Barrowmaze: Territorial Gains.

[Rex]

Orgoth

More than I thought, that is good. Gideon can't use edged weapons, correct?

[tanker405th]

Gideon

Correct, blunt only.

[sastaz]

Gerdal rubs her head.

"We don't have to fight everything in its home you know. Sometimes retreating and going back is the greater option. Like with the iron cobras, if you remember? They almost had us, but then we retreated, planned ahead and came prepared. And the second combat was uneventful, in our favor. Can I suggest we make a plan for a structured retreat if something comes out of that sarcophagus?"

[Rex]

Orgoth

"Not fighting anything at the moment, we are planning in case we have to."

[Spearmint]

Exploring the 'de Ogilvy' Corridors.

Can I suggest we make a plan for a structured retreat if something comes out of that sarcophagus?

Reservations are raised. Concerns, each crypt could be a death trap, you know at least the secret room with the round dais has some mechanical trap and the unblocked chamber has radiated an evil aura upon the paladin's investigation.

Sundance is revived. She seems hearty and hale, benefitting from the healing virtues issued.

Sven looks at his gem, then to Sundance, trying to see if the woman looks differently in any way.

“Are you feeling okay? Can you describe what happened, or what it felt like? You are half Elven, correct? Elves have…….spirits? Is that true? If we can figure out what escaped that tomb, it might help us at some point.”

She doesn't know what happened per se, a shock, breathlessness, passing out. She didn't feel any physical injury like an electrical shock or burn. The gem has some internal flicker visible to the mage's investigative eye. If something didn't escape the tomb, did something rather then escape or get exorcised from Sundance?

Any ideas then of what or whom may have sought to possess her?

She tries throwing a pebble straight at one of the diagonal black walls, checking if it bounces or passes through.

Gerdal and others test the sincerity of the newly opened crypt. Focusing on the two jet black walls. The black paint has a definite gel type feel, a rubbery surface that if prodded has some minimal elasticity or give in it but penetrating the surface, for example stabbing a dagger or arrow into it causes the implement to be covered in a corrosive saliva that begins to dissolve the metal within minutes. Black Puddings, Ochre Jellies, Gelatinous Cubes, Gray Oozes. All these types may come to mind. As no one ventures into the room, if any trap is present, no trigger is triggered.

You have some dilemma in what rooms to prioritise to explore, award that concurrent investigations may trigger concurrent dangers.

Barrowmaze random and even more random [1d6]=6 [1d6]=4 [1d10]=3

With no intruders in the corridor or upper Barrow, you are left to you thoughts and considerations.

Actions everyone please

[Darithe]

Sigrid

For now, not wanting to take the lead in the investigations, Sigrid will hang back by Sundance, fussing over her and making sure she is feeling alright.

[tanker405th]

Gideon

Gideon will remain closer to the back, keeping an eye on Sundance and company as she recovers, unless told otherwise.

I'm more of a hazard than a help on the front line at the moment.

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth will hold his position for now. "I don't like the idea of leaving something we know is evil at our backs, how about we target that room first."

[Spearmint]

can I just put in a GM's view.

While I don't mind folk posting their characters acting in a supportive way to others, it actually gives a lot of 'watch & waiting' which is inaction or relies upon other characters to take initiative. I don't mind slow, methodical progression but there are options to progress players can apply skills and investigations to if the Mummy Coffer room looks too much of a death trap.

I know you have these four unexplored but open crypts and in the Long Corridor, the Fungal Corridor and 'beyond the Rat Room', other chambers, passages and crypts.

If characters (or players) are short of information, want to investigate an area, want to gather some source of inspiration; then you could add a skill check vs [4d6] with your post which might bear positive results.

[Spearmint]

Isvand trades his boomerang for his mace and moves cautiously forward, searching earnestly for traps in the vicinity of the sarcophagus and the "way too easy" shield. Regardless of what he finds or doesn't, he doesn't trust THAT.

Isvand goes back to checking for traps, giving the walls a wide berth.

Sorry I didn't action this as the scene moved towards focusing on the distressed Sundance. Now she is recovered, I will go back to this action for Isvand who will need to enter the room to conduct the F/R Traps skill. Knowing a bit more about walls, that they are not just painted black but possibly inert forms of corrosive gel (an ooze, a black pudding, an acid amoeba of some sort) does that affect your choice Isvand to go into the chamber?

[OGRE MAGE]

While we wait for that answer…….did anything happen with the rats (or the flesh/food) in front of the black walls?

Depending on what Sir Dewey thinks, Sven might suggest the miners use the ram to smash into the coffer, but I understand if they refuse.

[Monsieur Rose]

Sir Dewey

I suspect SD would refuse to place the miners in direct danger, which that may be.

The Knight ponders the black walls, now that he suspects ooze-like qualities. "Do you think stepping on the ground may cause the walls to flow across? Does anyone have any more fire? We could try to burn the walls."

He confers with Orgoth. "I tend to agree with you, but I also think nothing more will come of this room unless we disturb it further." Waiting for the diagnosis from Isvand, Sir Dewey contemplates the best way to deal with the tomb.

[ateno]

"I really have no idea, this is not my forte."

Cosmo smoves back and hunkers against a wall in the hallway and half sits and thinks of his time in the school and his research trying to remember anything remarkable or similar to what he has seen.\

Int vs 16 [4d6]=9

[Rex]

Orgoth

"Fire seems a good idea. We have plenty of torches I think and should ready 1 per person just to be sure. Then I can move in after Isvand has checked everything out and see what happens."

[OGRE MAGE]

That's what I thought SD would say.

