Khessa sighs with relief as the Dead Three statues burn... with no idols to worship and no high-level Cultists to organize them, any still-surviving Cultists should be much less of a threat.
If the room adjacent to the statue room has not yet been explored, the blonde arcane warrior leads the group there. Otherwise, she heads to the room of three doors and continues exploring the only branch that has so far been neglected: the passage opposite Bane's door.
The room adjacent to the stature room had the crates with various items. The room to the south had the padlocked chest.
The party has no problem returning to the room with the three doors. As KHESSAleads the party west to the unexplored areas, she sees stairs that lead back down into the watery muck. She will also notice ahead an alcove to the left, where there is hung a 5-foot-wide, 7-foot-tall tapestry. It depicts a grisly scene of four faceless figures ripping apart a fifth figure, who is screaming.
(I will repost the link to the full Dungeon of the Dead Three map in the OOC thread. The "Zoom In" ability in Google Slides is useful.)
“Ughh, bad art. Let’s burn it and begone. He, he, he, fire, fire. And thank you everyone who has carried me through the watery places.” Rosebud is cheerful as they move along through the passageways.
Looking to the north you see three wooden beams bracing the ceiling of this flooded chamber, which features a stone altar covered with entrails in the northeast corner. Hanging on the wall above the altar is a three-foot-tall steel mask cast in the form of a frowning human skull.
On the north end of this chamber a passageway heads to the west.
(Map updated! I moved Khessa's token to the point where she can see the chamber to teh north.)
Following behind Khessa, Rosebud frowns when she looks at the latest room and lightly skims the surface with one of her feet. "More water?!? We really should talk to the plumber's guild about this place. They really need to fix the leaks. Hey, I wonder. Once we get out of this place, should I backfill it with a bunch of dirt? You know, in order to keep future dirt bags from using this underground complex? Or maybe we could turn it over to some farmers to grow some food? Potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic and similar stuff would probably grow like crazy with this darkness and humidity. There are always hungry folks in Baldur's Gate and again, the farmers could better use this space than the cultists did. Of course, we will need to figure out how to get butterflies and bees down here. I like butterflies, particularly the ones with .... As lightly and rapidly as stone skipping over a smooth pond, so moves Rosebud's brain and her tongue. She assumes they will go into this room so waits for someone to give her ride.
This time Khessa lends herself to act as Rosebud's 'transport' and enters the room, looking around for any enemies, dangers... or treasures: "Here, climb on my shoulders... just like my little sister Yassa used to do... And now let's see what's interesting here..."
The blonde arcane warrior uses her Mage Hand to remove the entrails from the altar and to try to open or manipulate the steel mask... and thus discover from afar if it contains anything.
After clearing off the entrails, KHESSA, now Master'sBlaster is able to remove the steel mask of Bhaal hanging on the wall. There was nothing unique about it other than it was uncommonly ugly.
The western corridor leads to an area where you will find, floating, face-down in the middle of this flooded room a bloated corpse of a shirtless male human with knife wounds in his back. You see nothing else in this area.
(Map updated! DM NOTE: When I first ran this adventure the room with the Dead Three doors was confusing and honestly made no sense. But with the full map you can see that the North or Bhaal Door is most in the direction of the Bhaal alter. The East or Bane Door is in the direction of the Bane alter. And finally, the Myrkul alter is the southernmost alter in the Dungeon, hence the South door is for Myrkul. I put arrows on the map to point them out. It seems to me like a waste of a good setup. I would have had each door go to an area specific to each cult with a boss fight at the end of each section. Oh well. I didn't write the thing. However, I will say that the Dungeon of the Dead Three is one of the deadliest early level dungeons I have ever ran. And I honestly can't recall how many I have ran.)
