Chapter 13: Underground City of the Demon God

[ChubbyPixie]

Feeling he would be most useful facing the horde on the other side of the gap, Kiri runs without thinking and jumps over the form of Maako shimmying across the rope - it doesn’t go well: DEX Check (12): [1d20] = 18
When it instantly becomes clear he will not make it without magical assistance, he casts the spell he had been preparing, Feather Fall, and lightly tip-toes the rest of the way across the rope, right over the head of the struggling illusionist.

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin curses his lack of foresight in not carrying a bow. He can't very well make it across the chasm this round, so he pulls his dagger from his boot and throws it at the nearest bat creature (B1/B3).

To Hit with Dagger: [1d20] = 9; Damage: sm - [1d4] = 2; lg - [1d3] = 3

[Inferno]

The Vast Subterranean Caverns Beneath the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Six. Afternoon?, 18th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia






It was as if Hell itself had released its foul denizens. The devolved monsters that had once been of the noble Verulian race lunge forward in ambush, roaring in voices more animal than human!

But the explorers are ready for them! They kill the first inhuman ravager that comes in reach before it can strike a blow! Loche the Pict hurtles a stone from the Sling of Sutehk and it cracks the sloped skull of the first beastman (B5)! The monster continues its murderous charge and then suddenly a javelin sprouts from its massive chest, late of Xorzen's hand. The brute's left lung is impaled and fills with blood, drowning the thing to death on dry land!

With a sizzling oath, Zahra the amazon looses the Black Javelin with all the strength of her arm and shoulder. Her weapon is a streak of ebon in the firelight that ends deep in one monster's belly. (B3) From atop its winged mount, her target roars with rage, vomiting a long spurt of bright crimson.

Garrin hurls his dagger at one of the monstrous bat creatures and it sails wide into the scalding lava and it instantly dissolves into molten slag.



Amethu weaves holy sorceries of protection upon Xorzen while behind him, Mako crawls up onto the bridge, happy to have survived the crossing. He keeps low.

Behind the crouching Eastern conjurer, mountainous Kiri mistimes his leap but casts an ancient arcane spell in mid-air to save his life. Weightless, he alights improbably atop the taut rope. But the spell is about to fade and with it, Kiri's chance at survival!

The pale masked figures on the bank of the river of fire chant in Ancient High Verulian, calling upon dread Zargoth to guide his servants' merciless hands. Their unholy prayers are answered. The inhuman legion of fang and fur retaliates against the explorers with shocking ferocity!

In a maelstrom of flapping leathery wings, three bat riders descend upon the adventurers' rear ranks, ripping at them with long spears and the ravenous jaws of their giant bats! (Garrin and Zahra are hit for 1hp and 5hp damage respectively!)

The fourth prehuman rider (B4) soars on thermal winds under the sundered bridge and comes up below Kiri, stabbing at him with his cruel spear! (-3hp)

Across the broken bridge, the main force of the savage beastmen wreaks havoc among the explorers' inadvertent front line with heavy clubs and stone axes! (Amethu, Xorzen and Loche are hit for 5hp, 14hp and 9hp damage respectively!)



Xorzen staggers against the brutal onslaught with all the wind and half the life battered out of him!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. B4 and his Bat are under Kiri.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 6, Monsters: [1d6] = 2 Party wins!
Kiri walks the rope? (12): [1d20] = 10 Yes!
B1, B3 attack Garrin: [1d20] = 9, [1d20] = 6, damage: [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4, [1d6+1] = 3+1 = 4 Both miss.
Bats of B1, B3 attack Garrin: [1d20] = 12, [1d20] = 10, damage: [1d8] = 1, [1d8] = 5 One hits for 1hp damage.
B2 and Bat attack Zahra: [1d20] = 9, [1d20] = 6, damage: [1d6+1] = 4+1 = 5, [1d8] = 5 B2 hits for 5hp damage.
B4 and Bat attack Kiri: [1d20] = 11, [1d20] = 9, damage: [1d6+1] = 2+1 = 3, [1d8] = 8 B4 hits for 3hp damage.
B6 charges Amethu: [1d20+2] = 11+2 = 13, damage: [1d8+1] = 4+1 = 5 Hits for 5hp damage.
B10, B7 attack Xorzen: [1d20+2] = 18+2 = 20, [1d20+2] = 15+2 = 17, damage: [2d4+1] = 4+1 = 5, [1d8+1] = 8+1 = 9 Both hit for 14hp damage total.
B8, B9 attack Loche: [1d20+2] = 17+2 = 19, [1d20+2] = 14+2 = 16, damage: [2d4+1] = 3+1 = 4, [1d8+1] = 4+1 = 5 Both hit for 9hp damage total.

PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: 6/14, Spells: 6/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/26, Laying Hands: 1/1, Torch
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 11/14, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 9/18, Torch
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 10/10, Spells: 2/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl,
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6(4), HP: 2/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 15/21, Torch

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Protection From Evil (Amethu): Target: Xorzen. -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil. Duration: 14 rounds.

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[SocraticLawyer]

Garrin draws his longsword and attacks the wounded creature before him B3.

To Hit with +1 Long Sword: [1d20+1] = 18+1 = 19; Damage: sm - [1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8; lg - [1d12+1] = 7+1 = 8

[Scott308]

Loche

Tucking his sling into his belt as he draws his dagger, the rogue is uncharacteristically quiet as he tries to decide which pile of ugly to attack first. His indecision prevents him from making an effective stab at either enemy.

Jeweled Dagger +1/ +2 vs. Undead: [1d20+1] = 3+1 = 4; Damage: [1d4+1] = 1+1 = 2; Damage, Large: [1d3+1] = 1+1 = 2

[OGRE MAGE]

With his life force nearly extinguished already in the first rush of attacks, the unarmored monk knows that he wont last long in this battle. Seeing the masked chanters behind the oncoming thralls as his groups biggest threat, he attempts the impossible, despite his current depleted condition.

Stabbing downward into the beast in front of him (B7) with his new weapon, the famed Javelin of Men-khetu, Xorxen tries to use his superior speed and agility along with the momentum of his blow to pole vault over the front line of enemies and into the open space beyond, left by the dead body of his first kill. (the area of B5 or preferably beyond)

Attack w/ +2 Javelin of Men-khetu [1d20+2] = 11+2 = 13 Dam [1d6+3] = 4+3 = 7

Dex check (15) [1d20] = 11

Not really sure if that move would be allowed, but since it is unlikely to matter anyway..... I thought I would give it a try.

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Having made it across safely, Mako turns his back briefly to view the open pit below him while chanting in a silent arcane tongue. He then whips his arms, quickly raising them upward in a pulling motion as he spins around to face his foes with continuous pillars of molten rock at his command. The illuminating molten rock with great intensity blazing from below the broken bridge arcs over Mako's head and breaks into eight separate continuous molten streams hitting B6-B13 in the face with scalding intensity. Well, that what B6-B13 sees. Everyone else sees Mako making a series of gestures with a bit of fleece in his hands and chanting while concentrating on the foes ahead of him.

Casts: Phantasmal Force

[Urson]

Zahra
Lightning quick, Zahra whips out her magical sword and attacks B2, slashing at the rider.

Init [1d10] = 9
att [1d20+2] = 7+2 = 9
Sword vs sm, med [1d8+3] = 5+3 = 8

[ravenn4544]

Amethu utters quiet words beneath his mask which are lost in the frenzy of the attack. A warm and welcome blue glow is seen flowing from his hands into Xorzen...

Cure Light Wounds [1d8] = 5

[ChubbyPixie]

Kiri floats gently down and teeters on the rope, his massive form incredibly suspended for a moment above the taught line. Before his spell ends, causing him to plummet into the lava, he skitters across to the other side on his toes like a dancer, motivated by the jab from the bat-rider's spear. He lands next to Maako as the seemingly crazed magician gesticulates wildly at the oncoming mob, pretending to cast a spell by all appearances.

