The southwest door in this room doesn't seem to be locked, but it is definitely stuck.
Would you like to try some Strength checks to force open the door, or try the southwest door in the entrance room?
Garim braces himself then pushes on the door, leaning hard into it.
Grunting he gives up after a moment. "Ofelio, want to see if you can get this to budge?"
The door doesn't even twitch from Garim's...um...assault.
"Of course."
Ofelio rushes into it with everything he has, but somehow trips directly in front and rams his skull into the barrier in question with an "oof!"
Genisen pulls out his crowbar, "Here let me try with this!"
The crowbar causes a bit more movement than Ofelio's face, but the door is still stuck fast.
Garim adds his strength to the Genisen in pulling on the crowbar.
Because you're using a crow bar, it makes sense that we designate one person to make the primary Strength check, and others assisting, one by pulling on the crowbar, and others slamming in to the door itself (which fortunately pushes).
Of course, we can speed this up by taking 20. You've already made a bit of noise, if that matters.
With a series of efforts at working the crowbar, and people crashing into the door itself, you eventually manage to release the stuck door.
This hexagonal room has three doors. One in the northeast wall which you have just opened, one in the east wall, and one in the southeast wall. A faded red carpet leads to the east door, and several piles of dry-rotted wood reveal no clues as to the former structure of the furniture.
Timbur, sword and shield ready, makes his way into the room. As he passes through the doorway, a serpent, seemingly made of a dark wood, drops on him from above the door frame.
Bite:
Fortunately, the snake's bite misses its mark, and it drops harmlessly to the floor.
Initiative:
Genisen:
Laya:
Ofelio:
Timbur:
Garim:
Snake:
Initiative: Timbur, Ofelio, Genisen, Garim, Snake, Laya
Round 1
Timbur shouts out in surprise, and seeing the object of his startlement, swings with his sword.
Attack:
His sword glances harmlessly off its tough wooden exterior. He then 5-foot steps further into the room, trying to set up a flank of some sort.
Ofelio rushes into the room in the typical fashion, moving to a point where he can get a good strike in with his glaive.
It practically falls out of his hands.
Round 1
Genisen steps over for a better angle and takes a shot, marking his target for the others.
Status
The arrow deflects harmlessly off the snake's tough skin.
"This place is just filled with surprises isn't it." Garim grabs his weapon but finds himself unable to get at the creature. "Move in, move in." he calls, waiting to attack as soon as Ofelio is out of the way.
Ofelio already moved in, so Garim easily steps forward. His weapon makes good contact, but he's unable to break through (hit the AC but didn't get passed DR).
The snake strikes at Timbur again, missing.
Attack:
Laya knowledge:
"It's a...wooden snake," Laya calls out unhelpfully. She casts a spell.
Caster level:
Her spell fizzles against the cobra.
Round 2
Timbur steps again, flanking with Garim. He swings.
Attack:
Damage:
Timbur brings his sword down on the wooden snake, leaving a deep gash in the thing.
Initiative: Timbur, Ofelio, Genisen, Garim, Snake, Laya
Round 2
Genisen shoots a pair of arrow again at the snake
Status
Garim brings his morning star down on the snake, but again to no effect.
Genisen's arrows both hit, the second one penetrating the crack made by Timbur, widening it significantly. Spider webs of cracks appear along the whole length of the snake.
Finally having had enough, Ofelio's arms realigned and he stabbed into the creature with gusto.
The glaive's sharp blade slices through the wooden snake with a loud crack, and the pieces go still.
Combat over.
The room is mostly empty. There is a faded red carpet on the floor leading towards the door on the east wall, a few piles of dry-rotted sawdust that probably once was furniture of some sort, and a door in the southeast wall (as well as the northwest door through which you came).
Arrow slits on either side of the east door look into pitch blackness.
"Probably best to not leave anything unexplored. Anyone have any idea how big with place might be anyway?"
Garim tries to the southeast door.
The door opens easily.
Pushing open the door, you peer into what might once have been a study. A large wing-backed chair faces a small yet elegant writing desk set into the south end of the room. On the west wall stands a bookcase containing several leather-bound volumes and bundles of large scrolls. A matching bookcase, now face down on the floor in the centre of the room, looks like it once faced its twin. Dust patterns on the floor suggest that this toppling occurred very recently.
Rubbing his temples, remembering the headache from the last time he tried to sense magical auras, Garim walks over to the bookcase to do a more mundane search of things, opening each scroll one at a time before moving onto the books to start thumbing through them, reading a paragraph here or there.
"Can you read Timbur? We're looking for anything that might tell us more about this place or what might be locked away in here."
Genisen keeps an eye on the remaining closed door while the other check the room. Looking at books wasn't his strong suit, but being prepared to be ambushed was.
Ofelio moves into the room, throwing himself into the search, as Genisen seemed to have the watch thing covered.
