Against the Cult of the Reptile God - Group 1 (Inactive)

Game Master Chainmail

Stabilize roll. 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Whaddaya know, I made it.

After being hit, the hobgoblin has 1d8 + 2 - 8 ⇒ (5) + 2 - 8 = -1 hp.

The goblins seem to be fleeing through the door as quickly as possible.
Combat is over unless you wish to pursue the goblins. They seem content to flee.

After the beating we took, I think letting them go is the wise choice

hey felgarr, read your two possible actions again in that last post. gave me a laugh.

"I daresay the title of 'Hero' be given to Terion." Ama half-joked from her position propped up on the wall. She was certain that this situation would feature prominently in nightmares to come, but for now, she was greatly relieved to be able keep breathing. "We all owe you a debt that cannot be easily repaid.. Paladin."

Ama looked over the room she was in, as well as the doorway where Strang had.. retreated to, and sighed, leaning over to lay down as much as her wounds and armor would allow. She had been through a lot, and being on death's door was something that she had to face-- the thoughts that ran through her mind while she was helpless were not all pretty. "I'm going to rest now", she declared, closing her eyes.

The warrior decides not to give chase to the fleeing creatures - instead he stands silent for a moment, taking in the carnage around them, the fallen enemies and friends.

Ama's comment shakes him out of his contemplation, bringing a grim smile to his lips - "If any would be named as such, I guess it would have to be all of us Ama... We have learned a dire lesson so far today"

Turning to the newly arrived dwarf he adds - "I can only say that your timing was perfect friend, and I make Ama's words my own - If it were not for your presence, I believe we would have met a dire end in this cursed place"

As he turns to check up on each of his fallen friends, he adds - "Are you from these parts? Can you give us any idea as to where this seemingly unending horde could be coming from? It seems we took ou the lid from some sort of hell jar..."

Everyone's up and running right...? Or... at least alive :D

After making sure all his companions are at least able to overcome this for the time being, Terion smiles broadly - "We are here, and they are not - THAT makes all the difference in my book"

The goblins are running as fast as their small legs can carry them through the south door.

Many heroes are suffering from assorted wounds.

What next?

A positive HP total? Maybe? Please?

Lyin' on da ground. Gonna have ta clean some blood outta my pantaloons.

mah spellbook? lol.

"It's no overstatement to say we overestimated ourselves here. We can't rely on happenstance and heroic strangers to win our battles for us. Nor can we take on every mob of zombies and goblins we meet head on. For now, we need to restore our fallen to health, insomuch as we can, and find somewhere safe to rest and rethink our strategies, lest we intend to die heroically, one after the other, in the pursuit of vengeance and lost spellbooks."

I don't.

And that's why YOU are in my head, instead of one of your friends.

Strang overhears people talking normally.

What the...?

Opening the door a crack, he peeks out to see Terion talking with a dwarf - and no goblins. Releasing his breath in a sigh of relief, the heavily-wounded half-orc opened the door.

"Hey, dwarf, you any good at first aid? I've got two gnomes back here that're in pretty bad shape."

Yeah, and it had nothing to do with saving our own skin, did it?

Who runs away, lives to fight another day.

Shut yer gob. I'm done with that kinda thing.

Then why did you go back there?

....

"The decision now is either we rest up in here, or move outside to camp - what say you?"

"Resting here is likely a bad idea. After letting some of our opponents escape, they ARE going to bring reinforcements; of this I have no doubt. If we stay right where they left us, we're spoon-feeding them our heads and what's left of our gear. We need to revive our fallen, and leave quickly."

This thread stopped updating new posts for me >.<

Felgarr nods at the elf, "Your debt is not to me, fair maiden. I am a vessal of Torag's will. If you would give thanks, thank him. I am glad I happened by when I did, though I find the situation here most disturbing.

Turning to the warrior, he extends a mailed fist. "Always a pleasure to fight with a competent soldier. Felgarr of clan Thundershield, I am. And yourself? ... I am not from Orlane, but I journey through here on occasion. I keep busy fending off bands of goblins and keeping the farmers in these lands safe. The slaughtered clergy, the rotting corpses, the goblin infestation, and the band of strangers are all very suspicious. I will ask you to tell me what you know of what transpired here once we are safe.

