Beyond Azlant Ridge (Inactive)

Game Master R D

Do you have a boon to play with the pre-errata version of spirit guide that didn't use wis to determine the number of spells? Imho that errata should have allowed for a full rebuild, but maybe it did. I haven't looked at how PFS handled the changes. God do I hate all the recent errata nerfs... If you can cast haste, I guess I should go ahead and use my last spell on bull's strength.

Berosius draws his wand of magic missiles, and goes to speak with Juliet. "What happened here? They're very worried about you back at Azlanti Ridge. Enough that they sent for us."

"What? Oh. But, they knew we were going to investigate here. No archeologists want to leave this historically significant site. Abandoning it might mean we never find it again, so we need to work to get as much done as they can while we are here"

Sense Motive here, if you wish.

Uthred listens to the conversation and the unwillingness of the 'diggers' to leave the site and mutters something about nerdy book learners under is breathe...

Sense Motive Cryxial: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"The others said there was a golem or something attacking them. I guess you didn't see that? We also encountered some apes when we were back at the site, luckily we were there to defend the rest."

Do you have a boon to play with the pre-errata version of spirit guide that didn't use wis to determine the number of spells? Imho that errata should have allowed for a full rebuild, but maybe it did. I haven't looked at how PFS handled the changes. God do I hate all the recent errata nerfs... If you can cast haste, I guess I should go ahead and use my last spell on bull's strength.

I have no such boon. Do you have a link to the errata? I haven't seen the wording, but since Oracle is built off Charisma and not Wisdom, I would argue that when the spirit makes the shift from shaman to oracle, the requisite stat becomes Charisma.

sense motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Harrow still looks peeved that they came all this way and there didn't seem to be a danger.

"Send message next time that you okay, okay?" he says.

"What we need to do finish here so we can go back and tell others you okay?"

"What is that infernal racket?" asks Mareq when he hears the metal in stone noise again.

When Mareq brings up the banging sound, the archaeologists react like it doesn't bother them. It may as well be the sound of the ocean in the background as far as they are concerned.

Having had some experience with NPCs not acting quite right, the party correctly determines that something's not right with these Pathfinder archaeologists.

They are definitely not dominated.

They are definitely not commanded.

It seems that they've all been charmed somehow.

They're doing things that they are interested and might otherwise normally do: archaeological examination. But they're ignoring the concerns of their comrades, and the crazy pounding sound.

The party determines that they recognize you as allies, but think that YOU'RE behavior is weird. Perhaps... If you were to ask them questions as though you were interested in the site from a research/historical point of view, you could get tons of information from them.

"So tell me again why all of this is so important...why you cant stop to send word to your academic companions? Show me the areas of interest."

::They are charmed:: Comes the message in Avril's mind. She takes rides a few steps back to conjure up a whisper to send to the others. "They are charmed to ignore the noise and the weird circumstances. Though the archeological work is what they would have wanted to do anyway." Using the spell message

She then raises her voice. "What are you digging for here? What have you found so far and what are you hoping to find? Have you encountered anyone or anything here besides us and yourselves?"

Harrow nods and tries to go along with it.

"You dirt digging guys very charm-ing," he says with a big wink. "We help you guys, okay? Anything we can dig for?"

"Well, we met a friendly Starwatcher Spirit deeper in the complex. We believe it to be a loci spirit, or a benevolent essence tied to a particular location."

"In the Age of Serpents, the cyclopes fought against the serpentfolk and their demonic allies, but eventually slipped into decline, their culture becoming more brutal and war-like. These ruins are part of one of the cyclopes' temple-observatories."

"That banging noise you referenced? Oh, that's just some golem or something trying to break a door down." Juliet says nonchalantly.

"We're looking for glowing disks to put through a crack in the wall. For safekeeping." She means a very specific crack in a particular wall.

MAP UPDATED!

Harrow frowns. "Maybe we go talk to spirit. Harrow see if we have other job to do here," he says. Though not intelligent, Harrow is wise, and can see something is wrong.

"Harrow say try this door," he says, moving to the north.

Are those broken down? Let's try the hallway.

Yep. The doors you're next to, Harrow, are busted down.

To your left: This large alcove is filled with a stone fountain beneath a carving of a cyclops breaking free of clutching tentacles. The fountain’s basin is full of clear water.

Regarding the fountain, Juliet says: "We determined that the water was safe to drink. We have been using it as our source of drinking water and to wash dishes and tools."

Just to be safe, Berosius scans the whole room with detect magic.

Berosius detects charm magic on the archaeologists.

The area to the right of where your marker is on the map is a little funky. If you want to detect magic there, you will have to ascend some stairs.

Uthred joins Harrow and looks around the corridor to the right...

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
add 2 for trapfinding

he motions to the others the direction to the right as to the route to the source of the banging.

Uthred finds no traps.

(1) Is Berosius going to ascend the stairs?

(2) What's everyone else doing?

"A Starwatcher Spirit! Really?" says Mareq with incredulity. "Where deeper down? I have heard the name, but don't know much about such spirits. What did you learn?"

