Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

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Zhym
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#221 Post by Zhym »

"More dead," sighs Grothnak. He brings out Vadok to return the zombies to their proper place.

Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 14+2 = 16, Dmg [1d10+4] = 1+4 = 5 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 9+4 = 13 (L)

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#222 Post by DadsAngry »

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom drops down off the rope and moves to the back of the cavern and draws his short sword.

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Inferno
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#223 Post by Inferno »

Within the Hell Mouth, the Rushmoors, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Ten. Afternoon. Tuesday, October 25th, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, foggy








Before Long Bo can escape, the giant, undulating leech lunges at him, trying to burrow its serrated mouth into his flesh! The druid evades the jaws of the loathsome, vampiric worm and flees the shore of the stagnant pool. In horror, Bo watches the leech monster crawl from the water and slowly writhe through the mud toward him! Hoping he can outrun it, the druid races east, grabs the thick rope and quickly descends into the hole, trying to catch up with the others.

Deep below him, navigating the same knotted cord through tight twists and turns, Hoom, Ingrid, Mouser, Pip and Telkis hear baleful voices beneath them and continue down with urgency. When they reach the bottom, they are horrified by what they find.



Heinous revenents, grotesquely mutilated by methods ingenious and sadistic, rampage forward. They cry with the voices of sorrow and agony, like the tortured souls of Hell.

Pelias tries to drive back these dead that have suffered indescribable abominations to their bodies and souls. He holds forth the holy symbol of Hieronious but finds its sacred virtue is powerless here.

Urdur Shimmerstone brings more practical weapons to bear. He hurls the two daggers he found and both sink to their hilts into the rotting, grey flesh of a grisly cadaver. (Z1) The horrid creature doesn't seem to notice them.

Telkis charges past Urdur and hammers an appalling corpse with his morningstar, shattering its clavicle and caving in its ribcage. (Z2)
Grothnak follows and swings Vadok over Telkis' head, decapitating the gruesome carrion with one swipe! (Z2)

Behind it stands another, ready to take its place (Z4). This disfigured, tormented carcass was an elf in life, and bears a tattered crest identical to the one once worn by poor Avril Hollysword.

Brevos joins Telkis and Grothnak. His glowing sword cuts the air around the dagger-impaled terror. (Z1)

The stench of death overpowers the noxious odors that pervade this dank hellhole. And the macabre, unliving things strike back!



Cold dead hands find purchase on Brevos' throat and begin to strangle the life from him! (-6hp)

Hoom peers out from the back of the cavern. His disbelieving Elven eyes recognize one of the living dead trying to kill Telkis (Z3). It's Praetorius the jeweler.



Thirteen barbed iron rods have been driven through his chest.


Actions?!


Map:
Image
One square = 10 feet. Z = the undead.

Cutaway View:

West is left. East is right.
PCs' front rank is near the red "X." The undead are at "U." The oozing horror is at "O." A dead cultist is at "C."



Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):


PC Status:
  • Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 17/27
    Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 9/15, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl
    Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
    Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 17/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 2/4 2nd lvl
    Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 11/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
    Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 23/30, Spells: 1/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
    Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 3: Move: 6", AC: 2(0), HP: 29/30, Laying Hands: 0/1
    Pip, Human Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 9, HP: 11/12
    Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 21/28
    Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl
PC Magic:
  • Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
Player Resources:
Last edited by Inferno on Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:50 pm, edited 2 times in total.
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#224 Post by ravenn4544 »

Mouser is hardened by the diabolical torture that has befallen these simple townsfolk. Pushing off thoughts of fire and death, his practical mind utters a quick spell to help destabilize the attacking mob to help his comrades-in-arms get to better fighting positions.

cast push to trip a zombie

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#225 Post by AleBelly »

Heironeus does not deem me worthy of his power laments Pelias to himself. Then I must earn it!

"Back, Brevos! You are wounded!"

If Brevos will allow Pelias to take the front rank, he attacks with his sword.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#226 Post by DadsAngry »

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom takes his place behind Urdur.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#227 Post by Zhym »

Almost relieved to be fighting something against which he does not have to pull his punches, Grothnak strikes hard over Telkis at one of the zombies.

Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 17+2 = 19, Dmg [1d10+4] = 4+4 = 8 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 11+4 = 15 (L)

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#228 Post by SocraticLawyer »

Urdur realizes that his non-enchanted daggers will have no power over these walking dead. He knows that fire cleanses evil, but he does not want to risk throwing a flask of oil in such small quarters.