[[ OOC: ...Probably because I would never call it an 'early level dungeon', not even after a colossal hangover combined with a hard drug trip. It's absolutely obvious that the encounters, if not 'mitigated' by a benevolent DM, are not suitable for an early level party. I would estimate it as a dungeon destined to end in TPK probably at least 9 times out of 10, if played at level by a merciless DM. Maybe even more often. The author of the module must have had his reasons for writing it like this... but I personally don't understand them.
Luckily, we survived and are still having fun! ]]
Khessa checks the latest find: the bloated corpse... she assumes he is deceased, but checks just to be sure. If he is, she tries to see if any objects were left on him that would help establish his identity... but if establishing the poor guy's identity proves impossible, she simply transports him on Elias' eldritch disk of force, so she can get out... and bury him in the garden.
After that, the blonde arcane warrior would like to proceed in order to: - report to Captain Zodge - sell the loot and share - with the proceeds, copy some of the spells found in the books stolen from the Cultists into her Spellbook - join Reya - who is at this point asked to be patient and wait potentially a whole day, because the procedure of copying the spells takes a while - and since none of the Cultists in the dungeon survived, the Vanthampurs will not receive news for a while, so they should not immediately become alarmed.
As we head out, discussing plans, let's not forget to mention that pocket of flammable gas we found. Wouldn't want the good captain to send a group to mop up and end up blowing themselves up, and who knows how an explosion like that would impact the street above. Elias mentions as they make it back to the bathhouse.
Khessa puts an arm around the young wizard's shoulders affectionately: "You're right, Elias, we must not forget that! You have become a truly valuable member of the Flaming Fist - Baldur's Gate has you to thank for the safety of its streets..." she winks "in more ways than one!"
Rosaline can't help but breathe sigh of relief as it looks like her companions are planning to get out of this nightmarish pit... she may be a zealot who loves hunting down and murdering witches, but Rosaline is not an idiot. She isn't in the mood to commit suicide by sticking around her a moment longer than necessary.
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Once they are out of the dungeon and into the bathhouse, Rosebudwill start to sweat. I'm worried about the plants, she says quietly to those who notice her transition from cluelessly brave to nervous ninny.
Once they are out of the dungeon and into the bathhouse, Rosebudwill start to sweat. I'm worried about the plants, she says quietly to those who notice her transition from cluelessly brave to nervous ninny.
Elias looks over at the druid, Ms Rosebud ma'am, I couldn't think of any more safe hands than yours for those plants to be in, an that donkey of yours too. You're a fine keeper of plants, mother to donkeys and a scary looking giant spider when you want to be.
KHESSA will quickly determine that the corpse is indeed dead. She will assume it is a dead cultist by its clothing.
The party then heads up to the Bathhouse where they startle a woman bathing in the westernmost pool. Jabaz is tending to the lady, “Don’t mind them, they come and go.” From the position of the light in the Bathhouse, it appears to be about midmorning.
As the party emerges from the bathhouse, five figures leap down from the top of the courtyard wall to confront you. In addition to their black leather armor, they wear strange masks and cloaks that give each of them a vaguely dragon-like appearance. All five brandish curved steel blades reminiscent of dragon claws.
The one in the middle says, “You have that which was stolen from the great Queen’s horde. Give it over or you will all die.”
(Bathhouse map link will be reposted in the OOC thread.)
"Alright, now I'm getting grumpy, " yells a clearly exasperated Rosebud. "I'm here to take care of my plants and my ass. Who are you masked fools and why are you not at the costume party?!? Least you could have done was to bring us a strong drink from the party." And turning to Elias, she shouts, "And for the last time, my clan said there was not enough evidence to convict me for mating with any animals so I cannot be any donkey's mother!" With that, Rosebud decides to shape change into a Giant Poisonous Snake.
Khessa sighs with relief as the Dead Three statues burn... with no idols to worship and no high-level Cultists to organize them, any still-surviving Cultists should be much less of a threat.
