The Forgotten God (Table 5)

Game Master Rednal

Based on the information given from those he'd freed, this room was likely a torture chamber. Still, best to make certain. <"What is this room used for?">
Asking the wraiths

The wraiths didn't look particularly friendly - but they didn't turn hostile as you approached them, either. After a moment, one of them looked down at the manacles on the floor. <"...Experimentation."> it said after a few moments. <"To test liquids on creatures and see the results.">

That's ... pretty much what he'd expected the answer to be. Best not to linger. <"Thank you">
Onward! :-)

To...? XD You've still got the stairs to the south and a large unexplored area to the west/northwest. Specifics are good!

Sorry about that! :-( Let's head south

Heading south, you came closer to the two sets of stairs - one heading up and one heading down. There was another cave just to the west.

Best to check the nearby cave to ensure he wasn't ambushed on a staircase later.

Though most of what lies in this room looks like useless trash, the glint of coins, gems, and other valuables scattered about indicates this is some sort of treasury. A quick check shows a number of signatures of magic, although there's enough junk to sift through that it would take at least twenty minutes to give it a thorough going-over, and you'd almost certainly be interrupted at some point in the process.

Material possessions had never been particularly important to Astoroth. Knowledge was more useful and longer-lasting. Leaving the room, he descended the staircase to the next level.

This room is filled with a convoluted arrangement of pipes, gears, containers, cranks, levers, and more incomprehensible things, all apparently controlling the movement of water. The sound of rushing water and clanking metal is loud enough to make normal conversation difficult.

The celestials with you winced a bit at the noise, the air elemental didn't seem bothered (but then, thunderous sounds were probably familiar to him), and Nia looked a bit bothered, but didn't go as far as covering her ears.

-10 Circumstance Penalty to all Perception checks to hear while on this level. Also, new map!

Yay for a map that's literally a straight line! XD Unless I say otherwise, whenever I proceed, let's assume I'm heading straight forward unless one of the side chambers looks interesting.

Well, that was quite the annoying machine. As much as he'd like to poke around and (possibly) improve it, time was of the essence. The fact that a mistake would likely douse him in waters from the River Styx was also a factor. Best to leave it alone ... at least for now.
Onward!

Heading down the passageway, the different rooms showed different bits of machinery - largely the same in function, if different in form. That came to an abrupt end as you came to one chamber's entrance just as a hydrodaemon was coming out... and it let out a screech as it made to attack you. Going by its behavior, it may have thought you were escaped prisoners or something...

Init (Hydrodaemon): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
Init (You): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Swift: activate Snake Style (vs the bite attack); Move: studied target

Astoroth immediately shifted into a defensive posture and prepared for combat. Based on past experience, the daemon would likely attempt to put him to sleep. Best to prevent that.

Standard: readied action to 5ft adjacent to the daemon and attack if it tries poison spit. Because readied action + AoO (ranged attack in melee) is fun. XD

Predicting things was always a bit chancy - and in this case, it stepped closer to you (clearly recognizing your readiness) and swiped out with teeth and claws.

Bite: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21
Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23
Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15

Behind you, you briefly noticed Nia holding out an arm to stop the others from rushing forward. But then, the corridor was a bit narrow... and it looked like she was trying to give you room to act.

Snake Fang: 1d20 + 16 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 16 + 4 = 31 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 4 + (2, 6) = 24

An aggressive fighter, this one. Best to finish it quickly. Astoroth promptly lashed out with a coordinated combination of strikes targeting vulnerable points.

Flurry: 1d20 + 16 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 16 + 4 - 2 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 4 + (6, 3) = 22
Flurry: 1d20 + 16 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 16 + 4 - 2 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 4 + (1, 6) = 23
Flurry: 1d20 + 11 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 11 + 4 - 2 = 30 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 4 + (3, 1) = 18
If my last attack connects, and the daemon looks severely injured, I'll expend Studied Strike.
Studied Strike Damage (if needed): 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10

If it's still up, I'll Snake Style the bite attack.

