The statue itself is sitting on the desk, and only a foot or so tall. As Wembly approaches the desk the statue's mouth begins to move.
A booming voice rings out, "Ah, Thurl, you’re back. I trust your little vacation to Jormurdun was pleasant and that my brethren did not demolish your laboratory in their conquest of Nerosyan. Now that I know where you are, I shall join you shortly. There are plans in motion that go far beyond our original compact, and I wish to make you a part of them."
Valais visibly shivers. She stares open mouthed about the room. "Join Thurl here? Something is coming. We should not be here!" She turns to leave the room.
Perception (DC 15):
all the harmless vermin have already left, having scattered at the first booming word from the statue.
*bing bing* the party has gained two evidence points.
"We should not be here," Valais repeats. "Can we go? Now?"
Male Gnome Summoner 9 [ HP 84/84 | AC 22/14/19 | Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +10 (+2 vs. illusions) | Init +4 | Perception +10] {mage armor} Summons-V 3/9 - {bralani 84/84 } Whiskers 66/66 AC27 {I summoned, -1 neg level }
Sorry, yes Wembly would grab any of the following unless already claimed by another to carry:
Among Thurl's desk is a magical scroll and two bags of dust that detect as magical. Perhaps the most interesting single thing is a note. (see handout on the map) and incriminating notes.
Ahh... finding those was a part of the 10-minute evidence search, so consider them claimed. :) Also the bat is probably gone halfway through said research.
"It is because of the company we want to leave," says the venture captain.
What two areas Liana? The office was searched (rolls were in the discussion thread) and revealed lots of maps on dwarven lore, a book of secret handcodes, and the handout. The previous room had a small fortune in esoteric and valuable reagents. If it is a different area please let me know, I will fill it in. :)
Male Gnome Summoner 9 [ HP 84/84 | AC 22/14/19 | Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +10 (+2 vs. illusions) | Init +4 | Perception +10] {mage armor} Summons-V 3/9 - {bralani 84/84 } Whiskers 66/66 AC27 {I summoned, -1 neg level }
"I am not sure we want to see the company. What about the room with the writing on the walls and pentagram/circle on the floor, VC?
What do you make of that? I know alittle about summoning, but just small creatuers, not big demonic ones like the statue.
Is that where the company will originate? Can we disrupt it?"
Wembly is just blurting out ideas while he scratches Whiskers ears for being gone so long.
Gathering the evidence they need the party begins to head back up to the city.
Percpetion (DC 18)*:
Glass is shattering back in the incubation chamber.
Along they way they notice the captured larvae squirming to the far corners or their enclosures. Each of the humanoid faces contorts in a rictus of terror as they stare toward the Thurl's study.*
As they pass the room with writing new bloody writing appears on the outside of the door. It quickly dries into the red chalk marks from the inside and spells out, "He approaches."*
From the tops of the steps the party can see the murky waters where the ooze was churning and boiling.*
The dungeon suddenly shudders and dust and rocks fall from the ceiling. Large thuds echo from the distance and can be felt in the shaking f the floor. A moment later the murky water surges.*
*each of these are about a round apart, just leaving should get you to the incubation chamber in under a minute while all this is taking place. Any questions?
"I am not sure we want to see the company. What about the room with the writing on the walls and pentagram/circle on the floor, VC?
What do you make of that? I know alittle about summoning, but just small creatuers, not big demonic ones like the statue.
Is that where the company will originate? Can we disrupt it?"
Wembly is just blurting out ideas while he scratches Whiskers ears for being gone so long.
"No. Well I don't think so. His office seems to... she shivers visibly. Whatever the last words were they are lost in a muttering of terror as she looks in the direction of the office.
Dorobo looks at the shattering glass. "That's a little odd... not sure what to make of it." he says as he walks behind Liana. "Why is that glass shattering?" he asks.
Male Gnome Summoner 9 [ HP 84/84 | AC 22/14/19 | Fort +10, Ref +10, Will +10 (+2 vs. illusions) | Init +4 | Perception +10] {mage armor} Summons-V 3/9 - {bralani 84/84 } Whiskers 66/66 AC27 {I summoned, -1 neg level }
perception:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
I am not sure if it is breaking on its own or not.
Looking back, if still within range of the shattering glass, Wembly will try to cast glitterdust to see if he can illuminate anyone breaking the glass. Otherwise, if too far/late then he keeps moving with the others.
Upon entering the first room with the incubation chambers it is easy to see one of the creatures has broken out of his glass. It is no where to be seen. The other is pounding furiously against the glass.
