Kal-Arath Solo Actual Play Ep3

 

Episode 3

In the last session, Dumai found a buyer for his newly hatched teradun and was able to trade it for 200s.   As he traveled through the grasslands toward a nearby settlement, he encountered the sorceress, Ithela, who asked him to help her in a quest in a nearby monastery.  In return, she would use her power to help guide him in his hunt for the white bison of corruption.  Unbeknownst to Dumai, she also must perform a sacrifice to her demonic patron every lunar cycle.

Let’s assume that the lunar cycle in Kal-Arath is 28 days and that some of the cycle has already begun. We’ll roll a d20 to find out how many days until her sacrifice is required.

d20=11 days

We’ll bypass our normal daily checks, except for the Weather due to our journey into the monastery.

Weather: 4 Unexpected Rain

Dumai and Ithela awoke in the morning to another rainy day in the grasslands.  Luckily for them, they will be indoors in the monastery.  But rain might be more welcome than what they may face inside the monastery.   “So, what are you looking for here?” Dumai says to the woman as they pack up their camp.
Ithela wipes the rain from her face and hesitates.  “Honestly, I don’t know specifically.  I had a dream…or vision…that something of great power would be a boon to me here.  I trust my powers will not misguide me, and so I have come to bring whatever it is into my hands.”  Dumai gave a gentle harumph.  He respected mystics, but their vague answers always made him less than comfortable.  He accompanied her through the crack in the rock that opened into the monastery inside.

This is my first dungeon in Kal-Arath, so let’s roll one up and see what we get.  We know this is a monastery (or temple), so we won’t roll on the nature of the location table.   Let’s see what the size is:

D6=3 Medium.  5 Areas

Here’s how the dice fell on my desk

I rolled all of the passages between the areas, and as we traverse them we will roll to see if there is an encounter.   1= Empty for the entrance, 4= NPC, we’ll roll them as we encounter, 6= Boss room.  We’ll roll for it when we encounter it.

Area 1 Oracle B (people,place,things)= 54 Crumbling

Dumai and Ithela find themselves in the entrance area of the monastery.  The walls were once plastered white, but time has not been kind, and it has mostly sloughed off into piles of dust along the walls.  There is a door in the southern part of the room, but the ceiling has mostly collapsed in front of it, and it is blocked.  It will take some time to dig through the debris in order to access it.

Does Ithela notice the secret passage going east?  2d6+INT= 8 Yes

Dumai begins poking at the fallen plaster and timbers blocking the doorway, attempting to shift the material without causing further collapse.  He looks over his shoulder to see Ithela tracing her fingers against the eastern wall, her eyes closed.  Without saying anything, she presses her fingers against the wall in a particular pattern and gives a firm shove.  The wall groans then shifts on an axis, revealing a narrow dusty passage.  She turns to Dumai and gives a wink, then moves into the passageway.

Foe encounter d6=3 No

The two move through the corridor, their shoulders brushing the walls as they squeeze through the narrow hall.  Ithela is in the lead, using her hands to find her way in the darkness.  Finally they reach another door, and she presses it open.  Inside, a oil lantern sits on the floor, illuminating the space. 

NPC Roll d6=1 Treasure Seeker
Reaction roll 2d6= 6 Angered, Hostile
Oracle B description= 42 Profane

Is there treasure in the room? D6=6 Yes, and.  I think that means that the NPC has already been gathering treasure and is using this secret room to horde it all until he is ready to leave. 
How many treasures d6=5
Treasure d66=55 Masterwork Steel Sword (150s)
Treasure d66=52 Enchanted Amulet +1 Armor(200s)
Treasure d66=33 Grain Sack (10s)
Treasure d66=Engraved Silverware (15s)
Treasure d66=Wooden trinket (carved into a white bison! 2s)

Whatever the original purpose of this room was, now it is playing host to a host of treasures along with the person hoarding them.  Along the walls are murals depicting people hunting bison, with a huge white bison towering over the others.   Someone has smeared mud or feces over the mural, especially over the hunters.  Dumai immediately spots a small carving amongst the piled treasures, a white bison!  Perhaps this monastery holds some secret toward his goals. 

