Castle Whiterock 6 December 2021: Gone fishing

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Mikal, human holy warrior

What they did

I get Peduncle the Everburning Torch he wanted. He is happy for a few minutes, then he wants me to go. So, I tell the others that I spoke to Peduncle and that I'm pretty sure he won't want his buddies' magic items.

After some chatter, we go to Quintus and ask him for industrial-strength Roundup to kill the spellruin ivy. He says that for 1,000 copper farthings he can brew us one, but he needs bladderwort. Bladderwort is in the lake near Whiterock, and Garreth thinks he can identify it.

We go to the lake. I get the ring of Water Breathing from Seépravir. Polly readies long knife and shield since bow doesn't seem a good idea. Mikal casts Continual Light thrice. Then we go down a shaft into an eight-walled room. An archway shaped like a bird of prey with outstretched wings is in the middle on the west wall, leading to a 10-foot-wide hallway. There are iron bars set in the well shaft as a ladder.

I see clear oozes floating through the water, and they start floating towards us. Garreth steps and activates his Great Haste. Polly swims over next to me. I try to stab at an ooze, but miss twice. Mikal smacks an ooze with his mace. It flows aside. With a shocking burst of speed, the first ooze slams into Mikal. It grapples him and knocks him down and past Garreth. Another ooze hits Polly, grappling her and knocking her past me.

Garreth shouts kiai on the oozes, stunning them. He tries to push the ooze away from Mikal with a kick, but cannot. Likewise, Polly cannot cut up the ooze with her long knife. Logan and I both slash up the oozes on Polly, though its acid hurts Logan's claw. Mikal breaks free from the ooze. Garreth and Polly both also slash up the oozes, and I get in another couple of swats. Mikal also starts beating on an ooze, then it slams back into him. Logan swims towards the other one but does not swat.

Garreth, Polly, and I chop up the oozes, then we heal Mikal and Polly. Polly makes some cute-but-weird flailing with her hands as she reaches one end of the passage. I go down to check it out and find she has found a stone door. However it seems to be both barred on the other side, and cemented shut. I beckon Garreth, and he lines up his chi and whacks the door with Polly's orichalcum knife. The door gives way with splintering and cracking, shattering inwards the bar snapping and cement crumbling.

The next room is well lit, although we do not see the light source. The room has a plain stone floor and matching stone walls. The top five feet or so of the walls are covered with thick mats of green algae, though we cannot see the ceiling. A few rotten half-eaten fish carcasses aimlessly drift about the room.

Castle Whiterock game log 22 November 2021: Is getting stoned good?

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior
(Mikal, human holy warrior)

What happened

Garreth leans over to Bleu and whispers, "Should we be afraid?"

Bleu says, "That is an interesting philosophical question. Of what virtue is fear?" During her long spiel about fear, she says that the gorgons have a turn-to-stone breath weapon.

I fly back. "So it sounds like it's the bad kind of getting stoned."

Stonemaul asks, "Are they hostile, is there a reason to kill 'em?"

I shrug. "I'm sure they're hostile. Fluffy bunnies don't have stone breath."

Bleu nods. "Hostile yes, but not inherently evil, it is the hostility of the cat regarding a mouse."

Garreth says, "Tell ya what: if they let us pass without attacking, I'll let them live."

Stonemaul asks, "And is there a reason to kill 'em? They worth something?"

I fly over the gorgons, and see that the path from the room to the left of the fork looks like it goes around and meets up, but the gorgon room forks. I fly back and tell the others. "They are definitely in the way of exploring exits from that room. There might be another exit as well. I didn't peek to the left yet."

Bleu says, "They are of only animal intelligence"

Garreth asks Bleu, "Just wanting to know if they can be negotiated with."

I say, "I don't speak Stoned Bull, Garreth. Do you?"

Polly says, "You can totally negotiate with animals if Zaber doesn't pick fights with them."

I say, "The only time I'd get into fights with them is if they bogart the beer. Otherwise, as long as they share, I'm cool."

Garreth floats into the room with the gorgons. They look at Garreth as if he was tasty but do not strike right away.

We look to see how many rations we have, but Stonemaul pulls out a scroll of Create Food, and prays to know it. He then spends the next hour casting Create Food to turn big rocks into food for the gorgons. The gorgons eat the rocks, and look uninterested in eating Garreth now. "What do you know? They can be negotiated with."

Stonemaul says, "Well, that's refreshin'. First spell I've cast when working with you lot that was not Bless or healin'."

Polly says, "See, because Zaber didn't do it"

I say, "What's with the sudden lip, Polly?"

Polly says, "I still remember the ant queen incident."

I don't. "Was she an intended conquest? Sounds kinda MLIF-y, the aunt queen."

Polly says, "You told me she was a capitalist oppressor that was oppressing the smaller ants in a totally not-nature kind of way. And later we learned that the small small ones were kittens and they starved."

I say, "She was a capitalist oppressor! W-w-w-everyone else of the world, unite!"

We float over the gorgons and go left. Down there, the glowing red shaft opens into the ceiling of a stone crawlspace about thirty feet down. The area below is tight, only five feet high, and there is no light coming from beyond. The crawlspace is a lava seal, a niche carved into the rock about twenty feet above the floor. A narrow ledge, a flow ledge, runs along the wall on the right-hand side. It is only about six inches wide.

The cave structure down here is unlike anything we’ve seen before. The walls are smooth, almost as if someone worked by spell or skill, but the floor is pockmarked and littered with fused rubble. The flow ledge leads to a cramped crawlspace. There is a smooth, round shaft carved in the ceiling of the crawlspace, and it faintly glows by the light of red sigils carved onto its walls.

I check out the shaft, and find that it leads back to the Demonhold near where we fought Balfosa. "Looks like we try the next passage, and hope the bulls are still eating their rock-steaks." However, I catch a glimpse of bone or something in the rocks by Garreth's armor. "Garreth, what's that?" Garreth yanks it loose, and finds a skeleton in the rocks. It has a nice-looking longsword, a shiny long knife, a staff that radiates redly and warm, and an amulet, 10,000 worth of platinum, and a steel necklace showing a hen bowing before a man in a jesters cap.

Garreth tells Bleu to look at the sigils and the longsword. She says the sigils read, "Demons: Keep out," and that the longsword is meteoric.

I ask Bleu about something I heard at the Slumbering Drake years ago: "Hey, you know anything about the Fellowship of the Humbled Hen?" She doesn't, so we go back and see the gorgons are still eating.

We check another passage and find more spellruin ivy. Down another passage, there is cave with a big rent in the floor that lets heat come into it. At the rim of the crack is a huge vine of spellruin ivy coming up through it.

I fly back, and get Blah. "Now, Bore of Babble-On, what the hell is that?"

Bleu says, "It is spell ruin ivy. An impressive specimen."

I ask, "Is it special besides being big?"

Bleu says, "It would make flying through the hole challenging."

I ask, "That leads to the obvious question: how do we get rid of the ivy? We've had trouble here." She ignores me.

Garreth asks her about a herbicide, but Bleu says that since Roundup isn't magic, this isn't her problem. We talk about digging it up and hacking it to bits, and Bleu says, "It will regrow quickly, but more kudzu-quickly than wereplant-quickly."

Polly asks, "Want me to try a cutting arrow?" She fires. The vine takes a decent cut from the shot, and it resisted about as well as Garreth's armor would. It is of normal plant thickness, like an ivy, so a 1/8th of an inch or so for any given bit. It does look like someone can climb it; great handholds. Well, not for Logan; we think it would likely dispel him back to his bag, and regardless, it's not Adventurers with Disabilities Act compliant. It looks like it would wear out ordinary steel pretty quick, and shatterproof wouldn't help.

We choose to ask whether Quintus in town can come up with a plant killing poison that we can dump on it, though Polly thinks she can clear it with "enough arrows." Garreth gets a sample with his non-magical sword, and we check out the rest of the level. There is another spellruin ivy-clogged vent, and another vent that is so hot that our salamander amulets can't hold back the heat. I can see that that tunnel slopes downward suddenly, and ends in a pool of magma.

We go back to Cillamar. We send Bleu to do some research about the Fellowship of the Humbled Hen, and she finds that it was an adventuring party who came to Felltower 38 years ago. Its four members were gnome bard Peduncle Hillspek, arcane knight Sinj Spellsteel, Belda Hammerfell, and fighter Gabel Soufas. Gabel died in Whiterock, Belda retired to Cillamar, and and Sinj and Peduncle are unknown.

We do recall meeting a gnome named Peduncle in the grotto with the strange submarine gadget. Before going to Whiterock, he spent several years "resting" at Haverhold Asylum. So, I go looking for Peduncle in Cillamar. When I get to his home, he opens the door and says, "What? You're back? Why are you back? Are you here to see the beetles, don't hurt them."

I ask, "How did Gabel die?"

Peduncle says, "Gabel? Behir. That's why I decided to stay here, away from everyone, after Gabel died."

I then ask, "And what was Sinj's power item?"

He says, "He didn't have any great power item, just used his robes, he spent all his money on a meteoric sword which totally can't be a power item!"

I ask, "Anyone have a fireball-enhancing staff?"

Peduncle says, "Yeah, Sinj did."

I ask, "Do you know her fate?"

He says, "She wanted me to keep exploring Whiterock with her after Gabel died. No way, no how; I am staying here with my friends where it's quiet."

I nod. "Good move, it seems. She didn't make it out."

He hugs the apparatus. "My best friend"

I tell him, "We found her staff. A skeleton was clutching it."

He says, "Oh, hey, maybe I could use that to create fires down here and keep warm. Or I dunno, I guess maybe you can use it more. Hey, can you bring me some everburning torches to keep warm and cook with and you can keep the staff?"

I say, "Sure. Sorry about her."

Peduncle says, "Yeah, but you know, it was noisy. So many explosions. It's quiet here."

I pipe up one last question: "Where is the Asylum?"

Bad move. "South! AND I AM NOT GOING BACK! It's quiet here. I am not going there. It is not quiet there. It is quiet here."

I chuckle. "Sounds like a fun place. But why did you go there?"

Peduncle says, "I was supposed to rest! They did not appreciate my artistic genius, I was a great bard you know, the greatest, a real virtuoso. But it must be quiet, maybe you should go, I need it to be quiet, we've had a nice chat, chat later, how about you go now." And with that, he shoos me to the door.

