[PFS] GM Fez's Carrion Hill Gameday VI Table 2 (Inactive)

Game Master Nathan Hartshorn

Explore the building first. It's probably already left, but maybe we'll find something incriminating inside.

"No tracks. That would indicate flight. Perhaps magical, possibly mundane. And with no witness accounts we may also be dealing with invisibility of some kind. Are there any specialists of the arcane here in town? May want to determine if they have an alibi."

As Esmerelda bonds with the half-orcs spirit, her eyes roll back in her head, and then she slumps forward. After several minutes, she sits back up, the heavy sweat on her brow hidden by the rain. "My friend, you will do nicely. Perhaps together we will find vengeance for your death in this place." She stands up slightly wobbly, a mixture of her limbs falling asleep from sitting in the alley for a full hour in the rain, the fatigue of bonding with the spirit of another, and the mixed signals that come from a spirit trying to assert it's control over her body in the constant battle for supremacy.

"I'm ready. I've found a half-orc adventurer who was killed here. He has agreed to help us with our investigation for now. What have you found?"

"About two inches of precipitation."

Esmerelda gives a short smile. "Yes, I seem to have found my share as well. Perhaps if fate is with us, the rains have flooded the dungeons and drown the creature, and we will have an easy stroll ahead of us."

UMD for Mage Armor: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

Narayan prepares for possible trouble with a quick tap of his wand before pressing on to where the beast was last seen, helping search for clues as best he can.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Esmeralda concentrates, examining each of the others in the party. She seems to be concentrating her gaze on the torso's of each. "Yes, Rova, I see it. However, the others will get full use of it." She seems to be talking to herself as she looks everyone over. "No! I don't think you should go back to study."

"Or it could be mostly incorporeal. An angry spirit. Or never left the house, and there's more than one. *shudders*

There are far worse things to deal with than spirits." The elderly woman gives another smile. "When dealing with angry spirits, one should first find out why it is angry. Other creatures are often far less predictable in their motivations."

"Right. Multiple working hypotheses. Let us explore this ruin and see if we can't start narrowing them down."

The Inspector draws his rapier.

"Miss Amiri, would you mind taking the lead?"

"Of course, so nice of you to ask, sir!" Amiri lays her right palm across her breastplate and bows slightly to the inspector. She then turns toward their immediate destination, "I hope there's sumthin' in there, and I hope it bleeds!"

If the rest of the party is on the same page and inclined to do so...

Sword drawn, Amiri advances into the ruin.

Before Amiri takes the first step in a last second thought strikes her. She surveys the situation, looking for any unseen hazards that may have been missed at the entrance.

PER: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

"Right behind you!

The Inspector jumps at the sound of the sudden and loud voice.

Oh maan, if that's all it takes .... no , got to save the city first. Then pranks. Right.

Parrym walks close to Meneldor, ready to mount the hawk, and follows Amiri in...

The nearby Crows nod, waving everyone forward, not willing to get closer to the building than necessary.

The side of a single-story wooden house has collapsed outward into this ten-foot-wide alley, adding to the clutter and refuse. The roofs provide some shelter from the rain, leaving swaths of blood and gore on walls here and there. The hideous smell wafting out of the ruined building is as unplacable as it is stomach-turning. Perhaps the strangest is the huge spiral-shaped smear of blood on the wall opposite the partially collapsed building—sheltered by the rain, this ominous rune rises high on the side of the building, as if something enormous had used a broken and bleeding body as a brush to paint its mark.

Amiri looks back at Imhakaru unimpressed. "Normally, I don't keep track of what's behind me, because I usually have capable companions backing me up. I have no cause to worry do I?"

"Not in the least. I'm sure we'll be racing to end this horror, whatever it is. Inspector, perhaps you recognize this rune?"

religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Imhakaru sweeps the area with detect evil.

religion: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

"Really Rova? Is that something you experimented with? Naughty boy... It seems this symbol here is from cults to the gods of the dark tapestry. Old cults if you will. Those gods are best left to dwell in their realms between the stars... No Rova, we should not try to summon one for help, no matter what kind of knowledge they have about this situation. Yes, I understand that someone has already put the symbols here to speak with them, but that doesn't mean we should use them."

"Should we enter via the door, or should we follow the trail the creature left us?" Esmerelda looks down the alley at the hole in the wall.

Knowledge, Religion: 1d20 + 14 + 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 14 + (2) + 1 = 37

Rushing off to work! Will post again on my lunch!

The Inspector adjusts his spectacles.

"Oh dear. This portal references Yog-Sothoth, the "Lurker at the Threshold". He is an Outer God, one of the ancient, eldritch entities of tremendous power that dwell within the Dark Tapestry. This spiral is his symbol."

I do not know Yog-Ssothoth or his sservantss. What ssinss drive them?

"He is typically worshipped by arcane spellcasters and isolated lunatics. This lines up with my suspicions earlier. While I doubt that whomever created this summoning circle brought the God himself here, it might be a long term goal."

The Inspector pauses, noticing the blank stares around him.

"...to usher in the destruction of Golarion itself. Hence why I said, 'Oh dear'."

I just copied and pasted this from the Pathfinder Wiki. I figured a 37 knew everything about him ^_^

With the Knowledge that we're probably dealing with a spellcaster, I think I will change my Augury question after all. Undead doesn't seem as likely. But I can't think of what to ask at this time.

Ah the madnesss of pride and sself-delusion. We should free as many as posssible from it, and return what horrors they have brought to thiss Dark Tapesstry.

