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Badly handled in good ol' Skull and Shackles too. In my IRL Skull and Shackles game, the PC's handed all their captured ships over to their underlings and started creating a fleet well before book 5. :-)
Rememorise all slots, heal up to full hit points and get back all ability uses and stuff. Let's have some fun :-)
Belated grats AK. So, time to level up to 3rd level.
Level up. Get back to full hit points and abilities and I won't have to hold back in the last fight.
As Xantrius speaks, a shrill scream comes from the western passageway that the creature has just retreated down. The scream sounds almost human- female and human. Having never heard Sandara Quinn or Barefoot Samms Toppin scream you can't say if it is one of them but apart from yourselves it's the most human sign you've had since setting foot on this accursed island so many hours ago.
While Xantrius' swing bounces ineffectually off the rubbery hide, it seems the creature has had enough. Several tentacles rise from the water, then slap the surface and the creature propels itself directly away from group. A ridge of black water shows the creature's underwater passage as it withdraws at speed up the western tunnel.
Hi all. On holidays this week. No update till next week probably.
Sevien's attempts to get a clear shot result in the bolts sizzling away at the foul water with nothing to show for his efforts but a brief puff of black steam that vanishes away. Mata's swing plunges into the water and another great splash washes around. The tentacles move fast and the body is invisible below the surface. Mata's sword impacts nothing. Nakon swings his own cutlass among the tentacles.
Nakon's blade sinks deep into something under water and he twists the blade with savage glee before ripping it out. Bits of dark flesh fly as he swings his blade back, but the tentacles still writhe and slash dangerously.
Indeed, as Xantrius pulls back on the sawtooth sabre it catches and tears away at the tentacles as they thrash about him.
Surrounded as it is, the creature lashes out at the figures around it.
The tentacles rip and tear about Xantrius and his figures but they dodge and weave and the tentacles don't even come close to the wily captain. As such, all Xantrius images remain intact, continuing to puzzle and perplex your enemy.
Xantrius' sabre slides into the water amongst the tentacles but glances off the tough scales beneath the water instead of between them. If only the angle had been slightly different...
Mata's blow jams into something solid below the surface. Beside the creature, Nakon stuggles above the surface of the murk, his flesh flayed by the barbed tentacles and covered in the inky black muck. He swings savagely down into the water.
Apart from a lot of splashing, Nakon appears to be having little effect on the creature.
Pretty much the last two encounters.
Sevien's firebolt sizzles into the base of the tentacles and the smell of burnt rotting fish is added to the foul air.
It turns out that the floor here isn't far beneath the surface of the water at all. Where in previous caverns the floor had a tendancy to almost vanish underfoot, Mata's steps forward are met with solid rock all the way towards the devil fish. As he approaches, weapon ready, the tentacles lash out of the water straight at Mata.
The tentacles wrap around thin air with a quick grinding and slicing motion and retreat suddenly before pausing when they realise they hold nothing.
While the creature can't be seen below the water's surface, the tentacles keep coming from the same area. For something that size it's either in a hollow or very flat.
Thanks all for your patience. New post now up and new combat started. With the absence of Daniel, I'm running Nakon for now. We're not very far from the end of the module and it may come as no surprise to you that I've decided I'll finish this up there. I am determined, however, to at least see us through to the end of the module. I've enjoyed playing with you all and hope to do so more in the future, but I don't think I'll be running anything on these forums for a while. I have found it to be a lot of hard work and my hat comes off to all those who put the effort in to run at least one game on these forums, let alone multiples.
That said, now is the time to blast me with praise and criticism, what worked, what didn't, what could improve and how, and what might be better suited to my gming style should I decide to run something again in future. Thanks all for your input and dedication over these past... wow, it's been over 2 years. Let's see if we can finish this off without killing everyone. :-)
Nakon:
Critter:
Even with his divinatory powers, Mata doesn't have time to react before the water turns a night-black colour. From beneath the surface a mass of viciously barbed tentacles fly straight at Nakon.
Nakon just manages to get his shield up in time to fend off the grasping appendages, then dives forward with a toothy grin, cutlass first, into the foul, black water. Another mass of hooks and seaweed clutches at him as he does so, dragged into the water with him.
Would that happen to be from the 5th July to the 13th July- the week I'm visiting my family in Townsville...?
Apologies to all for the delay. Have been slack of late and will update this weekend.
A thin tunnel winds east around the cavern. Eventually the tunnel opens into a wider cavern decorated with hundreds of leering skeletal parts, wriggling with worms. Four dark circular openings exit the chamber. You have come from the east tunnel and the north leads up to the trapped chamber. Something churns under the water.
