GM thunderspirit's Online Gameday PbP: Burnt Offerings (Inactive)

Game Master thunderspirit

Nope. So I waited until today, in the hopes it would be better. ;-)
Okay, not really. But it made me sound benevolent, so...

The creature slaps at the back wall with a back claw and it moves five feet to its right. Then, with a feral, other-worldly yowl concentration DC 24: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31, the beast sends out an invisible cone of energy that washes over the room as indicated, making each person within its area feel intense sadness!

Then, party up!

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28

Will: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

"Crushing Despair!" Beleg names the spell as it is cast. "Stay calm, you're all wonderful people!" Beleg shouts out quite uncharacteristically.

DC 17 Defensive Casting: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Beleg then spends his last point from his arcane pool to recall shocking grasp.

Sorry if I used up all the good rolls, everyone!

Carl, pissed off, swings his scythe again. Eventually, this air will be damaged enough that I connect with that creature.

1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
2d4 + 14 ⇒ (1, 2) + 14 = 17
high/die: 1d100 ⇒ 41

A loud grumble comes from Carl, followed by a few tears.

Stupid dice...just last another 2 days...

Will: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Folio Reroll Will: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 2 = 26

Having recharged his spell, Ander throws the snowball at the creature.

RTA: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Damage: 4d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 6, 5) = 21 Fort. DC 14 or staggered for a round.
Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 60

Will Save!: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

We can't beat this thing! Quiven has the look of, well, crushing despair on his face. However, he still tries to attack!

Shortsword: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 6 + 2 + 1 - 2 = 23 for 1d4 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + (2, 3) = 9, Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 83
Mace: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 + 1 - 2 = 25 for 1d4 + 2d6 - 2 ⇒ (1) + (1, 6) - 2 = 6, Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 11

Well, at least one got through, I think.

Ander is saved by virtue of giving money to Paizo! :-D
Fort save DC 14!: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15
The monster is not staggered.
But he sure is pissed.

I think the short sword Quiven's using is magical, yes?

Maddie!

Yes sir, it is a +1 shortsword.

Will Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Despite Beleg's encouraging words, Maddie sags from a profound sense of depression.

Sorry to hold things up, but I have question. If Maddie to use a wand on Beleg, would she have to worry about his Blur and Mirror Image effects preventing the wand from touching him?

In the case of mirror image I would rule no; the spell specifies "whenever you are attacked or are the target of a spell that requires an attack roll" and "spells and effects that do not require an attack roll affect you normally and do not destroy any of your figments," so as long as the wand doesn't require an attack roll, there's no issue with that spell.

In the case of blur, however, I would rule yes since there's no such language in the spell description. But I'd also rule that no charge is expended in the case of the 20% miss, since the wand didn't actually touch anything.

Maddie pulls her Wand of Cure Light Wounds from her belt and attempts to heal Beleg with it.

Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 67

Wand of CLW on Beleg (24 charges remaining): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

(Over)confident that its SLA has handled the others, the monster kicks off the back wall again, this time five-foot floating over Carl, and turns its attention to our favorite farmer (in the form of a full attack)!

claw 1 atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 76
claw 1 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

claw 2 atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 49
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

bite atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 13
bite dmg: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Only one claw finds purchase in Carl's flesh, ripping across his shoulder.

Party up!

Ander circles around the room past Beleg and swings at the creature with his blade.

Attack, Bless?: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 8 + 1 = 19
Damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Miss!: 1d100 ⇒ 16

Quiven moves to flank with Carl and tries to slash it again!

+1 Shortsword: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29 for Damage: 1d4 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + (3, 6) = 11
Confirm?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 for Damage: 1d4 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + (6, 2) = 11
Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 46

Moving further away from the creature, Maddie casts a healing spell of her own on Beleg!

Miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 57

CLW on Beleg: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Converted Magic Weapon to CLW

What is the yellow thing in the middle of the room? Can I stand there?

Beleg grunts his thanks to Maddie as he stands up and readies his crackling blade against the beast if it comes within range:

Oww!

Carl returns the favor until he misses which he will probably do because he is good at it.
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
2d4 + 14 ⇒ (2, 2) + 14 = 18
1d100 ⇒ 95

What is the yellow thing in the middle of the room? Can I stand there?

It is a fire pit, only a few inches deep. It doesn't affect movement but the magically-sustained fires within deal 1d6 points of damage every time someone/thing steps into those squares. So yes, you can, but know the consequences thereof.

Ander thrusts his elven curve blade into the beast...except it phases out at just the instant the blade would strike!

Carl swings his scythe (which is also magic, yes?) and connects! He deals a solid blow to the creature!

Maddie tries another cure spell, this time without using the wand. Beleg feels considerably better. The bladebound Magus stands ready to attack if the opportunity presents!

