|
7 – Neth
Upon defeating the skeletons that arose from the waters, we considered our conditions, and found that most of us had been injured seriously enough to require healing. All eyes turned to me, but all of the holy power that Sarenrae grants me each day had been used against the undead threats. And the frogs. Can’t forget about the giant man-eating frogs. Merisiel won’t let me; she keeps playing with the tongue she took.
We retreated to partake of the healing waters of the fountain on the lower level. Ezren and I drank our fill first, and we found ourselves instantly refreshed and healed. Valeros and Merisiel tried once again to get the healing waters to work…and amazingly found themselves healed as well, although Valeros’s ugly yellow boil did not go away. Having exhausted our spells and my gifts from the Everlight, the group decided to return to the upper level and rest in the room with Roldare. Valeros immediately began drinking his brandy, and well into his drinking session, he began recounting his favorite gods and goddesses, listing them by importance to him. As has been typical of his drunken and arrogant ways, Sarenrae continued to slip in importance the more he drank. I immediately pointed out that I could easily exclude him from the healing bursts of the Everlight if he thought so little of my goddess, but, in hindsight, it just let him know that I was still paying attention to him. Such an ego on that one!
Feeling somewhat secure in the small resting room, we all retired, not setting a watch. There was little need, as Roldare makes a quite adequate alarm with his hysterical screaming. Creeping out from under the barricade against the door was a growing pool of blood. Valeros, in his hungover bravado, started yelling out challenges, and Amiri and Merisiel argued about who got to beat Roldare down to quiet him. I attempted to calm the poor man, but Amiri found more success in shouting him down into a corner. Clearing the doorway, we found the pooling blood and a disembodied head that was slowly trying to make its way to Valeros’s foot to gnaw on it, I suppose. After bashing it into a pulp, Valeros discovered whisps of blonde hair…which set Roldare off terribly. With no other sign of danger, we closed the door back up, barricaded it, and returned to rest.
|
|
8 – Neth
This day, the light of Sarenrae conquered evil. This day, we put a great evil to rest.
I will attempt to put today’s events into words…..
After rising, and praying to the Dawnflower, my companions and I returned to the lower level of the crypt again. It was important to note that the fragments of the head we found outside the door during the night were no longer there. Nor were the re-forming undead that we cast into the pit of the “room with a thousand arrows”. Long, smeared trails of blood led down the stairs and to the portcullis…and through it.
We returned to the watery room with the wheel, where Valeros and Amiri set to raising the porticullis, and then doubled back to the now open gateway. Valeros and Merisiel both cautioned us to not look into the pool in that room, but Ezren could not keep himself from doing so. Unfortunate. His screaming managed to frighten every bat in the crypt, and they poured through the doorway towards us. Merisiel and Amiri dropped to the floor and covered themselves, while Valeros stood fast. I quickly retreated around the corner into the next room, hoping that the swarm would fly past and out of the crypt.
I was mistaken.
A cloud of bats began attacking us, biting us with dozens of small bites that kept bleeding. Fearing for my companions, mostly Valeros and Merisiel, since they seem to be unable to avoid trouble, I made my way back into the room, and closed the door on part of the swarm. Turning, I saw that they had killed many bats, and were heavily bleeding from many bites. A quick release of Sarenrae’s healing power halted the bleeding, and I expended more of my healing wand’s charges to treat our wounds. Someone eventually retrieved Ezren, and we proceeded deeper into the crypt.
We next entered a room to two large statues of guards at the other end. Two very deep pits were to the right and left, with a passage running between them. Again, Valeros bellowed out his challenge (to whom I am never sure…perhaps he likes to hear his own voice?), and both he and Merisiel strode forward. At this, the statues rapidly rolled forward to meet them. Merisiel managed to scramble backwards and avoid being knocked into a pit, but Valeros……Valeros did not. He fell a great distance. As the statues began to roll back to re-set, the rest of us quickly followed them, and Merisiel quickly disabled them. After hauling a battered Valeros out of the pit, and healing him once again, we continued on.
