GM WhtKnt's The Mad Mage of Undermountain (Inactive)

Game Master WhtKnt

!! You should be able to see it. Let me see what I can do. For the moment, you are not in melee range of the battle.

Fornitado's magic missile strikes the creature, but if it has any effect, it is not apparent except to make the creature draw back.

The creature extends another pseudopod and flails at the aged cleric. His armor protects him, but he notices with some dismay that the touch of the creature leaves his armor tarnished and slightly pitted.

The party is up!

Varis watches as from around the corner a strange creature reached out to smack Kertak. "That could have easily been me!" Varis thought to himself.

"I'll make this thing easier for you to hit in the darkness! " Varis shouted as he cast a spell centered on the wall behind creature.

Varis Casts Faerie Fire (Purple Glow) - Dex DC 15 centered on the wall behind the creature as to avoid Kertak. I drew the area of effect on d20

If the creature rolls anything higher than 15 (but not 20) Varis will use a reaction to use cutting words (-1d8) vs the save.

Fornitado shouts out in warning.

"That's a gray ooze. It has an acidic touch that can ruin armor and weapons. It is resistant to acid, cold, and fire.

Startled by the sudden assault, Kertak raises his shield defensively and carefully moves back into the shallower water, trying to draw the ooze with him.

"Careful not to get too close! Looks like it's just as happy to eat my armor as me," warns Kertak as he cautiously retreats towards the group. "I'll try to lure it out."

I'll take the dodge action and then move as shown on Roll20 - wearing the opportunity attack but that and any other attacks against me have disadvantage until the start of my next turn.

As Kertak moved into a safer position, Elise scowled at the creature as she moved in tandem with Kertak to take a more advantageous position. "Get behind me!" Drawing her sword forward, Elise makes a quick prayer, and her weapon begins to glow dimly.

Moving forward to take the forward position, and readying an attack action to be triggered when the ooze moves my threat area. Elise will cast Magic Weapon on her blade, which is a bonus action for cast time.

Readied Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 1 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 1 = 8

Extra Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 1 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 = 9

I have included her attack rolls in the event the ooze moves forward this round.

You rolled good so it won't matter but if it fails it's dex save then you will have advantage on those rolls.

I just realized too it doesn't have ears so no need to use cutting words to try to get it to fail it's save.

"Great it's a giant puddle of acidic waste, Damn Goblins" he utters switching from his melee weapons to a heavy crossbow.

The dwarven campaigner slips his weapons back into its holsters and locks and loads his crossbow. he takes his time and lowers the bow to take aim at the ooze.

As Varis casts his spell, the ooze begins to glow with a purple light. Fornitado shouts his warning as Kertak moves aside in an effort to draw the ooze out. The ooze takes the opportunity to attack the aged priest. Kertak is hit and a small bit of his armor dissolves! Kertak takes 3 bludgeoning damage and 4 acid damage and his armor is reduced one step! Ulgat begins to aim carefully as Elise stands ready. As predicted, the ooze moves forward to attack Elise. Before it can do so, she slashes at it twice, causing it to shrink back. Her weapon is protected by the magical spell, so it takes no damage. The ooze returns the attack, but Elise's armor protects her, corroding slightly (no real damage).

The party is up!

Varis notches a bolt in his crossbow getting the Ooze in his sight the purple glow making it easier to see.

Attack with Advantage:
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Damage (Piercing):
1d8 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Ulgat takes a shot.

With advantage
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Damage: 1d10 ⇒ 10

Then he reloads afterwords seeking to take another shot.

And I believe that is a critical

Pressing the advantage, Elise continues her attack on the slime.

Maintain concentration on Magic Weapon, attack slime with advantage.

Attack Advantage: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 1 = 23
Attack Advantage: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 = 9

Extra Attack Advantage: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 1 = 23
Extra Attack Advantage: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 1 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5

By the way, I will be without internet access until tomorrow. Bot me if necessary... though I have a feeling we've put an end to this thing.

Indeed...

Under the combined assault, the ooze is swiftly quelled to little more than a dark spot in the already dark water. It is unmoving as it sinks into the blackness. (Yes, Ulgat, that was a crit!)

"Note to self get me some dem Magical weapons" he says putting away his crossbow and heading towards the statue.

He takes his time to look about the alcove and see what sort of stonework and what not it is, just in case.

Stonecunning: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Varis watched as pieces of the ooze went flying, the purple glow from his spell fading from them as they landed in the murky waters. "Well that thing was unpleasant." Looking at Kertak Varis added. "Luckily your armor does not look too damaged. Since that unpleasantness is over, perhaps you can take another look. If anyone can figure out the secrets of the statue it is you."

