[DnD] Tomb of Horrors (GFF D&D Adventure X)

Well, it seemed that the lack of an invitation was no problem and with it being so dark in there, hopefully our ruse would stick.

I stepped into the room and began working my way around the wall to the left, feeling ahead of me as I went looking for a bar, or in fact anything of interest.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

1 Die Roll STEALTH CHEEEECK

I patted Murray reassuringly and took a step back as soon as we slid into the door, taking a place next to it against the wall, as quietly and as stealthily as I could. I whispered down to my cranial companion

"I don't suppose you can see in the dark?"

I hid myself in the black, waiting for any important looking person to walk through that door so I could slit a throat or two.

Stealth check 13+3+2(footpads) = 18.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Uhhhhhhhhh. Garold stared blankly. Drunk crossdressing orcs were so far beyond his area of expertise his mind shut down when tasked with calculating a plan of action. Then suddenly, salvation! What he needed to handle this situation must surely be readily available.

"Where's the keg?!" he asked before wandering into the darkness.

I was speaking idiomatically.

5 Dice Rolls Uxig init

Beefi meanders along the wall to the west, not encountering much of anything (or anyone). Judging by the noise the room was quite well stocked with both beverages and company, but finding either in the dark was troublesome.

Sam lurks by the door, lying in wait to ambush the guest of honor. Murray ignores his question, instead muttering a panoply of curses under his breath. It seems unusually warm here, but then after tromping around in a dungeon dripping wet most anything would.

Garold wanders in, faintly gobsmacked by the absurdity of it all. Quite abruptly, the utterly dark chamber is flooded with light. Perhaps too much light, really. There is no party, and no orcs. If they were ever there in the first place, they'd been magicked away. The northern wall of the chamber is comprised entirely of a massive archway, much like the smaller archways encountered earlier in the tomb. Other than the size, this portal offers another significant departure from its smaller cousins: the destination is quite clearly on display. On the other side of the archway, a blasted landscape of fire and lava roils menacingly. The portal is clearly a two-way affair; half the floor of the room has been engulfed in hot magma flowing from the portal, and the remaining stone floor in the southern half of the room is rapidly heating underfoot.

Though this is unpleasant, it's not much of an immediate threat in itself (and brings on the happy upshot that Sam's clothes are dried within a matter of moments). Things take a turn for the worse, however, when the floor begins to rumble underfoot. Struggling to keep their footing, the Five immediately reach a startling realization — both the portal chamber and the corridor beyond (in which Gra-fa-zut and Uxig remain) are tilting northward, threatening to dump them all unceremoniously into the magma. The corridor was rapidly becoming a steep cliff to be scaled, and hungry tongues of fire lash out from the portal as though impatient for their meal.

"Another fine mess you've gotten us into", Murray snarls.

SKILL CHALLENGE: TRY TO NOT DIE
No quota of successes to meet: skill challenge ends when all of the Five are safe from the elemental portal (or killed by it).
Proceed in order of initiative. This is a primarily Physical challenge; each character may use one Social or Mental skill during the challenge.
Failed checks cause the character to slide 2 squares toward the portal; successful checks move the character away from the portal at half speed.
Once you reach DP-3 or DP-2 your character is safe. Characters in row DC or higher will begin taking fire damage.

DC 17

Beefi 19, Sam 12, Garold 10, Uxig 9, Gra-fa-zut 8

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

1 Die Roll acrobatics

5 + 15 - 2 = 18. SUCCESS.

I managed to scramble as far away from the slope as it began to roll and pitch towards the firey gates. I made sure Murray was kept close to my hip as I clambered upwards.

"All right, Murray. Next time, we try it your way!"

FELIPE NO

1 Die Roll Skills to pay the bills?

Well this was a sudden and upsetting turn of events. Luckily my formative years spent trekking in the mountains near our humble abode had given me pretty formidable running up slopes skills. Thinking the corridor was the safest option, I made a run for the doorway.

Athletics check to move at full speed back out the room and up the corridor

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

1 Die Roll run like Scooby Doo

Garold blinked at the sudden harsh light, then focused on what was before him. This wasn't beer, this wasn't beer at all! Then the brain fog from the encounter with the orc cleared.

"Ruh roh."

He then flailed all four limbs at the tilting floor, desperately scrabbling for purchase.

Athletics check.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

1 Die Roll rarr

As his world starts to tilt Slim see's that the room is in fact full of lava not orcs. This makes him very angry indeed.

YOU! You're supposed to be orcs not lava! Change back this instant so that I can smash you with my hammer!

He then begins attempting to climb to safety while muttering under his breath about how hammering lava never works.


attempt to intimidate the lava as I crawl for safety. Son of a bitch

There's nowhere I can't reach.

1 Die Roll ATHELTET

I was glad I had hesitated before entering the dark room; glowing elemental things can kinda ruin darkness. When the light suddenly came on and the tilting began, I turned from the door and tried to run. It was slow going, but I slowly managed to pull forward.