I believe not falling and dying is all Kiri can do this round.

[Inferno]

The Vast Subterranean Caverns Beneath the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Six. Afternoon?, 18th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







The pale, monstrous underdwellers brutally savage the adventurers! Xorzen can barely stand when suddenly, Amethu utters orisons of devotion and mercy beneath his ibis mask and miraculously, Xorzen is healed at his sacred touch! (+5hp)

Kiri Khutan lunges across the rope before his magic spell expires, and leaps onto the solid ground of the severed bridge near Amethu.

Beside them, Mako the sorcerer of the distant east weaves a cunning spell of falsehoods and deception upon the savage brutes before him! In their eyes only, columns of molten lava suddenly boil up from the river of fire at Mako's command!





Mako conjures within their minds all the horrors of being scorched, scalded and burned alive! Mako's companions, and the masked Verulians on the shore beyond, see only the Eastern sorcerer gesticulate and cry, and then suddenly, a half dozen beastmen instantly fall before him, writhing and shrieking at visions unseen!

Unsure what is happening, Loche grips his jeweled dagger and cuts the throat of one helpless beastman thrashing at his feet, ending its piteous animal wailing! (B9) With the beastmen's front line collapsed, Xorzen drives the fabled Javelin of Men-kheu with all his might into the nearest primordial creature (B10) and nearly kills it in one blow!

Meanwhile, across the bridge, deep in the maelstrom of chaos and bloodshed, Zahra unsheathes the mythic Sword of Xuthalhotep and decapitates her brutish enemy in one terrible stroke! (B2) Its shorn head, expression locked in a rictus of terror and rage, plummets into the lava stream far below!

At her back, Garrin the Atlantean disembowels another animalistic proto-man in a ghastly harvest of steaming entrails. (B3) Rent asunder, it crashes to the stone bridge, Zahra's black javelin still embedded in its crimson corpse.

Suddenly riderless, two of the great bat monsters wheel and screech!

On the eastern bank of the molten stream, one pale masked sorcerer-priest barks with hatred: "Remember the prophecies of all-seeing Zargoth! Believe not thine eyes! Kill their wizards!"



Then the trio of masked Verulians intone forbidden words of eldritch magic out of time unimaginable! Suddenly, impossibly, invisible spectral daggers pierce the mortal flesh of Amethu, Kiri and Mako! (-7hp, -9hp and -7hp respectively!) Overwhelmed by the astral attack, Amethu falls at the precipice and Kiri saves him from plunging into the lava below!

Obeying their masked masters, the savage beastmen continue their merciless onslaught! One great heavy club is swung in a stroke meant to cave in Xorzen's skull and almost does the job! (-5hp)

Another murderous brute swings its stone axe at Loche, dealing blows like a butcher wielding a great cleaver! (-9hp) Loche slumps to the stones, overcome by his grievous wounds! And a third snarling beastman (B11) closes in on Mako!

Across the bridge, Garrin's feels the terrible fangs of an albino bat monster (of B1) bite deep into his back! (-7hp)!

Then Zahra is impaled through her abdomen by a thrusting long spear! (from B4) The stone spearhead erupts out her back with a gush of bright blood! (-7hp) Seeing Zahra nearing death, her beastly enemy roars a heathen battle cry!


