GM DSP presents Crown's Reach! (Inactive)

Game Master Darksmokepuncher

Quickly reacting to Cecil's touch, Brynn swats his hand away and looks to Kayla. "I'm not sure. Kayla, try something."

"Ha ha. As amusing as this is we need to deal with it later. We should prepare from the journey."

lollerbeans...I just added better treasure should you win for that banter and Armen's song. Just waiting on the commune spell now. You can always move on without it...

I/Cecil has no idea how to deal with that.

Commune

"Maestro, do we need more preparation before attempting this great task set ahead of us? Are we as prepared as we will ever be?"

Commune

I meant I suck with those kinds of spells. ;-) Divination is not something I've ever found particularly useful with a few notable exceptions.

"Hold that thought Brynn, we should probably ask a couple questions for the spell before I show you how to put your armor on now."

"Maybe we should ask if the information you have about the lich's location is correct? Maybe ask if we will be teleporting into a trap? I hate to think that they'd actually expect us to do something like this."

Osslend ponders. "I'm not very good at this stuff but I think we want to weed out vagueness, right? So maybe, 'Will they be expecting us when we teleport into this place?' I can see how 'trap' by be vague. I like the other question you asked, Kayla."

Are we actually asking these questions now, or are we discussing which questions to ask? You may ask one at a time as the answers will likely lead to other questions.

I think we should go ahead and ask if the location we have for the lich is correct. Otherwise we'll have to ask more questions to figure out where it is.

I am assuming "Do we have accurate information about the Lich's location?" is the question.

A disembodied voice far above you answers.

"Yes, but your information is incomplete."

Cecil suggests to the group, but does not ask to the man,"How about Does anyone present have the information we need?"

"Sounds alright. Six more to go."

The voice in the clouds responds.

"No."

Cecil looks around unsure what to ask.

"Maybe not just a question of, 'Will we survive,' but maybe something like, 'Will we kill the lich with the current tactics we've been using?'"

"Still too vague.

Armen ponders a second

"Will the Lich's death ensure Pollexia's victory?"

"I meant that we're likely up against an incredibly powerful foe if he's controlling armies at will, and I'd like that we not go into this using our previous tactics if they won't work."

A little insight that I don't know if I'm allowed to give:

After DSP showed the character sheet of this lich to a few people, their reactions were both of the "OMG WTF" persuasion. It sounds like this fight may be really, really difficult, and a TPK if we aren't incredibly careful. Remember: don't metagame! @*(#.

Will the Lich's death ensure Pollexia's victory?

"Yes, as long as the queen dies too."

Asking things like 'will we win' is not clear. Asking about tactics to use is a good idea, however, you'll have to be specific. Don't ask 'will our tactics work?' because this isn't a scripted fight, you should be fluid in your tactics. Ask about specific tactic combos. That could be useful, however, most of those answers depend on whether or not the Lich is able to alter his tactics. If so, such questions will only be mildly helpful.

Hearing a few questions, Brom is starting to get the hang of this divination magic.

"Is the Lich expecting attack?"

The voice answers: "Yes."

Four questions left :P

"Is the Lich expecting attack?"

The voice answers: "Yes."

"Crap." Cecil says at that answer. "That doesn't bode well for us."

"Well, he could just be the perpetually paranoid type. I should have specifically asked if he were expecting OUR attack. We need to utilize this somehow to locate the Lich's phylactery, else we have little to no chance of destroying it. Hmm... "

"Does this Lich keep his phylactery within his castle?"

"It is in his labratory, yes."

"It is in his labratory, yes."

"Is he expecting our attack specifically?"

"No."

2 more :P

"Well, that's good news so far. He's not expecting us specifically and we know the general location of his phylactery. I'm not sure what else to ask right now though. I'd like to be able to pinpoint the best day to launch this attack, but not sure how to do that with the questions we have left."

The duke's daughter, the cleric, speaks up.

"Has the lich taken precautions against teleportation?"

"Yes."

"No."

Cecil lets out a sigh of relief. "At least their's that. "

"Too much pressure for the last question. I don't even have the slightest clue what to ask."

