Motteditor's Strange Aeons PBP (Inactive)

Game Master motteditor

Yeah, no Read Magic. That would make way too much sense. But not like he can learn spells anyway.

Tristain bonks his head as he waits to go back out into the evil and death and weird that is probably within the rest of the house.

Tenebrynn remains unresponsive to Heinrich’s call, and continues to rock ever so subtly back and forth as she stares at the blank spot on the wall.

Heinrich puts down his notebook for a moment and slaps Tennbrynn hard across the face.

Tenebrynn turns, slowly, to regard the figure that slapped her. A bloom of color splashes out from her cheek, but it’s slow to spread and Tenebrynn wears a dark and taught expression on her face. ”Ouch.” The word is wooden and eerie, void of any emotion and offered as if it were the expected reaction rather than what she actually felt.

Her eyes lock with Heinrich’s, flashes of blue electricity begin dancing through her now gray eyes and the wind begins to stir around her, lifting her hair and causing arcs of lightning to crackle through it as well. ”Tit for tat.” Her words are still wooden as she pulls one hand back as if to strike Heinrich in turn, but the color in her cheek spreads over the rest of her face at the last moment and Tenebrynn drops her hand to her side and looks at it curiously. As her hair begins to return to its normal color, though still not as vibrant as before, the wind continues to whirl around her but the flashes of lightning immediately cease.

”Huh. What was I doing just now? And why does my cheek hurt?” She rubs it gingerly, as her voice takes on her typical rhythm and tone once more, bright with curiosity at the mystery of having just lost time. ”Oh, wow. You guys are still reading, huh?”

"Curious." Heinrich notes the action and reaction in his notes. "We seem to be done. Are you ready to go? Or shall we leave you to beige alone?"

Kyffin listens to what the others have found, ”Oh, that is interesting. Yeah, useful stuff and we should totally share what you found.”

He watches Heinrich and Tenebrynn interact with some interest. I had no idea how close the bleaching is for some gnomes. Dangerous. He thinks he should chat with Tenebrynn more when there’s downtime to keep her at her peak. He remembers, dimly, being something of a story teller. At least he has some skill with it - but no stories to tell. He resolves to learn some, or make some up.

Shaking his head to clear the cobwebs of his nap he suggests, ”Shall we check the rest of the building? With luck, any remaining bad guys will have slunk away, but we should look.” When folks are ready, he’ll head back out into the hallway, intending to stay on this level for now and avoid the stairs down.

Ready to continue on, you go to the next door, which opens into a well-furnished and reasonably tidy bedroom with two beds, writing desks, and cabinets.

Two humans leap to their feet from the beds where they appeared to be relaxing as Kyffin opens the door! Pulling rapiers, they both also clutch a yellow amulet around their necks and into a prayer to Hastur!

Party is up for Round 1.

Round 1, Initiative: 13

"Who are you? We've been sitting here like, literally, all day. Why haven't you left?"

Kyffin crosses to blue, but slightly diagonally south, against the wall, to leave room for others to join in. He then attacks!

Scimitar (magic): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25 damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

At the prayers to the evil Hastur (do we know Hastur as evil?), Albert launches into the attack.

Short Sword: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

"Good gracious, it's always Hastur, Hastur, Ha... Ah, we're killing him? I see." Heinrich launches forward, drawing his dagger as he moves. If he can get within stabbing range, he does so!

Stabby!: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21 for 1d4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 1 = 7 damage!

Round 1

Tristain fires his wand at the blue cultist (?), worried about what evil magics they activated.

"gad-ZOOKS!”

Wand of Magic Missile (5): 20/50 left
3d4 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2, 4) + 3 = 12 force damage

Tenebrynn's eyes widen, perhaps in delight, as the pair of men draw weapons. Her hair brightens, nearer and nearer to its normal vibrancy, as she calls the wind to curl around her. She asks of Heinrich, "Who's Hastur again?" as she sends a blast of air tumbling into the room.

Air Blast: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29for: 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (6, 4, 5) + 10 = 25
crit?: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28for an additional: 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (3, 3, 6) + 10 = 22

Provided a route opens up that allows me to, I'll target the nearest cultist I can

"We didn't know you were here, heretic!" one of the men responds to Kyffin. "You should've escaped when you had the chance. Melisenn will be glad to see your bodies!"

He doesn't get a chance to say anything else, however, as he's cut down by spell and sword, Al, Tristain and Kyffin quickly dispatching him.

The other has no better luck as Tenebrynn blasts him into oblivious, driving Heinrich's dagger from his hand literally through the man's body.

Dang; that was brutal.

