The Forgotten God (Table 3) (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
1d6 + 3 + 1d4 ⇒ (5) + 3 + (1) = 9

The leader of the frogs soared through the air, neatly evading the blow and landing thirty feet away - and his two minion frogs followed a moment later, landing between you and the monstrous creature. For just a moment, they looked back... then leaped towards the woods again, apparently having no intention whatsoever of sticking around any longer. Not against a foe they'd stabbed at so many times and been so completely unable to land a blow on... quite frankly, they didn't care about this village so much that they were willing to die for it.

End Combat. You've earned 300 XP!

For several moments, none of the crowd seems able to believe what happened... but then the cheering begins - a massive roar of delight from individuals who no longer had to live in fear of what was about to happen, and several of them immediately set about untying the major captive.

Harath walks over to the group, looking for someone who appears to be leading the efforts, or perhaps even the major captive.

"hey, do you all have a town near here? I could use a meal and a place to rest. I'd also like to know what that frog man was all about."

Somebody from the crowd manages to get an answer out. Eventually. It takes more than five minutes for them to settle down, and a significant chunk of that time is spent with various people thanking you for helping them. A picture of what's going on does become clear, though - the frog-entity had recently taken over the town, and was having the villagers build a ritual house where the chosen sacrifice would be stored while the frog's eggs were implanted into his body. When the young were grown enough to break free of their eggs, they would almost certainly have killed him, and the villagers themselves hadn't had the power to strike back.

There is a town nearby - following the main road just over a small hill reveals a place with a few dozen homes, not to mention a number of smaller shops and providers of other services. It's no city, but it's a decent location in its own right.

Perhaps more importantly, however, you can still feel the dreams of someone who wants death more than anything else in the world... and that sense is coming from somewhere in the town.

Wants their own death? Or the death of others?

They want their own death.

First thing, I look for a place to eat and rest, seeing if such can be provided to me for free from the folks I saved. Also I will try to see if I can get a set of light armor from them. Then I will rest.

The next day, if nothing happens, I will stroll around mindlinking people to see if I can pick up on who is the suicidal one.

If they're reticent to give me a place to stay and food, I'm going to have to look for a job.

Getting food and a place to sleep isn't very difficult after saving one of the villagers from being turned into a breeding animal for whatever those frogs actually were. However, the wishes for death seem to vanish overnight... and while details are frustratingly scarce among the townsfolk, they do seem to indicate that the man about to become the host for frog eggs had someone rather important to him remaining back in the village... though that still doesn't explain how their feelings were strong enough to call your attention. You could begin looking into that or head another way...

any luck on getting anyone to give me a set of armor?

Harath will question the man, if he can find him.

While nobody's interested in giving armor away for free, it seems that the local store does stock some good leather armor, and you could buy it for the standard price.

The man you rescued isn't terribly hard to find - everyone in the village knew what was going to happen, and he's actually quite happy to take a bit of time out of his day for you. "Yes! How can I help?" he asks, brightening up as you approach.

"hello. I am sensing a bit of unease about you. It's understandable given the dire situation you were in. I just wanted to make sure things were good with you as well as ask if you knew any more about the frog creatures. "

"Huh? Um..." the man blinks a bit, not exactly used to people talking that way. "You saved us before it could get started, so it's fine. As for those things..." he tilted his head a bit. "We've heard a few stories, but they're usually the kind of monsters that stay in the swamps, and those are quite a ways from here. It could be a big problem if they've started to turn expansionist..."

"That is true. I didn't know the situation. Have you all spoken to your town leadership about this issue?"

"On an unrelated note, do you know where someone could earn some coin around here? I expect goodwill from my previous actions wont provide food forever, and I could use a set of armor."

"I did talk to them about it." He looks at you for a few moments, then almost visibly seems to brighten. "Why don't you go talk to the head of our Village Council? He should be over there right now..." the man raises an arm and points towards one of the buildings, "...and he was saying something about a bounty for stopping further incursions from those frogs."

