Halvdan reacts the most quicklyest of the four combatants. He stands, takes a 5' step and swings his electrical sword at the creature. His swing crackles and is true and so strong that the creature is split into two pieces. At first it looks dead, but then it’s oozy nature reveals itself as the two individual pieces spread out to contain areas equal to the original creature. One slides 5’ ‘north’ and the other slips 5’ ‘west’. Both creatures strike out at Halvdan with bright orange pseudopods. Both creatures impact the Karrnathis General. Vel and Avegnum can see steam rising off the general’s body as they hear the familiar sizzle of an acid augmented slimy attack. Both ooze creatures manage to wrap pseudopods around the general as they attempt to eat him from differing directions.
Vel and Aveg are up. Vel knows, from his knowledge of subterranean critters, that these are some kind of Ochre Jelly. They are different in some way that he is unsure of but given their basic nature he knows they are mindless, don’t need to see, are immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, critical hits flanking, gaze attacks, visual effects, illusions, and other attack forms that rely on sight, and all mind-affecting effects (charms, compulsions, phantasms, patterns, and morale effects). He also knows they cause acidic damage when they attack, and has just had his suspicion that they split when struck with slashing weapons confirmed. He knows they like to entangle their prey and acidicly digest them slowly, though they do not paralyze like the gelatinous cube would.
Room is about a 25' square with about a 7 foot ceiling/floor. The hatch is now above the characters, who all start off prone.
<+>
|
INI
|
XY
|
Name
|
Health
|
AC
|
Saves
|
Notes
| ||
13
|
Halvdan
|
20%
|
22 (FF22, T10)
|
F+14/R+3/W+7
|
Grappled (OJ3), Staggered
| ||||
11
|
C1
|
Orange Jelly 1
|
6%
|
4 (FF4, T4)
|
UNK
| ||||
11
|
A3
|
Orange Jelly 2
|
5%
|
4 (FF4, T4)
|
UNK
| ||||
11
|
B3
|
Orange Jelly 3
|
1%
|
4 (FF4, T4)
|
UNK
| ||||
11
|
C2
|
Orange Jelly 4
|
13%
|
4 (FF4, T4)
|
UNK
| ||||
<+>
|
9
|
Vel
|
48
|
20 (FF16, T14)
|
F+6/R+8/W+7
| ||||
<+>
|
8
|
Avegnum
|
119
|
20 (FF17, T14)
|
F+12/R+7/W+4
| ||||
Vel stands and decides that the best way to help the bloodthirsty general is to try and zap the ooze duo with an Arcing Chain Blast.
ReplyDeleteAttack vs.OJ1(Touch):1d20+10+1=19-?, Potential Damage:4d6+1=14
Arc vs.OJ2(Touch):1d20+10+1=22-?, Half OJ1 Damage=7
"Watch out guys, they'll keep splitting if we cut them or hit them with electricity!" Vel shouts, admonishing his allies.
Avegnum leaps to his feet and also takes a 5 foot step towards the oozes as Halvdan did, ending in B3. "Sometimes it can't be avoided, maybe if we chop them into small enough pieces they'll be easier to kill," Avegnum says quickly over the slurping noises of the oozes as they lash about. With a sudden thought, Avegnum twists his grip on his blade and swings down on the nearest ooze with the flat of his blade, maybe the crushing damage imparted by the larger surface area of the weapon would trouble the ooze more than the edge.
Attack vs.OJ2:1d20+14-2-4=13-?, Damage:1d10+9=17 (-2 from wrong weapon size and -4 for improvised usage?)
Vel’s arching blast destroys parts of both orange slime creatures without making duplicates. Avegnum’s improvised attack with his sword partially batters the slime creature and partially slices into it. Again the creature splits in response to the slicing by Avegnum. Halvdan attempts to attack the first Ochre Jelly with his gauntleted hand, but is unable to do so because of his grappled state.
