Mysteries of Mystara 009

Our heroes take a much needed rest and decide to finish up some obstacles on this level before delving below to the Dark Grove. They tackle the Dragon Door and the Dire Rat Prison. The on-going GURPS saga of some unlikely companions attempting to unravel the mysteries of Mystara.

Mysteries of Mystara
Session 009

Dragon Doors and Dire Rats

220312

After resting for the night in an abandoned Goblin guardroom, the group is ready to go once again, but instead of descending down to the Dark Grove level, Talyn convinces the group to tackle some unfinished business on this level first. 

The group first heads back to the magically locked Dragon Door that defied entry when first discovered. With the magical Dragon Key in hand, though, the group is able to open the door and proceed into an ancient and dusty section of the sunken citadel. The first thing the group encounters is a room with a strange magical orb playing music. The music intensifies as Talyn reaches for it and several members of the group flee in fear, not stopping until they are outside in the dark ravine. Lucky was able to counter the magical music with his bardic prowess and the group is able to pass safely. 

The next hallway reveals an arrow trap but Talyn bravely raced in and blocked the trap with his shield, allowing everyone else to move through the area unharmed. The next room was decorated in fancy mosaics and carvings, all of the dragon motif. The far end of the room had an archway leading into a tomb area with a faint green glow. A wide pit with spikes at the bottom separated the group from the tomb though. Doing a search of the chamber revealed a secret door. The group crawled through the passage and found that it let them bypass the pit and exited into the tomb area.

The main focus in the tomb was the large dragon sarcophagus in the center of the chamber. After some discussion, it is decided to open the grave in case it might be a secret passage to the lower level, because Who puts a tomb on the upper floor of a fortress?” Talyn asked. There were no stairs, but in fact a Dragon Priest interred. It looked like some sort of Troll creature that had been in suspended animation because it immediately attacked when the top was removed. 

The creature battled fiercely, but was eventually put down by the group. It’s body was unceremoniously dumped in the spike pit. Talyn climbed down to loot it, then climbed back up on the other side while the rest of the group went back through the secret tunnel. It was decided that the group would take a quick rest then proceed to the prison area and take on the dire rats that inhabited that region.

There were many rats and everyone fought bravely. Panya put her martial arts to the test, kicking, punching, and even throwing dire rats at each other. The rats kept coming, wave after wave and it took everything the companions had to fight them off. Then, a truly giant rat, Guthash, the Bloated One, appeared. She was the size of a small horse and charged down the hall, smashing into the newly rescued Gnome, Erky, nearly killing him. Finally, Malachai’s sword, Talyn’s shield, Panya’s fists of fury, and Lucky’s crossbow and bardic magic were victorious. 

The rats' nest was looted and the body of a previous adventurer was found. Wounds were tended to, Erky was brought back from the brink of death, and the loot was transported back to the safety of the Goblin guardroom. It was decided to rest for the remainder of the day before preparing to descend into the Dark Grove the following morning.

Session Notes

Why are play reports so hard to write. We played this session over a month ago and we play again tonight. Hopefully the next session report will come a bit quicker! Still, fun session with lots of exploration, skill rolls, and a couple of exciting and dangerous combats. 

Cast of Characters:

Malachai, Feytouched, Wilderness Defender - played by JeCorey H
Talyn Dilectus Vanyilam, teenage Celestial warrior on the run - played by Don K
Panya Masika, a Nithian monk stranded out of time - played by Carol C
Vlajic Savago, the Lucky Savage, a Traladaran bard - played by Dan E

and GMJasonGURPS as the DM