- Bad Guys, Skorhald, Justin, Kilthan, Rohara, Aarakess, Dryn'taka
AC 23 T 14 FF 19 CMD 28
AC 24 T 14 FF 22 CMD 29
Justin Round 6
Seeing the villain hit them at ease with the nasty axe, Justin feels pressed to try his new divine magic without getting hit.
"Let's hit him from opposite sides Skornald."
Justin respects the axe blow and tries to avoid drawing another shot from it. He decides to cast his divine magic on the defensive.
Fail
Justin lands a nasty axe blow better than the one he took. But his follow up and bite are unable to hit the elusive villain.
With the speed of magic, Justin swings again.
Aarakess collapses to the ground in a pool of blood.
-4/65
Stabilize: vs DC14
Fortunately she is no longer bleeding, although with my luck her head will get chopped off next.
Nodding at Justin, the dwarf adjusts the wide arc of the dorn-dergar and it wraps quickly around his waist, shortening into a close range weapon. The dwarf concentrates briefly, arcane energy infusing the ball and chain, then steps to flank with Justin and attack - all the while keeping up the inspiring cadence.
"One has fallen, justice rising,
We overcome your dark devisings!
Two and three are soon to fall,
Justice comes for one and all!"
HP:63/63; AC: 18/12/15; F+5, R+7, W+5;
Current Effects:
Haste, Blessing of Fervor, Inspire Courage, Arcane Strike, Power attack
Performance Rounds: 10/18
Current Performance: Inspire Courage; Lingering: None
Performances Available: (move action) bladethirst, distraction, fascinate, inspire competence +3, inspire courage +2, rallying cry.
Bard Spells Known (CL 7th; concentration +9):
3rd (1/day)—good hope, haste (1 cast)
2nd (4/day)—bladed dash, blistering invective, rage, silence (DC 14)(4 cast)
1st (5/day)—ear-piercing scream (DC 13), feather step (DC 13), grease (DC 13), saving finale (DC 13), vanish (0 cast)
0 (at will)—daze (DC 12), detect magic, mage hand, mending, message, prestidigitation (DC 12)
Situational Modifiers:
Dwarven Hatred+1 on attack rolls against goblinoid and orc humanoids.
Defensive Training +4 Gain a dodge bonus to AC vs monsters of the Giant subtype.
Disruptive +4 DC to cast defensively for those you threaten.
Stonecunning +11 Perc on Stonework and automatic chance to detect stone traps and secret doors.
Stubborn +2 Gain bonus to save vs. Charm/Compulsion spells, resave next round if you fail.
Round 6
Kilthan shakes off the effects of the nasty blow, happy to notice that his small companion managed to avoid the follow-up and then lashes out with the fury of his magically-fuelled rage and the speed granted to him by the haste spell, his scream to Angradd eaten by the magical silence.
for
for
Jadgbach steps forward as his two-foot friend knocks the strange-smell man back, his fury even greater than Kilthan's as he lashes out with fang and claw.
for
for
Kilthan
HP: 38/89
AC: 22/13/20
Full-Round Action: Full Attack vs. Pollard (w/ 5' step between attacks)
Effects: Adaptation (+2 Nat. Armour), Haste (+30'/+1 attack), Blessing of Fervor (+2 to hit, dodge AC, Reflex Save), Inspire Courage (+2 hit/damage), Rage spell (+2 Str and Con/-2 AC).
Jagdbach
HP: 77/77
AC: 23/13/18
Full-Round Action: 5' Step + Full Attack vs. Pollard
Effects: Haste (+30'/+1 attack), Blessing of Fervor (+2 to hit, dodge AC, Reflex Save), Inspire Courage (+2 hit/damage), Rage (+4 Str and +6 Con/-2 AC -- 6 rounds remain)
Round 6
Rohara watches Aarakess go down as the Doppel-Eligos seems to take out some vendetta against the Witch. She considered granting Justin some of the luck granted by Desna but he moves out of reach and hears the pained outcry from Kilthan. Knowing she cannot reach him she figures it best to use one of her few remaining channelings.
