Chapter 9: Abyss of the Xenomorphs

[ChubbyPixie]

"I told you no one listens!" says Fiefo as the party attacks the acid piñata.

Luckliy, he avoids the falling spray altogether.

Dex Check (17): [1d20] = 12

He continues to slide down, down, down as fast as he is able to and still hold on to the piping.

[Inferno]

The Bottomless Pit, Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Afternoon? March 29th, 912 CY








In the vertical killing floor of the bottomless pit, the adventurers cling for dear life above a dizzying abyss, else share Malga's harrowing fate.

Ko-Nan the barbarian dodges the burning blood of the gargantuan hybrid horror! It splashes Adrock beneath him, eating into his flesh! (5hp damage)

The wall of illusory flames endures under Maskelyn's fierce concentration, enraging and confounding the immense monstrosity who is merely an arm's length away!



Adrock and Fiefo swiftly descend as Yul and Connak climb up past them! The robot sheriff fires off a hipshot and his crossbow bolt sails wide!

Connak nimbly clambers next to Ko-Nan and they both swing their fearsome blades through the mirage of fire!

Ko-Nan cleaves the immense monster again with another fell-handed blow of his ax, grievously injuring it! (21hp damage so far!)



(Everyone except Maskelyn, please make an Ability Check vs Dex on 1d20 to evade 6hp damage! The PC nearest the hybrid alien, who fails the roll, is damaged. If Maskelyn chooses to end his spell, he may roll the Ability Check.)

Furious, the colossal predator roars and braces himself with legs and tail as he slashes through the veil of flames at Connak and Ko-Nan! But both heroes evade his deadly claws!


Actions?!


Cut-Away View:

One square = 3 feet. Lighter areas are visible.


Behind the DM Screen:

Adrock Dex Check: [1d20] = 19 Fails.
Acid special effect? (5%): [1d100] = 64 No.
Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 3, Monsters: [1d6] = 3 Tie. Alien-Zilla is confused by the strange fire that wounds him, so PC actions will precede its.
Yul fires into a melee. Targets Ko-Nan? (33%): [1d100] = 3 Yes. But his "to hit" roll is not good enough to hit Ko-Nan, even in the back.
Monster attacks Connak and Ko-Nan: [1d20] = 6, [1d20] = 7 Both attacks miss!

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 19/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 30/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 4/9, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, Lantern on back
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 14/14, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

Phantasmal Force (Maskelyn)

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan evades the acid blood - but he moves too far to land a solid blow on the foul thing.

Dex (14) [1d20] = 12

Attack: THACO (20): [1d20+2] = 3+2 = 5 / Damage: (S/M: [2d4+3] = 4+3 = 7 / L: [3d4+3] = 6+3 = 9)

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Maskelyn whimpers through clenched teeth, but holds the wall of fire. A tear draws a line through the grime on his face.

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Dodging the acid he draws his sword. Holding it in both hands he takes a side swipe at the creature but swishes thin air above the void.

Sheriff Yul: Acid splash Dex skill check vs 17 [1d20] = 4

Sheriff Yul basted sword melee [1d20] = 4 damage [2d8] = 9

[ChubbyPixie]

"Lunatics!" shouts Fiefo as a spray of acid narrowly misses him again.

Dex Check (17): [1d20] = 10

He continues his downward slide.

[Inferno]

The Bottomless Pit, Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Afternoon? March 29th, 912 CY








More acidic plasma sprays down upon the heroes! Ko-Nan, Yul and Connak evade the deadly searing gout, but Maskelyn cannot! (6hp damage!)

The enormous bloodthirsty amalgam sniffs suspiciously at the phantasm of flames!



Maskelyn's concentration falters from the pain! The spell is broken and the false fire suddenly evaporates into thin air!

Furious, the horrific predator roars and carves Connak and Ko-Nan with razor-sharp talons! (1hp and 6hp damage respectively!)



Fiefo continues his descent into pitch darkness below! But Adrock stops, realizing there is no depth that will save him from falling acid. "Here comes the rain again, falling on my head like a memory..." The historian-priest softly sings an ancient hymn of Earth That Was, hoping it brings him divine favor in his hour of need.

