Rise of Darkness: Act I

[blackseven]

Jale digs into his pack and retrieves a map case. Digging through the case he unwraps an ink well and a pen, and pulls out a parchment.

"I'll start sketching, then. Also..."

He pulls out a piece of chalk and marks an X on the left door, then goes to the door they came in to and draws an arrow on the floor pointing toward the exit.

"In case we have to run, we can follow these arrows at any forks. Marking off passages we've entered will also save us time if this turns out to be a maze."

[DemonWasp]

The door takes the markings well enough, once a patch has been wiped clear of dust and grime; soon, you have an arrow indicating the way out marked on the one door.

Jale's learned hand is steady, and consulting with the more experienced cartographers in the group, soon has a workable map drawn of the three areas you've explored thus far, leading right up to this room and its trio of unexplored doors.

This leaves the party with the simple, yet dangerous, decision on which door to go through first.

[rezplz]

"So. Left, then?" Eric was still a bit worried about possible traps, but Moranu had checked this room, right? He made sure not to voice or show his concerns, as he boldly walked to the door on the left ((ooc: North door, since we came in from the west)) He placed his hand on the door and shoved it open, making sure his flail was ready. "Knock knock!" he said, ready to kill anything that jumped out at him.

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Edit: Ah, my bad. Edited my post.

[DemonWasp]

OOC: Moranu has checked the entire room, including all of the doors; none are trapped in any obvious way.

[Fragenstein]

Oddly enough, the group seemed to be ready to move on without making what he felt to be a fairly important discernment. There were still supposed to be some Orcs down here someplace. From what he understood of the race, they were typically brutishly violent and mindlessly destructive.

That mean the opposing band was not only a potential threat to the party, but also competition. If the marauders got to what they were searching for first then it may likely get destroyed. Either from a lust for vandalism, used as tinder for a fire or even toilette paper, the papers might not be there if the monsters reached it first.

"Please," He tried to speak before the door was opened. "Let Kvenil check for tracks. If we can find these Orcs before they find us, then we may be able to ambush them before they do the same to us. That could save lives as well as prevent the loss of valuable artifacts in case they get bored enough to just start smashing things."

But then he was too late, and Tai was forced to abort his attempted debate as he prepared for whatever might be on the other side.

[Stormy]

Imke strode forward to peer over Eric's shoulder into the newly opened door. Her bow at the ready. She had suggested 'left' thus, she felt honor bound to be ready to face whatever might pop out because of her suggestion.

Tai was concerned about the orcs, and well, if she was completely honest about it, she was too. But really, orcs were just smelly ruffians, they surely would not be too much a challenge?

[Avner]

Felon glances at Jale with a flash of jealousy and anger as the far better equipped Bard up shows him. He ignores the flash and continues on, reminding himself that we can't remain hung up on insignificant things. "Lets get moving" Felon says impatiently. He was getting restless. He didn't like standing around, especially in these empty rooms where the only light was from the torches and the air radiated with a chill from the stones.

[Blaine.Bush]

Moranu begins walking toward the door, keeping his torch held high. He is ready to drop his light at any moment, and keeps his right hand free to better grab his bow if the need arises.

[DemonWasp]

The door to the north opens into a five-foot-wide hallway that proceeds northward beyond the illumination of your gathered torches. As you walk further along this new hallway, the odd rushing sound you heard back in the guardroom and previous room becomes louder - you become sure that it is water, though you can't see any such thing. Abruptly, the hallway stops: less than five feet from where you now stand is a terrifying well of blackness, its depth indeterminate. The rushing sound is owed to thin waterfall that plummets into this abyss somewhere nearby.

Peeking carefully around the ragged edge of the hallway, you can see that this is a natural fissure in the ground, its walls vertical and rough. Although there seem to be ample footholds and handholds, climbing is a dangerous proposition - a fall would most likely be lethal.

Across the expanse of space, barely lit by the party's torches, is the far wall of the fissure. On this far side, perhaps 20 feet higher than the passageway you currently stand in is another passageway of similar size. There is no apparent bridge (nor even remains of a bridge) on either side of the area.

