GM Rednal's Legendary Planet AP (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

"As you can see, what we have here is incomplete. Do you have any idea where any other shards might be? Or perhaps the best place to begin the next leg of our search?" Vincent asked, hoping to get lucky.

@Phai: You're pretty sure any temple or shrine not devoted to undeath would be a bit concerned if someone laid nicely in a tomb in the depths of their building became undead. It's very clear she doesn't want the other monks to hear about that bit.

"Hmm... I think you should travel to the monastery of St. Menande, northwest of here." she said after a few moments of thought. "We haven't had any news from them for some time, though that's not unusual - travel on Rythes is difficult enough and nobody sends messages just because they can. You'll have to travel the Hellbit Trench to get there, though... do any of you have protection from heat?"

Isen considered, and shook his head. "Alas, I am better equipped to deal with the cold than I am the heat."

I understand that - but even if not devoted to undead, they could make use of eternal guardians that happen to be undead and e.g. volunteered for the service. So the angle I was worried about was weather she was disappointed that there was an undead, or disappointed that we survived...

Phai relaxed a bit:"Hellbit Trench? Sounds lovely. I can provide some small measure of protection for us from heat or cold - what level of heat are we talking about?"
I can prepare Endure Elements 3 times - but if we need Stand the Heat I'll need to borrow Farod.

If you need need the slots, I can prepare endure elements in my paladin slots as well.

"How long since you've heard from them? And how long of a trip are we talking about? Is there a navigable path, or should we..." Vincent thought about the monks' ascetic lifestyle, "Plan on doing some climbing?"

"Hot enough to slow travel to a crawl and outright stop anyone not prepared for it - including their animals. It's not hard to navigate, but it is hard to go through." the head of the monks explained. "That's the worst part, really. You need a fair few pack beasts to transport any meaningful amount of supplies through the area - supplies which also suffer the heat - and that's not easy to come by. It's the biggest impediment to regular trade with the north, aside from the distance and lack of food along the way."

Isen considered. "Would you be able to trade for garb that would help us resist the heat?" he asked hopefully.

"And do you have anything you need sent up that way? If we're already making the trip, it would be a shame to not take advantage of it."

"Oh, I am certain we could do without the beasts. I know of magic that can create nourishing food from thin air... but do say, what should we know about St. Menande? I admit I did not expect what we found here, and am glad we seem to not have messed up completely. But if there's something we should know about our next target, please do tell us about customs or manners expected there."

I can do one Create Food and Water, and keep it fresh with Purify...together with Endure that's a lot of spell slots, but then, they ARE primarily for utility and buffs - the bow is for conflict resolution :)

For what it's worth, I don't need to eat or drink, and with daily castings of ant haul I can carry quite a bit.

Once casting feeds 3 people per caster level for a day. So one casting=> 6 days of food for all of us, kept fresh via purify. You may not NEED to eat or drink, but you are welcome to.

The monk gestures to her thin, plant-fiber robes. "We have plenty of these - they are simple and sturdy, and light enough to be comfortable, but not enough to make a difference." she said regretfully. "We can replenish your supplies, but we do not have much in the way of material goods here. If this is a holy trial, then I believe you are meant to face it yourselves - if we were meant to help you, we would be able to."

"What you can do will be appreciated," Isen said with a nod.

"I can appreciate that sort of thing. My own faith has similar trials. Some that follow the path of Haymot are flung out to a distant asteroid, and then must adapt themselves to find a path home. Do you mind if we rest here for the night, and then set out in the morning? We'll need some time to prepare our magic for the journey."

That's fair, but Vincent only really eats for recreation, sampling the local cuisines of the places he visits. And occasionally for the rare situation where he has to stay inconspicuous and use a disguise to appear not to be auttaine, but that's only come up twice, and only successfully once. The first time was when he learned that it looked slightly suspicious for a person to never eat or sleep.

"Copies of the fragments are more than enough - we could not ask for more." the monk said, shaking her head. "And greed will only delay the salvation of our world. We will busy for some time yet..." she glanced towards where you had the glowing pieces of the book. "Or perhaps not long at all. Come, the extra supplies are this way." With that, she bustled towards a small building set deeper into the rocks, away from the harsh light of the sun.

You've obtained a week's worth of supplies.

Since Haymot Steel-arm's ascension and the subsequent change in the auttaine race to half-constructs was driven by the shattering of their homeworld into an asteroid belt bereft of atmosphere, it made sense to me that the construct portion fully sustains the body, much like a ring of sustenance would. Otherwise you'd end up with a skeletal race of half-machines, which doesn't seem in keeping with most LG deities.

As for sleep, I figured Vincent probably rests quietly in meditation for spell recovery, rather than normal sleep, though even that isn't really important. If he had to properly sleep to regain spells he probably wouldn't otherwise, and if he was performing some kind of undercover operation he wasn't likely to be throwing flashy magic around unless there was an emergency.

