Session #4:
The party rests until the next day for Zalayeta's and Zaporovo's strength to return* after being poisoned by the temple spiders. During the night, four more temple spiders attack but are defeated. Zalayeta uses his Poison Use feat to harvest 4 doses of temple spider venom from the dead spiders.
The PCs then wait until dark (although the full moon is up) and approach the greater temple. They ambush a guard patrol (1 elite guard and 4 temple guards), but one of the guards escapes and alerts the guards at the gate (2 elite guards and 4 guards).
A battle ensues on the steps leading up to the temple gates, but the PCs defeat the temple guards easily enough (although Ravnir is in danger of failing a massive damage save when he is sneak attacked by one of the elite temple guards). Some of the PCs are also hit by poisoned crossbow bolts fired by the temple guards.
* My house rules include Quick Healing, which means that ability damage heals at 1 point per hour of rest, except if the character is affected by an ability-damaging disease (in which case it does not heal naturally at all). It also means that by resting for at least 10 minutes after combat, the character is restored to one-quarter of his maximum hit point total (no benefit if the character already has more than one-quarter of his maximum hit point total). If the character is tended by someone with a successful Heal check (DC 15) during those 10 minutes, the character is restored to one-half of maximum hit points (no benefit if the character already has more than one-half of his maximum hit point total). This is to avoid the "adventure for 2 minutes, rest for several days" syndrome.
Session #5:
Huan-Ti assists the other party members who have been hit by poisoned crossbow bolts with his Heal skill, helping them make their saving throws. The sorcerer then casts Burst Barrier on the main temple gates and the PCs enter the great hallway of the temple.
Four white-robed acolytes appear and start to hurl globes filled with spider swarms at the floor in front of the PCs. The acolytes are easily killed, but the spider swarms are a big nuisance to the PCs as they must be killed using torches that deal little damage. Four elite temple guards appear and attack, but are slain by the PCs.
The player characters advance towards the inner shrine, but are stopped by two temple spiders. Zaporovo and Cruaidh are brought down to negative hit points by the temple spiders, but both manage to stabilize. At the same time, four near-naked females, the brides of Zath, appear behind the PCs.
The brides of Zath wear red lotus perfume which makes it difficult for the PCs to attack them (Will save required, although I used a lower DC than that listed in the rulebook). Nevertheless, the PCs manage to kill three of the temple-virgins, and the fourth one flees.
Ravnir and Zalayeta pursue the fleeing temple-virgin, but then four more women appear (and two more temple spiders appear from the stairways next to the inner shrine entrance).
The brides of Zath use their Feint ability (combined with flanking and sneak attacks) to slowly bring Ravnir down to a dozen hit points (from his normal total of 107 hp). Ravnir and Zalayeta fight the women with difficulty due to the red lotus perfume, but manage to kill two of them. The two others flee; one into the left wing of the temple, another flees upstairs.
The floor of the great temple hall is now littered with corpses and chopped-off spider limbs, but the PCs are dangerously low on hit points and two of the party members are unconscious.
To be continued...
The party rests until the next day for Zalayeta's and Zaporovo's strength to return* after being poisoned by the temple spiders. During the night, four more temple spiders attack but are defeated. Zalayeta uses his Poison Use feat to harvest 4 doses of temple spider venom from the dead spiders.
The PCs then wait until dark (although the full moon is up) and approach the greater temple. They ambush a guard patrol (1 elite guard and 4 temple guards), but one of the guards escapes and alerts the guards at the gate (2 elite guards and 4 guards).
A battle ensues on the steps leading up to the temple gates, but the PCs defeat the temple guards easily enough (although Ravnir is in danger of failing a massive damage save when he is sneak attacked by one of the elite temple guards). Some of the PCs are also hit by poisoned crossbow bolts fired by the temple guards.
* My house rules include Quick Healing, which means that ability damage heals at 1 point per hour of rest, except if the character is affected by an ability-damaging disease (in which case it does not heal naturally at all). It also means that by resting for at least 10 minutes after combat, the character is restored to one-quarter of his maximum hit point total (no benefit if the character already has more than one-quarter of his maximum hit point total). If the character is tended by someone with a successful Heal check (DC 15) during those 10 minutes, the character is restored to one-half of maximum hit points (no benefit if the character already has more than one-half of his maximum hit point total). This is to avoid the "adventure for 2 minutes, rest for several days" syndrome.
Session #5:
Huan-Ti assists the other party members who have been hit by poisoned crossbow bolts with his Heal skill, helping them make their saving throws. The sorcerer then casts Burst Barrier on the main temple gates and the PCs enter the great hallway of the temple.
Four white-robed acolytes appear and start to hurl globes filled with spider swarms at the floor in front of the PCs. The acolytes are easily killed, but the spider swarms are a big nuisance to the PCs as they must be killed using torches that deal little damage. Four elite temple guards appear and attack, but are slain by the PCs.
The player characters advance towards the inner shrine, but are stopped by two temple spiders. Zaporovo and Cruaidh are brought down to negative hit points by the temple spiders, but both manage to stabilize. At the same time, four near-naked females, the brides of Zath, appear behind the PCs.
The brides of Zath wear red lotus perfume which makes it difficult for the PCs to attack them (Will save required, although I used a lower DC than that listed in the rulebook). Nevertheless, the PCs manage to kill three of the temple-virgins, and the fourth one flees.
Ravnir and Zalayeta pursue the fleeing temple-virgin, but then four more women appear (and two more temple spiders appear from the stairways next to the inner shrine entrance).
The brides of Zath use their Feint ability (combined with flanking and sneak attacks) to slowly bring Ravnir down to a dozen hit points (from his normal total of 107 hp). Ravnir and Zalayeta fight the women with difficulty due to the red lotus perfume, but manage to kill two of them. The two others flee; one into the left wing of the temple, another flees upstairs.
The floor of the great temple hall is now littered with corpses and chopped-off spider limbs, but the PCs are dangerously low on hit points and two of the party members are unconscious.
To be continued...
)
