Cyenannore: Chapter 5 - Beglaxeth

 (Read the previous chapter here.)

System: Tunnels & Trolls 
Tools: Wizardawn (While no longer available online, easily usable server files are available for download); Random Encounters, Vol. 2, No. 8 by Epic Werkes; UNE; RPGSolo.com 
(The above contains affiliate links.)

[Scene 1]

With no other way to go, the group left the Ward and headed back into the hallway and to the untried door in the north end.  Unlike the door they just left, this one was still intact.  As before, Fiddlestix did a quick check for traps and to see if the door was locked.  It wasn’t. <Is the door locked? (unlikely) No> She let Jonik by and the group entered.

The room was rectangular in shape and the door was set in one of the shorter walls. Its length was just over forty feet and about half that for its width. A triangular shaped wedge, or alcove, was cut out of the north wall. Hanging around the room mounted in plain frames were a few paintings, mostly of landscapes.  Between them were several bare spaces with nothing but an empty peg or two that clearly used to hold other paintings that were now long gone. 

The door they came though was situation in one corner, but in the other three stood large rectangular columns, or shafts, that were built out of the walls on either side.  It would be more accurate to say that only the top half of the columns were intact, since the lower halves were shattered and littered across the ground.  Lying among the rubble were stone body parts, apparently the destroyed remnants of several statues. At the vertex of the wedge shaped alcove in the north wall was a fourth column.  Unlike the other three, this one was mostly intact, except for a small broken hole that revealed the head of whatever statue it held. 

Within the alcove on either side of the column were shelves that were nearly empty. Across the front of the alcove was a raised dais that reached out halfway into the room. It about a foot higher than the rest of the tiled floor and lined with stone columns spaced at five foot intervals. Each column was carved with intricate patterns. In the center of the dais sat a long, golden sarcophagus etched with images, similar to the ones they saw in the preparation chamber, of the priest Mindrek and the god Zeriel.

As if this wasn’t enough to catch the party’s eyes, reclining across the top of the golden sarcophagus was a grotesque demonic creature. The rotund being was barely five feet tall and covered with elephantine purple skin and scales. Pointed ears stuck out from his head, as did long, pointed horns.  His eyes glowed purple and his mouth was filled with long teeth and fangs.  The monster was bare except for metal, spiked shoulder armor, metal boots, loincloth, and a kilt-like circle of leaves.

Around the base of the sarcophagus stood other beings, each appearing to favor a different element.  One’s skin was a mixture of dark, rocky plates and orange, glowing lava. Another was red with flames licking the surface of its skin. The last two seemed to be comprised of coagulated steam. Despite being larger than the demon, the four creatures appeared to be subservient to him.  The steam creatures rubbed his feet; the fire creature massaged his shoulders; and the lava creature fanned him with a fan made from large bird feathers.

“What are those?” Sylralei whispered in Jonik’s ear.

“That is a demon.  From its size, I assume it of the lesser variety.  Those other creatures are imps. Fire, lava, and two steam.”

<Random monster roll: 1 Success. What type? Lower Demon
Is it accompanied by any imps? (Likely | 7[d10]) Yes +Event: Malice / Military  (saved for later)
How Many imps? d4=4
Are the Imps immediately with the Demon?  (50/50) Yes, and . . . they are attending to him like at a spa.

The column-encased statues are a result of the “Ambush/Extravagance” event that occurred back with the group entered the crypt.  I determined it meant that treasure of the crypt (extravagance) would be protected by golems that would attack any thieves that tried to take the treasure (ambush)

Since there were already monsters here, I asked if the columns were damaged (reason to be explained later). (50/50) Yes, but . . .    (d4) 1 of the columns is still intact.

Demon reaction from T&T Monster Reaction Chart:  9-The monster is more interested in making a deal than fighting.

UNE: Insane - Idiocy - Future Action>

Beglaxeth

The purple demon turned to the group, his glowing eyes widening in anticipation. “Oh! You’ve finally arrived.” His deep voice expressed frustrated relief, as though he’d been waiting for the party for an excruciatingly long time.  “You can get started with the repairs right away, beginning with those columns over there.”  He waved his hand toward the crumbled stone in the far corners.

“What in the underworld is he talking about?” Syl whispered to Jonik.

“I have no idea. Should we ask?”

“Please,” Syl burst with exasperation.

“I’m sorry,” Jonik addressed the demon. “Do you think we are a repair crew?”

The demon sat up straighter, holding up a hand that caused his attendants to stop what they were doing. “Ag’thunok assured me he was sending over some slaves to help clean up around here.  Surely, you are them.”

“Um, no,” Jonik disagreed.  “Can’t say I’ve ever heard of . . .  Ag’thoon?  Ag’thung?”

