Expedition - Carchannoi/Return to the Ogres - 08 May 2021

[Marullus]

You leave this room as-is? Gurzlak unconscious, dead bodies everywhere, the rest untouched?

[sirravd]

I drag Gurzlak with me and put the journals in my pack. I also finish searching the room –– since it wasn't fully searched when the stirges were triggered.

[Marullus]

Tog turns over the amulet and you slip it on over your head. You don't notice any appreciable effect.

Moving Gurzlak is not too hard - as a strong elf, carrying a goblin is easier than dragging. You reposition him comfortably in the dumping room.

Returning to the papers in the study, you spend about an hour to thoroughly search. You pack up the journals as well as a magic scroll containing two spells, a finely-spun woolen cloak with silk lining, a pair of high quality leather boots, a small case full of magical inks and wizardly materials (200gp or four spell-levels worth) and nine gemstones which Tog is able to pick from the filth of the stirges nest on the top shelf:
- huge white chalcedony
- large blue jasper
-flawed blue-green turquoise
- cracked striated green malachite
- flawed white chalcedony
- large blue zircon
- flawed white moonstone
- gray smoky quartz
- flawed deep blue lapis lazuli

[sirravd]

I pack up everything (what's the total weight?).

[Marullus]

Gemstones are considered negligible. Let's say 10lbs total for the rest.

[sirravd]

That takes my backpack weight to 47 lb., which is too much. I'll give my dried rations to Tog, keep the rest.

I carefully pore over the locked door to the north in the dumping room, checking for traps. I ask Tog to assist me in so doing, thus to reduce the time.

[Marullus]

Neither you nor Tog find any sign of traps on the door, which is made of sturdy wood and reinforced with iron. It is, however, locked. In addition, it has been braced-shut with a timber from this side.

(You can remove the brace and attempt to batter it open with your warhammer; 15 minutes per 1d6 roll. With total modifiers, you need 1-2 on 1d6 for success. Spending time is, well, spent time, and thus wandering monster checks.)

[sirravd]

I briefly examine the other doors. Are they constructed likewise?

[Marullus]

No - the east door is made of solid iron. The south door is made of stone. Both also have locks.

[sirravd]

I go to the north door and try to batter it down.

[1d6] = 4

[Marullus]

(reroll until success, determines time.)
Open door (1-2) [1d6] = 1

You pound on the door, working to splinter it off its hinges or shatter the lock, using the your new hammer. Tog lights a new torch to illuminate your work. You are at it about twenty-five minutes and get a vague feeling of unease. Two blows later and the door cracks, the lock broken as the wood around it splinters. The door crunches inward slightly, able to be opened.

At the same moment, the room you are in erupts with squeals of fright. A dozen massive rats, each about three feet long, explode out of the piles of detritus, coming at you with their sharp pointy teeth.

(Actions and initiative!)

[sirravd]

[1d6] = 6

"Run!" I shout to Tog, urging her into the north room; if we outrace the rats, I close the door behind us, and let the rats feed on Gurzlak.

[Marullus]

You yell and shove the door open, pulling Tog through with you. The rats squeal in terror as the door is opened, fleeing back into the detritus and wherever they came from. You and Tog slam the door, safe in your new chamber.

The room is 40' by 30' with only signs of the single door, Tog's torch illuminating it with flickering shadows on the floor. Dozens of dead, winged beings lie scattered about the floor, each about the size of a cat. Their broken bodies are batlike and buglike at the same time. Each had two sets of bat wings, a long nose like a mosquito, and six legs, but many were split in half or had limbs or wings lopped off. Their forms are little more than dried husks now, and there's no sign of what killed them. These lie on top of desiccated goblin bodies and other detritus in layers below.

[sirravd]

I look about the walls for secret doors, and ask Tog to search through the detritus in the room. "Careful you don't wear any equipment you find", I warn. "A lot of dwarf-crafted items are deadly poison to goblins. Let me inspect everything before you wear it."

Did I mention I'd given my longsword and shield to Tog? I have, or at least want to –– else my encumbrance would be ~15lb. greater. Are they too large for her to use?

[Marullus]

Tog can wield one, but not both. The longsword takes two hands but is workable.

You begin inspecting the stone on one side with your elven vision, looking for a secret door, while Tog and her torch inspect the other side of the chamber. You see a strange anomaly, a shadowy area in your vision, and move to inspect it. To your surprise, the shadow leaps towards you! You feel the cold of its touch sapping the very strength from your soul as you instinctively reel backwards, raising your hammer.

2hp damage (now at 1) and 1 point STR damage.

Shadow attack [1d20] = 18 [1d4] = 2
Carchannoi or Tog [1d2] = 1

[sirravd]

Have you already reduced my Str, or should I?

