Aegis' Dungeoncrawler In-Character

[TheFallenOne]

Moving to the side, Solstafir spread the next bag of caltrops, leaving a wide enough gap for a human-sized person to pass through.

[Sparce]

Geraldo waits until Solstafir is out of the main chamber and others are in position before throwing the tanglefoot bag, even if that takes a few rounds.

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil enters the arena from one of the tunnel entrances and fires a shot at the giant. Attack (1d20+3)[15] damage (1d6+1)[6]

[Aegis013]

The group spreads to various entrances, Aertre accompanies Thanquil.

Solstafir lays out his caltrops.

Geraldo gets into position, tanglefoot bag at the ready.

Orchid hurls her flask, but just slightly too high, hitting the ceiling (attack roll DC 5 to hit a specific location, based on these rules) and failing to clip the giant hiding just around the corner, still smarting from its previous immolation.

Thanquil fires an arrow, which deflects off of the iron bands that make up the giant's armor.

Aertre launches off a Lesser Orb of Acid (1d20+3)[16] to hit touch AC for (1d8+3)[8] damage with Warmage Edge.

[Aegis013]

Acid splatters over the giant's back, evoking a roar of agony and pain.

It turns its attention away from collapsing the tunnel in which Orchid is hiding and moves to the center of the room. From there it notices Solstafir exposed in the room rather than hiding in a tunnel and changes direction, stepping directly into the zone of caltrops as it moves to engage the dwarf.

Caltrops attack (1d20)[1] to hit. The caltrops didn't penetrate the calloused soles of its feet.

The giant, having double moved, towers over the dwarf, preparing to bring the mighty force of its two clubs to bear against the exposed target.

Spoiler: Status and Conditions

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Levyk heals to 1 HP with 4 rounds remaining of fast healing and will begin acting next turn.
Thanquil heals to 4 HP with 7 rounds remaining of fast healing.

The giant has taken 42 damage.

Players may act.

[Dread_Head]

Tranquil seeing the giant approaching Solstafir fires a pair of arrows in rapid succession.

Attack (1d20+1)[18] damage (1d6+1)[3]
Attack (1d20+1)[14] damage (1d6+1)[6]

Spoiler

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If the giant is within 30 ft. then Thanquil has +1 to hit and damage

[TheFallenOne]

"You want a piece of me, huh? Come on then, I'll make trophies from your spines!" Solstafir slowly backed away as he reached for one of his harpoons, careful to keep his guard up and shield ready. The conclusion was close, he could feel it. "Geraldo, hit it!"

Spoiler

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5 foot step away, if possible in a way that brings the remaining square of caltrops between us
draw harpoon and full defense, bringing my AC to 24

[QuadraticGish]

Watching the giant leave to attend to one of her allies, Orchid makes through the tunnel until she catches the giant in her sights. She then does her best to line up a shot and lets loose a bolt at it.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move action: Move far enough in the passage to get sight of the giant.
Standard Action: Fire the crossbow at the giant. Attack Roll: (1d20+2)[4] Damage Roll: (1d8)[1]

[Aegis013]

Levyk rises and moves to one of the entrances, appraising the situation against the giant.

Aertre moves to ensure a clear shot on the giant and launches another ball of acid. (1d20+3)[6] to hit touch AC for (1d8+3)[6] Acid damage. The acid ball sails just over the giant's shoulder.

Geraldo rushes out and hurls the tanglefoot bag at the giant. (1d20+3)[9] to hit - if it hits, the giant rolls against a DC 15 Reflex (1d20+2)[15]. Failure means it's glued to the floor, while success means it is entangled and can move at half speed. Goo spills over the giant's legs, but fails to glue it to the floor. It should slow the abomination down at least.

Thanquil and Orchid take pot shots at the monster, but aren't able to penetrate the iron bands composing its tough armor.

Solstafir braces for impact as the giant comes down on him with both clubs.
Its first club crashes down ((1d20+12)[19] to hit, on a 32 (1d20+12)[32] to confirm) dealing (1d10+6)[8] damage (on a critical, add (1d10+6)[9] more).
The second club follows shortly ((1d20+7)[16] to hit, on a 27 (1d20+7)[15] to confirm) dealing (1d10+6)[11] damage (on a critical, add (1d10+6)[15] more).
The stout dwarf narrowly manages to deflect the tremendous blows.

