Altright!
I was waiting all day for this!

Unload the NAJA and Felix's powered armor, but don't power them up yet.

Have a pair of scouts check out the pathway first.

>>14695945
Approximately how far from the river is this structure? Does there appear to be evidence that part of it may be under the river?

Oh, and ask the Captain of the boat we came in on:
"Have you ever been down this far the river before? Was this thing always here?"

>>14696016

(Just as a note, updates may be slow today because of my cleaning)

The structure you measure off in paces, being about forty paces off of the rocky coast of the subterranean river. The structure could go beneath it eventually, presuming it is very long.

"Have you ever been down this far the river before? Was this thing always here?" You ask the captain.

"This is a few days away, sir. I've never been this far away from the caverns." The captain confesses.

You begin unloading the NAJA, which you have a number of NAJA carts to transport quietly. The troops begin checking the mechanics of each of them. Felixhia's armor is pulled out on one as well, and he begins suiting up.

>>14696143
Alright, let's have some scouts check out that path, see where it goes and if there's an opening into the structure.

Make sure everyone's guns are ready.
Now I know we have various types of grenades, but do we also have satchel charges? And did we bring any?

>>14696163

You have explosives, but not much.

Felixhia brought them.

The NAJA walk around the side of the structure, lineguns at the ready. The kobolds wave you over to show you a large opening in the structure, like a door but with rounded corners, otherwise square, and the bottom at about two feet off of the ground. It is open, revealing a large branching hallway that has several large, rounded support pillars on either side. The entire structure is made out of some kind of shiny black stone.

The interior is quiet as you enter, passageways that stretch up at least twenty feet with as much width to the sides. You find pathways going deeper down and up into the structure, and aside from some very large and blocky tables in some rooms, little in the way of furniture. The same dots on the ground you saw in your vision are on the floor here as well.

Kobump?

Let's move deeper into the structure, but slowly. Make sure we've got our lights pretty bright and we're checking for any traps or an ambush. Any signs of life? Is there a layer of dust on the furniture or does the place seem well maintained?

>>14696844
Continue deeper into the structure.
If we have any, use chalk to mark our way and not get lost.

>>14696941

You have lights up and dark goggles on. There is no dust here. The place seems highly maintained. You have a scout walk ahead of you, looking for traps, but he finds none. Your NAJA climb downt he spiraling ramp deeper into the structure, and keep heading down behind you as you lead them into the next level. Here, there are noted portions of wall and structure that appear to have been the site of some major explosions, but no bodies mar the passages. A similar ramp of descent is here as well.

>>14696949

You totally put chalk dust down at select spots to mark your passing. The grains seem to avoid adhering to the floor and walls. You fill in one of the dots in the floor with it.

You continue on for a few more levels, eventually reaching what you think is the main structure.

Massive hallways with large arching roofs stretch out as far as the eye can see. Small doorways sized to fit a six foot tall entrant are along the passageways, with no visible markings other than the ones on the ground along the passages. Each door does have a small section of more fine dots around the floor at its entry point.

And, meeting time for me. Be back in around 1:15.

>>14697062
All very good, but we are not equipped for an acheological study.

Pair up and spread out. Be on the lookout for automated defenses and traps.
Above all, be quiet.

>>14697194
1:15 AM, or in an hour and 15?

>>14697207

An hour and fifteen.

In this case from when the meeting actually starts.

The passageways contain an unusual number of empty rooms. You find a few scoring marks on a wall from a hand roughly the same size as yours, leading back along a wall and down a passageway.

(Away for srs this time)

I completely missed the last thread, and it's not on suptg. Can anyone find it on easymodo?

>>14697665

http://suptg.thisisnotatrueending.com/archive/14615734/

(Just doing this while scheduling)

>>14697681
HAha, what the fuck. It's listed as "RPS Army Suggestions" with completely wrong tags. Who the fuck archived this?

>>14697724
I know. The idiot apologised, but I've had no response from Lord Licorice when i asked him to retag and retitle.

>>14697476
Let's follow that hand!

Bump until VKO comes back.

>>14698592

VKO is back. (Once again slow updates because new roommate is here).

You note that the scoring comes from claws of some kind. Your nails are not nearly powerful enough to do such a thing. You do recall the claws growing from your hand in your dream, and wonder if that might have done it.

