PFS: AP: Carrion Crown (CORE!)

Game Master R D

Realizing that only he and Gravleon have been hit, Blackheath rubs the burned flesh and sighs. "Well, that's what you get for trying to be prepared."

He looks at the used haunt siphon in Gravleon's hand. "Let's try to keep them as a last resort for a bit. Until we have given Father Grimburrow the gold to build more. At 400 gold pieces a pop, we might be better off leaving some of these haunts to themselves provided they don't follow us out of their rooms."

The bard searches the room...

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

ok so that was off my FF ac? ok well i normally am covered in the warps of my religion so it cool lol

"Dammit we need to be faster than that...ah that hurts give me a moment to heal and then we can continue.."Gravleon takes out his wand

UMD: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
UMD: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

in all my years of playing this is the first time i have ever used this skill but i think i did it right 48 charges left and im at 14hp

Gravleon nods blackheath "sound advice i'll head it next time my friend lets look around before we continue then"

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 as Gravleon searches with Blackheath he tells him "it might be a good idea that we keep these new brands hidden from the towns people, if they dont like or trust us now think of how they might react of we are found to have the markings of the same criminals that killed the good guardsmen here"

edit

in light of new info i fixed my post ^_^

Actually Gravleon, you need to make a DC 20 UMD check to activate any wand, so you didn't actually get it to work. However, you can always just hand it to our resident Cleric and she can use it on you. :)

but i am a cleric too...Use a Wand, Staff, or Other Spell Trigger Item: Normally, to use a wand, you must have the wand's spell on your class spell list. This use of the skill allows you to use a wand as if you had a particular spell on your class spell list. Failing the roll does not expend a charge.

Gravleon, it is on the cleric spell list so you don't need to roll at all when using a wand of cure light. You should be good.

Speaking of which, I had better heal myself too, that was quite a hit.

Blackheath casts a spell on his injured arm...
Cure light wounds spell: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
HP 12/16

"Oh well, good enough."

Knowledge checks to know what's in the room.

k history: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6not going to happen lol

I tried know local for some reason earlier I must have read too fast. Here is history if it is still allowable.

Know History: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

"Harrowstone prison? Never heard of it."

The bard is still clearly in shock from being branded.

@Gravleon: Ah, well then, no need to roll at all, good sir! :)

kn.history: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

I think Sharien's got this. :)

Faria is caught napping as the irons fly at the party, branding two of them. Her thoughts still lie with the dead halfling in the hall. She shakes her head, getting a firm look of resolve. Poshment was taken by the Lady of Graves. If anything, she should envy him.

The priestess remains in the rear, keeping an eye on the hallway as they others search the room.

kn.history: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

Part of Harrowstone's processing procedure for new prisoners included branding—before a new prisoner was taken to his cell, he was brought to this room and given his brand. These brands were placed either on the right forearm or the back of the neck, and consisted of a letter and a number combination. The rods scattered around the brazier are these selfsame branding irons.

How about the door northwest of area S7 next?

The door to this room is locked, but as the door itself is relatively rotten from years of neglect. Somebody bashes it in.

Tangled mounds of moth-eaten fabric sit on several wooden tables, each surrounded by workbenches. Various sewing tools (shears, needles, rolls of thread, boxes of chalk, and other objects) lie scattered over the floor, while the arm of what appears to be a skeleton protrudes from a stained heap of fabric to the west.

You see this BEFORE you enter the room.

Faria looks suspiciously at all the various sewing tools, wondering if they'd be fending off the implements if they entered. The skeletal arm offered too much intrigue, though, and Faria ushered her companions in, ready to call upon Pharasma's power to put any existing haunt to rest.

As soon as the party enters the room, a figure manifests immediately before you, rising from the mound of moldering fabric that serves as her tomb. She appears as a beautiful young woman dressed in a tattered but lovely blue dress. In fact, much about the ghost is blue, including her hair, the tears that run from her pale blue eyes, and the clouds of smoke that drift from her lips.

"Oh! New guards! Thank goodness! Please, you must find my husband right away. We've been separated for so long by this emergency; I fear the worst may have happened. Please, hurry!"

Blackheath, though stunned by the initial shock from seeing the ghost materialize, quickly regains his senses and, as it has not threatened them, tries to communicate with the spirit.

"Madame, my name is Blackheath, and these are my companions: Faria, a priestess of Pharasma; Gravleon, a priest of Saranrae; Sharien and Grog. Could you tell us who you are and about your husband? We would like to help you if we can."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Faria nods along with Blackheath. "Yes, my lady. If you could indicate your husband's whereabouts, that would help us find him more easily and more quickly." She exchanges a glance with Sharien, a bit unsettled.

