Post by David on Dec 8, 2008 19:18:40 GMT -5
[glow=red,2,300]SLAUGHTER WITHIN THE INTERDICTED TEMPLE[/glow]
So, it would seem that reality (and the previous game) were not QUITE right. In truth, Mikhail's attempt to teleport out of the Interdicted Temple failed and the psionically endowed youth realized that the whole region was under some anchoring effect. As a result, the heroes WOULD have been trapped in the Temple, but Mikhail had just mastered the ability to probability travel to other planes. So, with a mere two hours of rest, he'd have the resources to shift himself ethereal, walk straight up to where the heroes knew the Earth Temple lay, return to the Prime plane, and complete the plan...just two more hours in the Interdicted Temple...
So the heroes settled in while the young psi meditated. Two gray oozes showed up and the heroes dealt with the pair quite quickly. Then, three ochre jellies arrived and the party tackled these too with only a bit of effort. That's when a ragged man came out of one of the side halls. An elementalist, Hixotec, had attempted to infiltrate the Temple and delve it's magical secrets, but had been discovered and "sacrificed" to the elemental plane of Air. The mage had survived and managed to find a magical stone, an aquamarine gem, that allowed him to transport himself to a Water plane. There, Hixotec found a portal which opened into the Interdicted Temple -- he had been sleeping in the next room, finally safe from strange current, howling winds, and elemental monsters -- when he heard the previous combat and came to investigate...
Hixotec joined the party and the group compared notes. Meanwhile, Mikhail felt strong enough to fetch the others and asked for a moment from Alec, in order to avoid making a mess of his first trip to the ethereal plane. Once ethereal, the young psi immediately sensed a powerful, nearby presence...a presence which was QUITE aware of him. Mikhail immediately moved upward and out of the Temple, through three levels of stone, until he came out in the Earth Temple, where he returned to Oerth and finished off the party's plan as expected.
With the full party (Dion, Marc with Bronson, Mikhail with Samhain, Sky, Daj, Pepper, Semi, Elric, Alec, and Hixotec), the heroes decided to give Mikhail a chance to again regain his mental energies before continuing. That's when the two brown puddings showed up! The heroes battled fiercely and bravely as these two strange slime-monsters caused much damage. In the end, however, the creatures died, in the process leaving Daj, Cliffy, and Hixotec naked! Dion suggested a search of the near portion of the Temple in order to find a better place to rest. In a nearby room, the group settled in. Mikhail used his returning mental powers to heal the party while Dion and Alec tended wounds.
Hours passed before the eight gray oozes slide under the door in twos and threes. The heroes defeated them, only to battle two more ochre jellies a few hours later. Finally, in the early hours of the 27th with nearly everyone restored and rejuvenated, the heroes set about exploring the rest of the Temple. Waiting for them in the main audience chamber were three gray oozes, two ochre jellies, and a small, thin brain-on-legs. Meanwhile, the floor of the entire, massive chamber had been swept clear of fungus, although the air was now hazy and oscure... The heroes defeated the monsters fairly quickly and moved on to the stair down to the West, the direction in which Mikhail had sensed the powerful presence...
The party entered a massive hall and at the far end was a fat, ugly old woman on a massive throne of silver. She offered the heroes three 12' long pillars, first one of silver, then one of gold, and finally one of platinum and each worth a small kingdom! After being rejected all three times, the woman disintegrated into a column of red and green light and sparks!
Not believing the illusion for an instant, Semi quaffed his half-potion of fire giant strength and charged. That's when Elric, Marc, and Samhain found themselves unable to breathe...yellow mold now sprouting in their lungs from the stirred up clouds...
Cliffy hasted Sky, Semi, Marc, Pepper, and himself. The paladin saved Marc while Dion cure diseased Elric, saving the mentalist. Mikhail turned his own psychic powers on the mold in Samhain's throat, using his psionics to slow down the growths but unable to cure his animal friend. Having already cast a detect invisibility, Cliffy could see that the old woman had really turned invisible and hidden behind a massive purple curtain behind her thrown. Before he could say this, however, Semi charged up and tore the curtain down. The woman shrieked and transformed, becoming a bloated monster of fungi! Here was Zuggtmoy!
