[3.5] King of the Mountain - the Orcjaw

[Leewei]

Crossing the bitterly cold water, you pass an arc of white stalagmites rising from the water at fairly even intervals, eerily reminiscent of an orc's lower jaw. After several minutes, you find yourself at the top of a 10' sheer drop with water trickling down. You can stand or sit uncomfortably on the ledge over the seep. Below, a shallow stream runs down an enormously tall, narrow subterranean gorge. In the distance, occasional drips and splashes echo from what must be a large body of water.

Climb DC15 (natural wall, slippery, corner) to go up or down, or else simply drop for 1d6 damage (Jump or Tumble DC15 will negate this).

[SlyJohnny]

Keld uncoils the long chain from around his body, shaking water free from it. He frowns in frustration at the difficulty of the task, and snaps his fingers a few times and edmits several odd squeaks, enabling Prestidigitation. He waves his fingers over the chain a few times to dry it off, and hands it to Orrack.

"I'll go first, I'm lightest. Wrap this around your body, and get everyone to hold it. I'll rappel down on it, the rest can follow, and I'll use my magic to keep the wall as dry as I can for whoever has to climb down."

Assuming Orrack and the others agree, Keld will grip the chain and abseil down, trusting in his sturdy comrades to anchor the chain.

[Leewei]

All:DC10 climbing down the dry chain. Excepting the last PC down, you may "take 10" on this.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Right then!" Goti exclaims and grabs the chain along with the others to anchor it.

[Doombringer]

Orrack did as Keld asked looking to him and saying. "Be careful friend." He then moved himself to anchor the chain his feet planting and muscles flexing as he grips the chain holding it stready."I am coming down I will be there soon." Orrack then took a firm grip on the slippery wall and made his way down no real need to get in a hurry at the time. Orrack arrived on the ground and smiled. "Welp let us get going we are waisting time."


Roll:
I am the last one down I assume.
Climb Check
[roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar climbs down the chain held by Orrack.

Climb: [roll0]

[Leewei]

The dwarves descend the steep safely, landing on what could only charitably be called a stream. The thin trickle of water winds through a narrow gorge.

All:Mach is welcome to join if he's still interested. I'm not seeing any recent activity, nor has he responded to PM.

I'll need a marching order. The gorge is narrow enough to only admit one of you at a time; sometimes, squeezing is needed to pass. Whoever takes the lead position, please roll 1d20 for me.

Lubdar:Achievement Unlocked (Bold Explorer)
The first dwarf to visit each of the four exits of Hammerfall Cavern gains a +2 Competence bonus to Survival and Knowledge (Dungeoneering) checks. Additionally, these skills are now considered Class skills if they are not yet already.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"I'll take the front, if no one minds. Deep dwarf vision is a bit better than you hill folk have."

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Whoops forgot to roll.

[roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar stops for a moment, examining the silt in the stream bed. He points out a few of the more noticable impressions.

"Look lads... something has been this way, and recent enough to still see it. We should look sharp. I'm no tracker so I've no idea what it is.. but we're not alone."

[machiavelli33]

There's a rattle from the chain above, and drops of freezing water indicating the descent of another wet dwarf, the wordless Hermut Ehnzeig.

Climb: [roll0]

If Hermut is able to make it to the bottom without slipping and becoming the shortest lived character in D&D history, he lets his first greeting to the other dwarves be the profoundly expressive "single taciturn nod."

He sniffs, scratches his beard, and his eyes flit down to the tracks that everyone is busily regarding trodden into the siltbed.

Survival: [roll1]

He doesn't mind what stares at his intrusion might come his way.

[Leewei]

Hermut:The chain was dropped by Orrack. The climb DC is 15, so you do indeed fall. You might yet recover with a Tumble check: [roll0] vs DC15, or else take [roll1] damage.

The group hears cursing as another dwarf joins them from behind.

[machiavelli33]

"Ungh. Wh- aah!"

Hermut's hand slips from the treacherous rock and he falls. He flails for a quarter of a second before attempting to tuck his legs in and turn to land on his feet and roll with the inevitable plummeting impact...

[roll0]

((wait was I meant to roll that or was that rolled for me? I'm a little unfamiliar with protocol here, so I can redact if necessary))

[machiavelli33]

Hermut sniffs, nursing the bruise from his fall. His stolid expression slowly turns into a sneer as he looks over the tracks.

Kneeling down over them, he takes another look, for confirmation, then looks up at the other dwarves gathered around.

"Last night's attackers left these. They go to the refuge."

He looks from one face to the another and awaits for the next call to action.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld remembers the ferocity with which the creatures they took apart the sentry, before they were disabled and the other dwarves swarmed them. He wonders if he'd fare any better under their claws. He resists the urge to shudder.

He waves his pick around, scattering the light around the cave like a street-lamp receiving a kick. "Well, at least we know we're going in the right direction, then!" he says, brashly. "Let's go see how many there are. Maybe we can burn them out."

[Leewei]

OOC:Normally, you'd roll. I rolled to resolve things quickly, but I'll let your roll stand instead.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut stands and nods, ready to follow Keld's lead.

He cracks his knuckles and ties his decidedly poor-quality rucksack to his waist so that he has both hands free.

[peterpaulrubens]

LUBDAR

Lubdar walks down the stream bed slowly an cautiously.

[Leewei]

The gorge proceeds about a quarter mile before opening up to the expected large lake. Dripping and gurgling noises echo throughout the enormous chamber. The ceiling seems fairly low, about 20' over the surface of the lake. Aside from the shelf where the gorge lets out into the lake, no shores are in sight.

Hermut:Roll Survival.

All:Roll Spot.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Oh nice, another swim?" sighs Goti as he peers out over the lake.

Spot:[roll0]

[SlyJohnny]

Keld glances over the lake, wondering if it represents another source of edible fish. Probably not, if the undead live in it. He starts to look around for nearby flat rocks that he could use to skim accross the lake.

Spot: [roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar looks around carefully before deciding a course of action.

Spot: [roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar points far into the distance. "Look lads. I'm pretty sure there's a wee spot of light over there, maybe a mile off. Looks like more swimming, this cavern is big methinks."

[SlyJohnny]

Keld picks up the flattest rock he can find, and turns it over in his hands, chanting the words to create Light. It begins to glow brightly.

He takes careful aim and then sends it skimming accross the water as far as it will go, taking note of whatever it reveals.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut goes forward, crouching down by the unstill waters.

He looks at the barely rippling, pitch-black surface, then turns his eyes up to the rest of his cavern, his forehead furrowing with the motion.

((Survival: [roll0]
Spot: [roll1]

There's a sharp inwards breath as Keld lights up the stone in his hand, and Hermut's eyes glimmer in the dark, having turned to unblinking saucers as he stares at the light.

As Keld casts it out into the water, Hermut's head follows its path down the river.

[Leewei]

Keld:Make a default Craft skill check (Stonecunning counts), followed by an attack roll.

Hermut:The water is potable, and probably has cave fish in it. The undead tracks lead from the edge of the water off to the left. It looks like whatever those things were, they were following the wall.

[SlyJohnny]

((Craft: Stonemason - [roll0]

Attack roll: [roll1] ))

[Leewei]

Keld gets a fine skipping stone. If he had a few days and some tools to work with it, he could probably craft a masterwork stone.

The stone will have a range increment of 20, and will skip one further range increment for each 2 over DC5 on the attack roll.

Edit: With the 18 rolled, you get 6 extra range increments for a total of 140 feet. Not bad. Were you throwing it directly away from shore, or off to one side?

[SlyJohnny]

((I did an attack roll in my post too :)

Edit: Oh! Directly away from the shore, though that may well illuminate the sides anyway.

At some stage, can I make a craft roll to collect several skipping stones? Perhaps back at Hammerfall?))

[Leewei]

Keld skips a stone several times, sending it over a hundred feet away from shore. The stone, glowing with torch-like intensity, reveals some natural columns rising out of the water ahead and to the left of you before finally sinking into the water. The glow remains visible from under the water, providing a beacon of light in the enormous cave.

Shadowy silhouettes swim through the light. It isn't clear whether these are fish, waves from the disruption of the water's surface, or something else.

All:Roll Spot again.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Spot: [roll0]

[machiavelli33]

Hermut watches the rock until it sinks, then finally blinks and looks away.

He scratches his beard, his wide-eyed, caught-in-the-headlights gaze vanished completely, and replaced with his usual unreadable complacency.

"There's fish here."

One hand on his knee, he points in the direction the undead tracks go.

"Deaders went that way."

