Inner Sea Megadungeon: Delving the Drowning Stones

Game Master Garden Tool

With Shange's treatment finally (finally!) taking hold, Nicoleta looks up, raising her gore-smeared hands to study them in the firelight. "Ismét, Anyja Szörny, ha már megpróbálta és nem állítják nemes lélek," she says with angry satisfaction before reaching for a waterskin to wash the blood away.

Once done, she moves to study the thing that attacked them, trying to determine what it might be, what its origins were, and if anything - other than the bangles it wore - might have indicated an intelligence.

Nicoleta (and Kargath, for as much notice as he cares to take) can see no suggestion of a prehensile limb on the dead creature before them. Intelligence would be near-impossible to gauge with the creature dead, but someone or something had to adorn the creature this way. Unless the spider possessed magical abilities which it did not demonstrate in battle, this vermin should have had no way to adorn itself so.

"Yes, quite peculiar in deed." Mutters Elsir. "The wearing of jewellery is a typical indica of proto-intelligence, and the amount could be a further reference to the stature of the creature inside of some tribal role. Purely conjecture at this point, however it is till quite interesting." Reaching into his Handy Haversack Elsir withdraws a inkpen and journal and begins to sketch the spider with particular emphasis on the jewelry. "I can tell you however that two of the items the spider is wearing are magical in nature. The first is a bracer that will grant its wearer a semi resistant nature to attacks, very similar to the same enchantments found in magical armor. The second is a brooch that will absorb the inherent force from the spell commonly referred to as "Magic Missile". It won't last forever, but while it does it could be useful. Nicoleta, any luck identifying the fauna's ability's?"

Aid Another: Ojore (Monster ability/useful knowledge) 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25

Assuming its Knowledge (nature)
Edit: Thanks Nicoleta

Nicoleta doesn't have Knowledge (nature) or Knowledge (dungeoneering, if it should be an aberration) yet, so she can't make those rolls. Ojore'd be the better choice there.

Ojore looks to his brother and asks in Ployglot.

Then he finally stands up from where he was tending to his animal companion and goes to examine the large vermin.

I can't recall if I have already rolled this once - if so please disregard. Not easy for me to go back and review where I am at.

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 2 = 18

Spider meat is often edible and very tasty, maybe I rolled high enough to know what parts of this thing are edible, if any.

Listening to Ojore, Nesipho lets out a deep laugh.

"Ngicabanga yena kholwa isicabucabu khaliphile. Kumbe gaba isihlobo. Musacabanga yena nithola isu ngehlobo."

His eyes dance with amusement as he glances over his shoulder at Elsir.

Perception 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23

Attempting to keep the rivulets of sweat running down his scalp from dropping onto his journal, Elsir looks up from his musings. I'm not as absent minded as they seem to think, and I'm perfectly able to multitask! I may not know what they are saying, but it clearly involves me.

Standing up and facing Nesipho, Elsir puts away his journal and begins to address the dark skinned man. "Perhaps you have something you wish to share with the rest of us? Secrets, sir do not a friendship make! If you have something to say, then please do so for the benefit of the group. I believe that is a reasonable request."

Ojore speaks up, defending his brother, but laughing lightly. Relax Elf. There is no conspiracy. I only noted to my brother that you speak common but in such a manner that I can not understand you. You chide us for speaking in the language of this land but do not chide the lady for speaking her distant Varisian. I could certainly chide you for coming here ignorant of the local tongue. But instead I will offer to teach it to you.

Smiling easily, "No offense intended Elsir. I was merely commenting on your musings and your hypothesis that that thing may have belonged to a tribe. The... difference in my upbringing and what I imagine yours may have been I think gives us different concepts of what a tribe is, or what it means to belong to one."

Nicoleta looks at her feet, apparently awkward now that the conversation has touched on her own behavior.

"Bah! All this talk o' tribes'n family got me teary eyed. as fer talkin' funny, ye all sound like highfaultin' elves t' me. Ain't gonna hear this dwarf complain though, no sirree. Not when there's monsters t' kill and glitter t' collect!"

"The... difference in my upbringing and what I imagine yours may have been I think gives us different concepts of what a tribe is"

could certainly chide you for coming here ignorant of the local tongue. But instead I will offer to teach it to you."

