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The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

A classic 2e Puzzle dungeon for High Level characters
Beware, this one is substantially longer and (IMHO) even harder than the legendary Tomb of Horrors!
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by TristenC »

[Let's wait until Jack gets back alive to do the interaction on the 5th with Nocturno. If Ke'sha did manage to get an Efreet he could just as well wish for some juju zombies and skip all the other steps :lol:]

Ke'sha and Allikhain take time to prepare a place to summon the Fire elemental. They find a small area with fewer trees and bushes and use some cantrips to clear an area atop a wide section of flat rock. They then gather downed logs and sticks for a large fire, since summoning any elemental requires a substantial amount of the element for their corporeal body to inhabit once they arrive on the plane. They construct a teepee style fire to make sure it is wide and tall enough (6 ft wide 4 ft tall) to serve the spells purposes.

Night in the jungle valley has begun to fall by the time the wood is stacked and ready, but the Necromancer woman wastes no time in igniting it. With a pinch of tallow mixed with sulfur and powdered iron and a short incantation she conjures a sphere of flame atop the woodpile. Gradually the wood hisses and dries, soon the smaller sticks begin to crackle and catch. Allikhain keeps the sphere moving to ignite new areas faster and sets the sphere deep in the center. In the space of a few moments the stack is engulfed in flame.

Once the fire is large enough Ke'Sha begins his own lengthy conjuration; calling through the flames to seek access to the plane of Elemental Fire... A small rift opens deep in the center of the campfire and a blinding blaze of white-hot flame leaps into the night air!! Looming better than three times the height of a human the figure of fire reaches out to gently caress a nearby tree-branch. Almost instantly it ignites, leaves and bark crackling and peeling away from the intense flames...

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[Actions?]
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Allikhain casts Flaming Sphere to help start the fire large enough for the elemental to be summoned.

Ke'Sha casts Summon Fire Elemental
[1d100]=66, a 16 HD Fire Elemental is summoned!
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by BishGada »

"Hey... hey... watch your temper." Ke'Sha warns and commands the elemental to move to a safer location. "Well, I'm sorry that you suffer from being here, so let's make it quick. I need you to go into the Labyrinth and scorch down any trolls or snakelike creatures. Once you incinerated 10 such creatures, you are dismissed with my greatest gratitude. Don't harm other creatures."

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(OOC: Oh well... statistically around the 10th day we can get a wish.
LordTorath - what other devices do you hid in your sleeves? Can you make us all fly/air walk? It is good against traps as well.)
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by TristenC »

The towering creature of pure flame turns towards the grungy Halfling. It begins to crest and fall towards him like a rolling wave of fire, halting only a foot or so from his face as it leans forward; regarding the diminutive demihuman with coal-black eyes the size of an ogre's fist. The radiant heat dries all moisture from his clothing in a steam, and exposed skin threatens to blister and chap.

After Ke'sha describes his task and the way to the Labyrinth, the figure rises to its full height and begins to flow towards the camp and the Labyrinth. The creatures of the jungle screech and cry out in surprise and terror, a cacophony that spreads almost like wildfire itself. The elemental moves swiftly through the healthy green foliage, not staying in one place long enough to truly ignite the larger plants but leaving a trail of smoldering leaves and shrubs that sputter and flicker in the hopes of igniting.

I'll deal with putting our bonfire out if you want to make sure your new 'pet' doesn't start any more on the way back. The jungle creatures probably won't come anywhere near this area for a little while.


Back at the camp, night has fallen and the jungle has begun its typical symphony of calls and chitterings from bug and bird and beast. Abruptly the noises nearby erupt in absolute Madness! Lizards and rodents, snakes and flocks of birds burst from the treeline towards the camp, scattering in all different directions to escape. gods... what could it be? one of the guards near Steve whispers, gripping his spear as he faces the dark jungle.

At first a glow like magma peeking through cracks from beneath a black crust silhouettes the darkened trees, accompanied by the roaring sound of rushing air. Then the flickering figure of flame flows forth, its full size visible beyond the treeline. The towering column of purest fire looms menacingly in the night a full 16 feet high! In an instant Lena is outside shouting orders as the camp erupts in alarm!
ALL Adventurers, High Alert! Threat from the Jungle!! Priests and Magic users, get RID of this thing! Someone get control of those pack beasts NOW! And Somebody Find Those NECROMANCERS?!


====
forest fire? [1d100]=32, No.
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by Lord Torath »

Without getting up from his meditation, Stephen reaches out with his mind to Lena. <<I'll find at least one of the necromancers.>> he assures her.

