Kayla Striegold |
Kayla takes a better grip on her weapon and determines to use the distractions from G'Boar to bring this creature down.
Attack: 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) - 1 + 2 = 21
Critical confirm: 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) - 1 + 2 = 6
Damage: 1d8 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1
Harethvain |
Harethvain will try to hit the troglodyte again with ray of frost.
ray of frost: 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 2 - 4 = 141d3 ⇒ 3
"That was ray better; an ice shot."
GM &rew |
Round 3 summary
Harethvain: Hits the troglodyte in the ice hole...
Terpsicore: Taunts the silly creature to no avail
Kayla: Smashes the leg of the creature, fracturing the thigh bone with a sickening crunch.
Creature: In a last ditch effort, it swings its club at the young cleric, missing entirely.
Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
G'Boar: Ends the troglodyte's miserable existence with a stab to the heart!
Combat over!
Terpsicore |
Appraise: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Perception: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 6 - 2 = 19
I assume I'm still sickened? Hence the -2...
"What a lovely wall hanging. Surely that's the type of relic our employer is looking for. G'Boar, be a dearie and get that tapestry down. I'm sure it can fit in my backpack... How goes the map drawing, Doodler? And a well fought battle, Kayla, darling!!"
G'Boar Hulighan |
Appraise: 1d20 ⇒ 2
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
G'Boar attempts to climb up and free the tapestry without damaging it more than time already has, but the melee has sapped his strength for the moment and decides he must rest before he tries again.
Climb: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
knowledge(local): 1d20 ⇒ 12
"I have never seen nor heard of a standard like this before... But I would bet it is worth something as our fairer companion has already determined"
After a moment of gathering his strength, G'Boar attempts, again, to retrieve the banner...
Climb: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
G'Boar Hulighan |
G'Boar looks around the room and decides to drag the Troglodyte bodies, along with their foul stench, out of the room. Hoping to speed the recovery of Terpsicore's nausea, he decides to throw the remains down to the ground level (after thoroughly searching them first, of course!) After returning to the the group, G'Boar says,"Imagine the treasures that once filled this room... we should redouble our search efforts before we move on. And based on that little "spear surprise" we got entering this room, we should also look out for more traps!"
Reappraise: 1d20 ⇒ 12
Perception (look for Traps): 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 2 + 3 = 25
Terpsicore |
"I suggest we carefully examine the stairway. The rockfall might have blocked this level, as well. Once we determine the usability of the stairwell, we can explore the northern room."
Terpsicore approaches the eastern door carefully, eyes peeled for any irregularities that might signal a trap or dangerous rockslide.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
G'Boar Hulighan |
ya don't know if you ya don't try!
G'Boar approaches the eastern door towards the center of the tower structure to prepare to breach into the central stairway. He readies his sword and shield and prepares for combat...
G'Boar Hulighan |
Seeing that the central stairway is clear, G'Boar quietly proposes another course of action...
"We know the Trog room is secure, we could enter the northern room from there and the stairwell in a coordinated action, and if anything is in there we may catch them by surprise. An ambush of sorts."
G'Boar goes on to suggest that he and Kayla enter the two doors first, followed by the rogue and the wizard at different doors, to follow up the initial martial attacks.
This is where it would be nice if Terps had a ranged weapon capability!
GM &rew |
Sorry - forgot to remove the 'fog of war' cover from the staircase on the map. Not sure what G'Boar is suggesting - you've already opened the door to the central stairs. There is only one door in to the central stairs on this level. Are you suggesting half of you go back around and enter the northern room from both the east and the west?
G'Boar Hulighan |
I simply assumed that there was an entrance to each room on the floor from the central stairwell... I see that that was a wrong assumption, so I am ready to assault through the Northwestern door in the Trog Room when we are ready.
GM &rew |
You open the door to the northern room, and G'Boar holds his magically-lit sword in the opening so the group can see what lies beyond. Judging from the shelves lining the walls, this darkened room might once have been a storeroom, though its contents have long since succumbed to the passage of time. A crack in the northern wall has apparently let in some rainwater, which has collected in several large puddles on the floor. In one puddle lies a dog-sized lizard. It has two horns, one on either side of its head, and green scales that seem to crackle with sparks of electricity. When the door opens, it looks over at you...
Harethvain |
Harethvain considers the strange monstrosity.
Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
"Don't get too close to that thing, it charges."
Harethvain adds, almost to himself, "despite its bad credit." As long as the shocker lizard isn't threatening him, Harethvain is not about to attack it.
G'Boar Hulighan |
"So, wizard... care to expand on your vailed insights to the ins and outs of this creature? Or how about a recommended way ahead?"
G'Boar contemplate unslinging his trusty bow, as the infernal crackling of energy surrounding the lizard has him extremely wary. He glances at Terpiscore and Kayla and offers, "Have you ever seen what happens when the spring lightning strikes a mountain pond? Lets just say you don't need a fishing pole to get a free lunch... Steer clear of that standing water!"