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. X = Dead or Unconscious. E = Ensorcelled by Mako.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 5, Monsters: [1d6] = 1 Party wins.
Beastmen get a Save vs Mako's spell, at +4, because they were warned about Mako's illusions by the prophecies of all-seeing Zargoth:
B6-9: Save vs Spell: [1d20] = 12, [1d20] = 9, [1d20] = 9, [1d20] = 4 All fail.
B10-13: Save vs Spell: [1d20] = 17, [1d20] = 14, [1d20] = 14, [1d20] = 9 Three save.
B10-12: Morale check: [2d6] = 4 Morale is strong. But given the catastrophic, demoralizing nature of that attack, I will rule that the Party will win Initiative next round.
P1: Magic Missiles at Amethu: [1d4+1] = 2+1 = 3, [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4 7hp damage total.
P2: Magic Missiles at Mako: [1d4+1] = 2+1 = 3, [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4 7hp damage total.
P3: Magic Missiles at Kiri: [1d4+1] = 3+1 = 4, [1d4+1] = 4+1 = 5 9hp damage total.
B1, B4 attack Garrin, Zahra: [1d20] = 2, [1d20] = 19, damage: [1d6+1] = 1+1 = 2, [1d6+1] = 6+1 = 7 Zahra is hit for 7hp damage.
Bat of B1 attacks Garrin: [1d20] = 10, damage: [1d8] = 7 Hits Garrin's back for 7hp damage.
B10, B12 attack Xorzen and Loche: [1d20] = 17, [1d20] = 15, damage: [2d4+1] = 4+1 = 5, [1d8+1] = 8+1 = 9 Xorzen is hit for 5hp damage. Loche for 9hp.

PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: -1/14, Spells: 5/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 18/26, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 2/14, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 0/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 3/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl,
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6(4), HP: 2/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 8/21

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Protection From Evil (Amethu): Target: Xorzen. -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil. Duration: 13 rounds.
  Phantasmal Force (Mako)

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[SocraticLawyer]

Assuming he can hit B1 with his longsword this round, Garrin snarls and swings his blade at the beast that attacked him.

To Hit with +1 Long Sword: [1d20+1] = 10+1 = 11; Damage: sm - [1d8+1] = 7+1 = 8; lg - [1d12+1] = 7+1 = 8

[Urson]

Zahra

The Amazon screams wordlessly as she attacks (B4). Blood spatters from her lips, but she's driven by pure rage.

att [1d20+4] = 20+4 = 24 !!!
Sword vs sm, med [1d8+5] = 6+5 = 11

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

"Aaaah!!!" the easterner screams as the spectral blade sinks in. With more arcane words and gestures, Mako disappears and move over to check on Amethu lifeless body.
Casts: Invisibility

[OGRE MAGE]

Not knowing how long the prone monsters will be incapacitated, Xorxen stabs at the enemy who is still standing.

Attack w/ +2 Javelin of Men-khetu [1d20+2] = 1+2 = 3 Dam [1d6+3] = 4+3 = 7 and falls off the bridge

[ChubbyPixie]

Worried about his likelihood of survival after the spectral blades take their toll, Kiri will strike out at the beast in front of Maako (B11) with his trident in an effort to clear a path to the fiendish priests at the end of the bridge. He aims for the thing’s belly:
Attack with Trident +1, Claw of Chobek (THAC0:19): To Hit: [1d20+4] = 11+4 = 15 Damage vs. s/m: [1d6+8] = 2+8 = 10, vs. Lg: [3d4+7] = 9+7 = 16

At least he gets one jab in with his new trident before his very possible death.

[Inferno]

The Vast Subterranean Caverns Beneath the Great Pyramid
Lost City of Khemsa, Forgotten Kingdom of Verulia, Great Eastern Desert, the World of Hyboria
Day Six. Afternoon?, 18th day of the month of Yuluk, 1279th year of the Age of Aquilonia







Deep below the ground, in the whirling chaos of hate and steel, Mako's cunning illusion is shattered by an invisible dagger thrust by a masked wizard of Zargoth! The stricken beastmen strewn at Mako's feet begin to recover from the nightmares woven in their beleaguered minds!

With more arcane words and gestures, Mako suddenly disappears into thin air! He moves toward Amethu's lifeless body and finds that his companion still draws breath!

Beside them, the massive bludgeon of one bestial degenerate (B10) beats down Xorzen's thrusting javelin!

But Kiri drives the Claw of Chobek into the gut of his foeman (B11), disemboweling it in a gruesome spray of blood and shit!



