GM Chie's Gallows of Madness (Inactive)

Game Master Korolan

Petrello's Haberdashery is a small two story building, with a decent sized display window. Inside are a variety of hats displayed on a few hat stands. Inside, a slim man with a leather apron is carefully stitching silver trim to the outside brim of a black stetson. With a quick look around the store, you see a variety of different hats of different make and quality.

An instant after you walk in the door, he looks up from his work with a wide smile "Ah, Welcome to Petrello's Haberdashery! What can I do to ensure you leave here with a hat today?"

Miri looks around the shop a moment. Untrained Appraise: 1d20 ⇒ 8

"I can't speak for my colleagues, but I'm not here for a hat. Rather, we're curious about Betrona. We heard she's gone missing and were hoping you could tell us if you saw or heard anything unusual? We'd also like to know what her living arrangements were, and if we could see them."

Miri mutters. "Besides, these ears don't get along with headgear."

After hearing Miri's questions, his smile quickly turns to a furrowed brow and a frown. "I knew it! I knew when my daughter didn't show up for work it was a bad omen! It's that Apothecary Boy! He's a bad influence! If you're just here to stir up trouble, I'd just as soon have you gone! Besides, you're blocking the space for all of my customers!"

Uh oh, that doesn't look like it went over well. Anyone have ideas for how to smooth it over?

Profession(untrained): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10 Bash glances around at the piles and piles of hats, especially the one Petrello is working on "Nope, no hats for me." He knocks his knuckles on the side of his Dwarven boulder helmet. "This be the best hat 'round this place, n it ain't close!"

Once he gets uppity about the line of questions, Bash laughs His daughter is makin' the rounds with the other kids in town, that case is wrapped! He looks out the window to check on the line of customers, seeing none he pulls out the writ from the Mayor. "Don't get yer sombrero sideways Senor. The mayor asked us to make the rounds, so spill the beans and we'll go find yer little lass."

Appraise: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

"Oh my, what hats you have here! I'm very impressed. Quite the hat maker you are, no doubt about it. But, tell me, it seems as if some of these hats were made by another hand - " Fizzlebottom holds up one of the hats that his Appraise check has revealed to be of higher quality - "Who made this one, for example?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Dusty raises his eyebrows, What is it makes the Apothecary's boy such a pile o' no good?

Between Fizzlebottom's interest in the hats, and the writ displayed by Bash, Petrello calms down considerably. "That hat was made by my Daughter, Betrona. Were you interested in a new hat? I'm sure that would look delightful on you!"
A moment after giving his sales pitch, his face seems change to concern and worry. "I'm sorry, I've been really worked up since my dearest Betrona didn't show up for work. I told her not to go running off with the other apprentices, that Gellion and Nolaria would be nothing but trouble. Even after expressly forbidding her to go, she went out anyway! Probably hanging around the graveyard on the edge of town, or the Orchard. That's where those delinquents seem to gather. If you find her, Please keep her safe! If her mother wasn't quite so lenient, she would listen more."

What kinda Orchard is that? Graveyard already speaks to its own manner of trouble.

Appraise (untrained): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

She's run off with an apothecary boy? Perhaps this man would rather not know what we find them doing-- but he deserves to. Sinners will sin, and must atone. To prove he means only to help, Hush chooses a plain-colored and rather shapeless hat and puts it on. Wordlessly he hands the hatter the coins to pay for it (however much that might be).

"Can you tell us anything about this Gellion, or Nolaria?" Miri asks. "Why were they trouble? The more you can tell us, the sooner we can try to bring them back."

"...vermin problem.." - Kiddir says before to go to the hat shop "vermin problem this is where we actually should start... the key to everything of course will be there."

In the room he keeps quiet, studying the seller and his reaction to various questions.

Interestingly, he at least tried to look for her?

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 19

As Hush picks up a rather Shapeless hat, Petrello smiles and takes the 2 silver that the price tag implies.

When Miri asks about Gellion or Nolaria, Petrello takes a more secretive tone. "I know their type. Thinking they know everything and trying to pry into every little crack and crease for more. Well, it never turns out well for their type!"

The Orchard and Graveyard are pretty easy to find on the map (And have been marked on the slides) as additional locations to potentially investigate.

"Hangin out in an orchard eh. That's nearby right? Lets make that our next stop." Says the ornery Dwarf as he stands there getting uneasy. Bash doesn't do well when he's just standing around bored. He looks at the others waiting for them to finish their questions.

