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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 19, 2023 8:25:05 GMT -6
((I'm back!))
N'Rasa was still overwhelmed - first the dizzying climb down into the city (N'Rasa was not comfortable with heights over 30'), then there was the ominous city itself, even more intimidating than massive Jakalla. And now this nightmare beast!
N'Rasa screamed and ran, assuming the others would do the same. She was surprised to see no one was other than the porters, and she stopped with shame after covering just 45'.
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 19, 2023 9:45:48 GMT -6
(ooc: rules question in D&D clerics could turn undead, can they do this in this rules set?)
Option one ( if clerics can turn undead) Mahammad uses his holy symbol to try to turn undead
Option two: If not then Mohammad draws his mace and will try to attack it
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Post by xerxez on Jun 20, 2023 4:01:02 GMT -6
Sorry for the cliffhanger, we unloaded a full move yesterday and my home is full of boxes! And I feel old and feeble....
Will try and update tonight after work. Thanks!
In answer to your question Dtspurrier: there is not an equivalent in EPT rules to the Turn Undead cleric ability of OD&D.
With level gain there are some spells which create magical barriers which cannot be penetrated by Undead and there are some magic items which control/repel them.
I should note that there is an option of invoking Divine Intervention but not by 1st level characters. I will explain that rule in detail later.
I'll also say here that owing to the slower pace of PBP , I may increase XP by some means. I will first see how you guys make out at adventures end!
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 20, 2023 8:39:58 GMT -6
Mohammad will then attack the winged creature with his mace
( full day move with boxes is tiring for anyone )
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 21, 2023 19:03:41 GMT -6
Mi'kímu joins Balesh and Mohammad in descending upon the creature, commanding Fi'ru to hang back near Vortumoi and do his best work with the spear, if he must.
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Post by xerxez on Jun 21, 2023 19:13:31 GMT -6
Remainder of First Combat Round- Voro'dla had initiative but has already attacked.
When the Voro'dla attacked the porter, I rolled only one dice for its damage, forgetting that in the EPT rules, the number of damage dice rolled is calculated by a table...essentially, higher level characters and NPCs, and higher HD Monsters do more damage against lower level/lower HD targets.
The Voro'dla is a 4 HD monster. According to the Damage Dice table it can do TWO dice of damage against 1 HD or 1st Level Targets. However against a target of HD of 1+1, it can only do 1, so for those of you with a Constitution bonus, it cannot do two dice of damage.
I realize your characters do not know this but they can judge somewhat of the strength and ferocity of an attacker visually in most cases and also I thought you might like to know some rules stuff!
After the shock of seeing Den die horribly, you all rally.
The creature is low to the ground and within reach of the party's melee weapons.
Charbok bellows and whacks it with his mace soundly.
Karunaz and Balesh bring home their blows to the aberration as well!
Vortumoi is too surprised to gather his magic and chooses to swing on the undead monster but both he and Mohammad miss.
Fi'ru and Mi'kimu cannot close to attack in the press of figures at this point.
Where the weapons slash or bash the monster, a wound opens and bubbling black, tar like liquid spurts out.
GM Note: I have no time to document all of your rolls tonight but after bonuses Charbok, Karunaz and Balesh did 23 Points of Damage. Karunaz alone has a whopping +4!!!
The monster yet lives, though!
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Post by xerxez on Jun 21, 2023 19:18:16 GMT -6
(flightcommander, I am amending my previous post, didn't want to choose an action on your behalf but having heard from you I did roll and regret to say Mi'kimu got only a 6!
However, it is now 2nd Round and the Party has initiative!
You may all melee attack again, cast spells or missiles, or whatever you wish!)
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 21, 2023 19:32:03 GMT -6
[Haha, no worries, we keep posting at almost the same time, I didn't refresh before I posted. If Mi'kimu cannot join the melee, he wonders if he can safely hurl a slingstone at the creature without risking his companions. If not, he'll hang back as well and do his best to defend Fi'ru and Vortumoi should the creature decide to switch targets.]
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Post by makofan on Jun 22, 2023 6:14:47 GMT -6
"It can be hurt" yells Balesh. "Keep at it!" He continues to attack
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 22, 2023 8:51:12 GMT -6
mohammad continues to attack the beast
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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 22, 2023 14:25:55 GMT -6
N'rasa drew her dagger and raced back towards the battle, but shied away from getting as close as her brave (or foolhardy?) companions. She stayed 10' away, ready to defend herself if it happened to come at her.
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Post by xerxez on Jun 23, 2023 8:35:44 GMT -6
As Den the porter breathes his last, the vile monster turns to Balesh.
The whole party begins a dance of war, closing in and then dropping back to let their companions have attack, a moving circle around the horror that assails them.
