The Evils of Illmire: The Pit of potential TPK
Spoiler alert: if you plan to play The Evils of Illmire, don’t read this!
Our heroes have been exploring the swamps around Illmire as they believe the evil cult has a lair in the area and the pit ahead of them looks as likely a place as any. The problem of half a dozen or more giant geckos that are sunning themselves around the pit might just be a small obstruction...
Much brainstorming ensues until Kristos comes up with a genius idea. Rooting through his backpack he finds the gecko skin picked up from the trappers camp near the Mantismen Mounds and wraps it around himself, then crawls, gecko-style through the sun basking gecko's into the pit.
Sneaking into the pit our thief finds a shaft heading down and a handful of geckos snoozing off a ledge nearby. He moves nearer to investigate, looking for an easy way into the pit.
Failed by his gecko-Fu, a single gecko senses the imposter and scurries towards Kristos looking for a fight. Worried that the other gecko's will awaken and attack he flees back to the mouth of the pit. The lazy geckos outside start to stir and as Kristos runs out of the pit, the angry gecko on his tail, Anistor catches it with a crossbow bolt between it's eyes.
An easy meal like this is too much for the cannibalistic geckos to resist and they swarm in to feast on the gecko body, allowing the party to approach the pit and look for a way down.
Evalore volunteers to be lowered down the pit on a rope by Kivarg and Anistor and all is going well until a gecko halfway down the shaft hisses at her, ready to pounce. Kristos acts quickly and nails it with an arrow causing the lizard to plummet into the pit - it hadn't fallen far before they heard a splash
Evalore gets to the bottom of the shaft, finding a watery pool from which air bubbles rise. A passageway also leads off. The party all descend and join the magic user in the passage.
The wide corridor ends at a set of Verdigris covered brass double doors after 20'. A bronze cross pattern adorns each door, and there is a recess of maybe 6" with a handle. Sitting in the corridor is a skeleton with a bag of gems.
Sensing a trap Kristos checks the rim of the recess and spots a gleaming of metal along the edge. Much deliberation follows on how to approach the trap without activating it. Before anyone can reach in to turn the handle, Evalore announces he has a Portal spell which will open it... and so without any risk the door is bypassed.
As they push the doors open and pass through into the corridor beyond a voice booms one work: "Vengeance". The doors start to swing back into place, and the adventurers notice there are no handles on this side. Just in time they are able to catch the doors and wedge them open with iron spikes.
Stepping carefully along the corridor the PCs are attacked by a bunch of skeletons, but these present no real challenge and are quickly dealt with.
Our adventurers push on into the dungeon and ascend a crumbling stairwell which Anistor tumbles through. A deft Evalore is able to ascend the stairs and drop a rope down for the others to climb.
At the room above an animated skeleton is pinned under a partially collapsed ceiling, yet it ineffectively struggles to reach the party, waving a rather nice longsword.
From a room to the side burst a cluster of huge tentacled centipede-like creatures. Individually they don't look terribly dangerous, but there are six of the monsters, and they can climb walls and ceilings. The worry starts to set in when Kristos is paralysed and Kivarg is caught in Evalore's Sleep spell before the magic-user is also paralysed. Most of the creatures are caught in the Sleep spell, but Anistor still has two to contend with. On a hit with a failed saving throw (feat check in Saga of the Splintered Realm), he too would be a paralysed and the monsters would be able to feast on the paralysed and slumbering party members... an almost certain TPK.
Fortunately Anistor rolled the exact number needed to pass the save and was then able to smash the two remaining enemies.
Further into the dungeon they find a room full of giant shrews which are all caught in another Sleep spell, and they defeat a large skeleton guardian.
Moving back into the central corridor they find a further set of double doors, this one requiring a key which they collected from the guardian. Rather than risk setting a trap, Evalore once more opens the door with a Portal spell.
The session ended with the party entering another room with half a dozen skeletons... at this point they don't think it's likely the cult are in this place. But what the the hell, it's XP and it all counts...