Rawley's blade mercilessly cuts through the first ghast twice, leaving the monster little hope of surviving this encounter. Gwin's shot narrowly misses the undead horror; her bolt strikes the stone wall, showering the area with tiny fragments of rock.
The ghast throws itself wildly toward Rawley, biting and clawing with every bit of life that remains within it...
Bite attack: 20 Damage: 12
Claw attack: 10 Damage: 11 (CON save, if necessary: 14)
...and Rawley feels the burning sting of the monster's teeth as they sink deep into his arm.
A few feet away, the second ghast finds itself being crushed within Molasnake's coils...
Grapple escape: 12
...unable to escape, it resorts to teeth and claws, looking for a way to wound and weaken the giant snake...
Bite attack: 10 Damage: 13
Claw attack: 8 Damage: 10 (CON save, if necessary: 10
...but Molasnake merely gives his coils a violent shake, causing the ghast to miss its mark both times.
Meanwhile, Rixton comes to the end of the hallway; the ceiling has completely collapsed, making any further travel in that direction impossible.
All players may act, in any order. One ghast is engaged with Rawley and severely wounded; the other is restrained by Molasnake. Rixton is approximately 120' away.
Rixton's axe can be heard slicing through air just moments before it lodges in the back of the ghast's head with a sickening thud. One ghast now remains--restrained and nigh helpless in Molasnake's coils.
The ghast, held firmly in place by Molasnake, makes an easy target for Rawley's sword. The creature slumps lifeless to the ground as it moves from the world of the undead to the dead.
Molasnake's powerful coils are easily able to lift the ghast bodies into a pile. He then begins examining the rest of the room, slithering through the cisterns etc, looking for anything of note. Items, signs of yikaria, secret doors, hiding creatures, really anything. He also looks at either end of the long passageways, which (I believe?) have cave-ins and rock slides. He tries to see if it's possible to slither through any of the piles, or if it would be at all fruitful to try to use his powerful build to grab rocks and open up an entry point for someone smaller, to see what's on the other side.
Molasnake's powerful coils are easily able to lift the ghast bodies into a pile. He then begins examining the rest of the room, slithering through the cisterns etc, looking for anything of note. Items, signs of yikaria, secret doors, hiding creatures, really anything. He also looks at either end of the long passageways, which (I believe?) have cave-ins and rock slides. He tries to see if it's possible to slither through any of the piles, or if it would be at all fruitful to try to use his powerful build to grab rocks and open up an entry point for someone smaller, to see what's on the other side.
Molasnake works his way through every nook and cranny of the room and the collapsed hallway. In the bottom of one of the cisterns, he finds a bundle of items loosely wrapped in a long strip of greasy cloth. The five ghasts have seemingly been bumping off less fortunate adventurers who have dared the darkness beneath Hellgate Keep, for the bundle contains a small trove of items:
Three small leather pouches that, collectively, contain 174 copper pieces, 96 silver pieces, and 39 pieces of gold.
A small stack of 21 parchment cards with finely-drawn images upon them (a Deck of Illusions)
Upon finding the parchment cards, the adventurers receive their explanation for the illusion of the fire giant. The ghasts must have had some understanding of the deck's magical properties and hoped to create an illusion that would scare off their pursuers. The images within the deck are as follows:
Molasnake's investigation fails to reveal any possibility of traveling any further on this level. Returning to the stairwell (and heading up or down) is the only option.
Rixton, looking impatient, refocuses when he sees the items. The gloves keep his interest for only a moment before he moves on, nodding thoughtfully at the elixir, before becoming captivated at the deck of illusions.
"Rawley, you and I could benefit from having some magical tricks up our sleeves. Perhaps we could split these cards up," he says as he shuffles through the cards.
I will hold onto the other items, if that's alright with everyone. We can divvy up the coin later. Right now we have more pressing matters at hand. I say we return to the stairwell and see if we can make our way down to where we saw, or at least thought we saw, creatures in peril. I'll be keeping my crossbow at the ready, just in case. Perhaps holding on to it will bring back some of my marksmanship by osmosis. And with that, the little cleric starts trotting off in the direction of the stairwell.
Rollback Post to RevisionRollBack
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
Molasnake slithers off to the stairwell. He'll yield to Rixton if Rixton wants to take point and scout, but he's also happy to go first and draw fire/attention. He's never been such a large snake before, and while it's taking some getting used to, it's quite effective, and he makes a note to confer with Rixton later on coordinating constricting an enemy with Rixton's sneak attacks. But he presses ahead, relying on blindsight to reveal anything hidden.
This post has potentially manipulated dice roll results.
Rixtonpockets the cards for now, promising Rawleyto split them up later. He does indeed lead the way, relying on his darkvision and a quiet step as he descends the stairs.
Descending twenty feet, Rixton encounters yet another landing; this one connects immediately to a hallway, ten feet wide and running north-south. The stairs, however, do continue deeper into the earth...
Molasnake darts forward 15 feet and tries to constrict the stronger of the two ghasts, loudly, making a large, thumping racket.
Attack: 11 Damage: 13
Rawley's blade mercilessly cuts through the first ghast twice, leaving the monster little hope of surviving this encounter. Gwin's shot narrowly misses the undead horror; her bolt strikes the stone wall, showering the area with tiny fragments of rock.
