You've rebelled against your master, Cardinal Adrastus Thorn. Can you kill him before he kills you? Who will lead the forces of Asmodeus in their final assault on the noble kingdom of Talingarde?
The former shop owner is standing outside the room, staring around with wide eyes silently. At Jax's question, he snaps around to stare at the tiefling. "G-gold..so much gold..uh-uhm..I don't know, barely anything..maybe three hundred pounds?"
Zoren can carry his maximum load [80 lbs] plus another 300 lbs of items in wagons he can touch or, alternatively 3 people carrying their maximum load. This is using a Teleport spell.
Something golden flickers out of the open book towards Jax. Brink blurs upwards, and there is a flash, and a scent of ozone mixed with something like incense.
Jax, the iron box (which is itself mildly valuable -- that's a DC 40 lock on the cover) contains two books. One is someone's spell book! The other is some sort of complicated book with diagrams. (You'll need both Spellcraft and Linguistics for the second book.)
The Spell Book:
Fine vellum sheets fill this well-worn book. Beautiful illustrations depict the effects of each spell, many with a distinctly arctic theme. Though the pages and their wintry illustrations are of high quality, the protective leather case that encloses both books smells and feels greasy, as if the hide has been crudely waterproofed with animal fat. A nameplate on the first page reads Pyx of Ambryl, true son of the Lady Protector.
Spells
6th— contingency, freezing sphere, repulsion
5th— cone of cold, mage’s private sanctum, permanency, teleport, wall of force
4th— ice storm, shout, stoneskin, symbol of revelation, wall of ice
It's a Highwayman's Cape that also functions as a +3 cloak of resistance. Maximilian, or whoever, spent some serious money on this -- if you combine two items in one slot, you add the costs together and then multiply by 50%. Note that the +3 to all saves is an enhancement bonus, so it may not stack with a lot of other common buffs.
1) Someone needs to keep track of party treasure...?
2) Note that some of these items may not be that useful to characters of your level -- the drinking horn or the sword would have been amazing at 3rd level, very good at 8th level, but they're pretty much trinkets for you now. You can of course sell them once you get back to civilization (or what's left of it in Talingarde, after three years of war and plague). You could also hang on to some of these items to hand out as favors to minions -- Jax's rogues or Edmin's new anti-paladins might find some of these quite useful.
-- A single massive mammoth tusk. It weighs about 300 lbs and would have a market value of about 4,500.
-- A half-ton slab of solid polished obsidian. It's beautiful: deep black and so shiny you can see your dark reflection. It's kind of hard to judge the market value of this, but at least 2,000 gp. With some care it could be turned into an awesome desk or table.
After he finishes looking at the items, the Judge shakes his head.
Bunch of junk. Expensive junk, but junk nonetheless. Plate mail protects from dragons, a little late for that. Chain is nice, but probably not as good as what we already have. Rod is cute, makes you look real wealthy. I guess it would be fun for party gags or seducing easy women. Amber lets you get sick along with your pet. Finally, the sword seems to be good for melting ice. Suppose it is useful since the crazy witch left with her explosion spells.
Edmin glances over the items and shakes his head. "What of the...item we are here to find? What has not been searched?"
The dark champion looks over to where Dren sits. "What knowledge has your dark tapestry revealed? We must retrieve the item and be gone from this place. We have much to do before we sit on the thrones of this crumbling kingdom. "
Dren's eyes turn black as he sits and begins a ritual to talk to the Havero...their otherworldy knowledge is beyond the others and may prove helpful in finding out more about what is here.
Read the Tapestry (Sp): Once per day, you can spend 10 minutes meditating on the mysteries of the Dark Tapestry to send your mind to another plane and communicate with the strange or alien beings there. This functions as the contact other plane spell.
Dren, you need to specify what sort of entity you're reaching out to. (See the spell description for details. I think the Havero would count as "Outer Planes - demigod", but you can choose any of the listed categories.
Your Int is 12, which means you only get +1 on your die roll. However, you can use a mythic surge (once) to add 1d6 to the result You make the Int check before asking the first question. If you succeed, you get seven questions, each of which should be answerable by a simple yes or no.
