| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | Into the Depths |
| Campaign: | Spelljammer | | Turn Start Date: | 4/7/606 |
| Adventure: | Depths of Spelljammer | | Turn End Date: | |
| Adventure Number: | 2 | | Characters: | Barnas, KC , Martin Vane, Morty Crystaltouched, Pellanistra Xarann, Shaarilla, Syllivarrna Obanghall, Tyra Stellastrom |
| Turn Number: | 1.0 | | Send To: | bluemountain@championsoftheempire.com |
| Greyhawk Campaign? | No | | Combat Turn? | No |
| Name | Lethal | NL | Current | END | PROT | LOW | DEF | ROF | Flash | Heal | Luck Pts | Fate Pts | |
| Barnas | 0 | 0 | 44/44 | /0 | | | | 0 | / | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| KC | 0 | 0 | 38/38 | /0 | 3 | 0 | 31 | 2 | / | 1/day | 2/1 | 1/0 | |
| Martin Vane | 0 | 0 | 45/45 | /0 | 2 | 0 | 31 | 2 | / | 1/day | 1/2 | /1 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | 0 | 0 | 41/41 | /0 | | | | 0 | / | 1/day | 1/2 | /1 | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | 0 | 0 | 50/50 | /0 | 2 | 0 | 45 | 4 | / | 1/day | /1 | /0 | |
| Shaarilla | 0 | 0 | 26/26 | /0 | | | | 0 | / | 1/day | /1 | /0 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | 0 | 0 | 47/47 | /0 | 2 | 0 | 26 | 0 | / | 1/day | /1 | /0 | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | 0 | 0 | 61/61 | 4/4 | 2 | 0 | 39 | 6 | / | 2/day | /1 | /0 | |
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| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| / | / | / | |
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You've been planning this for the past three months, ever since you explored deep into the bowels of Spelljammer and found a chest of coins guarded by a handful of skeletons. You destroyed the skeletons and took the chest. On returning to inhabited areas of Spelljammer, you examined your loot and split up the coins. You also discovered a magical key at the bottom of the chest. You don't know exactly what it does but you know that it is magical and it will probably open something in the vicinity of where you found the chest.
So you prepared. You spent much of the silver you found equipping yourselves for another adventure deep inside Spelljammer. You made specific plans on when you would depart and that time is now. You depart your rendezvous point and descend. You pass others going about their daily labors but these become fewer and fewer the further you get from the center of life on Spelljammer. You make your way down long passages of metal with doors leading hither and yon. The deeper you go, the scarier the denizens of this underdark but even they get fewer and fewer as you descend until you are passing through unused passages long since abandoned. There is no light this deep into Spelljammer so Barnas pauses to fill his hooded lantern and light it. In your explorations since youth, you have investigated many of the open doors that you now pass.
Finally you reach the location where you found the chest. The room is as you left it. Metal walls supported by struts and large metal bolts. Signs of rust can be seen everywhere, indicating long neglect. There are two other exits from the chamber other than the one you entered by.
GM: I have received introduction turns for everyone. I know some people are still tweaking their characters but hopefully they can wrap that up fairly quickly. I also still need memorized spells from Morty, Shaarilla and Syl.
GM: Here is the first official turn.
As the group heads deep into Spelljammer on their way to the room where they had previously found the chest, a natural marching order manifests. KC, after taking two attempts to cast an Infravision spell on himself, is in the lead. He is extremely stealthy. Lani, who has some skill with stealth, follows about 8 to 10 feet back and, like KC, does not need a light source. She relies on her elven infravision. The rest of the group is another 10 to 15 feet further back generally walking in ranks of two, with Tyra and Barnas leading, Morty and Shaarilla behind them, and Syl and Martin bringing up the rear. This provides a clear path for Tyra to quickly move up if danger should manifest ahead while Martin and Syl, both skilled with sword and spell, ready to defend the rear should trouble manifest in that direction. Shaarilla and Morty are protected in the middle. Shaarilla chafes at the confining restrictions of the corridors that prevent her from soaring high above but there is no alternative at this time.
GM: Let me know if you want to modify the order at all. It seemed to make sense to me. No one has the Noisy flaw, which is a plus and, with the quietest people in the front, you stand a fair chance of being able to being able to see enemies before they see you.
You reach the room where you found the chest. There are two other exits from the chamber other than the one you entered by.
One of the exits stands open and leads into a small chamber whose original purpose is lost in antiquity. The floor is covered with mud and lichen and water drips from the ceiling in multiple locations. A large, irregular block of rusted metal stands in the center of the room. It is about five feet high, seven feet long and three feet wide at its widest but neither the height, length nor width are uniform. The metal object has various sections that are bolted on to the larger frame like a latter day truck engine of large size.
The other exit leads to another corridor with occasional doors visible on both sides. It is pitch dark down here but for the oil lamp held by Barnas.
