A Skin for Dancing In (Session 303)

SESSION 303:  Further into the Snake Hole

Meanwhile a few weeks ago: A fall back and then a return culminating in a sticky mess.

 

Day 267 Continued IV (15.23 The below defiled Dwarven outpostàcamp): The fight with the skeletal naga emptied the tank for our hobos. It was time to rest. They didn’t trust this joint so back to camp they went. On the way out they loaded the first portion of silver into one of the empty chests kindly provided by the snakes.

A trio of wild boars were encountered on the trek through the snow. BoB was able to bag one for dinner. Providing a big smile for Steve the gourmand. Dinner was stellar and the evening was topped with an aroura borealis. Ding-We had a bad feeling about it but it turned out just to be pretty colours in the sky, maybe next time. 

Day 268 (14.23 camp to Liwil): Back to hiking through the snow. Fortunately Liwil was not all that far. Returning to town they b-lined for the Knight & Stone tavern and the three small rooms on indefinite let. Ris, the innkeeper greeted the ding-dongs and mentioned that she thought the gang may have forgotten the snoopy dweeb in town instead of taking him on the mission of exploring the lands. The wizard produced a sarcastic ‘ha-ha’. Biff clarified that it was no mistake. 

 

Day 269 (Liwil): Mason tended to the many lingering injuries as the gang basically sat around for the day to recuperate and warm their bones.

 

Day 270 (LiwilàDwarven outpost): The day was clear and they had not crossed paths with Felix yet. Ding-We cracked the whip, “Let’s get back to camp before something spoils the day”. Biff got a chuckle out of this. This time they brought a squad of Steve’s mercenaries that were stationed outside of town along for the hike. Getting to camp the mercs were given direction as the hobos made haste back to the once Dwarven temple and outpost.

Through the demonic gargoyle lair and hydra cavern they returned to the pillared chamber. It looked as not much more than bugs and other small things had moved in to consume the cold dead carcasses of the serpent-men. 

They returned to the wicked altar chamber and took the unexplored western passage. After a turn and then a long run the now damp and warm corridor terminated. A short run of steps dipped into a dwarven bath. The waters steaming likely fed by an unseen hot spring. Ding-We and Steve stepped in to investigate. Around this time the rear guards, Mason and Biff, felt a slight movement in the air but did not think much of it as all attention was on the steaming bath. The subtle breeze had been caused by a gaggle of gargoyles landing in the corridor well beyond the guards light range (whatever that was). 

 

The wicked things charged into combat. Three slammed into the blockers while somewhere behind in the inky blackness another hurled spells. The fight was a bit of a mess requiring a greater expenditure of resources than should have but it ended as they often do. Dead things with MurderHobos covered in gore looking for loot.

Back to the dwarven hot tub. The majority of the gang rolled in to find that waters were greatly refreshing. With time wasted a dungeon oft times gets irritable, having jerky hobos wallowing in its belly. The sound of marching could be heard coming. Once more something comes from the only way out. 

This time it was a half dozen animated crystal statues. Where they came from is anyone’s guess. Mindless automatons. Here to serve the dungeon by crushing any intruders. It did not work but I am certain the dungeon will not give up.

It was time to get out of this gun barrel of a corridor. They returned to the altar chamber and then went south. A long and winding passage that eventual presented a door or continuance. They choose the door. Inside was a mostly square 30’ x 30’ chamber. Mostly non-descript dwarven construction without adornment. There was pile of high quality rabbit pelts. Biff moved to stow these away as the rest of the gaggle moved to inspect the chamber. BoB found an odd stone 7’ up on the weird wall. Some fiddling later she pushed it open and the wall became a door into a small closet (10x10) that held two chests. “Loot for free!”, they exclaimed. It was not as easy as it seemed. First Mason divinely scanned for traps, “Nope. Nothing here”. Rhagnar rolled in. He went to the chest on the left. “Appears to have a lock. Let’s see if it is locked….Hey my hand is stuck! Ah an arm with a meaty fist!”. With a ‘Ka-tong’ the pseudo appendage was stuck to the shield. Steve rushed in to help, “I will kill it with steel!”. 

He did not and now is multi-tool was also stuck fast. The thing sent out another appendage getting Steve on the shoulder. It also stuck fast. Steve started cycling through his weapons, each in succession becoming stuck to the chest-thing. It tried to get Ding-We but a successful spin on his peg resulted in Mason getting into the sticky jamboree. It was around this time, when the thing seemed impervious to Ding-We’s spells, that they realized that firing into combat from range would be the only solution. Rhagnar, of course, caught the first volley. BoB was eventually able to bring the circus to an end. The thing lost its stickiness and oozed into a puddle on the floor.

“What the hell was that?!”, screamed Rhags.

