Sorry, just didn't have time to do it during my brief stop at the library earlier today.
Turn 189 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, miss
, hit, critical?
, yes
, pass
, fail
rounds
Noravia barely got over the wave of evil before the stench from Tillia's spell encased her. Thankfully she was able to shake off the nausea that threatened to overwhelm her. Following Luculla towards the wall, the inquisitor took another swing at the cultist.
The morninstar connected with the woman's torso and there was a sickening crunch as numerous ribs shattered under Noravia's onslaught.
Yeah, those x3 critical don't come often but they sure hurt when they do show up. :)
You almost got her...
Eirik staggered out of the cloud of foul gas, thanking the gods he could hold his breath for a long time - that smell brought back all too vivid memories of the first battle in these ruins and of the tentacled monstrosities they had faced. At least the cultist leader seemed to have fared worse. Closing in on the the woman to prevent her from escaping them again, Eirik launched a quick punch that connected on the woman's chin, but the enemy rolled with the blow, whether by luck or intent, diminishing the damage.
Caleb quickly stepped back as Noravia and Eirik rushed at the witch. His squeak of panic as Noravia's morning star swung uncomfortable close was quiet enough he thought the others missed it. His stomach - already roiling from the aftermath of whatever Luculla had thrown at them - threatened revolt from the mere periphery of Tillia's smell spell.
Fighting off a sudden headache the thin man stepped back, then unloosed his prisoner on the target. As he did he prayed to Callistria that he wasn't letting it free.
... Luculla screamed - whether in pain from his attack, or just trying to draw a breath of fresh air Caleb couldn't say. Still, she seemed still able to attack again.
... Luculla's eyes rolled up in her skull as she feel on to hands and knees. Vomit heavily laced with blood flooded the floor, and Noravia brought home her mace in a killing blow.
Great. Good news is always... you know, good news. :)
Game on!
I'll try to recap later today.
Tillia...
Action 1
Tillia knew what she was about to do might cost her dearly but she felt it was necessary. If the cultist got off one more of those bursts of energy it might spell the end of them. So resolved she focused and called some of her power to her hand and, once it was gathered, stepped up to the cultist and reached out to touch her with the energy gathered around her hand, energy that would overwhelm her mind completely for a few seconds and allow her friends to finish the b!%+$.
Turn 190 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, save
, hit
Caleb ran to Luculla, his hands rushing to her head, and his eyes rolling back in their sockets.
Caleb ran to Luculla, his hands rushing to her head, and his eyes rolling back in their sockets.
This is not an illusion; it's a flesh and blood person who had identified herself as Luculla when she last saw you.
I need to know whether you will revive her or let her die or finish her off.
Questions?
Game on!
Action 1:
Noravia looked down at Luculla without pity. "Why did you seek us out at the coffeehouse, Luculla?" When they had learned all they could from her, Noravia said quietly, "Consider yourself judged."
Action 2:
Noravia looked around Luculla's chamber. A lot of the items looked to be associated with the goddess she was worshiping but the inquisitor couldn't speak to specifics. The human skull caused a shiver to run up Noravia's spine. "Any god or goddess that would ask you to gold-plate a skull is not one I would want to worship," she muttered.
Now that the dust had settled and the stink had dissipated after the fight, Noravia looked over everyone with a critical eye. Tillia and Star were looking particularly haggard. Not that the rest of them were faring much better. She pulled out her healing wand and gave relief where necessary.
"It looks like the only place left to search is the area behind those double doors. It's getting a little on the late side and we're all a little worse for wear. Maybe we should come back and finish up tomorrow? We could leave one of the teams to keep watch overnight to make sure nothing new takes root inside."
tag everyone
Dying or not dying is fine for the plot line.
The apparent head witch (you now have your doubts) and Luculla are both dying and will do so unless someone lends some aid either in the form of stabilizing or actual healing.
Noravia looked down at Luculla without pity. "Why did you seek us out at the coffeehouse, Luculla?"
