GM Evil's Silverhex Chronicles (Inactive)

Game Master Steven_Evil

If he has no idea the direction of the scent, he'll start by checking the stone circle for traps, then moving in, then checking the slab for traps as well. If it doesn't appear to be emanating from within the circle, he'll continue to the south side of the circle into the forested area, also checking for traps like a paranoid adventurer. Feel free to roll perception on his behalf at +4.

Erasmus Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

When Erasmus enters the stone circle, he turns to the group, eyes wide, and growls ferociously! He then begins gnawing on his arm, trying to consume his own flesh! He takes two large bites out of his own arm, before looking back up to the rest of you, a horrified look on his face.
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

"I'm going to take a wild guess and say that he's being mind-mucked. Lets try to lure him out. Here boy, come here."

Merisiel wrinkles her nose.

"Eww! Erasmus, if you were that hungry, why didn't you say something earlier..."

"Whoa...yuck.... don't worry, I'm alright. I'm alright. Mostly. It seems to have passed. Walk carefully around the circle, I seem to recall that our goal is under some rocks in the river bed, so we may want to look below. For now, since I've already taken the brunt of it, I'll finish inspecting the stone circle. Seems like the worst is over. Just give me some time to rest my stomach and patch up my arm..."

Take 20 to carefully inspect the stone circle for anything else. 20+4-2 = 22 Perception

Merisiel nods.

"Fair enough. I'll check the rocks over in the river."

She then moves to do exactly that.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20.

"At least that nastiness was short lived. I've seen worse, ghoulishly worse."

Kyra walks carefully around the circle of stones.

Eyes wide, Yoon opts for the 'sick joke' approach:

"You...sure you would not rather be cooked a little first before you do that?"

Quinn follows Kyra, staying even further away from the circle.

Merisiel notices a faint orange glow coming from underneath the rocks of the islet... She has found the latern! However, she'll have to move some of the boulders to get to it.

Strength Checks to move the boulders

Erasmus shrugs, then approaches the boulder. "If you wouldn't mind lending me a hand with this..."

For a brief moment he seems to be merely a puppet for some other being and he bends down to move the boulders aside.

Strength Check + Spirit Surge: 1d20 + 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 2 + (2) = 10

Strength aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Not getting the right leverage I guess.

Merisiel does her best to move the boulders.

Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15.
Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16.
Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9.
Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21.
Strength: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12.

Everyone is easily able to move the rocks DC 10, but when Merisiel pulls out the lantern, several strange things happen all at once. The wildlife in the area starts hissing, growling, and generally raising an angry ruckus, an elk comes charging out of the brush on the other side of the river, and the bear head from the tavern comes toward you, born aloft by a humanoid figure made entirely of light!

Once the figure is about ten feet away, the bear head flies at you, and suddenly a tiny fey creature is revealed! It screeches in a high pitched voice.
The lantern is mine! The whole forest is on my side!
Attack Merisiel with Bear Head: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Round 1
Merisiel (3 Nonlethal)
Yoon
Erasmus
Kyra

Sicklewit

Seoni
Quinn

Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"Come now, a candle loses nothing by lighting another candle - in fact, allow me to demonstrate!"

[dice=Fire Blast vs "Lucius," cover penalty]1d20+2[/dice]
fire damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"I'm hard pressed to believe that..."

Erasmus draws and hurls his starknife at the creature.
The starknife is silvered if it matters.

Attack+Spirit Surge: 1d20 + 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (12) + (4) + 6 = 22
Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Erasmus now has a -2 to Initiative and Int based checks, but a +2 on saves vs mind affecting effects, with an additional +2 if they are possession related.

Murderous Command on the Elk. This is not language based.

DC 14 will save or it will attack its nearest ally.

"May your own weapon turn against you fey creature."

"Tsk, tsk, little one!"

Merisiel wags a finger at the little creature, then moves forward to stab it.

Rapier: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20, for 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 damage.

Erasmus and Merisiel put an end to the Atomie before it can do much else, and the dancing lights spell in the form of the human dissipates before the limp body of the fey even hits the ground. The elk flees as soon as it sees its friend die on the end of the rapier, leaving you all alone to safely recover the lantern and head back to the inn to decide your next move.

Wow! That was over quickly! The Atomie could have really annoyed you guys for a few rounds, but even with the damage reduction you more than murdered the poor thing. The lantern may be used in the rest of the scenario, it is a Grim Lantern with a caster level of 1. Unfortunately, due to the macabre appearance and functionality, no one but Ulisha will buy it (at the end of the scenario when you finally meet her). Where to next?

Merisiel gives the tiny creature a burial on the island in the middle of the stream (by placing a few boulders over it in a rough cairn), and then turns to the others.

"Right then - shall we be on our way?"

...to the next location on the list!

Agreed - to the next location on the list.

Onward, down the line.

Onward! sorry to have missed the end of that last one.

I just arrived in Florida. I had planned on being able to update as soon as I got here, but my computer is packed all the way in the back of the truck. Expect everything to be updated/caught up/posted at least by Monday. Sorry for the delay everyone!