Her first act was to instill fear in the heroes, but it failed to affect any of them! Semi tore into the demoness, drawing first blood! Meanwhile, Dion healed Marc and Mikhail continued to tend to Samhain. The demoness then tried to open a gate, but this too failed. Yet, a dun pudding arose from her wound. Marc now joined the fray, adding his sword to Semi, Pepper, Daj, and Sky's. Yet the heroes now had to divide their attention between the demoness and her ally. About this point, Hixotec explained to the heroes of Zuggtmoy's origins, including naming her patron Ghaunadaur REPEATEDLY. In answer to the elementalist's invocations, a purple cloud shot with orange enveloped the demoness right as she disappeared, a five-foot diameter fungal puff-ball (ascomid) and four more brains-on-thin-legs (ustilagor) oozing out of her body first...!
Cliffy also turned invisible and tried to backstab the demoness to no avail. Pepper too saw she had not teleported but rather become improved invisible. But the heroes' strength was diverted fighting all these new foes. Semi destroyed two ustilagor quickly and Marc and Sky defeated the dun pudding. That's when Zuggtmoy attacked Cliffy, nearly killing him with divinely-enhanced strength. Daj managed to survive the ascomid's attacks only because she'd already cast mirror image.
Alec conjured a dust devil which kept the spherical fungus busy. Hixotec tried to use spark shower to take out the many minions, but it had nearly no effect. Infused with the power of her creator and lover, the demoness pressed her physical attacks, killing Alec instantly. Meanwhile, her wounds began to close...and the soul of the cleric of Prometheus added to the demoness' strength...
Through this, Dion had been helping Mikhail with Samhain. Finally, however, the cleric of Apollo broke off and started using spiritual arrows on the various minions, which now included a white pudding and a many-stalked mushroom creature (basidirond). Daj slowed most of the monsters, taking some of the heat off the fighters. Semi and Marc began hacking the demoness again -- hoping that despite her invisibility they would hurt her. Amazingly, the pair succeeded, although Semi nearly died when she attacked him!
As a black pudding slide forth from the demoness' invisible, wounded body, Samhain began to breathe on his own. Mikhail looked over and unleashed an id insinuation, catching the demoness and all the remaining ustilagor. Amazingly, however, the young psi breached even the demon-goddess' defenses, forcing her to leave off her physical assaults! Meanwhile, Zuggtmoy's own mental assault did nothing to Mikhail or his companions.
Mikhail launched a second id insinuation, again catching the demoness and all the ustilagor! Having no choice, the Demon Queen of Fungi chose to attack the boy physically, nearly killing him instantly. Bronson, Marc's wolverine companion standing nearby, however, was not quite as lucky. The animal's pulped essence merged with the demoness'. Marc redoubled his attacks as an ochre jelly rose to defend its mistress. Pepper and Dion, meanwhile, moved to save the paladin and Sky continued to finish off the various puddings. Cliffy tried to help with his sword, but being seriously wounded, fell back and used the last of his magic missiles -- as did Dajamira.
The young psi, barely alive, shifted in time to escape Zuggtmoy. Elric, however, started launching psionic assaults at the demoness to keep her attention. Although his attack failed, Marc did manage to again score of the fungus-demon -- she smashed him back, nearly stunning him.
Close as it was, Marc retained his senses and hit the demoness again. She was weakening. Just as Zuggtmoy was ABOUT to speak a limited wish to heal herself, Semi (now on his feet though nearly dead) landed another lucky blow, stunning her! She reeled back, near death, a brown pudding rising from the ichor leaking out of her invisible body...
The haste spell finally ending, Marc hit the demoness again and amazingly, although nearly dead and barely able to run, Semi did too...before she could recover, Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi, Beloved of Ghaunadaur, Master of the Temple of Elemental Evil, fell dead, slain by Semi, 4th level paladin of Athena...!
