Motteditor's Strange Aeons PBP

Game Master motteditor

Starflit can cast up to 3 cure serious wounds spells and 3 restoration spells (assuming Kyffin has the required diamonds).

Not only do I have the diamonds, I have the need! You want to go ahead and heal up Lothan?

I'll take one of your restorations for my dex. I think Lothan needs one for his wisdom. I'll take two castings off the diamond supply...

I don't think that the entire sect of the Black Butterfly could do much to help Lothan with his wisdom problem. ;)

I'll mark two 4th-level spell off 'Flit's spell slot list.

Once you are all healed and your various debilitations restored -- though perhaps not Lothan's Wisdom -- you head toward the city archive. At the end of a long plaza stands a modestly sized, five-sided pyramid. The pyramid was constructed or possibly carved from sandstone by some titanic force, sections of it bear rings and multicolored ripples of color on the surface. The pyramid is a little more than ninety feet in diameter. A ten-foot-wide doorway is visible on the southern face, and windowlike openings are set into the sides approximately two-thirds the way to the top.

As you get closer, thundering across the plaza behind you, you hear an inhuman cry of “Tekeli-li! Tekeli-li!” -- the same sound that scared away the Leng spider not long ago. Spinning around, you see what appears to be a glistening black mound of protoplasm, approximately 15 feet in diameter. The monster is sprouting all manner of eyes, mouths, and appendages while half-crawling and half-rolling toward them. You realize it's a shoggoth, and likely something you can't fight -- or rather can't fight and hope to survive -- without proper preparations! Fortunately, you're close enough to the city archive that you can safely get inside.

The lower level of the pyramid has a one-room, open floor plan. The only means of entrance or egress is the southern foyer. The hallway splits to wrap around a pentagonal center section, the northeast and northwest walls of which are covered with shelves of scrolls and metal plates. A stone statue of a winged barrel-shaped creature with tentacles for legs stands in the center of the floor. To the west is an alcove with a stone table covered with a diorama. Another alcove mirrors it to the east. A ramp on the north side of the room ascends to a second floor.

1d20 + 27 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 27 + 2 = 45 Know (dungeoneering)

"Ssh-ssh-shh--shoggoth! RUN!" Tristain shaggy-doo's out a stuttering response to the creature that is following them. He has no desire to be engulfed in madness...the sweet, screaming embrace of the limitless void...oh, no, he doesn't want that at all...a chance to embrace the empty darkness within.

He rushes inside the city lest he contemplate the void for much longer.

1d20 + 20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 20 + 2 = 34 Perception

Tristain grabs some random scrolls and then casts Read Magic so he might read them and then pass them to those who might use them.

Al gratefully escapes into the building and hopes the creature can't squeeze through the entrance. While Tristain pilfers the scrolls he investigates the diorama in the western alcove. "I wonder if this pyramid was meant to protect against that monstrosity?"

Kyffin flees to safety with the others - also grateful for cover. "Let's get deeper, huh?" he suggests.

I don't think that the entire sect of the Black Butterfly could do much to help Lothan with his wisdom problem. ;)

Once you are all healed and your various debilitations restored -- though perhaps not Lothan's Wisdom --

Lol! Punks. ;D

"I think we should kill that thing. I mean, c'mon, we are pretty much awesome. And everyone would talk about how I just destroyed that thing quite awesomely. I'd be in the history books." He nods, pausing a moment, thinking... thinking... thinking... "I mean 'we'."

Taking the ramp up to the second floor, you find dim light pours through windows in the top-floor chamber. The ceiling slopes almost to a point and then merges into a solid pentagonal support column that runs from the floor to the roof. Around this center section are five racks of scrolls and books fabricated from metal plates. On both the east and west side of the room are glass cylinders with hinged hatch doors. A steep ramp descends to a lower floor in the north end of the chamber.

Two strange beings with a star-shaped head and numerous appendages arranged radially around its barrel-shaped body stand unmoving in the cylinders.

