Fals’Krag Session 47 – Trolls, Traps and Teleports

We ended up down three players for the evening, but were more focused on game-play than we often are and the four who came along got a lot of combat and exploration done. A real mix of stuff in this session: trolls, ogre priest, vermin, undead, constructs, strange runes, traps, and treasure. The PC’s took a lot of damage in both HP’s and ability damage, but were careful to heal and back each other up when needed. I’ve done something a bit different with this summary – some maps to give a bigger picture of where the group explored, with areas they didn’t get to erased. (No hints here!)

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Lines/arrows are previous exploration. Red oval is the focus of this session.

2nd Needfest.

Seldrel casts Detect Magic again and sees all the magical auras of the lock are back. He presumes his dispel only negated the magic temporarily. The group makes notes, and will return here if they find or learn something that may help. They move north-west into an unexplored area they have skirted around previously. Approaching a large block with much damage, Lanliss vanishes and goes to look through windows and a door way on the corner of the first building. He sees giant rats, but as he returns to tell the others, the rats emerge, having heard noise outside. Hardaz charges the rats, supported by Bacon and Lanliss. The combat attracts the attention of two trolls from the damaged side of the building. Merxif and Seldrel concentrate fire attacks on one, while Winter shoots the other with arrows. One of the trolls calls for assistance from Vaprak. The rats are quickly beaten, and the group focuses on the trolls. More rats emerge from the corner, and an armour wearing ogre followed by a shimmering bat, strides into the rubble strewn area behind the trolls. The trolls are burned and appear dead, and Lanliss and Hardaz finish the second group of rats. The ogre also calls on Vapraks aid, and gestures as if casting a spell. A thick fog springs up around most of the group. Winter levitates up above the cloud and notes its size. She calls directions out to the others so that they can move out of it easily. Bacon exits the cloud on one side, Merxif on another and Seldrel dispels the fog entirely. Bacon charges into the ruin to attack the ogre, closely followed by Summer. A ten-foot tall statue of Vaprak (god of ogres and trolls) further into the rubble suddenly animates. It leaps off its dais and charges across to attack Bacon, striking him heavily. The ogre backs away and grows larger. As others move up to attack, the statues emits a wave of energy and Lanliss, Hardaz and Summer are slowed. Bacon is unaffected and continued to pummel the things they suspect is a stone golem. The ogre and its bat attack the group, and the golem inflicts considerable damage. The party is happy they had equipped three of their group with golem bane scarabs, allowing them to damage the golem with their weapons. Seldrel casts haste to neutralise the slow effect on the group. Merxif moves in to heal, and the battle turns in the parties favour. They have soon defeated the ogre and destroyed the golem. They dais the golem came from has a secret compartment with gems and scrolls. They scout the chambers around what appears to have been a large temple to Vaprak before most of the ceiling collapsed. There are a few more rooms with giant rats, which also produce some coins. The rooms used by the trolls and ogre also have coins, some gems and jewellery and odd bits of equipment.

Combined image of the battle maps used for the session put together roughly in the correct position. The eastern side is actually slightly further ‘south’ than it should be.

Moving east to the next damaged building, Lanliss spots two more trolls. Hardaz and Bacon move in to attack with him, and Merxif follows. Once the trolls are badly hurt, he uses acid to stop them regenerating. Winter and Seldrel who had stayed back are attacked by small group of stirges. A stirge manages to attach itself to each of them and Winter is paralysed. Seldrel realises that the creatures are undead, and the rest of the party is not close by. He casts a fireball over the stirges, burning himself and Winter but killing nearly all of them. Seldrel is able to finish off the last while the trolls are defeated. A little healing is required. Amid some humanoid corpses and damaged weapons and armour, they recover some silver coins.

Further east the next block of buildings is initially in good condition. Windows and a few doors are visible, all is quiet. Lanliss chooses a central open doorway to investigate. A large hall has some damaged chairs, and a passageway leading out. At first he doesn’t notice the shape standing near a pile of rubble, but as Bacon enters the room they both become aware of the four-armed skeleton that moves forward. While it attacks with four short-swords, it proves not to much tougher than other animated skeletons they have fought. Lanliss continues down the passage, which has three small chambers open along each side. Each holds a short thin pillar of obsidian, with a large rune made from semi-precious stone set into the far wall. As the rest of the group move in to search, they learn that the runes are magical constructs that attack any who enter the room. While Hardaz smashes any construct he can reach, Lanliss and Winter are attacked near the final room by a greater shadow. Lesser shadows attack as the group comes together. Trying to evade and attack the incorporeal undead means more of the runes are activated, and shadows leave half the group seriously weakened. Lanliss and Merxif draw attention of main shadow and they destroy the last of them. Bacon locates and destroys another four-armed skeleton, and then they gather back together for healing. Winter uses much of her magic to restore the groups lost strength. While scouting and finishing off the shadows, Lanliss observed a large insect creature fleeing into a hole in a ruined area close by. A locked door is found near the second skeleton, and beyond it a locked and trapped door. Lanliss disarms the magical trap and the chamber beyond has many scrolls and papers. Most of the documents are damaged and illegible. Some fragments mention temples of Boccob (greater human deity of magic), magical training for scouts, and magical theory. Seldrel also recovers some scrolls with spells that he can use.

North is the last intact part of this triangular block. Lanliss disarms a trap of the locked door, and explores the few rooms of a narrow hall. The doors have an unusual rune on them, and there are a few simple traps and old fragile furniture. Two of the rooms have a dark coloured floor tile with a silver circle and a different rune on the wall next to it. Seldrel detects a teleportation magic. Lanliss tries to activate the first circle, feeling a little uncomfortable, then pain and unconsciousness. Both he and Seldrel also try the second circle, and this time Lanliss disappears. He finds himself on the previous circle. As they try other entrances, they find more trapped rooms and more circles, each with a rune. Lanliss tries activating a circle while thinking of the rune near a previous circle and teleports to it. They decide that the first circle didn’t work because its linked to a circle that is damaged or not present any more. Lanliss triggers and is hurt by a magical trap (spinning blades) in one room, and finds a dead goblin who was previously caught by it. He locates and disarms other traps and they find six teleport circles, each with a different rune and also some small brass tokens in the shape of lightning bolts. One room has a dry humanoid body with good armour and a sword. Searching into the damaged corner of the block reveals similar bodies with useful items and some treasure that were likely killed by the shadows.