"The Llamasu needs the azure jewel, and the other the dark onyx gem we need for the test." Talhdar says as they approach what hopefully is the labyrinth exit.

Shae says, "As I recall, once we give him the jewel, he's just going to tell us how to exit, not actually open an exit for us.  I have a feeling this isn't over yet."  She waits for the jewel to be put in the box to see what happens next.

You put the azure gem in the ancient box.  You hear the gem go down the chute and you ask the Llamasu to follow through on its promise to tell you the way out.

The statue of the Llamasu turns to you and says:

"This labyrinth is a test used anciently by priests.  They would send their subjects down here and then observe them get slaughtered by Manjab or the traps set up for their demise.  The evil priests watched some deaths from above, using the Onyx Gem to travel back to the entrance after viewing the violent deaths.  As previously told to you, there are 15 large rooms in this labyrinth.  Five of them contain viewing platforms used by the priests.  You must climb to a ledge where the viewing platforms are.  There you will find a secret door leading to a room with a dragon pedestal.  Touch the Onyx Gem to the dragon pedestal, and you will be sent back to the entrance.  The rooms you seek have domed ceilings marked with the symbol of the priests where the secret door is hid.  The rooms are dangerous, as my previous warning informed you, because they are all meant to kill unsuspecting acolytes."

Because of the disorienting sulfuric fog and your lack of understanding direction, time or distance as you travel, here are your movements so far.  You can retrace your steps and take a different direction based on this.  I am putting a Letter Next to each step that you can reference as to each opening/room:


A) Entry Room (octagon, domed roof) 30x30 - 4 exits
|
"North"
|
B) 10x 30 opening - 4 exits (facing lengthwise)
|
"Straight"
|
C) 10x10 opening - 2 exits on either end
|
"Straight"
|
D) 30x30 room - 4 exits/doors (flat ceiling, bones, words "IT" (right) "LIFE WATER" (left) "LEVERS?" (back) by doors)
|
"Left"
|
E) 10x30 opening - 4 exits (facing short side) (leather sack, skeleton hand)
|
"Right" (long end)
|
F) 10x30 opening - 4 exits (facing lengthwise) (silver ring on skeleton hand, cool breeze from left)
|
"Left" (short side)
|
G) 10x10 opening - 4 exits (breeze from right)
|
"Right"
|
H) 10x10 opening - door straight ahead
|
"Through door"
|
I) Room with Llamasu Statue

Making its way back to "G," the party heads straight ahead ("left" from the initial point that you entered) at the 10'x10' opening.

You enter the mists again, and when they part, you find yourself in a 10 foot square section of clear corridor with the mists filling the archway behind you (from where you entered), and another large and ancient door in front of you.

Carved in bas relief on the front of the door in several languages, including Common, Allevian and Ancient Allevian, are the words:

'KNOCK FIRST.'

Kahan will walk up to the door and tap his knuckles against the door a few times, standing back to see what happens. "Tahldar, do you know the knock spell? The note might be referencing it instead," the priest asks.

"Alas I do not." Tahldar replies.  "Let's hope we won't need a knock spell to get through this door."

Kahan knocks on the door.  Two things happen at once.  Tendrils of lightning-light electricity in pink and purple radiate out from his knock to the perimeter of the door, eerily reminiscent of the purple and pink lights you dealt with in the last test.

When this happens, the door opens inward of its own accord, allowing you to see within.

As the door is opening, the 10 foot square stone floor below your feet begins sinking.  You have no idea how far it will go down or what perils might present themselves if you allow yourselves to go down with the floor.

Meanwhile, you can see into the room.  The knock his caused a chain reaction that spreads around the interior room.

The room itself is 30'x30' square, with a 30 foot high domed ceiling.  About 20 feet off the ground is a small ledge running around the interior of the room.

But it is what is at the far end of the room that really catches your attention.  Two things hang in mid-air, surrounded by a purplish hue as though in suspended animation.  The pinkish electric tendrils spread around the room, reach out, and the purplish glow that holds them in suspended animation dissipates.

