Beneath the Southseas (Inactive)

Game Master Matt, Garnished Game Designer

Chapter I: Above and Below

Beneath the Southseas Homepage

Lacroix Isle. Known for its ruins and for the Vuljoon tribe of native elves, this island has recently become your home base as you explore newly discovered sections of the Tal'vokech Temple. Your job is simple, clear out any hostiles, recover whatever is important and if you have the time and proficiency, decipher the strange language written on the walls of the newly uncovered hall.

After having entered the halls, you all find yourselves in a large vertical chamber, the center of the room giving way to a descending shaft of darkness. The ceiling rises another 30 feet high or so and the walls, and the floor, are made of a hard sandstone.

The only way to go is down... but the sounds of screeching below emanate faintly upwards to reach your ears.

What do you do now?

Tuillen steps into the chamber, his staff casually held horizontal across his shoulders behind his neck.

I wonder what that could be. I do hope it's not a humanoid screeching down there. What do you think, Lucien? Shakna du shirak

With a brief gesture and a short incantation, a faintly glowing, vaguely humanoid shape appears beside Tuillen, bathing the chamber in a soft, dim glow.

Tuillen cast dancing lights. Also, he's not going cuckoo, he's just playing around at this point. =)

Cocking his head to the figure, Tuillen pauses briefly, as if listening to the figure.

Oh? Why thank you, Lucien. Awfully nice of you to volunteer for checking it out.

With that, Tuillen directs the dancing lights into the room, watching for any signs of potential trouble.

Perception check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Mmph...roll could've been better, but I guess Tuillen sees nothing.

Well, doesn't look like there's anything in here waiting to eat us. Although, I may need to revise my statement depending on what we see down that shaft... What do you guys think?

Also, does the screeching sound, as far as Tuillen can tell, humanoid in origin?

Radic, ever cautious, scans the room for possible dangers as he enters.

Perception check 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

He turns towards Tuillen, smiles and nods.

Whatever is down there, it doesn't sound good.

I have no idea the right knowledge to use but I will try Nature1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20

Edit: Fail bold/ooc

If knowledge arcana is relevant, Tuillen's check is:

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

A few steps behind the seemingly batty elf, a new figure steps into the room. Garbed in a black trenchcoat with white chalk-marks on the pockets is a tall dinosaur-like creature with blue skin and thick armored scales on its knees, legs and arms. Its feet are clawed, and strapped onto its back is a heavy sword. Its face is vaguely humanoid, and observers are easily able to observe a ready smile springing to its lips as it surveys the room with an interested glance.

"Hello... what do we have here?" the creature speaks in a cheerful and deep voice, spoken with the tiniest hint of an otherworldly echo. Walking over to the hole in the floor, he- for his humanoid appearance makes a male personal pronoun suitable- sits himself down on the edge and dangles his feet over the abyss. "Interesting..." Nathaniel says, for that was his name. "A leap of faith or a fool's downfall? Could be neither, could be both..." passing a hand before his eyes, he carefully scans for magical auras, his other hand reaching into his pocket to withdraw a piece of chalk which he drops down into the darkness below.

"Lucien, my dear fellow, can you see anything?"

(Using Darkvision) Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Casts Detect Magic
Counting how long it takes for the chalk to hit the bottom.

Note to self: need to remember to post with the right alias from the start. XD

Seeing the bold, strange creature walk to the edge of the shaft without mishap so disregard this post if he spring a trap or something jumps out at him XD , Tuillen gingerly follows Nathaniel's steps to the edge of the shaft, standing just behind Nathaniel, with 'Lucien' by his side.

"But Lucien, it might be dangerous! Don't you think you should..." Tuillen lets his voice trail off with a hint of mock exasperation as he sends the dancing lights spell down into the shaft. The range of the spell is 140ft.

"He's a brave chap, that Lucien, but I tell you, with all these blind risks that he takes, it's a wonder he's survived this long."

You know, you never think of the things that will actually be useful, like say, enough torches that I could toss one down the pit. . .

