As you enter the area past the guardian, you again feel the feeling of a magical ward wash over you, only this one feels....wrong; much like looking at the holy symbol of Tar Baphon feels wrong. The bottom floor of the tower is dominated by massive staircases going both up and down (each of the stairs can accommodate a gargantuan-sized creature, or a colossal-sized one if it was squeezing). The stone is dark and but feels surprisingly warm to the touch, about as warm as a human body. It also has an odd texture that you wouldn't attribute to stone. There are many gargoyles here, and Lorelei notices that several of them are attempting to be still, but their eyes move ever so slightly as they search for signs of prey.
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Pausing at the insistence of their scouts, Hiram takes the opportunity to pull out a pipe and pack it with tobacco. This late in the game he had learned to let the specialists handle what they were specialized in and not sweat things he could not change.
"So how's the North, your Highness? Still cold and full of large people being violent to each other?"
Oh, come on!!!! lol
Baergar, seeing Hiram stuff his pipe, retrieves his own. "Hmph. Not since I've become King. The violence I mean, it is still cold. I have grown temperate in my twilight years. I find I warm to violence less and less. Sometimes, I think I should devote myself to pacifism entirely, but then situations like this one arise..." Baergar blows a ring of grey smoke.
"The young fight for the no reason, and the old for too many," Hiram says with an easy smile. "Of course 'young' and 'old' are such relative terms in this world."
You know that these things are Advanced Four-Armed Gargoyles. They have the ability to make a great many natural attacks, and they can stand perfectly still when they wish to.
You know that these things were once Advanced Four-Armed Gargoyles. They have the ability to make a great many natural attacks, and they can stand perfectly still when they wish to. Now, they have been infected with vampirism. letting them feed on the blood of humanoids to sustain their lives, as well as gaining the many benefits that being undead grant.
Each of you notices that the third ward here suppresses any sort of defensive magic that protects against negative energy. Additionally, Star, you notice that your connection to the divine seems....dimmed here.
Lefty will convey what he's learned to the rest of the crew via telepathy.
I'd like to find our target before he knows we found him. I know that's a tall order...
Lefty will stow his medium Rod, and bust out the big one.
He'll silently cast Greater Prying Eyes.
eyes, with 20 hours duration.
4 go up the tower. The other 20 go down, seeking to separate as much as possible, and see as much as possible. They are to return in an hour.
I'm going to hang here for an hour. Try to not get discovered in that time. We'll know more soon.
Lefty will stow his medium Rod, and bust out the big one.
He'll silently cast Greater Prying Eyes.
1d4+20 eyes, with 20 hours duration.
4 go up the tower. The other 20 go down, seeking to separate as much as possible, and see as much as possible. They are to return in an hour.
I'm going to hang here for an hour. Try to not get discovered in that time. We'll know more soon.
Taking 10 (33) to hover.
gonna roll stealth for your eyes, and perception for my gargoyles.
upstairs:
downstairs:
your eyes streak off, and the guardians don't seem to notice them.
the ones that go upstairs die after about 5 minutes, the ones that go downstairs die in about 7 minutes.
What do you want to do while he's doing his prying eyes?
I just wanted to give you the chance to explore on your own while you waited if you wanted to.
As you move downstairs, you see multiple sets of ruins, in different architectural styles. It looks like someone built buildings, then melted them down and created new buildings with the same materials.....over and over again, before abandoning the project in the middle of creating something. You can also hear the wailing catcalls of...something that is hunting down here.
Baergar is content to wait for them to come back or call for help.
Lefty will go up the tower. He's basically undetectable right now, too. Might as well see what's up there.
You eventually find the thing eating what appears to be a zombie. While at one point this creature was a black dragon, it has long since ceased to be. It appears to be the same size as the monstrosity that you saw outside, and you can smell it's rotten flesh even from where you stand. Could it somehow sense you, you feel that it would be a true danger.
"...There is a zombie dragon. In the basement. Strange. Very dangerous," Lorelei mentally comments to the rest of the group at large.
We go up, take a look, then get out. OK? We've been here this long, and you have the picture. Let's just know what might come charging down when we deal with the dragon. It might be wise to deal with it, first.
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Let's do this: go ahead and make your preparations, decide whether you're going up or down once you're in the tower, and then let me know and I'll get chapter 2 started on Monday (so you guys can have something to look forward to).
If we charge in now, we announce our certain presence. I want to retreat and prep different spells, but it'd be a shame to miss Baergar going at the guardian. Would it be better to do it on the way out?
Gallowspire: you may use any points that you have accrued regarding your knowledge of gallowspire to do the following:
you may spend 1 point to declare that you are hiding behind architecture in the area, giving yourself total cover to an enemie's round of attacks. doing this is an immediate action.
you may spend 1 point if you believe you've entered an area where there might be a secret door or hidden object (including traps). if there is such a hidden thing, I will say that there is in the main chat when I describe your actions. doing this is a free action that may only be taken on your turn.
Tar-Baphon: you may use any points that you have accrued regarding your knowledge of Tar-Baphon to do the following:
you may spend 1 point to add your highest level in a single class to your ac, touch ac, flat-footed ac, or any saving throw against an attack from tar-baphon. doing so is an immediate action in response to an attack by the lich.
you may spend 1 point to add your base attack bonus to your attacks for a round or add your caster level to all spells you cast for a round, as long as the attacks/spells only target Tar-Baphon (i.e. no area spells). doing this is a swift action.
finally, you may spend 5 points if you are killed by Tar-Baphon to negate his death. this will leave you at 0 hp, unconscious, and stable. doing this is a free action that can only be taken on tar-baphon's turn, and only in response to an attack by him. if you are killed in a manner that doesn't involve HP (negative levels, con drain) then you are stable and unconscious with a number of negative levels equal to your max levels minus one (i.e. you have 1 level), or you have 1 point, in the case of attribute damage/drain.
the Whispering way: you may use any points that you have accrued regarding your knowledge of The Whispering Way to do the following:
you may spend a point from your pool to force a member of the whispering way to reroll a save against one of your abilities, or to reroll an attack against a member of the whispering way. doing this is an immediate action.
you may spend 1 point to add your base attack bonus to your attacks for a round or add your caster level to all spells you cast for a round, as long as the attacks/spells only target members of the whispering way (unlike tar-baphon, above, this can be used for area spells, as long as all the targets of the spell(s) are members of the whispering way or their undead minions.