NPC Treasure Seeker Motivation: 32 Explore Unknown
NPC Traits: Moody
Weapon d4 type:3 Heavy.  Greataxe
HP=d6=6

The man turns when he hears the door open and snatches his greataxe from the ground next to him, “Stand back!   This is mine!  Get out!”  Ithela raises her hands to calm him down.
“We don’t want your treasure; we come to find something else here…more mystical in nature.”   2d6+PRE to calm him= 11 Success!
The man slightly lowers his weapon but still is on guard.  “I’ve been in every room but one here…I…was not prepared to face it alone.”  Oracle, does he want to help us face the boss of this dungeon?  Unlikely 3d6= 2 No, and.  I think that means he wants us to leave, but perhaps he could be convinced?
Before Ithela can say anything further, Dumai points to the carved bison and then to the mural.  “Do you know anything of the White Bison?”
“White bison, what?  No, I know or care nothing of it.”  He responds angrily.  “Now get out.  You will have to come back once I leave if you want to face this mystical whatever it is.”
Ithela tries to charm him 2d6+PRE=6 Fail.
“Perhaps there is something…else…we could offer you if you allowed us to proceed?”  And she ran her finger down the curve of her hip.  The man guffawed and hefted his axe.
“Not likely, now get out!”
Oracle, does Ithela relent and leave? Unlikely 2d6=3 No, but.  What does she do? Oracle A=16 Separation

“Very well,” she says with acid in her voice, and she turns away from the man, pushing Dumai in front of her.  When Dumai goes through the door, she closes it behind him and turns and casts a spell at the Treasure Seeker.  She begins to wave her arms in the air, and her voice rings out in a reverberating tone that is impossible to be made from a human throat.
She casts Clouds Descend to the Earth 2d6+INT= 10 vs 9 Success!  Lasts for d6=3 rounds.  First round damage d6=3  NPC HP 6-3=3

A thick fog suffuses the room, rising from the floor and falling from the ceiling simultaneously.   As the mist touches the flesh of the treasure seeker, it begins to slough off like the plaster on the walls, peeling and oozing in sores.  He screams in terror and agony.  Dumai turns and begins to bang on the door, trying to open it, but Ithela has braced her back against the door, and is keeping it from opening.  “Do not enter here, Dumai!  It isn’t safe for you!”
Roll initiative d6+AGI= 1 Fail.  NPC goes first
Treasure Seeker attacks Ithela.  2d6+AGI dodge= 7 Fail  Damage 2d6 take best=1  Ithela HP=3

The man rushes forward, bringing up his greataxe in a cruel overhanded swing.  Ithela moves to dodge aside, but the downward stroke is too quick, and the blade bites into her arm.  She cries out as blood rushes from the wound.  Dumai pulls on the door, and sees the melee in front of him.  The fog begins to curl outward toward him in the passageway, and he quickly backpedals away from the mist.  He draws an arrow into his bow, and lets it fly toward the man in one fluid motion as he moves backward.”

Dumai attacks man 2d6+AGI= 4  (rolled double 1’s critical fail).

Dumai stumbles on an upraised stone in the dark hallway and falls backward, his shot clattering against the ceiling.

Oracle, does the mist move quickly enough to touch Dumai? Yes, and.  D6 damage=6 Exploding dice d6=1  Total 7 HP 5-7=-2  Roll on Wound table 2d6=4  Severed or destroyed limb.  USE FATE POINT NOWWW!   Wound table reroll 2d6=8 Unconscious 2d6 rounds=5 rounds

The creeping fog swims over Dumai’s extended left foot, and immediately the boot dissolves and his foot begins to weep in bleeding sores.  A cry is ripped from Dumai’s throat that echoes through the monastery.  “Dumai, you fool, I told you to wait!”  Ithela gasps.  And she lashes out at the treasure seeker with her flail, to punish him for the damage done to her companion.
Attack NPC 2d6+STR=10 Hit.  D6=6 Exploding Dice 6 = 12.  HP 3-12= Dead

