And Trag provides his usual screening for magic and poison.
Brand (auto assist, plus one for traps)
You're pretty sure the door is safe. It... is.
You walk forward a few steps. The path Ts off--you can head east or west. You see a door at the end of each side of the T.
"How about west, just for a direction?", Talathel offers.
Anzath shrugs, "Seemz okay wid me," and pushes Brand down the hallway.
Brand and his erm... friends find a room with the door off its hinges. Peering inside, they find a series of sarcophagi that have had their lids ripped off--the stone lids seem to have been flung haphazardly around the room. But all is dusty. None have ventured back here in a long while. There's nothing of value here.
To the east?
To the east!
I bet you can guess what lurks beyond the door to the east.
Brand springs open the locked door with no trouble. Within are three undisturbed sarcophagi. Each has a single, large ruby set in its lid.
Brand (auto assist, plus one for traps)
You're pretty sure there are no traps on the 'phaguses. Pop 'em open?
Trag will give them a token detect magic and detect poison, reporting anything he notes. Given their track record with sacrophagi, when they are ready to open each one, he'll stand back with his wand at the ready.
OooOooo... Anzath's eyes grow wide at sight of the rubies in Critfisher's purple light.
"Hmm... Iz nice."
If Trag gives the ok, she approaches the nearest sarcophagi, and licking her lips, tries to pop out the ruby from its setting with one of her smaller blades.
Aurora follows after Anzath to stand by the half-drow’s side, in the event that anything malign happens.
The ruby pops out. It seems valuable, but not magical. Nor does Tragershen's standard sweep locate anything.
Anzath studies the gem and tries to assess its value before placing it in her pack.
Get excited: this one is worth about 250 GP and the others look identical.
Talathel offers a slight smile.
"Valuable indeed. We should still open the sacrophagi, one by one, to eliminate any danger from them on terms amenable to us."
The first sarcophagus lid is relieved of its ruby and flipped open.
A skeleton--but it doesn't move.
After pillaging the rubies, Anzath uses her crowbar to help lift the lids, keeping her mace and potion of Protection from Evil handy.
Talathel smashes the skeleton's skull in.
"Next."
The second sarcophagus pops open with a hiss--a gleam of magical illumination shines forth.
Tragershen, Talathel, Anzath, and Bedlam swiftly see an armored figure turn its helmeted face towards them--its horrid, fleshless face. The being begins to shake off the bones of second body that seem to have been draped across it. Strange shadows seem to flit over the skeletal warrior, or is it just the light cast from its blade?
At first sight of movement, Anzath gulps down her potion, then marks her opponent for a second death.
Tragershen triggers his wand at the creature.
Ranged ray attack, To hit
Damage
Talathel smoothly switches to his warhammer and strikes at the errant skull.
Bedlam grins at the apparition.
The fell creature in the tomb lashes out with its glowing sword, hewing at Bedlam, who just smacked him pretty hard:
It misses.
It then stands up.
Grinning menacingly back at the skeleton as it takes a wallop, Anzath adds to the hurt.
Anzath and Bedlam dispatch the Skeletal Champion, but their distraction means that only Talathel stands ready to take an AOO on the shadow that boils through the side of the tomb!
Talathel swings!
And does not connect.
Damnable non-elven weaponry! I will have to practice far harder!
The shadow hisses and swings its horrible shade-claws at... ...the elf!
Talathel feels that awful undead-induced weakness spread through his limbs... cold. So cold.
Talathel draws his arm back, his teeth gritted with the horrible sensation.
The same arm returns, cold iron still grasped.
Aurora comes along to Bedlam's side, lowering a hand to rest upon his battle-pick in a quick blessing. A faint luminescence like a shimmering powder forms on the weapon, but is already fading away as Aurora withdraws her hand.
"Don't disappoint me, now..."
Bedlam smiles at Aurora. Reaching into a pouch, applying an alchemical weapon to his mace, the dwarf then brings his blessed weapon around at the shadow.
At 2nd level, a grenadier can infuse a weapon or piece of ammunition with a single harmful alchemical liquid or powder, such as alchemist’s fire or sneezing powder, as a move action. This action consumes the alchemical item, but transfers its effect to the weapon in question.
The alchemical item takes full effect on the next creature struck by the weapon, but does not splash, spread, or otherwise affect additional targets. Any extra damage added is treated like bonus dice of damage, and is not doubled on a critical hit. The alchemical treatment causes no harm to the weapon treated, and wears off 1 minute after application if no blow is struck. At 6th level, a grenadier can use her alchemical weapon ability as a swift action. At 15th level, this ability becomes a free action.