“Ag’thounok!” the demon corrected.

“Whatever. We here on behalf of the Church of Zeriel the Free, the God of Creativity.  We have been hired to retrieve certain objects buried with the Exalted Priest Mindrek.”

<What is the demon’s reaction? UNE: Insane-Confusion-Enemy>

“Oh, that snaky little Puss-Drinker!” the creature explodes. “Who is he trying to fool! He pretends to be my friend. ‘No problem, Beglaxeth,’ Ag says. ‘I’ll send some help.’ But all the while, that 30-toed spawn of pond scum is potting against me with the church of Zeriel. I told him I can’t get to the treasure. Still, he thinks he can just use their priests check on me anyway, take what they find, and, once they have it, steal it from them. Well, if Ag’thunok thinks I’m that easy a push-over, he has another thing coming!”  Pointing to the group, he orders his imps. “Kill them!”

<Ok, a lot is going on in this battle.  I’ll start with a quick set up, then a round of narrative, then a brief (hopefully) summary of the mechanics behind each round.

The group encounters one Lesser Demon and four imps.
Lesser Demon: MR80
Fire Imp: MR65
Steam Imp: MR55
Steam Imp: MR55
Lava Imp: MR50

Does Belaxeth join the fight? (Unlikely) No.

I did approach this battle with some DM knowledge, in particular, spellcasters needed to have a 20 INT or greater to cast spells that directly affect the imps.  Therefore, I didn’t waste spells that wouldn’t work on the imps>

The elemental imps, excited to be doing something more than pampering their pompous master, rushed toward the party.  Jonik, Kris, and Dalen moved forward with weapons drawn. Fiddlestix, thinking quickly, cast a Glue You spell at the approaching imps before pulling out her Haladie.  They slowed down noticeably, giving the group some additional time to prepare. Nen used the time to cast Vorpral Blade <double attack dice> on both Kris and Dalen.  Syl cast the same on Jonik.

Despite the steam imps’ vaporous appearance, Dalen and Fiddlestix’s weapons tore through, causing the monsters to reel in obvious pain. Jonik and Kris’ blades also pierced the sluggish monsters. Being a bit too overconfident, however, the two were grasped by the fire and lava imps respectively and felt the burn as the heat scorched their arms.  Sylralei was also caught off-guard and scratched by the fire imp, but slipped away as she prepared her next spell.

<Glue You allows the party to have two combat rounds to the victim's one. It has a range of 30’, so I interpreted that to mean I could cast it on all enemies within that range (perhaps more advantageous to the party than the original intent if it was supposed to be against a single enemy).  To account for the 2-to-1 effect, I simply doubled the amount of the party’s attack dice and adds.  Spellcasters could either cast two spells (such as Nen), or cast one spell and attack once (such as Fiddlestix).
After calculating all the dice and adds, this was the result:

Round 1 - Imps: 198 points (four 6s)  Party: 336 (seven 6s)  Party wins by 138.
Two Imps take 34 damage; Two imps take 35 damage.
Spite Damage (6s) against the party are randomly distributed to Kris (1), Syl (1), and Jonik (2).>

“Snap out of it!” Beglaxeth yelled at his minions.  “They’re embarrassing you!” <Does Beg join? (50/50) No, but . . . He spurns them on, preparing to join in next turn.>

As if on cue, the Glue You ran its course and released the imps. Seeing them suddenly speed up, Fiddlestix cried, “Look out!”

Heeding his partner’s warning, Jonik backed away as the fire imp swung wildly at him.  In his effort to avoid the flaming arm, Jonik careened into one of the remaining paintings of a maiden riding a unicorn. The frame came loose from one of its mounts and swung freely until it stopped at a forty-five degree angle.  As it did, a loud crack and crash emitted from up on the dais. Kris looked up to see the column at the back of the alcove shatter and the stone man run out with unexpected speed.

“What in the world it that?” he asked.

“Guardian Golem?” Dalen suggested, still fighting off the steam imp. “They must be the tomb’s security.”

The golem sped directly to Jonik, who stood next to the disturbed art.  Its fists came crashing down and the elf’s shoulder while he tried to dodge the blow. Protecting her friend, Fiddle blasted the new enemy with a Take That You Fiend spell.  Meanwhile, Kris and Dalen continued to battle the remaining imps while Syl and Nen strengthened the party’s weapons with continued Vorpral Blade spells.

<Does the art get touched, releasing the golem? (Likely) Yes, and . . . the golem is in attacking range, meaning he doesn’t need to spend a turn to enter the fray.  Since he is a neutral enemy whose job it is to protect the tomb, each round I will determine randomly which side he attacks.  This round it is the party.

