Dragon's Demand (Inactive)

Game Master R D

Scrolls and Books!

Scrolls and Books!

Yes! :-)

Unfortunately, you have to turn them over to Baroness Origena. :-(

However, since it's her intention to sell them all, perhaps you'll get an opportunity to bid on them later. :-D

Ethendril holds his head in agony as the scream pierces his mind. Once the pain subsides, he heals himself with the group's wand.

After searching through the books, he says "These seem an important find. Let's keep going and see what else there is," he suggests.

Did we already hit C8, C9, and C10? If not, go to next room please! :)

clw: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Room C10: This bedchamber is richly appointed, with three armoires and three tall wardrobes, a canopied bed with a large locked chest at its foot, a writing desk and chair, elaborate marble tub, and a thick bearskin rug.

Ethendril bravely enters. A deep growl comes from the direction of the bearskin rug. Knowledge (nature) identifies the growl as that of a grizzly bear. (Hand-waving the check.)

Nothing further occurs, but the entire room radiates with "moderate" conjuration magic.

There are some other exits we missed somewhere?

"Ok, who wants to bet that thing is going to turn into a real bear and try to eat us?" Wayreth sighs.

There are some other exits we missed somewhere?

The stairs go up to a third level. But, other than that, no.

Ethendril looks into the room with concern.

"I agree it could attack us. Let us try upstairs instead," he suggests.

OK. We'll bypass the bedroom. But, if you don't inventory it, there may be future consequences.

The party heads to the upper floor.

C11: Within this glass-domed chamber is an enormous telescope that sits upon a platform over a veritable sea of metal gears. An angled metal chair sits below the device, within reach of a cluster of pedals and levers that enable its occupant to perform adjustments to the telescope’s orientation. Tables covered in books and charts occupy the southeast corner. The view of the surrounding skies afforded by the glass dome is breathtaking in its expanse.

A 1-foot-wide ledge runs around the edge of the dome. Sitting on the southwest portion of this lip is a creature that looks like an obese infant, but with leathery skin mottled with spots of grime, curling ram’s horns, sharp blackened teeth, and black eyes with no pupils. The thing has four leathery bat wings, but is simply sitting on the dome’s ledge when the party arrives. It's outside. On the ledge.

Knowledge Arcana to know more.
Sense Motive to know more.

Harlis frowns while looking intently at whatever creature is before them, bird forgotten on his shoulder.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Ethendril looks out the window intently.

"What is that thing?" he wonders.

sense motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Moar Books! Wow! What a view? Woah, what is that?

Is it outside of an open window or is there something that might keep it out should it charge us?

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

It's a homunculus. Perhaps this was Hunclay's familiar? It seems to be gesturing at the chair. Perhaps it wants one of you to sit in it?

Oh boy, here we go again.

Agnes will sit in the chair it is pointing at.

Wayreth's voice takes on a feigned foreign accent and goes all funny as he recites drily a quote he had heard from an associate from Tian some months ago.

"Be doubly careful... I bet all manner of stupid mousetraps await our toes in the dark..."

I was suggesting we be careful and ready to attack the rug, not bypass the room. XD

Whoops! We can go back to Hunclay's bedroom aftger we're done here.

Agnes sits in the chair. There's a smell of ozone, then a ZAP!

Reflex: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6, Damage: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 3, 4) = 13 Ouch! Agnes is at 1/14 HP!

The homunculus laughs with glee and claps its little hands together as Agnes nearly drops to unconsciousness from taking the seat. Her previous knowledge check is more than enough to know that homonculi are constructs that also have a poison bite. Feel free to peruse the PRD entry for homonculus if you wish.

The homonculus takes flight outside a window in the room. He's 30 feet up. Combat is on, the party is up!

I found a stupid mousetrap.

Damn! I didn't remember to buy a wand of cure light! :(

Stepping towards Agnes, Harlis pulls out the wand of cure light that the town granted them and taps Agnes. "Well, next time we are asked to take a chair by one of Hunclay's lackey's we decline."

Cure Light Wounds Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Indeed," Ethendril says with a sigh. "The raven in the basement taught us that..."

Looking at the flying creature, he says "Perhaps we do not need to fight this...if it will not come down, let us seal this room and move on."

Is it still outside? If so, let's inventory the room and move on, and we'll shut this door. I can go guard the window so it can't come in. Or am I seeing this wrong?

Agnes, we used our community funds to buy a cure wand for the party.

I'd agree to seal the room and not fight it.

But it was cute, and looked cuddly.

If we can avoid it, then I'm fine with that. We can always come back if we need it, I guess.

So I guess we are trying to inventory the current room and waiting for the creature to attack us if it wants to. Otherwise, we inventory and move on.

Waiting to see what happens. Note that Agnes should be on about 11hp now - Resist 5 electricty and CLW for 5.

The party shuts the window, foiling the homunculus. :-D

In addition to 50 rare star charts that focus on strangely empty-looking swaths of the night sky, lying on the tables are an exquisite platinum astrolabe, six rare astronomy tomes of aged Taldan pedigree, and two expensive handheld telescopes. In all, this stargazing gear is worth 5,000 gp.

Heading back to the bedroom, then?

As soon as the party touches anything in this bedroom, a bear is summoned. It's summoned on the rug. Seeing a CR 5 Fiendish Grizzly Bear, the party runs for it. Nine rounds later, the grizzly goes poof! Whew! The party comes back to inventory the bedroom.

We can have the grizzly fight, if you prefer. But, I'm pretty sure it would kill at least one party member.

The armoires and wardrobes store rich clothing worth a total of 850 gp. Sitting on the writing desk is a gold ring set with a fat black pearl worth 1,350 gp.

