Serinbaal the Lands of Torment ("Dark Sun" Homebrew Pathfinder 1e)

Game Master Sebecloki

Maps and Images:

Battlemaps:

Current Encounter Maps:

Plaza of Power: Sideview
Plaza of Power
Tarek Camp

The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: Overview

Shraagroom's Sporulation Chamber -- Battlemap: Round 6
The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: Shraagroom's Sporulation Chamber -- Battlemap: Round 4
The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: Shraagroom's Sporulation Chamber -- Battlemap: Round 3
The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: Shraagroom's Sporulation Chamber -- Battlemap
The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: Shraagroom's Sporulation Chamber -- Plain View

The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable: The Door to Doom -- Battlemap

pngs/pdfs of battlemaps

PNG of Map w/ Tokens
PNG of Map w/out Tokens
The Lair of Kchac'Thraa the Inimitable - The Door to Doom pdf

Current Encounter Maps:

Myceloid Cavern
Earth Drake Layer: Overview
Earth Drake Layer w/our Grid
Earth Drake Layer w/ Grid

Hex Grid

The Ruins of Kalidnay
The Ruins of Kalidnay I: The Ceramic Desert and Outskirts of New Kalid
The Ruins of Kalidnay II: Elder Kalidnay and the Diamond Mines of Khnum-Khamunkhephres
The Ruins of Kalidnay III: The Iridescent Desert and Magma Lake

Setting Maps

The Free City of Tyr
The Ruins of Yaramuke
The City State of Raam

The World of Athas

World Map I
World Map II
World Map III

The Valley of Dust and Fire
The Tyr Region
The Tyr Region and the Valley of Dust and Fire

Some additional ideas from the 'Arena' discussion forums of Athas.org that I will be using for this fan-created expansion of the Dark Sun world map include ideas from the following threads:

East side of the Sea of Silt

Beyond the Tablelands

And here are some ideas I will be incorporating in some fashion if Spelljamming ever comes up:

Dark Sun Sphere

The Tablelands and Beyond

The Tablelands I
The Tablelands II
The Tablelands and Beyond I
The Tablelands and Beyond II

Giuestenal

The Ruins of Giustenal
New Giuestenal

Chapter One: The Howl of the Carrion King

Tyr Region

The Ruins of Kalidnay Overview

The Riese: Levels 1-2
The Riese -- Side Perspective

The Scarab Hold: The Fortress of the High Templar Ahmun-Ahnpur -- Overview
The Scarab Hold: The Fortress of the High Templar Ahmun-Ahnpur -- The Spires of Apep: The Central Keep

Destiny's Chariot -- Overview
Destiny's Chariot -- Detail

Trading Post of Kelmarane I
Trading Post of Kelmarane II

Battle Market of Kelmarane -- Ground Level
Battle Market of Kelmarane -- Second Level

Temple of Elemental Earth of Kelmarane

Guard Post I
Guard Post II

Sulfuric Baths of Kelmarane -- Overview
Sulfuric Baths of Kelmarane -- Detail

Guild Hall of Kelmarane

Mills


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Male Half-Janni, Jinnborn.

With his keen sense, Ja'far scans Nalcaros and his Chitinous beasts. He has seen much that Athas has to show in his time and wasn't unfamiliar with the undead.

knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19


Ja'far Mahavira wrote:

With his keen sense, Ja'far scans Nalcaros and his Chitinous beasts. He has seen much that Athas has to show in his time and wasn't unfamiliar with the undead.

[dice=knowledge Religion]1d20+8
[dice=Perception]1d20+13

Ja'far:

The half-janni emissary of the Walker in the Wastes realizes quickly that Nalcaros is a Zhen, a powerful variety of free-willed undead that inhabit the endless black wastes to the south. His transformation derives from an infusion of power from the paraelemental plane of magma. His guardians are appear to be cliops that have been transformed by some manner of undeath.

Zhen

Zhens are powerful undead created by the boiling liquid obsidian that poured out of the gate to the Plane of Magma in the Dead Lands over 2,000 years ago. This mysterious, black, boiling death created unique undead.

A zhen looks much as it did in life, except that its gaunt skin is black and shining. A zhen’s skin is stretched tight over its skeletal frame and emits a strange purple glow in complete darkness. The glow is very faint but still discernible.

A zhen’s appearance is ugly but fascinating. Its black, glistening skin, cool and smooth as glass, has no hair at all except atop the zhen’s head. Each palm is pierced by a single barbed suction cup that enables a zhen to climb obsidian like a spider, or even cross ceilings using its hands. A zhen’s eyes burn a deep scarlet color that sometimes changes in the sunlight.

Paraelemental Plane of Magma

The Paraelemental Plane of Magma is the Inner Plane formed between the Elemental Planes of Earth and Fire. The Paraplane of Magma is a veritable sea of molten rock, too solid for creatures of fire, and too scorching for creatures of earth. Native creatures include magma paraelementals and magma mephits.

Cilops

Cilops are large, centipede-like creatures prized by templars for their tracking abilities. They grow up to 15 feet in length, and their color varies by their native terrain: cilops of the salt flats are chalky blue-white to steel gray, while cilops from the rocky badlands vary from rust orange to dark brown.


Ill at ease and ill-equipped to understand this strange occurrence, Gaanon grips his massive hammer, standing behind his companions at the ready, expecting the worst.


Female Thri-Kreen Shaman/Aerokineticist AC 24/19/16; Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +12; Init +6; Perception +17; HP 70/70; NL 18; Burn 3; Life Channel 5/5; Witch Doctor Channel 7/7

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

Tkk-tkk pauses a bit, as if she would willingly let herself get carried away by the torrent. But reluctantly she moves onward.