Across the severed bridge, Zahra the amazon screams wordlessly as her red sword slashes down and cleaves open another subterranean brute from shoulder to breastbone! (B4) The shorn savage topples from its reeling mount and plummets, screaming down to the sizzling river below.

At her side, Garrin swings his blade in a deadly arc and suddenly his enemy's head flies from its shoulders, instantly replaced by a gushing font of hot blood! (B1) Another riderless bat monster whirls screeching!

With over half their force dead or stricken in fear, the beastmen's morale is broken. The masked sorcerers on the far bank of the lava flow see the element of surprise is gone. Their opportunity is ended. They are spending lives far too cheaply now.

The masked wizards of Zargoth whistle eerily and the monstrous bat creatures soar back to them. They mount the flying steeds and cry, "Withdraw!" with bitter malice. Then, to the adventurers: "Turn back, barbarians! Only death awaits thee here! Death and Zargoth's wrath!"



The beast men recovering from Mako's spell arise, fearful and rattled. They join the retreat, fleeing to the black tunnel east of the bridge, lead by the airborne wizards!

Xorzen's bestial foe (B10) turns to flee but before it can take another step, Xorzen's javelin head bursts out of its chest in a geyser of crimson. It staggers forward drunkenly, an arc of blood jetting from the severed aorta, and then it falls heavily to the stones and doesn't move again.

The battle is ended. The explorers are victorious.

But the war yet awaits.


Actions?!


Map:

One square = 5 feet. X = Dead or Unconscious.


Non-required Reading (rolls and rulings):

The Party wins Initiative this round.
Monsters must make morale checks after their first casualty, and after 50% casualties. Here's the latter:
Monsters: Morale check: [2d6] = 11 Monsters' morale is broken!
Xorzen gets an opportunity attack when the injured B10 flees: [1d20+2] = 20+2 = 22, damage: [1d6+3] = 3+3 = 6 Hits.

PC Status:

• Amethu: Verulian Grand Magus Cleric/Magic-User 3/2: Move: 9", AC: 4, HP: -2/14, Spells: 5/7 1st lvl, 3/3 2nd lvl
  Garrin Locke: Argosian Atlantean Paladin 3: Move: 12", AC: 3(1), HP: 25/26, Laying Hands: 1/1
  Kiri Khutan: Kambujan Easterner Fighter/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 3, HP: 2/14, Spells: 2/3 1st lvl
  Loche: Pict Savage Thief 4: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 0/18
  Mako: Khitan Easterner Illusionist 3: Move: 12", AC: 7(5), HP: 3/10, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 0/1 2nd lvl,
  Xorzen: Verulian Osoran Monk 3: Move: 17", AC: 6(4), HP: 2/16
  Zahra: Verulian Amazon Fighter 3: Move: 12", AC: 7, HP: 8/21

PC Magic:

• Protection from Evil (Garrin): -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil, in a 10 foot radius around Garrin.
  Healing Mists of Osorus (All except Amethu and Zahra): All lost HP recovered with 8 hours of sleep. Wakeful rest, or sleeping less than 8 hours, enables recovery of 1 HP per hour. Duration: "months."
  Protection From Evil (Amethu): Target: Xorzen. -2 to AC and +2 to saving throws against evil. Duration: 12 rounds.
  Invisibility (Mako): Target: self

Player Resources:

• The Struggle To Survive (the story so far)
  Mysteries Strange and Deadly (player clues and notes)
  Hieroglyphs (the story so far, in images)
  An Age Undreamed Of (maps and realms of the World of Hyboria)

[DadsAngry]

Mako:

Mako attends to Amethu open wounds, presses his invisible hands on to the gashes on the grand Magus body until they cease expelling the life-giving red fluid.

[Urson]

Zahra

Zahra takes a step toward the beastman she killed with the Black javelin, then drops to her knees, pressing her hands to her wounds.

[OGRE MAGE]

Shocked that any of the party remain alive after his foolish blunder, Xorxen rushes to the side of Loche and kneels, hoping to aid his ailments.