Games are on Monday night sometime after 5:30PM at World's Best Comics, 9714 Warwick Blvd Newport News, Virginia 23601.

Again we had the Meat-Lover's pizza but we kept the Pepperoni because the Player with the codicil against it was absent. I still added philly-cheesesteak meat. I was cautioned against adding the extra cheese by the chef, telling me with too many toppings it wouldn't cook properly.

++++ START OF SESSION ++++

Due to external factors, we again had a minimal quorum.

According to the captured Slobgoblin, the only remaining opposition was down one corridor. An estimated dozen Brigands and a charismatic two foot tall leader.

Preliminaries were dealt with before sending their "Away Team":

After receiving thankgs from the two rescued merchants. They sent them upstairs and on their way. Note the party did not offer escort nor directions as to which was the safer town at either end of the road. In effect, they were "just released into the wild". I distinctly recall Big Bird and the Giant Bats although ashamed, were still undefeated topside and may be looking for revenge, while the Giant Snake was still on personal leave for reconstructive dental work.

The Slobgoblin and the Slaves were left behind, guarded by Huang's Monk followers, as it was deemed the party was too large for the next battle.

They kept the Gnome that was rescued with the merchants and took him along. (And no, the Gnome was not the two-foot enemy leader, Gnomes are at least three feet tall.)

Huang and Elefus took the lead and Huang opened the door into the next area whereupon Huang lost an arm due to the guillotine trapped door. Not an issue however, since Elefus had his "Reattach Limb" spell coupled with a dose of a "Cure Moderate Wounds" to restore blood loss.

Aside from the spilt blood, I told them of the obvious tracks on the floor. No one asked which direction the tracks were leading, they simply assumed it was a high-traffic area. (And this from Players who are quite adamant about how good their detection skills are.)

Opening the next door they found a hallway. In the hallway was a bucket and a mop resting on the shiny floor 25-feet down and 60-feet further was an obvious large chest turning left into another room.

The party had an agressive "reveal-traps" ability. Jacko's innate ability due to his "Mining Sense" talent allowed him to Detect Traps 4 times out of 6. (Just about anything else is 5 out of 6.)

So the first trap detected was a 20-foot deep pit trap with spikes on the bottom just 10 feet from the hallway entrance. Just in front of the mob and bucket. Since Aerys could fly, she decided fly over and get them.

Bringing it back they found the bucket was filled with oil. So they filled any empty lanterns they had and created another torch with a rag and one of the Glaives from the armory upstairs. And of course, they gave it to Torch Guy.

Resetting the trap and putting a shim to hold it in place the party oh so "carefully" moved on to the next pit trap, 30 feet from the door. This one was 50-feet deep filled with the same kind of spikes as before. Players got the idea that a leaping jump over the first trap would send them sliding over the slick floor and trigger the second.

They also shimmed this trap so they wouldn't fall in and waited while the Aerys flew to the large chest. Noting it was unlatched, she quickly opened the lid to find it lined with glass and full of liquid with a definite acrid odor. Meanwhile Jacko noted the whole 30-foot section of the floor leading to the chest must be part of a trap.

Acting on a hunch, Aerys pushed the chest to the next room.

With with weight of the chest removed, the floor lifted up and the 30 foot section of the floor pivoted midway. They discovered the chest was set to dump acid on the floor and flow towards any party that stepped on the far end.

Resetting the floor pivot with another shim the Party turned left onto the next room.

This room had two more exits, one on the right and another straight ahead both leading into more rooms.

Once again Jacko fairly automatically observed two traps, one on the ceiling encompassing the entire room and another that consisted of a pressure plate in a short 10-foot hallway to the next room ahead. Which room also contained a door.

Meanwhile Aerys checked the passage to the right and found an open pit trap only 6-feet across. Across which led into another room containing a golden beehive peppered with many little holes. Intrigued (but without using the benefit of Jacko's detect traps ability), she rather impetuously carried the chest of acid alone into the next room and dumped it on the hive.

The Golden Beehive was of course, a trap. If you've figured out the plot device of the movie "Black Sunday" you can imagine the nature of the trap. Otherwise think of a Claymore Mine of poisoned flechettes.

In order to escape certain death, Aerys' Player had to expend a coupon that said "This was only a test; if this been a real emergency, you'd be dead." i.e., "Coupon wielder escapes (unscathed!) from a trap that would have killed him." I had to twist the rule a little for gender bias, but Aerys got away from this one.

Next, Jack tested the pressure plate in the short hall to the next room.

(I made sure everyone was positive of their location in the complex.)

While Jacko was standing on the pressure plate, the door to in the next room opened. The door closed when Jacko moved aside and off the plate.