You round a corner and come face to face with a number of black-cloaked forms. Stopping your troops, you probe them with telekinesis to check their authenticity. They slump over, their shredded bodies held in place by their own weapons, which have been impaled through their chests, or what resembles their torsos, and left to hang there with their surprisingly clean cloaks draped over them.

There is little blood elsewhere in the area.

>>14699503
Examine the bodies, who and what were they?
Also the cloaks, check for any identifying symbols or marks. Do the same with the weapons, see if any of our group recognize the weapons and their workmanship.
Finally, Detect Magic. Anything magical about them?

"I'm really hoping that this means our target here is going to be able to actively help us."

>>14699540

(OK, cleaning done)

The bodies are drow, torn to shreds by some powerful creature. The strength required to do this... You'd be surprised any creature around your size could do it. Dalak, though a bit put off by the corpses, examines them.

"Cause of death appears to be loss of blood." He says a bit squeamishly. "Though their injuries appear to have been inflicted on them while they were still alive."

You note a design in shiny black thread on the cloth, depicting a spider on a web of flame. The society of the burning web. They were supporters of Rosenkraft's. But why are they here?

Their weapons, most of their equipment, seems to have been taken from their bodies. The remaining sheaths and scraps of cloth are for crossbows and two handed weapons. Mostly likely some kind of scouting patrol.

You hear the sound of heavy legs pounding into the floor far off in the distance. Your soldiers raise their weapons.

The sound soon fades after a few tense moments. The gear is not magical: At least, not anymore.

"I'm really hoping that this means our target here is going to be able to actively help us." You say, muttering "And that whatever that thing is, it doesn't find him first."

>>14700461
>>14700484
Alright, continue searching.
Everyone keep their weapons ready, have a pair of scouts stay about a 100 feet in front and another pair in back of the main group so we aren't surprised by an ambush.

>>14700580

You slink deeper into the depths of the massive construction, your people watching every angle. Felixhia seems much more bold in the suit, and scouts around corners a few times.

"Whatever that thing was, it didn't leave a drop of blood." Dalak says, keeping a ray gun at the ready as you walk.

"What does that mean?" You ask him.

"I am not sure. It could mean it cleaned it up, or the blood never hit the ground." He sighs. "I really wish I could prove it was plausible, but even if they were killed somewhere else, there were so many injuries that the bodies would have been leaking the whole way. And they were killed within the last twelve hours." He grimaces. "Something tells me whatever it was, it did that to them to make them feel pain until they died."

"Wouldn't be the first time I've dealt with something with a sadistic streak." You say, keeping spell energy crackling between your fingertips.

You continue much further in, until you reach a room full of the training pillars you saw Tayn using in the scrying sensor, the dark floor covered with the signs of bare-footed movement over a long period of time. One appears to have been dissolved by a kind of acid, and the other has eight deep scoring marks in it, as though from claws.

>>14700683
Check the size of the claws, compare them to our own. See if it's feasible that it was Tayn who did the damage.
Then continue the search.

>>14700720

Your tiny claws are more akin to the nails of a lizard, sharp, but not capable of doing this. The one thing you notice about the spread of the markings is that they are very wide, wider than you can get your fingers by about ten inches.

You continue down the hall, trying to remember the pathway that Tayn took. Eventually, you think you hear the sound of labored breathing from a ways off, down one of the halls.

Let's hurry and find the source. If the claw marks are any indication, he might be in trouble.

>>14700799
Go forward, but use scouts and ourselves.
It might be Tayn, or it might be the creature that did all of this damage.

>>14700811
>>14700846

You and the scouts press forward, cautiously approaching the breathing sound. You make the ones with you invisible, and head up to the room you can hear the noise coming from. You hear a pained groan, one you can recognize as being close to your own voice.

Around the corner, you can see Tayn, curled up on the ground and clutching at his chest. He appears to be in a great amount of pain. The room he is in is one of the ones with the large number of crystals and wires, with the angled altars full of symbols. The room is not lit.

"Tayn! Where is the creature?"

>>14700898
Use Darkvision goggles to see if whatever attacked him is using him as bait. Check the ceiling.

Have one of the scouts go back to get the main group to move up here.

Also, step back out of the room, put a Light spell on a pebble, and throw it in.

>>14700917
Are you TRYING to get us killed?
You want to shout out when it looks pretty much like a trap?

>>14700933

You do not see anything on the ceiling. You have darkvision, so no need to worry about that.

You motion back to one fo the scouts to go back and get the main group. The rest move up nearby, with the NAJA at the ready.

Tayn doesn't seem to notice the sound of the people moving.

