| Thedmstrikes |
My game group is taking a break from their regularly scheduled campaign for a couple of weeks and I convinced some of the players to participate in an open table delve into the infamous Rappan Athuk dungeon. Character generation will commence throughout the week and the first delve begins at 2 PM, Sunday, 30 August 2015 at Hit Point Hobbies in Aberdeen, NC (again, this is an open table). Players are allowed to use any Paizo product for initial creation of their 6th level characters (due to an expected short turn out on the first day) and mythic tier 1. Players are allowed instant access to any mundane piece of equipment, but magical items will be distributed by character from me prior to the first day. They can be used, traded or given to other players, or sold for half their original price in order to purchase additional items.
I stress that this is not intended as a campaign which accounts for the advanced start and lack of requirements for character background and group knowledge (i.e. how they met). However, there will be a running log of how they do and how far they go (I mean how long they survive). SPOILERS will abound throughout this thread (just in case you did not already know that). All players are entitled to post in this thread and have their say, I will make this as entertaining as I can.
| Thedmstrikes |
Sunbeam-
Thank you for helping me clarify, while it is an open table, that is more of an advertisement for additional unattached players to show and join in. Unfortunately, this is starting as a temporary game for a regular campaign on hiatus because the DM has to work on our regularly scheduled day for a few weeks. However, there are musings of potentially running this on the side as a "distraction" game. All players have been warned that there is an obituary at the back of the book for the impending character deaths that are to be expected while negotiating the dungeon. However, hardy(or foolhardy) souls are always in line to try their luck in the ever notorious dungeon of graves where the tagline is "do not go down the well"...
| Thedmstrikes |
And here is our first play report:
Four characters came together to try their hand at the infamous Dungeon of Graves. A Human Barbarian who had been exiled from his tribe at an early age, but adopted by a Gnome community, a Gnome Sorcerer who also dabbled as an Oracle, a priest of Torm, and a sneaky Elvan Rogue who likes to shoot from the shadows. All four have the mythic touch. Upon arrival to the grand site of the sunken cross, the group decided to explore the two minor mausoleums first. While there was nothing really important to see or find there, it was a good exercise in getting to know how things worked a little differently. Plus, they got ambushed by two sets of Dire Rats. The two sets of rats each went down in a single round, so as they approached the main mausoleum, they got their first challenge in the form of the eight Green Guardian Gargoyles that guard the complex. After the dungeon master had forgotten how many hit points these creatures actually had (only two were gimmies), it took even the most hardy of the group at least two attacks to bring one down. So far the gang were doing well with their combat techniques, it seams they may have a chance after all...
As they had passed from one side of the depression to the other when checking the smaller mausoleums, they made the stop at the Dwarf statue and discovered the key for the Mausoleum door. While they did not really know what it went to, they were quick on the uptake, sort of. Having dealt with the guardians, it was now time to take a look at the mausoleum door. Our intrepid arcane caster decided it was a good idea to cast Detect Magic on the doors (as it turns out it was a good idea, read on for more) to discover that not only were the doors magical, but so were the walls. Now it was time for the sneaky Elf to take action. He approached the door and checked for traps (it most certainly is trapped, but it is beyond your means to determine how). "Great", says he, "I will attempt to remove the trap." The reply is that he is unable to remove the trap (but at least he did not set it off and it was a rather good roll, so a little meta gaming and encouragement from the other team members later:) so he pulls out the key they discovered in the statue. Sure enough, it works just fine.
Once inside the mausoleum, the group becomes convinced there is a secret passage somewhere and set about searching every inch of the place....except the spot that has the secret door. They even muscled open the sarcophagus to reveal their first taste of the undead within Rappan Athuk. "Have no fear", cries their diminutive sorcerer, "I can affect humanoid undead with my spells as if they were still living." So he blasts the Black Skeleton with a Color Spray spell and it fails its saving throw to pass out right back into the sarcophagus from whence it came. The other party members are quick to take action and coup de grace the skeleton while it is helpless. (Those of you that have read this before are probably wondering when the roof is going to start collapsing on them for messing with the front door before using the key. Normally, you would be right, but our sneaky little elf has a somewhat underused power that, unbeknownst to the party at the time, saved their butts. If the Rogue were to fail in an attempt to disarm a trap without too much of a gap between success and failure, then the rule is the trap does not "set off." Thus, it is as if they only used the key at the front door and therefore did not set the first trap into motion. I swear these guys were praying to the god of luck all day.)
