(PFS) GM Alice's First Steps Part II: To Delve the Dungeon Deep [Group 2] (Inactive)

Game Master Alice Margatroid

Thayn stays in the back of the room, watching the others work the door's lock. He sheathes his long spear on his back and replaces it with his long bow.

The door is not trapped, and opens without a hitch... only to hit you with a direct blast of the horrible, rotting stench that is within the small prison cell beyond. A black mildew covers the walls and the three doors that lie beyond the entrance. Each has a small metal slot at its bottom, but the latched covers long ago rusted away.

Map Screencap

Chasik will stay near the middle of the room, war hammer at the ready

Balak walks into the room and looks at the first door. He grabs hold of the handle and pulls...

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

And yanks the door open.

"Did you see the katana or the documents in there Balak?" says Clacent as he watches their backs.

Well, technically, you don't - because you're sickened, you take a -2 penalty on that check. That said, there's nothing really stopping you from taking 20 on all the doors...

Fighting back revulsion at the disgusting black mould everywhere, Balak struggles with the doors for a few minutes until he opens them all. Inside each of the cells is the remains of an unfortunate prisoner, left to rot in this forgotten and collapsed fortress. Now, nothing but bones and tattered possessions remain.

In the first cell, you spot a rolled up scroll amongst the skeletal remains, paper brittle and browned with age. Slowly and carefully unrolling it, you notice a broken seal featuring a kirin flying amid three clouds. The text is written in intricate Tian calligraphy, but none of you are able to decipher it.

(I didn't notice that anyone had Tian as a language, at least.)

There doesn't appear to be anything else of any interest in the other cells.

This may be one of the documents our friend Mr Weasel was so interrested about but since its written in Tian we should probably show it to Amara Li first. Nicolae says while getting back to the main room.

When nothing attacks them from behind the door, Thayn replaces his bow with his spear and peers around the room. Covering his mouth and nose, he tries to identify the mold and examines the various cells.

Knowledge:Dungeon: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Konwledge:Nature: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Well crap, I hope I didn't use up my natural 20s on those rolls. :/

"I don't understand what it says but I agree with Nicolae's idea."

-------

"Let's move on to the next area, this smell of undeath disgusts me."

Thayn identifies the black mould as Stachybotrys chartarum, an asexually-reproducing, filamentous fungi. You often find it in moist, dark buildings where it thrives on plant and plant-based matter such as dry wall or wallpaper. It can sometimes cause allergic and toxic reactions in those who inhale or ingest it because of the myotoxins produced during its regular metabolism processes. Mostly these are cold-like symptoms, but worse things can occur. A different chemotype of the same species produces satratoxins instead, generally causing symptoms such as rashes, nosebleeds and pulmonary haemmorhage... blah blah blah...

As soon as he starts recalling details about the toxin's chemical structures, Thayn suddenly realises he knows way too much about black moulds.

You wasted them. Sorry mate. Hehe. :)

He has a look around the cells for anything else of note, but it seems that the other two prisoners had nothing else on them but their clothes.

Map Screencap

The group moves on through to the following large, empty room. Cracked and crumbling frescos line the walls here; those sections that are not destroyed by the passing ages show Qadiran men engaged in battle. A rough stone tunnel leads off to the northwest, as if the ground simply cleft in two ages ago. A pile of bones rests just inside the passage, and those with a familiarity with the wilds can tell that there's some evidence of wild animals lairing in this area (droppings, bits of fur, the remains of their myriad prey, etc).

A short corridor breaks off from this room towards the east, bordered on both sides by two doors. At the end of the hall in a rounded alcove appears to be some kind of intricate fountain.

Thayn identifies the black mould as Stachybotrys chartarum, an asexually-reproducing, filamentous fungi. You often find it in moist, dark buildings where it thrives on plant and plant-based matter such as dry wall or wallpaper. [smaller]It can sometimes cause allergic and toxic reactions in those who inhale or ingest it because of the myotoxins produced during its regular metabolism processes. Mostly these are cold-like symptoms, but worse things can occur. A different chemotype of the same species produces satratoxins instead, generally causing symptoms such as rashes, nosebleeds and pulmonary haemmorhage... blah blah blah...