The heroes worked together to finish off the last of Zuggtmoy's "children". During this finally fight, Cliffy and Pepper could see the many souls bound to the Temple fade out, finally free of the demoness. Zuggtmoy's own soul, however, could not escape -- the pair watched as her ethereal essence rose from her shattered fungal body, only to be rent into three parts and drawn to other portions of the Temple complex. Two souls which did not depart immediately, however, were Alec's and Clanndennagh's -- the psi attempted to communicate something to the pair and then it too was drawn away into a tunnel of white light...
The last creature to die was the brown pudding. Marc had been using his ring of vampiric regeneration throughout the battle, drawing off the strength and life essence of his foes and using it to invigorate himself. As his sword snuffed out the last fungi's life, that essence traveled into the poor beastmaster's mind, obscuring his own consciousness. Marc stopped, dropped his sword, and began to drool. Elric and Mikhail used their telepathic talents to determine what happened. Marc remains positively disposed toward the party, but has the mental identity of the pudding he killed. Mikhail, meanwhile, projected feelings of serenity and calm into his friend, then began massaging his hands, removing the ring in the process...!
Most victorious, the heroes tend their wounds and ponder their next move...
Current Status:
Elric: 1 of 21, NO PSPs
Alec: DEAD
Dion: full (45), cast CLW x3, aid, sh x2, cure disease x2, dd, CSW, and lay on hand
Sky: 15 of 61, 12 psi
Semi: 5 of 24, huge scar on belly (-1 chr), -1/3 dex and move, lay
Marc: 52 of 60, 5 psi, identifies as a brown pudding
Mikhail: 11 of 39, 11 PSPs, 7 gbs
Samhain: 15 of 24
Pepper: 3+3 of 26, NO PA, PAx2, d.invis
Daj: 19 of 37, one 2nd lvl spell left
Cliffy: 2 of 35, one 2nd lvl spell left
Hixotec: 5 of 20, shield, push, spark shower
So, it would seem that reality (and the previous game) were not QUITE right. In truth, Mikhail's attempt to teleport out of the Interdicted Temple failed and the psionically endowed youth realized that the whole region was under some anchoring effect. As a result, the heroes WOULD have been trapped in the Temple, but Mikhail had just mastered the ability to probability travel to other planes. So, with a mere two hours of rest, he'd have the resources to shift himself ethereal, walk straight up to where the heroes knew the Earth Temple lay, return to the Prime plane, and complete the plan...just two more hours in the Interdicted Temple...
So the heroes settled in while the young psi meditated. Two gray oozes showed up and the heroes dealt with the pair quite quickly. Then, three ochre jellies arrived and the party tackled these too with only a bit of effort. That's when a ragged man came out of one of the side halls. An elementalist, Hixotec, had attempted to infiltrate the Temple and delve it's magical secrets, but had been discovered and "sacrificed" to the elemental plane of Air. The mage had survived and managed to find a magical stone, an aquamarine gem, that allowed him to transport himself to a Water plane. There, Hixotec found a portal which opened into the Interdicted Temple -- he had been sleeping in the next room, finally safe from strange current, howling winds, and elemental monsters -- when he heard the previous combat and came to investigate...
Hixotec joined the party and the group compared notes. Meanwhile, Mikhail felt strong enough to fetch the others and asked for a moment from Alec, in order to avoid making a mess of his first trip to the ethereal plane. Once ethereal, the young psi immediately sensed a powerful, nearby presence...a presence which was QUITE aware of him. Mikhail immediately moved upward and out of the Temple, through three levels of stone, until he came out in the Earth Temple, where he returned to Oerth and finished off the party's plan as expected.