Well, let's look him over then.

>>14700996
While still invisible, go to Tayn and speak to him.
"Tayn, it's Mynthar. I've brought help. What did this to you, and is it still about?"

Motion for the group to enter the room. Have guards posted at the door and NAJA units point their weapons at it.
Have Dalak take a look at the implant in Tayn's back.

Also, do we have a Wand of Cure Light Wounds with us?

>>14701036

Yeah, you've got one on you.

You move over to Tayn, looking down at him as he writhes.

You motion for guards to be put in place, and they set up a defensive guard around the area.

"Tayn, it's Mynthar. I've brought help. What did this to you, and is it still about?" You say, fading from invisibility.

Tayn doesn't stop squirming, seemingly in too much pain to answer.

"Tayn? Can you answer me?"

You reach out to touch his shoulder, and you hand passes through him. Suddenly, his body is a black mass with green symbols spread throughout it, each a large symbol like an O, turning into a dot. You notice the O's rapidly becoming .'s as you pull your hand away from the image.

>>14701130
FUCKING NUKE IT

>>14701130
"OUT! OUT! GLAMOUR TRAP!"
Run out of the room.

>>14701145
>>14701152

"OUT! OUT! GLAMOUR TRAP!" You shout, thinking up the name on the fly. The other kobolds hear the four letter word and dive out of the room as a wave of light spreads through it, and then the sizzling hiss of scorching rays flooding the room. You skid out, the room remaining at the uncomfortable brightness as you do.

Fortunately, no one was hurt.

The image was consumed in the blast, and disappears.

>>14701249
Shit. Regroup, and continue the search. Be wary of an attack.
Either Tayn's sold us out, or whoever set up the trap knows that we're here for Tayn.

>>14701271
little else to do but this.

Additionally, be on the lookout for anything valuable/useful

>>14701271
>>14701353

You do see something unusual in the area where the rays went off.

They seem to have scorched most of a symbol you know well into the ground. The one that was once on your right wrist, the symbol depicting a circle with vine-like "wings" on each side composed of four tendril-like waves.

You continue further in until you find what appears to be the cafeteria, or the makeshift one, in which Tayn was eating. The pot has stayed atop a small metal circle, and appears to still be bubbling. A quick scan with detect magic reveals that the liquid in the pot is magical, but not much else in the room is. The room has little in the way of furniture, but a large archway marks the exit to the blackened room. Shadows coalesce here like black curtains from the ceiling.

>>14701461
Take samples of that soup if there's any residue left. FOR SCIENCE!

>>14701461
Take samples of the soup.

Throw a pebble with Light cast on it into the darkened room.

>>14701484
>>14701534

You sample some of the soup. It is bland, smelling much like the gruel produced by a sustaining spoon. You put some in an empty vial. You pull out a pebble, light it up, and cast it out into the darkness. It lands beside a foot clad in a dark black leather boot.

"I take it you are Mynthar, yes?" You hear a feminine voice say in the kobold tongue. You hear your soldiers ready their weapons, a high pitched whine issuing from them, as a female drow clad in a gray bodysuit and dark cloak steps a bit towards you. Her features are subdued, and you note a whip braided with blades at one of her hips. She holds up her hands, gloved in a soft black cloth and rimmed with spotted white feathers. "I mean you no harm. We are friends who simply have not yet met one another."

>>14701609
Is the voice familiar? Is it the same one as the Drow mistress that Tayn was talking to in our scrying session?

"Really? I admit, the fact that you are willing to talk first is surprising. You have my attention."

"Willingness to talk out in the field is rare to find. Alright. Speak your peace."

>>14701633

It isn't the same voice. This one is much more reserved.

"Really? I admit, the fact that you are willing to talk first is surprising. You have my attention." You say, folding your hands behind your back.

"I am a friend of a friend. Of the up-worlders who disposed of Rosenkraft and the demonic intrusions. The same ones who saved you, if the rumors are true." She remains calm, her face devoid of emotion.

"I was sent here by my organization to follow a group of drow that had been sent here. An unusually large size for a supposedly abandoned ruin, whatever this is." She says, looking around. "They have been here for little over a day, before the attacks started. The kobold, I assume you're looking for, is the one who set that trap. I would have warned you had I known you were friendly.

"Perhaps the upworlders spoke of me. I'm Six." She says turning to look towards the corridors as you hear a squirming sound. "But now might not be the best time for introductions. I suggest your group stick close to avoid losing anyone to those things."

