Dungeon Master S's Destiny of the Sands Trilogy (CORE) (Inactive)

Game Master Chris Marsh

Snakes... why'd it have to be snakes... :)

Garrett's eyes widen at the size of the snakes that suddenly appear, realizing one of them could easily swallow him whole. He shakes off the fear that he imagines a mouse must feel upon seeing a rattle snake and begins to empower his companions against the foul slithery snakes! "Go forth heroes of the Society! I believe that Flyn needs some new snakeskin boots before he returns to the den of ill repute for his 'rest and relaxation'!"

Standard - Inspire Courage.

"I believe that Flyn needs some new snakeskin boots before he returns to the den of ill repute for his 'rest and relaxation'!"

The naive rogue is confused. "Garrett, I don't think that place would be a good spot to rest. It's far too busy all day. I mean, especially with the..."

Narad's eyes widen with surprise when he finally gets the bard's joke, and he simply says: "Oh."

Kohi misses by a wide margin. Desh to finish

Round 1
Kay: Blind!
Narad: Move
Flyndal: Moves
Snakes: Wiff
Kohi: Miss
Garrett: Inspire
Desh: Go!

Geth, in the Don Bassingthwaite novels? Those were so good.

Holy crap! That’s the one. Nice. I did enjoy it, but got side-tracked and never finished the series.

Desh rips Longtooth from over his shoulder with a snarl. As much as he’d like to attack the blind one, he can’t ignore the closer, more immediate threat. He steps forward. ”Flyn!,” he yells, readying his blade, ”Flank!”

5’ step forward, then a move to draw his falchion (Longtooth). Then Ready an action to Power Attack the blue snake-thing, triggered when Flyn steps into flanking.

”Flyn!,” he yells, readying his blade, ”Flank!”

Flyn obliges, leaping from the crumbled statue with his blade held aloft, arcing it down in an overhand slash.

Mwk Cold Iron Greatsword, RAGE, Power Attack, flank: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 2 = 26
Damage: 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Rage round 1/10

Narad moves to provide Kohi with a flank and strikes:

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14, Damage: 1d4 + 1 + 3d6 ⇒ (4) + 1 + (1, 4, 1) = 11

The two men line up their attacks perfectly slashing powerfully. Blood begins to stain the water. The amphisbaena thrashes but does not die, though it's certainly close to the end. Narad, despite his angling, can't land a solid blow.

Round 2
Kay: Go!
Narad: Miss
Flyndal: Atk
Snakes: TBD
Kohi: TBD
Garrett: TBD
Desh: TBD

Dang. I was hoping that would put it down. This could get fun. :)

Finish the series, seriously. The goblinoid books are great!

Kay aims his wand of Magic Missile at the blinded amphisbaena, counting on the martial types to do in the other snake.

MM: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 1) + 2 = 6

"Whoever created these creatures has no respect for natural locomotion," he quips. "Poor things don't know if they're coming or going. Not to mention...where in Aroden's name is the cloaca on the beast..." He shudders.

Kay's missiles slam into the beast, one for each head. The snakes continue to lash out. The blind monster lashes out at Narad. It's able to smell him, but it's aim isn't perfect:

>50 is Hit: 1d100 ⇒ 46
>50 is Hit: 1d100 ⇒ 48

Indeed it's blinded eyes utterly fail. Meanwhile the other one, on death's door attacks both it's enemies

Desh: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25 DMG: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 Make a FORT save.
Fyndal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17 MISS

Round 3
Kay: Go!
Narad: Go!
Flyndal: Go!
Snakes: Go!
Kohi: Go!
Garrett: Go!
Desh: Go!

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20, Damage: 1d4 + 1 + 3d6 ⇒ (3) + 1 + (2, 3, 3) = 12

Upon hearing Kay's words, Narad visibly blanches. "I don't believe Aroden had anything to do with their... posterior parts..."

Flyn might take a moment to appreciate his new armor, which just absorbed an impact his old chain would not – he might, that is, if he weren’t overcome with a burning hatred for all things serpentine. As the conjoined abomination attacks his friend, the halfling brings his blade to bear once more in a pitiful swipe.

Mwk Cold Iron Greatsword, RAGE, Power Attack, flank: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 8 + 2 = 12
Damage: 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20

Rage 2/10

”Forget that!” Desh roars as he takes the snake’s bite on his arm, ”How does it crap?!”

Regardless, he continues his vicious assault.

