PFS PbP 1-39: The Citadel of Flame (Inactive)

Game Master Hawkeye127

"How about we look around for a key first before we try to break it in or break it down?"
perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

The kid also searches

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

As Helena and the Kid search the room, they find a key on the dead cultist's body, (Nobody said they searched him.) along with a feather token (whip), 2 potions, 2 scrolls, 2 smokesticks, a dagger, a holy symbol of Moloch, and a hand of the mage. As they try the key on the secret door, they find it to be a perfect fit.
The secret door opens onto a covered bridge forty feet across. The entire structure appears to be carved from a single red stone, but the centuries-long burial in sand has levied its toll. Long cracks line the walls and ceiling, and twenty feet along the bridge a seven-foot gash splits the floor in two, through which the dark orange stone of the valley below is visible. Spaced every ten feet on the walls are a series of massive carved heads: a pair of screaming fire elementals, a pair of humans clad in armor, and a pair of bull-headed men, each flanked by massive torches. The arch’s far end is carved into the shape of a massive leering face, with golden double doors in place of its mouth. As you look out across this structure, you see that a section of the bridge has fallen away. The missing section is approximately 7 ft. wide and drops 30 ft. to the valley below.
It's a DC:7 acrobatics check to jump across the missing section. DC: 15 reflex check to grab the ledge if you miss the acrobatics check. There are other ways to make it than just taking a blind leap of faith, though. I'll let you guys decide how you want to do it.

Helena looks at the statues, skeptically, and casts Detect Evil in the room as she inches toward the bridge.

Lady Drusilla follows Helena's footsteps.
"Mind the gap, will you. It's not too wide, I believe mister Kid and myself can easily jump across, but I'm slightly more worried about you armor-clad ones. Did anyone have that rope?"

As you make your way out onto the bridge, Helena detects a force of evil so great that it causes her to wince slightly. Almost immediatly after, you hear a serpent-like voice cackle as it says in common "Well, I guess hiding is useless at this point then."
Following the voice, you seee a small winged devil perched higher up on the bridge as he continues to speak "Oh, the mistress did so promise me entertainment when she summoned me to this plane, but a paladin!? This shall be great fun indeed!"
Initiative!
Helena: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Drusilla: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Kid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10
Gralmin: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12
Devil: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Before the demon can act, the party gets the drop on it. Note that he's 20 ft. off the ground at this point.

The kid lets it have it with one of the holy arrows from his composite longbow.

Arrow +1 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 6 + 1 = 16
Damage 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 + 1 = 10 + 2d6 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9

If its flat footed I think I got it... if its not, a blessing may help

The Kid fires off a shot that strikes the little devil in the hip, causing it to scream out in rage an pain.
Nice shot! I was wondering if anybody was going to remember those.

Little bugger is still alive? wow

Helena's eyes narrow as she glares at the little devil creature. She pulls a vial of Bless Weapon out of her backpack and pours it over her scimitar. She will then ready an attack for when the devil jumps down. "If you want me, fiend, come down from your perch!"

"Come for us both!" Gralmin snorts as me moves beside Helena.
Since moving and pulling my weapon was two moves I can't do anything else

Drusilla holds her action until further notice.
The devil, however, flies down and attacks Helena in a rage (Triggering Helena and Gralmin's readied actions) as it tries to stab her with it's spear.
Helena's readied attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 1 = 23
Gralmin's readied attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Helena's readied attack (confirming crit.): 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 1 = 25
Helena's damage: 2d6 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 + 1 = 8

Demon's attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Demon's damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Both Helena and the devil connect, wounding each other greviously.
The party is up!

Acrobatics, Move through a threatened area: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Lady Drusilla slides past Gralmin, and reaches to grab the devil by the wing...

Grapple: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 D'oh!
...but pulls back her hand."What a revolting creature, I refuse to touch that!"

Helena will swing again.
attack: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8
Wow, I am super done with my dice rolls. I am about ready to let you roll for me, Hawkeye. Seriously...

Ok, I'm just gonna roll for the people that I haven't heard from.
Gralmin swings at the little devil while the Kid fires another holy arrow.
Gralmin's attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
The Kid's attack: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 6 + 1 = 11
Both miss their target. The devil, however, continues to attack Helena.
Devil's attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
The devil's spear drops Helena (Who is now -1/12).
The Party is up!

Fan-bloody-tastic...

Stepping behind and back, Gralmin leans low and casts his last saved cure.

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Not bad but, could be better. I will take it!

The Longstreet kid attempts to use his Rapier this time, out of holy arrows.

Silversheen Rapier 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Damage 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 *silver

Gralmin uses his magic to bring Helena back from death's doorstep while The Kid stabs the devil for a final time, dropping the creature for good. As it falls, you see it's physical being begin to dissolve as it returns to it's original plane of existence.
Combat over! Now back to the dilemma with the bridge. ;)

I vote someone carries me. Haha!

"Thank you, Gralmin. Lady Drusilla or Longstreet Kid, I have a rope with me. If one or both of you can make it to the other side with one end of the rope, I will tie the other end around me. Hopefully that will help make sure that if or when I fall, I won't drop to my death."

"I could try the jump but, I would prefer to find another way across. Perhaps I could take a pew or table from the temple to "bridge" the gap?. Gralmin trudges back into the temple to find something to use.

The kid prepares to make the jump after tying one end of rope around his waist.

Its a big gap but I'll wait.

Lady Drusilla takes one end of the rope, and jumps across with surprising grace.

acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Once on the other side of the gap, she looks for an object to tie the rope.