Kertak feels inspired by Varis's words.
Baric Inspiraion - Add 1d8 to Skill check, attack roll or save in teh next 10 minutes.

The alcove appears to be devoid of further nasties, just worked stone all around. The statue, upon inspection, is of mediocre quality, but Ulgat notes that the neck is threaded, like a screw and that it turns with a little effort.

Ulgat looks at the others."The Head can turn? Anyone got an objection for me to try turn'n this thing?" He asks with a big grin on his face.

"How about I take a look, while the rest of you stand ready in case there's another of those things lurking within?" suggests Kertak. "If one of us is going to have their hands full of stonework, I think we'd rather have your axe free than my mace. Plus...my armor has already taken a beating."

Presuming there's no objections, Kertak will brace himself and begin unscrewing the statue's head. Should a save be required, I'll use the Bardic inspiration.

Curling her upper lip in mild disgust, Elise backs up from the remains of the ooze while muttering "Foul thing."

Not sheathing her sword, Elise nods at Kertak's suggestion as she stands at attention "Alright then, I'm going to stand ready... in the event that whatever the statue does brings on something even worse."

Continuing concentration on Magic Weapon, just to be safe.

"True, though I could fix it, or if ye wait me wife will fix ye up something quite nice, she was always better with armor then me. I'm more the weapon type" He says backing up grabbing his crossbow again.

"What, he said it has acid, ain't lettn' me melee weapons dissolve, Me wife made 'um, and if she finds out I lost 'em ta some goo, she'd have me hide!" He says with eyes wide in literal fear.

There being no objections, Kertak carefully unscrews the head of the statue. The head proves to be hollow with a small shelf inside, just behind the eyes. The eyes have been cut away (or perhaps designed as such) so that what is on the shelf beyond can be seen from without.

Religion: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13
I'll presume that doesn't yield any knowledge of value.

"Hmmm...looks like it's built to take something inside. Maybe a candle or lamp or something? muses Kertak, remaining beside the statue of the fish creature with the head in his hands. "I think we should move on and leave it be. Unless one of you is feeling particularly curious? I don't recognise the God this shrine was dedicated to."

Reaching into his Entertainers pack Varis withdrew a candle and tossed it to Kertak Varis said "Why don't you give this a try. and then screw the head back on. If anything it might look kind of creepy."

Carefully laying the statue's head to one side, Kertak inserts the candle and lights it up, waiting for the flame to catch before setting the sculpted stone head back in place and turning it repeatedly until it it back the way we found it.

The head was originally turned around to face the back.

Kertak inserts the candle, lights it, and screws the head back into place. The eyes and mouth glow with an eerie light, but nothing else happens. The overall effect is somewhat unsettling.

Fornitado watches the others mess with the statue, trying to ransack his memory for anything similar.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 (Arcane, History, Religion, or Nature).

Clambering down from his perch, Kertak wades back through the mucky water to the entranceway, shaking out his pants and wringing out the worst of the polluted water.

"Lucky I'm going to be at the back," he smiles. "The entire dungeon would smell us coming otherwise."

Varis looks at the creepy statue while still plugging his nose and with a 'pinched nose' voice says to Kertak "Well perhaps we will find a way to work this later in our travels, just take note of it for now. Before you get out of this amazing filth... what's around that south corner there?"

Knowing that Kertak is going to smell like this sewer Varis finds himself glad that he will be ahead of the party skulking in the shadows.

Sheathing her sword finally, Elise shrugs and grins "Well, that was somewhat anti-climatic. That said, I'm okay with that." Looking back towards the others, Elise adds "Well, shall we move on? The smell here is plainly awful, I'd be happy to put some distance between us and this sewer."

"What smell?" he says dabbing some liquor under his nose with a wide grin.

Before the group starts away Fornitado speaks. "Ah! Now I remember that is a statue of a sahuagin. They are a particular nasty and evil underwater race. Strange to see that here, but I doubt it will be the strangest thing we see".

He then joins the group in leaving deep in thought.

Just as he emerges from the water, Kertak hears Varis's suggestion. Sighing heavily, he wades back into the filth and around the corner, scouting out the southwestern alcove as much as possible, screwing up his face as the water rises up to his waist.

I'll see what I can without plunging all the way in. If I can find any debris of anything around the statue, I'll shift my light spell to that and throw it into the far corner, just in case I can see anything underneath, before returning it to my shield.

You can find the missing arm of the statue at its base. Enhancing it with a light spell, you toss it into the far corner. It illuminates the alcove but reveals nothing of interest.

Observing that Kertak isn't finding much in the corner alcove and eager to be rid of the smell, Varis scurried back through the tunnel and to the top of the stairs in the room they had left before. From the shadows Varis looks about the room below.