This ability replaces poison resistance.
PFS Legal Bottled lightning
Source Ultimate Equipment pg. 107 (Amazon)
Price 40 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Category Alchemical Weapons
Description
Electricity crackles along a metal filament inside this small glass bottle. You can open the bottle as a standard action, unleashing a small bolt of lightning toward an enemy within 20 feet of you. This is a ranged touch attack that deals 1d8 points of electricity damage. Any creature in a line between you and the target (including the target) takes 1 point of sonic damage from the terrific clap of thunder the bolt generates (Reflex DC 15 negates). Crafting bottled lightning is a DC 25 Craft (alchemy) check.
Construction
Craft (Alchemy) DC 25.
It would only have to touch me twice to slay me...
Tragershen quickly evaluates the new undead assailant, and attacks it with his wand.
Ranged touch attack, to hit
Damage
“No!” Anzath screams out suddenly and unexpectedly as the shadow grasps onto Talathel.
She draws out Critfisher and cuts into the darkness with purple light, adjusting her stance to a more defensive posture.
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Nethys' magic makes Bedlam's shoulder a little sore--instead of the usual feeling of striking an incorporeal undead with a magic weapon (feels a bit like stabbing a pond, if ponds could stand up), his full-strength swing connects as if the shadow were any ol' orc. The dark creature reels with the impact. Just like any ol' orc.
Tragershen's Wand of Futility does its thing.
Critfisher, though, parts the already-wilting shadow as if tearing through gossamer strands of non-magical spiderwebs. The monster fades out of existence with a long moan of despair.
After rustling through the skeletal champion-shadow tomb, you find a +1 longsword that glows yellow like an incandescent lightbulb. You also have the three rubies.
There's nothing else down here.
"Urgh.", Talathel winces as he touches his arm.
"That is not an experience I can recommend. I will have to continue to correct for enemy strengths and weaknesses. That said, another magic blade could be most useful. Who would like it?"
The dwarf glances at the long sword.
Be fit fer un elf.
The dwarf smiles.
Aurora looks as though she's almost ready to pat Bedlam on the head for his efforts, then decides against it. Who knows what horrors hides upon that dwarf's scalp?
"A fine weapon, although I fear I am not versed in the arts of swordplay. And I have the magic of my faith," Aurora waggles her fingers, "so I think of us I have the second least-pressing need for a magical weapon."
Anzath approaches Tal and tentatively reaches out to touch his arm. It’s little comfort, and she quickly withdraws her hand. “Ve move on,” she states flatly before leaving the others to debate over the new blade.
Talathel appreciates the comforting touch provided by Anzath, even if he does not show much outward sign of that.
"Yes. And I shall take up the longsword for now. I can use a secondary magic weapon for close fighting."
The party continues exploring. Once they cross the fire room, they move across until they reach a hallway that heads south. There's a door--you check it for traps.
Brand (auto assist, plus one for traps)
Seems safe. As you enter the room, several hundred candles light at once. They sit on a ledge around the edge of the room. An edge ledge. The room is empty except for a rug in the center of the room, a 10 x 10 red carpet.
Tragershen will cast detect magic and detect poison on one of the candles by the door. If that does raise any alarm for him, he'll pick it and carry it outside of the room. Does it stay lit? He'll also try blowing it out.
Talathel studies the rug from spear stabbing range.
The room has a ritualistic feel to Anzath, but she's not too familiar with these religious matters. It's probably why she's been failing to deal with the Sarenites. She doesn't step into the room too far, and watches curiously as Tragershen systematically goes about testing things. Like Talathel, her eye is mostly drawn to the carpet, and she nudges Brand toward it, "Karpet lookz funny, no?"
The candles seem nonmagical in themselves, although there's clearly magic in this room. Tragershen's detect magic picks up an area effect that is likely responsible for the candles' behavior.
Brand sees the rug and shakes his head. "Trap. For sure."
Brand carefully, gingerly, touches the rug and falls over, dead.
Dead? Or... wait. He's snoring.
Talathel draws rope, forms a loop, and tries to drag Brand away from the rug.
"Can anyone disable that trap? Or is it expended?"
Tal manages to drag Brand away from the rug.
Bedlam shakes his hairy head.
Be looking like in magical trap. Me not trained wit dem.
The ever-pragmatic dwarf reaches into his heavily burdened pack. Pulling out a half dozen torches, he begins to light them. Pulling out a flask of oil, the Alchemist looks to the others.
Her eyebrows raised, Anzath keeps her mouth shut and wonders what the crazy dwarf is up to.