Following the tattooed orc (though not without a careful glance at him first), he will attend to the wounded gnomes as best he can, cleaning and binding their wounds. He has no curative magic at his call and his mundane skill is paltry, but he does the best he can. "They will live, if they are strong. You must wash their wounds and keep fresh bandages on them. If their wounds begin to smell of death, then death is not far behind."

Adressing the group, he says, "I had planned to stay here, but I agree that it would be unwise. There is an inn just up the road. I have not stayed there before, but I understand their prices are somewhat higher than the lodgings warrant. None-the-less, it is likely safer than staying here. I will pay for a few rooms there while your friends recover if you will repay me in information. I want to know everything: what brought you here, what you witnessed, and how many goblins you saw. Deal?"

Not seeing much activity.

The party retreats.
no 1: 1d8 ⇒ 1

The group retreats to the outer grounds of the temple. From there they are deciding where to go, when the two elves appear from the shadows.

"We see you picked up a dwarf. Gotta be careful in these parts."

The elves lead you back to their small cabin, where you manage to get a full rest and recover (or two days if you like).

Ama remained quiet, able to gain some small amount of rest from this downtime, asleep.

And that get's Ping healed, I hope.

Ping spends most of the two days washing and mending her clothes.

Sorry bout the lack of post, I meant to answer the quetions up above, but kept getting my attention demanded elsewhere.

Elgoron spends his time in meditation, providing input where needed, but otherwise quiet.

Perhaps it's time we examined our situation more closely. Let's start with what we know. You are not from this plane of existence. You are not me, and I'm fairly certain you're not any form of elf. what are you?

Well, I'm a high school student. My name's...it's...hang on, it's hard to recall it lately. Louis. That's it. I'm...no, I'm not an elf. I'm human. I'm pretty sure. It's hard to remember everything when I have to sort out your memories from mine.

"High school?" The terms seem...contradictory.

Hmmm. I guess. But that's what it's called. I'm just a teenager. This all happened when...when we went to...whose house was it...geez I can't remember. We were getting together, after school...to...craft a ring? Gah! No, that's one of yours. Pathfinder! We were making characters to play Pathfinder! And I made...you, I guess. But when we started, something--some force, or spell, pulled us here somehow. Now we're stuck in your heads, trying not to forget who we are..or at least, I am anyway.

Hmmm.

A day should allow our clerics to heal everyone to full with their spells.

Bizzlemont stirs from the depths of unconsciousness. "Whoa, you guys won't believe this crazy dream I had. We were fighting zombies and goblins! And I was casting spells. It was scary, but aweso-." The little gnome sits up and looks around at his friends. His mouth drops open.

"Oh shit. It wasn't a dream was it?" No, it wasn't you fool. Those javelins almost killed you. And who knows what happens when you die here. Well, maybe Flaeg knows.

"No, and we have the scars to prove it."

Back at the cabin, Strang hardly spoke with anyone and avoided looking them in the eye.

Belrain, back on his feet again, is a little sullen the first day and spends time embellishing the fist symbol on his shield with more details, but once he gets his spells back the second day he cheers up. "Okay guys, what are we going to do? Head back to the temple? There was that trapdoor we found. Maybe they think we didn't find it and that's why we went upstairs instead of down into the dungeons." he says when everyone is back on their feet.

I'm a sucker for punishment.

Evil must be overcome!

I know! Just because we got beat a couple times doesn't mean we give up! We owe it to Jeff...

Who?

Uh, I'm not sure... Flaeg I guess. Wait! If Je... Flaeg is dead, who is this new Dwarf?

Sorry guys, hard pressed to post at all - submerged in work and now Valentine looooove ;) Will update as soon as possible. Terion is all for returning to the temple.

"Good to see everyone back with us. Before we go in for more abuse, however, I think we should sort something out first. It's time the lot of us figured out where we stand with these new passengers we're carrying. From Bizzlemont's reaction, it's clear we're not all handling this the same way."

