GM Tarondor's Emerald Spire Campaign

Game Master Tarondor

"YEAH THAT'S RIGHT, CLEAR OFF!" Wymond barks after the retreating foes. He turns to look at the others.

"Well, that weren't so bad!" he says with a smile.

"I am not sure its good they are moving further down and regaining their strength, but we have cleared this level. So that is a good step." Marcel says.

Lilika nods absentmindedly, once again ignoring people to look around for clues about the Spire or her past.

Perception: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34

She loots whatever she can find (on this level, not just this room), looks for secret doors, and so on.

"Dumb ogres. Didn't even try to help the snakes. I think I saw a door back here I wanna check out." Nycholas leads back to the statue room where he thinks he saw a door.

Marcel will help go around the different rooms and loot everything on this level as he was not around for much of it.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

"Dumb ogres. Didn't even try to help the snakes. I think I saw a door back here I wanna check out." Nycholas leads back to the statue room where he thinks he saw a door.

"Maybe they didn't hear? I think they were asleep when we opened the door," Wymond adds. He then joins Lilika in searching the level, now that they were free of threats ostensibly. Triath helps, sniffing and snuffling at every nook and cranny.

"Here." Nycholas says, producing a yew wand from his bag of holding and holding it out to Lilika. "Royst said you're a druid, so I brought this. Ordered one for myself, merchant sent two. Never responded to my letters about returning it." After some finagling, he removes a ring from his gauntleted hand. The ring is a heavy chunk of iron, shaped to resemble a rams head with curled horns. "I found this the first time I came to the Spire, looking for Chaid DiViri. There was some kinda wizard machinist at the top of the tower above the ground floor level. Found this stuff too." He gestures broadly at everything he is wearing.

Nycholas wears a beautiful set of elegant, blue tinted plate armor. His right hand and arm sport plate to protect his sword arm, his left only protected by leather and mail so as not to prevent him from completing the intricate somatic components of spells. A blue surcoat bearing gold threading and simple blue gems protects the armor from the elements. A tome hangs from his hip on a golden chain. The tome is a large, leather-and-gold-plate bound book, the leather dyed blue with delicate golden filigrees and lettering. The book is fixed shut by a gold pin lock, the pin attached to the cover by a fine golden chain. The title, written in ancient Azlanti, is "Mirror's Edge". The greatsword is designed much like its companion book: a slight blue sheen to the steel, fine golden wiring snaking around the handle and guard, and the same "Mirror's Edge" engraved on the base of the blade. "I don't think I have anything for you, Marcel. My fiancée is a sorcerer, too."

The wand is Longstrider lvl 2. The Ring is Ring of the Ram. It'll give Wymond a hands-free once-per-combat ranged damage/control spell.

"Wizard machinist? That weren't Klarkosh, were it? He killed me. An' then we killed him," Wymond comments.

To clarify, are you offering the ring to me? You just took it off your finger...

To clarify, are you offering the ring to me? You just took it off your finger...

Yiss. An appropriate item for a dwarf, I think.

When offered the ring, Wymond accepts it and looks it over a bit.

"Right purty, it is," he comments. "Thank ye kindly."

He tries it on.

"Is it magical?"

Pretty cool, Nyc!

You've thoroughly explored the level now. You can rest, return to Fort Inevitable or continue down into the depths.

"The Aeon stone is useful if you do not have the magical means to create a shield. And someone should certainly wear that ring from the guards room. It could prove vital as we continue down. I think we should pursue those who fled now. But we could return if people wish. Carrying all of these items might start to slow us down." Marcel says.

Lilika raises her eyebrow at Nycholas and tentatively reaches out to accept the wand. "This is... a gift..?" A gift? For me? How suspicious...

She tucks the wand into her belt. Looking at the pile of loot, she picks up the more useless items and starts tossing them into her magical bag of holding. She examines the Spire Token, then passes it to Wymond.
Can she tell what the symbol on this Spire Token means?

