11. Beneath the Castle

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:42 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Brazier Room
**************************************

Bragar takes the deck and draws two cards.

The first:

Bragar, first card: [1d21] = 13

Ruin.png (77.11 KiB) Viewed 301 times

Ruin! Bragar finds himself penniless, his gold, gems, and other material wealth are ripped from him!
Remove the gems and any coin from your sheet, please.

The second card:

Bragar, first card: [1d21] = 7

Knight.png (102.05 KiB) Viewed 301 times

The Knight! As with Shinyah's card, nothing happens immediately.

All have drawn from the deck except Lar. Will he draw?

I ended up rolling for Bragar to save time. Sorry the results weren't better, but they could have been much worse.

Bogdana and Petyr haven't drawn either, but with my luck I'd draw the moon again and be faced with NPCs making wishes in my own campaign. To avoid that or other DM-as-player silliness, we'll just have them stay away from the deck.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Lar (P4): 27/27; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: Lantern (30', Lar): 5.3 turns; CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Zhym]

Cwreando told me in a PM that Lar would not draw a card.

Everyone who wanted to draw from the deck has drawn. Your fates changed for weal or for woe, the deck vanishes.

Shinyah stands, slack-jawed and vacant-eyed. Castran, still invisible, is presumably in the same shape. The bears continue to whimper and look around, not sure to do with their friend Shinyah not himself. Agax looks for useful items on the bodies of your inert companions. The rest of you are fully healed and in a castle that has presumably been purged of vampires.

What do you do now?

If you want anything that Shinyah or Castran are carrying, post to that effect and add the items to your sheet.

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

The gamesmith secrets away the scrolls and the potion of healing within the billowing corners of his robe. He ties Shinyah to Castran's line and readies to lead them on.

"Remarkable. I wonder what we have done here today. Is it remotely possible that Strahd is undone?" he asks as he looks east, down the hallway.

"Shall we find out?"

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog shrugs and comments "I guess we shall soon see provided we are able to fully search the castle to prove he is no longer here."

[Cwreando]

Lar, seeing and hearing what has transpired contemplates drawing in hope of helping the party out should they need it but struggles with the possibilities of doing so. "Ohama guide my decisions as we seek to free ourself and defeat strahd."

This is contrary to my post to the GM but reflects a turmoil Lar experiences in trying to help the party.

[Cwreando]

Lar says, "Let me see the deck please. I'll draw 2 cards for our success and for Ohama."

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:45 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Brazier Room
**************************************

Okay, letting Lar gets his draws in:

Lar agonizes over whether to draw from the deck. Finally, he decides that the potential benefit to all outweighs the risk to himself. He draws two cards...

The first card:

Lar, first card: [1d21] = 11

Skull.png (82.43 KiB) Viewed 278 times

The skull!

A skeletal figure in black robes appears before you. It carries a scythe. It points one bony finger at Lar.

Reaper2.jpg (229.43 KiB) Viewed 277 times

"LAR MORGUS, YOU MUST FIGHT ME," it says. Its voice is like the slamming of coffin lids,* arriving in your heads without the courtesy of passing through your ears first. "YOU MUST DO THIS ALONE. AND WHEN YOU LOSE, YOU WILL BE FOREVER DESTROYED. I AM TRULY SORRY, PALADIN OF OHAMA. THESE ARE THE RULES."

The Death raises its weapon and flies toward the paladin.

Actions!

Oh dear. That was not a good draw. FYI: Death is not evil. It is the epitome of neutrality.

Cwreando, please give me four sets of attack and damage rolls.

* RIP, Terry Pratchett.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Lar (P4): 27/27; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: Lantern (30', Lar): 5.0 turns; CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Cwreando]

Lar states,"For Ohama I must prove my worth it seems. So be it." Lar grabs his Morning star and meets the skeleton dodging and swinging with Ohama's blessing.

To Hit AC0 (17) Morning Star +1, [1d20+1] = 20+1 = 21, Dmg vs sm [2d4+1] = 4+1 = 5 Dmg vs L [2d6+2] = 4+2 = 6

My God is with me.

To Hit AC0 (17) Morning Star +1, [1d20+1] = 19+1 = 20, Dmg vs sm [2d4+1] = 3+1 = 4 Dmg vs L [2d6+2] = 4+2 = 6

My Faith is true.

To Hit AC0 (17) Morning Star +1, [1d20+1] = 3+1 = 4, Dmg vs sm [2d4+1] = 5+1 = 6 Dmg vs L [2d6+2] = 12+2 = 14

Yet I still must prove myself it seems.

To Hit AC0 (17) Morning Star +1, [1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17, Dmg vs sm [2d4+1] = 8+1 = 9 Dmg vs L [2d6+2] = 4+2 = 6

For Ohama be praised. I shall defeat thee.

Well, as a P6 I would have had a better chance but it all depends on how well Death rolls.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:46 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Brazier Room
**************************************

Lar faces off against Death itself. As he fights, he prays.

