Tomb of Horrors (Inactive)

Game Master Michael Riter

336 days until the night of the invasion.
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Pit Fiend

Once you have created your character, and posted in the forum, you may start to interact with each other here. I want to see how you roleplay, and... what your general style of writing is.

You have all found yourselves, at the Grand Lodge in the City at the Center of the World, as you have all been summoned, or requested to come on behalf of Venture-Captain Ambrus Valsin. There are many different people here of all different races and nationalities, but you all have a feeling that you all received the same handwritten letter from the Venture-Captain, asking for your immediate presence here. One line in particular must have caught your attention. "The Decemvirate has requested you personally for this task." Doubtless, whether you were ordered here (in the case of Pathfinder agents) or spotted and singled out for one reason or another by a spy or recruiter, you have a feeling that the situation is dire.

Right now, the lot of you are waiting in a medium sized amphitheater, unsure of when you will be called upon. Hopefully when you are, you can gain some more insight as to why you were called here.


Pit Fiend

There has been a new development in the world of Golarion. An island, about the size of Kortos has appeared between Kortos itself and Osirion and has done so quite literally overnight. Those of you with an intelligence of more than three can safely assume that the Pathfinder Scoiety and several world governments are alarmed at the events. Those of you who were here were probably already in Asbolom when the news arose, and that is why it was so easy for the Society to send agents to find you all. Furthermore, your letters are all custom made to fit your backstory, so once I have that, I can start writing them.


Magical Animal

Father Raphael

Among the group of people is a human man of average height and weight. He seems to be dressed in priestly garments of Sarenrae. I'm assuming I'll have time to put on my armor and such later. His skin is tan as though he spends a lot of time outdoors, as befits a follower of the sun goddess. His shoulder length wavy hair is chestnut colored and nicely complements his hazel eyes.

The man makes his way to the middle of the amphitheater where he clears his throat and begins to speak. "Brothers and Sisters. My name is Raphael of the following of the great and glorious Sarenrae. And I have had a dream sent by the goddess, telling us to delve into the darkness of this tomb and spread her light. But I am not a warrior. I am but a simple healer. So for my part, I vow to do whatever I can to make sure those brave few who accompany me make it out alive and back to their families. And as part of that, it is important that I make sure everybody is as well versed as they could be on potential dangers. Because knowledge if half the battle." Here you think you see a star shoot across the sky accompanied by some phantom after-school-special style music.

With that, he begins passing around pamphlets with basic information on undead and demons.* On the back of every pamphlet is printed the symbol of Sarenrae and the questions "Have you accepted Sarenrae into your heart as your goddess and light bringer?" You get the impression that he's probably had a number of doors shut in his face before. But he seems sincere in his desire to be helpful and smiles at everybody around him, regardless of their appearance or potential signs of worshiping a different deity.

Also, just in case anybody's concerned, no, he's not going to go around trying to convert everyone. He might mention it once, but he's not going to push it.

* Religion: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
Planes: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24


"Mad" Hamish stood in the amphitheater in the crowd more or less doing what he always does on such occasions and stuffed every potential container he possessed with food when no one was looking starting with his stomach.

He knew little about what this was all about except that it involved Osiran and something rising out of the sands. So nothing new.

It was like he told a certain young paladin who would not calm down for even a moment for all the evil that had to be dealt with. "Listen gov, there's always some kind of devilish hungry forgotten thing coming down from the stars, coming up from the floor, or poppin out some shiny extradimensional hole, to take a bite out of yer arse. Thankfully there's a least a million and a half blokes like you willing to put spikes on their arse and sit right on top of em. Now drink yer ale yer killin me lettin it get cold like that."

He couldn't remember what got the poor sod. Was it a pit trap? Or did he drown? Heavy armor was a hazard in and of itself. Turns out a lot of old dungeons and ruins that had pit traps would occasionally get flooded or reunite with the ground water. Suddenly finding yourself down a hundred foot drop was bad enough without also hitting twenty foot deep water.

