Iron Gods: Fires of Creation

Episode 4: Unto the Breach

Last Time on Iron Gods
The party delved deeper into the caverns underneath Torch, which they found is now being used as the home of a tribe of Skulks. The skulks offered safe passage to the party in exchange for clearing some nearby caverns of gremlins. Returning to town to rest and return the body of an adventurer they found, the party was invited to a local gambling den, the Silverdisk Hall, by a messenger with a note from Garmen Ulreth.

Status
The PCs gained a level last session, and so will be at full hit points. I also slightly respecced Durand and switched out Valki's veils.

Barek
    18 hp, 10 temporary
    Rage 7 rounds
    Readied Maneuvers crushing blow, encouraging roar, primal wrath
    Active Stance stance of aggression

Durand
    18 hp
    Grit 3
    Readied Maneuvers disarming shot, eye the needle, slipstream strike
    Active Stance stance of piercing rays
Note: Durand's character sheet is in error; replace the Deadly Aim feat with Technologist

Selka
    19 hp
    Spells 5 1st-level
    Sacred Counsel 3
    Second Chance 1

Valki
    14 hp, 10 temporary
    Nanite Surge 1
    Essence 4
    Veils
        Akashic Artificer (Belt): Stone Giant's Girdle (1 essence, Barek)
        Belt: Stone Giant's Girdle (1 essence)
        Hands: Riven Darts (1 essence, bound)
        Ring: Ring of the Abjurer (1 essence)

Marching Order
Barek, Valki, Selka, Durand.

11 Rova 4714 AR
Before turning in for the night, the party discusses their next move. Barek wants to visit the Silverdisk Hall, but Valki still isn't sure about getting involved with Garmen and she's keen to find out what the purple-haired android is up to, and Durand would rather focus on investigating beneath Black Hill. Selka is strangely silent, instead seeming to stare at the night sky despite being indoors.

Will the party visit Silverdisk Hall? (Unlikely)
Roll: 7-5 no

Barek is certain that meeting Garmen would be useful, even if only to get the man's measure. Not to mention he's mildly disappointed to miss out on a chance to engage in some gambling contests - he loves sporting of all kinds, games of chance included. Still, the Hall doesn't open very early, so he sees the wisdom in saving that for some time later. For now, Black Hill calls.

12 Rova 4714 AR
The party wakes in the early morning with the rising of the sun, and makes its way through the caverns underneath Black Hill, readying their weapons as they proceed. The Skulk "village" is strangely empty, but Selka can feel eyes upon her, so she hurries her brother and their companions through the chamber.

Set in the wall of the cavern is a pitted expanse of dark metal. About five feet up, there is a perfectly circular iris-like opening, and a sterile white light flickers from within. Barek clambers in, then helps the others into the room one at a time. The party seems to be in a long, gently-curving hallway, its walls and floors made of the same material as the outer wall in the cave. Panels overhead give off the light they'd seen. The hallways to the north and south are collapsed, but there is a door immediately across the hall that leads deeper.

Will the party proceed through the door? (Likely)
Roll: 4-8 partial no

A party member gets curious. Who?
Roll: 5

Roll PC
1-4 Barek
5-8 Selka
9-12 Valki

Durand approaches the door and begins to look it over, trying to determine how to operate it given the lack of latches or handles. Meanwhile, Selka wanders bit to the North, and begins shifting some of the loose rubble around. After a minute it's clear that there is too much material to make any sort of headway. Just then, she hears Durand say "gotcha" under his breath as he passes his hand over a panel near the door. There's a whoosh as the door disappears into the wall above, but Durand's voice catches in his throat at the sight of a robot immediately in front of him!

The PCs must roll DC 12 Perception checks in order to act in the first round of combat.

Barek: 23 success
Durand: 9 failure
Selka: 6 failure
Valki: 20 success

Initiative

Barek: 6
Durand: 23
Selka: 13
Valki: 8
Repair Drone: 11

Round 1

The robot looks very similar to the one found at the Forge, albeit in much better shape. The drone swings one of its fists at Durand.

