motteditor's page

If it makes you feel better, Lothan, you actually hit twice.

With Tristain acting as normally as he can, the group takes a moment to recover and protect itself. Lothan manages to feather the elder thing twice, and it throws a few more bombs -- burning Starflit ever so slightly 4 hp after resistance before you all gang up on it. Once you're able to see it, it provides little more threat and you're able to hack it to pieces.

Combat over. Might've lasted another round or two, but Al's spell made it pretty elementary, even with it switching to another damage type.

As Tristain babbles even less coherently than usual, Lothan, Al and Kyffin finally slay the mutate, the half-orc taking advantage of the openings the other two created.

Starflit heals Kyffin -- but as she does, she can see the remaining elder thing perfectly positioned to inflict pain on her! It hits her with two bombs, fire enveloping her 54 fire damage and splashing onto everyone but Al. 32 fire damage for Lothan, Tristain and Kyffin

Tristain casts a blade barrier to try to slice the mutate in half, but it mostly gets out of the way, pushing forward and squishing up against Al and Kyffin, who continue to slice into it, though Al struggles to land a meaningful blow. Realizing Kyffin is a more dangerous foe, it slams its tentacles into him, pounding blows against the half-orc. 35 hp; almost minimum damage...

Behind that fight, Starflit continues to heal Lothan, who takes cover while he waits to see a foe. +28 hp to Lothan As he moves, Tristain and Starflit see the elder thing from the other room enter the hallway and throw another bomb -- but it remains invisible! Tristain takes 25 fire damage, and Starflit is splashed with another 14. Need a DC 26 Will save from Tristain, or be confused for 10 rounds!

That's correct. (Also, planning to update this afternoon.)

I've moved it back onto the map so everyone can see (even though most of you don't actually have line of sight to it where you're standing).

As Starflit makes the combat far less fun for her poor GM, Tristain hastily flees, and then casts haste so everyone else can do the same.

Lothan unleashes a barrage of arrows at the elder thing approaching from the rear, but his injuries are clearly taking a toll as none of the arrows hit. It responds with a spell, disappearing from sight. It turned invisible

To the north, Al and Kyffin turn their attention to the mutate, though Al finds it much harder to connect with the ooze than he expected. It lashes out with its tentacles, though Starflit's magic keeps it from grabbing. 24 damage to Kyffin, 49 to Al

FYI, I'll be out of town Friday-Monday, so not posting during that time. (Though I plan to post in the game thread before I leave.)

Yeah, the maps here really make little sense. Even if it were a party of 4, there'd be no room to move or do anything. I should probably just declare it 10-foot squares, but I don't want to change it at this point.

Unable to find an opening, Starflit waits as Tristain, Kyffin and Al focus on the elder thing, shredding it with spell and steel. Lothan -- his brain clearing just in time -- finishes it off with an arrow, letting Starflit rush up to heal him. +28 hp

Just as you're about to relax, another of the creatures comes up behind, throwing a bomb that hits Tristain right in the back of the head. 22 electricity damage to Tristain, plus 16 electricity splash to Starflit and Lothan Worse, though, something comes flying down the tunnel toward Al! No art, unfortunately. It looks vaguely like a shoggoth, and you can guess it's the mutate you were warned about. It hits him with a tenatcle, but he's just about to avoid being grabbed! 12 hp

Party is up

Yes. (And I had to look that up to confirm; definitely part of my slowness is I don't remember so many of the 1e rules.)

Lothan fires off four quick arrows, hitting with three of them -- though the creature's flesh seems to resist the shafts. Fortunately, Lothan clusters them close together.

It seems badly hurt, but unfortunately for Lothan not dead, and it responds by throwing three bombs at him! All three hit, dousing him in shocking liquid and confusing him! 78 electricity damage, plus need a DC 26 Will save or be confused for 1 round The liquid splashes onto Kyffin too 46 electricity damage. It lets out another loud cry in a language none of you understand.

Party is up.

With nothing to indicate which way to go next, you decide to head to the west, down the steep ramp. Two large glassy cylinders large enough to hold a person occupy the west side of the pentagonal shaped room. Each cylinder has a transparent door set with hinges and a door handle on both sides. A steep ramp exits the room on the east side and leads up to a higher floor where you came from. An odd five-sided corridor whose ceiling rises to a point exits to the northeast. This complex is oddly shaped, but I tried to give you a helpful map on the overall map link. The rooms are also awfully small for what they want to happen in them...

