Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
@GM/Diene:
Ophelia waves apologetically to the girl then follows Diene, humming and still trying to shine something.
"With a bit of preparation I could make elixirs that allow us to climb the side of the house. That could get us up top, though discretion is not guaranteed. It is also leaning against the wall and other buildings - getting up on those might be easier." Ophelia suggests. Then the clockwork ticks for a bit, thinking, and offers another suggestion with a shrug. "We could probably also just apply some force to it and it might fall over?"
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Well, I've got a spell fer that Ophelia. Maybe ye'd better mix some other elixirs that might help. I smell spiders in there.
Female I have nothing witty to write. :/ Half Elf The other half's AWESOME! Barbarian (Urban Barbarian) 2/Monk (Kata Master) 4
Status:
HP 34/45 | AC 14 | T 14 | F 13 | CMD 24 | F +9 | R +5 | W +7 | Init +0 | Per +13 | Panache 2/2 | Rage 3/7 | Ki 4/4
"If you've got a shield that lasts more than a minute, I'm definitely down. Always gotta worry about the duration running out with my wand. So, plan is, currently, feel free to correct me if you got something smarter, Isama casts her spell, then we rush the top."
"Hm, I got nothing...I prefer to depend on my skills. That said, I'd suggest you give me a headstart on that one so I can take a look at our choosen entry point - wouldn't want to run right into some kind of alarm or trigger a crude trap would we?", Mia suggests, bending her fingers as a means of warming them up.
Heightened Perception online, Detect Magic online when 'go', suggest a headstart where I sneak ahead, take a look at the entrance, and signal you to come/wait.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Between all four of us it'll last fifteen minutes. Should be more than enough time I think.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Isama will take a shield infusion. Much better than her buckler!
Stealth:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25 Perception:1d20 + 16 ⇒ (17) + 16 = 33
Renewing the message spell, Daria starts moving when Diene confirms...there was no time to waste if she wanted a headstart on her impulsive commander.
Heading to the topmost entrance checking if entry point is clear.
Mia leads the way.
Closer to the entrance it becomes apparent that someone has stretched wax leather curtains across the hole. Daria listens carefully, hears nothing, and levers one tacked down end of the curtains up a crack. Peering through she sees
an empty room
This bedroom is appointed with what appears to be the accoutermentss in reasonable condition — a fine bed, bookcase,
and desk — though the finery is offset by the weather-beaten, waxed leather curtains stretched across the gaping hole in the room’s northeast wall.
"Bedroom, seems empty, go ahead and follow with some distance", Mia wispers via the Message-Spell, before slipping into the room, and quickly accounting for all other entrances - searching the room for evidence might seem promising, but securing the perimeter was most important right now.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Isama, a bit miffed still about Mia disrespecting her stealth abilities, elects to be rear guard.
Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
Ophelia had to resist the urge to hum as she waited for Mia to complete her scouting. This was the worst of moments - when you couldn't do anything yourself. Maybe they won't notice a little hum? But they probably would. Oh darn.
Perception, Detect Magic active, +2 vs Traps):1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34 Initiative:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11 Will Save:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24 Stealth:1d20 + 17 ⇒ (20) + 17 = 37Because, you know, I did try and be sneaky - if you do breaking and entering, you try not to make your presence known...just added it after those rolls requested so not to mess up the results - but hoping to either get to delay until the others arrive or getting the drop on whatever is there - I don't suppose they expect many intruders through the drop window, so may be a bit less on guard than I am right now...
Sadly stealth won't help against this one...
Shadows move in the corners - but recent experience in the dream world means Mia realises these are figments. Daydreams. Everything starts to go black...
Dream Haunt. You spotted it, and beat its init. You have 1 action in the surprise round before it hits. You are the only one in the room (and only just). if it hits you'll find out whether the will save was good enough...
Action over to you!
Fight? Flee? They came here for answers, and there was no running from dreams...Mia vividly remembered her nightmares, how real they seemed. And that Diene had punched a ghost!
The others would be here any second now...
Reflexively, Daria raised her crossbow, fired a bolt and reloaded, trusting in the luck that kept them alive so far...
Attack:1d20 + 11 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 11 + 3 = 26Damage(Magic):1d6 + 1 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 3 = 5 Swift to activate luck, shoot, and reload(rapid).
