Part 5: Return to the Moathouse Ruins

Mal turns to face the rear of the party, preparing for whatever the sound may bring...

KCC

Aug 2, 2021 12:17 pm

Gilly cringes as Bors makes a go at breaking through the door. She shuffles on the spot, clenching her short sword closer as she awaits some response from out of the dark!

Aug 2, 2021 1:18 pm

Norris, defeated but refusing to show it, simply rolled up the tool kit, deftly tucked it way in one of his belt pouches, and stepped aside as the brutish man forced into splinters what was otherwise a perfectly good door.

Last edited August 2, 2021 1:18 pm

Aug 2, 2021 2:05 pm

Eltrezar lays a hand on the Thief's shoulder. Ahem! "Do not worry about this one door, the lock seems to be quite stuck. Instead, focus on honing your craft on the many other doors that are likely to be locked. But for now, be on guard!" He raises the lantern high, observing as Bors attempts to shatter a door with just a foot.

Aug 2, 2021 5:11 pm

Even though the pair got off on the wrong foot, as threats and sharp weapons tend to breed, Norris was acclimating to the elder mage, finding him a much cordial person now than at first.

Giving him an appreciative grin and curt nod, Norris shrugged off his failure and set his hand to his sword's hilt, ready to face whatever evil the newly breached portal would spew.

Aug 2, 2021 7:21 pm

Bors kicks at the door repeatedly, the sounds echoing through the dark, but judging by the solidity of it under his foot's strike, it's extremely thick and heavy, and possibly reinforced with inside. It's impossible to put enough force against it to break through by kicking it. That said, they hear the loud groaning of what can only be another zombie somewhere in the blackness beyond even the Dwarf's excellent Infravision. Though it seems alone, its voice sounds aggressive and angry; very much different from the agonised groans from the turn ones, which occasionally still utter moans of repulsion at the perceived presence of the Cleric.

OOC:

@nezzeraj: The rules for breaking down doors in B/X is pretty simple. If it's a locked door, you have to pick it open.
If it's just stuck you can try and bust it open with a 2-in-6 chance on a 1d6 roll. In this particular case, because the door was locked kicking it open would be impossible.
BUT... This particular module (maybe because it was written for AD&D and not B/X) actually has implemented rules for this. You CAN break through locked doors if you hack away at them enough with a weapon like a sword or an axe. In this case it's just a matter of making an attack roll against it and adding up the damage done. There's no To-Hit roll against a door, and only the Damage roll matters. After the door has sustained enough damage to reduce its Hit Points to "0", the door is considered splintered open. Of course, while To-Hit rolls are unnecessary and automatically succeed, there is the issue that chopping down a door is time consuming and noisy. So there's that...

@Demagor: There's a second door about ten feet south from the one Norris just tried to pick, if you would like to make a go of it as well. The difficulty is going to be the same (15%), and as usual takes about ten minutes of working on it. The choice is yours.

Aug 2, 2021 8:05 pm

OOC:

Thank you, but had you not mentioned the approaching, shambling undead, I would have taken you up on that offer. I can't realistically envision him taking his sweet time, working on a lock for 10-minutes while some unearthly abomination spars against his newfound business partners. After? Definitely.

KCC

Aug 2, 2021 11:36 pm

Gilly turns about, squinting into the darkness for their enemy.

"Bors! Keep chopping. We’ll take care of this one!"

She yanks at the magic user’s robes.

"Reckon he knows where the door is for now. Can you shine that thing back this way?" Gilly shoots him earnest smile from out of the dark below him. It must look a little…off as it’s illuminated by the flickering flame.

Aug 2, 2021 11:38 pm

"Oh!" It would seem that Gilly had managed to surprise the man. Hrmph! "Of course, of course, by goodness. It would seem that Maloria missed one of those dreadful creatures... I would prefer to not wait for it to find us." He raises the lantern to provide as much illumination as possible, back out into the imposing darkness.

Last edited August 2, 2021 11:39 pm

Aug 3, 2021 10:43 pm

It doesn't take long for the creature to arrive. Already aware of the sound of Bors's boots banging against the heavy wooden door, the sound of conversation between the party allows it to zero in on the noise. The party hears a growl followed by the sound of bare feet slapping on the floor as it rushes towards the noise it hears. After a moment it rounds the corner fro the east of the stairs and rushes after the wizard holding the light in the air.

OOC:

The zombie used its entire turn in a full run but still fell ten feet shy of the wizard. Round 1 begins, though with a single undead attacker, I anticipate the party making short work of it! Turn order is as follows:
--> 1. Gilly, Bors (6)
2. Maloria (5)
3. Eltrezar (4)
4. Angel, Norris, Man-at-Arms (2)
5. Zombie #10 (4)

Rolls

Angel Initiative roll - (1d6+1)

(1) + 1 = 2

Gilly Initiative roll - (1d6+2)

(4) + 2 = 6

Eltrezar Initiative roll - (1d6-1)

(5) - 1 = 4

Maloria Initiative roll - (1d6+1)

(4) + 1 = 5

Bors Initiative roll - (1d6+1)

(5) + 1 = 6

Norris Initiative roll - (1d6+1)

(1) + 1 = 2

Man-at-Arms Initiative roll - (1d6)

(2) = 2

Zombie Initiative roll - (1d6)

(4) = 4

KCC

Aug 3, 2021 11:39 pm

Gilly pushes the wizard back to safety, but the man barely moves. Stubborn fella.

