[D&D3ish]Crypts of Chaos: Scouting Interest

[Dr_Noface]

I think I missed some stuff a while back. What happened the last time you guys went to the surface?

Also, to AncientHistory, this is pretty great. Are you working from paper notes, or is it typed up?

[Whatever]

The landscape changes didn't happen while the party was on the surface. Xil took a tunnel that lead most of the way up, then used Control Weather to try to kill the Nal'Thaggu with sandstorms. That's when she got a talking to from the Dry Lich.

I think the most recent surface encounter before that was when the party ran into that eunuch sorcerer and the sand people, and Aracanis blew itself up with the Cube. There was also a side expedition (by a few characters) to the Pyramid at some point, though, and I forget where Berry's trip to the gnomeworks fits in.

[Avoraciopoctules]

After Xil caved in a room full of hostile Deathless, Berry was stuck in a closed-off room and saved by the intervention of some gnomes. They took her back to their city, did some dramatic surgical alterations and rewrote her memories, then send her back here with an agenda.

The gnomes are probably bad news, but most of the PCs who could put that information together IC are dead.

[Ancient History]

Also, to AncientHistory, this is pretty great. Are you working from paper notes, or is it typed up?

Yes.

[Dr_Noface]

Nal'Thaggu are... brain collectors I'm guessing?

[Whatever]

Something like that. They're as large as a two-story building, and they have a definite brain+tentacle thing going on. Fortunately, the ban on extradimensional travel also means they can't teleport our brains right out of our skulls. So there's that.

edit: I was misspelling it. Neh-Thalggu

[JigokuBosatsu]

Just to clarify, Berry was turned into a gnome by her second go-round with the Deck of Many Things. Thus the retcon.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Man, I love it when I go on a paranoia trip and then discover that things might not be nearly as bad as expected.

[JigokuBosatsu]

And Berry's quest to kill the junk dragon is totally selfish. Neutral Evil, baby.

[Ancient History]

Sorry for the lack of postings, had to drive down to FLorida-da this weekend.

[Prak]

Korgan0, if you could post with the command word for summoning, that'd be helpful.

[Avoraciopoctules]

I suggest that Ng'Thagai move in with Xil to attack, but stay in cover. Waking Dreams will increase the success chance for all of our debuffs by 20%, and it works even if he avoids letting them get line of effect to him.

If we coordinate our movement, the aura from Waking Dreams will hit right before Breath of Death does, and Xil will give the enemies a pile of negative levels. This will further penalize their saves. Then he can hit them with Sleep Song, and Tek has a bunch of save-or-lose tricks that should be able to take out anyone that's still standing and not stunlocked.

Berry... has electrifying metal punch sneak attacks that should be able to take enemies out non-lethally. That could let us make more templated super-zombies after the fight, so we can give every PC at least one undead minion.

[Red_Rob]

Does the fact the people in here aren't Mind Flayers mean attacking them might be a little risky? Do we know who they are, how powerful they might be, or who they are working for?

[Avoraciopoctules]

Yo Prak, I did some archive-delving for you.

"Hmm? Oh, alright. Let's give it a try, I suppose. Everyone, they might go psychotic, so be ready to deal with them. Bagrashmet!"

Archie will use Summon Monster XI to summon 1d4 wererat rogues, and instruct them to lie on the floor and do nothing.

[Avoraciopoctules]

Does the fact the people in here aren't Mind Flayers mean attacking them might be a little risky? Do we know who they are, how powerful they might be, or who they are working for?

I look on it as a positive. We are less likely to be dealing with enemies with lots of racial hit dice, and less likely to offend the lich if it senses what we did.

[Whatever]

[Ancient History]

On which happy note, Whatever feel free to write Cadwyn's entrance into the black pyramid.

[Prak]

Awesome, thank you.

Now I just have to figure out the summon list.

[Avoraciopoctules]

http://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spell ... on-monster

[Avoraciopoctules]

Skimming the monster list, a Gelugon could seriously mess up their day. Erinyes would make respectable tanks, and we might be able to bargain with them afterwards.

[Prak]

And gelugons are even immune to fire, hey!

also, the fiery tentacles only do 1 pt of damage each round (caster level for spell likes is my HD), so they really won't hinder Xil at all, so long as she can reliably beat a +9 grapple.

[Ancient History]

Okay, so 'Xochitl is trying to get out of the way, Tek is casting Daltim's Fiery Tentacles, Nggy is gonna start singing, and Cadwn-dragon just arrived running scared. So let's see what Berry is going to do and then I'll do the play-by-play.

[Whatever]

While we wait, a diversion! I already got to use the first stanza during Cadwyn's second bout of insanity, hopefully the rest will make it in later. It's outrageously fitting:

The Hollow Men
T.S. Eliot

Mistah Kurtz -- he dead.
A penny for the Old Guy

I

We are the hollow men
We are the stuffed men
Leaning together
Headpiece filled with straw. Alas!
Our dried voices, when
We whisper together
Are quiet and meaningless
As wind in dry grass
Or rats' feet over broken glass
In our dry cellar

Shape without form, shade without colour,
Paralysed force, gesture without motion;

Those who have crossed
With direct eyes, to death's other Kingdom
Remember us -- if at all -- not as lost
Violent souls, but only
As the hollow men
The stuffed men.

II

Eyes I dare not meet in dreams
In death's dream kingdom
These do not appear:
There, the eyes are
Sunlight on a broken column
There, is a tree swinging
And voices are
In the wind's singing
More distant and more solemn
Than a fading star.

Let me be no nearer
In death's dream kingdom
Let me also wear
Such deliberate disguises
Rat's coat, crowskin, crossed staves
In a field
Behaving as the wind behaves
No nearer --

Not that final meeting
In the twilight kingdom

III

This is the dead land
This is cactus land
Here the stone images
Are raised, here they receive
The supplication of a dead man's hand
Under the twinkle of a fading star.

Is it like this
In death's other kingdom
Waking alone
At the hour when we are
Trembling with tenderness
Lips that would kiss
Form prayers to broken stone.

IV

The eyes are not here
There are no eyes here
In this valley of dying stars
In this hollow valley
This broken jaw of our lost kingdoms

In this last of meeting places
We grope together
And avoid speech
Gathered on this beach of the tumid river

Sightless, unless
The eyes reappear
As the perpetual star
Multifoliate rose
Of death's twilight kingdom
The hope only
Of empty men.

V

Here we go round the prickly pear
Prickly pear prickly pear
Here we go round the prickly pear
At five o'clock in the morning.

Between the idea
And the reality
Between the motion
And the act
Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

Between the conception
And the creation
Between the emotion
And the response
Falls the Shadow

Life is very long

Between the desire
And the spasm
Between the potency
And the existence
Between the essence
And the descent
Falls the Shadow

For Thine is the Kingdom

For Thine is
Life is
For Thine is the

This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
This is the way the world ends
Not with a bang but a whimper.

[Avoraciopoctules]

@Whatever.

Cool. Pretty appropriate, too.

@Ancient History.
If Xil hears what Cadwyn is shouting, she might want to save her actions for something else after the Breath of Death. Something a little more decisive, perhaps.

[Ancient History]

If you would like to change your action, go ahead.