Dragonbane Session 13- Through the Maze

Aleric continues his journey into the underworld. After a bit of a bumpy start, lets hope his luck turns around a bit before the end!
 

3. Unknown- Roll on exploration tables

 
GM note: Aleric is moving into an unknown situation, so I’m going to roll some dice on the exploration tables in the solo module


 
Exploration table Rolls: Area table: 8- Expansive hall; Oddity: 13- Reversed gravity; Environment: 10- Glassy surfaces 


Aleric cautiously continues ahead, moving through the large archway as he leaves behind the flooded chambers. His clothing, still soaked underneath his chainmail, feels heavy as he trudges along. “This trip might be the least pleasant one I’ve had so far” he thinks to himself with a chuckle. Though the way is straightforward, the halls begin to wind and twist as he continues pressing on. Finally after what feels like nearly an hour of walking deeper and deeper into the heart of the Breach, Aleric finally spots a grand archway leading into what appears to be a grand hallway. His pace quickens as he continues on. As he approaches closer he sees a strange scene in front of him. Chandeliers appear to stand straight up from the middle of the room. Curtains and tapestries are arranged upside down. The bars that they hang from are located near the floor. “This is odd…” he thinks just a little too late as he steps into the room. As soon as he crosses the threshold of the room, Aleric feels  the force of gravity pulling him up towards the ceiling! He tries to scramble backwards, but the strange gravity has too much of a pull on him and he falls toward the ceiling of the grand hallway.

 
Roll: Acrobatics (7): 16; Failure
Roll: Damage (Slight, 1D6): 2 (Aleric’s health is 9/17)


Aleric falls up to the ceiling, unable to catch himself before he slams into the hard stone above. Wincing as he rights himself, he looks around to discover a finely decorated dining room with a long ornate table crafted from glass. Place settings are set in front of each one of the chairs set at the table. Aleric quickly realizes that not all of the chairs are empty. At several of the settings are bodies slumped over, heads resting on the table in front of them. They are all of differing states of decay. Some of the bodies appear to be rather freshly deceased, while some of the bodies are merely skeletons still wearing decaying clothing. Aleric moves quietly along the strange scene of this deadly meal. Though he knows they are dead, it would not be the first time a skeleton had risen up from its place to challenge him within the depths of the Breach. He safely navigates to the other side of the room, looking up at the ceiling… or floor… that leads out of the room. “Well thankfully those fine folks weren’t feeling too driven to invite me to their dinner party… I’ll just see myself out then. Carefully now…” The archway in front of Aleric appears to be just a short ledge in front of him, but the fighter expects that he’ll be falling back to his normal orientation as soon as he makes his way across the threshold. He carefully moves to climb over the arch, and just as he suspects Aleric begins to fall upwards towards the floor above. 

 
Roll: Acrobatics (7; Boon for being ready this time): 14; Failure
Roll: Damage (Slight, 1D6): 3 (Aleric’s health is 6/17)


Even with the foresight that this outcome was likely, the speed at which Aleric falls still catches him off guard. He attempts to soften his fall, trying in vain to twist around in the air to land on his feet right side up. But he just isn’t nimble enough to right himself. He crumples to the floor, smacking hard onto the stonework. “Ah… Ok that was unfortunate. I might need to take a minute after that one.” Feeling rather worse for wear, Aleric finds a comfortable alcove nearby, sitting down and taking out his bandages and medical kit that he recently purchased from Outskirt. He spends some time tending to his wounds and resting before continuing on. 

 
Roll: Healing (2D6 of healing for a short rest): 11 hp restored! Aleric is back to fit shape sitting at 17 out of 17 hp. 


 
GM Note: Because Aleric spent a short rest recuperating, the threat die will increase to 2 out of 6! If the threat die reaches 6, the unknown spirit that is hunting Aleric will find him. 


After a very refreshing rest, Aleric gathers his things and shoulders his pack yet again before continuing on into the depths of the underworld. 

4. Unknown- Roll on Inspiration Tables


 
GM Note: To mix it up a bit I’m going to roll on the inspiration tables for this next unknown room. I’ll be rolling 3 d20 to produce a phrase of an Action Attribute and Thing. 


 
Roll: Inspiration Tables- 20: Weaken; 10: Flooded; 10: Knowledge


 
GM Note: “Weaken Flooded Knowledge” is definitely a perplexing challenge. I think that this means Aleric is faced with some kind of psychic force linked to how close he is to crossing over the threshold into the underworld. No mortal should find themselves there and there is this mental effect that comes with his proximity to such a place. Aleric will need to roll a willpower check or he is going to gain the scared condition. Since he’s going to need to keep pressing forward towards the underworld, I’ll say that if he fails this he will not be able to remove the scared condition until he returns to the Chapel above. 


