Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Delvers Guild – Session 15 – Fight of the Blue Skeletons

[The Delvers fight for their lives against the guardians of the Pyramid Crypt!]

[This game uses the Fifth Revised Edition of the Hero System rules along with the Fantasy Hero supplement.  This session happened September 23, 2019.]

Player Characters:
Jala – human female – a person of discretion, studying aspects of the Law [to avoid them] at the Dusk Academy
Clarence – human male – studies Religion in Temples district, coincidentally the group healer
Vorgand – human female – professional porter and Adventurer’s Aide, irregularly attends classes at The Tested military academy, practitioner of Steel Serpent martial arts
Zarek the Red – fox male – a cerebrally-unfettered spell researcher [read: Mad Scientist] turned into a talking fox, studying Natural Philosophy at Monarch University to find a way to become human again
Ricky the Astrologer – human male – has a thirst for knowledge but doesn’t know what he’s searching for, currently studying Astrology at Monarch University
Nick Stalwart – human male – part of the Stalwart family of merchants, studying Mathematics at The Interesting Institute of Profitable People, a college at Monarch University

Non-Player Characters:
Torsten, Fish, Harek – surviving bandits and now torchbearers for the Delvers Guild


Freysday, October 25th, 1st year of the reign of King Vladik the Gamesman
~6:30 PM at gate location 3-2, the Pyramid Crypt
Zarek, down in the True Crypt had just awoken the guardians of the crypt, eight skeletons whose skulls burn with blue flame!  He’s heard of these [Knowledge Skill: Monsters] but also noticed these are human skeletons in an elven graveyard.  He relayed what was happening to Vorgand and Jala via the communication ear rings.  Jala’s response was, “Fly, you fool!”

Zarek turned and fled, flying out the short passage, back up the pit to the surface, and out the entrance passage.  There he conferred with the other Delvers on how to deal with the blue flame skeletons.  While the group talked, several heard the skritch-skritch sounds of the skeletons using their claws to climb the pit.  Zarek gave a quick explanation on all he knew about blue flame skeletons, including their ability to throw their skulls, which would explode on impact and then reform so they could be thrown again.

Before the Delvers had a plan ready, Torsten called out a warning – the skeletons were about to exit the crypt!

Vorgand fearlessly stepped to the entrance of the crypt and performed a perfect Steel Serpent Throw [Martial Throw attack], flinging the lead skeleton back into the crypt.  The flying skeleton knocked over the three behind it and then fell into the pit.  Vorgand could see a blue glow from the pit and called out a warning that more of the skeletons were climbing up.

During the ensuing fight, the Delvers learned that the explosions from the thrown flame skulls was very localized and their magical defenses were high enough to withstand the damage except when the skeletons got a good hit in [rolled high or hit the head or vitals location].  Vorgand was able to keep the skeletons bottled in the crypt entrance.  The other Delvers cast attack spells at the skeletons that did a little more damage than the skeletons could defend against.

As the Delvers gradually wore down and destroyed the skeletons, the last of the skeletons shifted tactics and triggered the flame trap.  Vorgand was caught in the flame spout and knocked unconscious!  The flame spout also finished burning through a tree opposite the entrance to the crypt and it started to fall.  Ricky used his great strength and his axe to bias the falling tree just enough so that it fell to the side of the pyramid crypt and not on it and Vorgand.  The skeletons, now glowing like coals in a fire, advanced out of the pit.

Zarek chose this point to fly down the pit and investigate the false crypt.  He flew past the skeletons and the trigger point of the flame spout.  There he found the false crypt was indeed false, merely a mock-up designed to lure the unwary in and trigger the spout.

Vorgand woke back up in time to fling the skeletons back into the pit.  She had Clarence cast a protection spell on her and stepped into the crypt.  She observed the skeletons climbing back up the pit from the bottom.  She had a plan.  She warned the Delvers she was going to trigger the spout on purpose.  She picked up a piece of…something soot covered…and waited for the last three skeletons to climb above the level of the illusionary floor.  She then threw the soot-covered something at the visible side passage [entrance to the false crypt] and triggered the flame spout!

From Zarek’s view in the false crypt entrance, he saw the soot-covered something land, the power runes flash red, and the flame spout erupt from the runes and blow out and up the pit.  It got a bit warm, but he was otherwise unharmed.  Good to know!

Vorgand stood at the top of the pit, the flames washing over her.  The protective spell held and averted the brunt of the damage and she was able to remain conscious.  She saw the burning remains of the skeletons fall loosely into the pit, below the illusionary floor.  After a few tens of seconds she was satisfied the skeletons were no longer animate.  The rest of the Delvers started putting out fires to avoid burning down the entire forest.

[I wonder if anyone noticed the big fire...]

End of Session

[This session was nothing but the fight.  This is one of the weaknesses of the Hero System – fights take time to play out.  Additionally, both sides were just doing enough damage to get through, but not much more than that.  This made the fight take even longer, going nearly four full turns.]

[Next session will be the looting of the crypt and then the return to Aegea for classes.]


Delvers Guild
Session A, Character Creation Part 1
Session B, Character Creation Part 2
Session 01

Session 10
Session 11
Session 12
Session 13
Session 14


Session 16


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