GM supervillan's 9-07 Salvation of the Sages (low tier) (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

"Given the time, I think I could produce this. I'm well trained in healing, and I think I could do it"

Vordrek has a +15 Heal, guidance would make it a +16, I could spend 15 minutes to prepare owl's wisdom which would make it a +18. How long would the creation process take?

no party splitting;-) let us go!

Everyone else seems to be interested in taking a crack at making them, so go ahead. Don't want to bully the group into rushing through things

heal assist vordrek : 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (13) - 1 = 12

forget owls wisdom. My assist: +4 heal due to ‘helpful’ trait

”I will assist!!“

Nice! So that plus guidance puts me at an even +20 to Heal checks. I just noticed that we have the times already, so I vote we spend the 15 minutes to craft 3 doses of the cure.

”Can we please create the cure once and then distill one dose of the blood of my god ... Nethys?!?“ Enora pleads.

OK, so you've agreed to go do some lab-work. Vordrek, if you are going to lead any of the checks you will need to pass through the Cleansing Room. The cures and the Blood of Nethys require a laboratory for manufacture. However, you can offer Aid instead by gesticulating through the window. This would be more difficult than normal because of the circumstances: DC15 to Aid Another, or DC12 if you have Message in place (or some other means of being clearly heard).

It's 5 mins per dose to make a cure, and you only need a skill check to handle the disease safely.

It's 15 mins to make a dose of Blood of Nethys, and this requires a Craft (Alchemy) or a Spellcraft check.

So, questions.

Vordrek, do you pass through the Cleansing Room?

Everyone else: who attempts to make what? Who attempts Aid checks? (I'll take Enora's Aid roll already made for anyone using Heal to handle the disease sample).

can Enora activate the device safely in the cleansing room? She is cured now. Then all can pass. Then Vordrek makes the heal check with Enora aid. Depending on the group decision if we create 3 cures or 1 cure plus 1 blood of Nethys Enora would attempt a spellcraft Check and hopes to receive aids.

Do you mean can Enora trigger the Cleansing Room activation? If so, no. You learned that it triggers by detecting disease. Vordrek is currently infected with Ghoul Fever, so he will trigger the Cleansing cycle. The rest of you are disease-free so can pass safely (but will be trapped in the room with Vordrek if you enter at the same time as he does).

Hm, I see the problem. And I can't Side-Along Apparate Dimensional Slide with Enora, and since I have fire resistance 5 already resist energy would be only marginally useful. Any other ideas on mitigating fire damage? If not, I may just have to risk it.

If we just want Lenora to trigger it, she could go grab a random disease vial and walk into the room while holding it.

Or heck, we could try just tossing a vial in the room to trigger it.

In fact, Kramac will try just that. He will walk through, choose a random non number 14 vial, and toss it into the corner of the room from outside.

Kramac grabs the nearest vial, number 16. From outside the Cleansing Room, he lobs the vial in. It lands intact in the sticky goo that covers the floor.

The green runes activate and seal the chamber. The blue runes activate.

remove disease: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

The red runes pulse once to no effect. The disease sample has been successfully cleansed. The cleansing cycle continues, giving you time to get across whilst it recharges. (And now you have a method for crossing safely).

"Well done Kramac. That was a clever solution" says Dhiara.

Vordrek, do you want to make a Heal check for handling sample 14 safely? You can take the +4 from Enora, and use Guidance too. Anyone else aiding? Are you just making cures, or do you want to attempt Blood of Nethys?

Diagnose Disease can target objects. Remove Disease targets creatures, but also says it can kill hazards and parasites such as green slime so I reckon it can affect the sample. Diagnose Disease is the trigger for the cleansing cycle though, so Kramac's plan works.

Kramac your Heightened Awareness has now elapsed. The party has been in the dungeon for 40 minutes, and some spells were cast 10 minutes before you entered.

Nithrandyl can auto aid for healing

Good idea Kramac!

Vordrek hurries through the room during its cooldown period and heads into the lab. He sets up what he needs, then rubs his hands together in preparation. Assisted by Enora, who seems to have a knack for knowing when to hold what, carefully opens the vial and puts its contents to better use than was intended.

Heal + guidance + Enora's aid: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 15 + 1 + 4 = 22
Oh jeez. And I've already used my reroll. Well, whoever else can aid will add to it.

Nith also assists, which is enough! You have a negative level reducing your skill checks by 1 Vordrek.

Vordrek, Enora and Nithrandyl set to work. In the nick of time Nithrandyl adjusts a clamp on an alembic and prevents a spillage of the disease sample!

You can safely make up to 3 doses of cure. Or, you can make 1 dose of cure, and also attempt to make a dose of Blood of Nethys - requiring a Spellcraft or Craft (alchemy) check.

