PbP Gameday #3: GM Silbeg's Thornkeep: The Accursed Halls (Inactive)

Game Master Silbeg

"Who wants to climb? I'll be the fire support from ground level!" Roudantaimi states, pointing the barrel of his gun towards the statue.

Please move your tokens to where you want to be.

"Friends I have no problem killing those dead that lived but are still dead. I will fight swarms of animals that I cannot hit. I will throw myself at the shadow that drains my strength. I have swam in the dark. I have even seen Mr. Harilips unhairy ...best not to think of it. We all know how good I am at climbing. I will stand far away from the little man that speaks many languages, and try to kill whatever will try to kill us."

updated unless Roudantaimi can shot me by accident.

"If I can be of use to the group, I will gradly try to ascend this... umm... odd, melted statue and pry out of those red stones." Vox says, stepping up to the base of the statue.

"If I fall, break my neck and die," the youth adds with a laugh. "One of you take care of Einhardt for me, please."

Once the group is in position around the statue, Vox climbs toward the red stones inset into the statues shapeless head with his dagger tucked accessibly beneath his belt.

climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

The wolf trots in a circle as the youth begins to ascend, calling out with a pathetic, nearly inaudible whimper to Vox as his feet leave the stone floor.

"Worry not. I will take much better care of the pretty wolf than you have." The nagaji turns to the wolf. "I would have someone wash you every day and brush your pretty coat. Then I would tie pretty kerchiefs around your neck and get you a diamond collar. Maybe you would like me to paint your toenails? You really are the best wolf ever."

"Cripes, Ophiuchus!" Vox quickly interjects, after hearing the nagaji's comments. "You obviously would treat her better than I do! Best not to get her hopes up about all those promises, in case I end up surviving!"

And I thought I treated Einhardt well...

Just for the record I am rooting for you!

Ha!

The brute moves into the room where he can be of assistance in case something goes awry, but far enough away to potentially miss any terrible trap-stuff that might happen. He watches Vox scurry up the statue like a monkey, keeping an eye on the other entrance into the room.

Arturo moves next to Strong Brute and watches in amusement as someone else does the climbing for a change, I wonder what they saw up there that I did not. Ah well, probably some bauble we can sell later.

Sorry, no laptop at the moment. Please move me to be just south of Strong Brute.

The party moves, in and Vox starts to climb up the statue.
Vox Climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

As he makes it up about half-way, he hears some scuttling coming from the hallway to west. He sees a pair of giant fanged cricket caked in pungent fungal growths and topped with a mushroom-like cap.

Cricket #1 leaps out to Poochie acrobatics DC20: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16, but is unable to land in such a way as to get all of its attacks.
claw attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 and it misses the Nagaji.

Poochie is up.

"What strange insects. I wonder why they have mush..." The nagaji is abruptly cut off as a 'cricket' jumps at him.

"Death it is!"

Brandishing his greatsword, the nagaji holds his breath? and swings at the 'cricket'.

2-handed greatsword: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
greatsword damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 6) + 4 = 12

Confirm 2-handed greatsword: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
greatsword damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (5, 2) + 4 = 11

After Ophuichus almost (but not quite) cuts the nasty critter in half, the other leaps at Vox (who is climbing up the statue).
acrobatics: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18 (OMG! Dice have gone south! I am rolling like GM Damo now!)
It also only gets a single attack:
claw: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 dealing: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Vox Climb Check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Vox barely manages to keep his handholds on the statue.

Party (other than Poochie) is up

Note: Cricket #2 is 12.5 feet up, above Vox.

This was another encounter that is the reason I recommend 2nd levels... though as luck has it, it might not be that hard this time)

The brute ignores the airborne bug, instead focusing on the one Poochie is fighting. Brandishing his scythe, he swings it as though he is the Orkin man.

Scythe: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (3, 4) + 6 = 13

After the cricket lands above Vox, and slashes into him with its jagged claw, the youth drops from the statue to the floor below to get away from the critter. Vox knows he cannot fend for himself while clinging to the vertical wall of the statue.

drop from the statue as a free action, acrobatics check to not fall prone when hitting the floor (assume he is falling from a height of about 10 feet based on the cricket being approx. 12.5 feet above the floor)
acrobatics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Knowledge (dungeoneering): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

"Way-hey! Look out there!" cries Arturo when he sees what are assaulting his companions, "Let's see what we can do about these foul creatures. They're called fungal crawlers, a strange mix of cricket and fungus. What harms vermin or plants will likely harm these, but beyond that I can't tell you much. I will tell you, though, that I haven't met a creepy crawly yet that my scimitar couldn't cut down to size!"

Arturo rushes up next to Vox, and takes advantage of his strong, brute-like friend's position to flank the cricket.