"What the hell are those." Kyffin whispers to the others. He hopes they won't have to fight everything in here.

Still, he has his scimitar out and ready. He'll cast Bull's Strength, extending it with his rod before putting it away. He wishes he had another casting of air walk to share with the group, but he does not...

Shrugging, "Star-shaped headed freaks, I'd say. Odds are, we get near, they come alive and bust out, and then we kill 'em. That's my guess. Ten gold says I'm right. Anybody? Anybody?" Lothan pulls out a vial and drinks it down. Potion of Bull's Strength

Starflit has heard of the strange hibernating monsters and worriedly whispers what she knows of these elder things to her companions.

See the spoiler in mott's post. Also, she rolled high enough to possibly earn and extra nugget of info about them (special attacks?).

Starflit Knowledge (dungeoneering) Check (Monster Lore): 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (9) + 20 = 29

1d20 + 27 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 27 + 2 = 42 Know (Dungeoneering) DRs? Special attacks? Weaknesses?

"Oh Abadar, you're right, Starflit, it's those a@+$%*&s. But also, they might not be against us, hard to say. Let's be careful with what we say," Tristain offers a side eye at Lothan, and let's Al, the completely normal human, do the talking.

They are immune to cold and resist fire 10. Other than that, you don't think they'd be very difficult to kill, unless there's something unusual about these ones.

"I don't think we should disturb them from their hibernation at all", Al whispers. "Maybe we can just learn what we need from the scrolls and books while they stay sleeping."

"Oh Abadar, you're right, Starflit, it's those a##&@+%s. But also, they might not be against us, hard to say. Let's be careful with what we say," Tristain offers a side eye at Lothan, and let's Al, the completely normal human, do the talking.

Raising an eyebrow - because he's pretty confident that the last bit was directed toward him - Lothan angles his attention back to the sideshows within the glass. "Don't come alive, freaks, or the Lothan's gonna have to put you down. Freaking freaks. With your star-shaped stupid heads."

Looking back to Tristain with a smirk, "That careful enough for you, bonk boy?" He does a little shimmy shake before pantomiming shooting an arrow at the creatures and nodding cockily.

Not sure what he's looking at, Kyffin will nonetheless examine some of the scrolls trying to figure out what they are. He'll also cast detect magic to see if any are magical.

It's difficult without any help, but it appears that the star stela has been locked in a stasis field with something only described as "the Mutate." You think there's enough information here that you could find your way there, but there's little information about the Mutate or anything else that might await you there.

I think I’m really confused as to what is happening in this scene. There isn’t a map or placement of things, so I’ll just push and we’ll see what happens.

Being careful to avoid the sleeping bad things, and if there are no obvious threats, Tristain will explore the scrolls and books to see if there is something to be learned from them.

Starflit casts detect magic to scan the area and then examines the statis monsters in greater detail.

"If we can't find anything useful in the scrolls and books then we might have to wake these creatures from their slumber to ask them about the Mutate." While Tristain investigates the books and scrolls Al will keep an eye on the creature outside to make sure it isn't trying to get inside.

The adventure actually assumes you do wake up the creatures and work with them to decipher the going-on here. I'm trying to work with what you all want to do though.

You know where the Star Stela is at this point, but also that it's locked in a stasis field with something called a Mutate. What that is, you don't know. You could attempt to wake the creatures to learn more, or just head over there now (keeping in mind there's still a shoggoth outside too).

After the scrolls and books don't provide the needed clarity on the Mutate, Al is ready to wake the creatures and see what the party can learn from them. "Get ready everyone, this could be dangerous, but it's a better option than going into the ritual without knowing what we're doing."

When the party is ready Al will gently shake one of the creatures to raise it from it's slumber. "Hey there old timer, sorry to wake you, but we could use your help. Do you need some water after a long sleep, maybe some trail rations?" If the creature wakes Al offers it his waterskin and some dried fruit while continuing the conversation.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (19) + 23 = 42

The adventure actually assumes you do wake up the creatures and work with them to decipher the going-on here. I'm trying to work with what you all want to do though.

