After having opened the western passage last session by winning the riddle game, we started today's session only a few feet inside said passage. The air inside the passageway was warm, humid, and foul smelling. The floor of this tunnel, much like the floor of the passage from the entrance, was submerged beneath a foot of water. Dan's friend, Mickey, helped out today by interpreting Rook, the Half-Orc, Half-Goliath Fighter. Trying to play Rook according to his story, he charged forward after having heard that last session the Sphinx had said his father had come this way. He only advanced about 20' before he fell head first into an unseen pit below the surface of the murky water. Even with the great weight he carried, he would have been able to tread water and pull himself up on the other side of the 10' wide pit if it hadn't been for the Water Weird that grabbed and drug him into the depths. Jarvin cast Levitate on him, and was able to raise Rook until the crown of his head broke the surface, but his combined weight of over 500 lbs prevented the spell from raising him higher. Later Jarvin reached into the murky depths and hooked his arm under Rooks arm and helped Glanbir pull him from the water. Bryndon and Jabril made their way to the other side of the pit and investigated the passage beyond. The rest of the party was stuck with the problem of how to get across and what to do about the water monster within. It had a 10 reach with its pseudo pod and on a hit could grapple, restrain and pull a creature into the water. Finally Rook said thank you for pulling him out and then jumped back in to the water filled pit. Though he had disadvantage on his attacks underwater, it was still the best way to fight the creature that couldn't come completely out of the water itself. Seeing the green-blue giant jump back in, Jabril came back and jumped in himself to help his companion fight the strange creature. After this battle the party walked a little slower and more carefully, checking for pits under the water with the tip of toe or staff. Not much further up the passage was a corner. Turning north to face this new passage revealed a long hallway with its walls covered in copper plates. The plates didn't quite reach into the water, nor did they reach all the way to the ceiling. As party members advanced along this passage, any metallic objects grew hotter and hotter until they became unbearable. The further one advanced, the hotter they got. After about 40' they got so hot they caused damage to anyone in contact with them. Some members put their metallic items in extra-dimensional spaces like haversacks and bags of holding. This worked well in preventing the items for heating up. Jabril tried to sling his crossbow and make the trek as fast as he could using his great speed. He only got about 60' before the metal rings on his crossbow burned through the leather sling holding it to his back. Those in the most danger were of course the ones wearing metal armor. This wasn't so easily dropped when it heated up. After trying to swim through the mud, it was decided to strip all the armor off and drop it in a bag of holding. This worked just as well for the armor as it did for the weaponry and coin. Unfortunately, when the armor wearers made it to the chamber at the end of the hall, they were attacked by a mixed company of Ghouls and Ghasts. This encounter turned out to be much more difficult due to the low AC of the characters who are usually the tanks. This battle drained a good deal of resources in the way of spell slots. Low on hp and with no armor the party retired for 20 minutes to the stinking room the undead had come from. Glanbir's prayer of healing helped, but Jabril wanted a short rest. The foot of muck and water on the floor prevented the party from taking a rest, so they healed as they could and pushed on. The flight of stairs up out of the water promised dry ground to eventually rest on, but the open nature of the place and the unopened door kept the party moving. Beyond the door was a 20' wide x 80' long passage that had two pits the width of the room in it. The pits were only 5' across by 20' long, but were full of sharpened spikes at the bottom. After Jabril's near debacle, the party found an ingenious way to control their speed across the frictionless floor, ceiling and walls. Rook hammered a piton into the stone of the floor and secured a rope. He also spliced another rope to the first and tied the bodies of two defeated ghouls to the other end. These he heaved across the pit with his great strength. They then slid down to the far pit much as Jabril did. Upon falling into the pit they created an anchor with which the party could pull themselves along safely. Rook went first, but when he got to the second pit full of razor sharp spikes he had the same problem as Jabil, how to get across if he couldn't stand up to jump. His solutions depended on his superb physical condition. He shifted his weight to his torso and raised his legs. When he was about to fall into the pit he lowered his legs making contact with the other side which Jabril had already found out not to be frictionless. He held this difficult "plank" like postition for a full minute as the rest of the party used him as a bridge. (His nat 20 athletics check allowed this great feat.) Once across, just