The skeletal anthropomorphic personification is on Lar with the speed of an executioner's axe. Its scythe cuts through the air like a foul wind, passing through Lars' armor as if it were a false hope. Blood flows from the wound, pooling inside his golden armor (-16 HP).

"My God is with me," he thinks to himself, and perhaps it is true. For Lar's counterattack hits! His morning star crashes into the Death's skull. Death staggers back and nods with respect.

Another slice from the Grim Reaper. This one finds Lar's stomach. More blood flows, pooling at the paladin's feet (-8 HP).

"My Faith is true."

Feeling faint, Lar somehow manages a counterattack that just misses his opponent.

"YOU FOUGHT WELL," says the Death's voice in your minds. "IF IT IS ANY CONSOLATION, THIS IS BETTER THAN IF YOU HAD LIVED AND DRAWN THE SECOND CARD. NOW GO TO YOUR GOD." Death's scythe passes through Lar's neck, but the paladin's head does not fall. He seems to fly away from all directions at once, vanishing into a distance that is right in front of you. Then he is gone (-10 HP).

With a flourish of his cloak, Death also vanishes. The deck disappears. Only Gragog, Bragar, and Agax remain now, with the two henchmen, the shells of Castran and Shinyah, and the increasingly freaked out bears.

Actions?

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Cwreando]

Good job! Lar fought to the last.

Good Luck folks.

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "I'd much prefer to leave this castle at once but what do the remainder of this group think?" the half-orc still looks around with suspicions that someone is still out to get him.

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

The dreaming wizard mourns the loss of the noblest of them.

Then he replies to Gragog, in sorrow, "I concur. If Strahd is undone, we shall soon learn of it in Barovia. If he is not, we'll need reinforcements.
"Retracing our steps means facing the water traps again. Shall we proceed this way?" he asks, lighting the eastward corridor before them with his staff lantern."With luck, the bears will follow poor Shinyah."

[Dram]

Bragar goes to his dead friend Castran taking any valuables that he possessed. My friend I shall your treasures to good use. Your blade will be missed. He will then turns to the others. What shall we do with our friends? If the evil is not gone our friends will surely be used against us.

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog "Guess we have to heard them along with us like cattle."

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:50 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Stone corridor
**************************************

You decide to leave the castle. You hope that the way ahead leads to an exit. Grago leads the way, followed by Bragar, Agax, and the empty, mindless husks of Shinyah and Castran. The bears trail along, shaking their heads in agitation, occasionally nuzzling up to Shinyah then whining when he does not respond.

You work your way east down a long, low tunnel that passes through the rock-pillar of Ravenloft itself. Its rough, damp walls are barely discernible through thick fog. After a hundred feet or so, you reach a stone door.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

Unaware of any means the party now possesses to detect traps, the dreaming wizard nods at his companions and tries to open the door, using it as a shield against anything that might lie beyond.

[Zhym]

Date: Trieluna 13, 1222
Time: 9:55 PM
Weather: Fog
Location: Castle Ravenloft; Stone corridor
**************************************

Every door is now a potential danger that the sentient survivors of the group have few options of detecting or disarming. Agax steps forward carefully and pulls the stone door towards him.

The bears continue to look uneasy, but remain near Shinyah's body for now.

Beyond the door lie the dark catacombs of Ravenloft. An arched ceiling is supported by columns and squat crypts. The crypts are about 10'x10' each and are spaced about 10' apart. They extend east and south as far as your light can reach. To the north is a rough stone wall pocketed with bare stone shelves on which rest ancient desiccated remains. A thick fog clings to the floor at the height of Agax's knee. Cobwebs hang limp in the musty air. Thick dust has settled over everything. The black ceiling is moving.

Let me know if you want to take the time to map. If so, I'll provide a map of what you can see so far.

----
Status: Gragog (F8): 60/60; Bragar: 42/42 (C7); Agax (MU7/C4): 45/45; Petyr (F3): 23/23; Bogdana (C3): 23/23; Honeynose: 24/24, Treescratcher: 29/29; Mindless: Castran: 23/23 (F5/I6); Shinyah (D7): 38/38
Effects: Phantom Armor (Castran): 6 pts; Invisibility (Castran); Phantom Armor (Bragar, from Castran): 5 pts
Light sources: CL coin (60', held by Shinyah); CL gem (60' Agax's staff)

[Dram]

Bragar- Looking over the room.I say close the door. Their nothing but danger beyond these doors.

[GreyWolfVT]

Gragog stops and waits to see if anyone can even do anything to the door otherwise he will attempt to close it.

[Inferno]

Agax Gryyg, game mage:

The mercurial mage peeked around his hinged, stone shield. "This is not the way out," he said, deadpan, as he shut the door.

Agax hung his head and said gravely to Gragog and Bragar, "These catacombs are what Castran said we should seek. We've come so far. To go back now means facing the water trap. And our eventual return means facing it again to reach this portal once more.

"There were cries for help in the dungeon. Perhaps we can enlist prisoners to bolster our ranks? Assuming they are not under Strahd's power, as Scarlett was when she was imprisoned," he added without pleasure.

Zhym, the ceiling is "moving?" Please explain.