GM Lithrac's Shattered Star (Inactive)

Game Master Cyril Corbaz

"If you wanted to protect your precious bauble, I suppose one would use all the wicked magic you had at your fingertips."

perception for traps?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Does det. magic pick up any auras?

spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

After a careful inspection Telka finds no traps in that room, nor any auras.

Jordan nods and follows the other into the room. He looks about, but seems to be preoccupied with his new magic bracers. Having taken them from the king, Jordan seems to think they need to be cleaned up more. He is using his robe sleeves and some water to polish them.

Telka shrugs. "The unknown awaits.". She strides into the room and heads towards the western door.

"Hmm, hmm. Somebody's been burning things in here I guess. To what purpose I don't know. I imagine we'll run into them soon enough." He follows Telka to the western door.

Zeltyieli steps ahead of Telka and places his hand on the door, "Give me a moment...," he whispers as he sets his will to seeing through the object, willing it into transparency.

Door Sight

Zelytieli gazes through the door, but can't see a thing since there's no light source on the other side. He does feel some movement, however. Opening the door, you find yourselves face to face with two roiling wave of flesh gushing forward. Amid the fatty surge wriggle half-formed limbs and a dripping tumorous face. In this otherwise empty room, an alcove to the south is partially blocked by a curtain of red mesh formed from fine steel chains, rusty from long exposure.

Initiative - round 1 - bold may act
1.Ramenhotep
2. Creatures
3. Jordan, Zeltyieli, Telka, Hralyk

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28 DR, resistances, immunities, vulnerabilities

"Bah!" Ramenhotep looks in on the lemure devils and calls out what he knows about them. He pulls out his silver holy symbol of Nethys and clutches it in his hand as he takes a defensive posture. Standard action defense after move to take out holy symbol.

Planes: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Jordan calmly awaits the onslaught, and begins a ritual of summons.
Monster Summoning 2 on my action -- full round

Ramenhotep communicates that these lemures are resilient to weapons unless they're blessed or made of silver, they're immune to fire, poison, mind-affecting effects, resistant to cold and acid and don't have any particular vulnerabilities.

The two lemures get closer, one of them charging Hralyk (double move for the other one).
Slam: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 191d4 ⇒ 1

Jordan then starts conjuring a creature from beyond.

Initiative - round 2 - bold may act
1. Jordan, Zeltyieli, Telka, Hralyk, Ramenhotep
2. Creatures

Ramenhotep tries to distract the lemure to give Telka an opening.

quarterstaff aid: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

+2 on Telka's next attack.

The bloodsinger drops her axe to pull her silvered mace, following the sages advice. She then swings in an attempt to take advantage of the man's assistance.

mace: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 4 + 2 = 18
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

She then steps back, to draw the creature out.

Does Hralyk still carry the mwork silver dagger from earlier, or did he hand it back?

According to my notes, Ramenhotep has the mithral short sword which he (or someone else) could also use for this situation.

Hralyk would have given the dagger back, lest his pride be risked at accusations of theft.

Hralyk, once again, flies into a rage, swinging his falchion in retaliation at the creature that wounded him.

Free action: Begin rage (5 rounds remaining, AC 16, 21 Str, 34/37 HP)
Standard action: Attack lemure
Attack (Falchion, Rage): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 2 = 15
Damage (Falchion, Rage): 2d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 + 3 = 10

Yeah, it's not on his profile but I have the shortsword added on HeroLab. I just figured Ramenhotep couldn't reach it properly around the corner.

Zeltyieli reaches to his belt sheath and draws the silver dagger, stepping beside Hralyk, trying to strike the strange creature even as he tries to remember the tales he's heard about lemurs.

Knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12 No new knowledge there..

Dagger: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 for 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Both lemures are wounded, though the silver weapons definitely appear to affect them more. The retaliate against Hralyk.
Slam: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 141d4 ⇒ 4
Slam: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 151d4 ⇒ 1

A creature then appears out of nowhere! I'll assume small earth elemental for now, adding token.

Initiative - round 3 - bold may act
1. Jordan, Zeltyieli, Telka, Hralyk, Ramenhotep
2. Creatures

Hralyk swings again at the same creature.

Free action: Maintain rage (4 rounds remaining, AC 16, 21 Str, 33/37 HP)
Standard action: Attack lemure
Attack (Falchion, Rage): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14
Damage (Falchion, Rage): 2d4 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (2, 4) + 4 + 3 = 13

Hralyk kills one of the lemures, leaving only a wounded one.

