Arena of the Gods (Inactive)

Game Master Reckless

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Dot

A broad-shouldered holy foot-soldier to Iomedae strides in wearing resplendent armor and armed with fierce looking weapons dots in.

many thanks

A Tien man of fairly innocuous appearance strides in. He appears to be dressed in humble peasant robes, though he carries a shiny shield, which belies the rest of his garb.

The tent-city of Ysith lies before you, a collection of interplanar creatures eager to serve the needs of the god-champions as they enter the games. From goods and services to servants and slaves, Ysinth offers almost anything you could desire. Glory and Power await those victorious in the Arena, and the people of Ysith await the needs of the god-champions outside of the Arena. It is a place to rest and reflect before or after one's trials, to gather strength and information for upcoming crawls, or to find allies (and rivals) among the other god-champions.

There are few permanent structures in Ysith, as most of its residents are transitory, and the needs of the god-champions quite frequently in flux. The city has swollen in anticipation of the Hundredth Millennial Celebration. This millennium's games promise to be the most exciting ones yet. At the city's center, the Grand Arch of the Arena awaits the god-champions, ever ready to transport hopefuls to the Arena of the Gods. An ornate structure, with glyphs from every known language- and more than a few lost to time- this three hundred foot high, five hundred foot wide arch is the gateway to your dreams of glory- or to your agonizing defeat.

Valgrim bides his time strolling the city to get a clear understanding of the different neighborhoods, security, shops, and where the LG temples/houses/establishments are located. He does not seek to be aggressive, just to be a tourist at the moment.

Wu will seek out a temple of Iori, if one is not present, he will find some sort of training area in which he can do his forms.

"So much excitement around here. This quest for glory - don't they know it's just an illusion, a figment of one's imagination? No, their eyes are blind, they can't pierce the veil to find the truth. I will show them the truth, for the glory of my Goddess, not mine."
Maddie wanders aimlessly around Ysinth, lost in her convoluted thoughts.

The Shrinehold, a towering structure which looms skyward and reaches the clouds, contains shrines to every deity, each with full amenities and libraries containing every holy text related to each deity.

Valgrim can find the Shrine to Iomedae within its walls fairly easily. Discovering whom among the merchant quarters are of good alignment and intent may prove more difficult, aside from the obvious slavers and/or "outsiders" of obvious alignments, such as the angels, devils, and inevitables working there (and some of them may not be what they appear, either.)

The shrine to Irori requires a staggeringly difficult climb to reach, well within Wu's capabilities.

Maddie sees many potential pupils wrapped up in their own delusions of honor, glory, wealth, and power.

Rafael wandered the markets of Ysinth, occasionally sipping from the battered pewter tankard in his hand. He was thoroughly enjoying himself. He looked forward to the contests and the accolades to follow. His red leather boots festooned with the holy symbol of Cayden Cailean left little doubt as to who his patron was. Eventually his steps brought him to the Shrinehold.

Ah, I shall pay my respects to the shrine of Cayden Cailean and then it is time for revelry. Tomorrow, the fun begins! Rafael thought to himself with a satisfied smile.

Wu will lead some of the locals at the Irori shrine in a number of forms.

Do I need to find an ally? Would would be a worthy ally? I must investigate.

Pharnmournx searches for a place to set up a headquarters. Perhaps, if I devote myself to the task, the time of my exile will be short.

Valgrim inquires if he can stay at the temple of Iomedae during the duration of the tournament. He also inquires what assistance the Temple can provide him. After that Valgrim will travel to the Arena area and scout it out looking to see if there are any possible partnerships.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33 to ask around about trustworthy weaponsmiths, armorers and the like...

Ikit simply keeps to himself. Because if who and what he is people shunned hum a lot. Si now it is only normal to stay away from them. But being invisible sure helped to stay hidden.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Can we take 20 to ask about the beginner crawls? if so Valgrim gets a 40 for Diplomacy to learn about the lowest crawl.

After spending the day training and becoming familiar with the Irori shrine, Wu will visit the area and sign up for the first of the trials, Disturbing Melody. He's not really one for dealing with people so he doesn't even bother to inquire about it. He will rely upon his faith and his training.

After a full night of carousing, Rafael also goes to the Grand Arch to inquire about the process for entering the trials.

Wu will visit the area and sign up for the first of the trials, Disturbing Melody.

Uh... I must have missed something...

See campaign tab.

Rafael finds the bustling shrine to Cayden, where he greeted by applause and more than one offer of drinks. It seems word has proceeded him, and there is a great buzz of excitement surrounding the entire spectacle.

Pharnmournx finds ample space set aside in one of the follower campsites. It seems any god-champion with a significant number of followers/slaves/etc. can claim a space within these areas to work as a base of operations. Of course, all tents, pavilions, or other shelters must be provided or purchased by the champion herself.

Valgrim is welcome to stay in Iomedae's shrine's barracks with the clergy if that is his desire. The local clergy are able to offer him advice on which smiths have a reputation for virtue, namely an awakened animated statue named Gurudin and a trumpet archon named Serenity. In addition, they offer scrolls and potions at crafting cost.

Ikit finds that being invisible doesn't always get him ignored here, but in general most folks let him along with his own business as long as he doesn't interfere with theirs.

You can take twenty on the diplo checks, this takes 50 hours of work. You are on your own timetable, so this is not an issue. Let me know if that's what you want to do for certain.

Wu finds the process extremely simple. A qualified god-champion must merely approach the Grand Arch and speak the name of the crawl he wishes to participate in and walk through the arch.

Rafael further discovers that teams can enter by all saying the crawl's name before entering together.

Campaign Info tab

Rafael is sorely tempted to enter the first beginner's crawl solo, but decides to look for possible allies first to get a better feel for the events. With that, he hangs around the Arch looking for other champions.

As Wu walks up for his trial he will see if anyone is looking for a partner. Seeing Rafael he will inquire "Greetings honorable champion, I am beginning on my quest for glory in this arena. Are you also on such a quest and do you wish to accompany in the first of the trials? Two are most often more effective than one. "

"Well met, sir. Yes, I also am willing to ally with another champion for the first trial. Do you know of any others or perhaps have information on any of the beginning trials?"

Maddie is fascinated by the Disturbing Melody trial. She doesn't know the first thing about it, but the "disturbing" part piques her interest.

She's thinking about going in alone.
Alone? Really?
"Alone? What does it mean? Aren't we all alone all the time one way or the other?"

"I am quite thoroughly uninformed as to the nature of the trial, nor do I know of others, However, I have faith in my skills and would like to get started. If you find any others about the area interested in forming a team, I am game, but I will not wait too long. "

"I am not known for my patience either. As to faith in my skills, I am, after all, the greatest swordsman in all of Golarion. Let's see what luck brings us in the next few minutes and then proceed." Rafael says with a smile.

Let's at least give the others the rest of the day to post

Valgrim will also look for an honorable partner for the first challenge after spending the required time of fifty hours of research.

[B]well met friends. Are we all here for the same challenge? [\b]

"If you mean Disturbing Melody, then yes. I wish to be started. I feel I have trained enough. "

When Pharnmournx reaches her alloted area, she begins plotting what she can turn it into. Hmm, a big tent--off from the others, no need for the rabble to overhear our...diversions--for Nathenai and myself. Along the other edge, tents for the others, a pavilion in the middle for the crafting operation, and another for worship services. Yes, that should be sufficient. She hands her money bag to Nathenai and describes her plan to him. Then she begins casting spells on herself.

casting mage armor, darkvision, greater false life, overland flight,and moment of prescience. The effects of these spells are now marked on my profile with square brackets.

temporary HP: 2d10 + 20 ⇒ (8, 8) + 20 = 36

When she's ready to leave, she motions for a proper retinue of retainers to follow her, and they head off to gather information about the Disturbing Melody crawl.

Taking 10 on Diplomacy for a 50. The "proper retinue" is however many aid another's you'll let me pile on that. If the answer is less than 5, I'll still take 5, just for appearance's sake :).

Armed with her new-found knowledge, Pharnmournx sends her followers back to the camp area to assist in building it, and she and her familiar Motol head for the Arena. Those assembled see a strikingly beautiful drow woman in tight leathers designed to accentuate said beauty touch down in front of the arch. "Hello, fellow contenstants. I am Pharnmournx, and I would be an asset to any group who wishes to undertake the trial known as 'Disturbing Melody.' I have collected much lore on the subject."

I would also like to point out that taking 10 doesn't take as long as taking 20, so I would arrive in a matter of hours, rather than after two days like Valgrim. Also, let me know how much 50 or so regular tents, a fancy, bigger tent, and two pavillions would run.

Maddie approaches the arch and looks with mild interest for a little while at the heroes gathered there. She then begins chanting and moving her hands lightly, like veils drifting in the air.

