Doug M's Way of the Wicked (Inactive)

Game Master Douglas Muir 406

rdy to play the encounter w the father whenever you are dmdm

There's an ice golem. An advanced ice golem. Does DM remember we're level 4?

You don't /want/ more experience?

rdy to play the encounter w the father whenever you are dmdm

Understood. But if Judge and Zimu are involved, we should finish up their night-before explorations first.

Ok. I assume everyone waits in the house. Zen will go buy a sack of pepper

How much longer before your creation is fully functional? How are you repairing it? What is is capable of?'

The Magister chuckles. "So many questions! Hm... perhaps it would be simpler to provide a little demonstration."

He turns and looks around the room for a moment. "Hm, hm, let me see... aha, this should do." There's a small plant in a pot on a shelf; he plucks a leaf from it and holds it up. "Green and fresh, yes?"

Magister Tacitus turns back towards the golem. He stretches out his left arm and pulls back the sleeve to reveal the bracelet you noticed earlier. It's a complicated looking thing, copper with what look like several semi-precious stones set into it. With a flourish, the Magister touches the bracelet with some sort of complex gesture. "Arise!"

And the golem rises. It's even more alarming standing up. It... looms.

"Stand by," says the Magister (apparently still speaking to the golem). He takes the metal tongs from the fireplace and uses them to pick up the leaf. Then, leaning well backwards, he holds the leaf in front of the golem's face-hole. "This leaf. Destroy it."

There is a sound like a sneeze. The stone wall opposite the golem is suddenly coated with a fine covering of frost. The temperature in the room abruptly drops twenty degrees or so, from coolish to cold.

Magister Tacitus holds up the leaf for your examination. The last foot or so of the tongs are also coated with frost. And the leaf... looks the same, really; just with a little bit of frost on it.

The Magister opens the tongs. The leaf falls to the floor. With a tinkle, it shatters into a dozen tiny green shards.

'Does it recognize me as your friend my lord?'

"Ah heh heh. It does not "recognize" anyone, my dear. It's still on those few default instructions. It only will respond to you if you threaten me, my possessions, or this laboratory."

Cуровую and the Magister

'Cellia' grips the magisters hand, clearly impressed ... and a little oh so frightened. Giving him the 'My what stong hands you have for a wizard' look of approval.

'That is wonderous my lord! I have never seen it's like.'

'How do you control it ... this golem. It is under your command? There is no danger of it harming you?'

'Celia' tries to show some concern for the magister's well being.

Perception to watch and study the movements and verbal commands the magister is doing to control the golem,

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Can I please make a Knowledge Arcana to see what it takes to control the golem from this study, I am aware he uses the bracelet as part of it

1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

First, the good news! It seems to be the bracelet. Now the less good news: using the bracelet properly requires a Use Magic Device check.

and, judging by the Magister's frown of concentration as he fiddles with the bracelet, maybe not an easy one.

There's an ice golem. An advanced ice golem. Does DM remember we're level 4?

...although I have to admit: Frosty here was supposed to come as a surprise.

"Ah ha haaa, we've snuck into the Magister's chambers! Easy peasy! Everybody fan out and look for his spellbook and magic stuff!"

A wonderful, fun surprise.

Hearing that there is a row of statues and recalling the prophecy, and unsure whether the statues might react to Morsum's unnatural presence, the Judge instructs Morsum to retreat down the stairs and to check out the door with the large sunburst on it.

There are two rooms here. First, immediately beyond the door is a shrine. It's much smaller than the big room upstairs; there's no altar, just a sunburst on the wall, a basin full of water, and another one of those silent flames. Call it the "small shrine" room. [roll roll] There may be other stuff in here, but that's all Morsum sees on brief examination.

The second room is reached through a small door on the western side of the shrine. Morsum oozes over and opens it.

This is Father Dunnigan's room. It contains only a cot, a small table, and a prayer mat. The small table has some books stacked on it. On one wall there is a golden emblem of the Mitran Sun; on the other, several small plaques.

The good Father is of course not here now, as he is attending the play in the Great Hall.

There are no other exits. [roll roll] As far as you can tell, you have now explored all of the underground level.

First, the good news! It seems to be the bracelet. Now the less good news: using the bracelet properly requires a Use Magic Device check.

Let me at it, that is my best skill...Dren wouldn't mind having a pet Golem... :]

With the lower lever scouted out, Morsum will return up the stairs and see what happens when he enters the sanctuary. He will quickly proceed through the room before heading farther on. If anything, like a statue, moves, the Judge will immediately banish him.

