DM Jelani's Carrion Crown

Game Master Brian Minhinnick

My spells for the day are magic.weapon and protection from evil

Any more questions, or off to Hergstag?

Off to Hergstag. The sisters didn't see st** They did tell us that a strange affliction took one of the girls, and that all of the dead children returned as black-flame-flickering ghosts. Would a Knowledge Religion give any insight to what could cause that kind of 'spiritual intercession'?Know-Religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

As they ride away B'yelka points out something pleasant, in light of the horrible tragedy the group is now investigating: "At least the sisters were more polite than Lazne and his ilk. Janos, it seems you aren't alone in being a good kind of swamp rat." She smiles at Janos in such a way as to mix the message-is she complimenting him, or teasing him?

I also made a knowledge check of 23 for the same thing Dm, in case you missed it as we crossed pages

Already responded that there are many incorporeal undead who could create something that could be described as a "ghost". You won't know more until you actually encounter one yourselves.

Agreed, though we did learn that the Beast may have actually been at Hergstag. That could complicate things.

"There's a difference between a swamp rat and a sour puss. Just because some of us find the smell of peat and the croaking of frogs to be comforting doesn't mean we're rude. And besides, Lazne may have been uncouth, but even he wasn't that bad." He smiles at B'yelka. "Don't tell me everyone in the operas were as pleasant as you, now were they?"

I don't know exactly what might have caused the children to rise but it could be some kind of incorporeal undead, just like back at the prison. he sighs. I knew I should have enchanted my bow.

"Even if you had paid for the work to be done to invest your bow with magics, Anton, it is very likely the process would not yet be complete. It is not your fault nor your oversight. To the contrary, our time in Leipstadt has been far too rushed for us to properly prepare for what we might encounter during these investigations. Still, has Desna not granted you other means of harming the undead?"

Beaming at Janos' compliment B'yelka quips, "Of course not. But at least we are prettier and have better teeth. And by better I mean any."

"More ghosts and creepy crawlies. I don't know what is worse, the weather here or it's breeding of horrors from beyond the grave. Makes the Opera look down right sedate by comparison!"

Anton smiles and claps Dantrian happily on the shoulder

She walks with me, always. he says somewhat cryptically.

Do you have any holy water left from Ravengro?

*ahem* "I do have the Haunt Siphons."

Commenting to no one in particular, Tibideau muses, "Well, those three old gals just about reminded me of my mom and my aunts! Except they would have been in a well-appointed parlor in my father's estate, and both of my aunts would have been chain smoking!"

Now abandoned and overgrown, the village of Hergstag lies some 10 miles northwest of Lepidstadt. The farmland has fallen to ruin, and now even the well-trodden pathways around the area are difficult to follow. Fortunately Janos is skilled enough to spot them with little difficulty. The crops have gone to seed and high corn grows everywhere. The village’s farmhouses have all been abandoned, and while some furniture such as tables and washboards remain, the homes have been given over to termites and cockroaches. The northern portion of the village appears to have become a bog.

As they are walking through the tall grass and weeds, Janos stops short. He nearly stepped into a huge rusty bear trap before spotting it. It's evening by the time they make it to the village, with the sun setting fast.

Map

"What the hell?!" The Ranger stops short suddenly and reaches down to reveal a rusty bear trap. "Damn thing nearly took my leg off! Why would anyone put these around a village?"

He finds a long branch and tries to trigger the trap from a safe distance. "Be careful, there could be more around."

As they approach the abandoned village, Janos can see the land starting to reclaim the area. "Well, where to first? We could inspect Ellsa's house. See if there's any clue why the Beast was carrying her. Otherwise, we might just check out all the buildings."

GM, is the entire town considered "swamp"? Or perhaps just the bog area? Obviously I'm asking for purposes of Favored Terrain.

"Ustalav in the dark. Quaint." Making the best of the role, B'yelka's frown disappears, "More dramatic this way!" She pulls a copper out of her sash and whistles two-notes and the coin begins glowing. "Maybe we can see better with this? Let's just go the houses as we come to them. No reason to tap dance."

Yeah, it's swamp.

