Coldwater's Abomination Vaults

Game Master Quentin Coldwater

"Yes, follow the lights, it might lead to Otari's ghost! Oh, this is so exciting!"

Kka sighs as Lough takes off again. She reacts to Giyozara’s enthusiasm with somewhat less enthusiasm. ”Yeah, it’s all fun and gaames until we run headlong into a traap or some baad guys. Still, I guess we should follow the lunk in caase he gets himself into trouble.” She trails after the big man.

"Don't get too far ahead Lough!" Cherry calls out. "My spells only reach so far."

Lough opens the next door. Behind it, a hallway bends around in a U-shape, with one door right ahead and one door at the other end of the hallway. The light goes straight ahead.

Kvit sees Lough and Giyozara run off. "<censored>! Or just run off after it I guess."

He quickly follows the rest of the group, but maintains his distance in the back. Just because they were running headlong into something didn't mean he had to get caught up in it too. Rule number three of ruin delving is "no running" it never ends well.

Don't follow the lights!

"This way"

Between two strong forces - a restraining voice menacing his head, and the compulsion of raw curiosity - Lough bends to the latter, doing his best to keep up with the green light, and following it to the next door.

Is his excitement, he opens it immediately upon arriving!

Kka does her best to stay close to the changeling as he charges through doors and down hallways without a care in the world. "Sheesh, Lough. Whaat's the rush? At this raate, you're going to get us both killed."

Moved Kka's token up behind Lough's.

Gathered you all a bit closer.

Lough opens the next door.

A ruined table and several destroyed chairs lie in a heap in the middle of this room, along with several large bones.

As soon as the door is opened, the large bones start to animate and reattach themselves. Over the course of a few seconds, two legs already stand nearly six feet tall, and there's still plenty of bones left on the ground, as well as a rusty glaive right next to the pile of bones.

Initiative!

You all get a free round of initiative before the skeleton finishes assembling. I'll roll actual initiative next round, so you're not metagaming the initiative order. You all get three actions, and you can act in any order you want.
I'm assuming bludgeoning damage is effective against skeletons is common knowledge.

Dashing across the room (◆), Lough grabs the glaive (◆), and throws it back to his closest ally (◆)!

Dashing across the room (◆), Lough grabs the glaive (◆), and throws it back to his closest ally (◆)!

oohoo dang, nice!

"Ohh I'm going to regret this."
Kvit steps into the doorway after Lough dashes in, narrowly avoiding being chopped by the suddenly flung weapon. "watch it"! He chants "cavendum lubrico contignationibus" and several areas of the floor begin to show a heavy sheen of thick oil right under the forming skeleton.

◆Step ◆◆Grease DC 18

intention is for the area to be at least partially under the skeleton, but I don't see exactly where in the room it's forming.

Good point. Made a square on the map to show where it's forming. You can't damage it until it's complete, by the way.

"Smart Lough!"

◆◆Cherry quickly casts Magic Weapon and casts it on Kka's shortsword.

"This will make your weapon better. Or at least hit harder. Be careful everyone, undead are always dangerous!"

◆I want to use my last action to identify the skeletons or forces involved, but I don't think I have line of sight.

Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Or I will cast Shield on myself.

<>Activate dragon claws
<> Cast shield
<> Move into room so I am not standing in grease but adjacent to skeleton (if possible)

can someone move me?

◆◆Cherry quickly casts Magic Weapon and casts it on Kka's shortsword.

I think Kka's shortsword is already a +1, but it will at least add the striking damage.

Kka is about to follow Lough into the room when the bones start coming together. "See! This is exactly what I was taalking about. The daang light led us right into a traap." Like Kvit, Kka ducks as the glaive flies past her and crashes into the wall. "Wow, Lough! Thaanks for the gift, but I think I'll stick with my shortsword... for all the good it'll do."

With skeletons generally having resistances to piercing and slashing damage, Kka isn't exactly going to shine in this encounter. Assuming resistance 5, then she's still better off using her shortsword than trying to punch the thing. Not sure if Lough has anything bludgeony on him that he can use except for fists, but with his strength and handwraps that may be his best bet.

Kka drops her bow and follows Lough into the room. Dodging around the dancing bones, she heads straight for the other door and tries to yank it open. If the door opens, she steps through it; if it doesn't, she runs back behind Kvit where she was originally.

Action (◇): Release: +1 Shortbow.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (30 feet) - ending up in the square directly east of the western door.

Action 2 (◆): Interact - Open western door.

<> Move into room so I am not standing in grease but adjacent to skeleton (if possible)

can someone move me?

No prob. Given that the legs of this guy are already 6 feet long, and the size of the white square, I suspect we're dealing with a Large creature, in which case, every available square in the room will be adjacent to skeleton. I placed you where you can provide flanking for Lough and Kka.

