Second Darkness beer and pretzles (Inactive)

Game Master drbuzzard

"Sounds like a f&~@ing awful idea. Eldritch stuff around? Check. Ancient magic? Check. Spiky runes? Check. Beautiful landscape seen through a completely non-threathening magical portal that will surely kill us, turn us into frogs or send us to hell? Check."

The kellid sits where he stood "I refuse to involve myself with anything magicky before one of yous gentlemen hit me with the healing rod. If I'm gonna get magicked, I'm doing it healthy as I should."

Jean, come channel so we can jump.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Ok, we'll assume he patches you up with the wand and you head in. I will proceed to be peeved with him since he's missing the regular posting thing without warning.

Stepping through the portal is a dizzying experience, and it takes a few moments for the world to right itself. After a time, the surrounding elven city becomes clear, its tall, graceful spires rising up among manicured boughs of a well tended forest. Some of these buildings seem familiar, resembling those of ruined Celwynvian, but strangely restored and made whole. Although this glimpse through time is convincing, something is off. Colors seem dim, sounds are muted, and the shadows appear strangely long and dark. Yet most disconcerting of all is the sky above—for it is nothing more than a vortex of gray clouds, spiraling around a dark blot in the sky.

Know: Planes for where are we: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

You figure you must be on some sort of demi-plane. You are not familiar with it. Possibly it is a new construct.

"Hey this is pretty cool. I wonder how they built all this?" Marckus hefts his ax and looks to Kronug. "Do you think we can wreck it?"
Does the trail of blood continue here?

Give me a perception or survival check.

perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

You don't see any signs of the blood trail.

"We could wreck it, my green skinned brother... or, and hear me here my man, we could conquer it and keep it." says Kronug with a wicked smile "I always thought that I'd make a great benevolent dictator."

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23

"Hold friends. We appear to be on a demiplane of some kind. Which means that there is already one in possesion of this land. One very powerful, but with a terribly dour sense of atmosphere. Almost... plane of shadows dour."

"So what? We negotiate with him as we did Saul, and we keep the plane afterwards. Hell, we could expand our present bussiness: Demiplane of Chance, the pocket dimension casino. Now with extra hoes."

In an effort to divert Kronug from another crazy I idea, I would point out that you do see some blood trail on this side. It is a survival check to follow it.

Knowing that killing ranks higher than profit to Kronug, the diversion works.
The kellid remembers his time as a scout and hunter after he left the circus where he became a famous acrobat and crouches to folloe the trail.

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"That... way." he says as he keeps a poker face. His time as a scout was also his time drunk as all hell, hoping to get corrected.

we're all skill monkeys... Hope someone maxed out survival. I sure didn't

-Posted with Wayfinder

Survival untrained assist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13
Or we do it the old-fashioned way... teamwork!

With a minimum of 8 skill points a level here, I still have lost hope in skill rolls for you lot.

Correction: I only get 7 per level. So I have an excuse.
Oh, but for that 8th rank I'd have put in survival at every level...

Shoulda known there'd be a joker that dump statted int.

I'd like to also take this opportunity to remind you that you resurrected me for free.

I can always make up for that.

Survival untrained assist : 1d20 ⇒ 11

-Posted with Wayfinder

survival aid: 10 + 1 = 11

I got swim tho.

We're getting close at 18 now. Another will actually get us over the top.

Has Jean been abducted? Entered a Heavy Metal Cult? Or, Crom helps him... found happiness and left us?

He's gone is Serpent Skull as well.

Rags can toss in an assist and we'll find a blood trail. Just waiting on him to pipe up.

Funny thing is, the module doesn't actually assume you use track. They, for some reason, expect you to poke around in here and ask people stuff. It's an odd place and I imagine they want you to understand the point of it by exploring. I'm OK with a tracking short circuit if you can pull it off. As is normal with Paizo writing, they think they are a lot better than they actually are.

So... the module assume that the party, who has been at war with the drow for a time already, after going through a strange magical portal warded by two drows... a portal found inside a drow captured place... will simply smile and ask around politely instead of going commando? Man, we are stupid but even with our dumb ass plans we wouldn't do that.

As you have not actually looked around yet, you don't know what you will encounter. This place is much weirder than you expect, and not inhabited by Drow for the most part.

There's actually a well dressed elf standing near you looking up at the sky. When I say well dressed, I don't mean clean and un-torn overalls at that. He's actually in resplendent robes, which are quite elegant.

Raccoon survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24 (+ scent)

The raccoon gestures excitedly.

"Trash Panda says there's something interesting over there" Rags says.

"I need no glorified raccoon to notice Mister Elven Fancypants." comments Kronug as he winks at Trash Panda. The kellid sheathes his sword and walks up to the elf.

Trash-Panda stands on his hind legs and gives the Kellid a single-finger salute.

The elf, seemingly oblivious to your presence being so focused on the sky jumps a bit when you talk to him.

The raccoon indicated a different direction if you wished to follow the blood trail. It was opposite to where Kronug was looking.

Sorry for disappearing, but I finally escaped the Heavy Metal cult I was abducted by. Good music, but the food wasn't up to par.
Took 6 charges of the wand for our healing.
Sorry, Dr. Buzzard. Hope you are not peeved with me anymore.

"When in doubt, always follow your raccoon."

"I lost my last raccoon. Can I just follow yours instead?"

Trash Panda directs a second single-fingered salute at Marckus.

"Think of him as everyone's raccoon." Rags says to the brawler.

(Is Marckus injured, or just lazy in updating his status bar?)

I was wounded by Trash Panda's gesture.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Just be grateful you don't speak raccoon. Words hurt.

". That marvel in the sky is quite something isn't it?" .

assuming that he is looking at the BLOT.

"Yes, very interesting indeed. Do you have any idea what is causing it? "

-Posted with Wayfinder

The blot in the sky reminds you of the effect you saw way back when in Riddleport, just on a grander scale.

"I believe it to be an astrological effect. Impressive, but of little consequence I imagine. While there are doomsayers who expect it to cause a cataclysm, there's always some that pronounce the worst when anything happens. I think you can go ask at the library if you want details. The scholars spend their time there. "

So is he dressed like the elf in the weird library crystal ball thing?

Pretty much, yes.

Jean looks at the blot, and shrugs.
"While it remains up there, is not harming anyone. I am more worried about the blot-shaped queens down here."

"So it's like this place is stuck in the past? I wonder if the library we recaptured from the drow is here, without the creepy spiders and leftover smell of my fart spell?"

"I don't think that smell is ever coming out. But the elf did mention a library."

"I'm just impressed that you would so candidly admit to posessing a fart spell Rags."

"You wanna see how it works .... again?"

Still standing on his hind legs, Trash-Panda chitters excitedly at Ulthar and gestures towards his furry crotch.

"Eh, I'm immune now. It's just that most mages I've met try to sugarcoat the spell. You're the first I've met who calls its as it is. It's refreshing, ironically."

OK, time to actually make up your minds, follow the blood or go to the library.