He looks from one dwarf to the other, and doesn't say anything else.

Spot: [roll0]

He seems to be preoccupied with something, too much to pay attention to any of his surroundings.

[Leewei]

(Hermut's pointing indicates the tracks lead out of the water by the left wall and towards Hammerfall, where you killed the vile things.)

[machiavelli33]

((sorry shoulda elaborated haha))

Hermut lowers his pointing hand to his other knee and remains crouched there, waiting for the next call to action.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti peers at the shadows with a soft "Ooh."

Spot: [roll0]

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"There's something in the water, but I can't tell if it's large or small. We may be better off not disturbing it at the moment."

[SlyJohnny]

Keld peers out at the shadow, frowning. He couldn't even tell it was a fish. Why do all these older dwarves have such keener eyesight then him? How do they stay so alert all the time?

"I think we disturb it or we go home, Goti. We'll have to swim to follow the dead-things, and we havn't got enough pitons to climb all around... and even if we did, it could jump up from the water to get us."

He turns and carefully inspects the walls on either side, wondering if what he just said is strictly true, or if shuffling or climbing around might be possible.

"If one of us got into the water and it didn't chase them right away, maybe it'd let us hug the wall. Maybe the dead-things were giving it a wide berth."

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"Some of those things looked fairly large. I think we should try to stick to the wall where the dead things came from, and do our best to avoid the middle. What say you, lads?"

[SlyJohnny]

Keld moves to the side of the shore the undead emerged from, and slowly, hesitantly sinks into the water. He looks over to the submerged glow of his earlier lightstone, looking for a sign of the large, ominous movement.

"Is anything moving? Is it? Please pull me out if it swims this way."

He slowly begins to swim along the edge of the wall. He alternates between raising his glowing pickaxe up along the wall, and dipping it beneath the water level to see what lies beneath.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut takes a position near the water's edge closer to where Keld had dipped in.
His own pickaxe, dark as the rest of the cave, is gripped tightly in one hand as he looks over the water.

"....."

[Leewei]

Keld swims steadily away from shore for the better part of a minute. When he places his glowing weapon under the surface of the water, several cave fish including some larger, pike-sized ones, are visible, swimming about blindly.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut looks from the fish up to Keld unsteadily moving along the side of the water as if horrific things were going to jump out at him.

His even gaze never wavering, he says,
"Mind the blind fish."

[Leewei]

After Keld is in the water for several minutes, it becomes apparent that nothing seems immediately interested in attacking or eating him.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld continues his careful swim along the wall, trying to suppress his anxiety.

[Leewei]

After swimming a few hundred feet, Keld will come across a stone ridge at the water's surface that shines greasy and black in the pick's light. A small ... mine? appears to have been dug out of the wall at the water level. Bits of white, pink and brown objects are strewn about. The largest of these is roughly hand-sized.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld clambers up, and calls "Clear!" to his comrades.

He looks down at one of the curious objects, and then levitates one of the smaller ones into the air, cocking his head at it as he spins it around, examining it from each side. Then he carefully replaces it and investigates another in the same way, lifting it with Prestidigitation rather than touching it.

((Craft: Stonemason [roll0] ))

[Leewei]

Keld:It takes a moment for you to realize what it is: a gore-spattered, gnawed bone.

[Werewhale]

Got Firebrick

"Well then, gentlemen, let's go," says Goti and carefully follows Keld along the wall, grasping anything he can to aid him in the crossing.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar swims to join Keld.

[Leewei]

Goti splashes, slips and splutters his way to the rock shelf, occasionally grabbing the wall and coughing out water. Lubdar joins Keld with far less effort.

Goti and Lubdar:You see Keld viewing a piece of gore-covered bone with an inscrutible expression. The bone hovers in front of him in a wobbly fashion, then rotates awkwardly. You will both have no trouble making out tooth marks on the bone.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut wades into the water and crosses, heading after Keld.

He says nothing upon joining him, and if he has any thoughts on the tooth-scored chewed bone, or any emotional reaction at all, he doesn't show it.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Take 10 on Search of the immediate area.

[Leewei]

Lubdar:Without much effort, you'll find more tracks and several bits of bone. The largest piece just fits into your hand.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"Let's get going."

Lubdar starts walking down the tunnel.

[Leewei]

The tunnel is small, greasy, black and smells like slightly bad meat. It is also half-submerged. Medium creatures (i.e. all of you) find it a tight squeeze. You have to crawl while working to keep your heads out of the water.

DM only:[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

Goti:You see claw-like markings on the tunnel wall.

Hermut:You'll effortlessly notice the signs of passage of the two aquatic attackers here. There are signs of other, smaller creatures as well -- likely those that dug this tunnel.

Keld:The tunnel is a vein of lignite, a carving stone and type of coal. It's a pain in the butt to carve, but it's sometimes used for ornamentation when shiny and black are called for.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld has taken the largest and least broken bone with him, and is holding it in his hands, staring at it with analytical curiosity and not a trace of unease.

"Was this a fish?" he asks Hermut, thrusting the gore splattered bone shard forward, inappropriately close to the other dwarf's face and nose.

Before the other dwarf can answer, Keld turns and stares at the wall as they wade past it. He murmurs excitedly, This is lignite! It's coal! Messy and smoky coal and it's hard to cut or carve, but it burns easily. Fwum-fwoosh. If we can chase off the undead, we're sorted for fuel for our forge, at least for a little while. That's another reason to smush them all."

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"Excellent. I think every one could use a hot meal. Now to make sure the residents of this area know it's been officially annexed by Clan Hammerfall."

Lubdar continues down the tunnel.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"I can see claw markings on the wall. We seem to be on the right track, then."

[Leewei]

The claustrophobia-inducing tunnel leads only a few dozen feet into the cave wall before reaching the site of an obvious cave-in. The debris, including a fair amount of greasy black rock, has been cleared away, exposing a hole in the ceiling. Climbing out, you find yourselves in a surprising room with carved walls set in black with figures. You have entered what is obviously a dwarven tomb.

The two ornate stone enclosures in this room have been opened, their lids smashed on the floor. There is a stone door, currently closed.

All:Roll Knowledge(history) or Bardic Lore.

Lubdar:The figures in the carvings are not merely dwarves, they are Deep Dwarves, and quite possibly your ancestors.

Map:
--ABCDEFG
01╔═════╗
02║█....║
03║.....║
04║.....║
05╚══□══╝

[machiavelli33]

((jiminy crickets, my email inbox keeps annihilating notification emails on updates here))

Hermut stares at the bones in Keld's hand, eyeing the gristle-covered bit.

As if seized by Keld's curiosity, Hermut picks up one of the bits of filthy bone in his hand and looks it over, attempting to determine what kind of a bone it is...if that's even possible with the condition the bones are in.
((something I can roll for? not sure what the call here is))

He sniffs it, and an entirely unpleasant expression flowers on his face, and he tosses it aside.
"Mind the deaders," he says, as if in response to Keld's question, "Two been here recently. Not alone. Something smaller and more numerous' with them."

Coming to the hole in the ceiling, he pauses as he's about to climb up.
"Gonna get some of this."

He stoops and collects up some of the black, oily stone into his terrible rucksack. For good measure, he collects some of the fragments of bone as well.

Rock and bone lining the bottom of his sack, Hermut climbs up through the hole.

Coming up, he stops - crouched, just next to the hole in the floor, and takes in his surroundings.

Knowledge: [roll0]

Regardless of what he sees, his eyes drift to the broken, lidless sarcophagi.

[Leewei]

Hermut:Roll Survival. You're pretty certain the bones are not from a goblin or its kin.

[machiavelli33]

Survival: [roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Looking at the carvings, Lubdar says, "These are deep dwarves. Maybe even my kin.". His brow furrows as he speaks.

Lubdar walks over and examines both sarcophagi.

Knowledge:History [roll0]

Take 20 on searching the sarcophagi.

[Leewei]

Hermut:A lone non-goblin humanoid or undead creature walked to each opened tomb. The creatures that attacked Hammerfall crawled out and stood near the hole before scrambling down. The tracks look fresh - perhaps a day old. The creatures attacked a smaller humanoid in the tunnel near the chunks of gore. They paused at the shore and ate their prey, then entered the water.

Lubdar:Unfortunately, you can't recall anything specific about this place.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut's eyes scan the room a few more times.

Then, as if he's seen enough, he stands, stepping aside for the other dwarves to come in.

"Someone opened these," he says, a little unnecessarily, "Worked alone. Weren't a greenskin. Deaders came out of these, went down there-"

He points down the hole, "...killed something small, with legs. Then took a swim, to our camp."

