Ch 3a. The Temple of the Ant

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc, unwilling to yet resort to Nahal's Reckless Dweomer, takes another strike at the creature with his staff of striking. Again shouting the command words as the staff swings.

Branc: [1d6] = 4, [1d8] = 1, [1d10] = 7, [1d20] = 11, [1d100] = 69

[ragnboneshopper]

Sorry guys, didn't get any notifications and been busy, just now checking up as I realized I hadn't seen anything from this thread for a while... But the good thing is, looks like you've done just fine without me!

Agrim initiative roll: [1d10] = 4

Realizing that the intense sound emanating from the ant-thing has all but disabled Nayman, Agrim lays a hand on the thief and utters a simple orison to alleviate his discomfort and enable him to fight off the effects.

Alleviate: A single creature suffering from nausea or pain is relieved of its discomfort. Magically induced nausea or pain is only alleviated if the victim passes a saving throw vs. spell with a –2 penalty.

I know it ain't much, but it's the best I could come up with... unless Nayman gets a save every round, in which case, I'd use the following... (and dang, that feels meta-gamey!)

Resistance to magic: The caster gains a +1 bonus to his next saving throw against magic of any type, as long as it occurs during the orison’s duration.

[Vargr1105]

ooc: so should I roll a save for Nayman then?

[Nuke66]

Garth hacks again, hoping to end this and get the fuck out of this place.

[1d10] = 10 initiative [1d20] = 18 to hit [1d4] = 2 damage

[grey_starr]

One last time! *Shouts Benson*

Initiative [1d10] = 2

*Benson leaps into the air to put his full weight behind this swing*

Club +1 Hit=[1d20+4] = 14+4 = 18 Dmg=(S/M) [1d6+6] = 1+6 = 7 | (L) [1d3+6] = 3+6 = 9

*and a quick shield punch for good measure*

Shield punch [1d20+2] = 4+2 = 6 dmg=[1d3+3] = 3+3 = 6

[Stonjuz]

Round 7 resolution: ( I think it is 7)
"One last time!" Benson brings all of his training, hatred and fear into the killing blow.
The sonic attack on Nayman ceases as the ANT lives no longer. "I think I got him this time!"
Agrim delivers the Orison with the following word, "Awkseekattan".
Branc too cannot resist bashing the beast, though motionless and already dead, his hatred delivered through Cluemiester's staff, again.
(1 additional charge used up, 7 total so far) "Baddarop".
Expecting the room's lighting to change, it does not, the wizard begins searching for reason to the chaos.
Agrim pulls the rogue to height. Garth belts his weapon, and helps the thief to a spot less engulfed in shadow. He too looks into the eyes of Nayman with Agrim. The pupils of Nayman have dialated to enormous size. There are no shades of grey. The black pupils are as big as the iris, surrounded by the whites of the eyes' remainder.
Garth says, "Let's get out of this place."
The group sees their entrance completely collapse in on itself, probably cutting off retreat there.

End of combat:

[ragnboneshopper]

"L-looks l-like we arrre n-not get-t-ting out th-that way..." Agrim then looks at Nayman with as much concern as a half-orc's face can display. "Th-the d-darkness, coming fr-rom y-you? Th-the curse? What happens when y-you cl-lose eyes?"

Agrim offers healing to whomever is most injured.


[1d100] = 16, [1d20] = 3, [1d10] = 1, [1d8] = 7, [1d6] = 2, [1d4] = 2

Agrim's at 12/15, so he's fine. How about the rest of ya?

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc exclaims "Well done!"
Branc searches the room with the last round of his detect magic to locate anything radiating magic. In particular he will cautiously search the remains of the ant thing that they just slew.

[grey_starr]

*Still ready with weapon and shield, Benson starts looking forward - since going back is not an option...*

Can nothing be done about this lighting?

[Stonjuz]

Benson and Branc peer around pillars while Nayman blinks under the scrutiny of the shaman and druid. The lighting in the immediate vicinity indeed reacts. With eyes closed, the room is under the darkness spell cast by Branc, upon the tiara. Outside the radius of Branc's spell range, the cavern is dark naturally. With eyes open, the 'curse' becomes knowledgable to all. Darker than dark, though the range of the human's curse is reduced significantly (5' radius) compared to the power the ANT possesed.