Somewhat distressing is that the opening on the near side of the fissure is covered by some sort of large sheet of an irregular, filmy, white material, coiled into strands as thick as human fingers. This seems to form a net or web, stretching from well above the near opening, across the abyss, to a point thirty feet below the far tunnel entrance.

[Killsauce]

I grab the net, web thingy and tug to see if it is secure enough to hold my weight.

[DemonWasp]

You find the strands stretchy, with a gooey texture, covered by a thin layer of sticky slime that glistens darkly in the light of your torches.

[Fragenstein]

Tai considered that their new, reptilian companion was awfully brave for his actions. Either that or foolish, though weren't they all for even coming on this quest? As long as they were going to deliberately step into harm's way then he supposed it was a bit late for caution.

Even still, the material they were faced with reminded him too much of a spider's silk for him to want to manipulate it. Though he couldn't see where any such massive arachnid might make his home in the chasm, he personally didn't want to get caught up in what might be its hunting web.

He also didn't care much for the rushing of the water. Its noise could very well conceal the sounds of anyone approaching. With that in mind, he made sure to keep an eye on the hallway behind them just in case they were being followed. Tai had spoken of ambushes earlier, and this seemed to be a prime location for such a tactic. With the chasm blocking off any escape and the waterfall masking the echoes of footsteps, he personally would have chosen the dead-end hallway for bottling up and dispatching enemies.

As the kobold made his examinations, Tai noticed that he didn't become adhered to the webbing. That might give them a way across. Though not everyone in the party could make the climb up from its far end to the continuation of the hallway, the monk most likely could. If someone game him rope to stretch across the abyss then the non-climbers in the group might be able to use that as a makeshift bridge.

He vocalized these thoughts to the others, raising his voice enough to be heard over the waterfall even as the man made periodic glances over his shoulder, still mindful of potential pursuit.

"I could take a rope across." He let them know. "Secure it around my waist as a safety line in case I fall. Then once I'm positioned in the far hallway we can start sending the lighter party members over and they'd help me hold the rope for those of a more substantial weight. Though we may have better ways of accomplishing that task which don't require anyone to dangle themselves over The Crack of Certain Death."

He knew that the group had fine access to spellcasting, though he was clueless as to what the extent of their magical might could be.

"Archers at the ready, of course, in case I'm attacked. A pair of gloves would also be appreciated just in case the web becomes too adhesive father along its length. That would at least give me a chance to take my hands out of the trapped gloves and make my way back if the going turns out to be impossible."

[rezplz]

Eric stared at the web, and then the deep chasm, and then back at the web... "Yeah... about that whole climbing thing..." He said, taking a small step back. He looked through the door they had come through, and at the room they had left. "I vote we turn around. I'd rather not dangle over certain death like that if I can avoid it. How about we explore the rest of this place, and then if we can't find the information this guy wants, THEN we try climbing this thing."

[blackseven]

Jale was sure they were all thinking it, but he decided to say it: "That is very brave of you, Tai, but I add my vote to Eric's... plus this really looks too much like spider's web for my taste."

[Killsauce]

Well,if it's a web than there should be a spider. If we are going to use this thing, we don't want to get attacked in the process. Tatz was a little surprised at his newfound courage, perhaps he was starting to get used to all this danger. Or maybe he just wanted to get attacked so the anticipation would stop. He stood back and wove his arms in the ancient gestures and started uttering the incantations. Soon the web was shaking violently(mage hand, 5 pounds of pressure being used to vibrate the web.). There, that should flush him out.

[Fragenstein]

Tai watched their kobold companion go through his magical manipulations, wondering what might respond to the efforts.

"Oh, spiders aren't that bad." He reassured Jale as they waited, though he'd been thinking the same thing earlier. He worried about what the group might do if they found the documentation in another part of the ruins and completely skipped what might be just beyond the chasm. The curiosity of things just our of reach burned in him, as well as the desire to not be turned back so easily.

"I wanted to do more searching around the four-door room earlier for the Orc tracks, but I figured as long as we're bent on heading this direction we shouldn't let minor obstacles like this slow us down."

That's what he called the deep pit, a minor obstacle. The great fall into darkness or sudden attack by giant spiders was really anything other than minor.