"Why, yes, I'm sure that I could use a new hat, and this one is really quite lovely. Your daughter has clearly, um, inherited your talent for hat-making." Fizzlebottom looks a bit doubtfully at the hat that Petrello is working on. "Don't worry, we will surely find her!"

Miri says, "Sure, the orchard seems good. If they've been there, maybe we can find something.

"Oh, and Master Petrello, you said your wife was too lenient--could we talk to her? Maybe she would know something."

Next stop, the trees?

To the trees!

With a dejected sigh, he looks at Miri. "Did the folks in town tell you to give me trouble? I know I'm not the best Haberdasher in town, but I've got to work hard to support my daughter," he begins, almost in tears. "Her Mother," Petrello continues, "is Drummady Laterna, the owner of Dependable Drummady's. Her and my son Pavolus work as cobblers. You could ask her there."

So we've got a few options here. A few voices for the orchard, perhaps Dependable Drummady's or the next one on the list?

EDIT: Sounds like the trees has half the votes, so let's give that a shot!

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (16) - 2 = 14

Fizzlebottom senses that Petrello is not on the best of terms with his child's mother. "My friend, you are too hard on yourself, your hats are exc-eeelllent," Fizzlebottom lies Bluff: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25, and I'm sure that your wife would do well to remember how hard you work. Be sure that we'll speak to her to reassure her as well. Have no fear!"

Re the question of where to go next, I'll defer to the other party members since I've played this part already. Am also trying hard not to influence the investigation for the same reason.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

Miri seems confused until Fizzlebottom says something. "What do you--oh! Master Petrello, I'm sorry. I know this is hard. We just need to get all the information we can so we can do our best and get your Betrona back."

Dusty looks deeply uncomfortable at Petrello's display of emotion, and decides to let the others handle the untalented haberdasher.

"Eh. Hats are hats when it comes to a dwarf. If ya aint' in a fight then they'll keep the sun off yer head fine enough." He waves the group on, his boots getting antsy and scraping up the floor boards.

Not just dwarves. Hush had sworn off ornamentations when he took up Shelyn's cause-- all except Her own symbol. Some of us recognize that the only beauty to be had is in the goddess of beauty Herself. He can't sign all that though, of course, so he simply indicates, Agreed.

To the Orchard!

Rows of neglected apple trees sway in the wind, and the occasional rotting, worm-eaten fruit falls with a wet thud to the ground below. The earth is heavily trampled near the southern end of the orchard, and an overturned barrel of apples lies broken on its side, exuding a sickly sweet scent. A wooden shed stands near the broken barrels, with a small placard on the side: Old Sarini Orchard Operated by: above a small inset square perfect for holding a piece of parchment.

"Uh oh. I don't like the looks of this."

Miri mutters to herself as she examines the trampled earth and overturned barrel. Okay, now, just like you learned. Look for small signs. Footprints. Disturbed grass, disturbed plants. Don't get too close to the tracks you can see until you've made sure you aren't standing on a track you can't. You can do this. You're not going to screw this up like you did in the test. Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 "Okay, this... this looks like a fight broke out. A couple of days ago. Whoever lost got dragged out..." Miri trails off for a moment as she slowly walks toward the street. "...and I'm losing the trail on the street. Probably won't find it again.

"Oh, but here's this bag." She opens it. "Some sort of... pellet, I guess? And there's something else in here."

She gives the rest of the scene a cursory glance Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (10) - 1 = 9 (+1 for a total mod of +0 vs. traps) but is otherwise focused on the track and the bag of pellets.

Bash trudges out into the orchard, smelling the smell of fall in the air and the whiff of apples on the breeze "Now we're talkin!" His heavy shod boots sink into the soft ground as he looks around the trampled ground and the broken barrel. "Lets have a look, keep yer faces to the ground fer clues!" He turns to Hush in particular "And speak up if ya see or hear anything useful man, yain't said a thing this whole trip!"

Survival, DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Perception, DC18: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Bash quickly heads to the trampled ground, his dark eyes scanning the tracks with trained skill "Woah now, here's somethin. It looks like there was a fight here a few days ago. Two figures struggled, knocking over this here apple barrel. Looks like one of 'em, the winner I guess eh? Half-dragged half-carried the other out of the orchard, to that cobblestone street where the trail goes cold." He bends over and picks out a decent looking apple and takes a bite, spraying sticky juice into his beard.

As he bends down, Bash picks up something else besides the apple, discarded near the roots of the tree is a stitched leather bag full of heavy pellets and a small grip. "Maybe one of 'em lost this in the fight?" This a sap?