Stone Golem: MR105 (I ignored several characteristics listed on Wizardawn for golems, otherwise, it would have been impossible for this group to beat it.)

Syl and Nen cast Vorpral Blade on Jonik and Kris.  Fiddlestix casts TTYF

Round 2 - Imps: 154 (one 6)  Party: 157 (five 6s)  Party wins by only 3, but all of Fiddlestix TTYF damage can still be applied (21 points) to the Golem, with the 6s being spread among all the monsters.  Jonik is randomly assigned the damage from the one 6 rolled by the monsters.>

“Rrrrr! I’ve never seen a more worthless group of denizens!”  Beglaxeth exclaimed as slid off the coffin and approached. “I guess I need to take care of them myself!”

The stone golem seemed unfazed, despite being damaged by Fiddlestix’s spell, and continued to pursue Jonik.  Following the leprechaun’s example, Sylralei cast her own Take That You Fiend spell against the golem, but with a little extra push <cast at level 2 for twice the WIZ cost and twice the damage>.

Fiddlestix took a quick look at situation.  Nen was still casting spells, strengthening Kris’ scimitar. Syl was focusing her attention on the golem. Kris, Dalen, and Jonik continued the battle the imps, who have been joined by the golem, and the ugly, purple demon was heading their way. Seeing that the battle might soon turn against her group, she did the only thing that seemed appropriate at the time . . . she cast another Glue You at the imps and disappeared!

Almost immediately, she reappeared standing directly behind Beglaxeth and, before he knew she was there, thrust her halide into his back.

<Since the golem is directly being attacked by the party, I’ll skew the probability that he will continue to attack them.  Party: 1-4  Monsters: 5-6  Roll=3

Fiddle will cast another Glue You, giving the party two attacks this round.
Nen casts Vorpral Blade on Kris and attacks.
Syl casts TTYF (doubled) on Golem and attacks.

For Fiddle’s second attack, she uses Wink-Wing to teleport behind the demon and attempt to make a surprise attack.  If she succeeds, her damage is done no matter the outcome (similar to a TTYF spell).  I gave the demon L4 LCK SR (Demon LCK based on Wizardawn). His roll failed.

Round 3 -  - Monsters: 214 (three 6s)  Party: 242 (four 6s)  Party wins by 28 but 30 points of damage is actually done against the golem thanks to TTYF.  Fiddle does an additional 10 points against the demon for her sneak attack.

Spite damage (6s) were randomly distributed.>

Thanks to the hindrance of the Glue You spell, what should have been a rout by the imps had turned into a manageable battle by Kage Gordain and their newfound mercenary friends. All four imps and the golem were still battling, but the group was able to dodge their strikes with only a few scratches here and there. Kris then noticed the lava imp begin to move a bit more freely.

“Fiddle!  Blast ‘em again!”

“I can’t.  My magic is too drained.”

“We just have to depend on plain ole weapons and brawn, friend” Dalen tells Kris.

“I guess so,” Kris agreed as he took a great swing at the lava imp, severing its head cleanly from its body.

Before a steam imp could fully regain its movement, Dalen hacked off one of its arms. The creature retaliated by lashing out at the dwarf before falling to the ground, barely still alive.

The second steam imp regained its full movement, but unfortunately for it, the sudden change in speed caused it to miss Jonik and strike the stone golem instead.  The golem, constructed only to protect the tomb and itself without discrimination, turned its attention to the imp and tore it to shreds.

Their magic heavily reduced at this point, Nen and Syl lifted their weapons as Fiddlestix continued her attack on the rotund demon as it stumbled in its attempt to turn and face his attacker.

<Roll determines the golem attacks the monsters.

Round 4 - Monsters: 125 (one 6)  Party + Golem: 202 (three 6s)  Party wins by 77

Dalen randomly takes the spite (6) damage.  Two imps are killed (Lava, steam)  The second steam imp has 1hp.  Fire imp has 9.  Demon has 52.>

With one final hack, Dalen dispatched the steam imp. Nen and Syl quickly removed the fire imp from this world before joining Kris as he turned to attack stone golem.  Jonik sprinted to Fiddle’s side to assist her fight against the demon.  In just a matter of minutes it was all over, and the tired, but surprisingly little scathed, group stood over the bodies of the otherworldly creatures.

<Round 5 - Monsters + Golem: 101 (four 6s)  Party: 165 (three 6s)  Party wins by 63
Round 6 - The party’s combat adds are greater than the monsters roll of 56, so I didn’t even roll for them.  As typical, all the damage from the 6s were randomly distributed among the group, but no one was close to being knocked out.

