"Glimmil, have you found this creature Dyrant noticed? We should go back and search the others rooms before going deeper into this warren."
Female voice: I'm worried about your father.
Skipping ahead to the next round of pseudo-initiative.
- Cog
- Glimmil
EDIT: Actually, with distance, neither Cog nor Glimmil notice anything.
"Hrm, I don't sense evil in this room... but that way..." Glimmil gestures towards the east, "Cog seems to have caught wind of something, and it makes me uneasy..."
Glimmil clears his throat.
"Err, I mean it brings my sense of heroic duty to the forefront of my mind, whatever do-badder it is, must be vanquished with haste!"
Dyrant will urge Glim and Cog to seek evil.
He readies an action to move with Finn if he moves of, if evil be found, attend to that as needed.
With the goblins gone and the location of the vampire unknown, Dr. Toffitt turns his attention to the hunt. He stays in the doorway, unless Finneas moves more than ten feet away.
"My apologies for snapping, Finneas. Easy to miss comments in the heat of battle."
"My friends, have we left any points of egress unguarded?"
"My friends, have we left any points of egress unguarded?"
Silfr looks around the room, noting exits to the north, northeast, east, west, and beyond the corridor north again and south.
"We have many avenues for exploration, once we examine this room and take stock of our situation. Is anyone wounded? I suggest we look in the previous room west and then the corridor at the base of the stairs, where goblins boiled forth from the northerly direction."
Silfr will detect magic and look about the room, though he remains on guard and is not checking ever corpse for stray coppers.
Perception
"I agree with Silfr, if evil comes from that direction we should make sure it's not hiding behind us. Evil is like that."
Female voice: For the last time dear, nobody likes the Orphanage Spring Formal, she was probably just nervous.
@Toffitt. The only light sources are the party's.
The party follows Cog down a slope (16A) and the worked stone rooms give way to a natural cavern which descends deeper to the south. Cog and Glimmil scan the cavern from the entrance (about N26), but neither of them detect evil or anything else.
+ distance
The worg riders have nicer gear, but otherwise nothing of worth is obvious on the goblins. A detect magic reveals nothing.
Is the party going to try some pursuit or explore?
"I think we must pursue the lead lest it grow cold. We can come back and explore the other areas later I hope. I suspect they all came at us with everything, but if not the city guard should be topside by now and can handle the stragglers."
"Let us proceed down this slope with haste!"
Dyrant looks at Atol as he suggests quick movement.
We have two lumbering oafs and he wants to run?
We don't know where we are going, nor how big this place is?
Any of these goblins still alive to talk to? Nah. Stupid goblins.
What's the worst that could happen while running at a breakneck speed through an vampire lair?
At least we won't have to worry about holy water or wooden stake traps.
Dyrant rubs his neck as if trying to make sure there are no bites therein.
"Uh, brilliant idea Atol." Dyrant says with a wince.
"We could also stay together, moving deliberately, and use Cog's nose and Glim's evilscent to help us locate what is clearly a foe that can hide himself well."
Dyrant tries to stay close to Finn as he moves.
"Eastward and down, then." Dr. Toffitt is also careful to move with Finneas.
"Why are you guys crowding me? Give a guy some room to swing yeah?"
Female voice: This is what happens when you bathe dear.
Too bad we couldn't question any goblins. Dyrant and Atol killed them all before we got a chance. Probably wouldn't have said much anyway.
Glimmil glances backward when he hears Finneas complain about crowding, unsure if he's addressing the party or a new band of goblins.
Seeing Toffitt "buddied up" with the half-orc, Glimmil nods in understanding.
Ah, they're combat buddies like me n' Cog!
Glimmil snaps his attention back to the cavern ahead, gripping his lance and shield tightly in anticipation of the next do-badder.
"I wonder, can vampires turn into bats, or is that just made-up? Maybe we should keep our eye out for sneaky bats on the ceiling..."
Glimmil glances upward at his own suggestion, his eyes narrowed, as he attempts to detect any evil bats lurking above.
I'm picturing a 10' radius formation with Glimmil on Cog at the lead and Finneas in the back. Glimmil stopping every 30' to check for evil ahead and one of the others checking for magic. Both are 60' cones.
Cog will go about 30' to the north (around 16B) and stop. He sniffs around again and again for almost a minute, but finds nothing. He backtracks down to Room 8, which is 25' up on a ledge.
Up ahead in room 17, the party can seen the area has both rough-hewn walls and masonry walls. Against the north wall rest two large straw pallets. Animal bones litter the floor and more bones fill two crude alcoves in the northeast corner. There is magic in this room.