Dang, ninja'd thanks to that phone call! Oh well.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Dusty draws the attention of the others to a very unpleasant looking tree. I can't rightly be called a botanist, but I don't need to be one to see that that thing ain't right.

Warily he approaches the buzzing tree, crossbow at the ready.

Seeing Dusty with his crossbow out, creeping up on the tree, Bash gets an excited look on his face and draws out his Dwarven Longhammer, making a couple warmup swings, flexing his thick, short arms. As he swings you can hear an eerie whistling sound from the grooves in the hammer head. "Whatcha see up there? Somethin' that needs stompin?" Bash stalks along with the man.

Bash tries to keep in front of the others during any times where combat is expected or exploration is happening. He's got combat reflexes and 10' reach with the longhammer.

survival: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18
perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Fizzlebottom ponders the evidence of the fight and wonders what it could all mean.

Miri finishes conspiring with Bash over the trail. "Oh! This could totally be a sap. Good eye."

She then un-distracts herself. "Huh? Oh, what's up there? Can you see something, Dusty?" She unlimbers her bow, and keeps her distance.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Hush, too, notices that one tree seems distinctly out of place. He draws his twin shortswords and watches it warily.

Thanks for being patient with me guys! Yesterday was a Big Game day in my area, and I'm just finally back to the computer!

After a few moments, the buzzing drone gets louder, and from the Infested tree fly down three beetles, covered in stringy purple slime and a sickly orange glow coming from their abdomen.

Bold may go!

Miri Laishramn
Fizzlebottom
Hush
Kiddir
Red Beetle
Blue Beetle
Dusty Bligh
Bash Steeltoe
Green Beetle

Sorry for the accidental forum name post! Got sloppy trying to finish a post before running out the door this afternoon.

Miri leans out over Hush. "Beetles!" and tries to see if she can tell what kind of beetle they are.

Knowledge (nature) to identify the beetles: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Wish I knew more about those, but it's a pleasant change from demons...

Miri switches her bow in her hands free action to change hands and drops her backpack free action to drop? from her shoulder.

She then knocks an arrow and fires at a beetle!

Longbow, point-blank, targeting Red Beetle: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

If that hits... Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Is there a map for this combat? I'm not seeing a link...

Gallows Part 1 link under Chie's name. Took me a minute, too.

Gallows Part 1 link under Chie's name. Took me a minute, too.

Ah, got it, thanks.

Fizzlebottom looks at the enormous beetles and wonders what they are, and whether they have minds to influence. He stares at the nearest one - the green beetle - with the intention of weakening its will. Perhaps I can coax it to return to whence it came? Or just to take a nap....

Swift action to activate Hypnotic Stare (-2 on Will saves) on Green (this is mind-affecting, so it might be immune...). If it's not immune, if anyone damages Green, it takes one additional point of non-lethal damage (once/round).

Then he pulls out his crossbow and loads it. Move action to retrieve the crossbow, second move action to load the crossbow.

Such ugliness. Hush speaks aloud for the first time this mission.

"My ally is Love.
My enemy is Love's enemy.
Love's enemy... is fear."

His brightly-colored holy symbol flashes. Swords at the ready, he strides confidently forward.

Using my Frightening Presence blessing. Opponents need to make a DC 14 Will save to attack me; success means they are unaffected, failure means the attack is wasted and can't attack me for 1 minute.

"I told you."

With those words he briskly goes forward at the same time unwinding the chain.

Spiked Chain: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 162d4 + 3 ⇒ (1, 2) + 3 = 6
Sneak Attack: 1d6 ⇒ 5 11 to the green; please move my token! :)

Miri lets loose an arrow, and it pierces through the Red Beetle, pinning it to the tree behind it, splattering an unsightly orange glowing fluid on the bark and branches.

As Fizzlebottom stares a threatening glare, the beetle chitters menacingly, seemingly unaffected.

Hush, for the Record, the 'Frightening Presence' that you are using is the Charm Blessing, correct? I just want to make sure that I am applying everything correctly.
As Hush approaches (Speaking no less!) the remaining beetle, it chitters in his direction, awaiting his further approach!

Kiddir's spiked chain crushes the green beetle, leaving a splat of Ichor and glowing fluid all over the chain. Days of Glow: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Bold may go!

Miri Laishramn
Fizzlebottom
Hush
Kiddir
Red Beetle
Blue Beetle
Dusty Bligh
Bash Steeltoe
Green Beetle

Before he even knows what's going on, two of the three beetles are dead "Hey now! What the f%+~! Bash is the one who's supposed to be doing the bug stompin!"