Thank you. It was confusing for me. Everything usually wants to kill us until we're dead and all.

"Good job, Al. Maybe they can help."

Tristain waits to see how he might be able to help.

Kyffin, understanding completely if they should start attacking, makes ready, but keeps his blade lowered and stands well behind Al so as not to be intimidating or threatening.

He wonders what they can learn, and how they'll get out of here again.

"Oh, hey, we still have four wind walk scrolls. We'd only need the one I think as we bought 'em a bit souped up. But that would get us out of here maybe."

"If we're lucky."

You are able to wake the elder thing, which identifies itself as an archivist named Pharlnimaar. It is somewhat alarmed at having strange creatures present as it awakes from its slumber. However, it shares its limited information freely. It has never seen a sentient humanoid before (it seems amazed you can actually talk!), but overcomes its shock quickly.

It can provide some basic context to Bohlvarai, the city you're in, specifically that it was a vibrant city until their amorphous servitor race developed greater intelligence and revolted. A fevered effort was made to locate a new planet or place on their existing world to evacuate to. Then, when the citizens of Bohlvarai did not think things could become worse, they found their city relocated to a new planet in a different galaxy. Uncertain of where another habitable planet was located, they were left with the untenable choice between fighting their slaves, exploring this new world, or launching themselves into space in hibernation with no preset destination. Countless died as a result. Pharlnimaar and Blaayjhan (the other archivist, and it would be nice if we could wake them too, Pharlnimaar points out) placed themselves in long-term hibernation, hoping that when they awoke the shoggoths would be gone and the pair could collect the remains of their culture and history, here and throughout the ruins. Their intent was to find others of their kind so the memory of their people would not succumb to oblivion.

As you explain your presence, Pharlnimaar recognizes the description of a Star Stela and is horrified to learn what role it has played in cosmic events. They attribute the Star Stela to a trigger event that led to the shoggoth rebellion—the advent of a creature they call the Mutate. The Mutate was an experiment with a new form of slave that they theorize was unexpectedly affected by the Star Stela, which they were using as a power source. The Mutate then roused the shoggoths and set them on the path of insurrection.

They know where the Star Stela is located, but initially forbid you from going anywhere near it, as it is locked in a stasis field with the Mutate. They fear that should the Mutate be released, it could organize the shoggoths into a willing army.

You can get them to divulge the location of the research laboratory where the Mutate experimentation was performed but only if you give absolute assurance that you will not allow the Mutate to escape the facility alive. They also demand that you help kill or drive off the shoggoth that lurks outside the archive, a task in which they will assist.

"Kill something called a 'Mutate' and kill the shoggoth? Fine by me. I don't really like either of those things anyway. Their names are stupid."

"If we agree to your terms, what can you tell us about how best to fight the shoggoth?" Starflit asks the elder thing. To the others she adds, "I assume we take on that thing first, as we're likely going to have to eliminate it to get out of this place." She also tries to discern if the monstrosities are on the level about their offer.

Starflit Sense Motive Check: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (12) + 22 = 34

Tristain will awaken Blaayjhan, certain that nothing bad will come of this. After all, Pharlnimaar had been so nice and maybe two nice utter abominations might be double the fun.

"So...what you're saying is that the shoggoth used to be your slaves? That big ugly mass of ugly that chased us in here used to be your slave? Maybe there is a lesson here about owning slave? I dunno, just thinking aloud here..." Tristain offers, happy to name dozens of other historical examples where owning slaves didn't turn out well.

"Ever hear of the githzerai? Probably not? Might have been a silly fantasy book I read as a child, but I swear that they might be real. They were slaves too. And, well, that didn't end well in the story. Those poor gith."

Tristain thinks Starflit's query on how to beat the shoggoth is a good one. He would want to know as well.

"But we cared for them! They were given food, water and shelter while they worked for us. And they're not really smart enough to have families or ... solid enough for carnal relations ... so there was definitely none of that going on," Pharlnimaar says, trying to justify their awful practices. "Compare that to what it is doing now, just running around the courtyard looking for food. Imagine which situation was better..."