Seaweed fronds sway gently in the current in this broad cave. Like the others, the tunnel floor dips down sharply at the entrance to depths well above your heads, forcing you to swim across. Nakon:
Sevien: You notice a heavy spiked iron grille, cleverly disguised with barnacles and aquatic plants, hangs from the ceiling of the chamber, poised to fall on intruders and trap them beneath the water. [ooc](20' x 20', M45-M48, N45-N48, O45-O48, P45-P48)
The cave you're within opens into a second cave, about the same size, which opens into a third cave and then a fourth. Seaweed floats underfoot and small tunnels branch off and around the edges of the caverns. Dead fish float among the driftwood and dirty foam that skims the water. The cave floors are deep towards the middles requiring you to swim across several of them. You find yourselves entangled once more as you enter the third section of the cavern, small hooks attached to seaweed and cork that float beneath the surface and catch onto you as you pass. Fortunately, there are no more Grindylows to take advantage of you while you prise and cut them off yourselves.
Among the countless smaller skeletal fetishes here are a scrimshawed hammerhead shark skull with a piece of driftwood thrust through it. The skull is worth 250 gp, while the driftwood is a wand of mirror image (23 charges). There is also an ivory walrus tusk set with gold with a scrimshawed map of the Shackles worth 400 gp, and a curious harp made from the jaw of an orca set with pearls worth 500 gp.
Restricted by the chest high water, Mata's slash with his falchion is more of a splash that the grindylow easily avoids. It slides sideways through the water, it's six tentacles letting it seem to hover at the cusp of the waterline just above Mata. Nakon simply thusts the Tidewater Cutlass straight at the creature before him.
Xantrius however lifts his sawtooth sabre from the water, swirls it in a smooth motion and the creature before him clutches its throat with a look of surprise then burbles under the darkening waters. There is no chance for the last creature to dodge Sevien's final blast. The negative energy smashes into the Grindylow and its eyes roll up into its head as it falls backwards before the dark cleric's power. Your ears are once again filled with the sound of the waves lapping against the walls and driftwood and barnacles scraping against each other. Nothing else darts out of the edge of your light... yet.
The creatures squeal again in agony from Sevien's dark energy and as the black blisters burst and fester on them, half of them sink beneath the water without rising again. Two more stagger forward and stab out at Xantrius with their spears before also collapsing with the effort.
The last two remain stalwart stabbing with their spears and continuing to swarm Xantrius even after their comrades have fallen.
Welcome back, mate. Glad to see you. :-)
Nakon squeezes past Sevien to beside Xantrius and thrusts the Tidewater Cutlass at the most recent grindylow arrival.
The cutlass neatly skewers the creature and it sinks below the water leaving only a pool of ichor floating on the surface.
As the creatures make a joyful burbling sound and swarm towards Xantrius spears first, Sevien's duplicate appears and Sevien sends out a wave of dark energy that washes over the small amphibians. SD Dave:
Dark welts appear across their bodies, their skin blackens and they shriek in pain and look round for the source of their agony. But none fall and they take out their fear and anger against Xantrius. Only the first three are able to reach him however, with a fourth appearing to his left, via the small tunnel. Swimming easily almost on top of the water, the Grindylows avoid the entangling seaweed and hooks before Xantrius. However, Xantrius finds he doesn't have to worry about being tripped up by their tentacles as almost happened to Nakon during the storm on the Devil Shark.
Xantrius easily avoids the blow of the first creature, but the second spear pierces his flag bearing arm . The third spear Xantrius just manages to turn to avoid, hampered as he is by the tangle of weeds and hooks about his legs.
Despite the sea air just outside, the caves stink of rotting fish and decay. The tunnels are littered with partially eaten bones sucked clean of flesh. These bones are decorated with strange scrimshaw, and tied together with sinew to create revolting “sculptures” resembling lurking horrors and twisted sea creatures from the depths. They seem the product of sadistic and almost alien minds. The tunnels rise and fall as you progress. At one place you stand in water just below your knees. Most of the time the waters are waist deep. Seaweed floats about your feet and legs, smooshing underfoot and making the uneven ground slippery. This combines with the tug of the waters flowing in and out with the tide to make the ground even more treacherous and harder to navigate. The north east cavern immediately widens into a large area that has been carved to resemble the interior of some great sea creature, its ribs towering over and around the chamber. Xantrius pulls his leg through what seems at first to be a particularly dense clump of seaweed when he realises that tiny hooks have latched onto him and are tangling with the seaweed and each other about his legs. Xantrius also notices half a dozen small half goblin, half octopus creatures cowering around the edges of the cave. When he sees the Grindylows they give a high pitched squeal but then lunge forward waving their spears and attack.
Sevien and Nakon jump from the lowest cliffs into the deepest part of the cauldron and swim to the entrance where they soon find themselves some footing, albeit unseen and uneven. Sevien brings up some light to reveal the winding tunnel. While light may give away their approach, with the roar of the ocean outside and the churning waters inside there is little chance sound will reveal them. The tunnel inwards winds south and twists back to the north before an opening to the right reveals the start of a larger cavern to the east. Likewise, the tunnel only goes on another half dozen feet before opening into a probably separate cavern to the north east.