Terion spends most of his time taking care of his weapons and armor, making sure they are in top shape for whichever incursion they decide upon next.

A good portion of his time is spent with his companions, praising their recent endeavors and the fact that, in the end, as he had always said, they prevailed - except for Flaeg to whose honor he raises a glass whenever he has the opportunity to have everyone gathered - probably during the meals.

His attitude overall, is one of victory, and it is clear that this is how he feels.

"I don't think we can ignore the fact that the temple is still there, and that we did not thoroughly check it - it needs to be done!"

Do we have any loot to show for all of this? As soon as I have the opportunity, I will do a backsweep of posting since we got into the temple, and try to pull up a loot list.

"Indeed, Terion. Our goal remains the same. but we must also not overextend ourselves as we have done. We faced death once already. In the future, we must face it on our terms; in other words, prepared. My ring is still missing, and my spells may fail because of it. I haven't the resources to craft another. Bizzle is still missing his familiar, which represents a measurable portion of his power as well; to say nothing of our spellbooks. You, Strang, and Ama are all undergeared for your roles, and we lack consumable resources to sustain our little invasion. We must pace ourselves."

Bizzlemont nods at his fellow Wizard. "Fine, I agree. I'll try not to be so emotional about it all. It's hard though. But you're right. We need to be more methodical with our tactics. We also now know what we're facing. The Cult infiltrated the temple and somehow had goblins and zombies working for it."

The gnome explains the situation to their Dwarven rescuer, though he speaks fast and stumbles over the words several times.

After the first night of rest, Ama got everyone up and healed, happy to be able to move again without fear of falling unconscious and possibly dying. The armor and weapons maintenance was a calming, routine thing for her, even if it ran longer than she liked. While the others talked, she turned her thoughts inward, listening but considering.

"I presume we recovered nothing from the temple.. The concern now is whether or not others have." There was a calm sense of encouragement that she was relatively certain was not from her, but truth be told, she did not want to confront any.. "passenger" in her head just yet. "That would be one reason to return to the temple. If we had a scout--" she raised her eyebrows at Strang in inquiry, "--we could ascertain that quickly. What of the town?" She polished a spot on her glaive, and considered the beginning of the teachings she had learned at the Armsmans' guild.. Could she really manage without armor?

The elves make sure you are settled in their cottage, and inform you: "We have seen some goblins skulking around town trying to track you. We managed to hide your trail to our cottage, or you may have had some visitors while you rested."

"So, when we said the temple was infected with this cult, did we speak the truth?"

"I don't know. Most of it was a blur. Having goblins running around is never a good sign though."

Ping rubs at the still pink scars under the patched tunic. Her gaze never moves from the spot on the floor a little in front of her.

"How do you do it Ama? I'm just a painter, I don't know how to fight!"

Ama looked a bit introspective at Ping's question, considering the proper way to answer. "If you can paint, you can fight", she replied, taking a deep breath as she recalled a few memories. "There were a couple of men at the Armsmans' Guild that I would sneak off to--" giving a slight grin to Ping, Ama shrugged. "I was not the most dutiful of acolytes at times-- one of them was fearsome in combat, and all he used were cestus. One of the most gentle men, always laughing and smiling, but in the practice ring, almost everyone was hesitant to face him."

Ama inspected the end of her glaive minutely before putting it down and looking back to Ping, smiling wider from the memory. "I asked him one day how he came to be so good, how could he be a soldier that we had not heard of? He replied that he was simply a baker, and kneading bread was not so different from fighting a person. He just found a way to apply what he knew from his craft into fighting." Shrugging slightly, Ama stretched her wrist, fatigued from buffing the head of her weapon. "It is a bit... different, but if you can think of a way to paint as you fight, that is half the battle, right there."

Ama's tone was encouraging and calm, the smile on her face understanding. "Just remember that while you're trying to 'paint on a moving canvas', your canvas is trying to do the same to you. First one to finish their painting survives." Ama reached out to put a comforting hand on Ping's shoulder. "The only reason I'm not in the same state as you are now, is that I had it beaten out of me in the first few practices. After enough times, I realized if I did not move, I would lose."