A scrap of paper sitting on Hunclay’s nightstand seems to contain a few bawdy limericks. Using Detect Magic and spellcraft, Agnes and Harlis recognize that Secret Page has been cast upon it. Speaking the command word should reveal the true contents of the page.

If only there was a clue about the Secret Page's command word...

;-P

I kind of want to see which party member dies... ;P

Ethendril waves at the homunculus out the window.

After they have inventoried the two rooms, Ethendril says "Are there more rooms to explore? Have we finished here?"

Are there more rooms to explore, or did this finish the upstairs?

I kind of want to see which party member dies... ;P

OK. Why not? We're doing this in campaign mode, anyway. Let's have a "what if" combat. This is purely an aside and has no mechanical effects on your actual characters.

Bear: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Agnes: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Ethendril: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Harlis: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Hotspur: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Wayreth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

No surprise round; the party expected shenanigans.

ROUND 1
Wayreth is up first. Then the bear.

The room isn't that big, whereas the bear is large. Nobody is more than a 5-foot-step away from the enemy.

No! I was joking! Lolz! :)

:-) The bear goes *poof*!

The same spiral staircase goes down to a level beneath the manor. But you may also want to search for clues (related to the secret page) on this floor.

Agnes (since she previously exhibited excitement about finding books and scrolls) starts flipping through some of Hunclay's books. She discovers an odd note: "Dominion."

When she speaks the word aloud in the presence of the Secret Page, it reveals a to-do list:

Conjure accuser devil re: disguising text of "Secrets of the Dreaming Dark"

Animate Dominion remains as a guardian for the cave

Repair hinges of secret door in clockwork lab

Attempt second contact with Dominion via book's ritual before loan to A

Confirm demolition date with A's kobolds

Harlis ponders the revealed page and tugs again at the frayed bottom of his cloak that was mauled in the dire escape from the massive bear.

"Dreaming Dark? Dominion? 'A'? There seems to be more questions here than answers I am afraid for now. There is much more to this wizard than an unfortunate traverse into diabolism."

"Hmmm...the kobolds served some entity by the name of Aeteperax, and it is said to be the name of some black dragon slain more than a thousand years ago. Perhaps some new dragon has taken up the name in an effort to invoke the fear that the ancient dragon once did?"

"As to this 'Dominion', could be the name of the accuser devil? He or its remains have been animated, and I presume the 'attempt second contact' would mean a conjuring of this Dominon's spirit somehow."

Wayreth thinks about this a little more, then shrugs.

"I'm guessing."

Onto the basement, then?

"We can see that this wizard planned this whole thing...he was not a victim here. And we have seen that he was entrenched in the ways of evil. Perhaps the basement will reveal some more clues," Ethendril says.

The party heads down to room C12: These three interconnected rooms are cluttered with dozens of stacked crates and chests containing only mundane household supplies—nothing of particular value is kept here.

The party opens the next door. Area C13: There are three closed doors here. (Map updated.)

Invoking light upon his blade as the party descends, Harlis looks around and sniffs before stopping to listen seeing that there might be quite a bit more he also then taps himself with the wand.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Agnes and Harlis detect more abjuration magic on the westernmost door. There is no obvious spot to use the silver charm here. Though there is a keyhole, and the party did find a key...

You try the key and bypass the abjuration.

Three similar storage rooms lie along this corridor. The easternmost is a well-stocked wine cellar, with many fine and rare vintages from across the Inner Sea. The middle contains a generous cache of sides of beef, pork, mutton, fowl, and fish, all frozen thanks to a permanent wall of
ice against the north wall.

The contents of the first and third storage rooms are worth 2,500 gp in total.

1d20 ⇒ 20

The party hears the front door of the manor open!

Where to next?

Looking upwards Harlis suggests. "Visitors or perhaps that servant leaving? Maybe even that small winged beast. Looks like we should probably check to see if there is danger, or at least stop someone innocent coming to harm."

marching order up the stairs, please

Agnes would like to remain in the middle, please.

Wayreth will get behind Agnes.

"We are not expecting visitors," Ethendril says in alarm as he heads for the stairs.

Front for me, Harlis next, Agnes, Wayreth, Hotspur behind?

Works for me.

Hotspur unslings her musket.

OK. The party climbs the staircase.

Readied Action: UMD: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

No sooner does Ethendril reach the top of the stairs than a bolt of electricity arcs at him, Harliss, and Daylight!

Damage: 5d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 6, 5) = 19

Ethendril Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15 , Take 9 HP damage
Harlis Reflex: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 , Take 19 HP damage
Daylight Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16 , Take 9 HP damage

Harlis falls unconscious in his saddle. Ethendril and Daylight both get singed. The homunculus from the observatory looks at the party with hatred and rage in his eyes. Knowing that he's not likely to get off another shot with the wand, he drops it and prepares to face the party.

That was his readied action. The party is up!

Hotspur attempts to return fire at the creature...

Single barrel ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Damage: 1d12 ⇒ 11

"Curse you, vile beast!" Ethendril says as he charges it, brandishing his greatsword.

"We should have finished you off earlier!"

Greatsword Power Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18 for damage: 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (3, 2) + 9 = 14

Well THAT was quick!

The homunculus has been defeated! Combat over. The party takes a few moments to tend to their wounded and secure the area. The man is still hiding upstairs under the bed.

You pick up the wand and ID it as a wand of lightning bolt (4 charges remain).

Eventually, you make your way back downstairs to the basement to finish your inventory. (Where to from here?)

I can use that wand, can I carry it and use those other 4 charges?

Fine by me. :-) Anyone else in the party prefer to use it?

Agnes makes the most sense for the wand. Actually Harlis left Daylight outside because it was polite in a mansion. So he just fell over. Ethendril grabbing the wand, or should I start saves to stabilise?