Dis tha new thread!

The majority plan of action works for me!

Usopi will go first down the stairs dressed in his robes and circlet.

Osric follows Sir Usopi, Ghost Eye in hand but doing his best to conceal his powerful gleaming blade under his robes.

Was it possible to like... drape a robe and circlet over Gat’s head? It’d suck if he’s exposed to these monster things because he’s not a bipedal humanoid.

Not a problem. He's dressed to the nines.

OOC they wouldn't be interested in him anyway, but theres no way for you lot to know that.

Awesome! (even if we knew that I love the idea of dressing a dog up in the ceremonial robes of an evil religious order. XD )

Phew - that seems to have worked! Looks like they can't get close to us even without sacrifices. Let's hope it holds!

To be fair, it's no stranger than dressing up a she-wolf as an abbess of evil. XD

More seriously, does anyone's PC need that GREATER HEAL from Caith before rest IC?

I'm down 4 hp, but greater is 7 right? Don't know if anybody else is still wounded.

I'm down 2HP, so Greater Healing is probably overkill. Mind you, Brannon only has 8HP at the best of times. He's pretty squishy.

If that's the case, then splitting the MP down finer to cast three LESSER HEALING instead seems wiser to me.

No worries, and I'll sort that out OOC:

1xLesser Heal for Brannon (1MP cost, 2HP restored)

1xLesser heal for Usopi plus 1xPowder Dose (1MP cost, 3HP restored)

If anyone else needs healing up, say so now, or Alphail's currently best candidate for the last healing magic until High Moon as far as Caith knows.

Osric’s all good after your last ministrations thanks

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 13):

Deise was down one up, but has meditated and recover this (presuming this is ok).

Back to the game and tactics. I recall when many of us were in Ereworn, we were attacked by a magic user from a shifting black veil of darkness. I am wondering whether the shifting darkness in the hall beyond the giant throne is the same?

I am happy to lob in a flash pellet and then have a quick attack on anything that might be lurking in it and waiting for us?
What do folks think.

Happy 2021 btw to all of you.

In reply to Deise (msg # 14):

Happy belated new year to y'all too.

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 15):

Deise feel free to come in with Turren, if you're flash-pelleting, call as you do it, I'll blink.

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 16):

Thanks
If Deise hears or senses anything, he will firmly say NOW, then fling a pellet in the direction of the noise/movement.

The flash pellet is a good plan. :)
Happy 2021 to you all.

Also, my apologies for being slow in posting IC.
Real Life happens, and far too much of it at once for me to deal with all of it in a timely fashion.

Speaking as a player, if I were a powerful cultist of the dark*, I'd be looking to trick and trap any pursuers behind me. This situation looks like a trap to me.

So logically, the good news is that party has got the opposition worried enough to take evasive action. Got the rotters on the run now...

The bad news is figuring out what kind of trap it is before anyone sets it off.

Caith's brain is still loading up extra data processing capacity, please wait...


*Yes, whoever cast that veil of darkness on the hidden door was a powerful user of elemental magic.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 19):

What part is the trap - the side doors or the sealed door. Are you thinking that sealed door is a diversion to nudge folks toward the side doors?
Or is the sealed door the trap and the side door with hidden tunnel the way to go. All dust and no sign of prints near the sealed door. Reckon the cultist took one of the side doors.

Sir Turren's ready for a huddle when everyone else is.

I am inclined to agree with you on the sealed door being a trap, and the side tunnel being the way the likely foe went.

While Caith could think of ways to leave no footprints in dust, or even ways to leave a new concealing layer of dust over existing footprints, she can't argue with a still hermetically sealed door being an unlikely place to look for a fleeing cultist behind.

Otherwise she'd be asking Colm to take a hot blade to the wax right now.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 22):

Damn.
Giles incenerated
Brannon down & unconscious. Badly wounded.
Deise down badly wounded 0HP left

Careful people, this place may be full of traps! xD

RIP Giles. We'll see if Brannon joins you soon!

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 24):

I'm devastated!! Giles!!! "I'll go with you. May as well make myself useful." were the last words he said - and now this?! :(

(And the others - if you don't make it)
This message was last edited by the player at 08:31, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Life and Death is only a Dice Roll Away, as they say. In this case, a Speed attack roll and a hefty damage roll.

We've done well not to lose more people so far! The Roster of those Fallen and Apart grows longer...

EDIT: Boy, am I glad I took that Lesser Healing. It was the difference between nearly dead and actually dead there!
This message was last edited by the player at 09:11, Tue 26 Jan 2021.

Brannon was especially lucky in that only one beam hit him and all damage dice results were super low.

Yeah - Giles got 9d8-9 damage? And I got 3d8-3... so yeah, very, very lucky there!

What!? Oh $&@!

Damn damn damn! Poor Giles. He was a really good character!

Brandon and Deise - crap! Ummm let’s get you guys healed once we know what’s going on...

I really liked the Giles character too. That's a rough one.

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 29):

Get Brannon healed first, the amulet saved Deise. He’ll live to go another round (hopefully).
Wow that was powerful - it could easily have wiped out the entire party.

That is some rotten luck on the dice there Giles.
My condolences on your unfortunate PC's demise. :(

9d8-9 damage?
Shield wall time.
Caith may be mad enough to die for the cause of Clan Cernach and Glissom's fate, but she's not going down without a fight.

Yup - this is old school dungeon delving. Everything is potentially lethal!

I think we got lucky with the souped-up Obzidiak.

At least Giles died doing what he loved: investigating old scrolls. ;_;

True, though in the context of what just happened to Giles after messing about with a scroll unawares...

Well, you may understand why Caith might regard the two scrolls Colm just handed her as she might a pair of venom fanged live and angry snakes suddenly wrapped around her arm for a moment there.

Will be back in a bit, as I have to update some browser add-ons before the nagging messages from my computer will shut up.

EDIT: Technical difficulties turned out to be more difficult than anticipated. One complete system overhaul later, browser issue is fixed. Thank you all for your patience!
This message was last edited by the player at 04:23, Mon 01 Feb 2021.

(Is there anyway to get RPOl to send me a digest. That way I can keep Doron on the straight and narrow.)

In reply to Prince Doron (msg # 36):

Ok, Deise will check the door but with nearly been blown away by a scroll, he would prefer the company of a magical type as well a strong arm.

I'm there, sir!

Agree on the cunning magic folk.

Osric will accompany Deise

Leaf can stop (or at least lessen) tidal waves - and she can manoeuvre stone... I figure if we're planning on all going that way, it would be worth her checking the wall out?
This message was last edited by the player at 10:00, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

In reply to Leofwyn (msg # 40):

Does that also apply to ice. Given where we are, any water is likely to be frozen solid.

Is there any reason for anyone to stay back near the sealed doors? I figured we were pretty much all following with small scouting pty just ahead.

I thought the party were keeping a small gap between two groups investigating in case of sudden ambush/accident/apocalypse?

Everybody is whispering IC, so verbal communications between those ahead and those behind  are difficult if the party are trying to be stealthy(ish). Down to using gestures to bridge the gap, and those aren't much use in dim lighting conditions.

Caith has her own ways of silently communicating over the distance with IMAGE, but she always takes a damn good look around before she does so as she's a sitting duck while she concentrates.

K well while I'm covering our two scouts Caith, Osric G and I are likely right there next to you, or fore and aft, give or take. For now. If the time comes.

Are any of the lights/lanterns open flames in the group? Or are they all concealed like Deise's?

I believe there are two lanterns ( closed), one of the blue flame staffs( open) and a torch ( open)currently as light sources among the group.

Hey folks, sorry I haven't posted in a bit. Dealing with some real-life stuff, but I am checking in, so if something pops off I should be able to post attack actions and such. Until then just assume Gat and I are beside Doron as a personal guard.

So is Deise giving the potions to Caith, holding onto them or sharing them about?

In reply to GM (msg # 48):
Deise happy for Caith to administer.
She identified them.

GM, what are the walls and doors made of? Normal stone? Cos I could always "make" a hold in the corner so we could look in? That might not break the magic in the seal if the seal stays in tact?

In reply to Deise (msg # 49):

As a player, I thank you for that, and Caith is happy for the potions to go where they are needed. :)

The one she would most have a personal interest in for reasons of arcane balance is the dust. With the forge dust she already has in one hand, and their kinder sister in the other, the gifts of both flaming death and proof against flame in her grasp at once has a certain poetic justice to it.

However, as stated, who ever needs them most gets them, so if anyone feels that being fire-proof would be handy in the near future, say so now.

Caith is pretty quick on her feet already, so the 'potion of quickness' should go to who ever needs it most. IIRC, Usopi is not the fleetest of foot in combat, so it may be of most use to him?

The third one is of limited tactical use, to hide from foes in a retreat for example, but given most of the party are reliant on their eyes, may not be a great idea. However, anyone could use it, and it is akin to Deise's professional talents IMHO.

And as a player, the two scrolls Colm brought from the library are useful ones to a sorcerer, the first being of a healing nature, but the second of them is a spell that Caith only knows of from hearsay. It's not a crowd friendly one.

Certainly. Yeah, just grey granite mostly.

Mighty fine plan! This whole earth elementalist raw power caper is pretty darn handy!!!

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 29):

Another death in party? Killed by scroll I guess it’s those scroll that traps a magical spell within that activates when looked at?
This message was last edited by the player at 11:28, Sun 21 Feb 2021.

Yes it was a major downer... very well realised and very well played Character... I guess the Tagline holds... life and death really are only a dice roll away...

Also showed just how powerful Deise’s amulet of sovereignty over violence is...


In a tabletop game of that other rpg beginning with D the sheer gasps of terror from the players when I grabbed a handful of d6s as they got zapped by a lightning bolt was pure terror... (they all made their saving throws...) but they learned a new respect for evil wizards and trying to put em down first... *insert evil laugh here* :-)

Poking a hole in the material of the physical barrier rather than breaking the seal is both a fair plan, and a good example of lateral thinking. :)

Raw power has a lot of potential over fixed rote learning of spells when it comes to versatility in spellcasting.

Don't mind Caith's worrying over the possibility of meeting the big fella's gaze unawares.

She's just trying to think up a contingency plan to deal with that if it happens, given as far as she knows, those particular eyes have been closed in slumber since the time of the bronze chest's invasion.

Caith has past reasons to be nervous of scrolls as it is, but has already castigated herself IC for not listening hard enough to Giles and his words in warning before it was too late.

