DM Oladon's Second Darkness

Game Master Oladon

Wait, I know this; I've seen South Park! Both sides are bad, and the truth lies somewhere in the middle. So teleport us halfway up.

Anyone else with a vote?

Since we don't know, let's let fate decide: Odd is top and even is bottom: 1d912 ⇒ 681

And, now that I think on it, let's ignore that, because I have a mental image of being at the bottom of that weeping cliff and all manner of nasty stuff raining down on us. Top!

The party is whisked away by Jametor's powerful spell and arrives safely at the top of the Weeping Cliffs. Immediately the party is greeted by a powerful stench that makes bile rise in their throats - a mix of rot, fungal seepage, and the fecal matter of the creatures that manage to feed on both. The cliffs appear to stretch for miles in either direction but the party's goal - the skyfall glyph - immediately becomes clear when a trio of red bolts of lightning strike a few hundred feet below.

Peering over the edge you can see that a climb might be challenging but not impossible. Of course flight would be much easier.

How high are the cliffs?

Xiddik bares her teeth in an annoyed grimace. "Anyone have a slow-fall spell? Be faster than climbing."

The cliffs vary in height. The one the glyph is attached to is ~2000 feet tall. The glyph itself is roughly halfway up.

Jametor glares Asht'el for something he is sure to have done.

"Hrmph..shoulda picked middle, but at least we have the higher ground."

I have 2 fly spells prepped and a teleport, since we can see the glyph..i could teleport us there, but the crusher of hope will make it end poorly I suppose.

"I can slow-fall, but it will only work for one." He points at a rather plain ring on his hand.

"Understood. The path is clear: Everybody grab onto Randall." Xiddik grins.

"It's slippery but I should be able to make the climb once I get furry. I 'spose I could carry someone if they can hold on tight", Njord offers.

"Understood. The path is clear: Everybody grab onto Randall." Xiddik grins.

Randall looks at the kobold with some concern, "Uh...", before he registers the mirth on the dragonkin's face. Grinning back, he says, "Very funny. You had me going for a second. It might carry you and I, but I don't know."

Looking at the glyph, he wonders aloud, "Will we need magic to remove it? Or can I modify it like that one on the chest a while back, just to make it not work right?"

"Good question, Randall, unfortunately, we were told by the surface elves, if we can believe them, that we would have to study each glyph prior to deciding what magical countermeasure we might need to defeat it." Jametor says.

Asht'el rolls his eyes in response to Jametor's glare, failing to hide his expression behind a curtain of hair. "I can make us all fly, though at the expense of some other useful magics."

I've got 8 third-level spells, so would have fewer uses of haste available, but we can all fly if we want.

Jametor can fly himself. Njord can climb. That just leaves you covering the hobbits and Xiddik.

Done. Let's fly!

Well, wouldn't Njord have to climb down, then climb back up this other cliff? I want to make sure we aren't splitting the party too bad here.

You guys are at the top of the cliffs. You only need to climb/fly down once to get in range of the giant glowing glyph.

We need to create bar saddle bags and then let the hobbitisss and the kobold can ride the bar down...you know later..in the future, when we have to climb a 2000 foot cliff to get to the bottom of it to find a glyph.

Okay, got it. Yeah, let's ride!

Cautiously the party makes their way down the filthy cliff side. The dripping slimy surface creates the eerie sensation that the earth is actually moving as the heroes descends.

Once the party is close (~100 feet) it becomes clear that the red lightning bolts seen striking the glyph are actually being emitted, randomly, from the glyph itself.

Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (1) + 20 = 21 Please get these terrible rolls out of the way...someone want to aid?

Jametor - with a +20 bonus, why on Golarion would you not just take 10 on that check? Maybe someone else will, eh?

Perception, aid J-tor: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

Not sure that I could take 10 on that. Either way..with everyone not being a slacker..we should make it.

Perception: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (9) + 21 = 30

I had to go for the roll...

"We have company. Several ropers, lying in ambush."

Jametor studies the glyph.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (17) + 24 = 41

Asht'el taps himself with a wand, then says, "Do we talk with them like before, or just have Jametor blow them to bits?"

Use wand of mage armor.

Were-Njord huffs and growls unintelligibly as he continues scaling the wall toward the glyph.

The spell you need to fully understand the glyph is actually read magic (which requires you get risk the lightning bolts and get all the way adjacent to it).