The ghast throws itself wildly toward Rawley, biting and clawing with every bit of life that remains within it...
...and Rawley feels the burning sting of the monster's teeth as they sink deep into his arm.
A few feet away, the second ghast finds itself being crushed within Molasnake's coils...
Grapple escape: 12
...unable to escape, it resorts to teeth and claws, looking for a way to wound and weaken the giant snake...
...but Molasnake merely gives his coils a violent shake, causing the ghast to miss its mark both times.
Meanwhile, Rixton comes to the end of the hallway; the ceiling has completely collapsed, making any further travel in that direction impossible.
All players may act, in any order. One ghast is engaged with Rawley and severely wounded; the other is restrained by Molasnake. Rixton is approximately 120' away.
Snag fangs flash in the torchlight as the huge head strikes the restrained ghast, impossibly swift.
Attack: 8 Damage: 10
Wow a two and a two, not great, Molasnake!
Rixton sighs, saying, "That's disappointing."
He turns and sprints back down the hall, drawing his throwing axe as he runs. He stops 20' from the fight, plants his feet and throws.
Move + bonus action dash for 100' of movement.
Throwing axe Attack: 26 Damage: 16 (includes sneak attack damage).
Rixton's axe can be heard slicing through air just moments before it lodges in the back of the ghast's head with a sickening thud. One ghast now remains--restrained and nigh helpless in Molasnake's coils.
Actions for Rawley and Gwin are next.
Rawley takes a deep breath (second wind: 7) and goes and attacks the last one:
Attack: 18 Damage: 9
Attack: 12 Damage: 10
The ghast, held firmly in place by Molasnake, makes an easy target for Rawley's sword. The creature slumps lifeless to the ground as it moves from the world of the undead to the dead.
(All ghasts are slain; combat has concluded)
Gwin lowers her crossbow in mock disappointment. Blast it! I'm terrible with this thing.
Turning to Rixton, she asks, What's further down? Anything?
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
Molasnake's powerful coils are easily able to lift the ghast bodies into a pile. He then begins examining the rest of the room, slithering through the cisterns etc, looking for anything of note. Items, signs of yikaria, secret doors, hiding creatures, really anything. He also looks at either end of the long passageways, which (I believe?) have cave-ins and rock slides. He tries to see if it's possible to slither through any of the piles, or if it would be at all fruitful to try to use his powerful build to grab rocks and open up an entry point for someone smaller, to see what's on the other side.
Rawley examines the corpses. "Did these things actually have the capacity for speech? The neck/tongue/throat area looks all wrong for that."
"Nothing but rubble that way. Our only way forward from here is down," Rixton says.
Molasnake works his way through every nook and cranny of the room and the collapsed hallway. In the bottom of one of the cisterns, he finds a bundle of items loosely wrapped in a long strip of greasy cloth. The five ghasts have seemingly been bumping off less fortunate adventurers who have dared the darkness beneath Hellgate Keep, for the bundle contains a small trove of items:
Upon finding the parchment cards, the adventurers receive their explanation for the illusion of the fire giant. The ghasts must have had some understanding of the deck's magical properties and hoped to create an illusion that would scare off their pursuers. The images within the deck are as follows:
Molasnake's investigation fails to reveal any possibility of traveling any further on this level. Returning to the stairwell (and heading up or down) is the only option.
Rixton, looking impatient, refocuses when he sees the items. The gloves keep his interest for only a moment before he moves on, nodding thoughtfully at the elixir, before becoming captivated at the deck of illusions.
"Rawley, you and I could benefit from having some magical tricks up our sleeves. Perhaps we could split these cards up," he says as he shuffles through the cards.
I will hold onto the other items, if that's alright with everyone. We can divvy up the coin later. Right now we have more pressing matters at hand. I say we return to the stairwell and see if we can make our way down to where we saw, or at least thought we saw, creatures in peril. I'll be keeping my crossbow at the ready, just in case. Perhaps holding on to it will bring back some of my marksmanship by osmosis. And with that, the little cleric starts trotting off in the direction of the stairwell.
‘The hardest thing in this world is to live in it.’ - Buffy Summers
Molasnake slithers off to the stairwell. He'll yield to Rixton if Rixton wants to take point and scout, but he's also happy to go first and draw fire/attention. He's never been such a large snake before, and while it's taking some getting used to, it's quite effective, and he makes a note to confer with Rixton later on coordinating constricting an enemy with Rixton's sneak attacks. But he presses ahead, relying on blindsight to reveal anything hidden.
Rixton pockets the cards for now, promising Rawley to split them up later. He does indeed lead the way, relying on his darkvision and a quiet step as he descends the stairs.
Stealth: 23
Rawley says, "I'm done with gambling, but thank you."
Descending twenty feet, Rixton encounters yet another landing; this one connects immediately to a hallway, ten feet wide and running north-south. The stairs, however, do continue deeper into the earth...
"Well, lady and gents, care for another detour or shall we descend further?"
Molasnake moves forward about 20 feet down the south hallway, listening closely for any sound. Perception: 10