"Thank you for your kind offer Ojore, I am far more familiar with the anthropological origins of Fey and Draconic cultures, having spent many years as a curator specializing in that field, as opposed to the tribal customs and cultures of the Mwangi people, and I would be happy to take you up on that offer. However I can assure you that did read E.F. Barnums "The Nobel Savage: A year among the Mwangi" before I departed Absalom and anthropologically speaking, a Tribe is define by a group that shares similar dance rituals, tattoos or religious markings, speech patterns, secret lexicons and ornate constumes, all of these taken into a whole are obvious markers of a "tribe". I this spider was clearly the object of some type of worship, perhaps a totem animal as extrapolated upon by Wiggins in The Fierce Fauna: A guide to fabulous beasts." Elsir coughs and takes a sip of water. "Ignore the title, Wiggins was always a little unhinged. Good reading though I assure you. Anyhow chaps, shall we track this beast? See where it leads?"

Will save vs Confusion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Ojore looks slightly stunned and begins to drool for a moment. Snapping out of it he does glean enough of what Elsir said to wonder That jewelry, of what make is it? The artistry? Is it local to the Mwangi, or of more exotic origin? And is it all of the same general design?

In the morning Ojore will memorize and then cast Lesser Restoration on Shange.

Lesser Restoration: 1d4 ⇒ 3

He will then begin to try to track the spider. (assists are welcome Shange will not try to assist as the scent will be 8 plus hours old by then)

Survival - Track: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

"Okay, whatever ye say, Elsir. Now, be we pressin' on come th' dawn, or trackin' this beastie back to it's lair? If'n we be goin' after i', best we be a little more prepared fer more eight-legged freaks. More alert-like." Kargath cracked huge knuckles and grinned around at the collection of people about him.

"Ye jest point me th' way ye wanna go, and I'll clear a path four dwarfs wide."

"I think a path two dwarfs wide will be sufficient."

Assuming no more activity during the rest of the night Nesipho will assist Ojore in tracking.

Aid another (tracking): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

I believe Nicoleta could also choose to memorize and cast Lesser Restoration on the cat. Not sure when she picks and memorizes her spells for the day and not sure how dependent she is on her second level slots. Shange is at 7 con after Ojore's casting, down 6 from a start of 13.

Shange should also heal 1 point of con damage after resting for 8 hours.

GT, is there a particular knowledge check I could make for further information on the jewelry? Not so much their value, but rather I would be looking for what culture made it, if its of local origin and any religious significance or other interesting tidbits I might know from my past experience as a curator?

I believe Nicoleta could also choose to memorize and cast Lesser Restoration on the cat. Not sure when she picks and memorizes her spells for the day and not sure how dependent she is on her second level slots.

Nicoleta a) doesn't have 2nd level slots and b) doesn't memorize spells...

Ojore looks slightly stunned and begins to drool for a moment. Snapping out of it he does glean enough of what Elsir said to wonder That jewelry, of what make is it? The artistry? Is it local to the Mwangi, or of more exotic origin? And is it all of the same general design?

"Perhaps, let me take a closer look Ojore." Elsir steps foward and keels down at the corpse of the spider and withdraws from his Handy Haversack a magnifying glass and begins examine the details of the trinkets and jewelry. "Hrm, interesting..."

Knowledge (history):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Knowledge (arcana):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Knowledge (religion):1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Knowledge (geography):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Having spent some time examining the various jewelry Nesipho comments, "I'm not an expert at this stuff, but I'd guess we have around six thousand gold worth of trinkets here. Elsir, anything the society would want to keep or document or record?"

Kargath looked dtunned for a moment. "Tha's quite a bit o' glitter t' be runnin' aroun' on eight legs. Methinks there be a good reason t' be trackin' this thing t' it's lair. Mebbe it's got a whole cave full o' more tha' it brings out fer parties." The dwarf grinned at his jest and began looking around, as if they were about to start tracking the creature that instant.

After examining the jewelry, and cataloging his results in his journal, Elsir stands and stretches his back. "Not particular Nesipho, once we bring it back to base camp they will probably send it back to Absalom for further examination before either selling it or storage. We will be paid either way. Its funny, five years ago I would have been the man on the other side of the table doing further inspections. Rather puts into perspective what our "field agents" really do. Anyhow, onto the trinkets and jewlerery. At inital inspection I can tell you that the jewlerty was formed locally, as indicated by the stone forging found on the items. There's more then one tribal or regional style here, so they may be "spoils of war" or previously reclaimed from another tribe, by who ever placed the jewelry onto the arachnid. It's clear it was not all created by the same hand, nor the same tribe, but are all regional examples of Mwangi make. Aside from that, I won't be able to tell you much more, unless I had further reference materials at hand."[b] Putting away his magnifying glass, Elsir looks around at the trail that Ojore has located. [b]"It would be interesting follow up on this specimen. Shall we?"

