The Righteous Shall Rise...

Game Master verdigris

Round 11, Init 20

Eli steps back, pointing out to Joran that they are currently enjoying flank around the demon-lover. He winds up, suddenly enjoying the swiftness of three hammer blows against Chorussina.

+1 Legendary Hammer: 1d20 + 11 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 11 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 = 24 for 3d6 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6, 1, 3) + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 = 26 damage
Miss Chance, High Good: 1d100 ⇒ 14

Iterative: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 = 16 for 3d6 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1, 2, 6) + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 = 25 damage
Miss Chance, High Good: 1d100 ⇒ 64

Haste Attack: 1d20 + 11 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 11 + 2 + 1 + 2 - 2 + 2 = 29 for 3d6 + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4, 4, 1) + 5 + 2 + 6 + 1 + 2 = 25 damage
Miss Chance, High Good: 1d100 ⇒ 75

Bow miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 1 High is good for me
Bow miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 56 High is good for me
iterative Bow miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 86 High is good for me
hasted Bow miss chance: 1d100 ⇒ 67 High is good for me

Cole's Bow sends three arrows into the surprised tiefling, but still, she is able to side step two of Ely's three attacks. The third packs a wallop (though not as big a wallop as the arrows), leaving Chorussina doubting the wisdom of her choice not to simply head the heck out of here.

Jurin is up, followed by Joran and Jestaka.

Jurin casts a spell then steps up to flank with Eli, humming an old bard's tune as he does.

"don't you...forget about me."

Acid Elemental Intensified Shocking Grasp, then Swift to Arcane Accuracy and Attack!

Attack!: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (5) + 17 = 22
Damage: 1d6 + 16 ⇒ (1) + 16 = 17
Acid: 8d6 ⇒ (3, 5, 4, 1, 1, 1, 2, 5) = 22

Well, here's hoping flat footed AC is lower. :D

"HA!" Mathilda chortles. "There it is! That should teach you to mess with us!"
Her tone shifts into an official sounding narrative.

"Before you are two doors. You must choose. One leads to Redemption. The other -- to Death."

"don't you...forget about me."

Her tone shifts back to Mathilda Mirth.

"Ooh! I know that one!" She continues the tune, an octave or two higher than Jurin. "Will you recognize me?"

displacement: 1d2 ⇒ 2

The tiefling turns in surprise as Jurin makes his presence known. She howls as the acid melts her face as she drops to the floor.

and we are out of initiative.

Jestaka rounds on Jurin like a rabid dog, "I was going to do THAT!!"

Growling and snarling, she nearly bites at Joran as he reaches out to calm her down.

"Easy, 'Taka. Easy. There will be more later," he glances at Cole and cocks his head to the side, "Right, Boss?"

"Nice hit there Jurin."

Cole snorts again, trying to get the stench out of his nostrils.

"Easy, 'Taka. Easy. There will be more later," he glances at Cole and cocks his head to the side, "Right, Boss?"

"Sure Joran."

He looks for other immediate foes, but when none develop, he puts Mathilda over his shoulder and searches the body for any thing of value. He passes possible magics to others for identification.

Eli looks over the tiefling's features, shuddering at the cook's bile-like attack. "That looks like it was probably painful. Well, more painful than what would normally be painful." The old man waits for Cole to loot the corpse, then plods on towards the doors which will allow them to press on.

Jurin shakes the last drops of acid off his blade as he waits for Jestaka to attack.

"Sometimes you have to bite back."

Cole finds upon the body the following:

a scroll,

Aasimarra moves up too slowly to aid in the final attacks upon their foe, and lowers his ranseur slowly as if wishing he were quickly.

"We have only partly ended this foul threat," Aasimarra utters, "And it would be good for us to completely rid this castle of foes before we begin a proper search for what we seek."

Aasimarra, saying this, gives time to his companions to heal while he identifies the magics near him. He casts Read Magic for the scrolls and Detect Magic for the items.

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (20) + 16 = 36 Spellcraft - cloak
1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20 Spellcraft - headband
1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20 Spellcraft - ring
1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22 Spellcraft - ring

He will explain what the cloak and scrolls do and offer them around.

"I was going to do THAT!!"

"Jestaka!!! We need him! You need him! Don't hurt Jurin!" She gasps in horror as Jestaka nearly bites a chunk out of Joran. "No! Don't! That's one of the other reasons we need Jurin! But we all need Joran too!"

"Nice hit there Jurin."

