Sevia first ordered her familiar to fly around any of the windows and take a peek inside to see who might be around. She had her shadow investigate the side door and see if anyone was watching it - then the front, taking advantage of his natural inability to make sound; and keep an eye out for more moits. She at least wanted a good count of the priests inside before she committed to either a diplomatic or stealthy approach. Either way, she needed Voltiaro alive. While they did that, Sevia took the time to determine if either the front or side door had been used, and if there were any tracks near the carriage space.
After scouting is done, Sevia will climb up to any window with people inside to get a look in, she'll use rope and grappling hooks if the DC for the check is over 15
The house doesn't have windows so much as holes that still happen to have a bit of glass on the inside - usually quite jagged. They're not large enough for a medium-sized creature to move through. The main exception in terms of window coverings seems to be a room on the northeastern side of the second floor, through which you can see just a bit of flickering light and movement through some closed wooden shutters. Unfortunately, there's no way to tell exactly how many people are inside from the exterior of the house, given its overall design. The figure in that room seems to be searching for something, though the view through the shutters isn't good enough to provide more information than that.
Looking at the person searching inside, Sevia had a flash on inspiration. It might be possible to use them to further her cause. Though, reminded of the situation of the church...a little more magic than usual might help. Reaching forward, she inched the shutter just wide enough to get a line of effect on the searching figure and cast Charm Person on them. "Epyon, window." Sevia whispered, wanting to get inside fast if her spell failed.
DC 18 Will save. Sevia moves into the room after Epyon opens the shutters.
The magic shattered as it made contact with the man's body - it wasn't a question of the spell being strong or accurate enough, it simply didn't work, and he whirled around as the window shutter blew open.
Now that you can actually see him, you can tell that he has a round face with a horrid complexion of scaly pockmarks and a double chin. His eyes are large and spaced far apart, giving him a profoundly unpleasant look, and the musty odor of Illmarsh seems to cling to him especially. The family resemblance to the priest you were dealing with earlier is instantly obvious - as is the fact that he clearly considers you hostile. In fairness, you did just try to use magic to remove his free will and influence his actions - most people regard that as an unfriendly act.
'Damn' Sevia grimaced as she watched her spell fail, feet touching down onto the floor even as he turned around. That surprised her, though as he turned to face her it occurred to her he did not seem to be a normal human. He might also be infected by a slugspawn as well. Still, she had the element of surprise on her side, and she needed to take him down before he aroused an alarm.
Bounding forward, she drew her blades and struck fast. Her first two attacks meant to injure and weaken him, while she struck out with the hilt of Stryker with her last to try and subdue rather than kill the person.
Attack:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (9) + 20 = 29 vs FF Sneak Attack:5d6 + 15 ⇒ (6, 6, 5, 5, 3) + 15 = 404 Bleed Attack:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18 vs FF Sneak Attack:5d6 + 11 ⇒ (6, 4, 5, 3, 6) + 11 = 35 Iterative:1d20 + 15 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 15 - 4 = 26 vs FF Non Lethal Sneak Attack:5d6 + 15 ⇒ (4, 3, 4, 1, 5) + 15 = 32Sevia takes a penalty on her last attack to deal non lethal damage with her weapon Confirm:1d20 + 15 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 15 - 4 = 17 vs FF Non Lethal:1d6 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21
The man's body shattered into illusory fragments as your first strike hit it, and he reappeared in the southern part of the room, chanting quickly. A Divine Power spell settled over his body, enhancing his overall abilities in combat as he glared at you, tightening his grip on the weapon he was holding. "Who the he- No, it doesn't matter. You came looking for a fight, so you'll get one."
If my turn gets interrupted by an immediate action, that doesn't mean I lose my actions.
Sevia's eyes widened as the person shattered, not expecting that. Dropping her swords, Sevia flexed her wrists, activating the mechanical springs in her wrist sheaths and popping a pair of starknives into her hands - completing her attack before her enemy could recover.
