DM Voice's Envoy of Geb - An Undead Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Mark Sweetman

They seem fairly intent on their work at the moment, but are chatting back and forth like old fishwives.

If only you had an unlimited use ability to create a distraction outside the room.....

Vesta floats outside the room through a wall and casually knocks something over (not an attack so shouldn't break invisibility). then rush back through the wall (still invisible) and jump into whichever woman is in the rear (so her friend won't see the possession).

Will Save: 1d20 ⇒ 12

The external commotion draws the attention of one "Hello, anyone there?" who steps away, leaving the second ripe for possession.

Vesta steps into the other's body, subsuming it's will easily.

Will Save: 1d20

The external commotion draws the attention of one "Hello, anyone there?" who steps away, leaving the second ripe for possession.

Vesta steps into the other's body, subsuming it's will easily.

** spoiler omitted **

Vesta (in her new body) walks up behind the other woman and looks around momentarily. She then walks over to a small overturned washing bucket and places it right side up. Vesta then says to the other woman, "Must have been the wind. You know how drafty these places are." Looking at the woman and grinning slightly "You're awfully jumpy. Anyway, now that disaster is averted I think it's a good of time as any to go collect the dirty linnens from the rooms. I'll be back in a little bit. " Vesta then casually walks down the hallway drying her hands on her apron. She'll walk back to the others.

Vesta opens the door to the sewer room. Nods at the group of vile undead and says "Evening Gents. This body doesn't know about the cathedral proper as she only works the outbuildings. It should be sufficient to wander about unseen, so to speak. No one pays attention to servants."

"Sounds good. I suppose it's time for me to get into a bag?"

Gathroc thinks for a few moments "I think it would be best for me to appear as a servant as well. A random washerwoman would not really be the one to guide a traveler to the library. Perhaps we can find better targets inside." With that he adopts a guise similar to Vesta.

"I could possibly pass as a scholar from afar but if anyone got close our auras or my features would give us away. For now I will use my ring of invisibility and stealth to follow along."

As a point of clarity - I've assumed that all of you have suppressed your nasty desecrate / fear / etc auras for the time being. You'd still show up evil if someone was given reason to scan for it... but you'd have to give them due course before they would.

Few other points that might help with planning:
Based on Vesta's understanding of the washer womans mind - you can likely move about 'relatively' easily within the outbuildings. The laundry is left outside of people's rooms though, so you potentially raise questions if you were found inside anyones bedroom.
The people who bunk in this outbuilding are mainly the mundane staff - some guards and the house help. All the clerics are boarded within the monastery.
There is an armed guard between the outbuilding and the main church - and there is little reason for a washer woman to go between at this hour.
Any other questions, please post em up (with skill checks if relevant) and I'll seek to clarify.

Vesta explains what she knows from the woman's mind then asks "SO what's the plan?"

"Vesta and myself could stealth around invisibly for a while, if we find the library or a guard that would not be missed we could get information and then I could hop into her extra dimensional space to be transported into the library."

"I'm going to need to get in a bag, then. It would be pretty hard to pass me off as a guard."

Ignac will get into the first BoH offered to him.

Just a little kickstart to move past the stagnation:
1. Library is in the main cathedral building (which you are not)
2. Washerwoman is ineffective disguise to get through cleanly, though would distract guards if you want to take em out.
3. You can find a guard readily enough - but would suffer the same issue with credibility of reason for going into main building.
4. There are 2-3 guards on duty of middling power compared to yourselves.

Options:
1. Distract, then slaughter guards
2. Bluff the guards (more likely to succeed clothed in a guards's body)
3. Other

Looking down at her washer woman form and frowning."Perhaps I should take one of the guards bodies. This disguise can't get us where we need to be."

Looking down at her washer woman form and frowning."Perhaps I should take one of the guards bodies. This disguise can't get us where we need to be."

"First perhaps we should look about while invisible and search for wards that could reveal you if you went walking about in a guards body?"

Vesta Shadowbane wrote:

Looking down at her washer woman form and frowning."Perhaps I should take one of the guards bodies. This disguise can't get us where we need to be."

"First perhaps we should look about while invisible and search for wards that could reveal you if you went walking about in a guards body?"

"Wouldn't those same wards be more likely to reveal invisible things?"

Yes. But being invisible ourselves we could poke around without suspicion where as , as guards it would probably look suspicious

"While I am decently skilled at infiltration, it is not my strong point, so I shall defer to you who are better at it than I. Attempting to locate wards nearby would be a good start however, then I agree we should probably go after the guards to attempt to get better information and access."