<<Ke'Sha! There's a giant pillar of fire approaching the camp! We need something to fend it off! Can you or Allikhain stop it? >>
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Could Ke'Sha and Jagrinder cooperatively cast Line of Protection? I mean, I doubt the two of them currently have it memorized, but if they did, is that something they could do?
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by TristenC »

[Possible to use? Sure. But it doesnt really prevent anything from crossing, only does a very small amt of damage to it, like 1d3 or 1d8 if evil or undead.]
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

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<<No need to fend it off. I control it and commanded it to help us down the dungeon. Gees, never had an Elemental as a company?>> Ke'Sha communicates back. "Thank you. It seems the elemental startled our saint friends at camp. I'll try to calm them down before they burn themselves." And with that he quickly returns to the camp to prevent any combat.
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by Lord Torath »

<<Ke'Sha says the elemental is under his control, and he summoned it to go into the Labyrinth.>> Stephen sends to Lena. <<You can probably cancel the alarm.>>
Last edited by Lord Torath on Thu Jan 23, 2025 3:27 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by Styrius »

"Well the there goes the subtle approach to this place." Axid muses. "I sure hope that thing doesn't ruin any sigils we need." he mutters." He goes to find Stephen to see what he knows about this since he set up a mindlink with the others.
You are talkin' to the holy symbol wearing,
Ruby ring wearing, kiss stealing; Woo!
Praying/healing, beholder riding, griffin flying
Son of a blowgun, and I'm having a hard time holding these Aboleth shoes down! WOO!
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by TristenC »

Ke'Sha moves towards the camp, his stature causing him to be somewhat slower than his monumental summoning...
As the towering inferno approaches a group of guards make a hesitant line, and a few adventurers begin showing up from other areas of camp, unsheathing magical weapons and preparing incantations in case it turns serious.

Lena's voice replies to Torath's relay mentally <<Then tell him to keep it out of Camp!>>

The being of pure flame begins to approach, brushing against one of the tents incidentally. The canvas immediately flares up and begins to burn as people scramble out of it only to find the terrible elemental nearby! The walking inferno moves on, heedlessly, though it pauses before the line of people. Glancing to either side it begins to take a different path through camp, grass and shrubs burning at every footstep. It passes crates and moves in the direction of the horse-lines. The camp pack animals whiker and scream in terror, several snapping their tethers. Some gallop off into the forest, others into the camp; upending barrels and people not fast enough to evade the mules.

Finally Ke'Sha breaks through the treeline to witness the chaos as he realizes his error. The camp itself is situated in front of and around the entrance to the Labyrinth he commanded the Elemental to enter... though he told it not to injure anyone, it still must stride through camp to enter the cave... Just as the realization dawns on him, the prodigious primordial Promethean reaches the opening... The roar of rushing air accompanies the creature as it spirals in a funnel of flame, swirling down into the dark depths of the Labyrinth... Soon even the orange glow fades from the entrance... All around workers and adventurers do their best to douse the fires, while others try to get the animals under control. A few of the other adventurers are being asked if they can devise some way to retrieve the pack animals that fled into the jungle. Lena stands outside her tent, fuming. Her eyes golden fires that glare at the Necromantic Halfling.

Moments later Allikhain returns from the forest, interest plainly on her face. Well... I must admit, I was curious how that was going to go...

====
:blob2:
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

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<<This probably won't come as a surprise, but Lena would like to discuss certain topics with you.>> Stephen sends to Ke'Sha. Stephen doesn't bother sending his own comments to Ke'Sha, as he's fairly certain Lena will share them far more effectively and vociferously than he would.

When Axid arrives at his tent, he shares the little he knows with him and invites the dwarf to join him in meditation.

(During Jack's and Landro's exploration the next day)
TristenC wrote: Sun Jan 19, 2025 10:43 am So far Landro will send back mentally to the others the following:
-The initial path down is unaltered
-The troll bodies are gone
-The dead end hatch that goes straight down is the same
-The hatch leading to the giant door, the door was closed and the iron rods used to prop it up gone
-About to check the bone-room stairwell and 'false door'
Stephen asks Landro to let him know when he reaches the room with the giant hands. He'd like to borrow his eyes for a bit to see that room himself.
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

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Ke'Sha brushes off Stephen (Steve or Stephen?) comment, stands near Allakhain, put his arms on his waists and with a little smirk says, "I think it go pretty well. All things considered. You could say it was a fiery display. Or that its walk through the camp was truly incendiary..."

======================================================================
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by Lord Torath »

<<That was a very impressive elemental! Perhaps in the future we could summon those inside the dungeon, so they won't need to go through the camp to enter?>>
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by BishGada »

<<Inside, outside... whenever they are useful.>> Ke'Sha mentally answers. <<Now if you please, I think I'll take a nap.>> Ke'Sha then turns to Allakhain, "Well, the Fire Elemental was amusing, but didn't achieve what I was aiming for. So tomorrow I'll have to add using an Aerial Servant on top of the other list of conjurations and ceremonies to create a small helpful company with us. I hope you will join me in the preparation and work. Let's get some rest now." walks by her side back to the group, petting Gur on his shoulder.

======================================================================================
(OOC: If there is nothing else for this evening, besides Lena's lectures, Ke'Sha will prepare for sleep.)
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Re: The Brink [of Madness] Act 1, Scene 1

Post by TristenC »

[Yeah Ke sha will get a lecture about camp safety, warning them when something like that is about to happen so they can keep the camp from being destroyed, etc]

[End Day1, Beginning of Day 2. Casters pick your spells for the day and consider it caught up to the time-frame when Jag/Landro/ Allikhain are current in the dungeon.]

Landro sends a mental message to Steven
<<We are just now coming to the new room with the giant clawed hand statues and the hole in the floor.>>
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