I am not sure if this is coming through in the PbP format. The previous portents should be very dramatic. EVERYTHING in this dungeon is afraid of Thurl's new ally.
Spoiler:
Stopping to look for anything more gives the ally time to arrive while you are still here. If you are still here at that time you will be facing a creature more than double (& in one case triple your CR).
up the stairs:
Upon climbing the spiral staircase the party finds themselves in a 20 ft square room. The shrine to Baphomet slides back into place hiding the dungeon below, but the ruined walls of the maze are all intact again. Exits lead in each of the four cardinal directions.
I know what's coming, from having GMed it, and I know the urgency, but I admit I didn't feel that sense of terror reading these posts. The DC 15 Perception really toned it down, since it seemed like my character was unaware of its approach. I suppose multiple small posts might exaggerate the feeling next time, and get rid of the Perception DC.
You don't have to explore the maze in order, but we will be using inititiative for other reasons. If you want to stick together you can stay within 30 ft. of each other and look a bit ahead. If you reach the end of a map, roll a d4 for me.
Valor pulls out a 10pc chalk set and offers anyone else to grab a piece. He then draws an arrow on the floor pointing in the direction that he immediately takes off in.
I'll just double move 40ft in a random direction to get us off to a start. With those green blobs I can't see which directions are available, though.
oops. I should have mentioned, you should remove the green blob when you enter an area. I will just have to ask everyone to not look at part of the maze that would be blocked by a wall.
As you explore the mini labyrinth, you get attacked by the labyrinth's master. A ghost of a minotaur named Karsos. Karsos was mentioned in one of Thurl's notes as 'a mentor', and is a follower of Baphomet.
Where in the maze this happens will be kind of random, rather than trying to get everyone through a maze one post at a time. This will be more clear in the post of the discussion thread.
Bulls Strength should still be up for the Cavalier
I didn't think so, since that was before we searched the two rooms. Plus, we had to walk all the way through the basement level to get up here to the maze, and we're not sure how soon the ghost attacks as we wander around.
Wembly riding on Whiskers rounds an intersection of the maze and sees a blue nearly translucent minotaur standing down the hall from him. The minotaur waves its hands at the gnome and steps back leaving only a blank wall. surprise round, Wembly failed the save.
Galandro, hears the the gnome's anguish and the growling mewl of his ferocious green cat and runs to his ally's aid. He sees the ghostly form and twists arcane energy into a dart of ice. The ice seems pass through the figure, but does manage to leave a dark spot. The rogue follows, but he is too far to bring his shortsword to bear.
Wembly sees a who sees a wall suddenly moving at him. The gnome moves out of the way only to find another, so turns into an archway and runs down a corridor. Fortunately he is riding Whiskers who will have none of that. The cat instead closes with the ghost and swipes at it leaving more dark marks in the blue form.Wembly spends the round, 'running' through a maze
Closing lets the creature swing at the cat. It swings a second time, its ghostly hand passing right through the cat's form. The minotaur steps back. As it does so, the party sees a wall, partially covered by the ghost, now fully blocking their enemy from view.
AoO:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14, corrupting touch:6d6 ⇒ (5, 3, 1, 6, 5, 3) = 23 v whiskers:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20, corrupting touch:6d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 3, 2, 3, 5) = 22 Fort Whiskers:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16, Fort Whiskers:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14whiskers saves both times, taking only 11+11 dmg
Liana finds the ghostly apparition too similar to the wall and realizes something about the maze that appeared among he ruins in less than an hour. She lobs a vial which passes through the wall and bursts into flame on the ghost.
Valor, seeing his companions in the thick of a battle and realizes he too is staring through a wall. He lives up to his name and enters the fray by charging through the wall. He closes with the minotaur, provoking a ghostly attack, but is happy to see his magical axe darken the creature again.
AoO:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21, corrupting touch:6d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 1, 3, 5, 2) = 17, Fort Valor:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30successful save means only 15 damage
The party now, fully aware of the illusionary maze quickly gathers against the ghostly minotaur. Galandaro throws more arcane energy, causing the minotaur to scream. Dorobo closes in opposite of Valor, his magical blade cleaving more of the immaterial blue from Kartos.
Wembly realizes he has been fruitlessly wandering maze in his own mind* and his companions quickly having come to his aid. He casts a spell and the world again seems to slow down for the party as their actions gain speed. Whiskers steps up and swing through the imaginary wall. Like most of the attacks his claws seem to pass right through the ghost, but still manage to leave some dark marks.