The metal tips of Ithela’s flail whip cruelly into the throat of the man, and he collapses to the ground in a pool of his own blood and suffering.  She immediately begins to search through his gear, searching for something to treat Dumai’s wound with and stop the corruption.
Oracle Does the treasure seeker have any healing herbs? 1 No, and.  Damn.  I think this means some of the rest of his gear is also corrupted by the mist.  D6 which item is destroyed by the mist 1-5 his treasures 6 is his axe = 1 masterwork sword

Ithela searches desperately for something to use as healing for Dumai, but even as she rifles through the man’s belongings, the corruption of the fog eats away at his goods.  The hilt of the masterwork sword completely dissolves and renders it useless without repair.  She rushes back to Dumai as the fog dissipates.  He lays there unconscious.  She looks at the mess of sores on his foot.  “I’m going to have to bind this, or you may suffer permanent damage.”  He doesn’t seem to hear, and she rushes over to the dead man’s cloak and tears strips of it off to use as bandages. 
Ithela wraps the wound with the strips of cloth, then drags him into the treasure room.  She disposes of the ruined corpse of the treasure hunter outside, then binds the wound on her arm, and resolves to push on further once Dumai recovers.  She grabs the amulet and places it over her neck.  She then picks up the Greataxe and gives a nod at the heft.  A fine weapon.

HP Recovery at battle’s end.  Dumai HP 1, Ithela HP 4
Foe encounter in passage d6=1 Yes  2d6=10 Giant Snake.  HP 4d6=12 Reaction= 8 Neutral

Dumai awakens a few minutes later, and Ithela helps him to his feet.  He looks at his ruined boot and bandaged foot, then goes out to check the dead man’s boots. 

Oracle do they fit? 1 No, and.  They too were destroyed by the mist.

Dumai rejoins Ithela as she is checking the door leading further into the monastery.  “What was that?” he asks. 
“Power,” she responds curtly. Without looking back, she pushes through the door on the opposite side of the room, and it reveals a narrow, winding passage.  They slip through the door, making sure it is securely closed behind them, the lantern held high.  As Ithela slinks through the hallway, the light outlines the coiled-up body of a giant snake ahead.  It remains coiled as she slowly approaches, but it watches her carefully. 

Oracle can they move past it without it attacking? D6=5 Yes!

They begin to very slowly edge past the beast, its tongue flicking out occasionally as it tracks their every movement.  They press themselves up against the wall to create as much distance between them and the snake as possible, but the narrow hallway doesn’t allow for much room.  Regardless, the snake seems disinterested in attacking as they edge their way past.  Ithela heaves a sigh of relief as she moves into the next room, Dumai close behind her. 

Boss room roll d6=2

They walk into a round chamber.  In the center, a raised stone obelisk holds a heart shaped organ from some unknown beast, pulsating with a sickly green light.   Around the room lay the corpses of various men and beasts, all in various stages of decay.  The light from her lantern glints from coin scattered around as well.  There are probably hundreds!  Propped against the obelisk is a wicked iron mace and a sculpture of a rearing horse.  The organ suddenly pulses with a greater light and a [d6=5] beastman appears as the light dims!

Initiative d6+AGI=5 vs 4 PCs go first
Cast Cloud of Corruption 2d6+INT=7 vs 9 Fail. -1 HP = 3 HP
Dumai attack with bow 2d6+AGI=5 Fail
Beastmen d6 HP=2 Attack claws d6/d Morale 6

The beastman stands confused, watching this strange woman gesture and shout out words, but then nothing happened.  Dumai’s arrow zips past it. It growls and then rushes forward, extending it’s clawed hands to rend him to bits!

Dumai Dodge 2d6+AGI= 9 Pass

Dumai uses his bow to slam into the creature, knocking his clawed hands away and foiling his attack.  He drops his bow and draws his hatchet to cleave into the beast’s back.

