The party's day starts with a thud, as a snoring Garret rolls out of his bed. "God," he groans. "Feels like I slept for a year and a half."
Lottie: HT, vs 10: 14, failure by 4.
Miguel: HT, vs 12, +5 (Rapid healing) = 17: 15, success by 2.
Everyone's in reasonably good condition after the previous day's healing, although the two that were injured still bear some bruises and scratches. While Lottie makes up a stew of hardtack and salt pork, Elias does his best to scratch a map of the barrow as they know it onto the table with a lump of charcoal.
Elias: Cartography, vs 12, +4 (extra time) = 16: 14, success by 2.
"Here's the route we took yesterday," he begins, tracing a line with his finger. "There's the surgery rooms, and there's the large hall we found the undead in." He pointed to the large oval that dominated the table. "There was nothing back the other way, but I think if we take a right down this corridor we can get to the sunken hall much quicker."
The thief grumbles. "Do we really want to?"
"That's the only way forward I can see," the monk shrugs. "We could leave, of course."
Garret taps his fingers impatiently. "No chance. We're finding Rutger - and besides, we've found nothing worth the trip so far. I'm not heading back to town with my tail between my legs because the little girl's too scared of a few dusty old bones." Nodding his assent, Miguel straps on his sword belt and places his hand on Lottie's shoulder. "They won't get the jump on us again," he reassures her. She twists free of his grasp.
"But what if the rest of the place is underwater? I'm not going swimming down there." She looks at Elias for support, but he smiles apologetically.
"I understand your concerns, but I don't think it could have sunk much deeper than that without bringing down the whole structure. The rooms on this side," he pointed at his makeshift map, "might be waterlogged, but I doubt they'll be submerged completely." The thief sighs, and laces her boots extra tight.
The grand hall redux
They return to the darkness of the barrow, Elias shaking his lantern from side to side to judge the amount of oil remaining. He concludes that there should be enough to last for a few more days of exploring, at the very least. They take the first turn, as the monk indicates, with Miguel in front and Lottie right behind. After some way, the corridor doubles back on itself. The thief calls the party to a halt, smelling a rat.
Lottie: Per-based Traps, vs 13, -2 (TD) = 11: 8, success by 3.
"Aha," she whispers, tapping Miguel's shoulder and directing his gaze towards a circular flagstone at the entrance to the corridor.
"What does it do?"
"No clue," she lies through her teeth, careful to keep her head out of the path of the bolts set to zip through the loopholes in the wooden retaining wall. The warrior grumbles and holds his hand out for Elias' staff, which he provides in short order. He finds some leverage and presses down on the plate, jumping when three projectiles zip down the corridor towards them, embedding themselves in the wall.
Further down, a similar flagstone guards yet another switchback. "Step over it?" Lottie asks.
"We might come back this way," Miguel says. "Can you disarm it?"
Enlisting Garret's help to lift the stone just a fraction, the thief removes her gloves and slips her hand under the gap. "Think so. Give me a second. Keep your head down, just in case."
Lottie: DX-based Traps, vs 14, -2 (TD) = 12: 12, success by 0.
"Whoops," she says, as a retaining bolt slips from her fingers. She barely catches it in time, precariously holding it in place with one wrist while releasing the spring tension with the other. "Everything good there?" Garret asks, awkwardly squatting around the rock, his fingers starting to ache.
"Yeah, no problem. You can let go now." The pressure plate, now detached from the spring, settles gently into the gap. "Light work," she says, her arming cap concealing a bead of sweat.
No immediately visible traps greet them down the last corridor. It slopes gently away from the party, submerged under inches of filthy water at the far end that hides the flagstones. "We must be approaching the hall," Miguel notes, as he once again gestures for Elias' staff.
"I wish you'd bring your own staff," Elias grumbles, as he passes it forward, allowing Miguel to swish the water about.
"Stay on your guard," the warrior warns. "We don't want a repeat of yesterday, to say nothing of any traps that might be around."
Methodically, they slosh towards the door, ending up with their boots submerged up to the laces. The door before them has seen better days; the bottom of it is rotted through, fibrous tails hanging in the water, causing eddies to form as they approach. The upper body of the door hadn't fared much better, the rusted hinges barely holding its weight. "We're not going through this quietly," says Miguel. "Get ready, just in case there's more skeletons inside." The party readies their weapons, Lottie jumping at the shadows shifting behind them. Miguel pushes in the door.
With the slightest of movements, the rotten doorframe gives way, letting what was left of the door splash into the water inside. The panel floats sadly along the corridor, which carries on for a little while before opening up into the hall from the previous day. "Elias," the fighter whispers. "As we walk, poke around with your staff. Let us know if you notice anything out of the ordinary."
The monk gulps. "O-of course." True to his word, as they advance into the hall he begins to probe the water like a seasoned gondolier, lunging through the muck. He tenses every time he feels something solid, but nothing leaps from the water this time. Garret's foot shifts in the mud below, releasing air bubbles. Startled, he moves his leg and feels a rotten crunch beneath him. "I think I found one of the skeletons," he muses, when his heart has resumed beating.
They are advancing from the other end of the hall this time, although the hall appears symmetrical. When they reach about halfway, they notice an alcove in the wall, on the side they came from. A similar one is barely visible at the end of the lantern's light, but the party decides to go through the closer one. "Let's get out of the water," Garret says, unwilling to brook any argument. Luckily, the party agrees.
As they approach, Miguel barely avoids tripping over a step leading up to the door, managing to catch himself with a curse. The party freezes in front of the doorway, letting Lottie take a look at the frame. "No sign of traps," she gestures. Holding his sword in his shield hand, Miguel waves her away and rotates the ring handle, listening for the latch on the other side. It's stiff, but moves with a little force, striking the retaining box with a dull thud. He pushes forward, light flooding into the room, approximately the same size as the embalming rooms opposite. Light still reflects from a shallow pool of water near the centre, gathered in a depression between flagstones, but the room is at a higher level than the hall, providing the wooden tables and shelves with some degree of protection from the rot. Doors stand on all sides, including the one they came in through.