Six seconds will tell you there is only one aura.
Area 19 is more natural cavern as far as you can see with light spells or darkvision.
@Glimmil. During the party's preparation (and high rolls if I remember correctly) the party learned everything there is to know about vampires including their shape changing ability.
EDIT: The aura is in the alcoves.
Dr. Toffitt finds himself unconsciously mimicking Dyrant for the first of what will likely be many times.
**Facepalm**
They really must be kidding. Have to be. Even Cog would understand the importance of the magic circle around Finneas, after being told twenty times. It's almost as though there are inner voices guiding Finn and Glimmil to be willfully ignorant. Perhaps we could exorcize them with Dyrant's cudgel...
"So who actually saw this vampire you speak of? How can we be sure that Cog is not simply chasing the smell of chicken bones or goblin dogs?"
Silfr will also detect magic and evil in an attempt to find what everyone is so wound up about.
Spellcraft on alcove...nope.
"Well as long as you're back there Doctor could you scratch this itch? I can't quite get it through the armor."
"Well as long as you're back there Doctor could you scratch this itch? I can't quite get it through the armor."
Funny, that's what Lukhaj used to ask me. "Perhaps another time when we have more privacy, Finneas."
"Ah chicken bones.. I'm certain that Cog is obeying the command I gave him, we practiced his tracking by scent ability many times over the past day, and just look at those big brown eyes..."
Glimmil looks fondly at his animal companion.
He will poke the straw pallets a bit with his lance while the others investigate the room before they backtrack and pause to look up at the ledge.
"I wonder if there's an easier way up to the ledge? Or the vampire turns into a bat to get up there? Hmm?"
"Magic on the ledge, eh? Can anyone climb?"
Dyrant will stretch out a bit, before making an announcement.
"My kingdom for Finneas' strength." Dyrant looks at Atol as if he is expecting something.
Climb
"Uhm...this is more difficult than it looks. Just me a minute to catch my breath."
Dyrant takes a few breaths before trying again.
Climb
Atol wonders what Dyrant's Kingdom might be worth...
"You should let one of the fighters check it out. Just in case it's dangerous."
Normally I would expect Dryant to trick Atol into any risky explorations. Maybe to a man who eats soup everyday, the prospect of chicken bones provides the incentive to climb.
"Hold on Dyrant, let me look at this."
Finneas stows his shield and morningstar, then attempts to climb the wall.
"As amusing as Dryant's climbing attempts may be, charging through a cave with a dog as our leader chasing the unseen cannot be the model of wise adventure actions."
"Dryant, where is that angel you are always muttering about? Now would be the time to whistle it up from St. Cuthbert's realm. The invisible vampire should be no match to such a divine potentate."
Maybe it will share any chicken bones with Dryant and Cog as well.
My angel is of more substance than the entirety of your faith, Old Man.
Dyrant looks at Finn and awaits Finn's climb up.
Dyrant will cast Detect Magic to confirm Silfr's findings.
Spellcraft
Ah...simple transmutation magic. Any neophyte should recognize it.
"The magic above is from a transmutation source." Dyrant explains haughtily to all.
"This wall Dryant attempts to scale appears to be as tall as a two story building. We have been descending in this cave since we entered, to a significant degree. Let us return to the room we fought the goblin horde and see if the eastern door and southern passage beyond connects to the room above."
The fellow has all the wall climbing ability of a Dachshund.
"Hold on Dyrant, let me look at this."
Finneas stows his shield and morningstar, then attempts to climb the wall.
"Finneas, no one can fault your technique and climbing strength, but I feel you should be mindful that you are attempting a free climb in an unknown dark cave without gear, while distracted by the potential for surprise attack."
"So do not let this wall shadow your morale, working together and inspired by your persistence, we will find and vanquish what evils remain in this delve."
Diplomacy pep talk to Finneas
"Well I tried Silfr, I guess this armor slows me down more than I thought."
Maybe something lighter?
"Maybe we can form a pyramid."
I bet whatever is up there has left by now anyway, or was it something else we found? Think!
"A what? I'm sure there's another way around Atol."
Finneas begins to look around for another passage that might lead up the cliff face.
The party slew a couple dozen goblins and a couple worgs in hallway/rooms 1, 5, 6 and 16A.
A couple party members have felt something trying to dominate their will, but have not seen anything.
While in 16A, Cog barked at something in 16B.