Castle Whiterock 8 November 2021: Here, kitty-kitty!

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior
Mikal, human holy warrior

What happened

After picking up the rings, I ask what harm could come from keeping these rings. After some chatter among everyone as to what to do, Mikal says we need to drop them in a volcano. I look around and find a lava vent. Since I'm not Frodo Baggins, Bleu casts Apportation and uses it to move the rings over to the lava vent and drop them in.

The rings fall in and as they hit, there are great flashes of light and sounds like the call of a harsh shrill horn that echo before slowly fading away. We see three black spectral shapes fly from the lava, dissipating upwards.

After that, we start healing. Garreth takes one swig from the potion bottle, and pours some down Polly's throat. I also take a drink, and give Logan a swig from the wineskin as well. Thrognar divinely heals Polly, and Logan licks her face.

After about an hour, I hear the soft padding of kitty feet to the South and spring to my feet. Mikal also is on alert, and can see some inferno cats slinking stealthily towards us. "We have company, and unpleasant company at that," he says. "Arise companions. Arm yourselves." Thrognar grabs his weapon and wearily stands to fight, I roll my eyes and put on my ring, Stonemaul calls for Danethar's blessing, and Mikal grabs his mace and shield and waits for a foe to come near, ready to bash in its head.

An inferno cat comes racing forwards, spitting a white hot line of bile and fire as it tramples Polly. Mikal's shield knocks aside the molten spit, but the cat goes near Garreth and claws him, which he's able to soak. Another cat spits fire at Bleu, but her salamander amulet takes the heat for her. It claws at her, but Stonemaul parries the blows. A last one comes from the other side, and Logan grabs its foot.

Bleu casts Haste on herself. I fly warily around a bend. Stonemaul runs up to the cat Logan is grabbing and puts a katana through its head. Mikal shield bashes the cat near him, then smashes its head with his mace. Thrognar then splits open its head. I put my knife into the eye of the (last) tiger, and it falls, not a survivor.

I pull the dead inferno cat off Polly, and Mikal casts Major Healing on her. We all sit down to rest, and Logan gnaws on an inferno cat. After a few minutes, Stonemaul asks Bleu to cast Lend Energy, and, after some prodding from Garreth, she does so. After a couple of hours, we rise, and Polly skins the inferno cats at the behest of Mikal. He wants to make a fire-resistant leather armor that somehow wards your body from blows better than plate.

We look, and we see a small herd of three metal-plated cows standing around this big cave, chewing on lichen and sniffing the air. For all how they resemble simple cattle, a glance tells us their horns could rive plate armor. One, a bit bigger than the rest and far more muscled, sports two brutish heads sprouting from its barrel-like body.

Castle Whiterock 25 October 2021: You get nothing for nothing, if that's what you do

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Mikal, human holy warrior

What happened

I let the others know about the wraiths, then turn a little down the hall on the other side of them. Polly moves, and shoots three cutting arrows at one, but misses. Garreth focuses on Great Haste, Mikal steps and casts Sunbolt, and Thrognar steps and focuses his heroic power.

The wraiths glide forward, unsheathing grim, flickering swords of nothingness. Polly looks suddenly shivering and starting to rime with frost as they near her. The swords of nothingness flash silently as shadow upon shadow. One wraith loses its balance as it swings at Polly, who gets out of the way. Garreth moves, then attacks, giving the off- balance wraith a couple whacks. He feels chill as he gets near. He hits, and feels the blade bite but only faintly, like fighting a swarm. Thrognar brandishes his holy symbol and holds it up to hold back the wraiths.

Polly moves and shoots thrice at a wraith, and the arrows rip small chunks of nothing away. I snap alert and yell at the nearest wraith, "You guys are doomed to an unlife of no booze!" It does not seem overly impressed. Then I step and wait for one to come near.

It does. Its aura of chill rimes me in frost.

There empty hoods full of angry nothingness turn gaze upon Garreth, but he yawns at them. The wraiths' voidblack blades lash out at Garreth. He takes some hits, drops his sword, and swears in Undercommon. He shouts at us, "Run!"

Polly looks sad. "But I was hurting it!" She doesn't fall back. Seeing weapons be less than effective, Thrognar keeps concentrating, in hope the wizard and or Polly can hurt them, "Polly, you can hurt them from behind me."

Polly says, "Oh okay." She moves and shoots thrice, wounding it. "I can't quite get behind you."
Mikal steps and waits to throw Sunbolt at any wraith coming towards him. Thrognar seems to be holding them back, so he keeps concentrating. "I can't keep this up forever, perhaps zapping them is in order." Mikal falls back and let them into the choke point, while Logan and I fly back to just behind Thrognar.

The wraiths split up. One goes to the left, while two others fly into a passage to the back and right. Garreth waits, trying to stay aware. I say, "They're gonna come around on us!"

Polly's worry is different. "They're getting away!" Bleu helpfully blabs that the spells Affect Spirits and Sunbolt work well on wraiths. None of this matters to Polly. She chases after the wraith that went east, and chills from its aura. She then shoots it thrice from behind. It dissipates in a blast of frost and chill. "Brrr!" Mikal steps and gets ready to throw Sunbolt. Thrognar readies a step for when someone gets out the way.

Logan and I move over to right keep aware for the wraiths. "Keep a look behind me, Logan." Polly chases the wraiths, shooting as she does. Garreth moves, putting his back to the ceiling. Bleu stays near to Thrognar, who steps, and Mikal steps in time with him.

Logan and I move into the tunnel a little bit, Logan looking behind. I see a wraith. "Boys and girls, we have company! One is coming!" It charges towards me, then sees Thrognar, so it flees instead.

I see that it seems to be silently saying something as it sees Thrognar. "The paladin doth stand before us, let us fly! Round back to the flank of our foes!"

I let the others know, "They're coming around again!" Polly moves around the other corner. We can hear the twang of her bow, and there's a slight thud from one of the arrows. I yell at her, "Polly! Get back here before you get your ass killed!" Polly moves back towards us on my advice. Garreth slides along the ceiling to stay with Thrognar, who steps. Mikal steps, too, and throws Sunbolt at the wraith down the tunnel. It sears fiercely into it, it burns as nothing and blackness flares up. It vaporizes into nothingness, a fresh clean nothingness.

I float forward a few steps warily. The wraith swings at Polly, but she gets out of the way.
She thinks about her life choices, but takes three shots as she runs past, and hits twice. Mikal steps and casts Sunbolt again. Thrognar steps around the corner towards the right. I fly down the tunnel kinda quickly but not too quickly.

The wraith steps and strikes Polly from behind, blade of nothing flickering in the darkness. She falls. Garreth rushes forward and shouts at the wraith, stunning it, then he grabs Polly. Mikal steps and throws Sunbolt at wraith, singing it. It flares up and it's mostly gone! Thrognar steps towards the wraith, holding it back.

I fly around the corner, trying to get behind the wraith, and I see an open-mouthed pit yawns in the middle of the floor. A fiery glow seeps into the room from that chasm, and waves of heat forshape the air above it. I then keep flying to try to get behind the wraith. Garreth swears in Undercommon, then shouts, again, stunning the wraith. As Mikal steps and casts Sunbolt, Garreth books it as fast as he can. Thrognar steps towards the wraith, and Bleu casts Great Haste on Mikal.

Mikal steps and throws Sunbolt at the wraith. The Sunbolt fries it to shadow and nothing. I hear sounds like something small hitting the ground as the wraiths died. I check out where it fell, and find a gold ring. I read the Undercommon writing on it. "Nine for Mortal Men doomed to die." I shake his head. "Nah, Logan, not for us." I then check out where the others fell, and find a silver ring and a copper ring. "Hey, Blah, what about these rings? They magic? Valuable? Boring?"

Bleu takes a look. "Ah, yes, it is said that in the Days of Old, when Benthosruthsa ruled Castle Whiterock, he chose three mortal champions amongst his guards, as men live less than elves or dragons, he forged them soul stealing rings of bleakest necromancy, to this day they are said to guard his realm eternal into undeath." Bleu thoroughly tells me all about this.

I yawn and ask, "I take it bad things happen if we wear them?"

Bleu says, "Yes, but they are valuable curios."

Garreth goes to sleep on the floor. I cover him and Polly with blankets.

Urbancrawling in Dungeon Fantasy

Urbancrawl procedures

1. GM determines weather
2. Wake up, handle effects of sleep, HT rolls for harsh climates, HT rolls for healing, breakfast
3. Shopping, healing, recharging 
4. Pick tasks for the day
5. Resolve tasks
6. Morning encounter
7. Afternoon encounter
8. Evening encounter
9. Cost of Living
10. Sleep/Night encounter

The General Idea

When the party gets back to town, resolve selling items from the dungeon first. Then, determine what the party wants to do, as these tasks, especially training and crafting, will determine how long the party must stay in town.

This is a work in progress. I have no idea how well much of this will work, though I have long assessed Cost of Living by the day, not by the week.

The High Cost of Urban Living

Cost of Living for Status 0 or higher is normally is $150/week. There are times when this is better assessed per day, in which case the Cost of Living for Status 0 is $20/day. This handles normal room and board, including cost to stay at a tavern. If delvers want to stay at an inn, this adds $100 to daily Cost of Living (thus, making it $120/day) and grants +2 to rolls for Bargain Hunting (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 13), Rumors (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14), Advertising (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14), and Finding a Sponsor (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14).

Compulsive Behavior adds lower amounts to Cost of Living when tracking Cost of Living day by day. Instead of the chart on Adventurers, p. 59, a self-control number of 6 adds $16 each day to Cost of Living; a self-control number of 9 adds $12 each day; of 12 adds $8; and of 15 adds $4. This amount does not change with Status.

Daily Cost of Living to feed animals is $10 at SM 0. Halve this for each SM below 0, and take twofold this for each SM above 0. This likewise does not change with Status.

Slumming It

For Status -1, Cost of Living is $10/day, and the delver must make an Urban Survival roll against a cutpurse showing up to pick his or her pockets. Assume the cutpurse has an effective Pickpocket skill of 17 vs. the delver's Perception or Per-based Streetwise; failure means the cutpurse gets the delver's money. If the delver already owns a home here ($1,000 gets him or her a permanent hovel in town, but the delver still must pay Cost of Living), this roll is at +5. Casting the Watchdog spell before going to bed keeps this from happening.