“A bad chest”, was all Stevie had to offer.

“Try the other one. What could go wrong?”, came from Biff as he backed further away.

 

The D-Team: Ding-We, Rhagnar, Steve, Chung-Li, Mason, Biff & BoB

 

ROLECALL 

Hobo Steve the Lord (F9) 339875 xp +5% <360,001> CRT 1d24/V

            Brain Damaged: reduced mental capacity (tough night on the town)

Rahgnar the Dwarven Superhero (D8) 247098 xp <280001> CRT 1d20/IV

            Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)

            Critical Wound: disembowelled less able to process poison (-1 penalty)

            Missing thirteen teeth  

Ding-We the Peg-Legged Wizard (W10) 529123 xp +10% <620001> CRT 1d10/I

            Critical Wound: Left leg obliterated, runs at ½ rate (peg required)

 

            The Henchmen

Biff Bartley the Half-Orc Blackguard (HO7) 109529 <120000> +5% CRT 1d12/II

‘BOB’ the Deadly Shade (N7) 71726 <90000> +5% CRT 1d16/II

Mason the Lama of Yrrrg. (C7) 84859 <100001> CRT 1d10/III

Chung-Li the Myrmidon Warlock (E6) 109721 xp <120000> +10% CRT 1d8/II

 

RESERVES

Elapsed Campaign Time

(743b) days at beginning of session (Just outside of Liwil)

689a (Bunny Group Newville) Busy until 779

708d (Ding-We Gang Lake of Abominations/ Liwil)

 

Join us for session Three-Hundred-and-Four when we ask the questions:

What is in chest number two?

Is chest number two actually a chest?

How big is this joint?

Does anything actually live in this section of the dungeon?

Why can’t dwarves ever stop digging and building?

Tale of the Tape

With arcane protection Ding-We foils another curse – bummer.

KILLS

Boar 

Gargoyles (3) 

Maggog 

Crystal Statues (6) 

Mimic 

LOOT

10085 sp

94 ep

Gems (4): 10,50,500,50=610 gp

Cursed scroll

Rabbit pelts of quality (10) 50 gp each

Wait! These Ain't Orcs. Why is We killing Them? (Session 302)

SESSION 302:  Siege on the Gangrenous Pt. XXXIX – The Long Road Home Pt. III - 

The Long Walk in the Snow

 

Plans came and then they went so did our band northward to Liwil.

 

Day 290 thru 300 (19.29 Hob->14.23 Liwil): During the stay in Hob many ideas were formulated as well as pursued and paid for much to Raul’s chagrin but sometimes the road is circuitous. The final outcome came from talking to the right pair of very tall nomads with an ox. Bromus and Fescus were horse-folk. Tall and strong were these people that were another bit of legacy from the gene pits of the Crocodile Kings of many ages past. They were an odd pair but they were certain that Carrot, their ox, would be able to both carry the mountain of loot and Sasha’s petrified body through the deep snows to Liwil. 

During this time the gang also went to the local church. A place of ancient construction a well maintained, from a time when these lands were much more populated (Skeldrane Empire). Now it was a church of Yrrg and they were well received. It seems that news of their deeds had travelled from Helix. Brother Cliff was a patriarch in an odd place. There was also a paladin present going through the process of purification and spiritual grounding. He was of few words at this time as his prayers were tantamount. Back to Brother Cliff. He felt strongly that civilization would return to these lands and the presence of the ‘Heroes of Barrowmaze’ was just another sign to support this. Bro Cliff intently listened to our mob’s plan to build a new empire out of the wilderness. He gave blessing and some nice little helpers for the journey. 

The trip played out in their favour.

Perhaps Yrrg was in their court.

Sure there was a forest fire but they trekked  along the grasslands.

Forced to rest for a day due to heavy snows did not sink spirits.

There was also an earthquake but they were in the hills without worry of falling objects.

Yes they ran into a hobgoblin raiding party but they are just overgrown goblins, you would need a heck of a lot more to stop the hobo train.

Maybe they almost intersected with a bunch of rotten brigands but those guys turned tail and ran as soon as they saw the hobo horde.

The trip worked out very well. Perhaps that’s planning?

They rolled towards the gates of Liwil through the mining camp from where Felix made an appearance. “Well I have some questions for you all..”. They were happily distracted as Bromus and Fescus spoke up, “Our journey ends here. We will unload your goods and make camp around the outside wall. We shall be there until the wind calls us back to Eros”. 

After unloading they took final payment and made haste out of the cluttered shanty town outside the gate. 

“Well I wonder what’s new in Liwil?”, Boris mused as he once more set eye on something familiar for the first time in a long time.

“Let us find out”, was Raul’s simple response.