Miguel stands guard while Lottie and Elias begin to search the furniture. "Solid wood, this," Garret admires. "You wouldn't get cabinets this good these days."
"That right?" Lottie asks, as a door comes loose in her hands. Nothing in particular leaps out at them as valuable; cups and dishes dominate. She starts stacking them into small piles, casually slotting anything that looks misshapen or low-quality back into its nook. "Elias, rucksack." The muffled clatter of wood marks the ones that looked the most profitable ($45, 6 lb). For his part, Elias shifts aside some rotten cloth to reveal a fine wooden figurine of a mother and child ($90, 5lb). Satisfied it's not a religious idol, he slips it into the bag as well.
Wandering monsters, vs 9: 11.
Once they're satisfied the room is clear, they decide on their route out. Lottie checks each of the doors, one by one, going clockwise from the way they came in.
Lottie: Per-based Traps, vs 13: 8, success by 3.
"Door on this side is locked," she says, after pushing forward gently on the first door. "This one... yeah, that's trapped. Looks simple to disarm, though. And door number three opens like this," she says triumphantly, turning the handle and pushing outwards. "Hey presto."
Fights in close quarters
"Looks like that's our exit, then." Miguel takes the lead, carefully looking left, then right - jumping briefly as the desiccated corpse appears to leap from the shadows, Elias' lantern illuminating the corridor in a dim, flickering glow that seems to bring every corner and protrusion to life. He coughs. "Dead end that way," he nods towards the right. "Moving left." The party files in behind him, each of them suppressing the same startle when they pass the body stood upright in the alcove. "Lots of bodies along here," Garret murmurs, turning his gaze to meet the eyeless faces that lay motionless on their burial litters, stopping when he bumps into Elias, holding the lantern out in front of him to illuminate their path.
Miguel sighs as another mummified body peers down on him, hands crossed to its shoulders, suspended from a frame by blackened ropes. "Dead end this way, as well," he says, careful to keep an eye on the corpse in front of him.
???: Stealth, vs 5: 8, failure by 3.
Lottie: Hearing, vs 13: 9, success by 4.
A snapping sound in the dark, followed by a thud. Lottie taps Miguel's shoulder. "Yeah, I heard it," he mutters as he draws his sword. "Shields up, Garret."
"Aye," says the farm boy, readying his flail. Round the corner, in near-complete darkness, he hears the shuffling and scraping of undead rolling out of what was supposed to be their final resting place. Combat begins.
Turn 1
Lottie attempts to duck into the shadows behind Miguel.
Lottie: Stealth, vs 15, -5 (Backstabbing) = 10: 12, 10, 10. Success by 0, using Luck.
Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), -7 (skull) = 12: 14, failure by 2.
She readies her blade into an ice-pick grip, waiting for the creature in front of them to strike. Miguel has no such patience; while the beast is still restrained, he tries to pin it to the wall by its skull with his longsword, but the flickering shadows throw him off.
Garret raises his shield and grips his flail tightly, taking an All-out Defence (Double) to prepare for any incoming attacks. The bound zombie snaps free of its rotten restraints and lunges for Miguel while Elias mutters a word of concerned prayer.
Zombie 1: Wrestling, vs 12, +4 (All-out Attack) = 16: 14, success by 2.
Miguel: Broadsword parry, vs 10, +2 (shield) = 12: 14, failure by 2.
Elias: Armor, vs 14: 17. Critical failure!
Critical spell failure: 6. Beneficial spell is cast on a random nearby foe.
Apparently the prayer was heard, but not for Miguel. The undead monster, full of spiritual vigour, slips past his blade and pins him to the wall in a full-body hug. Garret shifts his feet awkwardly, unable to see in the dark but reluctant to turn around. He hears more shambling in the dark.
Turn 2
It's all gone pear-shaped, Lottie thinks, as she slips behind the zombie and attempts to jam her blade through the zombie's skull.
Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -5 (skull) = 13: 7, success by 6.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 4, +2 (All-out Attack), +1 (reversed grip), -3 (DR), x4 (imp/skull) = 16 injury to zombie 1.
Finally, a bit of luck; the zombie releases Miguel and collapses to the ground, leaking unpleasantly viscous fluid from the new hole in its head. He exhales in relief before shouting, "Elias, light!" He tries to squeeze past the baffled holy man to support Garret but his armour and shield prove too bulky; he barely makes it halfway around the corner, still unable to see down the other end.
For his part, nor does Garret; all he can perceive is slow shuffling, the sound of decrepit flesh rubbing against moss-wet stone. He readies himself for an assault with another All-Out Defence (Double) while the zombies take Move manoeuvres to advance down the corridor. Elias turns to face that side, doing his best to illuminate the frontline with his lantern. Garret rather wishes he hadn't.
Turn 3
Lottie, now in the dark and not wanting to get in the way of the frontline, wiggles her blade around in the collapsed zombie's brainpan to make sure it doesn't get up while Miguel finishes pushing his way around the corner with a Move, which he instantly regrets when he sees the waiting horde. "God." He wishes his longsword was shorter and readies it alongside his shield like a very expensive spear. Garret steps alongside him, swinging his flail vertically over his own shield.
Garret: Flail, vs 15: 12, success by 3.
Zombie 2: Dodge, vs 8: 10, failure by 2.
Garret: Random hit location: 11, torso.
Garret: Flail damage, 2d+4 cr: 11 injury to zombie 2..
The zombie crumples into a heap on the floor, its ancient spine giving way with a sickening crack. Another one stumbles over the body, throwing itself at Garret.
Zombie 3: Wrestling, vs 12, +4 (All-Out Attack), -2 (Uneven) = 14: 11, success by 3.
Garret: Block, vs 10, +2 (shield) = 12: 17. Critical failure!
Critical fail: 12. The weapon turns in your hand.