Tkk-Tkk wrote:

[dice=perception]1d20+10

Tkk-tkk pauses a bit, as if she would willingly let herself get carried away by the torrent. But reluctantly she moves onward.

Does Tkk-Tkk have any knowledge skills? I think you'd need that to get any lore information. The Perception check is just going to get additional visual data on Nalcaros and his critters, but nothing deeper that might tell you who and what exactly they are


Ja'far Mahavira wrote:

With his keen sense, Ja'far scans Nalcaros and his Chitinous beasts. He has seen much that Athas has to show in his time and wasn't unfamiliar with the undead.

[dice=knowledge Religion]1d20+8
[dice=Perception]1d20+13

Ja'far:

Just to be clear, your check that was successful was based on the Knowledge (Religion) check mainly. I also want to add another bit here.

The Zhen are associated with the para-elemental cults of magma, which are one of the para-elemental cults that arose at the close of the Green Age in opposition to those of the primary elements. These are generally sinister in some fashion, and continue the war which the evil elemental cults fought alongside the naturebenders of the halflings at the close of the Blue age. One of the primary cults of magma was associated with ancient Ebe, now Ur-Draxa. It revolved around the veneration of the obsidian dark lens and the Black, seen as an extension of the darkness of magma. The Dragon Borys tolerated the Society of Shadow, one of the many names of this group, for only a small period of time before driving them from his island abode. They then sought out the Deadlands, which they viewed as a kind of holy ground. Nalcaros is likely associated with this group.


Navigating the halls with preternatural ease, Shizuka takes note of the byzantine pathways. All the more alcoves and hidey holes from which to strike. I best remember that.

Lettings the winds and the small invisible currents tell him of the word, it's the stench of rot that takes the pitfighter by surprise. Undead? Damn, that's one foe I haven't tested my current against. Hopefully another knows of their weaknesses. With care, the old man makes sure the creatures scent blows towards him, along with Nalcaros's scent. Better to endure a stench than be caught unaware. Basic Aerokinesis to ensure the creepy crawlies count as downwind.

The faint humming and power flooding the air does little to assuage the blind man's nerves, especially as the wind picks up. Forcing the wind through channels and groves carved into his armor, Shizuka takes careful stock of what's going on with whispering winds and invisible currents.

At Malkaer's comment, Shizuka frowns beneath his helmet. "Greed kills as surely as a blade. Let us move indeed, the air carries a tone which I quite dislike." The irony of the winds carrying an unwelcome energy was not lost upon the warrior.

Perception-The Eyes Lie: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Is there any way to include/make use of Shizuka's aerokinesis to figure out what the hell those balls are being lifted by? I'm not trying to rules lawyer, but it would make sense that he could pick up manipulation of the air.


Shizuka the Blind wrote:

Navigating the halls with preternatural ease, Shizuka takes note of the byzantine pathways. All the more alcoves and hidey holes from which to strike. I best remember that.

Lettings the winds and the small invisible currents tell him of the word, it's the stench of rot that takes the pitfighter by surprise. Undead? Damn, that's one foe I haven't tested my current against. Hopefully another knows of their weaknesses. With care, the old man makes sure the creatures scent blows towards him, along with Nalcaros's scent. Better to endure a stench than be caught unaware. Basic Aerokinesis to ensure the creepy crawlies count as downwind.

The faint humming and power flooding the air does little to assuage the blind man's nerves, especially as the wind picks up. Forcing the wind through channels and groves carved into his armor, Shizuka takes careful stock of what's going on with whispering winds and invisible currents.

At Malkaer's comment, Shizuka frowns beneath his helmet. "Greed kills as surely as a blade. Let us move indeed, the air carries a tone which I quite dislike." The irony of the winds carrying an unwelcome energy was not lost upon the warrior.

[dice=Perception-The Eyes Lie]1d20 + 18

Is there any way to include/make use of Shizuka's aerokinesis to figure out what the hell those balls are being lifted by? I'm not trying to rules lawyer, but it would make sense that he could pick up manipulation of the air.

Shizuka:

Your high Perception check can give you some physical details about Nalcaros and his creepy crawlies, but not lore (that's the best idea I've come up with to distinguish Perception from Knowledge -- another frustration with the skill system!).

Shizuka is quickly almost overpowered by the intense sulfuric odor wafting in torrents from the vicinity of Nalcaros -- presumably a product of his own person. It is as if he were made of the same elemental substance as an erupting volcano. The very air is distorted by the effect, condensed in super-heated waves.

The three multi-segmented guardians reek of the grave. They twitch and whine in a mechanical manner of a creature not possessed of its own mind. Indeed, the orbit Nalcaros in a highly robotic, regular fashion.

Your request regarding the orbs seems reasonable to me -- honestly, I'd have to re-write some stuff to make it work for me, and I'm already playing my own version of Pathfinder basically, so I'm just going to do as well as possible in lieu of completely reworking some things.

As for the orbs, they move the air as they move through its currents, but are not themselves propelled by the currents being drawn in by the apparently brewing storm. This suggests their locomotion is derived from some inner, undetectable force -- probably that represented by the rhythmic humming that vibrates the currents in all directions from the ruins.