Astor entered the chamber, and immediately began looking around. In a near singsong voice, he announced, "I hope no one is afraid of high places." He appeared calm and relaxed, but he kept a hand on his weapon anyway, just in case.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

In walks a small, frog-like creature with bright red eyes, hands and feet. He wears a thick, leather sarong and a small metal shield is strapped to his back with a leather strap that crosses his chest. He pushes himself to the edge of the hole. "Doesn't sound good down there, I wonder what it is." He then lies flat on his belly and feels the walls with his hands, checking if he can get a grip.

Can I climb down using my natural climb speed or is the wall too smooth?

The creature looks speculatively in the darkness. "I have a spell to let me fly... I should be able to carry one or two of us down at a time. Depends upon of course what is actually down there." He glances up around at his comrades. "Any ideas, fellows?"

"Magic is for wusses," a gruff voice comments, as a strong man walks into the room. "If none of you are man enough to just go down there, well, that's what they hired me for. Out of the way, all of you."

Drake walks over to the edge of the pit, taking out his grappling hook and setting it into the stone, making sure it pierces the floor nicely before tying his rope to the hook and then jumping off the edge.

I have 50 feet of silk rope so I should only be able to fall 50' or less. Let me know what happens.

*sigh* "Man, I thought Lucien was reckless."

"Full points for daringness though. Well, I just hope any beasties down there will try to bite Lucien before our big friend."

As far as looking before you leap goes, however, what does Tuillen see?

If necessary,
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

Nava shakes his head as the man jumps down with his rope, "Idiot." he grabs hold of the rope and checks if it's secure before he starts climbing down the wall head first, using the rope to make sure he doesn't slip.

As Drake straps the grappling hook to the sandstone shaft, Radic spots something in the shaft below, warning you that a large creature is currently hanging on the far side of the shaft, some 50 ft. opposite from you. Drake and Nava, with Drake in the lead both climb down the rope and make their way down the shaft, aware of the screeching creature.

The creature itself, still waiting at least 40 ft. below is not moving, instead continuing its strange dull screeching.

Nava still hangs from the wall and climbs a little closer (about 30 ft away) in order to get a better look at the creature. He holds himself ready to cast a defensive spell should the creature approach.

Prepare action to cast Vanish if the creature acts hostile

Drake will drop down from the end of the rope if he perceives the bottom of the cavern to be at most 30 feet down. Otherwise he will call up and ask for more rope to be passed down to him.

Astor remained at the top, watching to make sure the rope didn't come loose. While he was up there, he looked around for another way down. He wasn't sure about the rope, or climbing down the walls. That there was some creature clinging to the walls making that noise didn't help matters much either.

Astor isn't much of a climber, but he is pretty athletic. Is there any way he could use acrobatics to get to the bottom without taking between forty and ninety feet of falling damage? Kinda makes me wish I hadn't passed up that Ring of Feather Fall.

Radic calls out a warning to Drake.

Drake, be careful, that beastie behind you does not look friendly.

Surprise round hey? Initiative 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (19) + 16 = 35

On my turn, I will Send Senses to get a closer look. Then I will roll knowledge planes. 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

The range of Tuillen's dancing lights spell is *140ft*, so if 'Lucien' can't reach the bottom, the shaft is at least that deep. That was the whole point of the dancing lights spell. Given the information from the dropped chalk, it would appear the shaft is between 140-150ft deep.

"We've got company, mates." Tuillen declares as 'Lucien' rises to where the creature is, bathing it in a soft, orange glow. 'Lucien' is now occupying the 5ft square directly below the creature. "Let's see what happens when Lucien tries to say 'hi'".

Suspecting that there may be imminent combat, Tuillen casts Mage Armor: duration 4 hours.

Initiative for combat: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

"Come on, beastie, look at the orange, glowy guy and *not* the big, meaty, *tasty* human that just jumped down.

Actually, err...nevermind the 'meaty, tasty' bit. Just ignore the human."

As the group comes to wait at the shaft, "Lucien" illuminating and both Nava and Drake on the ropes, Drake calls up for more rope as he is informed that the shaft does go deeper.

All this assuming Drake was warned and passed rope.

Shrugging slightly as a danger arrives and disappears just as swiftly, Nathaniel taps himself on the chest and a bright sheen of light surrounds him briefly before dissipating.

"More rope coming!" the creature calls down into the shaft as he reaches into his backpack and pulls out two lengths of rope. Tying the two together, Nathaniel lowers them down for his comrades to grab.