"Desna, heal those of us wounded that we may continue the battle as the evil fights on!' The wave of holy energies wash over her companions and do not effect Eligos or his man.
<-- Elf
Skorhald and Justin combine to finish off Eligos/Hawk Face Man/Shoanti. When he dies, his body shimmers into than your typical doppelganger. One thing is a weird symbol on his forehead. It had also appeared there when in the form of the hawk faced man and as a Shoanti.
Greater doppelgangers are often masterminds behind a cell of doppelgangers, hatching evil schemes while searching for more greater personalities to consume
Dryn'taka takes a shot at Pollard and misses. Seeing his master fall, Pollard tries this time to take out Kilthan before passing to the other side as well. He manages to connect, but does not do enough to end Kilthan's life.
*Hit*
- Bad Guys, Skorhald, Justin, Kilthan, Rohara, Aarakess, Dryn'taka
AC 23 T 14 FF 19 CMD 28
round 7 Justin
Justin wants a shot.
Finally Pollard dies, reverting to a normal looking doppelganger.
Combat Over!
I just wanted to say thanks for letting me into this game! That was a blast, and I only caught the last little section of it live. Great combat and interaction all!
Knowledge(nature): <-- so close, maybe I should drop 2 skill ranks into on leveling, lol
Justin rushes to help Aarakess up. He looks her over carefully. "Dwarves are tough! Check out that axe!!!" Justin can't help but pick it up.
Aarakess stands up and once more looks at her torn and shredded clothes, apparently not really thinking about the wicked gouge left by the axe.
I need to get tougher clothing. These just keep getting shredded.
Fortunately nobody has mentioned that a dwarf wearing long flowing elven robes is rather strange.
Aarakess then casts Detect Magic and begins to look through the gear and the rest of the room for magical items.
She will also dismiss the black tentacles and the web.
Kilthan shudders, the magical rage tearing through him as he turns on Justin, only catching himself before snarling... That was my kill... Ok, this spell is not good for my mindset. He takes a deep breath and lowers his axe, trying to find calm and holds out a hand to silently direct his furry companion to do the same.
He feels the rage slip away as the silence is dismissed, allowing him to hear the pounding of his heart. He turns to Justin with a smile, pointing to the corpse with his Waraxe and says, "Glory hound."
Skorhald dismisses the areas of silence and says, "Aye, a pretty dwarven lass such as you should have proper leathers or homespun, beard or no beard. Well fought all, this story will surely be worth a few pints in the taverns.
He also begins detecting for magic, checking gear, and looking about the room carefully.
The leader had a magical greataxe, wand, ring and scroll. Aarakess can easily identify that the wand is a wand of cure moderate wounds (26 charges). She also can tell that the greataxe is +1, but there seems to be something more to the axe than at first glance....
"Pollard" has on him - mw studded leather armor, heavy steel shield, +1 longsword
"Dryn'taka" had all of the real Dryn's items, plus one other interesting object. It is a sapphire that detects as magical and is worth 2,000 gp.
Spellcraft(axe):
Spellcraft(ring):
Spellcraft(scroll):
Spellcraft(sapphire): <-- add +1 for leveling, I forgot I have not leveled yet
Aarakess looks at the rest of the party.
Nice axe. It is magic and I think will cause anyone hit to suffer freezing damage as well. The ring has protective magic. Moderately powerful, something that I could use to avoid getting killed, although it might be better for Skorhald if we agree to keep me from getting hit.
The wand is fairly powerful healing magic. Not sure about the scroll though. It seems fairly powerful, but I am not certain exactly what it is.
Oh, and there is something about the sapphire that the Dryn clone had. It is clearly magic, but I cannot figure out what it is. Let me study it a little more.
Aarakess is not sure, but Dryn'taka recognizes it as the gem the doppelgangers used when she was hooked up to the machine in this room.
