Plynck



September 19, 2009

XP Starting Out:      70,676

Pail 25, 5040

Noon.  
We agree to continue exporing the ruins, keep Fouri with us, and make her part of the party while we are exploring this structure.

Our gems include:
        9 diamonds in the 500 - 1,000 gpv range
        16 white pearls in the 100 - 200 gpv range

We make camp and discuss stuff. Zora gets a massage.  Ar'tas and Kes play cards.  Beri and Jenna try to play croquet, but the wickets won't stand up, so they fail  We have snacks.

Mid-afternoon.  
The weather gets worse.  Lightning is emminant.  We all get in the hut.  When the storm gets really bad Beri casts Wall of Force over us.  There are two really big strikes nearby.  About five minutes after each strike, beams of light appear through all twelve sets of menhirs around the central pit.  Between the second lightning strike and the second set of beams, Ulfgar takes the booty huge greatspear out and impales it, point down, inside a menhir pair so the shaft is in the path of a beam.  When he checks it later, about six feet of the shaft have disappeared, possibly melted.

62 XP        Running Total:    70,738

Ben casts Hero's Feast for everyone to snack on, just before midnight: that provides everyone with a Bless spell lasting until noon tomorrow.


Pail 26


In the morning we hobble the horses inside the hut (which will last until noon) with food and water.

8:00am  
We go inside the ruin.  The doors and walls are granite.  [For a drawing of this level, click HERE.]  The doors are counterweighted.  There are windows with glass panes.  The ceiling is 40' high.  There is a spiral staircase in the corner that goes up and down.  It is a defensive staircase.  Ar'tes and Ulfgar examine the stairs for traps and possible collapse.  They look fine.  We go up the stairs at about 70' the stairs are blocked by rubble.  Ulfgar thinks it may be unstable.  We carefully go back down to the main floor.  The main doors currently have no way to lock them.  There are anchor points but nothing in them.

8:45am  
We go down one level.  All surfaces -- walls, floor, ceiling -- are glowing blue slightly.  There is nothing remarkable on this floor.  [For a drawing of this level, click HERE.]

9:45am  
We go down to the next level.  There is some apparatus filling the room.  The apparatus is made of a grey metal.   There is a hovering granite globe in the center of the room.   [For a drawing of this level, click HERE.]

10:00am
We go down one more level.  There are labs that seem to have been alchemical in nature, but all the equipment is now missing.  In the center of the level is a room with rods extending into a sphere.  [For a drawing of this level,click HERE.]

10:30am  
Ulfger goes into the room, flies up to look at the hole in the ceiling above the sphere.  There is a Symbol: we are paralyzed.  The floor disappears, we fall and are buffeted by winds, take 9 points of damage.  When we get close to the floor, we disappear through the next floor and take more damage: 4pts plus 4pts subdual.  We end up in a corridor; except for Ulfgar who didn't fall because he was flying.  Ulfgar notices that we are no longer with him and flies down to try to find us.  He finds us.  We start down the corridor

10:35am  
0.  Xorn-1 misses Kes; Xorn-2 hits Beri; Xorn-3 misses Zora; Xorn-4 misses Ar'tes; Xorn-5 hits Jenna hard; Xorn-6 misses Fuori; Xorn-7 hits Ulfgar hard; Xorn-8 misses Ar'tas.

1.  Ar'tas tumbles to Ulfgar, hits Xorn-7 for 3; Ulfgar hits Xorn-7 for 73/2, 25/2, miss; Ar'tas Opportunistically hits Xorn-7; Kes begins singing Inspire Courage, misses; Fuori defensivesly casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-7 for 23; Zora hits Xorn-3 for 22/2, criticals for 70/2+23, hits for 16/2; Ben defensively casts Blade Barrier on Xorn-4 and Xorn-8 for 37/2; Xorn-1 on Kes for 4; Xorn-2 on Beri for 9; Xorn-3 on Zora for 3; Xorn-4 leaves Blade Barrier, takes 41/2, charges Zora, misses; Xorn-5 on Jenna misses; Xorn-6 on Fuori misses; Xorn-7 on Ulfgar hits for 8; Xorn-8 leaves Blade Barrier, takes 41/2, charges Ulfgar for 4; Beri tumbles away, casts Magic Missile on Xorn-2 for 18; Jenna hits Xorn-5 for 5.