"Oh, and lizards are stringy!"

Two lengths of 50ft of silk rope are tied together then lowered down.
Casts Mage Armour on self, 5 hour duration.

Don't worry about your Mage Armor, you'll more than need it. Drake, you now have enough rope to get to the bottom.

As Tuillen directs 'Lucien' to the strange 'creature', it soon becomes apparent that the creature is rather disinclined towards movement. However, the strange figure has nonetheless caught his attention.

"I say, Lucien, I do believe our meaty friend may need a light source down below. Could I trouble you to do the honours?"

Tuillen re-casts dancing lights at the location of his previous spell in the same form and colour as 'Lucien' so that to all appearances 'Lucien' had done no more than flicker briefly. (Essentially, this just re-sets the duration of the dancing lights.) He then proceeds to direct the spell to the limit of his range (140ft down from the edge of the chasm), illuminating the ground far below.

"Good man."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------

"What in the twelve depths... thats no creature it's a statue! But what kind of statue has fur?"

Radic mutters on to himself trying to think of what the creature might be...

"Hmm.. its throats moving...I hope it doesn't spit...I wonder if I have salve for acid...no I think I used that dealing with an ankheg burn..

My character is about tapped out here. In a desperate attempt to learn what he is dealing with, he will try to remember if anything he read about this ruin/ruins like this (History). Also, seeing as this is a temple, he will search his religious databases ;) And lastly he will detect magic and use spellcraft to identify if he detects anything. In that order

History 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Religion 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
Spellcraft (if needed) 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16

"What in the twelve depths... thats no creature it's a statue! But what kind of statue has fur?"

Radic mutters on to himself trying to think of what the creature might be...

"Hmm.. its throats moving...I hope it doesn't spit...I wonder if I have salve for acid...no I think I used that dealing with an ankheg burn..

My character is about tapped out here. In a desperate attempt to learn what he is dealing with, he will try to remember if anything he read about this ruin/ruins like this (History). Also, seeing as this is a temple, he will search his religious databases ;) And lastly he will detect magic and use spellcraft to identify if he detects anything. In that order

History 1d20+10
Religion 1d20+10
Spellcraft (if needed) 1d20+14

I thought of that, but unfortuantely the statue is about 30ft beyond the range of our detect magic and my dark vision. =(

Radic wrote:

Stuff

I thought of that, but unfortuantely the statue is about 30ft beyond the range of our detect magic and my dark vision. =(

Ahh quite right, ignore detect magic in that case. I was thinking 50ft but thats 50ft from Drake, not I.

Statue? Hmmm. A statue that hums must be magical in nature, the question was just how magical.

Cast Detect Magic

Statue? Hmmm. A statue that hums must be magical in nature, the question was just how magical.

Cast Detect Magic

I'd actually be MORE concerned if it was NOT magical. XD

Nathaniel cracks his knuckles and passes his hand before his eyes, and with a loud *CREAK*ing noise two enormous draconic wings emerge from his back, flapping experimentally in the air as they lift him up to hover just above the ground.

"Alrighty, friends... onward and downwards!"

Each hand reaches out and grabs a comrade by the back of the neck of their respective garments, hoisting them up as Nathaniel's wings flutter harder, sending the three over the edge, beginning a controlled descent down into the darkness.

Evolution Surge (Lesser) on self to gain 30ft fly speed (good).
Grabbing Tuillen and Radic.

Wondering what the others have been doing below him, Astor grabs hold of the rope himself and slid down, using the wall to help as best he can. When he made it to the bottom, he looked around.

"One can only hope that a furry, shrieking statue is the greatest of our concerns down here. . ." He said quietly.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

I threw in an acrobatics roll because his trip down the rope was more of a semi-controlled fall than a climb.

Drake keeps an eye on the lizard statue as he descends the rope, coming to a stop at the ground and stretching. "Ah. That was invigoratin'! See, what did I tell you spell-slingin' chickens? Ain't nothin' wrong with a little exercise, and now we can see for ourselves what's down here rather than relyin' on your fancy-schmancy magic."

Drake lights a torch and turns to face the cavern before him, looking around.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

'Lucien' is providing light for Drake and Astor down below, so unless Radic and Nathaniel have some way of getting darkvision, Radic may need to provide some sort of light.