Memnon fights to keep his expression neutral as he calmly absorbs everything that he sees. The scholar in him is going mad with curiosity and he catalogs information that might be useful and what it all means.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26
Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Knowledge Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27
Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Knowledge History: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23


Memnon:

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (16) + 10 = 26

After some time spent focusing his eyes, Memnon apprehends that Nalcaros is a black-skinned, skeletal figure, the only seemingly living thing on his body the hair that extrudes from the crown of his sheer, black scalp. The emissary's entire body is seemingly made of obsidian, as if it were poured over an underlying, emaciated form. Nalcaros glows with a faint violet light from beneath the over-shadowing orb of pure darkness that hovers above his unsettling visage. Further, each of his palms is pierced by a barbed talon. It is as if virtually his entire body were made of obsidian.

He wears a large cloak that seems to be fashioned from super-heated magma, and its eerie volcanic illumination contrasts in bizarre ways with the artificial purple pallor of Nalcaros' obsidian skin.

All three of the monstrous emissaries look as if they are animated bodies of large centipedes.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Fail.

Knowledge Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

The Cities and City-States of the Dead Lands

Smeekyx:

Smeekyx is home to a special breed of gnome. These gnome travelled below the surface of Athas to escape the Champions encroaching armies. The gnomes of Smeekyx died in one terrible instant, when Gallard caused a tide of scalding magma to flow through their tiny tunnels and burnt them all to death. The undead gnomes eternally reenact the last hour of their lives, a time spent celebrating their strength, unity and perseverance, inevitably ending with their horrific deaths as imaginary magma ends their imaginary lives.

Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

That can only tell you something about the local area around Kalidnay:

Great Alluvial Sand Wastes

A wide belt of dunes stretches hundreds of miles from Urik all the way south past Altaruk, paralleling the Ringing Mountains. Over the ages, sand washed from the mouths of mountain canyons has accumulated into a vast desert known as the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes. This region walls off Tyr and the foothills of the Ringing Mountains from the rest of the Tablelands (and the Tyr Region in general). Although the terrain is difficult to travel, it is not especially harsh, and tiny wells and oases lie scattered across its golden expanse.

Knowledge History: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

You have access to page 26 and following of The Dead Lands of Athas


Nalcaros' voice arises again, but this time burdened with an unmistakable tone of ... surprise... consternation.... fear?

As his words take shape, it quickly becomes clear he is speaking mostly to himself,

"Death of the Seventh, the revolutions are decreasing more even than I could have imagined."

The seemingly endless fields of obsidian orbs continue to rise in the heavens, forming a great pillar connecting the earth to the sky.

As they rise from sight, the sky begins to darken, and the air pick up a wet weight as it appears this corner of the Great Alluvial Sand Waste which hugs the Ringing Mountains will soon endure the uncommon visitation of a genuine storm.

Liberty's Edge

Male Human Spell-less Ranger/4 - Soul Knife(War Soul)/4 - Fort +7 Ref +8 Will +4 (+2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects.) - WP 32/32 VP 28/28

Kuro grasps his head, the psychic energy running through this area gives him a serious head-ache. This whole trip seems to be eating at his sense of preservation, no matter how small it actually is. he's worried for his companions...

But these creatures are definitely a odd, he's never seen an undead before...if that's what they even are.

K Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
K Geography: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
K dungeoneering: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6
K psionics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
K engineering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
K Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17


Someone who follows the way of the flame perhaps? Heat is definitely a part of him just as the wind is with me. Though his guardian's are strange. Are they undead and simply following orders, or has someone created an unholy fusion of flesh and machinery?

Pausing to stare at the orbs, Shizuka shakes his head. "To imitate the movement of the wind without any of it's grace. "


DECEASED

Malkaer stared at Shizuka. Damn that was a good line. I’ll have to remember it.


Kuro:

Kuro 'Archer' wrote:

Kuro grasps his head, the psychic energy running through this area gives him a serious head-ache. This whole trip seems to be eating at his sense of preservation, no matter how small it actually is. he's worried for his companions...

But these creatures are definitely a odd, he's never seen an undead before...if that's what they even are.

[dice=K Nature]1d20 + 5

Athas is a hot, arid planet covered with endless seas of dunes, lifeless salt flats, stony wastes, rocky bad lands, thorny scrublands, and worse. From the first moments of dawn, the crimson sun beats down from an olive tinged sky. Temperatures routinely exceed 100 degrees F. by midmorning and can reach 130 degrees or more by late afternoon. The wind is like the blast of a furnace, offering no relief from the oppressive heat. Dust and sand borne on the breeze coat everything with yellow-orange silt. In this forbidding world, cities and villages exist only in a few oases or verdant plains. Some places don’t see rain for years at a time, and even in fertile regions, rain is little more than a humid mist that falls during a few weeks each year before giving way to long months of heat and drought. The world beyond these islands of civilization is a wasteland roamed by nomads, raiders, and hungry monsters. Athas was not always a desert, and the parched landscape is dotted with the crumbling ruins of a planet that once was rich with rivers and seas. Ancient bridges over dry watercourses and empty stone quays that face seas of sand tell the tale of a world that is no more.

[dice=K Geography]1d20 + 7

The Great Alluvial Sand Wastes

A wide belt of dunes stretches hundreds of miles from Urik all the way south past Altaruk, paralleling the Ringing Mountains. Over the ages, sand washed from the mouths of mountain canyons has accumulated into a vast desert known as the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes. This region walls off Tyr and the foothills of the Ringing Mountains from the rest of the Tablelands (and the Tyr Region in general). Although the terrain is difficult to travel, it is not especially harsh, and tiny wells and oases lie scattered across its golden expanse.