For Status -2, Cost of Living is $4/day, and not only must the delver roll against Urban Survival to avoid a cutpurse as for Status -1, he or she must also must make a HT or HT-based Urban Survival roll to avoid the Aching Ague (below). If playing with the Hygiene modifier, apply it here. If for some reason the delver owns a home, that doesn't help at all with stopping the Aching Ague.

Someone living at Status -1 or lower might be going hungry. Roll Urban Survival. If someone living at Status -1 fails, he is down 1 FP from missing a meal; if someone living at Status -2 fails, he is down 1d/2 FP from missing meals. If someone living at Status -1 owns a home, he doesn't need to make this roll; if someone living at Status -2 owns a home, he still needs to roll, but treat failure as if he was living at Status -1.

Note that someone living below Status 0 will take a penalty to reactions in town equal to the Status at which he is living. He also takes the same penalty to Finding a Quest and Finding a Sponsor (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14).

Aching Ague

Bedbugs spread it, or rats and fleas on the street.

Statistics: Blood Agent (Bedbug bites); HT to resist; 1d-2 day delay; 1d-4 HT damage; 12-hour cycle with 6 cycles. Symptoms produce stomach problems, which is the Nauseated condition (p. B428) after losing 1/3 HT; after losing 2/3 HT, doing anything stressful like combat or moving more than 1 yard a second means a Retching (p. B429) spell for 2d seconds; resist HT to keep from retching. Not contagious.

Encounters

There are many chances for encounters in towns, but most of them are meaningless interactions. Check once for a meaningful random encounter each 6-hour segment of the day: Morning, Afternoon, Evening, and Night. Encounters happen on a 9 or less, assuming you want big ones; size of the settlement does not matter. (I'm rolling on Midkemia Press's Cities myself.) Since most delvers sleep at night, skip checking for Night encounters unless the delvers are outside at night, or living at Status -2 and do not own a home. Resolve encounters as they happen.

Delvers can also go looking for someone or somewhere. Finding a known person or location in a settlement takes an Area Knowledge (Settlement) roll. Note that if the settlement's Search modifier is more than -2, the settlement will have neighborhoods with their own Area Knowledge (Neighborhood) roll. Rolling for the whole settlement when delver does not know or specify the appropriate neighborhood is at -2. If the delver has Area Knowledge for a neighborhood and wants to find something in another neighborhood, this is a flat -3 to the roll; don't worry about distance. Finding an unspecified location (i.e., a "tavern" or a "swordsmith") is just like finding a hireling on p. B517.

Daily Activities

What can a delver do during the day while in town? The short answer is one action of each of Getting Stuff Cheap (Dungeons, p. 3; Exploits, p. 13), Scoring Extra Cash (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14), Finding a Quest or Finding a Sponsor (Dungeons, p. 4; Exploits, p. 14), and training (Training Expenses, The Next Level, p. 43; Exploits, p. 93).

Getting Stuff Cheap: If a delver wants to try Scrounging more than once a week, he or she is -3 for each successive attempt. Crafting and Brewing take longer than a day, so the delver needs to do this action each day until the item is finished. Brewing potions take the time listed for the potion in GURPS Magic. A fletcher on a successful Armoury (Missile Weapons) roll can craft 15 arrows a day. Weapons and armor take a number of days equal one twenty-fifth of the cost of the item. Otherwise, these actions each take a day.

Scoring Extra Cash: All of these actions take a day.

Finding a Quest and Finding a Sponsor: Like Crafting and Brewing, these actions take longer a day; specifically, they each take a week. Thus, a delver needs to do this action each day for a week to make the roll.

Training: A delver can also train for one new trait a day. This requires no roll, and applies only to adding new traits. Spend the points and the money for training; no roll is needed.

Keep in mind that these activities are separate from resolving any encounters.

Doing Work for Yuda: A delver who is down on cash can try to earn some with a side job in lieu of the tasks listed in Getting Stuff Cheap. Someone with Armoury, Artist, Carpentry, Farming, Jeweler, Leatherworking, Merchant, a Professional Skill, Sewing, or Teamster at 12 or better (defaults do not count) can roll against the best of these. Success means the delver earns $30 that day; critical success means the delver earns $60; critical failure means the delver has been blacklisted from working for the next week. The GM need not feel bound by the listed skills; if a player can make a case for why his non-combat skill would let his or her character earn money, let it do so.

If a delver lacks any of these skills, he can try to be a day laborer for much less. Roll against the delver's best basic attribute (ST, DX, IQ, or HT). Success means the delver earns $15 that day; critical success means the delver earns $30; critical failure means the delver has been blacklisted from working for the next week and takes 1d crushing damage from a mishap or a beating. DR does not help with this damage!

These are not secure jobs! To have one of those, the delver must own a home. For $1,000, the delver can buy a permanent hovel in town. While the delver must pay Cost of Living as normal, he or she makes job rolls monthly, as on p. B517. However, the delver must be at home and not adventuring when making monthly job rolls, making this only a choice for a long-term layoff.

Game log 24 October 2021: Not much, really

Aside from some fretting and arguing about incongruent expectations and a bored teenager, not much happened:

• There was the spending of points.
• There was a bard, Tulip, who played the Scarlet Harlot and joined the party at least for a little bit.
• There was a reading of the books of Dīžáttōr by Angelista.
• There was an impromptu trip north to end the session, but owing to bad weather the party didn't get far.
• There will be another post about urbancrawling and handling town that came from the experience of this session.

Game log 12 September 2021, 26 September 2021, 10 October 2021: Long way out

Dramatis personae

Angelista, slayer
Poklov, Town Watchdwarf
Felcanis, cleric
Honsou, bowman watched by the Town Watchdwarf

Quid occurrit

They take off their armor, and wrap a rope around Honsou. Felcanis casts Light on Honsou's gear, then Honsou goes into the water.

Honsou moves through the hall and takes a turn to the right, into another room. The room isn't big, with the only things in it being a rusty spittoon stuck on the floor to the left and a big hole to the right. Honsou thinks the flow of the water at the hole triggers some kind of trap, and when he looks, he thinks sticking something into the hole will bring about something shooting or stabbing the fool who does this.

After about 30 seconds, Honsou comes back and tells the others about the room and the hole; Poklov thinks it could be a drain. Angelista tries to get Poklov to leave behind his armor and swim through the maze of rooms, but he balks.

They send Honsou back into the room again, this time to see if the hole is a drain. He sticks his hand into the hole, and a big spear sticks into him. Poklov feels the rope go limp, and he pulls Honsou back to dry land. There, Poklov bandages him, and Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on him, then Major Healing.
Angelista again tries to talk Poklov to swimming through the tunnels, but again Poklov balks. Felcanis agrees with Poklov once she learns that would mean leaving Bill to die. So, they rest, and Felcanis casts Lend Energy twice to bring the wind back to Honsou.

They go back into the room with the upward-dangling rope, and all of the sudden something rushes out of the darkness to stab Poklov—a hellshot. Poklov steps out of the way, and after a few seconds of trading blows and parries and Honsou dropping his knife, Poklov knocks down the hellshot with his shield. Angelista cuts its neck, Poklov smashes its skull, then Angelista runs it through.

Honsou checks the door on the side opposite the stairs, and finds it safe and unlocked. Beyond it is a hallway with a big curtain to the right. They walk past the curtain, then to a fork in the hall, and take a left. They make it to a door, then bash it open.

Beyond the door is a room with no other ways out and three shocked folks, two women and a man. After Poklov says hello, a short, stocky woman near the door picks up her staff and asks who just now burst into the room. After some testy words with Angelista, the heroes learn the woman is Alligên, a cleric of Saundīvós, who was resting with two acolytes of Saundīvós, Puménē and Vaíkkolos.

As it happens, Alligên is a mighty cleric, at least as far as casting spells, and she heals Poklov's eye for a donation. Alligên lets the heroes know that she and her acolytes did not come through Dībités Rock and instead through a cave, so there is another way out of the dungeon.

Alligên tells the heroes that they have to walk a bit to get to the way out, and that the only thing that has saved the cleric is the Bless spells Alligên has cast on them. The heroes agree to let Alligên show them the way out.

They wind their way back to the room with the upward-dangling rope, then walk into the hallway where the werewolves had turned themselves into beasts. From there, they go around a corner and into another room with leftovers of old crates and barrels, and points at a wall to the right. "Right about here is a doorway," she says. It looks like a normal wall, so Honsou looks and finds the cracks and a rock at the bottom right corner he can wiggle to open the wall. Before he gets the door open, Alligên lets them know there are ghouls on the other side, so the clerics will have their holy symbols ready.

When Honsou gets the door open, they can see a small room with a way out to the far right, an old pipe organ on the far wall with fluid dripping from the ceiling before it, and rotting pews in between. Between the pews and the organ are four ghouls, which Angelista knows to have a hunger for bodies and a paralyzing touch. "Do not let them touch you!"

Honsou gets out a broadhead arrow and aims at a ghoul, while the ghouls wait for the heroes to come to them. Alligên raises her holy symbol, and two of the ghouls scream and hold back. Angelista lobs her spear at a ghoul at where she thinks their vitals are, then pulls out her sword. The spear goes straight into the innards of the ghoul, but doesn't drop it. Poklov moves to the fore of the others. Felcanis points her mace and tries to cast Armor on Angelista, but fails. The acolytes both concentrate, and the ghouls cower from them.

The broadhead arrow flies from Honsou's bow and into Alligên's right leg as Honsou loses his balance. She keeps concentrating through the pain. "I hope your friend doesn't kill me before the ghouls do, Felcanis!" Still up, she steps towards Poklov. Angelista runs up to the ghoul with her spear still in it and swings her sword, but misses. Poklov jumps onto a pew. Felcanis tries to cast Turn Zombie, but again her spell does not go off right. The acolytes, like their master, keep concentrating.

Honsou pulls out another arrow and aims. The ghoul with the spear in it passes out from its wounds. Angelista steps to strike another nearby ghoul, and it claws at Angelista. However, she gets her shield before its claws, and swings her sword so hard into its neck that its head almost comes off, though the ghoul, already being dead, stays up. Poklov slams a ghoul with his shield and also flicks aside its claw with his axe. Felcanis steps and casts Turn Zombie, this time wounding the ghouls. The acolytes keep concentrating, much as Alligên is.

