GM Lari's Labyrinth of Hungry Ghosts (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master Dhenn

Sigh. Paladins...

Shaking his head, Wyatt frantically tries to shoot the allip!

+1 Mighty[+2]Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 21, for 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5.
+1 Mighty[+2]Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 12, for 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 = 5.

Damn. Another 20! This is like that ghast rogue fight all over again... my ac only saving from the confirmations =)

And yes, you can crit on a ray of enfeeblement! Thanks for not doing so!

Too many things all happening at once, Doubtful is beset on all sides.

Although their strategy had been working, he was pretty sure it was going to fail, so is not entirely surprised when Jaohd makes it all moot.

The strange emaciated create on his left, however, mostly has his attention, as he did not like having his blood sucked at all!

"They are hungry! And now it has a taste for me!!" He cries, a note of panic in his voice.

He steps forward, behind the paladin, and starts lashing out at the zombie-like creature with furious abandon. He refuses to use the arm that was bitten however, cradling it against his chest to keep it safe.

Flurry of blows again on the zombie thing, using a ki point for the extra attack.

"My blood is mine!" He yells, kicking its knee with one boot.

Flurry1, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 1 = 28, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 damage.

"Not yours!" He adds, as kicks at the other knee with his other boot.

Flurry2, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 1 = 23, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 damage.

"I am not for eating!" He finishes, as he punches at its tongue-filled face with his free hand.

FlurryKi, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 1 = 26, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 damage.

"And you stay out of my head!" He yells, pointing angrily at the shadowy creature across the room.

edit: Oh heh... nice!
Confirmation: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24, for an extra 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 damage
(30 damage if it doesn't have DR and all hit!)

I crit enervation on a PC for 7 negative levels once. He was level 8 Ever since I've always been cautious about spell crits.

Doubtful's final blow shatters the creature's ribcage, sending it tumbling to the floor. Doubtful's blood begins pouring out of its chest onto the floor.

The possessing undead screams in anguish.

The five more confident members of the party may now act.

Hey, there's nothing in the paladin code that says you can't use tactics -_- As Dunkel's player has heard me quote many times, "Discretion is the better part of valor" :)

Imrana tilts her head to the side and raises an eyebrow at Jaohd.

"What exactly are you doing? I do not want you to get hurt, my friend!"

She fires off another magic missile from her wand.

Magic Missile (from wand): 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

I'm guessing the doorway is +4 cover...

Dunkel moves up warily, and tries to lend his axe to Doubtful's efforts.

Waraxe 2H, Power, Arcane Strike: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 8 - 4 = 17 for 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Jair moves his force weapon to attack the remaining creature.

Short sword: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
force damages: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Just to be clear, I accidentally posted earlier - my next round of attacks is above Doubtful's last post...

Imrana, that's true, but like so many Paladins in the Society, Wisdom is his dump stat.

Wyatt's arrow, Imrana's missile, and Dunkel's axe all strike the allip, further weakening it. It seems to struggle to maintain its form.

Ragnar adds missiles of his own. Botting

Magic Missile: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 = 7

Jaohd shouts out prayers to the Eternal Rose, unleashing a wave of holy energy over the undead. Once the bright light dims, nothing is left of the remaining Allip.

Channel to Harm: 2d6 ⇒ (1, 6) = 7
TV Will: 1d20 + 8 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 4 = 23
Allip W: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 2 = 18

Furious, the remaining incorporeal undead dives at Doubtful, but his attack proves fruitless.

Touch, Charge: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 2 = 18

TV: 3

The party is up.

Even worse wisdom after the Allip hit him =)

Doubtful throws up his injured arm, to cover his head, as if that will somehow keep the shadowy creature out of it.

He keeps it there, dodging to the side out of the doorway, and starts swinging at the thing with his free hand.

5' step left, Flurry of Blows. Ki point for the extra attack.

Flurry1, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 7 + 1 = 26, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8.
Flurry2, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 7 + 1 = 27, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10.
FlurryKi, bless: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 = 22, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7.

edit: the dwarf's on a good attack roll roll! Sadly, strength drained and all half damage, so not overly dangerous.

