Barrowmaze IV: Delving for Power and Glory

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven nods his approval to the idea of the unseen servant opening the door to see what lies beyond.

"Great catch Trevor! That could have been a bad one to miss."

The mage asks the thieves to check out the dark hallway for traps next, aiding them with his light from behind if necessary.

"What do you say about this hallway, Isvand? Smells kinda bad down there. That indicates there had to be some action in here at one point, as these scuff marks would also indicate."

He checks to see if the marks on the floor continue, which direction they seem to be traveling, and if he can decipher what was actually dragged through here.

[redwarrior]

isvand
The first 40 feet are clear, then it turns. Smells nasty.

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth moves over to back up Sven and Isvand.

"Any idea what that smell could be?"

[sastaz]

sorry guys, will post in ~ 12 hours

[Spearmint]

no worries. I will go ahead and update the room and searches a little.

[Spearmint]

Exploring the Corridors

The Unseen Servant is directed to open the southern door. It is wedged shut and takes a bit of pulling but eventually the door is wriggled free of the frame and opens to a small 10'ft square chamber.

In the chamber on a plinth is a statue of a shrouded figure. By its feet stands a stone humanoid devil, an imp like creature with a long tail. Several skulls are arranged around the plinth. These are bone not stone, most are bleached white and ancient in age though one or two are still in helmets and bear obvious signs of being recently decapitated victims.

To enter the room would be a simple 3d6 Dex check to maneuver around or jump over the deadfall trap placed in front of the door.

Going through the western door. The corridor continues west 60'ft. The far end of the has an all too familiar portion of unstable wall, with a mound of rubble on the floor. After 40'ft the passage opens as a 20'ft wide corridor going south. A faint glow from somewhere further south flickers twinkles of light upon the walls, similar to the dancing reflections of firelight.

The scouts check the passage is safe to the corner of the turn, halting to listen cautiously before peering beyond. The further in you go, the more rot and fetid the smell is. The air is chillier and certainly you sense the atmospheric conditions cause your heckles to rise with goosebumps and an eerie tension.

next actions please.

[OGRE MAGE]

Anything with this?

Sven checks to see if the marks on the floor continue, which direction they seem to be traveling, and if he can decipher what was actually dragged through here.

[Spearmint]

The direction of the drag marks are certainly towards the western door and down the corridor. There is no blood, either freshly spilled or dried marking the floor. The marks are wide apart so could be more than one body dragged away or several shuffling feet.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven ushers everyone back to the main room again before they separate further, pointing out the statue in the small room.

"Well, this doesn't look much like great wealth, or wisdom, but there is a definite death vibe to both of these rooms," obviously referring to to Gerdal's augury. "Perhaps the ten who preceded us were the ones who made these marks on the floor?"

He looks at the gnomes, wondering how much they weigh. Perhaps they might not mind being lifted over the trap and set into the room. Or tossed, I guess.

"Does anyone actually want to check out this room first before we head into the next hall? These severed heads are a bit off putting, to say the least."

"Gerdal, this might be a good task for your invisible helper, no?"

[Spearmint]

Amos F/R traps vs 20%, Treyvor F/R traps vs 35% [1d100]=6 [1d100]=26

Amos & Treyvor can disable the pressure plate trap rather than set it off enabling you safe access to the small room.

[sastaz]

Some things
1. Gerdal lost her US last time due to failed retention roll.
2. What is actually a deadfall? Or how does it differ from a trapdoor?
3. I'm a little unclear about the rooms, see below.

On my map, let's call the R-S-T room with the lever the "lever room" and the one south of it the "drag marks room" for the sake of this discussion.

The two archways I drew in the "drag marks room" are actually doors?

The fetid 40 feet passage going west starts from the "lever room"?

The pressure plate is in the "lever room" right in front of the door to the "drag marks room"? Or is it in front of the southern door in the "drag marks room"?

The "imp chamber" is south of the "drag marks room"?

The 60' corridor is through the western door of the "drag marks room"?

[Spearmint]

I had the unseen servant being in force for 80 minutes so that can cover this rooms searching.

A pit trap opens a pit, a deadfall drops something on you.

Lever room is 72, drag mark room 71, statue is at A.

[OGRE MAGE]

Sven praises their thieves skills again before walking closer to the statue in the tiny room.

"These heads were added here recently, so maybe we better leave all this alone. But a trap directly in front of this door leads me to believe there is something valuable in there, so I am torn on if we should investigate this or leave it be. What do the rest of you think?"

The mage absentmindedly walks inside and pokes at the statue from a distance with his staff, trying to determine if it really is stone or not.

"Anyone else fancy coming inside for a closer look?"

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth searches the room with Sven.

"If there are fresh heads then someone is actively using the room, correct?"

[sastaz]

Gerdal directs her servant to fetch one of the helmeted skulls and has the servant hold it up for her. How fresh does the head look? Rotten or stripped of flesh? What kind of helmet is it?

"I don't know. Treasure come in many different shapes and forms. But then again, maybe this is a sacred shrine for the cultists and that's why they don't want it desecrated. Or there might be some secret compartment in that plinth, for offerings? Yes, come to think of it I think we should investigate. Sven, both you and Isvand are nimble, right? It'd have to be someone with sensitive fingers."

Gerdal makes sure to stand behind Drew, should anything be set loose.

[redwarrior]

Isvand will aid in the searching

[OGRE MAGE]

We have been anticipating an update here since Thursday. Are we waiting for the new players to join this thread?

[Spearmint]

one did ask but I can't parachute players into current expeditions.

Have been travelling and my game time scattered.

Exploring the Corridors.

While Truro guards the northern corridor, Amos and Gnimish sneak to the western passage corner. Smokie sniffs about. Gerdal uses Drew as a meatshield and manipulates the Unseen Servant to sort through a few of the skulls placed on the plinth.

Sven, Orgoth & Isvand enter the small chamber. The statue is prodded and poked. It is stone and from your inspection looks carved in elegant fashion but not with the realism you might get from a petrified victim. It brings to mind the hooded figure of Knievel.

Isvand vs traps, [1d100]=28 vs 25%

The halfling tests some new skills, not detecting any traps though suspicions are all about. Sifting through some of the skulls though does cause some alarm. A literal one. ...

The Unseen Servant lifts a freshly decapitated head, bringing the still helmeted offering to Gerdal for inspection. The tinpot helm is unremarkable but suddenly the deceased's eyes open and the head begins to scream.

"Help, help, don't touch me, aaaarrrggh!"

Several other heads begin to chatter, teeth gnashing and clattering in eerie screams and laughter. "Heads you win, tails you lose." says one. "Two heads are better than one.", "I'm Skittles, use me as a bowling ball."

The stone quasit, clutching the hem of the shrouded stone figure begins to enlarge and grow, animating from a still small statue to a larger humanoid form. It has a malevolent visage of hatred and ill intent.

Gerdal and Drew save vs spells please (or be subject to freezing in fear)

everyone else ...actions please. and a 3d6 vs Dex if you want to leave the room and step over the deadfall.

[Rex]

Orgoth

Orgoth strikes at the quasit.

Magic Silver Spear [1d20+2]=2+2=4 to hit [1d6+4]=3+4=7 damage

[redwarrior]

Isvand takes one look at the vile creature and throws his boomerang at it. Moving to keep a line of sight on the creature, He jumps up and retrieves his boomerang on it's return trip (or if that fails, grabbing the second one).


Boomerang attack [1d20+2]=19+2=21 Damage [1d4+1]=4+1=5
retrieve boomerang target 16 [3d6]=10