Dantrian shakes his head at Janos' suggestion, "Actually, I believe Karin's former home would be the best place to begin our investigations. As it is, that also happens to be the only description of a home we received from the sisters. I believe they said it was on the western side of town at a notable intersection."

Once two people agree, you'll do that.

"Since we're already on the western side, seems to me that would make the most sense." Drosil begins looking at the nearby houses, trying to figure out which one is their immediate target.

You're on the eastern side, I forgot to drag those icons off the map. Didn't even see them there. You are the blue Hexagon as indicated by the note.

"Yes, and that poor girl's death is the most disturbingly intriguing!" Tibideau assents, following Drosil to the nearby houses.

The group begins to head for the closest house, with the eventual goal of Karin's house on the western side of town.

1d100 ⇒ 99
1d100 ⇒ 87
1d100 ⇒ 68
1d100 ⇒ 58
1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

They walk past the first few empty shacks, which are completely collapsed in on themselves and overgrown. The overgrown "road" leads them to a rickety wooden bridge which they cross dubiously. They appear to be coming up to the first proper house of Hergstag when a shadow twisted into child's body and wreathed in black fire appears next to the path ahead of them. It calls out, "Help!" before flinching away from some unseen threat, stumbling and then running towards the house. It flickers and disappears after a couple of steps. A second later it appears again further away towards the house for a brief instant, before disappearing completely.

Town Map

"Whoa!" Janos draws his sword as he sees the ghost of the girl. He looks back at the others. "She seemed to be scared of something. You think it's a trap? I suppose that might be the first house we need to investigate." He points to the house with his sword.

At the sight of the girl-shadow, Drosil does his best to blend into the shadows, draws his daggers, and continues towards the house.

Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28

"Eeep!" B'yelka jumps as the appartitions appears, and watches fixated as it retreats. Really, Girl? Squeak like a mouse? She looks to the others, knowing they are going to go after the girl, even if Janos is right... She makes ready holding her coin aloft.

Dantrian frowns, obviously perplexed and troubled by the child's image and cry for help.
An honest request or a malicious trap? Who can rightly know?

I don't like this. Not one bit.

Anton draws his bow and nocks an arrow. He edges toward where the girl appeared and then continues on toward the house.

Janos, Drosil. If you take point I'll keep you covered. Be careful though, I have a bad feeling about this.

Janos nods at Anton and proceeds to the house, slowly. He loses track of Drosil quickly, but knowing the man was there was still reassuring. He keeps his sword drawn, wary of anything ambushing them.

Approach the house.

As he approaches the house, Drosil keeps an eye out for anything odd. Or, at least, more odd than a ghost wreathed in black flames.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

As they are heading towards the house, Janos walks right into a hidden bear trap.

Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
Damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 1) + 3 = 8

As the trap slams shut on his leg, his tibia and fibula crack painfully. They are not completely broken, but it certainly feels like a fracture. Blood begins to leak rapidly down Janos' calf and fill his boot.

Initiative
Party 20
Allen 7

Begin Round 1

Janos, your speed is halved until you escape the trap with a DC 20 Disable Device check, DC 22 Escape Artist check, or a DC 26 Strength check as a standard action.

You guys are up!

Map

See what happens when you don't declare perception?

Janos screams as the rusty jaws clamp onto his leg and surely break bones. He collapses from the pain as well as frantically trying to get the trap off him. "Get it off! Get it off!" Blood is pouring down his leg, soaking the ground. The Ranger grabs at the trap ineffectually.

Janos actually can't make any of those. Untrained in Disable Device, -2 mod to Escape Artist, and only +3 mod to Strength. He's gonna need some help.

B'yelka rushes to Janos's side. "Silly boy! Kendra's going to be furious with us if you get yourself killed! The Diva looks at the semi-circular torture device and wonders How do I get this thrice damned thing off his leg? She looks to Janos and asks him, "How do I open this thing?"

As it is a hunter's tool, can we substitute Sruvival to Just *open* the thing up again? Can Janos walk B'yelka through opening it?

Gonna post tomorrow, just wanted to give my prepared spells. I promise I chose my spells before looking at the combat. Super swear.

Also, I need to remember to start casting Mage Armor before we walk into scary haunted dangerous villages.

