Previously...
Bujilli has studied his Map. After capturing a newly emerged spawnling and having dispatched one of its siblings by a clever use of the Oneiric Bubble spell, Bujilli knows without a doubt that it is perilous in the extreme to remain any too close to the still-whirling Oneiric Vortex or the rest of the miasmagaster's spawnlings. Taking only the bare minimum amount of time necessary to let his captured spawnling choke itself into submission, and then to load the barely conscious thing into one of his empty wineskins, Bujilli climbs out of his impromptu hiding spot. A quick gesture and he re-casts his Gloomlight spell in order to see what there is to be seen.
South. That way led back to the Oneiric Vortex and the prowling miasmagaster spawnlings. Going in that direction didn't particularly thrill him. Bujilli was loathe to cross paths with the flatulent spawnlings.
Along the hallway, on either side there are alcoves like the one he recently used for a hiding spot. But exploring them would leave the looming menace of the Oneiric Vortex right behind him, and it was only a matter of time before something came through the vortex, or one of the pother spawnlings found a way past.
There were a couple of chambers, one on either side as well, that could be examined. The one to the East might have been the miasmagaster's sleeping den. But Bujilli wasn't sure. He was getting nervous. Unsure. It was becoming hard to concentrate.
The vortex was already beginning to affect him.
He considered once more the prospect of exploring the miasmagaster's den, or possibly rooting about in some of the alcoves and niches cut into the walls of the hallway, but Bujilli decides against it. It was high time to get moving. Time to get away from the vortex, the spawnlings and anything unpleasant that might come through the vortex.
Bujilli adjusted his pack, re-checking the cords wound about the hole in his wine skin to make sure that the unconscious spawnling was in fact still secure. Then, with a grimace of determination, Bujilli spit on the floor, rubbed his oddly mis-matched hands together and set off on his sojourn. He decided to push ahead along the hallway, going North, away from the Oneiric Vortex and the hungry creatures prowling about it to the South. (moving towards area 8 on the Map.)
A Quick Peek at the Map...
Anyone having Second Thoughts?
Should Bujilli go back and examine Area 6, Area 7 or one of the Alcoves?
Is there a spell in Bujilli's current repertoire that might dispel, disrupt or demolish the on-going menace of the Oneiric Vortex?
Should Bujilli set-up some sort of ambush or perhaps a trap of some sort in order to dissuade the ravenous spawnlings from pursuing him?
Should Bujilli lie in wait to see what emerges from the Oneiric Vortex or should he try to capture or kill more of the spawnlings?
Area 8 looms ahead.
The entrance is a wide arch and it is very dim and dusty beyond the archway.
What precautions (if any) should Bujilli take before crossing this threshold?
You Decide.
Should Bujilli go back and examine Area 6, Area 7 or one of the Alcoves?
Is there a spell in Bujilli's current repertoire that might dispel, disrupt or demolish the on-going menace of the Oneiric Vortex?
Should Bujilli set-up some sort of ambush or perhaps a trap of some sort in order to dissuade the ravenous spawnlings from pursuing him?
Should Bujilli lie in wait to see what emerges from the Oneiric Vortex or should he try to capture or kill more of the spawnlings?
Area 8 looms ahead.
The entrance is a wide arch and it is very dim and dusty beyond the archway.
What precautions (if any) should Bujilli take before crossing this threshold?
You Decide.
Series Indexes
About Bujilli (What is This?) | Who is Bujilli? | How to Play
Bujilli's Character Sheet | Leeja's Character Sheet | Cast of Characters
Bujilli's Spells | Little Brown Journals | Loot Tally | House Rules
Series Two (Episode 20-36)
Series Three (Episodes 37-49)
Series Four (Episodes 50-68)
Series Five (Episodes 69-99)
Series Six(Episodes 100-ongoing)
Labyrinth Lord | Advanced Edition Companion
Series Six(Episodes 100-ongoing)
Labyrinth Lord | Advanced Edition Companion
Well, I'm tempted to set the trap, to put them off following. One or all of them turning up later when Bujilli's in a sticky spot could be nasty.
ReplyDeleteI'll go have a look at the character sheet post, to see what he's carrying, and we can see what the consensus is here.
Bujilli should go ahead into Area 8 after determining:
ReplyDelete1. Is Area 8 (floor, ceiling, walls, air temperature / humidity / quality etc.) any different than the corridor he's currently in as far as he can tell before entering the space?
2. Are there any glyphs, markings, etc. on the arch or walls?
3. Any signs or scents of habitation?
Well I've had no luck coming up with clever traps. And I might even have my bearings off - I thought we were trapped south of the vortex. Now something's feeding me words from other fiction: 'I'm endangering the mission. I shouldn't have come.'
ReplyDeleteI back EntirelyTooPerky: whichever room it is, Bujilli should stretch his senses to the limit, but not too slowly because we don't know what's on the other side of that vortex waiting to come through, above and beyond the spawnlings.
If you want a number for next time, I just got a 17 on 1d20, using Bujilli's very own gadget.
Things have shifted, as they are wont to do when an Oneiric Vortex is active. Bujilli is confused, and the longer he remains in close proximity to the Vortex, the effects will get more profound. Soon Bujilli will not just be an unreliable narrator, he may lapse into fictiveness or slough-away into oblivion. This is dangerous stuff.
ReplyDeleteTo answer EntirelyTooPerky's excellent questions:
1) Yes. The floor in Area 8 is colder and wetter than the corridor.
2) Yes. There are a number of markings on the arch. roll a D20 and give me your result to find out if Bujilli recognizes the mostly hacked-out glyphs. they are old, old, old and were defaced a long, long time ago.