He pauses, looking over the room, then steps over the sarcophagi, and leans over one of them, looking inside.
He scans the inside of the now-unoccupied sarcophagus, pupils flitting, then turns to the other dwarves.

"There's only two," he says, stating the obvious conclusion.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld peers around the room with a dazed expression, not sure how to react.

"So something... woke the deaders up? And then they ate it, and then came after us." he whispers.

He stares at the open sarcophagi with something approaching fascination and awe.

"I wonder how you wake a deader up. Father always said that if I ever went into grandfather's tomb without saying my prayers, or giving thanks to him for building our estate, then Boney Nack would come into my room at night and take me away to live with the goblins."

He adopts a thoughtful frown, as if silently subjecting this previously accepted, half-remembered childhood fable to a new and more rigorous logical analysis.

"But I don't think that can be how. It's probably something to do with magic." he eventually concludes.

He moves towards the sarcophagi, hissing in an unsettling, sibilant tone as he runs a finger over his eyelids, casting Detect Magic. He stares at the sarcophagi and the room in general for a while, and then starts to pick around the place, searching for signs of spent material components, or any other indications that a spell was cast here.

Spellcraft: [roll0]

[Leewei]

Keld:No active magic in the area. With that roll, you would be familiar with animate dead, which was probably used to create those undead creatures. You'd know that there would be some need for onyxes to place on the eyes, and that whoever did this would be a cleric, wizard or sorcerer of at least modest power. You'd also be aware that the caster would have some control over the creatures created.

There is no magic aura present in the area.

[SlyJohnny]

((Was there a sign of burnt-out black onyx gems in the remains of the two creatures we killed, or any shards of it here now? Can I conclude that someone deliberately animated them, and recently, or is it possible that they were already animated by something else, and some poor schmuck just happened to stumble along and let them loose, before getting eaten?))

[Leewei]

Keld:After deducing what to look for, you do indeed discover a couple of worthless, burned-out onyx shells.

[SlyJohnny]

"Made. Not freed."

Keld looks up slowly, glancing at Hermut and Lubdar.

"Someone opened these up to make zombies out of your kinmates, Lubdar. And then sent them to get us. They'd obey the will of the one that animated them, so it wasn't the work of whatever they ate back in the tunnel."

He pokes the lump of onyx.

"I can't do that yet. That means they're better at magic than me. What if this is all a trap?"

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar bristles at Keld's words of his ancestors being defiled, his eyes burning with fury.

"If this is a trap... we will make them regret setting one. We are dwarves. We are stone. We are the anvil that does not break when you strike it! We are not puppets to be made to DANCE!"

[machiavelli33]

Hermut looks up at the others from where he'd been peering into the sarcophagi.

He listens with arms impassively crossed, and says nothing.

After Lubdar's impassioned outburst, Hermut sniffs and a frown colors his face.
"I doubt it," he says to Keld.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti stays silent for a while, screwing up his face in concentration. Something about the place tugged at his brain, but he was having difficulty bringing it into light.

Bardic Lore check*: [roll0]
*I assume this counts as pertaining to dwarven ancestors and history, so I have a Bardic Lore modifier of 2(bard level)+2(knowledge history at +5)+2(Deep Lore)=6. If not, it's just a knowl.(history) check at +5.
EDIT: Nevermind, Goti has Alzheimer's.

[Leewei]

Goti:You're pretty sure this is a goblin shrine to fallen enemies, although Lubdar would probably not take that news well. Best wait until after your plans for the bar follow through before breaking the news to him.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut eyes the other dwarves, then searches through the inside of the sarcophagi, wordlessly pulling aside bits of rock and sweeping aside dust, looking for anything useful or valuable.

That done he hefts up some of the bits from the shattered lid, looking it over, before putting one of the more managably sized pieces in his rucksack.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld lingers, seemingly reluctant to be the first one to pass through the doorway. He keeps glancing back at the burnt our onyx, and looking back at the door.

((OOC: One of you guys with a positive wisdom modifier should use stonecunning to check the door for traps, or something.))

[Leewei]

OOC:Traps use Search rather than Spot checks. Stonecunning would effectively grant you all the rogue class's Trapfinding feature for traps made of or camouflaged as stone. If any such checks are needed, I'll roll them unless a PC declares that they're taking 20. In such a case, just let me know your Search + 2 (Stonecunning) + 20 total.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut taps Keld on the shoulder.

When Keld turns, he gestures for Keld to step away, gesturing at the door.

Hermut then wordlessly steps forward to the door and eyes it critically, before searching the area carefully for traps.

((take 20, search: [roll]d20+5[/roll))

(not entirely sure if that's how it works, please lemme know if i missed the mark on that one)

[Leewei]

Hermut:"Taking 20" is allowed when you can repeat an action without consequences until you get the best possible result - a natural 20 on 1d20. Search skill allows for this sort of action. In your case, that'd mean a result of 27 every time you took 20 on a Search check to look for traps in stonework.

Anyway, you don't detect any traps on the door with that roll. The stonework appears to be well-sculpted door and frame in celebration of the wife and the sister to an important dwarf noble. It looks like the wife had four children -- three sons and a daughter. The door looks like it operates by rotating its enormous weight on a single point in the ceiling and floor, and probably can be opened with a simple push.

[machiavelli33]

((kickin', thanks for clearing that up))

Hermut takes in all the information displayed along the door face and the jamb.

Then he succinctly sums it all up to the others,
"Clear."

He pushes the door open and steps aside.

[Leewei]

The door opens up into a 10' wide hallway carved from black stone. The walls are decorated with images of dwarves mining, crafting, fighting and dying in various ways. The hall has a few other doors, as well as a pair of double doors at one end. The wall on the other side has an image of a particularly dour dwarf in finery sitting on a throne, with the corpses of goblinoids and various other fell creatures piled up at its base.

Map:
--ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZ
01 ╔═════╗
02 ║█....║
03 ║.....║
04 ║.....║
05╔═══□════════╩══□══╩══════╗
06□.........................║
07□.........................║
08╚═══□════════════════════□╝

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar looks to Hermut. "Well my laconic friend... pick a door and we'll go through it."

[SlyJohnny]

Keld wanders in, wandering up and down the hall as he examines the wall carvings, eyes lingering particularly over the king on his throne as he reaches Z6. His fingers trace the outline of the monarch and his throne as he looks up at the carving with awe.

"This would be a good place to move some dwarves, if we clean it out. Safe." he muses.

[Leewei]

DM Use:[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Ho hum..." mumbles Goti as he stares at the image of the dour dwarf, running his fingers through his beard thoughtfully.

To see if I recognize the monarch(?), Bardic Lore check: [roll0]

[Leewei]

Goti:This may be the grave of a rather famous dwarven lord, Pluoti Ironskull. He was known as a Deep Dwarf who married his wife's identical twin sister shortly after she was killed. He waged a horrible, bloody war against the goblins, but fell in the combat side by side with his new wife. His nephews bore them from the field and created a tomb for them somewhere obscure. It is said there is an eternal flame that burns there to signify their (rather awkward if you really think about it) love.

One of the funnier songs you've heard has him returning from the dead because of his wives' nagging in the hereafter.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar, growing impatient, heads down the corridor to the left and examines the door.

Take 20 on Search on the door at Z8.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld backs away from the door as Lubdar searches it, wary of traps. He once saw a kobold that'd been dissected by a pendulum scythe, before. It was fascinating, but not a fate he'd like for himself.

He glances at Hermut. "Do the tracks go through one of these doors?"

[Leewei]

Lubdar:You don't find any sign of a trap. The door is very ornate. The dwarf who was buried here was probably important - a clan chief or perhaps even a king. The door has been defaced - gilding and gems were obviously removed from it.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar opens the door.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Gentlemen, I think we may be standing in the tomb of Pluoti Ironskull, famous for his rather unsettling marital choices and the bloody war he waged against the goblins." Goti explains, looking around himself in the hall, "It would explain the goblin shrine we just passed through," he adds and jabs a thumb towards the room they entered in.

[Leewei]

The door opens easily to a 65' x 65' chamber with a large arched roof. In the middle of the chamber lies a stone sarcophagus carved in the image of the fierce dwarf lord in repose, probably dreaming about slaughtering greenskins. The walls of the chamber have regular embedded bowls which appear to have once been filled with oil.

You get the distinct impression you are NOT WELCOME here.