Vincent followed the woman and thanked her for the aid. Then he sought out a comfortable spot to spend the night so they could begin the next leg of their journey in the morning.

Hey, whatever works for you. In my mental image, I simply went with other semi-biological things sustained by another power...the most prevalent example being undead. It seemed strange that the construct part goes out of it's way to maintain the biological body when that part could easily sustain itself in the traditional way - but if there is no way to sustain it, it may make sense for the construct portion to take over in some way.

I think it's mostly in how one views them. I saw half-constructs as not strictly needing it, as in, they can operate for a week or two without food or sleep without diminished performance, but they would 'regularily' rest/sleep and eat as well because it works better for me immersion-wise(why would they maintain a biological aspect otherwise - why not go full construct if you operate like one) - kinda like it's not needed but good to have. But whatever works for you, in this universe, you are the only half-construct and your self-definition is primary. :)

Phai thanks the woman as well, but considers carefully what they will need. Not only would carrying more make the journey harder, but it made no sense to take from their limited resources what they could easily aquire themselves on the way.

Isen rested with the others, and then made sure his warm-weather clothing was clean and in good repair before changing into it. He had no desire to suffer heat stroke. Once done, he was ready to leave.

I'm pretty sure I've got an Auttaine racial write-up in one of these books if anyone wants to read it. o wo/

After tarrying for a time to allow the local monks to take detailed records of the appearance of the partially-completed light display - something they took to with gusto and no small amount of religious fervor - you were finally on your way and trudging up through the empty, barren lands. Fortunately, following along the riverbed was easy.

Eventually, a section of the riverbed narrows and deepens simultaneously with the walls rising 10 feet on either side to create a natural trough. A shifting wind periodically funnels through the resulting pass, driving clouds of sand before it. Unusual rock formations also stand on the ledges above, some them resembling broken statues worn down by the elements.

A little bit further, dry, withered vines adorn the weatherworn statues dotting each ledge overlooking the riverbed. A dozen stand at irregular intervals along each side, 5 on the west and 7 to the east. Further up, the canyon walls also include two small caves.

Being a cautious fellow, Isen checked out the sandblasted statues, partially to make sure that they weren't some kind of sandblasted golems instead.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

I've got the books, if you could direct me to the parts that are safe to read. Auttaine stuff is cool :D

"Definitely a nice spot for an ambush, if our friends from earlier were looking to pay us another visit." Vincent checked that his shield was secure, then continued on. If an attack was going to come, he preferred to be the obvious target so his companions had a better opportunity to return the attack.

"Certainly. If our friends show up once more, do we parley? Or assume no meeting here would be by chance?", Phai wondered, opting to check the small caves - especially wether they would offer decent shelter in case of extreme weather phenomena.
Plus, not certain how long we've been walking, if it's close to night, we may want to try camping there even if it seems obvious which is never a good sign.

"Honestly, I haven't been able to really tell them apart very easily, and I can't assume every one of their species is hostile, so I suggest we wait and see their intentions. But you know, be on your guard and all that. There's a difference between giving people and chance and offering your throat."

The Player's Guide is the most helpful bit, I think. Everything there is 100% safe.

You see that some of the statues have bite marks on them, and they're a little more realistic than you're used to seeing. They are not, however, golems or any other sort of construct or creature.

You also notice a creature crouching down near the top of the canyon, clearly trying to remain out of sight... and it's relatively large.

"I fear those statues may have once been people," Isen murmured to the others as he drew his sword.

Knowledge (Arcana) - What turns folks to stone?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

"I think there's a good chance you're right. Do you think the bite marks came before or after the whole stony bit? That thing up there could be the cause... but is it alone?"

"That would be a very unfortunate situation. Turning stone back into people is well beyond my abilities - we would do well to avoid getting petrified ourselves."
Taking another look at the statues, she retrieves and strings her bow:"And the situation is highly irritating. If they knew, they once again failed to give us important information for our journey. If they did not know, then that's an impressive number of victims since the creature laired here...which may point to problems at our destination that caused them to send several groups of messengers. And that, in turn, makes me wonder if the creature wandered here by chance..."

@Isen: You have no idea.

You're pretty sure the marks on the statues came after they were placed here. Or at least after they were made.

"It might be a more recent development, and explain why they haven't heard from this other abbey for some time." Isen glanced at the others. "Does anyone have any idea what might turn people to stone with a bite?"

"Hence why I said, if it is a recent development, I believe it is worrysome because the number of victims seems high, then, considering the low volume of travel." Trying to catch another glimpse of the creature, Phai shakes her head:"There's a lot of creatures with such abilities, in myths and more, in various worlds. Without a cleaner look at what we are dealing with, I can't say. In my homeworld, the Underwood Basilisk has such a defensive mechanism. But I heared of more creatures on my travels."
I figure we need to see it more closely before getting a prompted knowledge check. If I am mistaken and we can try right away without penalty, do tell, Rednal.

Vincent's etched markings shimmered a moment, before Axis emerged who then spiraled up into the air for a better view of the large creature. Careful to keep a safe distance, the wyrd floated past the thing, before returning to report.

