The Forgotten God (Table 1) (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Adrenalin rushes through Hadran as the anticipation and excitement build. He too is surprised as the black lightning erupts from the ground to the sky. As the creature before them appears he regains a bit of composure after hearing it's warning.

"Tell your prince he will do well to remember my name. We will go now." He looks to Burkhardt.

"Come friend, we do not want this attention. We have overstayed our welcome in these lands. We have done all we can for these people."

No that's awesome Rednal, it certainly feels like we have power that we have to watch how we wield :)

Agreed, totally cool. I keep forgetting that I do have mythic companion for him, as he is still very squishy. :-P

"Do say hi to Asmodey for me, won't you?" Burkhardt offered. He very much agreed with Hadran though, and the two made their preparations to leave.

This is true! 8D While higher-CR creatures and certain outsiders are resistant to demigod-strength influences - the stage you're at - low-CR creatures can be bowled over pretty easily. Against divine power, the mundane world is actually kind of fragile. It's not "magic with the divine descriptor in front of it, otherwise acting the same". It's actual, in-universe godly force, and behaves as such.

The devil messenger watched as you two started making preparations to leave... and as a few more seconds passed, you noticed its expression growing increasingly twitchy. "...A-are you seriously just going to walk out?" he asked. "Look, Lord Asmodeus wants you gone, and I'm willing to teleport you to a destination of your choice in the neighboring countries. You can have that in writing if you want."

As far as you could tell, it wasn't lying - it was clearly trying to do its job, but at the same time, it seemed... nervous, like it didn't have quite as much force at its disposal as it had wanted.

"Ah, always with the legalese. I'm sure we could, but pass. Thing is, we were sent here on behalf of the Chelaxian government, and are expected to make a report. Servant of Asmodeus as you are, I could be persuaded to let you make the report on our behalf, loathe as I am to put the good of my word in the hand of another..." He cleared his throat, looked down, and kicked a bit of dirt... just long enough to bait the infernal servitor. "Tell you what. I'll release the custody of our promise to the Empire of Cheliax to you, and you will release the custody of these people to us. Wherever you teleport us, you send them too. Otherwise, you can drag us from this place kicking and screaming."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22
Diplomacy (QUIXIOTIC reroll): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 | + surge: 1d6 ⇒ 5 41 total
Good; I'm glad the dice are reflecting what I feel is a decent amount of leverage over this guy. Whiiich I'm sure only grows as we continue to send out flares of divine power and thereby let Asmodeus know that the situation has not yet been resolved. ;-)

I like it.

Hadran stands resolute backing the play of his companion.

"You might regret making that kind of offer." the devil of unknown classification noted - though Burkhardt's smooth words were clearly pushing him against the idea of combat. He didn't look "bad at fighting" so much as "looked like he thought picking up a scroll was exercise". "These prisoners are here under the authority of Cheliax for various crimes they have committed, and must serve out the full term of their sentences. Surely individuals of such... distinct character... as yourselves do not think it appropriate to commute the sentences of criminals for no adequately defined reason."

"The laws of mortals are none of our concern. We are not here to judge them, we have saved them from the threat of the derro. It would be best to not mettle in their fate here Burkhardt. Teleport us to the city. Allow us to make our report and fulfill our current contract. We then will decide our next destination. Burkhardt you can work up the deal. We have no business here in these corrupt lands."

If you're itching to move on Hadran, let me know and I'll ease up, but this is the kind of thing Burkhardt gets stuck on. It is a point for him that 'the laws of man are meant to serve the good of men', and never that 'the good of men is best served by following their laws', if that makes sense. If we broke down the alignment categories further, Burkhardt is about 50% lawful and 50% neutral on the Lawful-Neutral-Chaotic axis.

"The laws of men, and certainly of Cheliax, are indeed not of our concern. However, these people have suffered punishment beyond their sentencing and it is the negligence their government that this is so. Cheliax had, purposefully or otherwise, not properly protected this prison camp, and the empire has failed in their custodial duties.