With the full party (Dion, Marc with Bronson, Mikhail with Samhain, Sky, Daj, Pepper, Semi, Elric, Alec, and Hixotec), the heroes decided to give Mikhail a chance to again regain his mental energies before continuing. That's when the two brown puddings showed up! The heroes battled fiercely and bravely as these two strange slime-monsters caused much damage. In the end, however, the creatures died, in the process leaving Daj, Cliffy, and Hixotec naked! Dion suggested a search of the near portion of the Temple in order to find a better place to rest. In a nearby room, the group settled in. Mikhail used his returning mental powers to heal the party while Dion and Alec tended wounds.
Hours passed before the eight gray oozes slide under the door in twos and threes. The heroes defeated them, only to battle two more ochre jellies a few hours later. Finally, in the early hours of the 27th with nearly everyone restored and rejuvenated, the heroes set about exploring the rest of the Temple. Waiting for them in the main audience chamber were three gray oozes, two ochre jellies, and a small, thin brain-on-legs. Meanwhile, the floor of the entire, massive chamber had been swept clear of fungus, although the air was now hazy and oscure... The heroes defeated the monsters fairly quickly and moved on to the stair down to the West, the direction in which Mikhail had sensed the powerful presence...
The party entered a massive hall and at the far end was a fat, ugly old woman on a massive throne of silver. She offered the heroes three 12' long pillars, first one of silver, then one of gold, and finally one of platinum and each worth a small kingdom! After being rejected all three times, the woman disintegrated into a column of red and green light and sparks!
Not believing the illusion for an instant, Semi quaffed his half-potion of fire giant strength and charged. That's when Elric, Marc, and Samhain found themselves unable to breathe...yellow mold now sprouting in their lungs from the stirred up clouds...
Cliffy hasted Sky, Semi, Marc, Pepper, and himself. The paladin saved Marc while Dion cure diseased Elric, saving the mentalist. Mikhail turned his own psychic powers on the mold in Samhain's throat, using his psionics to slow down the growths but unable to cure his animal friend. Having already cast a detect invisibility, Cliffy could see that the old woman had really turned invisible and hidden behind a massive purple curtain behind her thrown. Before he could say this, however, Semi charged up and tore the curtain down. The woman shrieked and transformed, becoming a bloated monster of fungi! Here was Zuggtmoy!
Her first act was to instill fear in the heroes, but it failed to affect any of them! Semi tore into the demoness, drawing first blood! Meanwhile, Dion healed Marc and Mikhail continued to tend to Samhain. The demoness then tried to open a gate, but this too failed. Yet, a dun pudding arose from her wound. Marc now joined the fray, adding his sword to Semi, Pepper, Daj, and Sky's. Yet the heroes now had to divide their attention between the demoness and her ally. About this point, Hixotec explained to the heroes of Zuggtmoy's origins, including naming her patron Ghaunadaur REPEATEDLY. In answer to the elementalist's invocations, a purple cloud shot with orange enveloped the demoness right as she disappeared, a five-foot diameter fungal puff-ball (ascomid) and four more brains-on-thin-legs (ustilagor) oozing out of her body first...!
Cliffy also turned invisible and tried to backstab the demoness to no avail. Pepper too saw she had not teleported but rather become improved invisible. But the heroes' strength was diverted fighting all these new foes. Semi destroyed two ustilagor quickly and Marc and Sky defeated the dun pudding. That's when Zuggtmoy attacked Cliffy, nearly killing him with divinely-enhanced strength. Daj managed to survive the ascomid's attacks only because she'd already cast mirror image.
Alec conjured a dust devil which kept the spherical fungus busy. Hixotec tried to use spark shower to take out the many minions, but it had nearly no effect. Infused with the power of her creator and lover, the demoness pressed her physical attacks, killing Alec instantly. Meanwhile, her wounds began to close...and the soul of the cleric of Prometheus added to the demoness' strength...
Through this, Dion had been helping Mikhail with Samhain. Finally, however, the cleric of Apollo broke off and started using spiritual arrows on the various minions, which now included a white pudding and a many-stalked mushroom creature (basidirond). Daj slowed most of the monsters, taking some of the heat off the fighters. Semi and Marc began hacking the demoness again -- hoping that despite her invisibility they would hurt her. Amazingly, the pair succeeded, although Semi nearly died when she attacked him!