Being told to find whatever he was barking at, Cog went into the natural cavern of 16B. He followed the scent up to the entrance of 17 and down to the entrance to 8, which is a ledge 25' up. For those of you who haven't done yard searches with a canine, using a dog to search for a person is not a straightforward task. The canine alerts to scents which are of course mixed in with everything else. It can often be like following a dotted line from a Family Circus comic. Cog is telling you that whatever he was after has travelled between approximatley J27 and V31. The scent is stronger towards J27, but he can't find anymore of it there.
In regards to room 17, I fast forwarded through what would have been seen/detected as the party followed Cog and stopped at J27. This assumes the stop every 30', detect evil, detect magic. So, while the party was standing about J27, they would have detected magic in room 17. Six seconds later, you would have known there was one aura. And six seconds later, Dyrant would have known it was a faint transmutation aura located in the the northeast alcoves. If the party goes into 17, he can narrow it down as to coming from where a dwarf skeleton clad in a rusted chain shirt is (D28).
Atol grips his cudgel expecting the worst and searches the skeleton for the source of the magic.
I should memorize Detect Magic once in a while to help the others search. Hrm. But they already have it. Best not duplicate effort. But then I can't help as much. Hrm.
Atol grips his cudgel expecting the worst and searches the skeleton for the source of the magic.
The alcoves have obviously been searched in the past, but Atol brushes aside dust, cobwebs, and underneath the rusty chain shirt finds a silver amulet that is in very good condition. About the size of his palm, there is a miniature tower shield of gold inlaid in the middle of it. The amulet itself is attached to an iron chain necklace that shows no signs of rust.
I take the amulet and hand it to Durant.
He'll know what to do.
"Thank you, Atol, but indulgences will not buy you forgiveness from your sins. Your sins can only be beat out of you by the holy cudgel."
Dyrant stares at the oaf for a moment while trying to decide what Atol had done wrong before taking another look at the amulet.
"Oh wait. This was just found? Ah. Good thinking, Atol."
I'm sure he did something.
"Let me see what this is."
Spellcraft on the amulet
* * *
As they move through out the complex, Dyrant will remark, "Remember, we seek a coffin or sarcophagus as much as we seek the vampire itself. Either one would be a boon to find right now."
1d20+10 Spellcraft on the amulet
"What if it's really well hidden? Should we go straight for the vampire or take out his friends. Every other time we go straight for the main guy all of his friends beat us up."
Feeling woozy here.
Not content to watch Dryant and Cog drool longingly for old chicken bones, Silfr will be on guard and scout the immediate cave area while staying in sight of the party.
"With my augmented eyesight I shall peer down the cave passage way to the east. I will not be long, if you wish to continue your climbing attempts instead of exploring this basement realm."
Silfr will move to R36, where he should be able to see the group Cog is leading at the base of area 8. His darkvision will let him see into the area marked 18.
Perception
Silfr will move to R36, where he should be able to see the group Cog is leading at the base of area 8. His darkvision will let him see into the area marked 18.
Initiative
Atol
Dyrant
Finneas
Finneas Bonus roll
Glimmil
Silfir
Toffitt
Finneas = 19
Toffitt = 14
Dyrant = 12
Flying things = 7
Glimmil = 6
Atol = 6
Silfir = 3
Silfir wanders a bit away from the party as Finneas and Dyrant try climbing the wall. He looks down the stalactite filled side cavern when he notices a couple of them are moving towards him. As this creature falls from the cavern roof, it opens like a hideous octopus, its thin, hook-lined tentacles connected by a fleshy web. One smashes right into Silfir and attempts to wrap its tentacles around him. The other two miss.
Flying thing 1
- no confirm
- CMB to grab
damage
Flying thing 2
Flying thing 3
Surprise Round
Silfir
Round 1 (1st half)
Finneas = 19
Toffitt = 14
Dyrant = 12
Flying things = 7
Handing the amulet back to Atol, he will explain the nature of it to him.
"This amulet is one of protection, making your skin thinker and better able to absorb the blows of combat. It's a nice item, but not sure which of us would be best suited to wear it. Off hand, I would say Finneas, but you may think differently."
Dryant sees the old coot wander off and sighs.
What trouble has he stirred up now? The man lacks patience. Can't wait a moment for things he doesn't understand...which is all too much.
* * *
Round 1, Init 12
Dyrant will move to U33, hold his holy symbol aloft, and give Flier #3 a look that will cause doubt and unease in its mind.
AC: 17 (Mage Armor)
HP: 18/18
Weapon Equipped = Scroll
Blessing of St. Cuthbert (+2 AC/Saves) = Cog
Healing Touched Today = Cog