The Barrier Peaks Expedition Session 7: strange boxes, Deadly rooms and spiders out of Phase

The Barrier Peaks Expedition Session 7: strange boxes, Deadly rooms and spiders out of Phase

Name	Player	Race	Class	Present	Survived	Replaced
Blake	Carl	Human	Bard	N	Y	Y
Catherine Lastation	Chris	Human	Oracle	Y	Y	Y
Faolan Ironhand	Glen	Dwarf	Paladin	Y	Y	Y
Finger	John L.	Gnome	Rogue	Y	Y	Y
Goran Stonecrucher	Guest Player	Dwarf	Fighter	N/A	Y	Y
Halvar Gunnarson	Cory	Dwarf	Ranger	N	Y	Y
Menyw Daolg	Danielle	Elf	Fighter	Y	Y	Y
Ranold Winterhare	Tim (T.J.)	½ Elf	Magus	Y	Y	Y
Ruis	Johnunce	½ Drow	Magus	N	Y	Y
Thadious Bullskin	Mike K.	Human	Wizard	Y	Y	Y
Mrs. Page	Mike’s npc bard	½ Elf	Bard	N/A	Y	Y
Chad (The Homunculus)	Mike’s critter		Critter	N/A	Y	Y

9/11/2015

So after experimenting with the strange devices in the armory, the group decided to head north. Cutting through the area’s security golems, the party started traveling northward. After a short stint they came to a crossroads with passages going east west. To the west side of the passage the party noticed a large quantity of fungus growing. Fortunately, Finger’s sharp eye identified some of the fungus as shriekers. These loud and annoying fungi are used by some creatures as alarm systems. To the east was a collection of doors on both the North and South walls. Thinking cautiously, the group chose instead to check out the doors to the east.

The first door they inspected had a white panel, which meant they did not need a key to enter, so they opened the door. The room they entered had various strange boxes. Many of the boxes with purely mechanical appearance had already been broken into, but several with lights and sounds still working appeared whole, including several that had many of the odd artifacts, like the strange scrying device, Automatic Micro Crossbow (AMC) and wrist wand of fire, they found. Realizing that there was something written near coin-sized slots on the boxes, Halvar read the writing to the group “Insert token player”. Finger worked out there were coins in the boxes and there was some way to get them out. He attempted to pick the lock on one boxes.

Unfortunately the lock was more complicated than he was expecting and he set off some sort of alarm. Keeping a watch outside in the hall, Gorlan and Ruis spotted one of the security golems approaching the room. Quickly they asked someone with a grey or red card to come out to wave creature off, but even as the card was presented the creature simply shouted “you are under arrest” and “you are resisting arrest.” It then opened fire with a strange red beam, burning Gorlan painfully. Halvar rounded the corner and waved the red card, but the security golem completely disregarded it and continued its attacks. As the warriors of the group came out to meet the creature, it unleashed deadly assault after deadly assault, only once using its powerful immobilizing cone to paralyzing the heroes.

The golem was using primarily lethal force, but as the adventurers started falling to its attacks, one by one, they finally got the upper hand as an invisible Ranold managed to slip in and land a devastating blow of lightning and blade. Sadly, due to the destruction, the creature detonated several green eggs apparently inside it. As Ranold investigated the golem’s body, he was rendered unconscious.

After retrieving Ranold (and seeking to get quickly out of the area), the party left through another door leading out of the room and headed to the Med area, hoping to find a way to treat Ranold. Sadly, they found that he just had to sleep it off as the friendly medical golem had no cure for the sleepiness.  The party settled down to wait.

After Ranold finally awakened, the party choose to head north, taking the passages near the midday. They noticed several yellow doors and a few white ones they decided to check out. Starting with the yellow doors, a quick check of the first set of rooms yielded nothing but garbage about them. One did have another yellow door leaving on the opposite wall, so they sent Ranold and Finger to search the second room. It was then Catherine noticed through the status spell she had on the group that Ranold and Finger had contracted some strange disease, which was sapping their strength.