Still unsure, Jacko tried it again.

The door opened again, however this time flame belched forth as if from an M3A1 "Satan" World War II tank. Fortunately none of the party was in that room nor in line with the flames. The fire eventually died out and the door stayed open.

(Again I made sure everyone was positive of their location in the complex.)

They put Elefus and Huang again at the head of the line and entered the room. All it contained were two stone columns of naked females holding swords. Naturally they are known as Guardian Golems, so they animated and attacked immediately. The Golems were defeated but not without incident. Jacko fired his heavy crossbow and fumbled, scored triple damage on himself and died by going to negative two hit points.

Therefore Jacko's Player also had to play the coupon: "Life is Pleasant. Death is peaceful. It's the transition that is troublesome." He was cured of 3 to 12 hit points, thus saving himself.

Having reached the end of the complex they did not ask themselve where the opposition force had gone. Instead they conducted a thorough search of the last room they were in and they found one remaining item on the floor, in the corner of this room.

Two halves of a "broken arrow".

(Again I made sure everyone was positive of their location in the complex.)

Jacko picked it up.

There was a low rumbling noise and a huge crunching noise from the earlier room with the demarcated ceiling. (Hitherto referred to as a "trap".) The ceiling fell as an entire solid block. Any characters in that room were irrevocably squished into red pancakes and sealed off the Party from the outside world. Aerys was still in the room with the beehive trap and also cut off, but separately.

Unless something happens, the Party is cut off and will eventually run out of air.

Condolences to the non-player characters who gained an immediate untimely death on a two dimensional plane as follows:

Dornorin, Tujef, Rubbio, Twitch, Curly, and last but not least, Torch Guy.

HackMaster_20160509.jpg

NOTE: Presuming the delivery medium allows graphics, I added a gratuitous, .png file of the layout of the area. The dashed lines indicate the fallen block of ceiling. The red ink on the edges near the hallways is for visual effect. The fuzzy figures are the trapped survivors.

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

BT







BBBB

++++ CHARACTER ROSTER ++++

PART 2.

CHARACTERS (New players on top.)
Jacko, an Albino Dork Elf, 2nd level Infiltrator (Creep).
Blake, a Human 1st level Infiltrator (a.k.a. Sneak).
Vixine Numar, a Human 1st level Chosen One (a.k.a. Touched)
Aerys, an Elvariel 3rd level Thief (Cutpurse).
Count Elefus, a Human Male Abbot
Sir Huang - a Master of the North Wind of the Stone Tiger Order, Baron of Catan
Dame Honda - a Human Datai Samurai, Steward of Catan (formerly Temple of the Frog)

NPCs:
Dornorin, a Sylvan Elf, Magic User, General Practitioner. (Deceased).
Tujef, Numrendir's sidekick and a Human 3rd level Zealot of Thor (recently converted to Zealot). (Deceased).
Curly - Insane Keeper a.k.a 1st level Paladin and Elefus' other Sidekick (a Gargoyle really wouldn't do). (Deceased).
Twitch - Raised from the Dead (twice) Treasure Hunter. (Deceased).
Gargoyle - Elefus's hench person (demoted from Sidekick)
Rubbio - Redeemed Footpad. (Deceased).
Sum Dum Gai - Male 1st level Monk (a.k.a. Grasshopper)
Won Hung Lo - Male 1st level Monk (a.k.a. Grasshopper)
Bang Mi - Female 1st level Monk (a.k.a. Grasshopper)
Stin Ki Poo - Male 1st level Monk (a.k.a. Grasshopper)
No Tsmo King - Female 1st level Monk (a.k.a. Grasshopper)
Six Slaves as disarmed first level Fighters (their former leader is a second level Fighter however). It was seven until they lost Torch Guy.

MISSING or CAPTURED CHARACTERS (PCs or NPCs)
Numrendir - a Human Conjurist - Gone off to BlackMoor to check his Investment Account
Junkbot Jackson - a Human Tracker/Adept
Gerry Castagere, Human Fingersmith, and ever loving devotee of Elefus
Fundisha - a Half-Elf Swordsperson
Sir Weasel, Human Guild Soldier, Warlock, & Champion (he stayed back in BlackMoor)
- and nine Pilgrim henchmen of various levels. (They wear hoodies.)
Slade Wilson - Dwarven Professional (Left behind at Catan)

BT







BBBB

++++ RECORD KEEPING ++++

PART 3.

This is also posted on two forums, a blog and recursively on linkedin:
viewforum.php?f=76
http://www.furiouslyeclectic.com/forum/ ... php?fid=13
http://furiouslyeclectic.com/hackmoor/
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/6605523