Quiven moves and scores what should be a resounding hit on the monster. But like Ander's attack, the foul thing frustratingly phases out at just that moment!

Umrzesz nieudany bolesne nędzną śmiercią, a on rozkoszować swoją duszę!

bite atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 79
bite dmg: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

claw 1 atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 96
claw 1 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

claw 2 atk: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 4
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Both the bite and the first claw hit Carl, but on the second claw the barghest's own blink foils him.

Party up!

Yes. +1 scythe

More sliceage.
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24
2d4 + 14 ⇒ (2, 4) + 14 = 20
1d100 ⇒ 14

More missage.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Miss: 1d100 ⇒ 24

Ander swings badly this time.

"Look out, Quiven! I'm coming in!"

Once the halfling steps out of his way, Beleg steps up to the beast and slashes away!

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 10
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 5
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 12

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 12
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 20
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10

electricity: 4d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 2, 5) = 13

Edit: poop

Carl yells out This battle is a bucket of turds.

Quiven will 5' step out of the way, as requested. He'll then just take a moment to collect himself.

If Quiven can't flank he's pretty useless in this fight. I'll try to make my way around the long way next turn.

Maddie pulls out her Pearl of Power and uses it to recall Divine Favor.

"Be glad you can't understand him, he's very repetitive and refers to himself in the third person."

Malfeshnikor full attacks Ander, cos goblins (even distantly-related, extraplanar ones) hate elves!

claw 1 atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 14 + 1 = 23
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 28
claw 1 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

claw 2 atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 = 16
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 16
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

bite atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 14 + 1 = 19
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 64
bite dmg: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Party up!

Bleeding heavily, Ander swings again, then takes a step backward.

Attack, Bless: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 8 + 1 = 20
Damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
No Miss!: 1d100 ⇒ 60

Blade is non-magical

Ouch, no Arcane Strike either. And you're out of arcane pool points?

Yeppers! Kicking myself because after checking my inventory, I realize I have a MM wand I had forgotten about.

One of the vagaries of play-by-post, I'm afraid. :-|

Ander's blade seems to land a blow, but the weapon bounces right off the creature's tough hide!

"Merde! F$~$! Damn it beast, just die!"

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 25
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 43
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 11

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 26
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 46
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 9

electricity: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 2, 1, 3) = 11

"F!+~ yeah!" Beleg shouts out in excitement.

Crit electrical damage:
electricity: 4d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 6, 2) = 16

Ugh. Didn't realize the miss chance was 50% against him.

"F%%~ no!" Beleg shouts out in frustration.

In his best Billy Dee Williams voice, Carl yells Here goes nothin
1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15
2d4 + 14 ⇒ (3, 3) + 14 = 20
1d100 ⇒ 25

Then Carl screams out I hate my life

Can I attack from where I am? Does Carl give me a flank from there too? Its hard to tell on the map. If so, I can try to attack.

+1 Shortsword: 1d20 + 7 - 4 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 - 4 + 2 = 22 I put in -4 for the hard corner and +2 for the flank, adjust if either doesn't apply.
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1
If Flanking: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7

Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 98

If I could have attacked I would have last round also, is it too late to retcon that? I thought I was out the door but looking at where the monster is it looks like I could have attacked.

I think the thing is flying above, so no flank from anyone.

Maddie moves behind Ander and casts a healing spell on him!

CLW on Ander: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Converted Protection from Evil into Cure Light Wounds

I think Bless is still in effect.

Every. Miss. Evar.
Yes, bless is still in effect for you guys.

Full attack on 1d2 ⇒ 2 Carl!
claw 1 atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 14 + 1 = 34
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 66
claw 1 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

claw 2 atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 14 + 1 = 17
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 41
claw 2 dmg: 1d6 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

bite atk: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 14 + 1 = 20
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 74
bite dmg: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Carl takes another claw and bite and is beginning to reconsider his decision to change careers.

Party up!

Carl takes a dirt name.

at -2

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 8
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 86
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 12

Black Blade Power Attack, bless: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 6 - 1 + 1 = 13
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 73
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 8

electricity damage: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 6, 4) = 19

Beleg lets every curse word he knows fly from his mouth.

Ander takes another step back, flexing his wrist and producing a wand. He points at the creature, muttering a word.

Magic Missile: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Maddie casts her last natural healing spell and holds the charge before moving over to use it on Carl.

CLW Carl: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Converting Divine Favor to Cure Light Wounds.

I assume Maddie knows that her move will provoke.
AoO bite: 1d20 + 14 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 14 + 1 = 26
20% miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 32
AoO damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Ander fires a magic missile at the floating creature, and it hits!

Maddie casts a spell, moves up to Carl (getting a chomp on her arm for her trouble), and touches the farmer to deliver it!

