Sleeping Giants Game 11

The heroes journey back to the Sunless Citadel after a well-earned rest in Oakhurst. They descend further into the citadel, and make short work of some skeletons, a Bugbear, and a handful of goblins. They find some experimentation rooms, where goblins were performing alchemy and strange experiments on a rat. Lyla learns that the citadel used to reside above ground, but some massive historic event caused it to sink into the ground.

Intro

Ford's Investigation

What a couple of days it’s been. You doze off almost the instant your head hits the pillow, and it’s not long before you’re dreaming of a mission that took place several months ago.

You’re standing before a modest home on Small Street, a – you guessed it – rather short and narrow street close to the center of Riverlake. It doesn’t seem to fit the bill, but you know the address is correct. You would have expected a local politician to have more wealth to their name. That’s not what you’re here to deduce, though. Somewhere inside this house is incriminating evidence, and it’s your job to extract it.

You’ve cased the joint thoroughly, and have identified 2 possible entrances. Back door, locked but poorly. Or second floor window, slightly ajar. You choose to enter through the second floor window.

A set of stairs leads down and there are a few small sitting chairs and tables. Several portraits of serious looking men hang on the walls, from their features you would guess they’re gnomes. A single door, already ajar, leads out of this room, which you slink into.

Two small windows on either side of an unlit fireplace shed some moonlight into this room, which appears to be a master bedroom. A small table next to the fireplace holds a dog leash. You quickly scan the room and – bingo. A small, sealed note sits on a bedside table. These politicians never think to hide their secrets very well. You move to grab the note and immediately break the seal in order to read it – you can always reseal it later.

After you’re finished, you return to the previous room and walk down the stairs, which have a nice, clean carpet leading down them. They open into a kitchen, with an opening that leads to another room. You can’t hear anyone, but can see light dancing on the walls beyond the doorway. There must be a fire lit. The kitchen is well-organized and clean. You sneak over to the doorway to investigate.

A lit fireplace illuminates this room. There are a few sitting chairs in front of the fire, and a dining table on the opposite wall. The sitting chairs are all facing a small coffee table, which has a few books on it but nothing of importance. An open hallway leads out of the room. You can see 2 doors in the hallway, both closed.

You move through the room silently and listen at the left door. You hear deep breathing coming from the other side of it, and decide it’s best not to enter. You slip over to the other door and peek your head in.

This small study is illuminated by moonlight. Hundreds of books line the walls, and a small desk with a chair built for a child sits in the middle of the room. Halfling or gnome you’d guess, most children don’t read this much. Sitting on the front edge of the desk are 3 small contraptions. You can’t make out the details from here, you’d have to get closer. So you do.

The contraptions are attached to the desk, to remove them would take some tinkering – no time for that. They are each identical, but made out of different materials. It is a small metal cage with a mechanical bird inside. One is made of copper, one is made of silver, and one of electrum. The desk otherwise holds nothing noteworthy.

Having exhausted everywhere there is to search, you make your way out of the house and slink away. A few back alleys and jumped fences later and you have completely evacuated the area. You finally have some time to catch your breath before returning to your client with the letter in hand.

Recap

Recap notes, by Laura

"DAY 4 ~6/7 AM; Date: 1/6/513"

• OPENS with FORD dream!
  • Location: Riverlake
  • Breaks into a house of a politician and finds a note addressed to "Largie". He breaks the seal!
  • Ford leaves shortly after this... checked a few more rooms but nothing much happened. He took a copy of the note to give to his employer.

