DM Carbide's The Dragon's Demand (Inactive)

Game Master John Woodford

AoO, CE: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 2 = 15
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"Now the tides are turning our way!"

Attack, CE: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 2 = 22
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

With a pair of blows in rapid succession, the wolf falls.

Out of combat!

"Good hits, Nezos!" Cora puts away her bow and arrow and turns to the bodies on the shore. "Now lets see what's attracting all these animals." She approaches the corpses carefully, looking for any signs of what might have killed the two men.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22 Trying to see if they look like they washed up on the shore or were killed here, and if she can figure out how they died.

It appears that they were killed by wolves. The bodies are well-chewed, and are partly torn apart. Their clothes and other gear are damaged beyond repair, but from what you can piece together it looks like they were wearing travelling clothes and carrying packs.

Well that's disappointingly on the nose.

Cora shakes her head. "No mystery here. These two travelers were killed by wolves." She gestures at the trio of dead wolves. "Probably these boys." She looks around and nods at the cave. "Maybe they got too close to their den? We should check it out."

"What drove them to come this way? Best to assume it doesn't have anything to do with our mission."

Cora shakes her head. "There's no telling. Their clothes and gear have been destroyed. Either way, they're dead now and aren't giving us any clues."

Rowane recalls meeting one of Hunclay's servants in the manor, and how the servant told the party that he thought the wizard's other two servants had gone to Hunclay's cave to loot it.

Machi-e shakes his head. "A pair of fools. It is sad they didn't just turn around."

He nods to Nezos. "Excellent work. Shall we head further? Cora, I believe you're our trap breaker?"

Cora laughs at Machi-e's comment. "Am I? I prefer to think of myself as a problem solver, but alright."

The pond is quite shallow, so there are no problems wading through it to the cave entrance. A narrow passage slopes up out of the pond, leading further into the interior of the bluff.

The cave interior is marginally warmer than the exterior, and as the party wades further in the temperature increases.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

" I think something is down there."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

"Sounds like a bug," Nezos replies. If, for some silly reason, he had sheathed his sword, it'd be quickly drawn again.

Forewarned by the odd sounds, the party continues into the tunnel.

What are you using for light?

Machi-e flips out his Ioun Torch to illuminate...but stays behind Nezos, judiciously.

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Cora also stays behind Nezos, but has her bow ready in case anything pops out of a crevice or shadow.

The tunnel winds around a curve before opening up into a large chamber. However, the chamber, as anticipated, is occupied....

Round 1:

Initiative order
Nia
Rowane
Nezos
Machi-e
Foe

In the approximate center of the cave is a hideous creature, some sort of otherworldly crab with a lamprey-like mouth, eyes on its legs, and an array of collapsed blisters on its back.

Everyone can act!

Kn:Rel: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 +2 if it's some kind of demon...which it's not. With that check can I assume she knows it has DR/slashing?

Also, how high is the ceiling in this large chamber?

Cora grunts in distaste. "Zombie. Tough to kill."

Yes, you know it's resistant to piercing and bludgeoning damage. The ceiling is about ten feet high.

Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

"Someone else got to it first, made it harder the second time around. It was a brain-stealer. Hopefully that bit won't work anymore." Nezos rushes in, shield up and sword swinging.

Bastard Sword, CE: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 2 = 25
Confirmation: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Extra Damage?: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Nezos lands a solid blow on the creature, cleaving its undead flesh.

Neh-thalggu zombie: AC 14 T 11 FF 12 -25 HP

Cora nodded at Nezos and fiddled with her beaded bracelet while she watched the undead brain stealer fight. The light around her dimmed, making her hard to see even close up.

Standard action to use her bracelet to dim the light around her, Move action to use Studied Target on the brain stealer.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Cora-acted
Rowane
Nezos-acted
Machi-e
Foe

Rowane and Machi-e?

Machi-e uses an instance of [i]Prescience[/i, his eyes flashing pure white, and raises his arms to the sky.