Enora pleads you to help to distill one blood of Nethys as this is a religious topic for her! 'Please, please' she says and starts to work on the task!

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31

Oh right.

Conceding to Enora's enthusiasm after the cure is finished, Vordrek helps her with the Blood of Nethys.

Auto-aid Spellcraft even with the -1. Not that she's likely to need it with that roll!

Nithrandyl help Enora with her taks but is mindful of staying out of her way when needed.

Nithrandyl auto aids on the Spellcraft check

The two followers of the All-Seeing Eye, with astute commentary from the arcane-minded elf, work with reverence on the crystalline aether. After 15 minutes of exacting labour and precise calculation, they produce a single stoppered vial. This vial holds a marbled mix of white and black fluids that swirl around one another, occasionally forming the appearance of a face for an instant. The fluid is raw magical potential!

Success! One cure for fading light and one dose of Blood of Nethys manufactured. Let me know who carries these treasures please.

Your lab-work complete, you return to the archives. Sample number 7 is cast into the Cleansing Room and is destroyed by means of the Remove Disease function, allowing you safe passage.

Kramac checks the door, and opens it.

The chamber beyond gleams when illuminated by Kramac's light spell, bouncing reflections across the multitude of glass tiles covering the walls and floor. A clear pool in the centre of this chamber is utterly still, and a small, pearlescent object glimmers at its bottom. The pool is some ten feet deep. There is another door to the north.

By the time you enter the pool room, the following spells and effects have expired:
Kramac and Jino's anti-plagues
Enora's Mage Armour
Nithrandyl's Barkskin
Rogar's Heightened Awareness and Heroism, and the Triple Time masterpiece
You have been inside the dungeon for just over 1 hour.

Enora uses her wand to cast mage armor on herself again.

Rogar will recast his spell and perform once more. tripletime again

Rogar will cast detect magic and look around the room before focusing on the pool.

perception: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 9 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 14

Kramac and Jino will both down their second vial of anti-plague, and set about searching the room. He'll cast detect magic as he scans the room, including the pool in the middle.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18

The glimmering light at the bottom of the pool is magical in nature, though the aura is faint.

Detect Magic kn(arcana) - all read spoilers: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

kn(arcana) : 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (6) + 15 = 21

Know Arcana: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Nithrandyl listens to Enoras initial deduction of pool of water but from this distance he can't seem to deduce what the magic spell actually is.

"Fascinating" is all he says.

kn:arcana: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 29
"a continual flame spell... interesting.

A continual flame spell? Weak magic, but could still be useful. Kind Vordrek, could you retrieve it using Mage Hand?

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Vordrek chuckles, which sounds rather like a mirthful cough. "So it is. Someone went to a great deal of trouble to light the bottom of this pool."

Vordrek will try to mage hand the bauble. Which should at least tell us something, unless you (GM) would say that a continual flame spell makes an item inherently magical.

Oops, didn't realize mage hand was non-magical. It does raise an interesting rules question though.

Although Continual Flame is a permanent spell I don't think that makes the target of the spell a magical object, so I am happy for Mage Hand to work here.

Vordrek's cantrip raises the bauble up out of the pool. It is a glass bead, such as might be found on a child's necklace. The fire sputters, as if struggling to survive. Vordrek takes the bead in hand, and minute droplets of liquid still on the glass bead scorch the fabric of his fine gloves leaving a rank, acrid smell. The liquid in the pit must be a potent acid. No damage to Vordrek - there's not enough acid left on the bead to cause hp damage once it is raised out of the pool, but immersion would be very painful indeed.

You recall the signpost at the crossroads said "Waste Disposal".

Excellent job Vordrek! I certainly am glad none of us took a dip in the acid pool. This must be where the necromancer disposed of corpses she was done with...

Kramac stands, sad look apparent on his face, pondering the pool where untold numbers of innocents were dissolved. After a few moments, a look of steely grim determination replaces his sorrow, and he exclaims Onwards! Let us continue our explorations and find how to end this wicked influence on the Jewels, and remove her evil taint from the world permanently.

Kramac will recast Heightened Awareness before continuing.

Also, I don't think anyone rolled particularly well on perception checks for this room, so I'd recommend everyone who hasn't made a check yet make one before we move on.

i dont think anyone said who has the cures... so Rogar will hold onto fading light, and Enora should hold onto blood of nethys.

Rogar will take a cursory glance around after successful retrieval of thecontinual flame bauble
perc: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (12) + 9 + 2 + 2 - 1 = 24
"lets move on."

Rogar follows kramac to the next door

Rogar's (second) cursory glance turns up a a hidden alcove behind a tile on the west wall. The alcove holds a canister with enough crystalline aether to manufacture four doses of the fading light cure (or two of Blood of Nethys), a magic scroll, and two vials of antiplague.