So, no stone has literally been left unturned in the mausoleum, but the party has not yet found an entrance into the deeper dungeon. Well, almost no stone, there is still the place they dumped the sarcophagus lid to check. Sure enough, there it is. Now we can get on with the actual dungeon (side note, the DM remembered to check for the Fort save as they entered the level, but failed to remember the every thirty minute rechecks. I think I will use actual time for future timely checks such as these. I am not sure if it will work because I think they will leave the level before it becomes a practical exercise, but more on that later). One more note, as it will help with some understanding later, all four members of this party have darkvision, so there is no requirement for them to have a light source. For those that read the book, this will become important a little later. For now, they have entered the first level and are essentially bypassing the first left turn to go deeper into the level. They are not fooled by the stacks of skulls into digging further (again, against their basic nature, so the luck god has intervened again). The next room holds nothing of note, so they move on to the room with the gambler. Well, I think of it as the gambler, but it is really just an unanimated skeleton sitting in front of a table with some cards on it. Really, this one is too good to be true. No, there is no magic present, and this is the beginning of a bad day for our Gnome. He decides it is a good idea to take the cards for later, maybe they will be useful. (FINALLY!!!) "Heya, I need you to make a Fortitude save, please." Does anyone have Craft Alchemy? No, aw, that is too bad. Oh, you failed the roll? That will cost you 2 Strength. One round later, roll again. Failed again. Times three? Yes! Fourth time is a charm though and the poor Gnome is even weaker than when he started. It is a poison, so the loss is only temporary. Those points will come back...with time. In the mean time, how much weight are you carrying? Oh, everything is in the Bag of Holding? Great, standard action to pull anything out (I actually missed this a time or two, but I will catch on at a time that is even more inopportune for the party than now).
So, the luck seems to be fading at last. Next up is a simple (and I mean simple) pit trap in the hall between this room and the T junction. The party asks the Rogue to start checking for traps again. His response: "I get an automatic check whenever I am within ten feet of a trap, so I will have the DM roll for it." Okey dokey, what is your Perception for traps? 17? Alright. So the DM grabs a handful of dice and mentally identifies the one of the bunch that is his trap detection role. Can you believe, without any BS from me, that die came up a 1. Yep, Mr. Cocky Rogue needs to make a Reflex save. His first trap identification failure of the game and it was all me. (Never trust a smiling DM.) Well, his luck is holding, he passed his save, but now the party believes they need to hurdle this pit because they are not aware it resets in only four minutes. So after about two minutes of discussion (argument), they actually clear the pit. No big deal, I am not really hurting sixth level players with a twenty foot deep pit. So, left at that T junction and we quickly come to a large room...with nothing in it but a desk. The Rogue and the Sorcerer are taking no chances and either Detect Magic on the desk or use their skills. No magic, no traps. It is just a desk. It has three drawers and only one of them has anything in it. They basically chose to save the non magic liquids they found for a later identification when someone with Craft Alchemy can do so (hint hint future players). So the intrepid adventurers try searching for secret doors, but fail to find the right spot (really they searched less than half the room), so back down the hallway they go. Incidentally, they came across the secret door in the hallway on the way to the next large chamber and I actually rolled well for their passive senses. So they check it out and open the door. Upon entering, they are confronted with an unusual sight (and one that the DM misread again). So, it is a Ghast and it is unusual in the aspect that it has been trapped and ignored for so long, it is actually happy to see the party (which is the part I misread, it was happy to see them and said so WHILE attacking them). They attempted a parlay with the strange, obviously undead creature and it worked until the DM reread for a detail to get it right and noticed that it was just supposed to attack with no chance to talk their way out of it. Ooops, but I can cover my mistake with the following lead in: (Party) "Why are you so happy to see us?" (Ghast) "Because I am sooo hungry, rawr!" Roll initiative. It goes down in the first round as expected. The party searches the Ghasts treasure chest and then moves on down that long hallway. It leads to an immense cavern (for this level) with a river flowing through it. The group decides this is a good