Well, that settles it. We will not be forcibly removing the crypt knight from its natural habitat in accordance with the teachings of Marlin Perkins, fun though it would have been for the conference attendees of the Greater Helix Potion Vendors Association.
This message had punctuation tweaked by the player at 22:27, Sat 02 Dec 2023.

We wouldn’t get anywhere without Jim Fowler anyway.  It wasn’t Marlin Perkins tackling that armadillo, after all!

Although I am admittedly curious regarding the reasoning behind its removal, due to its size and weight, it will require three members of the expedition to haul the lid of the sarcophagus to the surface. Jesper will naturally do as he is instructed, though it will preclude him carrying the lantern. Safherd and Ynes will respond to the request by suggesting that Barnabus locate a nearby naturally occurring body of water and jump in it.

There is some of Barnabus's idiosyncrasy at play.
There is this player's desire to keep the running joke running.
And the decaying raven design on the lid would be an example of a funerary practice accorded to those highly esteemed by Impurax. That obelisk is also part of that practice.

But since that third point doesn't seem to carry enough weight, I'll give it a pass (for now).

And it would make a great conversation piece as the new front door to the Brazen Strumpet !

In reply to Sir Dryvyk of Drakeholme (msg # 962):

Now that is a capital suggestion.

I asked how long it would take to exit, not to bring the knight back to Helix, but in the hope that exposing it to sunlight and removing it from the barrow might weaken it!

I should have asked the party if that made sense...but I thought I would see if it was even possible first.

I wonder if we should have it lead us to the Pit instead of just talking to it?

Sunlight? Surely you jest. It would have been exposed to an invigorating canopy of sepulchral fog and fug.

I don't think having it lead us to the pit was an option for a couple of reasons: distance and danger. It's a "route fraught with shadowy horrors" -- uncharmed ones I would note.

The cold emanating from the barrow crypt is ominous -- as if the room were resetting.

Are we currently in the room with the obelisk or in the room with the gems overhead.  I pictured it more the former with the crypt knight just outside in the gem room, which then led me to interpret the wintry cold as coming from further out in the halls, rather than the room resetting.

Have I got this wrong?

We're beneath the subterranean night sky, finishing our questioning of the knight. The cold is emanating from the antechamber to the east, #63, the antechamber to the tomb of the ancient servitor of Nergal and Impurax.

Clarification: I, like Malivoire, had understood the party to be in the antechamber still, as the knight was initially encountered (by Jesper) in the entrance to that room.

I bring this up to clear up a potential misunderstanding. The cold is not coming from the abomination’s tomb. If the party are located in the constellation room, the sensation of cold is emanating from the west, from the direction of hallway #45.

Thank you for the clarification.

We're still going to have to head out that way, lacking any other means of egress, but I suppose we won't be running.

I guess the question is: how many rounds of control remain?

Depending on the number, we might bring the knight along as an escort. If the number is too small, we'll have to dispatch it or we risk losing control of it during another encounter.
This message was last edited by the player at 16:50, Sun 03 Dec 2023.

Or, Mazzahs might use the the crypt knight to put on a musical performance, like Gene Wilder did with the monster in Young Frankenstein!  (well, that didn't end so good, either)



...Winter is coming!
This message was last edited by the player at 17:18, Sun 03 Dec 2023.

In the wake of the most recently posed question, I would say ten.


Ha! Indeed.

But, come on, it isn’t like it’s a huge mystery. What could the adventurers have done within the last say, three or four rounds, which would attract anything’s attention?

I am picturing Barnabus and the crypt knight now.  Puttin' on the Ritz!

https://youtu.be/OXYndNL4Mu8?si=SLQmDkZ_NcyGSY2I

Or alternately:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Re4C33thTEE



Helix has a brain depository, undoubtedly!  We should get some to distract the zombies with.

In reply to Labyrinth Lord (msg # 971):

It's more like a colossal mystery.

So the crypt knight's a servant of V. and the sentinel's a servant of N. and for some reason animus exists between them?

If we can reach #10, we can break both west and north to reach the exit.

The colossus might or might not be beyond us. The 7 HD crypt knight might keep it busy for a few rounds or more. We also still have a potion of heroism. We're eventually going to have to deal with it to get to the northern catacombs.

Did B. get a read on its turning level/HD when he encountered it earlier?
This message was last edited by the player at 19:30, Sun 03 Dec 2023.

More like a disagreement on the direction of foreign policy.


They wouldn’t attack each other on sight or anything. Varghoulis might chide the forces of the priesthood, insisting that they do more to wipe out the living in the Duchy, but that would probably be the extent of it.


Yes. It would be considered infernal for purposes of turning.

But, it isn’t the sentinel which is approaching. The crypt knight didn’t betray the sentinel with the information it provided.

My first thought was Varghoulis, whom the knight would undoubtedly fear.  But I thought he was far away at his old stronghold...did he exude a wintry chill around him?  I cannot remember.

Lots of tomb things have their frosty side.

The crypt knight betrayed V. with his confidences. V. could have teleported into #47. If we disturbed him and his aunt at his afternoon tea, he'll be extra frosty.

V. can’t teleport, but he might have access to entry points into the tombs, not unlike the shrine of Nergal.

Yeah, sorry, that's what I meant. That's effectively a long-range teleport in my mind.

The adventurers could try talking with him. Trying to come to an understanding about things.

In reply to Labyrinth Lord (msg # 981):

Hmm. Are you sure that's not something that the referee might enjoy more than the players?

I've often thought that if Mazzahs truly loved us he would have provided us with a means for a mass exodus from the BM. Instead he wanted us to pop in on V.'s private office. Happily, V. has saved us that trouble.