As the trio of arcanists descend through the shaft and draw level with the statue, Tuillen motions to Nathaniel to halt. We should be about 50ft directly across from it now. "This should be close enough. Now then, let's see what ails our big furry friend. A little sore throat perhaps? Say 'aaaaaaah'."

Stretching his hand out, Tuillen quickly traces a simple rune in the air as he chants "Arkna revla veros" . An invisible cone of divination energy emanates from his hand as Tuillen begins scanning the statue for magic.

Scanning for strength and nature of magic, if any.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Radic somewhat nervously touches the palm of his left glove with his right hand. Light spills forth as he lifts his hand to get a better view of the statue.

"We will have to move closer, I can't quite see! Ten more feet should about do it."

He is a dinosaur not a lizard, but this avatar will just have to do.

Nathus pokes his head out of the right pocket of Radic's handy haversack. Obviously annoyed at the noise, Nathus hisses at the statue and attempts to stare it down.

As the light flickers once more, and the arcanist trio descends to statue level, magical auras resonate from it. Assuming three simple rounds pass, the exact aura seems to come from within the statue's gullet.

===

Once you are able to read the above text (by reaching the bottom of the shaft) you may read the following spoiler if you qualify.

"Hmm...interesting, it appears that this statue is used to facilitate air flow to the area below. I'm guessing we're looking at a gust of wind spell enhanced by a permanency spell to enhance the airflow. Clever, but it also means that whoever or whatever used to live here had quite a bit of magic at their disposal. Good news for finding interesting trinkets, but also means we should be cautious."

"And someone really needs to do something about maintenance-that thing makes a hell of a racket. Well, at least we know we'll be able to breathe properly down there."

Tuillen purses his lips with disappointment at the somewhat anti-climatic discovery. "Well, let's see what's down below, I suppose."

Nava and Drake don't know about Tuillen's transformation, so they'll see Nathaniel carrying Radoc and a big (still medium-sized, but on the larger end of the scale) goblinoid creature.

----------------------------------------------------------------------
Once at the bottom

Hmm...charming. I wonder what this black sand is.

Tuillen casts detect magic on the sand as softly as he can.

If necessary:
knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Untrained appraise check for frescoes: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

"Those pictures made of precious shiny. Me think we can salvage."
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
When Drake notices him:
"Yo. " The 'bugbear' rumbles as he thumps himself on the chest and gives Drake a toothy grin. "Me Hank. Me help."

"Really? Fascinating... magical housekeeping has long been an interest of mine. But how would they keep it from clogging up?"

Still musing, Nathaniel carries them to the bottom.

-----------------------------------------------------

Landing on the ground with a thud, Nathaniel lets his comrades go and starts stretching his arms with a groan. "Tuillen, you really need to go on a diet..."

Once finished recovering, the creature stares around the chamber, eyesight unheeding the darkness.

Perception:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

The 'bugbear' looks at Nathaniel quizzically.

"Too-ee-lun? Oh dee huff-alf. Hey, whare leetul huff-alf go ah-knee-way?"

"More im-pour-tant, we need come laytuh wiff pick-axe! And find nom-noms!" 'Hank' rumbles as he looks at the glittering frescoes.

Waiting to see what my detect magic and spellcraft/knowledge arcana checks reveal about the sand. Someone want to roll knowledge nature to see why it's black?

And anyone want to role knowledge nature to find out what that serpent-thing is?

Drake grins. "Hank! A righ' pleasure to meet ya! I'm Drake. Good to see someone else here with the common sense to lift a few weights every now and then."

Looking up at the statue, Drake scratches his head. "What, so it's like a giant, automatic fan or somethin'? Seems like a whole lot o' trouble for somethin' so simple. Why not jus' hire a couple of thugs to wave a fan for you every few seconds?"

Radic examines the mosaics closely and shares his findings with the party.

Sorry guys I am sick to the point I can't sleep and utterly exausted I can't really post well like this.

[ooc]History[/occ] 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
[ooc]Religion[/occ] 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30
[ooc]Nature[/occ] 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
[ooc]Appraise[/occ] 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18

Astor knelt down, and ran his fingers through the sand for a moment, wondering what to make of it. He didn't really know, he didn't really care either, but it was curious. He found himself wishing he'd brought a torch or a sunrod, he hated relying on others.