The object on your left is a very large chest, easily larger than the size of a man.  It falls about 3 feet to the ground and solidly lands without bouncing, as if full.

The thing on your right is much more ominous.  It is the stuff of nightmares, something you have heard about before--sometimes called the Eye Tyrant or Beholder.  It appears as a large orb, 6 feet in diameter, dominated by a central eye and a large toothy maw, has 10 smaller eyes on stalks sprouting from the top of the orb.  It shakes back and forth for a moment as if to shrug off its long wait in suspended animation, and then its eyes turn on you.  You become weak in the knees as you see the evil, intelligence, and belligerence conveyed by those eyes.

Meanwhile, the floor you are on is sinking, and if you don't jump into the room soon, you will find out what danger it takes you to.



OOC: FYI, I am using conversion stats from the 3rd edition for this beholder, so if you are relying on the relatively weak stats in the 2nd edition Monster Manual, you will very much underestimate your opponent.

Tahldar seems nonplussed by Kahan's knocking as they have been relatively safe so far in the labyrinth, but is immediately jolted by the movement of the floor and the horrible visage before him.

Springing into the room he shouts "KILL IT!" as he prepares a spell.

OOC: Tahldar will move into room and cast lightning bolt on the creature.  And hope we win initiative.  :)

Kahan will follow after Tahldar, attempting to avert his eyes while he casts a spell.

Shae jumps into the room, sidling to the left and around the wall toward the chest as she does so.  Although her enchanted ancestral spear is at the ready, she is chanting a spell, directing its effect toward the beholder.

(Casting Wall of Fire so that a 10 foot radius wall of fire surrounds the beholder.  It is opaque, so it should block all vision of the beholder from seeing the party, in addition to damage.)

While the beholder is trapped in the circle of fire, Shae will continue concentrating on it so it doesn't dissipate.  (Rule says it lasts as long as concentrated on or 1 round per level if not concentrated on.)

Lukas runs in the darkness of shadows to the right corner nearest the party.  His short bow is in his hand as he steadies himself for two shots into the center of the beholder.  He takes steady aim as he prepares the shots, hoping his small self and hiding in shadows ability helps him evade the vision of the beholder, and he will take advantage of the flames from Shae's flame wall if he can, hoping the arrows catch fire as they pass through.

Leo runs in, following Shae.  His blowgun is out, and he is loading it with a poison needle, hoping it might slow or help incapacitate the beholder as he fires, aiming for its large eye.

Borimer leaps into the room and right at the horrible thing from the worst of nightmares, slashing twice with the ebony Godslayer.

Apparently Borimer will be soon surrounded by Shae's fire wall too...

SOME STATS TO HELP YOU APPRECIATE THE FEAR YOUR CHARACTERS ARE LIKELY FEELING RIGHT NOW:

Beholder
LE Large Aberration
Init +6 Senses darkvision 60 ft.; all-around vision, Perception +26

DEFENSE
AC -6
HP 181 (19d8+95)

OFFENSE
Speed 20 ft.
Melee bite +14/+9 (2d4)
Ranged eye rays +16 ranged touch

STATISTICS
Str 10 Dex 14 Con 18 Int 17 Wis 15 Cha 16
THACo: 3

SPECIAL ABILITIES:

Include, but not limited to: Great Fortitude, Toughness, Improved Initiative, Improved Great Fortitude, Improved Iron Will, Dodge, Fly, Intimidate, Spellcraft

SECRET ABILITIES:
Eye Stalks: TBA

Donovan follows after Borimer, swinging his longsword.  He closes his eyes and uses his blindfighting skills to fight without looking at the beholder directly.

ROUND ONE

You begin your assault against the Beholder.  You gain initiative because it is still trying to get its bearings after being in stasis. (Note that it normally has a significant initiative bonus.)

