The Pyramid of Shadows (Inactive)

Game Master 137ben

Gemheart isn't debating politics with this guy.

"We are not in the employ of the arborlings. We ally with no harpies, dragonborn or any other. We wish to find our way through, perhaps to gain our freedom from this place. It is true we entered with dragonborn, but we have not seen them some days since. We aided them against the ettin…"

I don't think the elf needs to make a concentration check, since Mundarion would have technically struck before he started casting (standard action casting time, and Mundarion went first). UNLESS he readied an action to strike just as the elf's turn starts, in which case his shot doesn't happen until after De'arv'ki's turn.

"Ettin?!" Calls out the elf.
"You mean the ettin that we took out of the entry pit? Some help you were!"

What we have is a significant misunderstanding. Mundarion shot the elf because he was described as actually having started to cast a spell. If that was not in fact what was happening then Mundarion would have readied an action to shoot him when he did cast. The whole point of shooting the elf was to force a concentration check that would have disrupted his casting.

Your post stated "A ball of energy sizzles on the elf's hands as he readies a spell". If that's not actually starting to cast, what is?

might have just been flavor text to indicate a spellcaster

Sorry for the lack of clarity. For the most part, I think of everyone's turn as happening at about the same time, higher initiative is just a little bit earlier. Since Mundarion won initiative, he can see that the elf is about to start casting a spell, but that he hasn't actually gotten to the part of casting that can be interrupted (i.e., the standard action during the elf's turn.)
If you would prefer to have Mundarion make his attack right on the elf's turn to interrupt the casting, you can do that.

Mundarion will delay his shot to go for the potential interrupt. Sorry if I came across as snarky.

No problem, it was my fault for not being clearer to begin with. Still De's turn.

I'll probably just sit tight for now, make them that little bit more complacent about the numbers of people. If this is the next turn, then i still have 4 rounds of invisibility, which leaves me plenty of time to intercede if needed.

Gah, I keep forgetting De can't normally post over the weekend. I must be deranged or something:P

I was under the impression the elf had started to cast as well.

"Help? We received help from the ettin. Precisely because we didn't shoot first and ask questions later. We allied ourselves with the ettin. The arborlings. The harpies. We are not here to rub people out or settle scores that don't mean anything in here. Stand down, and talk. My draconic friend, might we sit as the fairer sex and come to some comport of understanding?"

Do you want more rolls DMB? I'm not even sure if my actions so far have been a standard action - how long does it take to use Diplomacy/Sense Motive/Knowledge checks… Yess would likely be readying an action to buff her saves against incoming spells given her raison d'être is being an anti caster...

Since some of what Yessai just said is false, a bluff check is appropriate.

You can say everything you just said without an action, but you might not finish saying it before the end of the round. If the elf attacks on his turn, you could be embroiled in combat before getting to make a solid case. However, the elf and dragonborn hear the beginning of Yessai's diplomatic speech before they can act, so they might decide to give you a chance to finish talking. It depends both on how convincing Yessai is and on what De'arv'ki does on her turn. The catch is that, aside from what you got from sense motives above, you won't know whether you will be attacked or whether your speech was convincing enough to call off a fight until the elf's turn comes up, after De's.

Umm. Which bit is false? From what I remember, that's exactly what happened. The ettin helped us with information, and nominally stood guard for us. Maybe allied is a bit of a stretch, but we made compacts with each of those groups - ettin, harpies, arborlings. Maybe Yessai the character sees things more truly than me as a player...

Regardless, you called for Bluff, so ok. ;)

Bluff: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Yes, I was referring to the part about 'allying' with Gurrak. Although, as you said, it is partially true:)

Both lower their guard slightly, although the elf is still nearly ready to start casting, the dragonborn has assumed a noncombative stance.

"Hrpmh," she grunts,
"If what you say is true, you shall be disappointment. You want freedom? There is no freedom to be had. There is no escape but in death! We must make do with what is here."

Mundarion says, "Freedom and escape are possible. Granted that it is very difficult to obtain them, but the biggest problem is that most people aren't even trying. They convince themselves that such things can not be obtained and thus become accomplices to their own imprisonment."

Yessai listens to the dragon born, nodding. She nods more when Mundarion answers with such aplomb.

"Well said my scaled lady. We are ever making do with what we find. We made do with Gurrak, and it aided us, and would still if you had not ended it. No matter - good 'Darion speaketh true - we believe only in advancement of freedom and an end to shackles - whether they be physical constraints such as this mad demiplane [here Yessai bashes the wall with her dire blade] or in our minds and hearts."