Hmm... did Dunkel give Joahd's his ghost touch sword back? Or did he charge in there weaponless! Now that'd be proper crazy paladin behavior!

There was also his adamantine sword you found earlier. I assume he has one of them, but wasn't sure which one. If he has the nonmagical one, even smiting can't hurt it. Besides, having the BBEG go down to a NPC paladin smite crit would be anticlimactic. I figured the channel was a safe bet either way.

15

Jair continues to use her god's weapon to kill the last undead.

Short sword: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
force damages: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

We can assume his weapon was returned.

Dunkel steps up, swinging his axe hard and heavy, hoping that it somehow damages an incorporeal abomination.

"Two dwarves flankin' ye... well almost. Now ye're in trouble!"

+1 Waraxe 2H, Power, Arcane Strike: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 for 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Ragnar stumps up to join the rest! Double move into the room.

Wyatt breathes a sigh of relief when the second allip goes down, then steps forward to shoot the remaining undead beast!

+1 Mighty[+2]Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 22, for 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12.
+1 Mighty[+2]Composite Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 1 + 1 = 8, for 1d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12.

Imrana yawns and fires another missile.

Magic Missile (from wand): 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The spectral undead retreats through the wall, though it unable to avoid Doubtful's fist

Withdraw, but will still provoke from Doubtful.

AOO: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 1 = 21
Dam: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
1d6 ⇒ 6

26

The party is up again.

Which wall?

Wyatt carefully walks into the room, hoping to get into a better position.

Added a red square to indicate where. Moving through the curtain takes no action. The door you'll see when inside is unlocked.

In that case...

Wyatt moves over to the curtain, and opens the door beyond.

So that everyone else can get into the chamber beyond, if they so desire.

"Probably going to get more." Doubtful predicts with a frown, looking around unhappily.

"Can you tell where it is?" He asks, Jaohd.

the 60' cone version of Detect Evil might be able to find him? It can go through 1' of stone... so perhaps enough to get a clue to where it is? Enough to be waiting in the general area should it pop out hopefully.

He stands ready, one arm still cradled against his chest.... looking around warily.

Can you ready a partial charge?

Doubtful hurries over to the doorway that Wyatt opened, to see if their foe fled into the adjoining room, though thinking it more likely yet more maze.

Single move, then next action depends on what he sees... (either more move or a ready, most likely)
Said first move might be 5' more depending on what we see!

The undead creature floats above a massive pit. Crackling black energy lashes out, striking it and making it seem somewhat more rejuvenated.

Well crap, that can't be good.

"He's in here..." He calls back to the others.

"And so is ... that thing." He adds, even though the others can't quite see the strange pit he's referring to. He continues moving into the room, right up to the edge of the pit.

"This isn't going to end well." He mutters, as he goes... though its not clear whether he's talking to the creature or himself.

Ragnar moves up to the entrance of the room and peers in at the thing. Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

Took the liberty of double moving everyone else. If you would have rather done something else, please feel free to move yourself back and retcon.

It's pretty clear to Ragnar that this pit overflowing with negative energy. From the edge, Doubtful's darkvision does not see a bottom. Whether that is because the pit is too deep, the space-warping effects of the maze, or a side effect of the negative energy is not immediately clear.

Also, this creature has spell resistance. I'd completely forgotten to account for that earlier, so I'm not going to retcon those, but for future rounds, could casters account for that as appropriate?

Once again, the undead tries to touch Doubtful. It misses, but continues to bask in the dark energy.

Touch: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
1d6 ⇒ 3

23

The party is up again.

Doubtful tries not to look down, but its hard to resist.
The fact he can not see a bottom at all does nothing to encourage him and he redoubles his efforts, sure that its all pointless.

Flurry again, ki point for extra attack.

Flurry1: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 1 = 13, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6.
Flurry2: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 = 22, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11.
FlurryKi: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 7 + 1 = 19, for 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8.

Pumping his legs in an effort to keep up with Doubtful, Dunkel charges in on the floating undead abomination.

"Nae so fast, beastie... ooh, would ye look at the slopes o' this evil pit? Quite a dandy excav-- arghh, what am ah sayin'?"