As a black pudding slide forth from the demoness' invisible, wounded body, Samhain began to breathe on his own. Mikhail looked over and unleashed an id insinuation, catching the demoness and all the remaining ustilagor. Amazingly, however, the young psi breached even the demon-goddess' defenses, forcing her to leave off her physical assaults! Meanwhile, Zuggtmoy's own mental assault did nothing to Mikhail or his companions.
Mikhail launched a second id insinuation, again catching the demoness and all the ustilagor! Having no choice, the Demon Queen of Fungi chose to attack the boy physically, nearly killing him instantly. Bronson, Marc's wolverine companion standing nearby, however, was not quite as lucky. The animal's pulped essence merged with the demoness'. Marc redoubled his attacks as an ochre jelly rose to defend its mistress. Pepper and Dion, meanwhile, moved to save the paladin and Sky continued to finish off the various puddings. Cliffy tried to help with his sword, but being seriously wounded, fell back and used the last of his magic missiles -- as did Dajamira.
The young psi, barely alive, shifted in time to escape Zuggtmoy. Elric, however, started launching psionic assaults at the demoness to keep her attention. Although his attack failed, Marc did manage to again score of the fungus-demon -- she smashed him back, nearly stunning him.
Close as it was, Marc retained his senses and hit the demoness again. She was weakening. Just as Zuggtmoy was ABOUT to speak a limited wish to heal herself, Semi (now on his feet though nearly dead) landed another lucky blow, stunning her! She reeled back, near death, a brown pudding rising from the ichor leaking out of her invisible body...
The haste spell finally ending, Marc hit the demoness again and amazingly, although nearly dead and barely able to run, Semi did too...before she could recover, Zuggtmoy, the Demon Queen of Fungi, Beloved of Ghaunadaur, Master of the Temple of Elemental Evil, fell dead, slain by Semi, 4th level paladin of Athena...!
The heroes worked together to finish off the last of Zuggtmoy's "children". During this finally fight, Cliffy and Pepper could see the many souls bound to the Temple fade out, finally free of the demoness. Zuggtmoy's own soul, however, could not escape -- the pair watched as her ethereal essence rose from her shattered fungal body, only to be rent into three parts and drawn to other portions of the Temple complex. Two souls which did not depart immediately, however, were Alec's and Clanndennagh's -- the psi attempted to communicate something to the pair and then it too was drawn away into a tunnel of white light...
The last creature to die was the brown pudding. Marc had been using his ring of vampiric regeneration throughout the battle, drawing off the strength and life essence of his foes and using it to invigorate himself. As his sword snuffed out the last fungi's life, that essence traveled into the poor beastmaster's mind, obscuring his own consciousness. Marc stopped, dropped his sword, and began to drool. Elric and Mikhail used their telepathic talents to determine what happened. Marc remains positively disposed toward the party, but has the mental identity of the pudding he killed. Mikhail, meanwhile, projected feelings of serenity and calm into his friend, then began massaging his hands, removing the ring in the process...!
Most victorious, the heroes tend their wounds and ponder their next move...
Current Status:
Elric: 1 of 21, NO PSPs
Alec: DEAD
Dion: full (45), cast CLW x3, aid, sh x2, cure disease x2, dd, CSW, and lay on hand
Sky: 15 of 61, 12 psi
Semi: 5 of 24, huge scar on belly (-1 chr), -1/3 dex and move, lay
Marc: 52 of 60, 5 psi, identifies as a brown pudding
Mikhail: 11 of 39, 11 PSPs, 7 gbs
Samhain: 15 of 24
Pepper: 3+3 of 26, NO PA, PAx2, d.invis
Daj: 19 of 37, one 2nd lvl spell left
Cliffy: 2 of 35, one 2nd lvl spell left
Hixotec: 5 of 20, shield, push, spark shower
.