Thanks in part to the temporary amulet you'd gotten, your blows crushed right through the daemon's defenses and noticeably injured it... although not severely so. It still had a few blows left in it, and croaked slightly before stepping backwards. A sphere of Deeper Darkness abruptly filled the corridor, blocking ordinary sight - and darkvision - all around you.

Two questions since illumination is still rather confusing. 1) If I use my oil of daylight, will I be able to see? What if the hydrodaemon recasts deeper darkness next round? 2) I'm pretty sure hydrodaemons don't have the See In Darkness ability, so it should be just as blind as me. Is that correct? Unless it has a special ability, of course.

Normally, I'd make you roll for that, but... let's face it, you'd make that check. XD Things like new illumination from you interact normally for the way light and dark spells can negate each other, so if you canceled one, it could summon another. That power is at-will for these daemons, by the way. And it does not have See In Darkness or any equivalent.

I was pretty sure that was the case but wanted to confirm before doing anything.

A not-unsurprising tactic, as the daemon seemed rather severely injured. As it lacked any way of seeing, this probably meant it was preparing to flee. That wasn't an ideal outcome, as it would almost-certainly result in more daemons coming their way. Fortunately, Astoroth didn't need eyes to see....

Using wild acrana to gain Divine: blindfolded oracle. I'll spend the additional spell point to upgrade to Blindsight 30ft. I'll then use my Move Action to get adjacent to the daemon so it'll have to pass through multiple threatened squares to withdraw.
Acrobatics (if necessary): 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (8) + 16 = 24

With Blindsight empowering you, it wasn't terribly hard to make out the Daemon's location, and-

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (4) + 15 = 19

-judging by its movements, it was at least aware of your approach, and it stepped some five feet backwards before focusing on its magical powers.

Defensive Casting: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13
Unless you've got an interrupt... it's teleporting away rather than continuing to fight.

I'm a little confused right now. Either it's no longer adjacent to me (meaning the corridor is 15+ feet wide, by the way) and doesn't need to cast defensively OR it just failed its defensive casting roll.

It backed away from you, towards the far end, and it's casting defensively because it doesn't actually know if you were able to follow and wanted to be safe. To put it another way, it doesn't know if it needs to or not, so it's trying to be on the safe side. Emphasis on 'trying'.

Makes sense. I don't have an interrupt, but I'm pretty sure it failed the concentration check, as a 13 seems rather low. I could be wrong, though, so let me know the current situation.

He did fail, yes... which means he lost the spell. XD He's still there.

The daemon's spell fizzled as Astoroth stepped into range and launched another precise series of strikes.

Flurry: 1d20 + 16 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 16 + 4 - 2 = 27 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 4 + (3, 3) = 22
Flurry: 1d20 + 16 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 16 + 4 - 2 = 22 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 7 + 4 + (5, 4) = 25
Flurry: 1d20 + 11 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 11 + 4 - 2 = 19 Damage: 1d8 + 7 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 7 + 4 + (4, 4) = 26

As the lethal blow connected, the sphere of darkness disappeared - and you immediately noticed the celestials with you looking appreciatively at the daemon's dead body. This particular hydrodaemon also seemed to be the only guard present on this floor, so until someone else came along, you were free to look around - or just head back, if you preferred.

Even though time was still of the essence, Astoroth couldn't NOT take at least a quick look around this floor - especially when it was dominated by such an interesting machine.

The machines here look like they're connected to other parts of whatever this facility actually is. Some of them are helping to pump water out, while others appear dedicated to being some kind of magical power supply.

Unless the map indicates the gem's here, I'll head back up the stairs and ascend to the unexplored upper level.

The snaking pipes do not extend into this hallway; the ceiling and walls are smooth and lack mechanical clutter. Nailed in various places on the wall are “tapestries” of stretched humanoid skin, some of them bearing tattoos or other body features such as scars, nipples, hair, and broken feathers. At least one of the skins shudders as if still in pain. The floor is bare except for a jagged carpet of long fingernails. Ahead is a curtain of crackling electricity that completely blocks the hallway. Visible through momentary gaps in the curtain (not enough to warp through) is a room containing some large object. According to your map, the crystal was definitely on this floor somewhere.

