With the heart of the Stolen Lands explored and the bandits who ruled there scattered, the long-contested realm finally lies open for pioneers and settlers to stake their claims.:
Amid the rush of opportunistic travelers, the PCs find themselves stewards over a new domain, tasked with the responsibility of guiding and guarding a fledgling nation struggling to grow upon a treacherous borderland. Yet the threats to this new nation quickly prove themselves greater than mere bandits and wild beasts, as the monstrous natives of the hills and forests rampage forth to slaughter all who have trespassed upon their territory. Can the PCs hold the land they’ve fought so hard to explore and tame? Or will their legend be just one more lost to the fangs of the Stolen Lands?
It is the ever popular knowledge (planes) that will help., I got the DC wrong in the post linked above it should be 13, not 18. Posh used bardic knowledge, but got a total of 7 when he saw them up close the first time. No one in the party has ranks this particular knowledge.
Round 2
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Numalar 1 nonlethal
__ Sir Didymus 1 nonlethal
__ Diabolical little imps of some sort (Rust, Moss, and Grey)
__ Alia
__ Celyne/Luna
__ Zokon -1 hp, sick rd 2
__ Scarlet -7 hp, 1 nonlethal, sick rd 1
__ Posh
Male Gnome Bard/ 3rd AC: 15 (T 12, FF 14), HP 20/20 5NL, Fort +2, Ref +6, Will +1; +2 Enchantment | CMB +1, CMD 14 | Init +3 | Perc +4
RPGGGM wrote:
It is the ever popular knowledge (planes) that will help., I got the DC wrong in the post linked above it should be 13, not 18. Posh used bardic knowledge, but got a total of 7 when he saw them up close the first time. No one in the party has ranks this particular knowledge.
Round 2
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Numalar 1 nonlethal
__ Sir Didymus 1 nonlethal
__ Diabolical little imps of some sort (Rust, Moss, and Grey)
__ Alia
__ Celyne/Luna
__ Zokon -1 hp, sick rd 2
__ Scarlet -7 hp, 1 nonlethal, sick rd 1
__ Posh
Wasn't I and Luna meant to be with Alia? I'm so confused...
Posh will remain by Celyne, blade out and not attack unless it attacks.
Wasn't I and Luna meant to be with Alia? I'm so confused...
Posh will remain by Celyne, blade out and not attack unless it attacks.
I'm pretty sure that's what Alia would like, what with all the screaming and fighting and all. ;) She and the others are out chasing down one of those three little skeletal, Charlie Brown Pig-Pen look-a-likes that floated off into the dungeon.
Clawing my eyes out? That hardly sounds like something I get to fix with a standard action :P
When the creature suddenly starts at her, half trying to get past, half trying to claw at her eyes, Alia instinctively stabs forward with her Estoc, almost catching the creature, but only piercing through some dusty gossamer.
AoO:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24Damage:2d4 + 5 ⇒ (2, 4) + 5 = 11 Crit?:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17Damage:2d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 2) + 5 = 10 Miss chance:1d100 ⇒ 5Really? REALLY? Stupid dice.
Following up on her attack, she doesn't wait to let it recover, instead stabbing at it again, hoping to strike true this time.
Regular attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20Damage:2d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 2) + 5 = 10 Miss chance:1d100 ⇒ 40
Well, at least it doesn't matter now that I did not specifically mention last round that I empower my blade(which, honestly, seems the standard modus operandi by now on encountering opposition). Well, I do, now.
| Bloodrage 12/12 | Fire Strikes 3/3 | HP 43/43 | AC 18 T 14 F 14(Uncanny Dodge) | CMD 19 | Saves 6/4/0 (+1 Will vs Mind Affecting) | Init 3 | Perception 3 | 4 Female Ifrit Bloodrager (elemental, fire) | Spells 2 |
Scarlet steps up and takes two swings. "Cold Iron didn't do it. Silver didn't do it. Smashin' didn't work, slicing didn't work. Alia, you got any ideas?"
have no idea if Celyne is in range for throwing an alchemist fire at this thing - see no enemies on the map... are we doing this fight without map? or is Celyne really that far from everyone else?