Lough runs into the room and yanks the glaive out of the room. Kka runs across the room, bashes her shoulder into the door, and the door opens up. Kvit casts Grease under the skeleton, and its feel slip and slide away. Giyozara prepares to go toe to toe with the big thing, and Cherry Berry enhances Kka's sword and recalls knowledge.

I'll allow it, from context clues. Unfortunately, 17 is just not enough.
Lough, I've pushed you away one square, as you can't share a space with it. You can choose a different square, if you want.

Kka stumbles into a hallway that joins back up at the subterranean lake, but the glowing light suddenly veers into a wall. Green light shines from a tiny crack in the wall, and you realise there's a secret door. Now that you know where to look, you also find the opening mechanism.

More bones join together to form a torso and finally a skull with bull's horns completes the skeleton.

Cherry Berry: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
Giyozara: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Kka: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
Kvit: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
Lough: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
Skeleton: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Reflex save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

The skeleton finishes assembling and shifts its weight, only to step right onto the grease and fall over.

With a loud bellow, the skeleton looks around for its glaive, sees it lying in the hallway to the east, then bellows once more in frustration. It tries to get up Proviking from Lough, then tries to skewer Giyozara because he is in his way.

Horn attack vs Giyozara: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Piercing damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Skeleton
Lough
Kka
Cherry Berry
Kvit
Giyozara - 11 damage You may pop your Shield to reduce the damage

Everyone may act!
Be glad you took away that glaive. He is much scarier with that thing. That's why I mentioned it in the description.

Kvit smirks as the big skeleton falls to the ground, but quickly stops as it gets up and nearly skewers Giyozara through.

In a panic he thinks, "what else can I do?, think, think." He glances behind him at the glaive on the floor and back to the giant skeleton trying to get to it. "No. No. Bad idea. Rule number three. Rule number three. We'll just fight it here." Though he does reach up to loosen the strap on his backpack.

Then sends a bolt of fire towards the skeleton and raises a shield of force.

Produce Flame: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 Fire damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 If Critical success, double damage and 1d4 persistent Fire damage

◆◆ Produce Flame ◆ Shield (+1 AC)
↺ Shield Block, 5 hardness, then spell ends

and for absolutely no reason at all, what action(s) would it take to ditch my backpack and say, pick up an object in an adjacent square?

Dropping your backpack would be 1 action, retrieving an item from there 1 as well.

Kvit throws a ball of fire at the skeleton and it takes the full damage.

Skeleton -5
Lough
Kka
Cherry Berry
Kvit
Giyozara - 11 damage You may pop your Shield to reduce the damage

Good thing Giyozara is where he is. With the skeleton going first, Kka lost her Surprise Attack, so flanking will let her use her Sneak Attack. Now let's see if it has any AoO.

Kka lets out a loud guttural squawk. "<Screooooow> you! Prepaaare to die you boney cow head!" She then immediately charges in and sliding into the corner next to Lough, unleashes two swipes of her sword.

Action 1 (◆): Stride (30 feet)

Action 2 (◆): Strike (+1 Shortsword) with Thief Racket and Sneak Attack with Flanking vs Flat-Footed Skeleton.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 1 = 29 vs Flat-Footed
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3 precision slashing damage

Action 3 (◆): Strike (+1 Shortsword) with Thief Racket and Sneak Attack with Flanking and MAP1 vs Flat-Footed Skeleton.

Shortsword Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 1 = 11 vs Flat-Footed
Shortsword Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8 slashing damage
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 precision slashing damage

Aaaand another crit for Kka. Sorry about that.

Kka's first slash bites deep into several bones, severing them from the main body, but the second attack misses.

Don't forget you got Magic Weapon from Cherry Berry, adding another d6.

1d6 ⇒ 4

That's 34 damage before resistances. Ouch.

Skeleton -34, below half HP
Lough - Attack of opportunity
Kka
Cherry Berry
Kvit
Giyozara - 11 damage You may pop your Shield to reduce the damage

the rest of us are just here to give flanking to Kka. Otherwise she'd just be a one-avian killing team.

Giyozara will not pop his shield.

<>Cast True Strike
<>Claw Attack
<>Cast Shield

Attack 2 take best: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Attack 2 take best: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

damage if hit: 1d4 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + (4) = 8
4 piercing 4 bludgeoning. Because of draconic bloodline I gain a +1 status bonus to AC for 1 round’ in addition to the +1 circumstance bonus from shield.

Giyozara's dragon claws swipe at the skeleton and hit surprisingly hard! Crit due to flank.

Skeleton -45, close to collapsing
Lough - Attack of opportunity
Kka
Cherry Berry
Kvit
Giyozara - 11 damage

If you do both types of damage, resistance still applies, right?