And as far as fun with fifth level mages goes, there is no alignment check for a mage in learning lightning bolt or fireball, but it often feels as if there should be the way some allegedly LG PCs use them in game.

Not that I haven't burnt down a few taverns myself in my time as a gamer, but in my experience, it just encourages GMs to make 'retired adventurer' tavern-owners in response.

OK, so Leaf hs checked the southern door and can do the same for the western.  Is anyone wanting to scout out the two deep passages ( south and north)?  Or are intrigued enough by the content of the room described by Leaf to want to head in there?

Osric will have a look at the deep passage to the North

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 58):
Happy to join the big man. Little and large.

Sorry to be THAT person. But would it be possible to get a quick sketch or basic summary of all the options? I'm getting a bit confused with all the North, East, South, and Wests.

Brother from another mother...

Ok.

Current room:

- west doors ( sealed)
-southern doors ( sealed with peephole next to them)
- eastern door ( unsealed - party entered here)

Inside Big Bronze cube within current room:

- tunnel/corridor sloping down south.
- tunnel/corridor sloping down north.

Room that Leaf just looked into:

- southern doors ( sealed)
- staircases/upperward sloping corridors NE and NW.
- northern doors ( sealed with peephole next to them)
- Pool of dark liquid ( possible exit?)

Shall I check the Western door, too? Before we choose a direction. Or shall we go ahead with the Southern sealed door. Leaf will just make the hole bigger.
This message was last edited by the player at 05:01, Thu 25 Feb 2021.

I’d say the recon is worth the MP cost but up to you.

In fairness, Colm made a damn good point about checking for trouble behind the party, but equally important, the mission as I understand it, is to find and return the Hearthflame and Doron's kinsman asap.

Preferably while not dying in the process, as noble birth or not, the party also needs to survive getting out of here and back again, and that's far more likely an outcome as a group.

So make haste with caution is the plan, contradictory as that may sound.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:40, Sun 28 Feb 2021.

Somewhere in the world it’s GM appreciation day. Now we could view this with some cynicism as a “Hallmark holiday” or perhaps a “DrivethruRPG” sales spin... but let’s all embrace the spirit of the day and say “Thanks Bulya! Thanks for being our eyes and ears and arbiter of all things in our quest for adventure!” and perhaps add “puhlease don’t kill my PC!”

Here Here! Still one of the best parts of my evening is peeking in here and risking Turren's life. Thanks GM.

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 67):

Nice touch
Add my name to that. Appreciate the lengths you go to Bulya

They have a specific day for that now? Cool! :)

That being so, I fourth the motion to appreciate the continuing efforts of Bulya in carrying on a splendid tale of adventure and mystery and run a great DW game into the bargain.

I do not expect the above statement to be taken as any sort of special pleading on behalf of my PC though, even if it is a truthful opinion on the matter. XD

Aw Shucks.....

My pleasure, Ladies and Gents.

Absolutely agree with you guys! I have had MANY a GM, and none of them even come close to the creativity, attention to detail, the magnitude of what you have done for this game.

Outstanding work.

5 stars would rpol again.

Whoops - arriving a little late to the "GM appreciation day"! But, yes - thank you, Bulya! You're running an awesome campaign here, and the effort you go to to make it work so well is really appreciated!

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 72):

Hi folks. There is a lot of focus now on the King. I’m wondering whether this is wise? My thinking is that the King or an apparition of the king is being sent out to attract our attention while we are attacked from the North and South.

Thoughts?

Agree. That’s why Osric is watching everywhere with Ghosteye hopefully giving him vision of any hidden attackers...

Likewise why Turren isn't moving in but listening to Caith and Deise's advice. I am interested however to see if the rolling apple makes it to the king before Brannon and Doron do. The real reason Turren is scanning from the north door to the king to and fro. Like the baby pram scene at the end of the Untouchables. :O

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 75):

Thanks gang. Look it might be the king if real if so grand. But at least we are watching for an attack from S and N also.

No it's not, but unfortunately, he's also one of the two primary mission objectives.

I'm just glad someone is watching for trouble from directions other than the old man.

Sooo what's the going death penalty for Regicide around here? Fast I hope.

*Points at Doron and Brannon...*

Technically, they'd be the people to ask that one.
But if that isn't the King, then it isn't Regicide, just the usual Murder charges.

I don't know if extenuating circumstances apply under Glissom law, and tbh, I'd save any worry over that small legal issue if the party survives, as morally speaking, the PC's have done everything they could think of to not commit accidental regicide.

Everyone heard Doron say 'that's not my uncle' right?? haha

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 80):

If Doron reckons that's not his uncle, then it isn't regicide.
May not technically be murder either.

At the very least that's one mission objective located.

Well, it looks like the regicide issue is moot. If that was the King, he's definitely dead now...

oh boy is he.

I don't know if there's someone specifically who needs to healing potion, like if Caith is unconscious or something. Aphail also took a lot more damage relative to hit points I'm assuming. I'm at 4, but remain conscious till -3, so really I've got 7 health left.

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 82):

Indeed.

Good luck to those still standing, and as a player, I hope Brannon's notes were in a darkness proof container, and my apologies to you if they weren't.

Oh my goodness!!

I have no idea what everyone's health is like, is there anyone who is unconscious?

**edit: as it will affect how I write my next post.
This message was last edited by the player at 11:29, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

In reply to Usopi Venia (msg # 83):

Give me a moment to check the numbers again, but I suspect Alphail may be slightly worse off than Caith healthwise.

Anyone seen the arrow he shot around? That's rather important to his survival chances too.

There's a Healing potion on Caith, assuming it survived that lot, Colm knows which bottle it is as it's one of his own making.

Got to go check one of Caith's items myself, but I'm not sure it works fast enough to be useful here.

Caith is Unco on -1.
Alphail is also Unco on -2, but needs that lucky arrow of his back ASAP as well.
Doron fell down, but I don't know if he's Unco or flatlined or just slipped over into the murk.

So, Health potion to Caith to get our big healer conscious, then off to find Aphails arrow while other people focus on keeping him alive? Or health potion to Aphail, then off to find his arrow while Aphail/Colm dig out Caith's health potion and administer that one to herself? (My assumption is Doron has more than 6 hp when he's full, though I could be wrong.)

I'd vote Caith a mega-priority. The more healers up the better. Turren will go 'meat and greet' at the doors as soon as he's aware we have incoming guests. Maybe buy the healers some time at least. So I'll post IC after Deise.

Either way works for me, and thank you kindly, but getting Alphail back on his feet faster allows him to look for the arrow as well.

There's company at the door in front of the party to deal with, and Getting Doron Out Of Here Alive just replaced Find The King on mission priorities, but there's still the Hearthflame to locate.

Osric is down to 9HP.

Does Osric know that Aphail needs the Quarrybolt?

We better get Caith back on line asap.

Why does this feel like we're a squad in Ramallah who just hit an IED and the insurgents are now swarming towards us with AKs and RPGs...

Bloody 9 Evasion - 9 I say! And like Maxwell Smart - missed it by THAT much... life and death really are just a ...
This message was last edited by the player at 12:39, Fri 12 Mar 2021.

I second Osric's question - would we know anything about the quarrybolt? Would he have shared of it's power around the campfire?

Is it the same one that Turren gave him as a wedding present?

In reply to Leofwyn (msg # 92):

GM - would it be possible to get a description or diagram as to where we all are currently (post explosion/pre entry of our enemy into the chamber)?
Thanks

Are we in combat rounds? Or still in free play? Does Brannon have enough time to look for his pack, get the healing balm and bring it to Doron before combat begins?

https://photos.app.goo.gl/JfiFydLtKebuomTh7

Still in combat rounds as Aphail has one rounds worth of time before he's dead.

Right? We're all awake now!

This is epic. Could just see Osric taking that blast, no shield, and not dropping. Like the 'Ain't Got Time To Bleed' moment in Predator type thing.

Can't wait to see what tries to eat us at the doors.

It's just one set of doors right?

Edit - saw map, ty big help one set, got it!
This message was last edited by the player at 01:26, Sat 13 Mar 2021.

I think he's mentioned it as his tie to his Goddess a few times.

No, thats a different arrow this one he had to make himself.

In regards to this.

Who has Usopi decided on?

Sorry, I havn’t had a chance to post today. I’ll be able to get one up in the next hour or two.

If you need a choice before then, I’ll go with Aphail to ward off the loss of health for not having his arrow and let the others find the health potion in Caith’s bags.

In reply to Usopi Venia (msg # 100):

All good....it'll be a while before I post.

In reply to GM (msg # 101):

Thanks for he map, big help.
Might be a good idea to move Aphail and Caith to the side near a statue, sittings ducks in the middle of the chamber.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:51, Sat 13 Mar 2021.

Thank you for the map, Bulya. :)
Caith may not know where she is at the moment, but at least I do. XD



Thank you for the assist to Alphail. :)

Likewise, my thanks to Leofwyn too.

And I quite understand Osric's IC reasoning under the current circumstances.

Can I clarify - are the new baddies coming from the same lead-lined door that the king came from? Or are they coming from where we came from?

Because if we needed to retreat, we could always go back through the hole we came through, and Leaf could close the hole - therefore trapping them behind the seal?


(also, who else didn't know it was St.Patrick's day - until they saw the green theme here! Hahah)

Yes, from the north doors, thats why Deise spotted them first.

In reply to Deise’s OOC, and for clarification from the GM, are the dead baddies already in the chamber with us, or are they “at the door”? It sounded like in the chamber, but I wanted to be sure.

If they’re in the chamber, than we at least need to hold them back until we find Aphail’s arrow, at which point we can decide if it’s better to hold ground or fighting withdrawal to the stairs.

How many people could stand side by side along the width of this room? If it’s narrow enough we could just make a tank wall with all our tanks and have the squishy types provide support from behind the wall.

Crowding through the gap currently, ' on the threshold '.

Chamber is much smaller than the massive one at the top of the stairs probably about 30' across.

Gat is indeed still standing at the base of the stairs....he doesn't seem overly keen to re-enter the chamber.
This message was last edited by the GM at 00:41, Fri 19 Mar 2021.

True, and I thank you for the thought, the spotting of yet more trouble at the door, and the covering fire as well.



(Happy belated St Pat's Day to all, and it's always green to me.
Easier on my eyes than the usual forum colour scheme.)

That is a good plan in principle, but I'd hold off on it for the moment, mostly because the party are still looking for the Hearthflame, and the door trouble is currently coming through in game is an unsealed one.