ReplyDeleteOrange Jelly 1 moves to C2 by swarming and slithering around Halvdan as it continues to crush, chew and dissolve him. Orange Jelly 2 strikes out at Avegnum with a brightly colored pseudopod. The acidic slime has no effect on the warblade but the impact itself does 11 damage to him. The pseudopod attempts to entangle and grapple it’s target but Avegnum is to squirrely to be caught. Orange Jelly 3 slides 5’ to the west and also shoots out a pseudopod to impact Avegnum, though it misses him entirely.
I forgot Avegnum's tumble check to not fall prone when gravity inverted. Have him take an extra move action this round to make up for it. Sorry.
DeleteVel shifts as carefully as he can away from the nearest jelly to A2(5ft Step) and again unleashes his eldritch power, though specifically focusing on the jellies that seem to have issues maintaining a smooth exterior surface.
ReplyDeleteAttack vs.OJ3(Touch):1d20+10+1=23-Hit!, Damage:4d6+1=13
Arc vs.OJ2(Touch):1d20+10+1=30-Hit!, Half OJ3 Damage=6
Muttering as the wall of oozes grows before his eyes, "Blast, from what Vel says even a stick would work better than this sword!"
Thinking his maneuvers may not work well here, Avegnum opts to repeat his previous, partially successful strike, praying to the most likely indifferent god of battle, Dol Dorn, that the jellies do not split further.
Full Attack: vs.OJ2:1d20+14-2-4=10:Hit!, Damage:1d10+9=18
vs.OJ3:1d20+9-2-4=12:Hit!, Damage:1d10+9=12
Avegnum then sidles away to A3, hopefully Halvdan would be able to survive his current jelly's embrace for a few moments longer.
While Vel and Avegnum’s attacks hurt the enemy targets none takes any of them down. Halvdan attempts to thrash about in his grappled and entangled state, trying to pummel his captors with his armored fists. While it looks like he manages to strike, or at least smack, the orange jelly he doesn’t seem to have any effect on it’s jelly-filled, sack-like body.
ReplyDeleteOJ1 continues its concentrated efforts against the armored bone knight, eating him away bit-by-bit. OJ2 attempts the same things but has no greater effect on Halvdan. OJ3, continuing to show an intelligence beyond what would be expected from a common ooze, takes a 5’ slide north and adds to the grappled general’s wet nightmare.
“They are eating me alive,” Halvdan screams as he struggles to free himself, “Damned sacks of zit puss! I’ll kill them, I’ll kill them, I’ll kill then all!”
p.s. Vel and Avegnum are up.
ReplyDeleteVel knows that time is of the essence so he continues his magical attacks while Casting Defensively (1d20+7=18) and attacks!
ReplyDeleteAttack vs.OJ1(Touch):1d20+10+1=28-Hit!, Damage:4d6+1=12
Arc vs.OJ2(Touch):1d20+10+1=31-Hit!, Half OJ1 Damage=6
Avegnum takes a 5ft Step to B2 and focuses his attention on the most hale jelly, using his blunted attacks as best he can.
Full Attack: vs.OJ1:1d20+14-2-4=13:Hit! , OJ1:1d20+9-2-4=10:Hit!
Damage:1d10+9=15, 1d10+9=15
I think I am reading the rules right on this; Please let me know if I am not. Since the eldritch blast is the equivalent of a fouth level spell (as cast from an 8th level warlock) the defensive casting does not work (DC is 15+spell level=19). So the blast fizzles out before hitting Halvdan.
ReplyDeleteAvegnum steps up and half splatters, half splits OJ1 with the first attack and then batters it even more with the second attack.
Halvdan again tries to batter his way out - this time concentrating on escape rather than damage - but fails to make much headway. At the end of his escape attempt he's so out of breath he can barely move.
OJ1 again launches an attack on Halvdan … but swings so wide it almost hits OJ3. It then takes a 5’ slide north away from Halvdan leaving the newest member OJ4. OJ2 releases Halvdan and slides around OJ3 toward Vel and Avegnum. As it does so the three PCs experience an odd sense of vertigo as the room seems to contract in on them – almost as if it were shrinking. OJ2 then strikes out at Vel … but misses him almost as badly as OJ1 missed Halvdan. OJ3 continues digesting the General and also attempts to hit Avegnum with a pseudopod. The monglefolk man is impacted for 12 bludgeoning damage but the acid does not harm him, and the jelly is unable to grapple him. OJ4 pummels Halvdan, then entangles him.