As their disease-healing magics seemed to fail to have any effect, the group returned to the med bay and asked the friendlier golem there what was wrong with their companions and if she could cure it. Her response, even translated, made little sense - it was some sort of wasting illness. She did have a cure or at least something to neutralize and stop its progress, which she applied to the afflicted adventurers. After getting both Finger and Ranold healed, the party continued down the hall and started being more cautious, thankful for status spell.

When they reached the Hall, they found ravaged skeletons long dead. They entered another room that seem to be some sort playroom, finding one long table with eight skeletons seated around it. When a continued search of the room yielded nothing but a completely looted room (as well as some sort of internal outhouse and baths), they chose continue down the smaller hall.

Heading down the hall much narrower hall, Finger spotted a pool of water ahead. Being cautious he continue to scan and noticed five large spiders, four of which were as big as he was (gnome-sized) with the fifth being as big as Halvar [dwarf-sized]. By sheer luck Ranold, Catherine, and Finger noticed the creatures as they started their attack.

This was a tough fight as the creatures attacked first, almost instantly inflicting their poison on both Halvar and Finger – one of the smaller ones even managed to get Finger grappled. Finger’s agile form managed to wiggle free, but took an ineffective defensive swing at the spider. Ruis was able to identify the spiders as creatures called Phase Spiders and warned that they normally attack and vanish into the ethereal with their prey.

Ranold heard this and made an effort to prevent this by using one of the artifacts they had found to attempt to freeze the spiders in place. Unfortunately, the cone of purple energy from the artifact only seem to effect Finger and Halvar and simply passed through the spiders, leaving them unaffected. As the rest of the team rallied from the shock of the spiders, Thadious ordered Chad to attack while calling to the others to try to capture one alive.

As Chad flew forward, the spiders continued their assault, grievously wounding Finger and poisoning Ranold. Chad, rushing forward, barely dodged his target’s fangs to deliver a vicious bite of his own, laced with his powerful sleep venom. To everyone’s amazement, the spider he bit succumbed to the venom!

Meanwhile, Ranold had been grabbed by the larger spider while the creature’s venom began taking its toll on him. Faolan, seeing the danger Finger was in, stepped up and yanked his immobile form away from the spiders before it could carry him away (leaving Ranold to his fate). Ruis moved up to engage the spiders. Two of the remaining spiders attacked Ruis as he was lining up a killing blow on the sleeping spider, but to no effect. Meanwhile Chad took a near lethal bite from the spider near Halvar. Feeling her Life force draining from her to keep the wounded alive, Catherine released a burst of life-giving energy to heal not only herself but her wounded allies as well.

The larger spider, secure that it had its meal firmly gripped, began to retreat with Ranold. Seeing that Ranold was in danger, Miss Page and Thadious rained spells and bolts at the spider carrying Ranold off. At the same time, Ruis cleaved the sleeping spider in twain. Chad bravely continued his dangerous assault, delivering venomous bite after venomous bite, but sadly to little effect.

Faolan seeing the narrow hall hindered the team effectiveness in melee, readied his bow and launched arrow after arrow at the spiders engaged with his allies. Ruis turned his deadly focus to the spider next to him as Menyw tried to leap past Halvar to engage the spiders from behind.

Two of the remaining spiders continued to engage Ruis while the one near Halvar grabbed him and started to flee with its meal. The fleeing spider’s retreat opened a hole in which Menyw tried to pass through, only to be stopped by one to the spiders engaged with Ruis.

Ruis and Menyw cut through the remaining spiders, although the spider’s venom was taking its toll on Ruis, preventing him from pursuing the fleeing spider with Menyw. Faolan and Miss Page’s archery skills began to tell on the spider fleeing with Ranold, along with a volley of spells that Thadious rained down on it. Just as it finished cocooning Ranold, a hail of attacks brought it down. Menyw charged after the remaining spider before it could vanish into the ether with Halvar and with a mad leap struck the spider down.

Exhausted, wounded, and with half the group badly poisoned with venom, Faolan called for a withdrawal to the lab to camp down and heal. Thadious offered to use the time to make as many Vials of Alchemist’s Fire as he could during this time with what they found in the alchemist lab.

Here is where we end for the night

We will pick up next on the morning of the third day.