Speaking of trouble, fair's fair, the party did locate what appears to been the mortal shell of Doron's Uncle trying to go that way. Nothing that remained of it could be safely taken home and mourned over by his weeping kin though. Can't be helped, even if the consequences must yet be dealt with.

So not only do the PCs still have to find and return the Hearthflame, they must also attempt to keep Doron alive, healthy and hopefully sane enough to testify before his peers. Given the lad in question seems to have heroic intentions, that's not going to be easy.



If Brannon is currently dealing with Doron's medical support, and Caith's on backup duty to the frantically arrow seeking Alphail, then keeping the next wave of trouble pinned in the doorway is a wise strategy.

The broken statues do provide some cover for the heavy brigade falling back if need be, and the squishier but still well armed party members peppering the incoming foe with a missile assault from the sides.

And while I know Usopi has a number of things that keep him going 'til he drops, and Doron hopefully has more Health than 7 points to his name...

Seriously, Gat may have a better idea about this situation than anyone on two legs in the party does. So best prepare for a fighting withdrawal, just in case. If it helps soothe any knightly qualms in character, just think of it as still holding the line, but while also slowly drawing the enemy's forces into a wolf pack's jaws.

Yes I think that dog has more common sense than the rest of the party!

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 109):

Having slept on this, I have the following tboughts:
1. Our goal must be near if we have just met the King, so press onwards,
2. We have to my reckoning left three options behind us, (Room south-sealed, stairs south, small tunnel), so ee could try one of these if we escape. But in reality are they likely to be less dangerous than where we are?
3. We have not yet noticed the famous black star room. Given that Drajan specifically warned against it - maybe that is where our goal lies.
4. Smoke smelling of insense is emanating from the northern doorway. Is that from the hearthflame.

Oltions:
We press forward taking the fight to the dead, or tactically retreat to stairs so that a small number could fight them in a narrow doorway.
Either way we have to fight, so where? As GM pointed out room is 30m wide - not great ootions.

Agree with Deise.  If we can hold the door back the undead let’s do that.

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 111):

Hold the door
Ranks of dead

GOT undertones

Hold the door would be best for now until we can get triage done for the party. After that, we could arguably just make a line in the middle of the room. If it’s 30m wide, and we’ve got Uthen, Turren, Osric, Usopi, and Doron as armored front line types, we’d each be responsible for 6m of ground space. A wall that size might let us maximize our damage output and target selection while also letting the ranged and magical types have clear shots from behind n potentially more than one hostile at a time. Though the success of that plan probably depends on exactly how many baddies we’ve got coming.

In reply to Usopi Venia (msg # 113):

GM: while Deise senses growing movement, does he sense how big the threat is a dozen or a hoard).
Also by dead - skeletons/zombies or other types ?


Way back when we were in Ereworn, I recall some suspected that our enemy back than May have been a necromancer of some sort.

Hodor! Hodor! :-)

It really should be called Uncommon Sense, but I guess that's why it's up to the commoners to have it, particularly if the nobility tend to short of it.

To quote from IC Caith-Shortly-Before-She-Got-Her-4th-Wolfskin but on the current situation in-game...

"You're quite right Gat, it's him that should be on a leash, not you!"



On 1. I am in total agreement. Forward is better than back in this case, but a little way back may prove wiser if holding the trouble at the threshold back turns out to be more difficult than anticipated.

On 2. Not going to be opening any unsealed doors, not if the party has other options available.

Stairs up seem to be an unwise choice, what with a mysterious glowing pool of dark liquid to contend with on the way as well, according to Leaf's investigations.

Tunnel seems safest of the three options, but even that may prove unwise to investigate too closely. I concur that Everywhere here is dangerous, and there is no safety but what the party make for themselves in this place.

On 3. Not so far, it seems, but I wonder why the old general's ghost warned against it?

Most restless spirits of the good sort in the tales simply want putting to rest, but hang about moaning about some task left undone that binds them to the world of the living, and mostly unintentionally scaring the wits out the living in the process.

What is in or about the chamber of the black star that so frightened even a dead warrior of apparently dauntless courage in life to warn against anyone else going there now?

It's not like the empire the old general's ghost served in life were particularly welcome in Glissom at the time, them being seen as military invaders from a far away land, and certainly not as any kind of naturally superior culture to the locals.

Get a lot of wanna-be invading tyrants about the place in Glissom.
They don't usually last long. Place has unusual hidden defenses against that sort of thing, on top of the local folks traditional resistance to being told what to do by outsiders.

What was that old general seeking here in life?
The party were looking for the old king, a good reason to be here, and for the Hearthflame, another good reason to be here.

But those are recent events, so it must of been something else drove Drajan on to the mountain maze, even after all the rest of his soldiers perished getting that far.

Could be that's the way the party needs to seek, but could be that it's not. We shall just have to see how things go in game.

On 4. It could well be, and that could be the way to go. If the old king's body was sent out to 'greet the visitors' then I'd say the party might be getting warmer on the second mission objective as well.

Somewhere in this place - or so the Gods of Glissom in the form of a great white owl implied on the night of the Spring Festival some time ago - is the murderous traitor to Glissom who set this whole tangled mess in motion. If that was the old king, Doron's uncle, then why are further forces of darkness arriving now he's finally been laid to rest?

I contend that there is still yet a darkness cultist, most likely some kind of spell caster still loose in the mountain's chambers, and that they are almost certainly up to no good for Glissom's future, or for anyone else's future for that matter.



There's only one way to find out how many foes there are to deal with under the current circumstances, and that's keeping cutting them down without any of the party dying in the process.

Caith still has a nasty trick or two up her sleeves for dealing groups of foes, being a recently gained scroll, or a bottle of Forge Dust collected back in Ereworn, but neither of them work well with other party members in the area of effect, and the less efficient second option requires backup fire support to work.

Fighting withdrawal is required for either of those plans, so I'm totally OK with Caith concentrating on getting the party back up and moving for the moment.
This message was last edited by the player at 01:34, Sun 21 Mar 2021.

Sorry I'm late to the conversation. I have an IC post written out, but I wanted to make sure it's something you're all interested in.

Leaf (using raw power) could change the size of the bottleneck. That way we could stem the flow to a trickle, and hopefully take them down one by one? Alternatively, she could close the gap until we've healed enough to reopen it again?

I agree, though, that forward is the best option.

Doors are bronze/iron...but the floor/ceiling is stone.

Oh! That's helpful! Thank you!

Hey are u guys doing the prince of darkness scenario to rescue the fire? Or u guys cleared that and moved on already? Hehe
On a side note hope everyone doing well in the pandemic

In reply to Toirneach Lann (msg # 120):

Leaf, sounds like a super-good idea as usual, I'll try to stick in the middle of the opening!

Toirneach - the former, yet to emerge safe. Work in progress!

That's definitely a more useful idea than blocking it off completely. :)

If, as Bulya says, the floor and roof of the room are made of stone, then perhaps Leaf could pull a defensive wall up out of the floor in front of the doorway, up to half the door's height?

The enemy would have to climb or leap over it rather than rushing in, and it would also give some cover to the rest of the party as well, to both heal and fight from behind.

If a low stone wall is out of the question, then perhaps some stony spikes from the ground right in the doorway might help slow the foes down?

Can Leaf turn damp stone to squishy mud? Bogging them down may be better than stabbing them in the feet in slowing them down.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 122):

Leaf can make bogs, but it's a small area of effect, for more MP. If the wall doesn't work, she could do that later.

Very clever plan! Have at it!

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 121):

Cool! Stay safe everyone

Bear with me, busy week.

I hope you're bearing up under being busy, and no worries, as RL is always a priority above all imaginary priorities.

Great work Leaf! I’m starting to think you may get MVP award for this Nem chapter...

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 128):

Mighty stuff Leaf.
By my count we have 23 dead among us.
Deise will fire his four remaining arrows, while covering Aphail/Brannon/Prince
But one arrows are gone it is then down to knives, but that’s it then.

What are we doing folks?

23! Oh crap! Deise must be seeing stuff we can’t see.

Okay can we retreat in an orderly fashion to the passage we entered from and hold that so they can only come at us one or two at a time?

Maybe Sir Turren could stab from the second rank? There’s rules for that isn’t there (although if we have two giant 7 footers in the front rank that may not be feasible).
This message was last edited by the player at 22:45, Tue 30 Mar 2021.

23 is the right count for how many got over the walls, but at least the first two were charred and twitching. Guess it depends if the last dozen that came over also got hurt or if they got over clear.

Even so, with 23 undead, even if they're weakened, it might be a good idea to start pulling back. We might be able to hold the line here for a round or two so the squishy folk can pull back.

The stairs we'd climb to pull back would take us to the room with the large cube correct? So we could maybe close that on them?

regardless, we're definitely not going forward this way even once these 23 are taken out.

Agreed on fighting retreat. Perhaps able fighters make a wall, at least till we reach Leaf and the wounded. Then find the next bottleneck or run.

If we go back exactly the way we came, the hole that Leaf made earlier should still be there. (If we want to go back that far)

In reply to Usopi Venia (msg # 131):

I would back us to take the 23 among us (unless they are super zombies). The question remains how many are behind the wall.
A fighting retreat to the stairs is sensible so that we can narrow their attack options. I am cautious about retracing our steps further.
We have gotten this far “forward”. We met the king, have seen incensed smoke and now have a board of the dead coming. Everything stacks up that this is the endgame of close to the endgame.
I think we stand and fight (albeit in the stairs) then we find a way to press ahead. Cannon Brannon do priestly things to bansh the dead back to the pit?

I see where you’re coming from, but an alternative explanation might be that the king was just an image used to lure us into trap range (so that the real king might still located elsewhere). The horde of undead might be one of the last lines of defense before the end game, but it could also be a localized and/or temporary summoning of some kind set to go off with the triggering of the darkness trap.

I’m all for sticking with this route if we figure out how to clear the zombies out, but there’s a LOT of temple we haven’t covered before we absolutely HAVE to commit ourselves to fighting an unknown but definitely vast number of undead.

So like, fall back from the undead but in a different direction to our precise route on the way here?

Known facts to consider:

That wasn't Doron's Uncle, King Durinar, at least according to Prince Doron, and out of all the PCs, he's the one who has the most familiarity Durinar previously.

Therefore the PCs are still looking for the old King of Glissom in the temple. Yes, I realize this isn't the most cheerful of prospects to contend with, but I guess it's better than regicide and a dead Uncle.