Honsou changes his aim to another ghoul after a step and telling Vaíkkolos to move. The ghoul near Angelista lands a hit on her with its claw, weakening her, though it doesn't paralyze her. A ghoul near Poklov claws at him, but he steps back, while another rushes to claw him but misses. Alligên casts Lend Energy 3 on Angelista, and Saundīvós smiles so much at this that He heals all of Angelista's weakened nerves. Angelista swings for its neck, but its claw pushes aside the sword. Poklov tries to cut off the hand of a ghoul but misses, and Felcanis casts Sunbolt. The acolytes step back.

The thief keeps aiming, bothered since there are two folks between him and the ghoul. The ghoul swings for Angelista, who pushes her shield in the way in time. Another ghoul backs up, and the last one swings for Poklov and hits, claw stopping at the armor. Alligên swings her staff at a ghoul and hits, and it falls apart

Honsou keeps aiming. Angelista swings at a ghoul and misses, and Poklov swings at a ghoul and it steps back. Felcanis lobs her Sunbolt at a ghoul, burning it. The acolytes step to get out of the way of Honsou's shot. The ghouls step back from the crowd, the acolytes' turning them back.

At last Honsou gets off his shot, hitting the ghoul in the neck, weakening it. Another ghoul moves back, while another misses Angelista with her claw. Angelista rushes at the back-most ghoul and swings but misses. Alligên steps and casts Major Healing on herself. Poklov slams his shield into a ghoul. Felcanis goes over the pew, and the acolytes step forward.

Honsou gets out another arrow and aims. A ghoul takes a swing at Angelista, who gets her shield in the way. When another ghoul swings for Poklov, Poklov's axe catches its arm and cuts it. Alligên climbs on the pew. Angelista swings at the ghoul that tried to hit him, but it stepped back in time. Poklov puts his axe in skull of the ghoul near him, taking it out. Felcanis leaps over the pew, and stands before a slightly-raised stone daïs. Puménē steps and concentrates, while Vaíkkolos moves, dropping concentration.

Trying to save arrows, Honsou hides. Alligên moves to the daïs. The last ghoul claws at Angelista. She catches the claw on the rim of her shield then gives the ghoul a sword blow to its neck, sending it staggering backwards. Poklov moves up, and Felcanis goes back around the pew to get Bill. Puménē steps and concentrates, while Vaíkkolos goes around the pew. The ghoul and Angelista trade blows, with neither hitting at first, then Angelista takes off its head.

Among the ghouls' rubble is a ceramic jar. Even though they hear the jingle of coins inside, they hold off on opening it, instead putting it in Bill's saddlebags.

After beating the ghouls, Alligên casts Stop Bleeding on Angelista and the acolytes each cast Minor Healing on her.  After some waiting, Alligên casts Major Healing on Felcanis, and the acolytes cast Lend Energy on Felcanis to bring her back up faster. Alligên casts Stop Bleeding and Minor Healing on Honsou, then they rest some more.

They walk around the corner to the left, but Honsou says there's something happening in the hallway to the right. Since Alligên says the way out is to the left, they go that way, but the din to the right gets louder, becoming the din of growls and claws on stone. Honsou moves to the back in time to see the werewolves burst out from the hallway.

The werewolves rush into the room. Angelista gets out her sword and moves towards them, and Poklov also moves towards them.  Alligên and the acolytes start digging in their pouches for wolfsbane. Felcanis casts Armor on Angelista, and Honsou pulls out an arrow and aims.

The werewolves rush towards Poklov and Angelista but miss. Poklov tries to slam the werewolf before Angelista but misses. Felcanis casts Sunbolt, while Honsou keeps aiming.

One werewolf tries to claw Angelista, but she parries, while the other whacks Poklov in the back of the skull, but his helmet takes the blow. Felcanis lobs her Sunbolt, but hits Vaíkkolos the acolyte instead. "Yow!" he yelps, but steps back and keeps digging in his pouch.

The werewolves try to claw Angelista and Poklov, but sword and armor take the blows. Poklov misses, while Felcanis casts another Sunbolt. The werewolves still cannot get through Angelista's and Poklov's defenses, and Poklov's axe misses a werewolf's skull. Alligên gets out the wolfsbane and steps towards the fray, while Felcanis again misses with a Sunbolt, though doesn't hit anyone by mistake this time.

Honsou likewise shoots at a werewolf, but he misses. The werewolves again cannot get through to claw Angelista and Poklov, while Poklov's axe cannot get through the skull of a werewolf. Alligên steps forward, holding up the wolfsbane, while the acolytes get out their bundles.

As Honsou gets out another arrow and aims, the werewolves swing for Angelista; one gets a scratch through her armor. Poklov slams that werewolf from behind, knocking it down.

Now that the werewolves smell the wolfsbane and having only landed one scratch in many seconds of fighting, they go back down the hallway, though Poklov gets off one last useless blow on the werewolf on the ground, who doesn't care.

Alligên says, "Don't tell me you went into a dungeon without some of this stuff."

Angelista says, "Yeah, we did."

Alligên says, "Were you just thinking, 'Let's go down and kill that balrog! It will be easy!'?"

The heroes, no fully around the corner, make it into a room that looks like an old laboratory. There is an old table with a mortar and pestle on it along with a jar. There is a suit of rusty plate armor with a rusty halberd near the door. Honsou thinks the armor might be trapped, but doesn't care, and goes for the door. Doing so, he foolishly steps on the tripwire of the trapped armor before this. He hears it swing, but it can't get out of the way, so it hurts him good. Alligên casts Major Healing on Honsou, who then unhooks the tripwire.

Honsou opens the door; it is not trapped and unlocked. Beyond the door, this old storeroom is just a bunch of barrels whose wine has long turned to vinegar, with two big centipedes who see the heroes open the door. They try to bite Angelista, who is right by Honsou, but neither hits, with one putting its teeth in her shield. Honsou pulls out an arrow and steps back. Poklov throws his axe into a centipede, and pulls out another one. Angelista tries to stab the innards of a centipede, but she can't hit it.

Both centipedes again try to bite Angelista, but cannot get through her armor. As neither she nor Poklov can get through their shells, it's only fair. They bite back at Poklov and Angelista, but they bite armor and shield. That's more than Poklov and Angelista can do back. Felcanis casts Armor on Angelista. Honsou tries to shoot a centipede but misses.

Poklov, having now stepped behind the centipedes, hits one in the skull from behind, while Angelista pokes on in the innards. The centipedes keep trying to bite Angelista and Poklov, whose armor is too touch for their bites. Poklov takes one down, while Angelista can't get through the shell of the other one. It tries to bite her, but instead bites the floor. Honsou, arrow out again, aims at the centipede, while Poklov tries to play a game he calls "Diablo" and breaks a barrel. Angelista misses the centipede, which bites her armor, and Poklov stops playing Diablo and takes down the last centipede with a blow to the skull.

The gang gets into the barrel room, and blocks the door with some of them. They rest, with the acolytes casting Lend Energy on Felcanis and Poklov. Ten minutes later, Felcanis does the same on Poklov, and after a few more minutes, they're fully rested.

They follow a path to the right out of the room, up a short rise, then reach a fork. Between the fork, there is a metal trunk with a chain and collar linked to it. There is a dead body of a big lizard in that collar, and the chest is open and empty. Alligên says, "It was like that when we came in. That lizard has been dead awhile." After this, she leads them to the left, past some hollow tubes of stone that look like they are growing from the ceiling, then up another short rise. There is a tunnel going left, and Alligên says, "We came from there."

They go through the tunnel, and after about an hour, they come out by a tree with ravens and a lake. Dībités Rock is along the shoreline; it's late afternoon. After telling the clerics they need to get home, Alligên nods at the heroes and says, "We need to get back, too. We're from Blossētétiš"—a town well to the north the north—"so we have a loooong trek. We obviously weren't up to this. We'll be sure to welcome you if you ever come, Felcanis." Poklov gives her a donation of 100 copper, then they start to the north.

They hunt that night (other than Felcanis, who casts Create Food for herself) and pitch camp. They spend the next three days going back to Mīstássun, with Honsou using his last arrows to hunt.

Castle Whiterock 11 October 2021: Inky, Inky, Inky, no Clyde

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

(Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior)

(Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior)
(Mikal, human holy warrior)

What happened

Now that we've checked out the area with the inferno cats, we're ready to look around elsewhere. After some chatting, we walk right, beyond where we fought the cats, and when it branches, we keep to the left. However, something about ten yards down the tunnel stops my darkvision. "Garreth, can you ask Droning Booty what's making my darkvision to fade there?"

Garreth asks Bleu, who says, "Might be more spellruin ivy."

After some chatter, we learn from Blah that smoking it ruins magical aptitude and likely won't get us high, and it would dull non-orichalcum blades trying to cut it. This means that spellruin ivy sucks, so we choose to go another way.

I lean down to Logan and ask, "Hey, boy, smell anything?" He makes honking sounds and looks down a hallway to the right of the one with the spellruin ivy. We hear unhappy honking sounds coming from there, and I put on my ring. "Not more of these guys."

Bleu also hears the sound. "Ah, it sounds like destrachans, and also a certain squishy sound that reminds me of the Myrtatum Maximum Nigrum from the cafeteria. The destrachans sound rather frightened." We step a little farther down, and find four destrachans and the biggest black pudding I've ever seen.

Polly, as always, starts shooting, taking down two destrachans with head shots. Garreth starts trying to speed himself up, and asks Bleu about this black pudding. Bleu says this is like a normal black pudding, but it's as big as a big dragon, and thus has a hunger at least as big as a big dragon's. Its acid could eat up our weapons, and, if we hit it hard enough, it will bud off smaller puddings. The last two destrachans flee, honking at Polly and Logan, who get away from their cone of sound. Logan slams into the one by him, knocking it back.

That's the best thing to happen to that destrachan today, since right after that, the black pudding's pseudopods reach out at the destrachans, Polly, and Logan. Polly and Logan get out of the way, but the pudding slurps back the destrachans into its body after the destrachan that Logan hurt bursts.

I yell at Garreth, "Garreth, something tells me this is the wrong way!"

Garreth yells back, "I've been telling you this isn't the way."

Bleu casts Great Haste on herself, and Polly shoots three arrows at the big pudding, which does nothing other than making the pudding drop a few destrachan bits. "So, uh, back to the start?"

Garreth nods, then lets out a roar. The pudding stops, stunned.

We fly away. Bleu says, "With us flying it probably can't actually track us, the Myrtatum Maximum Nigrum hunts by taste of the ground when it cannot directly sense its prey."