The twang of crossbow and thunk of bolt, familiar to Daria almost as much as her own breathing, weren't... quite right...
With a start Daria realised she could see herself. With that she realised she was starting to dream, and with a monumental effort of will pushed herself awake. The wisps of coiling dreamstuff vanished. The cobwebs in the corners of her vision retreated and she found herself alone in the room.
dream haunt activated, will save was made - congrats!
Figured stealth was not actually blown by shooting.
Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
Outside!:
Hmh. Mhm. That's what she is supposed to be though ... Ophelia thought to herself. Let's give her a moment to complete her survey before bursting in! Not too long though ...
Panting, then realizing what happened, Daria whispers:"Careful when you enter...there's a mental trap, of sorts. Steel yourself, and whatever you do, stay silent." - it was a haunt, and it was not magical, but it seemed to act as a trap, so, without going into details, that was probably the best description Daria could manage, in time before the others entered.
Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
"A mental trap?" Ophelia whispered back and pulled out the Wand of Magic Circle which she started to wave around. It immediately started to glow, much to her delight. And since it didn't explode she assumed that meant that it was working.
Use Magic Device:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (18) + 12 = 30
Then, pretending to take a deep breath since she really couldn't, she stepped in after Daria trying to be as quiet as possible ...
Will Save:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19+1 if source is Evil. Also under the effect of Magic Circle against Evil (immune to [charm] and [compulsion])
Another Stealth check perhaps? Might not be needed though if the precautions doesn't work and she has to flail around against invisible spiders :P
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Isama sticks close to the group. We pull each other through if one of us gets stuck yeah? she says as she takes a deep breath and then heads in.
"Smart thinking...", Daria whispers, commenting on the magic emanating from Ophelia.
"So far, so good. Not sure if that...that haunt was part of the operation they are running here, or part of the location...but I suppose we'd best be careful in here."
With the others here to take a look at the room, Daria sneaks to the stairs, listening for any sounds coming from downstairs.
Take 10:10 + 16 = 26
(I had a Map in a spoiler...with you guys here, I suppose it can be shared)
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Isama will move on when Mia gives the all clear signal. As they wait she does try and understand what the source of the haunt is.
Per notice anything that could be causing the haunting:1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34
Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
"Yes that is an interesting question. Might it be some side-effect perhaps? Or trap for snooping interlopers. The later would mean causing the phenomenon intentionally. Which is a process completely undocumented. ...Might explain why it only sprung up after this strange tome entered the city ..." Ophelia speculates in a hushed tone but eventually realizes that this wasn't the time or place. Instead she eventually started helping Isama scrutinize the room.
Female I have nothing witty to write. :/ Half Elf The other half's AWESOME! Barbarian (Urban Barbarian) 2/Monk (Kata Master) 4
Status:
HP 34/45 | AC 14 | T 14 | F 13 | CMD 24 | F +9 | R +5 | W +7 | Init +0 | Per +13 | Panache 2/2 | Rage 3/7 | Ki 4/4
Diene will stick within the magic circle with her teammates. "Man, lot of mental traps these days. I'm more used to the metal type." Diene smirks, apparently thinking that turn of phrase particularly clever or something.
Will:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11Probably some +2s, man its been awhile.
The Haunt - whatever it is - cannot be seen from this world. Ophelia sees a shimmer that suggests some plane coterminous with this one holds something terrible. Something whose very presence leaks through the barrier between the worlds - thinned as it is here - and infects this room. It pulls at the heroes to sleep - but the circle keeps it at bay.
The good gods only know what horrors falling asleep here might open one's mind to.
Daria creeps down the stairs, which opens into a crossroads of a corner and stairwell. The stairs are illuminated by a flickering light with the telltale lack of heat that speaks of magic.
More flickering light emanates from ahead, to the east. Soft murmurs of conversation suggesting a more well populate room ahead.
At the far end of the corridor a barrier suggests stairs, but it is impossible to confirm from this angle.
The whole area reeks of stale smoke and the faint vinegary smell of spiders.
Emboldened Daria peeks around the corner; and is confronted by twisted, warped, decayed animals. Their movements prove, a moment later, to be a trick of the flickering blue hall-light, the animals themselves merely decaying taxidermy mostly rotted to their carved wooden cores.
