Barrowmaze #8: Just How Many Turns Can You Hold a Turn?

This may be obvious but these AARs contain spoilers for those wanting to go into the Barrowmaze.  The message is that if you're going to, don't take advantage of them.  They're called spoilers because they spoil the fun.  DON'T BE A DICK!

Barrowmaze – 19 May 2019: Second Delve

The second delve we did last Sunday was much longer (and more tiring) than the first.

John	Dungon Master
Player	Character	Class	Notes
Tom	Gwanton	Cleric of St Ygg (Level 1)	Character’s 2nd delve
Maddy	Celian	Thief (Level 1)	Character’s 2nd delve
Tim	Ambrose	Dwarf (Level 1)	Character’s 3rd delve.
Lizzie	Gretchen	Ranger (Level 1)	Character’s 2nd delve
Edwin	Decimus Stonehythe	Gnome (Level 1)	Character’s 4th delve Has pet badger – Dachs
Steve	Moonwhisper	Magic User (Level 3)
Alec	Baxton von Dangerfield	“Master Wizard” (Level 1)	Character’s 2nd delve
Sam	Le Charles	Cleric of St Ygg (Level 1)	Character’s 2nd delve

Pre-Delve

Decimus and Gwanton having healed-up after the last delve, and Ambrose and Baxton having done some shopping (weapons for Ambrose and ten pairs of boots for fetishist Baxton), the same party members reassembled with the plan of completing what they had left undone last time – checking out the room to the West of the Octagonal Room.

The Delve

The five-hour journey to the Barrowmaze was uneventful.  We entered through the Back Door.

Surprisingly, we managed to move from the entrance, through the Crossroads and down the corridor to the Octagonal Room without incident.

The rope trapping the skeletons in their side room was still in position.  Le Charles decided to knock on the door to see if they were still there.  From the scrabbling that answered, it seemed that they were.

 

Octagonal Room

On approaching the Octagonal Room, experienced members of the party regaled the others with tales of encountering giant living statues belching fire and firing magna from their fingers.  It was decided to send Celian and Gretchen to stealthily check that the room was clear.  They did a quick check, spotted a body and then started searching alcoves before calling the rest of the party in. 

All the alcoves were unfruitfully searched.  Decimus checked the body out and found that it appeared to be an adventurer.  Her purse was cut and rings appear to have been removed, but on attempting to remove her boots for Baxton, Decimus found a silver circlet under the body.  Meanwhile, Ambrose had been examining the obelisk and realised that one set of runes was in Dwarvish.  He copied down what appeared to be the text of a ritual (earning himself an entry in Gwanton’s I-Spy Book of Heretics).

The party then girded itself to enter the Skeleton Room.  Gingerly moving into the room, we waited for the skeletons to animate.  Nothing happening, we entered one of the corridors of alcoves.  That triggered the activation, and approximately two dozen skeletons moved in.

Being prepared, the party launched a ranged attack, which immediately destroyed two.  Gwanton and Le Charles successfully prayed to Ygg to Turn Undead, managing to cause at least 13 of the skeletons to flee and cower.

Despite these initial successes, this was always going to prove a hard fight.

Photo by TimGS

Having moved well into the room, Gwanton and Le Charles were particularly exposed.  Gwanton was soon surrounded and overwhelmed, his Turn spell failing.  Le Charles however managed to hold his Holy Symbol in place during a very long fight.  With his free hand, he managed to do a surprising amount of damage by throwing unlit torches at the skeletons (Baxton’s attempts to light them being repeatedly unsuccessful). 

Photo by JohnA

The attacking horde was finally whittled down, but not until after a long battle.  In desperation, Decimus read his Chaos Tablet, but to no apparent effect.  Le Charles had been burnt when thrown oil finally caught fire (but still managing to hold his Turn) and Gretchen severely injured.  Cilean was down and bleeding-out, but Decimus (himself severely wounded) withdrew from the fight and stabilised her.  Moonwhisper, knowing the size of the room in advance, had come prepared to use his Lightening Rod, which he did to effect.  The last four fighting skeletons were caught in a Web cast by him and burnt.

Photo by JohnA

Photo by TimGS

Photo by TimGS

Despite the injuries to half the party, it was decided not to immediately leave, but to pick off some of the Turned skeletons and loot the alcoves.  The conscious, but immobile Gwanton was placed in the doorway of the Octagonal Room with the unconscious Celian to keep guard (along with Dachs the badger) and update his notes on the party’s heresies. 

Half the alcoves had been profitably looted when Dachs ran in to tell Decimus that someone had entered the Octagonal Room.  Gwanton was repeating his trick of playing dead, and was about to be tidied away by six Mutantmen.  

Mutantman - the caretakers
of the Barrowmaze

Braxton and Le Charles managed to persuade them to withdraw.  It was decided to wind up the looting before they returned with reinforcements.  However, in mapping the rest of the room, a passage was found from the furthest of the alcove corridors.  Dachs was sent down the passage and reported that there was another room. 

It was resolved to return to the room to complete the looting and explore this further room in the hope that only the six surviving skeletons (still cowering in the apse) would be present.

Two of the party were unable to walk, and a further two unable to exert themselves without collapsing.  It was hoped that the rest would be able to get them back to Helix safely without further problems. 

 

Sapphire Skellies

On reaching the doors that apparently mark the limits of the Necromancers’ territory, noises were heard.  We shut the door and hoped that any enemies may pass by without noticing us.  This was not to be and the door was wrenched open by four sapphire skeletons.  Following a hard mêlée, the party were driven down the corridor, and Moonwhisper made a couple of desperate shots with the lightening wand, ricocheting up the stairs and off the ceiling.  The shards of sapphire from the ruined skeletons were collected as spoils of victory.

Moonwhisper fires his ricochet machine up the stairs...

Leaving the Barrowmaze, travelling through the Wilderness was a slow business.  Four pterodactyls made to attack the straggling party, but Moonwhisper successfully cast Sleep on them.  An ambush by three crocodiles was spotted and avoided.

Post-Delve

The party arrived in Helix in an exhausted state well after dark.  Injured party members healed-up.

The circlet and sapphires were sold to HRR Huffenpuff.  The scroll was allocated to the clerics, and after some discussion, the cloak was taken to Mazzahs for identification and valuation.  It was eventually allocated to Moonwhisper.  Cash was divided.

Score: 6099

XP: 262

Encounters

Location	Nature	Casualties	Notes
Skeleton Room	Skeletons (approx two dozen)	Celian down and bleeding-out. Gwanton severely wounded. Decimus and Gretchen on the point of collapse. Le Charles burnt.	Half were turned; the rest (and half of the turned) were destroyed. Six left in the room.
Octagonal Room	Mutantmen (x6)		Parlayed their withdrawal.
Big Door	Sapphire Skeletons (x4)		Defeated by use of Lightening Wand.
Wilderness	Pterodactyls (x4)		Put to Sleep.
Wilderness	Crocodiles (x3)		Avoided.

Treasure

	Where and how acquired	Value	Notes
Silver, jewelled circlet	From body in Octagonal Room	200gp	Sold to Huffenpuff
Mixed coinage	Alcoves off Skeleton Room	480gp	Divvied-up
Scroll of Herne (five divine spells)			Kept by the clerics and left in trust with Brother Othar.
Cloak of protection		2,000gp	Kept by Moonwhisper.
Magic Sling			Kept by Le Charles
Sapphire shards.	Taken from Sapphire Skeletons	400gp	Sold to Huffenpuff.