None of the books on the still-standing bookcase have labels on their spines. Opening a few, Garim realizes that they are personal journals, all of the same person. Much of the writing is faded, though some is still legible. It will take time to read through all of them for anything useful.
The scrolls are maps, mostly of Kortos and Absalom. Some of them are marked with notations. Laya goes on tiptoe to see what Garim is reading, then snatches the maps away and begins a study of them, dropping them on the floor and sitting down amongst them. After a few moments of muttering and squinting, she informs you that they appear to be plans for a magical raid of Absalom. As one of the maps highlights the Seventh Church, she speculates that these are the plans for the raid that netted the Chelish forces the Cloak of the Inheritor.
There is also the second bookcase, which will need to be lifted, and the writing desk, which has a drawer.
Setting aside the journals for now Garim lifts the second bookcase from off the floor, tipping it up on its side so as to be able to get to the contents underneath it.
Garim will probably need a hand from Ofelio, but the two of you will be able to lift the bookcase.
As you lift the bookcase off the floor, two tiny winged creatures fly out from underneath and attack Garim!!
Surprise round:
Creature 1 bite:
Creature 2 bite:
Both little mouths fail to penetrate his armour.
Initiative:
Creatures:
Genisen:
Laya:
Ofelio:
Timbur:
Garim:
Initiative order: Creatures, Laya, Ofelio, Genisen, Garim, Timbur
Round 1
The creatures bite at Garim again.
Creature 1 bite:
Creature 2 bite:
Again, his armour stops the little fangs.
Laya Knowledge:
"These are hommunculi, magical constructs, not creatures. They serve a master, usually a wizard, though if he's dead, these things have literally gone insane. Their bite has a poison that puts you to sleep."
Laya begins using her naturalist ability, providing +1 to attack and damage against these creatures.
Crying out Garim ducks away from the creatures and grabs his shield, attempting to swat one out of the air.
Hommunculus 1
HP: 11/11
AC: 14 (touch 14, ff 12)
F/R/W: +0/+4/+1
CMD: 11
Hommunculus 2
HP: 11/11
AC: 14 (touch 14, ff 12)
F/R/W: +0/+4/+1
CMD: 11
Genisen sends a pair of arrows at the tiny creatures
Even with soft cover, both of those hit.
Before Garim can even move, Genisen sends a pair of arrows, slamming into one of the creatures inches from Garim's nose, and pinning it to the far wall.
Ofelio and Timbur to end the round.
Ofelio takes his usual step back,pulls out his glaive, and lunges!
Back in the swing of things, he manages to hit his designated target with pinpoint precision.
damage.
Ofelio and Garim cause the second construct to go splat.
Combat over!
Taking more care this time, with Ofelio's glaive blade pointed at the bookcase, Timbur and Garim manage to lift the heavy furniture up and back against the wall from where it fell. Old books fall off the shelves as it lifts up, but no creatures come out at you.
Looking through the books, they seem to be mundane manuals on how to craft magical constructs and other wondrous items. Studying these texts would give one enough expertise to take Craft Construct and Craft Wondrous Item feats, once high enough level.
The only other obvious place to search now is the writing desk drawer. The desk's surface itself is clear, save a thick coating of dust.
Garim thumbs through the books, but doesn't really understand any of it.
Being more wary of yet another surprise Garim looks to Genisen, "You want to check the desk for traps before we open it?" He has his shield and morning star ready for any new surprise this time.
"Sure, but then you get to keep an eye on this door while I do it!"
Genisen stows his bow and checks out the desk
There are no traps, but the drawer is locked.
Genisen takes out his tools and begins to work on the lock.
Genisen barely gets the drawer to open, but open it does. Inside are two small, sealed scroll cases, a heavy iron key, a large feather, and three slender pieces of wood, about wand length. Inside the scroll cases are several scrolls. Everything except the key is magical.
Laya casts detect magic (anybody have read magic??).
Spellcraft scroll 1: FAIL
Spellcraft scroll 2: FAIL
Spellcraft scroll 3: FAIL
Spellcraft scroll 4: expeditious retreat
Spellcraft scroll 5: FAIL
Spellcraft scroll 6: FAIL
Spellcraft feather: FAIL
Spellcraft wand 1: FAIL
Spellcraft wand 2: infernal healing, 17 charges remaining
Spellcraft wand 3: FAIL
Anybody else with the skill and detect magic is free to try their hand at identifying the items at which she failed.
Garim succeeds at two scrolls: Comprehend languages and identify.
"I could use the identify scroll," Laya says, "but maybe we should wait in case we find more stuff?"
Ofelio shrugs, wishing he'd the ability to help in this endeavor.
"That sounds like a good idea, but.. erm.. if there's healing goods in there, I'd like to know... but chance is a fickle mistress."
Garim looks at the wand of infernal healing then to Ofelio. "Err, um. There is healing of a sort here. But it's tainted." I'll not touch such dark things.
Garim closes his eyes for a moment to focus, then giving a word and a gesture opens the remaining three scrolls to look them over.