That did however, leave her quite unarmed. Which was somewhat fortunate, given her opponent chose to cast a spell. A powerful spell though. Clearly he was some kind of cleric. "Epyon. Weapons. Tell the shadow I need assistance." Sevia communicated to her familiar telepathically, her weapons leaping up into her hands a moment later as the Raven completed a Mage Hand spell.
Sevia advanced on him again, keeping silent as she attacked. This time though he would not be surprised and her attacks would do a lot less damage.
Attack:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (14) + 16 = 30 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15 Attack:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13 Iterative:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
I assume the shadow needs to take a round to get into position to attack
Only your second attack managed to strike in the first group of attacks, and the first group from your next. He frowned slightly... and vanished into the air.
Three invisible attacks darted at you a moment later - though you were talented enough to avoid being caught flat-footed buy them, it didn't negate the obvious problem that first you were having trouble hitting him, and now you were having trouble seeing him, as he didn't reappear.
Rather unfortunately for him, though, none of the attacks actually managed to land on you, much less cause any kind of serious harm. He, too, seemed to have fallen silent - it would be far too easy to locate him otherwise.
Damn. This guy was using quite a few tricks out of her own playbook. Sevia called on some of her ki to also turn invisible, at which point she cast See Invisibility on herself to find her assailant while taking a step out of the space she'd just been in. Though her shadow would be quite unable to participate in the fight if he stayed that way.
Can I knowledge check the illusion dodge / invisibility he used?
*Flips through rules* ... *Flips through some more rules* o_O Literally as written, no. But given personal knowledge, you can identify that he's using a Vanishing Trick to turn invisible, quite similar to your own ability. The illusion dodge is something you have no knowledge of.
The man frowned as you vanished into the air - but at least you could see him now, even if he remained invisible to the rest of the world. Without hesitating, he held up his trident, and two bursts of negative energy erupted out of it and washed through the chamber.
Your Shadow rose up through the door a moment later, looking around the chamber... and seemed a bit surprised at its inability to see anyone, including you. Hiding from enemies was good, but when you had to hide from your allies as well, it was just a bit less convenient...
More negative energy. Sevia figured she should try to find a way to counter act that in the future, she was fighting an awful lot of clerics lately. It was at least useless against her shadow. And she didn't particularly feel bad if she were to accidentally kill someone who wielded such power. Now able to see the cleric, she renewed her attack.
Now visible, she indicated to her cohort where the cleric was. Though it might not be able to see him, he still might hit him attacking blindly, the shade moving up to flank him and clawing into the air.
People tend to use what works. XD There are only so many abilities that are effective against invisible foes, so if you do that a lot, then yes, opponents will often respond with their most reliable counters. (Which is, incidentally, fairly useful if you can start baiting them into doing what you want...)
In this case, though, I didn't have to edit anything to add in that power - it was already written into the adventure. Clerics are pretty common enemies in published works. XD Makes things easier for me, too.
The man shattered and reappeared again as your shadow tried to strike him, though at least your other attacks had been mostly accurate. The big problem, of course, was that it didn't seem like you were successfully hitting his weak points even when you struck him...
And you wouldn't be in range for that ki attack - though I suppose you could switch it to a ranged attack. It's not lost, at least, unless you decide to refrain from using it.
The cleric clenched one fist a moment later, and power surged down his arm. "Lord Dagon, smite this fool!" A bolt of Searing Light shot out of his hand and straight towards you, crackling with divine energy and somehow seeming larger, more potent than usual.
"Whoever sent you here has made a grave mistake." he said flatly. "I'm actually quite happy to talk with others if they simply ask, but if violence is the only language you can speak, then so be it."
I'll use my swift action to smite instead. +7 attack +3 dmg +6 ac
Right. She had wanted to conserve her trump card, but this man was too dangerous. She needed an edge. As he raised his arm to smite, her, so did she raise her sword to smite him, calling down her goodly power on this cleric of Dagon. Despite the divine protecting it provided her, it was unable to ward off his next spell though. "Epyon, healing." Sevia asked over their mental link, her familiar zipping over to her shoulder and procuring her Wand of Infernal Healing.