There is no hope of my fighting a shadow and living. I have to flee.

I shout at Tog to retreat back to the room with the huge rats, asking her to go ahead of me. If the rats are occupied feasting on Gurzlak and pay us no heed, I go to the coils of rope, beat my dagger against the stone wall until it's bent into hook shape, tie it to the end of the rope, and throw the rope upwards, using the bent dagger as an ad hoc grappling hook.

If the rats are not occupied with Gurzlak and seem to be threatening, I stand behind Tog and give her a hefty blow with my warhammer, hoping that the rats will focus on her corpse:

[1d20+1] = 16+1 = 17 [1d8+1] = 2+1 = 3

[Marullus]

The STR reduction is temporary; don't change your sheet. We'll track it for the necessary hours. Essentially, it wears off the next time you rest to regain spells.

We need to back-up - I can't use that action. You've assumed your escape from the Shadow and moved on to your plans for escaping the labyrinth. It surprised you and you are in combat. If you don't return attacks against the Shadow, we need to resolve if you survive to get away. There are two parts of the book that relate - one governs fleeing before combat begins, the other after combat is engaged.

From the book:

Chases in the Labyrinth
The characters may decide they are outmatched and flee an
encounter, or a monster might flee. One side of an encounter
can always successfully flee if their movement is higher than
the other side, and if combat has not commenced. Characters
may choose whether they chase a fleeing monster, and will
only succeed it if is slower than they are. The Labyrinth Lord
will decide if the monsters chase fleeing characters by rolling
on the Monster Reaction Table. A roll of 7-12 indicates the
monster will pursue. However, a monster does not continue
chasing the characters if they manage to get out of the
monster's range of vision. If the monsters enjoy treasure, they
have a 50% probability that they will stop pursuit of characters
to collect any treasure the characters drop (roll 4-6 on 1d6).
Other hungry or less intelligent monsters may do the same if
the characters drop food.

Combat Movement
Players must announce that their characters will move during
a melee round, and they must make this announcement prior
to the initiative roll. There are two special forms of movement
possible in combat, which are governed by the rules
mentioned in Movement in Encounters. These movements are
available to monsters as well as characters. A character may
move his encounter movement and attack the same round,
but any further distance takes his entire action for the round.
Additional movement types are discussed below.
A fighting retreat allows a character to move backwards at
1/2 normal encounter movement. However, there must be a
clear path for this movement.
A full retreat occurs when a character moves backwards at a
faster rate than 1/2 of encounter movement. The character
making the movement forfeits his attack this round, and his
opponent attacks with a +2 to hit. In addition, if the retreating
character is carrying a shield, it does not apply to the
character's armor class during the retreat.
Any attacks made on characters from behind ignore the
influence of the attacked character's shield, if any.

So, your options are:

• You can swing your magic warhammer and fight back.
• You can begin a fighting retreat, in which you hit back but retreat to the door. In this case, it is there with you, Tog makes it out under your cover, and we'll add a Dex check to close the door between the two of you (but you don't lose the attack roll or give it a bonus to hit you in the back).
• You can do a full retreat, turning and fleeing for the door. If you win the initiative roll, you escape. If not, then it follows you into the next room.
• I'll also allow the distraction technique - if you can throw something of interest to the shadow between you and it as your action, you'll have a 50% chance of it not following. (This modifies a Full Retreat action.)

We'll deal with your actions back in the dump room once you reach the dump room.

[sirravd]

Oops, sorry for jumping the gun!

Init: [1d6] = 3

I reach into my pack, throw the shadow a gem (chosen at random, of course), and do a full retreat with Tog back into the dump room. (I'm getting the fuck out of Dodge as fast as I can, so I'll get into the dump room before Tog.)

[Marullus]

You panic at the shadow's touch, trying to escape as quickly as possible and get the door between you and the shadow, hoping it helps or slows the creature. You fall back, heedless of your own defense, and the creature is right on your heels. It dives at you but misses, its shadowy form mingling with the chaotic darkness cast around the room by Tog's torch as she dives out the doorway.

You reach randomly into your pouch and throw a gray smoky quartz to the monster - it pauses, momentarily distracted by its prismatic fracturing of light, and you slam the reinforced wood door. It no longer fits cleanly in the doorframe with its lock shattered open by your hammer, but the wooden supports used to wedge it previously are still present.

There is no sign of the rats at the moment, they having dove for cover when the door was first opened.


Odds in your favor that time...

Initiative [1d6] = 5
Shadow attack: [1d20] = 5 [1d4] = 3
Distraction [1d100] = 33
Which gemstone? [1d9] = 8

[sirravd]

Thank Sdubok. I was worried this was the end of the line for Carchannoi.

I go ahead with the ad hoc grappling hook method. (Dex check?)