"It's your call. Think of the adventure that we might miss out on by rebuking this path. There could be treasure, ancient secrets of the past or grand tests of both might and wit. But perhaps there's a way of reaching that without having to stare down the open throat of the world."

[blackseven]

Jale frowns, draws his rapier, and steps back, keeping a look out all around. He tried not to think of the times as a boy when he watched a (probably smaller) spider wrap up its prey and start feeding on it...

[Blaine.Bush]

Hand on torch, Moranu watches the Kobold and web warily.

[Avner]

Felon

Eyeing the web and looking towards the door they came from Felon holds his cross bow ready incase anything should show face. "If we go down this path we head this way it'll require some effort but it may be worth it. I know most often the most valuable things are the hardest to find" Felon says.

[DemonWasp]

Tai's hands close around the webbing with a decisiveness he does not feel. The sticky slime grips his hands back, an unwelcome embrace. His first step is unsure and fearful, as the strands stretch and swing over the yawning cavern.

His heart racing, Tai struggles not to look down when every instinct demands that he cling to the webs and cower at his height. Summoning every bit of calmness he can, the young monk advances slowly and carefully through the webs, brushing aside narrower strands and ducking between the larger ones. Soon, he stands about ten feet from the tunnel entrance, his hands and clothes thoroughly painted in the thick slime.

It is then that he chances to look up and notice under what eyes he has fallen: two large spiders, their legs spanning perhaps four or five feet easily, sit in wait not fifteen feet above the tunnel entrance Tai had emerged from, each nested within a part of the web so as to feel every tangle and vibration. Their sixteen eyes gleam back at Tai's own widening pair as they slowly advance their prey, caught out on the dangerous webs.


OOC:
Tai is considered aware. The spiders have spent their surprise round moving out of their cocoons, and are about fifteen feet directly above the lower tunnel entrance. Tai is about ten feet away from that entrance, and about thirty feet from the far side of the chasm.

Tai, being trapped in the web, can move 5 feet per full-round action without risking a fall, or faster if he wants to risk a Climb check (failure may mean either entanglement or a fall, depending on how badly Tai fails).

Once the party becomes aware, I will roll initiative for them as well; for the moment, Tai has won initiative over the spiders and may act first. There is, of course, no requirement that actions be posted in initiative order; I will do my best to resolve order of actions appropriately and I will summarize what happens every round.

[ingenua]

Kvenil's eyes were wide as the owl's, although she seemed calm otherwise. Inwardly, she was starting to form her first impressions of their newest companion, the kobold. He was putting them into danger! She hated for a potential predator to be aware of her before she knew of its presence. And here he was, announcing their presence to whatever had made this web: a spider, or who knew what?

Before she could muster her thoughts, the monk had grasped the web and was climbing outwards! Her own suggestion was on her lips ... well, better late than never. "Tai, come back! If there were a spider ... Maybe, rather than waiting for it to come to you, I could send Eui to seek out what is around there? I ... I cannot read its mind, and it is only trained to seek and return, but ... at least we would know if something were in there."

She pronounced the name Eui as an odd diphthong, not heard in the Common language. At the others' blank looks, she gestures and explains: "My owl."

[Fragenstein]

"Well..." Tai's voice came back, calm and steady as he stared upwards. Both hands folded over each other behind his back as he adopted a deceptively relaxed stance.

"It's certainly too late for that. Fortunately, I believe we had some ranged attacks readied? Now would be a perfect time to use them. Two of the eight-legged monsters are moving towards me now from above.

"And I was wrong, by the way. They are that bad. In fact they're worse then I ever could have imagined. Please don't miss..."

OOC: Tai will, for this round at least, go with Full Defense and an AC of 21. The plan is to act as bait, drawing the spiders out while the group attack from a distance.

MOOC: The plan assumes that Tai is able to have his full AC while on the web, and that the group has an angle they can attack from. If either of these conditions are untrue then he'll likely go with the climb attempt to get himself onto more stable ground before engaging the arachnids.

[rezplz]

Eric muttered a curse under his breath as the kobold shook the web. Immediately, his heart rate increased as he glanced around, but at first his eyes saw nothing. Nothing but stone, darkness, and an unfortunate drop...