2.   Ar'tes hits Xorn-7 for 12/2, 5/2, 12/2; Ulfgar hits Xorn-7 for 25/2, criticals for 69/2, kills, cleaves Xorn-8 for 22/2;  Kes -- Inspire Courage takes effect [lasts until rd.7] -- tumbles to reach Ar'tes and defensively casts Greater Magic Weapon on Ar'tes's offhand rapier: making it +4; Fuori defensively casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-8 for 27; Zora hits Xorn-3, kills, cleaves Xorn-4 for 17/2, hits for 20/2, critcals for 74/2+25, kills; Ar'tas Opportunistically hits Xorn-4 for 18/2; Ben moves, casts Healing Circle for 20; Xorn-1 on Ben misses; Xorn-2 on Zora hits for 8; Xorn-5 on Jenna misses; Xorn-6 on Fuori misses; Xorn-8 on Ulfgar hits for 8; Beri casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-2 for 34; Jenna hits Xorn-5 for 9, 8.

3.  Ar'tas steps to Xorn-8,  hits for 13/2, 13/2; Ulfgar hits Xorn-8 for 24/2, 69/2, kills, cleaves on Xorn-6 for a miss, hits Xorn-6 for 24/2; Kes shoots Xorn-2 for 6/2, 8/2; Fuori defensively casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-5 for 22; Zora criticals on Xorn-2 for 75/2+14, hits for 17/2, 19/2, kills; Ben misses Xorn-1.  Xorn-1 on Ben misses; Xorn-5 on Jenna misses; Xorn-6 on Fuori misses; Beri casts Magic Missile on Xorn-5 for 21; Jenna on Xorn-5 criticals for 14, hits for 5.

4.  Ar'tas tumbles to Xorn-1 hits for 11/2; Ulfgar on Xorn-6 hits for 26/2, 26/2; Kes shoots Xorn-6 for 18/2, 3/2; Fuori defensively casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-5 for 23; Zora spring attacks Xorn-5 for 20/2; Ben on Xorn-1 misses; Xorn-1 on Ben  misses; Xorn-5 on Zora hits for 4; Xorn-6 on Fuori misses; Beri casts Magic Missile on Xorn-5 for 16; Jenna hits Xorn-5 for 8, kills.

5.  Ar'tas on Xorn-1 hits for 10/2, 21/2; Ulfgar on Xorn-6 hits for 26/2; Kes shoots Xorn-6 for 5/2; Fuori defensively casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-6 for 19; Zora on Xorn-1 hits for 14/2, 20/2, 18/2; Ben on Xorn-1 misses; Xorn-1 on Ben misses; Xorn-6 on Ulfgar hits for 8, 5; Beri casts Lesser Acid Orb on Xorn-6 for 21; Jenna on Xorn-1 hits for 8.

6  Ar'tas hits Xorn-1 for 11/2, 11/2; Ulfgar hits Xorn-6 for 63/2, kills; Kes moves to Blade Barrier, looks for other foes; Fuori reserves for anything else coming out of the stone; Zora on Xorn-1 hits for 14/2, criticals for 76/2+24, kills.

XP    900        Running total:    71,638

The alchemists believe that Xorn have no useful body parts.  They also have no treasure.  Cutting one open does not, despite hopes and anticipations, reveal a gizzard filled with platinum pieces.

The Blade Barrier will stay in place for two hours; we decide to wait it out, rather than hurt ourselves going through it.  All wounded people are healed back to full.

12:35pm  

The Hero's Feast benefit of Bless has now worn off.  We continue on down the corridor, and come to a door with no handle or keyhole.  Three's a plate instead.  Ar'tas waves his sap bythe plate: nothing.  Ar'tas searches around the door, nothing.  Ulfgar puts his gauntletted hand on the plate and disappears, is now in a 20' x 20' room with a small dragonish beast.

1.  Fuori questions reality; Ulfgar hits Ssvaklor for 13, 15; Ar'tas touches plate: nothing happens; Zora pushes on door & plate: nothing; Kes casts Detect Magic (1) there is magic; Jenna questions Ben; Ssvaklor hits Ulfgar for 12; Ben yells for/at Ulfgar; Beri questions Ben, touches plate: nothing.

2.  Fuori wait; Ulfgar hits Ssvaklor for 62, 24, 23; Ar'tas touches plate and someone else: nothing, listens but hears nothing, searches for magical trap but fails;  Zora touches plate: nothing; Kes pushes other people aside, (2) sees one magic aura; Jenna questions Ben; Ssvaklor hits Ulfgar for 13; Ben casts Dispel Magic on plate: knows that he didn't overcome the magic there; Beri waits.

3.  Ulfgar hits Ssvaklor for 22, 22; Ar'tas waits; Zora touches plate: nothing; Kes (3) strong magic; Ssvaklor hits Ulfgar for 14; Ben suggests his trying Greater Dispel, others counsel against that.