"Hmph. I was only intending on capturing you, but now it seems I will need to stop holding back. No matter, your fate would be no different if you die now or later. You are already infected...a fitting fate for Dagon's minion." She said with a smirk, readying her blades. Silently she gestured to where he was standing, letting her shadow know where to strike. Her eyebrows raised as a thought suddenly struck her though. Was this the father himself? "Your reign over Illmarsh is at an end...Voltairo." Sevia said, gesturing for her shadow to attack, hoping to force him to use his teleportation ability again.
Incorporeal Touch:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 vs TC Miss Chance:1d100 ⇒ 54 Incorporeal Touch:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 vs TC Miss Chance:1d100 ⇒ 50
Sevia charged the cleric after the attack.
I'm assuming he uses his illusion hop to avoid the shadow's attack so I'm not flanking, since touch 16 hit earlier
The man vanished once again as your Shadow tried to strike out at him - was he ever going to stop doing that? You were able to leap upon him a moment later, slashing out with both of your weapons and demonstrating the brutal perfection of your assassination techniques as blow after blow dealt critical damage to him. Somehow, he was still standing after all of that, though another hit (two, at most) would unquestionably be enough to drop him.
He grit his teeth, obviously frightened by the display of martial prowess... and as many people did when upset, he reached for his faith.
Channel Negative Energy:6d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 4, 1, 4, 4) = 23Will 30 Halves:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (19) + 20 = 39 Channel Negative Energy:6d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 1, 4, 5, 6) = 24Will 30 Halves:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (8) + 20 = 28- A surge would probably change this if you'd like to reduce the damage. Remember that it would use up your swift action for the turn.
The other problem? Your familiar was in the room...
Will 30 Halves - vs Channel 1:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 Will 30 Halves - vs Channel 2:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
...and didn't have nearly as strong a mind as you did. At least Epyon was strong enough to survive this much damage (unless you found a way to protect it), but another blast or two might be an actual threat, assuming your foe lived long enough to deal it...
Heroism is still up, which is a +2 to all d20 rolls. Darkness is gone though as it was in minutes/level
Sevia once again weathered the eruption of negative energy, though just barely. That ability was starting to really take its toll on her. Though it seemed she was wearing him down much faster than he was wearing her. Epyon unfortunately didn't fare as well, and cried out in pain. Well, she at least was glad he was a tough bird to hurt. She gestured for her shadow to once more attack the air which the cleric was in, though he hadn't confirmed or denied his identity.
As the man once more teleported away, Sevia followed, mindful that if he was infected, the man's death would trigger the spawning of the infection within him.
Attack:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (12) + 23 = 35 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18 Attack:1d20 + 23 ⇒ (4) + 23 = 27 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16 Iterative:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32 vs AC Damage:1d6 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16
And as she attacked, used some of her ki to turn invisible.
It helps if you note your current status either within the stat bar or somewhere in your post (I usually do the bottom, but the top works as well). There's... really no point to having a quick reference if it's not accurate. XD;
Also, that Shadow probably shouldn't be getting two attacks, given that the guy tends to warp further away... I'll have to keep an eye on that in the future.
Your dagger plunged into the man's skull as he reappeared, cutting out a significant part of it - and the rest of his head promptly exploded as literally dozens of tendrils erupted out of it.
Epyon let out a cry of alarm a moment later as the creature looked around... and focused on your shadow. Energy crackled up and down its tendrils as it prepared to move forward and strike.
Moving with horrific speed, the growing spawn of an outer god shot towards your Shadow and slammed out with one of its many tendrils, aiming to start smacking around the translucent spirit and remove its ability to be a threat.
Melee:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 24 for Damage:1d6 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17/ 2 = 8 damage. Yay, incorporeal! 60/68 health remaining, I believe.
I tried but there's literally so much text in my status bar that I couldn't add more. Also, how is the creature able to hurt the shadow? Is its attacks magical somehow?
Sevia stepped back at the sight of the gore, even she momentarily appalled by the gruesome display. Which gave the creature enough time to get the drop on her shadow cohort, attacking it...mostly with futility. Not much could really hope to hurt it badly, though it was still easy to hit.