Stealth(when needed): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
Perception(when needed): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Blind and invisible.

[roll roll]

"Halt!"

There is no sound; the voice speaks inside Morsum's head.

Something simply blinks into existence ahead of Morsum, blocking his path to the exit. It is a tiny sphere of light, glowing faintly -- perhaps as brightly as a candle. It doesn't seem to have any internal structure; it's just a perfectly round little ball of pale light.

"What manner of creature are you? What are you doing in this holy place?"

And with that, Morsum suddenly pops out of existence as fast as the angel appeared.

The Judge dismisses Morsum.

Killjoy.

'Celia' tries to show some concern for the magister's well being.

At this point, I would say you are quite fairly and legitimately concerned about his well being.

In any event, the Magister is not interested in going into detail about how he controls his precious construct. He's a bit infatuated, but he's not stupid.

Okay, let's see. Suddenly dismissing Morsum is... strange; the Judge hasn't done it before. It doesn't produce the crippling nausea that summoning him does, but it's momentarily distracting.

1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

Jax, you're sitting with a clear view of Father Dunnigan and the Commander. About halfway through the second act, the good Father suddenly gets a distracted look, stands up, sits down, stands up again, and quietly makes for the exit. A few minutes later he comes back and sits down again.

1d100 ⇒ 85

bother.

After the play ends, Father Dunnigan disappears backstage, presumably to chat with the troupe. (He's a popular fellow, so he has to make various excuses to get away.

This doesn't affect anyone else's evening, so I think we're aaalmost ready to move on...?

Easy peasy!

You can tell DM has kids.

...although I have to admit: Frosty here was supposed to come as a surprise.

A wonderful, fun surprise.

DM has more up his sleeves I am not too worried about that.

'Cellia' looks with great interest and wonderment at the ice guardian.

'If I may presume on my lord's indulgence, may I briefly examine the device with Detect Magic, I am just curious to see what type of Arcane Art causes such a fearsome creation to be controlled, no, no my lord, please keep it on you, I am afraid to touch it, I just want to study it from here.'

'Cellia' will examine the device with Detect Magic if allowed but will not be over eager, more genuine curiosity.

Killjoy.

Sorry - while I do not care about him dying, I think having a evil outsider suddenly appear in the middle of a Mitra temple, or kill inattentive clerics, would likely put the whole fort on alert. My plan all along was to scout and then dismiss when discovered.

Douglas Muir 406 wrote:

Killjoy.

Sorry - while I do not care about him dying, I think having a evil outsider suddenly appear in the middle of a Mitra temple, or kill inattentive clerics, would likely put the whole fort on alert. My plan all along was to scout and then dismiss when discovered.

And mine was to tempt you into doing something foolish. Oh, well. Next time.

----

Seeing if the Magister will let 'Cellia' investigate his great trophy any further.

Diplomacy for the request if needed although some rolls were already made 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 1 = 25

Sometime shortly after whether he does or does not ...

'Cellia' will suddenly be very aware of the time, and feign some embarrassment for keeping such an important man busy.

'My lord I have taken oh so much of your precious time, please, please forgive me. But you are so accomplished and entertaining I have forgotten that a master arcanist such of your self has much important matters to deal with.'

'I have almost forgotten one of the main reasons I was sent to meet you. My lady arrives in two days, three at the most and requests a meeting with yourself. She would like me to make preparations for the meeting. Do you have a favorite festive spot in town my lord?'

'I have heard of the Lord's Dalliance and Mama Kolo's in my initial preparations but I humbly defer to your judgement and your preference in this matter.'

'Cellia' then produces a writing quill and a parchment and politely lays them in front of the magister.

'My lord if you could please list down your favorite wines, foods (including desserts) and any such items that may be pleasing to you sophisticated palette.'

'Cellia' will examine the device with Detect Magic if allowed but will not be over eager, more genuine curiosity.

With a rather condescending smile, the Magister allows it.

It's radiating Conjuration magic -- which is what you'd expect; Conjuration works to bind things as well as to summon them.

The Magister is at first a bit befuddled; he had half forgotten that this very charming young lady was but an apprentice and servant. Then he's delighted! The Dalliance has a small room where private dinners can be arranged.

Okay, you get a short list of wines and foods. Time to say your goodnights?

It's radiating Conjuration magic -- which is what you'd expect; Conjuration works to bind things as well as to summon them.

'Cellia' will focus on the item and the guardian and will attempt to ascertain their workings more fully later on.

--

After the magister writes down his list, 'Cellia' studies it for a moment then clearly smiling approvingly at the choices.