"This may not matter to your god or his pet government, but it matters to me and I am happy to commute their sentences under my own authority. So, devil, you have your choice. Either we do as Hadran says, leaving Cheliax on our own terms, in our own time, or we do as Asmodeus wants and leave immediately, but with these criminals in our care."

I, for one, appreciate and support nuanced interpretations of your alignment and how you prefer to behave. o wo It is, after all, canonical that each alignment has multiple interpretations, and basically all of them are true. ...For that matter, most deities also have varied interpretations of their focus, and may emphasize certain things more at different times.

"What Cheliax owes to its prisoners is entirely the decision of its rulers." the devil answered. "We do not recognize the authority of any other group to intervene in domestic legal affairs, except as permitted by existing law. Those who attempt to do so are not heroes, they are criminals themselves. Should you care to make a case on behalf of any prisoners, you are - of course - welcome to apply for a permit to visit, and if that is accepted, to then present your case in a court with appropriate jurisdiction when the schedule permits. More immediately, however, I really must insist that the two of you be in agreement with whatever path of egress you choose. It is only by the generosity of Asmodeus that you do not already find the Lords of the Nine themselves come to hunt you down. The King of Hell does not negotiate for jurisdiction in his own territory - he commands, and in this matter I am his spokesperson. And when Asmodeus decrees something, Hell will use whatever is required to enforce his commands."

I'm fine with everything. Hadran is a bit impulsive and brash as I imagine a god of Valor would probably be, so even when I play him as rushing forward you can flew your position and pump the breaks. He may get agitated but me as a player will not :)

"I admire what you try and do here Burkhardt, but we don't have much of a position to negotiate with here. We play a dangerous game if we openly continue to challenge in Asmodeus lands. If you feel we can do more I will back you, but tread careful."

Excellent. Something I understand, but will likely continue to check as the game goes on. Always good to have those lines of communications open, ya know?

"Oh yes, of that I'm sure. You shouldn't make it sound so appetizing, though: routing the attentions of the the Nine from their wars with the heavens and the abyss and each other, to deal with a problem so little! How worthy of his attention we are!" Burkhardt threw his head back, laughed and turned to Hadran, focusing his attention on the fellow god, but talking to both. "No friend, I suspect the devil here tells us the truth that armies await to crush us into the ground. But he curiously seems to think that letting us abscond with a half-dozen half-dead prisoners is much more dangerous for his rank (and his safety) then admitting to Asmodeous that he was weak and incapable, and could not complete this task by himself. I'd find it highly suspect that he was sent down with the decree that he must send us on our way only within the bounds of Chelaxian law, or that the prisoners were explicitly to remain imprisoned. Intervene yourself, spokesperson, and be done with us!

"Hadran, I have learned much from you in our short time together. I know not what comes when we make our stand, but if we are going to protect the weak and the down-trodden I can think of no better place to start."

By all means, never hesitate to ask if you have a question, want clarification on something, or just want to know more about what your character might know on a given topic. XD It's true - communication helps! ...Also, I don't want either of you to feel like I'm just inevitably smacking you with unwinnable things to make you feel not as awesome as you should be.

The devil raised his hand. "You appear to be laboring under a misunderstanding." he said, apparently volunteering information. "It's quite simple, really. The King of Devils is a lord of law - he wants and, indeed, demands his laws be obeyed. The laws of Cheliax are ultimately an extension of the laws of Hell, and so all devils in this land will uphold them. Your presence here and the desire for you to be gone is, frankly, a different matter than a gaggle of prisoners - and we have no desire to break one law simply to enforce another. We do, after all, have a reputation to maintain. Should it make you feel better, I can say that none of the prisoners here have sentences involving execution, life imprisonment, or excessive labor. They will not be provided with the very lap of luxury, but we shall have support for them before the end of the day. As a gesture of goodwill, I shall also assign a doctor - from one of the neutral churches, mind you, so you can be sure they are not biased towards fiendish views - to support their physical well-being after what they've been through."