Your journey to Allenstead is uneventful, and some of you have more information than other to share.

When you arrive, you find Allenstead to be a quaint town, and consists of a few dozen buildings built along either side of a solitary dirt road that leads from Razmiran to a ferry dock on the West Sellen River. At the center of the village, construction is nearly complete on a large stone statue of a Razmiri priest that stands nearly 20 feet in height. The head of the statue peers down at a stage. Townsfolk are all wandering about the center, meandering as if they are waiting on something.

Kyra will ask one of the sailors that came with them what the deal is.

Knowledge(Local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18.

Merisiel shares what she knows with the others.

"Worship of Razmir began in the River Kingdoms, where it spread quickly and led to the creation of a theocracy. Allenstead has always resisted conversion despite being on the very edge of Razmiri territory.

Razmir is known as the Living God, a man who claims to have ascended to divinity by completing the Test of the Starstone. His faithful preach law, luxury, and obedience."

She then frowns.

"That statue of Razmir is troubling, considering the town's rabidly anti-Razmir stance; something drastic must have changed, and quite recently, too..."

Merisiel moves forward to look around.

Local: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (9) + 7 + (6) = 22

Quinn nods at Merisiel's explination before adding
"Pay attention to their masks. The more valuable the metal the closer to Razmir the priest."

I'll be on the lookout

Kyra starts looking for the priests.

perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

But is obviously distracted.

Hey, sorry for the delay again. I've been busy with a very intensive, and unexpected, job interview for an assistant manager job at a grocery store. I'm in the process of updating all of my games now.

Asking about the town doesn't reveal much, at all. The people seem hell bent on being in the town square, waiting for a man named Folloch to give his daily speech.

The basic information you can glean is as follows:
What happened here?
“We were visited by Folloch, priest of the great Razmir. He has given our lives meaning and shown us the joys of servitude and obedience.”

Where is Folloch?
“I do not know where he is now, but he will be here at noon, as he always is. Folloch never misses his daily sermon.”

What are you building?
“Folloch has entrusted us with a sacred task. We must erect a magnificent monument worthy of Razmir’s greatness.”

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6.

Merisiel frowns.

"This all seems highly irregular. I say we have a rather pointed 'chat' with the man, as soon as he puts in an appearance."

To be clear, the point I am referring to is a dagger tip.

Seems to me the entire population is under some kind of compulsion spell
With that thought Kyra starts up a detect magic and scans the people nearest.

Quinn nods in agreement. "A 'chat' would be good."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"Are we sure we came to the right town?"

Alright guys, I'm updating the map now, and I'm hoping we can all post enough to start finishing one of these encounters a week. I'm finally all settled in at home in Florida now, and aim to get all of my games back on track with steady posting. Hopefully I haven't angered you guys too much with these delays, especially considering they all happened so close together and without warning.

Right at noon, all of the meandering villagers make their way to the stage, crowding around you You are inside the yellow square, and are surrounded by villagers, waiting for Folloch to show. Right on time, he comes out of his house and takes the stage. He sees you all right away, recognizing you as new arrivals.
“Ah! My dearest children, it appears some stray lambs have
wandered into our flock! Surely Razmir can uncloud the minds of
these wayward souls.

He then pulls a rod out of his robes, and waves it at you. You all expect... something, perhaps a wave of mental energy, or a fireball, or anything really, and are just as surprised as Folloch is when absolutely nothing happens. He then gets curiously nervous, more than you would expect, and begins stammering.
My children! They are here to deface Razmir, and steal your glory! Defend me while I prepare for their assault!

He then jumps off of the stage, and starts running, while the crowd turns on you!
This next part is not a combat, but more of a "Skill Challenge": The villagers that have gathered at the base of the stage turn against the PCs, grabbing at them and trying to hold them back. While the unarmed townsfolk are no challenge in combat, their sheer numbers can prevent the PCs from chasing down their quarry. Instead of resolving this as a combat, the PCs have 3 rounds in which to succeed at a number of skill checks equal to twice the number of PCs. Each skill check represents one round of action, and a PC cannot use the same skill more than twice. So long as a player can explain how he might use a skill to escape a crowd, it’s a valid option. Examples include using Bluff to mislead the crowd, Acrobatics to jump past villagers, Escape Artist to wriggle out of their grips, and Climb to reach high ground. The DC for the skill checks is 15, though the GM can award up to a +3 competence bonus on a check if the player uses a skill in a particularly clever or effective way. If a PC uses a 1st-level spell in a clever way, it counts as a success without requiring a skill check.

None of Kyra's spells will help. She will try to use knowledge religion to spout Razmir rubbish and become one of the crowd.

Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Hmmm. Maybe it was the armor that gave her away?

Did her Detect Magic show any sort of enchantment on the populace? I requested a scan 4 posts up.

Merisiel dodges between several villagers, then lithely rolls between a few more, all the while keeping her eyes intently upon the fleeing 'cleric'.

Escape Artist: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9.

Unfortunately, the sheer press of bodies means that she doesn't make any headway.

None of Kyra's spells will help. She will try to use knowledge religion to spout Razmir rubbish and become one of the crowd.