As we fly away, we chat about now needed it is to kill the pudding. Bleu and I say that it likely has no treasure, which makes Polly sad, and deem it truly evil. Garreth agrees with Polly: "Loot destruction is evil."

I say we have to find other ways of killing it besides hitting it with weapons. Bleu says it can see, that slime-affecting spells work on it but are tiring to cast because it's so big, and it has magic resistance. I suggest luring it into lava, and Bleu says it's as smart as a wolf, so won't fall for that trick. We all do think that getting it into a pit would slow it a little, letting us drop big things onto it.

I look down the other tunnels to the right. One has more spellruin ivy, but another leads us to a statue of a broad-shouldered, tiger-like creature stands in the middle. It has top-notch craftsmanship, and looks ready to pounce. This worries me greatly, so I ask Blah about it. She says that it looks like an inferno cat under the effects of a Flesh to Stone spell or something like that, which is pretty much what made me worried.

Garreth says I need to check this out. I shake my head. "Logan, keep Garreth and Polly company. Pee on Bleu's robes if I don't come back." With that, I put on my ring, and fly a little farther.

Rising like an ill mist from the floor are three shapes of what I think are big men made of shadow. I fly backwards, and take off my ring. I'm pretty sure they saw me even with it on. "Looks like Nazgûl."

Other stuff

"Myrtatum Maximum Nigrum" is indeed Latin for "biggest black pudding." Kalzazz didn't do a bad job picking words, getting the last two right. I checked and found that "pudding" in Latin is "myrtatum" or "murtatum" (it's an obvious Greek loanword); "nigrum" might be redundant, since myrtatum is already a sausage with myrtle berries.

Castle Whiterock 13 September 2021: Cats and not-quite-dogs

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior
Mikal, human holy warrior
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

What they did

Garreth drinks something from his flask, and I make a sound like a dying giraffe. Then we hear the three destrachans honk and come at us. Thrognar takes up a spot in the foremost lines, while Mikal goes off to the side, near the ivy. I wait for one to come for me, but Logan flies forward and tries to bite a destrachan. Polly shoots one a few times and it drops. Thrognar focuses, and gets strong and fast, and Bleu casts Great Haste on Garreth.

Destrachans swell up as they breathe in. The giant stomps over shield first trying to smash Thrognar, and tries to overrun Logan as he does so, but both get out of the way. He makes it to Garreth and tries to smash him, but he parries. Once the giant stops, he swings his hammer at Bleu, but Garreth parries that, too.

Logan dashes towards a destrachan and bites it. Polly shoots three arrows at it, dropping it. Thrognar and Garreth swing a few times at the giant, taking him down and smashing in his skull. Some of the blood gets on my face. "Ewww, Garreth. You had to know I was behind him, man."

The last destrachan honks. Logan harmonizes with it, but the sonic blast hurts Polly. Stonemaul, however, steps out of the shadows and reads a Rune of Protection heal her pain. Logan bites more destrachan, while Polly peppers it with arrows, killing it.

Polly looks a bit tired and rubs her arms. Logan keeps eating, then trots back to Garreth and me with some destrachan-flesh in his mouth. Logan drops the gnawed leg of the destrachan at Garreth's feet, and nudges it with his nose, as if offering to share it with Garreth, me, or anyone else. While Garreth is loath to try some at first, but when Bleu says that fried destrachan legs are a delicacy for swamp elves, he has to try.

After looting the bags of the giant, I start tracking the big cats. After a short walk, I find them. They look like a cross between bulldogs and tigers, then leap towards us. Garreth triggers Great Haste and Stonemaul drops the backpack and gets into a good spot. The inferno cats come to Logan and me. I put my knife in the eye of one, dropping it, while Logan claws the face of the other one. It breathes acid fire at us, burning us a little, but misses me with its claws. Polly shoots it thrice, and misses it thrice.

Stonemaul moves, and Garreth moves before he chops at the inferno cat. He wounds it, then Logan and I do the same. Polly shoots it in the eyes, dropping it. I fix my armor from the acid, and Logan rips the inferno cat to shreds.

Game log 29 August 2021: There's silver in … somewhere else

 

Dramatis personae

Angelista, slayer
Poklov, Town Watchdwarf
Felcanis, cleric
Honsou, bowman watched by the Town Watchdwarf

Quid occurrit

The horde pygmies run away. The heroes loot the bodies of the horde pygmies and the hellshots and find nothing, but do find 120 coins in the fake bottom of a trunk in the back of the room. Felcanis checks the walls, and finds them true walls, not fake.

They wait in the room for a bit, then see some light to the southwest. After seeing that the light comes from some horde pygmies poking the bodies of their dead, Poklov runs at them, screaming.

Angelista throws a javelin at a horde pygmy, but misses. Poklov shield-slams into the same horde pygmy, killing it. Honsou aims. Poklov puts his axe into another horde pygmy's neck, almost cutting off its head, but somehow it stays up. He turns towards another, and gives it an axe blow to its chest. He swings for a third one, but misses. Angelista steps and readies another javelin.

In light of how much they can do to the gang of murderhobes, the horde pygmies turn and run. Honsou shoots the horde pygmy with the big wound in its neck, and not only does the arrow kill it, but it goes through and hits the horde pygmy in front of it, killing that horde pygmy. Poklov runs forward and goes for the throat of the nearest standing horde pygmy, taking off its head, and takes out another with a swing to its chest. 

They let the other horde pygmies run away; they're too tired to chase. After about an hour of resting, Lend Energy spells, and a Major Healing spell on Poklov, they're ready to go again. They make it back to the great hall where they came onto this level, and this time take the stairs down. Honsou brings the chest.

They find themselves in a room that is only about twenty feet to the other wall, which has a door on the other side, but goes about thirty feet to the left and the right. To the left, they see a frayed rope tied to an iron ring in the floor going straight up, halfway to the ceiling. Poklov tugs at the iron ring, which does nothing.

They spend a few minutes checking out the rope. Honsou goes near it, and learns that there are straight cracks in the floor, coming from the left wall and stopping about ten feet from that door. He finds that the rope dangling upwards; gravity is going the wrong way for it. Honsou shrugs, and throws the chest at the door, which does nothing. He finds the unharmed door locked with a poison needle inset in the lock, and sees its hinges a little too flush with the wall for his liking. He unsets the poison needle, then cuts the floating rope about midway through. The rope he has does nothing, but the rest of the rope still dangles upwards. Honsou tries putting the chest on the ring, but it falls, then checks the cracks of the door and thinks that opening the door triggers whatever the floor does. There's the musty smell of water beyond the door, though the door is neither wet nor warped.

At the other end of the room, Felcanis can make out two man-sized beings. She tells the others, and with that, the beings walk towards. Poklov starts chopping open the door, and Angelista goes to meet the two beings, whom he sees are a man with a pointed beard and a woman with wet hair. Both have broadswords and shields, but neither wears armor. 

Angelista tells them to halt, and the man asks her who they are. When neither the man nor Angelista says who he or she is, the woman asks, in a nasal voice, "Blah, blah, blah, where is the man with the half-shaved head?" Angelista says that she doesn't know, and the woman says, "Oh? So he's not up there? He's kind of wild-looking and had a bad date with a razor on his scalp." Since Angelista doesn't know who this is and neither group wants to say who it is, the two walk back and turn a corner.

After a few seconds, they hear dog-like roars around that corner. Then, two furry beings rush at them. They are bipedal yet canine, with big claws and thick fur. One has wet hair, and the hair on the underside of the snout of the other somehow makes a forked beard.

Honsou takes a shot, but his arrow doesn't get past the beast's fur. Both step towards Angelista and swat at her with their claws, but her shield and sword push them back. Felcanis yells, "They're werewolves! We need silver weapons and wolfsbane!" Sure enough, Poklov tries to put his axe in one, and he doesn't take heed at all.

As it dawns upon them that they cannot harm the werewolves, they run through the broken door, with Poklov holding them off until Felcanis casts Sunlight. The werewolves stop and look to the sky, letting Poklov get out; they do not run after them.

Res aliae

Nobody has the Swimming skill, which should make the unseen water even more fun.

Castle Whiterock log 16 August 2021: Cutting short

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior
Mikal, human holy warrior
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

What they did

I don't know how many times I wake up over the week to Logan licking my face and Garreth laughing about something I did. I mean, that's a common happening for me, but with F'thirya in town, this happens more than my wont. F'thirya sees to it that nobody else gets any work done, either. And unlike everyone else, I'm lucky to have a mustelid with me, and can handle it.

Seven days, fifteen slaps, twelve heaves, six dry heaves, eight kegs, six bottles of wine, five bottles of whiskey, and two projectile vomiting contests later, I find myself in the Slumbering Drake again, sitting with Garreth, Mikal, Thrognar, and Chauntessa. "And now we're on the next level, which is the 'Burning Maze,'" Garreth tells Chauntessa.

I chime in, "Yeah, we want salamander amulets for that."

Chauntessa nods and looks at us. "Please ask Miss Minyad to ship more beer, we seem to be quite low." Garreth and I look at each other and hold back our chuckles, and Chauntessa turns her head to the side. "Why does Ixnay have an egg that's glowing and levitating?"

We all turn and look and sure enough, Ixnay has an egg as big as a chicken's and a glossy golden color, that is also glowing and floating. Ixnay is wrapping his tail around it to keep it from floating off. We look at the egg in wonder. "Seems F'thirya liked Ixnay more than expected," I say. Garreth taps his sword and mumbles to it, then shrugs, saying nothing.

Garreth asks Chauntessa, "Where do we stand on the process to reverse the curse?"

Chauntessa says, "You still need to slay Benthorusra, and look out for info on the Sleep of Ages." She rubs her head. "I perhaps should not have drunk that dwarven vodka or at least stopped after the first keg. Can we discuss this later?"

Garreth nods. "Sure, just thinking ahead."

I buy a bunch of Salamander Amulets for the gang, and we try them out. Thrognar asks what they do, and I tell him to put it on. After he does, I pull down a torch and hold it under his arm. "Feel that?" Mikal makes a sermon about the goodness of Salamander Amulet, and gets one from his church, so we have an extra.