Elgoron smiles at the enlightened anecdote.

"Ama, if I did not know better, I would swear your friend was an elf. Turning your art into battle is the best-kept Elven secrets of turning battle into an art."

Makes sense to me. It's all in the wrist, right?

Yet again, proof that you are inside the right head.

Bizzlemont answer the elf. "You did. The Priestess was only pretending to use the symbol of the temple. She actually was using a second symbol to power her spells." He looks around. "Someone got the second symbol, right?

The gnome stick his hand in his pocket as he asks and, surprisingly, comes out with the symbol himself. "Hey! I had it! I had totally forgotten." He holds it up for the elves and everyone else to inspect. "Here it is. Do you know what god this is?"

The elves look at the holy symbol:
"Never seen that snake one. Sure is nasty looking."

Looking at the new dwarf: "Did you change dwarves on us? Many dwarves look alike, but we are pretty sure you switched dwarves. Unless that is a disguise?"

"Anyway, finish off that temple. We can't have people going to see the Gozreh worshippers and meeting evil cultist humans. That simply will not do."

I think two full days of rest was needed as everyone was fairly hurt. Pick your spells.

Terion had been wearing a smile on his face throughout most of the conversation - he felt moderately safe for the time being, and genuinely happy at seeing everyone up and about.

At first he was simply practicing the swings of his blade - deflecting blows against unseen foes, backswinging against others.

How do I know all of this - Its as if I was supposed to be a combatant all my life... Come on Terion, snap out of it, what would you be if not a fighter? That's all you ever knew how to do.

Really? Cause I seem to remember... in the distance... being a scholar? a student?

No... I am imagining things, I fight! But not well enough... Flaeg fell because I was not good enough... We all would have fallen... We are here, but Flaeg is NOT!!"

His muscled body glistening with sweat, the huge man stops and seems to get a grip on himself - the dead log in front of him sporting several deep gashes and cuts, fierce blows dispensed while Terion pondered their fallen companion. Taking a quick look at the blade, he steadies himself with the fact that it hasn't taken any visible damage.

Then turning to the others he adds - "I agree, overextending will get us killed Elgoron. We each need to step up and take on our roles. We need more information about that foul holy symbol, we need Strang to scout out the temple, confirm if it is manned again, we need to double check the town, and dig about what is their part in it all - I still haven't forgotten their double-cross"

Then looking at the gathered group, he questions - "So... Who is up for what? Lets get moving"

"I guess not. Do you have any advice for a trouble-prone gnome."

Related Digression: Interesting thing about gnomes is that the CRB says that they have highly mutable physical characteristics, and that they are pretty much a race of fey, so is it possible that Pathfinder gnomes have their hair and skin tones change based on their over all mood? It'd be pretty fun to have gnome's hair getting duller when depressed or brighter when excited or happy.

"I think we have a far more perilous path to walk now. I would like to finish investigating the temple instead of leaving a job half done and allowing them to reinforce themselves. however, We've given them two days; if they have any friends remaining, they're probably in place. And if we faced zombies before, we're likely to face all the living things we just killed. If there's a necromancer, or, heavens forbid, a dark cleric who can raise the dead, we're going to be wading through each of our foes twice. I suggest that anything we kill from here on in...we take measures to kill them permanently."

like what? burning them?

Or removing their heads. That might suffice.

Ew. Get the fighter to do it.

Obviously, because a staff is so excellent at cutting through bone...

...sarcasm? Wow. didn't know I had...err, YOU had it in you...

Shaking her head at Ping, Ama looked slightly upset and frustrated that she could not convey what she meant, and impart even some slight cheer. "Go talk to Terion", she said flatly, removing her hand. Normally she would have tried to help Ping in her understanding, but she did not like people that were convinced that they were helpless... Right?