As you enter, however, an elder thing -- similar to the ones you conversed with, but seemingly rotting -- lets out a loud cry of alarm and responds aggressively!

1d3 ⇒ 1

Lothan is up first.

Unfortunately, as you open the door to the southwest, a fireball explodes in the room! Everyone takes 60 hp fire damage, DC 24 Reflex for half

Before the trap can reset, you rush into the next room: a large pentagonal chamber with a curved dome-like ceiling that reaches forty-five feet above the floor at its highest point. Twenty feet from the bottom, a five-foot wide ledge runs along all five walls with a corridor that branches to northeast. There is no railing along the ledge, nor is there a ramp or staircase that extends to the lower floor. On the floor, two ramps descend sharply down corridors to the east and west while a level hallway runs to the south. The marble walls and floor are damp and cold and there is a faint musty smell in the air, like wet animals and chemicals.

The upper gallery extends over the room, and the three lower exits open in the walls underneath it. The east and west corridors are smooth ramps that descend at a steep 45-degree angle. The ceiling height of the ramps is 10 feet. The ramps count as difficult terrain going down, but moving up requires a DC 0 Climb check and hampers movement to 1/4 of creatures’ normal speed.

It was just sitting on the panel, not in a space.

There doesn't appear to be any spot for the chips in here. Maybe further in the lab?

The means to deactivate the stasis effect are inside the laboratory airlock.

Tristain is able to open the door, and you enter to find stone panels engraved with small sigils and runes that blink with a rainbow of colors fill three corners of this five-sided room. The outline of a five-sided door with no lock or handles is seen on the southwest wall. Another pentagon-shaped door exits to the north, this one with a handle and a strange lock. This is the one you entered from. The walls and floor are constructed of a smooth green-and-black marble and the air is cold and stale, but warmer than it is outside.

Inside, Lothan discovers a small, pinkish, translucent, five-sided piece of stone on one of the control panels, where it blends in with all the other strange buttons and symbols. It's similar to the other ones you have, but etched on its surface in Aklo is the number 7.

Tristain thinks you could enter through the smaller of the two structures, which likely leads you safely through the wall of force and presumably give you a way to take down the stasis field.

The exterior north door is locked and appears to require a strange five-sided key or rod. It can be opened by a PC who succeeds at a DC 35 Disable Device check. PCs who succeed at a DC 25 Perception check (which Lothan does by his mere existence) notice that a more recent set of sigils were gouged over the existing marks, but these have been filled in with ice and snow. If cleared, the marks read in Aklo, “The death we created is now our ruin, and it waits.”

Before you get ready to head to the laboratory, the two elder things hand you three small pentagonal stone chips cut from a pinkish translucent stone. The three chips each have one of the numbers 2, 4, and 8 engraved in Aklo. The archivists are not precisely sure what they’re used for, but they know they somehow are required for a locking mechanism to the vault that holds the Star Stela. See overall map...

Then, steeling yourselves, the seven of you face the rampaging shoggoth -- and somehow emerge triumphant! After which, you had for the laboratory: Two pentagonal structures connected by a long, covered walkway stand in the center of an empty plaza, surrounded by a cluster of domes and spiral towers. Both buildings are constructed from green-and-black marble etched with inhuman engravings.

The larger building is topped with a dome roof with a needlelike spike at the center. An iridescent hemisphere of energy surrounds it and expands to the southwest wall of the smaller building. There are no obvious entrances or windows save for a 5-foot-wide, completely enclosed corridor with a peaked roof that penetrates the barrier and connects to the smaller building. The smaller building is almost identical save that it has an elongated pentagonal door on the north side. The engravings on this building are rounded and worn smooth from time and the elements.

A permanent wall of force effect shaped like a dome protects the larger building. Every creature inside is affected by a temporal stasis effect. This is the product of elder thing super-science and magic from a bygone era. The means to deactivate the effects are inside the laboratory airlock.

The engravings on the outside of the buildings are difficult to make out, but several of you can discern a pattern of creatures with starfish-shaped heads pouring fluids into a large vat. Lothan finds a similar engraving: a disembodied mouth is depicted floating in the vat, and the starfish-headed creatures are flailing their tentacles.