Attack: 24 vs 13 hit
Damage: 8 (10/18)

Barek steps beside the door, bellowing a kellid war cry (enters rage, uses encouraging roar). The angle on the robot is awkward due to the door, but Barek tries to cleave the automoton in twain regardless (uses primal wrath).

Attack: 15 vs 18 miss

Barek elects to spend a Hero Point (1 remaining) for a bonus, resulting in a roll of 19.

Damage: 28 (3/31)

Barek's blade crunches into its side, nearly shearing straight through the creature's abdomen. Valki draws her nanites into her hands, casting two spikes of cerulean light at the robot despite her intervening allies. (The robot has cover and Valki is shooting into melee with her riven darts).

Attacks: 5 and 6 vs 20 miss.

Valki is forced to shoot wide to avoid her companions, and her darts burn pits into the glaucite walls. Durand finally catches himself, hissing in pain at the robot's punch. He carefully takes a step back as Barek wrests his blade from the construct's chest, and lines up a musket shot aimed straight for one of its eye-lenses. (5-foot step back, uses eye of the needle and attacks)

Attack: 29 vs 18 hit, threatens
Critical: 10 vs 18 standard hit
Damage: 8 (0/31)

Durand's shot cuts clean through the robot's head, showering the room behind it with metallic debris; Selka gasps, her vision clouded by a sight of a desert underneath a metal sky, like the one Sef described to them.

Durand breathes a sigh of relief. "Glad you had me there, Barek. Selka, wouldja mind?" he winces as he gestures at his shoulder.

Selka casts cure light wounds (4/5 1st-level spells).

Healing: 10 (18/18)

Durand flexes his shoulder a few times, then picks up his musket and takes a deep breath. Barek meanwhile has been meditating, recovering his strength after his rage ended. Barek then stands, wipes the robot's oils off his sword on his sleeve, and steps over it.

Except for the robot, the room is bare; it's more of a hallway, and another door rests at the end. The party elects to be more cautious now; Barek positions himself 10 feet from the door but directly in front of it, with Selka and Valki covering him on either flank. Durand stands with his back to the wall beside the door's panel, and signals to Barek just before opening it. (Unless otherwise stated, this will be the party's new standard.)

After a moment of silence, everyone lets their guard down and enters the next room. On either side are a tangle of cages, jumbled up as if from some kind of earthquake, and in several there are ancient spines and ribs of some strange six-legged creature. The party spends a few minutes searching the room, and comes up with with some items. Durand puts his experience to use identifying the items;

Barek takes the grippers, while Durand keeps a hold of the other two items for now.

There are two doors in this room beside the one the PCs entered; one in the South and one the East.

Will the PCs take the East door? (Even)
Roll: 5-5 no
Random Event: Detail, Barek

While Durand stows the party's finds and Selka and Valki discuss where to go, Barek decides to take a closer look at the bones in the cages. They look like they might have belonged to a six-legged rodent covered in spines, but when he tries to pick some up they crumbled to dust. Barek was disappointed.

Selka and Valki reasoned that the curved halls might indicate the facility was circular, and that it might be safer to make a circuit rather than dive deeper in if possible. Unfortunately, the southern door leads to a small collapsed room. Valki could make out a sign which she said was labelled "Kennels" in the language of the ancients, but investigating further would take a digging crew the party did not have.

The door to the East lead to a room with two machines festooned with coils and nozzles, but even given a few minutes' prodding by Durand they don't seem to be working. A door opposite the entry leads out.

I'm calling this session here, though it was a bit on the short end. Took me a little bit to get back into the swing of things.

Shooting through that doorway was harsh; I might need to have Valki invest in Point-Blank shot and Precise Shot like I'm planning for Durand.

I'm looking forward into the adventure, and I'm going to need to come up with a good way to frame some of the in-Torch events. Still I guess it's fortuitous that Durand couldn't identify one of the items. Gives the party an excuse to go looking around.

Iron Gods