 

The B-Team: Boris, Ramrod, Raul, Sloth, Willy, Sasha, Wendul, Gurn, Katre, Herbert, Camillus, Lady Versamage & Skull-Crusher

 

ROLECALL 

Raul the Voyager (MD9) 280304 xp +10% <360000> CRT 1d12/III

            Fezzi-Gig (Neut: XXXX) Sword

Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -4, 

Removed one of his own nostrils.

Boris the Dwarven Lord (D9) 382229 xp +10% <400001> CRT 1d20/IV

Serious wound: permanent loss of CHA -3, carved up face

            Wound: Bad leg (-5’ MV)

            Multiple Injuries: lost 25 teeth (7 remaining), drools a lot CHA -1

            Serious Injury: Brain Drain -2 INT

            Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)                         

Ramrod the Cloned Magsman (T9) 189410 xp +5% <280001> CRT 1d20/II

             Serious wound: Bad Back (-1 stone CC)

            Scars: Neurological damage to hip, noticeable limp (-5’ mve)

            Missing eight teeth talks with a lisp

 

            The Henchmen

Sloth the Bopper (L8) 207225 xp +10% <390000> CRT 1d20/IV or 1d6/G (vs. s, m)

            Missing ten teeth

Sasha Plasha the Warden (R7) 130057 xp +10% <200000> CRT 1d10/III

Missing three teeth

Gurn Hammerhand the Dwarven Swashbuckler (D6) 36662 <70000> +5% CRT 1d12/III

Wendul the Magician (W6) 58370 <80000> 5% CRT 1d8/I

Camillus the Myrmidon (F6)  61551 <64001> +5% CRT 1d20/IV

Willy the Reformed Burglar (T6)  36758 <40000>10% CRT 1d14/II

            Agolloch the Eye of Purity (Lawful; XXXX) Sword

Katre Elf-Girl and Swordsman Conjuror (E4) 16881 xp <32000> +0% CRT 1d8/II

Lady Versamage Knight Errant (K6) 66654 xp <85000> +5% CRT 1d16/IV

Herbert the Master Gnome Trickster (G4) 16947 xp <30000> +5% CRT 1d8/III 

Skull-Crusher the Hellebardier of Crom (A4) 9921 xp <12000> +5% CRT 1d8/III

 

RESERVES

Elapsed Campaign Time

(733b) days at beginning of session (Far Southern Basilisk Hills)

689a (Bunny Group Newville) Busy until 779

708d (Ding-We Gang Lake of Abominations/ Liwil)

 

Join us for session Three-Hundred-and-Three when we ask the questions:

Wow, can we now say the Siege on the Gangrenous is finally over after a meager 39 episodes?

There. Right there is Liwil. What will we do next?

Are our chums in town (nobody likes Felix)?

Have we learned that Winter isn’t for adventure?

Have we learned that rather than trying to mooch everyone we meet for supplies we should have we should be manufacturing said things in advance?

Who was that large gang of individuals that appeared to be human?

Tale of the Tape

Things went rather smoothly, monsters seem to also be on Winter break.

Sasha is still a brick

KILLS

Hobgoblins (14) 

LOOT

5000 cp

2000 sp

2000 gp

Gems (3): 500,10,500 = 1010 gp total

Whacking Day Continues (Session 301)

SESSION 301:  The Loot Keeper 

There was the treasure they just needed to get past the guardian.

 

Day 267 Continued III (15.23 The below defiled Dwarven outpost): Beyond the fireplace door was a document room. It held treasure and a worrisome skin-map. Oh, also sitting upon the interior lintel was the guard “dog”. Well it would have been a dog if the bad guys had been brigands or something similar but this was an Ophidian lair so it was a skeletal naga instead. 

As Steve and Rhags (behind a tossed in light stone – thanks BoB!) entered the large hidden chamber the fighter’s spider-sense went off and foiled what I thought was a well set trap. Looking up the two tanks say a trio of fifteen foot snake bones topped with a hideous humanoid skull moving onto the ceiling. 

Stevie’s warning provided Ding-We, who was in the fireplace before the door to blast the chamber with a shot of undead mucking up radiance. The fighters then held the creature at bay as the wizard conjured up a lesser anti-magic shell for himself and those around him. Steve and Rhags fell back to enjoy the protection. The trio of snake-bones had queued up magic missiles (three each). It turned out that only three were real. “Mirror images” was shouted by someone other than BoB. The number of real missiles didn’t really matter as the magical barrier put an end to them. The serpent wasn’t a dummy, just dead, it sealed the hobos out with a thick and sticky web. 

This would provide some time to reassess how to deliver it duty of ‘kill all intruders’.