Beleg swings with abandon, only to find that his ability to hit is now on a par with the famed Miso Jirogawa! LOL ;-)
Beleg still has a reroll, I think...?

Carl (who is now conscious) and Quiven!

Yes, I do have a reroll but I usually try not to use it except in dire circumstances or on meaningless things like Day Jobs. But in this instance I don't want people to die because of my 'I don't like the pay-for-rerolls system' attitude.

Soooo, reroll:

Black Blade Power Attack, bless, GM stars: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 6 - 1 + 1 + 4 = 25
miss: 1d100 ⇒ 56
damage, arcane pool: 1d6 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 11

electricity: 4d6 ⇒ (2, 2, 4, 3) = 11

Boo ya! It paid off! (I hope.)

And payoff it did! Beleg goes back in time!

With a last, desperate thrust, Beleg drives his blade into Malfeshnikor, delivering the shocking grasp via his black blade. The barghest's eyes flash open wide, almost in disbelief, as it shudder a moment, then collapses to the floor in a heap, its mouth forming soundless, Infernal words!

OUT OF COMBAT!

Mentally exhausted and tapped out of divine power, Maddie slumps to her knees and prays silently to Pharasma, thanking her for assisting in their victory.

Well, that sucked. I need something to hit those fading in and out things, or to just stay at the farm. Carl sighs and asks someone to heal him with his infernal healing wand.

Save your wands, etc., unless you feel strongly about battling the shadows and a giant hermit crab.

Quiven (who started this all by pointing out that the alcoves weren't hidden on my map, so I can blame him, right? :-P) pulls the silver coffer down from the shelf in the alcove. Inside he finds a piece of parchment inside some sand. The parchment has writing written in a spiky, runic language that he doesn't understand.

Just as he is ready to tuck the coffer away in his backpack — he estimates it's worth a couple hundred gold pieces — it slips from his grasp and tumbles onto the floor. It dents on one side and pops open, the sand spilling onto the floor! He is disappointed that he may have damaged such a valuable piece, but then he suddenly notices a ring that was hidden within the sand!

Detecting!

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

Bah, I woulda found it eventually.

Ooops! Must be that spell that thing cast on me. I'm usually very careful with these things.

Quiven picks up the ring, handing it to Beleg. I would have found it eventually. He'll then shift thru the sand, looking for more stuff.

The party collects the spoils of Thistletop and the prisoners, who are somewhat more willing to talk when they learn that Nualia is dead.

The man, Orik Vancaskerkin, was hired by Nualia in a seedy Magnimar bar to serve as her bodyguard. He accepted the offer from the strange but beautiful woman without question; Orik, an expatriate from the lawless city of Riddleport, has had a long string of bad choices in his life. He knows Nualia was after something in the chambers below, but never learned (or cared) what it was. He confides to Beleg and Carl that he has developed something of an infatuation with the foul-tempered Lyrie Akenja, though she has shown no reciprocation, always going on about Tsuto Kaijitsu, the missing brother of Amieko Kaijitsu, the proprietor of Sandpoint's Rusty Dragon Inn. Orik more or less goes whichever way the winds of fate take him, and while he is certainly not above using the sword to address problems, it's not always his first option.

The woman, Lyrie Akenja, on the other hand, demonstrates no such compunctions. She knew Nualia when both were at the Grand Lodge in Absalom. When the two crossed paths a few years later in Magnimar, Lyrie had already been informed that she was no longer under consideration to continue her training to become a Pathfinder due to some irregularities with her application. She was in a desperate place when the aasimar offered to pay her in platinum for her knowledge of arcana and architecture, her ability to read Thassilonian, and her arcane magic. Given the opportunity to study Thassilonian relics, she gratefully accepted.

You set out on your return trip to Magnimar, which is largely uneventful. Once back in Heidmarch Manor, Canayven listens closely to your account, a look of pained resignation across his face when he learns of Nualia’s fate. I suppose it was inevitable, the way things went. He relays to you that Lyrie was dismissed as an initiate under suspicion that she murdered two competing initiates to secure a plum assignment. Evidence uncovered later indicated the suspicions were well-founded, which Lyrie does not deny.

The venture-captain likewise shows considerable interest at your account of the creature you faced and, after leafing through a voluminous tome, he confirms that Malfeshnikor was a greater barghest, once one of Alaznist's lieutenants and the commander of a legion of sinspawn in her name. Agents of the Runelord of Greed, Karzoug, were rumored to have captured the barghest and imprisoned him to be interrogated about his mistress’ plans. Still, when the end of Thassilon came, it happened fast; Malfeshnekor was evidently forgotten, obviously survived the sentinel statue's collapse, and spent ten thousand years trapped in that room with his supernatural hunger.