"I am not sure what that lightning was but or devil friend here did seem to be traveling with backup, now he finds himself needing to appeal to our understanding of law. You have helped me too friend. As I am still guilty of the truth of virtue, believing my truth to be always in the right. I quest to be better and regain what I lost, but if I do not grow and change then it is for nothing. I will stand with you if you choose this to be that time."

Nah; at least since I joined, every fight has been pretty darn winnable. :-)

Burkhardt nodded at Hadran's affirmation, but raised an eyebrow at the devil's explanation. "Indeed, I do seem to have misunderstood. In past times, when I've seen prisoners kept on an island camp mining with a major focus, I have often understood that to be for life sentences with hard labor. If you are honest in this, then it is a reasonable offer I would gladly take; give it to us in writing to review and on approval, we can be done here. But when we leave, know that these prisoners know our names, and know who to turn to in prayer should any agent of the state, Chelaxian or Infernal, renege on this deal."

"We do not lie about legal matters." the devil said, sounding less like a fiend and more like a devotee reciting the tenets of their faith. "If you start doing that, pretty soon you have tons of prisoners imprisoned under false pretenses, and the entire system collapses as nobody trusts a single f*cking thing you say. No, if we want something to be illegal, we will bloody well make it illegal and charge people with that. And if we want a punishment to be of a particular harshness, we will make it that harshness instead of going for systematic excess. The universe needs order - an order everyone can understand. Now, since you probably won't trust a contract I write up, why don't you write it with terms that are acceptable to all three of us, eh? I'll have it analyzed quick-like and we can all get back to our days." He glanced towards the sky, squinting a little at the clouds. "Never seen that before... what kind of nut is playin' games here?"

Perception: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (14) + 18 = 32

Hadran takes notice and too looks to the sky.

"Interesting"

K.?: 1d20 + 27 ⇒ (10) + 27 = 37 He gets lost in thought a few moments staring up as Burkhardt begins working on a contract.

Using Trance to see if I can figure anything out.

Fetching pen and paper from within his hat, he begins scribbling down terms. "It's the second time you've mentioned it devil, but I thought that sky was your doing. Maybe we've upset more than just Asmodeus," he says, in an altogether nonchalant tone. "How long are we to be gone, devil? Is it a lifetime ban? Because that's a very long time you know. Well, my life that is; the empire of Cheliax... probably less than you hope."

Would you like me to make a knowledge check of some kind to get the terms in-game precise?

• - Prisoners serve out the rest of their assigned sentences, which are less than life and no hard labor.
• - Burkhardt and Hadran are teleported for out of Cheliax and do not return (for X amount of time, and refrain from using godly powers when they do).
• - A neutral church watches over these prisoners' health, and they are not to be harmed during the remainder of their sentences or unjustly thereafter.

@Hadran: What, exactly, are you trying to figure out? If it's about the sky, you're pretty sure that's just a show of force designed to try and intimidate you - it's not subtle. At all. The lightning was clearly unexpected, however, and seemed to be more on your side than the devils'.

@Burkhardt: Actually, give me a Linguistics check. While the skill is normally used for deciphering written stuff and creating or detecting forgeries, it has a less-common role for creating contracts and other legal agreements. It's opposed by Appraise, Linguistics, Sense Motive, or another relevant skill (user's choice) to search for terms that aren't advantageous in said contract. Devils are famously good at finding interpretations that help them while harming other parties, although contrary to popular belief, they aren't out to screw over everyone all the time. They'll do it in a second if they think it's to their benefit, but they have long-term goals, and won't undercut themselves just to cause a little more torment. To put it another way, they're selfish and self-interested, not stupid.

That was pretty much it, maybe if that type of power was tied to a specific god or power that I know of as they could be an ally in this. Thanks.

Hadran gives a simple chuckle as Burkhardt and the devil start to work things out.

"Seems others are at work in your lords land as well devil. It seems we may have an ally or two in this. While I oppose your corrupt nature I do appreciate your attempt at order."

Hadran checks on Midfoviing and the people to see how they are recovering as Burkhardt finishes up.