Above him, Connak climbs down to make room for his partner Yul to fight on the front line! The steel weapons of Ko-Nan and Yul crash against immense claws and fangs in a shower of sparks!


Actions?!


Cut-Away View:

One square = 3 feet. Lighter areas are visible.

Behind the DM Screen:

Alien-zilla Saves vs Spells: [1d20] = 18 The monster realizes the strange flames are not "real."
Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 1, Monsters: [1d6] = 2 Monster wins.
Connak Dex check: [1d20] = 16 Just saves!
Monster attacks Connak and Ko-Nan: [1d20] = 14, [1d20] = 11 Hits both!
Damage to Connak and Ko-nan: [1d8] = 1, [1d8] = 6

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 18/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 24/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 4/9, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, Lantern on back
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 8/14, Spells: 1/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

Swings his sword like a blind man playing whack-a-mole.

Sheriff Yul basted sword melee [1d20] = 1 damage [2d8] = 8

[redwarrior]

Returning to the fight, Connak maneuvers to strike at the creature’s flank. What is this monstrosity?! Can we kill it?


Attack with Scimitar THACCO 19 [1d20+3] = 18+3 = 21 Dmage [1d8+4] = 3+4 = 7

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan recoils from the talons and tries again to crush the life out of the thing.

Attack: THACO (20): [1d20+2] = 11+2 = 13 / Damage: (S/M: [2d4+3] = 5+3 = 8 / L: [3d4+3] = 9+3 = 12)

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Maskelyn swipes at the burns on his arm, knowing his spell has faltered. He casts again- Audible Glamer Sonitus Falsum!
From behind the creature, the voice of Bugs shouts Hey! Baggy-Eyes! Up here, Doc!

Whatever the result, Maskelyn will start down the shaft ASAP, looking for an opening in the wall.

[ChubbyPixie]

Fiefo will halt before he gets too far away from the group and attempt to find at least partial cover behind a support beam or something of the kind.

[Inferno]

The Bottomless Pit, Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Afternoon? March 29th, 912 CY








The unforgiving steel of Ko-Nan and Yul beats back the claws and fangs of the horrific pale colossus!

Far below, Adrock and Fiefo take what cover they can behind the iron outcroppings of the bottomless pit!

Maskelyn the deceiver desperately conjures up the disembodied voice of the trickster god!



The gargantuan horror wheels and Connak and Ko-Nan lunge upward, driving sword and ax deep, smiting the heinous monstrosity dead!

Its roar dies in its throat. Burning blood showers down, followed by the gigantic corpse!

(Everyone please make two Ability Checks vs Dex on 1d20 to evade the blood and then the body! The PC nearest the monster, who fails the first roll, is damaged by the acid for 9hp damage! Adrock and Fiefo each get +2 to both rolls. Good luck!)


Actions?!


Cut-Away View:

One square = 3 feet. Lighter areas are visible.


Behind the DM Screen:

Initiative: Party: [1d6] = 2, Monster: [1d6] = 3 Monster wins.
Monster claws Yul and Ko-Nan: [1d20] = 6, [1d20] = 3, damage: [1d8] = 7, [1d8] = 2 Misses!
Monster bites Ko-Nan? (1) or Yul? (2): [1d2] = 1, to hit: [1d20] = 8, damage: [2d6] = 8 Misses!

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 18/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 24/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 4/9, Spells: 4/6 1st lvl, Lantern on back
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 8/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 38/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[redwarrior]

Connak twists out of the way of the gushing vile blood of the creature and holds tightly to his lucky scimitar as the body tumbles past him. As his fur starts to lay back down, Connak will start climbing down once again to join up with his comrades. Are we going to see many of those things? he calls out to whomever.

dex Save (target 16) [1d20] = 10 [1d20] = 8

[Bluetongue]

Sheriff Yul

In the tight confines of the shaft, the cyborg lawman duels sword blade against teeth and claw. All are equally parried. The riposte and lunges of his comrades though open up the acidic artery of the creature and with little room to manoeuvre, Sheriff Yul takes one for the team. -9hp

The acid burns into his organic flesh, plinking in sizzling bubbles as it corrodes into the metal exoskeleton bones, sparks illuminating his inner cores.

Thankfully the alien body drops away leaving the lawman to sooth his wounds with a little balm and a need of some cosmetic surgery.

