RQG 198 - Tourist Traps

## Content Warnings

Body horror & undead. Discussions of: human remains. Mentions of: death, ableism, heights, fire, bombs, petrification. SFX: tinkling, intermittent rumbling.

## Summary

The party finds itself in a verdant tourist attraction and discovers a particularly bony enemy as they attempt to enter a building. Opting for caution, they find an alternate rooftop entrance instead of picking a fight.

## Synopsis

After fighting off the creatures that attacked the party, Zolf advises they move onwards quickly. Skraak affirms that it looked safe when he scouted ahead, so the party proceed. On the way down the corridor, Cel reloads their crossbow and Hamid casts Heroism on Skraak. The corridor is littered with detritus, but none of the bodies or plant creatures from previous rooms. The walls seem to emit a multicolored light and large stained glass windows adorn the walls; the party all realize that this seems to have been an official entrance for visitors to Svalbard.

As they continue down the corridor- curving slightly to the right- Zolf hears distant birdsong and feels a slight gust of warmer air. He warns the party that whatever is ahead could be some sort of artificial garden or have a connection to Yerlik.

Skraak heads out in front of the party to check for traps. He takes out a small handful of soot from his bag and blows it over the flagstones, noticing that one of them has been disturbed and is likely a trap mechanism. Cel disables it, pointing out that it was probably a spectacle for tourists that would have interacted with the stained glass windows. Skraak is very excited at this prospect, and Cel assures them that the trap would be useful to set off if they need a distraction later on.

As the party head onwards, they all begin to hear the birdsong and notice that the temperature is getting warmer. They emerge into a large, hemispherical man-made area with an opening at the top; it resembles a park with full-grown trees. There is a low-lying mist pouring out from vents that obscures some areas. The variety of tree and bird species seems random, with collections from all around the world. The park is slightly overgrown and designs of plants in mithril are inlaid up the walls. The party also notice a complex of structures built into the side of the wall and shrouded by shrubs. They hear a deep boom coming from within the complex and decide to move towards it. As they approach Cel discerns that the low-lying mist is steam-based and contains some sort of fertilizer which has maintained the plants and kept mechanical elements such as door-hinges in a good condition.

The front entrance to the complex has a large archway with the word ‘botanicals’ in dwarven script, giving an overall “jurassic park vibe.” Skraak approaches the door and checks for traps. He instantly recoils from the door, warning the party that something is banging on the inside. Zolf proposes that they find another way through; Cel notices that the surrounding glass domes look scalable, and Skraak proposes that they could go through the vent systems.

Zolf activates his boots of levitation and scales the nearest dome structure with a rope. From the top he can see that the complex has an open-air water source surrounded by a hydroponics setup. Most significantly, a massive shambling bone creature is slamming against the large door. The creature is covered in humanoid bone parts, it has whiplike spines for hands, glowing blue eyes, and shoulder pads made of skulls. Zolf descends the rope and describes what he saw to the party. He explains that he has a way of getting rid of it before it notices by shifting it to a plane of fire, Zolf doesn’t think it has planar elements like the other creatures, so the shift should work, but if things go wrong everyone must attack. The party agree to his plan and scale the rope one-by-one. They all see the creature: Azu can identify the bones, but doesn’t know anything about it because she didn’t pay attention in seminary, Cel rambles about carcinization, concluding that “we will all become crabs,” and both Hamid and Cel identify the creature as a naturally occurring and rare fossil construct: creatures with touch-based petrification abilities that arise in areas with lots of magic. This is bad for Zolf’s plan as it means they are resistant to magic. The party agree to move onwards and enter through an accessible dome further on with open windows. Zolf plans to block off the creature by using magic to re-shape the corridor so they can safely pass.

## Quotes

**Alex**: "Gosh I wish climbing a rope in real life was only DC 5."
**Ben**: "Yeah, but then we don't have adventurer levels, Alex."
**Alex**: "I do!"
**Ben**: "That's the thing, we're civilians, we're commoners. We’re all like level [crosstalk] one commoners."
**Alex**: "No we're not, we're wildly unoptimised bards."
**Ben**: "*Oh.*"
―Alex knows exactly which class everyone is.
## Dice rolls & mechanics

* Hamid casts heroism on Skraak: giving them +2 on attack rolls, saves, and skill checks.
* Everyone makes a Perception check: Zolf (nat 20: 30), Cel (20), Azu (22), Hamid (20), Skraak (20)
* Azu makes a Percepotion check to notice the deep rumble again: 21
* Skraak makes a Perception check for traps: 16
* Skraak fails a Disable Device check to disarm the trap: 17
* Cel succeeds at a Disable Decice check to disarm the trap: 28
* Cel makes a Knowledge (nature) check to notice the birdsong is from a bunch of disparate species: 18
* Skraak makes a successful Perception check for traps: 29
* Cel makes a Craft (alchemy) check on the gas: 37
* Skraak makes a Perception check at the door: 14
* Cel and Skraak make a Knowledge (engineering) check on how to enter the building: Cel (27), Skraak (20)
* Zolf makes a Perception check: 19
* Zolf makes a Knowledge (religion) check on the bone monster: 14
* Zolf makes a Knowledge (planes) check on the bone monster: 12
* Everyone makes a Climb check: Azu (17), Skraak (nat 20: 35), Hamid (13), Cel (20)
* Skraak makes a Knowledge (dungeoneering) check on the bone monster: 27
* Cel and Hamid make Knowledge (arcana) checks on the bone monster: Cel (28), Hamid (33)
* Azu makes a Knowledge (religion) check on the bone monster: nat 1