If Blue is still up, attack it (same mods as last time). If Blue is now down, 5' step to flank with Narad, and attack it.
Longtooth: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 = 21
damage: 2d4 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2d6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 6 + 3 + 1 + (5, 3) = 21

And fi that fort save wasn't actually successful, and it somehow invalidates these actions, let me know. (And in that case ... CRAP!

Desh makes his save AND kills the anatomically complicated beast!

AFK for a while.

-Posted with Wayfinder

MM: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (1, 3) + 2 = 6

"I daresay, it's nice to be able to do damage for once..." The elf is thoughtful as he unleashes two more missiles of force at the remaining two headed beast.

Don't forget your +1/+1 bonus from Inspire Courage!

Garrett continues to inspire his companions as he removes his sling and begins to load a bullet. "Desh, aim for the head! You can't miss it!"

[

Oh, 8 damage, then!

Narad's horror at anatomy doesn't prevent his blade from dropping on a vertebra. Flyndal misses, but Kay's missiles find their mark (they don't get the bonus, sorry Kay.)

The blind snake tries again to bite down on Narad.
1d100 ⇒ 86Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 DMG: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
1d100 ⇒ 99Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Confirmation: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16 DMG: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

2 Fort saves Narad!

Round 3
Kay: Missile
Narad: Slam
Flyndal: Miss
Snakes: Bites!
Kohi: Go!
Garrett: Go!
Desh: Go!

Desh roars victoriously as he and Flyn cut their opponent down, then he spins on the remaining one. A feral grin flashes across his face as he realizes it still can’t see, and he lunges forward aggressively, Longtooth flashing out in a vicious arc.

”Hold on, Narad! We'll cut it down to size!"

5’ step forward to flank, then attack Red (Power Attack, Inspire, Flank, Sneak Attack)
Longtooth: 1d20 + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 2 + 1 - 1 = 26
damage: 2d4 + 6 + 3 + 1 + 2d6 ⇒ (4, 2) + 6 + 3 + 1 + (5, 6) = 27

Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

The rogue grimaces from the injury, but does not cry out. He's hurt, but he's got a job to do!

Desh drops the final beast!

Out of combat!

"Thank you, Desh." Narad breathes a sigh of relief. "Kohinoor," he asks, "May I trouble you to use my wand on me, please?"

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

"Thank you," he smiles. Then he helps to search the area:

Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31 (33 if there's a trap.)

Narad, you find a secret compartment in the intact statue's base. The compartment contains several items, including a burial mask carved from lapis lazuli, three clay tablets describing funerary practices, and a rod carved from a single piece of petrified wood to look like a fanged serpent.

Desh’s own heavy breathing is loud in his ears in the room’s sudden quiet, and he holds his blade up, watching the thick vital fluids drip from its wicked front edge. ”What are these?”

He slings as much of the fluid free with a few quick swipes of his blade, then wipes the rest with the edge of his cloak before sliding it home. Then he stoops over the dead two-headed snakes and draws his knife. ”Someone will think these are interesting,” he mutters as he gets to work cutting free the creatures’ fangs, then scaled skin. ”Interesting enough to pay a few gold, hopefully.”

Desh will take some of that healing as well, though with his own wand.
Wand of CLW, x2 charges: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (2, 8) + 2 = 12

As he stands back up, stuffing the skins and teeth into a pair of empty sacks from his pack, he grins over at Flyn. "Now that's a story to impress the girls, huh?" He looks at the group, his eyes lingering on Kay, "Nice job."

The alf-orc seems content to let the more academic among them deal with the found items.

"Yes! That was a good move, Kay. Those things hurt. Things could have been much more deadly if they'd been able to see."

"These must be what Torch wants. Shall we go get Hundredfingers?"

Flyn nods, eager to be gone from this tomb of serpents.

Cëanel looks embarrassed. "Merely a part of the team, good sirs." He adjusts his robes a bit and twirls his Magic Missile wand with a wink. "We do have a rare chance to examine amphisbaena anatomy...truly, drow or worse must be involved with such an anatomical foulup. In any case, these items await."

He takes a look at the tablets, mask, and rod in turn, casting Detect Magic and examining them from a careful distance.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33

"Yes, let us leave before more of those things show up!"

Good news and bad news:

Bad news: You've got to get through customs.

Good news: You can go through Manu's line again.

Plan?

Sorry, Real Life getting in the way today.

I'm happy to wait to see if those other items are useful somehow (assuming Kay hit the DC to ID them).

