Beyond Azlant Ridge (Inactive)

Game Master R D

He turns around and attacks the wall again, his adamantine nodachi leaving a large gash.

Feral-Harrow turns and hits the wall, too.

Taking some liberties here. Just for fun. :-)

Obnoxious-Low-Cha-Harrow smacks the wall again. Feral-Harrow smacks his wall, too.

Obnoxious-Harrow strikes his wall again, this time with a shout. Feral-Harrow smacks and shouts, too.

Egged on by his duplicate's behavior, real-Harrow smacks hard and yells louder.

Pretty soon, the half-orc and his feral double conduct a sort of "dueling banjos nodachis" performance of deadly percussion.
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It occurs to those party members trained in spellcraft that there must be something around here--some device--generating these feral-looking duplicates.

Mareq considers...

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

"Great... just great...it wasnt bad enough we were all probably going to die at the hands of him, now there are two of him to kill us...such a bad mission..."

As he ponders the universe and fatalism, Uthred considers the fist-sized black stone set in a niche in the eastern wall. Didn't it seem to absorb even more light every time a feral duplicate was made?

Davina casts Detect Magic, focusing on the black stone.

- round 1: yes
- round 2: illusion
- round 3: moderate aura (this magic item has a caster level somewhere between 6 and 11) She knows that this is consistent with the Shadow Conjuration spell.

"There is some evil shadow magic at work here. Let's see if there's anything of use and then leave/

"Do we need the fist sized black stone?"

Re-read the room description. You need something here.

This rooms description: The walls of the chamber are smooth black marble; a fist-sized black stone set in a niche in the eastern wall seems to absorb light. A small crystal shard glows with an eerie purple light at the apex of the angled ceiling. Shades of faint movement skitter across the far wall.

The previous door's description: Crafted of iron and bone, a massive door blocks the way west. A mural of human and animal bones on the walls depicts humans and woodland creatures in a forest. On the left side of the door, humans kneel before a massive tree. Between them is a thumb-sized hole. On the right side of the door, a man slits his own throat, blood pooling on the trunk of the tree. In the carving of the bloody pool is another thumb-sized hole.

The party has already collected one item that fits one of the holes.

"It is probably nothing but there is this small thumb sized hole here.... and another one over there....i am sure it means nothing and even if it did I am sure we would not be able to figure it out... it could even possibly lead to our deaths...just saying...that shard over there seems like the right size...prob just a coincidence..."

LOL! :) Enjoying the passive/agressive alternately obnoxious, then emo portrayal of low-charisma.

"Let's double check the other rooms. Maybe there are more items we need?

This is pretty much the last room except for the room with the massive doors.

Sorry, I had mentioned retrieving the crystal when we first came in, but got sidetracked with hating myself.

Harrow looks at Davina. "We need get crystal before leave...you not know what is going on. Maybe pay attention? For once?"

The half-orc points up at the apex of the ceiling.

"One of magicky guys want to get it down, or Harrow have to do everything? What a bunch of USELESS people who have NO USE!!!"

Anyone have mage hand?

Sorry, I had mentioned retrieving the crystal when we first came in, but got sidetracked with hating myself.

Harrow looks at Davina. "We need get crystal before leave...you not know what is going on. Maybe pay attention? For once?"

The half-orc points up at the apex of the ceiling.

"One of magicky guys want to get it down, or Harrow have to do everything? What a bunch of USELESS people who have NO USE!!!"

Anyone have mage hand?

Mage hand won't work on magical items. :(

"Shall I summon an air elemental to retrieve the crystal shard from the ceiling?" asks Mareq as he stands outside the room, looking in. "I could summon the elemental right into the adjacent square and then have it leave the room immediately once takes the shard. I could also make the ally invisible. Perhaps that would help."

Mechanically: move-action - take shard. move-action: fly out of room (100ft move rate). Would that avoid the summoning effect quickly enough?

Or we can just fight it out. I'm a bit stumped.

Sure. That'll work. You summon an elemental. The party-elemental ignores his feral-looking brother and just works on removing the stuff. Since he's not in combat, he takes 20 on his checks and succeeds.

No need to fight here. "The bold scream. The meek survive." Just don't treat them like enemies and you can do whatever you need to in the room. :-) Yay! We're not murderhobos! ;-P

Whew! After Mareck expends yet another summons, the party has two objects.

Back to the massive door!

Map updated.

Valais says, "We're so close now. We need to find a way to open this door. TOUCH THIS DOOR AND I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES."