Please post a formation for your group.

(Back in an hour)

Wedge formation, firing stances, Mynthar center-rear

>>14701756
Does the name ring any bells?

Formation:
Are we in the cafeteria or the darkened room?
How many doors are there?
Could we all fit in the darkened room, and would does it have fewer doors than the cafeteria?
I suggest Felix in his power armor and the NAJA units in a semicircle covering the door. Everyone else stay behind them and use them as cover while firing.

I just looked on suptg, and god-fucking-damnit!
Somebody tagged the quest wrong again!
You're supposed to use the tags from the second session.

>>14701831

Six's name does not ring any bells.

There are two entrances to the cafeteria, one that you did not come in that is much larger. The one you entered in from is smaller and is on the 9-o'clock wall compared to the 12 of the larger main door, with your back against the nearby wall.

>>14702392
Then go with the formation from here >>14701831 directed at whichever door the squirming sounds are coming from.
Also, do we have any grenades, and of what types?

>>14702407

It's coming from both doors.

You have: sticky fire grenades, freezing grenades, and concussive grenades.

You arrange your troops with the Naja in front of each door, and a pair of soldiers to protect Dalak and the other surgeons.

You hear the skittering sounds stop, and a soft, almost birdlike chirp sound from one doorway. Then THEY swarm in.

At first you are unsure what to make of them. With their completely white skin, you at first thought them some sort of ghosts. But you see them crawling across the ground, with misshapen and spotty limbs, sprouting tentacles, crab claws, tails, and teeth. So many teeth.

Each ranges from four feet to eight feet in length, with a few having a snake-like body with numerous arms or bladed limbs, too many joints on most of the arms. The bodies of the beasts are a stark white against the black background of the facility, save a few colored streaks along their bodies of yellows, greens, pinks, deep blues, any color imaginable. Their bodies erupt in pallid blood as they squeal, roar, hiss and garble as they are shredded under a hail of steel. Chaos envelops the battlefield. The creatures begin crawling up onto the walls, around the defensive perimeter, from both entrances.

>>14702622
Lob sticky fire grenades at the large entrance and then create a Wall of Force to close off the smaller entrance.

Cast Black Tentacles at the larger opening to help keep the abominations contained.

The NAJA mounted troops begin backing away from the walls, and the scouts on foot move back, throwing down fire grenades to keep them contained.

You seal off one exit with a wall of force, leaving the smaller group to clean up the ones that got in. The second exit you call forth black tendrils to hold the rest of them at bay while your kobolds regroup.

As the tendrils wrap around some of them, the creatures sprout more tentacles and teeth on those tentacles, shredding through the black tentacles. You hear a high pitched squeal from the tentacles.

That's... not supposed to happen.

Six moves up to strike at the creatures through the flames, her whip slicing into their rubbery white flesh.

>>14702761
I was going to suggest Web, but if they can bite through things, then this could be harder than originally planned.
My next idea was Stinking Cloud, but we have no way of knowing if this would work against them.
So I think we should use a good old fantasy staple: Fireball.

"Fire in the hole!"
Launch the fireball towards the larger entrance that is still open, and have the fireball fly through and detonate 20 feet into the room to catch everything that is still on the other side of the doorway.

>>14702800

"Fire in the hole!" You shout, flinging a blast of fire down into the hallway. A number of the creatures are torched, making numerous pained sounds, oddly goblin like or kobold like screams mixed in with pained gibbering and hisses. The flames detonated a bit early, having hit some of the tentacles in the way of the hallway.

Six lashes a few back, her whip sheathed in a black, shadowy energy snaking out onto them and causing the creatures to double back a bit. Felixhia's armored form crashes into them, squashing some like a bag full of water on the walls, and swinging the sword through them with ease.

The other group has managed to take out most of the ones who got through before the wall went up. They are reforming their ranks.

>>14702894
How many appear to be in the larger corridor?
By my count, I think only 4 out of 13 rounds have expired on the Wall of Force.
If there's still quite a lot coming through, fire another Fireball down the large entrance. If not as much, use a Web spell to try to slow them down and give our gunners more time to shoot them.

>>14702948

You got 15 rounds of it, son.

You throw a web up past the doorway, and the creatures on the exterior stop, knowing the web will repel them. One creature with a huge, angler-like mouth, rears back its head and spits a blast of acid through the web, spraying down onto one of the frontline fighters who screams in agony as his flesh begins smoking. Soon, more of them follow suit, the ones who cannot or decide not to spit acid working their way through the web and the tentacles.

