GM Ladile & the Pathfinder Society Present: The Night March of Kalkamedes (Table A) (Inactive)

Game Master Lady Ladile

Now that they're close to the building's entrance, Luurg hands the rope to Serge to tether Kalkamedes while he eats a small plumb, then washing it down with his floaty filled, backwashed heroism potion. "Oooo so gud, makes deez muscles feel big!" His large gut fades away, sliding its way up and redistributing itself around his major muscle groups... arms, back, thighs and chest.

He draws out his spear then takes back the rope from Serge so he can swing that big sword of his with purpose. "I gut dis, lez go!" He heads down the hall with the others, eyes and ears open for clues.
Perception + Heroism: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 2 = 13

"This is quite interesting. There's an illusion spell on the building so that it can't be seen in daylight. It is only visible via moonlight." Malusha approaches the entrance cautiously. "Let's be careful," he says, needlessly.

"Do any of you know what this writing means?" Marcel asks the group as they move up. "Interesting, Malusha. But whomever tried to hide this place wasn't able to do so from nature. There are a lot of animal tracks. Fox. Skunk. Bear. Mountain lion. All have been here. Maybe Yarricki and I can talk to whatever might be here, like we did with the bears."

Marcel is going to wait and see if anyone knows what the writing means. If no one can, he's going to move quietly through the entrance and down the hall to where it turns and peek around the right corner to scout for danger.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Luurg squints his black, beady eyes at the writing "Dem's werdz? Not no werdz I know! And I know.. well not tons of werdz... mostly orc and gobbie werdz, lizardmen werdz."

He bends down and looks at all the tracks "Ya know.. druid people sometimes turn into animals and stuff, mebe deez bunch of druidz comin' fer a meetin? I see lotsa druidz out in da swamp."

Linguistics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Malusha looks up at the inscrutable writing. "I'm afraid I have no idea what that says. And Luurg, that's an interesting theory. But why would they be using an animal shape just to enter this building?"

"Hrmmm" Luurg scratches his belly a bit then pipes up as a thought comes to him "Well, some animals see better in da moonlight den oomies do. Maybe dat? Or mebe dey just bein sneaky?"

"Well, there's a sharp corner up ahead, but I can't see anything in there." Denair sticks out her tongue. "Hey boss, do you want to look through me?"

Meredith nods, closes her eyes and inhales deeply. When she opens her eyes, the flowers atop her head and her eyes glow brightly.

[url=http://www.d20pfsrd.com/classes/unchained-classes/summoner-unchained/#TOC-Bond-Senses-Su-]She sees the world through Denair's senses.

Denair takes the opportunity to enter the building with a little Guidance.
Perception, Guidance: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 13 + 1 = 23
Stealth: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

As Yarricki and the rest of the group cautiously follow behind, Marcel and Denair both creep down the short hallway. The inside of the structure is eerily silent but seems blessedly free of traps and other hazards. Advancing down to the corner, man and eidolon peek around it and see a steep set of stairs leading down to a room.

Motioning for the others to come as far as the corner, Marcel and Denair (with Meredith watching through Denair's eyes) cautiously make their way down the steps and into the room below. The only other entrance into this room is sealed by a massive set of iron double doors that block passage to the east and rest upon a dais of glistening black stone. To the west stands a statue of an elderly, robed man carved from the same dark stone, and in his hand he brandishes a slender golden wand that points toward the door. Ancient script winds around the statue's round base, and dried leaves, dirt, and small animal bones are scattered about the room.

Please see Slide #8! Apologies for how janky the icons look; it's murder trying to move and resize those things on a phone.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Malusha creeps carefully down the hallway and the stairs. He peeks into the room and tries to decipher the Thassilonian. After a few moments he recognizes some key symbols -- enough for him to unravel the phrase. Quietly, he relays the message to the others.

You can look at the spoiler and assume that's what I told you.

Meredith comes down the stairs once it's clear there are no more traps. Her eyesight returns to normal and she casts light atop the tip of her longspear. "Huh. I expected an ambush. I wonder what is behind the door..."