Scimitar, flanking: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 6 + 2 = 22
Damage if successful, sneak attack: 1d6 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 4 + (6) = 16

"Yelch! That is the creepiest grasshopper I've ever seen!"

Jaender steps back, but not to far, and belches out a gout of flame towards the bug on the statue.

Flame Spit, ranged touch, PBS, into melee: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (14) + 5 + 1 - 4 = 16 for Fire Damage w/PBS: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Edit, added in -4 for firing into melee

"Odd critters! I don't even try to talk them, let the guns to do the talking." Roudantaimi's aim already at the statue, he just adjusts the barrel toward the cricket above Vox and pulls the trigger.

MW Musket, PBS: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (15) + 7 = 22
Damage, PBS, FA: 1d10 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 1 + 4 = 10

The Strong Guy hits the bug with his scythe, finishing it off. Roudi and Jaender both fire at the bug on the status, causing it a good deal of pain, as Vox drops to the floor.

(Arturo, the bug is above your reach, so you can neither flank, nor attack it from where you are)

With the second bug still up high, Poochie and Arturo are up.

Ready action

Looking atop the pillar, Ophiuchus skirts around the base. He readies his greatsword in case the bug falls alive in his reach.

"Come bug. One must face the inevitable. Let us end this dance."

acrobatics: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25
The bug jumps again, this time at Roudantaimi. More gracefully than the other attempts, if flies across the room, from its perch, and it lands on the gnome, ripping with four of its legs.
claw 1 Leap (charge): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 2 = 18 damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
claw 2 Leap (charge): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26 damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
claw 3 Leap (charge): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 6 + 2 = 28 damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
claw 4 Leap (charge): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 2 = 10

It connects with three of the four legs, dealing a series of shallow wounds to the paladin.

Party is up:

Sorry, forgot to take the third dimension into account! Arturo would have just shouted encouragement in any case.

Arturo runs around the landed cricket to flank with Jander*. "You bugs should have seen what I did to your centipede brethren back there," Arturo boasts, "You've got the same coming to you. Now leave my friends alone and die!"

* Assuming that Jaender has a melee weapon drawn. Otherwise, he'll flank with Roudantaimi if he can. Otherwise, he'll wait for someone with melee to get in there and then flank with them.

Scimitar, flank: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 2 = 27
Crit confirm: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 6 + 2 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + (5) = 11
+ Crit Damage, if confirmed: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

If needed. Took the long way around to avoid AOO's.

The man swings around the melee, standing adjacent to the gun-wielding gnome to allow him to retreat if needed. He swings his scythe with authority.

Scythe: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (4, 1) + 6 = 11

Since Sven goes higher in the init order, I'll just make things easier and say that he finished it off... had Arturo needed it, he could have used Sven for the flank.

The big Ulfen finishes the bug that was tearing into Roudi. Vox then goes back to climbing, taking 10, for 15 and easily climbs up. Once up there, he realizes that the compartment's door is jammed due to whatever melted the statue (could have something to do with the goblin corpses that the GM forgot about at the foot of the statue). He takes his time (takes 20) and forces it open.

Inside is a small sized cold iron short sword (which is magical, based on the use of Detect Magic by Jaender), and a pouch with 3 red rubies, worth 100gp.

Using spellcraft:
Poochie spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Jaender spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Both spellcasters identify it as a +1 cold iron short sword. It also has the features described as the Sword of Zog

moments earlier...

"Watch out for those goblin corpses at the foot of the statue," the youth calls out while he begins prying open the compartment on the statue. "They're a bit hard to see from down there, but once you get higher up, they're really evident."

"I'm surprised we didn't notice them before."

now...

"Could that really be it?" Vox questions in wonder after Jaender and Ophiuchus identify the sword. "The fabled Sword of Zog..."

The youth's words trail off as he finishes the sentence, his eyes locked on the blade. "I guess since it was goblins that kept speaking of the Sword of Zog, I just assumed it wouldn't be of very good make or quality."

"It's a shame we promised to do right thing and give it back to the goblins..."

...(could have something to do with the goblin corpses that the GM forgot about at the foot of the statue)...

Hahaha, that made laugh out loud

"Woah! It looks so shiny! Perhaps that is why the goblins prize it so," Arturo let's out a long, appreciative whistle, "As for returning it, let's not be so hasty. We said we would return it if we could - that much is true - but there was no stipulation as to when we would be returning their precious artifact. There is still much of this dungeon to explore, and such a blade could be mightily handy in aiding that effort.

"I say we keep the sword until the Accursed Halls are safe for wanderers once more!" proclaims Arturo with a flourish, "And who better to wield such a blade than my esteemed former twin, the indefatigable Nagaji warrior: Ophiuchus?! I warrant he'll be just as deadly with that as he is with his flail... unless we face more skeletons, of course!"