Only two land deadly blows- Mi'kimu and Fi'ru.
The monster is upon Balesh and clawing viciously at the warrior just as Fi'ru's spear pierces its back and the stone from Mi'kimu's sling strikes the back of its head!
Balesh is bowled over by the monster who falls dead on top of him, its last fetid gasp filling his senses with revulsion.
VORTUMOI: (Panting) "A creation of the Priests of the Doomed Prince, K'sarul. Undead beings animated by necromancy used upon the bodies of disinterred warriors-- the monster's corpse must be immolated or it will revive! No doubt other such horrors await within the Tomb!"
GM Notes:
Charbok d20= 3 Miss Karunaz d20= 5 Miss Fi'ru d20 =15 +1 Hit (D6 Damage = 4) Balesh d20=9 + 5 Miss N'rasa d20 =17 (Rolled in case she had been the next target, ended up not being needed. Mi'kimu d20= 19, Hit (d6 = 5) Vortumoi d20= 11 Miss Mohammad d20= 11 MIss
Balesh randomly selected as target with d12, Vorodla d20=5 Miss
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Post by xerxez on Jun 23, 2023 8:40:32 GMT -6
The hillock and the upper tomb structure await your ascent, an easy climb.
What do you do/say?
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 23, 2023 14:11:03 GMT -6
"Quickly!" shouts Mi'kimu, "free Balesh from beneath this dead thing, and let us set it alight!" I'm not sure what we have with us that we can use to help that process along, but if there is any dry vegetation around, Mi'kimu commands Fi'ru and any able porters to collect some. In the meantime perhaps Mi'kimu can get a small fire started while someone else checks our supplies for a flask of oil or other accelerant.
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 23, 2023 17:08:20 GMT -6
Mohammad prays to his goddess for thanks and protection and will search the area for any firewood and also any goodies. He does say " lets burn the dead porters body and also bless this occassion so his body does not come back undead"
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 23, 2023 18:28:40 GMT -6
"I agree! I needn't mention this to you, Mohammad, but let us not mingle the fires! To do so would be to commit blasphemy against our kinsman.
"Let us take heed as well that the smoke will signal our presence here. A foe might lay in ambush for our ascent from the tombs and fall upon us, weak but laden with treasures."
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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 24, 2023 21:34:50 GMT -6
N'Rasa, having resheathed her dagger, held her breath and had been one of the first to help pull Balesh out from beneath that monstrosity. She had no fire at the ready, but assisted in preparing the fire and admistering it.
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Post by xerxez on Jun 25, 2023 0:09:33 GMT -6
Vortumoi draws forth a key hung upon a small chain around his neck and opening the chest he ordered borne withdraws a small flask which he hands off to Karunaz.
Karunaz empties it upon the dead monster and your kinsman, keeping them apart.
He uses two stones to ignite some tinder and soon both corpses are consumed.
There is nothing to be done about the smoke...
As the flames consume the Vorod'la, to your amazement a shadowy upper torso and arms and a head takes shape in the smoke above the corpse, writhing as if in agony as it floats above!
The shadow-shape tilts its head and opens its mouth and a shriek is heard upon the wind...then the shadow-being dissolves into the air.
At Vortumoi's urging the party begins to climb the hillock that is the overgrown Tomb of Bejordi...
Reaching its summit you all crowd into the stone edifice which crowns it, wary of traps or other guardians.
A few colorful jungle birds resting within take sudden flight at your intrusion...
There is a large basalt rectangular table inside the structure.
It was once laid straightly in the structure's eaves, coffin like, but someone long ago pushed it at an angle.
It once hid a square portal in the structure floor, now open and exposed and showing a long stone stair that stretches from the portal down into darkness, into the hill!
Moreover, a thin trail of smoke rises from the portal, with the smell of cooking meat!
Someone is down there.....
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Post by makofan on Jun 25, 2023 12:50:55 GMT -6
"Time to earn our coin", says Bálesh, ready to take the lead. "Who is providing light?"
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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 25, 2023 19:02:50 GMT -6
"Would it not be better to fight them out here?" N'Rasa interjected. "If we could lure them out and surround them our chances would be much improved."
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 26, 2023 9:47:52 GMT -6
Mohammad agrees that we have an open field and better tactics to lure the enemy up here
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 26, 2023 22:10:11 GMT -6
Mi'kímu takes this inopportune moment to congratulate Fi'ru on his spear-strike against the Vorodla ... and also admonishes him for striking out against the thing, when he was explicitly told to manage defense. "You have learned our Nuroab spear-style well, so far, and shown your prowess! You make me proud, youngling!"
"I grant you some leeway now in your actions. You have earned it!"