If the room adjacent to the statue room has not yet been explored, the blonde arcane warrior leads the group there. Otherwise, she heads to the room of three doors and continues exploring the only branch that has so far been neglected: the passage opposite Bane's door.
The room adjacent to the stature room had the crates with various items. The room to the south had the padlocked chest.
The party has no problem returning to the room with the three doors. As KHESSA leads the party west to the unexplored areas, she sees stairs that lead back down into the watery muck. She will also notice ahead an alcove to the left, where there is hung a 5-foot-wide, 7-foot-tall tapestry. It depicts a grisly scene of four faceless figures ripping apart a fifth figure, who is screaming.
(I will repost the link to the full Dungeon of the Dead Three map in the OOC thread. The "Zoom In" ability in Google Slides is useful.)
“Ughh, bad art. Let’s burn it and begone. He, he, he, fire, fire. And thank you everyone who has carried me through the watery places.” Rosebud is cheerful as they move along through the passageways.
Khessa agrees with the fire-loving gardener... That kind of art is better burned than saved. She sends her patented magical fire to take care of it.
KHESSA torches the tapestry.
Looking to the north you see three wooden beams bracing the ceiling of this flooded chamber, which features a stone altar covered with entrails in the northeast corner. Hanging on the wall above the altar is a three-foot-tall steel mask cast in the form of a frowning human skull.
On the north end of this chamber a passageway heads to the west.
(Map updated! I moved Khessa's token to the point where she can see the chamber to teh north.)
Following behind Khessa, Rosebud frowns when she looks at the latest room and lightly skims the surface with one of her feet. "More water?!? We really should talk to the plumber's guild about this place. They really need to fix the leaks. Hey, I wonder. Once we get out of this place, should I backfill it with a bunch of dirt? You know, in order to keep future dirt bags from using this underground complex? Or maybe we could turn it over to some farmers to grow some food? Potatoes, onions, carrots, garlic and similar stuff would probably grow like crazy with this darkness and humidity. There are always hungry folks in Baldur's Gate and again, the farmers could better use this space than the cultists did. Of course, we will need to figure out how to get butterflies and bees down here. I like butterflies, particularly the ones with .... As lightly and rapidly as stone skipping over a smooth pond, so moves Rosebud's brain and her tongue. She assumes they will go into this room so waits for someone to give her ride.
Elias follows the group from behind, keeping an eye on the floating disk of loot.
This time Khessa lends herself to act as Rosebud's 'transport' and enters the room, looking around for any enemies, dangers... or treasures: "Here, climb on my shoulders... just like my little sister Yassa used to do... And now let's see what's interesting here..."
The blonde arcane warrior uses her Mage Hand to remove the entrails from the altar and to try to open or manipulate the steel mask... and thus discover from afar if it contains anything.
After clearing off the entrails, KHESSA, now Master's Blaster is able to remove the steel mask of Bhaal hanging on the wall. There was nothing unique about it other than it was uncommonly ugly.
The western corridor leads to an area where you will find, floating, face-down in the middle of this flooded room a bloated corpse of a shirtless male human with knife wounds in his back. You see nothing else in this area.
(Map updated! DM NOTE: When I first ran this adventure the room with the Dead Three doors was confusing and honestly made no sense. But with the full map you can see that the North or Bhaal Door is most in the direction of the Bhaal alter. The East or Bane Door is in the direction of the Bane alter. And finally, the Myrkul alter is the southernmost alter in the Dungeon, hence the South door is for Myrkul. I put arrows on the map to point them out. It seems to me like a waste of a good setup. I would have had each door go to an area specific to each cult with a boss fight at the end of each section. Oh well. I didn't write the thing. However, I will say that the Dungeon of the Dead Three is one of the deadliest early level dungeons I have ever ran. And I honestly can't recall how many I have ran.)