"Well, at least they're consistent in their decor." Nia said as she looked at the tapestries. "Really, though. Whole aligned plane they command, and yet pretty much all of them are exactly the same, like evil little worker ants trying to make everything worse for everyone else, up to and including each other." she sighed and shrugged. "At least the Abyss has variety. Well, that and Oaur-Ooung. Do you think daemons count as people?" she asked, turning to the celestials. "I mean, philosophically speaking, if they're basically just walking masses of nihilism and death, they're a little more like some kind of disease on the universe than they are independent beings, right?"

<"...I won't deny that they are a blight."> the avian celestial answered after a few moments had passed.

"Don't forget that daemons (like so many other creatures) are bound by their alignment. If the physical personification of peaceking (he nods at the avoral) is considered an independent being, so too is a daemon. After all, while vile, they do serve an important role as forces of entropy."[/b]

Assessing the electrical curtain for a moment, Astoroth retrieved a scroll he'd found earlier that should mitigate the problem.
resist energy (electricity)

Then I'll head through the barrier.

Casting the spell, you boosted your natural resistance to electrical damage and strode forward-

Elec Damage: 2d6 + 9 - 10 ⇒ (2, 2) + 9 - 10 = 3

-still taking a bit of shock damage as you passed through. Nasty barrier, that one.

This domed area is about 100 feet across, with buttresses holding up the roof. Strange pulleys hang around the perimeter, with chains and corpse-laden platforms connecting to various points on the wall. In the center of the chamber is a machine of dizzying complexity, smothered in tubes, gears, pulleys, wheels, and levers, suspended from the ceiling and shaped like an inverted pyramid. Beneath it is a metal slab with four humanoid corpses. The machine spits and flares, with a beam of energy connecting it to one of the bodies. Barely visible in the center of the machine is the missing soul gem.

Standing next to the machine is a mangy, jackal-headed daemon, about nine feet tall and wearing tattered robes. Rank ichor oozes from pustules that litter its body and face, and even its eyes weep sickness. Its posture is stooped and bent, its movements strangely fluid, as if it were liquid held together by an act of will. Next to it is a scarred humanoid whose eyes glow with the power of a soul gem. It glanced up a moment later. "“I am Couthwaile, master of this place. You are interfering with my experiments. I will have your souls unless you explain yourselves immediately."

Is that a Meladaemon?: 1d20 + 20 - 2 + 1d6 ⇒ (8) + 20 - 2 + (4) = 30

"And I am Astoroth, seeker of knowledge. The gem that appears to be powering your machine is creating a negative side effect that I doubt you're aware of. As such, it would be beneficial for you to find an alternate component so you can continue your experiments without further interruption."

I may cast a buff on myself, but that depends on the result of my Knowledge check and the daemon's response. Astoroth actually has a favorable impression of Couthwaile at the moment, as he appears to be some sort of scientist - or at least someone with an inquiring mind.

Yes.

"You mean the time dilation? Bah. No true seeker of knowledge ever stopped just because there might be a problem somewhere, and I have already learned much about light and death. Other things I can study another time - this I can study now." he answered.

"A true knowledge seeker weighs the costs as well as the benefits of experimentation. In this particular case, the actual outcome is much more severe than mere time dilation. If you don't cease your work, you risk the permanent end of the soul trade - for everyone. Are your studies worth it?"

If the daemon still refuses to surrender the gem
Astoroth's form blurs and briefly discorporates before resolidifying in a roughly-humanoid shape composed entirely of air.
Alteration: elemental transformation at CL 5 - lasts for 5min without concentration
Recharge: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 2) + 2 = 7
Effects: 60ft Fly speed (perfect), 50% crit negation, +3 natural armor, two slam attacks (1d6)
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How far away is the soul gem, and how securely attached does it look? If I can get close enough, could I grab it via telekinesis?

"Do you take me for a fool? Pharasma would never allow that." Couthwaile answered sharply. Even as your form blurred, one of the bodies in the room twitched and rose up as a pulse of light shot from the gem into its body - some kind of flesh-golem, apparently, and quite clearly hostile now that you'd activated a power.

The Soul Gem is ten feet up, and buried deep inside of the machine - latched in quite securely, too, so it can't be simply tugged free.

