Whew! We've finally made it to the Minotaur's Lair. That was a rough one on them. They made it through, though. And it only took about 18 hours over 6 or 7 sessions!
I keep finding it amazing how much these four kids are willing to pour themselves into these characters. I keep presenting them with obstacle after obstacle with less and less information up front, and they keep figuring out more creative ways to conquer them. Of course, it's also fun to watch them work for an hour to try and figure out increasingly elaborate ways through a trap only to have the youngest one of them beat it in one sentence. They needed to cross a room that was a magic trap and filled with gas whenever any magic entered or was formed in the room. If they would've used any magic or brought anything with magic currently at work within it (like their enchanted gems that they were using for light), the room immediately filled with a yellow haze that would do 1 damage to them immediately and 1 poison damage on the following turn. They didn't want to leave the gems behind, though. So two of them entered the room and explored it without any magic ... or light ... while the other two stayed behind with the gems. Leaving their comrades behind, one almost was eaten by a giant, magically enhanced Venus Flytrap, one became Hulk-ified for a few minutes, and both ended up stuck in a dimensional portal in a trapped chest. They were rescued by one of the other two. After all that and still no success in getting the gems across the room without taking damage, the last one of them (the youngest) simply said, "can I just throw these things across the room?"
Yep.
I chuckled at the other three for a moment ... then made them roll a dexterity check to not get hit with the gems. Heehee.
Finally, they found the Minotaur at the top of a sloped corridor that had a trough running down the center and had a trap door in the ceiling near the top (I bet you can figure out what was above the trap door ... they haven't seen Indiana Jones yet ...).
They now have two pieces of the artifact that they need to assemble. The Minotaur also gave them scrolls that let them choose between two spells to help them on their journey. I've never seen 8-11 year-olds so conflicted. You would have thought I had asked them if they wanted to save the cute puppy or the cuddly bunny from the hungry lion. It was awesome.
They are so excited about their characters and trying out their new abilities that they acted out at least half a dozen scenarios on their way to bed. I am excited to see the ways they come up with to use their new abilities.
I'll list all the traps, the rooms in which they found them, the treasure rooms, the monsters, and the location of the lair in another post. They didn't explore the maze in its entirety, but they will have that option if they want to do that next session. I'm pretty sure they missed about 7 rooms.
Our four intrepid adventurers rise from the Maze of the Minotaur weary but determined. The elemental mage has become so infused with the elemental magic that he has gained the ability to become a living elemental being. The master archer has honed his tracking and stealth skills to the point where he can blend in to any surroundings (basically, disguise + camouflage). The life mage has learned to manipulate the life energies of her fellow adventurers at a distance and can now heal at range. The nature mage found himself at one with the wildlife around him and gained the ability to polymorph into any creature. May these new abilities prove beneficial on their journey to bring Zimarim the Grimm down.
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