Caith will be bloody pissed off at being tricked with an IMAGE, but unfortunately, even she knows that illusionary magics are extremely difficult to see through, even if one has such trickery at one's own disposal.

IIRC, even being able to see enchantments won't work on telling an ILLUSION from real in DW if the one doing the looking doesn't make the roll to spot it.

It seems unlikely that the 23 frozen fellas are an ILLUSION if they crisp on contact with a Flamewall though. It also suggests to me that while they may be frosted over, they aren't fireproof undead, for which I am grateful.

Brannon may be able to stop them in their tracks by invoking Brigantia, as the best Caith can do is set a lot of them on fire.

So if it's a matter of checking '...And every doghouse and outhouse!' in the temple for Durinar, then the party are pretty much stuck with exploring everywhere else they can get to before taking on an unknown number of undead that may still be behind the doorway Leaf has shut with stone.

There's still the matter of all those dead guys currently advancing towards the party to deal with before that though. :(

If the PCs are falling back to the stairs, then there is the possibility of using further fire based attacks against the 23 or possibly 21 remaining foes still present.

As to where to go if the party retreats from the current chamber they're in?

I believe Caith has already made the case for not opening any sealed doors here, on the grounds that's not a great idea to go poking around in what the ancients sealed away. Also, logically speaking, how on earth would the kidnapped King or the Hearthflame now be behind a door sealed many years ago?

I suppose it's possible the King's body may be in that pool of darkness with the mauve aura, or it's some kind of portal under the liquid?

Could be worth checking the other stairs down, but as Deise has pointed out, strong resistance after the appearance of a fake Durinar and incense smoke suggest the party are probably in the right place.

There's a niche upstairs as well, opposite the library entrance. No idea what to make of that, but if the party is going to be checking everything else, that's another area to check again.

However, I have one question for Doron OOC, and that's would you settle for a LESSER HEALING for +2 Health at the cost of 1MP of Caith's rapidly diminishing Magic Points rather than a slightly wasteful GREATER HEALING for +7 Health and 3MP?

I'm asking as a player OOC as it would take two castings of LESSER HEALING to fix 4 Health damage, but it's still cheaper in MP cost by a point.

Brannon can exorcise demons, but he can't do anything against undead, unfortunately. :(

I just spent a while reading back to confirm that my memory as a player was wrong about it working on undead. Sorry for giving anyone the impression it did. That would be me thinking it was like a D&D priest power, not the DW priest power. :(

Which means the shadow creature Brannon told to go away earlier in game (In the mountain pass section) was some kind of demon... :o

No worries! xD

Exorcise has a narrow utility (and some significant risks!) but when it works, it pays off in spades!

Okay so we can fight these shamblers as we back up. Make a new bottleneck if necessary. Which way would everyone like to explore next, that's the real question? I assumed that was the king possessed before, but I am guilty of watching The Evil Dead and Season of the Witch more often than I probably should, and maybe that trickled down into poor Turren's psyche. Either way, where to?

Yes it certainly does, and and I know you're not joking about the risks involved either. Hence Caith's reminder IC that Brigantia's help comes in many forms, including Forge Dust.

For those who were not around for the encounter with Hill Fey on the moors in the dark of night IC, I will provide some context OOC:

Forge Dust is, as the name implies, a residue of metalworking that can be found in forges. Caith's beeen collecting the stuff where and when she's had a chance to do so in game. It is light enough to float on the breeze and burns briefly, but brightly.

Flame is sacred to Brigantia, well at least some forms of it, and last time Caith tried this trick in combat, it was Hearthwarden Darrow's campfire she used as the ignition source for the dust. That may or may not be a factor in it's effectiveness against supernatural foes.

So what she has in mind is using it to cover then burn a lot of undead, preferably  with the undead packed into a smaller area than the room of broken statues.

A fire based attack, be it spell or fire arrows, such as those that Alphail made earlier, or simply lobbing a lit torch at the dust cloud hopefully ought to light the forge dust up, and the dead guys as well.

I don't know if Brannon could bless a burning arrowhead or a lit torch, but that might help add a bit of an extra kick to the bottle of forge dust's contents against the undead.

If anyone reckons this is a bad plan, and should be abandoned in favor of more conventional means of fighting the restless dead, or that it could be improved upon by other means, I'm open to any better suggestions.



I have no idea as a player at this point what that was, but it seems likely that wasn't Doron's uncle Durinar.

That could have been a corpse puppet animated by dark magics, and disguised by magical or even mundane means in order to get close enough to take out the PCs.

If that was a live man possessed by a malevolent spirit, then I'm afraid to say that it's a bit late to apologize to him now.

Could have simply been an illusionary King, no live body or corpse involved.

As such arcane theorizing is a bit difficult to concentrate on under combat conditions, Caith is more concerned with simply retreating back to the stairs and trying to find a useful spot to bottle the dead up in to use the tools she has available to her at the moment to deal with the walking dead.

Anyone got any counter suggestions, ideas or plans? I'd love to hear them, as I've already thrown my brain at the problem, and that's the best I can come up with so far.

Sounds like a grand plan. Try not to blow us up eh? ;-)

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 143):

Wondeing whether an assassins flask pellet would provide the spark for Caiths napalm?

I'd say it would.

In reply to GM (msg # 145):
Love it when a plan comes together.

To be fair, if Caith wanted to do that, she already has the means of doing so, as keeping people alive is generally a more difficult a task than killing them.

As she likes the company of the party, and doesn't want to lose any more of them to the darkness that threatens to enshroud all of Glissom if unleashed, this is a plan born of the desperate need to protect her comrades, rather than a plan to destroy them. :)



Good question, and not mine to answer, but that's still a damn good idea. :)





So do I. :)

Well done all!

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 148):

Survived yet again one and all.
While regrouping I have a few questions?

We are all gathered at bottom of/or on the stairs?
Ahead is North?
Leafs stone wall, is still holding?
The noise from the South, that’s behind and below?

:)

In reply to GM (msg # 150):

Much obliged

One thought I have is that there’s the hallway with the vats of explosive fluid in them somewhere behind us. If we could get whatever the loud thumping sound is to follow us back to that hallway before setting off the explosives it might save us a substantial amount of pain.

I am however willing to move forward with whatever plan the party devises.

Party not dead then? Excellent! :)

A small reminder: Caith is running low on arcane means of healing at the moment. Please be careful folks, as there's not a lot she can do other than mundane medical aid for a while.

And if whoever is responsible for this damn apocalypse in the making is lurking about the place, as Caith reackons, then I'd say they'd have noticed the party's activities by now.

If not, then they'd have to be deaf to noise as well as reason... XD

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 153):

Usopi that is a pretty cool idea!

Caith, noted, agreed, and thanks for the heads up.

Replying to Deise's OOC request

Mundane Morning Star
Mundane Shield
Moralltach (+2 two-handed sword with an unspecified additional effect) [Best guess currently is that once it takes the life of a living creature it makes a magical attack on the wielder to force the wielder to continue killing any other living beings in the vicinity.]
Gauntlets of the Gladiator (wearer remains conscious till -3 hp)




As far as what to do now, I expect Leaf's wall to hold off the horde of undead for at least a while. I think my biggest concern is whatever's making the large pounding noise from below and behind us. Could that mean something down the other set of stairs under the bronze cube? I mean... I guess it could be from any of the many paths we avoided on our way here.

Looking back, blowing up that explosive trap is probably a very bad idea. The tunnel walls around the explosives are apparently bowed in due to pressure from the lake outside. Blowing that section would probably either flood the entire structure we're in or, best case scenario, bring down who knows how much ice caving into the tunnel that we'd never get past again. (Which could be worth doing once we actually have the hearth flame. Although how we'd get the hearth flame past the gas vats I don't know...)

It doesn't seem like the zombies we just fell back from are too much of a threat as long as we're in formation at a good chokepoint, but given that we don't know how many of them there are, wading back into that without MP resources could be risky.

We could retreat all the way back to outside the place where Giles exploded and take a rest to get MP back. On the one hand, this would let whatever is pounding to get at us do whatever it's doing, which is scary. On the other, if what it's doing is pounding ineffectually against a solid wall that has kept it locked up for uncountable years, maybe it'll wear itself out and stop and then we can come back without that pressing concern hanging over us? On the third hand, if the pounding thing is working its way up to the door the zombies are currently trapped behind to unleash them AND it upon us at the same time, then it might be BETTER to fight the zombies now while whatever is making the booming sound is still on it's way...

Dunno, lots of possibilities.

Yeah it’s a tricky one.

@GM do we have any sense of the time? Who’s long until our magicians regain their MP?

Wasn’t there a way through past the rubbish room, albeit a bit of a tight squeeze for the larger lads?  Could we try that way as an alternative path forward?

Yup, the room opposite the one Giles died in. The tunnel might mean somebody had gone that way previously.

For my part, Deise has:
6 daggers
5 flash pellets
3 vials of poison
Unknown number of arrows - not sure whether I recovered the 6 fired?

Brannon has:

1. Sword
2. Bow, and 18 arrows.
3. Sling, and 20 bullets.

My character sheet notes 2 flasks of oil and a torch - note sure if we'd have burned through these by now.

You recovered 4.
This message was last updated by the GM at 10:35, Tue 13 Apr 2021.

I believe you still have 1 flask of oil left. Torch is gone.

Its hard to tell and you have an uneasy feeling that time passes somewhat strangely here,  if you had to guess it is probably late afternoon...early evening by now.

Sorry I missed the inventory memo earlier :-)

A veritable walking armoury...

Blacksmiths Hammer

“Ghosteye” a Magnificent Two Handed sword with beautiful construction and silverwork. Also suspect it confers some form of magical sight???

Fomorian “dagger” ie two-handed sword (requires STR16 to wield without penalty) Has a vague coldness about it but what this means is yet to be revealed. Valhar’s ghost said “ weapon belonged to

The Piercing Eye's beloved, Grigenchosach Of The Crooked Feet,
 who were the great king of Fomoraigh people long ago“

Lochaber Axe

Dagger

Javelins x 2

1. Lantern
2. Flint and Tinder
3. Waterskin
4.  Metal Tongs
5.  Rations 1 week
6.  Sack
7.  Whetstone

Rope and pitons lost/left on the mountainside.

Mimir blanket

Leaf doesn't have much, in terms of things.

She has her staff, one of Deise's daggers, and her Mimir blanket.

She might have a few pieces of fruit left? But there is a good chance that has run out (GM?)