time to start sending a scout forward to investigate. As he does, he begins to notice a large number of rats all over the place. So he goes stealthy. His lowest possible roll is a 17, so the rats ignore the shadow they do not see anyway, but it is about this time that the woman trapped by the river lets out a scream for help. Four Dire Rats have her backed up to the river with no escape route. Super Rogue to the rescue. He sneaks in closer, the rats creep in closer and when he thinks he is close enough, he tries out his I can shoot while stealthed rules and takes out a pair of the rats. Well of course this was some kind of an ambush and the woman is not really in trouble, so she hisses at the remaining rats to "Find him." Mamma was not happy about him dropping two of her favorite pets. He spends several rounds doing some cat and mouse with obnoxiously high stealth checks and drops not just the other two Dire Rats, but four or five normal rats that happen to be nearby. Then it happens, he rolls low. Ding, I have enough searchers that, undoubtedly, one of them will role high enough to detect him. So the rats start to chitter about his new location. He offs the first offending rat, but the rest of them begin to close in on his last known location. Remember, the party all has darkvision, so there is no lights for the rats to use their low light vision. They have to rely on their increased Scent ability. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending on which side you are on) the Rogue rolls low again, in fact, I think this was a 1. Gotcha, they begin to swarm him. He gets spooked and bugs out back to the party who are still hanging out at the entrance to the cavern. He gives it another shot, but it does not work out again and the party just goes full on into the mass of rats (I mean, they are sixth level and these are only rats, even if some of them are Dire). This time, though, I send in one of the Wererat henchmen to "direct" the attack. Party luck holds out and he is one of the first "rats" to be targeted and even with his increased hit points and DR, he goes down like a punk, early. Five rounds later, half my total rats are wiped out. The one that was furthest away is now a sole survivor from this assault and decides to go report their failure to the queen rat (er, Wererat). The party spends a little time exploring the cavern looking for the possible location of the missing "woman" with no success (she shape changed and went back to the main warren to gather the forces).
Now, things get a little interesting. The party decides to explore the rubble to the side of the cavern before they go across the river. Once again, our intrepid sneaky Rogue decides to scout ahead through the rubble, in stealth mode. Low and behold, they detect him. Bombs away! Hey Rogue, make a Fortitude save as you are suddenly engulfed in a cloud of obnoxious fumes (Dust of Choking and Sneezing). He makes his save, but this is no joke. He is incapacitated for 16 rounds anyway (I rolled really well). Here comes the party to the rescue and it is ambush time again. All the remaining rats begin to swarm from their warren tunnels into the corridor the party is trying to negotiate. Of course the barbarian smiles and starts doing what barbarians do best, but he is smothered by rats and unable to approach the Wererat leaders. Fortunately for the party, there are two spell casters that are diminutive in height and are slowed trying to negotiate the rubble. They spot the Wererat above their companion when she fires at them and both cast a spell that takes her out of the fray, permanently. The next round, the barbarian finally breaks through to the last line of Wererats and encounters the leader's lover in hand to hand. It was a two hit fight. The barbarian hit the Wererat and the Wererat hit the floor. After this, it is mostly a time consuming mop up given the numbers of combatants, but at least I was able to force the party to expend a couple of resources to do so as the arcane caster was out of daily spells.
This ended our session with the party identifying the one magic item they did not already know about from this "battle," a Cloak of Elven Kind. They also recovered the two remaining packets of Dust. A little healing to the Rogue (he took a couple of lumps while incapacitated before the party could become targets too) and it is time for the party to find a place to rest and regain spells. We meet again next week to see if their luck holds as they wrap up level one and descend some stairs (maybe?) to level two...
Perhaps they will get some additional pin cushions, I mean party members, to help them on their way...
| Thedmstrikes |
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And this week sees installment two of the delve. Unfortunately, neither the cleric nor the sorcerer where able to show, but the remaining party members were bolstered by an additional (darkvision capable) Elf Ranger. This guy is an underground specialist in every sense and is a very useful addition to the party.