Spoiler: Status and Conditions

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Levyk heals to 2 HP with 3 rounds of fast healing remaining.
Thanquil heals to 5 HP with 6 rounds of fast healing remaining.

The giant has taken 42 damage and can move at only half speed for 2d4 rounds (forgot to roll this in this post).

Players may act.

[Dread_Head]

Hoping to get in a lucky shot on the giant Thanquil continues a barrage of arrows.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Attack (1d20+1)[20], damage (1d6+1)[3], crit confirm (1d20+1)[10]
Attack (1d20+1)[4], damage (1d6+1)[6], crit confirm (1d20+1)[10]
+1 to hit and damage if the giant is within 30 ft.

[TheFallenOne]

With a mixture of skill and sheer grit Solstafir managed to block the mighty swings of the ettin towering over him. A worthy foe. Perhaps its radial bones will make good shafts for some new harpoons. The one now in his hand was made of wood, and with a grunt of effort he hurled it the short distance between himself and the giant.

Spoiler

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again 5 foot step away
attack - (1d20+4)[5] damage - (1d10+3)[7]
if hit, Reflex DC10+damage dealt or harpoon is stuck in target. Half movement, not running or charging. it can be removed as a full round action requiring two free hands. DC15 heal check or same damage dealt again.
move action to draw next harpoon

Entangle debuffs dexterity so its AC is two points lower for now. Make the most of it.

[Sparce]

Geraldo throws a red flask at the giant in hopes of taking it down without having to engage in melee with the monster. He then moves back towards one of the tunnels to get away from the giant.

Spoiler: Throw

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(1d20+3)[11]

[QuadraticGish]

Seeing that the giant is well distracted, Orchid loads up another bolt into her crossbow and fires it immediately towards the giant.

Spoiler: OOC

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Move Action: Load Crossbow
Standard: Fire crossbow at Giant: Attack: (1d20+2)[8] Damage: (1d8)[3]

[Aegis013]

Solstafir backs away and hurls the harpoon, which falls short and sails past the giant, landing behind the monster.

Geraldo pulls a flask of reddish liquid from a previously looted bandolier and hurls it directly into the giant's side for (1d6)[5] fire damage. Expending an Inspiration for +4 damage.

Orchid launches a bolt, but the foe's iron armor provides it enormous protection.

Thanquil fires in rapid succession, the first arrow finding a gap in the iron bands, while the second shot wasn't as fortunate.

Aertre fires her final first level spell, yet another acid orb sails towards the giant. (1d20+3)[20] to hit Touch AC for (1d8+3)[5] Acid damage.

Levyk, exits the tunnel and hurries over to retrieve his axe, deftly scooping it up off the floor as he moves to get into position for another charge against the dangerous foe.

The giant's move will be in the next post.

Spoiler: Status and Conditions of the party

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Levyk heals to 3 HP with 2 rounds of fast healing left.
Thanquil heals to 6 HP with 5 rounds of fast healing left.

The giant has taken 59 damage and is Entangled for (2d4)[7] rounds

[Aegis013]

The giant, infuriated that it has been hit by yet another alchemist's fire, turns its ire on Geraldo. It 5 foot steps towards Geraldo who approached to 10ft to maximize the success chance of the Tanglefoot bag. The giant's movement moves over the caltrops again.

Caltrops attack (1d20)[9] for 1 damage and half again speed. Due to the goo of the tanglefoot bag, its foot lands and the caltrop finds it mark, dealing 1 damage and injuring the monster's foot.

The giant brings its clubs down on Geraldo.
(1d20+12)[25] to hit on the first club. On a 32, (1d20+12)[29] to confirm. The first club deals (1d10+6)[13] damage, on a crit, add (1d10+6)[7] damage. (-2 on the attack rolls for entangled)

If Geraldo is still standing, it brings down the second club.
(1d20+7)[26] to hit on the first club. On a 32, (1d20+7)[11] to confirm. The first club deals (1d10+6)[9] damage, on a crit, add (1d10+6)[16] damage. (-2 on the attack rolls for entangled)

Geraldo weathers the first blow, but is put off balance. Unable to effectively defend himself, the second strikes him with a sickening crunch. It knocks Geraldo down and his body slides across the stone floor. Geraldo is in critical condition at -9 HP.

Geraldo had moved. Ignore this post.

[Aegis013]

The giant, unable to run or charge due to the goo, roars furiously, wishing revenge on those throwing alchemists fires at it. However, there's only one target close enough for it to engage.