Scarlet's second favorite blade comes away trailing blurry motes of dust which quickly loose whatever cohesion they had.
Zokon's arrows hisses by trailing more fragmentary material like a dirty comet.
Alia however does catch something physical under all the floating detritus.
"Why do you fight? It asks, rasping like sand paper over stone in the Common tongue. "You are but dust! What is it you hope to do? What is it that you hope to accomplish that tide and time will not undo? All of you! Just dust in the howling wind! Even you elf is doomed to decrepitude, and death mere centuries as you count them hence! Give yourselves to me and I will make a quick end of it for all of you... except you elf. You I will make last a bit. It will cost me a penance to take joy" He almost spits the word, but his dry mouth has none, "in your inhuming, but even that penance shall pass. ALL SHALL PASS!! ALL IS DUST!!"
Round 2
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Numalar 1 nonlethal
__ Sir Didymus 1 nonlethal
__ Diabolical little imps of some sort (Grey) -7 hp
__ Alia
__ Celyne/Luna
__ Zokon -1 hp, sick rd 2
__ Scarlet -7 hp, 1 nonlethal, sick rd 1
__ Posh
have no idea if Celyne is in range for throwing an alchemist fire at this thing - see no enemies on the map... are we doing this fight without map? or is Celyne really that far from everyone else?
| Bloodrage 12/12 | Fire Strikes 3/3 | HP 43/43 | AC 18 T 14 F 14(Uncanny Dodge) | CMD 19 | Saves 6/4/0 (+1 Will vs Mind Affecting) | Init 3 | Perception 3 | 4 Female Ifrit Bloodrager (elemental, fire) | Spells 2 |
"You pack enough dust together, add some water to bind it, stick some rocks in there and you can build a home. Shelter. You can protect. That's what keeps me going." Scarlet frowns as her blades miss and pass through without effect.
I forgot to factor in sickened, but I missed/didn't bypass DR anyway.
"Wasted your abilities pushing the undead and blinding people. A shame."
She may have been sent to the back or maybe she rendering slow on your computer (could be a connection or a memory problem). She seems to be back on top (at least over here) now though. :)
Scarlet steps up and takes two swings. "Cold Iron didn't do it. Silver didn't do it. Smashin' didn't work, slicing didn't work. Alia, you got any ideas?"
"Well, Magic doesn't help, either. Must be some combination...just keep swinging! If you hit it hard enough, it ought to feel it!", Alia answers, turning to the creature in front of her:"I may die, in a few centuries, but we all aim to leave a lasting impression, an imprint in the changing pattern that is the foundation of the world we live in. I may be forgotten, but the things I did, the influence I had on others, that will live on, and through them, in others. I am a smith, a shaper, a giver of form! You are only dust! Return to Dust, fiend!"
This sort of makes it seem like you are arcaning up the blade post-standard action. "I missed with the AoO and hit with the 'regular' attack, but it didn't make it through DR, so now I'm powering it on." Was that the intent? Or was that last OOC bit supposed to be up a paragraph or two? I ask because no one has actually touched one of these guys with a magic weapon yet.
Just as a friendly public service reminder there's no need to be coy, some attacks I type look like this:
Put whatever bonus you think I shouldn't overlook (and some that you think I should) in there. I mean you don't have to divvy out your ability bonus and BAB as separate numbers (usually), but stuff that would otherwise get forgotten like 'inspire courage' or if something is a 'touch' attack would be nice.
I mean, I'm a busy guy, lots of numbers to add and subtract, daily uses to keep track of, 'n' stuff. Remember way back when when I said something about keeping it simple? It's you guys who want to be the half-elemental, half-dragon, half-gnome, false-priest, blood-raging, black-bladed, lunar snipers, with special sauce on a sesame seed bun. Damn kids and your class abilities! Whatever happened to 'dwarf' as a class? It was a perfectly good class! And KEEP OFF THE DAMN GRASS! Even if it's legal where you live. ;)
Alas, the Arcane Pool Enhancement is a Swift Action, and lasts 20 rounds. As such, I will ALWAYS do it at the beginning of the round. Or after movement and seeing an enemy, if I have my swift left - basically trigger it as soon as I can if I know I will attack something if I can- . I forgot to point it out after moving, so the AoO would actually not have been magical(that thing with intent versus actually doing), but in that round, I did magic it up. And I am pretty certain 16 Int is sufficient to do that before hitting a creature, rather than after ;) - I did not write flavor text for it because I actually intended(that word again!) to already power up at the end of the previous round. So yeah, my "+1 Estoc" connected with a hit of 10 magical piercing damage.
