.

|||| INIT ||||
Guiness (7 dmg)
Astrid x2
Kargas (4 images)
Colvyn
Kellek x2
Red Troll (57 dmg)

Shifting to the northeast, Guiness succinctly calls to Kargas, "Anvil," as he prepares to strike with his flaming hammer.

Readied action for flank with Kargas, Dragonfist Attack: 1d20 + 13 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 13 + 1 + 2 = 33
Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 + 15 ⇒ (3) + (4) + 15 = 22

(Not the most tactically efficient approach, but an opportunity for Kargas to be quite cinematic--go for it!)

Kellek feels the need to point out "That's a hammer."

"So it is," Astrid agrees, the corner of her mouth twitching up into a half-smile. I'm quite happy to let those two finish the clean up!

Even without Kargas serving as a distraction, Guiness manages to smash the final troll's gut hard enough to bring it down. The troll utters one last defiant growl as it expires. Soon, you're left with nothing more than smoldering corpses in the damp room.

Combat Over!

Growling in Dwarvish, Guiness says, ” ЭТО молоток,” as he holds up Dragonfist, ”Я наковальня.”

"You tell 'em, Guiness," Kargas adds agreeably, as though he spoke a lick of Dwarven. "Looks like we found the Skulltakers...and those ogres out side were chopping at the dam but didn't seem like they made much progress. So what did break off a chunk? Black Magga?"

Growling in Dwarvish, Guiness says, ” ЭТО молоток,” as he holds up Dragonfist, ”Я наковальня.”

"The analogy still doesn't make any sense. Do you mean to say that you where going to sling one of the trolls over your knee and spank him with your mallet?"

"You tell 'em, Guiness," Kargas adds agreeably, as though he spoke a lick of Dwarven. "Looks like we found the Skulltakers...and those ogres out side were chopping at the dam but didn't seem like they made much progress. So what did break off a chunk? Black Magga?"

"I doubt it. We would have seen signs of it's passing on the way up here. More likely the it was the ogres that did that."

The troll corpses smolder slowly, their smell mixing with the wet fungal aromas of the room.

Where to next?

Not wanting to argue the proper terminology for a basic tactical maneuver, Guiness checks the trolls and the room quickly for loot or useful items, then strides over by Kargas, suggesting, ”How about these doors next?”

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17

Kellek looks around as well with his magic-detecting peepers.

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

"Let us see what we can see," Astrid says, moving to examine the doors for traps and to listen for anything on the far side.

Astrid Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32
Muninn Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25

Neither Guiness nor Kellek spot any items of value across the troll corpses or their surroundings. After a quick check of the southwest door for traps, Astrid gives the okay and you open the way forward.

Allow me to fill you in on several minor rooms :)

Beyond, a wide passageway connects to the southern entrance to the skull building, as well as smaller door leading into the southernmost chamber. Muninn gives the okay and you continue onward.

Three round windows in this southernmost room look out over the sheer drop of Skull’s Crossing. Additional skull carvings decorate the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. In the middle of the north wall stand massive stone double doors, their smooth surfaces smeared with graffiti written in dried blood. For those who can read giant, the graffiti clearly reads BELOW DWELLS WET PAPA GRAZUUL! ALL HAIL WET PAPA GRAZUUL!

To the west of this room, a small storeroom is overgrown with vines and fungal growths that reek of damp mold and rot. To the east, another storeroom has partially collapsed, leaving a treacherous-looking gap in the wall overlooking the storm and the spray rising from the lake below.

"Below dwells wet papa grazuul. All hail wet papa grazuul." Colvyn reads the inscription out loud for those that can't read it. "Referring their leader or some obscure deity that I don't know about? What ever is the case, if there is any loot to be found, this is more than likely the way to go."

”Or any mechanism to take some load off this dam from all the rainwater,” responds Guiness, ”But perhaps we should check the rest of the rooms on this level before we descend—at least to keep any Skullgivers from sneaking up behind us.”