"Janos!" Dantrian dashes forward and kneels down beside the ranger, his words stern but even and calm. "Move aside, B'yelka." He looks to Janos, holding the ranger's gaze for a moment, "You need to stop thrashing about, regardless of the pain, Janos. I cannot reach the mechanism to disengage its jaws if you carry on flailing about."

Disable Device (DC 20): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17

Unable to disengage the clamp holding the trap shut, Dantrian frowns but stays on task despite the first failure. "Janos! If you do not wish to lose your leg, stay still!"

Move: Adjacent to Janos (can get to the square to his top-right)
Standard: disable device

B'yelka rushes to Janos's side. "Silly boy! Kendra's going to be furious with us if you get yourself killed! The Diva looks at the semi-circular torture device and wonders How do I get this thrice damned thing off his leg? She looks to Janos and asks him, "How do I open this thing?"

As it is a hunter's tool, can we substitute Sruvival to Just *open* the thing up again? Can Janos walk B'yelka through opening it?

No, I listed all the ways it can be removed.

Drosil approaches Janos quickly, kneels next to the trap and begins to examine the mechanism. "Dantrian's right, Janos; stay still." With that, he does his best to disengage the trap.

Disable Device (Take 10): 10 + 13 = 23

As the device comes off, he looks to the rest of the group to attempt to heal the damage.

Janos grits his teeth and just nods at Dantrian as he and Drosil work on the trap. Once it's been opened, he lets out a groan. "Sorry. Lost my head there a bit. I was concentrating on the girl and this bloody surprise popped up!"

He stands somewhat awkwardly but manages to retreive his sword. "Thanks. Why would anyone put those inside the town? In the brushes makes little sense either but outside the houses? That's madness. I guess we need to be on the lookout for more."

-Posted with Wayfinder

We’re in combat, no taking 10.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Tibideau raises his eyebrows but looks relatively unalarmed at Janos's predicament and the ensuing struggle to free him. He'll be fine! He casts a protective spell on himself just in case the group runs into any more trouble, then follows Dantrian over to the commotion. "I suppose we all need to be looking at the ground!" he muses.

Cast Mage Armor. Move to G24 next to Dantrian, following in his exact footsteps. I'm not getting snapped up, no way.

Round 1

Janos screams as the rusty jaws clamp onto his leg and surely break bones. He collapses from the pain as well as frantically trying to get the trap off him. "Get it off! Get it off!" Blood is pouring down his leg, soaking the ground. The Ranger grabs at the trap ineffectually.

B'yelka rushes to Janos's side. "Silly boy! Kendra's going to be furious with us if you get yourself killed!" The Diva looks at the semi-circular torture device and wonders How do I get this thrice damned thing off his leg? She looks to Janos and asks him, "How do I open this thing?"

"Janos!" Dantrian dashes forward and kneels down beside the ranger, his words stern but even and calm. "Move aside, B'yelka." He looks to Janos, holding the ranger's gaze for a moment, "You need to stop thrashing about, regardless of the pain, Janos. I cannot reach the mechanism to disengage its jaws if you carry on flailing about." Unable to disengage the clamp holding the trap shut, Dantrian frowns but stays on task despite the first failure. "Janos! If you do not wish to lose your leg, stay still!"

Drosil approaches Janos quickly, kneels next to the trap and begins to examine the mechanism. "Dantrian's right, Janos; stay still." With that, he does his best to disengage the trap. As the device comes off, he looks to the rest of the group to attempt to heal the damage.

Janos grits his teeth and just nods at Dantrian as he and Drosil work on the trap. Once it's been opened, he lets out a groan. "Sorry. Lost my head there a bit. I was concentrating on the boy the shadow thing was relatively masculine looking and this bloody surprise popped up!" He stands somewhat awkwardly but manages to retreive his sword. "Thanks. Why would anyone put those inside the town? In the brushes makes little sense either but outside the houses? That's madness. I guess we need to be on the lookout for more."

Tibideau raises his eyebrows but looks relatively unalarmed at Janos's predicament and the ensuing struggle to free him. He'll be fine! He casts a protective spell on himself just in case the group runs into any more trouble, then follows Dantrian over to the commotion. "I suppose we all need to be looking at the ground!" he muses.

