Passing through the chambers - the first of which had five sarcophagi, but otherwise nothing of interest - you come into the last and largest room.
Ornate stone sarcophagi line the floors of this wide chamber. In the center of the crypt, four sarcophagi surround a large iron brazier. Passages lead from the western side of the chamber, and a collapsed tunnel to the south appears to be unfinished.
"Ogash! I should have known!" Vegazi cried - and the woman turned with a hate-twisted snarl.
"Vegazi - so they failed in their mission. I'll kill you and your pathetic little friend myself!" the other woman roared, starting to whirl her massive weapon around overhead.
She darted forward a moment later, swinging her massive double-axe straight towards your head - clearly hoping to get you out of the way so she could focus on your companion.
DANG! forgot about my mythic thing that counts me as 4 levels higher to determine duration!
Swift: spend MP to do Untouchable Aura again, DC 17 will negates Free: 5ft step back and to the side Standard: Mind Thrust, 3pp, DC 16 will negates brain damage:3d10 ⇒ (2, 6, 9) = 17
The power of your mind thrust broke upon the woman's raging thoughts, unable to get past the power that surged within - and protected - her. "Bah! Do you really think that's going to be enough to stop me!?" she roared, advancing towards you.
Will (vs Untouchable Aura):1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
However, despite all her rage, she couldn't quite get through the emotional barrier you'd thrown up. Vegazi, meanwhile, was backing up and digging through her things.
Despite her best efforts, however, it seemed you'd narrowly managed to ward her off. (Unless that Will 17 was actually a 16... XD), but this close, you could see the saliva in her mouth as she fought the fear and continued trying to push forward.
Your first blow was a reasonably solid one, bashing into the woman's chest and inflicting a moderate amount of bleeding damage. The second blow missed, however, and she stepped backwards a moment later, raising her hands and letting out a battle cry as flame spewed out of them and enveloped you.
The first blow sunk into her body, but the second was dodged, and she swung her weapon at you again.
Will:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
Your aura was getting close to wearing out, but it was still enough to hold her back - and a pair of arrows came shooting over your shoulder and towards your assailant.
Ah, right. That one. XD We're on Round 5, I believe. Also, I just noticed, but you should stop rolling Bleed damage after the first time you hit with that. Bleed effects of the same kind don't stack, so you shouldn't be getting that extra damage.
Sadly, the critical blow did not confirm, but you did manage to punch heavily into her side, and she let out a large grunt as she focused on you for a moment... then turned slightly and darted towards Vegazi.
Acrobatics (Avoid AoO):1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
It wasn't enough to avoid an attack of opportunity from you, but she kept moving anyway, raising one hand and letting loose with a blast of multicolored lights aimed at Vegazi.
Will DC 11 (Vegazi):1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Your companion hit the floor with a heavy thud as her mind was unable to block the magical effect.
ah, i thought i got the bleed each hit, but they didnt stack in the sense that if i hit with two attacks with bleed riders, i dont start rolling 2d4 each round. basically, the way i interpreted (and just did a bit of googling to see if i could find something to the contrary, i guess it is under a bit of contention as relates to certain other bleeding feats) it is that my feat says i do bleed on hit and then bleed damage says they take it every turn. James Jacobs says, in the entry for Bleed, that it is indeed rolled every round.
Bleed combat entry with James Jacobs' clarification. - says i roll d4 each round
The non-stacking thing is just that i don't keep getting to add d4s (to the per-round dmg) with each successive hit, potentially getting 10d4 or more bleed. Nor could i start tacking on bleed from other things like Bleeding Critical or Boar Style, (though certain things, like Wounding weapons, can stack/increase bleeds, probably allowed because it is a much slower rate of bleed).
i will wait for your response to the bleed stuff, in case you want to interpret it all differently and overrule stuff, before i roll another round of attacks. How far away is the barbarian to me now? and can Vegazi count as flanking for my attack?
Bleeding is pretty weird, yes. XD; However, though the ability says 'on hit', that's true of basically any effect that can cause bleed damage. The bleed damage does not happen on your turn, it happens at the start of the opponent's turn (as per the explanation of what bleed actually is) - and since they're the same kind of damage - HP damage - they don't stack with each other at all. It's definitely not intended to allow you to hurt them both immediately and on their turn. Once you've hit them for bleed, feel free to roll the damage for their turns, but don't add another 1d4 to every unarmed strike.