Linguistics: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19
QUIXOTIC Reroll: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17 Damn it. Am I limited to the number of times I can use QUIXOTIC to reroll? I don't think you specified but correct me if I wrong.

While Hadran laughed, an odd rumble draws out from the sky. An odd, low thunder, it would now and again sync with Burkhardt's aggravated mumbling as he scribbled. "Damn devils and their damn contracts. Can't leave any room for common sense, can we? Here you are."

Divine powers tend to break the rules. XD More to the point, you know what it doesn't have? A line going "You may only reroll a d20 once. You must take the second result, even if it is worse", the way most other reroll abilities do. It's also not limited by action economy - and the Mythic Power cost prevents excessive abuse. You want that for a lot of other powers, too. In short, multiple uses are legal with that power because the opportunity and on-use costs are reasonable.

@Hadran: Notably, the lightning came from the caves you exited - not down from the sky. Interpret that as you will. 8D

"Common sense is just personal understanding extrapolated to others." the devil said as he read things over. "A young orc tribesman from the plains might know plenty about wilderness survival, but if you toss him into the Queen's court here in Cheliax, he won't know a darn thing, despite having all the common sense his tribe expects of him. However, I have one change to make here. You are not barred from entering Cheliax for a time, and such a clause could be seen as de-facto permission for the future. You are forbidden to return until you follow the proper entry procedures at any designated point of entry - typically, but not exclusively, a border checkpoint or a station at the docks in a port city. That could be as soon as today, assuming you have some way of getting there after being teleported out. We care that the proper procedures are followed. Whether you wish to return today, in a week, or in ten thousand years is largely unimportant."

I will just have to toss this one up as fate for now until I understand more.

He continues listening to the back and fourth.

"So we have come to an agreement then it seems? Good. I am ready when the two of you are. Midfoviing come, we leave soon."

Ok cool. That's how I was interpreting it, just wanted to make sure it wasn't an oversight.

"Very well." He placed an impeccable signature on the bottom of the document, and offered it to first Hadran, then the devil. "Where are we heading next, Hadran? Sounds like we can be chauffeured just about anywhere." Burkhardt asked. Though his divine power and contacts in the spirit realm were being fairly helpful in catching him up on current events, he still wasn't as familiar with modern Golarian as he may have liked.

As you spoke, you remembered that you had precisely written that you were to be teleported out. You had not specified where. The devil gestured a moment later, and the world around the two of you (and Midfoviing) abruptly shifted.

When the colors surrounding your teleport faded, you found yourselves standing in front of the Starstone Cathedral in Absalom.

And you've completed your mission, so you've leveled up. 8D

"Absalom...I have been here." Or I am remembering wrong, think we came here after leaving Qadira at the start.

"We circle back. I was here with another like us. I think he found the first peace of his power here. Moloch had eyes on me then. I know this goes without saying but keep up your guard. Well this vessel could use some fuel. Shall we find a tavern and get some food and find out the happenings of the city?"

Will work on leveling today. May take the weekend we will see how things go :)

Burkhardt looked around as he finished his previous sentence. "... of course. Damned devils. Yea, Hadran, some food and drink would do me well," he said in a mild pout.

I'll probably have a chance tomorrow to get my leveling done; otherwise Wednesday for sure.

You did come here before. Midfoviing had a nice time getting rescued and eating food.

"FOOD." Midfoviing said, easily distracted from recent shenanigans by the word.

What kind of tavern do you want? This being Absalom, you've got your choice ranging from seedy hole-in-the-wall to fit-for-a-king. Or Cayden's Hall.

Expecting to lose power from the hurricane, regular posting will resume next monday. Thanks. Let Burkhardt explore around and get us into trouble. Feel free to bot me to aid in gathering info.

Burkhardt laughed. "Well, I think a backdrop of intelligent conversation would suit my mood."

Think like a nice coffee shop-type atmosphere, but one with a full menu and preferably alcohol, too. Stay safe, Hadran!

Yeah, safety comes first. o wo; We're getting a LOT of powerful storms this year...