Yessai calls to the newcomers again.

"What would you have us do else?"

The elf ceases casting and chuckles. "If thou truly seekest to escape, cease lending aid to the arboreans. Their only goal is to conquer the Pyramid for themselves, and hence they desire to keep everyone trapped inside. They shall do everything in their power to prevent the Pyramid from being destroyed. No doubt they have tried to send you to destroy one of their rivals, with naught but betrayal in their plant-like veins! Were it not for the plotting of the arboreans and the Shadow, the Pyramid would already have crumbled to dust, releasing its inhabitants."

Sense Motive check: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Just letting you know i am still watching, just haven't had anything to say or do

"There is...something you could do to advance your cause."
The dragonborn smile as she speaks in a thoughtful tone, as if she is still pondering for ideas as she speaks.

"The most famous resident of the second floor of the Pyramid, she goes by the name of Thoraska. Since we arrived in the Pyramid a month ago, she has remained neutral in the battles of the first floor. You, as unaligned newcomers, are in a unique position to bargain. If you can convince Thoraska to aid us against the arboreans and sahuagin, our tribe would be willing to assist your efforts to leave the Pyramid."

Reminder: you have heard of Thoraska before, starting back here.

On hearing his companion's words, the elf pipes up:
"My dear that is quite a helpful offer, for in helping to destroy the arboreans they would also be hastening their escape. Everyone wins., except the arboreans."

Yess blinks a moment as she recalls where she heard the name before. She whispers to her companions.

"The arboreans wanted us to remove a spike from Thoraska's tail - now these suggest we ally with her. I think not to trust these or the arborlings, but we have gained insight that Thoraska may be better as friend than foe on the order of the arboreans. We do well to treat where we can rather than fight."

Yess notices Mundarion's consideration of the incomers, and asks without whispering, but not shouting either.

"What say you Mundarion - do they speak true, or think they speak true?"

Mundarion whispers very quietly in reply, "I do not think they mean to betray us. They seem to believe that it is in their best interest to win us to their side. What I am unsure of is whether it would be a good idea to join them. I suggest we stay noncommittal and have a serious discussion when they have gone."

The elf stopped conjuring. Mundarion will lower his bow, though he keeps the arrow nocked.

Yess nods immediately, and whispers again.

"I agree. By all means nominally agree with them. But we make no hard or fast promise to anyone. As we have thus done, so shall it be moving forward."

before hailing the newcomers again.

"We thank you for the advice - the benefit of remaining unaligned is that other unaligned folk share one's outlook. We shall seek this Thoraska out."

Yessai pauses a moment.

"Now. Where were you headed - do you also seek Thoraska, or have you business else up above us?"

"Us? By Corellon's hand no!"
the elf responds.
"We have no intention of travelling to the second floor, for the Sundered Temple is to deadly for us without the rest of our tribe. We were sent by here on a scouting mission of sorts. We seek our lost companions, the dragonborn who entered the Pyramid with you. But if what you say is true then we ought to be off soon, for there other places we must search on the first floor."

"Yes - as we said - the last we saw of them was with the harpies and sahuagin. Whether they fell to those folk or moved on to parts of that floor unknown to us... we do not know." Yess replies simply and with conviction.

Anyone have anything else they want to ask these guys? Any more intel? Do we want to ask them to help us take on the demon we retreated from? If none of the above, I'm assuming they will trip off on their own errand and we will stay here until we are returned to full strength?

Letting them wander off while we rest sounds good to me. Besides, the problem we encountered was getting to the demon. We never actually engaged the demon. The description we had of the demon was that he was an evil combat oriented version of Midio. So we could end up causing problems just by opening the door and letting him out, then at a minimum having to chase him all over the pyramid.

yeah, fighting that demon seemed like an exercise in futility.

You did get descriptions of Trathkul here, here.

The dragonborn faces her companion:
"Let us continue on, these newcomers are a waste of our time."

Both turn and leave, returning to the first floor.

I'm actually a bit surprised that that did not devolve into a combat. It came pretty close...

/me sadly lowers her crossbow, upset about the lack of combat

Darn! Lost my critical hit. Boo hoo. :-( ;-)

Back to getting some more rest and scribing some scrolls.

Never fear, a combat will almost certainly occur...just need to make sure what I've written is good enough first (which means probably tomorrow) *evillaugh*.
For now, everyone gets the benefits of a full night's rest.

Hey, for what it's worth Yessai is still considering attacking them with surprise. In Yessai's mind:

They still represent a possible threat to us and will if defeated weaken their allies, who also may represent a possible threat to us; we outnumber them; they will have loot,

(and as a murderhobo player) will earn us xp.

