Shifty Group Runelords (Inactive)

Game Master Nik B.

Examining the bow closely along with the arrows, you notice it is clearly the same style of the Black Arrow Rangers, and the arrows themselves feature the black fletching that confirms it. The skin of the creature has the hue of the dead and an icy nature, but you can see it would have been well tanned in life and that of an outdoorsman...

Ailetha looks to the others:
Note the bow. Clearly it is of the same type as those used by the rangers. I think that this is one of the missing rangers. We will have to be careful in case there are any others of a similar nature. More importantly, wights are often created by having their life drained by another wight. So, my guess is that there is at least one more of the abominations somewhere about.

She then looks to Celestra (whose player is on vacation):
Would it be possible to raise this ranger? It would be interesting to speak with him and learn what happened to him, and perhaps some of his memories as an undead remain, that would be interesting as well. If you could not raise him, perhaps there is a way to speak with his spirit?

Which missing ranger do you suspect it might be? Just sayin' - playing with that might have a few unintended consequences...

Unfortunately with the speed of pbp, and the fact that I don't usually keep detailed notes, I do not recall the specific names of rangers. I think that Vale was one of them that Harry had some fun with. I did a search on DMZZ's thread, but there are so many hits for "ranger" and "missing" that I think searching like that is futile.

Any chance I can use an Intelligence check?

Hint: You just had an angry ghost that appears to have the ability to warp time and space looking for a Ranger she believes is being held here...the one you promised to find :)

Doh, now I feel REALLY foolish. This is what happens when you try to remember things too late when you are tired.

Ailetha looks down at the corpse, a sudden epiphany striking her:
This could be Lamatar. He was rumored to be a great shot and being undead could have stopped the ghost's ability to reincarnate him.

Are there any other insignias that might denote him as the ranger captain?

There are no further insignias etc, and the clothes he wears are pretty unlikely to be his. Comparing notes with the scholarly Celestra you gather that he was probably tortured and broken before being turned, and his original spirit no longer in control of his remains - rather that a Wight is typically an evil spirit fused into them. It would have stopped him being raised or reincarnated - indeed it is unlikely he can be brought back, but similarly communications with the dead body would attune to whatever malevolent spirit was powering him... you have located him though, what happens after you return part of him (or all of him) back to the Ghost is sort of a curious question...

Bree digs around in her bag for a moment before pulling out the wand of infernal healing and passing it to Sable to use on Kabal.

She listens as the other woman talks about the ranger, "She isn't going to be happy about this at all. Hopefully bringing him back to her will be enough to appease her and she will stop tearing the damn place up."

Ailetha shrugs:
Not much else we can do. Does anyone have a bag of holding or something we could put the corpse in, not sure I want to be carrying a dead wight around slung over my shoulder.

Bree shakes her head no and shrugs, "Sorry."

Sable approaches, "My staff can make the dead walk again, though I am not sure if it would work upon one that has already risen from death..."

Next steps?

Kabal nodded at Sable that he was ready for the healing and replied to Bree, "Yes, we can work on that but better it heard me than caught you alone down here."

The big man shook his head that they were thinking of carrying the corpse out of here but if there was no other way then he would shoulder the burden.

"I can carry it but lets be sure it is what we think it is first."

Bree eyes Kabal for a moment, humor dancing in her eyes, "Can't say it isn't nice to have someone backing me u. You should know if you weren't right behind me, I would have fled and led it back to you anyway. I might be brave at times, but I'm not stupid."

Looking back at the wight, "Not much point in dragging it around with us while we clear out the rest of the place. Maybe we can at least find something to wrap him up with."

"If you want me to do further scouting, let me know when you're ready to move on."

In the meantime, she takes a few minutes while they're discussing the identity of the wight to look over the rest of the room.

Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22

The whole looks like some lost and disused temple to some angry giant god. There is nothing really of worth, and it would appear no one (other than the wight) has really been coming here for some time.

Sable takes the sinister baton, and placing it against Kabal, he invokes the wand's magics. Grinning he mutters in

Question - wand of Infernal Healing basically gives 10 HP total right?

Correct - 1hp/round for 10 rounds

"Do it again, Sable."

Bree insists that it be used to heal Kabal as much as it can, unless the witch tells her it can't be done or Kabal refuses.

Lol - I can envision a most hilarious scene with Sable chasing Kabal around trying to poke him with the healing wand, while Kabal tries to dodge and weave to avoid it.

Resisting the urge to scream, Give my creature life! Sable draws forth one of his curative wands, and holding both to Kabal's back, expends charges alternatively to heal the warrior.