The priest came and went and Hamish took the pamphlet without a word. Gods, just what he needed. Things were hard enough in the dark without getting the gods involved. Best to leave them out of this.

"Uhm, thanks gov." Hamish said giving an awkward and insincere smile as he carefully sidled away from the man.

Stuffing the pamphlet into the backpocket of someoen not paying enough attention Hamish resumed his gluttonous stuffing.


Jean Begnoche

Jean is seated in the row behind Hamish, guffawing loudly and holding his first drink of the evening. He had figured the Grand Lodge was as good a place as anywhere to get started on his relationship with Osirani liquor if he was to be sent there next, but given his tastes it was half-gone before he even thought about how he felt about the taste anyhow. He was regaling a small group of younger adventurers with some tales of his previous missions.

So I dive behind the table as an arc of lightning shoots past me. The witch Igna is doing her usual bit, cackling, trying to cut the vampire up with her hair, cursing him, very unsettling stuff. I jump off the table and manage to cut off his arm. He was none too happy about that, undead or not, so he takes to the air. My new archer friend Ulrich was already bleeding and unconscious so I had to grab his bow to shoot him down. He didn't have all that many spells left, I suppose, so he kept shooting me with little piddling things and I kept peppering him with arrows until he had to run. We eventually caught up with him and finished him off, but he could have stayed afloat for who knows how long, and had I not picked up the bow we definitely would have lost more than just the thief we picked out of prison that night.

He takes another drink.

Anyway where was I? Yes, had I not picked up the bow we would have had more than one casualty. Lesson here: everyone should be able to fight at a distance and at close, because the day will come when you don't have a choice in the matter.

He looks serious for a moment. Of course, Pathfinders aren't really supposed to be fighters, we're supposed to be explorers and treasure hunters or something. Anyway, why are we talking about this?

He waves his cup in the air Are there any bards about? Strike up a song while we wait, let's get drunk and have fun before we jump into a ruin nobody's ever heard of.


Female Gnome
Remaining:
Channel 3/5 (5d6+1, DC 18) | Aura of Purity minutes: 8/9 |Harvey HP 46/46
Shaman 9 | HP 92/92 | AC22(24) T12(14) FF21(23) | F8(10) R11(13) W11(13) +2 vs ill or death | Init +1 | Per +13 | Low Light

In the back row, sits one of the shortest gnomes you've ever seen. Her wild green hair and eyes, are shockingly vibrant. She has many scars, carved in delicate patterns around her eyes and forehead. It seems like she has rubbed a green die on them to make them even more visible. She is having an animated conversation with a goat. Her hands waiving about, she occasionally jumps up and stamps her feat.

"Look! It's a damned island of rock out of nowhere, why is it going to spell the doom of every living being in the Inner Sea?!" She wait's patiently as the goat bleets and bahs at her for at least a whole minute.
"Yes, yes... I know that islands popping into the area with no notice, and Aroden missing is weird. How does that spell D-O-O-M? Really you spirits should learn to be less melodramatic.. The last time you got all Doomy! I had to cast cure light wounds on a baby birds broken wing over in the Ivy District... Master Kreighton is still pissed at me for wasting that greater teleport sroll to come back from Bloodcove for that!!!"


A half-elf perks up from a corner


Magical Animal

Father Raphael

"Well, Sarenrae also seems to think this island is important, so maybe your...spirit friend" this sounds like it might be a question "is correct. Or at least, not far off." The priest smiles as he hands the gnome one of the pamphlets. He looks uncertain about if he should offer one to the goat as well, but he finally does so. Well, at the very least...he/she could eat it I suppose?


He walks over to the table where the shouting gnome had spoken, and says:
"You must've gone through a lot."
And he chuckles.


"I'd say he's right"


The half-elf raises his hand to shake, and says:
"Name's Leafripper, nice to meet ya"


Leafripper points to the warhammer on his belt.
"That's Gracie...."
He then points to his large sword.
"That's Glory"
He takes a seat at the table.


Um, I don't think Leafripper meant to be sarcastic about the "You must've gone through a lot" line......


