Kent was going to write up the solo adventures of Vallana, but he hasn't yet. Tsk tsk. Shameful slackness. So anyway, here's a transcript of the email sessions we ran to do the job.
GM: Here's the map for you to gaze at in awe and wonder.
The whole cavern is dimly lit by beds of the same luminescent fungi the slaves were harvesting upstairs — plenty of light for your dwarvish eyes.
There is a lot of activity in amongst the buildings down on the waterfall terraces — mostly the little grey critters, but also some of the big hairy guys and several of the huge four-armed things. They all appear to be somewhat agitated; occasionally one of the 4-arms will lash out and rampage a bit, sending greys and hairies scattering.
The gigantic nasty in the lake broaches the surface occasionally, but mostly seems to lurk about in the depths.
The central column is climbable, though there are some tricky-looking parts for about 60 metres down from the level of the bridge — further down you can see a network of paths and ladders leading in amongst fungus-beds; if you make it that far without doing your bouncy-act it would be easy to get down the rest of the way. There are a few slaves tending the beds, but not more than a dozen in total that you can see, and only one overseer.
VALLANA: Okay I'm going with Plan B. Spend 7 pts to get a climbing roll of 14- and 3 pts to get a stealth skill of 12-. Then I'll try climbing down...
GM: You make it almost all the way down to the paths, but slip and fall the last 20 feet or so, landing (unharmed) in a soft squidgy fungus bed and scaring the crap out of a little grey gardener. It shrieks and passes out.
You clamber out of the fungus bed, all covered in softly glowing fungus-goo.
VALLANA: I'm going to drag the poor innocent and helpfully unconscious gardener into cover and break it's limbs before scoffing it's heart and chopping off it's head. I'll even try to be remorseful...well grateful for the healing anyway. Then look for guards on the bridge.
GM: Gruesome, but expected :) The heart is deliciously nutritious; you feel a surge of warmth and energy flood through your limbs. The little critter's broken and dismembered parts start writhing, and bubbles start oozing out its severed neck-stump as it attempts to speak.
OK, apart from the gardeners and the hairy overseer working among the fungus beds there doesn't appear to be any activity. There are no (obvious) guards on the bridge, and none of the gardening crew appear to have noticed you.
There is plenty of cover along the sides of the fungus beds; easy to make your way down without being observed, though the clanking and clattering of your plate-mail as you creep along sounds remarkably loud to your ears.
VALLANA: Bugger squared. I forgot about the noise from my armour. Ah well can't do much about it now. Incidentally would i fit inside a hairy overseer skin...if i just happened to come across one? Actually i think i'll skip that. how wide is the bridge?
GM: You'd certainly fit inside a hairy overseer skin, but you'd look very little like a hairy overseer :)
The bridge is quite substantial: about 10-12 metres wide.
VALLANA: Hmm. how wide is the opening on the other side of the bridge? I suspect my noisy armour is going to necessitate a mad dash instead of a covert operation. Yes! mad dash while my speed is still is still bumped up. Across the bridge and through the opening on the other side of the bridge. shield on left arm and morning star in right hand. If the reptile demon rears it's ugly head i'll try a move through...
GM: It's almost the same width as the bridge — it's easily 8-9 metres wide.
As you get down towards the level of the bridge, you start passing small shelters and bothies nestling in amongst the stone formations. In some of them are females with tiny newborns; they shrink back into their nests as you pass.... you do pass, right? Right?
VALLANA: Mmm heart McNuggets *drool*...no, no stay on track. Okay yes pass by the hovels, give them the old universal "Shhhhh" signal. Keep an eye out for any of the hairy overseer/four armed death machines. Move reasonably quickly.
GM: OK, you ignore that delicious fresh-bread smell..... no you don't, you get a 16 on your EGO roll and rip the heart out of some unfortunate new mother. It's full of tasty goodness, but it does create a certain shrieking and fleeing ambience among the other mothers, who scatter in all directions to get away from the hideous undead death-monster.
From a couple of levels up you hear the hairy overseer roar something in Hairyspeech.
VALLANA: I'm taking that as my cue to run like hell. non-combat speed and leg it!
GM: OK, with all your extra SPD he has no chance of catching up to you, and you hit the bridge running.
As you tear across it at Mach Speed, you see a huge pressure wave form on the surface of the lake. The HHMWTTB (Huge Horrible Monster With Teeth THIS Big) surges out of the water at you and....
...jerks to a stop.
You see that the thing appears to be restrained by what looks like a surprisingly slender and fragile-looking silver chain that stretches back into the depths of the lake. It roars and slavers in frustration, but it can't get at you.