I'll leave it up to you if you want to fight this shoggoth. It's not super important -- "The goal is to permit the PCs and players to encounter a rare and powerful creature and live to tell the tale," the adventure says. I'm perfectly happy to handwave it.

Here's the relevant stat blocks from the elder things if you want to see how they would be able to help:
Special Attacks phrenic amplifications (intense focusOA, mindtouchOA, overpowering mindOA, space-rending spellOA), phrenic pool (10 points)

Psychic Spells Known (CL 13th; concentration +22)
6th (5/day)—enemy hammerAPG (DC 25), legend lore, mind thrust VIOA (DC 27)

5th (8/day)—mental barrier IVOA, retrocognitionOA, synapse overloadOA (DC 26), teleport

4th (8/day)—locate creature, mind probeOA (DC 25), resilient sphere (DC 23), scrying (DC 25), stoneskin

3rd (8/day)—deep slumber (DC 22), dispel magic, heroism, telekinetic maneuverOA, vampiric touch

2nd (8/day)—false life, hypercognitionOA, ironskin, mirror image, resist energy, spider climb

1st (9/day)—comprehend languages, detect thoughts (DC 22), ear-piercing screamUM (DC 20), mage armor, magic missile, vanishAPG (DC 20)

0 (at will)—daze (DC 19), detect magic, detect psychic significanceOA, ghost sound (DC 19), mage hand, read magic, resistance, stabilize, telekinetic projectileOA

"But we cared for them! They were given food, water and shelter while they worked for us. And they're not really smart enough to have families or ... solid enough for carnal relations ... so there was definitely none of that going on," Pharlnimaar says, trying to justify their awful practices. "Compare that to what it is doing now, just running around the courtyard looking for food. Imagine which situation was better..."

They explain they are willing to use their powerful magic to help you.

You are able to wake the elder thing, which identifies itself as an archivist named Pharlnimaar. It is somewhat alarmed at having strange creatures present as it awakes from its slumber. However, it shares its limited information freely. It has never seen a sentient humanoid before (it seems amazed you can actually talk!), but overcomes its shock quickly.

It can provide some basic context to Bohlvarai, the city you're in, specifically that it was a vibrant city until their amorphous servitor race developed greater intelligence and revolted. A fevered effort was made to locate a new planet or place on their existing world to evacuate to. Then, when the citizens of Bohlvarai did not think things could become worse, they found their city relocated to a new planet in a different galaxy. Uncertain of where another habitable planet was located, they were left with the untenable choice between fighting their slaves, exploring this new world, or launching themselves into space in hibernation with no preset destination. Countless died as a result. Pharlnimaar and Blaayjhan (the other archivist, and it would be nice if we could wake them too, Pharlnimaar points out) placed themselves in long-term hibernation, hoping that when they awoke the shoggoths would be gone and the pair could collect the remains of their culture and history, here and throughout the ruins. Their intent was to find others of their kind so the memory of their people would not succumb to oblivion.

As you explain your presence, Pharlnimaar recognizes the description of a Star Stela and is horrified to learn what role it has played in cosmic events. They attribute the Star Stela to a trigger event that led to the shoggoth rebellion—the advent of a creature they call the Mutate. The Mutate was an experiment with a new form of slave that they theorize was unexpectedly affected by the Star Stela, which they were using as a power source. The Mutate then roused the shoggoths and set them on the path of insurrection.

They know where the Star Stela is located, but initially forbid you from going anywhere near it, as it is locked in a stasis field with the Mutate. They fear that should the Mutate be released, it could organize the shoggoths into a willing army.

You can get them to divulge the location of the research laboratory where the Mutate experimentation was performed but only if you give absolute assurance that you will not allow the Mutate to escape the facility alive. They also demand that you help kill or drive off the shoggoth that lurks outside the archive, a task in which they will assist.

The adventure actually assumes you do wake up the creatures and work with them to decipher the going-on here. I'm trying to work with what you all want to do though.

You know where the Star Stela is at this point, but also that it's locked in a stasis field with something called a Mutate. What that is, you don't know. You could attempt to wake the creatures to learn more, or just head over there now (keeping in mind there's still a shoggoth outside too).

It's difficult without any help, but it appears that the star stela has been locked in a stasis field with something only described as "the Mutate." You think there's enough information here that you could find your way there, but there's little information about the Mutate or anything else that might await you there.