Meredith casts detect magic on the golden wand, not trusting it enough to touch it.

Spellcraft + Guidance: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 = 13

Unable to make sense of it, she instead calls upon the diligence of ants to form an Unseen Servant . I added a gray circle.

"Does anyone know what this wand is? If not, I'll ask the Unseen Servant to carry it. Maybe it's a key for this door."

Denair climbs upon the dais and looks for any cracks or seals or keyholes on the iron door.
Denair's Perception + Guidance: 1d20 + 13 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 13 + 1 = 28

Serge ponders the words as he gazes upon the statue. "I am not so skilled at riddles or puzzles, but perhaps there is some sort of break in the door, and that is the weakness?" He rhetorically asks with a shrug, turning to look at the golden wand for anything noteworthy.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 6

"Hmmm," Marcel muses as he watches Denair looking for anything hidden on the double doors. "Let's rule out the direct approach as long as we're trying to figure out what that means."

The ranger waits until Denair finishes checking the iron doors and then he will try to see if they can be pushed or pulled open.

Strength: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Luurg continues along, holding back Kalkamedes as best he can to give the others a chance to check things out. CMB: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (3) + 10 = 13 He seems to be getting sloppy, relying on his new and improved strength too much.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Yarricki casts detect magic on the wand, trying to figure out what it does "I have no idea, it is probably arcane magic"

While Meredith and Yarricki attempt to study the wand, Denair approaches the dais to check the door for traps and other hazards. As soon as she sets foot upon the dais, she suddenly feels an intense draining sensation as her strength seems to leave her! Meanwhile, Luurg seems to let his attention grow lax and Kalkamedes rewards him by suddenly surging forward towards the doors, dragging the half-orc forward a few feet.
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Denair, your effective Strength score has been reduced to 3. Marcel, this happens immediately so I'll wait to see if Denair gives some sort of warning before you step up on the dais as well. Also, you're not currently threatened so it's possible to Take 10 on that Spellcraft check (DC 16) if you like - my fault for forgetting to give the DC in my previous post *sigh*.

Malusha spots the wand and tries to determine the nature of magic that the wand provides.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

"Eeep!" Denair feels tired. Very, very tired. "The stone is... wait, Marcel." Her stretchy arms extend in the man's direction. "I think I triggered a trap or... oooh." She stumbles back to Meredith.

"Denair!" Meredith kneels down to check on the eidolon. "Nobody step on that stone." She pets Denair, who shudders.

Meredith can cast Guidance. That should get Malusha up to a 16 on the Spellcraft check.

Funny thing...as soon as Denair staggers off the dais, she feels her strength return to her - as if nothing had happened. What a relief! And with a little bit of aid from Meredith, Malusha determines that the wand is actually a Wand of Ray of Enfeeblement that holds 16 charges.

At Denair's warning, Marcel stops before he finishes his ascent to the dais and turns back to see to Denair. "Tired...a sleeping trap, perhaps. Do you feel sleepy, Denair?"

"Denair, are you okay?" Serge looks over the eidolon with concern, sighing in nervous relief as her strength returns to her. He turns back into the hall, calling to Luurg. "Luurg, why don't we bring Kalkamedes in here? I have seen enough strange occurrences today to presume it is possible he may know the way through somehow."

"Oky mang, if you said so." Luurg relaxes his grip a bit to let the sleep walker head on forward.

"Stepping on the platform made you weak? This wand is a wand of enfeeblement. I wonder if it's related. And that phrase. Remember, it says, 'their strength is their weakness'" Malusha thinks about it for a few moments trying to understand the key between the platform, the wand, and the riddle.

"You may be onto something, Malusha," Marcel says. "I don't really understand this kind of magic, though. What does 'enfeeblement' do?

"Well, it makes you incredibly weak. I mean very weak. It can't kill you in and of itself but it can make you so weak that you may not be able to survive much longer."

Malusha inspects the statue. "Is there anyway to remove the wand?"

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

"Enfeeblement makes one weak. Sort of like the way the dais affected Denair," Marcel said. He looks back and forth at the dais and then the wand. "I have an idea, but I want to check something first. Luurg, don't let Kalkamedes up there just yet."

