GM miteke - Voice in the Void (Inactive)

Game Master miteke

"Alright, me and my bird will hold the rope, so you guys can climb down. She can carry me down afterwards."

After Theron offers to hold the rope, Marock looks over at the Halfling with a raised eyebrow. “That is a studious offer my little friend, but I don’t think that’s a good idea.”

Marock looks down into the pit after Thokzazt jumps. "That was impressive. I am assuming you are ok down there."

After considering his options, Marock takes out his rope and begins knotting it. Once the knots have been completed, the inquisitor pulls out a grappling bolt from his backpack and ties one end of the rope to it. "This might take a few, so I recommend caution until the rest of us can manage the climb."

If Marock is unable to safely fasten the grapple to one of the shelves, he will attempt to open the east door and fasten the grapple to the inside of the door frame. He will also somewhat close the door to add extra support from the door itself. If 50’ isn’t enough rope, he will offer to knot Theron’s rope and add it to the existing length.

If Marock is able to secure the grapple, he will attempt to climb down the knotted rope, which should be a base DC 5 (or less if he can brace himself against a solid surface) + any modifiers for the sliminess.

Climb: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (14) - 2 = 12

With the addition of Theron's rope, you are able to attach the rope to the far door using the grappling hook. Attempts at securing to a book shelf produced bad results.

Marock starts to descend but finds that the rope has become slippery at the top due to contact with the slimy fungus. He slides down a bit but catches himself where the rope gets dry about 5' below the lip. (Climb DC is increased to 10 due to slimy conditions in spite of the rope).

If anybody falls, I'll 'Catch' them. Well, at least the first 2.

You sound squishier than you look.

I'm going to bot Selethe, and Erlathan of course. First Selethe...

Selethe ties one end of the rope to herself, casts guidance, and makes her way down the stairs as Theron plays out rope from the other room.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 - 2 + 1 = 5

But she slips and falls yanking the rope from Theron's hands and she falls heavily to the floor taking damage from the 30' drop. Note that a climb would have had the same results even with the better odds with that roll.

She tries to break her fall with a nice landing (DC 15 acrobatics check)
Acrobatics: 1d20 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (8) + 1 - 2 = 7 but fails.

fall damage: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2) = 8

"Medic!"

She calls from her prone position on the floor.

Erlathan gulps when he sees how treacherous the descent is. He has a +3 acrobatics (I think your character sheet is in error Erlathan) and a -1 climb. He will attempt to climb instead of the disastrous stairs.

Climb: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

and manages to scurry down the rope for the first few feet and takes 10 for the rest as that part of the rope is not slimy.

Theron joins the rest clutched in the rocs talons as it glides down in a spiral. Though not strong enough to take flight with the halfling, she is able to slow the fall.

You are all at the bottom.

The shaft deposits you in an alcove at the far end of an antechamber, free of the riotous growths of fungi and mold that choke the shaft and archives above. The simple, clean lines of the basement’s basalt walls give way here to a disturbing, organic style of architecture that makes it seem like you are walking through the gullet of some monstrous behemoth. At the far end of the hall, a large, ornate arch that looks disconcertingly like the beast’s toothed maw stands in the wall, covered by a heavy black curtain with sickly green light from the chamber beyond shining around the edges. A plain iron box sits on the floor in the middle of the room. The architecture of this hallway is markedly different from the basement level above, the dark basalt carved in a strange organic style. The passage expands as it extends to the north, its ceilings increasing from 10 feet to 20 feet high, and widening from 10 feet to 35 feet across. The hallway ends in a large, ornate arch that resembles a toothed maw 15 feet high. The corridor is dark, but light issuing from the archway provides dim light for the northern 15 feet of the room.

current map link at top now points to current location

I'm going to bot Selethe, and Erlathan of course. First Selethe...

Selethe ties one end of the rope to herself, casts guidance, and makes her way down the stairs as Theron plays out rope from the other room.

[dice=Acrobatics]1d20+1-2+1

But she slips and falls yanking the rope from Theron's hands and she falls heavily to the floor taking damage from the 30' drop. Note that a climb would have had the same results even with the better odds with that roll.