"If you think anything we do is pointless, because all will end in dust, then all you do is pointless as well, as you will perish, and everything you did. Why delay? Return yourself to dust now if you think you are right...fighting us won't matter in the long run...", Alia tries to throw the creature off-balance.
No action, just trying to get him thinking about his fate. Maybe he decides suicide is a great course of action.
Gnome Sorcerer 4 | AC: 15, TAC: 13, FAC: 13, CMD: 11 | HP 7/23 | Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +6 | Init +5 | Perception +9, Sense Motive +2, Darkvision 60' |
Resources:
Spell Slots available: 1st: 5/8 2nd: 3/4 Claws: 8/8 rounds left SLAs: Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, Flare, Produce Flame
RPGGGM wrote:
Whatever happened to 'dwarf' as a class? It was a perfectly good class!
Indeed - they had great saves and useful side abilities. You could actually do a whole party with just them... but maybe one halfling to round it out. :) I am actually running a 1e basic (heavily homebrewed) game here on the boards.
Sir Didymus shuffles a bit to the north.
"I always thought the term 'dust devil' was figurative. Maybe this will wash the dust off!"
Eyes streaming with allergens, Zokon hits something solid and the thing falls to the flagstones as a rain of loose ash.
END COMBAT Zokon you can keep your second arrow and Celyne can keep her alchemist's fire. The sickened condition passes after a few seconds and both Zokon and Scarlet become 'well' again. And Numalar you can remove the shaken condition from your tag line.
Investigating the 3 piles of dust left by the outsiders yields a total of 55 gp, 15 sp, (all are Taldan mint, dating from about 100 years ago--the last attempt at settling the Stolen Lands) and a small mwk light crossbow, 8 bolts, and 2 small wavy mwk daggers.
Investigating the dusty hidden dining room yields an unlocked large decorative wooden chest of the sort you would put at the foot of your four-poster bed. Inside the party finds (making the spellcraft rolls will require the use of detect magic first):
2 small porcelain vials of a similar looking oil (spellcraft DC 16):
oil of bless weapon (2 total doses total)
2 small glass vials filled with a viscus green fluid the consistency of cough medicine (spellcraft DC 16 or if you give them a taste perception DC 15):
potion of endure elements (2 total doses total)
A wand with capped by a tiny exalting lawn gnome (spellcraft DC 16):
wand of enlarge person command phrase: "Ineh choh!"
charges:1d50 ⇒ 33
A wand with capped by a tiny squinting lawn gnome (spellcraft DC 15):
wand of detect magic command phrase: "Hmm?"
charges:1d50 ⇒ 10
And a pair of magical scrolls:
scroll 1 (read magic or spellcraft DC 22):
scroll of invisibility
scroll 2 (read magic or spellcraft DC 22):
scroll of scorching ray
A rolled up piece of parchment with magical (spellcraft DC 16):
wand of enlarge person charges:1d50 ⇒ 2
A small drawstring bag of rough cut precious gems Appraise DC 20:
375 gp
If you beat an Appraise DC 25 on the above check:
There seems to be something magical about this one pearl in the sack
Amid the gems is...
detect magic and spellcraft DC 15:
a pearl of power (1st level)
On the wall there is a dingy wool tapestry depicting some sort of celestial clockwork.
knowledge (planes) DC 20:
It is a depiction of "Machine Armory" also known as "Iteration 375" - a lawful plane of silent clockwork automatons.
The once beautiful table is set for four, and covered in scratches and thick dust. There's no actual food just the skeletons of small birds and mammals, and the mummified remains of vegetables.