'An influential, gifted and tasteful man indeed, my lord. I will begin the preparations in the morning. You are most gracious with your time and company ... I would ask more thing if you would allow me to impose my lord's kindness.'

'Should preparations be ready for my lady, and she is not in need of my services, may I ...'

'Cellia' puts on a show of demure yet obvious flirtation.

'Would it be possible to call upon and join my lord Magister for some fascinating and personal time alone again?

SMILE. WINK. POUTY LIPS.

Bluff to complete the act 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 12 + 1 = 27

Snort. [roll roll]

Okay. You manage to depart the Magister's apartments with out too much difficulty -- at the end of the day, he's Good-aligned -- and return to the Dalliance with your new information.

If there's nothing more this evening, we can move forward to Day 9.

The big event today is a midday performance by the troupe at the big tent pitched outside of town. It's not their main play, but a bunch of short skits and musical and comedy acts -- basically, the lowbrow counterpart to the highbrow play last night. (And their chance to extract a bit more silver from the community before packing out and moving on.)

Does anyone want to attend, or are you too busy plotting the demise of Father Dunnigan?

Demise! Demise! Demise!

Get the likeness of a few of the troops - especially a short halfling. After (I am assuming not if) we take out the cleric, then we take on the troop's appearances and head out of town before reappearing in a different guise later. Since the troop was only here a short time and had access to the fort, it is a great patsy for the untimely demise of the cleric.

Okay. There's a fair crowd of townspeople and off-duty soldiers at the show, but you guys sit it out.

Father Dunnigan comes by to meet Xen about 4 pm, then.

[ooc]ok going to start this, it will be abit before we get to leaving the lunch/drinks for the detial of where we decided to be filled in[ooc]

Hello Father I was worried you might not be able to make it, you seemed distracted after the play last night. So many things I want to ask you! But first let me get you a drink! What would you like?

1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26 diplo to make him remember how much he likes me

Okay. You manage to depart the Magister's apartments with out too much difficulty -- at the end of the day, he's Good-aligned -- and return to the Dalliance with your new information.

--

'Cellia' did say she wants to see the magister privately as soon as some preparations are made. SMILE. WINK. POUTY LIPS.

She also now has his lovely writing sample through the list he made.

'Cellia' will also walk from the magister's quarters slowly and study and look at the passages that she takes to leave the fort.

DM is there any area not yet discovered she could casually wonder through as she leaves the fort?

--

Jax you got to study the gnome with Detect Magic what did you find?

DM, 'Cellia' did the same with the cleric before the play, did anything come up?

DM is there any area not yet discovered she could casually wonder through as she leaves the fort?

Alas, no.

Father Dunnigan is happy to see you! (Of course, he's happy to see almost everyone.) You notice that he is, in fact, wearing a breastplate... when visiting on formal duties, he goes in uniform.

"Hello, my son! Yes, a beer would go down very well... Cheers!"

Xen, you can try to make Father Dunnigan drunk. It will require a successful Bluff against his Sense Motive, and also you will have to get drunk yourself. Or you can just have a beer or two and then spin your tale.

Xen returns with 3 large beers. 2 for father and 1 for himself.

[b] I took the liberty of getting your next round already. A toast to Mitra and the guard.

Xen offers the toast.

so many things to ask you about Father! First how would I go about being an officer? Is that really possible? I am good with a spear and know how to fight, but do you think people would follow me?

As for the rest of you, places. The house in question isn't very big, but it does have a 10' x 20' front room, with a small kitchen, an entryway, and a ground floor bedroom coming off it and a small staircase going up. Tell me where you are and what preparations you've made.

Note that the house is not within Message range of Mama Kolo's, so you don't automatically know when Xen will show up.

Xen will knock a code you will seee

I assume you're not actually interested in joining the Guard, so we needn't play out the conversation. Are you trying to get him drunk, then?

you go it sir...though I would hold onto the ifo about it, if it is somthing that can be done quickly it could be a way in...though i susect it involves vows to mitra and such. plan to get him drunk then confess i have a nother reason that i want to see him

oh and Xen is being careful to almost drink a lot. He will probably have 2 drinks while the father drinks more.

Father I have to confess that I have another motive for wanting to speak with you. I have a...lady friend that...well she is worried about me joining the guard and might leave me. Her parents don't know about us yet, but I think if I was in the guard they would approve. I thought you mightbe able to settle her fears. She is at her friends place, I don't know them down the street. She said she would wait there for me today. Will you come please?

here we go! I can't look

1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28