"sounds like a good idea. Thanks for the help."

With that, Harath heads over and introduces himself to the village council head.

It doesn't take very long to establish good relations with the head of the Council - publicly driving off murderous monsters tends to improve one's social standing in ways lesser deeds can't. His request is very simple - investigate the swamps, find out why the frogs had left it, and do what's necessary in order to stop them from doing it again. They're not especially rich, but the village is willing to pay up to 700 gold pieces to anyone who can successfully accomplish this task.

"I'll do it. I have one simple request: could I borrow a set of armor, nothing fancy, just something to protect me a bit more than skin? Or maybe rather than borrow it, just take it out of the reward at the end? I'd like all the assurances that I will survive. Although I'd say I did pretty well against the frogs earlier, that took nearly the full measure of my power."

"Mmm..." the Elder scrutinizes you for a few moments, clearly trying to judge your worth. Leather armor would only cost a fairly small part of the reward being offered, and you had helped the village earlier. "I suppose that will be fine. We do have an interest in your success." he said, taking out a crisp sheet of paper and scrawling a short message on this. "Take this to our store and give it to the owner; he'll be able to set you up with that armor."

"thank you, Elder. Also, do you have a general direction I should focus my search? he asks, taking the sheet of paper.

"Of course!" he said, pulling out a map and pointing. "You're currently here." he explained briskly, before moving his finger a short ways in another direction. "The swamps are over here, and that should be where they're coming from - at least, they don't seem to have made any outposts or things of that nature. You'll start to see much more in the way of frog iconography once you approach their territory - they don't exactly welcome visitors."

"Alright, I will see what I can do."

With that, Harath will leave when dismissed and take the sheet of paper to the shop in town to pick up some light armor, and then head out along the direction the Elder pointed out. He will do his best to be stealthy.

The trip towards the swamp takes several days, since it wasn't exactly adjacent to the city - another reason for their concern, actually. However, the elder was certainly correct about knowing when you'd entered the territory - there's a line of stakes that have been painted yellow, and things in the wild are suddenly starting to look much more orderly.

In time, you're able to locate their settlement. Two frogs similar to those you saw before are standing upright near a gate in the fence that surrounds the settlement, apparently on watch, and the others in the settlement appear to be resting within crude houses. It's quite dark to begin with, and the shade of the tall trees in the swamp only makes it worse - in the practical sense, the only light is coming from the torches that have been set up every forty feet or so.

stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Harath sneaks around and looks the place over, noting the following:

- Guard patterns of patrol, general alertness
- Where the frog king might sleep
- What the huts are made of (flammable?)

The two guards standing around are watching, but they don't seem hugely alert or like they're expecting a real attack - it's quite possible that they're more of a token gesture than anything else, or standing around to resist intrusions by creatures of the swamp. Of course, the wide placement of their eyes is likely to give them a bigger field of view than a human would have...

While it's not completely obvious where their leader lives, the most likely place seems to be a larger building in the center of town, which actually reaches up three stories. Unfortunately, neither it nor the other buildings seem particularly flammable - the frogs don't seem to like fire very much, judging by the careful way the torches have been built, and they aren't going to risk one spilled torch being able to roast all of them alive.

hmm, what roll would it be for me to determine if they were Humanoid type? basically i am considering using Empathic Connection

Knowledge (Local) allows you to identify humanoids... and figure out what isn't humanoid, even when you aren't sure what it's actually classified as, for the purposes of using that power.

I'm pretty sure you're going to figure it out one way or another, though, so I'll just tell you now to save time: their Bestiary entry says they're not humanoids.

dang, so no charm.

stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Harath tries to sneak in the perimeter at an area where there are few or no guards, preferably close to the large building. He will try to peek inside.

The walls surrounding the camp seem fairly comprehensive... but they're built to stop beasts from getting in, not an intelligent humanoid capable of bypassing them. They also seem to have been built in a way that would allow the frogs to easily jump over them and get in and out of the city that way - which seems entirely at odds with the point of having guards at a sort of gate.