Waraxe 2H, Power, Bless, Arcane Strike: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 1 + 2 = 18 for 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (2) + 12 = 14

Ragnar moves up and murmurs arcane syllables! SR: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 for Magic Missile!: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 2 = 8 damage to the thing!

"Its another feeding trough." Doubtful moans, seeing the creature being rejuvenated by the pit's energy. "Like that thing the ghouls were sucking on last time."

A common theme, anyway! Gloomspire is like an undead Golden Corral!

Doubtful's second two punches connect, while Dunkel narrowly misses.

32

Jair casts magic stone If somebody is good at throwing thing, I have 3 magical stone which are good against undead !

"Sure thing!"

Wyatt moves into the room, and takes the stones.

@Wyatt +1 to hit with it and 2d6+2 to damage

Imrana follows the others in.

"I do not like the look of this, my friends."

She fires off another missile at this new foe.

Magic Missile (from wand): 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Imrana SR: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21

The undead now tries to lash out at Dunkel, but continues to prove ineffective.

Touch Dunkel: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 Misses due to mage armor.

Negative: 1d6 ⇒ 4

30

The party is up again.

Dunkel looks a bit surprised when the creature turns on him, but then again, he recognizes he isn't as agile as his kin, so it actually makes quite a bit of sense.

"Ohhh... looks like 't likes meh!"

Waraxe 2H, Power, Bless, Arcane Strike: 1d20 + 8 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 1 + 2 = 25 for 1d10 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22

Jair casts invisibility on herself to be able to heal her comrade without danger.

Ragnar moves south and murmurs the words to a spell he's never cast. He concentrates and exhales!

Fire breath! SR check: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16 Cone of flames, avoiding his allies, Reflex DC 16 for half: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 1, 3) = 10

Ref: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Despite only catching a small portion of Ragnar's fire blast, the combination of that and Dunkel's axe swing finish off the creature!

Out of combat! Follow up will come later today.

Despite the creature apparently being banished by the combined attacks of his dwarven comrades, Doubtful continues to swing at the strange darkness in front of him, sure its still there, somewhere.

After a while he stops, looking around suspiciously, as if expecting it to show up again at any moment.

A moment after that, he starts looking at his companions suspiciously, wondering if it hasn't just taken up residence in one of them.

I tell you, possessing creatures are fertile ground for paranoid persons!

Eventually, he steps away from the dark pit, in case something else comes up it, and starts to examine his injured arm.

"Was probably diseased." He sighs unhappily, looking at the wound.

"Anyone see that stupid orb, so we can get out of this cursed place?" He adds, looking around.

Wyatt shrugs.

"Not yet, but then again, was kind of distracted by all of the Hungry Ghosts..."

He then begins to search the rooms.

Jaohd will do what he can to patch up any injuries sustained. He has four lay on hands (or two channels) remaining, for 2d6.

Behind the curtain, you uncover the Orb of Stars, in addition to crates containing a variety of spices, seasonings and flavorings. You also discover a set of paints which detect as magical. Spellcraft?

The two bodies each carry masterwork rapiers, and armor shredded beyond all hope of recovery. One carries a scroll case. Inside are scrolls of darkvision, glitterdust, and mirror image. The last one is CL 9. The bodies seem to have been doused with wine and fish oil and covered with coriander, shaved nutmeg, molasses, and sugar.

Jaohd is crushed to see his companions slain, but will begin preparing the bodies to be brought back to the surface.

We're pretty much done here, but if there's anything else you want to do, now's the time.

Wyatt is more than a little unsettled by how delicious the corpses smell.

"I don't know which is worse - the fact that they have been eviscerated, or the fact that whoever did it appears to be fairly skilled in the culinary arts..."

He then shudders.

"Let's get out of here!"

"If this place lets us out." Doubtful mutters in response to Wyatt.

The thing with the tongue didn't seem quite that sophisticated... and everything else was incorporeal... which means it was probably Jaohd that tenderized and seasoned his friends.... =)

"That thing's probably going to come back soon. Ghosts do that." He says, frowning.

Did we ever identify what that was?

