Recap: DF 03 - Caverns of Chaos 03

January 23, 2014

Characters:

Drog, human barbarian
Farthing, faun wizard
Noide, celestial cleric
Phelix, cat-folk swashbuckler

Recap:

During the week the adventurers rested, sold off the swords, staff and other loot. Noide was able to remove the ring from Phelix and after a discussion it was decided to destroy the ring. The party still needed to find the Crimson Star for Silva, and Noide revived a message from his order to speak to Tommar, a cleric of Lys the god of light, in town.

Drog also decided to hit up some rumors in the local pub. There he learned that the town's sheriff was offering a rewards for the leader of a local band of Lizard men that has been raiding local farmers and travelers.

The party headed to the Church of the Unyielding Light, to speak to Tommar. Here the older cleric told them of a "Shrine of Unspeakable Evil" that lies within an old tomb, that is said to be somewhere in the caverns. Its exact location is unknown, however.

With new and old quests alike, the party set off for the caverns. Their first stop was to speak with Ogre to see if he knew anything about a tomb or where the cave that where the snake creature was. He was able to inform the group where to find the Stalactite Cave (where the snake monster was), and that there was a tomb filled with undead above the Geckling and Orc caves. They also learned that the goblins nearby, The Cracked Skull Goblins, are very pleased with the adventures actions dealing with the Orcs who they had problems with.

The Stalactite Cave

The party stuck to single file as they entered this cave. The first few chambers held little of interest, but a little further in they found the decaying bodies of various humanoids. On one they found a silver necklace and amulet carved in the shape of an eye. It was clearly magical, but after the incident with the ring, it was thought best to just put the item in a pack and check it out later. [Due to the GM misunderstanding how Analyze Magic worked.]

Deeper still, the players encountered a group of giant rats. These proved little work for the adventures, and after killing a half dozen or so, the others decided to stay away. In the chambers with the rats, the party noticed the sparkle of gemstones inside of the stalactites. Drog started to mine them when something sent the rats fleeing from the area. They decided to finish exploring now and mine later (a wise choice).

In another chamber they found the remains of what might have been an old desk, and a scroll tube. The scroll contained within was written in the Infernal language and couldn't be read by anyone in the party.

In the next room they found a pile of bones and a talking skull. The skull peaked the curiosity of Phelix and Farthing, but scared Drog and Noide. The skull knew of the snake creature that lived in the cave, but was having difficulty recalling any specific details. He couldn't even remember who he was or where he had come from. Phelix decided to take the skull along.

In the last chamber the party saw a sharp rise in the floor and several dead rats. As they entered, Noide heard something from above and looked up just in time to avoid a large snake-like demon fall from above.

The Peshkali Proved to be a very dangerous foe. It had six arms holding scimitars, each able to attack every turn, and a demonic drive to kill the celestial Noide.

Noide did his best to try and break free from the melee, but the Peshkali persisted. The rest of the group kept attacking the monster, eventually weakening it but it wouldn't die.

After one assault, it ended up dropping one of its swords. The following turn, Drog went all out and attacked two of its arms, crippling both. This got the Peshkali's attention and it returned the favor attacking Drog 4 times, slicing deep wounds into him.

Phelix took a queue from Drog and was able to cripple two more arms. The next round another arm was lost. In a desperate last effort, the demon jumped onto Drog, wrapping its body around his. Before it had the chance to squeeze the life out of him though, the final arm was cut and the demon exploded into a thick black ooze.

At the top of the chamber Phelix found a stalactite had grown over a pedestal. While Noide treated Drog, Phelix mined out an orb of black and red stone. It was magical, and the spell on it was somehow related to the other gem they found.

The group spent the next several hours mining out gems from other other chambers, then decided to drop off the skull with Ogre. There they found out that the skull could read the scroll which contained information on the Peshkali including that it cannot be killed except by removing all of its arms.

They returned to town, sold the gems, swords, and found Silva. They asked a bunch of questions about the gem before finally handing it over. She told them that she only wanted the gem because she and her deiced adventuring partners were commissioned to get it. A powerful wizard named Mechalor.

Notes:

XP: (base 5, +1 clearing the dungeon, +2 for defeating the Peshkali, +1 for quest item): 9

Loot:

• Silver Amulet of shaped like an Eye.
• See Invisible / Power 20 (Noide)
• Leather Tube, sealed.
• Scroll in Infernal Language.
• 6 Scimitars (sold 1200c)
• Big Pile of Uncut Gems (sold 1440c)
• Gem: Black Marble, Red Lines and Swirl (turned in, 400c)

Some Observations:

• This cave was the first one I set up. It was a simple fodder then boss and not really that interesting combat wise.
• I need to find a better way to access my notes, combat options, GM control sheet, etc. This is causing me to waste a ton of time trying to figure things out. I should also print out a full grimore for the casters so I have time, cost, skill, etc., info at hand.
• Group is starting to coordinate a bit better. I feel like we are getting to know what other PCs are going to do.