Goti:The accoustics in this room are surprisingly good. +2 Circumstance bonus to music-based Perform checks in here.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld looks around, once again impressed. He murmurs a prayer to the All-Father, commending the dead dwarf's warrior spirit. He doesn't really believe most of the stories he hears about vengeful ghosts, but... well, he's not sure that they know this.

"Maybe... maybe we should check the other doors first?"

He raises his pickaxe, trying to see to the very top of the sloping roof, making sure there's nothing clinging on up there.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"I agree. I will not disrespect a dwarven tomb."

[SlyJohnny]

Keld walks backwards out of the tomb slowly, raising his glowing pickaxe as if he's afraid the dark will move to swallow him should he turn the light away. He moves to the door at E5, and waits for the others to check it.

((OOC: In the interest of expedience, and if we're going to be passing through lots of these doors, can we assume Hermut or otherwise the dwarf with the highest Search modifier takes 20 on Search at every door or obvious portal we encounter, unless they specify otherwise or circumstances do not permit?))

[Leewei]

All:I think PCs establishing a "Standard Operating Procedure" would be fine.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar searches the other door.

Take 20 on Search of the door at E5.

As for SOP... I'm not particularly good at search, but I'll do it if no one else wants to. It at least puts me in front for a potential encounter.

[Leewei]

Lubdar:This door shows scratches and places where the dust covering it was clearly disturbed. A tracker could probably tell more.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar beckons over to Hermut, showing him the sections of the door that are markedly less dusty than the other parts. "What do you make of that?"

[Leewei]

OOC:Mach can feel free to post again when he has a chance to catch up. Meanwhile, I'm going to tip my hand a bit to get things moving.

The remaining single doors in the hall do not appear trapped and have obviously been opened recently. The frames depict dwarven warriors rampaging through a crowd of orcs, goblins and their fell pets. The warriors each show obviously fatal wounds, but don't seem to be slowing down any.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar searches the double doors.

Take 20 on Search and all that.

[Leewei]

These doors have also been opened recently. They're engraved with scenes of everyday dwarven life, intermixed with symbols you find somewhat familiar.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Growing weary of the oppressive silence, Lubdar opens the door.

:smalltongue:

[Leewei]

OOC:Which door, please?

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Door @ A6.

[Leewei]

The door opens into a 20'-wide hall. Four figures clad in ruined chainmail shirts and wielding greataxes stand at attention facing towards an altar at the North end of the hall.

Map: (will be forthcoming)

[Leewei]

Initiative: [roll0]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Initiative:[roll0]

[Leewei]

OOC:Bumpage

(Updating subscriptions.)

[Werewhale]

Goti

Initiative: [roll0]

[SlyJohnny]

Keld

[roll0]

[Leewei]

Initiative for Hermut:[roll0]


AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔═════╗
02 ╔═══╗ ║█....║
03 ║...║ ║.....║
04╔═□□═╗ ║...║ ║.....║
05║...s╚═╩═□═╩══════╩══□══╩══════╗
06║...sLG........................║
07║...sHK........................║
08║...s╔═╦═□═╦═══════════════╦══□╩═╗
09╚═□□═╝ ║...║ ║.....║
10 ║...║ ║.....║
11 ╚═══╝ ║.....║
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23 ╚═════╝


Skeletal dwarves rush the opened door, slashing with ancient dwarven axes.
Attack Lubdar (with cover): [roll1] for [roll2] damage
Attack Lubdar: [roll3] for [roll4] damage
Attack Hermut: [roll5] for [roll6] damage
Attack Hermut (with cover): [roll7] for [roll8] damage
All of them miss their targets. It is obvious that they are not proficient axe-wielders.

[SlyJohnny]

((OOC: Not entirely clear on the rules governing AoO's here. If we were to all take a 5 foot step step back and attempt to hold them at the opening, could they squeeze past to occupy the corners without us being able to get in our free hitsies?))

[SlyJohnny]

Keld watches the skeletal figures with fascination as they charge the two burly dwarves. He's so entranced by the way the dead things move that he's slow to act, not even stirring to action until Lubdar and Hermut are dodging axes.

"Step back! I'll grease the entryway!" he says, already motioning to prepare the spell.

[Leewei]

((OOC: Not entirely clear on the rules governing AoO's here. If we were to all take a 5 foot step step back and attempt to hold them at the opening, could they squeeze past to occupy the corners without us being able to get in our free hitsies?))

OOC:The corner is a "hard" corner. There is only room for two medium creatures to stand side-by-side in the hall. the corner also provides cover bonus to AC, which is why two of the attack rolls were epic fails. Non-proficiency penalty for Dwarven Waraxe doesn't hurt things for your side, either.

[machiavelli33]

Hermut, who has evidently spent the last ten minutes in a pre-occupied stupor, starts at the appearance of the skeletons, ducking back and scrabbling behind the corner of the wall, leaving the doorway clear.

He grabs the pickaxe off of his back, gripping it with both hands and plants his back against the wall.

He looks at Keld and nods.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar unleashes his fists on the unholy things.

Flurry of Blows on the skeleton directly in front of me:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

From what was said above, I think I can 5' step to G2. If not, I'll stay where I am.

[Leewei]

OOC:I edited the map above to clarify the layout of the tomb. PCs can move back away from the skeletons, but cannot move to flank them.

Lubdar smashes his fists into a nearby skeleton twice, splintering its bones and knocking it down.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti lets out a yelp as the skeletons appear, and quickly tries to pass it off as a vocal improvisation. He takes a step back and sings a short line.

"It may be blackest night, but I say: Let there be light!"

At the word light, a bright flare flashes in front of the skeleton facing Hermut.

Taking a 5-foot step back to H6 and casting Flare on E7. Fort save DC11 or be dazzled(-1 attack) for 10 rounds

Status
Spells used:
0 - 1/3
1 - 0/2
Music 0/2
AC 12
HP 14/14

[Leewei]

To his dismay, Goti sees the undead are unaffected by his spell.

[SlyJohnny]

As soon as his comrades have stepped clear, Keld backs away about 20 feet or so and looses his spell, dropping a layer of Grease that stretches in a square from E6 to F7.

((2 round duration, Reflex save DC 15 or fall prone, balance check to move, etc etc.))

[machiavelli33]

Hermut flips the pickaxe around, head-down, grabbing it with his left hand near the head, and grabbing it with his right hand near the middle.

Hunching down, he waits for the skeletons to come forward onto the greased patch of ground before making his move.

His expression is unreadable.

[Leewei]

OOC:Lubdar and Hermut are in the front row. Goti and Keld will need to back up if the first 5' of the hall to get greased. Lubdar has already performed a Full Attack. The only available space for him to take a 5-foot step to is the (re-)dead skeleton's. While you'd only hit one skeleton, it'd probably be more expeditious to grease the patch of floor in front of the doors. The skeletons would either need to attack from cover, or else enter the target area.

[SlyJohnny]

OOC:
But you can share a 5-foot space with someone, can't you? You just can't fight or cast spells or anything if you do? Goti and me both stepped away from our original squares before we did that, and Lubdar and Hermut performed their actions before moving.

If that's not the case, then yeah, sure, I'll grease the entryway one square back as you describe.

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔═════╗
02 ╔═══╗ ║█....║
03 ║...║ ║.....║
04╔═□□═╗ ║...║ ║.....║
05║...s╚═╩═□═╩══════╩══□══╩══════╗
06║...~~LG.......................║
07║...s~HK.......................║
08║...s╔═╦═□═╦═══════════════╦══□╩═╗
09╚═□□═╝ ║...║ ║.....║
10 ║...║ ║.....║
11 ╚═══╝ ║.....║
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21 ║.....║
22 ║.....║
23 ╚═════╝


PCs fall back.

Reflex: [roll0]
The skeleton in the area of the grease spell falls over.

[Leewei]

Tactical:The skeleton that fell over attempts to stand. The others move in.
Balance rolls:
[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔═════╗
02 ╔═══╗ ║█....║
03 ║...║ ║.....║
04╔═□□═╗ ║...║ ║.....║
05║....╚═╩═□═╩══════╩══□══╩══════╗
06║...~sLG.......................║
07║...ssHK.......................║
08║....╔═╦═□═╦═══════════════╦══□╩═╗
09╚═□□═╝ ║...║ ║.....║
10 ║...║ ║.....║
11 ╚═══╝ ║.....║
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20 ║.....║
21 ║.....║
22 ║.....║
23 ╚═════╝


Tactical:Attacking Lubdar: [roll0] for [roll1] damage.
Attacking Hermut: [roll2] for [roll3] damage.

Their feeble attacks miss. PCs are up again!

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar attacks the skeleton in front of him.

