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Post by Spwack on Sept 7, 2020 6:43:09 GMT
North west twists and turns three times, before arriving at a monstrous (if you are mapping) five-way intersection: rough square hallways, seemingly carved straight out of stone, branch out in every direction as well as up and down, and it looks like they branch again just around the corner... or perhaps they don't and are just dead-ends. Welcome to your first maze!
((Mazes aren't structured the same as the rest of the dungeon, they are mapped by the characters rather than the players. Maze navigation used to be a little minigame based solely on INT checks. Which have been removed! Which is good for game design integrity, bad for me. Let's see what we can do, but expect these rules to change a little depending on how fun they are))
Whoever wants to lead the way, what strategy are you using? Following the left wall? Wandering randomly? Using your nose? Something else? Either way, make a CHA check to see how lucky you are using it, and what you are trying to find ("something interesting" is a valid answer).
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 7, 2020 9:07:00 GMT
"Could be way further up somewhere within this maze. I've never been too good with directions. Someone else wants to take the lead here? Or perhaps we could try going elsewhere."
Do we see any signs of someone/something passing through here from where we stand?
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
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Post by garmr on Sept 8, 2020 4:22:45 GMT
Can we assume that we're mapping in-character so we can find our way back out? (Assuming no sliding wall, invisible teleporter type fuckery is going on)
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Post by Spwack on Sept 8, 2020 6:24:53 GMT
It’s hard to tell if this is a well-trafficked location, but possibly? And how are you doing the mapping garmr? (That is the assumption though, yes)
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
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Post by garmr on Sept 9, 2020 0:25:50 GMT
I don't have any writing materials on my character sheet... can I pick up a rock and scratch marks into the walls?
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Post by Spwack on Sept 9, 2020 7:54:27 GMT
Sure! That seems pretty reasonable to me. Whenever you come to an intersection (of which there are many) you mark the way you came from. It would make it easy to follow you, and it could be difficult to use if you get off track, but very suitable for a careful explore.
Speaking of, what are you trying to find? And let's see a CHA check as to what befalls you.
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garmr
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Post by garmr on Sept 10, 2020 1:23:18 GMT
I'd like to find a way that leads north-east if possible. I believe that if we travel in that direction, we might run into the place where Saint Seymour (the giant beanstalk) breaks through from the floor below. If necessary we could climb down Seymour to get back to Cell Block Zero.
Here's my CHA check:
ZmIZA39_1-20 + 1
1-20
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Post by Spwack on Sept 10, 2020 2:40:59 GMT
The maze twists and turns like nobodies business, heading up and down without any regard for sense or gravity. You get lucky and unlucky at the same time. Looking down a hall, you can see the massive green bulk of Seymour pushing up through a space from below. However, you aren't the first to find it: you can see several large floating cubes hovering around Seymour as well.
What do you do?
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garmr
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Post by garmr on Sept 11, 2020 6:14:04 GMT
What's the layout of this area? If we have to run from the cubes, are there any avenues of retreat besides going back into the maze?
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 11, 2020 8:55:08 GMT
Does it look like the cubes have noticed us yet? If not I'd like to hide and observe them until we decide on other course of action. (Should we roll DEX when declaring stealth or only when we're asked to? Considering PpB nature.)
Can we see what the cubes are made of? Do they have any other features besides being floating cubes (do they have face? are they making some noises? etc.)? Is there any reason we should assume they're monsters of some kind and not inanimate objects?
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Post by Spwack on Sept 11, 2020 9:21:07 GMT
You're right in the thick of the maze at the moment. The layout is a hallway, with Saint Seymour going straight up and down a fair way down it, with a corner you can duck around behind you.
The cubes are massive blocks of stone, levitating and "peering" up and down Saint Seymour. You catch a glimpse of a single red ruby-like eye, right in the centre of one face.
You'll roll DEX if you try and "actively" sneak, as opposed to just hiding. Or, you roll DEX when you are being specifically searched for, which you aren't (yet).
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 12, 2020 12:10:12 GMT
I'll motion to others to pull back a little, enough that we'll not be heard when whispering.
"The hell are those things? Seems like they could squash us like bugs."
I suggest we mark the path to Saint Seymour and leave the location for the time being. Perhaps they'll move away after some time.
I don't fancy engaging them cause if we were forced to run away we'd likely get lost, not being able to carefully follow our marked path.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 13, 2020 5:20:55 GMT
You can definitely mark the path. Do you want to go somewhere else instead? Find an exit perhaps, or something else? The Cubes seem to be hanging around Seymour for as long as you watch, and don't seem to want to leave.
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
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Post by garmr on Sept 14, 2020 5:24:15 GMT
"I've heard something about these creatures from other travellers in the dungeon. They are not to be trifled with, let me tell you."