G'Boar Hulighan |
"I am all for 'Live and let Live,' as long as we can do what we came here to do, which is to find treasure." G'Boar continues...
"Harethvain, maybe if we made it, uncomfortable it might leave... You think you could ice that puddle its sitting in?"
Harethvain |
"My thin brush does not get cold enough to freeze the water," Harethvain replies.
The description for ray of frost does not indicate that it can freeze objects, so no, unless the GM says otherwise.
"If provoked, the lizard can and will shoot small bolts of lightning at perceived threats." Harethvain thinks that, given the circumstances, that the troglodytes probably kept this creature as either a pet or a guard dog. Perhaps the troglodytes saw a reptilian connection to the lizard, in the way humans see a canine connection to dogs with their own inferior stock. Harethvain is about to voice that opinion, but halts, remembering that while everyone present is at least part human, he is the only one with any elven heritage to offset that. Instead, he chooses a different subject.
"Without knowing its temperament, I do not think it would be wise to leave the door open while we continue to explore the fortress. However, I think we should do what we can to help the creature be able to leave when we are doing the same." Harethvain places some of his rations on the ground just inside the room. "In the meantime, at least it won't starve."
G'Boar Hulighan |
"I can run back to the landing where we first climbed up and open the other door to this 'electric lizard' room before we continue to explore this tower." "Hopefully it will crawl down and possibly feed any remaining spiders we might have missed..."
G'Boar looks over and winks at Terpsicore "...but if it is still here on our way out, we will have no choice but to remove it so we can search this room for treasure."
G'Boar looks for concurrence from the group before he proceeds on.
He adds, "Harethvain, you should probably illuminate another object, or we should make some torches, as I will want to have my sword with me when I go to open the other door."
If the group agrees, G'Boar will (of course) look for traps on the landing's N/E door before propping it open for the lizard to 'escape.'
Look for Traps: 1d20 + 2 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 3 = 13
GM &rew |
G'Boar runs around and opens the door on the other side of the northern room. The lizard had moved to eat the food Harethvain tossed in before he closed the southwestern door, so no one in the party got close enough to test the electrical charge ability of the reptile.
Once back together, the group heads up the central staircase to the third floor, only to find the door locked! If you are trained in Disable Device, you may make a check to try and unlock the door. If you do not have a set of thieves' tools, you must use improvised tools, and you take a –2 circumstance penalty...
You don't have to roll for traps or perception all of the time. I will either make a spoiler and then you can roll, or if the scenario calls for it, I will either make a secret roll for traps or tell you to...
Terpsicore |
"Finally, I can be of some use!" Terpsicore says gleefully as she withdraws her thieves' tools from her backpack with a dramatic flourish.
Disable Device(lockpick): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Terpsicore hums to herself as she picks the lock, ending her work with a triumphant "Ta daaaaaaa!!!"
GM &rew |
With a satisfying, grinding turn, Terpsicore is able to pick the lock and open the door. When you enter, you see two stone altars, one black and one white, sitting at either end of this large chamber, which takes up two wings of the tower on this level. The crumbling remains of wooden benches sag in front of each altar beneath rotting ceiling tapestries. Carved symbols and writings snake along the walls. The burnt corpses of two troglodytes lie on the floor in the center of the room. (The green cloud on the map =) There are also two humanoid skeletons on the ground, one in front of either temple.
Terpsicore |
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 ⇒ 15
"I don't remember much, but I think these altars are dedicated to the god of magic's duality, protecting and destroying... Doodler, can you sense if there is any harmful magic here? You use magic, so surely, you can sense it!"
G'Boar Hulighan |
G'Boar looks with disgust at the spectacle presented in this chamber. It is unnatural and foul to his eyes. "D'anam don diabhal" he mutters in his native tongue as he reaffirms his grip on his shield and sword.
"Lets see what perversions of nature await us in here..." as he steps carefully towards the black alter in the northwest end of the room.
GM &rew |
Each altar holds several silver altar service items, a silver holy symbol, and a scroll.
G'Boar Hulighan |
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
G'Boar's almost licentious gaze fixates on the silver items adorning the altar, but the tingling in his hackles caution him from any abrupt measures. For his knowledge of the arcane is quite limited, and his cautiousness understandably warranted.
Harethvain |
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Though his study of the divine was focused on the older, elven gods of magic, like Yuelral, Harethvain learned about Nethys, and offered more than a few prayers while trying to learn spells. He thinks that he might have even used quotes from some of the text on the wall in one of those desperate pleas. "You are correct, this is a temple to Nethys, a god of magic. He was worshiped here as Protector and Destroyer; one altar for each aspect."
Harethvain is interested in the scrolls, and by virtue of being closer to the black scroll, he will move toward that first.
"I did not think that I would need to be sensing magic today, so I am unable to do that" he replies to Terpsicore.
Terpsicore |
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
"Well, well, well... What have we here? Another door for me to work MY magic on!"