The injured soldier is pulled back as the NAJA open up. You make your way up towards the front, extending your hand outwards as you finish calculating the angles of the environment. A blast of white-hot lightning sprays through the crowd of white skinned beasts, melting flesh and spraying the air with liquified web and ash, the bolt ricocheting off of the walls of the corridor, unimpeded by the tentacles or the web.

Their forces crippled, the frontal force turns back.

Also, I just realized:
Protection from Arrows will protect against guns.
When guns become popular:
1. Corner the market on Protection from Arrows amulets.
2. Develop a Dispel Magic anti-mage bullet.
3. Kobolds are the only ones with them in quantity.
4. PROFIT!

>>14703025

Also wind wall.

Arcane gunsmen, anyone?

>>14703013
I completely forgot about Ricocheting Lightning!
Is that a 6th-level spell?
And if that Wall of Force lasts for 15 rounds, then we must be a 15th level sorceror, giving us at minimum 4 7th-level spell slots.

>>14703056

Yep, sure is.

>>14703013
Have our people at the larger opening secure that entrance.
We should turn back to the smaller one, and get ready with another Ricocheting Lightning spell for when the Wall of Force goes down.

>>14703069
In our last dream meeting with Tayn, we took the form of a blue dragon.
Is that from our draconic heritage?
When we cast spells, do we seem to have an affinity for lighting attacks, suggesting that we have blue dragon blood?

>>14703072

You rush over to the wall of force, spell at the ready. Your gunners stand, weapons loaded and aimed, ready to unleash hell on these freakish horrors. White blood spreads on the ground, with a viscosity like that of milk, the few half-living creatures executed by a sidearm to whatever most resembled a head.

>>14703090

You have always had an affinity for lightning. This would be for a blue dragon, yes. However, you have never actually taken a draconic form, though you know how.

>>14703123
Alright, if the attacks have stopped, take stock of our situation.
What is the status of our ammunition, and besides that one seriously injured soldier, how is everyone else? If necessary, and if we have one, use a Wand of Cure Light Wounds.

Once our men are seen to, turn to Six.
"From your reaction, you knew what those things were. What are they, do you know?
"Also, you say that the remnants of the Rosenkrafts were here only for a day before they were attacked by those things? Then it sounds like these things are," kicking one of the dead bodies for emphasis, "likely to be under the control of whoever is using this place.
"Do you know why the Society of the Burning Web is interested in this facility?"

With war about to come to the CCCP, I'm looking through the list of wondrous items and trying to come up with relatively cheap items that can greatly increase the effectiveness of our troops.
Obvious ones I can think of are Handy Haversacks for our squads to use, or maybe a Type 1 Bag of Holding. It could be used to carry large amounts of ammunition and supplies, and would be invaluable to a commando unit.
Not everyone needs one, just the one soldier in a squad designated as the pack-mule.
A Decanter of Endless Water would be a godsend to an army that needs a supply of fresh water.

>>14703219
If we do go ahead with creating a Special Operations Command to train commandos, I think we'll need to separate them into two categories:
Commandos which are purely skill-based, and are not equipped with magical items, and Special Forces that use a number of magic and wondrous items to lead an assault or weaken defenses ahead of a conventional attack.
Because this world has had magic for a good long while, Detect Magic would be used constantly to look for spies and thieves trying to sneak into a secure area. Sneaking into such areas would require those who can do so without any magical aid.

>>14703158

Before the wall comes down, the creatures seem to suddenly and decisively give up, retreating into the corridors. After the wall shimmers and dissipates, your allies suggest moving to pursue, but you hold up a hand and shake your head. Pursuing such a large force would doubtless have costs, and who knows how many more they'd lead you to?

You go over to attend to the injured soldier. The acid worked its way through him quickly, burning off a good chunk of his face and jaw, his left hand and most of his left leg. He has the bone of his skull visible across his face, and is being sedated. You stop the bleeding with your cure spell. The medics ask you to come to a decision about what should be done with him.

"From your reaction, you knew what those things were. What are they, do you know?" You ask Six.

"I only know what I've seen them do. As for their origin? What they are? I have no idea. They can come in great packs or as individuals, and most do not possess that acidic blast." She mentions. "From what I can tell, they change rapidly and erratically."