However, you are stealthy enough to slip through and avoid the guards. There are several small windows on the ground floor of the large building, looking into what appears to be a hall of some kind. It's unoccupied, and might be used for meetings or something of that nature when they're feeling particularly strict. They do rather seem like they prefer the outdoors, and exist in a strange state between barbarism and civilization.

Can Harath see into the upper level? Are there windows or would he have to go through the inside?

climb: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18 (if necessary)

There are several larger windows on the upper level of the building, above where any other frogs could jump - and the surfaces are very rough, which makes climbing far easier than it would have been in any human city. You're able to pull yourself up high enough to look through the second-floor window, and this area appears to be a storage level of some kind, filled with surprisingly sturdy-looking boxes. A marked path leads from the wide stairs going down to another set of stairs going up. Unfortunately, the building gets broader on the next level - it seems like you'd have to climb on the underside and pull yourself up the corner to proceed any higher, and that could be very difficult to do.

Could I get in the window? I imagine they aren't using glass panes.

Yes, you could get through the larger windows. You will need to remove the cross-sections that were put there mostly for safety reasons, but it's certainly possible to break into the building in this way.

Alright, I try to do that. Ideally, I'd like to do it quietly.

That's what Stealth rolls are for. Fortunately, you made one earlier!

It takes a bit of time and effort, but you're eventually able to sever the crossbars within the window and make your way, unseen, into the second floor of the building. A set of stairs on your left lead up to the next floor (though they do look a little slippery - all that frog slime doesn't make for the most stable footing when others are involved), but the building itself is otherwise quite dark for now.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17 (using empty hands to brace against the walls while moving at quarter speed)

Harath slowly and carefully attempts to scale the stairs to the next level.

lemme know when i should be rolling another stealth check, but i am trying to remain quiet behind enemy lines

A loud croaking sound comes from the room ahead of you as you slowly ascend the stairs. The residents don't seem to be very big on doors, mostly because their hands aren't particularly suited to dealing with things like that, but it looks like they have created a pond here on the upper level, and one frog-man is sitting on a massive leaf in the middle of it, nearly fifteen feet away from the edge. Reaching it won't be easy without going through the water...

And now's a good time for another stealth check, to see if you can get around without waking the frog-man.

stealth: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Harath looks around, taking in the soon-to-be battleground.

Looking for (basically a map, although you don't need to make one if you dont want):
- things to hide behind
- any sort of furniture (perhaps to block the door)
- how deep the water is (and any entrances/exits below surface?)
- windows? (suitability for ingress/egress)
- how high the ceiling is (any rafters?)
- wall/floor/ceiling material
- weapons he might grab?
- any other guards? (i assume no since i made it this far without seeing any)

The chamber mainly seems to be the frog-men's idea of a luxury bedroom, though most other species would probably object to it. The interior pool (no small feat) is by far the most noticeable thing in the chamber, but there are several other items of note - including several large piles of miscellaneous objects possibly for the maintenance of the room. Several of these are made of simple boxes, and while not exactly furniture, they could certainly substitute for such.

The water itself is about five feet deep, enough for reasonable immersion, while the ceiling rises fifteen feet. It's quite an engineering marvel for these people, but with their preference for jumping, high ceilings seem to be a must. There don't seem to by any real entrances or exits through the pool, or at least none you can see from where you are. The only windows are fairly small and set into the wall - you'd have to be able to change your shape to get through them. The walls are made of wood, probably local, carefully lashed together and covered with some sort of odd substance to make them sturdier... possibly more slime of some kind.

Sadly, there are no weapons, but there aren't any guards to deal with either - they don't seem to suspect that they would have been invaded, and whatever might be on the first floor would probably have been enough to stop an intruder.