In terms of MP, I'm not sure if this counts as meta-gaming (GM feel free to delete if you feel it's too much to share)

Earth MP: 10/18
Fire MP: 6/6
Water MP: 6/6

So Leaf is going surprisingly well since the last rest stop.

(GM, my character sheet has each spell that I remember to have cast since our last rest, if you wanted to confirm.)
This message was last edited by the player at 04:18, Wed 14 Apr 2021.

Turren is packing:

Sword
Dagger
Magic Javelin 'Falchorus'
5 Magic Elven Arrows

Decked out in plate

Backpack

1.  Lantern                                Backpack
2.  Flint and Tinder                       Backpack
3.  Waterskin                              Backpack
4.  Polishing Cloth                        Backpack
5.  Shaving Razor                          Backpack

Selentene Gorgoneion Wrist clasp

*Seems to still have rope and grapple too.

I know there's been lots of rope shenanigans and am second guessing my book keeping, but it is still recorded in my pack.

All good. Fruit is depleted.

No thats all good.  There has only been one rope lost and that wasn't yours....unless my notes are wrong. :)

In reply to GM (msg # 167):

So......do we have a decision/plan/thing?

In reply to GM (msg # 168):

If we go forward as Prince suggests, do we break the wall down?
Also, this loud noise to the south and below - no idea what to do here. Heart says onwards, head says run fools run!!!

Well, we could form a line at the closed off door, have Leaf open it at like... the lower third, and make the zombies crouch to crawl under (or just cut them down at the knees if they're too stupid to crouch. Maybe that would give us more control as they stick their heads through and we bash them?

Good plan. I’m sure I’ve seen the team on the Walking Dead just polish off zombies galore but stabbing heads thru a chain link fence. Perhaps we can do the same?

In reply to Usopi Venia (msg # 170):

Yes, good idea.
What about closing the way behind us to slow down a pursuer?

Leaf can do that. And then she can always close it again if a break is needed.



Leaf could try... but if this creature comes smashing through wall after wall of stone, iron, and magical seals... I'm not sure she could do anything against that.

Caith is on 3/23 MP, and 5/10 HP.

That's one casting of GREATER HEALING or three castings of LESSER HEALING she has left until midnight in layman's terms.

As far as Caith's remaining equipment goes...

EQUIPMENT: (Can carry up to 10 items.)
Backpack  (Can hold up to 8 items, Worn)
Lantern (Full, Backpack/Hung from Staff)
Scroll Case (6 sheets, Ink & Quill, Backpack)
Iron Rations & Waterskin (3 Days, Backpack)
Messkit (Backpack)
Bow & Quiver:9 Arrows/3 Silverhead (Slung over back/Hung from belt)
Sword - 'Kindness' (Scabbard on belt)
Dagger & Whetstone - 'Trust' (Sheath in L.Boot/Pocket in R.boot)
Birch Staff (Adapted as Torch, Carried in L. Hand/Slung over back)


FREE ITEMS: No Enc!
ARMOUR:Padded Wolfhide Warcoat  AF:2
1 Small Clay bottle of Rosemary Vinegar (Wound Cleanser, Belt Pouch#1)
Assorted Healer Herbs, Bandages & Soap (Mundane Healing, Belt Pouch#1)
Coinage & Tinder Box - 1CP,1SF & 1GC (Belt Pouch#2 & Earrings)
Nikkar Runes Set (Divination Aid, Ex Mosaic Tiles, Belt Pouch#2)
Plaited long cord of red handspun wool (10mts, after Ice Drake, Worn)
3 Needles, Thread & Thimble (Belt Pouch#2)
1 Small Sack of cloth & leather patches (Backpack)
2 Small Leather Sacks (Backpack)
"Eagle Egg" black stone (Not Magic, but 'useful', Backpack)
Empty Clear Glass Bottle (Once contained Whiskey, then Forge Dust)

MAGIC ITEMS:
1 Wolf Shifterskin (Worn under Warcoat, Magic)
Abraxas Stone (Worn around neck, Magic)
Magic Black Acorn (Siren Wood Gift strung on above, Magic)
SCROLL: NOVA (Scroll Case, Not a party friendly spell! Also 7th Rank, Magic)
1 Healing Potion (Beltpouch#1, Magic)

3 other potions held in trust for party:
1 Potion of Reflexes (Beltpouch#3, Magic)
1 Vial of Smoke (Beltpouch#3, Magic)
1 Amanthius Dust (Beltpouch#3, Magic)

Caith is technically *Overloaded* by 2 items with the three potions she's carrying for the party.
This message was last edited by the player at 02:46, Thu 15 Apr 2021.

Alphail is currently on 12/15 HP.

Alphail's current equipment:

Enchanted Stone Tooth Dagger* (d4,3, Cuts through normal AF! Belt Sheath)
Bow (d6,4, carried in hand)
6 Standard Arrows (Handmade, Quiver#1)
10 Lesser Fire Arrows (-4ATT, -2ABR, +d4 DAM, Handmade, Quiver#2)
Quarrybolt* +3 (d6+3,7, Unerringly accurate, Relic Bonus, Quiver#1)
Luna Lullaby* (d6, 4, Puts target to sleep, 7 moonlit nights to charge, Quiver#1)
Enchanted Fey Arrow +1 (d6+1, 5, Quiver#1)
Dark Brown Brignadine Coat (AF: 3, Worn)
Ropes for Snares, 10m (Backpack)
2 Empty Sacks (Backpack)
New Rations (3 Days, Backpack)
Waterskin (Backpack)

FREE (0 Enc)
Backpack (Can hold 8 items, Worn on Back)
2 Leather Quivers (Worn on Back)
Dark Brown Calfskin Boots (Worn)
Purse (empty, cap 100 coins, Worn on Belt)
Dark Green Woollen Cloak (Mirmir's Well Village Gift, +1 STE outdoors, Worn)
Flint and Tinder (Backpack)
Eye of Foreboding (Magic, Worn by Day)
Pendant of Alarums (Magic, Worn by Night)
Sabre-Tooth Necklace of Artia (Worn)

Alphail is Overloaded by one item.

There are several problems with that idea, as I'm sure you will realize after a bit of thought...



Indeed. Getting the hearth flame past a pool full of potentially explosive liquid is a tricky one, so we either deal with the pool in the laboratory, or take the hearth flame out of this place by a different route.

But the thumping from below does not appear to be coming from the same direction as the thumping of frustrated undead held back by Leaf's wall.

Should the party should be dealing with every damn crevice and crack in the place before trying to accomplish the hearthflame mission? I don't know, but it seems the PCs may have little choice in that matter, so there's that option, or back to the wall of undead.

Should the party still be looking for the old king, live or dead? Possibly. Don't much like the idea of a zombie king being sent back to Glissom by nefarious cultists of darkness, for a start.

If that wasn't Durinar in the room of broken statues below, then who or what was it? The heart of darkness didn't stick around to answer Caith's question, so she doesn't know what to think about that, other than Doron reckoned it wasn't his uncle.

As to whom or what is making the noise to the south and down from the party's current location on the stairs, I do not know, but I do have a theory to offer.

It has been mentioned before that the eggs and/or young of a ice wyrm the party met earlier (And left Colm's not so well elderly friend in the care of.) were part of a tribute taken or stolen from said ice wyrm, Hrimnir (?) by name.

The party have seen no sign of such creatures, large or small that I know of as yet, except for a picture of something like an adult ice wyrm with eggs, on the bronze doors/'chest' the stairs down were behind. If any of those eggs brought here in the past survived to the current time, where are they, and what have they become in the darkness?

I could not guess at what this cult of darkness person/s desires of the hearthflame, but if the apparently reptile (?) ice wyrms are anything like other egg laying creatures of that ilk, then perhaps someone wanted a magical flame to hatch out some very strange eggs for their own ends?

Admittedly, for all Caith could guess at, it could be another unknown inhabitant of this complex getting restless.

Could be a team of dwarf-like miners looking for a rich seam, from the underside of the mountains rather from over the top and through the upper layers as the party did.

Could be Durinar bang on the walls from an unseen prison, but he seemed a frail fella up on the balcony of King's Tower, so seems unlikely.

Those are my thoughts on the matter.



Indeed.





Thank you for that time check with a significant footnote.
Therefore, it will be some hours before Caith can regain her MP at High Moon (Midnight).

Assuming time is running as Caith would assume, as that's not certain either.





So that's another possible route to explore then.









Then the party would want the opening in Leaf's wall at head height, correct?
Force the dead to climb up and over each other if they want to get through, and put them at the right height for stabbing in the head.





Good idea, but the PCs don't know what they're dealing with as yet. Best save that thought for if and when the party needs it.

Indeed, given Caith once vanished from sight and was thought lost or dead until she used magic to contact the rest of the PCs, Caith still don't know if Giles is actually vaporized on the spot and dead, vanished or spirited away by unknown means or even just invisible and silent, and watching this all play out.

It seems likely that he died, but given her experiences before, it's possible he didn't. Caith believes by what she has been told that Giles is dead though she may have doubts about it on reflection. She previously wept over his death in that belief, but she'd rather be made a liar of by her own assumptions than a murderer.

Again, that's just me the player's wild conjectures on the matter, and Caith's reasoning may be mistaken on all of this.

So in short: Back to the front, fight the dead off and go in, or start circling around looking for another way in, and any sign of the hearthflame, the old king or more threats to contend than the angry undead?

Go up and investigate further behind the party, go down the crack in the stone to explore it, or go down the other staircase to seek the source of the noise, or make camp where possible, or try to push past the undead currently held back by Leaf's wall of borrowed stone?
This message was last edited by the player at 08:04, Fri 16 Apr 2021.

Hey team! Sorry for my absence! Lots of real-world things taking my attention at the moment (good things).

Just wanted to clarify - as there are a lot of things being said.

1. When we say "forward", that means literally forward - rather than the metaphorical forward, like: "Let's just keep moving", right? So we're going back towards the endless hordes of undead?
Grand.

2. Both ideas of Leaf's wall have been mentioned;
   a)open a hole at head height, to force them to climb over each other
   b)open a hole at ground height, forcing them to crawl under, giving us the advantage of crushing them, rather than requiring accuracy.

I quite like option b), but I am willing to do either. (Sorry if I missed a specific conversation about this).

Once I have clarification, Leaf will post. :)

Thanks for that, Osric!

So the party are going back to the front of undead foes, through a hole at crawl height?

Fair enough...