They are immune to cold and resist fire 10. Other than that, you don't think they'd be very difficult to kill, unless there's something unusual about these ones.

Taking the ramp up to the second floor, you find dim light pours through windows in the top-floor chamber. The ceiling slopes almost to a point and then merges into a solid pentagonal support column that runs from the floor to the roof. Around this center section are five racks of scrolls and books fabricated from metal plates. On both the east and west side of the room are glass cylinders with hinged hatch doors. A steep ramp descends to a lower floor in the north end of the chamber.

Two strange beings with a star-shaped head and numerous appendages arranged radially around its barrel-shaped body stand unmoving in the cylinders.

Once you are all healed and your various debilitations restored -- though perhaps not Lothan's Wisdom -- you head toward the city archive. At the end of a long plaza stands a modestly sized, five-sided pyramid. The pyramid was constructed or possibly carved from sandstone by some titanic force, sections of it bear rings and multicolored ripples of color on the surface. The pyramid is a little more than ninety feet in diameter. A ten-foot-wide doorway is visible on the southern face, and windowlike openings are set into the sides approximately two-thirds the way to the top.

As you get closer, thundering across the plaza behind you, you hear an inhuman cry of “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!” -- the same sound that scared away the Leng spider not long ago. Spinning around, you see what appears to be a glistening black mound of protoplasm, approximately 15 feet in diameter. The monster is sprouting all manner of eyes, mouths, and appendages while half-crawling and half-rolling toward them. You realize it's a shoggoth, and likely something you can't fight -- or rather can't fight and hope to survive -- without proper preparations! Fortunately, you're close enough to the city archive that you can safely get inside.

The lower level of the pyramid has a one-room, open floor plan. The only means of entrance or egress is the southern foyer. The hallway splits to wrap around a pentagonal center section, the northeast and northwest walls of which are covered with shelves of scrolls and metal plates. A stone statue of a winged barrel-shaped creature with tentacles for legs stands in the center of the floor. To the west is an alcove with a stone table covered with a diorama. Another alcove mirrors it to the east. A ramp on the north side of the room ascends to a second floor.

"Oh, no, that was pipes. My viola is a stringed instrument," Erich assures Starflit.

Lothan and Al kill one of the two creatures, as Kyffin's sword and Starflit's magic confirm they are indeed aberrations. They and Tristain turn their attention to the remaining monstrosity and are able to dispatch it too.

As you begin tending your wounds, Erich Zann reemerges from around the corner. "Larvae of the outer gods!" he declares. "They must have been sent by Hastur to deter you. That's not good. It means he's noticed you. You don't want that."

As you finish, Lothan goes back to interpreting the strange map, finding a location called the city archive that could have answers to where the star stela is.

That works for me. I don't think you guys not being able to do anything is fun.

Al manages to break the spell, leaving you free to reengage in the fight, and a second later the pipes go silent as Starflit's spell takes hold.

Lothan steps back and peppers the second of the creatures with arrows, his pinpoint aim letting three hit in a tight formation that seems to do more than one blow alone.

As they continue to heal, the creatures pursue, the red one going after Lothan again 17 hp, plus DC 25 Fort save or take 4 Dex and 1 Wis drain and the aqua one lashing Kyffin 12 hp; DC 25 Fort save or take 1 Dex and 3 Wis drain and Starflit, who manages to dance around the blows.

I don't think it's a fascination issue: The subject feels an undeniable urge to dance and begins doing so, complete with foot shuffling and tapping. The spell effect makes it impossible for the subject to do anything other than caper and prance in place. The effect imposes a –4 penalty to Armor Class and a –10 penalty on Reflex saves, and it negates any AC bonus granted by a shield the target holds. The dancing subject provokes attacks of opportunity each round on its turn. A successful Will save reduces the duration of this effect to 1 round.

Here's the ability: Maddening Song (Su) A MONSTER can play a song on its pipes that inspires madness in those who hear it. Each creature within 30 feet of the MONSTER is compelled to dance, as per irresistible dance, for as long as the MONSTER continues to play. A creature can attempt a DC 25 Will saving throw to resist the effect, becoming immune to the MONSTER’s song for 24 hours. Creatures that fail their saving throws can act normally if removed from the maddening song’s area of effect, but they must attempt a new saving throw upon re-entering the song’s radius. Beginning a maddening song is a standard action, but a MONSTER can continue the performance on subsequent rounds as a free action. This is a mind-affecting sonic effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.