It didn't take too long to locate a pleasant restaurant in town - goodness knew Absalom needed to keep its people fed somehow, and it was rich enough to support a thriving food industry with nearly every taste imaginable. The place you wind up at is located on the third floor of a building overlooking the Ascendant Court, above a rather nice clothing shop featuring various sorts of formal wear. The second floor seems to be residences, and features noticeably thick floors and ceilings (to stop sounds from bothering other areas of the building, apparently).

Absalom was quite cosmopolitan, and upon seeing your draconic friend, the staff just brought you over to a larger table. It wasn't long before food (especially meat) and drinks began to arrive.

"So, what brings you here?" the waitress asked as she set out your food.

"Devils, and hunger!" he laughed. "Just arrived from Cheliax. Not natives of course, simply there for work." He eyed Midfoviing and restrained his chatty impulses. "Eh, I'd better let her order... quite an appetite on that one."

"We also are looking for work. We have coin but could always use more. We are adventurers of sorts. Have you heard of anything or work needed? Rumors of powerful artifacts found or any of that sort of thing. Please bring food and drink for the table. Thank you."

The waitress chuckled. "Plenty of work, depending on what you want to do." she said, looking the both of you up and down and considering your obvious martial expertise. "Nobody's better than the Society if you're interested in powerful magic items. Well, unless you count the Starstone, but well over 99% of people who try to reach it die in the process. I don't recommend that one. For other work, there's a-plenty. Hop on with a merchant going practically anywhere for good travel, guard some noble's estate if you enjoy stability, maybe hang out with a couple of the hopeful ascendants. They never last long, but there's reasonably honest work in helping them while they're in town."

"Ascendants? You mean ones trying to become gods with the starstone? How often do those trying to ascend appear? Thank you for the information. I'm sure we can find something to fill out time."

when she leaves to get them food.

"So anything sound interesting. I need more coin to awaken Valiant Fang. Also there is still a good bit of my power out there trapped in things."

"Hmm, well my first instinct is signing on for a merchant caravan, if for no reason than I'm not a fan of idling in one place. The Society sounds like a good lead though, and if I'm frank, I am insanely curious of what effect the starstone would have for down-on-their-luck gods such as ourselves. If nothing else, finding a hopeful ascendant who stands a real shot could mean a new divine ally, which is something we're desperately lacking.

"Perhaps let's start with the ascendants then the Society, and if neither avenue grabs our interest, find someone going somewhere interesting?"

Hadran nods.

"Its as good as any plan so far."

When the lady returns with food.

"So these ascendants. Where would we go to meet one?"

"Oh, there's always a few hanging around the Ascendant Court. Most of them camp out on the Avenue of the Hopeful until they're ready to take the test. Some like to march right up to the temple for the test, but most try to gin up worshipers." Your server explained, clearly familiar with the area. "Rumor has it faith from believers impacts your chances of success. Nobody knows if it's true, though. No magic's ever penetrated the cathedral. Some say Norgorber himself took the secret of the cathedral with godly power so nobody else - even the other gods - knows what goes on in there."

"Thank you." Hadran gives a wide smile.

"So seems a good place to go indeed."

Hadran will finish up eating allowing Midfoviing to feast. When done he looks to Burkhardt

"Shall we go see this Cathedral then?"

"Let's!" Burkhardt replied simply.

It's not hard to find the Starstone Cathedral - aside from the tall spire sticking up higher than pretty much anything else in the city, the wide and open space around it is fairly easy to notice even from a distance. Several bridges cross the massive chasm around the building, and you see a few people strolling along them, and a few more up near the cathedral itself.

Hadran will look around looking for someone that looks like they have been here.

"Good day, where can we find the Ascendant Court? We are new hear and I do not wish to misstep. Thank you."

Burkhardt simply wore his best smile and nodded along.

The local just laughed. "You're already here." a half-elven woman said, gesturing around. "The Ascendant Court is the whole area around the Starstone Cathedral, out to the big main road circlin' most of it. Take your time and enjoy it." With that, she moved on about her business.