It 5ft steps towards Solstafir and attempts again to flatten the dwarf with both of its clubs.

Due to its size, the movement still contains the square of caltrops: keeping the caltrops roll from the previous post: 9, the giant takes 1 damage and its speed is halved again.

It brings its first club down on Solstafir.
(1d20+10)[29] to hit. On a 30, (1d20+10)[12] to confirm.
Dealing (1d10+6)[11] damage. On a crit, add (1d10+6)[15].

If the dwarf still stands, it swings the second club:
(1d20+5)[7] to hit. On a 30, (1d20+5)[16] to confirm.
Dealing (1d10+6)[14] damage. On a crit, add (1d10+6)[16].

Slightly off balance from the awkward harpoon throw, Solstafir is caught by the first club, taking 7 damage beyond his damage reduction. Re-centering himself, he deflects the second club with his shield.

Spoiler: Status of the giant

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The giant has taken 60 damage, is on fire for one round, is Entangled for 6 more rounds, and speed is halved again.

The alchemist's fire finishes burning, dealing another 1 damage and bringing the damage count to 61.

The giant takes 6 damage from Solstafir's Mantle of Flame and collapses, its corpse now filling the chamber with the acrid stench of burning flesh.

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil keeps the barrage of arrows up, helpless to do anything more.

Spoiler: Rolls

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Shot 1: Attack (1d20+1)[8], damage (1d6+1)[6], crit confirm (1d20+1)[8]
Shot 2: Attack (1d20+1)[4], damage (1d6+1)[3], crit confirm (1d20+1)[14]

[Aegis013]

The giant takes 6 damage from Solstafir's Mantle of Flame and collapses, its corpse now filling the chamber with the acrid stench of burning flesh.

The Infernal Voice resounds through the chamber again:

Spoiler: In Infernal

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"With great risk, comes great reward. You show great promise, I hope you will play with me again soon."

The center of the camber begins to rumble as a strange reddish plant bursts through the center of the circular chamber, impaling the corpse of the bear. It grows rapidly to about 8 feet in height and before you its branches become heavy with strange spiky fruits. Brambles with vicious thorns rise up through the opening surrounding the base of the plant, the brambles lift a sturdy wooden chest out of the hollow, which opens to reveals a plethora of riches within. Meanwhile, the branches of the plant extend such that fruit can be easily accessed without risk of touching the brambles. Blood from the bear's corpse drips down the branches. The tree bears six spiky fruits in total, enough that each of you could have one.

You hear a strange noise and the fires around the chamber providing light flicker as there is a new circulation of air. A brief investigation reveals that the room opposite of the Goblin Alchemist's laboratory now contains a portal back to Solum.

All the loot you have collected is identified by the enterprising merchants near the Dungeon once you leave (for sake of ease, the stuff identified or to be identified is listed here).

Spoiler: Chest contents

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1,600gp
Divine Scroll of Cure Minor Wounds, Detect Animals or Plants, Produce Flame
Divine Scroll of Hide From Undead, Obscuring Mist, Make Whole
Divine Scroll of Endure Elements
Arcane Scroll of Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Misdirection
Arcane Scroll of Bull's Strength, Detect Thoughts
Arcane Scroll of Light
Potion of Cure Light Wounds
Potion of Undetectable Alignment
Potion of Invisibility
Oil of Bless Weapon
Ring of Jumping
Wand of Cure Light Wounds (8 charges)
+1 Javelin

Spoiler: Other loot you've collected on this run (any not identified are identified by the enterprising merchants just outside the dungeon at no cost)

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2x Headbands of Stout Heart - Head slot item, grants a +1 resistance bonus to Will Saves, market price 350gp
Translator's Ring (platinum ring from the Vargouille) - grants the wearer the ability to speak and read Goblin and Giant, market price 400gp
Potion of Owl's Wisdom
Potion of Fox's Cunning
Divine Scroll of Entropic Shield, Flame Blade (identified by Thanquil)
Arcane Scroll of Protection from Evil (identified by Thanquil)
Pearl of Power 0th level, market price 500gp
From the iron lockbox collected from the vertical shaft you gained a Belt of Giant's Strength +2

The remaining loot of note from the Goblin Alchemist's Lab is:
5 remaining Alchemist's Fires
4 flasks of Goblin Alchemist's Noxious Acid - as acid flask, however, a direct hit causes exposure to acid fumes requiring a DC 13 Fort save vs. 1 Con damage

3 cask bombs - These bombs explode 3 rounds after being lit dealing 5d6 damage in a 20ft radius spread from the point where they explode with a Reflex DC 14 for half. As a CL 5 Fireball. The fuse has an AC of 12 and 5 HP and can be cut by a slashing weapon, preventing the explosion. Unattended flammable material in the area of the cask bomb's explosion will be set on fire.

