The Syndicate return to the sewers below Threshold…where evil wererats and death await!
This session was played on Friday, March 19, 2011.
Featuring the PCs:
Vith and his dwarven man-at-arms Thurdir and his human henchman Hillgax
Binford and his dwarven man-at-arms Morag
Scratch the unlucky number and his human man-at-arms Ulix and torch-bearer Mungo
Thirteen proves to be an unlucky number for the Syndicate this time round.
The Syndicate, after a short rest in Threshold decided it would be a good idea to return to the lair of the wererats (considering that they went to all the trouble of finding their lair). After making their way back to their underground lair, Scratch went forth in an attempt to scout out the area. However, the wererats, with their keen senses, heard Scratch coming down the hallway and emerged from two different hallways. Scratch, ever mindful of the ways of flaming oil, threw a vial of the stuff at a nearby rat and fled back to the party, who were waiting in the hall. On his way, Scratch managed to sustain a fair amount of damage from the wererats, and barely made it.
The party, staying in the hallway to limit the effectiveness of the enemies' numbers, produced oil and covered the ground of the entranceway, in hope that they would be able to light the emerging rat horde on fire.
While this was happening, a second horde of rats attacked the Syndicate from behind. Vith, realizing that their escape route had been cut off, cast his sleep spell on the flanking horde, while Binford simultaneously cast a bless spell on the party. Vith managed to put the group to sleep, along with a few that were attacking from the front (blue markers).
Soon after the group attacking from behind was destroyed, a second wave of giant rats attacked from behind, this time though they had a vicious looking wererat leading them. Vith, having used his sleep spell, focused his efforts on the frontal assault. He managed to scare one of the wererats away with his swanky new Vengeful Visage spell.
While Binford, Scratch, and Morag squashed the rats behind them, the rest of the Syndicate fought fiercely from the front, lighting some of the rats on fire with their oil trap. Hillgax, Thurdir, and Ulix carried on the fray with the rats. A few flaming flasks of oil were thrown at the wererats and many more giant rats were squashed by conventional weapons (a one hit kill due to Binford's bless spell)
Binford, Morag and Scratch did a god job of taking care of the flanking rats and then focused their efforts on the formidable looking wererat. On the other end though, both Thurdir and Ulix were reduced to 0 hp. Thurdir made his save versus death (yet again) and rose up to fight shortly after. Ulix was not so lucky. He was silenced by a wererat shortsword…and then the vile creature fled. Songs of Ulix the Orc Slayer's deeds will be sung that night (if the Syndicate makes it out alive).
Eventually, all the rats were destroyed and a couple of the wererats were too (the rest high-tailed it). After the battle, everyone collected some gems and gold from the wererats and continued to search the large complex that spanned before them. After going through most of the rooms and finding nothing but rat droppings, the party searched a wall in an effort to find hidden treasure.
Scratch searches for traps in the newly opened chamber.
After searching and finding a hidden locking mechanism, the secret door they had found opened to a room with a trapped, multicolored floor in front of them, with a gleaming silver chest across it. After trying to find a way to disarm the trap (and failing), Vith (hastily) used a potion of levitation and floated his way across the room to the chest. It is here that things truly turned bad for Vith. Vith, ever eager for treasure (especially after the long dry-spell he had been having), immediately tried to open the tempting silver chest. However, his hand stuck to the lid and a snarl emerged from the chest! This was no chest, but it a horrible and vicious mimic! Vith's hand stuck helplessly to the surface of the creature, and a large blunt appendage emerged and proceeded to pummel Vith. Before Vith could make sense of what was happening, he had been pummelled. The lid of the chest opened to reveal a fanged maw. Vith was swallowed whole.
Scratch, being the faithful halfling that he is, immediately rushed over the trapped floor without thought to consequence. He fell through the multi-coloured floor into a spiked pit. Ultimately, Vith met his end and Scratch found himself in a dangerous position.
What will happen to Scratch? What the hell was a mimic doing there? Where the heck was Binford? Tune in next time to see how (or if) the Syndicate makes it out of this one (sans Vith and Ulix).
(Look forward to Grimwald Gorehelm's amazing debut into the Syndicate next session!)
Totals to Date:
PCs Killed: 2
Hirelings Killed: 17
PCs/Hirelings Reduced to Zero HP: 19
Goblins Put to the Sword: 58
Wererats (non-union) Exterminated: 2
City Guards Slaughtered: 4
Stirges Destroyed: 12
Yellow Molds put to the Torch: 1
Kobolds Dispatched: 14
Hobgoblins Killed: 25
Orcs slaughtered: 21
Owlbears De-Clawed: 1
Ogres Downed: 1
Skeletons Destroyed: 70
Zombies Destroyed: 35
Ghouls Killed: 7
Giant Spiders Killed: 2
Giant Centipedes Exterminated: 3
Gray Ooze De-Slimed: 4
Brigands Killed: 19
Giant Rats Exterminated: 52
Plundered Goods: 13984 gps of value
Days in Campaign: 62