Athletics check
Move to DI-2

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

4 Dice Rolls elementals init

Nimbly pulling himself upward through the doorway, Sam grimaces as Uxig tumbles past him. The minotaur and the shifter had slid closer to the magma as well. Only Sam and Gra-fa-zut were making progress, the swordmage grimly hauling himself up the slope with his brute strength. At least the kobold hadn't burst into flames yet; the furry contingent downhill were both visibly smoldering. This wasn't the worst of their problems; four blazing figures had entered through the portal, slowly wading through the magma toward the Five. The four of them seemed composed entirely of fire and molten rock, maintaining only the rudest semblance of a humanoid shape.

13 fire damage to Beefi and Garold

Elementals: AC 14 Fort 15 Ref 14 Will 12

Beefi 19, Sam 12, Garold 10, Uxig 9, Gra-fa-zut 8, Lesser Magma Elenentals 5

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1 Die Roll acrobatic escaping!

I managed to once again clamber upwards, away from the threat of the fire. I glanced back to see my new friends not faring quite as well as myself.

"Balls!"

The situation called for it. I don't apologise. I took the rope from my pack, tied it around anything nearby and slightly stable, poured water from my skin over it to keep it from burning and tossed the other end back down the tilting room. I may be a cold, dead-inside private dick with more whiskey in him than care for his fellow man, but goddamnit, I will throw a rope to a burning man. At least today. At least this part of today.

10 + 15 -2 = 23. SUCCESS!

How ya doing, buddy?

1 Die Roll Ch-ch-ch-check it out

I felt the heat singeing the hair on teh back of my neck but steadfastly ignored it as I tried to make it back up the hill towards the relative safety of the corridor.

Endurance check

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

1 Die Roll don't be a dick dice

Damn that's some brave lava!

Time to haul ass! um specifically my own.

athletics to climb away

FELIPE NO

1 Die Roll hot hot hot hot

As the searing heat brought his hair ever nearer to flash point and fire elementals closed in on him, Garold felt somewhat validated in his duty to warn humanoids of the dangers of nature. He looked over to see Beefi suffering the same plight.

"I WARNED YOU ABOUT NATURE BRO!!!! I TOLD YOU DOG!"

He decided he'd rather not be a martyr for his cause though, and made another attempt to flee the encroaching lava, this time with the aid of the halfling's rope.

Athletics check to move toward hallway

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

1 Die Roll History

GFZ could swear he'd heard about some town falling into a volcano once and how the townspeople had all had some great idea about how to escape. He racked his brain trying to think how he might help his stricken companions.

History check to shout advice to everyone else so they can escape better

Jam it back in, in the dark.

1 Die Roll burn a cow,more

Beefi continues to struggle, his hooves finding little purchase on the superheated stones. He slides even further away from the Five, only a few scant feet from plunging irrevocably into the roiling magma. Though it slows down his own progress (and spends his canteen), Sam takes a moment to wedge the end of his rope between a pair of loose stones in the wall. He flung the rest of the cord behind him, hoping his allies could make use of it. Dampened or not, the rope wouldn't last long in the searing heat.

DC becomes 15 for the remainder of this round and the next (since it's damp); then rope is hella burnt up.

Just as he's about to tumble toward the magma as well, the rope hurtles down toward Garold. Reflexively, the shifter seizes the rope in his teeth at the very moment his feet slip away from the floor below. Though he's momentarily embarrassed by his primal instincts, there's no time to dwell on it; he hauls himself up the rope, with Uxig beside him scaling the stones with his claws dug into the deliquescent rock.

Hauling himself up the slope, Gra-fa-zut glances over his shoulder to see the others far behind. What was keeping them? Perhaps they didn't know just how dangerous the magma was.

"You know, a similar portal to the Elemental Chaos opened over the Freeport region millennia ago. Of course, at that time it was just more open sea. It's only thanks to the millions of tons of molten rock that Freeport is such a prosperous port today. Can you even imagine? Surviving records say the resulting cloud of smoke and steam blotted out the sun for nearly a year!"

The swordmage smiled in satisfaction as his companions redoubled their efforts. It was complete bullshit, of course: Pirate Isle had been formed when a particularly bold band of seagoing knaves stole all the earth and stone from an ancient minor kingdom known for its cruelty, and spitefully dumped it into the sea. The resulting crevasse rapidly filled with seawater, creating an inlet to the river Lis and opening a trade route to the Moonsea, which —

Gra-fa-zut frowns as the stink of burning cowhide reaches his nostrils. Not the best time to reminisce on his studies.

For the rest of the encounter, successful checks move you upward at half speed +1

The magma elementals continue to slog slowly through the molten rock, getting alarmingly close to Beefi. At least they didn't seem to pose any threat at range, but they were clearly gaining on the Five.

Beefi 19, Sam 12, Garold 10, Uxig 9, Gra-fa-zut 8, Lesser Magma Elenentals 5

There's nowhere I can't reach.