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Magical Animal

If you don't mind, please don't post 3-4 times in a row. You can edit and delete posts up to an hour after you submit them, so it makes more sense to consolidate them all into a single, longer post.

The priest hands the half elf a pamphlet as well. Looking amused, he asks, "And what, pray tell, do you have against leaves?" He turns to the druid in a conspiratorial manner. "Although I have heard they can be vicious opponents on the field of combat."


"Oh, thanks", Leafripper says, and he turns to the priest.
"Yeah, some plants can give you a hard time. Even a weed."
He takes out his sword and starts to read the runes etched in it. He looks puzzled.

He then takes out a tool and etches a line. "There! Perfect!"
Leafripper says to the priest: "So you worship Sarenrae, right? What's your name?"


Anon A Mouse wrote:

If you don't mind, please don't post 3-4 times in a row. You can edit and delete posts up to an hour after you submit them, so it makes more sense to consolidate them all into a single, longer post.

The priest hands the half elf a pamphlet as well. Looking amused, he asks, "And what, pray tell, do you have against leaves?" He turns to the druid in a conspiratorial manner. "Although I have heard they can be vicious opponents on the field of combat."

Oh, right, sorry


Pit Fiend

Leafripper, when you ask a nearby Pathfinder where you could find a tankard of ale, he looks at you very strangely and sort of scoots away. (You are in the Grand Lodge at Absalom. You won't find too many people drinking here.)


"Uhhhh....I...uuuh.....oops...?" Leafripper blushes and sinks into his chair...knowing his mistake. He chuckles nervously.


"Sooooooo....", Leafripper clears his throat, "about the islands..."

Better do some studying on Absalom....#akward
He sits up. "The islands, like, pop up out of nowhere? Like gophers? No warning?"
Can I get tea w/ milk?

I make a perception check to see what's going on around me(besides the fact some people are looking at me strangely)

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28

Hold on I gotta take a break....my eyes are killing me...


i'm back


HAmish considered this concept for a moment and shrugged. "I'd say more like a terrible fortress of death and doom risen from the ocean like some THassilonian war barge come to doom the world. Unless you've got a certain kind of gopher I've not heard of."


The goat excepts the pamphlet with a slight bow.
"Baaa... Bleet baa baa baba baaa".

He then begins to chew the pamphlet contentedly.

Speak with Animals:

"Thank you, holy papers always taste better."


Female Gnome
Remaining:
Channel 3/5 (5d6+1, DC 18) | Aura of Purity minutes: 8/9 |Harvey HP 46/46
Shaman 9 | HP 92/92 | AC22(24) T12(14) FF21(23) | F8(10) R11(13) W11(13) +2 vs ill or death | Init +1 | Per +13 | Low Light

Suzumaru begins looking over the pamphlet, then hears Harvey.

"No! Bad goat! Don't eat that nice man's pamphlet. At least not in front of everyone..." Turning to Father Raphael, "I'm so sorry, he was raised in a barn. He has no manners, but he did say that your pamphlet was extremely tasty... and he umm... thanks you."She tries and stealthy kick the goat without anyone seeing. Unfortunately, Harvey saw it coming and dodged quite well. This goat is gonna get me expelled one of these days, I really hope that priest doesn't get too mad

Stealth: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Hey Flame - take a look at these 2 posts
1
2


Magical Animal

Father Raphael

Raphael chuckles. "Believe me miss, I've seen worse reactions. I take it he is the reason why you're here? I would imagine an unknown island appearing out of nowhere would have quite the impact on the natural and spiritual world in addition to the world of mortals. Have you traveled far to be here?"


Pit Fiend

Before much else could go on a young, well dressed, yet balding human man Pathfinders recognize him as Venture Captain Ambrus Valsin walks into the room, followed by two scholarly looking half-elves. Ambrus looks around and starts dividing everyone into groups (the potential PCs conveniently placed in the same group as one another) while the half-elves passed around several ancient looking tombs, urging people to use caution with them.