The strange creature's piping is infectious, as Lothan, Kyffin and Tristain suddenly start dancing. As they jerk uncoordinatedly, the things lash out at Lothan and Kyffin. 6 damage to Kyffin, 3 to Lothan, both need a DC 25 Fort save or take 3 Dex drain and 3 Wis drain

Starflit moves in to help and take a vicious lash from a tentacle 8 hp, need a DC 25 Fort save or take 4 Dex drain and 2 Wis drain.
Al tries to cut into the musical foe, but his blade keeps sliding off its rubbery flesh. He does manage to take advantage of one opening as it attacks Starflit, but again, the cuts they make start closing immediately.

The creature continues to pipe music, continuing to fascinate more than half the group, and lashes out at the two remaining combatants, though can't hit Starflit. 20 hp to Al The other one casts a spell and a multicolored explosion of leaping, ricocheting energy hits Al, Kyffin and Tristain. 12 hp to all three and slowed 6 rounds, DC 20 Will save for half and to negate the slow; non-lawful folks take half damage and no slow

Ugh. This fight is kind of brutal, especially with all the fails vs. the piping. Also, they're not doing much damage, but I could be making 16 attacks each round, which is a pain to keep track of (not to mention way too much poison; I'm going to require no more than 1 save per round)!

Two of Lothan's arrows bounce off the awful things, but two sink deep -- though perhaps not quite as deeply as he'd have thought based on how well he shot them has DR Still, the close cluster causes the creature to scream out in pain and it turns its attention to the archer! It slithers a little closer, and lashes out with its eight tentacles! Lothan loses track of how many hit him, and while none is particularly painful, they take their toll. 25 hp Worse, he can feel poison seeping into him. Can I get DC 25 Fort save, or suffer 3 Dex drain and 4 Wisdom drain!

Al and Kyffin, meanwhile, focus on the other creature as Tristain retreats behind them, but both struggle to penetrate its defense. They each make one solid cut, but no more, and its wounds immediately start to heal. It begins playing a maddening song, and then retreats ever so slightly. Need a DC 25 Will save from everyone or be compelled to dance.

After an awful fight but one that's mostly a random monster, and one that at least one friend considers culturally insensitive to use so it happens off screen, you continue your search for the star stela.

After an indeterminate amount of time, you come across not what you're looking for, but a five-sided spire standing as a monument on a ten-foot-high base that is accessible via a ramp that spirals up the base’s side. The stone is approximately twenty feet in diameter and forty feet tall, and is marked by countless small runes, glyphs, and sigils. Five smaller triangular stone markers, all of which point to the center spire, surround the monument.

Lothan recognizes the symbols as Aklo (yes, Tristain, really). It appears to almost be a city directory. As Lothan begins to look over it, however, two monstrosities suddenly appear out of nowhere. They are a terrifying amalgamation of chitinous scales, bloated flesh, unblinking eyes, and writhing tentacles.

Erich Zann ducks away since we don't need a DMPC as they attack! Fortunately, you were all somehow expecting something awful so everyone except Starflit reacts before they can do anything.

Party is up! These are 10-foot squares. Baddies' pics are to the left of the map.

Starflit doesn't recognize the coins nor the cry.

Lothan, however perhaps to everyone's surprise?, thinks it sounds like Aklo, though he doesn't recognize what it means.

When nothing presents itself, you continue on. Upon exiting the mountain tunnel, the path quickly becomes a makeshift road through a metropolis of ice-encrusted stone. Buildings fabricated by some ancient race litter the landscape. Each structure runs counter to human architecture and design. Other sections are complete rubble. Some buildings are smashed with no discernible cause or evidence of a natural geological event. There are no stairs anywhere, only ramps. The number five strongly influences many designs, from building shapes to doorframes, as if four walls ran contrary to the most basic building designs.

Architecture notwithstanding, the scope of the city suggests a once-thriving community. Immense hive-like arcologies, stadiums, universities, and marketplace plazas as far as the eye can see stand empty. The city is haunted by a whistling wind that sometimes carries strange cries. No bodies are evident anywhere, not even skeletons. Mixed with the stark loneliness is a palpable sensation of being watched, though the only suggestions of life are huge and sinister shapes frozen in sheets of ice where bridges once traversed flowing rivers—rivers that were never possible in this climate.