Infernal Healing and Cure Light Wounds... how many charges does Kabal need?

Lmfao. Just let me know how many charges total from the infernal wand so I can keep track. After the first charge he would be at 96/129.

"My friends, I'm not sure what issues you have with that wand, but if you are in need of healing, you should know that Cayden Cailean's tankard runs deep. Let me know how I can help."

Turning back to the rest of her companions, Celestra remarks, "So what remains to be explored here? I rather not delay here any longer than we have to."

Ailetha looks over at Celestra:
I think that the concerns is that the creation of that wand involved the blood of a devil. I feel that the morals of the creation of an item and the non-sentient nature of the item seem to have caused an ethical dilemma for some. Personally, I believe that an item is an item, it is the manner of the usage of that item that creates the ethics and morals to be considered. In this case, the wand is being used to heal those fighting to destroy a great evil, therefore, the manner of the creation of the wand should be irrelevant. After all, unless we learn how to travel in time, we cannot go back and change how the object was created anyway.

There are a few strange areas yet left uncovered... Bree was moving north towards some giant statues, and there is a few off noises and horrid smells coming from somewhere else...

Bree looks utterly confused as she says to Celestra, "There isn't any issue with the wand," Then looking to Ailetha, "I don't really care how it was made and I doubt the others would lose any sleep over it either." Back to Celestra, "It just didn't heal everything with one go. I just figured with him being the only one hurt, and it's easier for you to cast while fighting... I thought it made sense to let you save your gift to heal us all later. If you'd rather though, go ahead."

"There was a very dark room to the the north. It looked like there was a throne and large statues. I couldn't detect any movement, nor did I hear anything at all. I didn't go to far into that area, though, because I would have been out in the open and in trouble if I had been wrong. There are two other halls I have yet to look down, one smells wretched though, and the other has signs of large fires. I can scout them out, or lead you guys back to the statue room. I'm just waiting for a consensus."

Ailetha considers for a moment:
Lets start with the statue room. If it appears too quiet, it probably is. Then we can go to the smelly room and finally the fiery room, which seems rather out of place in this frigid set of caverns.

Ailetha is voting for the statue room first. But is good with any of them.

HP - 96/129

Kabal scowled as the first use of the wand ended and waved Sable on to use it again with a barked, "Who bloody cares? I'm leaking bad. Just get on with it already so we can keep moving."

The man from Brevoy was irked and he couldn't place if it was anything specific or a bunch of things all added up... where in the Nine Hells were they?... lolly gagging like a bunch of maids at the fair...and Bree suggesting I think she's stupid?... she makes me feel dim most times...and what about that damned wand anyways?...mothers curdled milk!...

He tried to snap out of it when discussion turned towards where to next.

"The throne sounds interesting yah?"

Poor Bree, trying to reassure the man and she can't even get that right :D

"Sounds good to me. That area is pretty dark though, so maybe one of you lot with eyes that are made for seeing at night should take a peak up that way before we go in with light making ourselves a target."

So unless she's told to wait, once Kabal is healed up she starts moving towards the room with the throne again.

I have move Bree to where she got to earlier - she has about 60' visibility in here at the moment.

Bree, place the party where you feel you need to have them waiting.

As earlier, if this gets all funky, where people are is where people are :)

Karlan frowns at the wand but shrugs. "The taint of the fiend that provided the blood still very much resides within the magic. As far as I know it's no real harm to those it's used upon but such magic has a corrupting influence on the wielder. So use it sparingly if at all. We have plenty of healing powers among us not tainted by the lower planes."

Karlan moves into a position to back up Bree and gestures for others to follow.

I'm wondering how others managed to catch up so quickly before. You guys realize these squares are 10ft. across right?

Flight, Longstride etc, the spells cast were quite impressive... arrived just in time to see the end.

Ailetha just moves 30', but with the Feather Step Slippers, does not have to worry about difficult terrain, so she can full double move/run.

Ailetha is moved.

With his permission, I've moved Sable up next to me. He can use flight for stealth or whatever to get up close with her and get a better look at the room. I moved Kabal forwards, and Celestra as well so that everyone is more or less at the entrance to those stairs. If anyone else wants to move further up, that's cool so long as they're far enough back to not render our stealth moot.

Bree waits for Sable to be ready and then moves forward as a pair.
Stealth 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (18) + 18 = 36
Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

Didn't move forward on the map yet, waiting for Sable to make whatever rolls or plans he needs so that they move together. Sable, feel free to move Bree when you're ready.