"But tell me, crafty child who sought to pilfer my purse, how shall we deal with the dwellers within the tomb? Smother them with blades — or lure them to the surface?"
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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 27, 2023 10:55:10 GMT -6
"Food is the universal lure," N'Rasa said, while Mi'kimu was waiting for Fi'ru's answer. "If we catch something and cook it out here, the smell would surely bring out some of them to investigate."
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Post by xerxez on Jun 27, 2023 23:07:54 GMT -6
Hi! I must say it may be a day or two before I can update the quest.
My wife is here and we're unpacking our house but I will maintain our game, please be patient.
I need to begin our map and that will take a minute.
Thanks!
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Post by xerxez on Jun 29, 2023 21:00:25 GMT -6
Fi'ru nods at Mi'kimu, his eyes fierce with the fire of this second ordeal.
FI'RU: "Something overcame me...the sight of that vile monster took my reason. I will try to be more disciplined.
Whatever is down there now...it cannot possibly be so terrible.
I agree that to lure it up is best.
What bothers me most is that someone made that thing....who...what...would wish to bring such evil to life?"
VORTUMOI: "The Priests of the Doomed Prince, boy.
That's who.
My Temple dares to consort with Demons, but even we do not defile ourselves with Necromancy.
K'sarul's silver masked priests have ancient arts known only to that sect, though I've heard that magic books exist which permit any skilled sorcerer or priest to control their guardians in the Underworld.
As for what lies down the stairs, no humans hereabouts would choose a tomb for a dining table.
H'lakas, the winged monkeys like meat and can make fires but they choose high cliffs.
I've an idea what may be hiding down there- a sort of special jungle vermin with just enough intelligence to make simple tools and build fires...they would hide in such a place, and they would not be perceived as a threat to the Tomb by the Vorodla, and thus not be attacked, for though Undead, Vorodla are not mindless. They can judge between animal and man.
I think it is Chenl..the mutant apes.
They infest this place.
Perhaps it is possible to lure them out but they are fearful, though fierce when cornered.
They may stay there til the world ends if they sense us here.
Such beasts are no match for slayers such as you, I bid you kill them like flies."
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Post by dtspurrier1 on Jun 30, 2023 8:41:34 GMT -6
Mohammad says, " if they are the apes then we can stay out of their dens/lairs and investigate the rest of the tomb. With the winged undead creature though and if necromancy did occur here then we should be on our guard."
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Post by scottenkainen on Jun 30, 2023 14:36:54 GMT -6
N'Rasa was starting to have reservations about this Vortumoi, who either vastly overestimated his hirelings or did not know the size and strength difference between apes and flies. Still, an order was an order, and this had the sting of being an order to it...
"I will carry a torch, if handed one," N'Rasa said. "Put me in the second row, so the front rank may see better."
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flightcommander
Level 6 Magician
"I become drunk as circumstances dictate."
Posts: 370
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Post by flightcommander on Jun 30, 2023 21:52:34 GMT -6
(OOC — how might we advance into the tombs? I'm having trouble visualizing it. Must it be single-file, or could we advance well arrayed, with at least two abreast?)
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Post by xerxez on Jun 30, 2023 22:26:53 GMT -6
(OOC — how might we advance into the tombs? I'm having trouble visualizing it. Must it be single-file, or could we advance well arrayed, with at least two abreast?) So you are standing on what was once a smaller sized ziggurat. It has become a hill now as the old stone structure has been engulfed by jungle-- the only part of the ziggurat still identifiable as such is the crowning structure, if you have ever seen the Aztec ziggurats with an open sided roofed room on top resting on pillars. The older steps and terraces of the ziggurat are now covered with soul, vegetation and trees. Under the stone roof is a small area about 12' square, that is where you are standing now. On top of the ziggurat, under the roof, is a stone slab about the size of a sarcophagus...it is only a long rectangle of stone about 4' high, 3' wide, and 8' long. It was once sitting squarely in line with the area under the roof of the top structure, but someone sometime moved it at one end, sliding it at an odd angle and in so doing revealing a trap door that drops down into the ziggurat by means of a long narrow stair going down, made of stone and about 5' wide. The smoke of a cooking fire is wafting up through the trap door on the updraft. Here is a picture, it reveals more than I want at this point but you will be able to visualize. Each square on my map is equal to 5 feet. If you need me to draw a sketch of the area you are standing in now I will.
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Post by xerxez on Jun 30, 2023 22:35:22 GMT -6
Here is an image of the type of structure you stand on... Except the ascending terraces have been reclaimed by jungle terrain and it looks like a natural hill with only the upper mount structure identifiable as stone work. Within that structure is a room with a trap door leading down....
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