[dice=Knowledge Religion]1d20+4

Hmmm. Maybe it was the armor that gave her away?

Did her Detect Magic show any sort of enchantment on the populace? I requested a scan 4 posts up.

The scenario doesn't give the actual information of the spell/item/ability he's using to muddle the people's minds, so I don't know that detect magic picks anything up. The scenario kind of pushes you along a lot, and doesn't give a whole lot of area for player ingenuity. Case in point, the mirror trick in the mausoleum is smart, and should work, but doing so ruins the entire "encounter" as it is, so the scenario doesn't allow for it. There are a lot of parts in here like this, where the GM and the PC's are both bound by RAW.

Quinn looks around, scanning the crowd, trying to remember local names.

Know Local: 1d20 + 7 + 1d6 ⇒ (19) + 7 + (5) = 31

"Dron, Gurog, Yala! Help me out, it's all a misunderstanding!"

Inspired Bluff: 1d20 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (14) + 1 + (3) = 18

Getting as far away as he can with that line Quinn tries to duck down and crawl his way out of the crowd, hoping they won't notice him long enough to escape.

Inspired Stealth: 1d20 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + (2) = 8

Unable to break free of the crush, Merisiel instead attempts to cartwheel over the top of the group surrounding her, and then make a mad dash for it...

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15.

...putting a bit of distance between her and the crowd, she then ducks down a side alley, and attempts to hide...

Stealth: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25.

...quickly stealing a shawl from a washing line, and ducking behind a cart.

Yoon wills a bright flash of light and heat over the heads of the crowd as a distraction Basic Pyrokinesis to generate a harmless flare...

...hiding behind her taller companions and the mob in general to escape...

Stealth: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

...and using her natural agility to spring between the press of bodies.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Looks like some of the others are doing all three rolls, so I might as well too.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

All her arguing and convincing do her no good until she spots a worshiper of Sarenrae, recognized by the holy symbol that makes a brief appearance. Reawakening the woman's faith and convincing her to help is difficult but she is finally persuaded enough to call on her family to open a way through the crowd.

"Stand aside my friends, for we have no desire to assault the flock of the living god. We have come as a test of your faith... and you have been found wanting... for the power of your keeper's scepter is fueled by your faith in the living god!"

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22

"For do your teachings not say to test your leaders as the great Razmiran too was tested by the Starstone?"

Erasmus begins to spout 'words of wisdom' doing his best to phrase them in a manner full of '10gp words' and confusing grammar, in hopes to put the townsfolk off a bit.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Through some miracle, or divine intervention, the lot of you are able to talk some sense into the populace, leaving some gripping their heads in confusion and some exclaiming in anger and confusion. The crowd all starts speaking at once, and you make out things such as
Wha-- What happened?
I don't want to fight you, I don't want to fight anyone!
Go, go get that liar Folloch! He's been using that stick of his to mess up our heads, I just know it!
Tear down the statue! Razmir is a lie!

You leave them behind, their angry voices fading as you follow Folloch to the stables, where he ran off to. You catch him in the middle of searching through a crate, while two armed guards load what's left of Allentown's wealth into a carriage. Seeing you, Folloch drops a potion he was about to drink, and levels the scepter at you one more time.
You! Do as I command!

When nothing happens, he growls and throws it to the ground, barking at the guards.
You! Kill them all!

Round 1
Yoon
Kyra
Quinn
Merisiel

Folloch

Erasmus
Seoni

Guards

Yoon, Kyra, Quinn, and Merisiel up! You're located currently inside the yellow box, having crossed under the wall and into the stables area.

Kyra will move forward and cast a Murderous Command on the nearest guard.

"YOON does as no one commands!"

Fire Blast vs Folloch: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
fire damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

"But maybe she should have listened when the old medicine woman said she should eat more carrots for her eyes."

Merisiel dashes forward, ready to stab a guard.

Double move.

Quinn moves up to help Merisiel flank next round while drinking one of his extracts and growing gigantic.

Brigand Will Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Yoon's fireblast goes wide, and the other heroes advance while Quinn grows larger and Kyra commands one of the guards to turn on his employer! The guard turns, and draws his sword, ready to slash at the charlatan! Folloch screams in fear and anger.
NO! What are you doing! I am the only one who controls people around here!!
Attack Folloch on Guards' Turn: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

As the guard advances on Folloch, the man begins casting a spell, after retreating farther back toward the carriage.
Spellcraft DC 16:

Round 1
Yoon-Chucks Fire, Misses!
Kyra-Mind Controls a Mind Controlled Guard (Yo Dawg...)
Quinn-Advances, Enlarges
Merisiel-Advances a Lot

Folloch-Starts Casting, Five Foot Steps Backwards

Erasmus-Up
Seoni-Up

Guards

Seoni is having some RL stuff going on still, so I am going to bot her for now.

Seoni advances, and lets loose a bolt of raw energy at the charlatan!
Let me show you real magic!
Magic Missile Damage to Folloch: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Damage to Folloch after Guards and Seoni: 7