Sorry, forgot to ask: does the frog king appear wounded or bandaged from the earlier fight? (i assume all healed up, but a guy can hope)

The frog-man located within these chambers is uninjured - and more importantly, from everything you can remember, this creature is not the one you fought earlier. While you aren't exactly an expert on frog anatomy, this one seems to be both a little larger and a little older than the one you fought...

Harath will calm himself for a moment and ready his mind for the transformation that is to come. His body swells four-fold as his mouth distends, stretching forward as his teeth become razor-sharp. Meanwhile, his hands grow larger as his fingers stretch out to become claws. As an afterthought, small webbing grows in between the fingers out to the second knuckle. With a last gesture, he will create a shield of force.

using Fear Made Flesh, duration 10 mins. using Wild Arcana to manifest Minor Metamorphosis, duration 3 minutes, making him Large size as well as giving him a swim speed of 20ft. also manifesting Force Screen.

Total cost, 3 rounds, 1 MP and 1 PP.

total gain: +3 AC, +2 to hit, damage dice increase by one for size, swim speed.

If nothing happens in those three rounds, Harath will charge the sleeping frog-king and try to bite him.

bite: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
dmg: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 5) + 4 = 10

i figure i should be able to get there since i have a swim speed and i am large so i am not completely immersed in the water as i move forward. if i have to roll jump i will, but i am really bad at it so i am scared! haha

It's not difficult at all to move forward and bite the sleeping King - rather, it would have been far more surprising if you'd missed, and a roar comes out of the frog-man's mouth as your bite takes out a big chunk of his hide.

Frog King: 32/42 HP.

It may have been easier to take your time and try for a coup-de-grace, but your foe has neither armor nor weapons...

Initiative (Harath): 1d1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Initiative (Frog King): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

He is, however, surprisingly responsive after being woken up. Perhaps he's used to this kind of thing, or maybe he has the experience of age. A bit of light reflects off of his claws as he swipes through the air, aiming to rip out chunks of your hide.

Claw Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Claw Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Somewhat surprisingly, both of the attacks land, though neither of them was a truly powerful blow all on their own. If he'd had time to prepare, those claws could have hurt much more... and the King's expression seems to be one of grim determination to disembowel you with his own hands.

dang, i didnt even think of a coup de grace. I haven't had that opportunity in a decade!! argghh!

claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

claw 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

bite: 1d20 ⇒ 20
2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 4) + 4 = 13

bite confirm: 1d20 ⇒ 5
extra dmg: 3d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3, 1) + 4 = 10

Harath will spend a swift action and an MP to manifest Corrosive Aura (at the end of his turn, 3d6 per round acid for 3 rounds, DC 16 reflex halves) acid: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 2) = 12

Next turn, if the frog king attacks, Harath will manifest Untouchable Aura (will save DC 15 to hit Harath)

The first swing of the claws goes wide, but manages to solidly connect with the frog - as does the vicious bite which, while not perfect, is still a truly nasty blow.

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

And with his body still in pain, the frog isn't quite fast enough to avoid the heavy acid, either... making this a very short fight indeed.

Frog King: 0/42 HP

As its body splashes backwards, however, something about it quickly starts changing. A burst of black light surges out of its mouth and surrounds the body, seeping into its slimy flesh. The creature lands on its feet, the glint of undeath in its eyes as it straightens. The battle isn't over after all, and the creature's face splits into a wide grin as it lashes out with its own claws once more.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 for Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Attack Roll: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 for Damage: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

However, perhaps as a result of the sudden transformation, its blows go wide. That doesn't stop it, however, as the creature's body shoots forward for a powerful slamming attack, aiming to take a bite out of your hide as it passes.

Attack Roll (Slam): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23 for Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Attack Roll (Bite): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22 for Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

These attacks are much more helpful than the claws... and an unholy light glimmers in the creature's eyes as it prepares to attack again!

religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 he is corporeal, right?

the acid shouldn't have happened until the end of its turn, so did it get two turns of attacks on me? unless i missed something, should have been my attack, his attack, my acid, he becomes undead, then my turn. not a big deal, and i could be missing something.