Find the old king, find the hearthflame, and deal with whoever has been stirring up the past like a horn spoon in rapidly burning stew.

And get out of here alive.
Oh well, if saving the world was simple, everyone would be doing it.

If we can clear a line of sight is there any chance Aphail could take out whomever is tending the fires with one of his Insta-sleep or Insta-kill arrows?

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 180):

He can certainly try to. Useful idea there, Osric. Of the three arrows you've mentioned, the Quarrybolt has the best chance of hitting, and is the most lethal option.

Alphail would also have to retrieve the Quarrybolt ASAP, hit or miss, from a chamber likely to be full of hostile undead.

Fey arrow has less chance to hit, but it's still magical, so that may help, and does not have the complications of the Quarrybolt.

The Luna Lullaby arrow has no bonus to hit, and a non-lethal effect. Still worth a try, if you want answers out of the target. If not, option 1 or 2 is better.

He's got at least one useful talent himself to this sniping plan, but he's more of a sitting duck while using it.

That said, he's still willing to use the Quarrybolt, even if it means going in there to get it back.

It would be a shot at 2x the edge of long range.  Aphail would almost certainly die before he reached the quarry bolt.

Maybe we have to do a full on banzai charge full frontal assault to clear a path for Aphail to get close enough to try one of his arrows?

How about:

1) someone magical drops a magical “grenade” type spell through the gap to clear some of the close undead
2) Leaf drops the wall or widens the gap at least
3) Uspoi, Turren, Osric and Uthen charge thru and try to press forward clearing the way to the next chamber even if a few undead slip past them
4) Aphail follows in the middle protected, arrow nocked ready to nail the bad guy
5) Get Aphail to a position where he can fire
6) pray he hits
7) figure out the rest from there as the proverbial hits the fan...

Whilst all of that is happening Deise can either try to hit the shadows and sneak up for a plan B shock attack on the bad guy if we all get trashed or go rear guard with Gat whilst Doron, Colm, Caith and Leaf polish off the undead and/or provide healing/fire support?

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 183):

Tis better than nonplan and ooc i feel we need to do something very quickly or the big  ad things wakes and we are all fubar.
Maybe Deise, Brannon and Leaf would be better sneaking around and trying to extinguish some of the fires?

Also there is something either behind and or below us - whatever it is it must be cominv. We need to move forward and at least keep an eye on our rear.

Brannon is prepared to do whatever he has to to stop what's going on: he's convinced that a fate worse than death awaits if the group fail.

GM, what does Brannon know about the Hearthfire? I'm a bit vague about its actual mechanics!

Is it akin to the Olympic torch (an ongoing flame lit from a given source)? Or is it a magical item in itself (magical, never-consumed logs or coal)? Can it be extinguished? Do we know if other fires can be lit from it in the past? And if so, do they have the same properties as the Hearth Fire?

I'm trying to work out whether we can just chuck a load of ice onto the fires to dim (given that there are big waterfalls around, I assume they aren't that easily doused), or whether we might have to kick them out or physically get them away from the giant - which might be very painful!

If we're going to try and put them out, we'll need whatever knowledge we can about them before go, and I'm hoping Brannon and Colm's time at the Temple of Flame will pay off here!

In reply to Deise (msg # 184):

It could also see us all die quickly in a spectacular fashion if we get hit with a spell on the way in like last time... but hey it’s not like we’re not in serious doo doo already...

I don’t suppose it’s midnight yet???? :-)

One can hope, Osric, one can hope, and there's a definite need for hope in this plan, but it's the best plan thus far, so I'm prepared to go with it.

Speaking of which, even if Midnight does not arrive in a timely manner, Caith the she-wolf is faster on her four paws than Caith the Hedgewitch is on two legs, and if it comes to rapid arrow retrieval under combat conditions for Alphail, she's done that before.

Will be back to post later today, as I'm just trying to get over meeting yet another damn flowering plant that I'm evidently allergic to the pollen of earlier today. Allergy Russian Roulette at the local plant nursery unfortunately makes me sneeze worse than the Red Queen of Alice's Wonderland.

And well noted Brannon, as I'd been wondering how waterfalls of melting ice might make keeping five balefires burning long enough to keep melting the ice around the large chap with hooves away myself.

On the plus side, if there is another Big Trouble coming after the party, if the party charges into the undead to get to the Hearthflame and the idiot misusing it, at least then there's a lot of angry dead guys between the party and Big Trouble?

Being an item of great spiritual significance there weren't many 'experiments' done with it.

Brannon does know that the Hearth Fire itself burns without consuming....and he doesn't know of any way it could be extinguished....though legends warn that the blood of a god or the Winter at the End of the world could snuff it out....and with it all that grows and lives in Glissom.

He does recall reading of ceremonies in the past where the Hearthfire was used to light great balefires that burnt for days before dying.

So if I understand correctly, the Hearthfire burns without solid fuel, can only be extinguished by the blood of a god, or The End Of The World, and even fires lit from it can burn for days before going out?

That might explain why the five balefires are still burning then. :(

Maybe that magical fire resistance dust from the lab works in reverse, and could be used as a magical 'fire extinguisher'? Not on the Hearthflame itself, but on those balefires lit with it?

I'd hope that earth or ice chunks piled on the balefires would at least starve them of air, and make them burn less fiercely, but with magic involved, it's uncertain how effective it would be at lowering their heat.

My apologies for the lateness of this post. Anti-histamines may be an effective treatment, but they also make me sleepier than I anticipated.

Hmmm... good point re: the magical dust.

I'm thinking that we don't need to put the fires out - we just need to get them far enough away from the ice, or otherwise insulate them from it. Not sure how easy that will be to do, though!

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 190):

On the midnight thing.

Caith gets a feeling its not far off...maybe within the next 30 mins.

Okay. Soooo do we wait or go in well depleted... a few healing spells wouldn’t go astray. Also be good to have our earthquake machine, flamethrower and field hospital up and running :-)

The mundane method of dealing with a large bed of still burning coals is to rake and scatter them, then smother the smaller fires with sand or dirt or water.

Backinnabit. RL happening.

If we did blow that ice tunnel, and cold water did come rushing in, would the hearth flame just remain lit and slowly boil the water until the giant melted anyway? Or would the sheer mass of water be enough to dissipate the heat generated?

We'd lose both the hearth flame and the king, but I suppose that'd still be better than losing them AND having a giant evil god being awakened. lol

In reply to GM (msg # 191):

I wonder whether we have 30 minutes. The ice is rapidly melting and then there is that disturbing noise below/behind us.

Thank you for the update. :)



Firstly, getting a giant sized god out of the deep freeze requires a fairly long defrost cycle, or so I'd think, so even if this cycle is in the final stages now, it still takes a fair while to shift that much ice, even with magical help. If this lot has been burning away since the Hearthflame arrived here with the birdies, then that's still compressing centuries worth of glacial melt into days.

Take the five balefires away and the heat should hopefully drop enough to let frost start forming again.

A large amount of icy cold water poured in here after the fires are dealt with might be just the thing to help cool even a slowly waking god back down to a deep sleep state again.



It's a good idea, but better as an exit strategy for the party than abandoning both mission objectives in one plan.

The old king objective may be negotiable, much as Caith may hate to say so, as she wants some answers from him herself, but the Hearthflame just bloody well isn't.

Simple question while we're all planning on how to get the party in - How do we intend to get the party out?

Is there any way... any way at all... that Leaf casting “extinguish flames” might solve all our problems?

In reply to Leofwyn (msg # 197):

Well pure speculation but to put out the hearth fire nope, but surely she and Colm could put out the other fires???

Good thinking!

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 198):

There are certainly a number of valid options...for most your going to need to be quite a bit closer.

I am not the GM, even if I think that it's a good idea, Leaf, but...

...IIRC, that Fire Elementalist spell puts out any fires, magical or mundane in origin within a rather wide radius of the caster, so there does exist one potential danger to Leaf in this plan:

It would plunge the party into utter darkness other than the Hearthflame's light, given they're currently using fire based mundane light sources to see by down here.

I'd worry that it might put out the Hearthflame as well the balefires, but based on what Brannon has said IC, that does not seem to be likely that Leaf's powers alone could do so.

Party only has to carry one fire, the Hearthflame out of here, so there's that bit of hope to consider.

Alternately, could she open a rift in the ground beneath one or more of the balefires to take them further away from the ice around the large chap who must not be awakened for the sake of all Glissom?

_{EDITED BY Player after doing some looking up of Elementalist spells and reading what Brannon said about the Hearthflame being difficult to extinguish.}
This message was last edited by the player at 06:51, Tue 04 May 2021.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 200):

A few things require attention;
The board of undead.
The wakening giant with goats feet.
The evil genius person with the hearth fire.
The forboding noise beneath us.
Damn all healing power for about next 30 mins.

How about:
Our warriors cleave an opening in the dead,
Aphail loses a magic arrow on the wielder of the hearth flame
Immediately after:
- Leaf/Colm/Deise/Brannon head to bonfire for Leaf/Colm to smother in earth, while the two protect her from undead and use earth and cloaks to smother the bonfires
- Gat to immediately chase after the magic arrow
- Caith to bide her time until MP are restored
- all of us to pray / cross fingers for luck.

As far as cleaving an opening through the dead goes, the only really useful trick there Caith can offer unfortunately requires her to get within 5 Meters of the foes to read the scroll spell out and also to ensure everyone in the party gets more than 5 Meters away from her at the same time.

Could be tricky to pull off, given she's on half Health, but she could burn another of her remaining MP to use LESSER HEALING on herself to shift the odds a bit more in her favor.

Douse the balefires, fill the chamber with icy water on the way out as Usopi suggested and hopefully that slows down the defrosting giant's waking.

Got to get Alphail in range to take a shot at Firestarter, and get the Hearthflame  off them.

Ominous noises are at this point, ominous noises. Until the party knows what the noises are from, what can be done about them?

As for damn all healing power?
Caith can do 7 Health back if she uses all her remaining MP in one spell, and there's one healing potion left by my count for another 7 Health.

In regard to biding her time: Could be dead by then, and the Sisters help those who do something about helping themselves. Praying is good for getting a god's attention, sure, but actions speak louder than words.

Sounds good. I suppose in terms of the potential threat from behind subject to remaining MP Leaf could always close the stone behind us once we’re through. Although that might be the equivalent of burning our boats!

Not to derail planning at all but I'll be setting up a new campaign soon if anyone is interested.

Bit of a different setting so it might not be for everybody.



link to a message in another game

Ok?