"We could ask... Armen snickers uncontrollably for a second, then regains some composure.

"...if Brynn will.. he cracks again, tears streaming down his face, then takes a deep breath

"...if he would win Pollexia's beauty pageant next spring."

And with that, he bursts into rather obnoxious laughter.

Brynn begins to grit her teeth as her eyes glaze over for a few seconds, almost as if she's looking through Armen's face, straight into his soul. Within a few more seconds, she manages her rage into a controlled anger, and eventually her eyes focus on Armen's. She simply says through an expressionless face, "Don't."

Brynn has expended one round of rage for the day. :)

Lol

Come on guys, it's just one more question!

Oh dear. Time to distract Brynn before we lose a bard.... Kayla will move in front of Brynn, blocking her view of Armen. "Come on Brynn we're about done here so let's go get you into your armor. You can see how mine goes on, that should help you figure it out. You're also going to have to remember to move your arms out more when you swing a weapon since your chest sticks out a bit farther than what you were previously used to."

"How about are we teleporting to the true Phalactry location?"

"Yes!"

This time, the voice is much louder. Looking up, you see a streaking light flying toward the earth. You all prepare for the impact, but none comes.

Instead a fiery, angelic woman stands in your midst.

"I have more to tell, brave warriors. Those that would brave this terrible form of undeath certainly merit all the information Sarenrae can provide."

"This creature is forsaken. His maleficous experiments offend both life and magic and both forces seek his destruction. Alas, but this creature is old and powerful and will not easily sucumb to natural selection."

"Sarenrae blesses your endeavor and will temporarily weaken the teleportation ward. However, the Lich's sanctum is such a malestrom of magic and dark energies that you will not be safe to teleport directly into it. Instead, you should jump to the antechamber and walk in normally. Caution! I do not know what manner of ill things have been doen to that door in the interest of defending the catacombs."

"Inside is unfortunately too dark for my eyes to see from afar. I can only say that you will face darkness unlike any you've yet imagined. Guard you minds and bodies well, but guard your soul most of all. This fiend will no doubt make a home within if you're not careful."

"May the blessings of the Dawnflower protect and guide you, mighty champions!"

She vanishes in a flash of searing light, white hot, but utterly comforting.

You each get +1 to Will saves vs. mind and death effects. Kayla, as a faithful of sun goddess, get a +2

Make final preparations, morale speeches, comments, jokes, etc. when we're all ready, we'll get ya to the Lich.

Does anyone have magics to protect from evil?

"Uhm, none that I've prepared for the day. I wasn't quite expecting this mission when I prayed this morning."

how much more in game time do we have here? Ithougth we were given a couple days to prep?

^This. I was assuming I would have more time to...ahem...get used to my new body.

You have as much time as you want. Though extreme dilly dallying will aggravate the Duke.

how long is too long? i'm assuming it took a while for everything and to go to the tavern. what time is it in game now? should we wait and go early next morning?

It's 2 pm. Prepare how you will, I will roleplay NPC's for you. Just talk to the Duke when you're all ready.

Cecil's as ready as he's going to be.

Are the NPCs ready to go now?

As stated earlier as part of her attempt to distract Brynn from killing Armen, Kayla takes Brynn back to the quarters they used last night and helps her make some quick modifications to her outfit and how to get herself into her new armor without squishing her new breasts.

"Your uh... duke-ness. Is there an alchemist who may potions and the like for us nearby? Or perhaps a wizard we could acquire some scrolls from?"

"I have a good stock of potions and scrolls. However, my son caused a mishap a few years back...To make a long story short, I keep them under lock and key. What exactly are you looking for?"

"Well, it's more of a 'what is available and potentially useful' rather than a list of demands, if you understand? I'd like to see what you'd be willing to invest in our endeavour, really."

"I will invest anything that might be useful. Things I can think of offhand? Healing potions and scrolls, Anti-compulsion scrolls and potions, Augmentations against undead...I suppose I could send my daughter to compile a selction of items?"