GM: I need PER rolls from everyone.
BARNAS: Perception Roll [rolled 49 vs. PER 17, 3x roll]
KC: Looking into the room he scans the area for something, anything that stands out, [rolled 81 vs. PER 22, 4x roll]
LANI: PER [rolled 57 vs. PER 19, 3x roll]
MARTIN: Per Roll: [rolled 95 vs. PER 15, 7x roll]
MORTY: PER roll requested [rolled 1 vs. PER 22, MADE BY A QUARTER!!!]
SHAARILLA: She’s not very perceptive: [rolled 62 vs. PER 15, 5x roll]
SYL: PER [rolled 41 vs. PER 15, 3x roll]
TYRA: Per [rolled 93 vs. PER 17, 6x roll]
BARNAS: With the Lantern fully open the young cleric takes a good look around the room.
SHAARILLA: “Morty, did you want to check out that lump of iron before we check out the passage?” Shaarilla wasn’t particularly interested in machines, but she knew Morty loved them and she didn't mind giving him a chance to investigate.
MORTY: I nod mutely and scurry over to check it out.
LANI: Lani crosses the room and keeps watch on the other exit. She knows Morty well enough to know that he is going to want to investigate the large pile of decaying metal and rust that probably used to be some sort of machine. But last time they were here, they battled some undead and there may be more of them in the vicinity. She has her new mace in her left hand and waits patiently peering down the long passage.
TYRA: Not wanting to let anyone enter the other room alone, Tyra followed glancing around the room while Morty investigated. Her war club and shield were at the ready and she peered into the darkness. The others have noted that she's far more comfortable in darkness than humans typically seem to be.
MORTY: As Morty moves toward the room and Tyra moves to back him up he gives her a quick smile of gratitude for the backup, then his expression changes quizzically, but he doesn't miss a step. As soon as they are in the side room out of sight of the corridor we came from, he steps to her quickly and says quietly, "We're being followed by someone trying to sneak up on us, I'm sure of it, I've been hearing noises for a while now that could have just been Spelljammer creaking and clanking, but just now I heard it even more clearly. Maybe we should have KC hang back as we move out and try to get a look at them?"
TYRA: She nodded and whispered back, "Yeah, good idea. How close do you think they are?"
MORTY: "Hard to say for sure but they're trying to move quietly, and fairly successfully since noone else heard them, so they have to be pretty close for me to hear them. Would you invent some pretext and call KC in here to be brought up to speed please? I need to get a look at this metallic object..." Having done my duty to inform the others I will withdraw from the conversation and let them handle it. If it comes down to it I can be called upon to cast Invisibility or to use my Spectral Image talent to get a look at him but KC will be much better suited to the task.
SYL (GM): Would Tyra or Morty know about the scope of Syl's spells? Hiding/Waiting for someone would function well with Blending or Invisibility. I could (try to) summon a shadow creature as well but not sure what we'd get...
GM: Yes, they would very likely know about Syl’s abilities assuming she was not trying to hide them from the rest of the group.
SYL: No need to hide abilities from group - always stronger in a group!
Tyra looks out through the door and sees KC near the other exit with Lani. She catches the eye of both KC and Syl and beckons them in with a tilt of her head. Once in the smaller room, she tells them what Morty heard.
KC: In a low voice, “There is something following us? No wonder I did not notice them, I was concentrating more on what’s in front of us.” He shrugs his shoulders.
KC: “I could stay back and see who or what it is. I think that when we move on I can stay back and see. Than move as quickly as I can to catch up to let you know or maybe I could work my way back to see. I would just like to not let them get between us.”
SHAARILLA: Oblivious to being followed and to the discussions in the next room, Shaarilla looks down the hallway with doors. In part she’s trying to decide if any of the doors looks especially interesting, in part she’s watching for something to come out of one of the doors, but mostly she’s just waiting for Morty to look at the big rusted machine in the next room. She’s not really all that alert. She has her bow in hand, but that’s more because she doesn’t have anyplace else to keep it than that she’s expecting trouble.
MARTIN: Martin is supposed to be watching down the hallway, but he’s actually spending more time admiring his new sword, and how shiny and sharp it is and how is makes a neat “swoosh” when the waves it around.
BARNAS: The young cleric had fastened the Lantern to the his walking stick (quarter staff) so that the light would be less blocked by peoples bodies and he would not have to wear himself out trying to hold it high. He realized this could slow him down if he needed to use it as a weapon but that was the price he would simply have to pay.
BARNAS: When Morty moved to the inspect the metal object Barnas adjusted his postion to give him light. When they talked that someone or something might be following he did nothing. As the light bearer his actions would be easily noticeable, and that was something he was reasonably sure they did not want who or whatever it was to know that they knew just yet.
