409 - OCT 4
The sessions opened at 0200 on 4 October with party taking on 6 Hill Giants who were engaged in a game of cards. With a judicious use of Invisibility magic, slow and fireball spells, the giants were vanquished.
Their stash comprised:
A ring of water breathing
A far speaking amulet
A ruby worth 3000gp
6 garnets worth a total of 2400 gp and
1100 gp.
Leading from the room was a short passage that ended in a very solid looking portcullis. Gauis, examining the door, noticed fine wires at the top and bottom of the doors and formed the view they were probably an alarm / trap mechanism.
Beyond the door was a 60' corridor that led to two massive bronze doors decorated with lion heads.
Quaffing a potion of Gaseous Form, Gaius passed through the portcullis. He noticed, set into the wall on the right side of the portcullis, a button and lever.
He drifted down the corridor and slipped into the room behind the lion doors.
He found himself in a large circular room (200' diameter) in which were present two Fire Giants seated at a table. The room was richly furnished.
Displaying reckless courage, Gaius decided to assume corporeal form (while still being invisible) and try to slay the Giants. Using his advanced invisibility and a creative use of his tumble skill, he was able to move around the room evading the giants repeatedly. He inflicted significant damage on one giant and it was looking decidely frail. He also did some minor damage on the other. Nonetheless the giants did manage to get a few hits in and the massive damage they inflicted reduced poor Gaius to a mass of pulp.
Meanwhile the rest of the party heard the distant sound of frenzied combat which ended following the sound of someone shrieking in pain.
After some deliberation, the party decided to try and get through the portcullis. Scorpius cut one of the wires at the bottom of the portcullis. Upon doing that the party heard a bell tolling three times behind the bronze doors.
Tarryn, Dell and Scorpius tried to lift the portcullis by brute force, but it was too firmly set.
Tarryn then decided to use his Adamantine short sword to cut through the bars. He assessed that if he cut through four bars he should be able to create an opening big enough for the party to pass through one at a time.
The sword chopped steadily through the bars. Dell started to bend the cut bars back to create the opening.
After cutting through two bars, Scorpius (who was watching the bronze doors) saw a vision slit open in the door. It was located at a height of 11'. A pair of red eyes clearly belonging to a large being peered through the slit.
Suddenly a Horned Devil appeared behind Phillip and, using a spiked chain, inflicted a nasty wound.
Tarryn and Dell attacked the horror, but it proved to be very hard to hit. The Devil exuded a Fear Aura which caused Phillip and Dell to flee in panic.
Things looked dire for the party until Tanis cast a Dispel Magic on the Devil. To the pleasant surprise of everyone he succeeded and the Devil was dismissed.
A howl of rage was heard from behind the door.
Meanwhile, without any warning, a female Elf appeared behind the party. She introduced herself as Lanwyn and she was from Scandinavia and was a Rogue / Ranger. Scorpius was very suspicious of her sudden appearance. She said she had come to the prison to conduct an investigation into allegations made by senior civil servants in Rome that members of the Senate were involved in corrupt activities and had had a number of people convicted and sent to Magnus Carcerus without charges being properly laid and convictions properly applied. These civil servants were under the impression the prison had been shut down some time ago. Lanwyn had a document authorising her investigation which she showed to Scorpius. As far as he could tell, the document looked authentic.
Tarryn and Dell finshed hacking through the portcullis. Tarryn moved through the gap and noticed the level/button mechanism. He pulled the lever and the portcullis started to rise. It only went halfway as the bent bars stopped it fully opening. Nonetheless the gap created was big enough for the party to move in normal formation down the corridor.
The party decided to try and get through the bronze doors. Moving up to them they could see no sign of a lock or indeed hinges. Eventually they knocked on the door. The vision slit opened to reveal the red-eyed creature again. Scorpius cast Charm Monster but without success.
The slot closed and a booming voice said Scorpius' action had not been appreciated and the speaker was unhappy at having the Devil unsummoned. He asked the party what they wanted.
The party asked to get the remains of Gaius plus his items. The creature responded that the party could have the remains, but the items would be confiscated as a fine for the party's vile behaviour.
At this point the party decided that negotation was futile and to resort to violence (how unexpected). A Detect Magic spell on the door revealed it emanated very strong Transmutation magic. Scorpius suspected that the door opened to a trigger word.
The plan was for Tanis and Lanwyn to climb into the Bag of Holding (Lanwyn was most reluctant to do this). Dimension Door and Mass Invisibility spells would be cast and party would move 20' into the room.