Marcel scrutinizes the party, including Kalkamedes as well as himself, to see who is the strongest and the weakest among their number.

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

CMB + Heroism: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 + 2 = 16 Luurg yanks on the leash once again. "Stop, go, stop, go. I tink I'm gettin rope burned!"

Luurg gives Marcel a raised eyebrow and an uncomfortable smile as he starts checking out his ample muscles "You very nice mang Marcel, but Luurg no like doods. Why you keep starin' at my arms?"

Marcel is slightly taken back by Luurg's preference in gender, but holds up his hands out in a calming gesture toward the muscular alchemist. "It's not like that, Luurg. I only pitch woo to the ladies," he replies with a straight face. "When Denair stepped up on the dais, she said she felt tired. Remember what the riddle said. 'Their strength is their weakness'. Denair looked pretty strong back there in our fight with the bandits. But there's the second part of the riddle, too. 'Our weakness is our very strength.' My idea is to have the strongest and weakest people in our group go up on the dais at the same time and relate what they experience when they do."

"If you want the strongest and the weakest, well, my Unseen Servant here is probably the weakest of us all. It can barely carry my spell pouch." Meredith grins.

Unseen Servant has a Strength of 2.

Luurg smiles and flexes his currently enhanced bicep "Fruits do da body gud mang. Whatcha want me to do, I'm not some crazy floppy hat wizard orc here." Luurg may be an alchemist, but he's got no spellcraft or knowledge:arcana. Its all the fruit to him!

After Marcel carefully inspects each one of you - a process which some of you might enjoy and others might find a bit uncomfortable - he concludes that Thunder and Denair are the strongest in the party, followed by Luurg, Meredith, Serge and Yarricki who all seem to be roughly on par with each other. Kalkamedes lies somewhere in the middle and himself and Malusha are the weakest, not counting Meredith's offer of her Unseen Servant for the purposes of science.

As for the wand, Malusha has no problem reaching up to take the wand from the statue's grasp - luckily without incident!
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Dang, I didn't realize until I looked that this party's loaded down with beefcake and cheesecake :D

Bracing himself for the sensation of tiredness and weakness in the body, Marcel moves to the top the dais.

"Thunder looks to be the strongest, Malusha the weakest from what I can see," he says. "But I wouldn't ask either of you to do something that I wouldn't do first."

Marcel waits a few seconds to see if anything else happens aside from his muscles going from stiff to floppy. He'll move off the dais if it anything other than that happens to him, but if not, he'll stay where he is.

Marcel boldly steps onto the dais and experiences the same sort of sensation that Denair reported - a slightly nauseating draining sensation as some of the strength ebbs away from his muscles.
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Marcel, your current effective Strength score is 8.

Meredith seems on edge as Marcel inspects her. "Life as a farmhand builds up muscle... " Meredith tries to stay on task. "So, do we send Denair and Malusha up at the same time? Or do you want the Unseen Servant to go up with Denair?"

He glares at her for a little too long for her comfort... "Hey, eyes up here."

Denair, meanwhile loves the attention. And her strength is back, too! She stands upright and licks Marcel's face with her leafy tongue. "Heehee! This is fun! You're fun to play hide n seek with!"

"Denair and Malusha" Marcel responds, feeling a little bit light-headed at the sudden weakness in his body. "Yes, your eyes are up there. And our light sources are giving them a little bit of flickering sparkle, too," he adds nonchalantly.

Denair walks back onto the dais, keeping her profile low so she doesn't have to struggle much to deal with the weakness.

Malusha nods at Marcel. "No problem." He steps up onto the dais with Denair.

What happens?

While he's stepping up Malusha offers another suggestion. "At first I thought this wand was creating the strength draining effect we are seeing. But I was confused how the wand could create a continual effect. All wands that I know of contain a finite number of charges. On further thought I realized that this wand might be here as a tool or a key."

Malusha pauses on the dais to feel its effect.