Also, your AoO hit, and it's your turn. ^^ ...Also, Vegazi got hit by Color Spray and is suffering from a severe case of unconsciousness right now, so... no flanking.
is it alright to retrain that feat then at some point soon? it is preeeetty weak and useless if that is how it will be played. I read (when you damage an opponent) = (you deal 1d4 damage) and thought it was decent, but if that is the ruling, that makes it barely worth a trait.
damn, forgot to subtract the d4 on that last post. not that either of those would have hit. i was just hitting reply to my previous posts, deleting (/quote) and adding (/dice) where necessary
Retraining is fully permitted in this game, following the guidelines for doing so. ^^ One thing I knew from the start was that concepts which looked good on paper might not work out in practice, so there's no problem with training them out and grabbing new ones when you have the chance to do so. Incidentally, that also means you shouldn't worry TOO much about your levelup options - if it just doesn't work, you won't be stuck with it. ^^ Go for what you like.
The woman just growled as she ducked under your blows and grabbed Vegazi's body, then started dragging her away from the battlefield - and you. She seemed desperate to get outside as quickly as possible, and took the southern exit, hobbling away as best she could as she slowly bled out.
Your foe let out a cry of pain, then slowly collapsed, the life draining out of her seeping wounds. Vegazi was still unconscious, though she'd probably wake up soon - and more importantly, the way your foe had broken through several of your psionic attacks was proving to be quite valuable. Somebody might be able to do the same thing in the future, but you were already figuring out better ways of dealing with that - and your powers were growing in response.
Congratulations on reaching Level 4! As before, please post a summary of your choices in the discussion thread - you can level up right away, and are fully refreshed (as if having rested for 8 hours) this time around.
Aside from the woman's heavy orc double axe - masterwork quality - she was carrying quite a few things of interest. Among them were:
-Two potions of cure light wounds
-A potion of magic weapon
-2 scrolls of magic missile (CL 1)
-A scroll of ray of enfeeblement
-3 smokesticks
-A +1 breastplate with armor spikes
-3 throwing axes
-A black feather necklace (worth 15 gp)
-A climber’s kit
-Some hemp rope (50 ft.)
-A set of masterwork manacles clamped around her arms
-A signal horn
-And 91 gp
Vegazi coughed a few times - the lingering effects of the spell took quite some time to fade away, and you had to repeat the question more than once. Finally, though, she grimaced and nodded. "My sister, by blood." she said. "But I don't consider these monsters to be my family."
"Well, it is unfortunate that events unfolded as such. Was there anything among your sister's belongings that you want? A keepsake, or her armor, or something?"
Vegazi spat on her sister's corpse. "Ogash was a brute." she said flatly. "As far as I'm concerned, you can take whatever you want. I just... why is she here?" Your companion was starting to look distinctly worried.
Sorry, i meant deeper into the catacombs. Though your question reminded me to ask Vegazi something before proceeding.
"Was she a raid leader? She was certainly tougher than these middling devils. What might she have headed this way for?"
only looking to go as far in as the dead barbarian did, looking at her belongings nothing suggests she took some artifact from here. I just want to go far enough to make sure she didn't leave some guys behind to pillage the place.
"Hell if I know why she came down here." Vegazi grunted. "She wouldn't have tolerated serving under anyone but her mother, though." There were no other foes here within the catacombs, nor any sign that she'd managed to take or find anything of importance. Whatever had brought her down here, it was quite possible the secret had died with her.
"Hmm, she came down here alone, I see no signs of others under her command. Would her mother have come to this raid? Let's head topside and talk to the mayor again."
Harath will lead the way out of the tomb to see the mayor or whoever asked him to come down here. On his way out he will look to see if that man is still in the sarcophagi. Without opening it, he will listen to see if there are signs of struggle inside or signs that the man left.
If the man is still there, Harath reports him for cowardice.
As it turned out, the man wasn't there - he was much closer to the entrance, watching it and holding his weapon out in front of him - despite the shaking of his hands. Apparently, he'd rethought staying in place and had tried guarding your rear - and the body of a lemure lay at his feet.
...Well, it was the thought that counted, right?
Things seemed to be calming down by the time you finally left the catacombs, and you were greeted outside by a short but handsome human man. "I don’t know who you are,” he exclaimed, "-but I’m glad you're on our side. Did Wate send for you? My scouts are missing, and now we’ve got this mess to clean up." He took off his glove and offered his hand. "Terrin Shaw, scoutmaster here for Arwyll Stead. I've been out of town for several days, traveling to Trunau to gather news and supplies and scouting along the Path River to determine the cause of several orc attacks on remote homesteads - blasted things are a menace to everyone."
"Thank you for guarding the door, those lemures are annoying as all hell."
Looks like he found a shred of dignity, after all," Harath thought to himself.
***
When the hand was offered, the Harath shook it.