Are we talking about doing this in the middle of the night, or the following morning? Nicoleta is also a fairly skilled tracker - we can probably get away with waiting a few hours for some more sleep if we need to.

I would assume sleep first, not all of us have darkvision. And we don't want to find ourselves fatigued.

Definitely wait for morning.

Wait for morning

Ojore wrote:

I believe Nicoleta could also choose to memorize and cast Lesser Restoration on the cat. Not sure when she picks and memorizes her spells for the day and not sure how dependent she is on her second level slots.

Nicoleta a) doesn't have 2nd level slots and b) doesn't memorize spells...

[ooc]Oh yea. Totally forgot spell progression for an Inquisitor. oh well. ]/ooc]

Ojore considers the new information. So we have some locals likely adorning this spider with a large percentage of their wealth. And maybe different groups of locals. And locals I don't know about, as I am a local too. Is it worship? Some form or payoff? Regardless, it might be smart if we pack this glitter away deep. It would be sure to anger the people who gave it to the spider to see us parading around with it.

It sounds like we are more or less all resolved to pack up the treasure and start tracking the spider back to wherever it came from in the morning, then?

It sounds like we are more or less all resolved to pack up the treasure and start tracking the spider back to wherever it came from in the morning, then?

That seems to be the consensus.

agreed

aye

The remainder of the night is restful and uneventful. It's about 9AM before Elsir is finished preparing his spells. The spider's trail is still fresh enough to follow, and even Shange looks a mite better (though still a long way from healthy).

Everyone recovers their spell slots and their Hit Die in hp. Shange recovers 1 point of Constitution damage.

Whomever will be tracking can give me a Survival check for the first hour. Anyone determined to aid another may roll to assist. Understand, however, that a character who is contributing to the tracking endeavor is distracted by the task. Distracted characters have the DCs of any Perception checks that they make increased by +5.

With that in mind, what is everyone doing on the off-trail journey?

Elsir cast two first-level spells during his resting period, so those spells come out of his daily allotment for today. (Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that's how it works.)

[dice=Will save vs Confusion]1d20+5

In the morning Ojore will memorize and then cast Lesser Restoration on Shange.

[dice=Lesser Restoration]1d4

He will then begin to try to track the spider. (assists are welcome Shange will not try to assist as the scent will be 8 plus hours old by then)

[dice=Survival - Track]1d20+9

Ojore was tracking and had already made that roll (a 26 total), along with a roll for casting Lesser Restoration (3). Nesipho has assisted in the tracking roll.

Kargath will continue his position near the front, but without distracting the trackers...intentionally.

Got it. What'll Elsir and Nicoleta be doing?

Unless it seems like Ojore wants some more help as the tracking goes on, Nicoleta will maintain a watchful position on point.

GT your correct, that the two spells cast count against the total, however, I used one from my spell list and recovered one via my pearl of power. Just to clarify, for my new day abilitys; i.e. Pearl of Power and Prescience do you want them to reset upon refreshing of spells, and count any useage during the last eight hours to count against it, so that they would be re-gained, 8 hours later? I can't find a RAW reference on item reset / supernatural abilitys

Elsir spends several Spends several minuets reading over his spellbook contemplating the possible events at hand. Quite possible we will be going into battle Elsir, best to plan accordingly.

New spell line up: 1st Level; Mage Armor, Grease, Obscuring Mist 2nd Level; Invisibility, Glitterdust, Create Pit

Finishing his memorization Elsir rises and briefs the rest of the group. "Before we head out, I think it's best if you have a idea of my capabilities for the day. Expecting that we might get "into the thick of it" as they say. I have prepared my spells according. Kargath, you seem to be a proponent of the fisticuffs. Should you need it I can enlarge you to twice your size. Nicoleta, when we get close to the probably origin of the spider, I can make you invisible for thirty minutes. This should allow you to scout the area and gain a better understanding of the terrain and possible threats we might encounter. Finally, should the situation arise I have the ability to affect the area around us in several ways. Firs, in the event we should we find a group creatures, I can call into existence for a short time a large pit, hopefully capturing multiple individuals within it. Second, in the event we are attacked by a invisisble creature, or a large group, I can cover the area with glittering dust, this may blind them, and also reveal anything hidden within the area. Third, I can enshroud us in a mist temporarily. This will block our vision, but it will also block anyones vison outside of the mist and can protect us from arrows. It can be useful for a quick escape. I could also create the mist, then create a pit inside of the mist for extra funFinally, as I am sure you remember from last night, I can conjure a greasy substance over a person, area or object, causing it to become slippery and unstable."