Anton also moves to Janos's side, trying to assess how badly he's wounded. A second later the burning, shadowy ghost of the child erupts out of the ground at Janos's feet, grabbing his wound. The sight gives the Six instant flashbacks to the malevolent spirits of Harrowstone. As the child-ghost's black fingers enter into his shattered leg, Janos feels a surge of brutal cold run through his body. He can feel his vitality draining out and into the incorporeal, undead child now glaring hungrily up at him from halfway out of the ground.
____________________________

Touch attack on Janos: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 Hit
Negative energy damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4
Janos Fort Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12 Failure
Con Drain: 1d2 ⇒ 2 Ability drain does not heal over time and can only be restored by magic. For every 2 points you take a -1 to Fort saves, con based skill checks and lose 1 HP/HD

You guys are up for round 2. It has cover from the ground so you're shooting for AC 19.

Map

Frowning at the appearance of the ghost-like child, Dantrian calmly requests, "Janos, would you kindly move to your left?" He turns his attention to their foe and in an equally calm voice observes, "You move like the unquiet dead in Harrowstone, do you burn as they did as well?" as he draws a flask of holy water. "Let us find out." With that, he steps forward, swiftly breaks the neck of the container, then pours its contents over the undead.
Holy Water (rngd tch): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23for: 2d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2) + 3 = 9

Delay: wait for Janos to move to *any* other square
Move Action: Draw holy water
Free Action: 5-ft step into H22
Standard Action: Douse ghosty-boy w/ holy water

Janos scream both in surprise and pain and the ghost grabs his leg. He stumbles away from the ghost's touch, but then tries to bring his sword down hard on the ghost boy.

Keen Longsword (PA, FE): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Damage (PA, FE): 1d8 + 15 ⇒ (8) + 15 = 23

-Posted with Wayfinder

DM, before I act I have a quick question. Do I just activate the Flight Hex as a free action, or is it a standard? The details of the hex don't say I "cast" it, just that I "can fly."

Anton backs away half a dozen steps whilst muttering a short prayer.

Desna give me the means to end this child's suffering and show him the path to peace.

His bow starts to glow iridescent blue and he starts to take aim.

Cast magic weapon

It's a standard action to activate fly. Just like the spell.

Sorry, meant to note Janos is taking a 5 foot step to H-21.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Drosil steps toward the child-ghost and attempts to drive both of his daggers into the insubstantial form.

Free action: 5' step to H-22
Full round action: Attack ghost (TWF)
Attack (Mithral Dagger +1, TWF): 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 9 - 2 = 10
Damage (Mithral Dagger +1): 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Attack (Dagger, Humanoid (Shapechanger) Bane +1, TWF): 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 2 = 13
Damage (Dagger, Humanoid (Shapechanger) Bane +1): 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

B'yelka recoils as the ghost-boy grabs for Janos's wounded leg. She begins a recitation from Gregoire Velance's Infernal "Epistolary of Hipocrisy",
"وإذا استيقظ من أحلام
أعطي تقع في المراعي،
سوف استيقظ في الظلام،
يجب علينا الشعلة الأرض؟
وإذا استيقظ من أحلام
يجب علينا العثور على الفراغ
وكسر حاجز الصمت
من شأنها أن توقف قلوبنا؟
وإذا استيقظ من أحلام
يجب نبكي معا
لأصداء عويل
أن إعادة تشغيل الليل؟
وماذا كنت أقول إن
يجب تسقط الأشياء"

Inspire Courage: +2 Competence Bonus to Attack and Damage Rolls; +2 Morale Bonus v. Fear. 5'step away to G24.

"Who else is tired of ghosts?" Tibideau queries rhetorically. He steps past a few of his allies and stops next to the party's punching bag. He places his hand on Janos's shoulder. "Here, friend," he says warmly. A pleasant slate blue vapor drifts out of Tibideau's hand and into Janos's wounds.

Cure Moderate Wounds: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (7, 3) + 5 = 15

Move to G21. Cast Cure Moderate wounds on Janos.