He descends the shaft once more.

Sheriff Yul: Avoid body and Avoid blood vs 17 [1d20] = 19 [1d20] = 16

[ravenn4544]

Ko-Nan pulls his giant alien-killing cleaver from a corpse as it falls. He is able to quickly duck away from the plummeting body.

Dex (14) [1d20] = 2

[ChubbyPixie]

Dex Check (17) with cover: [1d20-2] = 15-2 = 13

Fiefo avoids the fine spray of acid that makes it down to his level, as well as the body of the plummeting creature. He glances up at the group and looks as if he is about to say something, then just shakes his head and resumes his downward climb.

[Urson]

Maskelyn
Dex: 17 [1d20] = 20
[1d20] = 10

He gets splattered with acidic blood, but manages to duck under a beam to avoid the great beast itself. What a maroon! What an ignoraminus! he laughs.

[Inferno]

The Bottomless Pit, Castle U.S.S. Enterprise
The Barren Wasteland, Forbidden Island of Xygax the Wizard, Land of One Thousand Towers
Day Five. Afternoon? March 29th, 912 CY








Yul the cyborg sheriff is sprayed by the burning blood of the dead leviathan creature! Flesh sizzles and opens, revealing a glimpse of his inhuman chrome frame! (9hp damage)

The adventurers narrowly avoid being taken down the bottomless pit with the ruin of the monstrous behemoth!



Darkness swallows it.

Maskelyn laughs, "What a maroon! What an ignoramus!" in those timeless words of lost antiquity.

Feline Connak wonders aloud, "Are we going to see many of those things?"

Adrock answers, "I believe so. Though smaller and quicker." Then the priest of all-knowing TeeEmZee miraculously heals himself (+5hp) and Maskelyn (+2hp), the two most wounded of the party.

The explorers continue their cautious descent down the fathomless steel shaft.



Now and again, they hear movement from somewhere beyond this unending abyss. And the eerie groan of the towering walls themselves.

After time without measure in toil and cold and dark, scholarly Adrock asks that they stop their laborious plunge. By his flickering lamp, the historian-priest had been deciphering the ancient hieroglyphs etched onto the walls and cross-referencing them with the memorized map from the sacred crystal screen. "This is it. Here is the dungeon where The Kirk and his crew sought sanctuary from the invaders of their marooned ship." he says, indicating an iron door set into an iron wall.

"Break on through to the other side."


Actions?!


Cut-Away View:

One square = 3 feet. Lighter areas are visible.


Behind the DM Screen:

Adrock heals Adrock and Maskelyn: [1d8] = 5, [1d8] = 2

PC Status:

Connak: Cat-Man Fighter/Thief 2/3: Move: 9", AC: 6, HP: 18/19
Fiefo LeBratt: Rat-Man Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 26/26
Ko-Nan: Human Barbarian 2: Move: 12", AC: 4, HP: 24/32
L.L. Adrock: Half-Elf Cleric/Magic-User 2/2: Move: 9", AC: 1, HP: 9/9, Spells: 2/6 1st lvl, Lantern on back
Maskelyn: Gnome Illusionist 3: Move: 9", AC: 7, HP: 10/14, Spells: 0/2 1st lvl, 1/1 2nd lvl
Sheriff Yul: Robot Fighter 3: Move: 9", AC: 5, HP: 29/38

PC Magic:

None currently

Player Resources:

End of the World (game description)
Strange New World (maps and realms)
Memory Tapes (the story so far)
Viewscreen (the story so far in images)

[redwarrior]

Connak moves up, whispering Let me see what I can do... After listening at the door, he checks for traps. ASSUMING nothing was heard, then, pulling out his tools, he will work on getting this strange door to open - without success if it's actually locked.
Looking back to the group, It seems the door is not trapped, but the lock is beyond my skills. Do we want to try to force it?

Holding here to see if anything was heard, if the door is locked, if the group wants to force - I've got a decent OD check, but we probably lose any surprise we have if we go that route.

Hear Noise: Success!, FaRT: Success!
HN = 20 [1d100] = 6, FaRT=30 [1d100] = 23, OL=33 [ad100] = err32

Reroll Open Locks, because dicebot is smarter than me....Oof - big fail
OL=33 [1d100] = 96