Elsir will stay to the middle of the group, holding his crossbow in his hands, and actively studying the area as he follows the group.

@ Elsir: That's because there is no RAW ruling on exactly when 1/day items recover. For non-spell "daily" abilities, I prefer to keep it simple and refresh them at dawn. New day, new daily abilities. Thus, the pearl of power is ready for use.

@ Elsir: By the way, I'm assuming that your familiar is climbing around in your pocket, backpack, or clothing. Since he has total cover and concealment from everything (and vice versa), I'm leaving him out of most of the rolls and encounters we have. If you'd like for that to change, just make a note of the scorpion's actions and location.

As the hour draws to a close, your party comes upon a small rise overlooking a valley which might have once been a small lake bed. The valley is mostly clear and free of growth save for light underbrush and jungle ivy and shrubbery. Near the center of the valley is a fairly large dark stone monolith engraved with brass filigree and tracery. Large designs and patterns have been carved out of the monolith - which must be at least 30 feet across at its square base. The gaps and shapes carved out of the monolith clearly indicate that the standing stone structure is hollow - you can see daylight through the carved designs on any given side - and some of the gaps are more than large enough for a man to fit through. This is especially true at the base of the monolith, where large gaps seem to allow entrance to the structure the ground level. Throughout each surface of the four-sided monolith, the brass tracery outlines each carved-away portion of the stone, and seems to form several soft, swishing runes or shapes as well.

Throughout the valley, your party (save Kargath, who has become distracted by a strange slug crawling on his boot) notices several bloated, pale-skinned humanoid creatures with monstrous heads and long spindly limbs walking, moving, or standing within the valley. A closer look reveals several half-hidden raised huts on stilts dotting the valley, with what appear to be bridges made of webbing connecting several of them.

A quick count suggests perhaps thirteen immediately-visible humanoids (the nearest is at least 90 feet away) and almost as many huts.

Feel free to roll Knowledge skills. If you don't want to be spotted, I recommend that you hide or backtrack.

Ojore takes in the scene with wonder, but understanding the risk moves cautiously back into the tree line, out of sight. He silently motions for his companions to do likewise. Once his group has pulled safely back out of earshot he will discuss what he knows of these creatures with Elsir,

Assist to Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Under his breath Elsir whispers to the group. Interesting, some sort of Idol, perhaps it has a religious significance? And the runes, I wonder if they are from a earlier race and or culture... If we have time I would like to take some rubbings of the runes. In the mean time, we may want to vacate our location, so as not to be noticed."

Knowledge (arcana) 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17
Knowledge (geography) 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Knowledge (history) 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Knowledge (planes) 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22
Knowledge (religion) 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Knowledge (nature) 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (7) + 10 = 17

@GT: Thats correct on my familiar, I rely on him more for the passive bonus and init. That might change next level however.

Nicoleta also pulls back into the trees.

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Knowledge (dungeoneering - if applicable): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Nesipho falls back into the trees below the ridge line. Unsure of what these things might be he looks to his companions.

Is the ground still marshy from the former lake? or is it dried?
How spread out are the huts?
Am I able to make out any weapons or armor on the creatures? Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

I have Knowledge (nature), and I am kind of regreting not using my Prescience ability, that was alot of rolls!

Guess I should have rolled all my knowledge rolls, though probably none are applicable

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
Knowledge (geopgraphy): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12

And even if applicable I probably still don't have a clue what those things are.

Kargath wondered why his companions had stopped, then stomped his foot to dislodge the orange and green slug. He moved forward to look at what they were staring at, then quickly dropped to the ground and scuttled backwards with the rest.

Active perception to see what everyone is staring at 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17

In a quiet voice, he said "Any idea what them things be? They look like some kind o' spider/man hybrid. Mebbe that thing we kill't was the papa?

k. engineering to learn more about the huts 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9