Once Ambrus gets to the PCs, he quickly gives them a once over, nodding at all current Pathfinders. "You all know the drill. Everyone who isn't familiar with the Pathfinders, you'll quickly learn that knowledge is power. I'd start reading up on what you might find on that island. Start with the name Acererak. He was a sorcerer- what is it?" He spins around an annoyed look at one of the half-elves who nervously whispers something to him.* He nods, sends them away, then turns back to you all. "I'll be back shortly to brief you. Start getting to know each other, and start studying. That is of course, unless you want to end up dying of ignorance." With that, he disappears of into a hallway, followed by the two scholars.

Perception DC 10:
"Sir... The Ten want to speak with you."

Everyone who hasn't posted yet will still have a chance to introduce themselves. I'm just doing this in case you want a bit of background/tips on the nature of Acererak or the Tomb Everyone can give me a linguistics check to see how fast you read. If you beat a DC 20, you can get two attempts at different knowledge checks to see what you can uncover. If not you can only choose one knowledge check.


Female Gnome
Remaining:
Channel 3/5 (5d6+1, DC 18) | Aura of Purity minutes: 8/9 |Harvey HP 46/46
Shaman 9 | HP 92/92 | AC22(24) T12(14) FF21(23) | F8(10) R11(13) W11(13) +2 vs ill or death | Init +1 | Per +13 | Low Light

"I've traveled a lot over the years,"she pauses taking a deep breath "though lately I've been stuck at the lodge working off, as Master Kreighton says, my debt to the society for wasting precious teleport resources." She tries to hide her hands, then she decides better and shows you them. They are covered in ink stains and appear to be sorta rubbed raw. "I've been on scribe and kitchen cleaning duties for a solid month," nodding at the goat,"and good ol' Harvey gets to graze in the pasture with all the other animals, even though this is all his fault."


Leafripper looks strangely at "Harvey", then he shakes his head. And I thought I was strange..., he thinks, remembering the ale incident.


"Hmmmmm...." Leafripper says.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (20) + 15 = 35

Trying to listen to what the half-elf whispered, even though the roll is pointless


The Flame wrote:

"Hmmmmm...." Leafripper says.

[dice=Perception]1d20+15

Trying to listen to what the half-elf whispered, even though the roll is pointless

Well...that was amusing....


"Did you hear what he said?" says Leafripper, as he turns to Raphael.


Suzumaru Viskillian wrote:
"I've traveled a lot over the years,"she pauses taking a deep breath "though lately I've been stuck at the lodge working off, as Master Kreighton says, my debt to the society for wasting precious teleport resources." She tries to hide her hands, then she decides better and shows you them. They are covered in ink stains and appear to be sorta rubbed raw. "I've been on scribe and kitchen cleaning duties for a solid month," nodding at the goat,"and good ol' Harvey gets to graze in the pasture with all the other animals, even though this is all his fault."

"Wow...that's rough..." says Leafripper.


Female Gnome
Remaining:
Channel 3/5 (5d6+1, DC 18) | Aura of Purity minutes: 8/9 |Harvey HP 46/46
Shaman 9 | HP 92/92 | AC22(24) T12(14) FF21(23) | F8(10) R11(13) W11(13) +2 vs ill or death | Init +1 | Per +13 | Low Light

Unable to make a linguistic check, Suzu will make Knowledge Religion check
Know:Religion: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25

Jumping up on the bench,"Don't worry everyone! I assure you ignorance itself cannot kill you! I am an excellent healer, it would have to kill me first before it could get to you!"


Hamish smiles madly as the Venture Captain starts dividing people.

He responds to the last line with over exaggerated keenness. "No suh! Gonna learn all there is about Ig-NOR-Ance so it can't surprise me!"


"And to add to that...", Leafripper stays sitting, talking to himself, "I'll make sure the enemy's forces fall so fast you may not get hurt in the first place."

Stealth: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Leafripper does not like talking to larger crowds than the one nearest to him(Suzu and Raphael) plus 3 more people

Leafripper flinches, knowing at least some 4-6 other people heard him....