She jumps forward as the zombie comes into view and slashes out with her short sword.

"Let’s make this quick, before others come!"

OOC:

Noooo! All that nice damage wasted on an 11!

Last edited August 3, 2021 11:40 pm

Rolls

1d20+1

(10) + 1 = 11

1d6+1

(5) + 1 = 6

Bors

nezzeraj

Aug 4, 2021 12:38 am

Since the zombie still isn't within range and Bors is still stubbornly kicking the door, he will continue doing that until the zombie gets in range.

Aug 4, 2021 6:02 pm

Seeing the war master's brief hesitation, Norris calls out to Bors, "Keep at the door! We've made so much noise already, there's no sense stopping now! We'll take care of this!" he stressed urgently, and without further delay, darted off into the skirmish.

Skirting the group (OOC: G12 -> H11 -> I11), the deft rogue scrambled around Mal and Eltrezar, coming around to a stop just beside the spellcaster, his short sword in hand and ready to pierce through rotted, dead flesh. Acting before the creature can ready whatever defenses it could muster, the wily rogue shuffled his feet and thrust the rude-end of his weapon into the undead's chest. He knew there was no vital heart to strike for, but for that one moment, instinct vanquished logic.

Rolls

Attack Roll: Short Sword vs Zomzom - (1d20+1)

(1) + 1 = 2

Damage Roll: Short Sword vs Zomzom - (1d6+1)

(2) + 1 = 3

Aug 4, 2021 6:03 pm

OOC:

Flying sword! Duck!

Maloria "Mal" Stoneforge

dominion451

Aug 4, 2021 6:48 pm

Mal jumps in front of the zombie to impress it's progress towards the group and brings her hammer down atop the wretched creature...

Rolls

Attack, Damage - (1d20+1, 1d6+1)

1d20+1 : (10) + 1 = 11

1d6+1 : (2) + 1 = 3

Aug 4, 2021 8:25 pm

OOC:

So Gilly and Bor's would go first. Then Maloria. Norris's turn isn't until a ways down the line, after Eltrezar, so that action would have to wait for the others that rolled a higher Initiative. But...

As Bors stubbornly tries to break down the locked door with his boot, Gilly dashes forth and swings her sword at the undead attacker's head as it attempts to run down the party's wizard. At first she suspects the blade has missed, a sense of disappointment and maybe a bit of apprehension at the prospect of facing a direct attack from the monster after just recently healing herself. But as Maloria steps forth and swings her hammer, both she and the halfling realize any concerns Gilly had are unfounded, for as the Cleric winds up and lets loose her hammer, the zombie is already falling to it's knees, head begginning to tumble off its shoulders. Gilly's short sword has decapitated it.
This doesn't stop the momentum of Mal's swing however, and her hammer head slams into the now detached skull with a splat, and the cleanly cut head sails across the room and hits the wall with another wet smack.
Having dispatched of the undead creature, the room is again relatively silent, excepting the occasional hiss of the turned ones somewhere deeper in the darkness.

OOC:

Success! The encounter ends before the first Round is even over! The party will receive 36XP for their victory, to be divided evenly, when you next find a safe place to rest and recover.
The party can now continue interacting with the two locked doors, exploring the dungeon deeper, or anything else. I will say that kicking the door is not yielding great results, as it more or less has to be chopped down, meaning even blunt weapons have little effect on breaking through this heavy door.

Aug 4, 2021 9:01 pm

Eltrezar lets out a sigh of relief, his dagger held high and ready to be thrown. With the enemy slain, he lowers the dagger and once again raises the lantern. Hrmph! "Perhaps your sword will do more to this door than your boot, Bors! Norris, might you begin attempting your craft on the second? I have yet to glean the knowledge required to magick the doors open..."

Aug 4, 2021 9:02 pm

Realizing the situation has returned to normal, whatever that is, Norris sheaths his sword, finding no further need to hack down an unmoving corpse. Instead, he strolls over to the 'other' door, the one which has so far evaded the fury of Sir Bors' boot and gives it a casual glance.

Repeating his earlier routine with flawless, military precision, the rogue takes a knee before the door and its lock. He gazes at it. He peers at it. He even sneers at it for a moment... at least someone could have sworn they caught that. Regardless of the fundamentals of the ritual, it is at last completed, and with a short burst of air from the locksmith's pursed lips striking the keyhole, he unravels his kit and extracts two of the slender picks. They seem identical to the ones used in the recent attempt... or maybe not... your eye isn't trained for this labor, how would you know?

Leaning forward, he tilts his head, bringing an ear closer to the latch and begins fiddling with the two rods.

Rolls

Skill Roll: Lockpicks vs Lock - (1d100)

(43) = 43

Aug 5, 2021 1:24 am

Again, the lock holds fast. Whatever lay behind these doors, someone took care to keep it secured, as Norris notices that, like the previous lock, these have been well oiled and taken care of, and debris had been stacked against the wall to conceal the two doors.

OOC:

I think if the party wishes to chop at these doors, we have two options. Either the individuals can make individual damage rolls at once per six-second turn, until the door is destroyed, or if the party is committed to chopping at the doors until the job is done, I can make damage rolls for anyone that's participating and tell you how long it took to chop it down.

Aug 5, 2021 2:23 pm