Harmose Al-Nefer |
Harmose kneels down, frowning and sniffing the air. "Necromancy... and it was recent."
Knowledge Arcana, Aid Another: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Harmose shudders, rubbing his tattoos. Today, here in this room, they itch beneath his skin, a reminder of the forces that sparked his arcane powers. "I've always been rather sensitive to the presence of necromancy, and the power behind this was OVERWHELMING. Something was here, and now it's gone. So... where did it go?"
Flip the spoiler!
Turel Garaldo |
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Turel speaks up with a concerned tone, "More importantly, is WHO stole the artifact. I think it is safe to say this was the resting place of the relic referred to earlier." He shudders briefly. "This is most unsettling. We should continue our explorations here, see if there are any clues we can unearth as to who stole the relic."
Aleris Somciel |
"Oh man...the Scorched Hand didn't have anything that looked like a dangerous artifact so that means someone else must've beaten them here," Aleris sighs, running her fingers through her hair distractedly. "Turel's right, we'd better keep looking around for more clues. We'll have to report this to the Church of Pharasma when we get back and they'll want to know as much as they can, I'm sure."
Qari Falexia |
Qari listened to the group, unable to respond for several seconds. "So the Hand beat us here, and someone else beat the Hand here? I wish we'd have drawn this place first in the lottery. We'd have been famous, although that necromancy stuff is nasty. I'm not a hundred percent sure I'd want to find it."
Kito the Scholar |
"They could have come in after our battle with the Scorched Hand." Pausing a moment to think, she adds "Perhaps worse, I believe necromancy includes several ways to take over someone by means soul transference. It might be possible that one of the Scorched Hand was possessed."
Pointing down to the blood, she asks "Can anyone find more of a blood trail, perhaps indicating where they went after this?"
Aleris Somciel |
"Well...I can try but I've not had a lot of practice at it," Aleris admits as she kneels to examine the blood trail.
Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
"Oh...no, I can't make any sense of this. Between whoever came in here first and them all of us stomping around I can't tell where the trail might've went," she sighs. "Anyone else want to try?"
Qari Falexia |
"Blood trail, huh? Let me see what I can see," Qari calls out as she stoops to take a closer look at the ground.
Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Samy |
Perception explicitly cannot be used to follow tracks. Only Survival can be used for tracking. Qari can't make heads or tails of whatever she might find on the floor.
Polux can't find further tracks in D14 or in the hallway immediately outside of it, beyond that which has already been described. Survival may or may not reveal things in other areas though.
Polux |
"Nothing Aleris" - Polux shakes his head in dismay - "And I agree, let us continue looking"
Turel Garaldo |
"Perhaps we should explore what is on the other side of this door." Turel adds, pointing to the unopened western door in D13.
Deseri |
Keeping against the wall and out of the way until a decision has been reached. Growing more and more agitated with the waiting. Looking over at Polux, "Then lets go though that door and get this done with. Please check the damn door so we can get going."
Qari Falexia |
While the others discuss options, Qari steps forward and opens the door. "What's the worst that could happen, right," she grins as she pushes the door forward.
Samy |
Two columns carved to resemble men with their arms crossed over their chests, holding a khopesh in one hand and an ankh in the other, support the ceiling of this long chamber. Deep alcoves in the walls form burial chambers, some of which are sealed with stone doors. Other sepulchers just have sarcophagi tucked inside, while a few appear empty. To the north and south, wide passages exit the room through the east wall, each leading to stone double doors.
Six of the sepulchers (areas D16a, D16b, D16c, D16e, D16g, and D16h) all contain sarcophagi; The northeast sepulcher (area D16i) appears empty; three sepulchers (areas D16a, D16b, and D16g) were sealed with stone doors...
Kito the Scholar |
Perception, +Thera: 1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 1 + 2 = 20
Kito nervously scans the room, looking for anything out of place.
Turel Garaldo |
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Knowledge Engineering: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
As Turel marvels at the intricacies of the sepulchres, his instincts warn him the party is not alone here...
Ra-Khefer |
Knowledge:Engineering: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (11) + 0 = 11
Looking at the sepulchers, Ra gave an approving grunt.
"Nice work. They sure didn't want them reopened, that's for sure."
Deseri |
Percpetion: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21 I made a perception check!
Following Qari into the room and looking around and feeling the hairs on her arm rise up, "I assume we are leaving the dead alone and moving on?"
