The Forgotten God (Table 3) (Inactive)

Game Master Rednal

Oooooh, nice power~ But don't forget that there's no natural lighting here, and Synesthete doesn't cover Darkvision. You'll also need a source of light to be able to see - shouldn't be hard.

The ghast just laughed. "You can't be that stupid. Honor is for the weak!" it said. There was a faint swishing sound, and a wave of energy abruptly shot over you, crackling with vicious power as it sought to burn your life away.

Channel Negative Energy: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 3, 2) = 8
Will DC 16 halves: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

would pulling out a torch and manifesting Energy Burst work to light it and damage the bad guy?

Hmm... yeah, sure, why not? In general, anything that does fire damage should be able to light a torch, unless you're doing so much you actually destroy the thing.

fire: 5d6 + 5 ⇒ (2, 5, 1, 2, 2) + 5 = 17 DC 17 Ref halves... ouch, 22.5 would have been avg dmg...

Harath draws a torch from the side of his pack, and manifests Energy Burst. Though he cannot yet see the enemy, the light is soon to come.

Reflex: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

As vision (well, sort of) returned to you, you 'saw' the undead leaping out of the way of the worst of your fire, laughing as he did so. He chanted a moment later, and some kind of dark energy appeared on his hand before he darted forward and reached out in an attempt to touch you.

Melee Touch: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

With your protective barrier up, though, the spell was unable to hit you, and its energies dissipated harmlessly into the air as the ghast let out an unhappy growl.

atk: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (5) + 4 + (4) = 13 the 1d4 is bleed, not sure if undead are subject to that

Harath took a clawed swipe at the vile creature before attempting to move out of the shrine area and into the hallway. Into the strike, he channeled a sliver of the beast within him, attempting to instill fear into his enemy.

Incite Fear (Terror), DC 14 will negates. He is inside my Fear Aura and loses any immunity to fear he might have and takes a -4 penalty on the will save. If he failes, he is shaken for 1d4 ⇒ 3 rounds

Unless noted otherwise, undead are not subject to bleed.

The ghast ducked under the physical blow, avoiding it entirely, and retaliated with a swipe of its claws aimed towards your extended arm as you began moving back and away from it.

Attack of Opportunity: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29 for Damage: 1d4 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 +Paralysis, Fort DC 15 Negates: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

It managed to land a blow as you retreated, but its paralytic swipes just barely failed to pin you in place. Its long tongue flicked out as you stepped into the hallway, and the undead priest began retreating further into the chamber, moving out of close range. "What's wrong, meat-sack? Are you afraid of me? Keh keh keh~"

it gets an AoO for me moving away? it has reach?

"Says the one moving back into your shrine. Have you no power outside of it?"

Harath will move away, out of the building the way he came. the plan is to leave, meet up with the woman above and abort this mission, but he isn't fleeing recklessly (no Run action, paying attention behind him, etc). He's only half certain the undead creature won't follow him.

The undead yells something unpleasant after you, but doesn't follow. It may be that it doesn't want to follow you... or that it literally can't. Getting outside is easy enough, even with your modified senses, and the woman lets out a cry of alarm as she sees you emerge, looking hurt.

"What happened?" she asked, looking nervously towards the room you'd emerged from, obviously wondering if some horror was about to emerge.

"I've got to cut my time here short, unfortunately. I've been blinded by some corpse-looking abomination. I am using my mental powers to see for a time, but my reservoir of power is not infinite, and there are more horrors that wait below."

Letting that sink in, he continues, "If you are planning on coming back here, you will want a team of specialists in combating the walking dead and perhaps some demons, judging by the horror below."

The woman looked distinctly nervous about that, and nodded sickly. "I... there are some groups who would be willing to help, I suppose." she said, looking a bit disappointed. "How good is your sight? I can escort you back to the camp - it'll still be a little while before any boat shows up to pick you up."

"I can move normally for another hour or so, as long as there is light. After that, I'd have to dip into my reserves of energy again. If I am not moving, I can tolerate the blindness for a bit. It will give me a chance to contemplate this ill-advised journey."

She nodded, but still looked rather concerned as she escorted you away from the building. In truth, its dangers probably weren't beyond your power - not unless you were simply unlucky, of course, but that was always a possibility. Such was the nature of luck.

