5:30pm
The party exits the room with the walking suit of armor with their trophies. Stago unstakes the door. From the large entrance, they go to the door on the rightmost wall. Selina is unable to detect any traps. Tick-a-Tick pushes against the door and finds it unyielding.
Tick-a-Tick and Elessaria together can't open the door. There's a concealed door which covers a lock-hold. Selina sees it is a very complex lock beyond her ability to pick. The party goes to the door on the wall opposite the entrance hole of the tomb. Same kinda door, same kinda lock.
Routunious and Selina think the doors can be broken down. Not wanting to damage their own weapons for such a purpose, Selina pulls out the ogre's mace and gives it to Elessaria. The elf and and Tick-a-Tick start bashing on the door and 15 minutes later, it falls apart, splintered.
5:45pm
The party enter tentatively. In the illumination provided by the priest's enchanted hat, they find that the room is empty save dust and a single, small stone chest in the center of the floor.
The walls of the chest appear to be very thick stone, with a stone lid hinged and locked. The chest walls are carved with an intricate design illustrating a mighty warrior standing alone on a hill and cutting through a horde of bugbears. The same warrior which was depicted in the other room's frescoes. It seems clear that no one has disturbed this chamber for many years.
The stone chest is built into the floor and cannot be removed. This room was created as a place where those who wished to pay tribute to the lost soul entombed in the tor could place items as memorial offerings.
After examining the chest, it is discovered that it is locked, and although Selina examined the chest for a full fifteen minutes, she is unable to detect any traps.
6pm
Elessaria approaches the chest to see if she can pry it open with with her sword. As soon as she touches it, darts fall from the ceiling. Both Selina and Elessaria are hit by 4 darts each. Selina has a draught from her potion of extra healing. Elessaria drinks all of a potion of regular healing, then, confident the trap has been fully sprung, opens the chest.
Inside the chest is a headband that looks as though new, two pearls that Selina estimates are worth 100 gold each, and a brooch which is very similar to the one Merle Hitomi was given by Shandar to comprehend languages. In addition, there is a small back that when rattled seems to be filled with 100 gold coins.
Selina searches the inside of the chest and discovers a secret compartment, and actually detects that it is trapped! She notices a slight sheen that indicates contact poison coats the latch of the secret compartment door. She opens it with a sword, that she then discards. Inside the compartment is an amulet which she quickly grabs and removes from the chest.
The amulet looks like it has an unknown holy symbol on it.
"If it is a holy symbol, allow a holy man to examine it." Said Routunious as he took the amulet from the thief. When he touches it the symbol changes and becomes a holy symbol of Gond.
Stago mutters, "He's a good priest, but a little symbol-minded." Then, while the priest turns the amulet over in his hand, the little gnome starts to slip on the brooch. Selina shouts, "Don't do it!"
"If we don't have an identify magic spell, how are we going to know what this stuff does unless we try it out?" The gnome asked.
Elessaria said evenly, "Fine, go ahead, see what happens."
Wearing the brooch he looks directly at the blade of his newfound dagger and examines the inscription...which his is now able to read as though it were in his native tongue.
"Lifedrinker." The gnome said out loud. "That's what it says. Lifedrinker. Let me see the sword.....God's Bane. Say, this is a handy little piece of jewlery."
Routunious, seeing the gnome's success at trying the item out, decides to put on the amulet.
Stago cautioned, "Don't put anything on that tries to make itself look more attractive to you when you touch it!"
Routunious snorted at the advice and slipped the object over his head. Suddenly, it tightens around his neck, beginning to strangle him.
Stago gloated, "Told you."
The priest merely sputtered and tried to pull at the ever tightening cord. He tries to get his fingers under the cord of the amulet, but his fingers are caught in the tightening noose. His face and fingers start to turn purple.
Selina tries to cut it off, but fails. Stago has a sleep scroll out, but decides against casting it. Still, he keeps it handy incase the amulet causes the priest to go berserk or something.
Elessaria cuts at it, but fails to sever the cord. With a second attempt, she finally cuts it in two. The amulet falls away and turns a dull gray, fully inert. Routunious is mystified by the entire affair, he's never seen an object do anything like it.
The party exits the room with the walking suit of armor with their trophies. Stago unstakes the door. From the large entrance, they go to the door on the rightmost wall. Selina is unable to detect any traps. Tick-a-Tick pushes against the door and finds it unyielding.
Tick-a-Tick and Elessaria together can't open the door. There's a concealed door which covers a lock-hold. Selina sees it is a very complex lock beyond her ability to pick. The party goes to the door on the wall opposite the entrance hole of the tomb. Same kinda door, same kinda lock.
Routunious and Selina think the doors can be broken down. Not wanting to damage their own weapons for such a purpose, Selina pulls out the ogre's mace and gives it to Elessaria. The elf and and Tick-a-Tick start bashing on the door and 15 minutes later, it falls apart, splintered.
5:45pm
The party enter tentatively. In the illumination provided by the priest's enchanted hat, they find that the room is empty save dust and a single, small stone chest in the center of the floor.
