exhausted
Rest for 1 hour.
You rest, but your exhausted and sickened conditions persist.
Use LOH to remove sickened.
Does Ang know why he is exhausted?
Use LOH to remove sickened.
Does Ang know why he is exhausted?
Ang thinks that it was a result of his continued sickened state; clearly some negative effect of interacting with the stone. After resolving the sickened state his exhaustion slowly fades into fatigue (about and hour) and after another few hours he returns to normal.
When recovered, continue the search.
Your previous 3 perception rolls were for your travel in a SE direction; you weren't searching. You are a day out from Umok, roughly on the border of the Chitterwood and the short plain that is at its edge before the foothills of the Aspodell mountains take over. The only way to get ongoing bearings of where a stone may be is to commune with the one you possess. Otherwise you are just walking around trying to avoid Citadel patrols.
Commune with the stone!
Once again you open your mind to the power of the stone and as its oily malevolence slides over your mind you feel its unholy powers push against your spirit. You sense you are closer to the nearest stone, and the resonant energy seems to continue to emanate from somewhere SE. From your current vantage point it would appear to be either in the Aspodells or on the far side of the current series of peaks that jut out a little towards the Chitterwood.
You can continue along the border of the forest, skirting the mountains, or try and pass through the peaks directly. You know the Citadel lies in that general direction as well.
Continue along forest border.
Story edit-I need a DC 25 FORT save for your communing with the stone.
You make your way along the edge of the forest and towards the end of the day you can hear what sounds like a buzzing noise coming from the forest.
Approach the buzzing noise in the forest.
A swarm of giant wasps boils out of the woods and attacks!
Your situational readiness grants you first action.
Does Ang think he disturbed a nesting area or something and if he backs off they will leave him alone? If so, run away, otherwise attack.
Ang can't think of anything he would have done to provoke the wasps who clearly have a nest somewhere nearby in the Chitterwood and strenuously crushes on of his insectoid antagonists.
The wasps swarm and sting as they flit about on buzzing wings:
Wasp 1
Wasp 2
Wasp 3
Wasp 4
Wasp 5
Any successful sting requires a DC 20 FORT save frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d2 Dexterity damage; cure 1 save.
-21
Poison courses through Ang's body dealing as he mashes another wasp and the rest continue to swarm and sting.
Wasp 2
Wasp 3
Wasp 4
Wasp 5
Feel my sting as well paladin! Desna's blessings brought you back into reach; how convenient for me.-The familiar voice of the pesky mage rings out from the woods nearby.
-56
-19
Drink potion of invisibility.
You need 3 successful DC 20 FORT saves from the 2 stings last round and the 1 sting in the first round. 1d2 DEX loss for each fail.
The wasps sting blindly at your former position
Wasp 2
Wasp 3
Wasp 4
Wasp 5
\
The snarky voice of the mage rings out from the forest-Oh-ho, look at you with your cute little magics. You'll have to do better!
No penalties to hit an invisible opponent for wasps?
Can wizard target an invisible opponent? Wouldn't he need to somehow perceive the target of the magic missile spell? Pathfinder magic missile rules don't specifically specify this but if you look at D&D 5e the spell does say you have to see the target. I would argue a perception check would be necessary and someone could be targeted by sight/sound. But maybe the wizard can see invisible?
-4 dex
-34
Using bracers of merciful knight to for lesser restoration.
-1 dex
-5
Move away from the wasps.
Where is the wizard? How far from Ang?
The wasps have a 50/50 miss chance if they are able to hit until you move out of the square.
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/gamemastering/special-abilities/#TOC-Invisibility
The pesky mage benefits from true seeing amongst other things. Make a perception check to see if you can spot him in the forest.
You think you have a good idea where the missiles were originating from, but you don't see anyone. In addition, you hear more buzzing from deeper in the forest.
Does Ang believe the wizard is controlling the wasps or does he think the buzzing might be wasps attacking the wizard?
Ang's best guess is that the wizard disturbed their nest and drew/drove them in this direction and seeing you they attacked.
Does Ang believe the wizard has possession of the closest green stone?
He will commune with his stone again if necessary to determine.
DC 25 FORT save or gain the sickened condition.