Flurry of Blows:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

[Leewei]

Smash! Another skeleton goes down.

[SlyJohnny]

A bead of sweat appears on Keld's forehead, and the grease on the floor remains for a little bit longer then it has done before. He smiles as the skeletons continued to shift their weight to keep balanced.

((Must make a new save on my initiative order))

He raises an arm, and a perfect sphere of solid energy springs forth from the palm of his hand, impacting on the skeleton in front of Hermut.

[roll0] damage

[Leewei]

Reflex: [roll0]
Reflex: [roll1]
Reflex: [roll2]

The skeleton adjacent to Hermut falls down again, and is then impacted by Keld's missile. It shows no signs of slowing down. The one behind it manages to somehow retain its footing.

[Leewei]

(Taking Hermut's readied action.) Hermut swings his pick at the nearby skeleton. Despite a solid hit, the skeleton appears undamaged.

[roll0] for [roll1] piercing damage.

[Leewei]

The two remaining skeletons line up and attack the front-liners.

Balance #1: [roll0]
Balance #2: [roll1]

Attack #1: [roll2]
Attack #2: [roll3]

[Leewei]

Confirm the threat against Lubdar: [roll0] for [roll1] extra damage.

[Leewei]

Lubdar is slashed by an ancient axe for [roll0] damage (+7 already added for critical).

[peterpaulrubens]

"ARRGH!! Ye bastards, I'll send ya to your grave again for that!

Lubdar attacks again.

Flurry of Blows on the nearest skeleton:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

[Leewei]

The blow damages but does not destroy the offending skeleton.

[SlyJohnny]

((Wouldn't the fallen skeleton have had to stand up to attack, and thus provoke an AoO? Or stay prone, and take a penalty to it's melee attack? Sorry it took me a while to notice, I missed the notification email. I'll continue as if Lubdar has still been hit.))

Keld's eyes go wide at the wound that blossoms from Lubdar's body. He is suddenly terrified of the thought that the two frontliners will be overwhelmed, and then the skeletons will come forward to get him. He gestures with his fingers and conjures up another layer of Grease, hoping that even if Lubdar passes out from his terrible wound, it'll buy him time to escape.

"Kill them! KILL THEM!" he screeches, his voice cracking.

[Leewei]

(OOC) Good point. Hermut and Lubdar each get an AoO.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

AoO: [roll0] to hit (-2 from Flurry of Blows is still in effect, right?), [roll1] damage

[Leewei]

The Attack of Opportunity together with the hit after the skeleton attacked will be enough to finish it off.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

With only one skeleton left, looking just as mildly dangerous as the other three, the path to it from himself blocked by Hermut and Lubdar and the undead seemingly immune to the only spell he could think of for the occasion, Goti settles for cheering his more martially able comrades on.

"Whoo! Yeah! Take that, ugly skellies!"

[Leewei]

Hermut attacks ineffectually.

The remaining skeleton will slash at hermut.[roll0] for [roll1] damage.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar waits for his opening and then pummels the skeleton.

Ok, I'm confused. I think it's my turn but .. :smallconfused:

Also, I'm not sure what the map is like now, or where the remaining skeleton is in relation to Lubdar.

If I can currently reach the skeleton:
Flurry of Blows

If I can 5' step to melee range without entering the Greased area:
5' step then Flurry of Blows

If I can move to melee range without entering the Greased area:
Move to range then attack.

If closing to melee range means entering the Greased area:
Ready an action to attack the skeleton when it comes into range (IIRC, you can't ready full-round actions, so no Flurry of Blows)

Attacks:
Flurry of Blows:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

If I end up using the standard attack, use the first roll and add 2 to the to-hit roll as it's not suffering the FoB penalty.

[Leewei]

The remaining skeleton is rocked by Lubdar's fists, but does not yet go down.The skeleton is at AF07, immediately West of Hermut.

[Leewei]

OOC: Any actions for Hermut, Goti or Keld before the skeleton attacks again?

[SlyJohnny]

((I already dropped another Grease on it, but you may've missed it as I forgot to post the save DC, etc.))

[Leewei]

DM use:Reflex: [roll0]

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Hey! Hey! Skellie! Look at me! Look at me!" Goti yells at the skeleton and waves his arms about, trying to distract it.

(Yeah, nothing I can really do right now.)

[SlyJohnny]

Not wanting to waste any more of his magic, Keld grips his pickaxe and watches silently as Lubdar duels the creature, thinking he won't need any more help to finish it off. He smirks slightly as it stumbles, but scowls when it regains it's balance. The greased floor sticks around for one more round, giving it another opportunity to fall over, before evaporating to nothingness.

[Leewei]

The remaining skeleton slashes viciously ineffectively at Lubdar:
Attack: [roll0] for [roll1] damage.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar attacks again.


DOH! It took me a while to realize it was my turn. Sorry guys!

Flurry of Blows:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

[Leewei]

The remaining skeleton is smashed to pieces. Each of you gain 250xp. Also, there are four chain shirts and four dwarven waraxes, all obviously funerary but made to last.

[SlyJohnny]

As the last skeleton falls, Keld dismisses the grease and wanders over and pokes at the shattered bones with the heel of his foot, fascinated. Then he looks up at Goti.

"Goti, you said you knew of this place as a story... a song or epic or something. How many servants were buried with the lord? How many more of these could there be?"

Anticipating that some of his fellows might want to take the axes or don the armor, Keld stands watch while they're occupied. When they're done, he moves off into the room, searching it with a child's earnest curiosity.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Hrmm, lemme think..." Goti scratches his chin, thinking on Keld's question, then starts to mumble pieces of songs to himself.

"Turn around, there she is again
telling me off for something I don't understa-and
Turnaround, can't escape from her
'should've ne'er married her identical twi-in... no that's not it...

Ten goblins! Ev'ry he-e-eartbeat!
This axe is the Brush of De-eath!
No, that's not it either..."

Bardic Lore check to see if I can answer Keld's question: [roll0]

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti continues to mumble...

Under grim earth Pluoti was interred,
and under him yet, a great legion deferred...

His entire clan did he respect
he truly did their tomb perfect...

Goti ponders over his memories for a moment, "I can't answer your question fully, but legend has it an entire legion of his soldiers were buried with the great king. He also made a special tomb from his family, separated from the main catacomb, sealed away to protect them against plunderers. He pauses for another moment, milking his stint of relevance, "It would of course be extremely risky to loot his grave, especially the family tomb, even if we could find it, but I think if we could somehow reach his ghost, we might just be able to convince him to lend us some resources, since we are, after all, committed to the destruction of an enemy he spent his entire life fighting."

[SlyJohnny]

Keld nods. "Well, if you think you can reason with ghosts, I won't stop you... maybe he'd be more mad at whoever's digging up these." He says, poking one of the piles of bones with his feet.

Keld looks around the room they now find themselves in, noting the exits and things.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"We're not looting any dwarven tombs, lads. But talking to an ancient dwarf king bent on greenskin death sounds VERY NICE."

Lubdar looks around the room, then picks up whatever remains of the armor and weapons, grimacing as he does so from the wound from the skeleton's axe.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar searches the door to his right.

"Up" on the map.

Take 20 on the search.

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔═════╗
02 ╔═══╗ ║█....║
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04╔═□□═╗ ║...║ ║.....║
05║....╚═╩═□═╩══════╩══□══╩══════╗
06║..............................║
07║..............................║
08║....╔═╦═□═╦═══════════════╦══□╩═╗
09╚═□□═╝ ║...║ ║.....║
10 ║...║ ║.....║
11 ╚═══╝ ║.....║
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13 ║.....║
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15 ║.....║
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19 ║.....║
20 ║.....║
21 ║.....║
22 ║.....║
23 ╚═════╝


The door has no detectable traps. It shows various impressive-looking dwarves, pursuing the dwarfly crafts of smithing and fighting. It has obviously been opened several times, recently. A message has been recently carved near the door in Dwarvish. It reads, "Raise yourselves, lazy bones, and to your endless toil for the goddess."

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar opens the door.

Open the door at AD04.

[Leewei]

The doors open to a 10' wide ramp leading up for 30 feet, then turning right at a 10 by 10 landing. The walls are carved with images of dwarves, masterwork weapons, armor, jewelry and so on. At the landing, you see a carving of a hairless dwarf-lady being cast away by a handful of other dwarves. All the dwarves other than the outcast have been defaced in the original sense.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar looks at the carvings, confused. "What do you make of that, lads?"

[SlyJohnny]

Keld stares fixedly at the image of the bald lady.