Do I need to list the things that glow magical......no change from before, except, of course, that Nayman has an aura similar to that of the ANT.

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

Branc picks up the torch and gets outside the range of the darker than dark curse and his darkness spell.
He then searches the remainder of the room for the pearl from the tiara that he threw at the ant as well as for any exits or items of interest.

ooc: nope, no need to list magic auras again, just making sure there wasn't anything he didn't see before.

[ragnboneshopper]

Agrim rips a strip of cloth off his robe and, if Nayman is willing, ties it around the thief's head in a blindfold and offers an arm to guide him in walking. "Sor-r-ry about th-this..."


OOC: Just a suggestion. Nayman could wear the blindfold until and unless it makes sense for him to try to sneak around in his bubble of darkness. And is it a bubble then? Or more like a cone equivalent to Nayman's range of sight?

[Vargr1105]

ooc: I guess Nayman is blindfolded then. The poor bastard.

[Stonjuz]

Nayman's eyes do indeed carry the 'curse' of the ant. His makeshift blindfold does give the group some semblance of normalcy.
Ten minutes of searching the large 100' diameter cavern by torchlight reveals little. The gem from the tiara is located easily. Surprisingly, no bones or waste debris is found. No other exits are seen.
The power of the curse soon taxes the constraints of the eyecover as darkness begins to prevail about the man's face.

The dishes are an option of course.
One, to nearby the cave entrance, and the other to Greyhawk's southern intersection.

I cannot help but envision Nayman as Jeff Goldberg in 'The Fly'.
Come to think of it, the ANT did look alot like the FLY.

THE FLY.jpg (40.5 KiB) Viewed 1291 times

[ragnboneshopper]

Before darkness can take over once more, Agrim looks about for his axes that he threw at the ant-thing. "Who has th-the d-disks?"


Agrim made the climb to grab one after we all came through the portal, but I don't remember where they ended up...

[Nuke66]

Garth mumbles under his breath, "Great" looking at the rock pile, "Now what?"

[grey_starr]

*looks for exits on the floor and ceiling, since there seems to be no way out along the walls*

I could use some first aide... just scratches really...

OOC: some good ol' fashioned first aide... get back a few HP at least. Next encounter - I'll do a much better job of tracking the details of HP and such I kind'a failed this time around lol

[NJWilliam]

Branc Temugen, Mage

"I have the plates, one that would take us back outside the witch's cavern that we climbed here from, and one that would take us back to the Unseen Servant. We were warned to only use the one to the Unseen Servant from a safe location, however, and I cannot believe that there is not more to this "Temple" than the one lone creature, as daunting as it may have been."

Branc then searches what remains of the ant for anything of interest or value. "Certainly, the fluids and parts of this creature will be of value to an alchemist" he absentmindedly adds.

[Stonjuz]

[1d100] = 9 [1d20] = 18 [1d10] = 8 [1d8] = 1 [1d6] = 6 [1d4] = 1

The ANT's remains seem less than what stood before. Rapid deterioration of the exoskeleton ensues.
Although tissue samples are obtainable. (How are you storing them?)
The four search, leaving Nayman to his unfortunate state momentarily.
To the best of his ability, Garth' s elven senses confirm there are no doors, nor passageways to any additional rooms at this depth. Benson's instincts draw him to the floor. His torchlit path stopped briefly as Agrim retrieves his slightly nicked, but still quite usable axe weapons. Benson continues along, moving the torch shadows about the pathways between pillars here and there. As he steps near a clearing, not much more than a section of the cavern with less stalagmites and mated pairs, his footwear shifts the dirt and Branc notices.
Buried under layers of sediment, a corner of another markerstone?

[Vargr1105]

Momentarily left to his unfortunate state while the other search, Nayman wallows in solitary misery.

ooc: he's kind of getting use to it too, LoL!