Vel and Avegnum are next.
"I- it's getting a b-bit close in here," Avegnum stutters. Hoping to end the fight soon, he continues in his ham fisted fashion to attack the jellies.
ReplyDeleteFull Attack: vs.OJ3:1d20+14-2-4=17:Hit!, OJ2:1d20+9-2-4=12:Hit!
Damage:1d10+9=18, 1d10+9=17
Damn, I didn't read the 2nd sentence lol so yes it seems that spell was lost.
Snarling in frustration at the encroaching walls of gelatinous terror, Vel once again tries to assist Halvdan, not bothering to worry about his defenses, trusting his mental discipline can maintain his focus on discharging his magical energies.
Attack vs.OJ4(Touch):1d20+10+1=16-Hit!, Damage:4d6+1=21
Arc vs.OJ1(Touch):1d20+10+1=22-Hit!, Half OJ4 Damage=10
In a whirlwind of unfettered aggression the Vel and Avegnum finish off the four slobbery sacks of puss attacking them. They are still inverted with the hatch above them in the corner of their 20' room.
ReplyDeleteAvegnum gets 1350 XP, Vel gets 1000XP.
In looking at Avegnum's character sheet it looks like he will now be 10th level. Is that correct? And Vel is about 7500 XP away from going up to 11th?
DeleteYes...? At least that sounds about right, I'll get to work leveling him up.
DeleteHalvdan pulls himself out of the dead ooze bodies and stumbles over to the corner with the hatch. "I must heal myself before going through ..." He mumbles before jumping up and grabbing at the hatch lever. After a couple attempts he manages to swing the lever free of it's latch and the hatch door swings down, opening up to show a matte blackness through the hole that none can see through. Suddenly the inverted 'up' reverts back to it's normal state. Vel falls into a pile next to the hatch, Avegnum, again, does a triple back flip and lands gracefully on his feet. Halvdan falls straight through the blackened open hatch. Now the room is silent, except for the noises Vel and Avegnum make in getting up and looking down the open hatch.
ReplyDelete"Halvdan!" Vel cries out in alarm. Rushing over to the hatch he looks into the darkness while gripping a healing wand in his left hand. Avegnum also heads over but with other priorities on mind, calling out, "What do you see down there? Any way closer to the objective?"
ReplyDeleteDespite Vel's devilish eyes and his usual ability to see in all darkness he finds himself unable to see beyond the hatchway. As he investigates he notices that any sounds seem to bounce off the blackness as if it were a solid stone wall. In their endeavors neither man is able to see or hear through the hatchway.
Delete"Ah, frell," Avegnum mutters while Vel heals him. When he's finished he forcibly stills the shudders that wrack his body and draws in a deep breath before roaring, "SHANDRAKOR!!"
ReplyDeleteVel gapes at the disappearance of his second companion and then shrugs before flying down into the hole, activating his Fel Flight if it was not already active.
*Vel uses 6 charges of his CLW wand to heal Avegnum 36hp
*Alright, I believe Avegnum is leveled up, just BAB, Saves, HP, and a new stance "Pearl of Black Doubt".
"Shandrakor? What the frell does ..." The two men hear in their heads as they head down the darkened hole. As they pass through the thin layer of darkened substance at the entrance to the hatch they feel a slight tingling like baby duck feathers gently brushed against every bit of exposed skin, and Vel can see with his devilish eyes that the ladder leading down goes about 30' before stopping. At the bottom a large passageway snakes off into the distance all the while angling downward a bit more than slightly. Below the ladder is a perfectly formed hole about 15' wide and about 75' deep. At the bottom Vel can see the unmoving form of the armored Karrnathi boneknight, General Halvdan. Vel glides past Avegnum who has climbed down half the ladder and circles his way down to the edge of the perfectly formed 15' x 75' hole. Avegnum can only see to the extent of his light source.
