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I'm preparing to run this years adventure for my group but am a bit confused about some of the wording. How have you all handled the encounter with Tyulqin?

The text states:

The prisoner is tightly wrapped in webs. To free the prisoner, the companions have to climb up onto the web and cut the sticky strands. At least, that’s what they think they are doing – in reality, they are walking up to a thick black web and wrapping themselves in its grasping strands.

Then it says:

A character caught in the black web can free himself with three successful Athletics test.

Followed by:

If a player smells a rat, he might propose a roll of Insight. Should it succeed, the companion perceives that something is wrong about the situation, and eventually snaps out of the enchantment.

Once a character sees through the illusion, he finds that he is covered in an exceedingly fine black Spider-web, so fragile and faint that he brushed through it without noticing. Further, the other members of the companions are similarly covered. Breaking this delicate web dispels the illusion.

My question here is what the heroes are experiencing. Do they think they are trapped in the web as they try to free the prisoner, or are they completely unaware that they are being caught in the web? It would seem that the text implies they think they are freeing the prisoner and are not aware of the web entangling them. But if this is the case, why would a player try to free himself?

Then again, the entanglement in the webs seems to be part of the illusion since the actual web is thin and fragile and the hero can break it easily to dispel the illusion negating the need for 3 athletic tests.

The next bit that I am struggling to understand is the combat.

Killing Tyulqin is virtually impossible – like her sibling, she flees if wounded or reduced to zero Endurance. She recently ate, so she is slow and sleepy. It takes her six rounds to lazily crawl down the wall, though she will
hasten if the companions try shooting her with arrows. She may also choose to throw a web of illusion over an
archer.

I assume this means that for the first 6 rounds of combat she is out of range of close combat stances and cannot be attacked except from rearward. She can cast Dreadful Spells: Stupify and Strike Fear, but cannot ensnare or use her beak until the 7th round, unless she is fired upon by a ranged attack. Am I correct in that interpretation?

When I ran this one, I just described the illusion (what the characters saw). For my game, I had one of their pivotal early companions (a Hobbit PC, one who fashioned himself the group's "'leader", but the player moved away and is no longer part of the group) as the one calling for help, and seemingly caught in the webs.

Most of the companions were baffled by the illusion, and one began wrapping themselves up as they attempted to "rescue" their friend. But some of them realized that it was likely an illusion, and was able to free others. I don't recall if it was by making Wisdom or Insight rolls.

I think I had Tyulqin out of close combat range as she made her way down, and IIRC the PCs attacked her at range; in any event she ended up fleeing before they could slay her.

Here is a summary of our game. Hopefully this helps some.

Hi Wb,
I see the thin black web as a completely different web, than the very real web trap, that the players will fall into, if they believe the illusion.
So if they manage to see through the illusion, while caught in the big net, then they would still need to escape with Athletics.
Regarding the 6 rounds before close combat, then I would either count that as opening volleys, head start in a chase or simply have my players deal with minor spiders until the Master arrives after 6 rounds.

There are three webs.

The first web is the delicate spell-web - easily broken, but if you touch it, you fall into the illusion. It's so light and hard to spot that the player characters blundered into it unawares.

The second web is the illusory web-with-a-prisoner. You see this if you're under the effects of the first web.

The third web is the thick black web that Tyulqin actually uses to catch and store her prey. If you walk up to the second "web", you're actually plunging head-first into this third web.

(Tyulqin's very lazy - she's spun one thick web, and lots and lots of light spell-webs. All her victims hit the light webs and then, bewildered and enchanted, blunder into the one thick web.)

So, the scene opens with the PCs already under the illusion. They think they're rescuing a prisoner, but they're actually enmeshing themselves in the thick black web. Once one of them sees through the illusion (Insight/Wisdom), they can free themselves from the black web (Athletics). Freeing someone else from the illusion is trivial (break the light cobweb).

The slow six-round approach is to give the PCs time to break free.

Indur Dawndeath wrote:Hi Wb,
I see the thin black web as a completely different web, than the very real web trap, that the players will fall into, if they believe the illusion.
So if they manage to see through the illusion, while caught in the big net, then they would still need to escape with Athletics.
Regarding the 6 rounds before close combat, then I would either count that as opening volleys, head start in a chase or simply have my players deal with minor spiders until the Master arrives after 6 rounds.

Yes. Good ideas. I will have to introduce some nasty minions while she descends.

Thank you for your response and clarification Mytholder. That explains things terrifically. This is a testament to how great all of you at C7 are, that you take the time to help us out and answer our questions. Much appreciated!

As I said in another thread, devious doesn't come close to describing Tylquin!
If you are a nasty LM (like me) you could allow only three combat rounds for the PC's to escape before she descends! (But hey, I did try to warn them with veiled hints etc!)

Robin S.