Varian does hear the sounds of something breathing on the other side. Cautiously, he opens the door, weapon readied.
Fresh blood splatters the white tile of this operating laboratory, which is lit by mirrored lamps hung from chains suspended in the shadows of the distant ceiling. A sturdy wooden table near the center of the room holds the lightning-charred corpse of a bald human man with a broom-bottom beard. Smaller tables and bookcases nearby hold the gore-spattered spoils of a recent battle.
Next to the operating table is a pale-skinned man in red robes. Adjacent to him is what you guess is an ancient Azlanti war tiger, if it wasn't for the fact that its skin is missing, making each muscle pulse visible. If it wasn't for the fact that most of the party already emptied their stomach contents, this would give it another round.
Taking a sip of wine from a goblet, the man greets you in Azlanti. Saving trouble and having Kylar translate.
"Is Maesrovic bothering you? Sit.", he calls out. The large cat then sits near the other table. "I am Togarin, apprentice of the late Nhur Athemon.", he bows to the party. "You see, Rozimus is just a pawn of my of my fellow apprentices, Vuzhon. She has placed her soul within Rozimus' body and escaped with the cowardly rogue.", Togarin finishing his goblet.
"Vuzhon is clever," Togarin continues, "but I know more about souls and immortality than she does. So long as her true body remains affected by the time lock and her mind is in normal time, the magic jar allowing her into Rozimus’s form will never expire. But should the time lock fail, her body will age thousands of years in a moment, and will no longer be a suitable receptacle for her soul. I will not let that happen to me. The only real way out for any of us is to destroy the time lock, and the best way to do that is to create a paradox."
A cruel smile creases on Togarin's face. "Why, kill Rozimus of course. See, if you can find him here during a temporal jaunt and slay him, then he couldn't have escaped to get you to come inside and eventually kill him. Thus creating the paradox; the temporal magic that sealed this existence away in time will rip apart and thus freeing us all from a fate of never aging and being; after so many centuries, it does get boring after all."
HP 22/58 | Wizard 7 | AC 16/15/13 CMD 18 | F +8, R +6, Wl +8 | perception +1 |
"Hmph. It might do as he says it would, but ya still got a basic problem with the plan; you're killing someone in cold blood. Now, I figure that's not a problem for, say, someone like an immortal necromancer, but I think I might have a problem with it... and him!"
"I would happily take care of that little Rozimus myself, but unfortunately, I never saw the man before Vuzhon's transferral and thus I seem to be unable to enter whatever time ripple he seems to be lurking in. But since you have seen him, you should eventually find him during another time shift.", Togarin answering Sindar.
To Deaglan's question, another sly grin creeps upon his face. "You would be correct, dwarf, but I have contingencies for such measures."
Addressing the party, he then makes an ultimatum. "So, will you be willing to aid myself... no, all of us in escaping our trapped existence. If you agree, then I would be more than happy to allow you to use my bath; you do seem a bit... haggard after playing with my previous experiments.", he smiles before turning to a dead frown. "Or will you be simply more playthings for me to experiment with? I would rather have my freedom, but toys will have to do if it must be helped..."
"I'm afraid there is no other way to create the paradox.", Togarin answers.
Kylar:
You get the idea that he is holding something back. You can also make a Kn: Arcana roll, as well; the result may give you more information!
Deaglan:
You get the sense Togarin is holding back some information. Worse though, your combat experience is telling you that battling Togarin will not be easy, especially with the party's resources depleted as such. He must be a magician of some power if he did indeed create the defenses the party encountered before meeting him, and the tiger, despite its unnatural state, still looks to be a powerful combatant in its own right.
"As far as other 'experiments', I cannot say what my compatriots have done recently. I do know that this poor chap fell victim to one of Daegros' works.", Togarin motioning to the charred, bearded body. "Beyond that, you will simply have to be stronger than Azlanti magic."
Togarin does pause for a second, then adds another comment. "Unfortunately, Daegros does not share my view on what to do with the time lock and may be aggressive towards you for it. There is a small reward for you if you happen to provide his head along with Vuzhon's. I would enjoy a trophy as proof as the strongest of Nhur Athemon's apprentices."
"Well, as sincere as you sound, I have no intention of slaying a man who's done me no harm. You on the other hand are trying very hard to get me to damn myself by killing an innocent man... therefore, you, sir, are no innocent yourself and I've no such compunction where you are concerned."
Togarin sighs as he motions for the cat to stand back up again. "You would rather defy me and be stuck here forever than perform a simple little death to free yourselves? Choose your next words carefully; my patience is wearing thin."
Male Nagaji (6.0A) Sorc 4/ Ninja 3 | HP 47/47; AC 19;TCH 14; FF 15; F +6; R +10; W+5; CMB +3; CMD 17; INIT +10;
Consumables:
Spells: 1st 8/8 2nd 0/4 ; Acidic Ray 3/8; Ki 0/8 | Wands: CLW 42/50; MM 43/50; Mage Armor 45/50; Shield 48/50; Less Rest 50/50 | Rods: Less Pierce 3/3
Knowledge Arcana:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Kylar holds a hand up to Varian. "Pleasssse allow ussss to explore further. It will give usssss a bit more time to think on the matter assss it ssshould not be taken lightly.
