Deus Machina - The Last Grimoire (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

"Rather normal so far, though these chairs seem old which seems odd for a room that was presumably made recently."

Knowledge:History: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

The history check is to determine if the decoration of the room indicates a certain time period. If that's a stretch, I understand.

"Could just be the creator's style. Might be random."

At Walter's remark about explosives being used at an inopportune moment Dneton mutters, "Or someone pulls a Metsu," before following him down the ladder.

A few rungs down, he pauses to look up at the professor and say, "Magic is just science we haven't figured out yet," before continuing down the ladder.

Rory refits his gloves, opens his grimoire, and heads down the ladder. If there's no magic emanating from the dresser, he searches it for mundane traps, and barring any, tries to open it.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

As Detect Magic is cast, the results are immediately obvious. The dresser is a solid mass of magic, as is literally everything else within the room that you are able to see - which, incidentally, appear to be of Victorian make.

As Rory opens the drawer of the dresser, something else comes into view, but its magical aura is different than the aura that permeates the room. A piece of slightly aged paper is lying there, with the following writing on it:

Do not mention this paper to the people waiting above. Do not open the wooden door. You are not alone in here. If you wish to protect your words, add this to your Grimoire.

Rory has found a Page of Clandestine Conversation.

Rory quickly places the page in his book, happy to quiet his grimoire's restlessness.

Rory casts clandestine conversation to talk to Aiden about what he's found, especially about the fact that they're not alone in here and the wooden door is the wrong choice.

Speaking of, what are the recharge guidelines for this spell? I don't see it on the SRD

That is an interesting effect. I'm fine with keeping this between the group down here for the moment, but I'm not sure we trust the message wholly. Tell the others down here once your spell... refreshes.

Following the suggestions on the Recharge Magic rules page, Clandestine Conversation will have a cooldown of 1 hour - spells with durations in excess of 1 round/level tend to have longer cooldown times, as part of what helps to balance them for the system as a whole.

Following the others down, Michael sits on one of the chairs and lets the others explore the room a bit. He seems a little unsettled, his feet bouncing at the foot of his chair as he thinks.

So we don't have a target, we don't have a clue of what to take note of and they have explosives ready? Are we the 'anomaly' they want to seal up?

Laying his gym bag on the ground, he turns to the others who were checking out the room. "Hey, Walter, Rory: did you guys find anything? Are either of the doors blocked off?"

"If not, I say we go through the wooden one. Anything big down here could have just broken it by now, so there can't be anything too bad in there."

"No, didn't find anything special." Rory tries his best to put just enough falsehood in his voice that Michael and the others will know he's lying, but whatever else might be listening wouldn't be the wiser.

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

"But I'm thinking the metal door is the way to go, actually. Something I'm getting from my Grimoire." This was not a lie, but would cleverly not let on to anyone that he knew something to which he was not supposed to be privy.

"This whole place is glowing with magic. It seems like everything here and the room itself are complete magical creations. Without greater intel, we can't make any kind of informed decision regarding the doors." Walter says this all very matter-of-factly and moves closer to the doors staring at each intently.

Can detect magic get any more detail about the doors if I continue to focus? If not, Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Rory heads to the metal door and tries it provided Walter doesn't find any traps.

The glow of the magical auras around each door seems the same as the rest of the area - it seems that the entire area is one huge creation of magic, possibly as a result of whatever was used to create it. However, a visible inspection of the doors does reveal several things. The wooden door is highly polished, with an immaculately clean handle. The metal door is in slightly worse condition - an examination shows several small bits of dust, and the handle is a little worn down.

The hallway beyond the metal door is a little on the small side - it seems to be some kind of corridor for servants, traveling only several feet before ending in another door. On the left side of the passageway is a small, simple wooden door with a tag reading 'Cleaning Supplies'. The hallway itself is quite dim, but there are switches on either end.

Moments later, each of you hears a noise a bit like a crackling sound, and Allison's voice can suddenly be heard.

<Ah, testing... yeah, it should be working well. How are all of you doing down there? Oh, and just talk out loud to respond. Easy, right?>

"Looks like the decision is made. Let's see where this goes," Walter speaks almost to himself, stepping into the corridor.