I agree with bluewolf's plan. Let's see what else we can find in the maze, or if there are no other exits, then return to the chain elevator.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 15, 2020 1:42:14 GMT
Scuttling away, back into the maze, you head away whenever you hear the bizarre rumbling-buzz of the creatures as they grind along the stone hallways, a strange resonance that makes your molars twinge. Since you're looking for any way out, you'll eventually find a random exit after burning half a torch (anyone can take the hit).
You turn down another corner, and see the first long stretch of hallway you've seen for a while, everywhere else in the maze so far you've always had your line of sight blocked by a turning or a dead-end rather than the edge of your torchlight. However, this hall has something new as well: suspiciously wide and deep gaps between the flagstones, that can easily hide something nasty. For example, a slashing blade, which you can see has been broken off near the "hilt" and jammed halfway along it's arc between two flagstones. In fact, you can see a while row of these snapped blades leading off as far as you can see.
What do you do?
((This area might be a little confusing, because another player has come through it before already. Feel free to ask more questions than normal if needed))
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 15, 2020 9:48:00 GMT
So basically it looks like the blade traps are all broken?
If that's so, I'll try moving forward, carefully.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 16, 2020 1:42:16 GMT
As you step forward onto the slabs, you hear ominous *click-click* sounds and the broken hilts swish about wildly, but you're in no danger.
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 16, 2020 16:02:55 GMT
Phew. Let's see. Are there any broken off parts which look salvageable? Blades which are not too too big and could be pried off or broken pieces of shafts? If so I'll pick some up.
After that, I'll head down the corridor.
Whilst we were in the labyrinth, would we know if we moved up or down a level?
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Post by Spwack on Sept 17, 2020 5:06:09 GMT
Yes, quite a few of the blades were snapped off, but it looks like most of the best ones have been taken. Do you want to collect an inventory slot of Sharp Scrap?
You would know if you've moved up or down a full floor, they are very far apart.
Heading down the corridor, broken traps ticking and whirring beneath your feet, you arrive at a large chamber that smells faintly of old campfires and dried blood. You can still see little splotches of dusty red-brown on the floor, and at one spot, the ceiling. There are two large halls, leading West and North, as well as another smaller corridor that heads back south, just not the one you came from.
What do you do?
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 17, 2020 6:14:18 GMT
I'll take the scrap. I can just drop it later if I don't need it.
"Seems empty."
I suggest we head down the smaller corridor. Less of a chance we run into giants or something.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 18, 2020 4:23:30 GMT
Turning right and the right again, you head down the small corridor. It stops pretty quickly at a left-turn. You can see a large scorch-mark on the wall opposite the left-hand turn...
What do you do?
Encounter check: JVd8gSWC1d6
No change.1d6
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 18, 2020 7:03:02 GMT
How does the floor look like here (solid stone/flagstones/tiles)? Is there any ash on the ground or fragments of bones or anything like that?
I'll press myself against the corner before the left hand turn and swipe my arm from behind it quickly. Trying to see if there is anything behind the turn that would react to movement.
If there is no reaction, I'll peek from behind the corner to see what's down the corridor.
If there is nothing obviously interesting down the corridor, I'll try throwing a pebble or a piece of scrap down the corridor to test for any delicate pressure plates (knowing there might be ones which only react to full human body weight).
If all that goes without a hitch, I'll carefully continue down the corridor.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 18, 2020 7:54:55 GMT
Solid flagstones, not at all similar to the blade-ridden hall you've just walked through.
When you swipe your arm, you feel a very faint prickle. Is that a blue-ish glow?
When you poke your head around quickly, nothing happens, and you can't see anything obvious, but when you throw the stone, that same blue-ish glow appears and disappears again a breath after the pebble hits the ground.
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bluewolf
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Post by bluewolf on Sept 20, 2020 8:18:54 GMT
"I don't like the feel of this turn. Tingles like coming lightning."
I'll head back towards the room we came from and go down the western corridor instead.
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Post by Spwack on Sept 21, 2020 6:25:50 GMT
The western corridor is quite large, and gradually bends around to the south. The hall has two doors on the left (one of them smashed in), and three on the right (the middle on smashed in). It ends in a long hallway that looks like it might lead back to the maze you've just escaped.
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garmr
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King Henry XIV
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Post by garmr on Sept 21, 2020 21:53:45 GMT
Before we leave the corridor that glows blue, I'm going to toss my severed ear down the corridor and see what happens.
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garmr
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Post by garmr on Sept 21, 2020 21:54:31 GMT
(It's a severed ear that I own, it's not *my* ear that was severed.)
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Post by Spwack on Sept 22, 2020 1:26:26 GMT
The blue glow does get larger, and there's a brief crackle that makes your hair rise. Do you try and retrieve that severed ear?
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garmr
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Post by garmr on Sept 22, 2020 22:48:04 GMT
Nah, I think I'm good.
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garmr
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Post by garmr on Sept 22, 2020 23:11:11 GMT
I'm trying to catch up on mapping. When we left the maze the second time (along the corridor with the jammed blade traps), were we travelling north?
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