VALLANA: YES! Resist the urge to tease it and keep on running. When i get to the opening on the other side i'll stop and check behind me for signs of pursuit.
GM: The Hairy up in the fungus beds pulls out a horn and is hooting a signal-call on it. The HHMWTTB is still straining and slavering at the leash at you.
There's no immediate sign of anyone in the tunnel.
VALLANA: No idea why it has a leash or how it's managing to hold it back but i think i'll worry about that later. i'll haul ass into the tunnel before anybody can intercept me. If it's still all clear just inside the tunnel try a potshot at the horn blower with my crossbow. if there are mounting signs of opposition i'll just keep moving dow the tunnel and hope my fungus laden body gives me enough light to set a decent pace.
GM: There's nobody in sight as far into the tunnel as you can see.
Your pot-shot at the horn-blower doesn't even come close (you're shooting at -8 for range); he doesn't even appear to notice the bolt which smashes into the rock more than ten metres from him.
You can hear answering horn calls coming from the town.
VALLANA: Okay down the tunnel as fast as i can safely go. Arg. i always think of these things when it's too late. should have grabbed a pile of glow fungus while i was over the other side. Anyway i'll make do with the stuff that's still clinging to me. Keep my morning star and shield ready. If i stop briedly and take off my helmet can i hear anything down the tunnel in the direction i'm heading? Replace helm on head and keep moving.
GM: The goo sticking to you illuminates your immediate surroundings, enough to be able to travel at a decent trot at least. It also makes you a terrific target for anyone with missile weapons, but I guess you already figured that out.
When you take your helmet off and listen you can hear a rhythmic metallic clanging (like a really badly-made bell) and the sounds of Hairy snarling and grunting from further into the tunnel(s), but no visual sign of them as yet. You can hear answering horn-calls coming from back outside the tunnel mouth as well.
VALLANA: Arg. ...okay how far into the tunnel am i? I have a horrible feeling that the heart of the maiden is being guarded by the demon underwater. But hell i've come this far i'll just keep on going down the tunnel. I'm fairly confident i can dish out plenty of carnage as long as i refrain from eating any four armed guy hearts. Plan A! Full frontal assault
GM: Right then... coming out of a side-doors not far ahead of you are about half a dozen Hairies. Unlike the ones you fought upstairs, these ones appear to be armed with mancatchers and nets, though they also have stone-headed clubs on their belts.
Over their snarls and growls you hear the sound of chains rattling and then a loud clang from the darkness behind them. That bloody bell is still clanging too, AND it's off-key.
The Hairies advance on you, the net-men first and the mancatchers coming up behind.
VALLANA: Ok. Overconfident. i'll trust in my armour and hope to take down the netmen before they can cause too much trouble. Chaaaaarge! whack a net guy with my morning star and follow up with a sweep on two if the speed gods smile on me.
GM: After the little ante-natal snack on the way down, your SPD is such that you get two actions to their one — and with your Morning-Star of Death you have no trouble at all in taking down three of them before they have time to react.
The remaining three thrust their mancatchers at you, but only one hits — the toothed jaws of the mancatcher has you by your right forearm. Your armour has no trouble at all absorbing the puny damage from the spikes, but your weapon-hand is immobilised.
VALLANA: I'll try for ...i think i have martial escape? And an effective Str of 35 with that to break free? I'll try and break free. If i use my shield to block will it just deflect the mancatcher or will it become ensnared?
GM: Once it's got you it can't be effectively blocked — it's basically a pair of springy toothed jaws on the end of a long pole that works like an eel trap. (See the attached GIF)
You can certainly use your Martial Escape to try to get out of it — which you do, even with his advantages in STR and leverage (rolled 8 pts STR vs his crappy 6) and still with an action to spare before they get to try to grab you again.
VALLANA: Ah ok. i'll use the action to try and sweep two of them. and then call forward a martial block with my shield. Hopefully i can whittle them down befopre help arrives and go silence that bloody bell.
GM: You smash the first two into bloody gobbets with your sweep (max damage with the first blow, 13pts with the second) and block the lunge of the sole remaining guard with your shield. Before he can attack again, you smash his skull in and are left standing victorious over six corpses, all dead within 30 seconds.
Meanwhile, back upstairs, the rest of the party are jogging steadily down the passage looking for traces of you, and are coming in sight of the doorway on to the bridge.
OK, I think I'll leave it there for the moment since it's getting late. I'll email again tomorrow evening with more thrilling adventures.
VALLANA: Sweet. thanks for that:) I'm moderately shocked that she didn't get eaten *grin*.