Telka steps in and swings again, hoping to quick dispatch the creature. 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

With a heavy blow, Telka beats what remained of the fleshy creature to a planar pulp.

End combat.

A shrill voice almost immediately emerges from nowhere. "Bravo, bravo! I think that will qualify as brilliantly passing my little test. The first one, anyway. I am the Suzerain of Little Erebus, and I officially welcome you to my realm. You could occupy a seat of power in my kingdom, if only you would render me a little service. There is another kingdom of expatriates, shall we say, on this level. Its ruler, Lord Baz, is infuriating me with his presence. Would you kill him for me? Pretty please? If positions of power don't interest you, I could always pay you with riches. Oh, and by the way he kidnapped two of my lemures. Could you free them and lead them back here? That would be awfully kind of you."

I also forgot that Ramenhotep isn't even proficient in short swords. If someone else wants it, take it. Otherwise we can trade it in next time we go to the surface.

"What? Is this Little Erebus? The place we're in now? Some realm...."

"Um, I mean, it's quite nice!" Ramenhotep nods at the voice's demands. "Sounds reasonable enough. I've no problem with it. Let's go find this Lord Baz figure. Where is he?"

Telka sheathes her weapons.

"Negotiations are things best made when both parties can see one another, and I doubt your kingdom is of interest to ones such as us, other then the story of its making, but your riches may be. Come out; we are honorable people, we promise not to harm you merely for revealing yourself."

planes for info on Erebus: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
diplomacy to put him at ease: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13 (I mean, I would come out of hiding for the half-orc lady - would you?)

"I prefer to keep my distances for now, if you don't mind. As far as Little Erebus goes, it's here! My own wonderful kingdom. That bastard Lord Baz isn't very far. Go back the way you probably came, and at the entrance room, go south. then take a right and follow the path. His miserable excuse for a kingdom lies there."

Telka recalls Erebus being one of the nine layers of Hell, but can't recollect any of its attributes.

"Erebus? If this is your hell, then you are a devil. I suppose that is better then the filth that crawl from the Worldwound."

We've gone from a land of mad fey to a land of devils. "Civilization" indeed.

Jordan uses his magic to summon celestial eagles.
number: 1d3 ⇒ 3
With little to attack after his capable teammates dispatch the enemies, Jordan sends his three eagles exploring, their wings beat quickly as they rush ahead looking for the voice that spoke to them. The three eagles efficiently search the area for the mysterious creature. The first two eagles seem to be turning efficiently, the third one has to make wide turns around the corners. Jordan instructs his dog to look too. Although the elf is naturally perceptive, looking on his own would require more exertion than the elf wants to spend at the moment!! each eagle moves 2x80=160' Eagle 1 goes left on the map, 2 and 3 fly down on the map

Jordan instructs his dog to look too.

perception for eagles 1/2/3: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 171d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 271d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
Fly for eagles 1/2/3 if needed as they have average manuevrability: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 281d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 171d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Turn greater than 45° by spending 5 feet of movement DC15 flight check, and I do not know if they have any tight turns ahead--trying to save time too and make as many rolls as may be needed :-)

Move action direct dog to hunt for creature.
Handle animal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
dog perception/track by scent survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 181d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Hostilities commencing!

Do you have a way of communicating with your eagles? Meaning by that, understand what they may come back to tell you?

Seeing Jordan acting offensively, the voice turns silent, and none of the animals are able to find its source.

Zeltyieli whispers, "Can't say I like the thought of helping someone who has devils to lose. Can't help but think that's a bad thing."

Telka doesn't bother to whisper. "I don't imagine this Lord Baz will prove to be much more likeable. If nobody has means to track down this voice, then let's go exploring. We are Pathfinders after all."

Jordan sends his eagles off to scout. He hopes they squawk if they find a hiding devil or something of interest.

Don't think they will be reporting back---just sending them off to try and find something. Hopefully the hidden voice.

Hralyk turns, fixing his gaze on Jordan. "Perhaps we need to have a discussion concerning the use of tact before tactics? Some disembodied voice - possibly belonging to someone or something we can't handle - pipes up and wishes to not try and kill us, at least not right away, and you decide to force its hand? Not to mention how you scared the mite king away before we could question him." He shakes his head at the memory, "Have you forgotten that we are not here to rid this structure of all of its inhabitants, but to actually find something? The less of our blood we shed in the process, the better, if you ask me."