Mathilda quietly makes a single bell tone ring in concurrence. Ding!

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (9) + 16 = 25

Jurin shrugs at the headband, no more certain of it's purpose than Serra.

Does anyone else have the ability to identify?

A noise like the creaking of a Grove of Birches in the quiet cool of fall just before their winter slumber creeps through the room.

"Oh. That gas was simply abysmal," laments Mathilda. "Look -- it's nearly ruined my ribbon completely -- it's all crinkly now! Do you think we're going to run into something like that again? If so, I'm going to need more ribbons!"

Her voice suddenly becomes sanguine.

"Oh -- and look at that!! We've found a headband! Why -- if I wasn't worried about cursed forges making cursed items Cole, I'd suggest you trade in that thing on your head for that. Or something like that. Maybe you should do that anyway. How do you ever expect to meet anyone nice wearing that old thing on your head?"

"Oh, MiLady, that is no work of mine. The Cursed Forge is only for weapons."

Cole takes his hat off, "Nope. Hat stays." wipes his brow with his sleeve, and puts the hat firmly back on his head.

After the noxious fumes clear, he walks over to the double doors and gets ready to open them when the party is together.

"Nope. Hat stays."

Aasimarra lowers his hopeful gaze, hopes crushed that the hat would remain. The hat was not a good hat. Only a fool would consider the hat to be a good hat, but Cole wears the hat, in addition to the mantel of leadership, so Aasimarra tried to respect and understand the hat. But he did not like the hat.

"Cole, might you...might you try the headband for a while? Just to see..."...how stupid the hat is?"...until you see the headband's effect? We cannot hope to defeat our foes if we let vanity stop us from taking advantage of the gifts offered to us. We need every edge." And to be rid of that damn hat.

"Don't listen to them Cole, that's a cunning hat if ever I saw one. Man walks down the street in that and you know he means business."

Eli waits by the door, ready for the others to be done with their hatty fixation. "Hurry, now."

Eli opens the door leading from the large chamber, expecting more trouble ahead, and soon.

Once the hate situation is settled, the group proceeds to the next set of doors. These open onto a landing, then a deep stairwell leading down and down to another set of doors.
Opening those doors reveals a long, 30-foot-high alcove lined hall illuminated by swaths of pulsating red lichen. The alcoves themselves display elaborate, colorful murals of demonic entities, each with inscriptions chiseled into the stone below them.

At the far end of the hall stands a massive iron framework that displays a red banner.

Will update the map tonight so you can picture it better.

Once the hate situation is settled...

Lol. Pretty much. For those that missed it, the 'e' is strikedthrough. So accurate.

Aasimarra packs up the magics for future study and follows the group to the end of the hall. He examine the banner for meaning...is it human or demonish? Unholy?

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (18) + 16 = 34 Know (planes) - banner and murals

Aasimarra tries to read the inscriptions. He speaks abyssal.

Cole also examines the hall as he passes within.

Knoweledge Planes: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

Yeap. Those are murals all right.

He readies his bow and waits for the banner to be moved aside.

Eli clomps along, keeping himself aware of the little guys, in case he knocks Joran onto his back, or inadvertently knocks Mathilda from Cole's likely sweaty hands. He waits patiently for the next room to reveal its denizens, and hopefully peels back to reveal the Sword, finally.

Serra, Cole, and Jekata tromp down towards the end of the hallway to look at the murals and the frame holding the banner at the end.

please double check your position on the map, please.

Cole checks his gear and nods to Serra.

I'm in a good spot, sure.

Knowledge(Planes): 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34
Perception, Alcove: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

Eli moves into the shrine, and studies it carefully. He ignores the murals for the desecrations they are. He calls out anything he manages to detect.

Aasimarra glides on his lithe legs, following the giant Elyanias.

He watches both sides of the alcove, paying some notice to the shrine.

"It will be better when we can scrub this place of the evil influence. These murals are silly and blasphemous, at worst. At best, they represent all the ferocity of a poodle barking at its betters from behind a fence," Aasimarra notes. "These murals depict the demon lord Deskari mutilating and savaging a different deity—Iomedae, Sarenrae, Torag, Desna, and Shelyn." He points out each of the gods in turn.

"They are wishful vain dreams. Not unlike how the foolish dream of wealth or power, rather than more proper dreams of honor or love. False and foolish dreams."

Aas is finely placed.

Placed.

K. Planes: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (10) + 17 = 27

Jurin moves along with Serra, nodding as he correctly identifies the murals.