Full disclosure, in rereading my notes, I believe I made some errors in running this battle.  I tried to retcon them as best as possible for narrative purposes, but I believe the final outcome would have been the same had I not made the errors.>

[Scene 2]

“What did we just stumble upon?” Kris asked, surveying the carnage.

“Squatters,” Fiddlestix responded, wiping off her haladie on the demon’s minimal garments.

“Huh?”

“Demons often hang out in old tombs,”  Jonik explained in an attempt to clear up Kris’ confusion. “They make them their homes.  Maybe they like being around death.  Perhaps is a way of turning their noses up to the gods.  I don’t think anyone know the real reason.”

“If Zeriel is so powerful,” Syl sneered, “Why didn’t he just kick them out?”

Jonik shrugged in response. Fiddlestix gave a disregarding, “Who cares? It happens. We deal with it.”

“When he was spouting off, that demon said something about not being able to get the treasure,” Kristopher reminded them.  “What do you think he meant by that?”

“Perhaps Zeriel was able to protect the crypt afterall,” Jonik suggested, casting a mildly triumphant glance at Syl.  “Perhaps his master sent him to fetch the Gloves of Original Beauty, but, being a demon, he didn’t have the power to steal something so divine.”

“Or there was nothing to steal,” Syl quickly countered, looking over the nearly bare shelves. “It looks like this place has been pretty well cleared out.”

“But if there was nothing for Beglaxeth here, why would he stay,” Nen asked.

“Maybe it’s as Jonik already said?” Dalen offered, recalling Joniks explanation and the various tales he had heard himself.  “They took up residence in this old crypts to taunt Zeriel or it’s church.”

Fiddlestix glanced around the burial chamber. “Taunting aside, he had some decent digs here . . . for a demon.  Protection from the weather.  Servants. A dark creepiness.  Why would he want to leave?”

“Especially if he was hiding from that Ad’thunk he mentioned,” Jonik added.  “Or whatever his name was.  It’s possible Beglaxeth would have been punished if he returned empty-handed, so by staying here, the demon was pushing off the inevitable as long as possible.  Which brings us back to the reason we’re here.  The Gloves.  Let’s see if they are in the coffin.”

Jonik grasped the lid of the sarcophagus as he motioned to the rest of the group to lend a hand. Jonik and Dalen each grabbed a hold of the lid, while Nen and Fiddle came near, in case they were needed as well.  Syl made no move to help but stood watching with her arms folded.

On the count of three, the trio lifted. The golden lid came off with surprising ease, and they moved it aside far enough to lay it back down with enough of an opening to see inside.  Dalen picked up his lantern and shone it in the darkened enclosure.  Mindrek’s bones were still encased inside, however, it was obvious from their haphazard arrangement they had been disturbed sometime in the past.  What was even more disheartening was the fact that there was no sign of any valuables, including the Gloves of Original Beauty.

<Now came the time to make the roll on the rumor table to see if the priests’ information about the Gloves was correct.  Since it was based on legend, I felt the roll could have some leaning toward truth since it was something that had been handed down through church history.  The rumor table has a “Magnitue” section that could be used to determine how much advantage/disadvantage to give a roll.  I rolled to determine advantage: 7 which equalled a +2 advantage.  Roll on truth table: 5+2=7  “Mostly False”

Surprise, surprise.  I was originally playing/writing this as though the result would be partly true or better.  Even though I doubt I will be investigating Jonik and Fiddles interactions with their employers after this, I did come up with an explanation.  The Chuch in Millhelm knew that the crypty was in disrepair and was probably explored in the past.  There was a good chance the Gloves were already taken, as well as any other treasure.  However, since the church was losing prominence, they had to be sure on the slim chance they could find anything that could help rebuild the church.  They didn’t mention this, however, so that whoever they hired wouldn’t be dissuaded by the possible futility of the quest.

Follow up questions:
Did the church offer a sliding scale of pay based on whether anything was actually found? (Likely) Yes.
Are the gloves in the crypt? (Very Unlikely) No +event (recruit/jealousy)  Instead of a new event, I used this prompt to inform the discussion surrounding Beglaxeth’s intentions.  He was recruited by a stronger demon to get treasure from the crypt, but not wanting to seem a failure, he just stayed and lied about the treasure.
Were the other items in the crypt already stolen? (Very Likely) Yes.

Which required a slight rewrite of the scene.  Originally, I had the walls full of elegantly framed art and the shelves full of valuables: ornate boxes, gold goblets, jewelry, etc..  I even used Wizardawn to generate a bunch of items and their associated value.  However, once I realized most everything had been stolen, I had to remove all that and just leave some plain items, enough to cause the golem to be triggered if they were disturbed.  (Don’t ask why the golem hadn’t already been triggered, I have no idea.)

(Read the next chapter here.)

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Luke 10:17-20