Knowledge (planes or arcana): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
+1 if its a demon-related.

Husarq trudges after Uthred. "What ever that banging is, it is trying to get out. Let us leave it be."

Knowledge (planes or arcana): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21

Mareq hasn't heard of a "Starwatcher Spirit" before.

Husarq trudges after Uthred. "What ever that banging is, it is trying to get out. Let us leave it be."

You haven't investigated the area yet, so you don't know this in character. The banging is something trying to get IN, not OUT.

Juliet adds: "You can glimpse the loci spirit through the crack in the wall." Labeled on the map.

"Harrow want to meet the spirit," the half-orc says. He begins moving toward the crack in the wall.

Harrow, having darkvision, can see that a very, very, very big creature is on the other side.

Sure. Berosius goes up the stairs.

Uthred moves to the hallway corner and peers down the next corridor.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

sees nothing and says to the others it is all safe to advance.

"Am I the only one knowing protection from evil here? I shouldn't have used a spell on myself, that was foolish." Avril comments before she rides up to Juliet and casts said spell. "Here, this'll protect you from evil and mind control if it should be necessary. More protection is always a good thing."

Afterwards she says. "Are you alright? Maybe you can tell what really happened now?"

One 1st level spell remaining after this.

Avril casts prot from evil. Nothing changes with Juliet. The archaeologists look at the summoner like she has been in the jungle too long.

Uthred espies nothing suspicious.

Berosius Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Neither does the halfling.

What Berosius sees:

Steep, narrow stairs lead up to this platform, thirty feet above the lower chambers. The platform faces south, with a commanding view of the Terwa Uplands. An immense ivory hemisphere fills the platform, leaving only a few feet of stone around its edges. If this balcony once had a railing, it has long since crumbled away, leaving a perilous drop to the stones below.

The sphere radiates magic. (Strong abjuration)

To the right of the platform: this small room is open to the sky. Within the room is a tidy camp consisting of six tents. A few sheets of canvas stretched between rivets in the wall provide shade to a table and chairs. An opening leads to the west and a solid stone door leads north.

"Hey, there's a whole camp up here and some doors!"

Realizing he may be getting separated from the party (and completely oblivious to whatever he missed), Berosius heads back down to the lower level.

"Hey," he says again. "It seems as though there might be more to explore upstairs. What's that banging?"

Assuming there is enough time, Mareq uses his wand of Protection From Evil on both himself and Husarq, as well as all other party members not already protected.

Sure. As many prot evil castings as you are able.

BAM! Consider yourself all Protected from Evil. One minute.

What's next, everyone?

Berosius is going in one direction. Uthred is going in another.

"Let's all stick together. How about we follow Uthred for now?" Avril says to Berosius when he comes back down and then proceeds to follow after Uthred. "We should take advantage of the spell and proceed with haste."

Husarq and Mareq follow Uthred and look closely with their darkvision.

Uthred advances towards the broken opening but does not peer inside yet.

Uthred sees a very, very, very big creature (it kind of looks like a big suit of armor, but very solid) trying to break down a door.

"Why bother fighting it?" asks Mareq.

"Do we need to? Do we want to? Is it necessary to stop him?" Uthred asks the others.

"What is it doing here? Is it that the one who has charmed the archaeologists?"

"I doubt it," says Berosius. "Let's find what did and then come back to the golem if we must. I've heard they can be very dangerous."

Where to?

Husarq and Mareq bypass the giant creature and peer into the next set of doors.

Mareq cannot see into the room. Hm. Must be magically dark in here...

Anyone want to do anything in the magically dark room?

Botting Harrow to move things along...

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

The brash half-orc strolls into the unnaturally dark room. He stumbles around for a bit and trips over something round.
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"Hey. You guys head sound like running footprints?"

If you are not in the room, you do not hear the footprints.

Then, Harrow senses the shadowy form of a burly cyclops straining against a massive serpentine creature. The serpent strikes at the cyclops' face. As it hits, Harrow experiences something that, metaphorically speaking, feels like a veil of darkness being drawn over his eyes.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

"Harrow not into kinky stuff, darkness!" he bellows as he resists the effect.

Off in the distance, he can hear his horse, Cryp, snort with derision at the statement.

"Be quiet, you!" he growls at his horse.
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Harrow continues stumbling about the room. He reaches for the round thing over which he tripped, and he can feel several other objects nearby. He exits the room with all of them in his hands. He has:

- one disc
- two wands
- one orrery
- two onyx animal carvings

Two spellcraft checks and two appraise checks, please.

Mareq examines the items.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"These aren't anything special. Just some interesting mundane items, i think."

I'm back! I should have waited a little longer, since I love watching our good DM play Harrow!

"Back, kinky darkness! Back! And shut up, Cryp!"

:)

Harrow Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Harrow suddenly realizes that he just survived a haunt. Probably best not to go into that room again.

Where to next? Does anyone else want to try to spellcraft/appraise the items from the room?

"There's no reason to look at these items anymore. My examination revealed nothing of interest," Mareq says with just a bit of hautiness.