Eirik sat down on his haunches, hoping to catch the woman's voice, hoping she'd answer the inquisitor's question. The young woman had seemed perfectly innocent when she had come to meet them, recommended by Setrona no less. Had she been involved with this madwomen's cult already when they had first met her, or had she been compelled in some manner? Eirik recalled her being overly eager to help the rebellion along, but now he had to wonder if it had been her own agenda or some mission to further her mistress' cause. If she had been forced to join the cult, perhaps there was a chance for her redemption yet. But had she been a willing participant, consorting with demons and sacrificing children to an abyssal power... in that case, she could reap what she had sown.
"It looks like the only place left to search is the area behind those double doors. It's getting a little on the late side and we're all a little worse for wear. Maybe we should come back and finish up tomorrow? We could leave one of the teams to keep watch overnight to make sure nothing new takes root inside."
"Agreed. I believe I could force the doors, given a little time to work, but perhaps our Hellknight allies know a better way of breaking the seal," Eirik suggested. "After all, they were the ones who set us on this path. I trust whatever is behind the barrier will still be there a couple days from now, after we have asked the Lictor for his input."
Action 1:
Noravia looked down at Luculla without pity. "Why did you seek us out at the coffeehouse, Luculla?" When they had learned all they could from her, Noravia said quietly, "Consider yourself judged."
Caleb concentrated for a moment, and the bleeding slowed to a trickle. "Maybe it's not too late?" he asked, looking at the others in hope.
Caleb sighed softly "I'm sorry it came to this." He drew his dagger, poised it over the woman's chest and thrust down. His inexperience meant it took a few thrusts before he found the heart, and she stopped the terrible, soft noise she was making.
Once Luculla was dealt with, Noravia remembered about the confused head witch. Considering she had been masked, the inquisitor went over to see who they had been dealing with. Moving over to the body, unsure as to what to expect, Noravia knelt to remove the mask.
OOC: So why would Luculla not be able to do another channel energy when you revive her and start asking her questions?
It doesn't provoke any AoOs and as far as I can tell, if you have given her time to respond then she can invoke her deities foul energy.
I didn't read about anyone restraining her or taking away anything from her when you question her.
I think there's no danger of you guys losing to her but another 5d6 could do some damage, maybe even kill Star...
OOC thoughts?
Action 1
After being tended to by Noravia's wand Tillia moved up to Luculla and began to remove her gear before she was questioned, particularly her unholy symbol. She really didn't want to be hit with another wave of that horrifying energy. As the others questioned Luculla and decided her fate Tillia began to examine the room in more detail, taking notes on what they had seen, and generally staying out of the way. When the discussion turned to opening the sealed door she said, "I agree, coming back for the door later might be a wise idea."
As Tillia removed everything from Luculla, Noravia added, "We may want to restrain her with the manacles we appropriated as well."
According to the rules, if she was 'dying', it means that she is at negative hit points and losing 1 hit point per round.
She could be at negative hit points and stable (not losing 1 hit point per round).
In both of those scenarios, the person is unconscious.
If you are asking her questions (and expecting an answer), then you would have to heal her to a minimum of 0 hit points where she would be staggered (only able to do either a standard action or a move action).
I know your intent and I'm not in the business of screwing PCs over so have no fear. :) I just thought I bring that up for next time when you want to 'question' the enemy.
I'll recap later today. Nobody is dying (except maybe Luculla). :)
Game on!
Turn 191 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
, pass
Action 1
As the party made their way back towards the surface they passed the cells where two of the cultist from the first encounter had been left slumbering. It had been Eirik's wan hope that the women might be let loose in the end, so spare their lives in the hope of them mending their ways, but after all they had seen since, it seemed the cultists' hearts were properly seeped in evil. They had already been doing live sacrifices for fell powers, and as far Eirik was concerned, things couldn't get much worse. The mere thought of feeding the souls of innocents to a demon in the hopes for personal power...
"I fear these two are too much of a threat to leave behind," Eirik said quietly, already moving towards the cell the prisoners had been left. "Go on ahead, I will catch up with you in a moment."