Borimer and Donovan run forward while the others begin circling around.

Both Borimer and Donovan surprisingly hit the monster once each.  (37 total damage.)  One of Lukas' arrows finds its mark. (5 hp dmg.)  Leo's needle bounces harmlessly off its hide.

Tahldar casts a spell, and a lightning bolt flies from his hands, hits the beholder, and sears it.  (26 total damage - critical miss on saving throw by beholder.)

Kahan casts a spell and a vertical column of flame flies down onto the beholder.  (Yet another critical miss on its saving throw!  34 damage.)

Shae also casts a spell, and a wall of fire 20 feet in diameter encircles the beholder.  (Beholder takes 6 damage, Borimer takes 6 damage, Donovan takes 4 damage.)  (Borimer and Donovan will continue to take 2d4 damage while within the circle, and anyone within 10 feet of the fire, and anyone within 20 feet take 1d4 damage.  So far, everyone else is just on the edge of that and can feel the searing heat.  Crossing the fire will result in 4d4+7 fire damage. Lukas' arrows do not catch fire.)

Now the beholder, enraged and with long forked tongue splaying out, attacks back.  Note that the beholder gets 1d6 eye attacks while you attack from all sides in 2nd edition rules, or just 2 in 3rd edition, unless going into an Eye Ray Frenzy, in which it gets 4 eye attacks (Eye Ray Frenzy is initiated when it is at less than half hit points and happens every 1d6 rounds thereafter.)  I will be using the 2 attacks rule, plus central eye and bite.

You may target specific eye stalks once you see what they do.  (I am choosing half of the attacks randomly and half specifically for eyestalk attacks.)  NOTE that you cannot see what they do right now if you are outside of the circle of fire because it is opaque.

Attack 1: The beholder turns its central eye gaze on Donovan.  Donovan is unable to shake it and is dazed.  (He cannot move until the end of the beholder's next turn, at the end of round 2.)

Attack 2: The beholder also attempts to bite Donovan with its claw-like teeth but misses.

Attack 3: Unable to see outside the wall of fire, the beholder focuses its attack on Borimer.  Its first is a telekinesis ray, which slams Borimer back through the wall of fire and against the far wall.  (Borimer takes 14 points of fire damage by being slammed through the wall of fire.)

Attack 4: Able to only see Donovan now, the beholder turns a disintegrate ray on him.  Donovan feels intense pain.  (24 damage, saving throw made, so continuing 2d6 damage until another saving throw made.)

BEHOLDER
HP: 83 hp. (Goes into Eye Frenzy next Round.)

Borimer struggles back up from the floor, burnt and bruised, and then draws his bow and fires two shots at the hidden beholder.  He misses.

Tahldar looks at Borimer and is glad the man still lives.  Unable to see the beholder, and unwilling to charge through the wall of flame, the mage holds his next spell until the next available moment to cast.

OOC: I am assuming if the Beholder cannot see us through the flame, we likewise cannot see it.  I will hold my attack and cast magic missile the moment I have a clear target.  I will aim for the main body.  I get 5 missiles at my level.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:40, Mon 23 Feb 2015.

Kahan begins casting another spell.

Lukas continued to fire arrows at the, He aimed for the big eye as it was in the center of the creature and even if he missed the eye he still might hit it.  "So many eyes"

In reply to Tahldar of Tyrannia (msg # 182):

Is Tahldar casting mirror image?  You mention two different spells in your post.

I think he said images instead of orbs. Or he's confused and I don't know what he wants.

My guess is that he is casting mirror image first (while he still can't be seen), and then next round or whenever the beholder becomes visible, he will cast magic missile.

Keeping his distance from the firewall Leo tries to slide to a position behind the big eye concentrating on the noises of combat and whatever glimpses of the battle that can be seen through the fire, all the while continuing to distract with his blowgun as much as possible.  He takes a quick glance down at his primary dagger confirming it’s position in case the firewall drops…