He's not expecting the blow, and it takes hold of his body, throwing his shield from his hand. Yet another zombie launches itself over its fallen comrade to grapple Miguel while the others walk inexorably down the corridor.
Zombie 4: Wrestling, vs 12, +4 (All-Out Attack), -2 (Uneven) = 14: 12, success by 2.
Miguel: Broadsword parry, vs 10, +2 (shield) = 12: 13, failure by 1.
This one, too, manages to avoid his blade and land on him like the embrace of death. Elias turns the corner to see his allies in trouble and desperately wishes he knew how to turn undead. Instead, he tries to grant Garret a blessing once more, and hopes it goes better this time.
Elias: Armor, vs 14: 15, failure by 1.
It does, but it still isn't what he wanted.
Turn 4
The thief, finally satisfied that the first zombie is in his final resting place this time, tries to move around to see what's going on. She takes a Move to slip past Elias and into the fight beside Garret. Miguel drops his longsword with a clatter, its great reach a detriment in these close quarters, and attempts to draw his knife with a Ready manoeuvre. The longsword hangs from its chain at his hip.
Miguel: DX, vs 13: 8, success by 5.
Garret: DX, vs 13: 14, failure by 1.
He readies the knife in a reversed grip, preparing to stab at the zombie in front of him. Garret attempts the same, although his flail, not attached by a lanyard, rattles to the ground. His gloves slip on the handle of his knife as the zombie paws at his face. The undead monsters attempt to bear them to the ground.
Zombie 3: ST, vs 12, +2 (Wrestling), +2 (All-Out Attack) = 16: 12, success by 4.
Miguel: ST, vs 13: 8, success by 5.
Zombie 4: ST, vs 12, +2 (Wrestling), +2 (All-Out Attack) = 16: 16, success by 0.
Garret: ST, vs 14: 13, success by 1.
With luck on their side, the fighters throw the zombies backwards in a heap, their rotten heads colliding with a bump. Yet another one attempts to break through, barely clambering past the groping hands and kicking feet to throw itself at Miguel.
Zombie 5: Wrestling, vs 12, +4 (All-Out Attack), -2 (Uneven) = 14: 8, success by 6.
Miguel: Block, vs 10, +2 (shield) = 12: 13, failure by 1.
It manages to grab hold of him again, but this time he's prepared with a shorter weapon. Elias places his lantern down on the floor and grips his staff, preparing himself to enter the fray.
Turn 5
Lottie dances into Miguel's hex with an Attack manoeuvre, bringing her knife sideways through the zombie's temple. Unable to defend, it can only groan as the knife embeds itself - but not as deep as she'd like.
Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -7 (skull) = 11: 10, success by 1.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 2, +1 (reversed grip), -2 (DR), x4 (imp/skull) = 4 injury to zombie 5.
Zombie 5: Major wound, vs 10, +3 (High Pain Threshold) = 13: 13, success by 0.
The zombie remains standing, holding onto Miguel with a death grip - but with his own blade, he does the same thing from the other side, their blades meeting in the middle with a muffled clink behind the zombie's sightless eyes.
Miguel: Knife, vs 13, +4 (Telegraphic), +4 (All-Out Attack), -2 (shield), -4 (grappled), -7 (skull) = 8: 7, success by 1.
Miguel: Long knife damage, 1d+1 imp: 4, +1 (reversed grip), -2 (DR), x4 (imp/skull) = 12 injury to zombie 5.
The zombie finally goes limp, collapsing at their feet, as Garret takes a Ready to adjust his shield after the critical failure earlier. The pile of writhing, groaning corpses is easily half the height of the tunnel now, and it's all that the remaining zombies can do to clamber over it. One reaches striking range of Miguel, and Elias reacts.
Elias: Staff, vs 13, +4 (Telegraphic), -5 (face) = 12: 7, success by 5.
Zombie 6: Dodge, vs 8, +2 (Telegraphic), -1 (uneven) = 9: 15, failure by 6.
Elias: Quarterstaff damage, 1d cr: 6 = 6 injury to zombie 6.
Zombie 6: Major wound, vs 10, +3 (High Pain Threshold) = 13: 14, failure by 1.
The beast takes the ironshod quarterstaff to the face, its mouldy skull collapsing inwards like the crust on a crème brulée. It lays over its comrades, preventing the ones on the bottom from getting up.
Turn 6
With most of the zombies out of commission, or at least unable to move, Lottie takes a Ready to turn her blade to a sword grip, ready to slash at the face of any zombie that approaches, while Miguel and Garret take Ready manoeuvres to put their knives away. The final zombie begins approaching, but is so stymied by the heap of the dead that it can't even get onto it this turn. Elias takes a Wait as well, ready to smack its legs out from under it.
Turn 7
Lottie takes a Wait, preparing to strike any zombie that enters range; Miguel draws his axe from its frog. Garret crouches down to grab his flail from the floor, finding it in the aimless grasp of a zombie but pulling it free without much trouble. The zombie still advancing mounts the pile of helpless corpses as its whole Move, only to meet the dual attack of the bootlegger and the baptist.
Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -5 (face) = 13: 14, failure by 1 (hits torso).
Zombie 7: Dodge, vs 10, +2 (Telegraphic), -1 (uneven) = 9: 12, failure by 3.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-1 cut: 5, x1.5 (cut/face) = 7 injury to zombie 7.
Zombie 7: Major wound, vs 10, +3 (High Pain Threshold), -5 (major wound to head) = 8: 9, failure by 1.
Elias: Staff, vs 13, +4 (Telegraphic), -5 (face) = 12: 14, failure by 2.
Sadly, Elias' staff doesn't even get a chance to connect, as Lottie's blade rakes across its face, removing what was left of its cheeks. It rolls back off of the pile with a plaintive moan.
Combat ends.
Lottie: Post-Combat Shakes, vs 15: 11, success by 4.
