5-13 Weapon in the Rift (5-9) (Inactive)

Game Master Slothsy

Raises an eyebrow at the aasimar and draws her bow.

"I would highly prefer NOT to be coated in blood. Dead or otherwise. Let us disagree to simply kill them before they kill us."

Sihir continues staring at the lights.

"This is...remarkable. The tower is warded by a protective field, but your wayfinders are reacting with it. The magic is similar. If they get any closer, they may disrupt the tower's protection!"

"Do we need to disrupt the protection to get in?"

If there is a visible door... Fatima tries to enter the tower without a Wayfinder.

Vinnie frowns. "So if I take my wayfinder in, what might happen?"

"I have said all I that I can be certain of."

"Hmph. Alright, let's leave them with the shiny knights. Should be safe enough, if we don't get overrun." Vinnie pulls his out and hands it to the pretty girl in plate armor. "Watch this for me, will you, love?"

Tomas shrugs his broad shoulders at the cowardly reaction from his comrades, almost as if he suspected the answer.

"I did not mean that we should throw ourselves upon the horde to die, yet if that is what our fate holds, then I am content with it as long as we gave a good account for ourselves."

Following Vinnie's example, Tomas takes out his way finder and slips it off his neck, takingniut the cracked Ioun stone from its holdings and setting it to spin around his head, before passing it onto a Crusader who is willing to hold it.

"Please watch this for me comrade, I shall come to collect it shortly. If I do not return, please see it returned to the Grand Lodge in Absalom."

Herodotus frowns and shakes his head in disagreement. "I for one do not believe we should divest ourselves of our wayfinders, as they might be the only method we have of gaining entrance. And while this protective field might prevent entrance to those mortals without wayfinders, I do not believe that, absent the secrecy it has benefited all these years, this tower can withstand the foul might of a demonic horde. I counsel we go in and take what we have come for, and perhaps more if we can, with our wayfinders in hand."

Vinnie, that crusader is still on guard duty at the entrance of the camp. You are at the very back of the camp.

There is no visible door.

Gotcha.

Vinnie shrugs and tosses his Wayfinder into the air, catching it. "What can I say, Hero, your words are like sweet, sweet reason to me. Or something like that. Or I can't be arsed to walk back to the camp entrance." Vinne walks up to the tower and touches his wayfinder to the Tower.

As Vinne walks to the tower, the motes begin to shudder across the tower, all clearly running toward a nearby spot on the northeast corner of the tower. As the wayfinder clinks against the stone, the motes change once more. They shimmer in that same spot near the northeast, moving to outline a rectangle about six and half feet tall and four feet wide.

Fatima bows her head in thanks to the Sorcerer, then tries to open the door that has now revealed itself.

I'll take the lead as we explore. My SOP is to have my wakizashi in one hand, and my wand of Shield in the other.

Seeing that Vinnie has taken his wayfinder and used it to create a portal into the tower, Tomas takes his back from the Crusader with a nod, clicking the Ioun stone back into place as he moves up to Fatima.

He places his Mithral cestus onto his left hand, along with his buckler and gives aid in opening the door if required. If it is not then he will follow her in.

Vinnie turns with comically wide eyes. "MAGIC!" He shouts, while sweeping his arms over his head.

The door opens smoothly as Fatima presses on the wall, sliding away to reveal a stone corridor. Wall sconces dot the walls regularly, though the torches in them are dull and give off only dim light. Narrow pipes near the ceiling channel muted blue-white light.

The curving corridor angles to the north before disappearing around a bend. The walls and floors bear gashes and holes, bearing testament to a terrible battle long ago, and a mass of corpses—some humanoid, some demonic, and all dead—litter the cold, tiled floor.

The tower is in dim light unless otherwise specified. Those without darkvision will consider all other creatures to have concealment. You may make stealth checks using these light conditions.

I have set up the map and minis on the third slide of the presentation linked by my avatar and here.

Vinnie casts light on the snapleaf he wears as a cloak pin. He'll keep it up as needed during the adventure.

Me and Tomas up front (I'm the tank, he's got Perception), casters in the middle, and archers in the rear?

fine by me

Tomas steps into the hallway of the tower, clapping the pudgy Varisian on the shoulder as a symbol of thanks. The hallway is dark, yet his natural sight allows him to make it out perfectly, despite the poor illumination. He cracks his knuckles with expectation and relish.