Before you start rolling, let's wait a little and see what the others are up to. Is everyone good with hanging around for ten minutes while Dren meditates?
Yup, the Judge has been wandering about looking at things and waiting for his companions to do something foolish to try to get themselves hurt. Tem minutes does not sound unreasonable.
Religion, nothing. The coat of arms on the wardrobe looks like a modified version of the Havelyn family coat of arms -- that paladin you killed, back when? That family.
Edmin begins to pace , walking 10 feet above the floor of the treasure room. Ragnar the Hound lays next to the obelisk gnawing a large femur of some intelligent humanoid.
"We know Thorn sealed that floating skull in that case before he became a foul undead, his true name is on the inscription. Also, that wardobe has a seal similar to his families coat of arms on it. We must open that box and understand what that skull is or does."
Affixed to the base of the vessel is a metal sign. It has the symbol for "Magical Hazard" on one side, and the symbol for "Necrohazard" on the other. In between, there are engravings in several different scripts and languages. All of them say the same thing:
DANGER - DO NOT DISTURB
This vessel contains an extremely dangerous evil spirit. Do not attempt to communicate with it! Touching, moving or otherwise interfering with the containment vessel is a crime punishable by life imprisonment and a fine of up to ten thousand golden crowns. If found, report immediately to the nearest official of the Holy Mitran Church.
[signed] Samuel Havelyn, Bishop <-- A large and elaborate Mitran seal is stamped over the signature.
So, everyone is waiting for Dren, then? Okey doke. It's a dark cold uncomfortable wait. As noted, the dragon's lair is dismally chilly, and the reek of the ancient beast is not alleviated at all by the faint breeze that blows slowly through the dark chamber. But then, you all can see in the dark, and you have the interesting distraction of playing with your new treasure. So.
Dren, you may make your roll and start asking questions.
yep Ulp is just puttering about invisibly, since once again-to his perspective the bugguns are ignoring him. If the contact other plane is useless, then Ulp will do the same by downing his extract of it
The lock is not particularly hard to pick, but the wardrobe is still nailed shut.
Did I mention that I'm still digesting a bit of that dragon? So you all look like wretched puny soft-skinned scuttling slinking thieving vermin right now. Brink replies. More so than usual, I mean.
Male Human Oracle (FC) 15 Init: +8 Perc: +0 AC:24/14/20 F:+13 R:+14 W:+15 HP:124/124 Freedom of movement, Resist Cold/30, Air Walk 30'
Doug, since I am an Oracle and my stat is Charisma NOT Wisdom or Int I am assuming I would use my Charisma bonus? The spells in CORE don't contemplate the other base classes so for me I believe it should refer to Charisma. In my case since this is a supernatural ability of mine vs. the spell, it should work the same way.
Otherwise this ability for Oracles would be almost useless.
Doug, since I am an Oracle and my stat is Charisma NOT Wisdom or Int I am assuming I would use my Charisma bonus? The spells in CORE don't contemplate the other base classes so for me I believe it should refer to Charisma. In my case since this is a supernatural ability of mine vs. the spell, it should work the same way.
Otherwise this ability for Oracles would be almost useless.
Well, make the roll and let's see if it makes a difference. If it does, I can post the question on the Rules forum.
Ulp picks up the crown from the dead man and puts it on.
everything is on the loot sheet, we will have to figure out how to get it out of here, but we are level 15 Everyone take a look and if you are claiming something mark it on the loot sheet. Access to the sheet can be obtained at the bottom of ups profile where it says loot
Jax jumps backwards with a curse, thinking at first that the wardrobe is full of headless bodies. But no... it's full of clothes.
Beautiful clothes, once. On one side, there's a collection of over a dozen dresses and outfits suitable for a noble lady. They're silk and satin and lace, lavishly embroidered. Something -- the cold? -- seems to have acted as a preservative; they appear to be reasonably intact and probably still wearable, although the fashions are a bit out of date. You'd guess there are half a dozen noble (female) outfits here, average value 150 gp each.