Finally, you managed to get settled in on the camp, within a tent that was... well... emptier than it really should have been. Given your current state, it might be wise to take additional precautions for the night - unless you simply wanted to go to sleep, of course.

yeah, seemed like quite a string of unluck. I might be conflating this game with some others, but i have failed a lot more saves than i have passed recently (i feel)

Harath will gather what detritus he can and spread it about the area around the tent. Dead sticks, gravel, anything that could make noise on someone's approach. Securing the camp as best he can from invaders with what little he has to work with, he will rest.

If it helps, some tests suggest that Paizo's dice roller isn't truly random. XD; There are several reasons why I gave you a big bonus to all of your saves, and that's one of them. Still, this seems like a good opportunity for some plot... so in the interest of fairness, I'm letting you know that I am now actively trying to kill you for story-related purposes. If you escape, then congrats, and I'll try harder next time - if not, don't worry, because it's a part of the game I wrote in from the very beginning and you won't receive any kind of penalty for it.

Also, you haven't picked up your Legendary Item yet, right? Pretty sure I said that needed to be found...

You've rested half the night when a roaring sound echoes over the camp, much like the noise a bull makes, and screams erupt from outside. Unfortunately, you can't see what's going on at the moment, but it certainly sounds violent.

It's on the sheet, but I haven't applied any bonuses, especially because only the base item would affect his stats in any way.

Harath remains still, expending yet more of his reserves to see once more. He listens to determine more about what is going on.

There's a heavy stomping sound, and you can sense a few people running away. Moments later, your tent is ripped open by a massive axe - standing there, weapon in hand, is a hulking figure with a bull-like head and two pointed horns, and steam shoots out of its huge nostrils as it glares at you.

Initiative (Enemy): 1d20 ⇒ 16
Initiative (You): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

The beast charted forward a moment later, swinging its heavy weapon around and towards your side.

Melee: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

The weapon landed with a heavy thud in the dirt next to you, and its owner pulled it back a moment later, clearly getting ready to try again.

"You've picked the wrong prey, monster."

atk: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (4) + 4 + (2) = 10 1d4 is bleed

Harath attempted to drive the creature away by carving some fear given form into its thick hide.

Incite Fear (Terror), DC 14 will negates. He is inside my Fear Aura and loses any immunity to fear he might have and takes a -4 penalty on the will save. If he fails, he is shaken for rounds: 1d4 ⇒ 3

Will: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 - 4 = 16

The beast threw off the attempt to instill fear into it and, exhaling near-scalding steam, swung out twice with its massive weapon now that it had gotten close enough to strike out at your properly. Each of the minotaur's muscles bulged as it lashed out, its limbs more than twice the size of a normal man's, and all of that power was being put into its swings.

Melee: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20 for Damage: 3d6 + 6 ⇒ (5, 6, 1) + 6 = 18
Melee: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 for Damage: 3d6 + 6 ⇒ (2, 6, 6) + 6 = 20
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 for Damage: 3d6 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3, 4) + 6 = 17

I believe all of those are accurate, since you didn't mention activating any additional defensive powers.

yeah, the damage would have put him at 0, if it wasnt a crit. he's at -17, 3hp past dead-dead. The 20 did hit, he had no powers up.

Teeeechnically, you're Hard to Kill, so you have to be at -2X CON before you'll die. That's a bit less relevant in a solo game, but may be worth remembering for some kind of psionic Contingency power (or other last-moment defense).

For a few moments, you can see the beast stepping up above you and raising its axe one final time... and everything goes black.

---

In a world with so much magic, there are beings who have died more than once. However, death itself is not so easily forgotten by any soul that experiences it, even the soul of a god. The first thing you see is the infinite universe spreading out beyond you as your soul is pulled away from the Material Plane. Ahead of you, close and yet unreachable, is an impossibly tall tower - and the lights of uncountable souls flow alongside you, each heading to the place of judgment. There is a purity, there - a sense of purpose, of completeness, and of the universe functioning the way it was intended. It is neither lawful nor chaotic, good or evil... it simply is, and you catch one glimpse of a figure whose greatness surpasses the ability of a mortal to comprehend.

And then your journey ceases. The souls of other beings flow unimpeded through the aether. Some of them shine with the radiance of goodly folk, others are tarnished and corrupted, while most seem to be somewhere between. Without warning, you begin to move once more. If you had gone back, it might have been a sign of someone resurrecting your corpse. If it had been forward, it would only be the natural course of things. This movement is different.