"Ok, no use in us merely wasting time, we must press on to battle and glory."

slothsy, I'm running off the presumption that you intend to roll perception checks, Tomas will continuously look around. If not the case, please let me know ^^

Sihir readies to protect himself from the perils ahead with his magic, warding trinkets, and inherent Wayang proclivities.

I use my wand of mage armor, cast false life, then resistance (in case something nutty happens in under a minute of our entering).

false life: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Stealth: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24

"How interesting." Ionwe says, bemusedly.

Walking towards the door with the others, she nods at the discussed marching order, and pulls an arrow, knocking it to the string. Stepping inside, she wrinkles her nose at the dead.

"It seems those old paladins put up a tough fight. I find it very odd though that the demons did not return to their planes."

Bending down, and holding the arrow still wither her index finger she reaches out with her other hand to inspect one of the other demon corpses.

Unfortunately I do not have knowledge planes so I wil just throw a few things out to go fishing.

K.History: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14
k.Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30
K.Geographyy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
K.Local: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Herodotus raises an eyebrow, but otherwise does not reply to Vinnie, unsure of what exactly he meant by all that. Dismissing it as another of life's mysteries, he falls in line. Looking around wearily, he replies, unbidden, to Ionwe: "Here in the ruins of ancient Sarkosis, we are in their plane."

That is correct, Tomas. I'm still torn long-term about what to do about perception checks in pbps as it negates abilities like trapspotter, but, alas. Anyone who wishes to make active perception checks, of course, is allowed to.

I propose we assume everyone's taking 10 (so Tomas is the highest, with a 25) as we go along, and we can declare rolls if something looks particularly suspicious.

Stopping and looking around the room, she holds up her hand to the others, "This place is trapped. There are fire arrow traps all along the ceiling here, is anyone able to deal with them?"

"I do not believe any of us possess the skill for disabling traps. However, I think I may be able to trigger the trap and avoid its effects."

I can use my wand of shield, go into Total Defense, and then trigger the trap while rocking a 39 AC. I should be fine.

Tomas shrugs his broad shoulders as he looks around the signs of carnage around the room, not seeing any traps,but remembering the magical one he was almost killed by, he takes Ionwe's word for it. His boice rumbles out.

"I have no skill in the arts of trickery nor guile. If you are confident of your ability Fatima, then attempt it as it seems we may set this off anyway."

Vinnie bows slightly and makes a 'be my guest' sort of gesture at Fatima. He smiles indulgently at Tomas. "Guile and trickery don't make traps, son. Guile and trickery let you walk right in, and then convince you to kill your friend and make you believe it was your idea all along."

Fatima bows to her allies, mutters a command word as she waves her wand, then steps in front of the trap with her guard up.

Assuming everyone is out of the path of the arrows. AC 39 with shield and Total Defense. Take your best shot.

I'll continue making the rolls in secret. I dislike the take 10 approach because it ends up making only Tomas's perception matters. Now, if someone wants to just take 10 for all their checks, I'll be happy to continue doing that. Sadly, there just isn't an elegant approach.

As Fatima bravely steps forward, the air fills with the tang of ozone as the trap activates. As she stares at it defiantly, the arrow punches a hole in corset and buries itself in her side for 9 points of damage.

Fatima grimaces as she pulls the arrow from her side. "There was a slight delay in the mechanism, I think, that threw off my timing. Thankfully, the wound is slight. Would any of you care to help me heal it?"

She produces a different wand, and extends it toward the warpriest.

*sigh*

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"It would be my honor, Lady Fatima." chimes in Herodotus. He uses the wand on her returns it and motions onwards. "Shall we continue?"

I notice we're all still in front of the tower according to the map. Should we move ourselves to where we wish to be? I have no problem doing that, I just do not feel very comfortable moving other people's icons without their permission. If I move myself, it is with the explicit assumption that the rest of the party has moved forwards as well.

Tomas gives a slight throaty chuckle as the arrow grazes the cocky mystical swordsman, "Well, got you there, nothing too serious I hope?"

He nods at Herodotus somberly, "Aye, let us continue"

I dont mind being moved up with the rest of the group. Often on my phone/tablet so it is actually really handy.

Moved everyone further in.

Fatima, I'll say for this once to look under the GM screen so you can see exactly what happened. I'm astounded it hit you.

As the group continues to walk along the hallway, pressure plates click and release with each step. Most connect to long-discharged or disused traps, oil holes, portcullis releases and waiting crossbows. About halfway down the corridor, Tomas steps on a pressure plate and a brass orb covered in symbols of goodness and thick studs falls to the floor with a clang. It sits ominously on the floor before exploding into a burst of holy fire.