"Also, you say that the remnants of the Rosenkrafts were here only for a day before they were attacked by those things? Then it sounds like these things are," You kick one of the dead bodies for emphasis, "likely to be under the control of whoever is using this place."

"They are not under the control of anyone." Six says. "They do not act in a coherent manner, much of the time. On occasion, they produce offspring by having them drop off as a bud. Other times they hatch from an egg. The one thing I'm sure of is they're very adaptable." The drow responds, coiling her whip and placing it by her side. "There are no Rosenkraft here, by the way. Only Burning Web."

"Do you know why the Society of the Burning Web is interested in this facility?"

She shakes her head. "I do not. They seem to be looking for either that kobold or something else here. A few portions of their force should still be prowling around, trying to escape those thing's notice.

>>14703274
Put the injured soldier in one of the NAJA for transport.
Do we know how many more charges that the Wand of Cure Light has left? If it's more than 20, I'd like to use a few more charges so that the injured kobold is in better shape and so that moving him will be medically acceptable.

"Alright. For now, at least, our goals seem to be similar enough that we can work together. How much of this place have you explored?"

Get out a slate and some chalk and start creating a rough map of this place, and see what information Six can provide.

Considering how dangerous this place seems to be, I suggest we save 1 7th-level slot for Mage's Magnificent Mansion if we know the spell.
It'll let us safely rest and regain our spell slots even in here.

>>14703333

You heal the kobold, who appears to be going into shock. He tries to say something to you, but his missing jaw prevents him from doing so. You heal him up and put him on one of the back NAJA.


"Alright. For now, at least, our goals seem to be similar enough that we can work together. How much of this place have you explored?" You ask her.

"Quite a bit. I've been here for about as long as the society of the Burning Web." She says, and begins describing the facility's layout to you. Down below, there are a mass of twisting, confusing passages where she knows a few other rooms like the room you saw the trap in are.

"I don't believe they would have mentioned me, as they did not want to raise your ire for working with me, I believe." Six says after finishing her descriptions. "But you are far more tolerant than I was led to believe. Far more tolerant than others of my organization might be, even."

(And I will pick this up tomorrow, tired as hell.)

>>14703389
Alright, so you'll continue this later, then?
We'll keep this bumped.

And for when you come back to this:
Mynthar gives a derisive snort.
"Ha! I am, above all, a rational kobold, Six. We are deep in enemy territory, beset by abominations, and still have not found our target.
"No, I don't TRUST you, but that's not enough of a reason to not TOLERATE working with you, given the circumstances.
"Now, point out areas that you've already searched, and maybe we can narrow down where we can find some of these Burning Web agents."

bump

bump

>>14706601
Still here and waiting.

>>14706601
Hey VKO, still around?

>>14707124

Yep, just back from shopping.

>>14703443

You smirk. "Ha! I am, above all, a rational kobold, Six. We are deep in enemy territory, beset by abominations, and still have not found our target.

"No, I don't TRUST you, but that's not enough of a reason to not TOLERATE working with you, given the circumstances."

"Of course." She says, grinning. "It would be foolish to trust someone you've known for ten minutes who won't even give you her real name."

"Now, point out areas that you've already searched, and maybe we can narrow down where we can find some of these Burning Web agents."

Six shakes her head. "They could've moved, but from what I can tell this structure goes very deep." She taps the ground, and remains quiet, a very slight vibration running through the floor. "It's hollow. I did the same thing three floors down. No one I've seen go lower than that, and it seems to be due to the lack of ramps down there.

>>14707421
Have Mynthar give a long-suffering sigh.
"Of course. Nothing can EVER be easy.
"Alright, we'll move out. Close formation. We'll have to search room by room, at this point.
"Before we move though. Six, have you noticed any vulnerabilities that those creatures have? Any immunities?"

I just had an idea:
Can we use the Drow Feudalists to manufacture Cloaks of Elvenkind for us? For a substantial bulk discount, we'll buy the Cloaks from them and distribute them amongst our elite scouts and assault commandos.
They provide a useful service to us, by creating boots (maybe amulets instead, since kobolds don't wear boots?) of Elvenkind and Cloaks of Elvenkind; in return, we provide them with much-needed trade and we don't crush them out of spite. Oh, and by being useful to us, we now have an incentive to prevent their little kingdom from being wiped out by the Drow Empire.

>>14707488

"Of course. Nothing can EVER be easy." You sigh.

"Naturally." Six says.

"Alright, we'll move out. Close formation. We'll have to search room by room, at this point." You say.