In a locked cabinet that near that machine in the west of the room (that one of the keys obtained from the leader opened) are two other 2,000gp gems that radiate magic. They are identical the one that Fake Dryn'taka had and was using to impersonate her.
You look around some to see if there is anything hidden, and Aarakess notices a button close to the the throne. Pushing that button opens a secret door near the throne.
Behind the throne is a small chamber filled with ostentatious accoutrements. There is a bed, wardrobe, desk, and a small table in this room. The walls are covered in rich red velvet curtains and a strange rug of shifting, writhing geometric patterns on the floor. A large, full-body mirror stands in one corner of the room.
There is a wardrobe contains a number of different outfits (every one in the core rulebook) as well as 500gp in jewelry. The rug detects as magical, there is a 250 pound mirror that detects as magical, a spellbook, and a chest that is locked (but one of the keys found opens it).
Inside the chest is a host of forged and original documents detailing Magnimar treaties, merchant dealings, and religious papers. Reading through those documents clearly illustrate the depth of the doppelganger infiltration.
In addition there is a bag inside the chest. Inside the sack is 1,500 gp, a magic scroll, and a missive written with a strange alien hand, "I have a task for you, thrall. Meet me at the sewer junction beneath the cold forge and I will give you the details. There are some troublesome small minds that must be removed." The document is signed with a symbol identical to the tattoo on the forehead of the doppleganger leader.
4th—confusion, wall of fire, dimension door, phantasmal killer
3rd—clairvoyance, dispel magic, fireball, slow
2nd—arcane lock, false life, resist energy, scorching ray
1st-charm person, grease, mage armor, magic missile, ray of enfeeblement
The magical property of the rug allows it change patterns. It is worth 500gp
Once per day for 10 minutes the mirror will show the true form of a creature that is physically disguising its shape (will not work on illusions).
The mirror weighs 250 lbs and is worth 10,000 gp.
Spellcraft(rug):
Spellcraft(mirror): <-- stupid dice
What is your ruling on spellbooks? Can I have my familiar consume the pages? Or do I need to hire someone to craft scrolls?
The spells I can add to my familiar are:
Level 2 - False Life
Level 3 - Clairvoyance, Dispel Magic
Level 4 - Confusion, Dimension Door, Phantasmal Killer
Justin looks at the documents that show evidence of the evil and skullduggery of Eligos and his crew.
"These documents can be valuable. I am adverse to extorting or blackmailing anyone, but not adverse to claiming a reward to bring them to their rightful owners. They may be grateful to get them back."
Justin will make sure they distribute the documents to the original owners together and undo as much of the damage as has been done. He would hate to see another power grab these documents and cause more evil and chaos.
Happy to have her alchemical goody bag back (plus the rest of her stuff), Dryn is definitely in higher spirits than before. "I'm really glad that's over. I don't think I like having a twin. Especially an evil one that tries to hurt my friends." She then helps Aarakess on the identification of the magical items.
"The mirror lets you see people as people really are if they changed their shape. Unless it's an illusion spell. That scroll is a Fireball scroll. Loads of fun! This one is for taking control of people's mind. Don't like that one, nope."
"Well, from what I have learned from the little time I have been back, there is much to look over and figure out. What of the real Eligos, if there was one, and his estate. I am sure all of this is owned in some manner by the doppelgangers as well." Rohara comments.
"We should go through all that we have and find out how far the infiltration goes and who might be complicate and who has been fooled before we approach the authorities." The woman suggests before approaching anyone with what they have.
"And we will need to send word to Allustan as well of course. He would know if this creature was his friend all along of he had been replaced." She adds.
After all the items are gathered together and identified, "That is a good amount of items with magical properties on them. I am sure some will be very useful."
Dryn'taka and Aarakess confer and figure that the gem's contain thought and memories of the people put in those machines. The doppelgangers must use their innate detect thoughts ability to read those so they can pass any test and know anything that the person would know
Everyone can read the spoilers above since Dryn has id'd everything. Note that the mirror is large, bulky and weighs 200lbs.