[dice=K dungeoneering]1d20 + 5

Fail

[dice=K psionics]1d20 + 5

Fail

[dice=K engineering]1d20 + 7

Fail

[dice=K Arcana]1d20 + 6

Fail


Rokan the Ascetic wrote:

As the intimidating voice booms across the desert Rokan simply tries to remain inconspicuous. This is a time for listening, and watching, not inserting oneself too quickly or forcefully.

[dice=perception, further non-psionic details about Nalcaros]1d20+10

Manifest Detect Psionics.
[dice=knowledge (psionics), inspect Nalcaros]1d20+10

[dice=sense motive, sense Slavathras' reaction]1d20+12
[dice=knowledge (psionics), inspect small black objects]1d20+10

Misra's voice again arises within Rokan's now-distracted consciousnesses, his mind now thoroughly arrested by the bizarre panoply of creatures, objects, and unexpected natural phenomena that currently fill his vision and active attention.

Nevertheless, her the substance of her mental interjection quickly recaptures the mentat's focus,

"Seeing him now from a closer perspective, my original guess, and fear, has proved correct. This... creature appears in many ancient accounts concerning the tumultuous conclusion of the Green Age, when Rajaat and his bloodthirsty Champions attempted to cleanse the world of all non-human life. In concert with the social, political, and economic upheavals which the Cleansing Wars caused in the civilizations of the Green Age, the Unseen War, the timeless struggle of the various Elemental and Para-Elemental Planes and their strange denizens for control of Athas, was rekindled with a renewed fury that followed the fast-changing climes of the battle-ridden lands of Athas. After Rajaat's defeat, Borys the Dragon began to lay the foundation of his new empire in the midst of the Sea of Silt, what would eventually become the City State of Ur-Draxa at the heart of the Valley of Fire and Smoke. At the center of this new capital was the Dark Lens, the enigmatic psionic artifact through which the Champions had imprisoned their former master. Borys' followers included a number of inhabitants of original homeland of Ebe, including this entity who now stands before our company. Originally adherents of the power of Earth, they were gradually corrupted by worship of the Dark Lens, and thus the Society of Stone, or the Stonewardens, became the Society of Shadow or the Obsidian Brotherhood, and increasingly turned to the power of Magma. They were cast out of Ur-Draxa when, it is said, they sought to imprison Borys as well within the Dark Lens, having observed his quick descent into madness as a result of the dragon metamorphosis spell. Severely reduced in numbers and power, they wandered for an age, before somehow, it seems, being pulled into the orbit of Faalcuun, who likewise has a place in the legends of the Green Age."


With the completion of his enigmatic observation, whose tone rests somewhere mysteriously between intense curiosity and outright fear, Nalcaros quickly turns to, presumably, seek the shelter of his master's immense levitating pleasure barge.

From this vantage, more of his features become apparent, though many are still shrouded in the intense darkness cast by the object hovering above his skull. The emissary of the enigmatic sorcerer and master psion named Faalcuun is of a noticeably short stature, closer to a dwarf than a human, though thinner in appearance by a considerable measure than one would expect of the race of zealous mountain dwellers. Nalcaros' skin is a smooth skein of reflective black, eerily illuminated by an unnatural violet light. He wears an elaborate mantle of what appears to be supernaturally shaped magma, the red light of its viscous veins casting a macabre pallor over the dusty dunes which surround him.

The three insectile servants begin to orbit Nalcaros in a clockwise circle as he commences his retreat.

Suddenly, Slavathras' voice unexpectedly halts the emissary's action, his honeyed tone carrying simultaneously an underlying sense of vengeance, or spitefulness,

"One should, I suppose, assume your mighty master has lost the favor of the Hidden City's vengeful lord? I do wonder what might have effected this dramatic change in circumstances that now finds him meandering about the far recesses of the Great Alluvial Sand Wastes, far from the sheltered demesne of what I can only surmise is now his former patron. And you -- it seems you have again found yourself saddled to the loosing faction of some great struggle -- not a game at which you seem to have become any more practiced, despite the length of your earthly tenure it would appear. Tsk, tsk, tsk, so much power, and so little wisdom!"

The Lawkeeper's emissary completes a stunning round-about before the mysterious elf has even finished speaking, his attention clearly seized by the bard's prodding insinuations...


Ja'far Mahavira wrote:

With his keen sense, Ja'far scans Nalcaros and his Chitinous beasts. He has seen much that Athas has to show in his time and wasn't unfamiliar with the undead.

[dice=knowledge Religion]1d20+8
[dice=Perception]1d20+13

Unexpectedly, the strong, yet still refined intonation of Husayn's voice enter into Jafar's ear. It appears as if he has decided, in the end, to join the embassy to the mysterious Faalcuun, and has just caught up with the party,

Husayn speaks in the Devanagri tongue, the literary dialect of Raam's native population, conquered long ago by the fearsome Temujin horselords of the steppes riding for Abalach-Re. This choice of language makes his communication knowable to only Ja'far among the present company, none of the others of which are members of the Desi people, the original inhabitants of Raam and the surrounding vicinity.

"I've observed enough of the vicious conduct of court rituals in Alabach-Re's palace to tell that these two" he gestures with a firm motion of his chin towards Slavathras the bard and Nalcaros the herald of Faalcuun, "must have some history of an unfavorable sort between their persons. Certainly, it is not a quickly-arrived upon absence of affection. I know Raam was only a temporary home to your and your associates while the sorcerer-queen attempted to ensconce you in her devious schemes, but surely you witnessed enough of the palace's poisonous subterfuge to observe the same parallel? The question then is... what do we make of this? Does that make the elf an asset" his voice then assumes a more measure tone,"... or a "liability?"