After the last battle, the group headed back to a secret door they found that appeared to have no visitors in a very long time as a place to rest and recuperate. When they arrived, they found a sole Elf picking through the area they already picked clean. (Given the party's current status of two members, I hand waved the introductions with assistance from the new player) As it turns out, the two Elves had met before and recognized each other, quickly defusing the situation before it got out of control. New introductions are made and the party settles in for a short rest. The next day, the group heads back across the large cavern nearby to the half they had as yet unexplored. They found a pocket cavern with some Dire Rats in it and quickly dispatched them. In that cavern they recovered a helmet from a nearby Dwarf skeleton (that amazingly enough did not animate). In addition to the cave they explored, they also discovered a network of rat tunnels that eventually linked up with a small cavern that served as the base of operations for the wererats that had ambushed the party earlier. A few choice items were stuffed into the bag of holding for identification later (which ended up being just an arcane scroll and a pair of Glasses of Minute Seeing). Following this trek into ratdom, the party followed one last lead away from the main cavern, which eventually led them back to the surface inside the sunken cross where they had started the delve.
After a short party discussion, the (missing players characters) cleric and sorcerer headed back to town to get needed supplies, while the remaining party members elected to stay and scout out a new area. Unfortunately, they decided to scout out the infamous well at the opposite end of the cross. Once they had spelunked into the waiting cavern at the bottom of the well, a feeling of dread and foreboding infused itself into one of the two elves. With nothing to greet them other than the feeling and when presented with two obvious exits from the room, the party begins its exploration through the north door. Staying to the left when presented with choices, they first encounter a room, that the Ranger determines to be unnaturally "sideways". All the stalactites and stalagmites are jutting out from the side of the cavern not the top and bottom as normal. While it is a disturbing sight, there seems to be nothing else of interest in this cavern, so they move through it to the exit on the other side. This brings them to another cavern (this one not so unnatural) with a dark pool in the center and an exit on the opposite side. It is here the second elf succumbs to the dread foreboding, but nevertheless, they press on. As they enter the cavern, a slight droning can be heard and almost immediately, they are attacked by a wing of sturges. The party defeats them rather easily and the pair of elves move tot he opposite side of the cavern to recover a couple of missed arrow shots. While there, they discover three previous adventurers that met an untimely end at the hands of the sturges, so the barbarian decides to pilfer through them while the elves are recovering the arrows. As the elves are finishing up and just as the barbarian finishes looking at the first of the three, the background humming sound grows louder and another round of sturges launch themselves at the party. These are dispatched as easily as the first and we repeat this process two more times before the party tires of the game, stuffs all the choice items from the deceased in the bag of holding and depart the cavern after the final attack, going further into the complex.
The party does not have far to go as a simple 20 foot elbow brings them to the next room. This one has been worked stone to accomplish the eight alcoves lining its sides. It is here the final party member finally succumbs to the dread and foreboding that has haunted the two elves for some time now. Just in time for the ranger to fail in an detection attempt of the hiding Skeletal Warriors in the alcoves (they had been painted black to help with the hiding and to possibly cause some confusion amongst their potential enemies) who launch a surprise attack as the party crosses the threshold of the room. Only the barbarian is surprised, but the party handles the encounter rather well and dispatches the undead with only one member receiving enough damage to consider using a potion, just to be on the safe side. With nothing to be found other than eight piles of colored bones, the group feels this is a good time to rest and regain their strength (they had a couple of minor injuries, but nothing a single rest would not revive them from). Unfortunately, during this rest period, a group of three wights comes across them and a fight ensues. Again, luck is with the party and the two times a wight got a lucky shot in, the party saved away the drain that came with it. Their rest now completed, they advance once again through an exit at the opposite end of the room to find a cavern hallway with a cave in blocking their path. The Ranger takes a single look at it and determines the cave in is not natural and that the party can probably dig their way through in less than an hour. So, to digging they go. Just as they are about to break through, hear come another three wights. The party does just as well with this set as the last. Shortly after they disposed of the wights, they tumbled their way through the new hole in the wall.
Down the passageway, again to the left, a little down, a little up, and then they come to yet another room. This one is by far the largest they have encountered since coming down the well. It also has a river running through it, but it also passes through a T shaped pool to do so. On the other side of the pool are two sarcophagi each with a well preserved old man on it. As the first Elf crosses the threshold of the room, the immediately began spewing forth a dark mist. The elf reacted with an immediate retreat back to the rest of the party and the mist coalesced into two wraiths. During the discussion of what to do, the barbarian charged forward to engage the undead. The first round goes fairly well with the barbarian getting a couple of good shots in as one wraith approaches him and the other flies past to engage the elves. But the next two rounds show just how difficult advanced undead can be as the barbarian takes two hits and almost succumbs to the negative energy they instill*. In a fit of unusual clarity, the barbarian decides to run away as the two elves finish off the other wraith that is in his path of retreat. With the barbarian in full retreat, the elves chose to follow, but not without the Ranger taking a parting shot from the remaining wraith which almost took him out too. With this defeat, the party flees the underground complex back up through the well and all the way back to town. Even their own party cleric is not of sufficient strength to revitalize them after their ordeal with the wraiths, so they have to call in a marker with a temple in order to overcome the energy drains.