The walls of the chest appear to be very thick stone, with a stone lid hinged and locked. The chest walls are carved with an intricate design illustrating a mighty warrior standing alone on a hill and cutting through a horde of bugbears. The same warrior which was depicted in the other room's frescoes. It seems clear that no one has disturbed this chamber for many years.The stone chest is built into the floor and cannot be removed. This room was created as a place where those who wished to pay tribute to the lost soul entombed in the tor could place items as memorial offerings.
After examining the chest, it is discovered that it is locked, and although Selina examined the chest for a full fifteen minutes, she is unable to detect any traps.
6pm
Elessaria approaches the chest to see if she can pry it open with with her sword. As soon as she touches it, darts fall from the ceiling. Both Selina and Elessaria are hit by 4 darts each. Selina has a draught from her potion of extra healing. Elessaria drinks all of a potion of regular healing, then, confident the trap has been fully sprung, opens the chest.
Inside the chest is a headband that looks as though new, two pearls that Selina estimates are worth 100 gold each, and a brooch which is very similar to the one Merle Hitomi was given by Shandar to comprehend languages. In addition, there is a small back that when rattled seems to be filled with 100 gold coins.
Selina searches the inside of the chest and discovers a secret compartment, and actually detects that it is trapped! She notices a slight sheen that indicates contact poison coats the latch of the secret compartment door. She opens it with a sword, that she then discards. Inside the compartment is an amulet which she quickly grabs and removes from the chest.
The amulet looks like it has an unknown holy symbol on it.
"If it is a holy symbol, allow a holy man to examine it." Said Routunious as he took the amulet from the thief. When he touches it the symbol changes and becomes a holy symbol of Gond.
Stago mutters, "He's a good priest, but a little symbol-minded." Then, while the priest turns the amulet over in his hand, the little gnome starts to slip on the brooch. Selina shouts, "Don't do it!"
"If we don't have an identify magic spell, how are we going to know what this stuff does unless we try it out?" The gnome asked.
Elessaria said evenly, "Fine, go ahead, see what happens."
Wearing the brooch he looks directly at the blade of his newfound dagger and examines the inscription...which his is now able to read as though it were in his native tongue.
"Lifedrinker." The gnome said out loud. "That's what it says. Lifedrinker. Let me see the sword.....God's Bane. Say, this is a handy little piece of jewlery."
Routunious, seeing the gnome's success at trying the item out, decides to put on the amulet.
Stago cautioned, "Don't put anything on that tries to make itself look more attractive to you when you touch it!"
Routunious snorted at the advice and slipped the object over his head. Suddenly, it tightens around his neck, beginning to strangle him.
Stago gloated, "Told you."
The priest merely sputtered and tried to pull at the ever tightening cord. He tries to get his fingers under the cord of the amulet, but his fingers are caught in the tightening noose. His face and fingers start to turn purple.
Selina tries to cut it off, but fails. Stago has a sleep scroll out, but decides against casting it. Still, he keeps it handy incase the amulet causes the priest to go berserk or something.
Elessaria cuts at it, but fails to sever the cord. With a second attempt, she finally cuts it in two. The amulet falls away and turns a dull gray, fully inert. Routunious is mystified by the entire affair, he's never seen an object do anything like it.
6 comments:
As it turns out, the amulet was an amulet of Holy Might, but there may have been a slight alignment problem in those days which caused the difficulty described here.
My impression is that if the priest were to try wearing the same amulet today, he'd have a much easier time continuing to breathe.
Alignment problem? When did that happen with Routunious? Isn't there usually some kinda, I dunno, psychic turmoil or drama that comes into play? That's what I wanna see. If he's turned from evil to good, what was the point that he had a crisis that changed him?
=S=
Why dear boy, almost meeting my end showed me the error in my ways. I must no longer think so much of myself and devote myself truly to Gond.
Routunious
May your gears always be oiled..
(OC) An alignment shift can happen gradually as well, as Alignment is meant to be more a cumulative score of behavior and motivations rather than a rigid template out of which you get penalized for stepping...or at least that is the way I do it in my world. I don't have a check list of evil behaviors you have to keep doing in order to "stay evil".
I think the alignment that Robb is claiming now is more in line with how he is actually playing the character. If I were giving him alginment penalties or telling him how to play the character it might as well be an NPC. An alignment shift seems the better way to go.
as Fink...
As a good halfling with a love
for adventure, I look at my
skills as a thief as a racial
ability that makes me a valuable
member for dungeon parties. But
there are definite needs and
temptations that beckon to a
chap that owes money. I know
it would be ungood to leave
the gnome, take the wand of
perfect illusion, burgle the
clockwork fighter and pay my
debts. That would be evil.
But if there's no penalty for
such a radical shift in personality,
then I suppose the party should
be thankful that I am a good
halfling.
=F=
It would, I suppose, also be un-good to welch on your debts.
It is all a complicated matter, this business of alignment.
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