Male LN Human gestalt unchained monk/psion (kineticist) 12 | overmind 3 | Vigor 746/746 | Wound 76/76 | DR 3/-*, AC 51 t 42 ff 32 | CMB+61 CMD 71 | F+42 R+45 W+34 | Init +41 | Perc +21, SM +21 | Speed 70ft | Stunning Fist: 12/12 | Ki: 12/12 | Power Points: 182/182 | Psionic Focus: 2/2 | Mythic Power: 9/9 | Emissary: 1/1 | Eternal Hope: 1/1 | Hero points: 1 | Denied: 1/1 | Empowered Attack: 2/2 | Extended Attack: 3/3 | Widen Attack: 3/3 | Extra Meta-Attacks: 5/5 | Active conditions: Biofeedback, Ethereal (1m)

Speaking back softly to Misra...

"How much of the Society of Shadow remains? Are they all reduced to serving Faalcuun? I suppose they must have some agenda of their own they are cultivating within the cloak of his power. Certainly our bard here has provoked his ire. I wonder what trouble he'll draw us into."


Rokan the Ascetic wrote:

Speaking back softly to Misra...

"How much of the Society of Shadow remains? Are they all reduced to serving Faalcuun? I suppose they must have some agenda of their own they are cultivating within the cloak of his power. Certainly our bard here has provoked his ire. I wonder what trouble he'll draw us into."

The legends suggest most were destroyed by Borys', including their impetuous leader Rilkan who devised the scheme to imprison the Dragon. I would guess they sought out Dregoth, the second most powerful of the sorcerer-kings, as a safe haven in the aftermath of their dispersal from Ur-Draxa. Whether this was their common destination, I have no idea. I have also encountered materials that link them with the obsidian plane of the Deadlands far to the south of the Tablelands. Dregoth is said to have perished at the hands of the other sorcerer-kings in a surprise attack instigated chiefly by Alabach-Re of Raam, so I wonder whose interests they now serve? Has Faalcuun assumed the mantle of his former master? Is Nalcaros' the last of the Obsidian Brotherhood, or have other members also survived who similarly serve the pleasure of Dregoth's erstwhile apprentice?"


DECEASED

Bluff to pass secret message: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15
Domain use, if this fails! "You can use this power as a swift action when you fail a Bluff, Diplomacy, or Intimidate check outside of combat. You suffer no negative effects due to the failed check, and the next round you can attempt the check again without the usual penalty for a failed attempt."

"This is obviously a threat, to not only us, but to all whom might meet it. A relic of a long dead age which has outlived it's time. We need to act.

Perception to find a good path to sneak up behind the lawkeeper?: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (9) + 12 = 21

Malkaer, noticing that all attention was on the bard, slipped away. He had to get within striking distance. Silently walking towards the dunes, he tried his best to get out of sight. A storm is coming! We can't spend too long bantering with this creature, or we will be washed away. I just need to get close enough...


Who are you trying to pass a secret message too. Also, Nalcaros has three undead centipede creates circling him in a clockwise motion -- that's going to make sneaking up more difficult unless you have some magic intervention. There's no railroading here, and you can still attempt it, but I feel obliged to warn you that he's much more powerful than any of your characters. You might get some help from the other caravan members that can even the odds, but this is a very daring idea, especially since he probably has some kind of back up from his own allies that will arrive if a melee begins....


Also, Nalcaros isn't the Lawkeeper, that's Faalcuun, who you haven't seen yet. Are you trying to sneak up on Nalcaros or find a back-entrance onto the barge?


Dalman, one of the two accompanying druids from the Rhul-Ty'ragi, the keepers of the gardens of the Golden Tower in the Free City of Tyr, interjects immediately after Slavathras has finished apparently taunting Nalcaros,

"Please ignore the petty barbs of this insolent creature -- rest assured, he does not represent the disposition of this company, the remainder of which are eager to hear what you and your master wish us to, and with great eagerness. My companion" he here gestures at Misra, "and I are students of the past, and consider ourselves most fortunate to have the opportunity to speak with those who lived during the storied era of the Green Age, and have been able to personally witness the long passage of history."

He then turns towards the storm brewing over the ruins of Kalidnay, in the midst of which the seemingly endless torrent of rows upon rows upon rows of obsidian spheres continue to rise in a perhaps endless pillar towards the darkening sky.

The formerly luminescent skein of his chameleon-hide cloak is dulled by the shadows cast from the gathering storm clouds.

"Pray, ancient one, what is this that we see here before us -- your reaction seems to betray some recognition of its import."


Tkk-Tkk wrote:

[dice=perception]1d20+10

Tkk-tkk pauses a bit, as if she would willingly let herself get carried away by the torrent. But reluctantly she moves onward.

Since you haven't replied, I'm just going to give you a little more Perception info

Tkk-Tkk:

The thri-kreen notices that Nalcaros appears to move under the dark sphere above him as if he is attempting to stay within the confines of its shadows. His three insectile guards seem to be somehow linked to his movements as well, as if he were commanding them, or they were following a pre-arranged strategy for their master's defense. Tkk-Tkk also notices a number of vials and gemstones, as well as other contraptions, attached to a series of belts that cross Nalcaros' body below his large cloak of enchanted magma.

Liberty's Edge

Male Human Spell-less Ranger/4 - Soul Knife(War Soul)/4 - Fort +7 Ref +8 Will +4 (+2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects.) - WP 32/32 VP 28/28

"Is that...Rain?" Kuro asks in clear awe, his eye's stuck on the approaching clouds. this was something out of dreams itself, when was the last record of it actually raining...?