Sevia quickly moved around behind the creature, at least allowing herself to threaten it as she cast an Infernal Healing on herself. Her shadow opting to attack the beast instead.
Its attacks count as magic. And yes, incorporeal creatures can use a five-foot step to meld with the floor. Just remember its sensory limitations when doing so. Did you want to have your shadow merge with the floor after it attacks, or do so at a later time and stay out for now in hopes of continuing to weaken your target? (Since that WOULD rather significantly affect the creature's next actions... XD)
The shadow's first strike manages to hit the creature, but the second falls short as it ducks out of the way. With a body that's no more than a mass of tendrils by this point, it may be no surprise that it's quite nimble, and the outer horror is quick to retaliate with a full series of blows against your Shadow.
The attacks hit the shadow and did negligible harm, but the damage it was taking was starting to mount up. However, each strike from the shadow weakened its opponents ability to fight back, and it struck again.
One of the creature's tendrils lashed out as the Shadow struck out at it, aiming to wrap around the creature's arm and pull it off balance.
Melee:1d20 + 18 ⇒ (11) + 18 = 29
It was just barely too shallow to work, and your Shadow tore into the creature's Strength, moments before you knocked the creature down-
AoO for Trip:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
-and then stabbed down at it. At best, however, you could only strike individual tendrils. There didn't seem to be any specific weak points that precision damage would be successful against - its body was simply too alien.
And as for the rest... *Rubs head a bit* Okay, I think we're getting into the part of the game where numbers and abilities start getting a bit weird, and there's not nearly enough data here. As such, new requirement: In combat posts, I need you to list each active ability you're using, including its duration and effect on your rolls. For example, you're making a combat maneuver check that's "+ 16 + 4" instead of your base CMB of +7, so I need you to note how you arrived at that. Same for active spells. Include this information at the bottom of your posts, and feel free to use a Spoiler tag if you prefer. Personally, I recommend using a word processor where you can simply copy/paste the relevant things in to save some time. Begin by identifying the bonuses in your attacks from your previous post - I'd like to see those detailed as a test before we move on. It's only going to get more ridiculous from here on out, and I want to be sure everything is in order so I can scale foes properly. If I can't do that, this game simply isn't going to work, and I would strongly prefer to avoid rushing you through the rest of the plot and ending the game early.
*Flips through things* Okay, so... popping out of invisibility DOES work for denying its Dex bonus to CMB - helps if you very specifically state that's what you're doing, by the way - and I think we're good to go now... and just for reference, as noted in my previous post, this particular creature can't be sneak attacked.
The creature's tendrils flicked out as it stood-
Melee:1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14
-and completely failed to block the Shadow's strikes, even as your own once again failed to do truly critical damage. A strange, alien cry came out of the creature's mouth a moment later, and a wave of chaotic energy rippled off of its body to fill the room with a power that turned stability to madness.
Your Shadow has been affected by an Aura of Anarchy, and automatically fails on rolls of 5 or less. You have Beyond Morality, so you are unaffected by this power.
Sevia recoiled back a moment and looked at the creature queerly for a moment before realizing she hadn't been affected by whatever supernatural force had been directed at them. Her shadow did look somewhat less capable though.
But it seemed no less determined to drain the creature of its life force, and kept attacking.
The first of your Shadow's attacks cleanly missed, while the second drew a quick billowing of the creature's tentacles-
Melee:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
-and again failed to stop the blow. The fact that it had taken so much damage to its strength and was still moving - albeit weakly - was a testament to just how tough it had been to begin with. And another thing to keep in mind when planning challenging fights. *Coughs*
The creature lashed out at you a moment later as you tried to trip it-
Slam:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
-and missed, but so did your attempt to knock it down.
Slam:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11
You did succeed on the second try, however, and the creature fell to the ground... where all of its tendrils suddenly withdrew into what had once been the body of Father Voltiaro. Stuffed with so many appendages, the body was starting to look like a balloon.
