The Tomb of Menetnashte
August 29th, 761, 6:42 PM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions
Charles casts Haste and waits.
Kuzan casts Dark Way via Mobile Spellcasting and double-moves across, succeeds his Tumble.
Otto double-moves across the Darkway, succeeds on his Tumble.
Tomas double-moves across the Dark Way, fails his Tumble.
Andre preps a Programmed Image and moves across the Dark Way, stops outside of threat-range.
Lia casts Greater Invisibility and moves over
Sascha does not post actions.
Edmund double-moves after the rest of the PCs.
Devereux decides to step away from the edge and not get involved yet.
"W-wait!" Devereux skittered around the bridge, watching with wide eyes as the others charged straight over a house-sized scorpion. The professor gulped slightly, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down, and backed up toward the large Vos that stood behind him.
The scorpion
hissed as Kuzan ran past it, the eight faces on its eyes baring their sharp, vicious fangs. It snapped its claws irritably, splaying its legs as it reared its tail menacingly, but the priest moved too quickly for it to catch him. Its eyes snarled as its target escaped it, the frenzied caricatures of Lia twisting and turning about to look for easier prey. It found it. The eight faces hissed again in unholy unison, the claws darting out toward the shadowy bridge-
KILLKILLKILL-
"Tomas!" Devereux cried out. A claw as big as a carriage came slamming down on the knight, knocking him off his feet with the force of it. Harris' sword clattered ineffectually off its armored carapace as it trapped Tomas in its vise-like grip. Powerless to resist, the Lamordian was dragged off the bridge, finding himself face-to-faces with the whispering eyes below.
-killkillkillkillkillkillkill-
There was a horrible grinding noise as the pincher began to squeeze shut, slowly but surely trying to saw Tomas in half. The wild-eyed faces showed no joy at the knight's predicament, only a mad and unholy stare as the armor he wore began to give way. There were footsteps above, and they all looked up in concert, narrowing their blazing red eyes as they spotted more figures up above. With a sudden lunge, the scorpion struck again-
"Look out!" Harris yelled, barreling into Otto and shoving him out of the way. A second later the claw closed around where the Lamordian just stood... and where Harris now was, having taken his place. The guard tried to whip his sword around to stab the massive pincher, but it was too late. Edmund was pulled from the bridge, his sword arm uselessly pinned against his side. He barely had time to react before a stinger as large as a longsword impaled him through the chest.
"Aaa-AAARGH!" Harris gave out an agonized, strangled scream as enough venom to fill a horse-trough was forced into his veins. The guardsman's head fell backward, his eyes unfocused as he tried to struggle, squirm loose, do
anything except focus on the excruciating pain as the poison worked its way towards his heart.
Scorpion takes a Claw AoO versus Tomas; 44 to hit, 21 damage. Improved Grab with 61 grapple check (Colossal Size is nice to have), I'm going to assume that succeeds and move Tomas over. 16 Constrict damage, for a total of 37 damage.
Harris uses Hindering Opportunist to raise Tomas' AC by 2 against the scorpion's initial attack, which fails to matter in the slightest.
Scorpion opts to hold Tomas with only one claw, and full attacks Otto and Edmund. Rolling a d2 for targeting. Claw attack versus Otto, Sting Attack versus Edmund.
Claw vs. Otto: 54 to hit, natural 20, critical threat. 35 to confirm, natural 1, critical failed. Deals 18 damage with the claw, 43 grapple check for Improved Grab, Edmund uses Interpose to take the attack instead of Otto. Scorpion grabs Edmund and deals 21 Constrict damage for a total of 39 damage.
Sting vs. Edmund: 42 to hit, 11 damage, DC 33 Poison, Edmund his save and takes a further 35 damage.
The lights began to move.
From the blazing webs came four flaming spiders, molten hot and as bright as a raging bonfire. They skittered along their webs as easily as a natural spider did, the thick cords of molten magma as easy for them to run across as the floor below. One spider sprung from its web, jumping toward the magical bridge that stretched across the chasm; the bridge miraculously held, and for a moment it raised its mandibles at Andre, but the thin walkway was too much for the massive creature to balance on. The spider fell to the ground with an audible thud, bunching its legs up protectively around its body and staying still for the moment.