Erich Zann looks around unhappily. "We'll never find my precious instrument here ... or your star-thingies," he says.

Starflit and Lothan take down the closest spider, which fortunately falls to the ground with a sickening splat!

As Al and Kyffin rush toward the remaining spider, Tristain tries to blast it with a barrage of magical missiles -- but they have no effect! Failed SR. It chitters and starts to move forward ... but then freezes at a muffled and distant cry of “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!” A second later, it turns and flees back the way you came from!

Fight over unless you want to continue it.

If you want to search around, you can find stuff stored in a portable treasure pouch made from webbing that is currently pasted against the wall 15 feet above the ground: a +1 axiomatic greatsword, a minor ring of energy resistance (cold), a black soul shardUE, two potions of cure serious wounds, a potion of heroism, a diamond worth 5,000 gp, and 3,870 gp. All of the coins are minted in the shape of little pentagons.

Also, working on a deadline, so not sure how much I'll post before next Tuesday, though it's definitely easier for me when we're not in combat.

Lothan, Starflit?

Starflit cuts at the webbing, but can't fully slash through it as Tristain scurries away and casts his spell. Kyffin casts another spell on the group and begins to climb as Al and Lothan go on the attack.

As they approach, the spider bites at Kyffin, but misses. Al, however, isn't as fortunate and his flesh starts to blister and rot away as he suffers and horrific hallucinations. 16 hp, plus need a DC 25 Fort save vs. poison or take 3 Con damage and be confused 1 round The creature screams as Al's sword cuts it and three of Lothan's arrows hit home. Even as it begins healing, it lashes out at Al with a rock attached with a cord of webbing into a horrific flair, smashing the paladin with a pair of brutal blows 57 total damage. It tries to bite Kyffin again, but the half-orc easily avoids its mandibles.

The second one casts a spell -- and Kyffin and Al suddenly drop out of the air, slowly sinking back to the ground! It dispelled the air walk

You continue on, to where a cave-in appears to have blocked any way forward. You're about to look for some other passage, but when Tristain turns around, he sees an immense purple spider with a legspan of nearly forty feet and a hideously bloated body emerge seemingly from solid rock. No one else can see it, even as Tristain screams that it's rushing forward -- until it spits a web at Tristain, entangling him, as he sees another one emerge!

Spiders got the surprise round, when only Tristain could see it to move, then won initiative. The ceiling is 40 feet up but it's Huge, so only 25 feet above you. Aqua is on the ground, but still invisible so only Tristain can see it.

Tristain takes a –2 penalty on attack rolls and a –4 penalty to Dexterity, can move at only half speed, and cannot charge or run. He can escape with a successful DC 25 Escape Artist check (a full-round action). The net has 15 hit points and can be burst with a successful DC 30 Strength check (also a full-round action). Party is up.

Known by various names on various worlds, but most often as "elder things" or "old ones," these alien creatures are interested in creating lasting works of art, architecture, and even life (such as the dreaded shoggoths). They possess a boundless capacity for war and egotism.

Wary, you continue down the tunnel, where you find a solid statue of an unusual creature, carved from oddly colored stone, stands on a raised dais. The statue is approximately twenty-five feet tall, and its head has fallen off and now lies shattered at its base. The figure itself is a monstrosity, with a barrel-shaped body, leathery wings, and five tentacles at its base. The head resembles the broken remains of a starfish with bulbous eyestalks on the end of five tentacles.

With the treasure doled out and the group fully rested, you head for the star stelae, where you face another carnivorous plant, which you're able to defeat without too much difficulty. Performing the ritual, you manage to deactivate the first of the three stelae that threaten all of existence as you know it, and you move on to Bohlvarai.

You head to the tunnel that leads to the next nexus, with Erich Zann in your midst. A wide path winds through what appears to be mist-shrouded mountaintops jutting from the earth. Ahead to the north, wisps of snow, blown about by gusts and eddies of wind, partially obscure a monumental tunnel that cuts right through the mountainside. The tunnel appears artificial, as gigantic support columns brace the sides and roof every twenty to forty feet.

The floor is rough, but not too difficult to traverse, at least here. It is, however, icy. The DCs of all Acrobatics checks in the tunnel, if needed, increase by 5.