If there is nothing that can be seen Varis will move down the stairs.

Varis looks down the stairs, his attention immediately drawn to the field of pillars that support the ceiling here. Two bodies lay on the floor amid the forest of pillars. Each of the bodies wears hide armor and is armed with a shield and morningstar. There is no indication of what killed them visible from here.

The skeleton of a giant constrictor snake coils up the top half of the northernmost pillar. Something is written on the southeast wall, with an arrow pointing to the south, but you can't make out what it says from here.

Ulgat readies his Battle Axe and Hand Axe as he follows Varis down.

Taking up his position at the rear, Kertak follows along. When the party reaches the room of pillars he remains at the stairs keeping an eye out for ambush and leaving the investigation of the room to his companions.

Keeping to the shadows Varis moved along the south east wall ducking behind a pillar to try to read what is written on the wall and get closer to the nearest corpse. While moving Varis keeps an eye out for traps or anything else that maybe be lurking. With the corpse of a constrictor snake on the top half of a pillar Varis pays particular attention to the ceiling.

Investigation: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

Nothing seems to be lurking here. The skeleton of the snake makes no moves. The message is in Common and has been carved into the wall. It reads, "Certain death this way!" and has an arrow pointing to the south beneath it. The corpses are humanoid, well-muscled, and covered in a tawny fur. The faces are bestial, the ears pointed, and each would have stood about 6 feet tall.

If anyone takes a closer look at the corpses...

Moving to the edge of the light, Elise squints at the darkness before her. "Damn it all, I can't see a thing." Pulling out a torch from her pack, she takes a moment to light it up.

With a light source, Elise makes her way over towards to corpses to investigate further.

Intelligence (Nature): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Shaking her head, Elise dismisses "Whatever these things are, they sure are ugly... and of course, dead." Giving one of the corpses a gentle nudge with her foot, she moves in for a closer look after she is satisfied they will remain dead.

Wisdom Medicine: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Scowling a little, Elise appears perplexed as she investigates further "Well, that's a little strange... their heads, I think they're hollow? These things were definitely killed by weapon blows, but did something bloody well remove their brains afterwards?" Shivering a little, Elise moves back slowly from the corpse "That is more than a little unsettling."

Fornitado moves forward to join Elsie after he sees that she's not being assaulted.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 Nature

"Hmm these aren't familiar to me either. I know of a tome I could look at that might give me some insight... but for now... Wait! did you say their brains were missing? Are you sure they even had brains to begin with"?

Varis felt a lump in his throat as he had a hard time swallowing. "Um... say what? Their brains were removed... wow that is just awful. This is one of the first things we find down here?" Varis could feel the blood draining from his face. He became visibly paler. Although he suddenly felt very exposed being the one to do the scouting Varis suggested "Well... there is the exciting certain death to the south, and who knows what to the north and west. Anyone have a preference to which way we go next?" Varis noticed he was massaging the back of his skull while he talked trying not to let his gaze go down to the corpses on the floor.

Ulgat just looks over the things poking them.

History: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (1) - 1 = 0

Do I get a bonus since they should be familiar?

Nevermind

Looking up towards the others, Elise nods somewhat apprehensively "Well, I'd have to investigate their skulls more closely to confirm my suspicions, but the head of a creature this size should be... heavier," pausing a moment, Elise tries to inject some levity into these disturbing findings with a shrug and a nervous grin "unless of course as Fornitado is right, and these things are just brainless to begin with."

It is worth noting that the heads and skulls of these creatures show no indication that the brain was removed from without. There are no wounds large enough to have excavated the brain.

Not being one that can stand still for long Varis found his gaze drifting to the hallway to the south. After seeing everyone marvelling and the empty headed creatures Varis originally had no desire to go south but he found himself thinking about his past and the schemes he had pulled. ”If I wanted to keep people away from something important I would probably write the same thing on the wall...” He thought to himself. Before he knew it his feet were taking him down the long hallway to the south his curiosity overpowering his fears.

"I saw we goo where they don't want us to go' he says kicking the dead.

"I mean if we die we die" He says with a shrug.

Smiling at Ulgat’s fatalism and Varis’s seeming impulsiveness, Kertak waits for the rest of the group to proceed down the passageway, once more bringing up the rear.

“Looks like we’re heading south,” he says to Elise and Fornitado, a twinkle in his eye. “I think there’s a lesson here. Never tell our new friends they shouldn’t do something.”

Varis crept down the southern hall feeling slightly claustrophobic in the long skinny hallway, but given the warning on the wall he couldn’t help but be overly cautious checking for traps and foes.