Polux |
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (15) + 10 = 25
"I wouldn't mind taking a second look at those sepulchers" - Polux chuckles at Deseri.
Qari Falexia |
Perception 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Qari looks around the room as she opened the doors. She didn't have the knowledge skills the others did, but certainly could appreciate all the beautiful workings.
Harmose Al-Nefer |
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (19) + 9 = 28
Harmose nods as he looks around. The resting places of the dead are something that he understands on an almost visceral level. He can feel this place, humming under his skin. He can almost hear the voices of the dead, whispering to him, and they're not entirely unfriendly.
"This catacomb was reserved for the high priests of the Sanctum. In contrast to standard Osirian burial practices of the time, the temple’s high priests were expected to pass on much of their belongings to their successors." Harmose points around. "See how spartan this catacomb is? The men here... They understood what mattered was not how many mortal trinkets they carried. They knew that what mattered for their souls to join Nethys was the knowledge they had gathered, and how much they had helped spread magic and learning." Pleased with what he's learned of these men and their choices, he turns to Polux. "There may not be much loot in this room for us to find, friend," he says apologetically.
Then his senses go on full alert. What the hells? "Why were some of these sealed with stone doors?"
Deseri |
Glancing over at the stone doors, "They were bad people maybe. Or most likely they are going to be our problem if we mess with those doors."
Aleris Somciel |
Kn. Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
Aleris nods in agreement as Harmose explains the nature of the catacomb. "Right, this sort of setup makes sense for priests of Nethys. Function over form and all," she adds. As she looks at the three sepulchers that are sealed, a shiver races down her spine.
"Deseri might be right...maybe the priests left more guardians behind..."
Samy |
You've entered the chamber and are examining the various sarcophagi and alcoves when pretty much all of you (except Ra-Khefer) hear a scraping shambling coming out of one of the alcoves, the one marked 16i. A zombielike creature, dead and desiccated, moving with a slow gait toward the nearest of you.
1d8 in alphabetical order: 1d8 ⇒ 2 It picks Deseri as its target!
Since pretty much all of you made the Perception check I'm gonna skip the surprise round and go straight to the first full round. I took the liberty of scattering your positions through the room a little bit -- adjust your own position if you wish, I doubt the positioning is going to matter a great deal.
What is the creature? It's an undead, so Religion is going to be the check.
DR 5/magic and bludgeoning
Strangle (Ex) A coffer corpse grasps its victims by the throat in a crushing death grip. A creature that is grappled by a coffer corpse cannot speak or cast spells with verbal components.
Enemy Initiative: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Initiative Aleris: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Initiative Deseri: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Initiative Harmose: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
Initiative Kito: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (10) + 0 = 10
Initiative Polux: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Initiative Qari: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Initiative Ra-Khefer: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
Initiative Turel: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Aleris, Harmose, Qari and Ra-Khefer can act while the undead is shambling out of its alcove. I have placed its token on the map to indicate its position.
Aleris Somciel |
Kn. Religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
As the creature comes shambling out of the nearby alcove, Aleris instinctively steps back - there's no question in her mind as to what this undead monstrosity is.
"It's a coffer corpse! Magical bludgeoning weapons work the best against them, most other types have trouble," she calls as she draws her bow. "And watch out, they'll try to strangle you if they can get hold of you!"
Although she knows it won't prove as effective as she'd like, the sylph still raises her bow and fires a shot at the incoming corpse.
Attack (MW Longbow; PB Shot): 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 1 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
__________
Aleris takes a step back, draws her bow and fires!
Harmose Al-Nefer |
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Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Harmose's skin crawls with recognition of being in the presence of undead, but he has NO idea what it is as Aleris spoke in common. 'ප්රීතියෙන්. තවත් අඳුරු යාලුවනේ අපබ්රංස. දන්නේ නැහැ මම එය දේදුන්න හා හිරු එළිය පෝෂණය කරනවා මොන වගේ, ඒ නිසා එපා. "
There's no one in the way, and he has a clear shot! So, he moves between Polux and Turel, and falls back on one of his favorite spells, color spray. All the colors of the rainbow wash over the zombie horror.
DC 17 Will Save. Subtract 5 from its hit dice to determine effects.
Samy |
Will DC 17: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
The coffer corpse fails its Will save vs color spray and is unconscious for at least 2 rounds. You can coup de grace it trivially (whoever posts it first may do that part). Combat is over.
Aleris' arrow did hit, although as she suspected, it didn't do all that much damage.