Dumai attack 2d6+STR=7 Miss
Ithela attack 2d6+STR=12 hit  damage d6/a = 5 Beastman dead
Recover 1 HP Dumai.  2  HP

The beastman dodges aside from Dumai’s strike, but Ithela swings simultaneously and her greataxe cleaves into his spine, killing him instantly.  As they catch their breath, the organ pulses the green light once again. 

2D6=7 wolf 2d6 HP=6

Initiative d6+AGI=6 PC’s go first
Dumai attack with bow 2d6+AGI=9 Hit.  damage d6=3  Wolf HP 6-3=3
Ithela attack with greataxe 2d6+STR=7 Miss
Wolf attack (twice) dodge Ithela 2d6+AGI=4 fail and 3 fail.  damage D6=4-1 and d6=2 HP -1

Dumai looses an arrow at the sudden appearance of the wolf.  It slams into the beast’s flank and it gives out a yelp.  Ithela rushes forward with her greataxe shouting “We have to destroy that organ!”  She swings at the wolf in front of the obelisk, but it dodges aside nimbly and bits her thigh.  She cries out in pain and it drags her to the ground.

Ithela wound roll 2d6=8 Unconscious for 2d6 rounds=9
New foe 2d6=9 Raptor lizard. 5d6=12 HP
Oracle does the raptor attack the wolf, easy prey?  Likely 2d6=4,5 Yes!

Dumai attacks the organ with his bow (advantage stationary target) 2d6+AGI=11 Hit.  D6=6. 24HP left
Raptor attacks the wolf 2d6 twice=Miss both times
Wolf attacks raptor= Miss
New foe 2d6=7 Wolf 2d6=9

This is crazy, and I don’t think we will survive if we continue.  I think I’ll try to coordinate a retreat.

Dumai startles as yet another wolf appears when the light pulses again.  It joins it’s fellow in attacking the raptor lizard and a flurry of claws and toothy maws strike out at one another.  Dumai takes the opportunity to rush forward and drag Ithela’s unconscious form from the room.  He unfortunately was unable to grab the greataxe as well. He closes the door behind them, growls, snarls, and hisses filling the room.  The lantern was luckily attached to Ithela’s belt and it casts an uneasy shadow across the snake inside the hallway.

Oracle is it still sitting there? D6=1 No, and. 

Upset by all of the commotion in the next room, the snake begins to uncoil and slither toward the two humans. 

Initiative 2d6+AGI=3 vs 4.  Snake goes first
Snake HP 4d6=12  Morale 8
Dumai dodge 2d6+AGI=9 vs 8 Pass
Dumai attack 2d6+STR=8 Hit.  Damage d6=5  Snake HP=7
Ithela 7 rounds til awake

The snake strikes out at Dumai, but he dodges aside and slams his hatchet into the beast’s outstretched neck.  It recoils in pain.

Morale save 2d6=9 vs 8 Flee

The snake decides it is better to hunt for easier prey and slithers into a crack in the wall, retreating from the battle.  Dumai wastes no time and drags Ithela back into the treasure room.  He ensures both doors are secured and awaits her to awaken.

Both recover 1 HP.  Dumai 3 HP, Ithela 1 HP

When Ithela finally recovers, they both sit in silence, nursing their wounds.  After some discussion about their chances of beating this…thing in the other room, they decide to sleep on it and decide in the morning.  They secure both doors using some wedges of stone so that they cannot be opened without much noise and effort, and decide to sleep for the night.

Night encounter d6=6 No
-2 rations, 4 left
Restore full HP.  Dumai 5, Ithela 4

That’s going to wrap up this session, wow, I thought Dumai was done for, then Ithela dropped as well.  Definitely a crazy session.  I’m not sure if next time we will risk facing the green heart or not…we’ll let the oracle decide I guess.  I hope you enjoyed this episode, if you did, I would love to hear from you!