The thief stands for a moment to admire her handiwork before Miguel and Garret motion her aside. They descend upon the zombie pile like madmen, hacking and whacking and smacking until the writhing stops in its entirety. The whole party is a little worn out at this stage, Elias most of all - praying for the opposing side evidently takes a lot out of you - but the thief still has time to give the dismembered bodies a once-over for any jewellery.
Lottie: Search, vs 12: 11, success by 1.
She comes up with a couple of handfuls of burial goods, tarnished but not without value ($390, 2.5lb) - torcs, bracelets, rings, and so on. Elias insists on checking to see if they're cursed (with no real basis), but is eventually forced to just put them in his bag. The two emerge from the corridor back into the previous room, where they find Garret and Miguel wiping off their weapons. Miguel in particular is checking his longsword in the lamplight, looking for any dinks and scratches. "So, what's the plan?" Lottie asks, considering taking a seat on one of the cabinets, but thinking better of it.
"Pick a door," Garret shrugs.
They decide against the trapped door, the thief reasoning that she'd rather not risk disarming it if she doesn't have to, and allow her to do her work.
Lottie: DX-based Lockpicking, vs 15, +1 (quality), -2 (task difficulty) = 14: 10, success by 4.
With a gentle clack, the lock shifts, and she steps aside to let Miguel advance into the room. This room is similar to the last in size and shape, although more cluttered with vases and urns. One door to their left leads back to the grand hall - as indicated by the dark, oily water seeping through the frame - and another stands directly opposite their entry point. "Elias, take a minute," Miguel commands.
Lottie: Scrounging, vs 13: 12, success by 1.
Shaking and flipping some of the urns reveals a few silver coins ($60, 0.06 lb) and a handful of coppers ($14, 0.28 lb) rattling around inside, but not much else. Elias appreciates the break. "No chance of taking the vases?" asks Garret, wiping some of the grime off one of the larger ones with a gloved finger to reveal a squarish geometric pattern running around the body.
"Only if you're carrying it," Lottie grumbles as she finishes running her hands under the cabinet looking for hidden compartments. "Right, where to next?"
"Well, we know where that one goes," says Miguel, gesturing to the waterlogged door. "Try the other one."
Lottie: Per-based Traps, vs 13, -2 (task difficulty) = 11: 6, success by 12.
"This one's trapped," she notes. "See that line running up the frame? Connects to something nasty, no doubt." Lottie leans in and presses on the cord, readying her boot knife to cut it.
Lottie: DX-based Traps, vs 14, -2 (task difficulty) = 12: 14, failure by 2.
Lottie: Dodge, vs 9, +3 (retreat), -1 (task difficulty) = 11: 6, success by 5.
As she does so, the cord snaps under its own tension and the ravages of age. A vicious-looking guillotine slams into a groove in the ground with a clank as she throws herself backwards, thudding into Garret. "See?" she says, once she composes herself. "Much easier than disarming it."
The altar
The door opens inwards, revealing a sharp leftward turn, then a right. After some way, a passage splits off to the left. Investigating the forward passage further reveals an ancient, tattered curtain concealing the path forward. Brushing it aside with his hand, Miguel reveals a small shrine. Short, fat wax candles surround a clay sculpture of a woman with arms spread wide, a hooded cloak concealing her features. Her right hand is missing, although it's hard to tell if she was sculpted as such or if it snapped off long ago. Various bronze ritual implements - an incense burner, a singing bowl and striker - sit below the altar on a shelf, along with a small wooden box containing resinous sticks to be burnt. "I'm... not sure we should take these," Elias begins.
Garret balks. "What, and just leave them here? You're kidding."
"These items are sacred. Someone left them here for their god. Regardless of how long it's been since they were last used, it's wrong to steal them." Both of them look at Miguel for support, but he shrugs, his thoughts on the dark corridor going the other way, and any inhabitants it might have. With the thought of undead coming after her, Lottie steps away from the shrine.
The farm boy grunts stubbornly. "We're not leaving without something," he says, his temper starting to flare. He pushes past Elias and grabs the incense box ($52, 0.375 lb), stuffing it in his haversack. The party holds their breath, half-expecting some divine punishment, but none is forthcoming - at least not immediately. Garret snorts and roughly takes his place behind Elias in the line once more. "See? Nothing to worry about."
Crossing the gap
The path leading the other way turns away from the altar, down a dark passageway they can't see the end of. When the end comes in sight, Miguel holds his hand up. "Watch the floor," he says, drawing attention to the large crack that runs across the path. Easily a foot across at its narrowest point, the flagstones on either side crumble into the crevice, falling deeper than the party can see with their lanterns. They step over it easily. The end of the passage comes into view, revealing another switchback that stretches into the darkness. Some way along, they find the floor break open again, the crack from the other wide of the wall stretching along most of the corridor such that there's barely any room to place their feet. This carries on for at least 20 feet, Elias' lantern unable to pierce the gloom further.
"Can you climb across?" Miguel asks, turning to face Lottie.
"Nope," she shakes her head. "Can't be done."
The fighter sighs, wishing they'd found a less cowardly thief - or at least one more honest about their abilities, and looks down the hallway. "What about if we tied a rope to you, in case you fell?"
She thinks about it for a moment. "I can give it a shot." A few moments later, she's preparing to scale the wall sideways, a rope tied around her waist. Garret tests the knot with a quick yank, then gives her a thumbs up while Elias passes her his lantern. "Don't lose it, please," he asks plaintively, as she ties it to her belt. In preparation for being left in the dark, Miguel had returned to the altar and borrowed a candle, setting it in a hollow in the wall. It doesn't shine as brightly as the lantern does, but it's certainly better than nothing. With some trepidation, Lottie places her foot on the remaining floor, and her hand in a crack in the wall. All good so far.
Lottie: Climbing, vs 17, +2 (task difficulty) = 19: 4, critical success!
With the assurance of the rope around her waist, Lottie practically skips along the collapsed corridor like a mountain goat. By her reckoning, the crack travels around thirty feet along before solid ground reasserts itself. She returns without much difficulty. "Easy stuff," she says, her hand on her hip.
