PFS: Crypt of the Everflame (Inactive)

Game Master R D

1) A masterwork short sword lies near the body along with a coin pouch with 87 gp inside.
2) The clothing on the body is in poor condition from exposure, but it is obviously of a kind purchased in larger cities.
3) There are huge bite marks all over the body's upper torso.
4) During her search for flowers, Lumnessa comes across humanoid tracks traveling east along the lake shore.

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

"Wolves did this?" Arak asks. "Perhaps it was wise not to follow that one after all."

Puppy couldn't have done this! Puppy is a good dog. Plus he eats what he kills and doesn't leave it to rot.[b] states Lumnessa matter-of-factly.

[b]I found daisies, are daisies good for dead people?

"This all very sad," Harrow says. "But part of mission? We bury man and keep going on mission, Harrow say."

Harrow leans over to move the body for burial. In a very rare flash of insight, before he touches the body, the half-orc notices an unusual lack of predation of the dead humanoid. It should have been torn apart long ago by scavengers, if not predators. Then, he notices something oozing from the bite marks and realizes that the bites are from the fangs of a ginormous, venomous serpent!
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Lumnessa knows that daisies are good for both the living and the dead!
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Tan'ia notices that Lumnessa is unusual--even for a gnome.
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Arak notices that the coins look newly minted from the capital city of Tamran; they bear the likeness of Forest Marshal Gavirk, nominal leader of Nirmathas.
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Berosius notices that his haunting still isn't back. Whatever this places is, even the spirits don't like being here!
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Girion also notices humanoid tracks traveling east along the lake shore.

Told you it wasn't Puppy.

Harrow looks from the body to the lake, then back to the east where the tracks came from.

"Man walk from east, and serpent in lake bite him? Let's hurry and drag away from water!" he says as he grabs the corpse by the back of his collar and starts to drag it.

Tan'ia notices that Lumnessa is unusual--even for a gnome.

This makes me laugh. :)

Water serpents? What? Sorry. I wasn't paying attention. I was thinking about my evening prayers.

Big ones! With sharp pointy teeth! says the gnome giving herself fangs with her index fingers.

This group is so darned adorable! I might want to keep you all.

The body starts to fall apart as Harrow drags it. It's so full of poison that it's no wonder that local predators/scavengers avoided feeding on it.
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Lumnessa's finger fangs fetch furious laughter from the local fauna. The chipmunks and squirrels nearby start to chase each other with pretend finger fangs.
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Tan'ia gets warm fuzzy feelings.
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Now that the tracks along the lake shore have been pointed out, it's clear that there's more than one humanoid represented by the footprints.

I have a way with animals. States Lumnessa observing the animals, So are you guys going to dig a hole or something? she asks the rest of the party as she tries to push chuncks of the body back over to Harrow with a stick, a look of boredom on her face.

Tan'ia's mind is often so ensconced in the love of her God that she usually finds joy, happiness, and love in everyone and everything around her. Though that does mean she doesn't talk much, spending most of her time basking in the glory of Angradd.

LOL! She's enraptured by thoughts of 'defense, strategical thinking, and aggressive tactics!' That's awesome! :-D

Hey, obsessive devotion isn't always logical.

I think it's hilarious! :-) I heartily approve!

Harrow does his best to dig a hole for the corpse. Lacking proper tools, he ends up piling some rocks on top for good measure.

"What we do now?" he asks.

Girion digs a hole to bury the body in, and intones a brief Iomedaean prayer over the new grave. "I suggest we follow the tracks to ensure we know what they are before we continue to the crypt."

An old campsite can be found by traveling east along the lake shore for about half a mile. The camp has not been used in months. There is nothing of use in the camp. Torn rags, the long cold remnants of camp fires. Fortunately, this was along your path to the Crypt.
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The squirrels and chipmunks follow Lumnessa for a little while. Then they forget why they're using finger fangs and wander off.
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It occurs to Tan'ia that the serpent that injected that much venom into a medium-sized humanoid had to be larger than large-size. It's huge or gargantuan.

When the party leaves this area, Berosius' haunted effects return.

"That really is strange," notes the halfling. "The spirits were quiet there. They did not talk to me until we left. But they won't tell me what frightened them off. There was something very odd there."

Lumnessa, the squirrels and chipmunks act just like you, are they related?

"Berosius, has this happened before? Do you spirits sense something that we cannot?" Something that scares ghosts away... can't be good.

As though on cue, when Girion thinks "that [...] can't be good," a cold rain begins to fall. It's the kind of pervasive, cold, soaking rain that gets through your clothes and chills you to the bone. Taking breaks under foliage or other cover doesn't help--especially with the chill. Clothes stick to skin, feet squish in their boots, undergarments ride up uncomfortably...

Leaving the Gray Lake behind, the party travels to reach the valley that contains the Crypt of the Everflame. The trees in this part of the forest are very old and quite gnarled. The weather makes the journey even more miserable...