His father spoke of the phenomenon, how it was the earth itself crying about its current state. about how it ran out of tears many years ago...


Nodding along, the blind man murmurs an agreement. "Please don't let one marred fruit spoil the stand."

Feeling Malkaer slip outside the group, Shizuka quickly moves besides the magic wielder, his voice partly obscured by his helm. "Act on what? By the scouring sands what are you planning?"

Perception-I can hear you: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (9) + 18 = 27
SM-Noped: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18


DECEASED

Bluff to hide message: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

”Ancient forces defending a dead city. The chances of this ending violently are high. Should they attack us, I want to be ready.”

With that, the elf faded into the nearest place to conceal himself.


Malkaer Illuvinar wrote:

[dice=Bluff to hide message]1d20+11

”Ancient forces defending a dead city. The chances of this ending violently are high. Should they attack us, I want to be ready.”

With that, the elf faded into the nearest place to conceal himself.

See my post above -- I'm still not clear what Malkaer is trying to do here -- is he trying to sneak up on Nalcaros, find a back entrance to the obsidian platform from which the emissary emerged, or (based on this post), simply hide in the surrounding dunes. I'm not clear what Shizuka's going to do since he's following you, and I don't know what you're doing.


Heeding Malkaer's advice, Gaanon also seeks some cover and prepares himself for a battle, which seems to him inevitable...

Stealth: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

..but there is nowhere for the half-giant to hide and even the bright sunlight allows for no concealment for the skilled desert raider. Standing out in the open, he studies the area and the distance between himself and this Nalcaros.


Gaanon wrote:

Heeding Malkaer's advice, Gaanon also seeks some cover and prepares himself for a battle, which seems to him inevitable...

[dice=Stealth]1d20+5

..but there is nowhere for the half-giant to hide and even the bright sunlight allows for no concealment for the skilled desert raider. Standing out in the open, he studies the area and the distance between himself and this Nalcaros.

Woah there, I know I'm kind of re-interpreting some of the Knowledge skills, but we need to back up and try to apply some interpretation of the rules here. Malkaer made a bluff to pass a secret message. Gaanon has not made a sense motive check, which Shizuka has already failed, to receive that message. Ergo, he cannot be reacting at this point to the secret message of his companion until he makes a roll to see if he even received it. He can, however, go ahead and react to the current circumstances in the way you have described, but he has no in-character knowledge of what Malkaer said, just to be clear on this point. Okay gentlefolks? Carry on...

Nalcaros whirls with per-pernatural alacrity to face Dalman, the druid of High Templar Tithian's gardens. He bellows his answer before the rising moan of the winds,

"That, young one, is the Great Orrery, whose long-dormant operations have been only recently rekindled by the unexpected awakening the malevolent intelligence which directs its operations -- the residual malice of the long departed sorcerer-queen of this accursed city and her chief templars. The tales of this city's fall are only a partial recollection of those tumultuous days. Like my homeland, far to the south, the inhabitants of Kalidnay experimented unwisely with gates as their doom drew nigh. The vengeful sorcerer-kings who laid low the great Kalid-Ma failed to account for this last legacy of her unnatural power -- and now it may trumpet the destruction of all the Tablelands. It has deposited a number of visitors from what my master believes are other worlds that hover in the same void as our own blighted sphere, and that it will continue to do so, bringing, it would seem, ever more dangerous arrivals. Perhaps you heard some of the commotion in the ruins upon your approach? I assure you, it is not the least of the horrors unleashed by that infernal device. Having perished, the spiteful spirit of Kalid-Ma now wishes to doom the lands of the ones who cast her from her body... and more than this even may be learned from my master, who even now endeavors to halt the danger posed by this artifact. Please come quickly! Your assistance is sorely needed!"

The sheen, ashen-skinned entity then turns quizzically to inspect the embassy from House Vordon's retinue,

"And come before any more.... disappear? I could have sworn there were more of you that set out from the summer palace of Kalid-Ma."


DECEASED

Pretty sure that Sense Motive is only needed when you aren’t the target of the secret message. Otherwise a high bluff roll means that *nobody* hears it. Also Malkaer is just hiding so if all hell breaks loose he can surprise the enemy. Now that it seems like Combat won’t happen, he’ll continue to hide while others diplomicize. Lest he reveal himself, look foolish, and combat still happens, making him look twice as dumb.


Malkaer Illuvinar wrote:
Pretty sure that Sense Motive is only needed when you aren’t the target of the secret message. Otherwise a high bluff roll means that *nobody* hears it. Also Malkaer is just hiding so if all hell breaks loose he can surprise the enemy. Now that it seems like Combat won’t happen, he’ll continue to hide while others diplomicize. Lest he reveal himself, look foolish, and combat still happens, making him look twice as dumb.

I'm sorry you're right, you passed the check to pass the message to Shizuka. So, only Shizuka hears what Malkaer is saying, not Gaanon.

Convey Secret Message

You can use Bluff to pass hidden messages to another character without others understanding your true meaning. The DC of this check is 15 for simple messages and 20 for complex messages. If you are successful, the target automatically understands you, assuming you are speaking in a language that it understands. If your check fails by 5 or more, you deliver the wrong message. Other creatures that hear the message can decipher the message by succeeding at an opposed Sense Motive check against your Bluff result.

Action: Delivering a secret message generally takes twice as long as the message would otherwise take to relay.

Retry? Yes. Secret messages can be relayed again if the first attempt fails.