"...And the " Caleb finished saying to Rexus, as Laria and the Lictor came in. "Lictor!" He greeted the Hellknight, with far more warmth than a younger Caleb would ever have believed. "It is a fantastic site! Well camouflaged, very defensible. Only two flaws; no escape route if things go bad, and cleaning it is going to be the seventh of the sixfold trials!"
He looks to Eirik, who had suggested asking the lictor for help with the doors, before continuing.
Ok so one of the two pieces of armor will be bracers of armor +2. We still need to think of the second piece of +2 armor.
Another question is whether the Ravens will take credit for saving the two boys and eradicating a cult of Mahathallah....
Action 1:
"I fear these two are too much of a threat to leave behind," Eirik said quietly, already moving towards the cell the prisoners had been left. "Go on ahead, I will catch up with you in a moment."
Noravia stayed with Eirik. "There's no reason you should be alone to do what is necessary. Besides, I need my manacles back."
The space would definitely needs to be cleaned out but they didn't have the proper equipment at the moment. They move the bodies to the area with the dead otyughs.
Action 2:
"...And the smell!" Caleb finished saying to Rexus, as Laria and the Lictor came in. "Lictor!" He greeted the Hellknight, with far more warmth than a younger Caleb would ever have believed. "It is a fantastic site! Well camouflaged, very defensible. Only two flaws; no escape route if things go bad, and cleaning it is going to be the seventh of the sixfold trials!"
He looks to Eirik, who had suggested asking the lictor for help with the doors, before continuing.
Noravia interrupts, "We don't know for sure if there's no other escape route. We haven't been through those double doors, yet. But you are definitely right about the scope of cleaning."
Action 1
Action 2
As they looked through the various items found on the cultists Tillia saw two items that stood out to her, the first was a nice cloak that would help her stave off any number of problems and a silver comb. She looked at her friends and said, "Would you mind if I kept these? The cloak will be useful and I just like the comb."
As they talked to the lichtor about what they had found at the site and how it needed to be cleaned Tillia couldn't help but nod in agreement, "Yes, cleaning is a requirement, the cultists were bad enough but the creatures in the entryway?!" She couldn't even finish as the thought of them made her gag once again.
After I leave for work on August 3rd until August 7th in the evening my posting will be limited to non-existent due to gencon indy. Whether I get anything posted after I get back on the 7th or not I don't know. Bot me as needed during that time.
If anyone will be going and wants to meet up let me know and we'll try and work something out.
The comb is whatever you like.
You guys can always sell the bracers. You know I always 'true up' your WBL once we go uo a level so I'm the type of Gm who's going to micromanage this.
Noravia stayed with Eirik. "There's no reason you should be alone to do what is necessary. Besides, I need my manacles back."
Torn between relief of the offer of companionship and regret at having the heinous act he proposed witnessed, Eirik ended up inclining his head gratefully. ”Let us make it quick,” the monk murmured. He opened the cell door and kneeled next to the first slumbering cultist, embracing her head deceptively gently. ”May the Judge of the Gods have mercy on your soul,” the monk murmured, and without further ado broke her neck with a quick wrench of his arms.
Arms trembling slightly, he lowered the still-warm corpse back on the bed, wondering in hindsight for whoes soul he had actually just prayed, the victim’s or the executioner’s.
But being distasteful didn’t make what he had decided to do any less necessary, and asking someone else to stain his soul so he could spare himself would have been nothing short of cowardly. Thus, trying his best to wrap himself in the armor of necessity, the monk walked over to the other bed, determined to finish his grim task.
Noravia interrupts, "We don't know for sure if there's no other escape route. We haven't been through those double doors, yet. But you are definitely right about the scope of cleaning.”
Eirik nodded. ”Those doors were apparently sealed by the Order of the Torrent. It would seem magic of some kind was involved in the process. We were wondering if your people, as fellow Hellknights, would know of a way to break the seal, short of us demolishing the doors themselves.”
"Hmmm." Caleb strokes his chin "How much do you think we'd get for those doors?"