ReplyDelete"Blast! The general may have fallen to his doom! He's at the bottom of a deep pit, I'm flying down and if I'm in time I might be able to save his life," Vel says to Avegnum as he glides down. With the existence of this trap Vel slowls himself slightly and uses Detect Magic and his Mark 1 eyball to study the shaft's walls for any signs of untriggered traps that Halvdan's passage may not have disturbed.
ReplyDeleteNot having immediately encountered the teeming legions of foes he had expected Avegnum is somewhat disgruntled but he acrobatically leaps from the ladder to the large passage. "Alright Vel, I'll keep an eye on things up here. I'll call out if I see anything... unless of course it chokes or kills me before I can do anything!" Avegnum declares shrilly in a rush.
Despite this he runs his tongue over his mongrelman teeth to distract himself and assumes the Pearl of Black Doubt Stance just in case.
When Vel actives his detect magic spell-like ability a glittery multi-colored assortment of glowing motes encircle his head and swirl about him like a miniature tornado. The motes give off about as much light as a torch would, which allows Avegnum, with his mongreloid vision, to see a quite a bit better. Avegnum can now see the still form of the boneknight at the bottom of the smoothly cut circular pit. Vel sees no magic and glides down the pit with his fiendish wings. Half way down the rainbow tornado around Vel's head winks out and Avegnum is again left in darkness. Vel reaches the general after being careful not to trip any traps that he has not seen with his detection of magic. Vel checks Halvdan and finds him not breathing, not moving, and in fact quite dead. He is unsure what killed the general, as his body and armor are beaten and corroded from the previous combat. Halvdan doesn't look like he healed himself at all after the battle. Vel isn't sure if the general fell the entire 100' and died from the impact or if something else happened. Neither man can hear anything other than each other, while Avegnum sees darkness, and Vel sees Halvdan's body below him and Avegnum above him.
ReplyDeleteAvegnum and Vel get an additional 250 XP.
Damn, post got eaten.
ReplyDeleteVel takes a moment to pay his respects to his fallen companion and then puts the corpse as ceremoniously as he can in his Bag of Holding. Flying back up to Avegum's level he calls out while outside of melee range in order to avoid any surprise attacks. "Looks like the fall or those slimes did for him in the end Avegnum. Thinking about what we've faced down here and the things we've been feeling, do we really want to carry on with this task?"
"Our options are few and most everything we know is far away. I think if we see this through we have a chance, Kaellanna went her own way and we have no clue what happened to her..," Avegnum trails off, looking upwards to the mysteriously magical jungle hellscape above.
Avegnum then asks Vel to see if Halvdan was carrying any torches. If not he'll take the general's sword and activate its enchantment (which he paid attention to maybe when Thelaful showed the general how to use the sword/at the beginnings of the combats?) If neither of those work then Vel tries to cast Detect Magic as often as he can to generate that magical fluorescence. If they have a light source of some kind so that Vel isn't completely blind they continue down the hall.
Halvdan has an everburning torch in his magical backpack. His sword, being electrical, only gives off about as much light as a candle, maybe less. He also has the following:
ReplyDeleteBag of holding 3
4 firkins full of stout
Longsword Shocking +1, Evil Outsider Bane, Magic Missile spell-like effect (1d4+1)
A +1 flaming composite (+3) longbow
Quickened Bone Armor
A Heavy Mithral +1 shield
Masterwork chain barding for a heavy war horse.
There is also the equipment needed to tap one of the barrels of stout. Each barrel holds about 5-6 gallons of Karrnathi Imperial Stout and has the Karrnathi imperial seals on them indicating Halvdan was an apprentice imperial brewer for the Karrn empire. KIS (Karrnathi Imperial Stout) is world renowned and regarded as the best stout created by anyone anywhere by most people.