Prescience: 1d20 ⇒ 6

Meh.

Heavenly fire rains down upon the zombie.

Heavenly Fire Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
for: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
The damage is not subject to energy resistance nor immunity.

Round 1 (ongoing):

Initiative order
Cora-acted
Rowane
Nezos-acted
Machi-e-acted
Foe

Machi-e's celestial attack damages the zombie still more.

Neh-thalggu zombie: AC 14 T 11 FF 12 -31 HP

Rowane moves into and hold his symbol of Abadar up and releases a bolt of pure good energy.

spear of purity, RTA: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
damage: 2d8 ⇒ (5, 5) = 10
damage if evil outside: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 1, 4, 5) = 15 and blinded

DC 15 will for half and negates blindness

crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
damage: 2d8 ⇒ (1, 5) = 6
damage if evil outside: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 5, 4, 2) = 13

Rowane's divine power burns deeply into the creature, but the magic that animates the corpse still functions. Moving more quickly than anyone expected from its bulk, it launches itself at Nezos and bites him with its lamprey-like mouth for 16 HP.

Round 2:

Initiative order
Nia
Rowane
Nezos
Machi-e
Foe

Everyone can act!

Neh-thalggu zombie: AC 14 T 11 FF 12 -47 HP

Burning resist energy to spontaneously cast Cure Moderate Wounds

Rowane calls on his divine power to call healing power into his hand. He moves forward to deliver it to nezos.

cmw: 2d8 + 4 ⇒ (3, 4) + 4 = 11

Machi-e focuses, his eyes fluttering, as he utters gutteral phrases.

Summoning a Small Earth Elemental on the other side of the zombie nel-thaggu.

Nezos shrugs off the now-small wound and strikes back in kind.

Bastard Sword, CE: 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 - 2 = 20
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

Nezos carves off another slab of undead flesh while Rowane and Machi-e cast. The monster is still active, though.

Cora?

Use Night Hunter to be invisible in dim light against creatures w/o darkvision, allowing Sneak Attack within 30 feet. Swift action to enhance bow for 1 minute.

Cora pulls out her bow, sights, aims carefully, and looses, all in a single, smooth motion.

Bow, PBS+ST+DA: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 (Has Precise Shot) +2 if N-T doesn't have darkvision
Damage: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 6 If N-T doesn't have darkvision

The creature seems to be aware of Cora despite her unity with the darkness. It continues to attack Nezos, biting him again for 18 HP.

Everyone can act!

-61 HP

Machi-e summons his small earth elemental. It erupts from the ground on the other side of the zombie, to flank with Nezos.

Slam, Earth Mastery, Power Attack, Flank: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 1 + 2 - 1 = 11

It totally whiffs the slam, embarrassing the Plane of Earth in general.

Machi-e's face turns into a frown. He moves up the hallway and utters another spell. A glistening spot appears beneath the nel-thagghu.

Grease, Reflex DC 17 under the zombie or fall down.

Round 3:

Initiative order
Nia
Rowane
Nezos
Machi-e-acted
Foe

The zombie does not change its footing at all, leading Machi-e to conclude that it is not actually resting on the ground. (The elemental realizes this as well, but cannot communicate it to the arcanist.)

How quickly Nezos is brought to and from peak condition! He keeps swinging, hoping to end the battle before it ends him.

Bastard Sword, Flank, CE: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Damage: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Nezos finally finishes off the aberrant undead.

Out of combat! More details to come about the contents of the cave.

Grumbling about undead and seeing in the dark, Cora carefully descends to the cave floor to inspect the creature's now-deanimated corpse.

Did we ever get a wand of clw, if not Rowane can use some more spells to heal our tank. Or I can start burning some channels, but would rather use those in combat, when a lot of us are hurt

The body has nothing of interest on it.