"Wate... did not send me. I believe the mayor knows more about his situation than I. I came to be in this town after returning some Arwyll property I found, and got somewhat swept up in the current events." Harath looks at the tomb behind him. "There is a dead orc raid leader in there, though I don't know what she was looking for. I got sent in after her and killed her. I'm on my way to see the mayor (or whoever sent me in the tomb) if you are headed that way to make a report or something."
The raid seemed to be dying down by now, and Terrin looked up at the sky for a few moments. "Actually, I was about to go help the others prepare to bury our dead." he said. He looked back down at you. "We don't like to leave bodies unattended for any longer than necessary - would you like to help? I'm sure people're going to be a bit nervous around outsiders for a bit, but if you're seen helping out the town, they'll probably relax around you."
As you move ahead, the extent of the damage becomes clear - and Ovir is the sole remaining cleric in town. Given the number of bodies, he's opted to conduct a mass ceremony instead so that their bodies can be buried as quickly as possible.
There are a number of different tasks you can opt to help with, and you aren't limited to just one. There are specific rolls and tasks associated with each one, so don't just say you do 'em all and move on. XD You can only roll once for each. The tasks include: -Gathering the Dead: This labor-intensive task requires a DC 14 Strength check to move all the heavy bodies into position for the funeral. -Cleaning the Streets: It's not glamorous or pleasant, but it needs to be done. The bodies of the devils need to go, and blood needs to be washed away. This can be done in a timely manner - allowing you to get to the rest of the tasks - with a DC 14 Dexterity check. -Burial Preparations: Each dead body must be stripped and wrapped in linen before it is ceremoniously placed on the mass pyre. This requires a DC 14 Heal check, as well as a DC 12 Fortitude check to avoid becoming nauseated. -Building the Pyre: Building the funeral pyre requires making sure it is large enough to cremate the deceased and ensuring its flames won’t spread to any nearby structures, which is accomplished with a successful DC 14 Survival check. -Officiating the Funeral: With a DC 14 Knowledge (Religion) check, or a DC 16 Bluff or Perform (Oratory) check, you can actually officiate the funeral yourself. Most deities do have their own ideas about how funerals can be run, and while these people don't worship you, it generally shouldn't be a problem as long as you don't say or do anything their spirits would find offensive.
clean streets DEX:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22 vs DC 14
burial Prep HEAL:1d20 ⇒ 8 vs DC 14
burial Prep FORT:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 vs DC 12
build pyre SURVIVAL:1d20 ⇒ 18 vs DC 14
officiating funeral RELIGION:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27 vs DC 14
officiating funeral BLUFF:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20 vs DC 16
officiating funeral ORATORY:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 vs DC 16
Harath attempts to assist Ovir in the monumental task of performing a mass funeral. Harath finds no difficulty in gathering the bodies into a central location and cleaning the viscera from the streets using buckets of water from the well and fountain and directing nearby idle folks into hauling buckets as well.
However, though the viscera and the wounded don't bother him, it is abundantly clear he is out of his element when it comes to actually preparing the bodies for the funeral. When he compares his handiwork to that of Ovir, he stops what he is doing and asks the priest for assistance.
Harath then moves to gathering materials for the pyre and setting it in a central location where the living can gather to see. Using the buckets from before, he wets the ground and the walls of nearby buildings to ensure they don't catch fire from any floating embers.
Later, when the bodies are prepared and loaded onto the pyre, Harath gives a moving speech. Not only is it moving, but more surprisingly, it is factually accurate from a religious standpoint, and brings up some obscure scripture that is particularly poignant. He blends in details of the attack, and emphasizes the weakness of the opposing force in an attempt to bolster the remaining troops in the defense of the remaining living. He ends his speech with a passage from before he slept the long sleep. "Though they now sleep a long sleep, they will wake again, somewhere else, as someone else. May their dreaming passage be swift."
He then sets the torch to the pyre in each corner.
The hymns and prayers went on for many hours after the ceremony ended - but Vegazi was clearly happy about all the effort you'd put in, and was looking at you with considerably more approval. So was Ovir, who met you a little while afterwards and gave you four potions of cure light wounds, a scroll of remove curse, three flasks of holy water, and a periapt of protection from curses as thanks for your help. That was quite late in the day - and while you could probably talk to others if you wanted to, it might also be best to get some rest.
Harath will let Ovir and Vegazi know that he is going to go back to his room in the inn and rest. Before he retires, however, he will listen in on any conversation in the common area to see if anyone is missing the items he borrowed off the shelf in the attack.