"You might be surprised about that...." Astoroth remarked cryptically as he rose from the ground. The gem was attached too securely to simply rip free, but perhaps its bindings could be loosened. As an experiment, he launched a bolt of magic toward one of the attachments.
Damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 6, 4, 4) + 4 = 19 (21pts due to crafted blast)
I'll use whichever damage type (B/P/S) seems most effective.

Move: head to a position with good visibility of the gem.
Swift: activate Snake Style (bite)

As a reminder, I don't need to eat, so I should be immune to Couthwaile's consumptive aura and NL claw damage.
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Current: 60ft Fly (perfect); 50% crit negation; +3 natural armor; two slam attacks (1d6)

A part of the machine holding the gem cracked slightly, and the entire thing began to vibrate. A moment later, Couthwaile snapped his fingers, and five bolts of force darted out at you.

Quickened Magic Missile: 5d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 2, 4, 4, 3) + 5 = 21

Before they'd even finished striking, the demon's body vanished-

Fort Save: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (17) + 19 = 36
Damage (Yes, your save reduced what this would have been): 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (1, 3, 3) + 10 = 17

-and your own was wracked by pain as black liquid spurted out of you and reformed into the daemon's body back where it had been. The golem lumbered forward a moment later, whipping an arm out at you.

Melee: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

Fortunately, it wasn't nearly as accurate as the daemon's had been.

That was rather unpleasant, to be honest, and Astoroth had no desire to experience it again. Flying a bit higher to avoid the golem's reach, he launched another bolt at the gem's fastenings while retrieving a flask.

5ft away and above the golem; Move Action retrieve CMW potion; Swift Action refresh my temp HP pool via Telekinetic Exoskeleton; Standard Action destructive blast.
Damage: 4d6 + 4 ⇒ (6, 5, 3, 5) + 4 = 23
Let me know when the gem's been loosened enough to retrieve via telekinesis. I have the finesse talent (but not flair) if it's relevant.

You'll need to make attack rolls, too. ...I should probably note that energy blasts vs hard metal objects tend to take awhile to begin with, and that missing could have very unpleasant consequences, given the fragile nature of the gems. *Feels that a deity of knowledge should be fully-informed when possible*

It's actually bludgeoning damage, so I don't think it gets halved like an energy blast would. I know it's a bit risky, but I'd been hoping to knock loose a connection so I could grab the gem and leave without slugging it out with Coulthwaile. Granted, doing so would probably leave Nia and the avoral behind, but Astoroth has bigger concerns - and he's pretty sure Nia can handle herself. XD Of course, if that isn't a feasible plan, I'll do something else. Thoughts?

Magically-created B/P/S damage is a weird corner case to begin with. XD I've heard arguments both ways - that it's only energy if it's an energy type damage like fire, or that anything that's inherently "magical" in nature would get treated as energy.

Since it's weird and I haven't seen any rulings clarifying things, my usual response is to consider the method of the attack's delivery. Basically, if Spell Resistance works against it, it's sufficiently energy-like to do reduced damage to objects. If SR doesn't apply - like for Stone Blast - then B/P/S blows would do the full damage (minus the object's hardness, of course) because it's a more 'solid', not-as-directly-magical-once-made creation.

...I should probably note that it takes a bit of time to open a portal, though, and Couthwaile clearly doesn't want to part with his research item... so if you do want to grab the thing and run, you may want to consider how you'd avoid pursuit.

Sorry about the delay. Analysis Paralysis isn't fun. :-(

The machinery was stronger than anticipated, so a change of plan was in order. Best to put down the daemon quickly, so he could figure out a safe way of removing the gem without further distractions. The soul golems didn't seem to be much of a threat at the moment, so he could probably ignore them once the daemon was no longer an issue. Flying toward Couthwaile, Astoroth fired off a punch.

Swift Action: reallocate temp HP via Telekinetic Exoskeleton
Move Action: studied target
Unarmed Strike: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (5) + 20 = 25 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 11 + (5, 1) = 24

The daemon's body bulged slightly as you attacked from the air, softening the impact of your blow. It retaliated with a quick series of blows-

Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15
Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17
Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

-and as they failed to even come close to you, the daemon stepped back and fired off another series of magic missiles.