Magical Animal

With a +13, Raphael auto-succeeds the perception check. I am also sad that I did't put any ranks into linguistics. Alas. ...no wait, I remember now that there was a reason why I did that (tongues curse means I will eventually speak and understand all languages. And I already managed to get the main heavenly/infernal-y ones covered). Oh well. I'll make a Knowledge Planes check.

Planes: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Raphael smiles at the gnomes' enthusiasm. "Ignorance may not kill you, but it could lead to a quicker death than might otherwise be the case. Hence these." He waves his pamphlets about.

Suzumaru wrote:

"I've traveled a lot over the years,"she pauses taking a deep breath "though lately I've been stuck at the lodge working off, as Master Kreighton says, my debt to the society for wasting precious teleport resources." She tries to hide her hands, then she decides better and shows you them. They are covered in ink stains and appear to be sorta rubbed raw. "I've been on scribe and kitchen cleaning duties for a solid month," nodding at the goat,"and good ol' Harvey gets to graze in the pasture with all the other animals, even though this is all his fault."

"Ah, well. A hard day's work's isn't too bad of a punishment, although I can understand your frustration if you're working while the source of your trouble gets away scot free. Although if you're a healer and skilled enough to have been asked to venture into this forgotten tomb, I would have thought your Master Kreighton would have found....better uses for your talents. Like volunteering at a hospital. But I imagine this adventure," He waves a hand around to indicate their current position, "Must be enough to more than earn forgiveness."

He pauses before continuing. "Though I must admit, I'm curious, and please stop me if I'm out of line, what exactly is it that your friend" he waves to the goat "Convinced you to do to earn Master Kreighton's ire in the first place?"


Female Gnome
Remaining:
Channel 3/5 (5d6+1, DC 18) | Aura of Purity minutes: 8/9 |Harvey HP 46/46
Shaman 9 | HP 92/92 | AC22(24) T12(14) FF21(23) | F8(10) R11(13) W11(13) +2 vs ill or death | Init +1 | Per +13 | Low Light

"We were part of an expedition to push back the gorillas who were interfering with an important archaeological dig in the Mwangi Expanse. About 4 days in to the grueling march in the jungles, Harvey got very agitated and explained that my healing talents were required in Absalom. Within the hour! That is half a world away! He said that the entirety of the universe was at stake. So I took the groups emergency scroll of Greater Teleport and zoomed back here. I then repaired the baby bird's wing, and well... apparently the Masters and Venture Captains don't believe that I probably saved the universe." Giving the goat a baleful look,"Though, I'm beginning to doubt it too...


"baaa-aa-aaa"bleats Harvey, giving you a nearly human looking sheepish shrug.

Speak with Goat:
We get things wrong sometimes...


Oh yeah, quick question...what does the pamphlet say? I don't think I saw anything that explained that.

Leafripper reaches his arm out to pat the goat on the head, hesitates, but does it anyway. "Maybe he gets things wrong, sometimes."


This is Tiny Coffee Golem's submission. The info in on the sheet. If I get selected I'll make it a bit prettier. Currently it's just the output from Herobuilder.

Anyone who can see out the front window (or door if it's open) sees a small sized air elemental come at high speed from the sky and stop about 5 feet from the door. Without completely stopping the elemental solidifies into a brown wild haired friendly looking gnome. He falls about an inch as he solidifies. His clothing is simple and earth toned (go figure).

He walks boldly into the room and looks around.

Edit: he carries no obvious weapon. Also he's barefoot.


As the venture captain leaves he allows himself a small chuckle and turns to the rest. "Well, my name is Mad Hamish and I'm a professional dark delver and expert at not dying. And you all are?"


Leafripper goes to the door to welcome the newcomer.
"Hiya! What brings you here?"
He offers a seat at the table that Suzu and Raphael are sitting at.


Potential Victim wrote:
As the venture captain leaves he allows himself a small chuckle and turns to the rest. "Well, my name is Mad Hamish and I'm a professional dark delver and expert at not dying. And you all are?"

