DnD Encounters this week at The Gaming Goat featured only one table again this week. One of our regular DM's was out again and apparently might be for awhile, plus we were missing several of the regular players. We did have newcomer Bobby join us this week to sit in with Don, Zach, Nate, Steve, Dan, and myself, along with DM Clyde. The party had taken out several dwarven defenders in the underground temple last week - could they maintain their winning ways?
As the last of the dwarven defenders took their final breath an unearthly quiet had settled over the area. The party members could also discern a palpable chill in the air. With no immediate threat at hand the party took a short rest and sought to further inspect the temple area. Several party members inspected a room off to the side, a library as it turned out. A quick inspection revealed a Potion of Healing, an Amulet of Protection +1, and a set a Black Iron Scale Armor +1. The party had no doubt the ensuing encounters were going to be tough, so any boons such as these were definitely welcome.
The remaining members of the party inspected the altar. The prisoner that the party previously released had warned the party of a Blue Ooze that guarded the temple. Well, there was no Blue Ooze here, and several of the party members had previously ran through (or on) the shallow pools of water that were adjacent to the altar, so it didn't seem likely the ooze was there either.
A closer inspection of the floor around the altar revealed scratch marks, hinting as to a secret that lay beneath the altar. The cold that filled the room also seemed to come from beneath the altar as well, but before any attempt was made to move the altar the closest party members opted to wait for the rest of the party to join them. As they waited the cleric took his turn inspecting the altar and determined that another type of magic was emanating from the altar. He offered a short prayer to the altar and received a small boon: Resist 5 to Cold, only lost once the character took 6 or more points of cold damage. Each party member ended up taking a knee for that nice little perk.
Once the party was rejoined a plan was quickly put into place and on the count of 1-2-3 the two largest party members strained to push the altar aside. The altar slowly gave way, only to suddenly explode in a flash of blue light. The room immediately became freezing cold and large sections of the walls became covered with ice. But most importantly, the large Blue Ooze the party was (or maybe wasn't) looking for had appeared. Three long tentacles also reached up out of the both of the pools next to altar, and with their Reach 5 there wasn't much of the room that was safe from their grasp.
The Blue Ooze spat out some undecipherable utterances, but no one in the party understood Deep Speech. The ooze took that opportunity to attack by squeezing past and through four of the party members. The four party members took their opportunity attacks, the results including two critical hits and one maxed damage on a hit (aka, a ghetto crit). The party took their hits from the ooze as well, but the order was established for the evening. The party swarmed the ooze and began to deliver effective blows, including attacks that pushed or slid the ooze, dazed it, and slept it as well. Dan was even able to knock it prone, although no one could exactly tell which side was up to begin with.
Don the monk used one attack to take out the three tentacles that were closest nearest to the party, giving the party one more advantage. My mage took out two more tentacles with an Arc Lightning, but by now the party had finally bloodied the ooze and the end was drawing nigh. The ooze did his best, using his action points, his aura, and his area attacks, and managed to bloody several of the party. The cleric was knocked unconscious, was successfully resuscitated, only to be knocked out again because he was still in the ooze aura.
And then it was over. The Blue Ooze froze into a huge cube of dark ice, and then shattered. Laying in the middle of the pool of ooze remains was a blue gem (100 GP per party member). There was also a stairway leading down where the altar had previously stood. The extreme cold was abated as well. The steps down looked tempting, but the party decided this was a good point to take an extended rest before moving on. The half of the party that wasn't TPK'd had successfully killed one of the demented dwarven brothers previously, so that meant that the other one was still roaming around down there somewhere.
Besides the extended rest the characters will be given the opportunity to spend their accrued GP as if they were back in town. Apparently even an the evil temple has a handy gift shop these days. Maybe I can get a pencil that has "Sunset Shrine" embossed on the side, along with a couple Potions of Healing.
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