On the other side, there's a single male nobleman's outfit. It's an elaborate thing combining a complex-looking floor-length clawhammer jacket with a waistcoat. It must have been quite impressive, once, and probably quite valuable too. Unfortunately, whatever preserved the dresses and female outfits seems to have passed this by. It's visibly decaying: the colors are faded, patches of mold discolor the braided sleeves, and some sort of slimy fungal growth oozes down the waistcoat. There's a nasty smell coming off it.
On the bottom of the wardrobe are shoes -- a set of half a dozen female shoes on the right, a black leather pair of men's boots on the left. The female shoes look intact if a bit musty. The boots are encrusted with what looks like a mixture of dried blood and ancient filth.
Between the two sets of footwear, on the bottom of the wardrobe, is a small wooden chest. It is closed but does not appear to be locked. A piece of parchment or paper is folded into its closed lid.
Ulp fishes around in his pack and comes out with a small bead, he drops this into one of his empty extract flasks and shakes it. Suddenly it is full again. He then finds a potion, and chases the extract with the potion, then spits the potion back into the flask and puts its away.
Lesser restoration to heal the rest of my ability damage, after using a boro bead to regain alchemical allocation
HP 169/169; AC:37/21/29; Saves: +22/+23/+20; Init +10; Per +28(See Invisibility), CMD 42
Misc:
Effects: Resist Cold 30, Fly 30', Telepathic Bond
The tiefling snickers at Ulp, shaking his head. "Do you feel like King of the Wyrms now? That crown suits you."
He checks the wardrobe for traps. Does the parchment look likely to crumble if touched? Perception? Traps Perception:1d20 + 28 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 28 + 2 = 45 Parchment Perception:1d20 + 28 ⇒ (4) + 28 = 32
If the parchment seems intact enough to handle, Jax will open it, motioning for the others. "This is peculiar, anyone want to make bets on whether this belonged to the Cardinal or his brother.."
You may rule the North. Your tribe will likely turn upon itself and descend into barbarism as most do without the iron fisted control of a true leader.
Edmin looks down from where he stands in the air and nods at the alchemist. "It suits you little one. Wear it with pride we have done many great things in the persuit of the Dark Lords will. Soon we shall all wear crowns and divide this pitiful kingdom and reshape it for his glory."
Male Human Oracle (FC) 15 Init: +8 Perc: +0 AC:24/14/20 F:+13 R:+14 W:+15 HP:124/124 Freedom of movement, Resist Cold/30, Air Walk 30'
1d20 ⇒ 15
I think that makes it no matter what, though I would like to get a ruling for future reference. The strict Core rules would suggest using INT, though it is a Supernatural ability of mine NOT a Spell-Like which isn't really talked about in the FAQ.
Dren's eyes go black and his consciousness reaches out across time and space to the place of nothingness...he doesn't sense movement...what he senses is a separate consciousness slowly moving towards him, threatening to overwhelm him...he focuses his mind and through force of will forces himself interact with the being...
Questions:
Master, our plan proceeds but first I must remove our main obstacle...the being known as the Cardinal.
He pictures the floating skull
1. Is this the Cardinals phylactery?
2. If not can you sense it in the place that I am in?
3. How do we use it to destroy the Cardinal?
Other questions may follow depending on your answers. I get up to 15 questions.
Okay. I'm going to roll, but with a (consistent) factor added or subtracted, to keep it "behind the screen".
Dren's mind strains as it desperately tries to encompass the vast and alien dimensions of the Thing. If it ever manifested on the physical plane, it might have an appearance -- but that would no more be "the Havero" than the tip of a pen, at the point where it touches the paper, is the author of the words that appear. The actual Havero is unthinkably immense, and does not exist in the physical universe.
But it can perceive that universe -- if it wants to, if it cares -- just as easily as a man can see markings on a piece of paper laid before him. And so:
1d100 ⇒ 77NO 1d100 ⇒ 18YES 1d100 ⇒ 87DESTROY IT THEN HIM
Edmin looks at the poem and a strange sound escapes the fallen knight, a chuckle. "For that to be here, in this place means Thorn once waxed poetic. He hated his brother so the chances he saved one of his works is slim. The woman who liked it must have been someone he loved. Maybe Sir Richard's dead mother."
Edmin shakes his head and again the strange sound escapes the antipaladin. "All of this for a peice of tail."