Wrapped around one of your feet is a skeletal hand, attached to an arm of inconceivable length. You don't even know the word to describe how many joints it has, but the arm pulls you away from the tunnel heading towards the Boneyard, and away from the edges of all the planes. The pulling motion begins to go faster and faster, until you're pulled through a void between Abaddon and the Abyss, not into a deeper pit but beyond their furthest reaches. Another figure can be seen near Abaddon as you pass - a cloaked figure atop a horse, who begins to ride towards you as you move by... only to stop, then turn around and ride back towards his realm. The descent continues, past planes unknown to the minds of beings as weak as mortals, constantly speeding up...

Until everything stops. After an uncountable time spent pulled through the reaches of space, you find yourself flat on your face, lying on a cool floor of some kind. As you raise your head, a figure comes into view. Twin skulls dangle from her ears, even as a ragged black cloak billows out behind her. In one of her hands is a scythe - and even the faintest glance at it sends an unquenchable wave of terror through you. Despite all of this, however, she seems welcoming... and very amused as she regards you.

"I thought you might be showing up soon." she said, munching on an apple. After a moment, you realized that your previous blindness was entirely gone, and your body felt rather better... closer to what it should have been, in a way no mortal form could ever match. "Bad luck with that undead cleric, but I'm sure you'll do better next time." Munch. "Anyway, as far as you're concerned, I'm Death. That's with a capital letter, by the way. This is my realm, and I've got the answers if you've got the questions." She sat back on a plush-looking chair that simply appeared behind her and crossed her legs before making an inviting gesture. Another chair appeared, this time next to you.

Harath stands, pleased to be able to see once more, even if dead. He looks around, taking in any boundaries present, such as walls or the lack thereof. He looks up, looks down at the floor, then to the chair. Sitting on the chair, he looks to the woman and speaks.

"Not the way I'd have preferred to arrive here, I suppose. You know who I am, and have introduced yourself. As far as questions... Why am I here? Besides having been slain, I mean. Did you send the creature after me?"

There don't seem to be any particular boundaries other than the floor, though you can see what look like mountains a long, long ways away. This isn't the material plane, though, and distance is probably meaningless.

Meanwhile, the woman's mouth twitched towards a smile. "Indeed. Unlike everyone else, I do know who you are. You're here because I brought you here - I don't think it's time for you to meet Pharasma face-to-face, so I... stepped in. I did not send the Minotaur after you or otherwise arrange for it to happen - such creatures naturally inhabit that island, and it was simply your bad luck to be slain when they came down to attack the camp."

"And the undead cleric? One of yours?"

Death snorted. "No." she said. "I have no clergy. He worships Yamasoth, favored Qlippoth Lord of Runelord Alaznist, and I am not fond of that particular race of beings. I do not take sides in ethical conflicts, but... the Qlippoths seek to destroy even the ability to choose between good and evil, and that I oppose. I wish you well in any endeavor you have against them... and return to you this." She clapped her hands together, and when she spread them, something you hadn't seen for a very long time was resting there.

See Discussion Thread!

"The Nightmare Stone... I haven't heard its whispers in quite some time. Thank you for this." Harath reaches out and takes the stone, placing it around his neck once more.

"Regarding your intervention in my situation... was that merely stealing a plaything from another, or did you have some other design?"

Death raised one eyebrow as she looked at you, still looking almost sinfully comfortable in her cushioned chair. "As I said, I did not feel it was time for you to see Pharasma. I am not obsessed with law in the way your plane of Axis is, but... some things ought to be, others should not occur at all, and the pantheon becoming aware of you at this point in time is definitely the latter. I sincerely doubt your soul would last five minutes from the moment word spread." the look on her face suggested this was less of a guess and more of a divine certainty. "I gave you the opportunity to regain your power and place in relative safety, and would rather not see you lost so soon."

"Ah, well then I must thank you for this opportunity. Do you know how I lost my power? When I try to remember, I find nothing there."

"I do know." she answered sedately. "You really ought to know that, though, given that you were the one who scattered the parts of your power when you were attacked. A sensible last-moment effort to preserve yourself, if a bit less tidy than most would prefer, given that we're talking fragmenting about your own soul."

"And my attacker?"