Guiness takes a look through the remaining rooms on this level. The chamber to the north-east is another entranceway that has a door out onto the eastern walk of the dam. From the room with the trolls, the room further east is another soggy, mossy and fungus-filled room with piles of flotsam and debris that look like they might've been troll nests. Guiness doesn't spot any remaining creatures - Skulltakers or otherwise.

While Guiness returns to the southernmost chamber, the rest of you try the double doors and find they open to a staircase leading down into the dark below.

"Right, down it is," says Guiness, his hammer still aflame, though he lets Colvyn go first to scout if he so desires. In any case, Guiness keeps an eye out for any traps or unsafe terrain ahead.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (12) + 13 = 25

Three round windows in this southernmost room look out over the sheer drop of Skull’s Crossing. Additional skull carvings decorate the walls, ceiling, and even the floor. In the middle of the north wall stand massive stone double doors, their smooth surfaces smeared with graffiti written in dried blood. For those who can read giant, the graffiti clearly reads BELOW DWELLS WET PAPA GRAZUUL! ALL HAIL WET PAPA GRAZUUL!

Kellek considers the words.

"Both ogres and trolls come in aquatic varieties...." he says to no one in particular.

Do any of the words or context give Kellek any ideas as to what might lie below? He takes 10 on all appropriate Knowledge checks.

When Guiness reports the other rooms all cleared, Kargas shrugs and gestures towards the stairs. "Alright then, time to go say hello to the...'wet papa.' Who comes up with this shit..."

"Wet Papa Grazuul..." Astrid repeats as they all descend the stairs. "Softens the menace, somewhat."

Good question Kellek. The name certainly has the ring of an ogre or troll's appellation. From Kellek's cultural knowledge, he gets the sense that it would be referring to a higher ranking troll or ogre - possibly a chief of some kind.

With Guiness and Colvyn in the lead, you start to descend down the stairs. The stone steps switch back and forth multiple times as you descend, heading down what feels like ten or more stories into the interior of the dam. Eventually you reach another set of stone doors - these ones particularly heavy. You work together to slowly push them open.

Map updated. See the left image for a side view of the dam and your route down the stairs. Right image for the current floor.

This cold, damp room features a large pool in the floor, the edges of which are caked with pale yellow slime and fungus. The surface of the pool bears a similar film. Additional carvings of skulls decorate the walls here. To the south, an impressive mound of skulls—mostly from humanoids—lies heaped against the wall, where they partially block a large stone double door.

Partially submerged in the scum-laden pool is a hulking green scaly-skinned figure. It squints at your group with beady yellow eyes, burbling for a moment in the water before speaking in giant "New Dry Ones. Do you come bring new skulls? Grazuul not have new skull in long time..." He seems more curious than aggressive.

Handouts updated with our new friend.

"Wet Papa Grazuul..." Astrid repeats as they all descend the stairs. "Softens the menace, somewhat."

"Soddens it, you mean."

Kellek attempts to ID Pops when he can (Takes 10).

diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

"Ór kourse, ór kourse Mikill Stórr Einn, vér réttr vætta til sjá ef nú munu munu góðr tími til leggjþaur, Papa." says Kellek in a grating yet ingratiating tone.

Over his shoulder though, he whispers "Let us be off to collect some ogre* heads."

* Assuming he's a skrag and not a merrow.

Kellek identifies the creature as a scrag troll. This sodden type of troll is capable of regenerating while it is in contact with water. Scrags are usually not the most intelligent, agile or willful, but they tend to be quick in the water and very strong.

Grazuul cocks his head to the side as he listens to Kellek's words "Always time for new skulls. Always. Now good. Later good." He seems generally pleased by Kellek's behavior.

A bit confused by Kellek's suggestion, Brother Guiness nonetheless backs off as requested and goes back up the stairs a bit so they can discuss the plan out of the view of 'Wet Papa'.

I say we toss him some ogre heads and ask him some questions about the place. He may have been living here for a looooong time, and isn't likely to want to trash it. In fact, Pops might turn out to be an able defender should we need to leave.

Once they are out of earshot, Astrid pipes up with a question, her voice casual. "If I may ask...what is happening?"

"We are giving Papa some heads no one is currently using in exchange for information."