Then, her face contorts in obvious pain.

Sure. That'll work. You summon an elemental. The party-elemental ignores his feral-looking brother and just works on removing the stuff. Since he's not in combat, he takes 20 on his checks and succeeds.

No need to fight here. "The bold scream. The meek survive." Just don't treat them like enemies and you can do whatever you need to in the room. :-) Yay! We're not murderhobos! ;-P

Whew! After Mareck expends yet another summons, the party has two objects.

Well, s*@~. If I had paid attention to that, i would've just had the earth elementals do it non-aggressively. Oh well. Job done!

Well, s%~#. If I had paid attention to that, i would've just had the earth elementals do it non-aggressively. Oh well. Job done!

:-)

It's good feedback. I had a lot of fun playing up the shadow creatures when I ran this face-to-face. I may have oversold it for a play-by-post setting. Sorry, all.

Valais says, "We're so close now. We need to find a way to open this door. TOUCH THIS DOOR AND I WILL TEAR YOU TO PIECES."

Then, her face contorts in obvious pain.

Mareq stares at Valais warily. Her demonic multiple personalities are becoming worrisome, especially given what the elementals saw in this room, just beyond the door. A summoning circle, broken by a corpse.

"Whatever was inside that circle is now free inside there. By opening this door, we risk releasing it," he says to nobody in particular.

First, we will need celestial aid, thinks Mareq. But a Sarkorian god-caller could potentially wrest control of my celestial ally from me. Hmmm.

My proposal once we are all assembled and ready:

• Summon Lantern archon/Archon casts Aid on PC
• Mareq casts invisibility on himself/Archon casts Aid PC
• Mareq casts protection from evil on Mareq, Valais, and the Lantern Archon/Archon casts Aid on three add'l PCs
• ENTER ROOM
• Continue casting either Haste or Protection from Evils on team

Pausing here to let everyone catch up / weigh in.

Uthred follows along despondent as ever...

"I thought for sure we were all going to die back there....and why did she yell so loudly...kinda makes it hard to sneak around... i am sure someone heard that outburst and have laid more traps for us to trip...this will not end well...let me get ready... for whatever good that will do" and he draws his swords...

Phew! You guys really raced ahead! Or at least, you posted a lot!

Also, duh, I just remembered/realized I had a nifty item in my pocket!

Berosius pulls out a scroll from his pack, touches it to the tiny runes embroidered on his vest (that's right, his "vestment" is a vest) and casts the spell from the scroll.

Use his mnemonic vestment to cast remove curse on Harrow, his best friend in the whole world.

Caster level check to use scroll (DC=6): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17 (yay!)
Remove curse caster level check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 (boo!)

Disappointed, Berosius merely casts bless on the party and shield of faith on himself.

Quartz will cast cats grace, shield himself and drink his mutagen.

Quartz will cast cats grace, shield himself and drink his mutagen.

God idea. Mareq updates his Mage armor.

Davina casts shield of faith on herself and protection from evil on Harrow.

"Even the rude and obnoxious deserve the Dawnflower's protection" She smiles.

"Thats OK, everybody else buff up....I will just stay here without protective spells and take the impending death so you all can live...I need a new job..."

"Sincerest apologies...The Dawnflower protect you as well."

Davina casts shield of faith and protection from evil on Uthred.

Use his mnemonic vestment to cast remove curse on Harrow, his best friend in the whole world.

Disappointed, Berosius merely casts bless on the party and shield of faith on himself.

Table Re-roll for Berosius: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Yay! Harrow no longer has a Charisma of 1. :)

Harrow glares at Berosius as the halfling tries to activate the scroll on him to remove the curse.

"What you trying to do! Harrow already say not want to be friends anymore! HARROW HATE EVERYTHING AND EVERYONE!!!"

The scroll seems as if it is not going to work, but then the half-orc blinks, looks around, and then blinks again.

"BEST HALF-LING BUDDY! BEST HALF-LING BUDDY IN WHOLE WORLD!" Harrow exclaims, then rushes over to lift Berosius from the ground, holding the oracle in his massive green arms and nearly crushing the life out of him.

"Harrow sorry! Harrow not know why he not want friends, but Harrow always love Berosius! Even when Harrow say mean things to Berosius, Harrow not really mean them! Harrow always love Berosius!!!"

The half-orc does not seem to care that there is a mission at hand, and smiles broadly, glad that he has not lost his best half-ling friend.