While you feel that Togarin is right that creating a paradox will work,
Well, Deaglan was going to probably strike anyway. I will admit, this will be the FIRST time out of the 6 times I have run this that the party engaged Togarin in battle. We'll see how this goes.
[spoiler=DC 18 Spellcraft]
Your guess is that he has some magic to resist fire as the fire simply washed over him versus get absorbed.
The blast of fire swathes the room, further charring the corpse. The cat happened to duck under the worst of the blast while Togarin took it head on... and is unscathed. "Such a cute trick... now let me show you one of mine.", the dark undertones of his voice showing a hint of the anger the Azlanti mage has for the party.
Male Nagaji (6.0A) Sorc 4/ Ninja 3 | HP 47/47; AC 19;TCH 14; FF 15; F +6; R +10; W+5; CMB +3; CMD 17; INIT +10;
Consumables:
Spells: 1st 8/8 2nd 0/4 ; Acidic Ray 3/8; Ki 0/8 | Wands: CLW 42/50; MM 43/50; Mage Armor 45/50; Shield 48/50; Less Rest 50/50 | Rods: Less Pierce 3/3
Um. Crap I am low on Magic.
As the fireball strikes Kylar is caught off guard. Seeing no other way he spits acid at the tiger and vanishes from sight as he moves around the corner out of sight.
I am failing at spoilers right now. Also, since Tiger was flat footed, I forgot to reduce the Reflex save so he does take full damage at least. Small favors :)
Also, I moved the cat back a little bit since I forgot to do so when Varian commented on it earlier. It's not prone, but does leave a charge lane open for Deaglan!
Kylar melts a little bit of cat muscle as he disappears.
"Hiding behind a bookcase? How childish.", Togarin muses. He then looks at Sindar with a frown. "But, you first you miserable wretch!", casting a spell and aiming a black ray at the wizard.
Ray touch at Sindar:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 Negative Levels on hit:1d4 ⇒ 4
However, the wizard's aim is off the the ray hits stone. "It seems I am out of practice.", he comments, stepping behind a table for some cover.
Togarin is caught off-guard by the magic. "You are now starting to get on my nerves.", the Azlanti wizard growls.
Pointing his hand towards the wall, Togarin carefully casts a spell.
A wave of pure fear hits the party!
Deaglan Will vs DC 21:1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 = 27 Kylar Will vs DC 21:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25 Sindar Will vs DC 21:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 Varian Will vs DC 21:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Amazingly, the entire party holds their ground, shaken but not feared!
The dice are liking you!
Togarin Will:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
The sparkles fade from Togarin's eyes, showing pure, unadulterated anger.
@Sindar: It would have hit if it wasn't for the penalty for shooting into melee.
Deaglan tries to get out, but can't shake off the tiger's mass! Instead, he switches to a different weapon, hacking into the tiger's muscles, wounding it some more!
HP 22/58 | Wizard 7 | AC 16/15/13 CMD 18 | F +8, R +6, Wl +8 | perception +1 |
BPChocobo:
Does this apply?
prd wrote:
If your target (or the part of your target you're aiming at, if it's a big target) is at least 10 feet away from the nearest friendly character, you can avoid the –4 penalty, even if the creature you're aiming at is engaged in melee with a friendly character.
So there's the wonkiness of 'which corner do you use?' since you'd aim for the farthest corner, but the closer corner would still be within 5'. While my gut tells me that I think I could claim the closer corner, I'll give it to you to since I can't put myself over the 50% threshold of my decision and it's better to go in the PCs favor otherwise.
Unfortunately, Kylar's attack roll reminded me that you didn't add your shaken penalty. That's enough to make it a miss again :(
Kylar melts more muscle, exposing some of the tiger's bones.
"You're ruining my glorious research and only friend in this form", Togarin roars out angrily. "I think I've had enough of your foolish games!"
Varian, I am very sad to say you were juuuust shy of ending the tiger.
A pair of powerful blows from Varian severely injury the tiger, but does not fell it.
Togarin carefully casts a spell, approaching Deaglan with a sinister smile. "Don't worry, this won't hurt too much.", Togarin grinning as he places his hand on Deaglan's head, a black swirl coming form the dwarf and seemingly bolstering Togarin's vitality!
Togarin's eyes almost glow red in rage as Maesrovic goes down. He places his foot on Deaglan's unconscious head, taunting the party. "I tire of this. Either agree to find Rozimus and murder that hapless soul to free all of us, or I will slaughter you all right here, starting with your pitiful dwarf friend, and use your bodies for my next experiments to see what other fun toys I can make.", Togarin carefully readying a spell.