She tries to break her fall with a nice landing (DC 15 acrobatics check)
[dice=Acrobatics]1d20+1-2 but fails.

[dice=fall damage]3d6

"Medic!"

She calls from her prone position on the floor.

As Selethe falls from the climb, Thokzazt reaches out, and wings erupt from her shoulders, and gently glides to the floor.

The nicely 'skinned' feather fall saves Selethe from taking any damage. You are all gathered in the room mentioned above.

Selethe gives the hellknight a big smile as he helps her descend safely. "Thank you. It's rare to find a gentleman in a situation such as this."

Marock cautiously moves up and begins inspecting the chest for traps.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

No traps detected.

Marock moves back somewhat, turns to the group, and shrugs. "The chest looks clear of traps to me, but this isant my field of expertise. Should we open it?"

Looking before more input than from one character before the chest is opened or bypassed.

I doubt it'll be trapped if 23 doesn't beat it, but then again there's low'ish with DC 25.

Theron takes 20 for 28 on perception, if there would be time.
Cast detect magic on it too.

If it is trapped, he takes 10 for 21 on disable device.
If it is safe but locked, likewise.

No magic, no traps, no lock, and nothing to disable.

GM'ed before, don't want to comment on this decision.

Theron is almost deciding to open it, when a little bell rings in the back of his head.

See archetype? I figure i'd better start RP the aspect.

"Yeah....this scene is somewhat suspicious. One closed box, in an empty room. It's that between us and whatever is ahead....yeah this screams -trick- to me. I'm not going to open it from up close."

..."Does anyone have another piece of rope? -If- we are to open this not so locked box, i'd rather pull it over, than sit tight and get a poisonous snake biting me in the nose."

"What rope I had, we used to get down here." Marock says while looking to anyone else who might have a bit of rope.

Erlathan knows he has no rope, but takes off his backpack and rummages through it anyway. "Just as I thought. There's no rope in my pack. I never thought I'd need such a trivial item, I'd rather rely on my abilities to figure this sort of thing out, and right now, those abilities are telling me not to open this oh-so-inviting box!" He hefts his pack back on his frail body and keeps a good 20 feet distance between himself and the box.

Selethe reaches into her pack and withdraws her rope. "Mine hasn't been used yet. How do we set this up to open it with the rope?"

Theron looks over at Erlathan.
"I agree, i'm not too settled on it."

When Selethe inquires about it:
"Well, assuming we -do- want to open it...the rope can be angled slightly on a corner. If we put something of some weight against its base, we might be able to topple it slightly, and with extra pulling at the exact moment, cause it to fall onto its side, letting impact open it."

"Of course we can just skip it....whatever evil is further down, might have put a bell trap or another of those shrieking things in it.
I'd rather get the jump on a wise ass burglar, than them getting prepared for me instead."

For opening:
Erlathan: [X]
Marock: [?]
Selethe: [?]
Theron: [X]
Thokzazt: [?]

"This box does not appear to be Burgled. We can inspect it after discovering the source of these murderous monsters."

That makes 3 for leaving it be.
Ok GM-sir, onwards to the next area. :)

And onward you go. The box, sitting out there in the open like that, was just too dang suspicious. vowing to return later and keeping a wide berth, the wary party slips up to the heavy black curtain to look on the other side. The eerie chamber echos the foot falls back at the pathfinders, some more than others, as they advance. Theron cautiously peels back a corner of the curtain and peeks through.

The walls and ceiling of this chamber bulge outward, continuing the grotesque architectural style of the antechamber, as if you were standing in the leviathan’s stomach. Queer, glowing nodules protrude from the walls at seemingly random intervals, bathing the room in their sickly green glow. A tall, free-standing, almost organic-looking archway carved from a strange, glowing blue-green stone stands atop a low dais in a wide alcove at the far end of the chamber. The center of the arch is empty, revealing the wall behind it, but the space occasionally flickers with curtains of starry darkness, as if somewhere else lies just beyond the portal. A susurrus of ghostly whispers seem to issue from the gate, their language and meaning unclear, but fraught with a sense of wrongness.