Steve activated his flamebrand but it would take some time allowing the dead naga some time to prepare. It moved back onto the lintel above the tanks and covered the chamber in darkness and silence. Busting through the webs hobos began rolling into the chamber once more. The darkness was quickly countered by the wizard but the silence lingered and was a limiting factor. The naga thanked the wizard by tagging him with its paralytic tail stinger. For a second serving it bit Steve brutally causing his flesh to turn black and begin to rot. The creature could not use any more of its potent magics due to the anti-magic so it attacked from distance from the ceiling as it spider squiggled about. The snake saw the wizard and cleric as glowing icons that must be destroyed even when rotting Steve was a bone breaking problem. 

Meanwhile Rhags bounced about. Poor little gaffer just couldn’t get to the fight. The anti-magic shell persisted, even as the fight dragged on. It became a game of attrition and the singular bunch of bones was going against an ofttimes effective murderhobo squad. Rhags finally got a hit in as he leapt from the mantle and finally smashed the thing to bits with his spear. 

Bone bits rained down but our gang were all business. Straight to the four large chests (10,000 coin capacity ~150 lbs). They did not appear to be locked nor did they glow under the scrutiny of Mason’s detect traps invocation. There were glorious contents in three of them. Rhagnar did not like what he saw and went to the empty chest and stuck his big dwarf snoz in and gave a deep wiff, “Dag nab-it! There was even more loot in here. Smells like gold and platinum residue” raged the Dwarf. There was some coin and a few items but the big take away was gems and jewelry. The jewelry was most certainly sourced from many years of human and adjacent races facing the atrocities delivered by the ever wicked snake-men. The wall hanging ‘map’ across the room providing clear evidence of such. It was clearly, very evidently, made from four human skins tanned, stretched and stitched together with great skill. Chung-Li, Ding-We and Mason stood before it taking in the details as the others rooted through the treasure.  

The map showed the local lands and it was up to date. Including our hobo activities as well other human, dwarf, elf and stirgi settlements spanning east and west of the blood river. Along with this there were many notes in the black language of the ophidians. Ding-We held in his concern as he directed Biff to roll it up and stuff it in his troll-head-of-holding. “I was keeping my lunch in there now yer gonna get human flakes on my peanut butter”, grumbled the blackguard as he rolled and stuffed. The wizard missed the quip as he dwelled in his thoughts, the map appeared to contain many worrisome artifacts of their activities and likely evidence that these serpent-men were more like a hydra than he would like to know. The ophidians want two things to destroy man and enslave the rest. 

After inventorying the loot the chests were reloaded and readied for transit. They were mostly convinced that a tactical retreat was the next step. We shall see what actually happens.

   Stevie receiving a headful of necrotic anti-life.

 

The D-Team: Ding-We, Rhagnar, Steve, Chung-Li, Mason, Biff & BoB

 

ROLECALL 

Hobo Steve the Lord (F9) 335303 xp +5% <360,001> CRT 1d24/V

            Brain Damaged: reduced mental capacity (tough night on the town)

Rahgnar the Dwarven Superhero (D8) 242526 xp <280001> CRT 1d20/IV

            Serious wound: permanent loss of an eye (-1 to missile fire)

            Critical Wound: disembowelled less able to process poison (-1 penalty)

            Missing thirteen teeth                       

Ding-We the Peg-Legged Wizard (W10) 524551 xp +10% <620001> CRT 1d10/I

            Critical Wound: Left leg obliterated, runs at ½ rate (peg required)

            The Henchmen

Biff Bartley the Half-Orc Blackguard (HO7) 107243 <120000> +5% CRT 1d12/II

‘BOB’ the Deadly Shade (N7) 69440 <90000> +5% CRT 1d16/II

Mason the Lama of Yrrrg. (C7) 82573 <100001> CRT 1d10/III

Chung-Li the Myrmidon Warlock (E6) 107435 xp <120000> +10% CRT 1d8/II

RESERVES

Elapsed Campaign Time

(733b) days at beginning of session (Far Southern Basilisk Hills)

689a (Bunny Group Newville) Busy until 779

708d (Ding-We Gang Lake of Abominations/ Liwil)

 

Join us for session Three-Hundred-and-Two when we ask the questions:

Is this secret chamber a good place to rest or are we leaving?

What about those southern passages (3)?

What would the smart decision be?

Are there more snakes?

Why do the snakes have so much information?

Didn’t we thwart the serpent invasion once already?

Tale of the Tape

Steve was afflicted with a horrid rotting fortunately a Lama of Yrrg was on hand.

KILLS

Skeletal Naga 

LOOT

3000 sp

1000 gp

Gems (30): 5,810 gp

Jewelry (22): 22,500 gp

Potion of Speed

Scroll: Protection from Elementals

Sword +1 Dwarven origin

 

63,000 sp (which has been piled for later collection no xp yet, still unclaimed)