GM Ladile's League of Kick-Ass Dudes: A Pathfinder Society Campaign (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Denair crawls along the walls towards the corpse, keeping her eyes and ears peeled.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

If the coast is clear, she takes a look at the corpse and the amulet.
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

Lazarus creeps forward and placing a light, restraining hand on Denair's arm, he casts detect magic and concentrates on the runes and other objects in the corridor, looking for any magical auras or other possible dangers. "Please permit me a few moments to examine the hallway, before we move forward, Denair."

If he detects nothing ominous, the wizard priest accompanies the eidolon closer to the corpse and examines the body and its amulet.

Guidance with Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 1 = 18
Guidance with Perception: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 1 = 8
Guidance with Heal: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 9 + 1 = 13
Guidance with Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 1 = 11

Frankie's eyes light up at the sight of the flashy runes and the sparkly amulet. His mouth drops open a bit though as Lazarus blockade's the area as he starts casting spell after spell after spell He sure casts lots of spells, sheesh! Before long though Frankie is pawing about looking for anything they may have missed. Perception, +1 vs traps: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Lazarus quickly catches hold of Denair, preventing her from moving further down the strange, rune-floored hallway. After giving the area a thorough examination for magical auras, he confirms that the runes do indeed exhibit auras of enchantment and compulsion magics.

It occurs to each of you as you look around that the walls of the hallway depict four figures guided along a path by a rat, a goat, a raven, and a hound - in that specific order. And it just so happens that you've stumbled across a raven dagger, a hound ring, and a goat bracelet during your explorations of preceding rooms...but where's the rat hiding?

The amulet on the corpse at the far end of the hallway glints tantalizingly in the light...

Does anyone have comprehend languages prepared? Or Read magic? I'm thinking that we need to see what section is at our feet. Is it the rat or the hound we have to first cross?

Lazarus casts read magic and examines the runes.

Then, if he sees nothing alarming, the wizard-priest retrieves his wand of monkey fish from his handy haversack and activates it.

He scurries carefully along the walls, and when he's within ten feet of the body, he tries to use prestidigitation to lift the amulet and draw it toward the party.

(Wand of monkey fish 49 charges remaining)

GM fail in my previous post; the animal order is: raven, hound, rat, goat.
__________

Lazarus' readings of the runes - as best as he can see since they stretch down the length of the hallway - reveals the following:

Deposit the flesh at the door,
Surrender your freedom forevermore,
Render your wages due,
Forget the desires you once knew,
Curse the gods until you break,
And enter the temple of the Snake.

After reading the runes, Lazarus activates his wand of Monkeyfish and begins trying to scuttle along the wall instead of crossing the floor. All seems to go well and he passes by the first set of runes...

Lazarus Will: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

...and for a moment, he feels strangely compelled to forget the amulet and hurry towards the room beyond, feeling that there is something within that he absolutely must see. But he blinks and the strange feeling passes, though it gives him pause...

Current Map!

The notes in the above spoiler are there so folks don't have to go back and dig through previous posts to find relevant information. Also I hope I didn't overstep my bounds Laz; I figured that he would still try to climb along the wall, at least a little bit.

Lazarus translates and Meredith gets her longspear ready.

"So we found the dagger with the raven hilt. The ring with a hound engraving. And the goat bracelet." She pulls out the reforged rod. "Does this have a rat engraving on it or something?"

While she examines it, she thinks about the rooms they passed. "Remember the room with that oily pond? That was dedicated to uh... Mammon. He lives in this rat-filled sewer. Did we miss something there?" She thinks. "That's where we found the goat bracelet."

She tries to point the rod at the rune Lazarus was going to pass. "Maybe we need to leave one item at each rune to disable it? Or maybe someone needs to carry all of them and get that amulet."

"That would seem the most obvious solution, Meredith," Brayden adds as he looks down the hall of runes. "I'm willing to give it a try. Perhaps have your bows ready in case anything jumps out at me." He smiles, only half-serious, then proceeds to collect the items and march down the hall towards the amulet.

Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

"Meredith might be right."

(Jan will move into a position near the front or lead portion of the party.)

"Lazarus, what do you think we should do?"

Frankie looks back and forth between the others as the adults talk strategy. "You guys sure do like to plan things out. Think of all the fun stuff you're missing out on!" He makes a big sigh and waits around for the 'go ahead' for fun.

Luckily I've been busy and you guys beat Frankie to the punch, else he'd have run right in there!

Now deciding to experiment a bit, Meredith carefully examines the mostly-mended rod to see if they might've missed some sort of a rat engraving on it, but no such luck. She then tries pointing it at some of the runes to see if anything will happen...and nothing.