Do the characters who accompanied Sundance on her last adventure have any input into her current situation. Was she possessed by something recently? I no longer have time to keep up with the 10 other threads all going on at once, but if none of you have any input, I will go back and start trying to track that information down myself.


Still awaiting the DM's reply about the rats etc.

Sven will watch what Isvand does before he reacts, still speaking with Sir Dewey.

"Hold off on the fire for a minute. Do we think the evil you sense inside is residual? Like, still lingering from whatever just escaped this prison? Or do we think the stuff inside this room is evil? Maybe there is a specific reason these tombs were all sealed up after all? I hope we didn't just make our explorations of this place even more dangerous."

Unsure about such matters himself, Sven is happy to differ to the far more pius knight's professional opinions.

[OGRE MAGE]

Amos walks up to the doorway without entering.

He sticks his arm wearing the Palanthas Gauntet into the room to see if there is any reaction.

[sastaz]

Gerdal

"Sir Dewey or Amos, do you not have prayers or incantations that can detect the presence of evil, or even protect against it? I have seen clerics bless unholy places before."

INT check vs 15: [4d6]=14

Sorry rolled 1d20 first out of habit.

[redwarrior]

Isvand trades his boomerang for his mace and moves cautiously forward, searching earnestly for traps in the vicinity of the sarcophagus and the "way too easy" shield. Regardless of what he finds or doesn't, he doesn't trust THAT.

Isvand goes back to checking for traps, giving the walls a wide berth.

Sorry I didn't action this as the scene moved towards focusing on the distressed Sundance. Now she is recovered, I will go back to this action for Isvand who will need to enter the room to conduct the F/R Traps skill. Knowing a bit more about walls, that they are not just painted black but possibly inert forms of corrosive gel (an ooze, a black pudding, an acid amoeba of some sort) does that affect your choice Isvand to go into the chamber?

Yeah, Isvand isn't doing that

[Spearmint]

Exploring the de Ogilvy Corridors.

Sven: I think the Rat Swarm would not be still coerced under the animal summoning now. Any rats or zombie bits tossed into the room do not trigger any immediate reaction (such as a length of black pudding pseudopod striking to grab it) but any flesh placed on the black walls does sizzle and melt away, just as the dagger blade did. Which should suggest the walls do hold, even in some motionless stasis, gel with black pudding type features.

Sir Dewey, sure the miners are not keen on running headlong into the room. You may use a firebrand and try to burn a portion of the adjacent wall, reaching out to brand the black gel in a test experiment. The gel shrivels under the heat, burning and melting to run in drippy streaks of black acidic gel. The heat causing a degree of melting and a few drops will splash on the firebrand to sizzle in turn on the wood shaft. Once you withdraw the fire away, the wall of gel eventually reforms as a whole though an area of scorched or branded portion remains.

You can conclude that you could burn through lots of oil or torches, melting the layer of black pudding gel away, only to see it regenerate or reform.

Cosmo thinks, coming up with an idea. If several firebrands were placed in front of the black walls, it may be enough to keep at bay any black pudding creature. The miners can wield a couple of firebrands each and accompanied by Sir Dewey and Amos, station themselves in pairs to ward the walls.

Isvand can then come in to complete a FRT inspection. You spend a turn investigating the black and gold coffer. It is gold threaded and gilded, the wood is a dark, jet black ebony. The hinges look rust free and there are no obvious trigger mechanics that you observe, no pressure plates under the flagstones which are common elsewhere.

While you inspect, the miners ward the black gel.

Miners: Firebrands: left wall [2d4]=7 [2d4]=2 right wall [2d4]=7 [2d4]=5 burning each wall which ripples under the applied fiery heat.

A black shield glistens despite being covered in dust, hanging upon the rear, eastern wall. A coffer, long and black with gold trim and decorated in cult designs lies under the shield.

Of course, as well as fetid damp smells, it reeks of danger, evil and traps. As well as intrigue and trove

Sir Dewey
Detect Evil: the chamber beyond resonates with an evil aura, the residue of recent residents perhaps. The painted black walls are oily to touch, slimy even as if the paint was viscous.

The shield reflects no weal or woe but the black and gold sarcophagus does ping high on the warning charts.

There are only three features in the room; the shield, coffer and BP walls. Only one detected as evil, the coffer. The shield is made from a scale type material. There are no inscriptions visible upon it. It hangs in an ordinary peg on the wall.

Sundance: is fine and her normal self. She suffered it seems not as a result of anything entering into her but as a result of something (or someone) leaving. Treyvor who witnessed her healing in the Skeletons of No Evil room at the touch of the spirit of Sister Magdalena, reminds folk that the ghost nun had 'detected as evil' despite being the spirit of a nun of St Ygg. After the spirit touched the wounded Sundance, the spirit disappeared and her amphora jar fractured into pieces. Did she actually possess the mage at this point? Sven's soul gem has a flicker of soul in its crystals. The ghost of Sister Magdalena! perhaps?

Amos a detect evil has already highlighted the evil radiating from the sarcophagus. The Palanthus gauntlet does not trigger any manifestation, the Sunburst Shield is not illuminated (yet) as no Undead are present.

Gideon, Gerdal, Sigrid, Orgoth await prepared for any more surprises. None come yet.

Sven considers. Separating groups to adventure concurrently an option to make most of the time. Staying consolidated until this section of Barrowmaze is secured a wise option too.

Actions everyone please

[redwarrior]

Isvand speaks I could do as I did before and rig rope around that shield so that it can be pulled free from outside the door. I detected no trap, but I think grabbing the shield from above the sarcophagus that radiates evil is probably... a trap. He looks to the rest of the party for consensus.