4.  Ulfgar hits Ssvakor for 72, kills.  door back to corridor and rest of group opens.  Kes determines that the plate is still actively magical;  so is the plate on the door at the other end of this room.  Ssvaklor are known to have a poisonous bite; the alchemists find a pair of poison sacs and save them.

XP  225        Running Total:    71,863

12:45pm  
We try having several people touching each other, while Zora touches the plate on the next door.  Zora disappers, is now in a 20' x 20' room with a large, blue monstrosity with multiple thick legs, two mouths.  

1.  Quaraphon Bully bellows for 4 sonic damage; Zora hits QB for 18+4, 14+2, 21+1; Ulfgar tries the plate: nothing; Ar'tes yells, "Touch the plate!" to Zora, who hears it.

2.  QB on Zora hits for 36, 11,11; Zora steps away, touches plate on her side of door: nothing, yells that; Ulfgar touches plate: nothing; Kes casts Dimension Door, for 5' forward, with Ben and Ulfgar: they appear between Zora and QB; Ben steps back, casts Heal on Zora.

3.  QB on Ulfgar hits for 38, 30, bloopers: drops weapon and loses rest of round; Kes tumbles away, shoots for 8+6, starts singing Inspire Courage; Zora steps in, hits for 18+1, criticals for 67+17; Ben hits for 5; Ulfgar hits for 23, 24, kills.  Door opens.  Kes keeps singing.

XP  225        Running Total:    72,088

Each set of teeth (one from each of the two mouths) can make a potion of Protection from Elements::Sonic.

Ulfgar and Fuori simultaneously come up with the idea of two people touching the plate together.  Ulfgar and Zora try this, but nothing happens.

Ulfgar suggests that Kes sing Inspire Competence at Ar'tes, while he "takes 20" on checking the plate on the next door.  That works, and Ar'tes learns that the magic trap is set to teleport whoever touches it -- except that all of the traps are linked, and once a person has triggered one of the traps, they can't trigger any others.  Once whoever touches the plate has been teleported into the next room, the trap remains inactive until one of the two combatants in the room is killed: if the original inhabitant, then the door opens; if the teleported entity, then the plate resets to teleport the next (eligible) person who touches it.

While nothing Ar'tes learned seemed to prevent the earlier idea of two people touching the plate simultaneously, Ben is concerned about not knowing how many rooms may be rigged this way, and "using up" group members -- who would be uneligible to be sent into the next room -- before the sequene of rooms was passed.  So we drop back to one person at a time, but with Kes standing by to use Dimension Door again, if  needed.

1:10pm  
Jenna touches the next plate, disappears and is in a 20' x 20' room with a large beetle-looking animal with a very large snout.

1.  Knell Beetle hits Jenna for 17; Jenna defensivesly casts Harm, successfully touches: Knell Beetle now has 3 hp.

2.  Knell Beetle sonically attacks Jenna for 45; Jenna hits Knell Beetle, kills.  Door opens.

XP  225        Running Total:    72,313

The Knell Beetle's horn will make two potions of Cure Deafeness.


1:20pm  
Fuori touches the next plate, disappears and is in a 20' x 20' room with a giant, armored, spiderish thing.

1.  Fuori yells "giant armored spiderish thing!", defensively casts Electric Orb for 19 plus nausea 1 round; Ar'tes hears Fuori and recounts what he heard from Fuori; Retriever beams Fire for 21, and Cold for 4, from its eyes.

2.  Fuori yells, "shoots beams from its eyes!", hits Retriever twice for 30; Ar'tes recounds the beams info; Jenna yells, "It's a Retriever: a construct!"; Retriever beams Electricity for 7, Petrification (but Fuori saves).

3.  Fuori hits Retriever twice for 21; Retriever hits Fuori for 15, 14.  Ar'tes doesn't hear any yells for help, so Kes stays ready but not jumping in yet.

4.  Fuori hits Retriever for 13, 13; Retriever misses.

5.  Fuori hits Retriever twice and kills it.  Door opens.

XP  225        Running Total:    72,538

Eye #1: potion of  Protection from Elements::Fire
Eye #2: potion of  Protection from Elements::Cold
Eye #3: potion of  Protection from Elements::Electricity
Eye #4: Stone to Flesh  lotion (equivalent to dust)

1:30pm  
The door on the far side of the room _has_ a handle.  (In the excitement, Fuori forgets to ask to have her wounds treated.)  The door opens onto a 10' wide corridor with light down the way.  120' later we come to a large room with statues holding up the ceiling.  We see an ugly dude sitting at a desk, "Ah, good," he says upon seeing us, "you made it.  And now you can take your turns in those rooms to await the next unwelcome visitors."  He reaches down and pulls a leve on his desk.