FOL Trap: 10d6 ⇒ (1, 4, 1, 1, 3, 5, 4, 6, 2, 3) = 30 half fire and half divine damage. DC 20 Reflex halves. Tomas, Fatima, Vinnie and Sihir are in the blast.

Note, I rolled perception on this second trap, and no one's take ten was high enough to see it.

Reflex: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (1) + 13 = 14

Is damage reduced for good-aligned PCs?

After dusting herself off, Fatima examines the bodies and their magical gear.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26

"This is a healing potion. The way things are going, I think I may need this most. Tomas, I believe you can wear this armor; it would afford you better protection, though at the cost of some speed."

It is not. It is as flame strike.

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

HP 27/57

"SONUVAB!TCH!" Vinnie cries as the fire burns him severely. He pulls out a thin wand and hands it to whoever can use it. "Please, if you would be so kind, I think this tower is trying to kill me."

CLW charge: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
CLW charge: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
CLW charge: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW charge: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
CLW charge: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

HP 57/57

Still muttering curses, he pulls another wand and taps himself, feeling a thin veil of force settle over him. Using wand of mage armor, AC 16 now

Well, fire resist helps a bit...

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

reflex save: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19 screw you dicebot![/dice]

The orb hits the floor, Tomas tries to dive out the way but is still caught full in the blast, the flames tearing at his metallic skin. He sighs deeply before snapping his left wrist, a wand of healing. Falling into his waiting grasp.

"Twice now I have been caught under a similar trap, how i despise it"

He helps vinnie use his wand before activating his own.

[ooc] 18/48

Wand of Clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Wand of Clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Wand of Clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Wand of Clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Wand of Clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

48/48

He examines the deceased at the end of the hall with great reverence, marvelling at the armour before being informed of its mystical properties. He looks conflicted but assents to Fatima's assessment, the protection likely to be needed in this hellish fortress. It takes some time but he adorns himself with the armour of the fallen crusader.

"Hmm, a little unused to this, but no matter let us press on"

Ac + 3 in total

Reflex save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

There is a high-pitched shriek from the darkness, as a small pillar of darkness is momentarily replaced with a flailing ball of fire, then by a smoking, blackened, Sihir.

"I...have a few potions," He wheezes. "I don't know if anyone else can do better?"

I am down 18 hit points.

Vinnie hands his wand to Tomas for Sihir's use. "Take it. I have a spare. Remember this, kid: never leave home without a healing wand. It's cheaper than resurrections."

CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Shaking the blackened wand, now used up, he smiles and pulls out his Wayfinder. Holding it close to his mouth and whispering a few words, another wand appears, looking new and unused.

Sihir takes an ashen-colored scroll out of a box and then reads it to himself. It crumbles to powder, and the powder swirls around him, but nothing seems to happen; he seems satisfied, however.

scroll of false life: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Herodotus, jumps out of the way of the blast in a manner one wouldn't expect for a person like him. Once the danger has passed, he rushes to check on his companions as Gamin comments "Looks like Iomedae worshippers in this part of the world like to overdo things. How many blasted traps do you need to defend a tower like this?"

"Friends, would you like me to channel Iomedae's radiance to close some of your wounds? It would be my honor to do so, and if any wounds are left, I will be glad to use your wands to heal you."

My channel is 3d6 and I don't use it often. Up to you guys.

Vinnie shrugs. "Save your channeling for combat, I think. Might be the difference between life and death, literally. Right now wands will work."

Herodotus nods, almost a slight bow. "Very well Master Guarini." he acknowledges, pulling his own wand out to begin healing.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Healing having concluded, Herodotus starts moving forwards, as he comments:"Let us move on my brothers and sisters. No good can result of waiting here."

"You have to hand it to the old man, he apparently knew how to construct his defenses!" Ionwe mentions as the group finishes the healing of their respective wounds.

Just around the hallway bend...

Flowing script of inlaid silver lines the polished walls of this octagonal chamber. A thick, iron door reinforced by four thick, horizontal bars of stone blocks the way to the west, and an open passage leads to the east. A niche in the north wall contains a glass octagonal prism clasped between a set of steel prongs. Liquid that glows with a blue-white radiance fills much of the prism’s interior. A stout lever is set into the wall next to the door.

"Hmm. I don't believe I understand the meaning of the inscription on the door. Perhaps the wizard can lend some insight? I can say that the writing on the walls is not entirely coherent, but praises Iomedae in the tongue of angels."