This week we had a medium cheese pizza, with extra cheese.

Games are on Tuesdays sometime after 5PM at World's Best Comics, 9714 Warwick Blvd Newport News, Virginia 23601.

++++ START OF SESSION ++++

As we left last week the party had had climbed the stairs and found themselves on a stonework platform amidst a sea of fire. A Fire Giant at the far end next to a stone sarcophagus and what appeared to be another staircase was throwing stones at them. This session was fairly straightforward as all they had to do was make way across the two paths that led to the giant. A roster of the party members is at the bottom of this message.

The "sea of fire" was basically a circular chamber 160 feet in diameter two narrow stone paths wound their way across and met in the middle, diverged again and met where the giant was.

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Think of the symbols above as the paths with another circle around it as the limits of the fire chamber.

First thing thing the party does, (which is something a role-playing party should never do but in this case irrelevant), was split up. Huang (now entrapped as a Shadow Demon) led the way down the right path followed by Elefus after taking an extra round to prepare a spell. Krazzek went down the left, followed by Bane, Daniella and Kmaregh. Weasel went incognito by donning his Robe of Blending. Slim's body and Huang's physical form, (still possessed by the Demon) was tied up before it could wake up and guarded by Numrendir on the landing.

Numrendir attempted to use his Wand of Illusion on the Fire Giant but found out to his dismay the wand only had a range of 140 feet and the giant was 160 feet away. He then moved up the platform 20 feet to the edge and attempted again but the Giant made his saving thrown and was not easily fooled.

Like a carnival ride with pop-up monsters, as soon as they set down the path, a colony of eleven Fire Bats appear from beneath the flames and attack our path trekkers. Two globbed onto Krazzek eventually killing him the rest were hit and miss but they wore down the party before they could advance much further. Fire Bats are similar to Stirges, if they successfully hit, they attach and start sucking blood, meanwhile the victim also takes two four-sided dice worth of damage every round. (Hence the cause of Krazzek's demise.)

Of course at the same time they were also dodging boulders thrown by the Fire Giant.

A boulder grazed Slim's rigor mortis affected corpse during the big bat battle, however Krazzek's freshly dead body took massive damage from one of these large rocks and was turned into mush. Huang possessed body now tied up and starting to wake up, was also killed by one of these large incoming projectiles.

The party hastily packed Slim and Huang into Elefus Bag of Holding (for later) as they proceeded down their aforementioned paths those the left gingerly stepped over Krazzek's wet spot.

Back at the carnival, the Fire Giant peppered the party with more boulders as though attempting to knock over metal bottles with baseballs. Daniella and Kmaregh were nearly killed in this manner and went down with one negative hit point. (Technically once they've gone negative they lose one hit per round and will die at a negative ten hit points unless healed.) Elefus was hit but his Tiger II magic armor absorbed the damage, one even hit Huang the Shadow.

Eventually four party members (Shadow Huang, Bane, Honda, and Elefus) make it past the boulder gauntlet and attack the giant directly. Forcing the Fire Giant to quit his pitching practice and draw his massive sword. Shadow Huang takes 28 points of damage and dies. This forces another issue which will be dealt with later.

Next to go down was with Threshhold of Pain was Bane as the Fire Giant taking minor damage shifted his attacks to those still standing. Honda went down next leaving Elefus (less those cowards in the back) the only one standing.

Elefus prepared spell was "Shock Therapy" which in conjunction with a successful hit by a contact weapon dealt incredible damage. Even the Fire Giant failed his own Threshhold of Pain check and went down. Elefus then dealt it a Coup de Gras.

Elefus cast his remaining spells to heal the living. He cast his last Minor Raise Dead spell which was cast on the pile of goo that was once Krazzek. Minor Raise Dead also inflicts two additional Quirks or Flaws and Krazzek got three, a prejudice for Scale Mail, Chronic Nose Bleeds, and a Strange Body Odor.

The ambulatory party opened the Sarcophagus and found 7000 copper pieces, a Magical Ring that Bane put on to an unknown effect, and a bejeweled crown that Kmaregh decided to wear. The ring was determined to be magical by Elefus' deft use of a Detect Magic spell.

There was nothing else to do but wait again until Midnight so Elefus' gawd refresh his spells and the Magic Users took this pause to re-memorize from their spell books after which Elefus raised Slim and also cast Neutralize Poison so he could stay raised.

That left Huang. Both the possessed body of Huang and Huang the Shadow Demon were killed. Thus sending Huang's soul to the Lawful Neutral Plane of Mechanus were he belonged and the Shadow Demon into the Abyss. Although Huang was only there long enough to be in the waiting room and take a number before he was recalled again with Elefus' Raise Dead spell.

The party also learned that the staircase going up was merely a painted stone pillar made to look like a staircase. But fortunately the duration of Elefus Detect Magic found a small area in the center of the chamber the party had avoided en passant where the paths met. Kmaregh flew towards it and hovered and was summarily turned upside down. Determining this was an area of Reverse Gravity Kmaregh flew "down" to what was apparently a concealed hole in the ceiling.

Flying through it, Kmaregh found another small sea (of saltwater this time) scouted around and found a sandbar, a small island with a palm tree. Flying back he reported back to the party.

At this point I called it a night.

In conclusion three characters achieved "doubling up", which means they have earned twice as much experience needed to raise and it forces a raise level (in my world anyway) with no formal school. This also increases my homegrown Experience Point offset to bring their points to the bottom of the new level.

The three characters so raised are:

Kmaregh, now a 5th level Magic User, Daniella now a 2nd level Thief, and Slim now a multiclass 1st level Magic User and 2nd level Thief (only the Thief part raised).


++++ OUT OF CHEESE ERROR ++++

BT







BBBB

++++ CHARACTER ROSTER ++++

PLAYERS
Count Elefus, Human Male Deacon
Sir Weasel, Human Guild Soldier, Enchanter, & Myrmidon
Sir Kmaregh Dismal, Human Thaumaturgist
Sir Huang - Shadow Demon
Dame Honda - Human Samurai Bushi
Numrendir - Human Coercer
Krazzek Thunderkeg - Dwarf Tracker
Daniella Lia Xiloscent - Half Elf Footpad
Bane - Human Hero (Fighter)

NPCs:
Slim, an Elf Presdigitator/Footpad.

MISSING CHARACTERS (captured)
Junkbot Jackson - Tracker/Adept
Gerry Castagere, Human Fingersmith, and ever loving devotee of Elefus
Fundisha - Half-Elf Swordsperson