The Tomb of Menetnashte
August 29th, 761, 6:43 PM; Day 165 of the Menetnashte Expedition
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PC Actions
Lia magic-missiles the scorpion for 17 damage.
Charles hits the scorpion for 6 damage.
Tomas hits the scorpion for 42 damage (as an incarnation of rage powered by demonic energy, I count the thing as evil).
Andre is being semi-NPCed (see below)
Kuzan heals Harris for 39 HP.
Sascha grabs Harris and am-scrays.
Otto shoots Orange Spider for 9 damage.
The thing screamed as it fell. It was an ear-splitting sound, something that you didn't so much hear as something you felt in the shaking of your bones, but in truth you heard it as well. It wasn't a scream of pain, though, or a scream of fear, nor even some form of death-scream. It was a full-bellowed, many-throated cry of utmost
fury. Even as the arachnic incarnation of rage fell, it still wanted most of all to bring you down with it. It hungered for your destruction even as the eight insane faces fell silent.
Then... as though silence and stillness were the one thing this creature could not abide, it began to
melt. Slowly, shorn of purpose, it began to return to its constituent parts, a blend of equally noxious magic and madness. The phrase 'red pudding' came to mind at the mixture of all the various ichors and fluids swirled together, even as the church-sized beast liquified with the speed of molasses.
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"Ugh... what
happened?" Harris said, shaking his head to clear away the disorientation. Which, admittedly, was understandable. After having been recently pounded by a creature that could possess its own marking on a map, you would not be at your best either. The fact that Edmund likely had several pints of venom still floating through his bloodstream could be considered a mitigating factor as well. The Mordentishman did
not look good. "Thank's Sascha."
Harris stumbled to his feet and ran along with you, soon reaching the semi-animated door. The Mordentishman drew his greatsword, ready to smash it in half, then paused. A little uncertain of what the proper course of action would be, he asked aloud. "How do we get past?"
Devereux is nowhere to be found.
Harris reaches the door and draws his sword.
Andre escapes from the webs and moves towards the door.
The spiders, meanwhile, were having their own brief decisions. The thing which had frightened them away was gone, leaving only a sizeable number of fleeing, bite-sized morsels. They slid down their webs with ease, passing their long, black-and-red legs over the glowing strands to reach the ground, then charging forth after the nearest edible foes.
They didn't actually look very much like spiders, in truth. They were crafted of animated magma, and the ground was scorched where their feet fell. Their outer bodies constantly crusted over and cooled as the liquid rock was exposed to the air, and then cracked and revealed the molten interior once more as the spiders moved. And they moved quickly, taking huge strides to get closer to their prey.
One of them managed to bite Tomas, and just as the scorpion's sting before it, the bite was excruciating. It felt as though the Lamordian's body had been set alight, which was not an entirely innacurate way of considering what the caustic venom was doing to his bloodstream.
Regardless, the inferno spiders were not about to let this meal get away from them.
Yellow Spider Spring-Attack Bites Tomas. Hits, deals 14 damage, DC 21 Fort Save or an additional 10 damage.
Orange Spider double moves after Charles
Red Spider double moves into good biting position.
White Spider Spring-Attack Bites Kuzan. Misses.
Objective: Escape through the double doors at the top of the chamber.
Door is now DC 20 Open Lock, DC 25 Break, No Hardness but has DR 10/Adamantine instead, and is spell-immune. Has 40 hitpoints.
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.
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.
Deeper Darkness: 20% Concealment within, does not reach the floor and affect things there. See the SRD for more details. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/deeperDarkness.htm
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PCs: Haste, Feather Fall, Inspire Courage
Kuzan: 71/89 HP, Darkvision, Greater Resistance,
Lia: 18/46 HP, Superior Resistance, Greater Mage Armor, Greater Invisibility
Tomas: 54/120 HP
Charles: 61/63 HP,
Otto: 50/62 HP
Andre: 36/39 HP
Sascha: 67/108 HP, Rage
NPCs: Haste, Feather Fall, Inspire Courage
Harris: 50/115 HP, Inspired Greatness
Devereux: 33/33 HP, Invisible
Enemies:
The Grand Scorpion: -340 HP, DEAD
The White Spider: Cover (Fire Webs)
The Red Spider: Cover (Fire Webs)
The Yellow Spider: -46 HP, Cover (Fire Webs)
The Orange Spider: -43 HP
Take it away, folks!