"They threw her out. But she lived, and she's angry about it. Maybe she's the goddess who's raising the bones. Maybe this clan shaves the heads of it's outcasts... The altar was on this side. The skeletons were looking this way. Maybe she's just up ahead."

He tilts his head, wondering how detailed the image is.

"What was the lord's wife supposed to look like, Goti?"

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"I don't remember right now, but I'm pretty sure the biggest room we've been in was the king's burial room," Goti replies, "There may be a carving or picture of her there, let me pop out and check." Trusting the previous rooms to be cleared of anything nasty, Goti trots back to the burial chamber(BC-BG on the map)

Just for kicks, although I'm feeling like I'm using Bardic Lore like Google now, checking to see if I know a song/story about the wifes' appearance. Bardic Lore, I choose you! [roll0]

[Leewei]

When you re-enter the large chamber, the hostility you felt previously in the large room has receded. There is definitely a presence here, but not a particularly friendly one.

OOC:Did anyone take the armor or weapons from a skeleton? They're serviceable dwarven waraxes and chaimail shirts -- at the least, NPC dwarves would be able to use them back in Hammerfall.

Goti:The hairless dwarf on the wall may have been a Duergar, or petty-dwarf. They're vile - bad news and perhaps worse even than goblins. The image had a number of symbols on it that were also defaced in the text. It may have once been a religious icon.

[peterpaulrubens]

OOC:
Did anyone take the armor or weapons from a skeleton? I did. Post #158.

[Leewei]

A harsh, choking voice calls out of the far end of the chamber, "Is that you, my honor guard? It took you long enough! Present yourselves and receive your orders!"

Lubdar:You see a throne in the darkness at the far end of the chamber at the edge of your darkvision. A figure seated upon it appears to be a fatally-wounded dwarven lord in his funeral attire. His head has a large gash, making his head sag to his left side. His eyes are obviously mad, glowing with unholy light.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld steps forward immediately, lifting one of the dwarven axes from Lubdar's back and gripping it, his fingers shifting over it as he tries to get the feel for his new weapon. He advances fearlessly ahead, spies the dwarf lord, and bows low to him, so that his forehead is touching the stone and the hilt of his axe is presented to the lord, in an archaic form of respectful salute.

[Leewei]

Make a Bluff check at -5

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar follows Keld's lead, approaching the dwarf lord and offering the same bow'n'axe-salute.

All-in on Keld's theory, I guess! :smallbiggrin: I suppose it's an "Aid Another" attempt...

Generic roll: [roll0]. If that's a Bluff roll, my modifier is -2.

Edit: oh, jeebus. :/

[SlyJohnny]

Modified Bluff roll: [roll0]

[Leewei]

As you approach the far wall, you see a sarcophagus in the middle of the floor. The sconces in the wall flare to life, revealing jet black, ornate walls surrounding a shadowy throne with a noble dwarf glaring at you. While his clothes are fine, they are bloodstained. His head is nearly cut in half, and lolls to one side. His eyes glow with unholy light.

"You are out of uniform," he growls, causing a maggot to pop out of his mouth. Looking at the respectful salutes, he relaxes slightly. "There's a Duergar here. She's performing foul rites on your clansdwarves, taking them out of their deserved rest and enslaving them to her beardless goddess."

Glowering, he hacks several times, causing small vermin to scurry over his skin in panic. Finally, he continues, "She has something, a vessel for foul magic. Go forth and kill her. Kill her and smash her tool. Don't fail me!" he wails.

He then looks at you expectantly as the sconces begin to gutter and burn down.

[peterpaulrubens]

LUBDAR

"Aye, my liege! We shall kill this duergar and bring back it's head!"

Lubdar salutes smartly, turns on his heel, and leaves the room.

[Leewei]

You feel the weight of the undead glare on your backs as you leave the room. His return from the grave has clearly driven the king is clearly insane. Believing you to be his honor guard, he allows you to leave in peace.

[SlyJohnny]

"Lord..." Keld asks, his voice wavering hesitantly, "Do you know where she is now? Where she came from?"

[Leewei]

Keld:Diplomacy check, please!

[SlyJohnny]

((Eep. [roll0] , unless the -5 modifier is still in effect, in which case it's a flat 1d20.))

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Having been dumbstruck with awe, Goti had been silent and thankfully ignored for a while. Presently, he shakes himself out of his stupor and waits for an answer to Keld's question before joining the others, looting an axe and chainmail from a skeleton on the way.

[Leewei]

The horrible, tortured visage of the dead king relaxes almost imperceptibly at the show of respect and interest. "She is in the chambers of the living, above," he states hollowly, "She arrived through the front gate. Our clan had long before left, so she was able to enter unchallenged. She scalds me with her presence. Kill her. KILL HER! ... please ..."

In his state, the obvious contradiction between his statement and your presence does not apparently occur to him for the time being.

[SlyJohnny]

Not wanting to push his luck any further, Keld leaves, hurrying to catch up with Lubdar.

"What do you think he means, the chambers of the living?" he murmurs.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar searches the next door that catches his attention.

Take 20 on a Search of the door at AC09.

[Leewei]

This set of double doors is not entirely carved. The bas relief covering about a quarter of the available wall and door space, showing dwarves fighting increasingly desperate battles against orcs, goblins and trolls. The dwarves depicted in the carving all have clearly fatal wounds, but seem determined to take an enemy down with them.

The door is carved from jet, and has no apparent traps or lock.

Keld:
Make a stonecraft roll.

[SlyJohnny]

((Can't find my sheet on this computer, but I think it's like +5 bonus?))

[roll0]

[Leewei]

Keld:The carvings are of good quality, but you can see here and there where mistakes were made due to hasty carving. Also, the hand that carved it appears different than the stonework you've seen so far. It is similar enough that you expect it's an apprentice of the original carver.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar opens the door.

[Leewei]

The door opens to a downward ramp, in many ways similar to the upward ramp on the opposite side of the chamber. The ramp proceeds down to a landing, where it turns West. The walls here are largely devoid of decoration, but are well-carved. They are also noticeably damp.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld frowns. "He said 'above'. This probably just goes down to the catacombs Goti said about."

He glances at Lubdar. "There might be another way. Maybe... maybe we've come in from the bottom. Maybe these tombs and things are behind a..."

Keld abruptly turns back to the antechamber where they fought the skeletons. He slowly makes his way around the wall, checking the stone. If his Stonecunning fails to reveal any oddities on his first pass, he goes back around and spends some minutes painstakingly feeling his way along and checking the wall, starting opposite the double doors they entered by.

((Moving around the wall of the antechamber at a rate of 20 feet a round so Stonecunning covers all of it, and if that fails to produce a life-altering epiphany, taking 20 to Search the entire wall.))

[Leewei]

Keld:After a thorough survey of the wall, you're pretty certain there are no secret doors or traps. Taking 20 will require 2 minutes per 5' wall section, so it'll take roughly 10 minutes for the search of the large Western wall section.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld decides he'll make a more thorough search later, and wanders back towards the tomb where he got the profound feeling of being not welcome. Surely if the Lord is elsewhere, he'll be safe... he hesitantly steps around the wall, nervously peering up at the dark, sloped ceiling.

[Leewei]

OOC:Actually, the chamber with the hostile presence is the dead king's chamber.

[SlyJohnny]

((OOC: OH! Er, sorry. We all followed Goti, of course, we didn't just go right up along the landing... forgive me for being dense.))

Keld steps back from the wall he just checked. "The ones at the north end of the chamber go up. That's where this duergar is."

He looks at Lubdar, the parties main source of protection, and follows him whichever way he chooses.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar heads toward the ramp going up.

OOC:

I'm still confused about the map, but it's clear we need to go up to face the duergar, so let's do that, wherever it ends up being.

Also, happy Thanksgiving everyone!

[Leewei]

Happy Thanksgiving!

The ramp leads upwards into the middle West wall of a 20 x 20 room that perhaps was a guard station. The stone table is dust-laden, and perhaps a bit high for a dwarf. Whatever chairs were here once are long-gone. A pile of junk with toadstools growing from it is in the NW corner. A pair of closed double doors leads out to the East. The room smells strangely.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti sniffs a couple of times, "What an odd odour. Does anyone know what it is?" he asks the others, then moves to the pile of junk and carefully digs through it with the haft of his axe, looking for anything that might be useful.

I don't suppose those toadstools fit any description of brewable fungi given by the master brewer, do they?