They did turn into mist, but the coffins were part of the area I bypassed in the basement. We can assume for our purposes, they're dead and gone.

The two guards each had a +3 breastplate, +2 heavy steel shield, +2 falcata, cloak of resistance +3, and 962 gp Don't ask me why they were carrying around so many coins!. Avaric had a +3 glamered breastplate, +3 keen rapier, amulet of natural armor +2, belt of incredible dexterity +4, cloak of resistance +4, headband of alluring charisma +4, mask of the mesmerist, ring of protection +2, and 630 gp.

After you loot the corpses and return to Lord Eldarius, the ghost noble upholds his part of the bargain and tells you the location of the Star Stela. It has stood since time immemorial in the center of a local vineyard that is still worked by local people today. You can rest and head there when you're ready.

"Oh, no, I think I'm looking for a very specific one," Erich replies. "But I can show you where it is!"

Vampires are known all across the world -- and apparently multiple worlds based on your current situation -- for their connection to blood. They need it to survive, and take it from others, willing or not. In a span of six seconds, it becomes quite clear that vampires like Lord Avaric feast on such blood, drinking it to sustain them, and fill them. It's quite clear because about six seconds after Al begins swinging his sword, there is not a single drop of blood left in Lord Avaric -- it is instead sprayed across the entire ballroom, leading to most of the guests (who you might remember are mostly cursed and don't realize they are undead) fleeing in fear, screaming into the night.

Combat, in fact, ends almost as quickly as it began, and you are able to collect Delmaria and return to her father's estate as soon as you are ready.

"Well, that was most impressive," Erich Zann says. "Say, do you have a birthday by any chance? I should hate to miss it and upset you in any way."

Holy smokes. That's a lot of 20s.

Kyffin slaughters the nearest guard, as Al is stunned and unable to react to Alvaric's attempts to slaughter him. With the way blocked, Tristain and Starflit try to aid magically, but they may need to find another way to engage in the battle.

The second vampire steps back and casts a spell, and a ball of fire explodes, catching everyone but Tristain. 24 HP, DC 21 Reflex for half Avaric, seeing Al is stunned, carefully casts a spell of his own, and tries to magically paralyze the paladin. DC 22 Will save vs. hold monster!

Party is up!

That's too many 20s!!!

Al and Starflit move in to attack as Lothan waits for a clear angle. Al's blade hits -- but only barely, as Avaric clearly proves to be a skilled combatant, though the cut guided by Al's deity proves deep indeed -- and both vampires move supernaturally quick in avoiding the worst of Starflit's magic.

Avaric immediately begins to heal as his gaze meets Al, who suddenly feels his mind start to muddle. "A fine cut. Hold a moment and we'll deal with you later," he says. Al takes a -3 to Will saves, attack rolls, DCs of spells and spell-like abilities, then must succeed at a DC 22 Will save vs. hold person

The two vampire guards move in to attack Al and Kyffin. Kyffin's foe merely dents his armor, but Al takes a glancing blow as he staggers under Avaric's mental assault. It doesn't seem to hurt him badly at first, but he can feel the vampire drain his energy, healing herself at the same time! 6 hp, plus TWO negative levels! Maybe it's a worse blow than he thought! Need a DC 24 Will save or be stunned for 1 round

Party is up

I decided I'm going to skip a lot of this part of the dungeon. It doesn't feel like it really adds much to the story...

After exploring the rest of the basement, you head back upstairs, the bard in tow. Unfortunately, when you emerge, you realize both doors into the storage room are open -- and Lord Avaric and two guards are waiting for you!

"Alas, I hoped to offer you my hospitality, but it seems you would abuse it!" the lord of the manor says, rapier held up in an en-garde position.

Al, Lothan and Starflit are up. Note that there's a wall between most of you and Avaric and one of the guards, so you'll need to move if you want to target them. (That said, it's Thanksgiving week and my folks are visiting, so I don't know how much I'll get to post.)

With Starflit's rope and Kyffin's strength, you're able to pull the bard out from the pit. "Thank you," he says. "I was sure these foul undead were going to devour me!"

As you talk, Erich says he requires a stringed instrument to use his full abilities. He knows he had one once, but where it is now is a mystery -- Avaric gave him a potion that did something to his memory, though it's slowly returning. "Please," he pleads, "help me find it!"

The man nods furiously.