After a bit of conferring the group thinks they've maybe figured out part of the solution to moving safely through the hallway and resolve to give it a try. As Lazarus falls back to the relative safety of the un-runed section of hallway, Brayden gathers up the three animal items you've discovered and carefully begins to walk forward. He passes across the first set of runes...and as he does, a flash of light emanates from the raven dagger and the runes grow dim.

He pauses for a moment, waiting to see if anything else happens, but nothing does. And he feels no different than before. Brayden slowly begins to walk forward once more, crossing over the second set of runes. This time, the hound ring flashes with light and this second set of runes grows dim. Nothing else happens and the samsaran feels no different than before.

Now emboldened, he picks up the pace and moves towards the end of the hallway where the splayed corpse lies. As he draws close he can see that the amulet around its neck looks to have a peculiar shape. He steps across the third set of runes...

Brayden Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

...and for a brief moment, feels compelled to hurry down the steps and into the room beyond. But the feeling passes as quickly as it came. He hurriedly kneels down to inspect the amulet on the corpse and discovers that it's carved in the shape of a rat, curled into a circle. Reaching down, he pulls it off of the body...and it flashes with a bright light as the third set of runes grow dim. With nothing left to do but continue onward, Brayden moves across the fourth and last set of runes...and the goat bracelet flashes with light, leaving these last few runes dim.

Just beyond, at the bottom of the stairs, a large room awaits...and seems to beckon to you all...

"Good job, Brayden." She beckons Denair forward. "Let's get ready to head downstairs. Everyone, be on your guard!"

Denair's Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27
Denair's Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27

Dalen hurries to catch up with Brayden, hoping that nothing bad will happen while on her way down to him.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

"Brayden, my blue brother from another mother, well done, sir."

As Lazarus approaches the next chamber, he executes what by now is a standard operating procedure before anyone enters an unexplored area of this strange place, peering in and then casting detect magic, scanning for magical auras.
Guidance with Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Guidance with Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Guidance with Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

The way now clear, Denair creeps forward down the stairs and into the large chamber ahead while the rest of you congregate near the top and wait. The air in this chamber is strangely humid, and a thin layer of fog clings all across the floor. A staircase descends from the east and another staircase to the west is fully obstructed by rubble. Several statues with serpent motifs stand in the area. To the north, a large, green stained-glass window looms behind a twisted statue of three serpentine men conjoined at the hip. Vines snake across the floor from a central pool filled with luminescent green liquid. In several places, faintly glowing arcane script inscribed on the floor tiles shines through the mist and provides dim illumination throughout the chamber. The ceiling of this chamber looms high overheard, rising to what you'd estimate to be about 40 feet or so.

As Denair cautiously looks around the room Lazarus tiptoes down to the bottom of the steps and peers into the room from the relative safety of the stairwell, scanning for magical auras. It comes as no surprise to him when the script on the floor radiates an aura of magic - another compulsive enchantment of some sort. He also notes that this enchantment seems different in nature from the runes in the hallway behind him.

All is quiet.

Current Map!

*NOTE* - The squares with vines are considered Difficult Terrain. Please watch your step.

Dalen eyes the vines with suspicion, the memories of Angelmire too fresh in her mind to forget the strange plant people and their adeptness in hiding among the foliage. She doubted anything they found here would be as friendly as the ones they'd found there.

Frankie hops up and down trying to look over, under, and around everyone else to get a good look of the room "Wow! This place looks cool! More of those funny magic runes too.." He watches as Laz starts casting his spells. Perception, +1 vs Traps: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

"Maybe we can just hop over the magic runes and check out that neat pond in the middle. I bet its full of those bug eyed gold fish!" He creeps forward a bit, avoiding stepping on the runes towards the pool.

Denair creeps along, keeping her eyes and ears ready. Hey, secret door.

Suddenly she halts, stiff as a tree branch, and points at the statue.

"Watch out. It's moving!" She points at one of the statues.

"Yes, I think I saw the statue move, too." Lazarus, wands of bless and magic missile in hand, waits for the warriors to enter the chamber before him.

Then he follows them into the room, taking a closer look at the statue and the runes.

If possible, Lazarus will Take 20 for Perception 26. Otherwise:
Guidance with Perception re Statue: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 = 13
Guidance with Perception re Runes: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 1 = 24
Guidance with Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 1 = 23
Guidance with Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 1 = 23
Read Magic on the runes.

At level 4, Denair gains Woodland Stride, like the Druid ability. Does that work here?

"Great, of all the times to need a hammer," Dalen mutters as she hears that one of the statues is moving. She pulls out her bow and nocks an arrow.

"Which one is it?"

Yes, I'd say it would work here on the vines.