The other spiders watched this escapade with whirling eyes, then sought a more productive strategy. Spinning forth cords of molten magma with their hind-legs, they threw them forth, trapping those who had strayed into their territory in their infernal webs. Andre felt the intense, rock-melting heat of the webs as they spattered around him; a few feet away, Otto suffered the same fate. Even Kuzan's fleet feet couldn't quite save him from the tangling, red-hot cords.
Orange Spider tries to jump on the Dark Way. Fails the balance check, so it lands with a splat 50 feet below, taking 14 damage.
Red Spider shoots a fiery web at Kuzan, 21 ranged touch attack hits, deals 6 damage and Webs
White Spider shoots a fiery web at Otto, 23 ranged touch attack hits, deals 8 damage and Webs
Yellow Spider shoots a fiery web at Andre, 16 ranged touch attack hits, deals 6 damage and Webs
Web-details are copied and pasted from the relevant MM below.
Behind him, Kuzan heard maniacal laughing.
The double door was indeed a double door, but it was also a man - if that twisted wreck of bones and flesh could still be called a man. He had once been well dressed, a nobleman of the poorer type, one that Kuzan didn't recognize. Now bones twisted and jutted forth from his ruined body, the horrifically distorted ribs and spine twisting in on themselves to form the door and hinges. Flesh stretched between the bones, pulsing sickly in the air, and yet somehow the priest could make out the original form of what it had once been. What it was now, however, was no longer anything that could be considered human... or judging from its laughter, sane.
"Die, die die die die!" the door cackled. "
Watch them all die!"
Objective: Escape through the double doors at the top of the chamber.
The room is a total of 70 feet high. The top level (the grey stones) are 50 feet above ground level, and 20 feet below the ceiling. Falling off the upper level onto the lower level inflicts 5d6 damage, and can be reduced by Jump or Tumble checks. (Consult the SRD:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/environment.htm)
The pits are a further 20 feet, and lined with spikes. Falling into a pit causes you to take 5d6 damage, which is cumulative with falling from the top level, so falling into a pit from the top level deals 10d6 damage.
The firewebs stretch from floor to ceiling, and function as regular Webs (
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/Web.htm), with
ONE major difference. They are molten-hot, and deal 6d6 fire damage to anyone who comes into contact with them (that is, moves through them or starts his round there). They are also destroyed by Cold Damage instead of Fire Damage. They are a DC 22 Reflex save to avoid entanglement.
Roiling Arcana: The entire room is under the effect of the Scorpion's Roiling Arcana aura. As a result, whenever you cast a spell or use an SLA (even one granted by an item), roll on the Wild Magic Table here: http://www.d20srd.org/srd/planes.htm. (You need to scroll down a bit).
Flame Web: Inferno spiders can throw a burning web eight times per day. This is similar to an attack with a net but has a maximum range of 100 feet, with a range increment of 20 feet, and is effective against targets up to one size category larger than the inferno spider. The web anchors the target in place, allowing no movement. Each round, at the end of the inferno spider’s turn, an entangled creature takes 2d6 points of fire damage.
An entangled creature can escape the web with a successful DC 21 Escape Artist check or burst it with a DC 25 Strength check. The check DCs are Constitutionbased, and the Strength check DC includes a +4 racial bonus. The web has 12 hit points and hardness 5. If any part of the flame web takes 5 or more points of cold damage, the flame is extinguished and the web becomes cold and brittle, reducing the difficulty of the Escape Artist check to DC 16 and the Strength check to DC 20.
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PCs: Haste, Feather Fall
Kuzan: 83/89 HP, Darkvision, Greater Resistance, Flame-Webbed,
Lia: 46/46 HP, Superior Resistance, Greater Mage Armor, Greater Invisibility
Tomas: 70/107 HP, Grappled (opposed roll of 41 for Scorpion)
Charles: 63/63 HP,
Otto: 64/62 HP, Flame-Webbed,
Andre: 37/39 HP, Flame-Webbed,
Sascha: 108/108 HP,
NPCs: Haste, Feather Fall
Harris: 30/115 HP, Grappled (opposed roll of 40 for the Scorpion)
Devereux: 33/33 HP,
Enemies:
The Grand Scorpion:
The White Spider: Cover (Fireweb)
The Red Spider: Cover (Fireweb)
The Yellow Spider: Cover (Fireweb)
The Orange Spider: -14 HP
)