The trail leads ever deeper into the Fangwood, through a twisting maze of trees and confusing ravines. As it tops a small rise, a broad valley spreads out before it, the opposite side of which looks like a writhing serpent. Yet between the two lies a steep hill sloping down into the valley. The steady rain makes the ground slick and treacherous...

This part of the Fangwood is particularly dense, making it a thorn-covered maze of bushes, treacherous roots, and uneven rocks. The map that the party was given leads to this valley (called Serpent Gorge), marking the crypt at its bottom.

Heavy rain drips from Harrow and Cryp as they trudge through the mud, though being mounted does make it easier for the half-orc.

"Glad we past all the snakes...changing to serpents now," Harrow observes as they move into the maze of natural obstacles.

Did they warn us about the weather patterns in this place? If not, I need to remember to ask these sorts of questions before we head out. Ugh.

It's a fairly steep hillside that leads to the Crypt's entrance. Not steep enough to climb. But too steep to walk comfortably. How would you all like to get to the bottom?

Basically, this is going to take some number of checks. But the way that you (either individually, or as a party) approach this obstacle will have an impact on those rolls.

Arak will take care to descend the hill as carefully as possible, while trying to put the conditions out of his mind.

"We have plenty of rope, and I've got pitons if we need them." Arak suggests.

"We have plenty of rope, and I've got pitons if we need them."

Arak Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Arak will take care to descend the hill as carefully as possible

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24, Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14, Acrobatics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

I was hoping there might be some trees we could try using the pitons with.

"Irori is with me." Arak smiles at the bottom. Though I worry about Harrow and Cryp.

I was hoping there might be some trees we could try using the pitons with.

My misunderstanding. :-) I didn't put that together from your post. If you would like to retcon your action now that I understand your intent, I'm totally fine with that. :-D

Harrow attempts to ride Cryp down the ravine.

Not sure if you want just Cryp's check since Harrow is riding?

acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

If things start going badly, Harrow goes full Man from Snowy River.

Are you going slowly like Arak did? Or is Harrow a little impatient?

He's very impatient, but despite his efforts to make Cryp go faster, the horse has sense and refuses to do anything crazy. Not sure if a quadruped would have additional stability on this check...I know they do vs. trip attacks.

So, is Cryp going slowly, or at a normal pace?

Slowly

Harrow and Cryp wisely follow Arak. Slowly, thoughtfully, the horse plods through the brush and muck. Both rider and mount end up safely at the bottom.

Berosius, Girion, Lumnessa, and Tan'ia are still at the top of the hillside. I want to see if Arak would like to retcon his action before they go. :-)

Tan'ia is going to try to go very very very slowly down to the Crypt.

Thanks GM! :D

Arak descends slowly taking time to piton rope between sturdy trees along the way in the especially rough looking spots, hoping to make it easier for his companions to follow.

Tan'ia carefully follows the piton line that Arak created:

Acrobatics: 1d20 - 3 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) - 3 + 2 + 2 = 18 (Angradd smiles upon you)
Acrobatics: 1d20 - 3 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) - 3 + 2 + 2 = 4 (Angradd says, "Tan'ia who?")
Reflex Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Tan'ia slides down a muddy hill, and then falls down a 20-foot cliff.

Ouchie: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7

She takes 7 HP of damage for her trouble.

I'll Channel Positive Energy when everyone is down to heal up me and anyone else who happens to take damage.
If no one else takes damage, I might request the use of a healing wand or see if someone has a cure light potion.

That looked like fun! Lumnessa cries as she takes a running jump off the top and tries to slides down the hill.
Wee!

going fast and not using the rope.

Lumnessa's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 ⇒ 16 , Lumnessa's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 ⇒ 14 , Lumnessa's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 ⇒ 20

ROFL! :-) I was truly worried. This could have killed her. But, she made it!

Lumnessa cartwheels effortlessly through the rain and muck and thorns to the bottom to join Arak, Harrow, Cryp, and Tan'ia.

Why be cautious when you can be lucky!

Girion tries to pick his way down the slippery hill, using the rope as a guide. He knows he is clumsy in his armor, so he takes extra time. However, if he starts to slide, instead of trying to catch himself, he just goes for it, trying to control his slide down to the bottom. He'll only try to stop himself if he comes to a cliff edge.

Girion's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 - 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (18) - 6 + 2 + 2 = 16
Girion's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 - 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (14) - 6 + 2 + 2 = 12
Girion's Acrobatics Check: 1d20 - 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) - 6 + 2 + 2 = 18

Iomedae is with Girion the whole way down! He slips, and she rights him. He slides, and she steadies him. He trips, and she catches him!
Yahtzee! The random number generator likes me today! :-)

Even Harrow's eyes are wide as he watches Lumnessa descend the muddy, treacherous slope in such a careless manner.

"Hey nome! Don't die! Already bury one today!"

intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24

EEEP! Lumnessa cowers behind Tan'ia.

Berosius is the only one remaining at the top.

Do a flip! calls Lumnessa before hiding behind Tan'ia again.

Harrow growls at Lumnessa. "Bad nome!" he yells.

Should we just have him do the safest way and roll for him to keep things going?