1 Die Roll Now or never

This was getting ridiculous, I was mere feet from the broiling lava now with seemingly little hope of reaching the relative safety of the corridor. Although such a move was completely alien to me, I lowered my head and flat out charged up the slope in a way I'd once seen a combat minotaur do, hoping that some primal instinct would give me the energy I needed to escape my imminent fiery doom.

Athletics check to charge up the slope, using boots of adept charging for extra chargyness

How ya doing, buddy?

1 Die Roll KaPWING

I saw my friend, the cow, plunging towards the magma men. He dug his hooves in and charged forward and I decided to buy him a couple seconds. I pulled my crossbow and unloaded a bolt into the one nearest him. If only to buy him a couple extra moments.

Hit. Assuming minions so no damage roll.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

1 Die Roll heave ho

Garold was surprised to find that the rope clenched between his teeth was in fact real. When memories of playing "teething tug-of-war" as a young pup came flooding back to him he had simply assumed he was seeing his life flash before his eyes.

The steam rising off the rope was lessening now, and it was beginning to singe. He had to make advantage of it before it disintegrated completely.

Athletics Check to pull self along rope

How ya doing, buddy?

1 Die Roll eh

While in no position to help prevent his companion from becoming succulently flame broiled Slim does attempt to make the climb easier for him when he reaches the hallway.

Activate stonebreaker ability and attempt to smash handholds into the floor as I climb. Also if I can use my shifty ability to increase my effective move speed for halving purposes I will be doing that from here on out.

Athletics roll I guess?

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?

Gra-Fa-Zut watches as his allies come dangerously close to getting roasted alive. Fortunately, the proximity to the lava makes them redouble their efforts, and the minotaur and the shifter manage to get out of immediate danger. Gra-Fa-Zut decides it's time to get everyone as far uphill as he can. The fighting can wait until the Five reach level ground, assuming that the lava monsters decide to follow them that far.

Use Rubicant Blade Broadsword. Move GFZ south 6 and whichever two allies are the furthest back forward 5. Assuming that Boots of Equilibrium will prevent backsliding.

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Rallying his companions on, Gra-fa-zut spared a moment to glance at the goal. The corridor was practically vertical now; within moments they'd be facing a rock wall instead of a difficult climb. Flinging his sword toward the precipice above, Gra-fa-zut put his faith in an oft under-appreciated aspect of the swordbond. True, you could always will the blade to return to you. But were the way obscured — say, if there were a wall between — you'd just have to make the trip yourself. Laying a hand each on the shoulders of Uxig and Garold as they approached from behind, Gra-fa-zut grit his teeth and waited. He'd never tried teleporting through a wall before, but in theory it should work.

A brief, terrifying moment later, the three of them were sprawled in a heap in the southern corner where the tilting hallway met the hall of the three pits. Seconds after, the kobold and the halfling scrambled through a tiny gap barely large enough for their small forms, tumbling down what was now a jagged wall of rock blocking all access to the passage. They'd not be getting back in there without some pickaxes or a hearty supply of blasting powder — not that they'd want to, really.

You were all outrunning the mag-men handily; might as well skip a bunch of rolling with no real drama or risk. 570 XP (114 each). Oh wait that is precisely the amount you need to level up how convenient.

What, you don't want my bikini-clad body?

I lay on my back, panting for breath. The exertions of the lava room had almost been too much for me and the cold stone of the corridor floor was soothing after the intense heat of the lava. Despite my fatigue, I actually felt strangely stronger as a result of the trial by fire, it was a slightly odd sensation.

Surge up to near full (As in don't part-use a surge)

Clearly we had missed the actual way forward. I had checked the walls thoroughly or so I thought so the only obvious answer was some sort of passage under all that water or slime. Not fancying a dip in the slime, I wondered, out loud, if there was anyone around who could breathe underwater. The riddle did say we'd find a fortuious fall after 2 pits after all and I'd hardly call death by immolation a fortuitious fall by any stretch of the imagination.

While I waited for a response, I checked the walls, floor and ceiling where we were for any further hints.

Look for secret doors and treasure

Jam it back in, in the dark.

After brushing himself off and and finding to his great disappointment that there are in fact no additional scorch marks on his person Slim decides to thank the swordmage with a nice refreshing dip.

Going over to where his ally is still sprawled on the floor he pulls out the ten foot pole he somehow keeps in his pack and lashes him to it with his head pointed toward the far end.

If there are any delicious look fish I want to go next!

Dip him as far as I can into the water pit and then bring him back up to ask what he saw after about 5 minutes or so.

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I heard a kerfuffle behind me and turned to see what was going on. It looked as though Slim had something heavy tied to the end of the huge pole he had inexplicably stowed in his pack and was using it to probe the depths of the rancid pool. I wandered to the edge to see what it was he was using as a probe but couldn't make it out in the gloom.

I went back to checking the walls and so forth, happy that my erstwhile and frankly terrifying new friend was handling the business of finding us a route with a professionalism he had thus far seemed to be actively avoiding.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.