- BACK TO THE GAME -

• We finish up in town
• We eat breakfast
• Journey takes ~4 hours back to the Sunless Citadel and arrive around noon (12pm)
• Nil stops by the kobolds to promote the kobold Zelda, again as the leader (because she fought a goblin). #2 guy: Resk
• Then the party returns to the room with the well with glowing purple vines
• Lyla checks the needle. It's pointing southeast, but still downward
• The well is 80 feet deep, but due to the vines, we can easily climb down
• While we were discussing who should go down, Ana goes first
• The cavern is lit still by the glowing vines. There are animal bones, fungi, etc.
• 2 robed figures! Both have shovels they are using on the ground. They are skeletal! and turn to Ana
• Ana shouts "Skeletons!"
• Jordan shouts back "...Animated?"
• Ana: "...Yea" :| Then drops down into the room
• The skeletons reach for weapons and 2 "Boop-a-groots" animate and run to attack her
• 2 boops start clawing at Ana - ford takes a short bow shot at them - for 16 damage! Kills one instantly
• Ana kills the other boop!
• Jordan tells Stratton to jump on his back which he does...
• Jordan then moves down the well with Stratton
• The skeletons then move to attack Ana
• Nil starts heading down the well
• Stratton tries to kick off Jordan to get down quicker, but, fails his kick off and lands flat on his back. 15 damage! and knocked prone!
• Fight ends... (but we stay in initiative...)
• Ana searches the bodies...
• During this, 8 foot tall creature (Bugbear) walks in with morning star! "Hounds, it's time to eat!" and starts approaching Jordan
• He hits Jordan! For 25 HPs! His armor is caved in! He is next to death!
• Then 2 rats rush in (GIANT)
  • Attack Ford (miss) and Stratton (misses!)
• Stratton uses Shatter! on the Bugbear dude and one of the rats (the one attacking him) - The rat dies, Giant takes 7 points of thunder damage
• Ford and Ana move to attack the Bugbear guy...
• Lyla! hits the Giant guy with Eldritch Blast in his "dingle berries" & kill him off!!!
• Remaining rat attacks Jordan -> 5 points of damage
• Stratton misses arrow shot at rat
• Jordan and Ford go to hit the rat at once, Ford misses, but Jordan hits. Does 4 points damage
• Ana finishes the rat off with a pile driver (elbow)
• Ana thinks about skinning the Bugbear, but it will take too long...
• Apparently, Erki's opinion of Stratton is basically back at neutral after Stratton's fail to prevent his fall and after his unrealistic fart sound
• The Bugbear has a name tag "Ballsag"
• Ana wakes up the unconscious boopagroot to make a sibling for "Boopagroot"
• Jordan is nearly dead... Stratton is fairly injured
• Jordan goes to pick up his shield and the hammer symbol is glowing! Meaning there are undead in the area...
• Erki and Lyla join, Erki's shield also starts glowing but she doesn't know what it means. Jordan looks VERY worried though...
• Erki heals Jordan for 9 HPs...
• Jordan goes to the hallway and peeps down...
• Ford goes to listen at the locked door at the side of the chamber
• Ford hears distant motion...
• Jordan sees more glowing fungi down the hallway... large nests are seen...
• Ford then listens at the other does, doesn't hear anything...
• Erki heals Stratton for 13 HPs!
• Jordan goes to door where Ford heard something and opens the door...
• 2 rows of dragon-carved stone columns...
• Tables with plant specimens and mortars and pestles
• 6 doors total, 3 on either side...
• Large hallway... 70 feet long
• All 6 doors are slightly ajar...
• Ford, Nil, and Stratton follow
• Ford collects things on the table to use in his healer's kit...
• We also hear sounds coming from the various doors - the 1st three, one is snoring, the other 2 sound like talking
• Ford silently messages this to Nil and Jordan
• Jordan communicates this to Stratton and Ana and Lyla who followed in...
• Ford checks the door with snoring behind it for traps, doesn't do it well... slowly pushes door open
• 20 x 20 room - 16 small pallets of matted fur on the floor, 3 hold sleeping goblins
• Jordan commands? Ford to "take care" of the sleeping goblins in this room - he cuts all of their throats in their sleep!
• Jordan checks the door across the way... then boots the door open! Inside is a strange contraption (barrels with tubes attached to them) and 2 goblins working it...
• Ana sneaks in past Jordan and takes a shot at one of the goblins - 5 points damage - kills him!
• Other goblin runs at Jordan and attacks...
• In the large hallway, a bunch of goblins emerge out of the other doors
• Stratton shoots the 1st goblin out of the door with a shortbow, hits him as he was about to hit Ford and kills him
• NAT 20 -> Advantage on shooting with a goblin charge!
• Nil casts Thunderwave towards 3 goblins and immediately kills them!
• Stratton misses next shot... :(
• Jordan finishes it off though by crushing his skull... woo!
• Lyla casts Poison Spray on the goblin and obliterates him! 12 damage (max damage)
• We search the rooms...
• Ana collects some of the various plants and fungi
• Lyla & Nil search a room to find a large rift in it leading to a tunnel
• We find a room with armor and repairing armor supplies
• Also find a room with a giant living rat tied down to a table - with tumors all over its body that are woody and fruit like (apples?) also an elixir in there... Ana takes the elixir, tries to put some drops in the rat's mouth to no effect... saves it to save for identification later (elixir from room 47)
• Room - extra weapons with another that is currently shut on the same side as the far end of the hallway
• Ana is experimenting a bit on the rat and Jordan enters to end its misery
• Herbalist kit and alchemy supplies can also be obtained from these rooms...
• Lyla & Nil:
• Nil looks down the rift tunnel and isn't able to see much other than that it keeps going and widening as it goes, but ends in a crafted corridor and another corridor
• Nil & Lyla decide to continue down the corridor... ALONE!
• They enter essentially a room that looks like swiss cheese... 2 foot holes all over hte room
• NATURE CHECK BY LYLA -> NAT 20!!! (advantage on checks on HOLES)
• Remembers that in this area there was some kind of massive event that occurred to make this citadel get 'disappeared' underground. As if it was originally above ground, but this massive event made it disappear underground in a rift
• From inside a hole, a red and yellow fire snake comes out of one of the holes!
• Room starts to heat up and glow...
• Nil starts to run, before Lyla follows, she uses Fey Present -> she frightens the snake!
• Just before Nil turns to go, she notices a glint of gold coins! coming from one of the holes
• The snake disappears (temporarily) back into the hole
• Initiatives! -> Lyla rolls another NAT 20! Advantage on initiative rolls in rooms with multiple holes
• ...Meanwhile... the rest of us realize Nil & Lyla were missing
• Jordan and Stratton go after them...
• Jordan yells after them down the rift...
• Stratton starts to head down the rift. Readies an arrow.
• Nil yells to Stratton there is a "chomp chomp snake"...
• Lyla learns it's a Fire Snake, a very magical creature... and communicates this to Nil
• Game stops @ everyone heading into the rift after Lyla & Nil
• Order: Stratton, Jordan, Erki, Ford, Ana.
• Exp points: 250 exp each (400 exp points away!)
• TIME: About 12:30 pm now... (there was some disagreement on this..) 1:00pm...
• Inspiration: Ford & Jordan (the 2 people who didn't take part in the what time is it now disagreement)
• 2nd level spell slot was sused, B. inspiration all slots remain
• CURRENT HEALTH: 24/26