”Melisenn? Didn’t we hear that name before?” Tristain asks. ”Yes, I’m sure of it. She was the count’s assistant and possible pain in our ass. We should take her alive if we can...unlike these guys...”

Tristain will search their bodies & the room with Detect Magic. If he is able he will crunch their holy symbols.

"Don't know who this Hastur fellow is, but he's got a name what feels like I've heard it before. Also, yuck." Heinrich tries to clean lung matter off his dagger.

"Right then. With luck, all their mooks will be this tough. And good call, we should try to take someone alive so we can learn more about this bastard before we find him... and kill him."

Kyffin will stand by the door keeping watch as others scour the room. When everyone is ready, he'll move up to the next door in the hallway, move just past it, and open it - peering inside.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Wind cascades off of Tenebrynn as the altercation is over faster than it began. "Oh. That was quick. Huh." She shrugs and looks absently around the room. She asks of the group as a whole as she pokes about, "Maybe Melisenn will know about this Hastur person too. Do you think Hastur had anything to do with the Tatterman or what happened back at the asylum?"

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (5) + 10 = 15

Both of the apparent cultists seem to have two potions (one of cure wounds, one of vanish), a +1 chain shirt, a masterwork dagger, a masterwork rapier, silver unholy symbol of Hastur which Tristain can not easily crunch, a spell component pouch, and 400 gp worth of jewelry and fine clothing.

Tristain's search also finds a small stash of treasure in a drawer in the
nightstand thanks to several items that glow with magic: a pearl, a small vial of oil and a stone cube. Also in the drawer is 72 pp.

As Kyffin leads the way down the hall, he peaks into the next room, a bedroom that looks like it once belonged to a child. Thick dust covers most of the furniture in the room, aside from a single wooden chair.

1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15 Spellcraft - Pearl
1d20 + 13 ⇒ (14) + 13 = 27 Spellcraft - Oil
1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30 Spellcraft - Cube

Tristain will explain about the oil and cube, but is puzzled by the pearl.

"It's really hard to figure out for some reason. This pearl is tough!" Tristain says, but likes have a mystery to work on. In fact, he'll try to unlock its secrets every morning...as long as it takes.

In about 3 weeks, he'll figure it out.

* * *

"Kyffin, can you squash these for me?" Tristain hands over the holy symbols to the half-man for squashing and breaking.

Kyffin will do his best to destroy the unholy symbols as he admires the loot. "Quite a trove. Would be nice to know wha the pearl does. Looks similar to the one I have, but that doesn't mean anything. Two swords may look alike and have very different magics placed upon them. Too bad there's no one we can ask."

When the group is ready, he makes his way to the next door in the hall and opens it the same way as the last.

Tenebrynn pokes her head into the child's room and calls after Kyffin, ”Whoa, wait! Why is everything dusty in here but the chair? Who’s been sitting in it?” Intrigued by the mystery, the little gnome beckons the others back to the room with her wide eyes and a nod of her head. ”Don’t you want to find out?”

Considering you have one already, I'll let you figure it out with that 26. It's an odd thing that it's a low-level item with a high CL.

Well, to be clear, I have the level one version. Didn't mean to suggest it's the exact same thing. But yeah, that is weird.

Nah, it's a weird thing over all. Always gives me a little pause.

When he's called back by Tenebrynn he smiles and waits, "Yeah, someone likes that chair. Maybe the parent of a dead child. The room is kept the way it was, if a little dusty, and they come in here and sit and, well, remember."

"Sad really, if that's the case. But nothing for us I think." Still, he waits until she's done searching before pressing on.

Stealth: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (3) + 20 = 23

Tenebrynn creeps into the room slowly and cautiously, her wide eyes bouncing helter skelter all over the room but always drifting back to the dust free chair. Her hair continues to thrash and writhe, as if buffeted by winds that touched nothing else.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Is the floor dusty too?

Tenebrynn doesn't find anything else in the room; it appears the floor is dusty as well, though a trail leads between the chair and the doorway.

"I'd say Kyffin has the right of it, just a sad room with a sad history. Let's move on and find that wicked Melisenn." Albert continues to be at the ready for attacks as the party investigates in the manor.

Tristain moves on, following the group. He seems slightly more content for the day of research and not fighting weird things that shouldn’t be.

”Where to next?”

You open the next door, and it looks like another bedroom, similar to one you discovered before, though a strong smell of vinegar hangs in the air.

You can see what looks like a headless body on one of the beds, but of as much concern is what appears to be another man and woman, with rapiers out.

"Huh, what do you know," one of them says. "Risa was right. There are some rats skittering around up here!"

Kyffin goes first in a Round 1/2.