Male LN Human gestalt unchained monk/psion (kineticist) 12 | overmind 3 | Vigor 746/746 | Wound 76/76 | DR 3/-*, AC 51 t 42 ff 32 | CMB+61 CMD 71 | F+42 R+45 W+34 | Init +41 | Perc +21, SM +21 | Speed 70ft | Stunning Fist: 12/12 | Ki: 12/12 | Power Points: 182/182 | Psionic Focus: 2/2 | Mythic Power: 9/9 | Emissary: 1/1 | Eternal Hope: 1/1 | Hero points: 1 | Denied: 1/1 | Empowered Attack: 2/2 | Extended Attack: 3/3 | Widen Attack: 3/3 | Extra Meta-Attacks: 5/5 | Active conditions: Biofeedback, Ethereal (1m)

Hmm. Faalcuun means to utilize (or use) us to solve this problem.

Rokan looks to see if the bard, Dalman, or Misra begin following Nalcaros. As soon as any of them do, he will follow suit, but he does not presume to lead this group.


A familiar, feminine voice breaks in upon Rokan's consciousness,

"A portal to... other worlds. The existence of such a device certainly adds weight to one, admittedly obscure tradition, which you just recently heard from the mouth of the Lady Almah's bard Slavathras, about the halfling Nature-masters of the Blue Age, which claims that their ultimate origins lie beyond the now-scarred lands of Athas -- somewhere in the stars. It makes me wonder whether Kalid-Ma has in fact somehow resuscitated an ancient power of the Blue Age, and that such devices once bore the halflings to this world, which, if the tradition is correct, was already inhabited by a island-dwelling society of winged kreen. Dalman will doubtless continue to resist this conclusion, but I now increasingly wonder whether the brutal reality of whatever we may discover in the bones of Kalidnay will overturn any intransigent objection."

Damlan's voice intertwines with the conclusion of his partner's mental communication to Rokan,

"That is indeed a fearful thing. I am my sister scholar hail from the Free City of Tyr, which you must have known as ancient Ty'ragi, great stronghold of the Nature-masters in the Blue Age. The current incarnation of the city is much reduced, but our order attempts to both retain and revive the knowledge of ancients. We are most eager to hear your master's further elucidations on this subject, as his reputation as a great scholar of Bodach has proceeded him in the dusty annals covering the historical period of his early life which I have had occasion to examine. Please do not be disturbed by the odd manners of our compatriots, who are generally ill-informed of the past's mysteries are thus in stricken with a peculiar terror to now confront a living legend in the person of the great Faalcuun."

The druid inclines his head slightly, the jagged spikes of his preternaturally whited hair no longer glistening from whatever unknown emollient holds their rigid shape as the gathering storm clouds begin to obscure the harsh light of the crimson sun.


Slavathras' voice cuts through the solemnity created by Dalman the duid's earnest entreaty to Faalcuun's messenger,

"You know as well as I Nalcros that the operations of the Orrery are in no way possibly by accident. Something, or someone," he seems to consider the proper phrasing again before continuing, "something has doubtless aroused the hateful wake of the sorcerer-queen, and now she stirs fitfully within the ruins of her former demesne."

His violet lips break in a vicious sneer,

"Indeed, I cannot help but contemplate the possibility that your master is himself somehow responsible for this calamity, and now wishes our assistance, for some currently un-established rationale, to extricate his person and yours from this perilous predicament."

The bard's final statement is made largely to the audience of his own amused attention,

"Heh, it would not be the first time the great and wise Faalcuun has found himself in a trap of his own devising, and you, half-man, likewise caught in its grip!"


Noted. Gaanon did not receive the message, but nevertheless, in true desert raider fashion, attempted to find some cover... and failed!


Damn fool. The old man sighs, before making sure to keep the elf's position in the back of his mind. If he's alone and hidden, chances are one of those dead beasts may decide to attack him. That's if he's correct."

At Nacaros's words, Shizuka sighs. "You know, I'd rather not have to deal with otherworldly beasts summoned by Kalid-Ma." Trusting his helm to hide his small facial twitch, the old man stays silent in regards to the missing personage, besides blowing some air over Malkear as if to state the message is directed at him.

The pit fighter hears the Bard antagonize Nacaros with lifted brows. Yes, taunt the man with a probably soul deep connection to flame along with giant undead minions. The overblown self flattery is grinding at the blind man's nerves. An existence focused around fighting has left little room for niceties.


Shizuka the Blind wrote:

Damn fool. The old man sighs, before making sure to keep the elf's position in the back of his mind. If he's alone and hidden, chances are one of those dead beasts may decide to attack him. That's if he's correct."

At Nacaros's words, Shizuka sighs. "You know, I'd rather not have to deal with otherworldly beasts summoned by Kalid-Ma." Trusting his helm to hide his small facial twitch, the old man stays silent in regards to the missing personage, besides blowing some air over Malkear as if to state the message is directed at him.

The pit fighter hears the Bard antagonize Nacaros with lifted brows. Yes, taunt the man with a probably soul deep connection to flame along with giant undead minions. The overblown self flattery is grinding at the blind man's nerves. An existence focused around fighting has left little room for niceties.

The voice of Faalcuun's emissary once again assumes a threatening tenor,

"You speak as if this were solely your choice youngling -- but perhaps the terrors that even now fester at the heart of Kalidnay will decline to observe your wishes, and venture upon our lands regardless of your sentiments."

Nalcaros completes his reply with a sneer of derision and disbelief.