The queer architectural style continues into this oddly shaped chamber, with bulbous walls and a vaulted ceiling that soars to 30 feet in height. Weird glowing nodules along the walls illuminate the room with a sickly green radiance. A wide alcove in the northern wall holds a dais on which stands the Gate of Beyond, a 15-foot-tall archway carved from a strange, glowing blue-green stone called Abysium.

Imrizade Blakros stands on the dais before the arch, connected to the Gate of Beyond by five disgusting, fleshy, fungoid umbilicals attached to her hips, shoulders, and the base of her skull. She is half-Osirian, with long, dark hair and light brown skin, wearing a weathered explorer’s outfit. Her eyes are completely black, showing no iris or whites. To one side of the gate is the canister mentioned in the notes. A zombie, the undead remains of one of the museum’s
unfortunate watchmen, is positioned between you and the gate. The bodies of four other dead watchmen litter the floor around the dais.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

Theron, make a stealth roll to avoid being noticed. Roll well, Imrizade did!

Haha. I can't make that check.
Btw, Theron wouldn't go in 1st, if this is related.

I figured as the sneaky one, he would try to take a peek without being noticed. Was I wrong? Perhaps I assumed too much.

Hunters are like druids.
I'm not doing a stealth route with him. I'd take ranger/rogue/slayer if i did. Plus i'm a 3/4 BAB ranged focused, who don't go frontline.

My bad then. Ignore that man behind the curtain. What do you all want to do?

Well, we did say I was taking point..

"Miss! Identify and Explain yourself!"

As Thokzazt begins to question the lady behind the curtain, Marock lowers his crossbow and points it at the undead. "With a foul undead wondering around freely, I would say their intent is likely foul."

"Let's put down the walking corpse, before she gets time to do anything. The less danger at once coming on us, the better."

Theron quickly casts guidance on the others and himself in preparation.

Marock casts shield of faith if we have time before entering combat.

"Hah! Nice one, Marock." Erlathan chuckles at the pun almost mockingly as he prepares to launch a magic missile from his wand.

You can do Knowledge Religion rolls to recognize the type of Zombie. Though since the zombie is the result of otherworldly infestations, I really wonder whether that fits!

"Ahh, there you are. So you did not open the chest? A pity. I had a nice diversion waiting for you there. My name is Kubburum Ishme-dagan and I have returned after a VERY long wait courtesy of Ms. Blakros here." at that she points to herself. "Are you here to watch the opening of the gate to Aucturn or to cause trouble?"

I will allow one round of buffing before entering. The noise will, however, be loud enough to warn Kubburum who has been expecting you for about 45 minutes. So no surprise round, though you did get a round of buffs up on her. When you open the curtain she has a scroll open and ready to read. The curtain area is considered difficult terrain. I am also going to count the 4 dead watchman bodies and the stairs by the dais as difficult terrain.

Erlathan: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
Marock: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Selethe: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Theron: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Thokzazt: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11

Kubburum: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Zombie: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Bold may go:
Theron (guidance active)
Kubburum (Currently holding a scroll)
Erlathan
Selethe
Thokzazt
Marock (shield of faith active)
Zombie

I believe Thok would go before Selethe and I, according to those rolls.

Theron aims for the scroll.
"Dunno what it's for, but no thanks."
Shot @ scroll, guidance: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 7 + 1 = 18Dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Cloth and Paper have 0 hardness, and but 2 HP. So unless it's made of disguised granite....i call scroll destroyed. :P
It seems hitting an object is AC 10 + their size modifier.
I think a scroll folded open to read is small, but i'll leave that up to you. (I'd hit anyway, though :P)

"Alright girl, attack the ugly one.", Theron points at the zombie.

The roc flies over, and bites it.
Bite/ (B/P/S): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20Dmg: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Theron, you are going to have to step into the room, at least 2 squares forward from your current position to make that shot. The Curtain is a bit of an obstacle and covers your current square and the squares in front of you. No nice and handy draw cord available :)

I'm going to ask about that in the advice forum. It may have some hardness due to being magical or require a sunder maneuver or something.

Ah, ok. Since you said we had opened the curtain, as such i presumed i got a clear shot.
Moved my token.
Edit: Items become magic when they have an enhancement of at least +1, but only armor, shields & weapons are enhanced. A scroll is merely a sheet of paper with the spell's words on it.

