Game summary for July 25, 2023, Chronoshift: Spelljammer campaign, Pathfinder Roleplaying Game, for Phoenix Gaming Club. Session included: Edonna Match Wushu Lu Klighke (Dragonborn Oracle played by Casey Scruggs), Hekera Nephera Mawhesk Vyk’sebekenka (Sebek-ka Fighter played by Preston Harmon), Helg Ingvar (Aasimar Cleric played by Chris Harmon), Jiraiya (Hurwaeti Freebooter played by Andrew Renfrow), Khesen Pavel (Human Brawler played by Parker Harmon), Komorebi (Kitsune Bard played by Josh Jenkins), and Neko (Half-Orc Magus played by Peyton Harmon). Game Master for this session was Charles Plemons.
The party moved the partially burnt barricades in front of the two entrances to the room and setup a rotating watch. Before trying to sleep, they cast detect thoughts and detect magic at the far door and were able to sense faint evocation and moderate illusion magic. Edonna cast scrying on the black dragon they fought earlier and found it was tucked away somewhere trying to sleep off its injuries. As secure as they felt they could be, they slept in shifts. With spells recovered, Helg cast raise dead and recovered Khesen. Then, the party healed their wounds and spelled up before kicking open the far doors.
The room had a very tall ceiling, was lined with tall black statues of armored men, and had braziers burning on either side of an altar. Behind the altar was an enormous floating black left hand glowing with unholy light. Upon the altar lay a bleeding and unmoving dwarven man. Helg cast detect magic again and determined there was some faint evocation around (or within?) the altar. There was moderate illusion active around and on the altar (perhaps the dwarf and entire altar).
Jiraiya walked into the room and triggered a trap! A chained harpoon shot down from the ceiling, impaled him, and began hauling him up toward the ceiling! In agony, and unable to speak due to being mute, he thrashed about to draw forth his semaphore flags and tried to signal to Helg that he could see openings in the ceiling that the chain was going into, and that there was such an opening over every five feet or so of the room!
Khesen moved into the room and jumped up to grab the chain above Jiraiya. This set the chain to swinging back and forth and sent waves of agony wracking through the hurwaeti. Neko went up to the altar, and CLICK! Another pressure plate triggered another harpoon! Up went an impaled Neko. The horrified onlookers watched their friends continue to be hoisted toward the ceiling. It dawned on them that the harpoons will fit through the holes in the ceiling… but allies will not! There was about to be some devastating harpoon extractions and gravity-induced contusions.
Khesen used his martial training to turn his fists against the chain and snapped it. Right above where he was holding it! Both he and Jiraiya plummeted toward the floor. Jiraiya tried to direct his fall into the floor section in which he stood when the trap triggered. Although it hurt, he succeeded. He then ran from the room and ripped the harpoon out of his torso (and spent the next several moments vomiting from the pain). Khesen tried to land safely below Neko but just missed. He crashed into the floor… and triggered another harpoon! Up he went.
The rest of the team was dumbstruck and went about trying to heal wounds and otherwise figure out some ways to effectively overcome this obstacle. Komo tried disabling traps in the first area of floor but couldn’t find any mechanism of any sort. Edonna kept casting close wounds to help those suffering from the harpoons and chains. The group decided to drag some of the bodies of the slain orcs and hobgoblins over to try and trigger more harpoons with the corpses. Helg consumed a potion of fly while Neko hacked away at the chain hoisting him, dealing far more damage to himself than the chain. Khesen quaffed his own potion of fly as well.
Helg flew up to grab Neko and support his weight while the half-orc extracted himself from the weakened chain. He was able to take him to safety while Khesen broke his chain and flew free.
Regrouping, the team stared at the trapped room in frustration and for some, searing agony. How would they overcome this challenge?