HI! Pleased to meet you. I'm Orion Snow, Druid of Gozreh. I got the note, but it also reminded me that I haven been back to the lodge in ages. You may have heard of me, but it's been a long time, so perhaps not. It's different than I remember. Bigger I think. I suppose that it's natural to add buildings and such over time. Oh, I'm rambling aren't I? I'm here because of the note and the island. I did a flyover on the way here. it's very weird and definitely unnatural. I wasn't going to get too close though. I figured the pathfinders will have some information about it and go as a group.


Jean laughs and points to Hamish, his earlier dourness gone like Aroden, replaced with excited zeal, his voice getting progressively more and more excited.

An undead giant sea gopher sounds like something worth investigating. Does it leave tunnels through the sea? It must, or else it's not a sea gopher it's a sea rat or something. Can you see those tunnels from the surface? Are there areas of the sea where the water is inexplicably 30 yards higher? It must be, or else the gopher would have to transport the water elsewhere somehow. It's undead so they can't really be consuming it. If we find a giant undead sea gopher I propose we bring it to the society's creature... studying... folk. This would be a monumentous find!

He pauses, his face completely still for about two beats then he starts laughing uproariously.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 7


Orion takes the book and looks at it curiously. He starts to read after a minute. You get the impression that he hasn't done this in awhile. However after a moment he appears to be having no problem.

Linguistics 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Knowledge:
Geography 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Nature1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26


The Flame wrote:

"And to add to that...", Leafripper stays sitting, talking to himself, "I'll make sure the enemy's forces fall so fast you may not get hurt in the first place."

[dice=Stealth]1d20+3

Leafripper does not like talking to larger crowds than the one nearest to him(Suzu and Raphael) plus 3 more people

Leafripper flinches, knowing at least some 4-6 other people heard him....

"I usually send summoned creatures. They're REALLY useful. Have you ever seen a clouder, that's a group of cats, pounce on some angry gnolls? It's hysterical. "


Leafripper goes back to his seat and looks as if he remembered something. He begins to take out a sheet of parchment and starts writing:

For those who can read elven or Comprehend Lang.:

1. Polish Gracie & Glory
2. Remember to etch a dragon on Glory, and a troll on Gracie.


Suzumaru Viskillian wrote:

"We were part of an expedition to push back the gorillas who were interfering with an important archaeological dig in the Mwangi Expanse. About 4 days in to the grueling march in the jungles, Harvey got very agitated and explained that my healing talents were required in Absalom. Within the hour! That is half a world away! He said that the entirety of the universe was at stake. So I took the groups emergency scroll of Greater Teleport and zoomed back here. I then repaired the baby bird's wing, and well... apparently the Masters and Venture Captains don't believe that I probably saved the universe." Giving the goat a baleful look,"Though, I'm beginning to doubt it too...

" I don't understand. Isn't that exactly what emergency teleportation resources are for? Is the bird ok? "


Orion Snow wrote:
The Flame wrote:

"And to add to that...", Leafripper stays sitting, talking to himself, "I'll make sure the enemy's forces fall so fast you may not get hurt in the first place."

[dice=Stealth]1d20+3

Leafripper does not like talking to larger crowds than the one nearest to him(Suzu and Raphael) plus 3 more people

Leafripper flinches, knowing at least some 4-6 other people heard him....

"I usually send summoned creatures. They're REALLY useful. Have you ever seen a clouder, that's a group of cats, pounce on some angry gnolls? It's hysterical. "

"I bet it would be, I sort of have a good sense of humor."


The Flame wrote:

Leafripper goes to the door to welcome the newcomer.

"Hiya! What brings you here?"
He offers a seat at the table that Suzu and Raphael are sitting at.

I assume I'm the newcomer.

"Thanks." Orion says as he joins them at the table. He has to hop a bit to get into the chair. "Why is everything always sized for humans. You'd think someone considers them the norm or something. I digress. I'm here because of the island and I my presence was requested. I've got some (brief pause) rather unique talents that may be useful. It's hard to keep me down. "

Note: The gnome is in no way physically imposing or even particularly hearty looking.

Edit: Even if I'm not the newcomer you were referring to Orion will take the same actions as if you were talking to him. :-)

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