[Leewei]

Goti:They're too small. Roll Search unless you're taking 20. Stonecunning will not help on this one.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld examines the table, wondering if it's dwarf work or not.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar examines the stone table, then the pile of junk, looking for anything that might be useful to cart back to Hammerfall.

Is the table carved right from the floor? Or is it in pieces that we might be able to disassemble? Not that we need a table per se, but a big tabletop might be usable as a door or a barricade or whatever..

I think we'll be taking the junk pile back as well, even if it's just to use a firewood.

Take 20 on Search of table and on the junkpile.

[Leewei]

Keld:Rolling your Craft(stonecrafting) check: [roll0]

The tabletop is a solid piece of black marble seated on a frame of similar stone. You're fairly certain it's dwarf-crafted, however it doesn't look like it's sized right for eating. Grooves carved in the top lead down an almost-unnoticeable grade and off one side.

Lubdar: Searching the table, you find several small blades, pincers, and other items with soapstone handles - i.e. a usable set of artisan's tools. By the time you search the garbage pile, Goti has already found a small metal cask of foul-smelling goo.

Goti:I'll just assume you take 20. A few minutes of searching reveals a metal cask filled with toxic goo.

Bardic Lore: [roll1].

Unfortunately, you haven't any idea what it might be. Paint stripper, maybe? Bronzeberg might know more.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti examines the container suspiciously, then carefully stows it away where it is unlikely to leak, making a mental note to consult Bronzeberg about it. He turns around to the others.

Find anything interesting?"

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar motions to the others excitedly. "Look lads, some artisan's tools! These will be getting a hearty welcome back in Hammerfall."

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar grabs the tools and examines the double doors.

Take 20 on searching the doors.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld takes position behind Lubdar, frowning as he tries to work out the function of the table. He raises his axe when Lubdar tries the door.

[Leewei]

The doors and walls are engraved with obviously religious texts, most of it defaced. Opening the doors reveals a ten foot wide hallway. The hallway opens into what may have once been a storage area. Stone bins have been torn apart. It looks like anything of value was stripped from the room.

The smell of rot pervades the air here. Several small shapes shamble towards you. Roll initiative.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Initiative: [roll0]

[SlyJohnny]

Initiative: [roll0]

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG

01 ╔════╗ ╔═════╗
02 ╔══════════════╣....╠════╣.....║
03 ║..............□....□...KL.....║
04 ║..............□....□....G.....║
05 ║..╔═══════════╣....╠════╣...kkk
06 ║..║ ╚════╝ ║...kk.
07 ╚═════╝


Initiative #1:[roll0]
Initiative #2:[roll1]

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Yegads, what is it now?" mumbles Goti and raises his axe in anticipation of whatever kind of creature they have now encountered.

Initiative: [roll0]

[Leewei]

OOC:PCs may act pretty much in any order; you all rolled higher than the small humanoids attacking you. The creatures are reptilian, and are yipping as they rush at you. If anyone speaks Draconic, I'll pass along a bit more. Bardic Lore, Knowledge (local), Knowledge (dungeoneering) or Knowledge (nature) reveals more about these things.

[SlyJohnny]

"Back up and hold them at the doors! Same again!"

Keld steps back 5 feet and readies a Grease spell, bringing the ectoplasmic waste bubbling up through the ground as soon as one of the creatures steps into the doorframe.

((Readied action to put Grease on A3-B4 as soon as the first one charges.))

[Leewei]

OOC: The creatures are actually clustered nicely for grease now at BE05-BF06, SlyJohnny.

[peterpaulrubens]

OOC:

Yarr. Hit them with a Grease right now, IMO.

[SlyJohnny]

"...Wait, they're all clustered! Let me through before they split up-"

Keld rushes forward [to D4], eager to test his spell on such a large grouping. The Grease shimmers into life beneath the feet of the creatures as they begin to advance.

((Good call. Grease on E5-F6, DC 15 or fall... if you guys head to E and F 4, they won't be able to slip through the crack and surround us, at least without braving the Grease and risking an AoO from me.))

[Leewei]

All but one of the creatures falls prone.[roll0]
[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar moves up and attacks.


Move to BE4 and attack the creature at BE5. Not sure if it's prone or not, so I haven't included that bonus.

Attack: [roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage.

[Leewei]

Crunch! It's down. The standing creature is in BE06.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti starts improvising a fast-paced song and moves up alongside Lubdar, axe hefted in both hands.

Starting Bardic Music(+1 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +1 morale bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.) and Moving to BE5.
Bardic Lore for more information about these creatures: [roll0](assuming Deep Lore does not apply)

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔════╗ ╔═════╗
02 ╔══════════════╣....╠════╣.....║
03 ║..............□....□...K......║
04 ║..............□....□.......Lk.║
05 ║..╔═══════════╣....╠════╣..Gk..
06 ║..║ ╚════╝ ║..kk..
07 ╚═════╝

Goti:They're kobolds. Vicious little things. They revere and speak the language of dragons.

The creatures advance and attack Goti ineffectually:#1 Crawl to BF04 and attack Goti while prone:[roll0] for [roll1]
#2 Move to BF03 (Balance: [roll2]), if successful attacking Goti:[roll3] for [roll4]
#3 (Reflex: [roll5] vs DC14); Attack Goti [roll6] for [roll7]
#4 Crawl to BD06, says something bizarre while arcane energies glimmer around its claw-like hands. A blast of color flies out, striking Goti and Lubdar (Will save, DC13; this is a spell). This provokes an AoO from Goti.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Everybody was kobold-fighting!
And they were fast as lightning!"

Goti turns around to hack at the spellcaster as soon as he starts to chant.

Attack of Opportunity: [roll0] Damage:[roll1]

In case it survives, Will Save:[roll2]

And in case Goti is still in fighting condition after all this, he will attack either the spellcaster if he is still alive or BE6 if he isn't.
Attack: [roll3](prone modifier not included) Damage: [roll4]

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar attacks.


Will save: [roll0]


Flurry of Blows on BE04:
[roll1] to hit, [roll2] damage
[roll3] to hit, [roll4] damage

[Leewei]

The sorcerer and the reptilian at BE04 both fall down bleeding.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld whoops in excitement upon spotting the sorcerer, and seeing Goti strike it down.

He moves to BE02, not wanting to waste his last spell finishing off the stragglers. The Grease remains long enough to cause the risk of falling once again.

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFG
01 ╔════╗ ╔═════╗
02 ╔══════════════╣....╠════╣...K.║
03 ║..............□....□..........║
04 ║..............□....□.......Lx.║
05 ║..╔═══════════╣....╠════╣..Gk..
06 ║..║ ╚════╝ ║..xk..
07 ╚═════╝

The remaining creatures desperately rally and strike.

#1 Prone Attack vs. Lubdar: [roll0] for [roll1]
#2 Reflex Save: [roll2], Attack vs. Goti: [roll3] (-4 if prone) for [roll4]

[SlyJohnny]

Seeing the beleaguered creatures struggling against the dwarves above them, Keld giggles maliciously, and then charges, bringing his ancient waraxe down onto the prone form of the kobold in front of him.

"Nil Abod!" he cries.

((Attacking on a charge. [roll0] attack, [roll1] damage, kobold -4 ac due to prone. Keld has-2 ac until his next turn.))

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti hacks viciously at the last kobold.

Attack: 1d20- Damage: 1d10+

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti hacks viciously clumsily at the last kobold.

Attack: [roll0] Damage: [roll1]

((stupid numlock...))

[Leewei]

Keld:OOC: A charge isn't possible due to the bad footing from the dead kobold between you and your target. A standard attack will work, and with your rolls, will indeed kill your target. No -2 to AC for you, though!

All but one of the enemy are down. Lubdar's up!

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar attacks again, bent on finishing the enemies of Hammerfall.

Flurry of Blows:
[roll0] to hit, [roll1] damage
[roll2] to hit, [roll3] damage

[Leewei]

The last of the creatures fall. Out of the heat of battle, you notice their equipment:

4 suits of small leather armor, crafted from some sort of lizard hide.
4 small spears, iron-tipped.
4 small slings, made from some sort of skin.
4 small pouches, each with 10 lead sling bullets

The unarmored one had the following:
A small dagger, iron.
A bladder filled with strange-smelling liquid.
A bone ring affixed with a cave pearl.
A spell component pouch.

Also, gain 250xp each.

[SlyJohnny]

As soon as the last one is downed, Keld approaches the prone forms and puts his hand over one of their gushing wounds, lying them flat, supporting their heads, and generally attempting to tender aid going solely from poorly remembered occasions where he has watched other dwarves attempt to aid crushed miners. He starts with the sorcerer, and if the sorcerer is already dead, he moves onto the least physically traumatised of the other four, checking until he founds one that's still alive.