TYRA: In a whisper, she replies, "It seems having two stay back, perhaps in this room while the rest of us continue forward a short distance makes sense. I would like some way for those two to communicate with us. Any thoughts on that?"
TYRA: "On who stays back, I like the idea of KC and Syl."
As Tyra, KC and Syl are discussing how to learn more about who might be following them, the rusty machine next to them suddenly rumbles, creaks and groans. Morty, the diminutive gnome, is sitting on top of the machine but, as it comes to life, he slides down to the floor and moves a respectful distance away. The others follow suit while those in the other chamber - Martin, Lani and Shaarilla, wonder what is going on. Martin and Lani have the presence of mind to continue watching their respective exits while Shaarilla rushes to the doorway to peer inside.
The chamber is eerily lit by the hooded lantern that Barnas holds aloft on the end of his quarterstaff. There is a cracking and lurching sound as the machine breaks through centuries of accumulated rust and grime. Then the machine begins to split apart along natural seams. Parts of the machine slide south, other parts slide north, east and west. Then the rumbling stops, and the machine is quiescent again.
By the light of Barnas' lantern, the group can see an open hatch in the middle of the floor, revealed by the sliding sections of the rusty machine. Morty peers through the hatch and sees a six foot diameter shaft leading downwards. By the glow of the lantern, he can see a metal ladder set into one side of the shaft. Suddenly bright lights come on along the length of the shaft revealing its 50 foot depth where it ends at a closed hatch with a wheel for opening. The light sources are rounded orbs set into the walls of the shaft every few feet.
SHAARILLA: “Wow! How’d you do that Morty?”
MORTY: "All I did was used the key to get the machine to do what it was designed to do, hide this entrance and open when required. The keyhole and panel were well hidden. Now I almost regret opening it if someone might have been waiting for us to find something interesting before trying to take it from us... We might want to have everyone pull into this room to defend the entrance while we continue investigating." Morty will then move carefully to the hole and investigate for any booby traps or trick ladder rungs as he moves down.
MORTY (OOC): If we had decided to have more than one person hang back I could have created an Illusion to fool the tailing person, if there'd been that many people missing when we moved out he'd probably have noticed. Not that we're likely to move out down the original passage now... Obviously I would be grateful for someone strong to follow me at a short distance and back me up in case something attacks me.
TYRA: The tall warrior turns around with an astonished expression on her face. To KC and Syl, she adds in a whisper, "Well, our shadow is sure to hear that." She beckons for the others to go to Morty to discuss. "Do we just want to take our chances and go on down? Morty, do you think can close it up?"
KC: "Well now we have a secret passage and followers. Do you think you could close the top entrance from below, Morty?"
KC: Putting on his thinking face, "Or maybe we could use this as an ambush point. Get them in the middle on the ladder."
KC: As he is looking over the me mutters, "I wonder..." he walks to the edge of the pit and sits down and dangles his legs over the edge next to the ladder. Then he shake his head, "no" and climbs hallway down the latter and stops. Then he places each foot firmly a against the wall one at a time as if he was testing out how form a grip he had on the wall with them. Then if his boots are don't slip he stands up and walks around the wall of the pit then up to the upper edge and step out onto the floor.
Morty starts down the shaft, checking the ladder as he goes, and KC uses his Spider Boots descend along the walls staying nearby. Tyra watches them descend from the top ready to go if there is trouble.
Martin looks up as he sees a sudden flash of light down the hallway. Two men are suddenly visible in the glow of a light spell. One is a drow elf and the other is human. The drow is wearing leather armor and carrying a longsword. The other is wearing no armor and currently unarmed but with a sword in a sheath at his side. After casting the light spell, he draws the sword and the two advance towards Martin.
Martin suddenly realizes that he has seen these men before. They are members of a small group of mercenaries known as Brute Force and are led by a man named Loric who is both a warrior and a mind mage. The human pulling out a sword is a warrior mage named Jaywand Tor but Martin can't remember the name of the drow. However he does know that they are both highly skilled mercenaries and either of them would be more than Martin's match in combat. The two of the together might be able to defeat the entire party. And if the Loric and the rest of Brute Force are close behind, the group has no chance.
All of this flashes through Martin's mind in an instant. The advancing men are in no hurry. Ttheir attitude and arrogant manner make it clear to Martin that they know about the group and know that the group is no match for their skill. Martin beats a hasty retreat towards the other room, urging Lani and Shaarilla to come with.
"We got to get out of here now!" Martin tells the rest of the group. "Two members of Brute Force are coming and the rest are probably not far behind."
GM: Everyone in the group has heard of Brute Force, some by reputation, others by sight and name. In game terms, most of the members are probably around overall level ten or so while Loric, their leader, is higher level. The group has NO chance to defeat them in combat.
GM: Let me know if this news speeds up your descent down the shaft. |
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