The kid braces for it - hoping that she makes it but prepared if she doesn't

Lady Drusilla easily clears the gap (Remember, the DC was only a 7.) and lands on the other side. Once there, she ties off the rope to one of the pillars on the bridge. Meanwhile Gralmin has no luck finding anything to bridge the gap. The only thing that might have worked were the obsidian benches, it they're far too heavy to be picked up or even dragged.

Helena will stow her shield and tie the other end of the rope around her waist. She starts to inch across the bridge slowly.
Acrobatics: 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (20) - 3 = 17
Wohoo!

With a leap of faith (both figuratively and literally), Helena is able to clear the collapsed section of the bridge.
Two down, and two to go!

I'll hold the rope steady at this end for you, says the kid to the others... and hopefully providing an aid another bonus... also changing it from acrobatics, Dex - to Climb, Str

The proposed idea of shuffling across on a tied-off length of rope is going to be a DC 10 Climb check, and tying it off doesn't add any bonuses for aiding another, though it does bring the DC down a bit. So it's up to you really, you can jump or you can climb.

"Damnit... alright!"

Acrobatics: 1d20 ⇒ 13

Bearing in mind that I used the rope too!

The kid follows, taking a running jump.

Acrobatics 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

"Who wants to try the door?"

The door is warm to the touch, but otherwise opens without a problem. It takes your eyes a moment to adjust as only the red glow of lava dimly lights this vast room. Rivulets of molten rock thread the hall’s floor, fed by streams of lava flowing down the walls. Four enormous forges are spaced evenly around the room, with large hammers, bellows, anvils, and tanks of water dripping on the lava below. A circular ramp rises gently near the center of the room, looping above the lava channels before disappearing into the gloom above.

Some sort of smithy?

The Kid carefully moves around the room, searching and investigating.

"As if this place wasn't hot enough already..." Lady Drusilla complains, wiping her forehead with a cloth.

Carefully avoiding the lavaflows, Drusilla helps the Kid to search to room, and finally proceeds to the center of the room.

She looks up the ramp, and sighs. "Only one way to go, so I suppose we have some climbing to do."

"Who wants to lead the way?". Gralmin steps into the room and right up to the ramp.

Just let me know who is going first and I'll post the next box text.

"I will take the lead." Here we go!

The kid follows behind her... and asks if she would like a tap with his stick? He extends his wand of Cure Light Wounds to her.

This long, winding ramp ascends gently in loops through the Citadel. The corridor’s walls are decorated with mosaics of a female pilgrim’s journey. Throughout these scenes, a small golden idol of Moloch perches on her shoulder. The innermost loop is covered in a large mural that shows a devotee of Moloch abandoning her family to begin a pilgrimage to the Citadel, as well as her journey through the Qadiran desert, with sandstorms, steadfast refusal of water, and a heat-induced vision of Moloch. The middle loop illustrates the passage through the hoodoo maze: the pilgrim encounters increasingly large fire creatures, but in each case she prostrates herself to them and is allowed to pass. The outermost loop shows the final judgment of the pilgrim. The golden idol looms over the entire Lava Temple, reflected in every torch, lava pool, and smoke plume. At the top of the passage sits an ornate spiral stair leading up. The murals here depict Malebolge, where the pilgrim has been reborn as a fiery warrior clad in black armor and standing in a paradise of water and palm trees (though hints of darker skies and fiery storms can be seen in the distance, reflecting the true nature of Malebolge). Along the walls, choirs of fire creatures sing in celebration, and a frieze on the ceiling shows the golden idol of Moloch smiling over his hordes.
Ok, the box text doesn't really explain this so I'm going to try and explain the map. What you see may look like one level but it is in fact a long ramp circling the inside of the tower climbing 60 ft. up to a level area. At that level area is a small spiral staircase which leads to a trap door in the ceiling. As you climb the ramp, you encounter 4 doors along the way.

Should we check each door along the way?

If you wish to check each door, that's fine with me.

Tell you guys what, here's the description for anyone who wishes to investigate the rooms.

"Thank you, sir, I do seem to be in need of healing."
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

The kid looks her over critically.

You don't seem the best - again?

I seriously suck at rolling "Thank you again, sir."
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

The kid investigates the rooms.

The kid reviews the mural and takes a few notes.

This doesn't look good but lets press on.

"Shall we ascend?" Helena will begin to climb the stairs.

The staircase opens onto a grand hall of polished obsidian and red marble. The walls are decorated with reliefs of a gleaming brass city, a massive sandstorm scouring a desert, and a horde of fire elementals descending on a city full of terrified humans. Rivers of slowly bubbling lava crisscross the floor, all streaming out of an elaborate altar at the far side of the room. Atop the altar sits a squat golden idol, 3 feet tall, of a bull-headed man, its arms raised and its hands holding a large thorned sword and a huge battleaxe. The idol’s eyes glow a deep crimson. Lava flows impossibly fast out of the bull-headed idol’s open mouth and down its torso, fanning out from there into rivers on the floor. Behind the altar, an obsidian relief of geometric forms stretches from floor to ceiling. Smoky forms flit across the relief ’s surface, their fiery eyes staring out at the room.
At the base of the altar, a kneeling woman sits deep in meditation. At the sound of your arrival, she stands and frowns as she turns to see you. She then approaches you and says "I trust your arrival means that Gali is dead. Such a pity, he was a strong priest. A little overzealous, but strong nonetheless. No matter, I've come to far to be stopped now by some ragtag group of mercenaries. In the name of my lord, Moloch, you will all die here!"
Initiative!
CoM: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15
Gralmin: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Helena: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18
The Kid: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
Lady Drusilla: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Helena and the Kid are up first!