Multiple perception checks are allowed when searching, it just takes longer.

Enora has no read magic memorised.

Spellcraft : 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29

”This is a heal scroll! Wonderful!“

Nithrandyl helps Enora search the area.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 10 + 2 = 19
Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36

but seems to be having a headache interrupt his focus on magic items but he still searches around.

I really should have prepped that...

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18
"Is it?" Vordrek squints at the printed runes. "Strange, I don't recognize... Ah, well, anyway. Sharp eyes, dwarf!"

You've found everything of interest in this room, so I'll move you on through the northern door.

Kramac checks the door, and opens it. Beyond the door is another ossuary; a library of bones. A brief examination suggests that these bones record how their former owners fared in the memory extractor.

Another passage leads out to the south.

”We should not forget that we found a canister with enough crystalline aether to manufacture four doses of the fading light cure (or two of Blood of Nethys)! But we should manufacture more later!!“

"We should make more, but perhaps later..."

Rogar casts detect magic and begins to carefully look around the library..
perception: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 = 25

"these are truly fascinating. The society will be very interested in these notes. This memory extractor is truly a unique and powerful device."

"A unique triumph!" exclaims Dhiara, before she can stop herself. "Ah, I feel Black Moon's presence very keenly. Each of these bones belongs to someone who died in her experiments, so that she could perfect her memory extractor. This is a tomb, of a sort."

Rogar senses no magic but that which you brought with you. Enora bears an overwhelmingly powerful aura - it emanates from the Blood of Nethys.

There's nothing more to learn here - moving you on.

You proceed down the other southerly passage, and find that it ends at a door. Kramac takes the lead again. He studies the door, and then opens it.

Beyond the door a bridge crosses a dark chasm containing mountains of bones. Fearsome fiendish statues armed with serrated blades guard one side of the bridge, standing before a double door. An obsidian moon embosses the doors’ centre.

Kramac will lead the way through the room, across the bridge, searching for things of note as he goes with detect magic up.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 9 + 2 = 26

What horrors were visited upon these innocents...Kramac does not like this place. Come, friends, let us make haste to complete our mission. I have had my fill of this tomb and wish to destroy this evil and return to happier locales.

"Seems like we have to cross the chasm over the bridge. Perfect place for an ambush. We should be wary." Nithrandyl tells the others and then he inches forward to look over the bridge and chasm for any threats.

Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

Probably not high enough at our tier so...

Nithrandyl tells the others he does not see anything bad.

Rogar offers to keep warch as the others cross. He strings an arrow in his bow and cautiously waits at start of the bridge
perc: 1d20 + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 - 1 + 2 + 2 = 32

Kramac notes two magic auras - in addition to the evil-looking swords that are part of the statues, each statue also holds a wand. The magic auras emanate from the wands. When you are able to examine the wands you can attempt the following Spellcraft checks to identify them.

Kramac, aided by his magic, also notes that there is a trap on the bridge. He spots a hidden catch that, if triggered, would tilt the bridge so that everyone standing on it would be dropped into the pit of bones. Having pointed this out, everyone can avoid the trigger by moving slowly and carefully over the bridge (half speed).

If anyone has the skill to attempt it you can of course employ Disable Device on the trap.

Enora tries to identify the wands and informs you all.

Please read spoilers

Spellcraft : 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30

Spellcraft : 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29

”Oh god, I would never have seen this trap! Thanks colleagues! This is a horrible place indeed!!“ Enora sighs and walks slowly to not trigger the trap.

Ha! The wickedness of this necromancer is no match for Kramac's keen eyes!

Kramac will dismount in order to slowly lead Jino across the bridge, guiding the beast to not set off the trap, before leading the way into the next room.

Enora, you are always wise and knowledgeable!

"It's a wonder this place wasn't torn down when she was driven out or killed," says Karos.

"The cowards couldn't even face their own slaves."

The gunslinger doesn't have much to add, trusting that the more cerebral members of the party know what they're doing.

"Fear is a powerful motivator Karos" says Dhiara. "Do not judge the ancients too harshly. Tahari's plagues killed many, and unleashing divs upon defenceless villagers cemented a reputation for ruthlessness. It must have seemed wisest to let the sands bury Resa; no additional deaths were necessary to accomplish that."

Kramac checks the double door, and opens it.

You recognise the room beyond from the "Sepulchre" memory. Stone sarcophagi line the walls, held closed by straps and bindings. Arcane glyphs spark over the walls and tombs periodically, providing intermittent light and skittering shadows. Time, and the shifting of the stone, has caused some damage to the enchantments of this place.

The sarcophagus straight ahead at the northern edge of the chamber is larger than the rest. It is not open.