before Rook was asked again to bust another door down, Glanbir's very high passive perception prompted him to draw the party's attention to the western wall. When investigated by Jabril, it was revealed to be a strong illusion. Beyond was a 10' x 20' room perfect for a short rest. This hidden room offered a dry, "safe" place to rest, though the decision was made to carry on and only come back if necessary. After opening the door in the north wall, a passage was found that continued for another 50' west. Here it intersected a north-south running passage. To the north a door was visible only 20' away, while in the southerly direction the end of the passage was lost in the darkness. A quick investigation revealed the room to the north to contain 12 kayaks capable of carrying two people each and a suspended stream of water that entered from one hole in the western wall and exited through another in the northern wall. No paddles were found however. The 6' diameter holes were more than big enough to carry the party on the Kayaks to what ever destination awaited, but a decision was quickly reached to investigate the southern passage before attempting this crazy adventure. At the end of the southern passage another door swollen shut by the humidity and dampness was found. After breaking it free an even stranger scene was presented. Here you observed an enormous chamber defined by terraced steps that ringed the entire area and descended toward a central enclosure. A few feet south of the door, water lapped at the edge of the stone floor. Looking to the side, you could see that the ring of the terrace that lies beyond was a ten-foot-deep ring of water held in by a nearly transparent wall. Another of these watery steps in the terrace was somewhat lower than the first; at the level in between these aquariums, the terrace steps were dry, but the area was still enclosed by a glassy wall like the others. While this upside down Ziggurat intrigued the party, the great numbers of creatures contained in this terrarium/aquarium convinced our heroes to try the suspended river to the north instead. After our heroes figured out how to get the kayaks in the stream and then themselves into the kayaks, they made their way down the passage. Once Jarvin neared the exit and saw what awaited him, he regretted not having taken that rest. A room full of Human knights, led by the infamous Sir Bluto Sans Pite waited for the party. Sir Bluto, the fallen knight of Waterdeep implicated in the "River of Blood" mass-murder case mysteriously disappeared from prison a week before the artifacts were stolen from the noble houses in that famous city. Even the Royal Magician-Detectives were baffled by his disappearance and offered a reward of 2,000 gp for his capture. Someone in the party, likely Atlas if he continues playing, is sure to recognize his one-of-a-kind face. Our heroes battled the fallen Sir Bluto and his evil knights for 3 full rounds before Jabri had to go. Stefis had already left and Han never made it. Also Alex didn't show. If it wasn't for Mickey, Dan's friend, helping out, we might not have even played today. That's twice Mickey has come to the rescue. (Thanks Mickey) Next week I hope that Alex and Stefis are back to normal after their vacations, but we will be missing Dan as he goes on his. Luckily Mickey might be taking his place. After those 3 rounds the outcome didn't look very good for our brave companions. Glanbir's Spirit guardians was looking like it might save the party, then a crit from a knight made him loose concentration and he is now out of level 3 spells and low on level 1's and 2's. The battle is paused at the top of the turn order for the 4th round. Dan left a word of what Jarvin plans for his next turn, but beyond that I hope someone can come up with a plan to avoid a TPK. I did warn everyone before we started that this module is for a party of level 8. I said that with caution and ingenious non-frontal assault type play that your OP level 6 party could handle it. I hope you find a solution, I've grown accustomed to the party as it is. Perhaps I will include Atlas in the fight although we left him out because Han was too busy playing video games to join in. An hour and seven minutes after the start of the game Han sent a message in discord that he was going to lunch with a friend and wouldn't play today. It doesn't seem fair to have a TPK because one player didn't bother to show. What is a tough fight for 5 would be much easier for 6 characters. Plus the other party members wouldn't be so drained of hp and resources if he had been in the Ghoul/Ghast fight. If Han doesn't plan to continue playing then we will find a replacement or I will alter the challenge rating somewhat. Below are the already explored areas of the Dungeon and the upside down ziggurat so that you may plan your conquest if you survive the battle with Sir Bluto. XP: 1200 - 6 Ghouls 2700 - 6 Ghasts 3900 Total xp divided by 6 = 650 xp each Loot: -1 sp tossed down the frictionless floor and fallen to the bottom of the spike pit. Inspiration: Today, I'm giving inspiration to anyone who showed up, even Stefis who left early for his flight. After we get the party all back on schedule, then we will work on promoting role play. Jabri, Stefis, Dan and Mickey , please accept inspiration for just showing up.