Disable Device(Lockpick): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
G'Boar Hulighan |
G'Boar looks over at the Half-elf, acknowledging his superior knowledge of whats going on in this chamber. He says, "Why don't you investigate the altar, and I will cover you..."
He continues, "...and Kayla, you might want to cover our Rogue. Maybe her skills will come back with someone watching hers!"
Harethvain |
"Even without having the ability to sense magic today, it does not strain credulity to consider that these scrolls might be magical in some capacity." Harethvain starts to walk over to the black altar, but stops to think.
The location of the temple with respect to the building's general layout leads Harethvain to consider whether the fortress once belonged to a fellow artist. Removed from the main entrance, and behind a locked door, but mundanely protected, not ensorcelled, unless the ward had been previously dispelled. A skilled artist could overcome magical and mundane locks with the proper spell, though, so it was probably not meant to keep one out. Perhaps for the sake of general privacy, then; enough of a deterrent for social custom, but not meant to withstand focused scrutiny. Some wizards had shrines to Nethys in their laboratories, but this room seems more a dedicated chamber than an ancillary function.
Closer inspection of the skeletons might reveal their nature, but he is not eager to handle corpses, no matter their apparent age. Troglodytes are obviously primitives, so Harethvain thinks it unlikely that they would have been in the room to worship a god of magic. Looting and desecration by proxy seem more appropriate for their crude nature, so he decides that is likely why they were here.
He shakes his head and concentrates on the real question; what happened here. There are four corpses, and the door had been locked, but there is no indication of when it had been locked. Two corpses burnt, two undetermined, save that they were humanoid, which could mean that they were also troglodytes, or something else entirely. Based on their appearance, Harethvain decides that the two skeletons are older and likely not troglodytes, since that matches up with his belief that no one has been in the fortress until it recently became opened.
Since neither he nor his companions found any keys below, it is likely that the key is in the room on one of the bodies, which would mean that either someone had locked the door before both troglodytes had died, or that someone had locked the door after they were killed. He thinks it unlikely that the troglodytes mutually killed each other by fire, but he likes the idea that the two locked the door behind them to prevent the other troglodytes from claiming anything in the temple. That resolves the situation with the door, and the presence of skeletons is now just an oddity or curiosity, rather than integral to the scene.
Still, the presence of skeletons in a temple to Nethys leave Harethvain uncomfortable. Darker arts can interact with the dead and their former bodies, though Cytenruil generally avoided instructing Harethvain on much beyond the most basic theories of such magic.
Harethvain looks at G'Boar. "If you might indulge me first, I would feel far more comfortable if you would remove the skeleton's skull from the rest of the body. I promise that I shall perform proper funerary rites once we leave this place, but it . . . unsettles me to have it lying around as it is." Harethvain is satisfied that he has done what he can to minimize upsetting the corpse's post-mortem existence.
G'Boar Hulighan |
G'Boar hands Harethvain his illuminated sword and unhooks his axe from his belt.
He approaches the black altar skelton and with the swing of a skilled woodsman, attempts to sever the vertebrae freeing the skull from the rest.
GM &rew |
As soon as G'Boar takes a swing at the skeleton, it rises up, animates, and bursts into flames! Worse, so does the other one on the opposite side of the room!!
Terpsicore Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Harethvain Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
G’Boar Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Kayla Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11
Creature Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Round 1
G'Boar
Terpsicore
Kayla
Skeletons
Harethvain
G'Boar Hulighan |
Harnessing his inertia and relying on his instincts, G'Boar spins, brings up his shield and directs a devastating blow on the flaming skeleton.
Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
Damage?: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Terpsicore |
Taking advantage of the shambling skeleton's flat-footedness, Terpsicore attempts a sneak attack on the nearest skeleton.
Sneak Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + (1) = 6
"I've got a BONE to pick with you, buddy!!"
Adrianna Na'lin |
As soon add they rise, the burning skeletons are brought down. Unfortunately, these creatures have a nasty surprise... they explode upon (re) death! G'Boar and Terpsicore make a DC12 Reflex save or take 1d6 ⇒ 3 damage. Success means half damage for G'Boar. Terps can evade due to rogue ability (I think! )
-Posted with Wayfinder
G'Boar Hulighan |
Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Even though G'Boar's shield catches the brunt of the explosion, shards of bone still hammer into his legs, adding to the topography of scars that adorn the ranger's body.
"Fecking unnatural beasties, I curse you back to hell..."
G'Boar Hulighan |
G'Boar assess the damage to his shield and other equipment, binds his wounds, and retrieves his sword from the wizard, adding "Cold steel looks good on you, Harethvain. You should try it more often!"
He then turns his attention to the treasure and searching the remains littering the floor.
GM &rew |
The charred troglodyte bodies and the burning skeletons fill in some of Harethvain's thoughts - looks like the trogs found the room and met the altar protectors. They didn't fare as well as you did, though! Each altar holds several silver altar service items, a silver holy symbol, and a scroll. You may now handle the items safely, and attempt an Appraise check if you want an estimate of value.