Stepping into Kassen’s tomb chamber, we noticed at once the still form of a blonde-haired woman lying next to Kassen’s tomb, presumably Roldare’s sister Demura. A rasping voice called to us, and a mail-clad skeleton stepped forward to challenge us, threatening to join our slain bodies to his army of undead. Merisiel sprinted forward to attack, but found that the skeleton warrior had merely been waiting for such an action. With his reforming zombie minions emerging from the shadows of the crypt to charge us, she quickly fell to the undead warrior’s blade, and the zombie’s claws.
I prayed for the Everlight to bless our actions, and called the Healing Flame to pour through me, sending wave after wave against the undead. Some crackled and fell, but others continued their attacks. Their master seemed to be little affected by the Healing Flames, and soon ran his sword through Valeros as well. As Ezren and Amiri continued their fight against the undead, I focused another burst of the Healing Flame to aid my companions, and Valeros stumbled to his feet. Amiri, in her rage, struck a mighty blow against the skeleton warrior, only to see it fall short – stopped by the remnants of a gold chain hanging around its neck. Just as a zombie reached out to attack me, Valeros sprinted forward to knock it into the deep pit that he himself had fallen into. I then noticed Amiri fall to the skeleton warrior. Valeros ran up to attack, keeping the warrior's attentions off of me. Seeing my opening, I recited my last spell, one of healing, and laid the healing touch of Sarenrae upon the skeleton. Unable to resist the power of the Healing Flame, it finally crumbled to dust.
With the battle concluded, I rebuked death from all my downed companions, and from Demura as well. Upon the examination of Kassen’s remains, the ghost of Kassen himself appeared to us. We explained to him what had happened, and he imparted to us the story of himself and his friend, the skeleton warrior. It was a sad tale of a discovered treasure, and the greed, lies, and conflict it caused. It gratitude, Kassen’s ghost bestowed gifts upon each of us, and also requested from us that we retrieve a lost amulet that was stolen from his remains, one which serves as part of a key to this treasure horde. If the treasure is found again, the thieves who stole it would have immeasurable wealth to fund their pursuits.
That said, we did find one other thing in the crypt. Next to the skeleton warrior’s coffin was a recent corpse; one that was clothed in the strange garb we saw on the other corpses of what we had surmised as the bandits that raided this crypt. Only, this one was wearing an iron mask. I have seen masks of this type before…this was a follower of the Living God, Razmir.
It appears that Sarenrae has issued me another test.
Director of Games
|
I just posted up the summary from my last playtest session of my home group, for those who are interested. It can be found here.
Jason Bulmahn
Lead Designer
Paizo Publishing
Wow, this has been great. I've decided I'm getting the module and using it as the base of my first full pfrpg campaign!
Thanks for all the write-ups guys, they've made the Iconics and the ruleset come so much more to life.
Congrats Jason! I really want to play that adventure!
With the skeletons defeated, our bedraggled party drags itself back to the central chamber. Though the urge was strong to open the gate and finish this thing, common sense rules for once and we decide to spend the night and recuperate. Besides, with Kyra being drained of the power of her goddess for the day, we didn't want to face the certain undead monster that we knew was lying beyond that gate.
So we trudge back upstairs to where our insane friend with the crossbow is waiting. This would be a good chance to sleep but also to steel my resolve for the morrow. Facing this talking undead menace is something that I have dreaded since we first found out about him, but I believe that Gorum will steel me and allow me to face down this foe with courage and glory, even if I am to fall.
In the middle of my sleep, I am awoken by the insane one screaming. Blood is flowing under the door. Kyra tries to reason with the fool but after a few fruitless minutes, I step in, slap the man upside the face, and tell him to pull it together and act like a man for once. This seems to do the trick, as he collapses into a quivering ball of silence. We open the door to find one of those bloody skeletons trying to pull itself together. Valeros squashes the skull and we go back to sleep.
The dawn sees us heading back to the crypts. Valeros opens the gate and we head through the room with the reflecting pool. Valeros and Merisiel both saw a horrible visage of themselves in the pool and I was afraid of what I might see of myself. The idea of seeing myself old, decrepit, and weak is one that I fear even more than the walking bones in mail. So I avert my eyes successfully and work my way across the room only to have a swarm of bats cover me and start to bite. This requires me to open up my stance and take them on, which unfortunately requires me to look towards the pool. Gorum must have had my back at that moment for the visage in the pool was laughable and I shook it off. After a few minutes, the swarms are defeated and the rays of Sarenrae heal our festering wounds.