Best.Response.to.knowledge.roll.EVA

I feel that a natural 20 deserves a response like that, bravo GM aha!

Thayn boggles at why the rest of the party isn't fascinated by the amount of Stachybotrys chartarum found in the chamber and their worrisome lack of knowledge concerning the mold.

Moving into the next room, Thayn peers in, looking for danger and tries to identify the tracks.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Balak walks over to the pile of bones warily and pokes at it with his foot.

Thayn crouches down to have a close look at the tracks on the ground. He thinks it's some kind of predatory animal, maybe a wolf or bear.

Balak approaches the pile of bones and nudges it with his foot. As he does so, the bones rattle and shake as something emerges from within the pile--a living skeleton, in fact! Taken by surprise, he barely has time to shield his face from the skeleton's bony fingers lashing out at him, and so instead he takes a nasty gash down his left arm. (You take 6 damage.) Combat is afoot!

Initiative: Clacent | Thayn | Skeleton | Nicolae | Balak | Yarg | Chasik

Map Screencap

Status
Balak: 5/11 HP

Thayn moves forward with his spear at the ready. He strikes at the creature with a lung.

Attack (Favored Enemy): 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 2 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

GM A, just a reminder, I get a +2 bonus on Bluff, Knowledge, Perception, Sense Motive, and Survival checks against Undead because of Favored Enemy, if your rolling any of those for me.

What Knowledge roll do you want to identify this creature?

I think that would be knowledge arcana for undead, I'm not sure.

"Another undead that needs to be freed from its curse," says Clacent. Realizing that the skeleton is far from him, he moves closer to almost within striking distance, "You're smart for being far from me, undead!" shouts Clacent as he draws his dagger and aims it straight at the skeleton's skull.

Dagger (Thrown): 1d20 + 2 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 2 - 4 = 16
-4 for shooting into melee
Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Nicolae charges the undead stopping at Balak's side.
Atk: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 2 = 15
Dmg: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Balak shouts in pain as the skeleton gashes him, and he reaches out and tries to smash its skull with his fist.

Unarmed Attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4 Damage

Undead are always identified with Knowledge (Religion). Sorry, I've been being lazy with my pre-written monster knowledge checks lately. :P

A large number of high-damage fighter types is making the fights in this module a bit of a joke...

Almost as soon as the skeleton rises from the pile of miscellaneous other bones it is sent sprawling back into them. Thayn shatters its kneecap with a well-aimed spear thrust. Clacent tosses his dagger, embedding it into the skeleton's sternum with a dull thud. Nicolae charges up and simultaneously punches the skeleton alongside Balak; he smashes apart its ribcage while Balak cracks its cranium. The skeleton falls into many pieces and stops moving.

If there's no more danger around,

Take 10 on Perception: 10 + 5 = 15

As Clacent stoops down to grab his dagger, he discovers a scroll tube,
"Can anyone read this?"

Clacent, you think you might be able to... just maybe. It appears to be a magical scroll of some sort. DC 21 Spellcraft check or a read magic spell will tell you what it is.

Thayn moves north along the wall and peeks around the corner.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Would I be able to take 20? I mean it's not going to turn into ashes if I fail right?

You can't take 20; according to this you can only try and decipher a scroll once per day. Well, I guess you could take 20 if you had 20 days to do so :)

Map Screencap

Thayn moves to the crossroads of stairs and peeks around. The wide stairway to the north leads to a passage that ends in a cave-in ten feet past the foot of the stairs. Towards the east, the hallway narrows, ending at a closed ironbound door.

Apart from that, a crumbled statue stands in the southeast corner, once the image of a proud warrior chiselled roughly in granite. The statue's helmeted head now rests on the floor, its lifeless stone eyes gazing towards the south. On the helmet, a single Kelish word is carved in the stone.