"Why, they came here." she said, smiling. "For some reason, they seemed to be under the impression that your soul was within my keeping, rather than having been sent to a backup mortal body. I did not correct their misunderstanding, though I did accept their request to have all memory of you removed from your plane. And no, I'm not going to tell you who they are - that's something you'll have to uncover for yourself." She seemed slightly regretful about that - but just as clearly had no intention of changing her mind.

"Hmm. Any more insights to pass down to me, or is it time for me to once again walk on the dirt ball of mortals?"

i have no more questions that i can think of

"Do not forget how far you have fallen." the goddess cautioned. "As of now, you are less than the faintest wisp of a dream. Should you need my help again, you will have to pay my price." she raised one hand, and a field of energy coalesced into the rough shape of a door. "The mountain did not go well for you, so perhaps a change of scenery will help."

"Yes, I think curiosity had gotten the better of me. Every fight I barely scrape past reminds me how far I have fallen."

Harath opens the door and peeks through, giving a last moment for any more comments from Death, before stepping through.

As you stepped out through the door, your foot came down on a dusty road. Not too far in the distance, you could see a series of mountain ranges that looked nothing at all like the Hollow Mountain you'd just left behind. A thump could be heard a moment later as a wooden box simply fell out of the air - and looking inside, you found all of your mortal belongings there, neatly stacked (and in some cases cleaned). This time around, it seemed you hadn't lost your things... but from the way the way the woman had been behaving, that might not hold true in the future.

Harath hastily inventories the items in the box, to see if anything is missing. After doing so, he looks both ways down the dusty road, in an attempt to decide which way to go.

for speed's sake, I'd take the way towards civilization, if obvious

Nothing seems to be missing from the box of your items. As you move, though, the clang of metal on metal and the shrill whinnies of frightened horses can be heard from up ahead. As the dusty road curves around the hills, a scene of battle comes into view some hundred feet away. Panicked horses bolt past, and corpses litter the ground around the road—some are recognizable as human guards or fallen horses, but others are twisted, winged, horned monstrosities with fiendish features. All of the combatants have fallen, except for two of the flying yellow monsters attacking a lone, wounded half-orc woman wielding a bow. It doesn't seem like any of them have noticed you yet - in fairness, they're a bit preoccupied.

Harath will manifest Force Screen and move forward to get within attack range of the creatures. Assuming he is able to get close enough to attack before being attacked, he will use his Psychokinetic Discharge to send claws of force at one of the creatures.

atk: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
dmg: 1d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6

The claw of force struck the creature with impressive accuracy, but only a small cut appeared on its body - it seemed resistant to physical damage, and magic alone wasn't enough to overcome that. More power - or perhaps some kind of other psionic force effect - would probably help.

The two beasts immediately snarled and turned to you, though, darting at you and stabbing out with their spears. As they got closer, despite the threat they posed, you were able to note that both of them seemed injured and were at somewhat less than full vitality.

Melee: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27 for Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Melee: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 for Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

One of them narrowly missed - the other actually managed to land a critical blow on you, though your natural toughness meant you could shrug it off and keep going. Meanwhile, the half-orc woman raised her longbow and fired two arrows at one of the beasts.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Neither actually managed to hit, and she scowled in irritation. "Oy, stranger! Watch yourself - these are lesser host devils! Hard to poke open unless you're some kinda saint, and fire won't do a thing!"

Knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

The name sounds familiar to you, and after a moment, you remember what they are. (<- Link)

As they rushed in at him, Harath attempted to buy some time to recall what they were, swiftly enshrouding himself in psionic protection.

Dropping focus to manifest Untouchable Aura as an immediate action as they attack me, and augmenting it to 3 PP (lasts 5 rnds, DC 16 will save or lose their attack actions, PR applies). They take a -4 on this save as it is a fear power and they're attacking from melee - within my aura.

On this round, Harath manifests Biofeedback (1 PP, gives me DR 2/-). He then adopts a defensive stance.

not sure if they make saves separately versus my Untouchable Aura, but i think they would do so individually. Next turn, I'll attack with my claws probably, I just want to hit them to get bleed damage ticking on them because that gets past their DR. Sadly theyre resistant to acid, so there goes my beloved Corrosive Aura.

concentration for Biofeedback: 1d20 + 3 + 4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 4 + 4 = 15 vs DC 17
Biofeedback manifestation doesn't work, lost the PP used for it.

Unless otherwise noted, creatures always make saves separately. ^^ The only common exceptions are things like swarms and troops, which are pretty weird even under normal rules.