Calling the others' attention to the wall, he said "Anyone have a light? This might be important."

Radic's attempts to discern the mosaic have granted you the following information. Though the exact creature cannot be determined, legends have told of colossal sea serpents in the Southseas, and if the Vuljoon legends are to be believed, they used to be venerated... and commanded. Apparently, the ancient Vuljoon inhabitants of Lacroix Island would often use something within the temple (a strange relic can be faintly seen in the mosaic behind the men and women) which allowed them to call forth the serpents to do their bidding.

Astor, 'Lucien' is still in the area and Tuillen's re-casting the spell as necessary. Also, Radic's got a light spell running and Drake's got a torch. There should be plenty of light for low-light vision.

"Hmm...Ashensand," 'Hank' thinks to himself as he scrutinises the dark sand under his feet, "Interesting. I'll have to remember this place, especially if we find ourselves in need of a large fire to put out. Though for the moment, given how close we are to water, I'm going to guess that's quite an unlikely eventuality. Still, I'm glad it's not something ridiculous or creepy like blood-soaked sand or charred bone fragments."

Curiosity sated, he turns to listen to Radic, listening attentively as the elf explains to the group the culture of the Vuljoons, the temple and the serpent-controlling relic.

"Ugh...Hank not like snakes. Except maybe when snakes bring treasure."

"Ah!" the 'bugbear' bellows as he smacks his left palm with the base of his right fist, "Hank have plan. If we find rare-lick, we tell snakes bring us all treasure, and nom-noms, then we send them on quest to find Island of Endless Chocolate Ice-Cream. If they find, we have ice-cream. If they not find, we never see them again."

His proclamation made, Hank contentedly folds his arms across his chest, evidently pleased with his 'brilliant idea'.

Ok, cool. I wasn't sure where everyone was.

Astor listened intently to Radic's interpretation of the mosaic, studying the image of the snake charming relic as he did so. That would certainly be useful to have, "I wonder if it is still here." He said aloud before he caught himself. He wondered how he would convince the others to entrust him with the relic if they managed to find it. He knew better than to try stealing it, that wasn't worth the trouble. He was sure the others wouldn't understand the value of summoning snakes, or if they did, they would likely care more about the money they could get for it, maybe he'd be able to steal it back after it was sold.

Realizing that he was putting a lot of thought into something he wasn't even sure was real, Astor brought himself back to the present. "We should probably keep moving." He looked back at the others, and was surprised to see a bugbear instead of Tuillen. He said nothing, but a look of surprise was plain to see.

He turned back and gave the room another look, watching for anything like an exit.

Perception 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Radic continues to study the mosaic, taking detailed notes. He ignores the others until Astor advises the party move forward. "Quite right. Let us proceed carefully however, the Vuljoon made use of Dire Bats, Mobats and Skavelings. It wouldn’t due to wander into a feral nest.” Radic scans the room as the party advances.

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Radic also passes Astor a hooded lantern and a pint of oil. “There, keep that on you. I have a feeling we won't be seeing the sun for sometime.”

'Hank' nods and says, "Me see no nom-noms here. We go down tunnel?"

Nathaniel and Nava?

Nathaniel carefully strokes the outline of the mosaic of the immense sea serpent, and at his companions' call, tears himself away and follows them down the tunnel.

The corridor stretches out before you, black sand dulling the sounds... until suddenly, the distant lapping of waves is heard and you emerge into a half-sculpted/half-natural chamber, filled with a pool of brilliant water. The pool's sides are home to coral reef formations and plenty of aquatic life can be seen.

A golden altar resides at the far end of the chamber, while the ceiling itself rises to a lofty 70 ft. in height.

The sounds echo around hear so all Perception checks get a -2 penalty due to the echoes.

I will post tomorrow but should probably do checks now so you can respond and I have more to say

Perception -2 included 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Religion to determine purpose of altar/room. 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Nathaniel strides into the room and looks around with no little degree of wonder. "Beautiful..." Walking up to the altar, he passes his hand before his eyes as he scans for magical auras within it.