Ok waiting on that action.

Bree looks utterly confused as she says to Celestra, "There isn't any issue with the wand," Then looking to Ailetha, "I don't really care how it was made and I doubt the others would lose any sleep over it either." Back to Celestra, "It just didn't heal everything with one go. I just figured with him being the only one hurt, and it's easier for you to cast while fighting... I thought it made sense to let you save your gift to heal us all later. If you'd rather though, go ahead."

"You are wise to think that way, my dear. I often think that Cayden Cailean's cup is never empty, but with this company, I certainly do use a lot of his strength in our adventure. I will heed your advice and save my healing until it is most needed."

Celestra lingers near the back of the party, keeping a vigilant eye out for danger.

As Bree moves into position, Sable levitates towards the ceiling, keeping Korax close. He lets her know he will keep in communication with whispered spells. He tries to keep an eye on Bree as she slinks to the shadows, and uses the roof to his own advantage as he gazes onward.

Stealth (Levitating): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Perception (Low-light vision): 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (2) + 31 = 33

The dice hate you. You didn't move us, so I'll do that now and then Shifty can kill us because you were detected :P

Sable knocks some rocks... you all stop breathing a moment.
Nothing happens that you can tell.

You begin to move in closer, more of this large chamber slowly reveals itself. It is grand and large most certainly.

Bree has noted no traps so far, but there are a lot of large statues and the like decorating this giant hall, clearly it is of some importance...

Quietly following behind Bree and Sable, Ailetha carefully examines the statues as she proceeds.

Stealth: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Knowledge(whatever applicable): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20 <-- (+2 if Dungeoneering), (+4 if Arcana, Planes, Religion)

Ailetha curses softly as she stubs her toe on the same rock that Sable hit.

And with Sables low light vision perception check is he able to see anything more than Bree?

And with Sables low light vision perception check is he able to see anything more than Bree?

Nope, Sable's low light vision and levitate ability simply makes him more successful as a peeping Tom. (And his pretty bird too.)

I moved Sable as well, is that cool, Sable?

Bree moves further up the stairs to where she thinks they end, staying crouched low she tries to see further into the area.
Stealth1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30
Perception1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

The ramp leads up in tiers, finally coming to an end before an immense stone throne.

Bree has a moment of comprehension about the same time Sable does.

B 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (16) + 19 = 35
G 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (13) + 12 = 25

Those aren't giant stone statues she was looking at lingering far into the darkness, those are stone giants. Bree notices the one on the throne is looking right at her, a craggy smile growing.
As it were, they were waiting in the dark and it's hard to see, you are now able to make them out properly

"There!" the giant on the throne yells to another, but the companion can't see Bree at all! He touches his necklace for a moment...

Surprise
Enemy B - casts?
Bree
Sable

R1
Enemy B
Bree
Enemy G
Ailetha
Kabal
Sable
Karlan
Celestra

Bree falls into a defensive posture and yells back over her shoulder, "Get your asses up here!" Total defense as a standard action.

From his perch near the ceiling, Sable stretches out his hand and mutters a phrase, trying to catch the giants in an arc of lightning before his allies are up close and threatened by the spell.

Lightning Bolt: 10d6 ⇒ (6, 2, 5, 5, 1, 2, 1, 4, 1, 1) = 28
Reflex DC 17, if unable to catch both, just going for the one on the throne.

Lightning starts at you and shoots in a line, so can only hit the throne :(

Ref 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (14) + 12 = 26
B (14)

The giant roars in anger - no chance anyone didn't hear that, stands, and shoots dark energy back at Sable, attacking his eyes!

Sable
Blindness - DC17 Fort.

Surprise
Enemy B - casts?
Bree - Defensive
Sable - LIGHTNING!

R1
Enemy B Spell!
Bree
Enemy G
Ailetha
Kabal
Sable
Karlan
Celestra

Fortitude Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Sable, what do your elven eyes see?! ... Not much of anything at the moment...

Seeing Sable falter with the spell cast at him, Bree moves into a position to help protect the elf until the others arrive. Damnit! I should be running, I should not be in this place. Why am I in this place. Oh but no, I can't run because I can't leave Sable. What the bloody hell is that about? Since when is the elf more important than saving my own ass? Damnit!

"Sable, we need to try to move back. We need space between us and them until the others get here, can you do that?"

Bree, not sure how it works, but you could grab Sable and pull him back. He is flying/floating, so he should not weigh anything compared to dragging a normal person.