"We may not have that option. There are very large groups of those white things roaming around." Six says. "Myself or another quietly moving person would be alright, but a large group like this is going to be easy to find again for them."

"Before we move though. Six, have you noticed any vulnerabilities that those creatures have? Any immunities?" You say.

"They behave quite erratically. From what I can tell, they have some shape-shifting abilities. Their groups seem to be attracted to sound. Whatever they are, they're hungry."

>>14707845

You can in fact make cloaks of elvenkind using such a method.

True nuff, kobolds don't wear shoes, but they do wrap their feet in cloth to protect against particularly sharp stones etc. On occasion these are single pieces of cloth like a fingerless glove, and other times they are rolls of cloth.

>>14708368
"Alright then. I hate to do this, but that means we'll need to split up."

I think we should have most of the group either stay outside, or stay in a room with a single entrance, so that they can concentrate all of their firepower at one place.

Have Mynthar and the most silent scout go with Six. We need to hunt down both Tayn and a Burning Web agent.

>>14708414
So maybe Sandals of Elvenkind, then?

While we're on the subject of turning those Drow into our own personal magic-item producing client state, I'm sort of disappointed that they don't have any clerics.
If they had any, we could have a nearby supply of Wands and Potions of Cure Light/Medium Wounds, and other items dependent on divine spells.

So, cultural and social question:
As advanced socially and technologically as the CCCP is, are we willing to accept non-kobolds into our society? Would it pollute the purity of our nation to allow troglodytes, humans, halflings, elves, and even drow, dwarves, and gnomes to become a part of the Crystal Cavern People?

If we do, we could form them into a Foreign Legion, where they would be indoctrinated in kobold culture, and taught Draconic. It would help to bolster our military forces, especially as war looms on the horizon.
Also, the influx of new ideas, new perspectives, can only help to fuel our scientific advances.

>>14708476

"Alright then. I hate to do this, but that means we'll need to split up." You motion to one of the scouts who had been on point earlier. "You, come with me. The rest of you evacuate to that room with the training columns we saw earlier."

"Yessir." The kobold says, saluting.

"I'll message you when we find them, Dalak." You say to the surgeon. He nods, and the group starts off, quietly.

"I'll lead you to the places I haven't investigated." Six says, turning back towards the shadows near the large archway.

>>14709244
Follow her, and have guns at the ready.
Move to minimize sound.

Also, do we have any thunderstones? If the creatures are attracted by sound, using a thunderstone might be useful as a decoy.

>>14708939

Well, main thing is:

You're kobolds. They hate you. And you don't want to give them technology if they hate you.

Dwarves, gnomes, and drow are right out. Those three races consider yours little more than scum. The others might work, though.

You don't have any inclination of racial purity in your propaganda. I haven't explained how kobold mating habits are, have I?

>>14709298

You walk sideways, your arms out to help balancing.

You actually didn't pack any thunderstones yourself, but your scout ally has one. You keep note of it and move further down in the structure. White strands of... something stretch from one side of the hallway to the other in some areas, with half-formed eggshells left dangling like chickens at a market along the strings.

You keep heading further into the maze until you hear a sudden cry. A high pitch, possibly drow.

>>14709496
Go towards the cry, carefully.
Make note of the eggs; we may want to collect some samples on our way out.

Once we've returned to the Cavern, we should mount a military expedition to come here in force and clear out this facility.

>>14709553

You progress slowly over toward the sound, weapons at the ready. As you do you hear another, quieter cry, and a gurgling splatter.

You assemble at the corner, and you remove a small mirror on a stick from your pouch, crouching down to floor level to peer around the corner.

You see a large, snake-like creature with a thin head, the center of its body bunched up into a coil. Two sail-like wings sprout from its back, with gossamer scales along them, and its body has four three-toed limbs, each with thick bluish-purple chitin in segments around them, with blurred black markings on one leg.. Its eyes are large and almost insectile, with slightly lighter pupils than the yellow green of its compound eyes. It opens its mouth, and you can see fine, springy spines go up across the creature's body. Its teeth are ridged, and it has a pair of small antennae around its snake-like chin.

>>14709716
Okay, I can't identify it; someone else will have to do it.
Does Mynthar know what the creature is?
Otherwise let's silently motion for our group to go back a bit, before talking. We probably don't want to have to fight it, and might be better to avoid it entirely.