Casting See Invisibility (200 min), Freedom of Movement (200 min), Expeditious Retreat (20 min), Invisibility (20 min), Spell Resistance (20 min), Shield (from wand - 5 min)

In between her chanting, you understand bits and pieces of what sounds like a poem:

"Could it be that it's just an illusion?"
"Could it be a picture in my mind?"
"Here for just a moment then it's gone..."
"Open up your eyes and look around!"

Then, after a few seconds of silence, Maddie gently whispers "Disturbing Melody" and passes through the Arch.

"Well, that was somewhat rude. I guess I shall see about one of the other trials. The reward is too small for more than 2-3 people. Perhaps this Wyrms one. I think fighting dragons is just the thing for me. Who's game?"

I have sent PMs to those who have gathered information. In regards to timing, for the first crawl, we can assume whatever is convenient for the PCs who want to gather to be around the arch at approximately the same time, although for future events, Pharnmournx is correct about how much more quickly she can gather her info by taking 10, about 2.5 hours (1d4).

Madeline's entry into the Arena in no way prevents others from entering the Disturbing Melody crawl- each person will enter their own version unless they've agreed to team up. The Arena can support multiple crawls at once-even multiples of the same crawl.

A voice booms over the city A god-champion has entered the Disturbing Melody Crawl Let's watch, shall we?

Several denizens look upwards, apparently watching Madeleine's first crawl.

Ok, that's interesting.

"Apparently I was mistaken. Well then, who wishes to make an attempt with me?"
Rafael turns to Wu Cheng.
"You were first to offer, what do you say, team up? How would you like to split the rewards?"

"It would seem most logical to do an even split. "

"Sounds good to me. Prepare yourself then."

Rafael activates his boots(the Heroism part, not the haste part) and drinks the contents of his tankard and gives a toast (move action to activate Cayden's Cup).

"To fortune and glory!"

He then draws his sword, whispers "Disturbing melody", and moves through the arch.

He does this after Wu says that he is ready to enter.

is there anyone around to do the trial with valgrim? can two trials go one at the same time?

Wu will step to the portal say "Disturbing Melody" and enter

Valgrim, check out discussion page, we can do multiples of the same trial at the same time. You probably don't want to go in with more than 2-3 people though.

Pharnmournx looks at the assembled contestants. "I am interested in attempting the trial known as the 'Disturbing Melody.' The knowledge I have accumulated indicates that woman was foolish to go in alone, and I have no intention of emulating her folly. However, before partnering with me, you should know that my tactics are somewhat...unorthodox. The squeamish may not want to enter with me. As I understand it, the arena itself will prevent active betrayal, but I will not brook passive betrayal, either. If I am to shoulder more than my fair share of the task, then I will await others who will do what's necessary to win. If one of you can join me on those terms, I would offer an even split."

Valgrim looks at the Drow and her flock "I also seek to enter the Disturbing Melody trial. My only concern regarding your tactics is that they prove successful and cause me no betrayal. I sense there is no truly honorable and benevolent nature in you or your followers but I do trust the rules of the Arena. I also agree in equal share. I am ready to enter if you are."

Valgrim casts Eaglesoul, Wrathful Mantle, Archons Aura, Freedom of Movement and Protection from Evil on himself before entering

To be clear, I sent my followers back to the camp.

Pharnmournx casts a spell and nods. "I'm ready. 'Disturbing Melody.'"

casting spell turning

"Dear Lady please enlighten me on your combat tactics so I know what to expect and know how to assist you once we get it begins. Mine are rather simple and straight forward- find the enemy, deal lots of damage and then pray to Iomedae."

"Cyth-V'Sug, save me! Going into battle with a servant of Iomedae...truly, this tournament makes for strange bedfellows, if you'll pardon the expression," Pharnmournx winks. "As for tactics, I tend to focus on summoning creatures and then making them effective, but I am capable of taking things into my own hands when necessary. It really just depends on what we're facing. As difficult as it might prove for one such as yourself, going with the flow is an effective strategy. You do your thing, and I will match your rhythm, so to speak."

"Can you heal yourself and will your knees shake if the opponents get close to you?"

basically, can you handle yourself in melee if you are cornered? Valgrim wants to know if you need saving if they get next to you.

"That's annoying."

Rafael pulls out his wayfinder and casts light on his sword.

No darkvision here. Wu will consume his greater mutagen at this point.

"I have some minor abilities to heal myself, but they're probably not worth mentioning. If they get close, and manage to stay close, I might have some trouble, but I won't make it easy for them to do that."

I have infernal healing and dimension door as spells known.