DM Rah's "The Godsmouth Heresy" (Inactive)

Game Master Kobash

"Go away!" Rasps a female voice from the darkness ahead.

The caster is not invisible, merely beyond the range of your light sources. The eidolon, however, can see some skeletal figures in the room above, along with a woman in a ragged dress. I have updated the map with positions.

Dumb question - who has our light source?

"Come with us and we'll leave. Stay and you'll end up like Hunchy over there."

I keep Light on my spiked chain. So, I am a walking light source.

"We were sent to investigate the whole Ossuary by the town. We cannot leave, but we mean you no harm and only wish to examine the Ossuary." Thomas states back to the hidden woman.

I keep a light on myself as well.

"You... Would let me go?" The voice calls back. "What happened to Svilennius?"

"Who is Svilennius?" Thomas wonders.

"Sure." Thomas shrugs as he looks at his compatriots.

There is a scraping sound and light suddenly illuminates the room beyond, revealing three figures. Two skeletons, clad in ragged burial dresses stand in the doorway. Beyond them is a woman - she wears a formal dress, fine jewelry, and heavy makeup, but it all seems garish and vulgar on a body of rotting and putrid skin.

"My name is Esme. Svilennius is... or perhaps was, the hunch-backed man that occupied the rooms behind you. He specialized in necromantic alchemy, and offered to cure me of a disease I caught from ghouls. As you can see, he wasn't entirely successful, though he managed to prevent my becoming a flesh-eating mindless monster."

What is she?
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Heal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

And I likely have no idea.

Kryspi, Esme looks like some sort of zombie, but unlike normal zombies, she has retained her memories and intelligence.

"Oh that sounds dreadful! Is there anything we can do to help you?"

"I.. don't know. My body.. I don't think Svilennius knew exactly he did, and he was well-learned in the necromatic arts. He didn't want me to leave, and I was starting to think I might become another of his failed experiments. Something to study. All I want is to leave this place now."

Diplomacy checks!

Leave? But where would you go? There must be something we can do to help you, though!

Diplo: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15
"We mean no harm to anyone in here and have only acted in self-defense." Thomas assures the woman.

"I... uhm... so... How do I say this? Do you eat normal food or... eat people?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Noooooooooooooooooooooo, the fail.

"I.. don't eat. At all." Esme says, seemingly relaxing a little, despite Kryspi's awkward question. "I believe you are being truthful with me, and in repayment for your understanding, I will aid you in this place. Svilennius created a dozen or so undead guardians, have you defeated them all? No, I can see by your faces that you have not. You must have discovered the secret passage that enters these quarters. I will go with you and help destroy the other... monstrosities."

Esme then leads your group through the parts of the Ossuary known to her, clearing the way of dangers as promised.

Refer to the map:

26. Secret Stair
A stone staircase fills this small chamber, curving up in a spiral to disappear through the ceiling.

The stairs lead up 60 feet to a tiny chamber behind a secret door. While the door is easily visible from this side, it is very hard to notice from the other side. The door opens onto the upper, active level of the Godsmouth Ossuary. The Pharasmins never found the secret door, and Svilennius used these stairs to access the ossuary and steal the cadavers he needs for his grotesque experiments.

29. The Secret Catacombs
Repeated lines of footprints mark the dust on the floor of this crypt, all leading to an alcove in the northeast portion of the chamber. The burial niches lining the stone walls are empty save for ancient scraps of yellowed linen. At the far end of the chamber, a gate apparently crafted of bleached bone blocks an exit out of the tomb.

The Thassilonian priests of Pharasma used this hidden annex to their own crypt to conceal certain bodies from the eyes of the Runelords. The identities of those individuals secretly interred here have been lost to time, but their bodies were the first to fall victim to Svilennius’s experiments, until the alchemist realized that fresher cadavers from the ossuary above yielded better results.

Four skeletons wait here, ready to march at Svilenniu's command. Since they are commanded to attack only living enemies within sight, Esme is easily able to destroy them without risk.

30. Shaft into Darkness
A square shaft fills this alcove, dropping into darkness. This narrow shaft drops straight down into the earth. Beyond the scope of your task in the Ossuary.

23. Guardpost
Svilennius has posted four skeletal archers to guard the hallway, two in each alcove. Since they are commanded to attack only living enemies within sight, Esme is easily able to destroy them without risk.

22. Kennels
This room is a charnel house of blood, bones, and scraps of rotten flesh. Strange runes have been sloppily drawn on the walls using some dark brown pigment. A moss-covered stone monolith stands in the center of the room, wreathed in gossamer wisps of gray mist that seem to congeal around the crumbling stone. Two foul, undead creatures called festrogs (also known as “dog-ghouls”) occupy this chamber, fighting with each other over discarded bones and scraps of rotten meat. Esme is easily able to control and defeat them for you.

20. A Great Pit
The pit is a sheer drop hundreds of feet to the Still Place, a dungeon inhabited by undead. Beyond the scope of your task in the Ossuary.

19. Sihedron Door
This door opens on a tunnel that leads to the subterranean levels of the ancient Thassilonian prison beneath Kaer Maga. Beyond the scope of your task in the Ossuary.

You have succeeded in the task given to you by the Church of Pharasma, though there are a few more areas still unexplored.

Woo! Thanks for moving us along, GM!

Skip takes diligent notes in each room and tries to draw a rudimentary map to accompany his notes to be turned in to the Flaxseed Lodge later.

"Well, companions, which way do we go now? Still much to see but I imagine the priests are waiting to hear back on our progress."

Skip would want to make all discoveries possible but honestly as a player I have more on my plate than I can handle so I am fine heading back now. I will keep going if that is the consensus though (or if it is going to negatively effect our rewards by walking out now).

I'm in the same boat, I'm wanting to cut down a little as well. I know, I keep saying that but I actually resisted signing up for the new Season 7 stuff so I must be serious this time. Of course, the Halffinder Society is one of those games I want to continue, much like the Shattered Star game.