The "Wet Papa" watches you with eager interest as you back off and close the door to his pool behind you. The stone door is solid enough that you could probably talk at normal volume without him being able to hear you - even if he could understand common, which is unlikely.

Kargas grunts noncommittally. "The scrag didn't seem too bothered by us, he did just ask for skulls. We might be able to figure out...something about this place, I don't know. It's a lead, and we can always kill him if things go sour."

Colvyn just follows along with the plan... for now.

Astrid lets out an exasperated sigh. "Again with the skulls!" She gives a shake of her head, then shrugs. "Very well, if it helps us avoid unnecessary bloodshed. Just don't ask me to perform the...harvesting. Is that the right word?"

She chews her lip in thought, considering the question.

"There were quite a few skulls in the Ettin's trove--and now there are two new fresh ones," says Guiness, "though my hammer is sadly lacking when it comes to clean decapitations and avoiding serious skull fracture. I find this arrangement distasteful, but if we think we can get good information here, worthwhile."

"There were quite a few skulls in the Ettin's trove--and now there are two new fresh ones," says Guiness, "though my hammer is sadly lacking when it comes to clean decapitations and avoiding serious skull fracture...."

{Looks meaningfully at Kargas's "key"}

With a sigh Kargas starts back up the steps. "Wait here, I'll go get a pile of skulls." Once he reaches the top, the half-orc crosses the dam back to the ettin's cavern. "Sorry, fellas, but it looks like we need these more than you do..." He contemplates beheading the ettin but then grunts in distaste and gathers up a dozen skulls before returning.

"Think these'll work? Didn't care for the mess of collecting the, um, fresh ones."

It doesn't take long for Kargas to get back with a heaping armful of skulls from the ettin's stash. You descend back down the stairs and open the doors once more. The scrag troll Grazuul cackles with excitement at the new skulls, reaching out to snatch them from you and then gazing long into the eye sockets of each one. "Small, very small, but good. Yes yes, very good. Dry Ones make Grazuul very happy."

He selects a few favorites and tosses the rest onto his enormous collection piled up against the southern door. He seems to be paying little attention to you all.

After a long pause Kargas clears his throat. "Ah, Wet Papa Grazuul," he addresses the troll in Jotun. "We had hoped you would be able to tell us about how this dam got broken. We saw ogres chipping away but they seemed too small and weak to cause such damage. What happened?"

Staying back, Colvyn watches the scene but fully expect this to turn into a fight any moment now.

It doesn't take long for Kargas to get back with a heaping armful of skulls from the ettin's stash. You descend back down the stairs and open the doors once more. The scrag troll Grazuul cackles with excitement at the new skulls, reaching out to snatch them from you and then gazing long into the eye sockets of each one. "Small, very small, but good. Yes yes, very good. Dry Ones make Grazuul very happy."

Was that in Common? If not Kellek will paraphrase Kargas' question in Giant.

Kargas speaks Giant

Kargas speaks Giant

Sorry. One spot on his page didn't list it, and that's the one spot where I looked.

Yep, everything's been in Giant so far.

Grazuul pulls himself away from regarding the skulls to answer Kargas' question. "Not know, not care." Upon being pressed, he ends up adding "Dry ones bigger than you, tick tick tick, slowly work. Bowing ones tell Grazuul that working dry ones not good, but working dry ones not come down here. Grazuul feel little shake, then big shake, then boom. Seem like no more shaking now."

”The rain above continues, filling the lake to the brim, and the dam, weakened by the damage, is in danger of failing. I would say such a calamity would devastate many lives, not least of all yours, Wet Papa, as it would destroy your home. Do you have access here to any tools that might be used to repair the dam, or perhaps a way to lower the water level in the lake?” asks Guiness in Giant.

Grazuul picks up a skull again, holding it over his head and peering up into its eyeholes. "Not care. If everything break, Grazuul end up in river, end up safe. If kill lots of others, even better. More skulls to find. More to collect." Upon being pressed, he adds "If Dry Ones want to look around for tools, Grazuul not mind."

Looking around the room, you see two doors to the east, two to the west, and a large set to the south that are blocked by a heaping pile of skulls.