The only thing Lilika's interested in is the ring of resistance (fire), but she's rarely the one injured in combat so it's probably better if someone else takes it.

After they're done inventory, she stretches a bit.

"Let's rest, then continue down deeper tomorrow."

Spire Transport Tokens are universal. They'll work for any level of the Spire dungeon. You just have to know the appropriate rune. I'm not sure that's been adequately explained before, but that's it. On each level of the dungeon you've seen so far, there is a rune engraved on the Emerald Spire that is a symbol for that level. Touch the token to the Emerald Spire, visualize the symbol, and be instantly transported to that level.

Do we have Spire Transport Tokens?

Lots.

"Yeah. Magic of the mighty... sheep. Just focus on it and you can use it to push people away. It'll come into your mind, you'll just... know how to use it. I don't need it cuz I have other spells. You should take the aeon stone, too, Wymond. The ring and the stone don't need your hands, so you can keep hold of your weapon."

"I'm not even tired yet." Nycholas interjects, awkwardly loud, when Marcel suggest returning to town.

Nycholas has a bag of holding I, so we can find lots of loot afore we need to go back. Nycholas is avoiding town because his fiancée doesn't know he's gone back into the Spire, so he's not gonna suggest going back lol
,Oh, looks like Lilika has a bag of holding too.

The aeon stone would be useful for Wymond for when he has nothing better to do with his last action. Shield is a solid cantrip.

GM Tarondor, was there anything interesting about the room behind the hidden door Nycholas saw in the statue room, or is it just a bedroom as it appears? giant snek bedroom.

"Sheep are plenty mighty. Once time, my little brother Cenhelm was shepherding and got knocked flat on his face into the mud by Greenhorn, our flock's ram. We called him that as a joke because he was an ornery ol' cuss! Me, Pa and Osbeorn were almost flat on our arses ourselves laughin!" Wymond comments. Farm-folk like him are easily amused.

"So how's this aeon thingy work?" he asks as he accepts the aeon stone, only to get his answer when it starts orbiting his head. "Huh...that's gonna take some gettin' used to...wait, did we check the cell? Was that crazy prisoner still there? For all we know, those ogres might have eaten him while we were topside..."

GM Tarondor, was there anything interesting about the room behind the hidden door Nycholas saw in the statue room, or is it just a bedroom as it appears? giant snek bedroom.

Everything interesting from that room was on the body of Sartoss the serpent-priest.

Lilika wanted to rest. That's fine with me.

The team holes up in Sartoss's room, setting a watch against the return of Ferg, Derg, Toragh Madh and Sanaz the naga.

The watch passes quietly.

With no way to tell night from day, the team eventually gets itself ready to move on. Refreshed and strengthened, they look down the stairs into the depths. At least this time they have -some- knowledge of what faces them below.

Marcel casts his Mage Armor and a Shield spell as they head down the stairs.

[color=red]LEVEL EIGHT: THE CIRCLE OF VISSK-THAR[/color]

You descend by means of a winding stair through the solid rock, traveling perhaps a hundred and fifty feet laterally, but descending something like forty feet vertically and arrive in a worked chamber reminiscent of the decor on the level above.

Across this small chamber from the ascending staircase, another staircase winds down into darkness. Off to one side is a calm pool of murky water with a pedestal in its center. Atop the pedestal, a golden serpent idol grasps an emerald in its fangs.

"Pfft...just what we need, more snakes," Wymond comments as they enter the chamber and he notices the idol.

"Whatcha wanna bet that thing's booby-trapped?" he asks, pointing at it with his bardiche.

"It might just be cursed." Marcel says with a wry tone.

Looks like no one else wants the ring of resistance? If so, Lilika slips it on her finger.

Lilika raises an eyebrow at the potentially-trapped-or-cursed-statue. After a moment of watching it, she casts a spell, trying to detect if there's any powerful magic in the room.