"What if we use this wand to intentionally weaken one of us before stepping on the platform? I think that Marcel's theory is that this dais inverts our strength. So if we step up already very weak, that may make us very strong."

Meredith tightens the grip on her longspear, but manages to keep quiet as Marcel flirts with her. She focuses on Malusha's words instead. "Huh, that's a good idea, actually. Maybe it's inverting our strength...How about I try hitting Denair with the wand? I don't think anyone here can naturally use it, but I can give it a try."

Meredith commands the Unseen Servant to retrieve the wand from Malusha, and then aims it at Denair. "Don't frown like that. You're always eager to help. Besides, I'm not gonna shoot Malusha with this." Meredith tries to remember the basics of CQC wand activation and calls upon the winds of change to help her emulate it correctly.

Use Magic Device, Guidance vs DC 20: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 1 = 26

A ray of energy flies out and strikes Denair as she stands on the dais.
Normally, Denair would lose Strength: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 points of Strength, min 1.

Both Malusha and Denair step up onto the platform with Marcel. Now that she knows to expect it, the uncomfortable draining sensation that follows is easier for the little eidolon to manage. On the other hand, Malusha feels...nothing. Not the draining sensation that Denair and Marcel had described but also no sudden bursts of strength or anything else.

When Meredith zaps Denair with the wand however, Denair actually feels some of her strength return to her! She still feels quite weak compared to usual, but she can tell a difference from before and after use of the wand.
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Malusha, your effective strength score is...10! No change for you. Denair, your effective strength score drops to 3 as before and then rises to 10 after Meredith uses the wand.

"Good thinking! Do you think we should all gather on the dais?" Yarricki asks

"Ugh, I still feel icky- wow, now I feel better! Thanks boss!"

Denair approaches the door again, searching for a way to open it.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

"Good thinking! Do you think we should all gather on the dais?" Yarricki asks

"I don't think so. At least not yet. Malusha, do you see a way to open this door? I can weaken- which I guess strengthens you- as much as we need to." She balances the wand in the palm of her hand.

"I haven't tried the door yet. It might not even be locked. But before I do, can someone check it for traps? I have little talent for finding traps."

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 Examining the door to spot traps or find a way of opening it.

"So using the wand to make someone weak offsets stepping up here. Strong is weak and weak is strong," Marcel surmises. "Very clever way to keep people out."

"I'll help you out, Malusha," Marcel says as he assists the cleric in searching for any traps.

Aid Another: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

That should boost Malusha's Perception score up to 24.

Luurg scratches his belly as they go round and round about the wand and platform "Can't we just lift up dat gat ting dar wid all dis strong we gut?"

Malusha, Marcel, and Denair all take the opportunity to thoroughly examine the imposing iron doors as they stand on the dais. All three quickly reach the same conclusion - the doors are neither trapped nor locked. All that needs to be done to open them is to simply pull them open as Luurg suggests, but doing will be easier said than done as they look to be quite heavy.
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DC 21 Strength to open the doors, my friends - and you may Aid Another :)

Denair gets a bit of guidance from Meredith and runs back to the door...

Str Check, Guidance: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Only to flail uselessly against it. "Wow, this a lot heavier than I thought!"

Huh. Sounds like we need to roll a 20 and then aid another here. Ray of Enfeeblement only applies 1d6+1 Str damage, and you can't stack it (you override the greatest penalty.)

"Alright. Unseen Servant, go help open the door. I never thought I'd ever ask it to perform a feat of strength..."

The cloud obediently walks over.

This roll assumes the Unseen Servant has the 2 Strength it normally has.
2 Strength!: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (7) - 4 = 3

Meredith has the guidance spell, so if someone with 10 Strength rolls a 20, we might be able to open this, actually. I'm gonna see how long it takes Denair to roll the 20.

Also, if anyone wants their strength drained, make a UMD check with a +8 bonus against DC 20. When you make it, roll 1d6+1 for the Strength Penalty.

"Denair, step back. Allow me to try my hand at this stubborn barrier!" Serge charges forward, grabbing the door in both hands and pulling with all of his might.

Strength, guidance: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 1 = 14

No 20s here...