>>14709742
LETS FUCKING KILL IT.

throw down some flashstones and have 3 guys run around the corner and fill that fucker full of holes.

>>14710087
How about NO.
We only have Mynthar, Six, and one scout.
We're deep within this building, with hordes of abominations lurking about, and we haven't found Tayn yet.
Wasting spells and ammunition is foolhardy.

>>14709742

You have no idea what the hell this thing is. Its skin repels the drow's blood, like water on metal, as it cleanly removes their throats with its right forelimb, the one mottled black. Its lengthy tail thrashes about as it does so, tiny gossamer spines writhing about as it does so.

"What do we do about this?" You ask using a message, after sneaking back into a room down the hallway.

"Avoid it, sir. Too big of a risk." The scout says. "We have no nearby backup, and we don't know what it can do."

You feel Six gently open your left palm and begin to write letters in it in draconic. "I'd like to investigate this thing, whatever it is. I haven't seen it before now. It seems like it could be intelligent."

>>14710106
Sign back to Six:
"Too risky. It doesn't seem to like Drow, and we don't know if we can communicate with it. It might only attack Burning Web, but we wouldn't have time to tell it that before it killed and gutted you.
"Still need to find Tayn and any surviving Burning Web agents."

I suggest we pick another route and continue searching.

>>14710135
>that before it killed and gutted you
Should be:
"that you're not one of them before it killed and gutted you"

>>14710135

You sign back into her hand with your right, avoiding scratching her with the metal claws on the hand that are quite a bit sharper than your real ones.

"Too risky. It doesn't seem to like Drow, and we don't know if we can communicate with it. It might only attack Burning Web, but we wouldn't have time to tell it that you're not one of them before it killed and gutted you.

"Still need to find Tayn and any surviving Burning Web agents." You sign after giving that a bit of time to sink in.

"Agreed." Six signs.

You suggest a new route, heading away from the strange creature into the grand hallways that seem to go on forever.

Anything in particular you'd like to do in the meantime?

>>14709389
Hmm..So, a Foreign Legion would not be too out of the question. I don't believe we should try active recruitment yet, though. We're not strong enough. Yet.

>>14710357
I would have liked to have talked with Six, but knowing that those creatures are attracted to sound, and there's even worse things about, I think silence is the best policy for right now.

>>14710411

You do have the power of hand-writing.

Of course, that takes a while. So you could just send a message instead.

>>14710422
I've played wizards so long that I keep forgetting we're a sorceror, and can cast cantrips all day, er'ry day.

So yes, let's put that Message cantrip to good use.

"You mentioned that you were part of an organization, and that I appeared to be more tolerant than even some of your members. You must be a breakaway enclave from the Drow Empire, then.
"That you worked with surfacers means that you either have an outpost on the surface, or your headquarters is located at a major trade hub. The Empire would not tolerate your existence, so you are either very well hidden, or most of your operations take place on the surface.
"What your organization, and what are your goals?"

>>14710479

"You mentioned that you were part of an organization, and that I appeared to be more tolerant than even some of your members. You must be a breakaway enclave from the Drow Empire, then."

"Indeed. We are nameless, raised from a young age to fight the drow menace." She explains.

You consider this, then continue. "That you worked with surfacers means that you either have an outpost on the surface, or your headquarters is located at a major trade hub. The Empire would not tolerate your existence, so you are either very well hidden, or most of your operations take place on the surface.

"What your organization, and what are your goals?"

"I am afraid I cannot share this information." Six signs back. "Except that we oppose the Burning Web, and most drow organizations, save the rebellious ones.

"Suffice to say my loyalties are still with my people, just a much more... Progressive faction."

And we're done for now. Game nights will be on either Friday or wednesday from now on, job is happening on saturdays.

Where I will be using this as research material.

This means this may run on the same day as gargoyle quest, or something. We'll see how it turns out.

>>14710656
This could be problematic.
As long as the Drow stayed technological primitives, they could be safely contained. However, if this Progressive faction were to gain an upper hand, it would result in the Drow becoming a much greater threat.
This group will need to be searched out and watched.

"Save the rebellious ones, eh? What do you know about a group of Feudalists that are trying to repurpose the old Rosenkraft fortress?"

>>14710678
Okay, around what times on those days will this be running, then?
Is the next session going to be Wednesday, or is it not determined yet?

>>14710730

At about Wednesday at 21:00.

>>14711088
I myself will be a little late then, appearing around 22:00 or so.
I'll leave it up to the other posters to keep the thread active.