Sevia's eyes widened, and quickly decided she did not want to be around for whatever this thing did. Her attacks were not doing much damage anyways. Nodding to the shadow, she signaled for a temporary retreat. Falling back from the walking corpse she hoped through the window, catching the ledge and taking cover from whatever the creature might be doing. While the shadow merely melted into the floor to avoid any unorthodox attacks.
There was an explosive squelching sound, and half a dozen slugspawn shot out through the window above you and landed on the ground outside. Looking inwards, you could see that the floors, walls, and ceiling of the room had been covered in the disgusting spawn, and they seemed to be mindlessly crawling around for now. A few looked like they might be moving out of the window soon, simply because the opening was there, but there was no particular purpose to their movements. Shutting the window and abandoning the room would probably be easier... but with some effort, you could probably find a way to clear it out properly. These were the weakest form of spawn, and wouldn't breed into anything new before they had a chance to grow.
"Epyon, eliminate those pests outside, Shadow, clear the room. Join me when you have finished." Sevia said with a grimace, closing off the window as she tried to ignore the grotesque scene before her. Epyon lifted off her shoulder and began directing Acid Splash spells to kill the spawn while the shadow emerged back into the room to kill those left over.
Sevia did regret that she wasn't able to find out for sure if that had been who she was looking for, but he'd been a dead man walking in either case. She proceeded to climb up to the roof of the building, looking for another way inside and checking the cupola for entrances.
The cupola is unlike the rest of the upper house in that it's still intact - probably because it was originally built of stone. The windows set into it are also intact, but are grimy and difficult to see through - though there's definitely something moving around inside.
As a general game note, most adventures are written with the expectation you'll go through doors and proceed through a building in a relatively orderly manner. XD You can look for shortcuts and unusual points of entry, of course, especially if you think that's what your character would do, but doing so may lead to overlooking important objects and/or surprise encounters with harder foes.
Yeah, don't expect that to usually happen. I very often proceed through non-standard entrances. That's not just this campaign by the way, it's a habit.
Sevia tried to make out what seemed to be moving around inside, but unfortunately it didn't seem like she'd be able. She took a moment instead to cast an extended Infernal Healing on herself, stowing the rod away before circling the cupola and searching for a way to open the windows. If none is apparent, Sevia will back off and move down to the ground, entering silently through the western set of double doors.
Two sets of double doors open into this wide chamber, large enough for a carriage to parked inside. Spare wheels and the rusted remains of a small forge show that one was once housed here. Two horse stalls occupy the far end of the room, and one of them is occupied by a mare that looks like she hasn't had food or water in days - she's far thinner than she could be, though not beyond recovery at this point in time.
Feeling a bit of sympathy for the obviously run ragged horse, Sevia took a moment to search for something to eat or drink that she could give the mare. If not she at least handed over some of her trail rations and cast a Drench spell into a bucket. During the time that allowed her healing spell to work its magic and Epyon to return to her.
Now, she moved to the door leading further inside and eased it open as stealthily as she could, investigating further.
The horse wasted no time at all in feeding as you tossed in some rations, giving you a grateful look as it plunged its mouth into the bucket and started drinking.At the very least, it wasn't in danger of immediately expiring - though it would need to get back to civilization at some point.
The hallway ahead of you seemed to be a connecting passageway. There were two doors close by and on the left, and the passage opened up into a slightly larger chamber up ahead, with a door to the right. The same chamber also opened into a passage looping around to the left and proceeding further into the building.
Looking down the hallway Sevia decided to check the first two doors on her left. Quietly listening at the doors before opening them up in turn, ready to engage any enemies or search them for clues.
Just to expediate things. I search each room in turn, followed by the small alcove, and then the door at the far end of the hallway. I'll take 10 on perception and stealth. Let me know when the shadow is finished
There were quite a few of the spawn in the room up above - it was going to take some time for your minion to finish clearing out the place.
As for the first room you search... this chamber holds only old crates and sacks of food stores, largely disintegrated over the years. However, an examination of the floor does show that, at one point, a struggle of some kind took place here. A saddlebag was hung nearby, filled mostly with emptied straw - but at the bottom was a note reading 'Ask Lucas about Raven's Head'.
The next room was an empty bedroom, with nothing of particular value or interest.