Buzzing in the air, the quick flight of the creatures makes them difficult to hit and they fly back to their nest unharmed. From the waterline it's easy to see the tunnel that goes south into the base of the cliff. It immediately splits into two, the right heading towards the open sea and the left winding its way under the island. Both are pitch black but towards the entrance you find footing and can stand in about four feet of water, easily enough for a small grindylow to swim about in.
Mata dives gracefully from the cliff towards the deepest blue of the cauldron. The buzzing creatures surrounding Xantrius are totally unaware of Mata until he slides his sword towards one as he sails past. A deft slice and a creature falls apart into two equal halves. Both sections hit the water a moment after Mata. Mata swings back up to the surface of the water to find the other creatures flapping in confusion.
Seeing four of the bat-winged creatures swooping towards him Xantrius leaps from his slippery outcropping into the water, holding aloft his sabre as he does.
Xantrius navigates the cliff wall carefully and manages to make it down most of the way into the sinkhole. The bat-winged creatures ignore him at first but as he makes his way to the waterline, one of the group skitters from the ledge and buzzes down towards him.
Low tide is still several hours away. While it probably wouldn't be enough to empty the caverns of water, it would make a big difference between walking and swimming through many caves. Being small and aquatic, the Grindylows would no doubt have little trouble with the terrain regardless of the level of water in the caverns.
Nakon's keen eyes take in the sink-hole.
The journey from the lodge down to the cove is quicker than expected. Down the trail at the mountainside is considerably faster and easier than the difficult journey up was. Trailing the edge of the mountain to the shoreline avoids much of the dense jungle on your left and the rough mountain terrain on your right. At the shore, the rocks are clear with little vegetation and difficult climbing along the rocky cliffs is minimal.
Apart from the intense smell, the lodge is still quite sturdy and would take little effort to return it to a secure cabin inside a well defended stockade. While the logs are obviously cut from the surrounding jungle, the few furnishings have obviously been salvaged from a ship of some sort.
Thanks. Great day. Sorry you couldn't make it. Happy Birthday to your beloved too. :-)
As the creature darts again towards Nakon, Mata's falchion slams into its upper torso and cleaves across its chest. The force of the blow completes Nakon's almost removal of the upper body from the lower while simultaneously halving the torso. The three parts of the creature tumble in different directions to the ground. A moment later, Sevien jerks free of his paralysis. The botflies swarm around the body parts and the stench inside becomes unbearable as the insects begin to fill mouths and noses. Among the furnishings in the lodge are a suit of leather armour, six spears, and eight finely tailored Chelish courtier’s outfits, worth 30 gp each. You also find a silver ring inlaid with a wavy pattern all about it in the pocket of one outfit. In addition, the lodge contains a spice cabinet holding 5 pounds of pepper in waxed bags (worth 10 gp total), a silver tankard worth 30 gp, and a silver locket depicting a beautiful, buxom young blonde woman (whose clothes remind you of one of the ghouls) worth 45 gp. As you emerge from the lodge, the fresh air never smelt so good.
Nakon's limbs seize in place and for a moment doubt crosses his mind. But with a supreme burst of effort and a tingling of magical resistance he breaks free of the paralysis and tries to draw a bead on the enemy. While still barely in one piece, the creature moves with a swiftness and grace beyond that of the ghouls you encountered. Xantrius' sabre skirts close to the creature's spine but it twists at the last moment and is also able to just edge under Nakon's blow. Sevien twitches, but is still unable to throw off the effect holding him helpless.
Heya, welcome back. Sorry about the delays. Will try and keep things moving a bit better.
Mata's falchion sinks deep into the creature's chest but glides out again. Where a normal creature may have had its heart cut out, this thing just keeps lurching, though with the giant holes cut into it by Nakon and Mata, it can't stay together for much longer, can it? As if in answer, the creature lunges teeth first at Nakon before it raises its claws and brings them to bear upon him.
Back again. Thanks all for your patience. :-)
The flies buzzing in the room seem to double in number, swarming around the fast moving bodies that dance back and forth in the confines of the area. Sevien continues to stand statue-like while the rest of you close in on the crazed corpse.
Nakon is looking over the spears when he hears Sevien grunt behind him. He swings around and his eyes widen and his mouth grins as the creature twists itself free then lunges at Sevien. Nakon raises Mister Plugg's tidewater cutlass and crosses to Sevien's frozen form in a few footsteps. He lashes out with the sharp blade as the ghastly creature shies from Xantrius' feeble fumble.
The tidewater cutlass almost pulls Nakon's arm into the creature. The blade scythes through the fetid flesh almost cutting the creature in half but, instead of toppling, the creature instead turns to Nakon.
Loot list is up. I put Treasure on the campaign info page. Will restart combat tomorrow.
Hey Tim. It's Daniel's go. Sorry for losing the momentum.I also read I owe you a loot list. I'll get onto that now.
Horror grips Sevien as the cold pain from his wound spreads across his body, stiffening his limbs and holding him in place.
SD Dave:
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