Liberty's Edge

Male Human Spell-less Ranger/4 - Soul Knife(War Soul)/4 - Fort +7 Ref +8 Will +4 (+2 racial bonus on saving throws against fear and despair effects.) - WP 32/32 VP 28/28

This whole trip is beginning to fall apart and it's barely been an hour. The elf moving away from the group is a bit suspicious, but the reply of Nalcaros to Shizuka catches his attention more.

'He speaks as if he would prefer we be attacked...' Kuro thinks with a small frown, keeping a hand on his bow. His hawk like eye's staring thousands of feet out in all directions, the storm put into the back of his head.

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
mythic surge: 1d6 ⇒ 5


Kuro 'Archer' wrote:

This whole trip is beginning to fall apart and it's barely been an hour. The elf moving away from the group is a bit suspicious, but the reply of Nalcaros to Shizuka catches his attention more.

'He speaks as if he would prefer we be attacked...' Kuro thinks with a small frown, keeping a hand on his bow. His hawk like eye's staring thousands of feet out in all directions, the storm put into the back of his head.

[dice=perception] 1d20 + 8
[dice=mythic surge] 1d6

Kuro:

The impression which Kuro can gather of the frightening emissary's attitude is not that he would prefer that company of House Vordon were attacked, but that certainly feels that it is inevitable. He clearly believes, and also seems to be of the firm opinion that Faalcuun holds the same view, that, unless somehow halted by whatever interjection into which the two wish to entice House Vordon's emissaries, the dark powers in the ruins will cause calamity in the wider world. Even a hint of personal terror might be observed in his glassy features.


Seeing that none dares the first step, Gaanon walks forth, intent on following Nalcaros.

"If we agree to meet with your master, how will you guarantee our safety?" the half-giant asks before committing himself.


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Gaanon wrote:

Seeing that none dares the first step, Gaanon walks forth, intent on following Nalcaros.

"If we agree to meet with your master, how will you guarantee our safety?" the half-giant asks before committing himself.

Nalacaros balks with seeming incredulity at the half-giant's earnest inquiry,

"Youngling, if the mighty Lawkeeper wished to destroy you, he would have done so already, and without announcing his presence! I have seen Faalcuun the Mighty dispose of armies with the merest gesture. No, this is a foolish concern. You and I both continue to cling to life on his pleasure."


Dalman and Misra, the two druids of the Rhul-Ty'ragi, keepers of the gardens of the Golden Tower of the High Templar Tithian in the Free City of Tyr, begin to make their shared approach to Nalcaros, clearly intent upon meeting his enigmatic lord.

Their strange cloaks of chameleon hide now emit no reflection in the dulled light of the gathering storm.

Dalman speaks again to Nalcaros,

"Please lead on, my sister adept and I shallow follow and hear the words of Faalcuun as he shall speak them to us."


"Then why does he need our help," Gaanon speaks under his breath, chuckling. He shrugs and follows the druids.


Male LN Human gestalt unchained monk/psion (kineticist) 12 | overmind 3 | Vigor 746/746 | Wound 76/76 | DR 3/-*, AC 51 t 42 ff 32 | CMB+61 CMD 71 | F+42 R+45 W+34 | Init +41 | Perc +21, SM +21 | Speed 70ft | Stunning Fist: 12/12 | Ki: 12/12 | Power Points: 182/182 | Psionic Focus: 2/2 | Mythic Power: 9/9 | Emissary: 1/1 | Eternal Hope: 1/1 | Hero points: 1 | Denied: 1/1 | Empowered Attack: 2/2 | Extended Attack: 3/3 | Widen Attack: 3/3 | Extra Meta-Attacks: 5/5 | Active conditions: Biofeedback, Ethereal (1m)

As Dalman and Misra begin forward, Rokan follows steadily in their wake.

"I too, shall join. I wish to meet Faalcuun, and in hearing his request of us, learn more about these phenomena that we presently witness. I suspect none among us can fully explain them. It is abundantly clear that there are looming consequences nearby that cannot be ignored."


DECEASED

Feeling slightly foolish, Malkaer stepped out. ”Excuse my rudeness, but knowledge of your power is evident. I prepared for hostilities should it have found us. I shall accompany you.”

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (4) + 11 = 15


Female Thri-Kreen Shaman/Aerokineticist AC 24/19/16; Fort +11, Ref +11, Will +12; Init +6; Perception +17; HP 70/70; NL 18; Burn 3; Life Channel 5/5; Witch Doctor Channel 7/7

Tkk-kk follows along. She feels it would be the best way to protect everybody. Or perhaps to die along with them. Either would be preferable to dying alone, of course.


Sebecloki wrote:

The voice of Faalcuun's emissary once again assumes a threatening tenor,

"You speak as if this were solely your choice youngling -- but perhaps the terrors that even now fester at the heart of Kalidnay will decline to observe your wishes, and venture upon our lands regardless of your sentiments."

Nalcaros completes his reply with a sneer of derision and disbelief.

Shizuka stifles his mirth with a mild shaking of his armored boots. All that power and twice yet a fool. I'd hardly call myself a youngling, and it's only my self aware wit that gives that appearance. Most wouldn't begrudge a man a moment to vent to the winds. Shaking an arm, the blind man gives a vicious smile beneath his helm. I'm pretty sure I even kept a pair of brown pants around just for such an occasion.

Quietly, the old man throws his proverbial hat into the ring. "I need someone to guide me after all, otherwise I might just wander into a pit or some other trap." The sarcasm is heavy on his tongue.

To the half giant, Shizuka shrugs. "That question is probably best not voiced around our obsidian friend."

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