The small alcove was nothing more than an old privy - emphasis on old, as there's no sign it's been used in years. Finally, you reach the main hall of the building.
A vast chamber occupies the space below the mansion’s cracked dome. Sweeping stone stairways, their wooden railings long since rotted away, climb to a balcony overlooking the room below. From the center of the floor rises a rough, flat stone with scorch marks on its center, large enough to be a table. More surprising are the columns that support the dome high above. Rather than the finished pillars one would expect in such a stately chamber, seven massive stones stand along the walls instead, crudely chiseled and set on end in a rough circle. It appears that the lords of Undiomede did not just place their seat at an age-old sacred site, but built their house upon the ancient stone menhirs of a druid ring. Oh, and there's one more thing you can see from the entrance - a giant figure standing within, with bluish skin and a heavy club.
Sevia held on to the note she had found, not sure what it meant but figuring it might be important. Looking into the main hall, she was surprised by the presence of the giant, and took a moment to use her Detect Evil to scan her and the room, making sure to stay out of sight before quietly pushing the door back in place. While she might have to fight it, she also figured she could take the appearance of the cleric she'd just killed and get some information.
In fact, thinking about it, she sent Epyon back to the carriage house to ask the horse about who her rider was and where he went. She also instructed him to close the doors behind him when he returned. Judging from the second set of double doors she saw, it looked like there was an adjoining hallway through the last door she hadn't checked. Looping back around, she attempted to get to the southern wing of the manor and bypass the central druidic chamber.
Epyon didn't seem to be getting through to the steed - Speak With Animals was not among the raven's spells, nor were horses and birds the same kind of creature. (Unless Epyon's got some ability I simply haven't noticed, of course, but it doesn't look like it...)
Looping around, on the other hand, was entirely possible - and you managed to bypass a pair of double doors that seemed to lead into the same chamber before emerging into another connecting room. This one had two doors to the east and one to the south.
After her familiar returned, Sevia decided to investigate the next two rooms on the east, having thought she saw a hole in the wall when she climbed up the wall further on. As usual, she kept as stealthy as possible, and if possible, survey the possible damage and see if her familiar could get a look into the floor above.
She also asked Epyon to get an update from the Shadow on it's progress.
No, telepathy does not work. That power requires the target to have a language - which normal horses do not - and even if the horse did have a language, telepathy isn't tongues and Epyon would still be unable to communicate with it if they didn't share a language. You'd have to find some way of granting a language to the steed before you or your familiar could communicate with it.
The two rooms include the remnants of an old dining room and what looks to be an old bedroom, both of which have been exposed to the elements through a gaping hole in the wall. You could climb up from here as well to visit a room on the second floor.
The Shadow, meanwhile, is still busy trying to eliminate all the slugspawn that have infested the chamber. They seem to be using unusually intelligent tactics, trying to distract it and pull it away from the window so they can attempt to escape while it's occupied with the others, forcing it to zoom all around the room and slowing its process. It's not a hard job, but it does seem a bit tedious, and it will take the Shadow a little longer to finish up.
Interested in getting to the second floor, Sevia sent Epyon up to look into the library and make sure it was clear before climbing up and entering the room above.
Still taking 10 on perception and stealth, detect evil also up
I don't seem to remember mentioning it was a library... *Glances over top of GM screen*
Epyon made a noise of warning as you grabbed the rocks and began to ascend - the room was definitely inhabited... by two spectral figures hovering deep within the room, at that. The climb wasn't an issue, but the restless spirits might well be...
I may or may not have recalled a friend's story about playing the Carrion Crown AP and getting TPK'd here due to a combo of wraiths and tick swarm...In keeping with character/player segregation I declined to cast Shield before entering the room
Sevia immediately stopped climbing after her familiar's warning, and ducked down. Two undead ghosts would be a tough challenge to contend with, and one she wasn't eager for. She contemplated returning downstairs, there were still some unexplored rooms, but it would be difficult to successfully pose as the slain cleric if she didn't come from the second floor.
Idea in mind, she communicated for her familiar to back off and used some of her ki to turn invisible, then scrambled up the side of the wall into the room - giving the undead inside a wide berth.