Note that the sword is small sized... so it might be better with Jaender or Roudi

The large man watches the pending debate over the fate of the sword with little interest. He certainly sees the flawed logic Arturo brings up to excuse their...delayed handing off of the item to the goblins. Then again, with its size, it doesn't seem to be a very viable item for the party anyway, with Rudy favoring his gun and Jaender his spells. Knowing his companions propensity to settle things like this fairly quickly, he just keeps looking down the hallway they are sure to continue down, just in case something that seeks death decides to come looking for them.

"Roudantiami would probably be better off carrying the sword, though I would be happy to put it to good use, and I am inclined to agree with Arturo. There is nothing saying we can't use this wonderful weapon here first before we just give such a valuable thing to the goblins. In fact, I should expect that they pay us appropriately for acquiring something so valuable for them. Just because we said we would get it for them, doesn't mean that we have to do it for free..."

Book value is just over 4300 gp for the sword...

"And well done with these.... bugs... my friends. Shall we move on? If these gems are indeed the key to opening that door, it seems we still have 2 more types to find. Here Vox, you look like you could use a little mending..."

We can use a charge off of one of the wands of CLW on Vox, to keep him topped off before we move on...

As an FYI - no matter what you do with the sword, for PFS purposes your reward will be the same. When you are ready to go, move yourselves to the corridor.

Noticing his companions have suffered wounds, Ophiuchus offers to heal them both.

Cast CLW x3

heal Vox: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
heal Roudi: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
heal Roudi: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Resistance chain and ready to move on.

Ophiuchus, was that with spells, or wands?

"Oww, that cricket had pretty hard claws! Thanks, Sven, for taking care of it... I wasn't really interested in a wrestling match with that one. I suppose I could hold on to that sword, if more bugsies come hugging me. Return it to the goblins, once we're back there."

edit:Healing ninja'd by Poochie

"Thanks Poochie, I'm fine now!"

Spells

How did I forget that Rudi got injured too? Sorry Rudi!

Spells

Shouldn't that have been 1d8+2 then?

Ah yes, I have leveled. Cool - still have to cast the 3 spells though ;(

"Aye, thank you," Vox says after receiving Ophiuchus' healing. "I feel much better now, and am ready to move on and see what we can do with these gems and the that mysterious door."

The youth moves to his position in the marching order, ready to proceed.

'Sven' readies himself to proceed, positioning himself at the front of the procession with Arturo.

Moving forward
You all go down the hallway, coming to a door.

The door is closed.

After giving Arturo a reasonable opportunity to check the door for traps, the brute will open it, fully expecting there to be things that need brutalizing inside.

Once Arturo confirms the door is safe, Roudantaimi presses his ear against the door, trying to detect any sounds from the other side.

Arturo runs his expert eye over the door to look for traps.

Perception to search for traps : 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

Assuming he finds none, the astute rogue proceeds to pick the lock on the closed door (assuming it is indeed locked).

Disable device to unlock door : 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (19) + 12 = 31

"Ah, the work of a scoff-law is never done!" jokes the rogue as he works the lock picks, "Ever does my life as a street urchin come back to haunt me."

Arturo: Perception: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 5 + 1 = 19
Roudantaimi: Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Arturo doesn't see any traps, and Roudi doesn't hear anything.

Sven opens the door.
This large, L-shaped chamber is filled with knee-deep, pale purple mist. Beneath the mist is a floor of small, glossy black blocks, noticeably different from the flagstone elsewhere in the dungeon. Stone archways exit to the north and the west.

Edit - Cyrus'd by Arturo

Could this mist be coming from a magical source?

Jaender mumbles some words and casts detect magic in the room.

After waiting for Arturo to clear the room, he makes his way inside to search for anything out of the ordinary. Aside from the purple haze and glossy black floor.

These floor stones would look amazing in my sorcerer's tower I will be constructing some day... I have to find out what they are...

"Anyone have any idea what these floor tiles are made of? Fascinating material..."

"Anyone have any idea what these floor tiles are made of? Fascinating material..."

"I don't think I've seen its likeness anywhere before, certainly it occurs nowhere naturally in the wild," Vox says, eyeing the pale, purple mist. "But I'd prefer not tread through it, or across those glossy, black blocks either, until we feel strongly it's not some form of trap."

that being said, I don't think Vox can help at all with any knowledge checks to be of use.... Unless knowledge(nature) helps :)

Nope. Knowledge nature probably doesn't help.
The floor tiles themselves are not magical, but the room does have a magical effect in it, which Jaender can pinpoint to the center of the room, but cannot tell what sort of effect it is. It is a relatively weak effect.

The brute pauses as those around him with more knowledge discuss things. He waits for the all clear before proceeding, not really knowing anything of magic. Rocks were rocks, in his mind, whether black or grey, and he wasn't going to worry overly much about it.