Old-School Essentials: Stonehell

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Tessa tries to slash at one of the serpents, but nervousness makes her swing too early, her attack coming up short.

Snakes... why does it have to be snakes?

Attack roll = 4
 
Egare's dagger finds its mark with the lead and center snake, as does Bellitus' spear with the same one. However, both blows glance off the scales of the lightning-fast serpent, and it impossibly keeps coming. Meanwhile, from the left flank, Bron's spear skewers the leftmost snake, ending that threat.

The two remaining snakes advance upon you. The one in front that survived two blows rears up, and to her surprise, squirts a jet of venom at Bellitus' face. Fortunately. it spatters harmlessly on her tabard.

The one on the right closes with Tessa to lash out with its fangs, but her mail armor is proof against them for now.

OOC: Roll initiative for another round!
 
OOC: Initiative was a 4. Here.

Hildegard attempts to attack the snake heading for Tessa if possible. To hit roll was 12 if needed.
 
OOC: The snakes roll 5 and go first.

The wounded snake directly in front of the party turns it attention to close combatants as it lunges at Copperhand with a wild attack. Fortunately, its blind strike is far off the mark.

Meanwhile, the other one leans back to spit at Tessa. She casually fends it off with her armored sleeve.

OOC: At this point, specify which snake you are attacking - center (twice-wounded) or right flank (untouched). The first two ranks of the party are crammed around the doorway, but the one on the right flank has slithered past to attack the second rank.
 
Tessa slashes at the snake that had attacked her, her short sword cutting deep into the body of the serpent.

Attack roll = 13
 
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OOC: will edit above post, then.

Short sword damage vs snake = 5
 
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Tessa executes a perfect lunging cut, although the snake manages to recoil enough that it was not lopped in two. It bleeds heavily from the cut.

OOC: What are the other characters doing?
 
Copperhand's warhammer catches the venomous serpent with his warhammer as it backs away from Tessa. The scaly body twitches and slides off.

Bron fails to get a clear shot to stab the remaining snake through the press of his colleagues. Bellitus takes a shot, and in her haste, stumbles forward with a string of curses.

The remaining snake is not deterred by the death of its comrades. Hissing angrily, it lunges forward like a whip, sinking its fangs into a spot on Tessa's thigh immediately under the chain skirt.

OOC: Tessa Thornwick takes 2 hp damage and must save vs. poison.
 
"Aaaaaahhh!" screams Tessa, not from the pain of the bite, but from the knowledge of the venom now coursing through her veins...

Save vs Poison = 6
 
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Egare flicks another dagger at the snake attacking Tessa and finds it's Mark(d20=17) (damage is d4=2 or d6=5 can't remember what they do in BX)
 
Hildegard will attack any snake should she have the chance to do so.

OOC: Not that it makes much difference. To hit roll was 2!
 
Hildegard looks for space to approach the remaining snake, but her companions are too closely packed in the doorway to find an approach from the rear. Egare manages to successfully lay it low with a spinning blade, however.

In the aftermath of the battle, Tess sucks in air painfully as her bite wound throbs. A couple drops of venom leak out from the puncture, making it clear that this was not a "dry bite."

Meanwhile, the trash fire continues to crackle and burn.
 
Hildegard heads to Tessa. "Watch that wound halfling, it looks as though you've been poisoned. Might be worth getting the chainmail off that leg in case it swells"

Squinting at Tessa's wounds she looks up at the fire.

"Ah yes..." Hildegard says to herself "...we have nothing to extinguish this do we?"
 
Bellitus shakes her head at the sight of the twin punctures. "Miss Tessa, you'll probably be feeling that right quick with your small size. I don't know anything about this type of snake, so can't say exactly how long that will be or how bad it gets. Are any of you folks wise in the art of healing?"
 
Egare shakes his head sadly in response to Bellitus.
"My mother used to say you have to wear the fangs around your neck for a month to ward off the poison." He says without much confidence.
 
"Right. We either press on now an let the fire burn behind us and hope Tessa holds up. Or we back up and check out that door that we just past. Or we pull out of this place completely.

Tessa, you're the wounded one. What do you want?"
 
"The fire does give some nice rear cover if we press forward."
 