Balak crushes the remains of the Skeleton's jaw under his heel. "He took a piece outta me. We got any healers here?" he asks, looking at the gash on his arm.

you fought well. Ragathiel will bless you...but for now let some else take your place on the line if no one else can heal you.

no healing spell here, sorry.

Seeing the group preoccupied with tending Balak's wounds and deciphering the scroll, Thayn moves south and looks down the tunnel.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Balak grunts, then looks to see where Thayn went. "Thayn, you still have that other healing potion?" he asks. "Where'd he go?

Thayn tosses the vial to Balak from the shadows.

Sorry, forgot there where two.

Balak catches the potion and pops the cork with his thumb before drinking it.

1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

"Thanks." he says. "Where do we go next?"

"Thayn already checked that corridor, might as well go there."

The tunnel to the west is rather narrow; traversal requires climbing over rocks and navigating around stalagmites. Eventually, however, it seems to lead outside, possibly on the other side of the cliff that the dungeon seems to be built within. This entrance is well hidden behind some fallen sandstone boulders and a rather narrow entrance; only someone knowing where to look would be able to find it with any degree of success.

Essentially there's 3 ways for you to go now:
1. Up the north-most corridor.
2. Up the middle corridor with the fountain at the end.
3. Back around south to the face relief and down there.

Thayn moves back to the northern corridor, but stops at the corner.

I say we continue deeper into the dungeon. We can search the other corridors on our way out.

Balak nods and lets the others go ahead of him, waiting for Clacent to bring up the rear.

"I'll cover your backs."

Passing by the half-destroyed statue, the group heads down the hallway to the door. It opens easily enough, but the knob snaps off in Thayn's hands, making it rather useless as a door from there on in. The group heads inside after determining nothing is about to leap at them from the shadows.

This room has a wide corridor exiting it towards the north. Barrels and boxes of supplies fill the cramped chamber. Most of the stores here are worthless, rotten, or too bulky to be worth carrying off. The wide tunnel leading north from the room goes about 40 feet before ending in a solid stone wall.

Thayn moves through the room and keeping to the shadows, searching for any danger.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Did you see anything?"

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Poking about, Balak pulls some bottles from a bag of flour. "Well, what do we have here?" he says, showing them to the others - Four large, brown bottles hidden in a bag of weevil-infested flour. The labels on the bottles - which contain the sort of spirits one might find in a mining village tavern - are decorated with a label written in a foreign language.

Anyone with Craft (Alchemy) or anything that might help you identify alchemical goods (try and justify it to me!), you can make a check. Otherwise you'll have to try and guess what the stuff is. :)

There's no danger in this room - however, in the room to the right, Thayn and Balak can hear the muffled sounds of high-pitched, yappy voices. Neither of them can make out the words, however.

Yarg keeps a ready watch.

Let me see those bottles, Balak.

The elf removes the stopper and examines the liquid closely; dipping a piece of cloth into the bottle, sniffing the vapors, pouring a little out on a scrap piece of wood and rolling it around a bit.

Craft(Alchemy): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Not sure what the DC is for Craft on this item.

That'll do Thayn! I wasn't sure if anyone had any skills that would qualify... I posted that on my phone and couldn't check.

Despite appearing like some kind of drinkable alcohol, Thayn is sure these are of the more... purified sort. The scent is far too eye-watering for anything but an incredibly high alcohol percentage. They would certainly would be incredibly explosive (if not flammable) if thrown.

These are basically just vials of alchemist's fire.

Don't smoke around these! And it sounds like something is behind that door...something small.

"Go ahead and check," says Clacent as he draws his greatsword

Balak, get one of those bottles ready. I will open the door and you toss it in. It should light anything in there on fire. Just don't hit me!

Thayn gets in position by the door. When Balak is ready, he opens the door.

Chasik will hang a few feet back 10 feetbehind the bomb tosser, ready to finish off whatever is there spear in hand.

Balak hefts the bottle experimentally and nods, waiting for the cue to throw.