"Help me with this... we need one alive. They talked and they have items they made themselves. There might be more of them around. We have to know how many, and we have to know where they live." Keld explains, his hand running with blood as he attempts to set a bone and bind a makeshift bandage.

If he successfully manages to save the sorcerer, he stuffs its mouth full of some of the lead bullets, and then tears the creature's clothing to make a gag covering his mouth. He also binds it's fingers securely with cloth, confiscates it's spell component pouch, secures it as best he can with his too-large set of medium sized manacles, and then wraps his chain around it's torso along with his pickaxe- thinking more to encumber the creature and force to it carry his stuff, rather than hoping to further bind it. If he saves one of the grunts, he'll strip it of it's armour and weapons, before binding it.

"I don't like that these things are here, even if the zombies are eating them too. I don't like that we can't understand what they're saying. I think we should kill all of them that we find." he comments, gathering the loot into a pile.

"Hold on. I'm checking if this stuff is magic."

He murmurs in a strange, sibilant tongue as he runs a hand over his eyelids, and then stares at the pile.

((OOC: Heal check if noone helps, or Aid Another roll if someone better qualified takes over: [roll0]

And then four more heal/aid another checks for the four grunts. Going from the sorcerer, then the least wounded to the most wounded. This way, I'm hoping to save at least one, but I'm guessing five rolls won't be necessary as some will already have bled out before I can even try:

[roll1]
[roll2]
[roll3]
[roll4]

Casting Detect Magic on the stuff. Let me know if Spellcraft rolls are necessary.))

[Leewei]

Keld:The bladder is indeed magical. Spellcraft determines the school. Heal checks can be repeated until a creature dies. DC is 15. We'll see if anyone Aids Another to affect your roll.

[SlyJohnny]

((Ahh! I wasn't sure whether I could do that or not, the wording is ambiguous. In that case, I'll try to stabilise the sorcerer for up to five rounds... let me know if you need more rolls, in that case.))

[Leewei]

With some effort, Keld manages to save the spellcaster's life. The remaining enemies are dead when you examine them.

[SlyJohnny]

After securing and binding the spellcaster, Keld casts his spell and eyes up the pile of loot.

"The ring isn't magic... good workmanship for savages, though. That little waterskin definitely has magic in it... it's all swirly and sort of fuzzy to look at, like the dreams I have when I've used magic during the day... I think it's..."

He squints, trying to make something out more clearly.

((Spellcraft to determine school of magic: [roll0] ))

"Transmutation. Could be anything, really."

He picks up the bladder and shakes it, putting his ear to it and listening to the liquid inside as it sloshes around. He opens the cap and peers inside. Finally, he sticks his finger into it, then removes it and sniffs at his hand. He continues doing this sort of thing for the next minute, seeming as if he's on the cusp of an epiphany throughout the process, before finally turning and shrugging, "I dunno what it is. It smells funny. Are we ready to move on? We can take all this stuff back with us when we go, but maybe we should at least check the next room."

((Spellcraft to identify potion, DC 25: [roll1] ))

[Leewei]

Keld:Faint transmutation (i.e. 5th level or lower CL). Close but no cigar on the identify check.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar bundles up the armor and spears, and hefts it up on his back. He then waits for Keld to finish up.

Unless one of you guys want them. Seems like Goti and Keld can use the slings so I'll leave them and the pouches for you guys, as well as the sorceror's gear.

Are we ready to move on, or does Keld need more time with the prisoner and magic items?

[SlyJohnny]

Keld nods that he's ready to move onwards. He idly wonders if bisecting a creature's tongue would make it unable to incant magical words, and whether such an injury would be easy to heal with simple cure spells.

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

Goti collects the slings and bullets, handing a sling and half the bullets to Keld if he wishes.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

"Onward, then, lads! This has been a productive journey, we have found lots to bring back to Hammerfall. Once we have the head of a duergar priestess to carry back, I will sleep VERY well tonight!"

I'm a little lost on the maps - is BF05 and BF06 lead to a corridor, or does it end? Your initial post made it sound like a storage room that was a dead end.

Anyway... we'll move on to where ever we haven't explored yet, staying upstairs where the duergar is supposed to be.

[Leewei]

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAABBBBBBBBBBBBBBBB
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQRSTUVWXYZABCDEFGHIJKLMNOP
01 ╔════╗ ╔═════╗
02 ╔══════════════╣....╠════╣...K.║
03 ║..............□....□..........║
04 ║..............□....□.......L..╚═══□□═══╗
05 ║..╔═══════════╣....╠════╣..G...........□
06 ║..║ ╚════╝ ║..............║
07 ╚═════╣........║
08 ║........║
09 ║........║
10 ║........║
11 ╚═══□□═══╝

Your attackers came in from the adjacent chamber. The door at BL04 is clearly ajar and recently forced open by small creatures. Several odd finger-sized holes dot the floor and walls in the large chamber to the East. Aside from the noted door, other entrances are closed up.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar searches the single door.

Take 20 on search of BP05.

Also, no posting for me tomorrow, Disneyland with the fam.

[Leewei]

The outside of the door, barely visible, has the appearance of natural stone. On the inner side, and on nearby walls, you see carvings of various items, mainly trade goods, of masterwork quality. Lubdar notices a family crest here, not entirely dissimilar to his own. The clan that held this place may be distantly related. Curiously, the carvings do not appear to be defaced here.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld moves immediately to the double-door that's ajar and kicks it open and bursts through it, axe brandished and his other hand raised in a spell-ready posture. He peers into the darkness ahead, wondering if his darkvision is sufficient to see the end or whether he should throw down another Light spell.

[Leewei]

Keld's foot bounces back painfully. Upon closer inspection, the doors are seen to open inward. The outside is clearly disguised as natural stone. Closed, it'd be very difficult, even for a dwarf, to discern the doorway. Unfortunately, the outside has been marred by prying, probably by a spear or dagger. The tunnel it opens into is (apparently) natural stone, although ancient ruts have been worn into the ground. Air moves faintly through here.

[SlyJohnny]

Keld begins to hiss in a sibilant, discordant voice, casting Mending on the scraped portions of the door, using his existing Prestidigitation spell to shift pieces back into place before the casting, and also to recolour the scuffed stone back into line with the rest of it.

Once the stone face is repaired to be as natural and concealed as he can make it, he uses his Prestidigitation to throw the dust outside the door around and fill the ruts, hopefully eliminating the tracks the creatures left leading to the door and concealing the ruts somewhat. Then he closes it carefully, making sure it reseals and merges with the stone properly.

He wanders back to the group. "What were those little things, anyway, does anyone know? The yappy talking lizards? Do they come from big villages?"

He looks at Lubdar as he examines the single door. "What do you see in there?"

[Werewhale]

Goti Firebrick

"Kobolds..." Goti says, looking puzzled at the door Keld just took care in concealing, then seemingly decides not to enquire further into the sorcerer's eccentricities, "They speak the language of dragons and revere them as gods... I don't know about their villages, but most stories have them using their sneakiness or cleverness rather than sheer numbers, so I don't think they can be that large. Is that why you hid the door? To keep us hidden from them?"

[SlyJohnny]

Keld nods at Goti. "Yes. It looks like they found the secret door and came through exploring. But maybe this group were the first ones to find it and none of the others will know yet. And there must be others... they have metal weapons and armour and a potion, things that've been mined and gathered and crafted... that means a village. We can't craft anything. We can't even feed ourselves."

Keld curls his lips and looks worried, as he does whenever the topic of food comes up.

"We've got to stay out of their caves and keep them out of ours. If they figure out we're here and we're weak, they'll want Hammerfall and they'll war with us and we'll lose dwarves we can't spare. We got lucky here, we hit them first and you cut down their sorcerer so fast. But they're in better shape then we are. So let's be careful."

Keld waits for Lubdar to open the door to the treasure trove.

[peterpaulrubens]

Lubdar

Lubdar opens the single door.

[SlyJohnny]

((OOC: Leewei, Lubdar went to the (closed) single door at BP05, and I thought I went to the double-door that was mentioned to be ajar at BL04? Could you clear up which door is ajar, and which door is the secret door the kobolds entered into?))

Keld moves over to whichever of the two nearest doors he hasn't just checked, and opens it.

[Leewei]

OOC:I see. BL04 is ajar. I must have misread Lubdar's intention. The single door Lubdar is searching also shows signs of tampering and also has images of dwarven craft on it. It is not apparently trapped.