Ang ignores the angry buzzing of the nearby wasps as well as the threatening sound of the main hive in the distance and once again opens his mind to the power of the stone. As before, you feel the subtle consciousness of the stone slide over your thoughts. Faint echoes still ring to the NE of your location and you also sense another stone closer to the SE. Reaching out to where you believe the mage to be you sense no returning energy but you feel a sudden surge of hunger and lust as whatever foul essence inhabiting the stone feels the mage's evil power.
Make a DC 27 Will save or....
You resist the physical weakness that seems to come from communing with the stone and for several moments you feel your mind being ripped from your body and an image of a green crystal prison fills your thoughts. However, your will is strong and you are able to defy whatever evil force wrestles with you and your focus returns.
Clearly the mage possesses no stone, but the stone desires to possess him! The wasps continue to buzz angrily nearby and although you have a better sense of the direction the mage lies you still do not see him.
Just want to be sure I understand correctly, the stone just tried to take over Ang?
Begin traveling SE towards closest stone.
Just want to be sure I understand correctly, the stone just tried to take over Ang?
Begin traveling SE towards closest stone.
[dice=perception]1d20+15
Similar to:
https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/m/magic-jar/
Ang uses the remaining time on his potion to slip away from the wasps, and without there cover the mage appears to be unwilling to engage any further. You travel into the coming darkness and must decide to press on or rest (with appropriate saves etc. if you press on).
Rest. Keep Watch.
That night the air around you begins to feel unnaturally cold. The hair on the back of your neck begins to rise and you sense danger near at hand.
Grave danger?
Ready the hammer.
A group of over a dozen walking corpses, clothed in soiled rags, and flesh rotting off their bones quickly stumble towards you; stopping about 15 feet short of you camp. Behind them stalks another skeletal form, a thick tangle of discolored entrails clinging to its lurching torso and winds upward to loll from its jaw like a clawed tongue. It drags beside it a trio of humans bound in heavy rope: a man; a woman; and a child.
From the darkness the mage's voice calls out-You make my life quite challenging paladin, costing me much, although my eventual reward should make it all worth it. Direct force seems to be ineffective, so I now I will offer you a bargain of conscience: Give your stones to one of the filthy creatures in front of you and I will bother you no more. In addition, I will have my hungry friend here spare the lives of these three innocents and release them to your stewardship.
What say you warrior? Three stones for three lives that only you can save? The mage's voice sounds tired and much less vibrant than your previous encounters.
The large undead creature pulling the bound humans along appears quite ravenous and leers threateningly at the bound captives.
"For someone with seemingly unlimited resources you are badly misinformed, I don't have three stones."
Study the group, detect evil on everyone including the man, woman and child.
Does Ang know anything about the creatures.
The undead are all quite evil, you don't sense any evil at all from the three bound humans; they seem quite subdued. The front ranks of undead appear to be zombies, although they appear much more nimble than any zombies you have previously faced. The creature in the back you identify as a Mohrg; their tongues can cause paralysis.
Mage-Be that as it may, you don't deny that you have SOME stones. My offer still stands-the lives of these innocents for whatever stones you have.
Smite evil on the morhg, take AOO to reach it if necessary.
Ang bullies his way through the first group of zombies, smashing one down in the process, but the crush of foes is too much for him to get through. They swarm and claw at him as the Mohrg rips the skull from the neck of the man gulping it down with relish. The mage laughs tiredly, but with evil and malice dripping from every coughing bark-Well I guess you have made your choice. I hope your god is more forgiving that this family will be.
Flashing out from the darkness
You are in the middle of 14 zombies crushing and clawing at you hoping to drag you to the ground and finish you.
Start killing zombies.
-29
With two quick strikes you take down one of the clawing assailants as the rest rip at you and the Morgh decapitates the woman.
-58
You smash your way through a pair of zombies and a hole opens for you to move towards the Morgh, which eviscerates the child with apparent relish. Zombies rip at you from behind as you face the massive undead.
-77
-33
Are you now attacking the Mohrg or the remaining fast zombies?
Mohrg, added my smite bonuses.
You hammer lands once, jarring the mohrg.
Mohrg
If the tongue hits DC 21 FORT save or be paralyzed for 1d4 minutes.
-82
-43
The mohrg looks the worse for wear after 3 strong hammer strikes.
Mohrg -82
save as above
A coruscating ray lashes out from the darkness-You might be easier to kill if you aren't as strong!
DC 16 FORT save
-68
-30