Thhis is the thread where I asked my question. Feel free to weigh in. Right now it looks like sunder (since it is an attended object) is the way to go, though normally not allowed for ranged, it definitely makes sense in this case. I just need to find out if size of the object matters and then compare to CMD.

The funny thing is, hindsight, CMB can sometimes outright bypass a high AC. For example, a melee fighter with AC 19, could still have a CMD of 14.
I tried the 'attack an object' route, which follows AC + modifier.
Pretty much like shooting at a halfling/cat/bird, AC wise. If i went the sunder attempt, i'd roll vs the CMD of the one holding it, where i 'think', accent on 'think', instead of the item's own AC. Your call which way you go with, i just hope it works, and it saves us potential pain. :)

So the roc tears into the zombie AND Theron's shot hits its mark and sheds the scroll to the Sorceress' surprise. This really makes her angry and she decides to take it out on Theron's companion. She casts a shocking grasp and reaches past the zombie to touch the roc with arms that seem to stretch abnormally.

"You should have just watched, you meddling fools, she spits out with venom."

To Hit Touch: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

but nothing is going his/her way and she misses.

bold may go:
Theron
Kubburum
Thokzazt
Erlathan
Selethe
Marock (shield of faith active)
Zombie (-5)

Marock moves past the curtain and takes a shot at the woman.

(Free action) move 5' into the room, (Standard action) fire Lt. crossbow at the woman, (Move action) reload crossbow.

(Attack) Lt. Crossbow: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20
(Damage) Lt. Crossbow: 1d8 ⇒ 1

(Attack) Critical conformation: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
(Damage) Critical: 1d8 ⇒ 5

You may not take a 5' step because the curtain is considered difficult terrain. The shot will hit but you will not be able to reload the crossbow. The crit is a success since she was unable to get that scroll read too.

bold may go:

Theron
Kubburum (-6)
Thokzazt
Erlathan
Selethe
Marock (shield of faith active)
Zombie (-5)

Erlathan rushes into the room with his aerodynamic head pointed forward. "That's one nasty zombie woman. Let's see how much she can spit if she's partially blinded, shall we?" The elf holds his hands towards the gate. A blinding burst of light surrounds the woman and her zombie pal.

Move action into the room, standard to cast Flare Burst and expend 1 point from the pool to boost DC. DC 17 Fort negates becoming dazzled.

"Eeehhh, zombies don't talk, blondie."
<=== is blonde too. :)

"By the way, doesn't this give off some puppet show vibe to anyone?"

He hints at the tendrils attached to the woman.

Selethe is perplexed at why the Blakros woman would give her name as something else in such a way.

sense motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

Until she can figure it out, she decides to focus on the zombie. She moves into the chamber and sends her longspear zooming towards the undead.

Using my Hand of the Acolyte ability. Ranged attack using Wis instead of Dex to attack

attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Silly Inquisitor. Just ask! You know how BBEG are. No inquisitor mojo needed. See also post at Wed, Dec 28, 2016, 10:32 pm

The sense motive roll (and, perhaps, the way he pointed at herself and said 'courtesy of Ms. Blakros here') suggests that Blakros is currently possessed.

Oh, and that spear missed (of course, but it doesn't hurt to confirm).

bold may go:

Theron
Kubburum (-6)
Thokzazt
Erlathan
Selethe
Marock (shield of faith active)
Zombie (-5)

"That thing is a gate to the Dark Tapestry. We do not need that Chaos invading our realm. There is already enough madness as is! Aim for the Canister, that should cease the Portal's Opening!"

A moment later, the sounds of hundreds of Plate mail boots marching in unison, as Thokzazt's steps lengthen in a (now predictable) fashion. Swiftly approaching the casting woman, he readies his mace in anticipation of more spells.

"I do not know what got you in there Kubburum, but I will see you out to protect Miss Blakros."

I will ready an Attack. If the Sorceress casts a spell, I want to attack her to disrupt it.
Readied Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Readied Attack Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Oof. Or maybe I won't.

For the record, where is the Canister on the Gate's design? Too high to hit with Melee Weapons>

We might want to destroy the puppet master string on her? :)