The spells were cast. The party were transported to the vicinity of a large table and suffered minor damage. In the room were two Fire Giants, one quite badly wounded and the other one apparently unhurt.
A furious battle ensued. Scorpius tried a Slow Spell while Tarryn and Dell supported by Lanwyn battled the Giants. Tarryn managed to deal a killing blow to the badly wounded Giant. Phillip accounted for the other one with a Phantasmal Killer spell (the DM's die rolls were at their usual impeccable reliability).
Scorpius aided the fighters by a casting of a Ray of Enfeeblement spell.
The party discovered the pulped remains of Gaius on the floor. Piled on the table were his items. The Headband of Invisibility, +2 Ring of Protection, +1 Short Sword and +1 Hand Axe had been destroyed. That left intact the Immovable Rod, Ring of Feather Fall, and Boots of Striding. Oddly enough there was no sign of the Improved Invisibility Ring.
The room was carefully searched and a large wooden chest was discovered behind a curtained alcove. It did not have a lock but a curious keypad of 10 numbered keys (1-10). Lanwyn noticed smears of grease on the 1-4 keys and tried the combination of 1-2-3-4.
It worked!..The chest lid swung open and a cloud of noxious green gas poured out and diminished Lanwyn's strength, though Tanis was able to partly fix this with a Lesser Restoration spell. Once the gas had dissipated, Lanwyn crept forward and looked inside the chest. She saw a black cloth draped over some objects. She noticed some movement under the cloth. Tanis cast Detect Poison and revelead that there was something poisonous inside the chest.
Removing it she saw a small Black Adder which tried to bite her. She attempted to befriend the serpent, but it wasn't having any of that and bit her on the hand. Luckily she was not affected by the venom.
Dell strode up and chopped the vile Adder in half.
Inside the chest were the following:
8,000gp
A Ruby worth 15,000 gp
A Staff of Conjuration (31 charges)
A Wand of Colour Spray (36 charges)
A Tan Bag of Tricks
As the party had used up a lot of spells and still did not know how to open the bronze doors, it was decided to rest in the room and leave the following day. While preparing for rest, the party discovered a secret door (of Giant proportions) leading out of the room.
Session ended 0500 on 4 October.
Experience has been awarded. Any levelling up happens after an eight hour rest.
ENDS
This will be the last session of ROME until I return on 31 May 2017.
Their stash comprised:
A ring of water breathing
A far speaking amulet
A ruby worth 3000gp
6 garnets worth a total of 2400 gp and
1100 gp.
Leading from the room was a short passage that ended in a very solid looking portcullis. Gauis, examining the door, noticed fine wires at the top and bottom of the doors and formed the view they were probably an alarm / trap mechanism.
Beyond the door was a 60' corridor that led to two massive bronze doors decorated with lion heads.
Quaffing a potion of Gaseous Form, Gaius passed through the portcullis. He noticed, set into the wall on the right side of the portcullis, a button and lever.
He drifted down the corridor and slipped into the room behind the lion doors.
He found himself in a large circular room (200' diameter) in which were present two Fire Giants seated at a table. The room was richly furnished.
Displaying reckless courage, Gaius decided to assume corporeal form (while still being invisible) and try to slay the Giants. Using his advanced invisibility and a creative use of his tumble skill, he was able to move around the room evading the giants repeatedly. He inflicted significant damage on one giant and it was looking decidely frail. He also did some minor damage on the other. Nonetheless the giants did manage to get a few hits in and the massive damage they inflicted reduced poor Gaius to a mass of pulp.
Meanwhile the rest of the party heard the distant sound of frenzied combat which ended following the sound of someone shrieking in pain.
After some deliberation, the party decided to try and get through the portcullis. Scorpius cut one of the wires at the bottom of the portcullis. Upon doing that the party heard a bell tolling three times behind the bronze doors.
Tarryn, Dell and Scorpius tried to lift the portcullis by brute force, but it was too firmly set.
Tarryn then decided to use his Adamantine short sword to cut through the bars. He assessed that if he cut through four bars he should be able to create an opening big enough for the party to pass through one at a time.
The sword chopped steadily through the bars. Dell started to bend the cut bars back to create the opening.
After cutting through two bars, Scorpius (who was watching the bronze doors) saw a vision slit open in the door. It was located at a height of 11'. A pair of red eyes clearly belonging to a large being peered through the slit.
Suddenly a Horned Devil appeared behind Phillip and, using a spiked chain, inflicted a nasty wound.