"That's all very well, Lottie," Elias begins. "But what about the rest of us? I've got a sack full of things that you stole off the dead to carry with us."
Garret opens his pouch, producing his handful of spikes with a flourish and a rattle. "Use these as climbing anchors," he says. "Just loop the rope around them as we go, add some tension, and we have a railing to hold onto."
"I'd rather have some real pitons," the monk grumbles. "But I guess they'll have to do."
Having learnt a safe route the first time, Lottie quickly retraces her steps, borrowing the mallet to knock the spikes between cracks in the wall. She does her best to make the knots along the rope solid without losing too much length, but by the time she reaches the other end there's not a lot left. "All done," she shouts across the chasm. "Come on over."
Garret is the first to cross, putting as much of his considerable weight as he dares on the rope to ensure it won't give way. Satisfied, he waves for Miguel and Elias to follow him into the dark.
Garret: DX, vs 13, +4 (task difficulty) = 17: 8, success by 9.
Elias: DX, vs 11, +4 (task difficulty) = 15: 15, success by 0.
Miguel: DX, vs 13, +4 (task difficulty) = 17: 14, success by 3.
Even with the extra support, Elias yelps as a stone gives way beneath his boot, causing them all to tense up. Thankfully, he manages to catch himself. Garret waits at the other end for him to set foot on the other end before grabbing him by the collar and shaking him. "If you fall from there, I swear to God, I will kill you."
Unexpected guests
The corridor carries on about the same distance again, before turning to the right - but another passageway lay open ahead, the edges of the stone sharper and more defined than the ones in the rest of the complex. Behind the broken retaining wall, the earthen walls are supported by wooden logs; at the far end, a flimsy wooden door hangs on makeshift hinges. "That's new," Elias notes, to no-one's surprise.
Miguel quiets him with a finger. "Check the door," he whispers to Lottie. She creeps forward and places an ear to the door.
Lottie: Stealth, vs 15: 9, success by 6.
Lottie: Hearing, vs 13, +4 (base hearing bonus), +3 (activity), -1 (door), -5 (range) = 14: 18, critical failure!
"No-one on the other side," she says, loudly and with great certainty. The rest of the party stacks up behind Miguel, who pushes the door open.
???: Hearing, vs 10, +4 (base hearing bonus), -3 (activity), -5 (range) = 11, failure by 5.
To their surprise, the room inside is lit by candles, filling it with a strong smell of burning tallow. It's of similar size to the ones they investigated by the grand hall, around 25 feet wide, but a little longer than that. The walls are stone, although different to that in the barrow. These are smaller, set closer together - similar, in fact, to the farmhouse walls. A ladder leads up to a hatch in the ceiling with a spike set through it. Miguel looks at Garret. "Well, you wouldn't have wanted the zombies to come up this way, would you?" he asks.
"I don't think the zombies could have made it across that gap, let alone up that ladder," Miguel responds, slightly annoyed that they took such a long and dangerous way around.
Two more doors are set into the cellar walls; one open to the left of the way they came in, another closed to the right. Lottie checks the latter for traps. It comes up clean, but doesn't open to a cursory jiggle of the handle, so she kneels in front of it with her lockpicks.
Lottie: DX-based Lockpicking, vs 15, +1 (quality), -2 (task difficulty) = 14: 10, success by 4.
???: Hearing, vs 10, +4 (base hearing bonus), -3 (range) = 11: 10, success by 1.
Elias: Hearing, vs 13, +4 (base hearing bonus), -3 (range) = 14: 12, success by 2.
Just as they hear the satisfying clunk of the tumblers aligning, Elias snaps his head towards the open door. "Miguel," he hisses. "There's someone there." The warriors draw their weapons while Elias readies his staff.
Garret: Per-based Stealth, vs 9: 7, success by 2.
???: Per-based Stealth, vs 5: 7, failure by 2.
Garret lunges into the tunnel. A man in rough work clothes stands next to the corner, readying a pickaxe to strike, but stunned by the ferocity and speed of the young man's assault.
Garret: Shield, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), -5 (face) = 14: 9, success by 5.
???: Dodge, vs 8, +2 (Telegraphic), -4 (stun) = 6: 10, failure by 4.
Garret: Shield bash damage, 1d+1 cr: 4, x1 (cr/face) = 4 injury to ???
???: Major wound, vs 11: 16, failure by 5.
The edge of his shield lands true and the man hits the deck, out for the count, blood streaming from a broken nose. Garret roughly drags him back into the cellar and kicks his pick after him. "This guy was getting ready to jump us," he snorts.
"Doesn't look like much of a fighter," Miguel muses, checking him over. "Lottie, search him for weapons." The thief obliges - perhaps a little too enthusiastically.
Lottie: Search, vs 12: 13, failure by 1.
"Nothing dangerous on him," she says, standing back up. "Nothing valuable, neither. Unless this means anything to you?" She holds up a crude wooden necklace to the light, intending to show it to Elias. It's made of twigs and twine, barely holding together, but seems to have some intention in its design.
"Not to me," he frowns. "Looks like a folk charm of some kind."
"Well, we can ask him about it when he wakes up," Miguel says. "Meantime, Garret, you see if you can undo your handiwork on the hatch. We'll take him up when you're done. Lottie and Elias, check that door you just unlocked. I'll keep an eye on our little assassin, here." The rest of the party obliges.
Lottie: Scrounging, vs 13: 7, success by 6.
Garret: ST, vs 15, +2 (crowbar), -3 (spike) = 14: 9, success by 5.
Lottie and Elias emerge with handfuls of food, fresh by the village's standards - bread, semi-hard cheese, salted fish and potatoes. Even some vegetables fill the bag. "Got dinner sorted," Lottie beams, sick of salt pork pottage.
"And I found something for you lads as well," Elias says, proudly revealing a bottle of moonshine tucked under his arm. A crack and the sound of falling splinters reveals Garret's success, although it's clear that he'll struggle to keep the hatch closed from now on. Fresh air, without the smell of corpses and mould, fills the room.