[[ OOC: ...Probably because I would never call it an 'early level dungeon', not even after a colossal hangover combined with a hard drug trip. It's absolutely obvious that the encounters, if not 'mitigated' by a benevolent DM, are not suitable for an early level party. I would estimate it as a dungeon destined to end in TPK probably at least 9 times out of 10, if played at level by a merciless DM. Maybe even more often. The author of the module must have had his reasons for writing it like this... but I personally don't understand them.
Luckily, we survived and are still having fun! ]]
Khessa checks the latest find: the bloated corpse... she assumes he is deceased, but checks just to be sure. If he is, she tries to see if any objects were left on him that would help establish his identity... but if establishing the poor guy's identity proves impossible, she simply transports him on Elias' eldritch disk of force, so she can get out... and bury him in the garden.
After that, the blonde arcane warrior would like to proceed in order to:
- report to Captain Zodge
- sell the loot and share
- with the proceeds, copy some of the spells found in the books stolen from the Cultists into her Spellbook
- join Reya - who is at this point asked to be patient and wait potentially a whole day, because the procedure of copying the spells takes a while - and since none of the Cultists in the dungeon survived, the Vanthampurs will not receive news for a while, so they should not immediately become alarmed.
As we head out, discussing plans, let's not forget to mention that pocket of flammable gas we found. Wouldn't want the good captain to send a group to mop up and end up blowing themselves up, and who knows how an explosion like that would impact the street above. Elias mentions as they make it back to the bathhouse.
Khessa puts an arm around the young wizard's shoulders affectionately: "You're right, Elias, we must not forget that! You have become a truly valuable member of the Flaming Fist - Baldur's Gate has you to thank for the safety of its streets..." she winks "in more ways than one!"
Rosaline can't help but breathe sigh of relief as it looks like her companions are planning to get out of this nightmarish pit... she may be a zealot who loves hunting down and murdering witches, but Rosaline is not an idiot. She isn't in the mood to commit suicide by sticking around her a moment longer than necessary.
Unhappy that the market got rid of individual purchases for one-off subclasses, magic items, and monsters?
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Once they are out of the dungeon and into the bathhouse, Rosebud will start to sweat. I'm worried about the plants, she says quietly to those who notice her transition from cluelessly brave to nervous ninny.
Mistynip follows behind to make there is nothing to surprise them coming up from the rear. I'm glad to be out of here.
Elias looks over at the druid, Ms Rosebud ma'am, I couldn't think of any more safe hands than yours for those plants to be in, an that donkey of yours too. You're a fine keeper of plants, mother to donkeys and a scary looking giant spider when you want to be.
KHESSA will quickly determine that the corpse is indeed dead. She will assume it is a dead cultist by its clothing.
The party then heads up to the Bathhouse where they startle a woman bathing in the westernmost pool. Jabaz is tending to the lady, “Don’t mind them, they come and go.” From the position of the light in the Bathhouse, it appears to be about midmorning.
As the party emerges from the bathhouse, five figures leap down from the top of the courtyard wall to confront you. In addition to their black leather armor, they wear strange masks and cloaks that give each of them a vaguely dragon-like appearance. All five brandish curved steel blades reminiscent of dragon claws.
The one in the middle says, “You have that which was stolen from the great Queen’s horde. Give it over or you will all die.”
(Bathhouse map link will be reposted in the OOC thread.)
"Alright, now I'm getting grumpy, " yells a clearly exasperated Rosebud. "I'm here to take care of my plants and my ass. Who are you masked fools and why are you not at the costume party?!? Least you could have done was to bring us a strong drink from the party." And turning to Elias, she shouts, "And for the last time, my clan said there was not enough evidence to convict me for mating with any animals so I cannot be any donkey's mother!" With that, Rosebud decides to shape change into a Giant Poisonous Snake.
What is up with these guys and mask? Elias will cast sleep towards 1 and 2, keeping our party out of the radius, 33 pts. Initiative 14.
(DM NOTE: It looks like everyone will need to Roll for Initiative.)
DRAGON CULTIST INITIATIVE 7