So we go through all the myriad duergar levels, then the Underdark after the duergar level, then past the slain ruins of the wall. The winding staircase draws us deeper into the earth. The heat is fantastic, and gets more intense the further down we go. After descending about one hundred and ten feet, the stairs terminate in a spacious, bow-legged tunnel. The cave structure down here is unlike anything we’ve seen previously. The walls are smooth, almost as if they were worked by spell or skill, but the floor is pockmarked and littered with fused rubble. The ground looks very rough to walk on, but no one is walking. Bleu casts some spells on us after some grumbling, while Polly casts some spells on us with zeal, and we go ahead.

I spot some tracks. Big cat prints lead one way, destrachan prints lead another, and giant boot prints lead a third. The giant boots prints have a short stride for boots so big. Garreth and I talk, and we choose to go after the giants. From ahead, I  make out the flickering light of a torch or small fire. I also hear a deep, basso profundo voice humming to itself. The humming is the popular drinking tune "Bloody Jack's Last Raid." Garreth starts meditating.

Many tunnels come together ahead, making a small opening. A small fire is wedged in a fold of the tunnel wall, and by its light I see a man, almost twelve feet tall, with black skin and a blazing red beard. He tends two strange creatures: hunched-over, hairless, eyeless lizard-monkeys with nasty, black claws and double-lobed ears. This makes me shiver.

One of the monsters looks at me somehow, even though it has no eyes. The giant asks it in Dwarven, "You hear somethin', Cutie?" I float back a bit, still keeping my sight on the giant. However, the beast honks, and the giant gets up, readying his hammer and shield. I fly back.

There, my friends are looking at what seems to be some ivy. Thrognar flies near the ivy and suddenly sinks, as if weight suddenly burdens him. Mikal goes near, and loses his active spells, and suddenly feels hotter. Polly shoots the plant with a cornucopia arrow, and it vanishes before it hits. They back away, and their magic items start working again. Mikal casts Continual Light again to bring back light. Thrognar says, "Seems we want to avoid this way." Garreth says it must be spell ruin ivy.

We await the giant, whom we can hear coming towards us.

Other stuff

We had to quit early as our GM was called away by his work.

Game log 25 July 2021: Small isn't beautiful

Dramatis personae

Angelista, slayer
Poklov, Town Watchdwarf
Felcanis, cleric
Honsou, bowman watched by the Town Watchdwarf

Quid occurrit

The horde pygmies run east. Poklov shield-slams a horde pygmy, knocking it out, while Angelista picks up her javelin.

To the east, the heroes hear a bunch of "pffft" sounds. Angelista and Poklov go east, and see the horde pygmies turned towards the north, with a bunch of hellshots are running at them. The hellshots see Angelista and Poklov and rush towards them. Honsou and Felcanis reach the others.

Two hellshots slam a horde pygmy, knocking it out. One tries to slam Poklov, but he steps out of the way. Another tries to run at him with its spear, but misses. Angelista runs at one with her sword, but misses. Poklov steps and misses with his axe. The horde pygmies stand there with their blowguns to their lips. Felcanis moves towards the others. Honsou moves towards the others, pulling out an arrow as he does.

One hellshot runs at Angelista and misses with its spear, as does another on Poklov. One stabs Poklov with its spear but it doesn't get through armor, while Poklov blocks another stab with his shield, and steps away from a third. Angelista slashes her sword hard into the weapon arm of the hellshot in front of her, but misses. Poklov swings for the leg of the hellshot by Angelista, but it parries with its spear. Felcanis rushes forward to get near the fray. Honsou shoots a hellshot, but the arrow just sticks onto its skin.

One hellshot runs around the back of the gang. A hellshot stabs at Angelista, and gets past her shield and armor. Another tries to stab Poklov in the face, but he parries. A second one does hit, but his armor stops it. A third one tries to hit his eyes, but misses. Angelista whacks a hellshot's midriff, but it stays standing. Poklov chops the legs off a hellshot. The horde pygmies, still holding their blowguns to their mouths, step forward. Felcanis runs to Angelista. Honsou gets out another arrow.

A hellshot runs into Angelista's back, but bounces off her and falls down. Another gets past her shield for a small wound, while three hellshots, including two on the ground, miss Poklov's eye slit. Angelista slashes hard on the one before her, dropping it, then says to the one behind her, "You are next. I would run." Poklov chops twice at the neck of a hellshot, but it stays standing. The horde pygmies shoot their blowgun darts at Poklov's eyes. Five darts hit, blinding him. Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on Poklov. Housou shoots a hellshot on the ground, but it still writhes. It tries to shove its spear up Angelista's rear, but it can't get through her armor. The other hellshots try to poke Poklov in the eyes, but miss.

Angelista steps and misses the hellshot to her left. "I'm covering your left, dwarf!"

Poklov swings blindly at a hellshot, but misses. "Thanks, lass!"

The horde pygmies pull out more darts. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Poklov, and he can see out of one eye again. Honsou pulls a chest he found earlier in the dungeon, and stands over a hellshot's head, ready to drop it on it. The other hellshot on the ground passes out. The hellshot in the back tries to stab Felcanis, but breaks its spear instead. The other two try to stab Poklov in the eye. They not only miss, but one of them breaks its spear.

Angelista slashes hard at the one on Poklov's left, though it stays up. Poklov plants his axe into a hellshot and it falls dead as it tries to step away.

The horde pygmies step back and aim with their blowguns. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Angelista. Honsou smashes the trunk on the hellshot's head. It passes out.

Two hellshots try to hit Angelista. The one missing legs tries to feebly stab her with its spear, while the other bites her. It gets past her shield, but tastes armor and tough skin. Angelista steps back and cuts a hellshot, though it stays awake. Poklov smashes his axe into a horde pygmy, knocking it out. He swings his other axe at another horde pygmy, but it steps away. The horde pygmies again fire their darts at Poklov, one hitting him in his already hurt eye. He stays awake, but falls. Angelista yells, "By the gods, dwarf, are you trying to get killed?"

Felcanis smashes a hellshot with her mace, but can't get through its armor skin. Honsou whips out a knife and tries to throw it at a hellshot, but misses. One hellshot tries to bite Felcanis another tries to stab her, but both miss. Angelista shoves her spear into the innards of the hellshot before her. The horde pygmies get out more darts.

The body of the hellshot before Felcanis suddenly glows in bright light. Felcanis misses a hellshot with her mace, and Honsou pulls out another knife. The unlit hellshot passes out, while the lit-up one tries to stab Felcanis. However, its spear breaks. Angelista steps on a downed hellshot as she tries to stab the brightly-lit hellshot. She misses, her eyes hurting from the light. Poklov kneels. The horde pygmies start aiming again.

Felcanis misses the dazzling hellshot with her mace, while Honsou grabs his bow. The dazzling hellshot tries to bite Felcanis, but misses, its own eyes dazzled from its body's sudden light. Angelista misses with her broadsword, and Poklov stands. Honsou pulls out an arrow, and the glowing hellshot misses Angelista. She swings at it again, this time hurting it. Poklov quickly grabs his axes and puts one of them into a horde pygmy, knocking it out. The other horde pygmies start running past the heroes.

Felcanis starts casting Dispel Magic to try to get rid of the glow of the hellshot. While she's casting, the hellshot tries to bite Angelista, but she blocks it. Honsou shoots down a horde pygmy. The hellshot again tries to bite Felcanis, missing, and Angelista gets her sword into it, killing it, and ending its glow. Poklov kills a fleeing horde pygmy with his axe. Honsou pulls out his knife and tries to stab another, but misses. Angelista sheathes her sword, while Poklov kills two more. Felcanis, now no longer needing to cast her spell, swings and misses a horde pygmy. Honsou stabs at another one, knocking it out. Angelista pulls out her javelin.

Castle Whiterock 2 August 2021: Names are a problem

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Thrognar, half-orc holy warrior

Stonemaul, half-orc holy warrior

Murderhoboing

I poke Logan. "C'mon, wake Garreth! Lick 'im!" Logan licks, but he cannot wake Garreth, with Garreth's Epic Willpower and Mental Strength. Ohm. I turn to Polly, as we need to get going. "So, Polly, Bleu … wait, Thrognar?" Sure enough, there's Thrognar. "When did you get here?"

Thrognar says, "Just now. Priest Gilles is rather longwinded."

I chuckle, "Sorry for all the sins we did, but that's just how I roll at night."

Thrognar says, "Your soul is the only one damaged by your sins. No need to apologize. To me."

Polly asks, "Doesn't killing evil things expiate sins? Like if you eat an extra cookie you can kill an extra orc and it balances out."

I shrug. "I really don't care."

Thrognar says, "Only if done so truly for penance, not for profit."

Polly says, "Oh … so you gotta kill the orc, but donate the proceeds to feed the innocent puppies and kittens?"

Stonemaul chimes in, "Depends on which god you're talking about, really."

Wait, Stonemaul? "Wow … Polly, did I do some shrooms before this?"

Polly says, "When do you not do shrooms?"

Stonemaul says, "I was just up at the temple doing a bit of communing with my god, which mostly means coating the meditation chamber with itching powder and a few strategically placed crickets before the other worshipers get in. Early-bird and all that."

I ask the glowing ball, "F'ffith—however you say your name, can you restore Garreth's strength?"

F'thirya, "F-fear-eee-ah. Like Etheria"

I say, "Yeah, that. Anyways, his strength. Royal Ugly Dude sapped him good."

F'thirya says, "Oh very well, verily shall I turn my Celestial powers unto his restoration, that he might further the cause of Chaos and Good, but thou shalt really encourage him to get into more wild parties." And then she heals Garreth.

I say, "Well, yeah, I'm always there for wild parties. I live for those." 

Stonemaul says, "I think we call you Erica now, eh?

I lift my chain shirt and looks down my pants. "No, I'm still Ibizaber."

Stonemaul shakes his head. "Not you, but F'thirya."

F'thirya says, "What pray tell is wrong with F'thirya?"

Stonemaul says, "It's more than two syllables, and makes you trip over your lips when saying it."

F'thirya waits a moment before saying, "Erica is three syllables."

Thrognar says, "But it doesn't force together those syllables with Sovereign Glue."

Stonemaul nods sagely at F'thirya. "Erin it is, then."

I roll my eyes. "Really, who gives a damn about syllable count? Now, let's go check out Royal Ugly Dude's lair."

F'thirya says, "I suppose we can compromise on Erica, now then, since you have vanquished the Fell Balfosa. Should you win free of this dread place, then upon your summon I shall but once fly to thy aid, though should you topple the obelisks lain around Castle Whiterock to ruin the curse laid upon this trap."