Miguel flings the worker over his shoulder and begins up the ladder, the rest of the party following suit. With the hatch swinging freely now, Garret tips over a cabinet to barricade it, although it would be no challenge to a determined intruder.
They lash their assailant to a chair and sit him in the kitchen, ensuring the dark stain where the dogs' corpses were is clearly visible. A couple slaps in the face and he comes around, grimacing. "Morning, sunshine," says Garret, swinging his leg over another chair, with the back towards their hostage. "Care to explain why you jumped us?"
The man opens his eyes wide. "What do you mean? You came into my house - you attacked me!"
???: Acting, vs 4: 13, failure by 9.
Garret: IQ, vs 10: 11, failure by 1.
"Oh, come on. You expect me to believe that? I know the guy who lives here," chuckles Garret, "And he don't look like you. Now, tell me what you're doing here, or you're of no use to us. No-one would know you've gone missing, either."
Garret: Interrogation, vs 7, +1 (display of strength) = 8: 10, failure by 2.
???: Will, vs 12, +3 (Fanaticism) = 15: 11, success by 4.
The man spits out a bloodied tooth, worked free by Garret's shield, but stays silent, his attempt at deceit falling on deaf ears. "No dice, boss," Garret calls to Miguel, who enters the room with a freshly ground axe. They drag the man out to the yard, where the chickens cluck softly as they settle into their roosts for the night. "Do you have to kill him?" Lottie asks, trying not to look the man in the eye.
"He jumped us," Miguel says, an edge of bloodlust in his voice. "If we let him live, he'll break free and do it again. Or worse, go into town, or down the hatch, and find his buddies to help."
"Well, you'd better hurry if you want to kill him," Garret grunts, coldly. The man convulses in the dirt, blood foaming from his mouth. Elias steps forward with a healing touch a moment too late, as Miguel's axe separates the hostage's head from his body. "What happened?" Lottie asks in shock.
"Suicide," Miguel confidently exposits, as he drags the body by the legs towards the copse. "He was either a demon-worshipper or a partisan, maybe both. Bit his own tongue off to avoid being interrogated once he figured out we weren't going to fall for the innocent villager act." He pauses, his back to the house, and looks through the trees at the setting sun. "Seen his type before." The yard shovel over his shoulder, Garret follows after him, their victim's sightless head in his other hand.
"God above," Elias whispers, as he closes his eyes in prayer.
More unexpected guests
Dinner is silent, and sleep comes soon after. Lottie tosses and turns a little, trying to put the sight of the captured man's miserable death out of her mind, while Elias, on watch nearby, stares into the flames.
Wandering monsters, vs 9: 5.
Elias: Perception, vs 13: 12, success by 1.
The sound of scraping furniture alerts him. "Someone's here!" he shouts, his staff ready to protect himself. Nearby, in the bedroom, the rest of the party awakens with a start. Combat begins.
Lottie, Garret and Miguel open their eyes, using Change Posture manoeuvres to begin crawling in preparation for standing up next turn. They hear movement in the room adjacent; whoever is invading the farmhouse, they've given up on being quiet. Elias takes a Wait, readying a swing with his staff for anyone that enters the kitchen from the door in front of him.
Turn 2
Lottie: Stealth, vs 15, +5 (ambush), -5 (hiding in combat) = 15: 11, success by 4.
Miguel: Fast-Draw (Sword), vs 13: 8, success by 5.
Miguel and Garret lose sight of the thief as they scramble to their feet in the darkness. The sound of Miguel's longsword sliding past the throat of his scabbard is eerily audible over the clump of boots on floorboards. With a slam, the door to the bedroom opens and three rough men rush in, axes in hand, their faces painted red. One stands at the back, a blazing torch in his hand providing light. In the kitchen, Elias steps into the dimly lit corner and takes a Wait - when an intruder runs in, he'll get a staff to the leg for his trouble.
Turn 3
The thief, spotting a chance to earn a favour from the yet-unarmed Garret, slips behind the foe menacing him.
Lottie: Fast-Draw (Knife), vs 14: 11, success by 3.
Lottie: DX (grapple), vs 14: 11, success by 3.
Lottie: Knife, vs 14, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (vitals) = 15: 11, success by 4.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 1, +2 (All-Out Attack), x3 (imp/vitals) = 9 injury to Cultist 1.
Here, she does a little-known variation on the All-Out Attack (Double), as described in Martial Arts. p118. Grappling a location with the first attack, then using a thrusting attack to the same location with the second, grants the damage bonus of All-Out Attack (Strong). It's risky, needing two successful attacks and depriving you of defences - but when at the lower end of damage, it's very helpful!
Cultist 1: Major wound, vs 11, -5 (major wound to vitals) = 6: 9, failure by 3.
The assailant coughs and collapses onto her blade as Garret rushes past her to protect her from the one wielding the torch with a shoulder check.
Garret: Brawling, vs 13: 9, success by 4.
Cultist 4: Dodge, vs 8, +3 (retreat) = 11: 12, failure by 1.
Garret: Slam damage, 1d-2 cr: 3, +1 (speed), x1 (cr/torso) = 4 injury to Cultist 4.
Cultist 4: Slam damage, 1d-4 cr: 0, +1 (speed), -1 (DR), x1 (cr/torso) = 0 injury to Garret.
The cultist is sent to the ground with a thud. Miguel, backed into a corner, uses an Attack manoeuvre to lunge for the cultist to his left while sliding along the wall.
Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, -3 (darkness) = 12: 8, success by 4.
Cultist 3: Dodge, vs 8, +3 (retreat) = 11: 7, success by 4.
His thrust fails as his target retreats out of range. His other attacker makes a swing for him with his axe. Evidently assuming he has luck on his side, the one he forced back makes a reckless charge for him as well.
Cultist 2: Axe/Mace, vs 10, +4 (All-Out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 15: 11, success by 4.