Frowning, she mentally felt "inside" of herself for that part of her that was.. "other", and she was surprised to find that it seemed to be in accord with what she was thinking, except that it seemed to be reinforcing some of her feelings, and muting others.

'You may be in my head but this is my body.. Stop that!'

The sense of "innocent inquiry" that she received could not be more telling.

'No mucking about in my head! It was mine first!

Cocky nonchalance.

'Oh, I will make you, if I have to..'

"Ok then it is agreed, lets go back to the temple, but this time Strang, can you scout for additional points of entry, patrols and whatnot?"

Blergh, Sorry Ama. I should not be trying to post when tired.
Do you mind flex timing it a little bit? That thing about trouble-prone gnome was supposed to be directed at the elves, not you. Besides Talking about like painting is a good way to go with the little gnome.

Ping listen's to Ama's words and something seems to click in her head.

"If fighting is like painting, do you think you can teach me to paint? Oils are different from watercolors and frescos. Can teach me the nuances of the medium."

I picture Bizzle using Pretidgitation to change his hair and clothes coloring constatly.

"I have the Priestess' ring. We should sell everything we can and buy you all better swords and armor. I'm even willing to sell the ring too."

Can we use the elves to sell/buy items? Without taking more time?

Nonono, lets not sell the ring please :D I would suggest it for anyone of the frontliners, but I have seen the casters taking too much heat lately - I suggest it goes to one of you guys to keep you safe. At least until you can become invisible ;)

It may help in the future, if your answer is to be directed at someone, to begin with a more clear indicator, Ping. I think it was just misread, as you said, due to the timing and placement of the post order. PBP can do that to ya sometimes.

"Maybe you should have this, Ama or Belrain." Bizzle sets the ring down. "I don't know how much it was helping me, and if it keeps you from getting hurt, it might be worth it."

Later that day, Bizzlemont shows Elgoron his spellbook, hoping the elf has some insight into how they can be better effective.

Ping, Pathfinder gnomes' appearance can definitely change with mood. Gnomes can undergo a process known as "bleaching" when they can't find anything interesting for their Obsession racial feature to focus on, or something like that.

Strang watches from his place in the back corner as the conversation on the temple and the cult progresses, paying only half a mind to it. When Terion says something about him scouting, he startles very slightly.

"Uhh, yeah. Sure. Be better to do it at night, y'know. I can see good at night, a lot better than I normally do."

What's that mean?

Half-orcs have 'darkvision', and can see up to 60' distinguishing detail as in daylight.

Yeah, so? Everyone can do that.

Nope, the only races in the core rulebook to get darkvision are dwarves and half-orcs. Elves and gnomes get low-light vision, which is a lame version. Humans and halflings can't see in the dark at all. Which is what I meant, since one of the reasons I picked half-orc was for darkvision since I can't myself.

I'm possessed by a halfling?!

Belrain eyes the ring, glancing at Ama. "I'll take it if you don't want it, Ama..." Belrain says.

Sweet! A magic ring!

Sweet! A magic ring!

What?

What?

Bizzlemont watches the others as they deliberate what to do.

Why do they all look like they've never done this before?

Because they haven't. This is new to us.

It's not that new. You pick up all sorts of new tricks, items, and experiences while traveling. It's why you go see new things, to expand your horizons. Now we've seen the inside of a defiled Temple of Gozreh. Also the insides of a zombie. Quite wonderful experiences.

I don't know about it being wonderful, but expanding your horizons does sound smart. It's just that some of them haven't ever left the town.

Well, that's just stupid.

A bit silly maybe, yes. I agree.

Good. That's why I like you. You're quite reasonable and brilliant too. A good head on your shoulders.

Well thank you, you're quite brilliant yourself.

Naturally.

I've heard about the Bleaching, but I don't have "Gnomes of Golarion." I'll have to add that to my list of things to get. ( As long as Paizo puts out good stuff, they'll be getting a steady stream of orders from me. :D )

My argument to giving this to one of the casters is purely a mechanical one, since they do not wear armor for me it makes more sense - if the armored tanks are in the pitch, then also Terion could definitely find it useful - just sayin'