“Garrett you’re gonna have to bribe him to look the other way. He seems to need the coin, anyhow.” Flyn says, dropping the poisoner’s pouch of 37 gold into the other halfling’s hand. He begins fishing in his own pouch for more. “Ten and a half from each of us should probably do it.”

What's a standard bribe? 100g? 37GP + 10.5 from each of us (63) = 100GP

I should really purchase a Pathfinder Pouch. Actually, why don't I simply do that? I'll run ahead of the party, buy said pouch in town, come back out, and put the relics in there. The pouch is only 1,000 GP. Whaddayathink?

According to Land of the Pharoahs, the place is big enough, so go for it Narad!

Kay:

It's a Rod of the Viper, The tablets act as scrolls of Deathwatch, False Life, and a tablet with Gentle Repose and False Life. The other items look valuable, but aren't magical.

Kay's face wrinkles at the rod. "Disgusting. An evil item, through and through. False Life, on the other hand, is a wizard's best friend." He scoops up a scroll and pores over the other nonmagical items, just in case.

Appraise: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

In total they're worth about 500 Gp

If Narad's Pathfinder Pouch idea doesn't work, we can just give our guy at the gate the 500g worth of expensive stuff. We'll call that Plan C (after Flyn's bribery method). :D

Sounds like a plan. Or, rather, a series of them.

I like this plan! If nothing else, Garrett can work his mojo!

Ok. If it looks like these items would fit through the mouth of a pouch, I hustle off to buy a pouch and come back to meet you.

Unfortunately it doesn't look like the tablets will fit (but the rod certainly does.)

When it looks like the tablets won't fit, Desh shrugs, "We don't need those right now." He shrugs, "Bury them in the sand outside. We'll get them when we leave Eto."

With one last look around, Desh spits towards the snake-cult statues and squeezes back through the small passage leading to the exit.

_____

As they wait in line to get back into Eto, Desh leans on his longspear, once again ready to let Kohinoor and Garrett do their thing.

With Narad's new pouch, will there even be anything for us to do? Though since we have the opportunity, a followup few kind words to our new favorite Eto guardsman could come in handy later. Might not, but hey, it's always good to know a member of the security team. :)

Then we collect Hundredfingers and head back to Burn-face, right?

Let's, at least, try to sneak 'em in.

Dex check to hide items: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Diplomacy to smoove talk: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

"Hey, Manu. It's us again." Big smile. Small talk. Shoot the breeze. Offer him a drink of water. Etc.

Torch's task is to have you bring them to him. He already knows where they are.

Narad does a solid job packing them in a fold, within a roll, within a pack. Once it's your turn to get back in, you go through the customary rigmarole. "That was a short trip out. What could possibly be out here that you can do in such a short amount of time?" Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13. He doesn't find the tablets, and with that, you're back in the city.

You've completed the errands. You collect Hundredfingers who happily joins you on your way back to Torch.

Would anyone like to do anything more before returning to the Information monger?

"That was a short trip out. What could possibly be out here that you can do in such a short amount of time?"

Desh shakes his head guilelessly at the friendly guard, "You know how it is. The boss says jump, we jump. No matter how ridiculous the job."

I can't think of anything else we need to do. And we don't have our info yet, so no point in delaying things.

As they march back to Torch, Desh can't help but look over at Hundredfingers. "So, why does a pickpocket have Mantises after him?"

"Honestly I'm not sure, but if I had to guess, because they're moving in on Torch and they want to cut off his eyes and ears. Torch is a hard target..."

When you finally arrive, Torch has a bemused look on his destroyed face. It's hard to gauge his mood under the best of circumstances, and this is no exception. He listens to Hundredfinger's message about the Mantis and gives a non-committal grunt. Despite the fact that the Red Mantis is one of the most feared cults on Golarion, Torch seems about as concerned as someone who just found out a minor detail about something trivial.

"So.... You've done all I ask for. You've done it willingly too. You stand by your work? You didn't do anything nefarious in this whole process?" Torch lets the question linger. He takes the time to look at each of you, looking to see if you so much as twitch. EVERYONE make a bluff check.

As a reminder you did mess with him in the House of Ill Repute by opening two way communication.

Bluff: 1d20 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) - 1 + 2 = 20

“We ran your little errands, ya ugly bastard. Now give us our information.”

If you also make a Sense Motive Check DC 25 I'll tell you if your bluff is successful :-)

Bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Garrett looks at Torch and shrugs.

Oh, this should be good.
Bluff: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13

Desh just stands there, leaning on his spear as he gives the man a hard look.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7