They explain they are willing to use their powerful magic to help you.

Al listens to the story and again realizes that intelligence and wisdom are two different qualities. "Yeah, sure, we'll be so careful to not release the Mutate. You can count on us."

Bluff: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (2) + 22 = 24

We're totally releasing the Mutate, Al thinks to himself.

"I'd like to reiterate that killing these things works for me. And if you want to use your magic to help us, that's fine too. It's understandable, really. The thrill of the kill against the baddies is what it's all about. Oh yeah! Let's kill us a shagoff!"

"Yeah, no worries about this Mutated thing. We'll kill it too. Easy-peasy."

Tristain does not need to risk certain death to prove his manhood, but will support others who do. Otherwise, he'd move on to the Star Stellae.

I too am fine giving it a hand wave!

Kyffin readies for the next trouble.

"Wait.... Did you just insinuate there are more than the one shoggoth running around this place?!"

Starflit's good with whatever the rest of the party decides.

Before you get ready to head to the laboratory, the two elder things hand you three small pentagonal stone chips cut from a pinkish translucent stone. The three chips each have one of the numbers 2, 4, and 8 engraved in Aklo. The archivists are not precisely sure what they’re used for, but they know they somehow are required for a locking mechanism to the vault that holds the Star Stela. See overall map...

Then, steeling yourselves, the seven of you face the rampaging shoggoth -- and somehow emerge triumphant! After which, you had for the laboratory: Two pentagonal structures connected by a long, covered walkway stand in the center of an empty plaza, surrounded by a cluster of domes and spiral towers. Both buildings are constructed from green-and-black marble etched with inhuman engravings.

The larger building is topped with a dome roof with a needlelike spike at the center. An iridescent hemisphere of energy surrounds it and expands to the southwest wall of the smaller building. There are no obvious entrances or windows save for a 5-foot-wide, completely enclosed corridor with a peaked roof that penetrates the barrier and connects to the smaller building. The smaller building is almost identical save that it has an elongated pentagonal door on the north side. The engravings on this building are rounded and worn smooth from time and the elements.

A permanent wall of force effect shaped like a dome protects the larger building. Every creature inside is affected by a temporal stasis effect. This is the product of elder thing super-science and magic from a bygone era. The means to deactivate the effects are inside the laboratory airlock.

The engravings on the outside of the buildings are difficult to make out, but several of you can discern a pattern of creatures with starfish-shaped heads pouring fluids into a large vat. Lothan finds a similar engraving: a disembodied mouth is depicted floating in the vat, and the starfish-headed creatures are flailing their tentacles.

With additional spells and powers likely spent fighting the Shoggoth, Kyffin suggests, "Before we crack this nut, we may want to rest. I can continue some while yet I'm sure, but we are out of air walks if that becomes important. I can still manage everything else well enough though if folks are keen to press on."

He looks to the others to gauge their readiness.

Happy to press on, but am mindful of others resources. If everyone is good to go, let's go!

Then, steeling yourselves, the seven of you face the rampaging shoggoth -- and somehow emerge triumphant!

Tristain looks over at Lothan, reluctantly looking impressed at the archer. For all this bravado, all for his talk, there were actual times when he would back it up...and Tristain had just seen it.

Tristain isn't sure how Lothan was able to line up his arrows so completely dead on, but time and time again, Tristain watched as Lothan managed to drill the rampaging Shoggoth in the sphincter.

How Lothan knew that was a weak spot on the monster, Tristain does not know.
Why Lothan decided that was the spot the shoot, again, Tristain does not know.

And yet...Tristain had just witnessed it. Tristain offers some reluctant, but well earned, kudos to Lothan for what he had seen defies explanation.

With a somber head nod, Tristain acknowledges Lothan's nearly singular victory.

* * *

Tristain responds to Kyffin that he is ready to continue. Perhaps he's eager to get done with this, but also, (and more likely) he's feeling buoyed by Lothan's impressive display.

