Tales from Sirac's Point, Session 8

Another week and another session. This one had some frustrating developments, all due to the dice. More on that later though, along with the session log.

Updated 3/14:

The session was a good one, but early on the dice were not playing nice for almost anyone. Some nights the dice allow you to perform near miracles, well this session was the opposite. Most to-hit rolls were barely successful, saving throws difficult to make and wandering monsters non-existant (a full day's worth of checks...got nothing!). The fight with the Living Statues featured creatures with Damage Resistance that Cregg's player correctly guessed could be overcome by blunt force. The players were plinking away at them the whole time when they could hit. The it got real bad when characters started dropping like flies. It wasn't the AC of the creatures that was so difficult, but the dice were mediocore at best. I guess it was one of those sessions where the players did everything right, but the dice just don't want to play nice...but it was frustrating never the less.

Solenus 20th, 5231 A.C.

The door across the hallway opened easily for Rak’Shan (much to the group’s surprise) into a room containing statues of a male and female warrior flanking a plain stone sarcophagus. Inside the door were also statues of gargoyle or demon-like creatures. Galeena was told to search the room for traps (Rak’Shan was still deafened from the grenades that killed the scarab beetles). She made a dramatic show of how dangerous it could be for her, but eventually acquiesced and entered, making a careful search until she felt it was safe. Wary of the statues, Flambo cracked open the sarcophagus finding another long dead body. Galeena made a search for traps around the stone box and determined it was safe, climbed in to check for treasures while the group went back into the hallway to wait for her, not wanting to overly disturb the dead. She found some potions, a bronze jug, a sum of silver and some gold coins. Rushing the pair of potions out to Vendee, she returned to collect the coins when the statues stepped off their bases and attacked.

The fight lasted a long time and during it, Rak’Shan, Flambo, Galeena and Autumn went down at various points. The creatures were taking the best the group could dish out but seemed barely phased by the blows. Vendee, not having much in the way of offensive magic at his disposal, hit one of the statues with an Enlarge spell, cramping it and making it difficult to move for the creature, but it still hit Rak'Shan a couple of times and in its larger state could reach Flambo. Cregg, taking Flambo’s two-handed hammer after he fell unconscious, discovered the creatures had a weakness against blunt weapons. Vendee dismissed the enlargement effect before the creature did any further damage with its increased reach.

The party began strategically retreating at one point, while trying to save the dying (and using an unconscious Flambo’s bulk as a natural barrier) and Galeena raced past the statues with one of the potions she took from the tomb. She tumbled past the statues, confusing them and jumped into the stone box, dragging Rak’Shan (who lay at the base of the box) with her. After several moments with the statues not responding to her replacing the potions, she stood up and said “now what???” to Vendee and Cregg. Realizing she was now in the box they were tasked with guarding, the statues simultaneously turned and swung, nearly cleaving Galeena in two. She fell limp back into the box and on top of Rak’Shan.

Mustering one last offensive, Vendee settled on using his Spellblade Weapon and Cregg hefted Flambo’s hammer.

Eventually, the statues were piles of rubble and a threat no more. Vendee, normally unscathed by combat, was even sporting some nicks and a bruise. Miraculously, all of the companions were alive, some barely hanging on, but alive nonetheless. Piling up the rubble that was the remains of the statues in front of the door, the group set to tending the wounded and resting.

Solenus 21st, 5231 A.C.

With everyone at least conscious, but some members (barely) walking wounded, they group stayed put, continuing to rest and tend the injured. Rak’Shan discovered his hearing had returned, probably sometime during his unconscious state. Magical healing was generously applied and the day was otherwise uneventful. Vendee studied the potions during the day and determined one was a Potion of Levitation and the other was a Potion of Growth. The bronze jug was discovered to pour fresh water endlessly when the stopper was removed and the jug tilted.

Solenus 22nd, 5231 A.C.

After doing their morning rituals and such, the group left the statue room, moving down the hall to another side door. In the distance of their bulls-eye lantern’s light, the hall ended in a large door or double door (they weren’t sure) but Flambo, Cregg and Rak’Shan (all Clerics or Cleric Subclasses) could feel some holy energy coming from the door. They noted it, but wanted to investigate any doors before they went the rest of the hall to make sure nothing came up from behind again, one member citing what happened to Lirus the Apprentice a few days ago.

Again, Rak’Shan opened the door easily. In this room was an obvious illusion of a young man in his teens. Dressed in the garb of a squire and the illusion followed the boy through flashes of his teen years, learning to fight and then as a young adult being inducted into the order of Apathos. As a middle-aged man they saw him lead virtuous warriors into battle against some undefined darkness or evil. The last image they saw was of the man, older, haggard-looking with streaks of grey hair and sunken eyes. The holy symbol now worn by them man was still of Apathos, but blackened and twisted. This last threw the group. The man looked alive, so it ruled out his being some powerful form of undead warrior.

They hypothesized he turned from his faith at some point, hence the blackened holy symbol (Apathos’ symbol is a Red Crown, sometimes on a black field). Flambo stated that he thinks things are not as they seem, as this place seemed more like a prison for something, or someone and not truly a tomb. It seemed like people of ancient times were especially keen on keeping this location secret.

Not finding anything else, they moved on. Down a different hall after they discovered an intersection, the nearby door they decided to investigate wouldn’t open for Rak’Shan. Flambo attempted to as well, yanking hard enough to get a crack open. Rak’Shan saw there was something barring the door on the other side…and a green flicker.

Busting the door in, the group encountered four skeletal creatures with green glowing eyes. One of the creatures, dressed in tattered robes and wielding a staff, gestured wildly and shot magic missiles at the group. Flambo drove the creatures back into the room with the power Vulknar. They didn’t have anywhere to go, so the fighter skeletons formed a defensive wall around the magical skeleton. Wounds were traded but the group prevailed after another long, pitched battle.

Among the useless weapons and armor one of the skeletons was found to be wearing a tarnished, but decent suit of chain mail. Rak’Shan’s insistence of going armorless has been a point of contention for other party members (namely Flambo, who heals him when Cregg cannot). Not seeing a hole for his tail and not wishing to wear what he considers bulky armor, Rak’Shan tried it on to satisfy Flambo. While the armor was indeed heavy, it sized to fit Rak’Shan to the point of forming a hole for his tail. Taking a chance on it not being cursed and indeed magical, Flambo took the armor with the rest of the group’s blessing and indeed, it enlarged enough to fit him as well as he pulled it on (with the light sound of links being forged and added).

A search was made and a secret door was found as well, leading to a small room with book-lined shelves and the remains of a table. Vendee, hoping the skeletal magic caster had a spellbook was disappointed there was none to find, but the group did find a scroll that was extremely fragile, but did not disintegrate when it was opened. The arcane writing was ancient, but Vendee could identify the scroll was magical and contained a spell of the First Circle, Burning Hands.

The Session Ended here, with the group making ready to go back into the hall and look for any other doors they may have missed…

Character	Sex/Race	XP Given	XP Total	Next Level
Flambo, Adept of Vulknar	Male Endu	1,385	5,550	5,850 (+10%)
Vendee, Arcane Veteran	Male Elf	1,510	5,919	8,100 (+10%)
Galeena the Mercenary	Female Halfling	580	2,415	3,800 (+5%)
Cregg, Adept of Tymira	Male Human	1,235	4,325	5,850 (+10%)
Rak’Shan the Monk	Male Tigran	1,260	3,489	3,800 (+5%)
Autumn the Mercenary	Female Human	580	2,236	3,800 (+5%)

Cregg has reached 3rd level!
Galeena has reached 2nd level!
Autumn has reached 2nd level!