"Just in time for the next bunch of Pathfinders that tromp down this cursed hole." He predicts gloomily.

"It'll probably be us." He adds, a moment later with a sigh.

Heh, I played this in normal campaign mode sometime during the middle of this run (think it was just after we finished the dancing haunt room)... high tier... it was brutal.
Didn't realize there was a negative energy pit for it to heal in... hell didn't even know there was a room and a door there till Wyatt opened it ... all the drama played out in the previous room. =)

Imrana just shrugs and smiles at Doubtful.

"If we continue to find such great wealths of treasure, I would certainly not mind more trips down here."

Imrana rushes into the room and begins furiously cataloguing and analyzing all the treasures. After a minute, she realizes she should be analyzing and THEN cataloguing, and starts anew, after a few choices words for herself in Azlanti.

Spellcraft on Paints: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (5) + 11 = 16

Jair takes her book about undead and religion, to try to identify the undead.

Know. Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

At least we've found all the bodies of our comrades... before they will be eaten. she looks at the dwarf when saying that to be sure he will not try to bite one of the corpse.

In any case, well done comrades. We've done it in time and without casualties. May the Gray Master be bless for that.

She says with a lovely smile toward Jaohd.

Seeing Imrana trying to understand the magical paints, she tries to help her.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

In any case, the friendly ghost we meet earlier tell us something big about Sevenfinger. He had a flying boat ! Which is still somewhere !
Captain Benari will be please to hear that I'm sure of it.
Oh and don't forget to put to rest the ghost lady with her ashes.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13 Ragnar studies the paints and the orb. "This place... t'would be better if it were locked away and ne'er opened, I think!"

Dunkel shares in the panic and concern at the admonition that whomever or whatever brought at end to Jaohd's companions also appears to be some sort of chef.

"Aye. While ah'm fond o' tunneling, ah'm not particularly fond o' these tunnels..."

Grabbing his share of the discoveries or fallen companions, Dunkel turns and is ready to head back up.

Spellcraft (paints): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Doubtful, both undead down here (that weren't allips) were unique. The corporeal one's tongue attack, coupled with the unique condition of the bodies, is somewhat reminiscent of a Gaki, a more powerful undead that believes consuming the right thing will restore it to life. Based on the amount of culinary supplies down here, it seems they may have been attempting a similar process.

The paints detect as strong conjuration magic. They seem to share the same unsettling qualities as the walls. Unable to decipher more about them, you bring them with you to consult with others.

You'll eventually find out these are nightmarish pigments, a cheaper, creepier variant of marvelous pigments. Full details will be on the chronicle

Returning to the surface is not difficult, especially with the Orb removing any time constraints. With Benarry's folding boat, returning to the Grinning Pixie is not difficult.

Benarry is overcome with joy to see Old Flotsam returned, and happy, but to a somewhat lesser degree, to see you and Jaohd returned safely. News of your discoveries thrills her, and at mention of the pit you discovered, she breaks into a wide grin.

"Well...I think I might just have a little task for you around here sometime in the future."

Jaohd is quiet for much of the journey, spending time in prayer and helping Benarry prepare the bodies of his team for a burial at sea. One night, he comes to you, offering Ether's Kiss to you as a token of gratitude, saying.

"Once you're off on your next mission, Benarry promised to bring me to the temple of Shelyn in Eleder. I think I need to take some time to recover and reflect on what happened here before I'm ready to serve the Society again. I do hope our paths cross soon."

I hope our paths will cross again Jaohd. This is a setback but it happen sometimes. You are still a Pathfinder and remember these three words : Explore, Cooperate and Report.
And if one day you are tired of the beauty of the world and prefer to learn its secrets, come to me, the Gray Master will welcome you in secret.

She says with a warm and innocent smile.

"Well...I think I might just have a little task for you around here sometime in the future."

Doubtful sighs, his suspicions confirmed.

"I knew it." He mutters.

Oh, and for reporting purposes:
Day Job: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Also, don't think anything that happened here works towards anything on my faction card... so no check marks to be made... unless Jaohd is a noble of some sort (or a servant thereof)? =)
Not that I could make the diplomacy check anyway! heh