Tenebrynn barks a quick retort, ”Well, maybe Risa was talking about you two!”

”What is a Risi? Or is that a who?” Quill asks, uncertain about the name.

Either that’s a new name to us or the search function is borked because it doesn’t show up. Do we know it?

Round 1, Initiative: 21

Kyffin enters the room and stays along the wall (south) to the first opponent. ”Risa was right!” He swings hard, but inaccurately for all his effort.

Scimitar (magic): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13 damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

You've never heard it before. Unless it was one of the voices in your head, Tris. (Will try to update tonight if I get a chance, but am stuck at work and Dear Leader is going to be bloviating later, so not sure I will.)

Kyffin moves in and swings futilely at the man, who slashes back with almost as little discipline. The second man throws a dagger as the first steps back but it again flies wild, and he lifts his rapier in defense.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Party is up. Everyone please make a Perception check too as part of your action.

Perception: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Al rushes to the attack.

Short Sword: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

Heinrich moves into the room and flings his returning dagger at the most wounded looking fellow!

Fling! PBS: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 7 - 4 = 23 for 1d4 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 5 damage!

Fling! PBS, Possible crit!: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (6) + 7 - 4 = 9 for 1d4 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 6 damage!

Round 2, Initiative: 21

Kyffin 5’ steps (SW) to stay along the wall and pursue his opponent. He swings again, trying to be more measured this time.
Scimitar (magic): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Round 1

1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11 Perception

Tristain moves up (up 4 squares, right 1, into corner) fires his wand at the bottom cultist.

"gad-ZOOKS!”

Wand of Magic Missile (5): 19/50 left
3d4 + 3 ⇒ (4, 2, 4) + 3 = 13 force damage

Tenebrynn slips forward to the position vacated by Al and sends a blast of battering wind slamming into one of the men jabbing at her friends.
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
Air Blast: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25for: 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (5, 3, 6) + 10 = 24
If both are still up, I'll shoot the northern one.

Tenebrynn moves forward into the doorway and blasts the cultist, who slams back into the wall with a thud. Tristain blasts the other cultist with his wand as Kyffin and Al rush to cut him down.

A second later, the first man also slumps to the ground, Heinrich's dagger finishing its job and returning, bloody, to his hand. He's about to celebrate when he feels a sudden pain in his side, and a third man appears, rapier emerging bloody from Heinrich! 10 hp

Party is up.

Round 2

Tristain bonks his head into the wall, hoping the party can finish his last foe without him using any more of his limited magics.

*bonk*
*bonk*
*bonk*

"Ow. There's another one here!" Heinrich adds helpfully, before stabbing the man who stabbed him.

Dagger: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14 for 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 damage!

Round 3, Initiative: 21

Kyffin rushes to close with the new menace, and swings - hoping to silence him quickly.
Scimitar (magic): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
crit threat Scimitar: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23 damage: 1d8 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 2 = 16 (2hp is fire)

Tenebrynn looks at the sneakiest of the stabby trio and pummels him with a torrent of wind and debris. "Try hiding from this!"

Air Blast: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27for: 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (4, 5, 6) + 10 = 25

Tenebrynn blasts the last of the cultists, as the group converges on him, putting him down in a spray of bloodshed, violence and mayhem.

Just as the group is about to take a breath and relax, however, yet another person appears -- this one a blonde woman with green eyes in a bright, silvery chain shirt -- her blade running right through the center of the gnome's slight body, impaling it like a hare on a hunting spear 15 hp, DC 13 Fortitude save or Tenebrynn is dead; if she succeeds at that save, she must make a DC 11 Fort save or take 2 points of Con damage. She pulls it free and sets up in a guard stance, a wand in her off-hand.

Round 3

Tristain blinks in confusion as the woman comes out of nowhere. Tris was looking that direction, did he see where she came from? Or invisibility? Also, not sure a 12 hits Tenebrynn's FF.

He focuses on trying to minimize the threat. "Say, you know what would be great? If you tossed me that wand so I can see what it does," Tristain suggests. DC 18 Will to resist.

Fort Save (DC 13): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Fort Save (DC 11): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Tenebrynn shifts back a step, her eyes wide with surprise for a brief moment before they narrow in anger. She sneers back at the woman, ”My turn, sneak.” For the slightest instant, a flash of lightning crackles through the column of wind Tenebrynn calls up around herself, but it vanishes before she draws the small whirlwind down and sends it smashing into her would-be assassin.

5ft step then gather power then shoot
Air Blast (empowered): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22for: 4d6 + 10 ⇒ (4, 2, 5, 4) + 10 = 25