Some time later, freshly restored and ready to go once again, the party returns to the sunken cross and uses the newly discovered pathway back down to the first level in order to see where the stairs they had discovered at the original ambush site lead to. A much more cautious party spends a little time checking for traps as they come into the second level and discover an unusual site when they pry open a loose floor tile. In it is nothing more than some stagnant water and the moldy remains of a rat. Even the Ranger is stumped but his sight, so they leave it alone and look to check on one of the four doors they are presented with. The door with the hand ax and key embedded in it draws their attention. One of the Elves checks the door for traps, finds none, and turns the key, then pockets it. The barbarian has by now overcome his initial shyness of the level and is ready to kick in some doors. The elf invites him to give it a try on the one he just checked. The barbarian kicks the door so hard, it swings all the way open and bounces off the wall to swing back shut right in his face. With the elves laughing at him, they decide to try a different door. The elf opens this one without using the key and the party advances through into a hall that bends after 10 feet twice and opens into a 20 foot empty room with a single exit leading diagonally away on the same side they entered on. However, the room is not as empty as they originally thought as one of the elves detects a secret door opposite of the halls. One of the party opens the door and is immediately engulfed in an area of darkness that their darkvision does not penetrate. A fight now ensues as six black skeletons advance out of the closet they are cloistered in and they begin to attack the party. This fight is also another tough and ultimately loser for the party members as the black skeletons start to land some blows and the true danger manifests as they cause a strength drain with each hit. With one of the elves quickly approaching death from strength drain and encumbered to boot, the party calls for another tactical retreat. However, the skeletons have maneuvered that same elf down the opposite passageway the rest of the party is backing down, so a plan is hatched. With a short hall ending in a door and a possible unknown encounter to the elf's back and two Black skeletons advancing to his front, a monumental acrobatics check is called for in order to tumble through the skeletons and rejoin the rest of the party. A single hit from either of these two skeletons will cause enough strength drain to prevent the elf from reaching his goal. In addition, the Ranger casts one of his two spells, entangle, which snarls half of the skeletons and prevents them from immediate pursuit. The check is made and the elf rejoins the party, now it is time for the barbarian to hold the long just long enough for the elves to get a head start. The plan works and the elves are through the door and back out of the sphere of darkness. The two other skeletons that were pursuing the one elf get caught in the entangle spell as they attempt to chase the party leaving only a single skeleton to offer pursuit. The party was able to get the door closed as they pass through it, but the Ranger is next to it as the other two continue toward the stairs and safety. The lone pursuing skeleton reaches and opens the door, but has to wait as it is out of movement for the round. The party decides it is just not worth the chance to confront the skeleton, so continue the withdrawal and make it safely up the stairs where the skeletons do not pursue. The party continues right back out of the complex and back to the safety of town for another rest and end the session. It seems the party has found all the easy events and will now have to spend some time planning their next excursion into the Dungeon of Graves. Until next time (and hopefully with a larger party)...
*at this time, the barbarian has to use all three of his hero points to stave off the disaster of negative energy turning him into a wraith himself.
| Villari Hawkwind |
Nice write up! I always enjoy reading adventure journals.
I do want to point out one thing as the ranger in question. I pretty much took out the one wraith on my own with the help of a many shot critical hit and stayed to fire another full round of arrows to take it down so the barbarian could run past without drawing an attack of opportunity. Of course this resulted in my getting hit when I could have easily fled the round prior.
I thought it was a good group for a dungeon delve. With the missing players filled in, the group dynamic will be much stronger and more adaptable to almost any situation. I like the deadliness of the Rappan Athuk delve.
I also take full credit for leading everyone down the well and I'd do it again. Who wants to play Rappan Athuk if you don't go down the infamous well!