"Shall we mingle then."

Hadran will look and size up any that seem of martial capability and just chit chat and try and gather information and learn about this place and what the trials may be.

Gather Information: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (18) + 18 = 36

Best smile at the ready, Burkhardt seeks out similar candidates and is interested about who, if anyone, stands a real shot at passing the Test of the Starstone.

Gather Information: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25

Nobody knows what the trials of the Starstone are, aside from those few who have survived without ascending to divinity - none except the first trial, anyway. That one is common and popular knowledge, and consists of reaching the cathedral without crossing one of the three bridges across the chasm. Famously, Iomedae cast her common wool cloak across - it hardened into a firm bridge, and she strode in to ascension. Other people have flown, built tightropes, or even leaped. That said, just avoiding the bridges isn't always enough to get the doors to open, and sometimes the doors don't allow people in even if they seem to have passed the first test. There's no discernible pattern anyone's been able to figure out (though people have certainly tried - the records are public and easily accessed).

That said, scattered reports of the test suggest magic not working right, extradimensional travel being prevented, and the rest of the test apparently changing over time.

Rumors abound, and there's no clarity on what might be required for success. Some people believe there must be space in the pantheon for someone to ascend - at the very least, the universe seems to reject having two deities of the exact same thing. Others believe it may have to do with planar conjunctions, the amount of faith an applicant has, pure luck, some combination of all those things, or something else entirely. A few people suggest that Pharasma controls the test, or that the mysterious Jyoti attempt to kill everyone who tries, or that it's all a lie and all of those who passed are Aroden in disguise for mysterious reasons of his own.

There's no end to the rumors and theories. A hundred people offer a hundred answers. At the moment, there are three Hopeful within the city, though they mostly seem to be staying in their camps at the moment. It's one thing to rally followers and make promises - it's another thing entirely to actually approach a test known to kill more than 99% of the people who try to pass it (a number verified through magic to contact the dead, as it happened - the city was once seized by a wide public desire to find out the truth and extensive work by the churches confirmed the deaths beyond any reasonable doubt, though not the specifics of the test).

"Fascinating. Well, shall we try and meet the three? It seems there are so many things unknown here. It truly has me intrigued."

I'm off tomorrow taking a long weekend going out of town. Won't post again until monday after today.

"Seems like the place to start."

A little more questioning got you the locations of the three Hopeful. Each had a small camp of followers, at least a quarter of whom seemed to be, quote, "Professional New Divine Followers", end quote. The theory was apparently that following a would-be god who successfully ascended would reward early followers for their loyalty, so some people made it a point to join up as often as possible. Even if they weren't completely sincere in their faith (though to be fair, none of the Hopeful were actually gods and many felt you couldn't truly believe in them in the first place), they did provide a valued source of funding. In a city where commerce never stopped, nobody was inclined to stop people from spending money.

Anyone who did succeed would find a much larger audience waiting for them - Absalom was famously tolerant of those who passed the Test of the Starstone, and even Norgorber's followers were generally accepted as long as they didn't cause too many problems. Given their preference for not being noticed in the first place, that seemed to be working out for everyone.

One of the Hopeful was camping near the Grand Lodge of the Pathfinder Society, and rumor had it they were trying to actually become the god of the society and were trying to get its members to believe in them before their attempt. It was... not a traditional attempt, but if rumors were right about only 'empty' spots in the pantheon being available, they might have had a shot.

A second was camped in the Coins district, and seemed to be making something of a ruckus investigating warehouses and businesses in pursuit of illegal activities. Several people on the street suspected they were going to get stabbed before they went to the Test.

The last Hopeful currently present was mentioned as some kind of living saint who spent their days in the Puddles district, providing free healing and support to those in need. By all accounts, they were providing genuine magical healing without showing any divine symbols, lending at least a little credence to their claims.

"Perhaps we should look into this saint fellow. If their power truly comes from within, they are someone worth meeting. If not, then they may be tapping some divine source."