Knowledge: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26 +1 if it's Arcana, Geography or Planes.

The creature didn't seem to notice Axis as the Ioun Wyrd rose up - but it was able to get a much better look at things, and when Axis came back down, the familiar detailed what you recognized as some kind of not-quite-normal dracolisk (a strange hybrid of dragon and basilisk). That seemed to explain the statues...

Once Axis had finished its report, it quickly returned to the safety of its tattoo form.

"A basilisk... that's also a dragon... I've heard tales of rescuing people caught in a basilisk's gaze by rubbing them in the blood of the basilisk, do you think that something like that would work with a dracolisk? And dragons are usually very territorial, so perhaps that's why the pass has been so dangerous for travelers? Does anyone know if they're able to be reasoned with, or is this going to be another manticore situation?"

Thinking for a few moments, Isen said, "I can speak Draconic, so we if it's intelligent as a dragon then it's possible. Did your friend note what colour it is? It might not be the same with this one, but metallic coloured dragons tend to be friendlier. It might be the same with this." He tried to think of anything else useful.

Knowledge (Arcana): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

"Hm? I always thought brightly colored dragons reminiscent of the colors of a rainbow are the friendly ones? Different worlds, different patterns, I suppose...that said, I dare say it's not particularily friendly, I doubt all of those people managed to offend it so gravely they had to be turned to stone..."
Phai takes a moment to cast Heroism on herself:"If you mean to attempt to parley with it, I won't stop you. But be aware that it is beyond my power to return stone to life...at least for the time being. That said, most such attacks have a limited range...or the creature could fly over the countryside and leave whole cities petrified. We would do well to not bunch up in one place where it can attempt to affect all of us simultaneously."
Basically, spread out slightly so that 2 people can keep their eyes open if it's a gaze?

Consulting with Axis, the Ioun Wyrd was pretty sure the dracolisk had some reddish coloring on its body. It didn't seem particularly metallic.

"So, what's our approach? I am afraid I know how this ends, but I am willing to go with any suggestion you might have. Not without precautions, though."
Phai will, in time, activate her flight hex and adjust her position to keep Vincent between herself and the assumed location of the dracolisk, with a good field of fire.
Vincent being about 50-80 feet 'ahead' from her. If someone has to make Fortitude Saves, I'd prefer it's him checking all our saves :)

Isen sighed. "If it follows true dragons, red would be a poor sign. And we don't even know if it's intelligent enough to speak to. I can try calling out to see if it will speak, but I agree with Phai - it will likely end in a fight."

"I have a feeling you're probably right. If I can get close enough, I should be able to tell if it is tends towards evil, but I think a fight is probably inevitable. And if it has been preying upon travelers, we'll be doing the region a favor. If the blood thing holds true, we might even be able to rescue some of those people-turned-statues."

How far away is it? If I can get within 60' I can ping it with detect evil, as a final bit of evidence. Also, if you guys think I'm overthinking these things and slowing things down, let me know and I can tone it down. I understand the back and forth/overthinking can really bring a play-by-post game to a crawl.

It's relatively high up and some ways down the valley - call it about 120 feet, taking the added height into account.

All right. Unless you guys have a better idea, I'll lead the way down the path until I can get within 60 ft to get a read on it. If I get attacked, we'll blast it. If it turns out evil, we can kick things off with a preemptive strike if it doesn't move to engage. Sound good? And for what it's worth, let's go for averting my gaze when not actively pinging it with detect evil for now.

No better idea. Except, as said, of not bunching up into a conveniently gaze-able block formation. Oh, and not flying more than a few feet above the ground. Fall damage is not kind to stone statues falling from large heights.

Isen shall follow along.

It's totally attacking - go ahead and make your attack(s). XD

As the dracolisk came hurtling forward, Vincent raised his palm and cast out a bead of fire.

Spell Failure (20%): 1d100 ⇒ 68
Fireball (DC 18, CL 7): 7d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 1, 1, 6, 2, 2) = 19

By the time the flames cleared, Vincent had his falcata in hand and shield raised, ready to defend himself, but carefully avoiding its gaze.

Phai focuses for a moment, then calls into being a bow of divine energy that starts firing arrows of light at the creature.

Spiritual Weapon: 1d20 + 6 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 6 + 5 = 19 Force Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Heroism active(+2 Saves if relevant). I avoided Challenging it for now.

Isen joined in the ranged attack, floating to the side of the group, and spending more power to do so.

To Hit (Touch): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Damage: 6d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1, 2, 5, 2) = 18

Vincent's fireball washed over the beast as it swooped down - and utterly failed to harm the creature. It bit out at Phai's spiritual weapon a moment later, sending the bow tumbling away. Isen's blast hit, though, and it let out an angry squawk as it fixed its gaze on him.

Fort DC 16 (Isen) vs turning to stone: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Got anything?

Isen turned to stone, and fell the to the ground.