Yes, resistance/weakness would apply but separately. If it has resistance 5 to piercing. Then it would take 0 piercing but still take the full Bludgeoning

◆Stride to current square

"Good job Kka, everyone keep it up!"

And with those words and a gesture Cherry release a blast of divine energy.

◆◆Divine Lance: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10Damage: Good: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

"Keep that Glaive away from it!"

Slag Claw (cold iron) vs Skeleton (Flanked): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 131d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

↺) Attack of Opportunity
◆◆◆) Snagging Strike

Snagging Slag Claw (cold iron) vs Skeleton (Flanked): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 141d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Snagging Slag Claw (cold iron) vs Skeleton (Flanked): 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (4) + 11 - 5 = 101d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Snagging Slag Claw (cold iron) vs Skeleton (Flanked): 1d20 + 11 - 5 - 5 ⇒ (12) + 11 - 5 - 5 = 131d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

Lough absolutely dishes against the creature - but finds all of his strikes ineffectual!

Cherry Berry moves closer and throws a lance of divine energy, but sadly misses. Lough's flurry of attacks sadly also miss.

Creaking and barely holding together, the skeleton lashes out at everyone who hit him.

Order of attacks, 1 is Kka, 2 is Giyozara: 3d2 ⇒ (2, 1, 1) = 4
Horn attack vs Giyozara: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (6) + 12 = 18
Thanks to Giyozara's spell, the attack misses! The skeleton turns around and goes to town on Kka.

Horn attack vs Kka: 1d20 + 12 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 12 - 4 = 19
Piercing damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Horn attack vs Kka: 1d20 + 12 - 8 ⇒ (17) + 12 - 8 = 21
Piercing damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Lucky as Giyozara was, Kka now seems to take all the hits.

Skeleton -45, close to collapsing
Lough
Kka -23
Cherry Berry
Kvit
Giyozara -11

Everyone may act!

Seeing the fire bolt was effective, Kvit throws another before dropping his backpack.

Produce Flame: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28 Fire damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 If Critical success, double damage and 1d4 persistent Fire damage

Persistent Fire: 1d4 ⇒ 3

The bolt of fire strikes true!

◆◆Produce Flame ◆Interact to drop backpack

Kvit's bolt of fire hits the skeleton right in the skull and knocks it off its neck! The body collapses and burns to cinders.

Combat over!

I presume you all heal up just fine. Kka's got a great Medicine and can't fail.
The skeleton has a half plate and a glaive as loot. Nothing in this room is salvageable.

Kka gets slammed against the wall and gored repeatedly by the skeleton. She feels close of falling unconscious from the pain and loss of blood. As her vision blurs, she looks behind the giant skeleton and sees the hazy outline of another slightly shorter and darker skeleton waving to her. "What now? Am I seeing double? Urgh. I'm not feeling so good."

Barely having the strength to stay on her feet, Kka tightens the grip on her shortsword and is about to take one last swipe at the bovine bully when Kvit blasts its head off with a bolt of fire. "Thank Calistria for that. I was a done for." She drops her shortsword and slides to the floor breathing heavily for a moment. She suddenly remembers the other skeleton and quickly looks up. She thinks she sees the faint outline of something tall and gaunt walking away, but she blinks and it's gone. "Great! I'm seeing things now."

With Giyozara in no immediate danger, she treats her own wounds first. When she feels better, she goes to work on Giyozara. "Thanks for boosting my shortsword, Giyozara. The extra force of my strike really helped smash those bones."

Once everyone (but the skeleton) is back in once piece again, Kka picks herself up and rummages through the debris in the room for anything of value. Her eyes fall on the cow skull. She laughs. "<Ark, ark>. It must haave lost its head and had to maake do."

Activity: Search with Trap Finder (Perception +8) - SECRET

Remembering the creature's fearsome looking weapon, she turns to smart ones. "Is thaat thing magical at all?"

Added half-plate and glaive to loot list. We'll pick them up on the way out.

"Kvit - you dropped your backpack" he points out.

Following the green light, Lough looks ready to descend to the next level "Down these stairs!"

Kka eyes the stairs going down warily. "I think going down after thaat light is a baad idea Lough. That daang thing already tried to kill us once, and I'd raather not give it another shot at finishing us off, especially with a small army of ghouls running around down there. Plus, there's still paarts of this level we haven't cleared out yet; I'd haate to leave any morlocks behind..." Her eyes twinkle as a thought strikes her, "...especially if your precious mitflit subjects are going to come baack down here."

Kka then goes back and collects her bow from where she dropped it.

Kvit breathes a sigh of relief as the skeleton crumbled. "Thanks Lough, I thought I was going to have to play keep away with a giant skeleton so I didn't want to be slowed down." He retrieves it and begins slinging it back over his shoulders.

