[Day 61 – Back to the surface for dinner and evening watches.]
[This game uses the Pathfinder 1E roleplaying game. Game sessions happen once a week. This session happened August 16, 2021.]
[SPOILERS! If you are likely to adventure through the Shattered Star Adventure Path from Paizo, this campaign will be spoilers all the way down.]
Player Characters
Zitch Grimreaper – male ratfolk 6th level Witch with a donkey rat (capybara) familiar
Roscuro – male ratfolk 6th level Monk
Swamprover – female grippli 5th level Wizard
Marativy – female ratfolk 6th level Ninja
Via Roll20
Templeton von Trapp – male ratfolk 6th level Summoner (Synthesist)
Hrefna – female changeling 5th level Omdura
NPCs
Gridik Stormstride – male blue kobold 3rd level Wizard (Invoker)
Ariphi – female tiefling 5th level Rogue
Mel Sharples – male halfling Cook (Expert of unknown level)
Alice Hyatt – female halfling Bodyguard (Warrior of unknown level)
Flo’ Castleberry – female gnome Bodyguard (Warrior of unknown level)
Autumn
Day 61
Afternoon
The Ratpack discussed their options. It was some time in the afternoon, but they were not certain when, being underground. They were standing on a stone ledge/landing, just outside the throne room of Mochtau, the queen of the cave giants, a bound servant [slave] of the Runelord of Lust. They had made a deal with Mochtau to recover a vial from a hidden storage area in exchange for guidance on the location of the shard of the Shattered Star they were hunting.
The group felt they might be able to take on another fight, but nothing as large as the rest of the Grey Maidens, whose barracks they needed to travel through to get to the hidden storage area. They decided that now would be a good time to return to their camp on the surface, before they became exhausted enough to be easy pickings for whoever or whatever they might run across on the way up.
Before leaving the lake-filled cavern they were in, Templeton and Zitch flew up to the nearby waterfall to see if it provided access to yet another section of the dungeon. Closer inspection suggested this was another source of water from the elemental plane of water. This was the second water source in the underground complex the group had discovered, with no outflow. Why hadn’t the entire place filled over the last 7000 years?
Templeton and Zitch flew around the cavern edge to see if they had simply missed an outflow. What Zitch saw instead was a line of runes that went completely around the immense cavern, just at the water level. These runes were very similar to those found on a Thassilonian fountain back in Magnimar the group had found that destroyed any water that crossed them. The entire cave complex was a giant fountain, magically importing water from the elemental planes and then simply destroying any surplus! This was a gross display of magical power and something the Ratpack was starting to expect from anything the Runelords had a hand in.
Curiosity satisfied [for lack of a better term], the Ratpack climbed back into the boats and rowed through the tunnel that connected this lake-filled cavern with the next one. The next one had a compulsion field covering it that forced those falling under its power to ignore the tunnel the adventurers were in and swim to the shore of a nearby cave [and be eaten by any monsters in the water along the way]. The adventurers had discovered this trap when they first entered this cavern by descending down the waterfall that connected it with yet another lake-filled cavern upstream.
At the edge of the compulsion field, the adventurers worked out a plan to get back to the upper cavern [and the way out]. Templeton would receive Zitch’s Ward to bolster his defenses against the compulsion field [+2 to WILL save]. Then he would carry the adventurers two at a time and fly up the waterfall passage to the upper cavern, depositing them on the sandy beach in front of Porn Hall.
The first two Templeton carried were Hrefna and Swamprover. Templeton flew as quickly as he could through the compulsion field and then up the waterfall channel, arriving at the sandy beach before either of his riders succumbed to the field. Templeton flew back down to the waiting adventurers.
The second group were Gridik and Ariphi riding Templeton while Zitch flew along side. Gridik succumbed to the field as they flew through it and attempted to jump off of Templeton. Ariphi noticed this and grabbed the kobold before he got away. Unfortunately, this distraction led to Ariphi succumbing to the compulsion field. Zitch and Templeton noticed things were happening. Zitch grabbed Ariphi as she leapt free and Templeton swooped down to catch Gridik by the collar. They flew up the waterfall passage and deposited Gridik and Ariphi there, tying them up until the compulsion relented. Templeton flew back down to where Roscuro and Marativy waited.
Marativy was very concerned she would not be able to resist the compulsion field and asked Roscuro to tie her up before they flew through it. He did so. On the flight through the field, Marativy did succumb early and was able to escape from the ropes, but Roscuro grabbed her and held on until they reached the upper cavern. Marativy had to be re-tied up until the compulsion eventually wore off.
Once the entire group was clear of the compulsion to swim down the waterfall to the lower cavern, Gridik and Templeton went upstream to the next beach where boats would be. They brought these boats back to the sandy beach on the upper lake. While they did this, Roscuro and Marativy went through Porn Hall to Gnaeus’ old room and retrieved the broken automaton heads, packing them in Marativy’s box of holding. When they returned, the boats were ready and the entire group poled the boats back to the first beach.
An Hour or So Later
Working their way through the narrow caves that connected the dungeon to the surface, the adventurers arrived at the nexus cave [where several tunnels met] and discovered some of the bitey-pinchy-bugs had grown large feeding on the corpses of the previous giant bugs. After a short fight, the adventures had reasserted their position as top of the heap, killing the six larger bugs. Hrefna was bitten and poisoned during the fight and Roscuro got bug guts all over himself. Gridik helped Roscuro clean up with Prestidigitation and Zitch helped Hrefna with the wand of lesser restoration. Marativy harvested two of the claws as trophies.
An Hour and a Half After That
The Ratpack returned to their camp on the surface. Mel, their hired halfling cook, reported dinner was nearly ready, so the group quickly cleaned up from the expedition. The meal was excellent and drew several envious stares from the adjacent merchant camp.
Third Watch
Late in the night, Zitch, Templeton, and Gridik were on watch and observed some bright lights moving around in the swampy areas south of camp. Zitch identified them as “blindheims” that hunted their prey by blinding it with bright light they emitted from their eyes. Word was passed around the two camps to reduce any noise further. After a long while the blindheims finished whatever they were doing and left the area, heading further south towards the river.
End of Session
Rat Whispers
[Gridik and Hrefna had enough experience points to level, Hrefna thanks to the bugs fought on the way back. We suspect the Other GM ran that encounter to provide the needed experience. No complaints on our end if that is what happened.]
Ratpack
Book 1:
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Book 2:
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