Jenna recognizes this as a Solamith: a demon, immune to Electricity, Fire, Poison; resistant to Acid, also resistant to Cold, but past that resistance extra suseptable to Cold damage.

1.  Ar'tes reserves; Beri casts Cone of Cold for 38 [does (38-10)*2=56]; Kes casts Gliterdust; Ben casts Bless; Zora spring attacks, criticals for 57+0, springs away; Solamith uses his claws to scoop out part of his flesh and throw it at the group: everyone takes 12 Unholy, 12 (or 6) Fire damage; statues are Gargoyles which now move and attack, on Zora for 9, on Ar'tes for 12; Jenna casts Fire Shield (Cold) and moves; Ulfgar flies up, G AoO for 17, charges Solamith, criticals for 102, kills.

2.  Ar'tes tumbles to G-1 and hits for 35; Beri casts Fireball(Enhanced) for 49 on Gs 2,3,4,7,8,9,10,11,12,14,15; Kes wands a Fireball for 14 on the same group; Ben moves to center of our group and casts Magic Circle Against Evil; Zora hits G-1 for 28+2, 30+5, 28+3; Ar'tes Opportunistically hits G-1 for 29; Gs hit Zora for 27, Jenna for 2, Beri for 1, Ar'tes for 3, Ulfgar for 11; Fuori casts Ice Burst for 29 on Gs 2,4,6,7,8,10,11,12,15; Jenna hits G-2 for 4, bloopers, drops weapon; Ulfgar hits G-15 for 23,69,22.

3.  Ar'tes hits G-1 for 21, kills, G-5 for 9,11; Beri casts Mordenkainen's Lucubration; Kes casts Summon Monster III for two Celestial Bison, which miss; Ben hits G-3 for 11,  8; Zora hits G-5 for 31+6, 26+3, 26+4; Ar'tas Opportunistic on G-5 for 30; Gs hit Jenna for 31, Ben for 11, Zora for 27, Ar'tes for 22, Ulfgar for 24; Fuori hits G-2 twice for 35; Jenna walks among the Gs, inflicting much damage on all that hit her; Ulfgar hits G-15, kills, cleaves G-14 for 99, hits G-14 for 28, kills, cleaves G-12 for 25, criticals on G-12 for 90, kills, cleaves on G-16 but misses.

4.  Ar'tes hits G-5 for 28, kills, then tumbles away, calling for healing; Beri casts Fireball(Enhanced) for 42 on Gs 2,4,7,8,11, also kills Celestial Bison; Kes casts Summon Monster III for three new Celestial Bison, who stampede across G-3, G-4, and G-7 for 12; Ben casts Holy Smite for 24 on Gs 3,4,7,8,11; Zora hits G-1 for 27+2, 26+3, 29+3; Gs on Ben for 8, Zora for 24, Fuori for 7, Jenna for 3 (they take 15), Ulfgar for 7; Fuori hits G-7 twice for 36; Jenna ges to Ar'tes, casts Cure Critical for 30; Ulfgar hits G-16 for 37, 103, 37.

5.  Ar'tes tumbles to G-13 and hits for 27; Beri cats Fireball for 39 on Gs 7,8,9,10,11, killing G-11, and also all three Celestial Bison; Kes uses wand to Fireball for 20 on Gs 6,7,8,10; Ben hits G-3 for 7; Zora hits G-1 for 31+5, kills, cleaves G-13 for 29+2, hits for 28+2, 27+1; Ar'tes Opportunist hits G-13 for 35; Gs on Ben for 4, Fuori for 2, Ulfgar for 3, Zora for 18, Ar'tes for 3, Jenna for 10 (they take 18 & 14); Jenna walks to Zora, casts Cure Critical for 42; ULfgar hits G-8, kills, cleaves G-3, kills, cleaves G-4, kills.

6.  Ar'tes hits G-13, tumbles away; Beri watches, Kes shoots G-10 for 7+1, criticals for 23; Ben shoots G-10 for 6; Zora hits G-10, kills, cleaves G-9 for 32+3, hits for 26+6, kills.

XP  900        Running Total:    73,488

Nothing on the bodies, including no useful body parts.  In the desk:
300 pp
3,000 gp
10 gems (average value 153)
potion: Endurance

Lots and lots of healing.  All but Ulfgar and Fuori are at full HP; those two are down 1.

Run stops here.

[Click HERE to see a map of the underground thus far.]