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
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Dungon Master
|
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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.
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.
 |
| Moonwhisper fires his ricochet machine up the stairs... |
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
|
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Sapphire
shards.
|
Taken from
Sapphire Skeletons
|
400gp
|
Sold to
Huffenpuff.
|