Feeling the pain of its many tiny cuts, Harath spends another modicum of his mythic power to reinforce his now-beastly skin, granting himself DR 2/- (using biofeedback power, 3 mins, via Wild Arcana)

To apply as the time comes:
acid 2nd rnd: 3d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 1) = 8
acid 3rd rnd: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 5, 1) = 12

His defenses shored up, he lets loose a renewed assault against this vile creature!

Full attack, claw claw bite.
claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

claw 1: 1d20 ⇒ 14
2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 6) + 4 = 11

Yeah, for some reason I was thinking of it happening at the end of your turn. I'll need to remember that one... and no, it did not get two turns of attacks on you. The undead is corporeal.

The undead frog-monster raised up its own claws as the attacks came in, warding them off with rapid deflections before ducking well under the bite. None of the attacks seemed close to striking the terrible monster, whose vicious grin widened even further as it pressed inward, unleashing its own claws once again in an effort to tear you to pieces.

Removing the +2 bonus to damage to account for your DR 2.

Attack Roll (Claw 1): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5
Attack Roll (Claw 2): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

It might have kept going, but there was something else occupying its attention - even the undead were vulnerable to acid burning through their muscles and bone...

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

...and even the best possible dodge couldn't totally stop the acid from digging its way into the creature's body. Frog King: 16/20 HP.

so I am a turn's worth of attacks behind him I think, or did the second wave of attacks from your post before last not count?.

Feeling intense pain, but with little to do but finish this madness, Harath renews his assault.

Full attack, claw claw bite.
claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

claw 1: 1d20 ⇒ 6
2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 3) + 4 = 9

I'll probably use Wild Arcana again, but would like to know if I am a round of attacks behind or not first.

It did not get two turns of attacks on you. That was part of its full attack. You are NOT a round of attacks behind it.

The wild undead creature continued to parry the other blows, though the second claw attack came quite close to hitting it. It was just a little too slow, however, and the undead wasted no time in responding with its own claws.

Attack Roll (Claw 1): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
Attack Roll (Claw 2): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

Both of the claws went wide, however, making them rather less useful than they could have been. It was hardly used to moving in this form (assuming that it had enough intelligence to even get used to anything), and that may have been working against it... though it did continue to need to deal with the vicious acid. Of course, that was about to wear out, wasn't it...?

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

It wasn't quite as perfect a movement as it had done before, perhaps because of the ongoing damage to its body, but the undead creature did manage to avoid the worst of the damage. Frog King: 10/20 HP.

Harath attempts to make use of the misses of the creature to take a break and fight on.

Full attack, claw claw bite.
claw 1: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

claw 2: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

bite: 1d20 ⇒ 10
2d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 6) + 4 = 16

Harath, seeing his blows continue to rain down without effect, draws forth another mote of mythic energy to renew the acid effect.

acid: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 3, 5) = 10

This undead would have few problems against a normal person... at least, that's the sense you're getting from its surprisingly agile movements. Despite its nature, it actually seems quite intelligent - that might be the reason it's so good at avoiding your blows, though you've managed to keep pace so far and use the acid to wear it down. If it had a sense of survival, it probably would have broken off by now... but that, at least, is something the undead often lack.

Attack Roll (Claw 1): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3
Attack Roll (Claw 2): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 for Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 4

One of its claws bounces off your hide without doing real damage, the other goes completely wide, and it slips to the side in an attempt to avoid the acid.

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

And it doesn't manage to avoid the acid this time. For just a moment, there's a glimmer of surprise in its eyes - and then the acid melts right through its face, dropping the now-headless beast to the ground. It doesn't get up this time. Frog King: 0/20 HP.

You've earned 400 XP.

You made noise during the fight, but less than some people might have expected - and you're two stories up, away from whoever might have been on the first floor. It's not clear what's happening elsewhere in the village, but you seem to be safe for the moment.