"Yes, easy enough. Are we hearing you physically or mentally? Do I need to teach everyone radio communication procedures?" Walter asks with a large amount of humor in his voice.

Rory flips on the light switch on the near side, and checks the cleaning supply door.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

<Iiiiii... don't think there's any need for that. There might be times when we need to talk fast, and that sort of thing would only slow us down. What are you seeing down there?>

The inside of the cleaning supply area is... very mundane. Many bottles have been placed on a shelf, with labels indicating basic use in a wealthy household - among the things you can see are name-brand polishes and oils for wood. Mops, cleaning cloths, and similar things are stored lower down - it seems this is a stopping point where servants would go in order to clean the main part of the building.

Rory detaches the mop head from the stick to use it as a quarterstaff if he can.

He then checks the next door.

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Can detect magic get any more detail about the doors if I continue to focus?

"Maybe it's not the room that's magical," says Denton as he looks around. "And maybe it's not a pocket universe so much as a piece of another universe that's been pulled into ours. And the magic vibe you're getting is from however the bubble was formed here."

"There was a Doctor Who arc about a rift," he muses. "Very bad juju."

"Speaking of The Doctor, maybe there's some wibbly-wobbly timey-wimey stuff going on here too," he adds as he prods one of the chairs with his hanbo. "This furniture all looks like it's from another era."

Deep in thought, he absently follows the others through the door.

<"Yeah, we noticed that when we were looking through the first time... but there are people who have the style in their homes even today, so it doesn't do much to pinpoint the time period all of this came from.">

Meanwhile, however, Rory is able to pick up a faint sound from through the next door. Unfortunately, without opening it, it's impossible to say what it might be - the metal is too thick, and blocks too much noise, for normal methods to work. This may have been a deliberate choice, helping to prevent the owners from hearing too much of what else went on within the house.

"Allison, how quiet can we talk this way?" Aiden says as he follows the group down the hall. Seeing the group at the door, Aiden checks the door to see if it's unlocked. If it is, he opens it just a crack.

Michael gets up from his seat to follow the others. Slinging his bag over his shoulder he heads down the hallway.

After seeing Rory come back in with a mop, he assumes nothing was yet found and moves to catch up to Aiden and Rory at the door.

<"If you're talking at all, I can hear you. Oh, but you're the only ones that can hear me - it's not really going right into your head, but it seems like it uses a sort of one-sided quantum entanglement to-"> she paused. <"Sorry, I was getting technical again.">

Not much can be seen through the small crack into the next room - it looks like it's a much simpler chamber than the first one, but no more than that can really be observed from your current position.

Aiden opens the door and enters the room, looking around.

Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

Denton steps in immediately behind Aiden, hanbo at the ready. "Got your back," he says quietly.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Rory is among those who've entered the room as well.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

I didn't get the final word on the mop stick...

Mop-based Quarterstaff is okay. ^^

As the door is opened fully, two small, heinous creatures suddenly come into view, staring at the group and ready to charge forward.

Everybody, roll initiative. ^^ Those who roll above the result below may act in the Surprise Round.

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Still catching up to the others, Michael isn't readily able to react. He just barely gets a view of the creatures as both groups face off.

Can we get a little more description on the "small heinous creatures" please.

Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Startled, Denton briefly pulls his book tightly to his chest, which seems to be a reasonable substitute for a spell invocation gesture. Casting Mage Armor.

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Rory, somewhat surprised by the monsters, grows flush with red energy which concentrates in his chest and projects toward the nearest one. Magic Missile

Afterward he grasps his chest confused, but then remembers his situation and holds his mop-stick up defensively Total Defense

I know they're both standard actions, but I didn't take a move...hope that's legal.

The Surprise round allows for ONE standard or move action. Michael, since you rolled a tie (with the same modifier), you should reroll vs the result below to see whether you get to act first or not. Denton, the explanations of the creatures will be forthcoming once the surprise round is over.

Initiative Reroll vs Michael: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Re:Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Michael moves past the others, putting himself between them and the enemy. As he does so, he slips his baseball glove on over his right hand hoping to catch whatever these creatures might throw at him.

Retcon: no total defense

Aiden moves into the room and behind cover if he can find it.