"I may be good to lug that magic mirror a ways, but it would slow me down a bit. Might need someone to carry some of my haversack as my armor and Pappy's Ole Door Knocker will be all I can carry while lugging that. Might be good to rig some sort of harness as well if we can.
Spellcraft(False Life): vs DC17 -- 2 hours
Spellcraft(Clairvoyance): vs DC18 -- 3 hours
Spellcraft(Dispel Magic ): vs DC18 -- 3 hours
Spellcraft(Confusion): vs DC19 -- 4 hours
Spellcraft(Phantasmal Killer): vs DC19 -- 4 hours
Spellcraft(Dominate Person): vs DC20 -- 5 hours
Success for all:
Learning is in this order:
Day 1 - Confusion, Dispel Magic -- 7 hours
Day 2 - Phantasmal Killer/False Life -- 6 hours
Day 3 - Clairvoyance, Dominate Person (level 5, so I cannot cast it yet anyway) -- 8 hours
----
I do not know if we will have the time to do this or not. I assume that these pages are essentially lost, so if we sell the spellbook, we will have to deduct them. Also, Dryn may be able to learn formulas from some or all of these before my familiar begins to eat the pages (poor dragon).
I'm a dwarf! I can't be slowed by encumbrance!
"I am sure that we will have to make more than one trip to remove much of what lies within this... complex. Hopefully we find an exit that does not require us to go back through the water." Rohara adds with a smile.
Kilthan shrugs, "The water doesn't really bother me...."
Justin helps gather up all the treasures.
"Well, we can return the way we came to rest up in town, preferably at a nondescript inn. I suggest we return and make sure this complex is clear before moving on. We have an appointment to keep under the cold forge."
He adds: "I am not the most surefooted. I can see breaking that mirror if it is entrusted to me. I do think its abilities make it a handy item to carry despite its weight."
Kilthan says, "It is far too large to carry with us for a once daily effect, unless you've got a much bigger bag of holding than I've ever heard of."
"Justin, why would we wish to go to the Cold Forge? I believe that note meant us or to be more accurate, all of you. That would be why Dryn was 'replaced' and the attempt to frame Aarakess for murder. Which basically would discredit everyone else associated with her as well." Rohara says and looks to the rest of the group, "Unless everyone else thinks my interpretation is wrong?"
As to Justin's query of the mirror Rohara answers, "Well they had to move a lot of belongings into this part of of their lair somehow. That would be a lot of clothing to move through water and by an unpleasant octopus. If anything, the cost of such a magical item makes it quite worth while to move. I am not sure how we would use. I am sure it would be an interesting security device, for say the government or authorities of the city, if placed in the right place and a guard watches who passes in front of it. If there are any doppelgangers left out there, and honestly with an operation this big I would almost guarantee there are some out there impersonating other, it would root them out quickly enough.
"Maybe its the dwarf in me, but I'm not much for leaving valuables behind for others to steal - and I can lug the mirror. That said, fancy clothes and such doesn't sound much like treasure to me. My haversack here is enchanted to carry more than it seems however even fancy clothes
Either way, I'd much rather find a way out that doesn't involve getting wet."
You carefully search the rest of the compound down below here (Evrything from the doppelganger rooms to the end boss rooms, and can find no secret door or alternate way out. You come to the conclusion you will have to go back to the platform with the lever and potentially swim back out. (Or pull the lever and see what happens)
Justin has the party rest to recover in the secure and luxurious end rooms. Fully refreshed, they can deal with the transport of treasure out.
He heads to the platform on a rope tether and pulls the lever. He suspects the dopplegangers did not regularly swim out without a water creature to mimic.
To figure out if the lever will be dangerous to pull before Justin does it.
Considering the absurd rolls by Kilthan and Skorhald, these are probably just Aid Another rolls.