Or…Lampert could be given up as a complimentary snack to whoever wins the fracas down the hall.

In reply to Labyrinth Lord (msg # 888):

I'd rather we sacrifice a party member than him!  Who will be the star of the hit new Netflix show, The Lantern-Bearer?  It'd be live action, except for Charley, who's animated and voiced by... well, who's the budget version of Frank Welker?  He'll be voiced by the budget version of that person.

I will not leave Lampert behind on purpose.  He and I can be the last two up, if need be.

Oh, right, tasty lamprey, a favorite dish for demonic dignitaries.

Here's what we do then. B. grabs Dilemma and Lampert; Mal webs the eastern passage to buy time.

Next round, B. drops a rope to Mal and pulls him up via levitation.

Post updated.
This message was last edited by the player at 13:26, Wed 04 Jan 2023.

LL, can Barnabus's next post include a report to Mazzahs?

Also, for some reason, I was under the impression that we had a cart or wagon of some sort for the transport of supplies to the BM and "recoveries" back to Helix? If we don't, we should obtain one, depending on Mazzahs' appetite for mummies.

I’ve gone ahead and moved thing forward to a meeting with the wizard.

Yes, the company has access to a cart already. I didn’t explicitly address its inclusion on this most recent journey back from the moor, but it’s reasonable to assume it is present if the party needed it. Any of the hirelings, including the likely shellshocked Lampert, could have assisted in pulling it.

Right, right.

A few thoughts as I think ahead: the goal of the next expedition will be general exploration, trying to expand our known territory. No sealed-up tombs will be attempted (one is on the known map).

I think we should add to our number of hirelings so that we have more of a presence at the entrance.

And, as mentioned before, a paladin retainer or PC, would be most valuable for their protection from evil 10' radius and other abilities.

?

I thought the next priority would be to hunt down Lord Varghoulis and drive him and his undead cronies out of the Barrowmoor.

That's right.  Save the Balrog!

In reply to Labyrinth Lord (msg # 895):

Are you being serious? That didn't even occur to me. I thought we weren't even close to being a match for him (and his knights). You're probably teasing me based on my appetite for the sealed chambers.

Then again the survivor of the battle might be grievously wounded...

You know what else I've been thinking about? That potion of undead control. If Dilemma had imbibed it, she would have had to roll 9 or higher twice on 2d6. What are the odds of that?
This message was last edited by the player at 22:01, Thu 05 Jan 2023.

No, I’m being completely facetious. :)

If Dilemma, or whoever imbibed the potion was seeking to control Varghoulis, they would have had to roll higher than 9. That said, I’m not certain he would even be susceptible to the potion’s effect. I’ll have to give the matter some honest thought.

In reply to Labyrinth Lord (msg # 898):

 *reads LL's post* Anyone wanna buy this potion off of me?  Because, uh, I'm not gonna go controlling Lord Soth's Little Brother, there and then when he breaks free waking up with steel in my tummy.  'Less we can get him to walk over a panel with a trapdoor down to a vat full of cream cheese... or something else Grimtooth wrote... after he beats up Durin's Bane.  Then I will.

You can just go ahead and keep that in your pack, Dilemma.  I'm good!

Having given it some thought, I truly think that the next time the adventurers encounter Lord Varghoulis, someone needs to slam that potion down and then address the death knight in a strong, authoritative tone. ”YOU ARE MINE TO COMMAND, VARGHOULIS! I ORDER YOU TO…”

Only if they're cosplaying as Nergal.
This message was last edited by the player at 19:12, Fri 06 Jan 2023.

In reply to Barnabus (msg # 902):

Well, now that you mention it, I know phantasmal force... I can hide, someone else can quaff the potion, and then we can convince Varghoulis that the illusion is the one commanding him!  Or, we could dress someone in the illusory armor...

 or just be normal people like the LL is suggesting :(

The potion vendor has the following on hand:

More coin for the paladin vendor, then.

How much to hire a stone mason and crew to add a spiral staircase to the entrance to BM? And a steel ladder?

The entire project would likely require 2 weeks, start to finish. Costs to fabricate the ladder are standard. Costs for the construction of the stairs and installation of the ladder are higher, due to the dangerous nature of the environment.

Cost of Steel Ladder: 60 gp
Blacksmith (1 week): 90 gp
Engineer/Mason (2 weeks) 1200 gp
Workers (3) (2 weeks) 30 gp
Cost of Stairs: 400 gp

Total: 1780 gp

Divided among the five members of the adventuring company, the cost to each member would be 356 gp.

I must say I'm impressed with some of the layers of detail within this module. A message etched in runes on the bones of one of the mummies from within a sealed-up tomb!

I was thinking a bit about that secret room of butchery. If bringing the pail to Mazzahs triggers the agent hunt, it might have been secret to delay the initiation of that quest. Might have been a metagame thing.

The cursed fire stick...was that you're doing, LL? Or did the Foul Pheasant come stocked with that goblin brigade?

Assuming we have enough gold to commission the construction of the spiral staircase after Mazzahs pays us, I would be inclined to try to track down the agent of Nergal within Helix before returning to the BM. That should also give us more time to find the right retainer (or player) for the party.

Those are some good spells, especially The Strangler. I suppose it wouldn't be as effective against non-breathers?

The Rosy Quartz Jeweler and Money Lender == Agent of Nergal?

The time is roughly correct. By my thinking, presuming that Dilemma and Malivoire are involved in the search for the presumed cultist, they would need about a week to transfer the available spells from the necromancer’s spellbook into their own. Any financial burden associated with said transfer would be borne by Mazzahs. As the wizard sees it, it is part of the cost of having the adventurers effectively explore the Barrowmaze.


Yep. Totally my innovation. :)


I need to update the treasure thread within the next couple of days, but I believe the party members should have the funds on hand to see the work done. Tamson would be willing to guide the workers out to the crypt entrance and Kraomar and Searlait could serve as their guards as they performed the construction. More guards for the group could be had from the Mercenary Guild, if desired.


Correct. Those creatures without the need for respiration would not be damaged by the spell.

I'm not in favour of spending 350gp each to have a fancy stone stair created down into the catacombs.  I'd rather put that money toward improved equipment, spells, potions (once available), etc.

The ladder sounds more reasonable, since it looks to be more like a couple hundred gold in total.

You'd still have to involve a mason and one worker to install the ladder properly. The total cost for the installation of the ladder alone (including fabrication of the ladder itself by a blacksmith) would be 660 gp all told. Each adventurer's share of that comes to 132 gp.

Hmm, what if it was more like a siege ladder, with hooks on the top to anchor it into the ground and then long enough to reach the floor below?  I'm not sure why we are proposing permanent improvements to the catacombs.  I'm certainly not moving in there anytime soon!

Having a removable ladder as an option to waiting on the winch lift makes sense to me.  But I don't think we need something permanently installed, safetied, and inspected by the Helix Guild of Engineers and Sappers once monthly.  :)

That's my perspective at least.  But if everyone else wants the Cadillac version then I'll shut up.