You guys are inside the 'net' of wards and protections at the moment. The cathedral itself does not have any overt protections upon it (though some internal rooms likely do.

If you take a guard's body - you'll know that they get fairly free reign within the general complex, but the inner rooms are off limits even to them. The Library, and all of the Priest's chambers are within that inner sanctum.

So grab a guard and try and bluff is the way forward?
Kill the washerwoman and toss tot he sewer?

Vesta vacates the woman's body, pretenaturally ages her, then tosses the body in the sewer. Invisibly vesta stalks the night for a lone guard to posess. Any of the highly stealthy may choose to join her without Vesta objecting.

Will Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Vesta is able to acquire the skin of a guardsman. Added info to the table already stated above

Gabriel is happy to accompany Vesta.

I too will follow Vesta around, while invisible

After picking up gabriel and putting him under some article of the guards clothing to conceal him, Vesta does her best to continue the guards "rounds" so that she might find an out of the way access point.

Vesta continues the rounds, though is unable to find any mundane access point to the cathedral that is not well guarded.

Those that stayed behind in the chamber pot stores are surprised when the door swings open and a man holding two smelly brass pots steps inside with his mouth agape.

Man Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Beat the initiative and you can take an action before he scarpers.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14 Init

Gathroc rushes the man, his powerful hand closing around the man's neck before any sound escapes. With one clenching of his fist, he crushes his throat.

Any rolls needed here? Grapple? Normal attack roll??

Init:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

I'll wait to post an action if, somehow, he survives Gathroc

5% chance of failure: 1d20 ⇒ 6 Attack roll only needed to rule out a natural 1 miss

Gathroc rushes the man and ends him without pomp or ceremony. The full chamber pots clatter to the ground, splashing their foul contents against the headless warrior's armor.

Vesta casts Detect magic and looks for auras on the building and grounds

"We may have to teleport in." She says's to the companions who are with her. "Perhaps climb." "Or simply quietly take out all the guards. Thoughts?"

Despite limited opportunity to cast detect magic without drawing suspicion, Vesta does manage to scan some of the cathedral exterior. There are some delicate webs of magic cast over the shell, and you gauge that teleportation magic is likely to trigger some sort of alarm.

The guards that you see at the cathedral's entry points consist of at least three or four souls, and they appear vigilant and well trained.

To her companions,

"Well, Teleportation is probably out. It'll set off an alarm. The subtle approach is looking increasingly less like a good option. We may just have to jump the guards and try to take them out as quiet as possible."

Remember, we are not the biggest fish in this pond. I would suggest that we find the least guarded spot to enter from and leave you (Vesta)in your shell and one of the others in the mask to replace them. Myself and Gabriel can venture inside to look for the book.

Remember, we are not the biggest fish in this pond. I would suggest that we find the least guarded spot to enter from and leave you (Vesta)in your shell and one of the others in the mask to replace them. Myself and Gabriel can venture inside to look for the book.

"Fine then!" Vesta say's testily "You plan something and let me know my place in it!"

Roleplaying. ;-)

I concur with Daemon. Simply charging in like a crash of rhinos will simply get us all destroyed. We need to at least try to be subtle about it...

"Fine then!" Vesta say's testily "You plan something and let me know my place in it!"

"I simply look at the situation and choose the most logical solution, I do not intend to tell you your place. I simply point out that that may be our best chance of getting this book. Had I prepared scrying spells and we knew the exact location of the book a smash and grab could have potentially worked but in this instance, since we do not know where the book is and don't know how long it could take us to find I am suggesting what I see as the best course of action. While I am loathe to leave you behind due to your ability to posses and so find out information, it just seems to be the best course of action."

Vesta Shadowbane wrote:

"Fine then!" Vesta say's testily "You plan something and let me know my place in it!"

"I simply look at the situation and choose the most logical solution, I do not intend to tell you your place. I simply point out that that may be our best chance of getting this book. Had I prepared scrying spells and we knew the exact location of the book a smash and grab could have potentially worked but in this instance, since we do not know where the book is and don't know how long it could take us to find I am suggesting what I see as the best course of action. While I am loathe to leave you behind due to your ability to posses and so find out information, it just seems to be the best course of action."

Vesta makes an irritated noise and glares at Daemon "So scale the walls or take out the front guards?"

Vesta makes an irritated noise and glares at Daemon "So scale the walls or take out the front guards?"

"If you are going be so testy, go in with Gabriel for all I care. you can abandon your guard body and go in ethereally and help him find the book. I will go back to the others and help them get rid of the guard and wash lady you have possessed so far."