A few of you begin to creep into the room behind Denair and Lazarus readies himself to conduct a more in-depth examination of the chamber. But Denair and Lazarus both realize that one of the statues moved ever-so-slightly - and as the pair call out a warning, the statue in the southwestern corner comes to life! Its eyes blaze brightly with hellfire and its mouth opens wide to display sharp, finely carved teeth!

Round 1

Frankie
Dalen
Jan
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith
Brayden
==========
Statue

Active Conditions:

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Everyone is UP!

Current Map!
__________

Don't worry Laz, you'll get your chance to look around more thoroughly after this!

Attack (PBS): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Dalen moves up and snaps her bow up to take a shot at the now mobile statue. Sadly for her, the arrow is hilariously wide of the mark.

"And just what is that thing?" Brayden asks as he moves his blade up and around, holding it out front while stepping into the room. "I suppose I should approach and find out."

He steps into the room, pausing on the mess of vines. Then he holds his master sword katana up to the ceiling, and it begins to glow.

Brayden casts Lead Blades on his katana

Meredith moves up, shuffles through the vines and casts Long Arm on herself. She keeps her silvered heavy mace ready. "Let it come to us first, Denair."

Denair runs up to the thick vines. She waves her arms with a shoo gesture. The vines seem to part way long enough to comply with her request before snapping back to normal.

She gets up to the edge of the vine before Meredith offers a strategy. So Denair readies herself for the statue coming up to attack her.

"A moving statue! That's awesome! Woah those teeth look mean... I got just the thing..." Frankie hops a bit closer and draws out a forked stick with a rubber band, drops a round white rock into it. He pulls it back with his tongue hanging out and lets it rip with a Thwang!

Sling + Marble: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 221d3 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

The group springs into action, managing to react more quickly than the sneaky snake statue for some reason - maybe it was sleeping? Dalen looses an arrow from her bow that *clinks* against the far wall and tumbles to the floor while Frankie takes aim and shoots a marble from his slingshot. It whizzes through the air and nails the statue right between the eyes with a resounding *crack*...but otherwise doesn't seem to do any damage.

Brayden advances into the room and hefts his katana skyward, calling out a prayer to Shizuru as the sword begins to glow with a soft light. Meredith and Denair also move up; Meredith uses magic to elongate her arms as she cautions her friend to let the statue approach them, instead. And so Denair pauses and readies to strike at the statue once it comes within reach.
__________

Round 1

Frankie
Dalen
Jan
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue

Active Conditions:

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Jan and Lazarus are UP!

Current Map!

Knowledge (arcana) DC13: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

"It's a serpent effigy, a medium-sized construct!"

Activating the wand in his left hand, Lazarus casts bless on the party, then stows the wand in his handy haversack.
(Allies gain a +1 morale bonus on attack rolls and on saves vs fear effects. 42 charges remaining)

Unable to discern more about the statue than it's status as a construct, Lazarus uses his wand to grant himself and his friends a blessing before quickly stowing it back in his pack!
__________

Round 1

Frankie
Dalen
Jan
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Jan is UP!

Current Map!

Engaging Jan Botting Protocol

Jan hustles forward down the steps and across the room, nudging past allies and trying not to trip over the heavy vine growth, battleaxe and shield at the ready.
__________

Jan does a Double Move. It's super effective.

As the group approaches the serpent's eyes begin to glow brighter and bright with a red, hellish light, until...

*ZZZZZT!*

Beams shoot from the statue's eyes, targeting Jan who is closest and leaving him with a small burn on his leg!

Pew Pew (Ranged Touch): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Damage (Fire): 2d6 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
__________

Round 2

Frankie
Dalen
Jan (-2)
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Everyone is UP!

Current Map!

Maps have been acting weird today so let me know if you're unable to edit to move your tokens.

"I wonder if there is a way to 'turn it off' without destroying it. Perhaps a hidden button somewhere? I'm unsure how strong my blade will be against its tough flesh," the samsaran says as he continues to rush through the temple.

Another double move!

"You can take a look after we smash this thing. Come on, Denair!" Meredith enchants her heavy mace and climbs over the vines before trying to smash the statue with her long, vine-infused arms.

Silver Heavy Mace: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Arcane Strike, Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7

Denair is tired of waiting. The vines part as she runs into the corner and slams into it.

Power Attack Slam: 1d20 + 6 - 1 ⇒ (7) + 6 - 1 = 12
Power Attack Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 3 = 11

Brayden bravely moves forward, wondering aloud if there's a secret button or switch that'll deactivate the statue. If there is, maybe it'll even have a neat sound to go with it?

Deciding to take a more direct approach, Meredith and Denair both move up and attempt to shatter the statue with weapons and brute strength! While Meredith's mace connects with a *CRACK* and breaks off a couple of fangs, Denair's swing misses the mark but not by very much.
__________

Round 2

Frankie
Dalen
Jan (-2)
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue (-5)

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Frankie, Dalen, Jan, Denair, Meredith and Lazarus are UP!