We check out the demonic curtain. It is a horrid thing that seems stitched of the groaning, agonized faces of Demon and Celestial alike. There's a vrock, a hezrou, and a lantern archon, among others, molding in and out. It looks like demon and angel hides stitched together that are constantly groaning, pleading, and writhing in misery. Ungrateful curtain. "Oh, what's YOUR problem?" I beckon everyone with my hand.

I tell the others, "I don't like it. It's a curtain that makes the room look smaller. Bad feng shui." I yell at Bleu to bring up the rear, but she's taking a nap as Garreth meditates. I look at Polly. "Can you believe the nerve of that wizard?"

Thrognar says, "We should destroy this, release this souls."

I add, "And see what's behind it."

Polly asks, "Ooh, attack?"

Stonemaul says, "Might it be possible to do something more, I dunno, clerical to it? Throg, that's not exactly my expertise. Do you have any ideas?"

I yawn. "If Blah were awake, she'd bore it to death."

Thrognar says, "Burning it seem like a sure thing, if a bit cruel."

I point out, "Since when were we gentle?"

Stonemaul says "Seems it can be exorcised."

We can hear the curtain screaming: "Die die die!" "Save us! Save us!" "101010001010101!" "Lobster sticks to Magnet!" "Why why whhhhyyyy?"

I shrug. "Dunno, sounds like it might have something fun to say." After this falls on deaf ears, I ask, "Fine, de we have a torch?"

Stonemaul says, "The last time I did an exorcism, hmmm … oh, I remember. Yeah, you probably don't want me to do it."

Thrognar starts exorcising the curtain. He tells us that the whole deal will take three hours so please don't bother him or cast spells in his sight.

Garreth shakes off his trance and wanders up to the group, dragging Bleu with him. He also asks about plain old fire, while I tell Bleu, "Blah, bore it to death." He sits down, and he and Logan both drink from my whiskeyskin.

Polly says, "So boring … shouldn't church be over and we get doughnuts?"

I chuckle. "Dominus omnibus, succubum futuissem si remaneret."

After a few hours, an ox-sized, gray moth swoops out of the darkness on red-hued wings, leaving behind a trail of slow-falling, powdery residue. Its body is banded in red and black spirals. I point. "Hey, Polly, butterflies!"

Polly says, "Ooh, pretty butterflies!" and does not shoot. I roll my eyes. "Fuck nature." I pull out my knife, and Logan steps and growls at them. Stonemaul starts his short meditation. 

Garreth pulls out two sais and throws them at a moth. With a beautiful sparkly display the moths all dodge the sais. "They're hellmoths, clearly."

Polly asks, "Not friendly butterflies? You sure?"

I tell her, "They're not nature, so get out the bow. Nothing that big this far down is nature."

Garreth starts meditating. Stonemaul moves. Five hellmoths try to hug him with their wings, but Stonemaul steps away or parries all of them.

Polly unloads on the hellmoths, hoping to drop some before they can engage. She shoots one in the eyes, but misses the other shots. Logan steps and starts clawing at the nearest butterfly of doom, and rips it down. I step and wait for a butterfly to get to me. Garreth and Stonemaul both chop at hellmoths, killing many in a second of flurry, and the others start to fly away, now knowing that we're bad for them. Since they're demonic, we don't let them get away, and instead chop them up. I check them for poison, and find they have none, but they can blow up if we use them right. Bleu scoffs at them. "I don't recall reading about these things they must not be real."

The moth oozes on the ground after Logan ripped it to shreds. Logan keeps ripping it up, as he seems to like the taste, then brings it to Garreth between his jaws, awaiting a treat.

And time passes, then the groaning curtain seems to be resisting Thrognar's exorcism, but then, as he redoubles his efforts and call upon Justicia and Danathar, the curtain flails, writhes, howls, flops, then nothing. Thrognar now burns the curtain.

To the southeast, I remember seeing sparkly stuff there earlier. I look in the rubble, and find some coins, but they're silver-painted copper.  I look a little more, and also find some garnets and some obsidians, and some badly carved rubies that look kinda like Balfosa, but its all scattered about the rubble. I shake my fist at the heavens and after seeing the paltry treasure. "Who would do such a dastardly deed? And why?"

Thrognar nods. "The demon's depravity know no bounds."

As I shake my fist, I feel a breeze, and think that something is buried below all this rubble and junk. The thought overrides me, and I dig.

Stonemaul yells, "What are you doing?"

I call back. "What does it look like I'm doing?"

Garreth digs some free range jerky out of a belt pouch and chows down while I dig. At last, I break through. I find thin and twisty passages, and then, at the end, treasure that isn't silver-painted copper. "Garreth! We're rich! Er!" As well as coins, I find a magical dwarven shield, with sigils that say, "This shield is a gift of our forefathers and their forefathers before them, no dwarf shall fall that bears it." I also find a wooden staff that Bleu says is magic. I tell her she can use it so long as she doesn't talk about it. I also find another staff that is carved in the likeness of a great black snake.

We go beyond the horrid curtain is a short hallway that leads to a stone daïs, in the middle of which is what looks like a well. Inside, crimson runes cast a gruesome light, but we can see thirty feet down into another room beneath this one. The air above the well is amazingly hot. Stonemaul puts on his salamander amulet, and holds his arm over the well to see if it works.

F'thirya turns to Thrognar and gives him a scroll. "What's this?" he asks.

F'thirya says, "You may use this once, and once only, to call me to your side, though remember to knock out those obelisks first."

Thrognar raises his eyebrow. "Obelisks?"

I tell him, "She was blinking about those a few hours ago. Dunno what she means."

F'thirya says, "Now then, to long hath I tarried in this vile demense, e'er is time that I do press my valor against the foes of good and chaos. I have heard of one most foul, one who doth feel his station puts him above others, that he mightiest oppress the people and molest the camels. Have you  heard of Lord Flitwick?" She does not seem to find "Lord" a compliment.

Garreth and I look at each other. Garreth says, "Flitwick, yeah we ran into him once or twice," keeping a straight face.

I whistle idly, trying to look innocent. "Flitwick, eh …." I lean over to Garreth and whisper, "Man, Seep isn't gonna believe this."

F'thirya says, "His fell and odious deeds shall earn him rewards most just."

I say, "I mean, Wickprick's daughter is kinda hot …."

Stonemaul tells me, "All the more reason to dispose him. That's how fiefdoms work and all that. Of course no guarantees she does not pour poison in your ear some point after."

I chuckle. "Oh, we already took his house. Seépravir lives there now."

F'thirya asks, "His daughter also spreads the tyranny of blood? What about with camels?"

I tell her, "I dunno about her and a camel. She's kinda spoiled and all, but she's a half-elf."

F'thirya says, "Nothing wrong with half elves, lo, for the mixing of the races strives with Chaos against the tyranny of the preordained."

I grin. "Plus elf maids are hot."

Garreth nods. "He's pretty scummy." He looks straight at F'thirya. "So, do you have a way out?"

F'thirya says, "We just found one yes?"

Garreth asks, "The pit?"

Stonemaul says, "This goes out? Seems more like it heads further in, deeper."

F'thirya says, "Well, I can, I am not terribly prone to bursting into flames as a medium sized orb of Celestial Light. I do suppose it would be more problematic for those of you who need to breathe."

Stonemaul says, "Well, pit of flames aside, are you just trading one floor of the prison for another?"

Ibizaber chuckle, "She's freeing the camels."

F'thirya says, "Dost thou not think that through that gate we are free of the demonhold?" F'thirya looks very sad as a medium size orb of celestial light can look sad.

Stonemaul shrugs "I mean, I'm no wizard, not even a good cleric; practical joke from my god and all that."

Garreth asks, "You guys see any reason we shouldn't help the elf escape?"

Stonemaul says, "But end of day I'm here to break this summon trap before it causes heavy and hell to crash into this plane."

We go back to town. Garreth, Logan, and I are ready to drink and party with F'thirya, an avatar of good and chaos. After a week of this, Cillamar will be thankful that it normally only has to deal with a man, a half-orc, and a wolverine.

19 July 2021 Whiterock: How's it going, Royal Ugly Dude?

The murderhoboes

Garreth, half-orc swordsman
    Bleu, droning elf wizard
Zaber, suave and debonaire man
    Logan, wolverine
Polly, cute and deadly elf archer

Killing is our business … and business is good!

From the banter at the nightly parties, I hear that Evil Edwardil was recently slain by owlbears as he was trying to explore Castle Whiterock. It seems he kept trying to summon dretches but none appeared to save him. This gives Garreth and me a chuckle, not a tear. Edwardil was a dick who spoiled parties and couldn't hold his booze anyways.

Garreth and I gather Polly and Bleu to set off for Demonhold. I send Logan to sniff out Thrognar, Stonemaul, and Mikal, but he instead leads me to their church. I didn't think what we did the other night was so bad, but if they have to confess, oh well. Pity they can't come with us now.

Stonemaul and Mikal not being with means Bleu doesn't have to cast as many spells, so she casts Flight on everyone, and Dark Vision on everyone but Polly, who doesn't need it. She does get See Invisible to see me.

We float through the halls of Demonhold like ninjas, and Bleu casts See Invisible so she can see me while I wear my ring. I chuckle once Bleu agrees, and look down at Logan. "OK, Logan, don't do that thing we talked about to Blah's robes."

After a few twists and turns through the tunnels, something doesn't feel right. I hold up my hand and whisper, "Something isn't good, Polly."

Polly looks around. "I don't see anything."

I call to Logan. "Logan, come up and take a whiff." He comes up to me and takes a smell, but doesn't smell anything. I, however, see some sparkly stuff all the way across the room at end of vision. I tell him to guard the wizard again, then look harder: it's coins. I point this out to Polly, who offers to shoot it, though I tell her to hold her fire for the moment. Still, there's something wrong about this.

Garreth looks carefully up at the roof and around at the side hallways. He sees some rubble, but no critters. I take a step forward to check it out, and all of the sudden, nasty ghostly forms start reaching out towards everyone! They shake us to our cores and stun us, but we know they are but illusions of ethereal cows.

Bleu falls anyways. We all take a drink from the wineskin, healing us. I no longer have my bad feeling.