As Aleric continues forward, feeling very much refreshed from his short rest. His pace is quicker, knowing that the sooner he reaches this tree, the sooner he’ll be rid of these trips into the breach. Suddenly a pressing weight falls upon his mind. The knowledge that he is moving closer and closer to the land of the dead, the danger of such a place as a living being. The sudden thoughts fill his mind like a wave crashing into a sea cliff. He doubles over, clutching at his head as he feels the pressure of his task begin to sap his will to press on!

 
Roll: Willpower (16): 7; Success!


After a moment, Aleric calms his breathing. Standing up and taking a deep breath, the pressure weighing down on Aleric’s mind passes. “There. The moment has passed. Though I should take it as a warning. I’m going where I should not tread. There will be things ahead that take umbrage with liveliness. I need to make sure I continue on as a humble guest. Fear not souls of the lost, I will be here for the briefest of moments.” Reassuring himself, as well as the spirits he may face moving forward, Aleric shakes the sudden existential fear of death and the underworld from his mind. With a more somber spirit, Aleric continues on. After some time more, he finds himself looking into the entrance of a strange twisting maze. 

5. Maze of Lost Souls

Aleric approaches the maze cautiously, “Finally something I’ve been warned about… But skeleton’s and a minotaur. I’ll have to navigate this carefully. Best to keep my wits about me and make sure I can back track my steps if I end up at a dead end.” The walls of the maze are from floor to ceiling, so there is now way for him to see the layout by climbing the wall. The only indication that he has reached the maze is the fact that several different wide hallways branch off the main path he is traversing down. With one final deep breath, Aleric prepares himself to begin navigating the maze hoping he can make it out with as little delay as possible. 

 
GM Note: Aleric will need to be smart about how he approaches the maze. He’s going to need to make three separate Intelligence checks to navigate the maze. As I’ve done previously, depending on how many checks he fails, the outcome of his navigating the maze will be changed.
1 failure: Aleric will have a 50/50 chance of running into skeletons after a single failure. 
2 failures: Aleric will run into skeletons in the maze at this point, with a 50/50 chance of running into the minotaur 
3 failures: Aleric will run into a group of skeletons and the minotaur, though not necessarily at the same time. 

Lets see how Aleric does navigating the maze!
 

Aleric quickly forms a strategy in his mind to keep track of what turns he’s made. “Alright if I stay to the left I’ll always be able to get back to where I’ve been. If theres a dead end, I’ll mark it with the charred end of my torch. Should be enough to keep myself on  the right track. I’ll need to be quick about it though. Don’t want to run into the minotaur…” With his strategy set, he begins making his way as quickly and quietly as he can through the passages of the maze. 

 
Roll: Intelligence (10): 2; Success!
 

Aleric quickly discovers several dead ends and marks the start of those pathways with the charred end of his half burnt torch. He continues his methodical approach to the maze, making sure to keep his orientation to the start of the maze in mind. “I can always flee and start again, just so long as I know where I need to go to get out of here” he thinks to himself as he marks the wall next to another dead end pathway. He presses on, feeling more and more confident that he’ll be able to make it out of the other side of the maze. 

 
Roll: Intelligence (10): 5; Success!


After more time, Aleric thinks he’s finally found a good path and has continued on it for some time without any dead ends. Though it twists and turns, he’s made sure to continue diligently marking the paths that lead nowhere. As his progress continues, the lack of anything of danger begins to concern Aleric, but he thinks better of dwelling on such thoughts. He just needs to get to the other side. Any other trouble he runs into is something he’ll deal with when he gets to it.

 
Roll: Intelligence (10): 10; Success!


 
GM Note: Well that was much better than I thought Aleric was going to do! Though it is odd that he wouldn’t run into any dangers in this maze. Certainly something should have been on the path that leads out. No sign of any dangers is odd, so lets see what the oracle says before Aleric makes his unhindered exit to the maze


 
Oracle: Does Aleric run into any skeletons at all as he traverses the maze?: 1- Extreme no!


 
GM Note: Well that has to mean something. After being warned about the maze containing skeletons, certainly there would have been at least one run in. But an extreme no… That means not only were there no run ins, but I’m guessing there was not even any evidence of skeletons wandering the maze at all. No wayward bones, no tracks? Maybe the minotaur, in his fit of rage, has destroyed all the other inhabitants of the maze. We’ll see if this comes back up, but for now Aleric has escaped the maze unharmed!


After marking off several more pathways with his torch, Aleric again finds himself making good progress. Finally a straight hallway opens up in front of him. And instead of more hallways, the end leads out to an open chamber. Aleric hurries his way through the final hall and out into the open, leaving behind the twisting turnings of the maze of lost souls. For a moment, Aleric thinks about the maze. “Didn’t see anything in there… Does seem a bit odd after Stone-Gaze told me of the skeletons and that enraged minotaur. No point in dwelling on it for now though. I’m out and won’t be going back there anytime soon!” Aleric stows his torch that he had been using as a marker and presses forward onto the last few legs of his jaunt into the underworld. 



Through the maze and ever closer to the Soul Tree! Though the journey has been a bit perilous so far, there's greater danger that lays ahead. We'll see if Aleric can make it through in one piece next time!
 

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