3) An nasty ophidian-scent wafts noisomely from a gap in the back of Area 6--a careful peek inside from the very edge of the doorway reveals that there is a burrowed-out opening in this room (Area 6) that was clearly dug INTO this space from below. Do you want to check out the room a bit more? The air in Area 8 ahead of Bujilli is cold, he can see his breath as he approaches that area.
Thanks to Porky's roll of a 17, there are now 26 Dreamsnails slithering out of the Oneiric Vortex behind Bujilli.
Someone might want to roll for initiative, or suggest some sort of daring strategem calculated to either escape from the decidedly oneirovous molluscoids...or something...
I think the next line must be: 'It's not your imagination, kid.'
ReplyDeleteStanding and fighting doesn't seem an option, with unknowns or dead ends in the rooms and alcoves.
I'd suggest this: tulwar out, ignore the ophidian scent and move at much faster than a snail's pace, but still with great care, up to the threshold of Area 8, to study the room and those glyphs a little closer. Bujilli would have to prefer the cold of Area 8 to getting trapped between a snake and snails down that hole in Area 6.
If Area 8 seems safe and he enters, still faster than the snails, he should work his way round the left-hand walls, that being the side deeper into the complex, and peer along the passage there. This also leaves the vortex behind of course.
If it starts to get unbearably cold, too cold to pass, he might want to cast Zone of Normality.
I have a question: does Bujilli feel his phurba is likely to work as well on the dreamsnails as it does on ghosts? If so, and Area 8 does look safe, and the snails are catching up, it might be better to draw that.
In case EntirelyTooPerky isn't back in time, I rolled a spare 9 on 1D20.
RE: Phurba versus Snails--yes, Bujilli gets the distinct sense that his phurba will affect those nasty Dreamsnails, should it come to that...however, he'd really rather not get so close--there is something...wrong...about them, and it's not just their big teeth or the dim red glare of malice at the tips of their eye-stalks.
ReplyDeleteRE: The Glyphs on the archway leading into Area 8--they are carved deep into the delicately vitrified stone. The glyphs are some form of boxy/squarish ideography that vaguely resembles Naacal, Mayan and Sotrixic Tesserglyphs...but not exactly. They are another, alternative type/style, one that Bujilli has not seen before nor read about in his Uncle's copious books and journals while he was growing-up. In a moment of realization and inspiration, Bujilli looks back at the Dreamsnails and then back at the glyphs and considers making a rubbing of some of these glyphs--this is the kind of thing that can make an explorer famous and rich even more than a few trinkets or coins. It could also help him unlock secrets, which is a sure way into power and danger, as his people are prone to say.
If Bujilli does decide to make the rubbing from these glyphs...he'll only have time to get two or three of the things before the Dreamsnails fully transition out of the vortex and come slithering right at him as the most likely meal in sight.
Maybe there's another option for a spell to distract or deter the Dreamsnails?
What are Bujilli's feelings on three of his spells - Protection from Aethyrial Intrusion, Auric Sheath and Thought Wall - as possible barriers against the dreamsnails? Does he get the impression that any of them would work on whatever forms the dreamsnails? If more than one would do the trick, it would ideally one of the first two as they have a longer duration, 12 turns.
ReplyDeleteI'd say aim to get the rubbings from the closest wall, not to go too deep into the room or step into the axis of the left-right passages.
RE: Protection From Aethyrial Intrusion--this might be able to block the Dreamsnails from infiltrating Bujilli's mind, but they'll still devour his body. It could be re-worked in order to form a barrier against Aethyrial Intrusions, a simple enough modification that extends it from the personal to a location-based effect. that would take a few minutes, but would have a base 60% chance of success. It would also have the additional benefit of damping-down the mind numbing effects of the Oneiric vortex.
ReplyDeleteRE: Auric Sheath--again, this could block the Dreamsnails or shut out the effects of the Oneiric Vortex, but it will not prevent the demi-physical attacks of the nasty molluscs. There is a wide variety of variant versions of this particular spell available on the open market, some of those would block physical attacks quite well. One of the variant versions of this spell could be in one of the Little Brown Journals, if you'd like to use-up a slot. Even if it is in the LBJ, it'll take too long to learn the spell, though you could cast it right from the journal, scorching the page it is on into uselessness...but giving Bujilli some quick protection.
RE: Thought Wall--this would have a good chance of blocking the negative influences emanating from the Oneiric vortex,,and as a bonus it would have a 30% chance to confuse the Dreamsnails. they might go the other way during their confusion, possibly runnnng into the miasmagaster spawnlings...
House Rule: When under duress, Bujilli (as a player character) can extend the range/duration of a spell by spending 1d4/level of the spell until he's out of hit points. We'll have to put up a post detailing these sorts of options. It might come in handy as things progress.
The rubbings can wait until we settle the matter of the spell to be used...if a spell is getting used, knowing what you all know now...You Decide.
Would Ventriloquism allow Bujilli to re-direct the dreamsnails away from him? (I don't have access to that material right now to look up the spell description.) If so, can he mimic what dreamsnails really like to eat? :)
ReplyDeleteOtherwise I'd suggest going with Thought Wall and spending some hit points to extend its duration and hopefully increase the chance of distracting the dreamsnails.
RE: Ventriloquism--it would allow Bujilli to mimic the sounds of prey to distract the Dreamsnails...if he knew what they liked to eat besides him. Right now several of the things see him and are headed in his direction with digestive intent. Making noises might not be very effective as a distraction in this situation.
ReplyDeleteThought Wall. Okay, if three aren't any other questions/suggestions, Episode 9 will go live around 10AM here.
Given all of that, I second the choice of Thought Wall. It looks to be the best option. I'm also still in favour of that cautious movement into Area 8, and being ready to draw the phurba if the dreamsnails get too close.
ReplyDelete