Any prior Perception rolls only applied to spotting the monster.
Turel Garaldo |
Turel solemnly walk over to the dazed corpse and does the grisly task of sending the corpse back to whence it came.
Coup-de-Grace.
Once quiet has returned he turns to the others, giving Harmose a smile. Good job, my brother!. This place should be safe to explore now." He then continues his search of anything of interest.
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 Add +2 for traps, +4 for stone traps.
Samy |
Turel dispatches the coffer corpse which falls to the floor, remaining there inanimate, and its face stuck in a permanent mute leer.
Examining the area, Turel notices a secret door in the alcove 16i that the coffer corpse came from (shown on the map). It is closed but not locked.
Harmose Al-Nefer |
Harmose looks around, but the presence of the zombie horror is distracting. "Gah, what was that?'
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16
Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
"Remember those necromantic energies we felt earlier? I wonder if this corpse was related to that, and if there is more to come."
Samy |
Also, while you are examining the room.
Although the high priests interred here gave away most of their wealth upon their deaths, they were buried with a few select grave treasures. Each sarcophagus contains the mummy of a former high priest of the Sanctum, each of which wears a gold funerary mask worth 100 gp. The rest of the priests’ grave goods consist of their canopic jars, small personal items, and wooden holy symbols of no great value.
The three sarcophagi at D16c, e and h total a worth of 300gp. The ones sealed with stone doors (a, b and g) may have more, but it's impossible to tell without opening them somehow.
Turel Garaldo |
Turel moves into the secret chamber where the coffer corpse came from, examining it closely. Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 Add +2 for traps, +4 for stone traps.
Samy |
The secret vault in area D16i was built to hold the Sanctum’s treasures, but it did not see much use before the plague struck. Nevertheless, it contains a small, unlocked chest that holds a few riches, consisting of a pair of gloves, a potion A, two potions B, 330 gp, and a pouch containing six rubies worth 25 gp each.
Aleris Somciel |
"It could be," Aleris nods at Harmose. "Coffer corpses usually show up as a result of incomplete death rituals like a stranded funeral barge or an unburnt pyre," she explains.
"Oh! Turel, what did you find?" she calls, noticing that their brother had found some sort of secret compartment. "Looks like a nice little secret stash!"
Harmose Al-Nefer |
"Nice find, Turel!"
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
"Huh. Apprentices's cheating gloves. Any one want to cast magehand and prestidigitation?" For some reason, this amuses Harmose.
Perception, Potions A: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
"Bullstrength." He looks questioningly at Ra Kkefer, Turel and Polux, offering it.
Perception, Potions B: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
He hands the remaining potions off to Kito. "I'm not sure what these are, though."
Kito the Scholar |
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Kito examines the potion Harmose is stumped by.
Spellcraf: 10 + 11 = 21
"Cure moderate wounds!"
Harmose Al-Nefer |
"Different flavor than normal..." Harmose sucks his finger. "Almonds?"
Deseri |
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I would use the gloves for incorporate things. If no one want them Deseri would be happy to take them but I am not desperate for them.
Moving further back and staring at the corpse, "Are we just going to take care of any of them that came back from the dead or move on? Is the God of this temple fond of the undead?"
Starting wide eyed at Harmose, "Why are you just sticking your fingers into random potions?"
Qari Falexia |
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Qari states at the gloves. "I suppose being to use magic could be helpful in the right circumstances. Would anyone mind if I tried those on for size? You say Mage hand and Prestidigitation, Harmose?"
We can sell them later of course, but Qari will try them out, if no one objects.
Turel Garaldo |
"That would be fine Qari. I have no interest in the gloves." Turel replies, "I will just claim one of those healing potions for myself."
I suggest Ra-khefer take the other Cure Moderate Wounds potion and the Bull's Strength potion.
Aleris Somciel |
"Good idea on splitting up the potions! And feel free to hang on to the gloves if you want them Qari; I think they'd suit you or Deseri better than they would me, for sure," Aleris replies.
"Well...unless we feel like peeking behind these other doors for more coffer corpses, maybe we should move on to those doors down there at the end?" she points.
__________
Southeastern doors next, once we're finished in here?
Kito the Scholar |
Kito watches with interest as Polux unlocks the door. Probably would have taken me several minutes to do that. I guess it is just a matter of practice.
"Shall we?" she asks when she hears the lock click open.
I'm ready to move forward.