Serpent Skull- Beer and Pretzels (Inactive)

Game Master drbuzzard

However the tribe throws a grad feast for you...

Did the fighting wake the sound sleepers up, or did they throw us a 'Brunch Party'? :-)

'Great, I miss and the lizard gets the kill. oh well, at least it's dead.' Getting raked and then missing the large beast, Ivar is relieves to see the last of the creatures go down. Plopping on the ground he looks up and asks, "Should we finish sleeping, so we can leave in the morning or are we staying a couple of days?"

I assume we can leave in the morning once everyone is well rested enough to require spells?

The feast is an evening meal. You might as well wait for it (as in I won't make repercussions).

The shaman adds her own thanks, and rewards the PCs with two items: a grisly, shrunken monkey head and a treasure map she claims she took off the corpse of a Sargavan soldier. The monkey head is a Zenj spirit fetish, which the shaman says can be used to banish evil spirits and exorcise demons (see sidebar), while the map notes the location of a sunken ship in the Lake of Vanishing Armies that contains a chest full of gold ingots

"If you squint at that monkey head just the right way, it kinds looks like my grandpa on my mom's side."

In the Morning
'Well at least Barton has kept his sense of humor.' After waking and gathering his gear, Ivar asks the team. "Shall we continue the direction we were headed, or do we want to check out this 'sunken ship' in the lake before we head on?"

So you know the purpose of the monkey head, it is a one use dispel evil item.

"I think the ship is a nice side mission we can go on after out surrent one is complete. That is unless the Lake is on our way.."

... the witch doctor cures all your maladies (including the negative levels).

I assume that everyone is at full health then, otherwise I would attempt to use up the last of my spell slots healing before finishing resting and getting all my spells back.

"I can't wait until I get a little more experience under my belt so that I can protect Shred with a Life Link as well. I feel bad I wasn't able to help him during the fight."

As this section is a touch railroady the lake with the treasure ship is on your planned route.

"It appears the sunken boat is on our way. We might as well check it out."

"He's pretty tough, but he does appreciate your healing.. The sunken ship sounds underwater. I can prepare a spell for that."

Well that's not the next stop on the railroad. Why don't we just move on to that?

You meet up with the caravan when they catch up with you after you pig out at the feast. Heading out once more in the morning you are trekking across the savannah.

A collection of snaking mounds about three feet high spreads across the savanna like an alien land formation. Some twist and wind for several hundred yards, while others sink back into the soil after only a few yards.

Perception would be good here.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0 LOL, are you guys still here, where'd you go?

Boy you really optimized that.

"Gophers!"

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Taking point, Ivar walks with his greatsword resting on his shoulders. As the savanna opens up to an area with odd mounds, Ivar lifts his hand and closing it a fist comes to a stop. "It looks like we've found some sort of mounds."

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

showoff....

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

Still a bit hungover, the peck exclaims and yells as he points "Look, a squirrel!"

"No wait, just a rock."

Perc: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (10) + 15 = 25

"Big Gophers by the looks of it.. Maybe even alien ones."

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Those are rather high for moles, don't you think? Or maybe it's giant moles. Wonder how they got that big. Giant predator moles eating flesh? We probably need to go through there...

As always I assume Ivar is in the lead. He makes the check and realizes he's about to step on a sinkhole.

Having come to a stop, Ivar points with his sword a the ground in front of him, "Look a sink hole. We may need to find another way around. Does anyone know what caused these mounds and the hole here?" He asks, as he begins to look for a way around the 'sink' hole.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
buzzard, what kind of knowledge check to discern what caused the sink hole.

Arcana to figure out what might have done it.

You tend to think that there's probably plenty of the holes around so best if you clear out what did it before the caravan arrives.

knowledge(arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

no idea

"Gophers!" Bart says as he chucks a rock into the sinkhole.

'Well, this is a mess.' Nodding at the mounds and sinkholes, Ivar begins to carefully walk around the first sinkhole, "Well, whatever did this we should probably clear out before the caravan gets here. Keep your eyes peeled." As he moves forward he stays very cautious, watching for more sinkholes and whatever creature caused the earth works.