Instinct told him to grab the little bastard, yell at him, and maybe hurl him down into that chasm. But he was supposed to be the confident guy here, right? He made sure to keep his cool. Make sure that he seemed to be on top of things. After all... they were only spiders. Right?

"Psh, spiders? I was just worried about that climb. I can't climb **** in this armor. Spiders, though?" Eric grinned, and shrugged. "Far as I'm concerned, easy ****."

Aaaand then the monk decided to climb the web anyway. He glanced down again, reminding himself that he did NOT want to fall down there... but, damn. He was not about to let him be one-upped by some pansy-ass martial artist! He moved forward, about to grab the web and move up after him - but then, the monk started speaking. "What? They're just spiders, how bad can they..." Eric started to say, as he let his eyes move upwards. And then he saw them. Damn.

Those were big spiders.

"God damnit, they're big!" He wasn't about to climb over that web and try to HIT them or anything. Instead, he opted to drop his flail and shield onto the stone, taking out his bow and readying an arrow. He had never been the best at shooting stuff... He would be lucky to hit anything. "You'd better get your fancy kung-fu ass back here and behind me! I don't think those spiders are going to give a **** if you try punching them!" After speaking, Eric took aim at one of the spiders, and fired.

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attack roll: (1d20+1)[5]
damage: (1d8)[6]

OOC: This is assuming that Eric has the time to get his bow ready, and can see the spiders.

[Avner]

Felon

Staring up in awe and contempt as two large spiders emerged from their nest Felons hands fell to his sides as he moved his palm to his face and muttered "God...God I wish you had not forsaken me so many times. And in so many ways" as he deeply desired that his allies had put more thought into their actions. But he let that feeling fall away uneventfully as an intense feeling of excitement took over, as a dark glyph danced over his hands and his eyes flashed with the purple Eldritch energy that ran through his blood. "blood..." The darkness in him murmured. He raised his cross bow and with a decent eye he aimed towards the vile creatures and let his bolt fly with a cry of war "MAY WE DRAW BLOOD!" He cries out.

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[roll]1d20+3[/roll] attack
[roll]1d8[/roll] damage
Forgive me if I made a mistake on my damage roll.

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****ed up rolls somehow
attack [roll]1d20+3[/roll]
damage [roll]1d8[/roll]

[Avner]

eff...

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damage (1d8)[3]

[Killsauce]

I checked my sheet. Turns out, I don't have mage hand(I usually, ALWAYS take mage hand, my bad).

Tatzlwurm rests his staff against the wall of this corridor and gets into a position where he has a clear view of the web(being so short he sometimes has to push past people to do this). He lifts up his hands and gets ready to cast at the first sign of the enemy.

Readying an action to cast magic missile when one of the spiders makes itself known.

Also, I'm pretty sure Tai's warning made me aware so here's init.

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(1d20+5)[25]

[blackseven]

Jale suppresses the unease in his mind and starts reciting a story about two halfllings who encounter and triumph over a giant spider. The words themselves are rather plain, but the tenor and quality of delivery reach much deeper into his listeners.

(Inspire Courage): All allies (you all are my friends, right? right?!) receive +1 to attack, +1 to damage, and +1 to Will saves versus fear and charm. These are Morale bonuses.

[Blaine.Bush]

Moranu lets go of his torch, and it falls to his feet. Lights and shadows flicker around the hall as the elf retrieves his bow and nocks an arrow. With a steady eye and hand, he takes aim at one of the giant arachnids and lets the hand-crafted projectile fly.

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Attack - (1d20+6)[11] (Including Jale's Inspire Courage)
Damage - (1d8+1)[2] (Including Jale's Inspire Courage)

[ingenua]

Kvenil sighed. But she didn't need to be told twice. Pulling out her bow, she nocked an arrow and moved to the edge of the chasm, trying to get a glimpse of the arachnids. Aiming at the closest one, she tugged on the bow until the arrow was in just the right position ... There. She let it fly.

As her concentration relaxed, her normal hunting instincts kicked in. Check for more, they told her. Well, she could still make sure...