Polly says, "Owww, the Ethereal Cow tried to avenge all the milk I had with cookies!" She glares at where the Ethereal Cow once was. Garreth asks Bleu what that was, and she, after some babbling, calls it a Weird, and has no idea who cast it. She also talks about "Von Floepelheim's Guide to Seemingly Useful But Not Really Cantrips," "Dell'Orto's Unattended Trap Premise," and "Vance's Classification System of the Old Wifflein Catalog once used by the Great Bookwyrm," none of which mean a damn thing to us.

Luckily, as she babbles, I hear loud slobbery voices in an unknown tongue on the other side of the room. I fly ahead and check it out, spotting a quasit and, behind it, a patchwork curtain made from the stitched flesh of angels, devils, and demons. As the quasit is looking at something over a cliff to the east, I see a demon that looks like a fat ape mixed with a boar and wearing a cape, with a beautiful woman with big wings. 

It sees me. I say, "See you later, Royal Ugly Dude!" then fly back. "We have company!" Polly flies up and shoots at the quasit, and it bursts into icky green goo.

The Royal Ugly Dude flaps its way up the cliff and screams, "You peasants! You Prime Material Knaves! I was TELLING A STORY!" It shoots lightning at Polly and me, though we get out of the way.

I step behind Polly and take off my ring. Polly says, "You're right, Zaber, it is ugly!" Garreth yells at Bleu to hasten him. Logan rushes forward, and Polly shoots at the Royal Ugly Dude, but it dodges all of them. The Royal Ugly Dude follows us into the tunnel, and in a burst of rainbow hues it widens the hallway to let it through. This also sends lightning bolts flying at us, which we dodge. It also swings its axe at me, but misses.

Polly yells, "Hey, there are more little green guys behind the Big Pig! They're invisible!" I tell Logan to run under the Royal Ugly Dude, which he does, and sniffs out the quasits on the other side. I briefly think of getting out of here with the succubus, but I change my mind.

F'thirya flits in. "I see that thou hast finally decided that thou shalt test thy mettle and strive forthwith against the Great Balfosa!" Garreth blinks, and bids Bleu to cast Great Haste on F'thirya.

Polly tries to put bodkin arrows in Balfosa's eyes, but he dodges the arrows. It hurls its tusks at Polly and me, but we get out of the way of them. Then, a nasty, sickening cloud of vile darkness billows out from Balfosa but does not touch anyone, but instead curses where it is for the gods. Then, a big rainbow cloud it was gathering bursts outwards. Polly stands like an idiot, looking at the rainbow, while Bleu starts babbling about how great it is to stand next to F'thirya.

Logan starts clawing at a quasit and it bursts apart when he claws it. He looks upset at the other quasit's cowardice, and runs after it. Bleu casts Great Haste on F'thirya, who says, "Thank thee, one that is called Blah."

Bleu gives me a look.

Garreth hears the little soft flappy sounds of quasit wings, but instead runs up to Balfosa and can't hit him with many blows until his last one, when Scalemar bites deep and Balfosa feels it squealing with pain and rage like a stuck pig. "How dare you prick my Royal Flesh you dastardly serf!" it screams, and Garreth feels himself weaken. Garreth then shouts at Balfosa, stunning him.

Garreth asks F'thirya for help, as he can't do it again, and F'thirya says she can take care of Balfosa if Garreth weakens him enough. Garreth asks Bleu if Nalfeshnee have brains, which she says they do, albeit deep in the skull. Garreth hacks through his skull and his sword hits brain.

The succubus has had enough. "What STUBBORN MEN! Why Balfosa, baby, I think you are dying. Toodles!" With that, she leaves. "Buh-bye, big and green baby!" Balfosa is stunned and does not say anything. F'thirya zaps Balfosa with eight bolts of heat, and he only dodges one of them.

Polly snaps to her wits, Logan kills off the quasits, and Garreth takes care of the Royal Ugly Dude.

Game log 27 June 2021: Don't split the party!

Dramatis personae

Angelista, slayer
Poklov, Town Watchdwarf
Felcanis, cleric
Honsou, bowman watched by the Town Watchdwarf

Quid occurrit

Honsou searches the wardrobe and finds nothing. Felcanis sees the bedposts are intact and the frame is mostly intact, but otherwise it doesn't look too comfy.

They leave and back down the hallway. After walking past the room with the secret door, they find a door on the left side of the hall. Honsou unlocks it, and they find themselves a room with three green copper slabs about knee-high on the other side. They check them out, and see holes cut in the middle, about 18 inches across. Honsou looks down the hole of one of them, and there's a faint smell of … ewwww.

"Latrines," says Angelista.

Since there is nothing in the room but ancient shit, they go back down the hallway. After some twists and turns, the hallway stops, and they see trapdoor above.

Angelista asks Poklov, "Are you sure you want to get up there?"

Poklov shrugs. "It looks like a nice hidey-hole. There's gotta be something fun there."

Angelista shrugs. "I do not recommend messing with that but if you say so"

After some chatter, Honsou stands on Poklov's shoulders, and tries pushing the trapdoor above. He cannot shove it as there seems to be something atop it. Angelista tries, and finds she can push it open; a few barrels fall off it as she pushes. She lifts herself up after Felcanis casts Continual Light on her helmet.

The storeroom is about 60 feet square, with a way out on to their left. Loads of barrels are near where Angelista is. She lowers it for Felcanis, but she falls and cripples her left leg. Poklov starts bandaging her, but Honsou climbs up.

Angelista and Honsou wait as Poklov bandages Felcanis, trying to find out how they will get Bill up through the hole. After a few minutes, Honsou hears some skittering to the northeast. They get up, and see what looks like two big centipedes at the edge of the light. Honsou readies his bow and arrow, and Angelista misses when she throws her javelin at a centipede. The centipedes move towards them, and Honsou shoots one. His arrow hits, but the centipede's chitin looks like it stops a lot of the blow.

Angelista pulls out her sword, and swings when the centipede Honsou didn't shoot gets next to her. However, she doesn't get a hard blow, so the centipede's chitin stops it. The centipedes make hasty bites at them, but miss. Angelista yells for Honsou to get back down, but he has trouble grabbing the rope. Angelista's swing misses a centipede, and she steps back from their blows. Honsou still has trouble trying to get his footing to go down. Angelista again swings at a centipede, and this time hurts it. However, she doesn't block its bite, and some of its poison gets into her blood. She does parry the other's bite, however.

Honsou slips and falls into the hole, and cripples his right leg as he lands. Angelista backs towards the hole, but can't get her grip right. One centipede's bite can't get through Angelista's armor, but the other does, and puts more poison into her. Although numb from the poison, she gets her grip on the rope, and gets down it.

The centipedes start scurrying down the sides of the hole. Angelista grabs her sword again and hits a centipede on the wall. Poklov can't get his axe out fast enough to smack the other one. That centipede likewise misses Poklov as it gets to the ground. Honsou crawls out of the way as Angelista takes out a centipede. Poklov lands a blow on the other centipede, which then tries to get away. It can't do so in time to get away from Angelista's sword, killing it.

Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on Honsou and Angelista. Then she casts Neutralize Poison on Angelista and Minor Healing and Major Healing on Honsou, letting him walk again. After Poklov gets done tending to her leg, Felcanis swigs a Minor Healing potion, fails to get her Major Healing spell to heal her, gets her Minor Healing spell to heal herself, falis on Stop Bleeding, then succeeds on her second Minor Healing spell.

Angelista pulls herself up after some trying, then pulls up Felcanis. Honsou follows, and Poklov puts the rope around Bill to let Angelista lift him. She tries, but pulls a muscle in her shoulder. Felcanis casts Stop Bleeding on Angelista, and she tries again, this time getting Bill up. Felcanis casts Major Healing on Angelista, and Poklov follows up, bringing up the gear they took off Bill.

This storeroom is filled with bugs, but one small chest is still there. A hidden drawer has 60 copper farthings and 10 silver pennies. One of the barrels has 20 animal horns. They take the money, leave the horns.

They take the only way out, a hallway on the end of the left wall, and find themselves back in the big chamber with the stairs up to the first level. They turn right, and find a big throne at the wall. Honsou thinks that if he pulls the throne forward, it will do something to the wall. He does so, and it opens to a hallway going left and right. They follow it right and after some twists and turns, the hallway stops, and they see an open hole above and two dead big centipedes at their feet.

This springs the line of the Erstokkian sage Yogībêra: "Déjà vu all over again."

They turn back to the big room, and leave through a hallway on the other side of the stairs up. After a couple of turns, they reach a big room about 20 ft. by 30 ft., with a latrine on the right side and a hallway out on the other side. More importantly, they see a gaggle of 3 ft.-tall humanoids with tiny heads, misshapen features, bugged-out eyes, and swollen bellies. They sharpen their teeth to points, and look hungry.

Angelista thinks that if the heroes don't attack these humanoids they won't hurt them, so goes towards to the latrine to check it out. As she does so, most of the horde pygmies run down the other hall, though seven move between her and the other murderhoboes.

Once Angelista is near the latrine, the horde pygmies blow darts at her. Four of the horde pygmies miss Angelista with their blowdarts, two hit but do not get through her armor, and one gets stuck into her shield. Honsou tries to shoot one with its back turned towards him, but misses. Poklov kills one with its back turned, but the other caught sight of him through the corner of its eye and got away from his axe. Angelista launches her javelin at the closest target, killing it.

The other horde pygmies run towards their fellows.

Res aliae

I was a little too permissive with Climbing in combat. Angelista got active defenses when she would have logically made her sword and shield unready, though she failed both anyways. Time might have been an issue I shouldn't have overlooked: the Basic Set gives the climbing rate of rope down at two feet a second (p. B349), and this was a ten-foot drop. However, this was only a ten-foot drop, so a Climbing roll is a little more like a controlled Jumping roll.

The fight with the centipedes was a challenge only because they split the party. To be fair, Felcanis being a lousy climber didn't help matters, but Poklov chose to bandage her below with the other two up top. I asked if they were sure they wanted to do this a couple of times and yes, they were sure.

State of the healing spells. Below is how many of each healing spell Felcanis has cast on each PC during this day. I keep having to scroll back and find this, so I'm putting this out on the blog:

Major Healing: Angelista, Felcanis, Honsou 2, Poklov
Minor Healing: Angelista, Felcanis 2, Poklov

We didn't game yesterday since Brandon (Poklov) was going to be gone and John (Felcanis) was going to be mostly gone. It might happen this coming Sunday (the 18th).