He remains in the back, torch ready just in case one of the foul things gets too close.
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#229 Post by OGRE MAGE »

Bo continues down into the hole until he gets to the bottom, not sure if the twisted magic of this place would grant the giant slug the ability to descend the rope or not. He hurries along, not wanting to take a chance that it could.

At the bottom, he is not surprised to find Hoom in the back of the ranks again, furthest from the danger.

"There is a giant slug in the big pool of water up there. You might want to avoid that on the way back out if you can, you know, just in case I don't make it out of here with you."

He looks over the heads of the others with anger in his eyes when he spots more dead townsfolk that have been turned into horrific pawns to aid whatever madman is at the edge of this macabre chessboard.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#230 Post by Scott308 »

Ingrid Esthof

Hearing the commotion ahead of her, Ingrid makes her way down the rope as quickly as she can, only to be confronted by more of the walking dead. Raising her holy symbol to the shambling corpses, she calls out in a quavering voice, Begone, abominations! Trithereon shall not suffer your presence!
Sometimes this summer I will most likely be participating in another 24 hour game of Dungeons & Dragons as part of Extra Life. This organization uses gaming to help raise money to donate to children's hospitals. I'm raising money for Marshfield Children's Hospital in Marshfield, WI, and all money I raise will go to that hospital. All donations are tax-deductible. Please take a moment to check out my donation page below. Thank you.

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#231 Post by drpete »

Somewhat in the back of the pack, Pip doesn't feel like he can get in toward the zombies. He will keep his quarterstaff ready, watching for an opportunity to help if someone goes down.


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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#233 Post by Inferno »

Within the Hell Mouth, the Rushmoors, Gran March, Greyhawk
Day Ten. Afternoon. Tuesday, October 25th, 576 CY
Cloudy, damp, cold, foggy








Ghastly mangled corpses, victims of the cult's malignant depravity, weep as they try to murder the heroes.

Hoom and Bo move up behind Urdur as the dark gnome gets a torch alight in case the front line is annihilated by the heinous undead martyrs of Briarsgate.

Ingrid Esthof steps forward and tries to drive off the tortured undead with fervent petitions to Trithereon. Her prayers go unanswered. Her pleas, forsaken.

Mouser the reckless dabbler in the black arts recites the words that Sheelba of the Eyeless Face taught him, and he points at one of the loathsome terrors (Z3) who is suddenly, impossibly thrown east! The horrid nightmare slams into the Elven carrion bearing the crest of Hollysword (Z4) and both crash to the ground!

Telkis advances and hammers Cranach into one of the sickening obscenities (Z3), nearly bludgeoning its head free. The thing, that Hoom had recognized, still lives... until Grothnak's halberd descends upon it, sundering open the torso from shoulder to bowels, freeing the thirteen barbed rods impaled within. Praetorius the jeweler is returned to death.

Image

Brevos reluctantly acquiesces to Pelias' request to fall back, but the doom-laden ranger cannot get free of the icy hold upon his throat. The gaunt carrion choking him to death will not let go! (Z1) Brevos is thrown off balance and his blade batters against the stone wall.

Pelias finds an opening and drives Avril's sword into a rotting grey chest, to the hilt. (Z1) But the impaled, dagger-riddled revenant fights on! Brevos' neck is still held in its crushing deathgrip. (-5hp more)

The fallen Elven carcass cannot pull itself to its feet (Z4), and a dead woman whose mouth was abhorrently violated (Z5) lunges at Telkis and strangles him with cold, clawing hands. (-4hp)

Then, from somewhere deep within the hellish, claustrophobic warren, the alarm gong suddenly stops!


Actions?!


Map:
Image
One square = 10 feet. Z = the undead. Z4 is prone.

Cutaway View:

West is left. East is right.
PCs' front rank is near the red "X." The undead are at "U." The oozing horror is at "O." A dead cultist is at "C."



Rolls and Rulings (non-required reading):
Mouser casts. Z3: Save vs Spells: [1d20] = 1 Crit fumble! Not only does Z3 lose his attack this round, he is pushed into Z4, who must now save vs Dex to avoid being knocked over too.
Z4 Dex Save (6): [1d20] = 20 Crit fumble! Falls over, loses attack and rolls on Crit Fumble result table...
Z4 crit fumble: [1d6] = 4 Save vs Dex or slip...
Z4: Dex save (6) or slip: [1d20] = 9 Fails. Remains on the ground.
Brevos attacks Z1: [1d20+1] = 2+1 = 3, damage: [1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8 Misses.
Z1 damage to Brevos: [1d6] = 5 -5hp.
Z5 attacks Telkis: [1d20] = 19, damage: [1d6] = 4 Hits for -4hp.