She seems desperate, confused, and anxious all at once.

"There was a time that I felt that I could sense his proximity, and I've even thought that I could even hear his sobbing in the dark chambers below. But now, all I can feel around her is the combined and growing wrath and cruelty of Harrowstone's other residents. I've done what I can to prevent it from boiling out into the surrounding countryside and nearby Ravengro."

"You must go! Find my husband!!!"

"He kept Harrowstone in check. But now, his presence is gone. I can feel it."

"Find him, find him, find him! I beg you."

"Men and women in dark robes who spoke only in whispers came to Harrowstone not long ago and began to work strange magic around the building's foundations"

"Have you seen my husband? Oh, how I miss him so."

"Oh, that poor man, slain by foul magic wielded by the leader of the black-robed villains."

And she weeps.

Blackheath wonders if this "strange magic around the building's foundations" has anything to do with the esoteric symbols they discovered drawn on the side of the prison.

"Please, we need your help to understand this. Who was this man the villains slew? What happened to him? A friend of ours died here recently -- we were told he was crushed by falling stones. We will help you, but we need you to focus. Be calm. We are here to put an end to this evil and put the spirits here to rest."

"The Whispering Way..." Faria said in a hushed tone, looking at the specter in horror. If what the shade said was true...Professor Lorrimor HAD been murdered. The priestess's spine tingled as she looked about suddenly, a new nervousness entering her frame of mind.

"Blackheath, I think she is indicating that Professor Lorrimor was slain by these men." She looked to the bard quickly before turning back to the woman.

"Tell us of the other residents, my lady. The ones who are seeking to escape."

when we first enter

In surprise as the cloth swirls and gathers until it calls to un in the figer of a woman, Gravleon gets ready to attack this new apparition that is before his companions but Blackheath speaks up before he can act. With his and Faria's words Gravleon realizes that this is not an enemy but a woman in pain locked to this cursed place by the horrible events that took her life.

I knew it he was murdered I will avenge him Gravleon thought

"yes tell us we will stop them and make sure they will never harm you or anyone else again, good woman were did you last see them. Could you lead us there...we will keep you safe but without your directions it will take more time than needed to end the corruption in this place"

Sharien is not afraid of this seemingly-benign ghost, unlike everything else the party has come across. "My lady, please tell us more about the black-robed villains."

"Hmmm the Whispering Way...anyone know anything about them?" asks Grog turning to the party.

In character, you've discovered a few things about the Whispering Way. The short version: they're bad guys.

"What are your intentions here?"

"You MUST find my husband NOW!"

"He was a thin, gray-skinned human who wore a bone breastplate and carried a black staff capped with a skull gagged by a black cloth." This describes Petros Lorrimor.

"Where is my husband?"

"After they murdered the man, the black-robed cultists finished their ritual. Whatever they did, they did so out of sight. But I felt the repercussions immediately. It felt like a horrific storm, yet one with no wind that chilled the flesh. This windstorm chilled the soul—it felt as if my very being was pulled apart! Yet the horrific sensation passed in an instant... and when it had, the presence I felt of my husband was gone. I can only assume that the black-robed cultists somehow managed to abduct him! Since that hateful day I've felt no sign of either my husband or the black-robed cultists. Every day since that event, the murderers and sadists trapped within the walls of Harrowstone have grown more and more powerful. I have stepped in to do the job that my husband, until recently, had done so well. I can feel
among the hateful dead five distinct and powerful personalities."

"FIND HIM! FIND HIM! FIND HIM NOW!!!"

As far as Blackheath knows, there was only one married woman at the prison.

"Is your husband the warden here?"

To his friends he whispers: "Perhaps the five evil spirits are the five dangerous criminals who were transferred here."

"What are your intentions here?"

Gravleon speaks up "our intentions are to end the evil that the hooded men caused here and stop the wrong doings of the criminals that are run in free, and find your husband " he ads at the end

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"The dark-robed ones bashed in the dead man's head and face with a fragment of gargoyle from a roof above in an attempt, I surmise, to make the man's death seem more like an accident."

"The five power personalities are Father Charlatan, The Lopper, The Mosswater Marauder, The Piper of Illmarsh, and The Splatter Man. I don't know much about them. I just know that if you can confront and defeat them, I'll be able to contain them and keep them from manifesting again."

"You will also need to bring me a symbol of my husband's authority over the prison--his badge of office would work best, I suspect it's hidden somewhere below--I will be able to banish them from Harrowstone entirely."

"If you find objects of value that once belonged to the five prisoners, you can use those objects against them. You may wish t check the prison's property room to the southeast. Be warned: while these objects will aid in defeating the inmates, they are likely also cursed. Care should be taken when using the objects."