Ok he's moving slow, taking 10(20) on perception.

kn:arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Lalali raises an eyebrow as she musters the sinkholes and the rest of the party.

Lalali sees a number of curious details in the area and it able to piece together that the screwed up terrain is the result of ankhegs.

They are large N magical beasts that spit acid and can grab you in their mandibles.

"Gophers until proven otherwise ....."

'Those would be some big ass gophers." Ivar stops searching for a moment, turning and asking their red-headed chelaxian 'native' guide. "Is there such a thing as 'Dire Gophers' in this part of the jungle?"

She looks back at you as if you've lost your mind.

"No. "

"This is great! If we're the first to discover the dire gophers, then we will get the right to name them!"

Your native guide is now unconscious having facepalmed so hard, she knocked herself out.

"Don't worry about the guide, I'll take good care of her."

I whip out some smelling salts and administer them to my new patient. As she wakes up, I explain that sometimes the strongest and healthiest people make the best warriors, not necessarily the brightest. Generally the brightest amongst us goes into the medical profession where they spend years in school amassing humongous debts and thus tips are appreciated.

Shrugging, Ivar turns to Barton, "Great, Barton Savage Gophers, it has a ring to it."

As the red head awakens, overhearing Hindi saying something about the strongest and healthiest. Ivar makes sure to flex his arms, as he points with his sword, "Perchance we should search over there."

"Tips? Buy low, sell high. "

Looking around you notice that you can probably get into the ankheg cave system if you just poke through the sinkhole that you almost fell into. Then you could lower a rope and climb down.

After flexing his prodigious arms, Ivar notices the sinkhole again. "What if we poke through the sinkhole? Stepping back far enough that he doesn't fall in, he thrust his sword into the dirt.

if the sinkhole opens.
Drawing out his one of his lengths of rope, he finds a tree to tie it to, tossing the other end down the hole. Lighting a torch and throwing it in as well he asks "Shall we?"

If we can continue
Climbing down the rope, he picks up the torch in one hand, his sword in the other he looks around.
perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

You poke through the sinkhole and there's a large pit. As you start rigging up rope to climb one, one of the large bug thingies (which look nothing like gophers) shows up below you in the pit.

init: 1d20 ⇒ 9

init: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Turning, "Hey look, not gophers!

Probably the dire gophers would name you brunch, or green sausage. If the ankhegs don't get you before. Looking at this there might be several of them, a swarm kind of. Maybe they even have a bug queen somewhere down below? Within a nest? Might be a unique chance to explore their natural habitat!

Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Nice Ivar, you lured one out. Is one of you willing to jump in so we can see what happens further? Maybe it will bring you to the queen? But maybe not alive.

Not far away, you hear some digging as if some more of the critters are likely to pop up on you soon.

initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

"Mutant dire gophers!"

Bart casts heroism on himself.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Malok elects to take '1' on initiative for a '3'.

Order:

Bart
Galittlehad
Ivar
Lalali
Ankhegs
Hindi
Malok

There is one visible Ankheg (in a pit 10' down- looks like it will climb up)

There are noises from what you think are 3 more tunneling up around you.

There is no new combat map, but I'm assuming it's like the magical pit outside the hut, that if Ivar gets too close he can fall in.

'well that's good, their coming to us. Turning from the tree and dropping the rope, "Well at least we don't have to go down the blasted hole." Ivar draws his sword moving near the hole and waits for the giant gopher to appear. if it does so he will attack it.

move action: back near the hole, drawing weapon Readied action: attack: MW Greatsword, WA, PA, FF, rage, pb AC -2 @ 18
attacks: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16 for damage: 2d6 + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1, 6) + 10 + 6 + 2 + 1 = 26

Lalali takes out a little fruit pie and a father, pound at the ankheg and says some arcane. It sounds funny. Hideous Laughter DC20 possible over bloodline.

will save: 1d20 ⇒ 12 fail - the big not gopher looking bug stops trying to climb and remains in the pit making an odd noise and shaking.

Made a map.

posting from phone is difficult with the new site.
I hope I can busy this one for a bit. There seem to be others coming encircling us. Beware!