Vesta Shadowbane wrote:

Vesta makes an irritated noise and glares at Daemon "So scale the walls or take out the front guards?"

"If you are going be so testy, go in with Gabriel for all I care. you can abandon your guard body and go in ethereally and help him find the book. I will go back to the others and help them get rid of the guard and wash lady you have possessed so far."

"You're the defacto leader. It's your call. Make a decision, " Grinning creepily wide and forcing the next word "Pleaasseee."

"Very well, it would not be good to make anyone suspicious by having this guard disappear from his patrol, therefore you can keep making his rounds and watch for any notable change with the other guards, if anything happens inside you can muster Ignac and Gathroc and get us out. Gabriel and myself with stealth in invisibly (I will hold him in a pocket while invisible making him invisible as well) and we will search. If anything happens out here that we dont know about fight your way in and join us."

Daemon - the least guarded entrance you have seen thus far has two warriors and one priest standing guard.
When ready - give me a Stealth check (including the bonus for Invisibility) plus anything else you do to help gain entry and I'll take it from there.

Stealth 1d20 + 23 + 20 ⇒ (16) + 23 + 20 = 59

I will have detect magic up to look for magical wards, and I will have prestidigitation on just in case I need a small distraction.

I whisper to Gabriel before leaving Vesta's side, "perhaps you should let the two in the chamber pot room know what is going on?" They are probably bored being left in the dark. We could even bring Vesta with us if one of them, using the mask, takes this guards place patrolling?"

Daemon approaches the guard post with caution, but confident in his stealth and invisibility. Slipping betwixt the sentries without them detecting you.

Once within the cathedral proper your arcane sight is constantly glowing as the very halls have some degree of latent magic to them, however you detect no specific wards against passage among them yet.

You seem to have entered into a vestibule of sorts, an antechamber to the main room of worship to Sarenrae. The room has some white robes of worship and a small font on one side filled with water that glows magical. The very ground makes you uneasy. The entry to the main cathedral is a door that is currently shut, and affixed with a large crossbar.

How do you go about trying to find the library?

To make it easy, just assume that Gabriel's telepathy still works - I'll handwave the distance for this specific instance.

I will report everything Gabriel can't see to him (i.e. magics and what not) and have him report our findings to the others.

knowing that the library is in the inner sanctum, along with the priests rooms. Gabriel and myself will try and find a way in. Since we are now past the guards I will let Gabriel out of the pocket I was hiding him in so that he may explore and roam as he sees fit.

perception 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (20) + 25 = 45

Knowledge(Religion) 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27 Information on anything pertinent.
(Local) 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20 Information on location of the library in the cathedral.
(Engineering) 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14 Information on the build of the cathedral.

In general - if you head through the main chamber of worship (which is behind the big barred door), then behind the altar should be passages that lead to two places:
1. General quarters for the clergy.
2. Inner Monastic rooms for summoning, reflection, meditation, and likely the library.

Vesta returns to the chamber pot room momentarily in her new body and say's to the assembled crew."You're on." She then describes in grand detail the costume whomever is wearing the mask should take. The others she asks to get in the portable hole. Once the disguise is in place she returns to her patrol with her "new companion."

I approach the large barred door, examining it closely with magical and non-magical sight as I approach.

perception 1d20 + 25 ⇒ (17) + 25 = 42

No arcane or mundane locks upon the portal - just that the crossbar is quite large, so you'll need be careful in removing it due to the guards still being close.

Gathroc will assume the guise of the other guard. "Lead on boss" He says, taking the role of subordinate to Vesta

"Well this shouldn't be too hard." I state, then I quickly cast Silence before lifting the huge crossbar, just in case I drop it. After I finish heaving the large bar off the door And most likely dropping it due to my deplorable strength. I open the door prior to dispelling silence.

All me, Daemon...

Gabriel scurries over, and lifts the bar...

Strength check: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30.

After Gabriel assists, Daemon is able to remove the bar on the door and provide safe entry to the main cathedral. It is abandoned at present, though torches still burn in many sconces upon the walls. You enter halfway along, and you gauge there are pews to seat roughly 300 within the hall.

Gazing towards the altar, you see twin passages on either side leading deeper into the complex.

Vesta and her new lackey Gathroc commence their rounds of the outbuilding garbed as guards. As the hour is quiet, they do not encounter anyone on their walk. The times when you are able to pass by an area that overlooks the main cathedral you see that the entrances remain guarded and the guards are alert.

Ignac continues twiddling his eternal thumbs in the bag of holding...