She turned her head and clicked her tongue to get Eui's attention. Carefully, she pointed at the two giant spiders, making sure the owl caught sight of each. Then she gestured widely at the rest of the chasm. "Seek, and then return!" she whispered in her native elven tongue. The baby owl spread its wings and swiftly negotiated its way through the nearest gaps in the webbing.

She hoped Imke was still somewhere at the back of the group, out of harm's way. She hated to think of what her city-dwelling sister would make of these creatures.

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Okay. My bad, initiative is whatever DemonWasp rolls for us.

Move action: Draw bow and nock arrow.
Standard action: Fire at nearest spider (or leftmost - I don't know which one is where.)
Attack: Ranged mod +1 for dex, plus +1 from song: (1d20+2)[16]
Damage: Plus 1 from song: (1d6+1)[4]
If the song doesn't yet apply then you can take 1 off those, I guess.

Free action: ordering Eui to seek and return. My PHB says druids can handle their companions as a free action. Right? The owl leaves whenever it's her turn. Gonna have to rely on her 17 Dex and low-light vision to make sure she doesn't get stuck in the web...

[DemonWasp]

Tai, surprised by the spiders, loses his balance on the wobbly webbing and struggles to regain his footing as the spiders advance on him; he recovers just as they fall upon him.

Alerted by the monk's cry, the front half of the party is well-prepared to loose a volley upon the arachnids. The kobold, eager to prove his loyalty, steps forward to deliver a magic missile to the leading spider, the deep wound it leaves leaking a dark ichor. Moranu's elven reactions are only a moment behind, and his aim is true - the arrow strikes the wounded spider just behind the head, nearly a head-shot. Eric wastes time blustering about spiders and safety, leaving no time to aim properly; his arrow clatters against the far wall of the chasm. Kvenil's aim is little better, her vision obscured by the several party members ahead of her; although she misses the spiders, at least she also failed to strike any of her own party. Her owl leaps from her shoulder and flies out of the narrow tunnel, easily avoiding the webs, soaring easily in the huge chasm.

Having survived the assault, the bulbous arachnids approach Tai, clattering pincers searching for flesh to bite and poison. Caught out on the webs, Tai is unable to move as gracefully as he could on solid land, and while he avoids one clumsy spider-bite, the other sinks a huge fang into his calf. Years of training have taught the monk nothing if not how to resist the weakness of the physical, however, and he easily shrugs off the immediate effects of the spider's venom.

Being careful not to strike the wounded monk, Felon fires a crossbow bolt with deadly accuracy, piercing the battered spider's shell and wrenching the life from its frame. As the quivering husk of the vermin falls into the abyss, Jale begins his recitation, filling your hearts with courage and hope against this threat - for if two mere halflings can triumph over a giant spider, surely so can nine so fine as yourselves.

Those near the rear of the party are unable to react to the spiders, as the hallway before them is too filled with the rest of their party. Errol and Imke do not act.


OOC
{table=head]Initiative | Character | HP
24 | Tatzlwurm, Chaotic Good Kobold Sorceror 1| 5/5
20* | Moranu, Neutral Good Elf Scout 1 | 7/7
20* | Eric Swift, Neutral Human Fighter 1 | 13/13
15 | Kvenil, Lawful Neutral Elven Druid 1 | 7/7
14 | Imke Silithar, Lawful Neutral Elven Wizard 1 | 6/6
12 | Felon Adheran, Chaotic Good Human Warlock 1 | 9/9
6 | Jale Morningson, Neutral Good Human Bard 1 | 8/8
5 | Tai Lung, Lawful Neutral Human Monk 1 | 3/8
3 | Errol Magnus, Chaotic Good Cleric of Kord 1 (Strength, Luck) | 11/11
[/table]

* Moranu goes before Eric because his initiative modifier is higher (+5 versus +0). See "Initiative Checks", PHB 136.

The spiders act on initiative 14, just after Imke would, but before Felon.

I should mention: I've rolled everything for this round because I can't see the values of your roles in the "post reply" screen - just [ roll0 ]. Tatzlwurm, your initiative modifier is +4, not +5.