Do we still get xp for resolving that encounter? ;p

We weren't using xp at all:P
So, you get the same amount of xp (0) either way...
but Yessai could still surprise attack and hope their magic items are good...

And since it appears that Yessai has decided not to attack as they leave....
After the two leave the room, the rest of the night (well, eight hour period, since there are no days and nights) passes uneventfully.
However, at the end of the night, a strange, orange liquid appears hanging from the ceiling, likely seeped through from the floor above. It is translucent and contains a random assortment of objects, coins, equipment, and other unrecognizable things.

More is flowing from the ceiling, and it appears soon it will drop down to the platform on which you stand.

You can apply the benefits of a full night's rest.

Mundarion makes sure that he and everybody else is out from under whatever it is and a reasonable distance away.

De'Arv'Ki will have her crossbow out and ready, but not going to fire just yet.

Gemheart steps back at Mundarion's suggestion, not knowing what it is.

Yessai likewise steps back, blade weighing in her hands.

"Anyone know what it is? A slime creature of some sort?"

A big, orange blob falls from the ceiling, gradually assuming the shape of a cube. You can see chunks of bone from various animals and humanoids inside. This is a gelatinous cube!

Almost immediately afterwards, a second gelatinous cube falls from the ceiling, landing near the first one.

If you look closely, there is a think, shimmering ribbon of energy flowing between the two oozes, with colored bulges occasionally passing from one ooze to the other.

Please choose a space for yourself on the map. The yellow are the oozes.

Initiatives:
Mundarion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22
Yessai: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
De: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Gemheart: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Gelatinous Cubes: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (8) - 5 = 3

Knowledge (Arcana) check: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Mundarion says, "They're gelatinous cubes. That bond makes them stronger and faster when they're close to one another."

Mundarion will be at square C-10.

Mundarion casts Burning Hands at the closest cube.

ASF Check: 1d100 ⇒ 28

Damage: 2d4 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5

Mundarion sears one of the oozes, burning it slightly but it still has most of its power left.

Gemheart's turn. Map updated.

Gemheart shoots at this creature with his flame bolt!

(I'll take A10)

attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14 vs ranged touch AC
fire: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Which one are you shooting at?

Gemheart's flame easily hits one of the cubes, though he only manages to give it a minor burn.

Yessai's turn.

same one that was already hit

That's what I thought, just making sure.

Yessai ensorcels her fell aura and moves in to try to slice it apart…or some chunks off….or something…

Swift Action Inimica: Stricken

Move Action: B11 to B8

Standard Action: Attack!!!

Zeer!!!: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 22 [BAB, +1 Str, +1 Mwk, -2 Large] [-2 to GC's AC from stricken]
Shplopff!!!: 2d8 + 1 ⇒ (2, 5) + 1 = 8 [+1 Str]

Crit confirm: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 3 + 1 + 1 - 2 = 15 [-2 to GC's AC from stricken]
Damage: 2d8 + 1 ⇒ (5, 1) + 1 = 7 [+1 Str]

So the Gelatinous Cube loses 2 AC from attacks made by Yessai's dire weapon, including the critical confirmation roll - does a hit on AC 17 confirm?

I'll be at C15
De'Arv'Ki looses a bolt at the same target as the others.
Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
Hmm, don't expect a hit, but...
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8
Max damage?! of all the times...

Yessai easily slashes the gelatinous cube, causing chunks of slime to fly off. Despite her direct hit, there are no weak spots for Yessai to exploit.
Despite being easy to hit, it seems darn near impossible to critical against this thing, due to its lack of anatomy, joints, or other weak points.
Oozes are immune to criticals, which Yessai didn't know before, but now can sense that it is likely the case from failing to find any weak points to strike.

De'arv'ki also hits, causing more chunks of ooze to fly off!

The second cube slides up the staircase until it is almost touching its bonded companion.
The first cube, meanwhile, tries to slide on to Yessai, surrounding and absorbing her into itself.
Make a reflex save, DC 13, to be harmlessly pushed back or to the side. Otherwise, Yessai is trapped inside the ooze.
You can also make an AoO against the gelatinous cube, but then Yessai would automatically be engulfed (no save).

Mundarion's turn, although what he chooses to do will likely depend on whether Yessai is engulfed or not. Map.

Mundarion will fall back 20 feet to square C-14. While doing so he will ready his bow, make use of his arcane strike feat, and shoot at the ooze attempting to engulf Yessai.

Attack roll: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

I doubt it hit, but one can always hope.