Goblin Alchemist's Grimoire - an arcane spellbook
If the user can read Goblin, the book serves as a double value masterwork tool for Craft Alchemy granting a +4 circumstance bonus. If also allows the creation of Goblin Alchemist's Noxious Acid by adding +5 to the DC of a regular craft check for Acid.

It contains the following Arcane Spells within:
Mage Armor
Charm Person
Expeditious Retreat
Mount

Each character is now capped at 2,999 XP. One XP shy of level 3.

[TheFallenOne]

Solstafir finally took a solid hit on his right shoulder, but his attacker fared much worse from the fiery retaliation of his soulmeld and collapsed to the ground with a heavy thud. Walking closer, the dwarf poked at one of its foreheads with the blunt side of his harpoon. "Hrm, dead?" The lack of a response and smell of burned flesh were answer enough. Solstafir rolled his shoulder, trying to dispel the numbness from the blow. "You gave us a good fight big guy. I'm sure I can make something worthwhile from your body. Though I'll need some extra hands to put it in my bag..."

The gruesome spectacle of a tree suddenly growing through the bear's corpse drew some raised eyebrows, but otherwise didn't seem to disturb him except for the prospect of having to climb to claim the bear's paws from which he intended to fashion some boots or gloves. And while he couldn't understand the infernal voice the message was clear enough. The chose one of the offered fruits at random and picked it from its stem.

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil finally stops his barrage of arrows. He looks round panting slightly absolutely shocked that they managed to defeat the monster. He says to no one in particular "I can't believe we survived that." And then turning towards Solstafir "I'm not sure we could have done it without you."

As the tree bursts from the ground exposing the chest he at first backs away worried it is a new threat and then seeing it seems benign approaches thoughtfully. "This is absolutely fascinating..." he says before trailing off lost in thought. He stares at the tree in silence for a while racking his brain for anything he might know about it.

Spoiler: Rolls

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About what the voice might have been / where it came from
Bardic Knowledge: (1d20+5)[15]
Planes: (1d20+8)[16]

About the tree and the fruits
Bardic Knowledge: (1d20+5)[18]
Local: (1d20+8)[13]
Dungeoneering: (1d20+8)[26]
Nature: (1d20+8)[14]

[Aegis013]

Thanquil's knowledge results:

Bardic Knowledge regarding the voice: You recall overhearing your father, after a delve, reporting on an event to one of the round hat bureaucrats in your home of a story of an infernal voice that spoke to the team on their last Delve, seemingly emanating from the Dungeon itself. What exactly its purpose is, or what is speaking is unknown. You vaguely recall the government bureaucrat sternly warning him not to spread this information before being noticed.

Kn: Planes - you know that this is the language of Devils, creatures who sometimes show up in Dungeon, though aren't native to it. They are wily and evil, and enjoy creating magical contracts which they contort to their own advantage while technically following the agreements. To speak in the way it did, this one must either be personally very powerful or in possession of some kind of very powerful magic.


Bardic Knowledge regarding the plant and its fruit: You've heard of plants of this nature from your parents. Unlike most material which can be harvested from the Dungeon, there are on rare occasion plants that appear to grow spontaneously within the Dungeon. The material of these plants withers into nothing outside of the magical atmosphere of the Dungeon itself. The fruits produced by these plants which usually only appear after substantial bloodshed occurs in the Dungeon, are completely unidentifiable to Solum's magic at present. You remember being sternly told never to eat of its fruit, but no explanation was ever given regardless if you inquired.

Local: You know fruit of this nature doesn't exist in Solum.

Nature: Based on the attributes of this plant, it's not one that could exist under natural conditions, and in fact will stop existing outside of the Dungeon, even in a haversack. Though, there's not a better classification for it than a plant.

Dungeoneering: The brambles are a separate entity from the tree, they're extremely tough, regenerate, and carry toxin within their thorns. The toxin has some kind of mind-affecting component and is incredibly potent. If the entity believes it is threatened, the brambles will shift to attempt to constrict and inject their toxin into their assailant. They seem to have a symbiotic relationship with the plant. While generally pose no threat, best not to let you guard down too much around it.