"Let's move on," Tessa says, trying not to be too obvious about gritting her teeth. "We still need a big enough score to justify our trip here."
 
"Let's move on," Tessa says, trying not to be too obvious about gritting her teeth. "We still need a big enough score to justify our trip here."
Hildegard smiles at Egare and Tessa as she faces the way forward.

"No stopping you two, alright let's get moving"
 
The blaze is starting to build in intensity, as is the smoke. The party backtracks to the nearest explored junction. They return through the room of dark figures on the walls and pass to the left in the corner of the room. A hallway immediately branches right.

Obvious exits:
  • Back to the garbage fire.
  • Right down the branching hallway. There is no end or other features visible from here.
  • Continue forward down the corridor. 20' in that direction is a doorway on the left-hand wall, past which the hall continues into darkness.
 
"That door should ultimately lead back to the passage coming from the spiral staircase" Hildrgard says pointing to the doorway forward from where they are.

"How about we look in there. Exploring it should give us a more complete picture of this section" she says showing them the map.

OOC: If you look at the map here of the two purple doors at the top it's the one on the right, so it'll let us fill in that section
 
OOC: Just in case anyone is wondering why I haven't posted anything, I'm waiting for a two-like quorum (i.e. three votes) for a course of action. Although it seems like Brock Savage Brock Savage might be on hiatus from the board so we might lower the requirement to two votes for non-life-or-death situations.
 
"Think we should take a little listen at it before we open?" Asks Egare.
 
"Think we should take a little listen at it before we open?" Asks Egare.
As the party approaches the door, Egare recognizes the door as the one he most recently checked for traps and sounds. Nevertheless, he listens again, just in case. Silence still.
 
Copperhand strides up to the door, confident that Egare's professional attention has revealed any traps or ambushes. He gives the rusted iron handle a tug and...it's really wedged in there. His casual pull barely registers to the sodden wood. Bracing himself, Copperhand places one hand on the wall and one on the handle, and gives a mighty yank...

OOC: Open doors check for Copperhand.

...unless this isn't what you intended. I assumed that Simon Hogwood Simon Hogwood's like of Séadna Séadna's suggestion and the fact that his PC is in the front rank means that Copperhand is good to go. Also, if you have a preferred door-opening technique, feel free to correct me.
 
The roll's a d6 plus STR bonus, right?
OOC: No, actually it's 3-in-6 for a Strength of 13-15 (i.e. 1-3 on 1d6), so you succeeded.

Copperhand heaves at the door in one stiff pull. As it yawns open, he unhooks his warhammer from his belt and waits on the threshold with Tessa at his side. Brave, dependable Tessa.

The room beyond is a small square about 25' on each side with no other apparent entrances. Filling most of the space is a massive graven stone head, like a giant bust, which stretches from the ceiling to the floor. The head is that of a man with a grandiose rock beard, eyes of glittering crystal, and disconcertingly, a mouth that constantly issues a cool mist. The mist flows down the beard and pools on the floor, oozing past your legs into the hall. The room is otherwise unadorned.

Obvious exits:
  • Back down the hallway to the intersection between two corridors and a room.
  • Through the open door, into the room with the massive stone head.
  • Forward down the passage, which reaches a T-intersection branching right and left about 20' ahead.
 
"Really can anyone resist a giant head? We have to go in." Egare says with a grin
 
"Really can anyone resist a giant head? We have to go in." Egare says with a grin
"DEATH RESTS UNEASY HERE. DO NOT AWAKE THAT WHICH CANNOT SLEEP," thunders forth from the mouth of the head, impossibly deep and gravelly.

"By the soiled swaddling of the baby prophet!" Hearthglow swears with conviction.
 
"Think it's real or just a scare to keep the adventurous away?"
 
"It's good advice, regardless" muses Copperhand, eyeing the crystalline eyes and wondering if they could be recovered intact.
 
Hildegard is taken aback at the directness of the last sentence. First she speaks to the others.

"I assume not waking that which can't sleep is something to do with the dead men the Pig Faces told us about. They also said the hall gets smoky when they come" she looks around at her feet at the mist.

Then to the head.

"Who are you?"
 
"Do you have a name and perhaps the ability to not shout?"
 
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