"Don't worry Serra, not all dreams are misplaced."

"Don't worry Serra, not all dreams are misplaced."

At the mention of dreams, Aasimarra is reminded to stand a little bit taller, trying to look more knightly.

A zephyr rustles the leaves of a stunned Mathilda's voicebox as Eli makes his way to the larger alcove.
"Oh! Ugly murals! Wait -- did someone just compare a demon to a poodle? How silly! Iguanas I could see, but Poodles are good and loyal and much smarter than that!"

"Cole -- alcove!" Mathilda tries to focus.*

The part tromps halfway down the corridor to stand in front of the larger alcove. To their left, at the end of the hall, hangs the red banner, with a sword surrounded by a golden sunburst. Within the large alcove is a small shrine with a statue of the insectoid demon, Deskari.

Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (4) + 16 = 20

Cole looks around, and if nothing happens, will eventually cross over to the banner and look behind it.

"Anybody see anything? We might need to head the other way, check the other sections for clues. This seems a dead end." he shrugs.

1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27 Perception

"Are we done here? Just got to clean out the last little pockets of resistance, then we bring the Knights in for a thorough search?" Aasimarra asks, looking at Cole. He seems relieved that the big danger is over.

Eli looks back over his shoulder, as Cole mentions dead ends. "Well, it's not a dead end if you've got your Sword of Valor hanging right there, Cole. As for dead ends, we've got a secret door over... here, and... up there." Eli points twenty feet up on the wall. For the secret door in his reach, he swings it open, then steps back, expecting one of the others to push through the smaller space that likely waits for them beyond it.

"After you."

As Cole reaches out to move the banner aside to see behind it, he hesitates...

Perception, traps: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 16 + 1 = 30

He withdraws his hand a moment and looks more closely at the banner.

Jurin looks again at the corridor as Eli points out the hidden entrances.

"Which one first then? Oh, the banner."

Per GM...

"Everyone get back." Cole growls.

He takes out a small toolkit, fiddles with a few things in his kit, and goes to work.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 20 + 1 = 38 (includes magical traps)

Jurin moves back and covers his precious bits by hiding behind Serra.

Aasimarra turns his lithe and strangely graceful angelic body sideways, exposing much more of Jurin than the corpulent Serra might have.

"Ayep. I didn't see that door. Good eyes for a blind man."

A slight warble ripples gently through the room as Matilda sighs in reSTRINGnation.

"I'm holding my breath, just so you know...," she says, barely audibly.

Cole's sharp eyes and dextrous hands keep catch the trap related to the permanent image trap of the banner, and keep it from going off.

Cole straightens up and puts away his gear. He grabs Mathilda and readies to proceed.

"Well this isn't the banner. Eli, take us down your path. Let's see what lies ahead shall we?"

Cole moves up and into position to open the next doors.

Eli complies, heading through the first, then the second secret door, wondering what they may have skirted for having found them. "Careful, now. Looks like we have some kind of drop off just through the second door." He squeezes through the narrower part of the hallway.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (4) + 13 = 17

Aasimarra follows Ely, bravely. He re-magics his appearance to ensure his angelic qualities for whatever might be in the room.

A five-foot ledge runs the length of this circular pit. A second elevated ledge stands above the ledge with a short series of steps rising to a small platform ahead of it. To the southeast, a giant statue of a six-armed woman with a serpentine body rises out of the pit. It looms over each ledge with outstretched arms bearing an intimidating array of exotic weapons.

"Wait a tick there Eli. There are traps, here, and there." he gestures with his bow to two dangerous areas.

"Also, that floor 10' down? It's deeper. That's an illusion of some kind."

He shrugs, "There may be more too. Let's proceed with caution."

Cole enters the room, carefully, and looks around some more.

Perception: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (11) + 16 = 27

He'll then start taking out rope and grapple so he can see what's below in relative safety...

"Yeah, those traps can't be good. There is more trouble here, to be sure." Aasimarra points out the traps as well, insisting that others see the dangerous areas.

1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22 Know (Planes) - serpent woman
1d20 + 12 ⇒ (11) + 12 = 23 Know (Planes) - serpent woman

Aasimarra casts Shield as he moves into the area. Not sure which 2 squares the bad ones, but moved Aasimarra in.

I've marked the traps on the map since at least two of you wre able to pick them out.

With the guidance of others to avoid the traps, Eli crosses the room, and tries to open the opposite set of doors.

"Are we ready?"

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (17) + 13 = 30

He reports everything he sees.