Noravia interrupts, "We don't know for sure if there's no other escape route. We haven't been through those double doors, yet. But you are definitely right about the scope of cleaning.”Eirik nodded. ”Those doors were apparently sealed by the Order of the Torrent. It would seem magic of some kind was involved in the process. We were wondering if your people, as fellow Hellknights, would know of a way to break the seal, short of us demolishing the doors themselves.”
Octavius was pensive, his face as serious as ever, "I'm sure there's another exit somewhere. This was used as headquarters for a thieve's guild. You just haven't found it."
He tried to remember what he had heard about the door, "I think the doors are locked both magically and mechanically so you'll have to find a way to bypass the magic ward before getting to lockpicks and such. if you can't do that yourselves, I'm sure I can find a dispel magic scroll somewhere in the city. But it will take me a few hours to do so."
tag?
Tillia listened as Octavius spoke of the door and needing to dispel the magic on it. She perked up a bit and, when he mentioned obtaining a scroll of it she said, "Don't worry about a scroll, we have...Eric had one. As with so many of the scrolls we've been finding that I can cast I've copied it to my spellbook. I can have it prepared and make it work far better that way than from a scroll."
I'll recap and move this along later today.
Questions?
Game on!
No need for a scroll was what I was getting at, the spell is in my spellbok.
Turn 192 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Noravia stepped into the hallway and immediately shivered against the cold. As she spoke, she could see her breath. "This is seriously creepy. What in the world did they seal down here?" Noravia's head snapped to the side as she heard sounds of chewing but she saw nothing causing her to shiver again.
Caleb shivered. "Yeah. You said it! I'm starting to think the Mahallaha..ahathites" - Caleb stumbled over the unfamiliar word - "Kept it locked on purpose. Maybe we should use that Glyph thing we found, in case something makes a break for it while we're in there? I'd feel pretty bad if we let out some dead thing."
"I say we go left." Caleb offered.
Action 1
Vandomir responded to Noravia, "I believe it is safe to assume that whatever is down here, was supposed to stay down here, and we need to ensure it does. We opened the doors, so we are responsible."
Action 2
Vandomir moved up to the indicated doors and checked them out...
+4 vs humans, +2 vs Evil outsiders, +1 to locate traps, +2 in Kintargo
Vandomir responded to Noravia, "I believe it is safe to assume that whatever is down here, was supposed to stay down here, and we need to ensure it does. We opened the doors, so we are responsible."
"And if we are to use this place as a base of operations, we should not leave threats at our back," Eirik added, rolling his shoulders in anticipation of more violence to come. Though the place seemed eerie enough that he feared the creatures they'd find here, if any, would not be the kind he was well equipped to deal with.
"So if we are responsible" Caleb addressed Vandomir "You're up for using the glyph here as well? Can we set it with a passcode or something?"
Turn 193 is up.
Read the OOC.
Questions, comments, and/or suggestions?
Game on!
Ghosts. Exactly what he had feared might be lurking within - after all, with the doors barred, it was unlikely anything alive to still be found there. The monk had never faced creatures slike this, but he could guess well enough that as with the mindless skeletons they had fought earlier, the things would not have any particular vital points like living things would. And these things didn't even seem to be wholly here... he prayed his Ki-infused fists would at least be able to touch the wispy creatures' bodies.
Eirik stepped towards the creature that had appeared near him and Caleb, launching a powerful palm strike that struck the apparition in its chest. A living thing would have been launched back by the heavy blow, with breath blasted from its lungs at the very least, or with broken ribs if it had been less lucky, but as he had expected, striking this thing felt little more than beating mist.
Caleb hoped the squeal he uttered when the Unliving manifested was taken as a battle cry by his companions.
He turned to look at Eirik "What are they?" he called, horror in his voice. Desperate, he tried to link his companion to the THING that reached for him, but found nothing. He flailed internally, catching hold of something - something related to the wards that held him together - and mentally threw that at the undead.
... He took some small measure of relief in the fact the creature effortlessly dodged his attack - if it took the attack seriously enough to dodge, it must mean something.
... Felt a wave of relief as a beam lanced into the creature, burning its incorporeal flesh like a branding iron.