"Yeah, let's see what's up with this Stellae."

1d20 + 27 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 27 + 2 = 40 Know (Arcana)

Tristain ponders the magics involved and what he might do to safely de-statify the held objects, and ensure that no magical explosions are likely.

"That's some crazy vat art, ain't it, Starflit? What do you make of it?"

Starflit looks over the strange symbols, artwork, and general imagery. "Um...yeah, definitely bad news. Looks like the sort of vague warning stuff that Lowls would totally ignore."

Starflit Knowledge (arcana) Check: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20

Al just stares at the carvings and scratches his head. "It looks like they're drinking at a pub or something. Do these things like beer? Is that some kind of vat drinking game?" It seems the more inquisitive minds that bonk against things will be better at solving this puzzle.

Knowledge Nobility?: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Tristain thinks you could enter through the smaller of the two structures, which likely leads you safely through the wall of force and presumably give you a way to take down the stasis field.

The exterior north door is locked and appears to require a strange five-sided key or rod. It can be opened by a PC who succeeds at a DC 35 Disable Device check. PCs who succeed at a DC 25 Perception check (which Lothan does by his mere existence) notice that a more recent set of sigils were gouged over the existing marks, but these have been filled in with ice and snow. If cleared, the marks read in Aklo, “The death we created is now our ruin, and it waits.”

Kyffin shrugs, "Well that's unpleasant. Let's see what their ruin looks like, shall we?"

He has no disable device skill, so he looks to others to open the door. "Anyone have a crowbar?"

"Uh, I think we should enter the smaller structure, but I'm not sure about that door though, maybe I can get through it," Tristain looks at the door, and then at the perceptive Lothan.

How can someone so thoroughly perceptive also be so thoroughly...him?

Tristain will try to open the door without opening the door as he doesn't want to open the door when he should be in the back of the party...but he will try to unlock the door.

1d20 + 15 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 15 + 10 = 37 Arcane Knock vs. DC35

Tristain will step away from the door.

"See? That was easy. No problem. And no monsters yet."

Kyffin, weapon out, opens the door when everyone is geared up.

Oh, he'll cast Bull's Strength on himself before doing so...

Starflit's in the process of getting her lockpicks out when Tristain solves the problem with magic. She gives him a quick nod, not at all certain that she'd have been able to defeat the complicated lock mechanism.

She then casts communal protection from evil, splitting the duration as equally as possible amongst the five companions.

Al readies for the entrance into the stasis field. When the party is set he'll proceed through the door. "Stay alert, that thing must be mighty powerful for the trouble they went through to contain it."

Starflit pauses outside the chamber. "Um, if this is indeed a stasis chamber.... What's to keep us all from going into stasis the moment we enter it?"

I probably missed something somewhere, but I figure it's better to ask now than wait until it's too late.

The means to deactivate the stasis effect are inside the laboratory airlock.

Tristain is able to open the door, and you enter to find stone panels engraved with small sigils and runes that blink with a rainbow of colors fill three corners of this five-sided room. The outline of a five-sided door with no lock or handles is seen on the southwest wall. Another pentagon-shaped door exits to the north, this one with a handle and a strange lock. This is the one you entered from. The walls and floor are constructed of a smooth green-and-black marble and the air is cold and stale, but warmer than it is outside.

Inside, Lothan discovers a small, pinkish, translucent, five-sided piece of stone on one of the control panels, where it blends in with all the other strange buttons and symbols. It's similar to the other ones you have, but etched on its surface in Aklo is the number 7.

"Yeah, this is interesting. Does it make sense to any of you?" Tristain looks around, trying to figure out next steps.

That pink 5 sided pill is pictured on the overall map. Worth a look.

"Do we have more of these pill things? Who has them? What do they have on them?" Tristain helps dig out the pieces, they might be useful here.

Shrugging, "You got me. This whole thing is weird. I mean, what's up with all the Aklo? Seriously now, who even speaks that? Makes no sense."