Ready when the others are...But will cast shield of faith and expeditious retreat on myself before going in. It was fun having 1 Cha for a while, but back to your regularly-scheduled Harrow. :)

OK. The party puts the items they found (the crystal shards) in the slots on the door. A portion of the tree carving on the door opens to reveal a 4-inch-wide opening, 20 inches deep. At the back of the opening is a handle.

Mareq concentrates and summons a lantern archon to aid the party.

The Lantern archon casts Aid on Harrow Extra HP for Harrow: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Mareq casts invisibility on himself/Archon casts Aid on Uthred Extra HP for Uthred: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Mareq casts Mage Armor on the lantern archon.
Mareq casts protection from evil on himself, Valais, Archon / Archon casts Aid on Davina extra HP for Davina: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4, Quartzextra HP for Quartz: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8, and itself extra HP for Archon: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Once he can breathe again, Berosius is glad to have Harrow back, too. "It wasn't you talking, Harrow," he says. "It was the curse. In a few days I'll be able to make everyone good and kind again. Well, at least as good and kind as they ever were."

Turning to the subject of the deep opening, he says "Even I can tell that's a likely trap. Can we summon a creature to reach in there?"

I cannot summon another creature without losing our current ally, in whom I have invested much magic. Perhaps our celestial friend can reach in there and pull the handle."

Lantern archons don't have hands, per se, but they must be able to manipulate their physical world somehow.

"everyone else stand back in case it explodes..."

Davina stands back.

Sure, I'll allow it. However, because of the extreme squeezing, I'm giving the archon a circumstance penalty. (It is moving into a 4-inch-wide opening after all!)

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

There's a clicking and whirring sound as the archon is mutilated by multiple chopping blades. *Poof* It's gone.

Though... the door opens...
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Description of the circular room: Scorched earth and burned grass cover this round chamber’s floor. In the center of the room stands a tall tree, its blackened bark seeping blood-red sap and its branches twisted and thorny. Glowing silvery runes circle the base of the tree. At the base of the tree lays a lithe, bronze-skinned man missing his left arm, a puddle of blood pooled beneath him. His right hand lies just inside the circle, and a single word is scratched in the dirt near his fingertips.

The ceiling of this room rises in a dome to a height of 25 feet. The glowing runes fill the room with dim light.
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At this point, everyone is still in the hallway. If you wish to move inside the room, I need to know exactly who wishes to move, where you wish to move, and the path you take to get there.

S&~+.

Mareq summons another ally archon and casts Mage Armor on it. While he casts Mage Armor on it, it casts Aid on itself.

As its second round action, upon being summoned, the lantern archon casts Detect Evil and scans the room.

Uthred walks in right past the door and stands there looking around...

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

Round 1 (We are not in combat, I am using this to track something.)

Archon: Nothing pings as evil.
__________

Uthred walks in a little way: As soon as Uthred walks in, a powerful voice says: "Mortals, bow before the sacred heartwood tree. Touch the bark and utter the sacred incantation written in the dirt. Then retrieve my staff, leave the circle, and present it before me. Only then can I take corporeal form."
__________

The rest of the party?

Invisible Mareq walks into the room with Uthred and carefully looks at the glowing runes and then examines the word(s) scratched in the dirt by the formerly living man.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14
Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28

The archon enters the room, as well.

Invisible Mareq walks into the room with Uthred and carefully looks at the glowing runes and then examines the word(s) scratched in the dirt by the formerly living man.

Note: Mareq does not "utter the sacred incantation" nor does he touch the tree.

I need to know the exact route you take. It matters.

I need to know the exact route you take. It matters.

Mareq walks straight into the room via the north of the two doors, ten feet west, then diagonals up to where he is currently standing. He does not enter any square with the runes/circle.

The archon floats/flies the same path, except on the opposite side of the tree.

Is that clear?

Note that I added some dice rolls to my previous post.

Round 1

Acted:
Mareck
Archon
Uthred

The rest of the party?

What is our paladin/demon companion doing with all this? How does she react?

Before entering the room, Harrow says to Valais "This look familiar? You been here before Demons thinking anything bad right now?"

Once the former paladin has responded, Harrow looks carefully into the room and watches Mareck investigate.

"Wait outside, some of you," he says to Berosius specifically, but also to the others still outside. "If something bad happen, maybe not happen to everyone."

Not wanting to leave Mareck alone, he traces Mareck's steps.

I really think we should leave some of us outside...don't everyone feel the need to come in.

Davina follows Mereck and asks:

"What staff? Who are you?"