Miguel: Broadsword parry, vs 10, +2 (Telegraphic) = 12: 12, success by 0.
Cultist 3: Axe/Mace, vs 10, +4 (All-Out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 15: 10, success by 5.
Miguel: Dodge, vs 9, +3 (retreat), +2 (Telegraphic) = 14: 10, success by 4.
His blade barely meets the first strike; the other, he slips out of the way of. The cultist Garret knocked over flails wildly with his torch while crawling backwards, attempting to keep him back, but to no avail.
Cultist 4: Broadsword, vs 10, +4 (All-Out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -4 (posture) = 14: 15, failure by 1.
Cultists 5 and 6 open the door to the kitchen and advance carefully. As yet out of Elias' range, his Wait doesn't trigger. Instead, he holds his breath, trying to avoid being noticed.
Elias: Stealth, vs 9: 14, failure by 5.
Cultists: Vision, vs 10, -3 (darkness), -2 (peripheral vision) = 5: 4, success by 1.
Against all odds, the cultists spot him, and smile evilly. He screams for help.
Turn 4
Lottie steps backwards, leaving the cultist she shanked to collapse to the floor, and slashes at the leg of the one going for Miguel.
Lottie: Knife, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), -2 (leg), -1 (darkness) = 16: 13, success by 3.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-1 cut: 5, x1.5 (cut/leg) = 7 injury to Cultist 2, limited to 6.
Cultist 2: Major wound, vs 11: 10, success by 1.
He collapses to the floor with a thud, blood pouring from his calf. Miguel takes a swing for his friend and steps back towards the kitchen door, his blade landing true and causing the cultist to collapse into a heap on his own bedroll.
Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 16: 9, success by 7.
Miguel: Longsword damage, 2d cut: 8, x1.5 (cut/torso) = 12 injury to Cultist 3.
Cultist 3: Major wound, vs 11: 9, success by 2.
In the other room, Garret readies his flail, preparing to crush the cultist's ribcage. His target gathers himself, attempting to clamber to a kneeling position, while in the kitchen, Elias' assailants take Move manoeuvres to surround him as he cowers in the corner. He takes a swing at one, forcing him to back away, but the blow doesn't land.
Elias: Staff, vs 13: 12, success by 1.
Elias: Random hit location: 14, left leg.
Cultist 5: Dodge, vs 8, +3 (retreat) = 11: 9, success by 2.
Turn 5
Lottie takes a Wait, letting Miguel open the door. Miguel takes a Ready manoeuvre to fling the door open, using his step to advance into the doorway, but is unable to move further. Lottie's Wait triggers, but she's unable to move much further than he has with all the bodies in the bedroom. Garret roars as he brings his flail down on the kneeling cultist with a crunch, collapsing his collarbone into his chest cavity and leaving him conquered. He turns his attention to the other doorway.
Garret: Flail, vs 15: 11, success by 4.
Cultist 4: Dodge, vs 8, -2 (kneeling) = 6: 11, failure by 5.
Garret: Flail damage: 9 cr, x1 (cr/torso) = 9 injury to Cultist 4.
The cultists in the kitchen advance on Elias once more, bringing their axes down on him.
Cultist 5: Axe/Mace, vs 10, +4 (All-Out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 15: 15, success by 0.
Cultist 5: Random hit location: 13, left leg.
Elias: Staff parry, vs 11: 13, failure by 2.
Cultist 5: Axe damage, 1d+3 cut: 5, x1.5 (cut/leg) = 7 injury to Elias, limited to 6.
Elias: Major wound, vs 11: 8, success by 3.
Cultist 6: Axe/Mace, vs 10, +4 (All-Out Attack), +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (darkness) = 15: 12, success by 3.
Cultist 6: Random hit location: 13, left leg.
Elias: Dodge, vs 7, -3 (posture) = 4: 15, critical failure!
A critical failure on a Dodge normally sends you to the ground. As Elias is already on the ground, this has no effect.
Cultist 6: Axe damage, 1d+3 cut: 5, x1.5 (cut/leg) = 7 injury to Elias, limited to 0.
As the leg is already crippled, and this doesn't exceed Elias' dismemberment threshold of 12, this attack has no effect - although it would certainly reapply any shock penalty.
Their attacks send him collapsing to the ground, unable to defend himself effectively. He takes an All-Out Defence (Increased Parry), desperately hanging onto his quarterstaff as their blows rain down on him.
Turn 6
Lottie rushes in with an All-Out Attack, charging in to grab Elias' assailant from behind and pull him onto her blade.
Lottie: DX (grapple), vs 14: 10, success by 4.
Lottie: Knife, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), -3 (vitals) = 16: 12, success by 4.
Lottie: Long knife damage, 1d-2 imp: 4, +2 (All-Out Attack), x3 (imp/vitals) = 18 injury to Cultist 5.
Cultist 5: Major wound, vs 11, -5 (major wound to vitals) = 6: 6, success by 0.
He screams, unable to get away from the twisting blade. Miguel charges in as well, although he's forced to be slightly more conservative by the flickering shadows. The effect is the same, though; both assailants are left writhing on the ground, unable to move effectively.
Miguel: Broadsword, vs 15, +4 (Telegraphic), +4 (All-Out Attack), -3 (darkness), -3 (vitals) = 17: 16, success by 1.
Miguel: Longsword damage, 1d+2 imp: 4, x3 (imp/vitals) = 12 injury to Cultist 6.
Cultist 6: Major wound, vs 11, -5 (major wound to vitals) = 6: 5, success by 1.
Combat ends.
Garret enters the kitchen as Miguel finishes off the wounded cultists, spotting Elias groaning against the wall. He reaches in to lift him up, but Elias stops him. "Hold on," he grunts through gritted teeth. "This might be worse than it looks."
Elias: HT (Crippling duration), vs 11: 11, success by 0.
He rolls back his hosen and sighs in relief. "Nothing broken." He says a word of thanks to God, his wounds stitching back together with divine energy.