Force Damage: 5d4 + 5 ⇒ (3, 3, 1, 4, 1) + 5 = 17

The golem, with its ten-foot reach, stepped a bit closer and whipped both of its arms out at you in a clear attempt to hammer you down towards the floor.

Slam: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20
Slam: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29 for Damage: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (6, 1) + 5 = 12

Astoroth let out a slight grunt as the missiles connected. He could withstand another such salvo, and that should expend the rest of Coulthwaile's innate magic. Of course, the daemon had already demonstrated unusual abilities, so its full capabilities were still a mystery. The golem was still the lesser target, so he focused the entirety of his attack on the daemon.

Flurry: 1d20 + 20 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 20 - 2 = 33 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 11 + (4, 4) = 24
Flurry: 1d20 + 20 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 20 - 2 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 11 + (1, 6) = 25
Flurry: 1d20 + 15 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 15 - 2 = 17 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (4) + 11 + (1, 1) = 17
---------------------------------------------
Current: 60ft Fly (perfect); 50% crit negation; +3 natural armor; two slam attacks (1d6); studied combat (7rds)

Will use Snake Style on the daemon's bite attack
Snake Fang AoO (if needed): 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (18) + 20 = 38 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (8) + 11 + (4, 5) = 28

Your first two strikes managed to sink into Couthwaile's body, even as the gem flashed and another golem rose up to join the first, lumbering into a flanking position with the other. By this point, you'd managed to deal a decent amount of damage, but not enough... and the scholarly daemon was definitely analyzing you, because it didn't continue with the physical attacks. Instead, it stepped back and snapped its fingers, sending another wave of magic missiles at you as the golems struck out in tandem.

Force Damage: 5d4 + 5 ⇒ (4, 2, 4, 3, 1) + 5 = 19

Slam: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 13 + 2 = 29 Snake Fang'd!
Slam: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 13 + 2 = 22
Slam: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 13 + 2 = 27 for Damage: 2d8 + 5 ⇒ (8, 4) + 5 = 17

Couthwaile's body exploded into goo again as he repeated the teleporting attack from earlier-

Fort Save: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (19) + 19 = 38
Damage: 3d6 + 10 ⇒ (2, 2, 3) + 10 = 17

-and goo burst out of your body before your foe reformed. Two burning celestials burst through the wall of electricity a moment later, wincing at the burns... and definitely drawing the attention of the golems, who were already turning to face the new intruders. That didn't stop your host from clenching a fist as he looked at you. "So you brought friends after all. I wonder, will it hurt you to see me rip their beating hearts out of their chests?"

How injured does Coulthwaile appear to be?

Moderately - he clearly has at least several hits left in him. ...Hence your distractions coming in to help, since he actually ended up hitting you a bit harder than I'd expected.

Cure: 2d8 + 8 ⇒ (2, 5) + 8 = 15
Life Sphere Recharge: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

That ability was proving to be quite troublesome. Astoroth took a moment to reinvigorate himself before responding. <"If you would prefer to waste your time and energy on them instead of me, I have no objection. While I'd prefer they remain alive, their survival is not my objective." His body then surged forward in an impossibly-fast motion as he launched a powerful punch at the meladaemon.

Spending a Mythic Point for an extra Standard Action
Unarmed: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (17) + 20 = 37 Damage: 1d8 + 11 + 2d6 ⇒ (7) + 11 + (3, 2) = 23

Will use Snake Style on the bite attack if needed
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Current: 60ft Fly (perfect); 50% crit negation; +3 natural armor; two slam attacks (1d6); studied combat (6rds)

Another two more hits like that one and you'd probably be able to bring the daemon down - assuming you could hold out that long, at least. On the bright side, he definitely seemed to be out of magic missiles, and he snarled slightly as he clawed out at you.

Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Claw: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (9) + 13 = 22
Bite: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19 Snake Style'd?: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (11) + 22 = 33

His attacks weren't bad, but they weren't quite good enough, either - and you easily managed to turn aside his jaws with your Snake Style techniques, leaving him quite vulnerable to a Snake Fang followup.