DeleteOnce Avegnum picks up Halvdan's sword he knows that he can fire a magic missile from it as the spell cast at first level (1 missile each round, 1d4+1 damage, 110' range, spell resistance applies).
The bag of holding has a handle on it and can be worn like a shoulder bag (as Halvdan used to).
The general had nothing other than war equipment and brewing equipment. He was on a military campaign when he was drawn to Xen'drik.
Seeing the mark of the brew Vel's eyes alight with interest. "We have to save these casks! They could be worth a fortune when we... if we... get back..," he trails off as he shakes his head and looks around at the subterranean tunnel they are following again. "Well it could be useful, maybe."
ReplyDelete"Sure, whatever Vel," Avegnum says distractedly. Seeing the everburning torch his eyes squint at the sudden luminosity but at least he no longer feels like something is a few feet away in the dark ready to try and eat him, which had already happen once today so far. Slinging his small greatsword on his back he straps on the longsword with a hand ready to pull it free at the slightest provocation while his other holds teh everburning torch aloft. "Let's press onwards and see what else lies in store for us.," Avegnum says grimly.
Looking down the large passageway (about 20' tall and wide) the two men notice the architecture is a bit different. Rather than being naturally formed, or at least looking that way, the passageway is completely smooth, rounded and somewhat reminiscent of the magic-made ruined architecture of the city above, except for being almost black in color rather than the sandstone color above. The walls seem to slightly bulge and heave almost like there is a muscular substructure underneath a thick, flexible, stone skin.
ReplyDeleteThe two men begin walking down the slightly undulating passageway. At first they see that it bends down and to the left, but after taking a few short steps they realize it actually bends up and to the right. Another few more steps and they both swear it now simply curves down with no lateral bends. As they step on to the downward sloping section a trickle of black liquid streams down the passageway, between their feet, from behind the. The two adventurers hear a hollow, echoing grumble from somewhere in front of them, but neither is able to place its origin or location.
After an additional few minutes of cautiously walking down the gradual slope that get more and more slopey the two men realize the sound, the deep grating, grumbling, reverberating sound that echoes in their chest and begins to shake their lungs has escalated in volume so that they are now having a difficult time hearing each other. The thick, black gooey liquid that runs down the de-escalating, circular tunnel has turned in to a steady stream of sulfurous smelling blue-black fluid ending in a blue-black pool at the bottom of the slope a small 40’ ahead-below them. The pool takes up the entire area of the broadened 30’ expanded tunnel, though it is only 10’ tall in this section. As they contemplate the possibility of skinny dipping they realize they also hear a drip-drip-dripping of some little volume of liquid ahead – probably falling into the blue-black pool.
ReplyDeleteVel wants to see if he can recognize the liquid flowing down the path (K.Dungeoneering) and possibly if any creatures might call such a liquid home.
ReplyDelete"Hmm, reminds me of some kind of blood," Avegnum mutters. Vel looks at him quizzically having not heard him over the rumbling but Avegnum does not repeat himself.
(Is there any type of outcropping or railing to tie a rope to? Avegnum thinks it would be a good idea to tie the two of them the silk rope he has in order to prevent them from slipping into the ichor sea.)
Vel thinks it reminds him of a black pudding, especially considering the oozey nature of what you have encountered down here. Vel knows the standard things about oozes (mindless, blind/blindsight, Immune to poison, sleep effects, paralysis, polymorph, stunning, critical hits or flanking, does not sleep, does acid damage) and that a black pudding splits like the creature you fought upstairs.
ReplyDeleteThere are no outcroppings in this area. The circular walls/ceiling/floor are rather smooth and pulsating with an almost living/animated motion. The grumbling sound now sounds like it is coming from behind/above the the adventurers. The volume has decreased and the two men think the sound is from as far back as where the ladder led them down here.
K... not sure wth happened to my last post. It involved Vel and Avegnum moving back up the slope as far as they could go whilst maintaining line of sight to the large black puddle. Vel then started blasting away into the blackness with his eldritch blasts to see if they could draw any sort of reaction from the area.
ReplyDelete