The two host devils hissed angrily-

Will: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (7) - 4 = 3
Will: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (7) - 4 = 3

-but your aura was proving perfectly fine for keeping them at bay, and they flailed helplessly against the psychic barrier as another pair of arrows shot through the air.

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 for Damage: 1d8 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (4) + 2 - 5 = 1
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

One of them actually managed to hit, punching a small hole through the creature's wing - though just as obviously, it would take many more hits of that strength to bring the creature down. The half-orc didn't seem very prepared for fighting these kinds of enemies, though given all the bodies around, it was clear that she and her companions had put up a good fight while they could.

Harath lashed out at the creatures in an attempt to get them bleeding by slashing through their evil-reinforced skin.

atk: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 vs enemy 1
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (6) + 4 + (3) = 13

atk: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 vs enemy 2
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (6) + 4 + (2) = 12

The injured host devil staggered as you struck it, though it didn't quite fall - but it did buzz back slightly in an attempt to patch up its wounds...

Heal: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

...utterly without success. The other host devil hissed once again-

Will: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (20) - 4 = 16

-and actually managed to succeed in working up the willpower necessary to attack you. It promptly did so-

Melee: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

-but the attack was wasted as it narrowly missed thanks to your current protections. Two more arrows from the half-orc shot through the air a moment later...

Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Ranged Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 for Damage: 1d8 + 2 - 5 ⇒ (5) + 2 - 5 = 2

...and the second one pierced the bleeding gaav, sending its lifeless body to the ground. That left just one of the beasts.

With one left, Harath focused his attacks on it, lashing out twice and missing terribly.

atk: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (3) + 4 + (3) = 10

atk: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
dmg: 1d6 + 4 + 1d4 ⇒ (1) + 4 + (3) = 8

there's that non-random dicebot. Both d20s came up 5, both d4s came up 3...

The remaining devil looked at its fallen companion, then pulled back slightly and simply disappeared into the air, drawing on its innate powers of teleportation to escape the battlefield. The half-orc's shoulders slumped slightly as she lowered her bow. She wasn't in any immediate danger, but she'd clearly been badly wounded by the attacks, and another blow or two would probably have sufficed to finish her off.

"Thanks, stranger." she said, her grasp of the common tongue a bit rough (though just as clearly sincere). She looked at the battlefield for a moment - half-a-dozen disintegrating gaav bodies, along with almost as many townsfolk and what looked like a tiefling. She winced slightly as her gaze crossed the last. "I'm Vegazi. Could you... help bring... the bodies for burial? Town's not too far."

400 XP. Thinking about switching to story-based levels, based on how things have gone in other games. XD

story awards work for me

"Well, that is a lot of bodies for the two of us, and you're quite wounded. Does someone in the town have a wagon we could use?"

The woman scratched at the side of her head for a moment. "Not sure." she eventually said. "Horses ran off, though, but probably didn't go too far. I could probably round them up in half an hour, and we could have them carry the departed back." She didn't set off yet, though, clearly wanting to know if this was a plan that worked for you.

"Sounds good. That should be faster than you and I carrying.... six bodies back to town. I'd come with you, but I am not especially good with animals."

"Pretty fond of animals myself." she said. "As thanks for saving me, feel free to help yourself to the stuff from the bodies. Oh, but anything with this mark..." she bent down and picked up a shield with the insignia of a mesa and sunburst, "Belongs to the Arwyll Estate. Nobody in town'll buy it, but the estate will pay for its return." She set the shield back down and began moving off, paying careful attention to the ground as she went - an obvious sign of a tracker at work.

The battlefield has the following items you can pick up:
-Bird feather token x2
-Whip feather token x1 (attached to a necklace of black feathers worth 15 gp for its ornamental value alone)
-A scroll of see invisibility
-A silver holy symbol of Iomedae
-A flask of holy water
-A potion of cure moderate wounds
-A chain shirt, two suits of studded leather, 15 arrows, three longswords, and a shortbow, all marked with the Arwyll crest
-A masterwork longsword, a masterwork mithral chain shirt, and a masterwork heavy mithral shield, and a silver signet ring, likewise marked and all on the same body

Harath will scoop up the items he can, and separate the marked items in a neat pile for return to the Arwyll Estate. He will array the bodies as neatly as possible, and wrap them respectfully in their cloaks if possible.