So there are parts of a solid plan there. Who wants to execute it?

As Captain Barnacles would say "Octonauts, let's do this!"

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 206):
Yep, Deise is happy to move in with a few colleagues to see about addressing the fires.

I'm in on whatever we are doing (still)

How hard is it for people to re-light their lamps? If Leaf gave enough warning, she could cast EXTINGUISH FLAMES (Brannon and Caith, I think you're right that it wouldn't put out the Hearthflame, but it might put out the smaller ones) and then people could immediately reignite their lights?

Osric, if there are people staying with Caith and waiting for her to regain her MP, we could set it up as a bit of a lookout. If they hear/feel/see anything coming, they could call out to Leaf to try to block or close something?

Shall we confirm the order?

Colm and Leaf are heading in towards the flames? Who is coming, who is staying back? (It's the endgame, guys! Let's get this done!!)

In reply to Leofwyn (msg # 209):

Deise will accompany you to aid in whatever way he can, provide cover/smother flames with his blanket or cloak.

That's a good thought, Leaf. If we have the signal, we can be ready to relight whatever we can. I doubt conventional flames will do a thing to that ice - though they also might be doused if there's too much water around. I guess Lanterns will be more proof against that.

Brannon will come - he can't do much directly in this situation (lacking the strength of the fighters, and any sort of magic), but this is something that strikes at the very core of his being. If he isn't prepared to die in pursuit of the Hearthflame and protecting Glissom, then he wouldn't be much of Hearth Warden...

1) Open the gap
2) lob in a fire spell/bomb
3) Usopi, Turren and Osric storm in and mop up
4) they advance in an arrowhead formation quickly with Aphail protected at the centre
5) Aphail nails the big baddie
6) we recover the hearth flame put out the fires and we’ll be home by tea time!

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for breakfast!

Lets not burn that boat until the party gets to it, OK?



That's a good idea. :)

A tinderbox should suffice to relight a lantern, though lighting a fire with one under combat conditions is usually tricky, so the lamplighters would need someone watching their backs to to do the job.



I am not Osric, but that is also a good idea. :)



Without much in the way of MP, other than healing, Caith is more use as a lamplighter and a spare set of eyes at the moment. If Gat is on arrow retrieval duty, then there's little reason for Caith to turn into a wolf to go bone biting. Firelighting needs hands, not paws, as does reading a scroll.

Who is on doorwatch other than Caith? Can't be Alphail, not if he's supposed to be getting closer to the target with the torch near the balefires.

I would get us started, but I feel like we need to go in order of conversation like we did here. It wouldn't make sense for Leaf to come up with any sort of tactical plan.

I think it was Osric who first had the idea for Aphail to shoot the guy, and then suggested what the rest of us could do.

Brannon then gave his professional opinion as the Hearth Father.

Any of us could then join in when needed, but I feel like that would be the most natural start?

I'm eager to get this going!! (I'm about to go into another teaching placement next week, and have too many assignments to do... this is my fun little break throughout the day!)

What could be more fun than teaching a bunch of whiny kids??? :-)

So.

Open the gap- this will require Leofwyn or some explosives/powerful magic.

Initial clearance to give the warriors time to make it through the breach.

Etc. Etc.

Fair warning.

I'll be posting an IC post late tonight regardless, but I'd recommend making an IC post before then. ;)

If Leaf or Colm does not have the elemental power to make a hole in the wall of undead, but it still needs to happen to give the big lads a break in the bonewall to make bigger?

Then I guess Caith is going to have to take a chance on the NOVA spell scroll working fast enough for her to run back out and let the heavy brigade step up. She needs missile backup for that, to pick off any dead fellas that might interrupt her spell, and everyone else in the party 5 meters away from her when she goes off.

Otherwise she could chuck a TANGLEROOTS to hold the dead down for quicker disposal by weapon, but it seems that something more effective may be in order.

That's a lot of dead guys...

In regard to plan on the fly IC, I agree with Leaf on the sorting of it.
This message was last edited by the player at 08:20, Wed 12 May 2021.

Sorry! I was busy last night, and already so much has happened!

I can very easily make the hole bigger - Caith, is your firebomb to clear the path before or after I open the hole? Or is your firebomb meant to break open the hole?

Just so I know what to post IC.

Ah, my apologies for not being more specific. :(

Caith's proposed firebomb scroll trick is intended for clearing a way through the undead for the fighter types to expand on, as I'm reasonably sure that even high powered sorcerous flame doesn't usually melt stone on contact.

That would be more an Elementalist sort of thing, involving sustained heat drawn from deep under the earth, and some interaction of Fire and Earth, or so I would guess.

However, the spell scroll's sort of flame will quite likely make a bit of a mess of a human target, so if you need Caith to hold off on her part of the plan until Leaf can open a wider hole in the wall, I'm totally OK with that. :)

Caith can only do this trick once.

Hey folks, back on the grid with reading access! Won’t be able to post IC till I’m back at my comp come Monday night, but I like the plan. Let’s do this!

I love it when a plan comes together... :)

While phase 2 of said plan will have to wait until Boss gets back from out bush to enact, that's still a damn good bit of work to build on.

*Waves Hi to Usopi.*

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 222):

I have returned.

Next move is yours boys and girls.

Does Aphail have a clear shot at the Lurker yet?

Ish...its still at super long range though.

Colm will be staying by Caiths side lobbing fire and other spells on the long run towards the colossus.

In reply to GM (msg # 225):

OOC well I guess we’re going to have to get him closer if he’s going to one shot this bad guy!

Osric will try to rally the knights into a wedge formation with Aphail at its centre and move forward swiftly towards the target

Be aware the Quarry Bolt does not one shot everything, only those creatures with a certain ' allergy' to relics.  Otherwise its a +3 magical arrow.

Turren's still by Osric's  other flank. He'll worry about trying a new plan when this one fails, as anything out of melee range just now is well beyond his comprehension, experience or training. As with Osric and the other fighters, all he can really do is get the casters and nukers as close as possible and hope they have a cure to the mayhem.

Guess it's time to get running towards trouble quick sharp then.



Thank you for the backup. :)

I don't know if the greyrobe with the torch is susceptible to relic powers, or if it's all down to skill and a bit of enchantment for luck, not to mention getting in range, but it's the best chance I can see as a player to stop them keeping the balefires burning ASAP, and keeping them from trying to stop the PCs putting the balefires out.

And Turren, don't worry about this being beyond your PCs comprehension or pay scale. This is one of those "I have no idea what I'm doing, but that's never stopped me before!" situations for Caith as well.

As a fighter type, is there a manageable number of undead between us and the rest of the room? Like, enough that we could potentially make a hole for the faster/more capable team members to break through even if that means the fighters all stay here to occupy the undead? Or is it more like an uncountable horde that we maybe need to circle up to move through?

Its not quite hopeless but it is very much:

https://i.gifer.com/Abap.gif

But enough successful blows will definetely make a hole....though a circle would be safer in the short term your not sure how much ' short term ' you have left.

In reply to GM (msg # 232):

Once I get a couple more actions I'll post another IC....this one will be vital...

In reply to GM (msg # 233):

Map.

https://photos.app.goo.gl/j1SWkBEH8Xfuq89c7

I think you'll need to zoom it to see properly but it should give a sense of scale.

that... is a lot of zombies... anybody know of a way to draw them away from the group proper? Are they drawn to the scent of blood? Is there a spell that draws aggro to the target? I'm down to be that distraction if it's possible. Not sure we can just push our way through here quick enough to stop the thaw...

It looks like there's enough space to go round them... but that still relies on somehow drawing them away to keep from chasing us!

How fast do they move based on what we've seen so far GM? Are these shambly zombie types, or 28 Days Later speed freaks?

Or worse, they might be the latter, but have been so crowded they could only move slowly... *shudders*

Think Wights from GoT.

I think there’s a tactical play here that could work, or at least buy us some time. Will draw it on when I’m back at my computer... but basically if we do a mad dash down and around and loop around to the right and either Leaf and/or Colm then throw up some barriers behind us using the existing rubble Tomas well to slow the dead whilst we head towards those 2 closest braziers whilst keeping the left leg of the colossal baddie to block line of sight to the baddie who’s stoking the fires.  Then a pincer movement around said leg to attack the baddie from two sides so he/she/it can’t (hopefully) frag us all at once...

I like the idea of using the Big Baddy as cover from the Little Baddy.

Wights, eh? So same sort of speed as a human, then...

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 239):

Just managed to squint at the map the GM provided. It is 1.5 to 2km to the bonfires. This isn’t a quick dash but a mid distance run (10 minutes for a reasonably fit person). Makes sense now, given the scale of the big baddie chap.

We’re going to need to deal with the dead while also allowing a smaller group to address the fires. Time so possibly a factor.
Oh, how I wish I didn’t leave my magic boots behind.

Oh crap. You’re right Deise. I misread the scale...

Oh well who’s up for a forced march in armour with hordes of enemies surrounding...?! :-)

In reply to Osric Grim (msg # 241):

Looks like our warriors have their plan.

What about the rest of you?

How icy is the ground of the chamber the party have to run across?

I have what is either a really stupid or a really useful idea (And possibly both) involving sledding through the mob to get to the greyrobe with the torch quicker.

Haha! Sounds like fun. Mush mellimont! Mush!

Now if only we could figure out some exploding snowballs... :-)

Well, not so hasty, Osric, as the party needs runners for a sled.
But before metalworking, there was bone and wood as the main material for making iceboats. The rest is pretty much like building a coracle out of hide over a woven strut frame.

If there's one thing the party aren't short of by way of materials at the moment, it's bones, and Caith already has a wolfskin warcoat that would serve as a hide to cover the frame.

What the party does not have is the time to construct one, but that's where magic might do the trick. If Caith didn't have healing magic and a shapeshifter's experience of warping flesh and bone, she wouldn't have come up with the mad idea of using healing on dead men's bones to make a sled swiftly.

I may not be fond of Churchill as a human being, but I contend that he had the right idea what to do when it comes to finding oneself in hell: "...Keep moving."

If making a Naglfar iceboat is a bad idea, and liable to upset folk, then there's still a possibility of Caith making one out of a Tangleroots effect, using live wood rather than dry bones. If our Elementalists can coax some plant life out of the walls this far down, or even from stone itself by using a surge of elemental power, then that's another way to make a sled in a hurry.

I cannot recall if it would be air or water that would handle making an iceboat of ice itself, forming a slab with sides and a flat enough bottom to sled with.