"You must hurry! The Splatter Man is too strong. I don't think I can contain him."

That's all the useful information you're going to get out of her.

Faria nods to the woman. "We will do our best, ma'am. Hopefully you can be put to rest at that point." She exits the room, thinking that a trip to the southeast is probably in order.

"Splatter Man.. now THAT is ominous. We will do our best, my lady." Sharien will follow Faria.

maybe the locked door near S2?

The party heads to the property room. Blackheath, with his new lock picking tools, concentrates. It's a really difficult lock! As sweat beads on his forehead from concentrating on the task, Sharien points out some of the finer details and listens for telltale clicks while Faria and Gravleon mope his face and try to keep him comfortable. Grog stands watch, his eyes peeled for any signs of movement.

After what feels like a lifetime of wait, worry, and tension, the lock comes undone with a satisfying CLICK!

If your tools had not been masterwork, you could not have opened the door. Even taking 20. You barely make the DC! :-)

A bizarre collection of antique goods rests upon wooden shelves that line the room. Several of the items contain tiny tags with labels written in a careful script.

(The map has been updated.)

In here you find a set of masterwork thieves' tools, a bronze war medallion from the Shining Crusade (worth 40 gp), an unframed Taldan painting of Stavian I (worth 100 gp), a set of a noblewoman’s silver hair clips (worth 35 gp), a masterwork punching dagger, a pouch containing a dozen masterwork shurikens, a masterwork silver war razor, and a wand.

(The LOOT LIST has been updated.)

Blackheath laughs at the fact that he bought masterwork lockpicks so he could open a locked room that contained masterwork lockpicks!

To backtrack for just a second,

If the ghost is Vesorianna as we suspect, does she have any idea why someone might be writing her name on the monument? Did she have any friends outside the prison. That's my only question at this point.

"Do any of these items seem to be the ones the ghost mentioned that belong to the 5 criminals?"

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

"I wonder if the implements themselves will tell us when the time is right. Sharien, can you try to identify the properties of any of these items, should they be magic?"

Sharien pulls out another scroll of detect magic and casts it, scanning over the items.
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Sharien is unable to identify the wand.

can I search the room for other doors?

Percep: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Grog finds a secret door! (Map updated.)

Faria smiles at Grog, staying back to allow him the honor of exploring this new room, since he had the presence of mind to look for it.

This small vault contains only five objects. All five of the items stored here are tagged with information as to their former owners. (Knowledge Religion to know more.)

Bloodstained Handaxe: The Lopper
Collection of Holy Symbols: Father Charlatan
Moldy Spellbook: The Splatter Man
Smith's Hammer: Mosswater Marauder
Tarnished Silver Flute: The Piper of Illmarsh

(The LOOT LIST has been updated.)

k religion: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

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don't know why I put my ranks into diplomacy...

Gravleon picks of the axe " well it seems like they might have been named for the weapons they used huh"

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Knowledge(Religion): Gravleon realizes that, to know more about these items, the party will need to use the spirit planchette. Aren't you glad I didn't give you an opportunity to sell it! ;-P

He then picks up the handaxe. (Gravleon Will Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7) The cleric of Sarenrae is momentarily overcome with images of beheaded undead (like the skulls that hurt Sharien before). He drops to his knees and, for a moment, is unable to let go of the handaxe. Thankfully, after the span of a heartbeat, it drops to the floor with a clang, and Gravleon's hands are covered with the blood of the Lopper's victims.

"gaaarrg," gravleon screams in pain after he drops the axe

"ah, by the light of dawn these are powerfully cursed objects be careful with them....I saw ...I saw all of the depraved acts done with that axe...as as if it was I who did them...I could feel the flesh part and the bones break. .as I swung as hacked away at them over and over again..." gravleon stays seated and stars off into space. His eyes glossed over the evil images of the axe still playing in his memory. ..

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After Gravleon recovers from the psychic attack, Blackheath points to the label on the axe.
"Handle with care."

Gravleon shoots blackheath the most evil glare he can"funny"

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"In order for us to learn more about these horrid things we will need to use the spirit planchette" Gravleon says attempting to clean his hand

How would you guys like to gather these items?

Sharien will not touch them physically. "I could gather them with magic if I prepared for it, but as of right now I have no way to do so."

no you pick them up with your hands as I did or so help me!!!lol

"No, now that we have found this we can't leave it here. Well for safety ill do this" Gravleon Takes his pack off and places the opening under the shelf that holds the items and using his mace he drags at them until they fall into the pack closing it up and placing it back on "At least they wont bring harm to anyone else like this"