Canayven helps get the notes from Nualia's chamber translated to learn her history. A foundling raised by Ezakien Tobyn, Sandpoint's now-deceased religious leader, her childhood was lonely and sad. Her unearthly beauty made the other children either jealous or shy, and many of them took to playing cruel jokes on her. The adults in town weren't much better—many of the superstitious Varisians viewed Nualia as blessed by Desna, a sort of "reverse deformity." Rumors that her touch or proximity could cure warts and rashes, that locks of her hair brewed into tea could increase fertility, and that her voice could drive out evil spirits led to a succession of awkward and humiliating requests over the years. The girl felt more like a freak than a young girl by the time she came of age, so when Delek Viskanta, a local Varisian youth, began to court her, she practically fell into his arms in gratitude.

Knowing her father wouldn't approve of a relationship with a Varisian (he wanted her to remain pure so she could join a prestigious convent), they kept the affair secret. The couple met many times in hidden places, a favorite being an abandoned smuggler's tunnel under town that Delek had discovered as a child. Before long, Nualia realized she was pregnant. When she told Delek, he revealed his true colors and, after calling her a harlot (and worse), fled Sandpoint rather than face her father’s retribution. Nualia's shock quickly turned to rage, yet she had nowhere to vent her anger. She bottled it up, and when her father discovered her delicate condition, his reaction to her indiscretions only furthered her shame and anger. He forbade her to leave the church, lectured her nightly, and made her pray to Desna for forgiveness. In so doing, he unknowingly nurtured her growing hate.

When a minor runewell in the Catacombs of Wrath below Sandpoint flared to life, Nualia's own anger was a magnet to its magic. The wrathful energies suffused her mind and she flew into a frenzy. Seven months pregnant, she miscarried her child later that night, a child whose monstrously deformed shape she only glimpsed before blanching midwives stole it away to burn it in secret. As the child had been conceived in the smuggler's tunnels below town, in close proximity to a hidden shrine to Lamashtu (the goddess of monstrous births), the child itself was deformed and horrific. The double shock of losing a child and the realization she had been carrying a fiend in her belly for 7 months was too much. Nualia fell into a coma.

As she slept, she dreamed unhealthy dreams. Fueled by the wrath from below and the taint of Lamashtu, Nualia became further obsessed with the cruel demon goddess and the conviction that her wretched life was inflicted on her by those around her. She came to see her angelic heritage as a curse, and the demon-sent nightmares showed her how to expunge this taint from her body and soul, replacing it with chaos and cruelty. When she finally woke, Nualia was someone new, someone who didn’t flinch at what Lamashtu asked of her. She jammed her father's door shut as he slept, lit the church on fire, and fled Sandpoint.

The locals assumed Nualia had burned in the fire, a tragedy made all the worse by the death of Father Tobyn as well. Yet Nualia lived. She escaped to Magnimar, where she tracked down Delek and murdered him. Yet his death did not fill her need for revenge — it only quickened her need for more of the same, for Sandpoint and its hated citizens still lived.

The journal outlines sending waves of goblins against Sandpoint, aiming to burn the town to the ground, to offer it all as a burnt offering to Lamashtu in hopes of being made a half-fiend, eradicating her divine blood forever.

Nualia came to believe that she had a larger role to play, and that her dreams were a map to her destiny. Taking the advice to heart, Nualia returned to Sandpoint and found herself drawn to the brick wall in the smuggler’s tunnels where she and Delek had conceived her deformed child. Nualia bashed down the wall, and in so doing, discovered the Catacombs of Wrath and the quasit Erylium, also a follower of Lamashtu. For many months, Nualia studied under Erylium's tutelage. During this time, Nualia received another vision from Lamashtu—a vision of a monstrous goblin wolf imprisoned in an underground room. In Nualia's dreams, she learned that this creature, a barghest named Malfeshnekor, was also one of Lamashtu's chosen. If she could find him and free him, he would not only help her achieve her vengeance against the town of Sandpoint, but he would be the key in cleansing her body of what she had come to see as her "celestial taint." Nualia wanted to be one of Lamashtu's children now. She sought to become a monster herself.

Beleg spits and throws his blade on the ground after the beast dies. "Oh, be quiet." he tells it. He pulls out a cigarette and sits down on the floor to smoke it in its entirety before picking his sword back up to clean it. He gathers the rest of his gear and helps the party clear out the rest of the dungeon and carry back the treasure.

Beleg rolls his eyes at Orik's confession and mutters many swear words as the story is unraveled before him, especially when it is revealed that a Pathfinder initiate killed others to secure a better position. After everything is settled, Beleg spends some time with Ander trading spells. Ander notes that his Encyclopaedia Magika is stained in several places with wine and cigarette burns, despite Beleg's outwardly neat appearance.

Thanks GM! And thanks everyone! It was a fun time and a fun group! I've been reading through RotR lately, it's definitely a cool story.