It's all good, I would have pushed on, scouting down the stairs, just wanted to give the others a moment to check the room we entered into. :)
Daria returns and tells the others what she saw. With people on ahead, likely people involved in what was going on here, it would probably be better to stick together, if they wanted to go that way...
Female I have nothing witty to write. :/ Half Elf The other half's AWESOME! Barbarian (Urban Barbarian) 2/Monk (Kata Master) 4
Status:
HP 34/45 | AC 14 | T 14 | F 13 | CMD 24 | F +9 | R +5 | W +7 | Init +0 | Per +13 | Panache 2/2 | Rage 3/7 | Ki 4/4
"Should we throw diplomacy and stealth to the wind, I wolf out, and we blitz through the rest of this place?" While she's asking rather than ordering, it's pretty clear that's Diene's preference.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Female Construct (Clockwork) | Investigator 6 | Hp 26/33 | AC 18, Touch 13, FF 16 | CMD 20 | Fort +3, Ref +8, Will +6 | Per +15 | Init +6 | Active: See Invisible, Mutagen; 60m. Ablative Barrier 6h/30damage. Magic Circle against Evil 50min
"I agree that diplomacy is unlikely to work against any form of doomsday cult. However -" Ophelia evaluated their leaders suggestion. "Why don't we stick with stealth a little longer? If only because it would give them less time to run away and unleash any pent-up eldritch horror before the 'wolf out' is complete."
Maybe we should devise a way to conveniently transport Diene into needing targets? Maybe a balista? Hmm. I wonder if there is anything more portable...
"Aye, and stealth will give us the element of surprise. Meaning you get to knock them out in new and exciting ways that never present themselves during a regular fight. If they manage to raise an alarm, you can still wolf out. That said...", Daria grins:"I can make sure they can't raise an alarm if you can make sure they don't get away."
Still got silence as known spell. I'm all for storming that room and getting some people to ask about what is going on here...but we'll have more time to do that if they don't manage to let everybody else know there's intruders :)
Female I have nothing witty to write. :/ Half Elf The other half's AWESOME! Barbarian (Urban Barbarian) 2/Monk (Kata Master) 4
Status:
HP 34/45 | AC 14 | T 14 | F 13 | CMD 24 | F +9 | R +5 | W +7 | Init +0 | Per +13 | Panache 2/2 | Rage 3/7 | Ki 4/4
Theoretically, I'm all for stealth. Practically, I have +4 stealth.
"Hmm.. Well, as long as we can be FAST and sneaky, might as well transform now if we're not gonna try diplomacy." Diene reasons, or as close to it as she can manage and wolfs out... quietly.
"Lead the way..." Her horrifying goblin-wolf visage growls out.
7 Minutes of +2 Str/+2 Nat AC, Also Mage Armor for +4 AC
Edit: So basically close formation, ordered by Stealth modifier. But that won't matter too much since we are so close to eachother! Sounds about right?
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
As usual, with Stealth, Daria takes point...making sure not to stand in the way of her superior officer to the best of her abilities, in case said officer decided to charge at something.
1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18
That precaution made her efforts quite absymal...which was not saying much, since she was still VERY skilled at what she was doing.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Tee-hee. On average? Or at this exact moment in time? That said, I do hope you did not feel offended outside? In retrospect, I should simply have gone with Take 10 :P - then again, I'm still way ahead of our leader. *smiles*
The murmured conversation cuts off into silence. The silence becomes questions. The questions become orders. The orders become a chant - and the chant sounds like a spell.
No, not actually casting yet... but not surprised. Initiatives please. The number to beat is 26. I figure this is about 5 rounds after the circle was cast, and two minutes since the big power up outside.
Human Urban Druid/6 | HP 34/39 | AC 23 T 13 FF 21 | F 6 R 5 W 12 (14) | Per +12 (14) | Init +6 | Special: Owl's wisdom 2 minutes, Barkskin 60 minutes, Long Strider 60 minutes, Spider climb 15 minutes
Very quick...i had hoped to throw a silence somewhere the moment they realize we're here...but I suppose that will be a little late, there- 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