Elias: Major Healing, vs 13: 13, success by 0.
Lottie: Post-Combat Shakes, vs 15: 10, success by 5.
Lottie takes a moment outside to breathe air without the stench of fresh blood. Elias joins her, limping slightly. "Amazed you can walk," she says, offering him a hunk of bread.
He takes it gratefully. "God's blessing is great. When He wants it to be, of course," he smiles grimly. "I should be back to normal by the morning." He winces as the sound of an axe striking home echoes around the house from the yard in the back, and mutters a quiet prayer. "I only hope these poor souls don't suffer too much for their heresy."
The clatter of firewood rounds the corner, shortly followed by the crackle of a roaring pyre. "We should go back inside," Elias says, giving the thief a pat on the back as he walked back into the house. "You were brave today. You'll need that courage tomorrow, as well."
"Let's hope not." Lottie waits until the monk is out of sight to look up at the moon, its face beginning to be darkened by the smoke from the corpse pile. She wanders around the side of the house, coming across Miguel and Garret. They sit on wide, coarse-cut logs, their faces unreadable as they watch the flames. Miguel takes a swig of the firewater Elias scrounged up before noticing Lottie's waifish figure in the firelight. "Hey, kid. You want some too?" He waggles the bottle jauntily, the sloshing liquid revealing quite how much the two men had already sunk.
Lottie holds her hand up in a gesture of polite refusal. "Fair enough," he says, handing the open bottle to Garret. "You get to bed. We've got the watch." She considers making a comment about how suitable their drinking is for keeping watch, but holds her counsel. It's almost cosy, she thinks, the heat from the roaring flames kissing her cheek amid the hiss of corpse fat pooling on the coarse barnyard dirt. She touches Garret on the shoulder before heading back into the farmhouse, to try and find some sleep upon the freshly blackened floorboards.
Spoils (Total: $651, 14.2 lb)
- Fine place settings ($45, 6 lb);
- A fine wooden figurine of a mother and child ($90, 5 lb);
- Burial jewellery ($390, 2.5 lb);
- 3 silver coins ($20, 0.02 lb each);
- 14 copper coins ($1, 0.02 lb each);
- Incense box ($52, 0.375 lb).
Kills
- Lottie
- 3 decrepit zombies
- 3 cultists
- Garret
- 1 decrepit zombie
- 1 cultist workman
- 1 cultist
- Miguel
- 1 decrepit zombie
- 2 cultists
- Elias
- 1 decrepit zombie
Today's Lesson: Close-quarters weapons are not optional.
Commentary: Knickknacks and gewgaws
When you look down at a dungeon map, you see bare stone tiles, neatly delineated into boxes (or hexes) where one person can fight effectively. But real indoor spaces are never like this. Rooms are crowded; I have a fairly large, uncluttered room (usually), with 8 foot ceilings and a clear floor, and it would be incredibly difficult to get a good swing in with a one-handed sword. I know, I've tried. It's hugely restrictive to have a swinging weapon in an enclosed space. There's so many corners and surfaces to catch on, so many angles that just won't work and random bits of stationery or electronic junk to destroy. Imagine fighting like that, in a corridor barely wider than you are! Although it's played comedically, this clip from Jack Reacher (2012) neatly illustrates my point.
I've discussed previously the concerns I have with swing damage in GURPS - not so much how large it is, but how liberally it gets thrown around - and this is a great justification for making it harder to get hold of, adapting the rules in Martial Arts, p117, Long Weapons in Close Combat to apply a -4 to swinging attacks per yard of excess Reach. (A similar rule is found in Dungeon Fantasy Setting 1 - Caverntown, hidden away under Tunnels Are Narrow on page 33.) This is still generous - as stated, it's hard to imagine fighting with a Reach 1 weapon in a 1-yard wide corridor - but can be adjusted to taste. Demanding a 2-yard wide space to get a 1-yard swing wouldn't be unreasonable.
This is without even considering how cluttered rooms are! A completely bare corridor is hard to fight in - one filled with furniture and pottery and tools and doodads is damn near impossible. I would go so far as to treat any "lived-in" space (as opposed to one completely bare) as difficult terrain to fight in, giving -2 to attacks and -1 to defences on top of the penalties for swinging weapons about. Be generous about using the terrain and set dressings for attacks, though; the point of this is to make combat more varied, not just to lower everyone's attack rolls. This makes it far more likely that combatants will go to the ground and draw knives, as seen in basically every restricted fighting environment found throughout history: pirate ships, trenches, dense jungles, modern house clearing. That means more varied builds, tenser fights, and cooler stories. Just look at Lottie's kills in this session! The second-by-second time scale of GURPS means the system is built for this - play to the system's advantages.
(To give grapplers an even greater edge, consider limiting the damage on Parrying Unarmed Attacks, B376, to thrust damage only. A common complaint of playing a grappler, as GM or as a player, is getting your arm cut off every time you get in close. Parrying an unarmed attack is more likely to be a quick slash, or a draw cut, than a full-on home-run swing, especially if you've already been swinging at full extension on your own turn. A gladiator ape (Dungeon Fantasy Monsters 1, p17) needs 9 HP of damage to cripple the arm. That's 6 cut; past 5 DR, you need 11 cut total, or about 3d. You can get that on a swing pretty easily - but on a thrust?)
Beyond the combat implications, it's hard to quantify just how much stuff there is just waiting to be looted from a lived-in space. Sure, not much of it has value - but the whole point of a dungeon crawl is to scour the room for pennies, so why not? Just looking around my room reveals a huge range of random things an aspiring adventurer would love to throw in a sack hundreds of years after my hopefully peaceful death surrounded by my loved ones. Clothes, tools, figurines; my wallet, for crying out loud; electronics and stationery, board and dice games, books and paintings and bottles of alcohol. Not all of these have fantasy medieval equivalents, and those that do would necessarily be lower in quantity, if not in quality, but remember: you only find "empty rooms" in places where no-one lives.
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