PC Status:
  • Brevos, Half-Elf Ranger 2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 12/27
    Grey Mouser, Half-Elf Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 5, HP 9/15, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl
    Grothnak Uthglukh, Half-Orc Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 24/28
    Ingrid Esthof, Human Cleric 4: Move: 6", AC: 3(1), HP: 17/22, Spells: 2/5 1st lvl and 2/4 2nd lvl
    Hoom Feethos, Elven Magic-User/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC 3, HP 11/12, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl
    Long Bo, Human Druid 4: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 23/30, Spells: 1/6 1st lvl, 2/3 2nd lvl and 2/2 3rd lvl
    Pelias Blanchflower, Human Paladin 3: Move: 6", AC: 2(0), HP: 29/30, Laying Hands: 0/1
    Pip, Human Monk 2: Move: 16", AC: 9, HP: 11/12
    Telkis Brassfang, Gnome Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 0, HP: 17/28
    Urdur Shimmerstone, Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC 6, HP 9/9, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl and 0/1 2nd lvl, Torch
PC Magic:
  • Protection from Evil (Pelias): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Pelias.
Player Resources:
Last edited by Inferno on Sun Nov 17, 2019 3:54 pm, edited 1 time in total.
DM:
The Horror at Briarsgate (1e): Lovecraftian Gothic Horror (N1, homebrew)
Lost City of Eternity (1e): Hyborian Age Sword and Sorcery (B4, JG102, homebrew)
Once and Future Earth (1e): Post-Apocalyptic Sci-Fi Dungeon Crawl (X1, B1, ASE1, homebrew)
Sauron Victorious (1e): Dire Saga for the Fate of Middle Earth (homebrew)

Player:
Agax Gryyg: Gamer of Urth, Ravenloft
Azoth Al-Aziz: Lovecraftian Cultist, Tamoachan
Blodget: Foolish Young 9th Level Hobbit, Dark Clouds
Dredd Doomsmith: Dwarven Deathtrap Engineer, Tomb of Horrors
Elijah Crowthorne: Marooned Prophet, Pirates
Jack in the Green: Ancient Child, Giants
P.T. Codswallop: Larcenous Impresario, Dimwater
Sir Ugghra: Bestial Half-Orc Aristocrat, Brotherton
Swilbosh: Savage Lizard-Warrior, Keep
Tantos Vek: Failed Paladin, Under Streets
Ulfang Chainbreaker: Barbarian Liberator of Slaves, Tharizdun

DM bio is here.

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drpete
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#234 Post by drpete »

Pip steps up behind Brevos and tries to slam the zombie choking him in the face with the butt of his quarterstaff.

Pip Quarterstaff +1 (ThAC0 20) [1d20+1] = 1+1 = 2 Damage [1d6+2] = 2+2 = 4

Uh oh...

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#235 Post by AleBelly »

Pelias hacks again at Z1, hoping to release Brevos from the horror's clutches.


Edited to add the roll - forgot to include in my post.

Attack with long sword +1 (THAC0 18) [1d20+1] = 8+1 = 9, damage [1d8+1] = 5+1 = 6
Last edited by AleBelly on Sat Dec 09, 2017 6:07 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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Zhym
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#236 Post by Zhym »

With so many going after the zombie strangling Brevos, Grothnak goes after the one on Telkis (Z4).

Vadok (Halberd +1) (THAC0 18): [1d20+2] = 16+2 = 18, Dmg [1d10+4] = 4+4 = 8 (S/M) [2d6+4] = 7+4 = 11 (L)

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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#237 Post by wolfpack »

Brevos swipes at the zombies arms hoping to cut them off at the elbow

[1d20+1] = 9+1 = 10
[1d8+1] = 5+1 = 6


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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#239 Post by SocraticLawyer »

Urdur maintains a defensive posture. He keeps the torch ready in case any of the zombies venture too close.
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Re: Chapter 13: Hell Mouth of the Dark Mother

#240 Post by DadsAngry »

Hoom Feethos:

Hoom moves his back to the cavern wall, keeping inline behind Urdur, as the druid comes up from behind. "Stopping to replace your friend that flew away with one that can't. In the end they will all leave you anyway. Though your corpse will make a nice meal for a worm."
"The thing, that Hoom had recognized, still lives." I think I missed something. What or who did Hoom recognize? Another town folk?

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