Let uss continue.

Assuming someone got the Kn. check I figured you'd be changing your question. Take your time.

Attempting the front door you realize it is still locked. Presumably everyone and everything has been traveling through the enormous hole in the wall.

The living room inside is in a complete state of disarray. Doors are smashed open and the northern wall has exploded outward. The furniture is in shambles, and rain leaking in from multiple fresh holes in the roof has done little to wash away the thick layer of sticky black slime that seems to coat every surface—slime that exudes a horrific stench something like an open grave, burnt decay, the air before a thunderstorm, wet and diseased fur, and worse. Scattered amid the slime and rubble are body parts—too many to be from one victim and all strangely bloodless.

Anyone who walks in the room must make a DC 12 Fort save or be sickened while within.

"Saranrae's light - anyone tell if there are more victims than expected? Or theories about how you can be torn limb from limb without leaving swashes of blood all over the walls?"

fort: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Parrym: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
Meneldor: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Parrym looks around, and rubs her nose: [b]"Smells like an outhouse behind a Chelaxian slaughterhouse... but the bodies, so sad for these people. That is what happens when Nature is forsaken... oh, Meneldor, what is wrong with you?"

Her hawk is retching and rolling its yellow eyes.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

*hrrumpff*

The Inspector steps out to get a breath of fresh air.

Poking through the rubble you find 5 arms, 4 legs, 2 trunks, and a head. The rest is probably still buried.

Parrym prays for the poor souls.

fortitude: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Esmerelda passes the inspector on her way in and his way out. "Whats wrong inspector, too strong for y..." She has to hold back from getting sick on the spot, and steps back out to join Inspector Pendergast. "Yes, perhaps waiting out here is a good idea."

Further investigation into the house reveals what was once a cluttered but cozy parlor; but now the couches, bookshelves, tables, and other comforts are in complete disarray. The eastern wall is partially collapsed, including what once may have been a fireplace to the northwest and two doors leading into other rooms of the building to the southwest. A hideous smell wafts through these holes.

The Inspector circles the perimeter of the building searching for clues.

Perception: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 16 + (1) + 1 = 23 (+2 if it's a trap)

Amiri enters the bloody scene

FORT: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Visions assail Amiri without mercy. The members of her hunting party, all slaughtered by her hand. Yes, they betrayed her, sent her to die...but they were still clan. Until now, Amiri had never fully dealt with the feelings she buried long ago.

it's just too much, she doubles over vomiting and heaving

someone sure thought with a +6 they were a shoe in for that save LOL

"Ugh, nothing for it but to press on."

Imhakaru heads through a door to the southwest.

"Easy for you to say. There are two of us in this body being made sick by that smell."

Fort Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Narayan looks with measured sorrow upon the destruction of so many.

What is, is. What we can sstill prevent, we will.

He continues along with Imhakaru.

With a sick Meneldor following along, Parrym trots on along after her two companions, admiring the Nagaji's colorful scales.

Pendergast looks over everything thoroughly outside, but if there were any clues to be found it seems the rain has washed them away. The constant water has made several rivers flow through the streets, especially in the branched off alleyways in the town.

What appears to have once been a library and bedroom is now in a shambles. Furniture is splintered, shelves and books smashed and torn, and everything is coated with a thick, stinking layer of tar-like sludge. A door frame lies burst open to the southwest, beyond which a flight of slime-smeared stone steps leads downward into the dark.

Seeing nothing outside, the Inspector grimaces at the prospect of going back into the horrid smell. He discreetly removes a tiny flask from under his coat pocket, unscrews it, and takes a swig before nonchalantly putting it back where he found it.

He reenters the room with his sleeve covering his nose.

Perception, sickened: 1d20 + 16 + 1d6 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 16 + (6) + 1 - 2 = 30 (+2 if it's a trap)
Survival, untrained, sickened: 1d20 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 1 - 2 = 18

I made the Survival DC, but there's a little known rule hidden in Survival that "If you are not trained in this skill, you can make untrained checks to find tracks, but you can follow them only if the DC for the task is 10 or lower". Maybe Amiri instead?

There is black slime EVERYWHERE! What WAS this thing?

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (1) + 15 = 16

Parrym is distraught over Meneldor being ill, and does not look around that much.

"Vhese bucks can vee catalog'd leeter, when wee haff more time. End when it's air'd out."

Amiri forces herself to push on, following her companions in she takes a look around.

PER(sickened): 1d20 + 8 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 8 - 2 = 7
SUR(sickened0: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 2 = 21

Thiss creature may be closser than exxpected. Your sskill does you credit Amiri Huntresss.

Narayan focuses for a moment and hardens his scales. Barkskin

"Even if it's invisible, there's no slime trail out of the building - and it didn't go back down - I agree, it could still be here."
Imhakaru spend the next couple of rounds trying to get his wand to work, depending on what happens in the meantime.

UMD wand of shield: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
"blasted thing..."
UMD wand of shield: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Esmerelda sighs as she reenters the building to follow, immediately overpowered by the smell again. "Lets see if we can push past this stench."

After the first turn in the stairway's descent, traces of dust and debris indicate that the stairs may have once been clogged with rubble but were recently cleared; by the second turn in their descent, the architectural style changes to an older one involving stone arches and brick-lined walls. The smell quickly dissipates as you traverse the stairs, though the darkness is everpresent.

Light sources, final checks, marching order, etc?

Imhakaru takes his holy symbol from underneath his tunic and casts light on it and presses forward, but iirc Amiri is taking the front.