"Curse you Mendevians!" shouts the minotaur. "You have destroyed my maze--my shrine to Baphomet--once and I will not let you do it again!" He swipes at the cavalier again, the most typically Mendevian-looking among you. The oread feels the life draining from him, as he ages and withers like sandstone under a decade's worth of windstorm.
v. Valor:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23, corrupting touch:6d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 6, 5, 4, 3) = 28, V's Fort:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11Oh! I guess that balances out the Nat 20.
Liana tosses another bomb, using the creatures larger size to keep his friend's from burning as well. The cavalier is not out yet and he takes mighty swings at the creature. Each attack seems to carve parts of the ghost away leaving more and more darkness until nothing is left.
Kartos screams vowing his revenge from the other side as he dissipates. Slaying the minotaur causes the maze to dissipate as well, granting the Pathfinders ample time to escape Thurl's lodge.
R2
G: arcane missle
D: strikes
W: casts haste
Wh: full attacks
K: attacks Valor
L: bomb
V: hasted full attack.
*these are touch attacks, in case the math looks odd to folks. Also as an incorporeal creature, only magic attacks affect him, and then for only half damage.
please feel free to add anything, especially plans for Valais and your evidence. I shall add denoumoute and if anyone has questions about parts of the scenario, I like to share the story that you may not have gotten from playing. I will probably not get to chronicles until Tuesday or Wednesday.
"They will fear me up there," says Valais, reticent to leave the secrecy of this lodge. The party can convince her to leave, but only with the promise of keeping her safe from the citizens of Mendev.
A couple of different ways that can go, let me know what you would like to try :)
Several days after escaping to the surface, the party is able to present their findings to Venture-Captain Jorsal, who looks over the evidence and confirms that Thurl is traitor to the Society. The dwarf ’s knowledge of the Sky Citadel Jormurdun predates the Society’s by years, which disturbs Jorsal, but he is even more perturbed and disgusted by Thurl’s experiments and regular dealings with fiends.
Valais' backstory:
This is Valais Durant, formerly a Pathfinder who traveled to Mendev from Numeria as part of the team sent to review Thurl’s work. After breaking into the basement and discovering the venture-captain’s hidden laboratory, several of Thurl’s eidolon servitors captured her. The woman’s resourcefulness impressed the dwarf, and he set to vivisecting his captive and grafting pieces of demon flesh to her to create a stitched eidolon that might exercise greater autonomy yet still follow his commands. Mentally,Valais has asserted control over the body, but at times one of the two demonic components wrests control from her.
Following Thurl’s departure, Valais crept out of the lab, into the shattered maze (where the ghost Karsos ignored her as he does all of Thurl’s creations), and finally to the archive. Here she has hidden for weeks while sustained by nothing her Abyssal fortitude. She dares not reach the surface, for she fears her ghastly appearance would lead to the crusaders cutting her down. As a way of coping with her despair, she has convinced herself that she is the venture-captain of this lodge.
chalk writing room:
The writing is a recent series of exchanges Thurl had with a night hag named Aslynn, who has maintained a business partnership with the dwarf for nearly 20 years.
Writing on the walls with the steel-gray chalk produces script that gradually takes on a dark blue hue over several seconds. Elsewhere, the night hag Aslynn can read anything anyone writes here with the chalk, and she can respond by writing out her own responses, which manifest as bloody ink that appears to seep directly from the walls, dripping slightly before drying. Aslynn half expects Thurl’s implied ally to betray him, so she is only somewhat surprised to see him writing to her again.
Aslynn, I was told, reappears in a season 7 scenario :)
"Fear not Valais. The Society would not abandon you as you did nothing wrong it its eyes. You were loyal to the society, and are still loyal to the society. You helped us discover the treachery here. That is a good deed. The society may have some magiks to help your condition, and if not, the society will allow you to live unmolested and protected from those that do not understand your plight. Venture with us to the surface and we will protect you from others until we reach the safety of the society. It may be cold so please pull a cloak over your body." Galandaro says to her.
Citizens who see Valais react with fear and disgust, but you reach the lodge without serious incident.
Jorsal takes it upon himself to oversee her restoration—or at least her acceptance and treatment. The party’s act of humanity and nobility impresses him, and he offers them his heartfelt thanks. Valais herself is some of the most damning evidence against Thurl.
*bing bing* the party gains two evidence points.
Is anyone on slow track? I will work on chronicles tomorrow though, it may be too busy at the shop for me to get them all done. Holiday closure (will he make it to Star Wars this weekend?) will cut into that time as well. If anyone is desperate to get their chronicle let me know ASAP. I will start with yours. Everything has been reported and both prestige were earned. 1,293 gp earned. (or 2,280 gp for out of tier).