Nobody seems to be missing the items you took - probably because the owner was among the dead, and a somewhat shell-shocked villager is currently pitching in to run the place with something that at least vaguely resembles its normal order.
After a night's rest - thankfully far more calm and peaceful than the last - someone delivers a note from Terrin, asking you to meet him by the southern gates, atop the west wall walk. If there's anything you'd like to buy from the town's admittedly limited stores, now might be a good time to do that.
ah, so i couldn't wear it with the Nightmare Stone, which means i probably ought to sell it.
Harath walks around to any shops that might be open, hoping that, like the tavern, someone had stepped up to run things in the absence of any original proprietors.
i am not 100% sure what the base value means, i assume that is a GP limit?
Items i am looking to trade/sell:
things that they ccan't afford to buy, i will look at trying to trade for lighter items of value like small jewelry/gems/potions unless they have some nice items of use and value like rods (but i doubt it would be in a store if they did)
masterwork light steel shield, worth about 159 gp
masterwork shortspear
mwk chain shirt
-A silver holy symbol of Iomedae
-A masterwork longsword
silver signet ring
sack of what looks to be itching powder
-A +1 breastplate with armor spikes
-3 throwing axes
-A black feather necklace (worth 15 gp)
periapt of protection from curses
gonna keep the masterwork mithral chain shirt, and a masterwork heavy mithral shield, and sell my similar items that aren't quite as good. this town probably cant afford to buy a mithril shirt anyway
Base Value and Purchase Limit: This section lists the community's base value for available magic items in gp. There is a 75% chance that any item of this value or lower can be found for sale in the community with little effort. If an item is not available, a new check to determine if the item has become available can be made in 1 week. A settlement's purchase limit is the most money a shop in the settlement can spend to purchase any single item from the PCs. If the PCs wish to sell an item worth more than a settlement's purchase limit, they'll either need to settle for a lower price, travel to a larger city, or (with the GM's permission) search for a specific buyer in the city with deeper pockets. A settlement's type sets its purchase limit.
The town's Purchase Limit, incidentally, is 5000 GP. Items can generally be sold at half price.
Base Value and Purchase Limit: This section lists the community's base value for available magic items in gp. There is a 75% chance that any item of this value or lower can be found for sale in the community with little effort. If an item is not available, a new check to determine if the item has become available can be made in 1 week. A settlement's purchase limit is the most money a shop in the settlement can spend to purchase any single item from the PCs. If the PCs wish to sell an item worth more than a settlement's purchase limit, they'll either need to settle for a lower price, travel to a larger city, or (with the GM's permission) search for a specific buyer in the city with deeper pockets. A settlement's type sets its purchase limit.
The town's Purchase Limit, incidentally, is 5000 GP. Items can generally be sold at half price.
transactions:
Alright, so, let me see if math works out here. Some items you have specified approximate value for, so I don't know if you meant total market value or sell value. Judging by the mwk lt steel shield, i assume you have specified the total market value and will do my math accordingly:
Sell | Total | Item
79gp | 159gp | masterwork light steel shield, worth about 159 gp
150gp | 301gp | masterwork shortspear
125gp | 250gp | mwk chain shirt
12gp | 25gp | -A silver holy symbol of Iomedae
157gp | 315gp | A masterwork longsword
2gp | 5gp | silver signet ring
30gp | 60gp | sack of what looks to be itching powder
12gp | 24gp | 3 throwing axes
7gp | 15gp |-A black feather necklace (worth 15 gp)
+3gp from rounded halves
---------
If all those items can be sold, i should gain
577gp
will keep the periapt of protection from curses since the town cant afford to keep it, heh.
hmmmm, just realized i can use medium armor with no penalties.... so maybe i want to keep +1 breastplate with armor spikes....
how much would it cost to have someone modify the breastplate to fit me? it came off a female, I'd rather not walk around with armor made to accommodate breasts. or because it is magic, does it change to suit me?
alright, if i can find such a competent armorer, i will do that. I will wear my mithril chain shirt while i am away at the meeting on the wall.
and i take it that the settlement has no handy haversacks since that is above the limit that can be held... are there any similar items of lesser value (and lesser capacity, i assume)?
wow, i didnt look on that page because i knew the cheapest was too expensive for this place. turns out they hid the minor version, with no listing on the table... sheesh. I'll pick one up as well. leaving me with 1467 in gold coins plus some misc other coins/gems and the items i didnt sell (mostly consumables). Is there a sorta quick-draw potion bandolier you know of?
Uh... closest I can find is the 'Sipping Outfit', which is out of your price range at 5000 GP. It lets you infuse it with a potion, then activate it as a swift action at a later point.