Current Map!

Frankie's mouth drops a bit as his marble merely smashes to bits "Ah man, that was my best marble!" He hustles as fast as he can towards the statue to check it out, his dagger sliding out from his sleeve as he goes.

Double movin'

Lazarus activates the wand of magic missile in his right hand.
Force Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
(45 charges remaining)

"What's next? A chorus of furies?"

Bow(PBS, Bless): 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"Capering Imps? Maybe a succubus version of my mother?"

Frankie hustles forward to give Meredith and Denair a hand, all the while wondering if the statue has some sort of special defensive powers against marbles. Lazarus decides to keep his distance and return fire at the statue with a little pew-pew of his own...

Wand CL vs. SR: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

...but to his surprise, the missile impacts the effigy to absolutely no effect! Dalen seems to have better luck with her bow as this time her arrow impacts the statue and leaves it with a few additional cracks to match the ones that Meredith just gave it!
__________

Round 2

Frankie
Dalen
Jan (-2)
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue (-9)

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Jan is UP!

Current Map!

(Jan moves himself to gain what he sees to be his best tactical advantage).

This foul beast will die!

(Jan attacks with axe and shield)

Attack(axe): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21, Attack(shield): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Damage(axe): 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Shield(crit): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6, Damage(normal): 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

"Die you foul hell-spawn!"

Jan, incensed at being shot by the statue's beam, comes in like a wrecking ball and batters the construct further with axe and shield alike! More pieces fall away but the statue shows no sign of stopping as it snaps twice with sharp stone fangs, taking two mouthfuls of Ulfen flesh!

Bite vs. Jan: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Bite vs. Jan: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
__________

Round 3

Frankie
Dalen
Jan (-11)
Denair
Lazarus (Mage Armor)
Meredith (Long Arm)
Brayden (Lead Blades)
==========
Statue (-15)

Active Conditions: Bless

Environmental Conditions: Vines = Difficult Terrain

Everyone is UP!

Current Map!

Meredith tries to roll in, clumsy as she is. "Leave some for me, Jan."
Meredith provokes an AoO.

Now flanking with Denair, she enchants her mace again, swinging with both hands.

Precise Strike deals an extra 1d6 damage as long as Meredith and Denair are flanking.

Silver Heavy Mace, Bless, Flanking: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 24
Arcane Strike, Damage: 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12
Precise Strike: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Denair fights in sync with her Boss, taking advantage of the flank.

Power Attack Slam, Bless, Flank: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 - 1 + 1 + 2 = 10
Power Attack Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 4 + 3 = 8
Precise Strike: 1d6 ⇒ 2

But Denair is way to excited about the whole thing to focus.

"Now that it's within reach, I suppose I should do this with a little style." Brayden again calls upon Shizuru's grace, shutting his eyes to invoke the power of his Weapon of the Chosen. Opening them again, he charges forth with his blade over head and swipes diagonally across the statue.

Katana, charge, lead blades: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 212d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 5) + 3 = 11

After seeing the thing tear bloody chunks from Jan, Dalen decides that she'd be better off staying back and using her bow.

Bow (PBS, Bless): 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 19
damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Frankie ducks and dives into reach of the statue, not quite sure if it'll try biting him like it did to Meredith "Never fear, Frankie is HERE!" He defensively waves his dagger at the thing, trying to distract it for Jan.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11

Aid Jan Attack, DC10: Melee Mithril Dagger, Defensively (+4AC), Bless: 1d20 + 7 - 4 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 - 4 + 1 = 18

Seeing Jan get clobbered by the serpent effigy, Lazarus releases the wand of cure light wounds from the spring-loaded wrist sheath and into his left hand, as he moves up behind the ranger, ready to heal him.

AoO vs. Meredith (Bite): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

As clumsy as Meredith's roll is, it's still smooth enough that the effigy snaps nothing but air as she closes in and springs to her feet once again. Summoner and eidolon flank the statue, working in tandem to try and bring it down; Denair's swipe misses the mark by a fair margin but Meredith is able to bring her mace down again, breaking off a sizable portion of the serpent's face in the process! Dalen and Brayden follow up their comrade's devastating attack with another well-placed arrow as well as a vicious katana slash across the chest, sending the serpent effigy tumbling to the ground like so much rubble.

Combat Over!

About the same time the statue crumbles Frankie does a little shucking and jiving of his own to try and help Jan out, but finds himself with no target to harry. At least it was a good effort!

With the effigy dead and no other immediately obvious threats or hazards, you're now free to explore this room a little more thoroughly - and to check out the secret door Denair spotted earlier.

Current Map!