Your arcana will tell you a bit though. The glyph is firing off max strength lightning bolts as per the spell every 1d4 rounds in a random direction. As such the glyph is immune to electricity as well as resistant to acid and fire. It has DR/bludgeoning. It is vulnerable to sonic damage.

Jametor tells the others what he's learned on his quick scan of the glyph.

"As to the ropers? I say we kill them, as quickly as we can and destroy the glyph before others see us here." Jametor says.

Randall asks, "Can you stop the lightning bolts temporarily while we study it? If it's trapped - other than those massive sparks coming from it - I might be able to disable it so you can work your magic. Literally."

Randall will point out each of the ropers that he spotted, starting with those closes to the glyph and ranging out to those within 50'.

Once we are close enough to study the glyph for traps, assuming that's not standing in front of it, which I'm not quite ready for, Randall will stop the bear express and have a look.

Perception vs traps: 1d20 + 32 ⇒ (15) + 32 = 47

Well you need to get in range of the lightning bolts to check it for traps.

I was really afraid you would say that. Am I correct in my understanding that the wee folk are riding bear-back? Maybe I should fly ahead so not everyone has to risk the lightning bolts. All in favor?

That's up to you guys. There's plenty of spells to go around if you wanted to be flying independently.

I think I would have conserved the spell until we knew we needed it. But I don't want to put everyone at risk if I can approach and possibly disable the lightning bolts alone.

Well nothing is happening currently. If Randall wants to get a fly spell so he can fly down to investigate solo, he can. If he wants Were-Njord to climb down so he can do so, that works too.

Ash'tel sees Randall pondering the leap off Njord's back, in his eagerness to study the glyph. The fire-haired ifrit reaches over and taps Randall, gifting him with the ability to fly!

Go for it, Randall.

Randall nods his thanks at the ifrit and lifts off the were-Njord slightly to confirm his flight ability, then dives toward the glyph hoping to take advantage of the current quiescent period.

Rolled a 47 for perception vs. traps earlier; hoping he finds something he can deal with, so Disable device vs traps: 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (8) + 30 = 38

If possible, if might be good if someone tries to fly under Randall, in case he gets KO'd and falls.

The moment Randall starts getting closer to the glyph the nearby ropers slither forward to intercept him.

Asht'el: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Fíriel: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Jametor: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Njord: 1d20 ⇒ 17
Randall: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Xiddik: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 2 = 14
Ropers: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Tie Breaker: 2d20 ⇒ (15, 3) = 18

Asht, Firiel, and Randall are up. Keep in mind that the map is not the usual overhead. If you're flying 'up' you'd be moving at half speed.

Asht'el spins his hands around each other in mid-flight, then flings his fingers out at his friends, granting them the benefit of magical speed for the fight to come! He then flies away from the wall to avoid the ropers' reach!

Cast haste, then move 30' away from wall. I assume the ropers are moving along the wall, rather than flying?

What actions require Fly checks? Does flying with haste get a speed boost? Does flying down move faster?

Haste does affect the fly speed gained from fly. It bumps it from 60 to 90. You need to make fly checks if you move less than half your move speed in a given turn (such as full attacking) or make a sharp turn while moving. Both DCs are fairly low and you likely autopass with the bonus the spell gives you. I don't believe flying down is faster.

Thanks!

Randall flies straight down the middle between the ropers and to the edge of the glyph. Sending that this not where he wants to be a stationary target, he keeps moving across the face of the glyph, trying to make sense of it enough to disable the lightning. At least this is something I have seen before. Didn't disable it, but I survived. That has to count for something. I hope.

"Be careful, Randall!" calls Fíriel, once it's clear that they've been spotted.

DM, how many legs do ropers have, and what would happen if they were to fall prone while climbing along the cliff face? And how high up are they?

Ropers don't really have legs. They mostly have one big leg and cannot be tripped. They're roughly as high up as the party which is ~500 feet.

I didn't say I wanted to trip them. Can they fall prone? Can I use that effect to knock them off the side of the cliff?

Sure, they can be knocked prone. No, that will not knock them off the cliff.

Hax

Meanie lobster.

Fíriel pulls some fuzz out of a pocket and flings it at the nearest roper. At first it starts to flutter weakly toward the ground, but a moment later it has transformed into a massive snowball that careens through the air toward its target! Snowball! First level 1 spell today.

Ranged Touch (haste): 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 13 + 1 = 26
Damage: 5d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 4, 1, 4) = 15

Fort DC 15 or be ye staggereded!