Tarryn and Dell attacked the horror, but it proved to be very hard to hit. The Devil exuded a Fear Aura which caused Phillip and Dell to flee in panic.
Things looked dire for the party until Tanis cast a Dispel Magic on the Devil. To the pleasant surprise of everyone he succeeded and the Devil was dismissed.
A howl of rage was heard from behind the door.
Meanwhile, without any warning, a female Elf appeared behind the party. She introduced herself as Lanwyn and she was from Scandinavia and was a Rogue / Ranger. Scorpius was very suspicious of her sudden appearance. She said she had come to the prison to conduct an investigation into allegations made by senior civil servants in Rome that members of the Senate were involved in corrupt activities and had had a number of people convicted and sent to Magnus Carcerus without charges being properly laid and convictions properly applied. These civil servants were under the impression the prison had been shut down some time ago. Lanwyn had a document authorising her investigation which she showed to Scorpius. As far as he could tell, the document looked authentic.
Tarryn and Dell finshed hacking through the portcullis. Tarryn moved through the gap and noticed the level/button mechanism. He pulled the lever and the portcullis started to rise. It only went halfway as the bent bars stopped it fully opening. Nonetheless the gap created was big enough for the party to move in normal formation down the corridor.
The party decided to try and get through the bronze doors. Moving up to them they could see no sign of a lock or indeed hinges. Eventually they knocked on the door. The vision slit opened to reveal the red-eyed creature again. Scorpius cast Charm Monster but without success.
The slot closed and a booming voice said Scorpius' action had not been appreciated and the speaker was unhappy at having the Devil unsummoned. He asked the party what they wanted.
The party asked to get the remains of Gaius plus his items. The creature responded that the party could have the remains, but the items would be confiscated as a fine for the party's vile behaviour.
At this point the party decided that negotation was futile and to resort to violence (how unexpected). A Detect Magic spell on the door revealed it emanated very strong Transmutation magic. Scorpius suspected that the door opened to a trigger word.
The plan was for Tanis and Lanwyn to climb into the Bag of Holding (Lanwyn was most reluctant to do this). Dimension Door and Mass Invisibility spells would be cast and party would move 20' into the room.
The spells were cast. The party were transported to the vicinity of a large table and suffered minor damage. In the room were two Fire Giants, one quite badly wounded and the other one apparently unhurt.
A furious battle ensued. Scorpius tried a Slow Spell while Tarryn and Dell supported by Lanwyn battled the Giants. Tarryn managed to deal a killing blow to the badly wounded Giant. Phillip accounted for the other one with a Phantasmal Killer spell (the DM's die rolls were at their usual impeccable reliability).
Scorpius aided the fighters by a casting of a Ray of Enfeeblement spell.
The party discovered the pulped remains of Gaius on the floor. Piled on the table were his items. The Headband of Invisibility, +2 Ring of Protection, +1 Short Sword and +1 Hand Axe had been destroyed. That left intact the Immovable Rod, Ring of Feather Fall, and Boots of Striding. Oddly enough there was no sign of the Improved Invisibility Ring.
The room was carefully searched and a large wooden chest was discovered behind a curtained alcove. It did not have a lock but a curious keypad of 10 numbered keys (1-10). Lanwyn noticed smears of grease on the 1-4 keys and tried the combination of 1-2-3-4.
It worked!..The chest lid swung open and a cloud of noxious green gas poured out and diminished Lanwyn's strength, though Tanis was able to partly fix this with a Lesser Restoration spell. Once the gas had dissipated, Lanwyn crept forward and looked inside the chest. She saw a black cloth draped over some objects. She noticed some movement under the cloth. Tanis cast Detect Poison and revelead that there was something poisonous inside the chest.
Removing it she saw a small Black Adder which tried to bite her. She attempted to befriend the serpent, but it wasn't having any of that and bit her on the hand. Luckily she was not affected by the venom.
Dell strode up and chopped the vile Adder in half.
Inside the chest were the following:
8,000gp
A Ruby worth 15,000 gp
A Staff of Conjuration (31 charges)
A Wand of Colour Spray (36 charges)
A Tan Bag of Tricks
As the party had used up a lot of spells and still did not know how to open the bronze doors, it was decided to rest in the room and leave the following day. While preparing for rest, the party discovered a secret door (of Giant proportions) leading out of the room.
Session ended 0500 on 4 October.
Experience has been awarded. Any levelling up happens after an eight hour rest.
ENDS
This will be the last session of ROME until I return on 31 May 2017.