He steps around Kidder and gives his longhammer a swing, crashing the head down on the beetle. Longhammer: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 132d6 + 6 ⇒ (1, 5) + 6 = 12

With the final swing of Bash's Longhammer, the final beetle turns to a glowing paste, coating the head in the glowing ichor. Days of Glow: 1d6 ⇒ 4

After squishing the glowing beetles, an examination of the exoskeletons shows that the purple strands match the goo left of the tree. On a closer inspection, all of the fruit from the 'Infected' tree had dropped to the ground, rotting and the leaves are a greenish yellow sickly shade.

That Sack of Pellets is a Sap, and a Nice one at that. A good handle, and stitched tight for a good swing. Now that those beetles are taken care of, is there anything you'd like to take a closer look at?

Anyone got any thoughts on what in the hells that all was?

Yes, Frightening Presence is from the Charm blessing.

Before Hush can bring his swords to bear, his allies pick off the beetles one after another. His divine protection stays in place, but subsides a minute later. He sheaths his swords. Good work.

Anyone got any thoughts on what in the hells that all was?

Bash tries wiping the glowing schmootz off his hammer on the grass as he responds to the dusty looking traveler "That's whatcha call a grade A ass kickin!" He takes another step and crushes his foot down on the head of a beetle that looked like it might move SPLATTT!

"How 'bout we check out that shack there, maybe we'll get lucky and find some more beetles to crunch!" Bash heads over to the shack and has a look at the sign before opening the door.

Miri keeps her bow-arm at the ready. "Sure... but what's up with this gunk on the tree? Any ideas?" She looks at the sticky purple substance, careful not to touch it until she has a better idea of what it is.

Let's see what you know about this gunk:

The door to the shed is poorly maintained, and almost falls off its hinges when Bash goes to open it. Inside are old rusty tools, and buckets for carrying apples. It looks like this orchard hasn't been maintained in a while.

Anything else that you all want to look at while you are here? Otherwise, do you want to go somewhere specifically elsewhere?

Miri thinks back on the nature training she had up north.

Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Ugh. I thought I was done with dealing with this sort of thing! Freaking demons.

"...we..." Miri swallows. "We really need to get rid of this stuff. It's Demon's Bile. It lures vermin, so here's our vermin connection. It'll keep growing, and if it gets big enough, it'll make its own vermin. I don't suppose any of you is secretly a cleric? Or has a handy cold iron weapon?"

Miri fusses around with a quiver. In her professional opinion, does she think cold iron arrows would be able to damage a demonic biofilm?

"I bet there's more of this somewhere in town. But how did it get here? Oh, and don't eat it."

"DEMONS? Bile? What the f&%+. And I thought this was gonna be another pleasure cruise filled with ass kicking and free ale. You're saying we need weapons made of cold iron to hurt the stuff? Not my first choice for metal, but it ain't half bad. I'll need to get some quick then." He says matter of factly as he reaches and touches each of the many weapons hanging from his person, none seeming to be made out of anything but steel or iron.

He rummages around the apple shed quick for anything useful before propping the door back where it was, shrugging his shoulders, and heading out with the group. Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Well, maybe we should go try talkin to whatever holy man or town guard, or the mayor or somethin, let'em know they're dealin with f&#~in demons." More like WE'RE stuck dealin' with demons! He snorts and spits a large lump of snot onto the side of the sickly tree.

Any cold iron weapon should do the trick, so I don't see why an Arrow wouldn't. Seems like a reasonable use of a consumable! List of Locations follows: If you want to talk to a Holy Man, I might head to the Temple of Erastil (who is missing an apprentice.) If you're looking for Cold Iron Equipment, I'm certain that Saringallow's Sundries should be able to help you out! Otherwise, Pricknettle's is the next on the list.

• Pricknettle's Potions and Poultices
• Temple of Erastil
• Gunty's Hearty Breads
• Dependable Drummady's
• Petrello's Haberdashery
• Witch's End Tavern
• Saringallow's Sundries
• Town Hall
• Orchard
• Graveyard

Miri will pull an arrow out of her quiver and try to scrape the "bile" off.

Miri will try to use a cold iron arrow as an improvised weapon; when using it like this, CRB says it deals damage as a dagger. Lemme know if something weird comes out of this attempt!

Otherwise, fine with going wherever. If scraping bile goes poorly, maybe Miri'll want to visit the temple.