Then he recovers his initial relief and gets mad. He points an accusing finger and flares at Lough and Giyozara though."This is why you don't run up ahead! Kka almost died! We can't just go chasing strange things randomly we need to stick together." He sighs, slightly calmed down. "Anyway, we better get moving before we lose the trail since apparently that's what we're doing..."

He does try to take a quick look at the glaive and a cursory scan of the room with Detect Magic.

Occultism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Probably enough to know general stuff about ghosts/spirits.

"Lough, as much as I want to follow Otari . . . and I really do . . . I think we should clear the rest of this level. I'm not really up on my ghost lore but if I recall, they tend to repeat actions. So maybe if we come back after midnight, or a day, or a week, then we can see them again. They tend to . . . oh what's the word . . . 'rejuvinate?' Is that it?

"Also, I don't think Otari tried to kill us. Ghosts usually aren't very aware of their surroundings. I think maybe it just didn't know that there was a skeleton in the room, since they didn't interact with each other. Of course I could be wrong and maybe that was just a trickster spirit, who knows?"

Thrice scolded now, Lough obliges.

"Okay. So where to then?"

Kvit scans the room with Detect Magic, but nothing magical is happening.

In fact, after a few minutes, while Kka is busy patching herself up, the green trail fades away.

"How about we check out some of those doors we missed, like the one at the end of the little haallway we just raan through?"

The one that Lough coincidently is already positioned in front of :)

Kka gives the door her usual examination and stands behind Lough ready to follow him in.

Activity: Search with Trap Finder (Perception +8) - SECRET

Not even the green trail or the glaive?

Kvit watches as the trail fades. "Well, I guess that solves that problem. Either, like Giyozara said, it'll come back and start over, or we'll just have to search around and find it once we get down there.

He finishes looking around the room and adjusts his pack. "Let's finish looking around up here before we go looking for it again.

Oh yeah, the trail's definitely magical. Thought that was obvious. The glaive is just a regular glaive.

Lough opens the next door.

Broken‑down torture instruments lie in half‑collapsed heaps on the floor here. To the north slumps a ruined stretching rack, while to the south a pillory lies fallen on the floor. Rusty tongs and chains, frayed and rotten whips, and other instruments of torture lie on shelves that look about to collapse.

Kka notices a secret door in the south wall that opens by pulling on a rusty ring on the wall.

Kka scowls as they survey what is clearly a torture chamber of some sort. In a voice dripping with sarcasm, she says, "Whoever decoraated this room really knew how to have fun." She pokes around the remains and sneers. "This Belcora womaan was a real piece of work."

Finding the secret door she goes through her usual routine and steps aside for Lough.

Activity: Search with Trap Finder (Perception +8) - SECRET

Lough opens up the next door. It's a simple corridor that leads back to the worm room.

Kka notices another secret door and pushes it open.

This plain, circular room is empty. A single image of a moss‑caked skull adorns the eastern wall.

This is the second time the skull imagery has appeared. You may make a Religion check to recall what it's about.

Kvit detects magic coming from this room. Definitely Transmutation-based.

This is the second time the skull imagery has appeared. You may make a Religion check to recall what it's about.

<Quickly searches through Gameplay for "skull">

Kka looks through the room, but only the moss‑caked skull is of any interest. "Huh! What an odd little room. That skull looks kinda faamiliar though..." She closes her beak with a <Clack> as it comes back to her. "...Hey! Didn't we see something like this upstairs in thaat room where we fought the scorpion? I think it was carved onto on one of the doors."

She takes a closer look at it...

Action: Recall Knowledge
Religion (Recall Knowledge): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Pretty sure that's not going to do it.

"Weird."

Once everyone is done with this area, Kka pipes up. "So where to now? How about we check the room next to Otaari's bathroom? This waay, I think." She goes out the side door and across the wide hallway.

Kvit looks around at the nearly empty room. "Uh, don't touch anything yet. I'm seeing some transmutation magic in here. Touching something is liable to turn you into a toad or worse."

Religion (T): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

The thought passes through our paranoid hero's head, that, it might actually be an easier life, being a toad.

His mind spins engaging the idea while his gaze remains transfixed on the skull imagery.

An easier life!

Meanwhile, one level above, the Slurk suddenly sneezes.

Cherry thinks about the skull motif a little trying to remember if they know anything about it.

Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12 Sigh

"I think that's right Kka, but give us a chance to keep up!"

"I'm thinking we shouldn't be messing around with skulls in a place with so many undead. Maybe we backtrack and go up here? I saw some promising double doors while we were chasing the ghost."

One person for the double doors, one person for the regular door. I'm going to need a tie breaker to see which door we're gonna open.

I'm fine with either

Kvit sighs as the gnome and tengu appear to head off in different "Let's check the room Kka's looking very first. At least it's more on the way to the lower stairs."

He heads off to follow Kka for now.