[Dread_Head]

Thanquil muses on what he can remember about the infernal voice and decides to keep most of it to himself, it seems like dangerous knowledge to be in possession of. He also makes a mental note to study up on infernal before returning to the dungeon again. I wonder if it had something to do with my brothers disappearance he thinks to himself.

"I've heard something of the fruit of this tree before. It only grows in the Dungeon, particularly on sites of great bloodshed. The fruit withers away into nothing when taken back to Solum. I don't know what the fruit does but I've heard that we should not eat it under any circumstances. I'm curious though what does it mean..." and he trails off again looking strangely drawn to the fruit before shaking his head and continuing. "Those brambles can be dangerous, they react to harm by constricting anything nearby and injecting it with poison. I think we can take the stuff out of the chest safely but I wouldn't risk getting any closer to them than that or trying to touch them in any way."

He approaches the tree to examine the fruit more closely, stroking his chin lost deep in thought.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid stares at the fantastical transformation that was occurring before her eyes, mouth agape. She stood frozen until she heard the voices of her comrades. Shaking her head, she walked over to Thanquil, putting her crossbow away and retrieving her scythe as she approached.

"If we shouldn't eat this fruit at all, I wonder why this wouldn't be more well known or common knowledge." the former maid says aloud.

Chanting, Orchid casts Detect Magic and checks to see if the tree or fruits are magical in any way.

Spoiler: OOC

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HP: (1d4+4)[6]
Knowledge Planes to figure out where the voice came from: (1d20+4)[7]
Casting Detect Magic.

[Aegis013]

Concentrating Detect Magic on the objects before her, Orchid identifies that the tree and its fruit, even once separated from the tree, produce an aura of overwhelming strength.
Each of the thorns on the brambles produces a faint magic aura.

[TheFallenOne]

And then turning towards Solstafir "I'm not sure we could have done it without you."

"Most likely not. But the same goes for most of us, I could at most have taken one more hit like that before going down. If the big guy hadn't been softened up by a constant barrage of arrows, spells and fire I wouldn't have lasted much longer." The dwarf inspected the fruit he plucked with a curious eye. "It does feel like this is meant as a reward for us, just like the accompanying treasure. Of course what this dark voice considers a reward and what we would like might well differ. Why don't we check whether any of the goblins didn't bleed out yet and give it a try?"

Spoiler

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Do just that, with a good number of downed goblins one could well have stabilized. Means we miss out on one fruit it they're good, but we got NPCs anyway.

[QuadraticGish]

Orchid is taken aback, almost overwhelmed for a moment by the strength of the aura coming from the fruit, but she holds firm and tries to decipher what school the aura belongs to. "There is a massive magical aura coming from those fruit; it's almost enough to hide the slight aura coming from the bramble."

Spoiler: OOC

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Spellcraft to try to figure out what school the aura belongs too: (1d20+9)[27]

[Aegis013]

Searching the chamber and tunnels, unfortunately, you discover none of the goblins still draw breath.

Orchid identifies the overwhelming magical aura as belonging to three schools: Conjuration, Transmutation and another school which doesn't fall into the normal categories: the magic of the Dungeon itself.

[QuadraticGish]

"I can identify the presence of Conjurations, Transmutation,.. and dungeon magic coming off of those fruits." she notes aloud.

Staring at one of the fruit for a few moments, Orchid goes forth to pick the one she believes looks the most ripe and begins eating it.

Spoiler: OOC

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ALRIGHT BOYS, LET'S DO THIS

[Aegis013]

The fruit has a taste like nothing Orchid has ever had before, it doesn't strike her as particularly good or bad, just bizarre on all accounts. A few seconds after eating the last bite of her fruit, she feels a mixture of pain and pleasure course through her body. The feeling subsides after several seconds as the magic integrates with her body.

She gains a +1 inherent bonus to an attribute of her choice.
Re-purposing the Action Points field on the character sheets, please denote a 1 in that field (purpose unknown IC).

[TheFallenOne]

After checking the last goblin for signs of life Solstafir walked back in the main chamber right when Orchid started munchin down on the devil's fruit. "Whoa, thatta girl! Didn't take you for the daredevil kind after you nearly jumped out of your skin because of those little fuzzballs."