The torture chamber (the one with the iron maiden) yields a masterwork breastplate mounted on one of the walls, and a pair of metal tongs (2 lbs). Other than that the room does not appear to have been used for decades.
| Bloodrage 12/12 | Fire Strikes 3/3 | HP 43/43 | AC 18 T 14 F 14(Uncanny Dodge) | CMD 19 | Saves 6/4/0 (+1 Will vs Mind Affecting) | Init 3 | Perception 3 | 4 Female Ifrit Bloodrager (elemental, fire) | Spells 2 |
Scarlet breathes a sigh of relief as the arrows dissipate what's left of the mite. She bends down to pick up her sword. "To the winds with ya."
Scarlet takes a look at the beads:
Appraise:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 "Huh. Um...looks shiny." She shrugs.
"No idea where those other two went, but...this is good enough for today. Might be time for some rest. Tamris and his friend there helped us out against that iron maiden."
As you are not distracted and can take the 3 rounds necessary to look the items over in detail you can take 10 on your Spellcraft ID rolls. So with the exception of the appraising the gems in the drawstring bag, it looks like you got all of them.
Numalar determines that the nihilists [were] dust mephits--minor elemental beings made of a mixture of air and earth. Like mephits of all types they heal quickly in the presence of their own base material (in this case dust), and are resistant to non-magical weapons. Their personalities tend toward the irritating, morbid, and persistent.
In addition, Numalar also knows that in the complex social code of some lower-planar spellcasters (a code similar to flower arrangement and semaphore), the gift of a dust mephit symbolizes a subtle threat, with the connotation that the giver has recognized some plot of the recipient against him.
Since Alia and Numalar both picked up knowledge (planes), I figured it would be nice to give them the chance to ID your assailants.
Did you want to attempt a Lore (kobold) roll on the bodies up in the cave temple and on the foot-prints coming down the stairs until they ran into that peculiarly clean patch of flagstone?
Using the math that occasionally allows minorities of people (those that actually get out to vote here in the States) to elect the Leader of the Free World--I declare back up stairs it is.
I agree with going up the stairs. That aside, electing Putin is a far more efficient affair than what's going on in my country or america, right now - not even starting about glorious leader of best korea, only korea - as god emporer he doesn't even need elections, allowing him to spend all that money more efficiently, on furthering the golden path. His chin already shows signs of his transformation. Praise Kim Hulud, the korean spice worm god!
Gnome Sorcerer 4 | AC: 15, TAC: 13, FAC: 13, CMD: 11 | HP 7/23 | Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +6 | Init +5 | Perception +9, Sense Motive +2, Darkvision 60' |
Resources:
Spell Slots available: 1st: 5/8 2nd: 3/4 Claws: 8/8 rounds left SLAs: Dancing Lights, Prestidigitation, Flare, Produce Flame
Scarlet Scarab wrote:
"If that teleport trick works again, we can... not resist it, right? Somebody said it only works once a day. Then we regroup."
"Yes, that is more or less what I had in mind. We scour the rest of the maze first, and leave lit torches at convenient spots, and chalk marks so we don't get lost. Then when we kick down the door, we can allow it to teleport us all over. We make our way back and then start again."
"We should assume that the crypt thing expects us to return. I am not sure if the mephits were in league with it, but we may find the other two if we return."
Numalar watches Scarlet work with the rocks.
"No, no... the point is to balance them precariously, so they will fall with a clatter if someone tries to force the door. Here, like this..."
Alright the early warning rocks are set, the group makes camp, and Posh, I guess, will be playing in Hard mode for the next little bit.
Other than RP the night is uneventful. What are your plans for the next day? Straight for the Crypt-thing? More exploring? Find Ed for some retraining (though I should point out that only Alia and one or two other people who pierced his disguise know he is a half-elven wizard instead of an armored, overweight mercenary who can cast scorching rays)? Or something else?
Posh appraisal of gems:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Posh can't add anything definitive as to the price of the gemstones, unless he puts one rank into Appraise in which case he knows their value. PS It is not really that important but if you'd like somewhere to spend your background skill points Appraise is an option, and sorta fits the background.