Like I said, it's an idea, but I don't know if it's good one.
This message was last edited by the player at 06:03, Sat 29 May 2021.

Just a heads up I'll be posting the IC post in 24 hrs time and botting anyone as best I can that hasn't posted an IC or finalised OOC action. :)

In reply to GM (msg # 246):

Ok folks, what’s the plan?

We’ve a hoard of angry dead, a lunatic with a bonfire, and a colossal demon whose ice tomb is melting quickly.

I like our odds ;-)

Looking at the map again, the dead are mostly to our left. How about, a phalanx of warriors on our left, allowing the faster ones to “escape” and tackle the lunatic and bonfires. The closest bonfire is about 1.5k (ish). The lunatic is further away and the one of the demon legs is between us and the lunatic.

Any better plans (there must be someone with a better idea)?

In reply to Deise (msg # 247):

24 hour extension due to tiredness. I'd suggest making the most of it. ;)

Thank you boss!

I'm super fond of us making our way to the farthest fire, dousing it, just as Deise said. It may force the nasty loon back toward us, and we can always adjust as we go. Happy to put Turren's breastplate on the line till we get that far. Will human shield for all and anyone capable of putting out that first fire. Some well placed shots at the lighter after that might make sense. This is Turren's vote.

In reply to Sir Turren Uvedale (msg # 250):

So if I understand you, a moving shield wall to allow us get toward the fires and the person/thing setting them alight?

Seems sensisible.

Yeah. When I say farthest I mean the farthest from the fire guy, just to clarify - as you said. As for putting the farthest out as you suggested, I'm happy to help hold there and take some punishment till someone clever can achieve that. From there with luck things might start swinging our way. If not, we might need to plan more on the fly.
This message was last edited by the player at 10:52, Tue 01 June 2021.

Best Caith can offer til high moon is healing, and maybe a bit of belting restless skulls on the run. Wolf might be faster on foot than the woman, but that's a lot of bones to chew through.

Stuck between the dead, the devil and a deep blue glacier until the party can get within bowshot of the greyrobe.

I concur that plan on the run is the best plan under the circumstances.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 253):

Love it when a plan comes together. I have edited my past IC post to reflect discussion here.
This message was last edited by the player at 14:56, Tue 01 June 2021.

Based on the number of angry dead to deal with, the party can't afford to lose anyone. With that in mind, I see no other option for Caith but going wolf at this point to drag Uthen out of the undead mob.

Everyone else is already occupied with running and fighting or spellcasting.

He took 3 hits and is at -4 hp....not sure Caith has the mojo needed for that trick.

In reply to GM (msg # 256):

She had 3 MP left last I checked, so can still pull off a GREATER HEALING, that's 7 Health back, enough to put him in positive Health.

If she can't cast that and activate the wolfskin, then OK, she doesn't have the mojo for it.

Would making a barrier of TANGLEROOTS around him keep the dead off him at least?

In reply to GM (msg # 256):

Wow! I tin need a Resurrect here?
I miss you guys! Running alone in a maze has made me timid. I dont dare to charge in anymore...
Wow! u guys are reaching the end of the adventure soon! Congrats!
This message was last edited by the player at 08:59, Thu 03 June 2021.

As said, he's past -3. You would need a Resurrect or similar.

In reply to GM (msg # 259):

Thought Brannon had one of those, in a bone scrollcase, from the barrow loot?
Was planning to use it on the Old King before, but that plan didn't work out.

If not, and I have misremembered the distribution of items from that encounter, then I guess it's going to have to be the sled plan.

Also:

Thank you, but in all honesty, congratulations are a bit premature at this point, Lann. Still at it, but I'm hopeful of the party succeeding in their mission.

Good luck to you in your own mission though.

Rest Easy Sir Uthen.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 260):

I wish u guys success! Hahaha i am thinking of how 2 deal w 30 hellrots... hahaha...

RIP Sir Uthen! Maybe u can do a new character and come and save me

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 260):

Nope, Brannon doesn't have any scrolls. At least, not that I've noted... :(

It may have gone up in flames with Giles...

In reply to Brannon Darrow (msg # 263):

Thank you for the confirmation on that matter, Brannon.
I'm sorry for giving you false hope, Uthen. :(

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 264):

So, the plan is to run in a fighting retreat until we can get Aphail in shot and Leaf/Colm in range to begin addressing the bonfires.
As they say in The Gladiator, to those about to die, I salute you. Hopefully we make it all to the other side.

As the group moves forward, Leaf is going to try and save her MP for the fires. So she will use her dagger - but may not be too much use in the mean time.

Hi all. Hey GM, is it a typo that Leofwyn took Damage? I ask because if any of our magic users are hit during the push forward, is there a possibility for Turren to soak that damage? I understand it isn't strictly in the dice rules, but I would like to place Turren in front of anything inc on at least Leaf if you allow it. Cheers either way.

Yeah, theres a bunch of other rolls but they're all " off screen ", this was a particularly limbre corpse. But I'm more than happy for Turren to have literally thrown himself in the way and to take the damage himself.

Cheers GM! He'd very likely do that. Especially if it means Leaf can (with all limbs intact) get closer to the parts of the plan where poor Turren is of much less use.

That's the plan thus far, and likewise, I salute those who have fallen in the quest, and those who may yet fall in pursuit of it. It is apparently as case of Victory or The End Of The World for Glissom.

So here's to Victory, and the hope that Nike favors runners in Legend too.



Wise, though I would suggest that even a dagger's worth of damage may add enough edge to turn a fatal defeat into survival and victory.

Caith intends to use the fire retardant dust Hengist-who-was-Deise found in the lab above to smother one of the balefires. She can't do much else to put a balefire out until she has more MP to attempt a counter spell on them.

Until then, she can stab or heal.



That's a gallant gesture, and most gracious of you. I can only hope Gatenades is paying proper attention to note Turren's good deed there.

That said, please do try not to die while doing good. Too many dead down here already.

Wow, thanks Turren! Leaf  won't forget that! :D

If we survive this...fairly unlikely I know then perhaps there's another in game wedding in the future...

What happens after you guys survive this? What levels are you guys at now ah? Just curious how much u have advanced

Why, Osric. I had no idea as to how you felt. Deise - Hengist is honoured and I’m sure blushing.
You’ve made a small man very happy :-)

In reply to Leofwyn (msg # 271):

Leofwyn and Turren come from the same faction/court, and when Turren first arrived there Leaf seemed like the only true-hearted person in the place (except maybe the king); His duty demands Leaf reports back, even if the casters weren't key to this immediate plan. Also he knows who dispenses the peaches and apples full well.

~ Osric and Deise, are we all invited?

Hahah hahah!

Osric is hoping Lady Leaf and Sir Turren’s wedding will involve copious amounts of food, drink and at least a dozen of Leaf’s comely sisters… ;-)

Speaking as a married man IC, I have no complaints about that state to make, and would recommend it to all concerned.

As Alphail is not an amphibian at the moment in game, I must assume that Caith has no complaints about him as a husband either.

*Tries not to look nervous...*

In reply to Aphail MacRoach (msg # 277):

You are a tease, as I have said before that Caith cannot transform anyone into a toad, and that spells of that magnitude are beyond her powers of sorcery to cast.

Otherwise there would most certainly be a great many more such creatures hopping around Glissom by now, but Alphail would still definitely not be among them.

As Alphail not a statue either, as a player, I'd say he's safe from Caith's annoyance ever manifesting as hostile sorcery towards him.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:44, Tue 15 June 2021.

If Leaf and Turren have managed to create the 'oh those two need to get together'thing like in books and films, there's no way they can get married any time in the near future. Wayyyy too much potential in continuing on as is with their friendship dynamic. Will they get together? Will one have to bury the other some day soon? I love ongoing questions and mystery in characters way more than solutions and resolutions.

In which case Turren is wise to court Leaf, as her past is a great deal more mysterious than Caith's, which is impressive, given some of Caith's past is a mystery even to herself.

Though to be fair, given Turren's reasons for his affection include cupboard love, perhaps he has more in common with Osric? XD

Osric is spoken for, Caith :p

Turren's background (not sure if it is even visible to other players) suggests he'd be a most ineligible husband for now, and almost demands he's as chaste as a nun. He's in the process of atoning for some awful missteps from when he was a hotblooded youth. That's why he's always at pains to do the right thing and be as generous and proper as he can manage. Things happened in his rakish past that might make even friend Osric blush! Maybe.

So he is. My apologies for the matchmaking attempt.



Fair enough, as they're Turren's secrets to keep as he wishes.

And no, your PC's background is not visible to me as a player, just the short description with the portrait.

*intrigued*

Can my looks of 6 find a mate?

Well....I know of at least one person currently in the room with Lann that wants to give him a kiss.

That kiss will take my breath away!

Caith is not much better in the looks department, and she's married already. :)

So there's hope for Lann yet, given he is well connected in clan background, and of no little social stature by birth.

Indeed, Lann should thank his lucky stars, and try his best not to die of blood loss while there's still future partners left for him to meet.

Happy Winter or Summer Solstice to you all irl, depending on location. :)

Ty Caith, same to you.

In reply to Caith Cernach (msg # 287):

I am stuck as I got charmed by the vampire
I am so silly I didn’t think it’s a vampire
Thought was a mage or warlock who could control others lol

To be fair, given the folk Lann is currently dealing with IC don't seem to get out much to get a sun tan, being pale in complexion and commanding isn't a specific indicator of a vampire at work until the obvious occurs.

Lann has control of his voice and his mind, just not his body, correct?
That does leave him some options for non-offensive spellcasting then, and perhaps even some intelligence gathering. So don't give up hope yet.

Also, is Lann wearing any amulets of a religious nature?
This message was last edited by the player at 08:24, Mon 21 June 2021.

Two Questions for GM:
Firstly, how close does High Moon feel to Caith IC?
Secondly, how close are the party to their respective targets?

Pretty damn close.....a pricking in her thumbs as it were.

About 3 rounds away...you've covered a lot of ground already but it is now a slope, covered in ice and patches of water....so not great for safe running.


Also, got busy this week I'll try to post on Thursday.

Thank you for the heads up, Boss, and no worries, I understand you have a lot of stuff you got to do IRL at the moment.

Ok. So, dragon number two is here.

Should we assume it is related to Hrimnir? Either parent or child?

I've been going over our interactions with Hrimnir (as it's been MONTHS irl)

Here is the main interaction as Leaf saw it: