DM Carbide's The Dragon's Demand (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

No; the chamber on the other side is 10' x 10', and all of you could fit (although Fynn and Master Temperance would have to squeeze together).

"Alright," Huc finally responds, "let's take this one step at a time."

He looks to Arien and Temp, "You two go ahead and take a good, hard look in there. We'll keep this door open while you do. See if you can find any signs of traps." He looks back at Oranna, "While she's doing that, can you scan for any magic in there? Check for magic-like traps, ya know?"

Basicaly, lets have Arien do a Take 20 Perception for traps in that room, with Temp trying to Aid Another on her while she does so. Then let's have Oranna Detect Magic in there to look for any auras.

Huh shrugs, "If all looks clear, I say we just risk it. Stick together and head through. Assuming we only have one key, only Arien would be able to stay behind and possibly get to the rest of us should we go in and the doors lock us into a problem."

"Ready when you are. I'll see if anything was there that they wanted to stay in there."

"I suggest that once we pass through, we then close the far door so that Arien can join us. We then open the far door and she gets through quickly."

You only have the one key. Arien can easily pick the lock, though.

When you open the outer door and enter, a voice booms from empty air: "Please close the door before proceeding with the pass phrase."

Temperance freezes. "We are being prompted, which means this area had visitors. But we haven't been given a pass phrase," he says in a low whisper. "'Canteclure' or 'Tula Benhaim' come to mind, but to be honest, I am more and more mystified by this place. It seems to be a bunch of puzzles and dungeons and torture chambers; not a place for the idle visitor."

"So you're not saying you want to buy it for yourself?"

Huc shrugs, "'Canteclure' is as good a guess as any. They were the people that ruled this place back in the day, right?"

The thing to think about with this complex is that the Canteclures ended as tyrants. That's why they have the black site dungeon, and it's to be expected that they'd put heavy security onto (if the imp torturer wasn't lying) their treasure vault.

ETA: Also note that the voice asked for a pass phrase.

I’m not getting anywhere on finding clues to what the pass phrase could be.

Oranna talks to Nilos about some stuff, most notably the monks of Saint Kyerixus

Maybe that holds some clue, but I can’t find an angle. Should we just stop and make an attempt to get into Hunclay’s place? It’s the only other angle I can think of.

There's one source for the passphrase, but it's hard to figure out without the imp--if you wounded it severely but didn't kill it, it'd surrender and give you a clue in exchange for letting it live. Without that, it's hard to see how you'd figure it out cold, especially with no one in the party with Knowledge (History). So....

Arien, because of your initial Perception check to find traps, as soon as the door is opened you realize that the entire floor in the small room can open up. You think you might be able to disable it, though.

Speaking of Knowledge (History), though, there's one more possible source of information about the passphrase. How much did you tell Nilos about what you encountered?

"The monks of Saint Kyerixus, maybe that's a clue. That Gnome told me about them sacrificin' themselves in some sort of ritual at Dragonfen," she says gruffly.

I was starting to wonder if we played that imp situation wrong. Bah!

"Perhaps the name of their ritual, or their Saint?" Temperance scratches his shock of pink and white hair.

Arien, because of your initial Perception check to find traps, as soon as the door is opened you realize that the entire floor in the small room can open up. You think you might be able to disable it, though.

“The floor is trapped. Stay near the walls, while I sort this out.” Stretching out carefully, Arien takes her time examining the catches and gears, dismantling the mechanism in her minds eye.

Disable Device, Take 10(?), Inspiration: 10 + 5 + 1d6 ⇒ 10 + 5 + (5) = 20

Oranna takes a step away as instructed.

Not what he told you, Oranna (and others)--what you told him about what you'd found under the tower.

Arien, you're pretty sure that this is on a timer, and since you have to be in the room to disarm it you need to go as quickly as you can. Keep the inspiration roll, but give me a straight Disable Device roll.

Disable Device, Inspiration: 1d20 + 5 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 5 = 13           Poop.

It is at this point that Oranna remembers the flirtatious Shelynite's reaction to what the haunt said. "Good Baron Sarvo? Ha! Only people to call him that were his toadies. He was the last Canteclure, you know--he rebelled against the Crown, and we're not so far from Oppara that you can get away with that sort of thing."

"...maybe it's 'Good Baron Sarvo'..." Temperance mutters to Oranna. "Death traps enjoy being flattered, I suppose."

So close!

The floor gives way under Arien. DC 20 Reflex save to jump clear.

Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Just so it’s noted, my next thought on the pass phrase could be “King Sarvo”. Or something similar that plays into his ego and rebellion against the Crown.

Though I guess we’l need to help Arien deal with whatever mishap she just experienced first. :/

Good thing for healing items.

The floor opens up under Arien, and the half-elf is unable to grab anything. She falls and lands in a heap taking 2 HP. The pit is 10' deep; from beneath, the investigator can see that there's a mechanism that will push the floor back into place.

It's easy enough to get back up from the pit with assistance from above, though, and on the next pass through she tries the key from the iron maiden on the second door. Through the door, she can see a large room with what appears to be a statue of a creature with four arms and three legs standing athwart the exit on the other side. A large metallic key floats in the air next to the statue. There's also an iron lever just next to the door.