There are no other exits from the chamber. Interestingly, despite the presence of the shallow pool of water, the air is warm and dry. Four chests sit at the far side of the cavern--three are small, but the fourth is twice the size of the others.

All of the chests are locked. However, the keys you recovered from Hunclay's body and from his bedroom suffice to open them all. The three smaller chests contain coinage--a total of 11,300 copper, 7,200 silver, 1,800 gold, and 60 platinum. The coins are neatly sorted into cloth sleeves holding 100 coins each.

By contrast, the largest chest contains no coins. There is a darkwood case, four small packets containing some sort of dust, and a scroll in a mithral scroll tube. Inside the case are five books, all of great age. Machi-e can read four of them, rare astronomy tomes written in Ancient Osiriani. None of you can read the fifth volume. It has clearly taken some damage over the years, with many pages loose or missing. Although you can't read the language, you can tell it contains complex star charts, maps of no known area, illustrations of eerie monsters (including a neh-thalggu).

What do you do with the contents of the chests?

Rowane, at this point you're actually done with combat for about the next month in-game. You did buy a CLW wand, too.

"Phew! No brains or lives lost," Nezos breathes heavily, leaning on shield and sword. "I suppose we'll be giving up this bounty to the heir? Bit of a shame. But perhaps we can ask to requisition those books for a time, they could provide some insight on this situation."

"...that damned thing was floating? I need my eyes checked," says Machi-e. "In my defense, I was far down the hallway. Well done, Nezos," concludes the Magaambyan. "Oh ratkings, I can't speak Terran. Farewell, little elemental. I'd tell you to go into to that pool to see if there's an entrance."

Machi-e squats down and murmurs over the dust and the scroll.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13

Do the tomes radiate magic?

Its not on my character sheet and I do not see it on the loot sheet. However, there are three potions of CMW on there

Rowane, see the post HERE, and the one following.

None of the books are magical. Machi-e is unsure about the scroll, and eventually gets around to casting read magic on it. The Magaambyan is able to decipher it, and learns that it is a scroll of permanency.

My mistake--the packets are actually vials of powder.

The other items are four vials of dust of darkness. That reminds Rowane of something that the shae captive behind the wall of light in Hunclay's basement said....

"He left me here because I wounded his pride, nothing more. And he crowed so in his power over me. That light keeps me bound here, and the last time we spoke he showed me a small vial of powder that he said would snuff it out. He held it up, as if encouraging me to fix it in my memory, and then he put it away, laughing. 'You will never see it again. Unless you can take it from my secret cave without leaving here!' Those were his final words to me."

Cora shakes her head at Nezos. "From what Arien told me, the heir has no claim to whatever is in this cave. Not to mention that we will likely put it to better use than whatever they are likely to do with the money." She looks critically at the chests. "It will take some effort to carry those but well worth it, I think."

Cora has a MW backpack, but it would probably just be easier to carry the chests themselves unless someone has a Handy Haversack or a Portable Hole.

Even if she can't read it, can Cora recognize from the pictures what the 5th book is about?

All her possible Knowledge checks (+2 to any roll to ID demons or demon-worshippers):

Kn:Arcana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Kn:Local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
Kn:Planes: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Kn:Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

"Well then! Consider my doubts assuaged," Nezos smiles, sheathing his sword. He tries to lift the copper-filled chest and manages it, though it strains some injuries slightly. "I can do a fair share of the pack-mule work, but not all alone."

The coins alone should weigh about 407 pounds, plus the chests, which'd probably be easier to lug around.

With a lot of work, you're able to get the contents of the cave back to town. Cora has no idea what the drawings depict, but is reasonably sure that they're not any kind of demon she's familiar with.

"This scroll will come in handy," says Machi-e. "And it seems we have a shae to free. I saw one once, in a jungle ruin. She was rather lovely. ...Ahem."

Machi-e thinks about the books. "Wasn't Hunclay mucking about with the Dark Tapestry?"

Kn Planes: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19