Important note about other players' stories: What they experienced may not match the book... nor any changes I might make. XD
Your Paladin powers twinged cautiously as you moved away from the ghostly figures. The oath was to destroy them or bring them to rest, and at least some kind of specific, reasonable plan to do so (doing it personally, arranging for an exorcist in the very near future, etc.) was crucial to stay in line with what you'd sworn to do. They were in the western part of the room, though, and getting away from them through the northern door would be easy enough.
Sevia couldn't exactly ask her familiar to come along, he'd be seen by the spectres. Besides which he'd ruin her disguise. As she finally reached the floor, she began edging toward the northern door. Looking to the two poor souls, Sevia felt a pang of sympathy for them, and regret that at the moment she felt she could not ease their suffering, but there would be time for that later. Mayhaps her own ghost could assist in the endeavor.
There wasn't any time to search the room, though she at least glanced around before making her way to the door. Quietly she opened it up and slipped through, closing the door behind her.
A series of portraits hang along the curving inner wall of this dim hallway. It seems to be another connecting passage - through the door to the north, you can hear the occasional squishing sound, and two more doors can be seen to the west, heading to the rest of the top floor.
Shadow still at work it seemed. Well, at least she was still invisible, might as well take advantage of that fact. First she cast Shield on herself, then moved down the hallway, she opened the southern door, then western door, giving each room a quick glance to check for any enemies and pressing on without a search.
After checking both doors, 5 rounds of Invisibility will have been used out of 7. 9/10 staff charges remain. HP = 63
To the south was what appeared to be a nursing room - to the west, a drawing room with wide windows and a panoramic view... and two doors heading north. Neither chamber seemed to be occupied at the moment.
A large four-poster bed sits next to a wide fireplace. The bed has been stripped of covers, but its rotten feather mattress still remains and bears a large, dark stain in the center. The wooden headboard once depicted a scene of ships battling upon the waves, but is now cracked with age and the elements, and large gashes further mar its surface. A wheeled chair with a moldy seat and warped wheels stands at the foot of the bed. A stairway winds up to the east into the dome above the manor house.
The investigation of the nursery uncovers several shells that used to be part of a toy of some kind, worth 75 GP to an interested buyer. Nothing else within the room seems to be particularly interesting. The room with the view was rather less entertaining - there was nothing of value within, but when you pulled open one of the drawers to investigate, a blast of yellow mold spores erupted right in your face.
Fort DC 23 Negates:1d20 + 19 ⇒ (14) + 19 = 33
Rather unfortunately for it, the merely mortal spores simply had no way of overcoming your natural resistance to effects, though you did have to take a moment to wipe them off.
That was the easy part. Your Shadow appeared in the hallway as you stepped into what was apparently the master bedroom (Room 19), but as it flew to join you, it was suddenly moving the other direction. It hadn't turned or started backing up, it had simply reversed, and through your link to it you could feel a sudden sense of confusion... and deep concern as snarling filled the air.
Will DC 30:1d20 + 20 ⇒ (2) + 20 = 22for GM Stuff:1d6 ⇒ 6
The corners of the room twisted in a way that made your mind gibber for a few moments as three gaunt, long-limbed quadrupeds with huge, soulless eyes and toothy maws walked out of the corners furthest from you. The lean creatures moved with a predatory grace, focusing intently upon you.
Wiping the disgusting spores off her body, Sevia had opened the room and expected her shadow to follow her inside...and watched with confusion as it recoiled. Instantly set on edge, she looked back inside and watched as snarling beasts lurking in the shadows stalked out at her.
Her reaction was swift, drawing two of the starknives she normally kept within her wrist sheaths, she flung them at the two furthest creatures. Then rushed the last, drawing her swords as she moved and swung out at it.
Spoiler:
Shadow Stryker +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Wyroot Primary
+1 Keen Wakizashi +15/+10 (1d6+9/15-20x2 P or S, Deadly) Adamantine Secondary
MW Star Knives +15 (1d4+8/20x3, P) Cold Iron