Initiative: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

-Posted with Wayfinder

Don't forget to roll for both damage and cooldown when casting spells. ^^ I'll apply the damage once you've done that.

The first of the monsters within the room darts forward, moving straight towards Michael and opening its mouth wide. Its head is small, grey, and repulsive - human-like, technically, but not really much more than that. With no hesitation at all, it bites down as hard as it can, trying to rip a chunk of flesh out of Michael's body.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 for Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The other creature isn't so much bigger than the small snake-thing as it is... broader. It seems to be composed entirely of half-formed body parts and almost bounces along behind its snake-like companion, opening up its own maw to rip and tear.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13 for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Michael, make a DC 12 Fortitude check. Failure will cause you to become fatigued.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Michael uses his glove to brush the snake monster aside but is rushed instead by an odd, disgusting creature that bites deep into Michael's outstretched arm.

"Ow! F###!"

Retcon: I just read that the magic missile definitely comes from the fingertips, so we'll have the red energy start from his chest, then shoot out his finger at the thing. PS: I have my crunch up, sorry it took me so long.

Magic Missile Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Recharge Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Aiden launches a magic missile at the body part monster.

Magic Missile Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Recharge: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

It would be much appreciated if all of you could add your stats to the bar below your names for easier referencing. ^^

The hideous monster seemingly made of body parts made a vicious screeching sound as the magic plunged into its body, and it redoubled its efforts to start chewing on Michael.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 Same DC 12 Fortitude check.

At the same time, the goblin-like creature skittered its way straight towards Rory, fangs glittering sharply. There was something seriously weird about the mouth fetish these monsters seemed to have...

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 for Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Unlike its companion, however, it seemed like it was having trouble finding a good place to bite down properly.

Mine are there, behind the spoiler button. Would you like me to remover the spoiler aspect so it's always visible? Happy to do so if that's what you prefer.

Fortitude: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Sorry, I didn't realize that I hadn't acted after the creatures. My quick stats are under Special Abilities, should I move them to Class?

Michael gets bitten on but feels a surge of energy as his grimiore tries to protect him, reducing the pain of the bite. He staggers, losing his poise. He drops into a defensive posture as he takes a step back and draws his baseball bat, dropping his gym bag, ready for the monster's next attack.

DR 1/cold iron from Golden Bough just before the bite makes contact. Full Defense +4 AC, Move 5 feet backwards while drawing baseball bat.

Rory chuckles at the shiny-tooth goblin's feeble attempt to bite him, says, "Nice grill, lemme clean it for you," just as he jabs him with the off-hand of the mop-stick, and comes around with the on-hand.

Attack; off-hand: 1d20 + 1 - 8 ⇒ (6) + 1 - 8 = -1
Attack; on-hand: 1d20 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 - 4 = 5
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 51d6 ⇒ 1

Class is the correct place, and no, there's no need to spoil them. ^^

Aiden remains hiding.

sorry if you were waiting for me.

-Posted with Wayfinder

And Denton, assuming he wished to do anything.

And Denton, assuming he wished to do anything.

Generally, it's okay to post after I've posted as the enemies.

Okay, sorry; my bad.

"HEY!" he shouts at the head-thing. "Leave the new guy alone! Fight ME!"

Hanbo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 (Because apparently, me fighting you isn't productive.)
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 (In spades. Wow!)

Denton leaps forward, spinning his half-staff over his head before launching a downward stroke with both hands... and misses completely, thudding his hanbo into the floor beside the thing.

Dang it GM, ya rushed me! :op

The two monsters smoothly slid out of the way of the attempted blows, apparently more amused than anything else. The one with the odd head lashed out at Denton in retaliation, razor-edged teeth quite ready to tear open his flesh.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16 for Damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Meanwhile, noting Michael's fatigue, the other monster lashes at Rory instead to try and wear him down as well. Both of the creatures don't seem like they have any intelligence matching what a human would have... they seem totally focused on their deadly attacks, with no care at all for their own health or safety.

Attack Roll: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11 for Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 No need for the Fortitude check this time!

Michael shouts out in anger.

"What are these things!?"
Knowledge(Planes): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

He steps up to the closest one and swings at it with his bat.

Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1