Perception (Expert): A trap?: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28

Lilika casts detect magic, choosing to ignore the magic items and spells of her allies. It's fourth level now, so she should be able to learn something useful about the highest level magic in the room and its location. Which is hopefully not a snake idol.

Nycholas is ready to summon the emerald with magic, unless Lilika says something. "I can catch it in my bag of holding. We can take it to Royst."

Nycholas will mage hand the emerald over, if no one sees any reason not to.

"If'n the Hellknights don't confiscate it on the way to him," Wymond grumbles.

Everyone feels the strong urge to approach the idol and lay hands on it!

Everyone give me a Will save! I'm not telling you the DC!

Will Save!: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (13) + 15 = 28
And if it matters: +1 vs. emotion, and she treats a success as a critical success.

Marcel has a Will of Iron! That is what he thinks as he wanders up towards the idol.

Will Save: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Will Save: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22

will: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27

Once again, Lilika is the one in the party with the brain cell! :P

I think only I may have failed. 22 is pretty decent at this level, and if 27 fails then what can you do?

I was just commenting on the fact that she got the highest roll out of us! XD

Marcel and Wymond rush forward, seizing the golden idol. There is a flash of light and they are gone!

Lilika and Nycholas remain in the room, alone. The idol is still there.

Can Nych attempt to Recognize Spell?

Recognize Spell: 1d20 ⇒ 13 Arcana is +15, Occultism is +13, Nature and Religion are +12.

Marcel obviously got there faster. He really wanted that golden statue and his longer legs totally gave him an advantage.

Triath gives a distressed squeal as he watches Wymond run forward and disappear.

Then he looks at Lilika and Nycholas, concern clear in his eyes.

Can Nych attempt to Recognize Spell?

Trigger A creature within line of sight casts a spell

No creature cast a spell.

The full text calls out traps, too!

A creature within line of sight casts a spell that you don’t have prepared or in your spell repertoire, or a trap or similar object casts such a spell. You must be aware of the casting.

Hmmm...

They were teleported.

Lilika shakes her head and sighs, totally unsurprised that things have taken a turn for the worse. She walks across the room, completely avoiding the cursed statuette, and approaches the opposite stairs.

Perception (expert): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (9) + 15 = 24

If she thinks it's safe, she presses on into the next area.

Lilika, the stairs lead down.

Way down.

Wanna go?

What about you, Nycholas?

Triath follows Lilika, sniffing around to try and catch a whiff of Wymond.

Just posting to show I'm paying attention.

Sure. Follow along

Okay. Well, we have a split party.

LOWER PARTY

Lilika, Nycholas and Triath are going to begin descending some stairs, followed by a worried-looking Slaagh.

A short distance down the stairs, the wall ripples and takes on the shape of a human mouth about a foot across. In a feminine voice, it whispers, “I, Tiawask, a mage of the Goldenfire Order, leave this message for any who are exploring the Spire. I escaped from Klarkosh and the serpentfolk, but am continuing my descent in the hopes that I will find a way out somewhere below. If you have come this far, I beg you to help me escape. You shall be richly rewarded.”

The stairs continue to wind downward.

___________________________________________________________________

UPPER PARTY
Wymond and Marcel appear in a small alcove. The narrow corridor ahead has a strange serpentine pattern of green glass embedded in the floor. The pattern runs to the end of the corridor before turning east to head out of sight.

Ha! Of course we have a split party. No way in hell Lilika would willingly go touch a cursed statue thing that made her companions disappear to who knows where. She'd bet money that it teleported them to another prison cell or some kind of deathtrap and they're dead already.

Lilika raises an eyebrow at the mysteriously speaking wall. Care to try to recognize that spell for us, Nych? She spares a glance behind her to make sure Nych and Triath haven't vanished, and presses on down the stairs in the quest to find either her companions (or their corpses...)

She continues to keep an eye out for traps, enemies, or cursed gold statues that want you to touch them.
Perception (expert): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (12) + 15 = 27