Wiki of The Dungeoneering Crew

The party was moving around a dark pit where eerie sounds were emanating. Out of this pit came monsters called gibbering mouthers. There were three of them. Elenor fired magic missiles, striking the central creature for 10 damage. Audra charged and slashed one for 6 damage. Kipp and Brandy, advanced on the other two. The mouthers’ maddening gibbering forced saving throws versus spell; only Elenor failed and fled in blind terror back the way they had come. The creatures lashed with tentacles; Audra took 2 damage but managed to avoid the mouth clamping down on her arm and holding her. Kipp got bitten and this one held on. Audra went blind from a very bright flash from the mouther she and Pyreece were dealing with. After a few rounds, they killed all three of them.

The ground around the corpses turned soft and treacherous. Elenor, still fleeing in panic, raced down the tunnel. Pyreece pursued, holding her continual-light gem, and saw the hooded figure that was her friend. Elenor snapped out of the spell with the mouthers now dead. She turned at the sound of someone coming up behind her quickly, prepared to fight only to find Pyreece coming to her aid. At first, she didn't know why she had run off, but once her head cleared, it was obvious that the gibbering mouthers were able to cause fear much like the spell by that name. The party regrouped, Audra’s vision slowly clearing, and pressed onward following reptilian tracks Kipp discovered.

Descending stairs into a natural cavern lit by bioluminescent fungi, they entered a chamber with six tunnels, each guarded by a carved stone face. Every face intoned in the same voice: “Turn back. This is not the way.” Kipp’s tracking showed the reptilian prints moving through the area but no clear exit path. They chose a southern passage filled with countless bats and glowing fungi.

The tunnel opened into a water-filled gallery. Audra edged along a narrow area on the eastern side where the water never let her sink more than waist-deep. She finally reached an end where the water was too deep to continue. She returned to the group and they backed out of that area to the main tunnel again. They moved north again. Suddenly giant eels lunged from concealed holes in the walls, striking and retreating. A brutal fight ensued: Brandy stabbed repeatedly into holes, Elenor slung bullets, Audra thrust her sword, Oglesby fired arrows. The eels were slain one by one, the last few exposed when they failed to retract quickly.

As they were about to finish with the last of the eels, two hideous, deformed formorian giants lumbered into view north of them, wielding massive clubs. The first giant, Siegfried, missed Kipp. Brandy loosed arrows for heavy damage. Kipp struck with his longsword. Audra landed a critical hit on the one called Roy. Pyreece missed. The giants retaliated! Siegfried hit Kipp for quite a bit of damage but he remained standing. Roy smashed Pyreece with a natural-20 critical for 62 damage, crushing her instantly into a greasy smear (she was at –42 hp, irretrievably dead). The party redoubled their assault: Audra scored another critical, Kipp and Brandy poured damage in, and the giants fell.

With no cleric remaining and Pyreece far beyond healing, the party gathered her remains and equipment (including Keoghtom’s ointment with 3 applications left, potions, etc.). Kipp drank healing potions, recovering to 33 hp. Further north, they found the giants’ filthy lair. Searching it, they found two ivory tusks, two cloaks, two sets of boots, a copper bowl with lapis lazuli inlay, a small unlocked chest containing three potions (suspected extra-healing), and remnants of a carved giant eel.

Distributing the suspected healing potions among the front-line fighters, the party returned to the chamber with the six faces. The stone faces still warned, “Turn back. This is not the way.” They chose another tunnel, passed through a misty crystalline cavern where whispers echoed. Audra was effected at one point and actually said out loud, “This is not the way!” as she turned and started to leave. They caught up to her and managed to get her to snap out of the trance like state she was in. They circled around a whole section of the tunnels before reaching another northern tunnel. They began following that when they reach another split.

Session ended at the new crossroads, Pyreece dead, the party battered but carrying on into the darkness.

Start the recorder.

Pyreece Died - experience divided

Pyreece Exp = 1089 + 109 = 1198

Everyone else's Exp = 2754 + 275 = 3029