Working our way through the crypts, we find a room that had trap written all over it. A bridge between two deep pits is guarded by two large stone statues. Of course, Valeros and Merisiel go traipsing over the bridge without a moment's thought, tripping the trap and sending the two statues rushing over the bridge. Merisiel manages to stay in front of the statues but Valeros is knocked into the pit. As we stand stunned for a moment thinking about how to rescue Valeros, the trap starts to reset and the statues start to retreat back over the bridge. Thinking quickly, I get the rest of the group to cross the bridge as the trap resets. Except for Ezren who always manages to stay 30.5 feet behind the group and thus is too late to cross with us. Valeros starts to concoct a difficult plan to get Ezren across when the sound of Merisiel pulling apart the trap allows Ezren to cross in safety. Which leads us to the large brass doors that we know hold the key to our quest and the final enemy.
Using up our diminishing reserves of Sarenrae's healing touch, not to mention the wand of curing that we found, Valeros is returned to full health and we open the doors. Inside is a grand crypt. We immediately see the everflame we were sent to fetch as well as a huddled girl, who must be the insane man's sister. Or was that daughter. Well, it matters not because at that moment a creaky, evil voice announces itself. And our doom. This menacing skeletal thing in mail with an amazing longsword walks into view and welcomes us as his newest undead minions. Merisiel, as per usual, rushes to attack, hoping to catch the thing flat-footed. You could have heard a pin drop when she realizes that the thing was actually ready for her. And its bleeding skeleton minions make their appearance and Merisiel realizes that she is screwed. Valeros and I set up a defensive perimeter at the doors while Merisiel attempts to flee back behind our defenses. She drops and we are now four. Between Valeros, myself and Kyra's goddess, we manage to drop the skeletons but that left the main villain time to whittle away at Valeros' and my defenses. Valeros drops after a few good hits and we are now three.
I am now face to face with my ultimate fears and I am proud to say that Gorum gave me the courage to face this thing that shouldn't be. My blade crashes down in a blow that I am sure will end this thing's unlife...only to have its gold chain deflect my certain death blow at the last second. It follows through with its sword and I am left in the embrace of Gorum.
When I awake, I find out that Kyra managed to get Valeros on his feet, though weakly, and his presence was enough to distract the thing while Kyra used her last healing to put it back in the grave. Our bedraggled group claims its prize from the ghost of Kassen, the man for whom this tomb was built. I am hoping to get some better armor out of the deal, though Valeros seems to claim each thing that we find. Kassen tells us the story of friendship and betrayal that caused his downfall. He also tells us of a three-part amulet that would lead to treasure beyond our imaginations. Well, I can imagine quite a bit. And though Kassen would like us to retrieve the amulets and prevent this treasure from being found, I think our group has other ideas.
We arrive back to Kassen (the town) to a hero's welcome that turns a bit grim when news of what happened at the tomb is told. But it is clear that Gorum has more adventures waiting for me and I feel stronger in my skills as a warrior. Just let there be beings with souls this time. I've had enough of these undead for a while.
-Amiri
...I step in, slap the man upside the face, and tell him to pull it together and act like a man for once. This seems to do the trick, as he collapses into a quivering ball of silence.
That certainly puts Amiri's inability to act according to expected gender roles of her tribe in a new light. ;)
I just started running Crypt for my gaming group and this was a lot of fun to read. Great job Paizo folks!
Hyrum.
I'm going to be running this later as a one-off session, and I'm so glad I read this thread. I haven't LOLed so much at so many posts on a messageboard in an age. Thanks everyone!
Well, we played. We never do one-off games, but this was a lot of fun because players had roles they wouldn't normally and everyone acted up for a lot of laughs.
The final confrontation was a TPK though. The party missed the 'supply room' and the BBE managed a critical on the Cleric, and it went downhill from there.
Still, we all had a fun afternoon. :D