He sighs, "Look, you're a talented mage, sure, but you've got to understand...there are, at times, options other than 'kill everything'." With that, he turns away, ready to continue.

Jordan looks back with some curiosity: "I sent my eagles to find the creature. They did not. Having a creature we could not see was not in our best interests. As for forcing its hand, if discovering his location and his nature was not allowed, I would be reluctant to ally with him."

As the eagles return to where they came, Jordan shrugs and follows along.
"If you want, we can go after his enemies. I just want to know who we are dealing with."

The space behind the heavy steel chain curtain is mostly empty, though many marks and scribblings are present on the walls there.

Going down the path, the corridor opens to the east into a room that appears to have once been an ancient alchemical laboratory, but most of the equipment has been smashed.

The stone door to the west has shifted on its ancient hinges and would require some heavy pushing to open. A Strength check, in fact.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

"Hm, whoever worked in here had a particular skill in enhancing potions, particularly those that bolstered the body. Most of it's garbage now though."

Ramenhotep will but his bony old shoulder to the door.

Str aid to someone else: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16

Telka also throws her shoulder into moving the door. a second aid: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Zeltyieli tries to focus through the door, hoping to see what lies beyond as his companions prepaare to pull it open.

Hopefully, it's 9 or less inches thick...

Hralyk attempts to open the door nonchalantly, then continues to try harder and harder as he realizes it is not moving.

Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Jordan remembers the decision to forego the knock spell. Hopefully muscle would do.

Zeltyieli curses, I need to get some sort of darkvision. I know there's a spell, but maybe some sort of item would be better.

The knock spell wouldn't help here since there is no lock, only a jammed stone door. I'm sure you'll be able to use that spell a lot in a more-or-less near future, don't worry about that!

Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
Strength: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

After a minute or two of trying, Hralyk at last manages to push the door aside. However, he's managed to tire himself in the attempt, leaving him fatigued.

This room is piled high with crumbling remnants of crates, barrels, urns, and casks of all sizes and descriptions. The room's contents are the mundane furnishings and accoutrements stripped from the laboratories when they were abandoned. They have all succumbed to the ravages of time and are worthless.

However, there is quite a find here. You quickly notice a strange contraption that resembles a three-legged, four-armed humanoid made of iron and brass. Despite your best efforts, you're unable to make it move.

Amid the refuse here are two other objects of interest. The first is a brass crank with a pearl-inlaid handle worth 100 gold coins that was probably designed to work as a key. The second is a set of masterwork smith's tools made of mithral and worth 500 gold coins.

18 Kn engineering with take 10
if no take 10: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Jordan looks at the crank and beast and shows the group how it is supposed to be wound up. He tries to fit the found key into the robot in the correct place.

"To activate this construct, I think we just crank it up. Should we give it a try?"

Does Jordan know how to control the creature when activated?

For the record, I'm fine with T10 on Knowledge checks outside of combat, i.e. when you have enough time to study the subject of your knowledge check.

Unfortunately, the crank is not the intended key for the clockwork. However, he feels that in the absence of a designated master for the creature, it would probably obey the person who winds it.

Seeing the crank does not fit, he explains:
"We need to find the key and we can probably have our own construct. Unlike a dog, it will not need to be fed!!"
Jordan is most excited. He looks at the dog that obeys less commands than he follows with a pointed stare.

Ha! I forgot about this guy! Yes! Our archaeologist had this pet robot for two books until it finally got destroyed in combat and despite their emotional attachment didn't feel it was worth spending a bunch of money to fix him. So sad.

Knowledge (engineering): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Ramenhotep brings the crank along and pats the clockwork on the head. "We'll be back for ya, buddy."

Ramenhotep takes in a breath and asks, "So, should we go back to the entrance and go south like the Suzerain suggested?"

Hralyk shrugs, then nods and begins heading in that direction.

"Why not? I'm sure taking guidance from a devil will not be the most foolish thing we do this mission."

Zeltyieli looks excitedly at the construct, "This is an amazing find! Do you think it's broken, Jordan? Or is it just lacking energy? I could try to use a spell or channeled energy to boost it, if you think that would help... "

He sighs as the Nethysian makes it clear that they won't be able to start the wondrous machine, then quickly brightens as he says, "I'm fine with any direction, I'm quite anxious to see what other wonders await us!"