Falling damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

"'Good Baron Sarvo'", Temperance calls into the hallway, perhaps unhelpfully.

"Well, that looks like magic and traps and golems to me," he says quietly. [b]"Sometimes even the cautious ant is squished."[/b[

"King Sarvo?"

Neither of those passphrases have any effect. As Arien steps into the room to get a little further away from the edge behind her, the statue whirs into motion. A tinny voice comes from somewhere in its torso: "Please present your crest for passage."

So can the rest of us traverse into the new room? Or has one of eh doors closed or locked behind Arien?

Hey, wait, I have Kn(Arcana)!: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8       Seriously, dice?

“Of course, we had to go and sell it…” Arien chides herself as she brushes away the dust from her fall.

"Well, you know what they say... who am I kidding, I don't know. Be ready for a fight."

The crest hanging in the torture persuasion chamber weighed around fifty pounds, and doesn't seem like the sort of thing one would carry around (particularly when you'd have to tote it across the sludge).

"Does anyone remember a small amulet with a crest on it? Perhaps a brooch?" Temperance asks. He can't remember such a thing.

"Our crest was stolen by an escaped prisoner. He shall be tracked down and punished. However, I give you my assurance that we are loyal subjects of the Good Lord Sarvo," says Temperance in an officious voice. "We have important business beyond this chamber. Please do not delay us further."

Bluff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

"Very well then, ready to fight," says Temperance with a shrug.

Muttering a curse under her breath, Arien draws a vial from her bandolier, and opens it to the elements. “Let’s get this over with…”

Drink Shield extract

So are the rest of us still back in the hallway? Or can we safely get up in that room with Arien?

After waiting for a visual cue that does not come, the apparent construct drops into a ready stance and maintains its position, obviously guarding the entrance to the hall. Once Arien throws the lever, the rest of the party can cross the pit.

Consider it done.

Huc walks in, watching the construct warily.

”Arien. Who’s your friend?” (Assuming she gets us all up to speed on what it did/said while we were in the hall) Huc’s wary look becomes annoyed. ”Nice of this Sarvo to leave a bunch of active traps in place after he died. I don’t remember picking up anything like that. Anyoen know what this thing is? And how to disable it?”

If it’s a construct, Know (Arcana) is the appropriate skill to ID it and it’s abilities.

There's a spoiler above with the appropriate check DC.

Oh, right. Sorry I missed it.

When Arien doesn't know, Huc shrugs helplessly, "Just one more thing we'll have to hack our way past in here." He looks at the group one last time, "Unless anyone has any bright ideas?" He gives the small trapped chamber behind them a quick look, "What are the chances we could come up with a way to trap it in there?"

It's not moving from where it is.

ETA: Some further information that should have been behind the spoiler.

Oranna, I think you're the only other party member who has a shot at those Know (Arcana) DC's.

Knw. Arcana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

"Damn, my teacher never taught to deal with constructs. Said let the big guys of the clan beat the things to rubble and scrap," she chants in orcish as she lays a hand on Huc's shoulder.

Cast Guidance

Huc nods his thanks to Oranna. ”Well, alrighty, then,” he mutters with resignation. ”Arien, be ready to step in if it attacks.”

He readies his lumberaxe and moves cautiously forward, angling to move around it and secure a lane into the hallway beyond. Fynn growls at his friend’s stupidity.

Huc will move around its south side, stopping in the square directly to its south. There he’ll motion for the others to pass through his square on the way by.

Yeah, no. Of course, when I rolled initiative you people came up gold.

Round 1:

Initiative order
Huc
Oranna
Master Temperance
Clockwork Servant
Arien

As soon as Huc begins to move towards it the construct turns to face the hunter. Huc figures he can get the drop on it if he rushes it.

”Ah, crap!” Huc barks, then he commands Fynn forward. The two rush the construct, once again coordinating their attacks of tooth and blade.

Huc moves, commands Fynn to Flank
Handle Animal, DC 10, Guidance: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 1 = 10 <— sheesh. nice job, Oranna!
Then ready an attack once Fynn is in place.
.
Fynn moves in (he has enough movement to avoid provoking an AoO). Huc's readied action is triggered.
Greataxe: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 3 + 2 = 21
damage: 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
.
Then Fynn bite (including power attack)
bite: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (13) + 5 + 2 - 1 = 19
damage: 1d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 3 = 11

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Huc-acted
Oranna
Master Temperance
Clockwork Servant
Arien

Both Huc and Fynn hit, doing significant damage to the construct but not dropping it.

Oranna and Master Temperance can act!

Clockwork servant: AC 16 T 14 FF 12 -20 HP

Oranna chants a similar chant and touches Temperance on the shoulder, "Now beat the crap out of it you hear Gnome, show that automaton a good beating."

In other words, Temperance had Guidance.

Master Temperance nods, and trots toward the construct.

Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 1 = 21
for: 1d4 ⇒ 2

He gives it a good spinning kick to the midsection, then bows quickly to the construct.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Huc-acted
Oranna-acted
Master Temperance-acted
Clockwork Servant-acted
Arien

The gnome tags it, but the construct is still active. Moving with blinding speed, it plants a metal tool in Huc's face for 8 HP.

Arien is up!