The Spires of Xin-Shalast: RotRL Part 6 (Inactive)

Game Master Elmdorprime

Avoreal, are you casting Detect Magic or Identify on the sword?

There are a few doors you can access - one to the northest, one just east of the doors you took into the throne room, and a short corridor heading south off of the throne room itself.

detect magic then Spellcraft is what that was spires.

Mr McKeener wouldn't be Mr McKeener if he didn't sit on the giant throne whilst he rested!

"Ah likes th' look o' them doors to th' south fer goin' throo next -- but Ah reckon they oughta be checked out fer traps first..."

While the others are examining the items, Trotter takes Duh's advice and checks the door for traps.

Perception: 1d20 + 39 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 39 + 2 = 42

Just making sure! It's a cantrip so it's not like it's a precious resource.

Avoreal - the magic around the sword is very powerful. You can also sense an overwhelming hunger radiating from the sword, and you believe it houses a malevolent intelligence.

The corridor continues to snake around but you do see two large double doors heading off the corridor. They do not appear to have any traps attached to them.

"Looks safe to me! Brute Squad, lead the way!"

"I think he means you Duh. I'm too refined to be a brute. " but he leads on anyway.

Avoreal frwons at the sword.. "We should leave that sword alone until we leave.. It has a evil intelligence to it.. Not advisible to touch it."

Let Vars pick it up, he has one of those spindle stones to protect him.

As you enter the room you see a tall, thin man waiting for you. He's dressed in rich emerald green and gold robes and has a number of gems embedded in a tall forehead that distract, only somewhat, from his receding hairline with slick black hair swept back and down his head. He carries a glaive in one hand that burns with a terrible fire.

His eyes glow with eldritch power and he looks at you in cruel amusement.

And so the fools have found me. I must applaud your tenacity. You are much more persistent than the worms I thought you to be. You are more like hungry maggots in your endless squirming and writhing to get to the death that awaits you at the core of your fate. I am that fate, maggots. I am your death!

He raises his hands to dispose of you.

No map yet, sorry, but you'll be 20 feet from Karzoug when the door opens in a 40 foot square room. The doors are in the "south" side of the door and 20 feet wide.

You win initiative! Suprise...

"You're a maggot? Maybe I didn't hear that right. "

and he will advance and swing at the figure.

power attack, dazing assault
to hit: 1d20 + 29 ⇒ (14) + 29 = 43 damage: 1d8 + 37 ⇒ (8) + 37 = 45 DC 28 fortitude save or be dazed for 1 round

The archmage laughs as he somehow avoids your blow.

Vars, make a Will Save.

Vuvu steps back in shock, begins to perform, and is thrilled to be invisible at the moment. He immediately casts Irresistible dance on the man with his persistent rod

1d20 + 17 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 17 + 2 + 4 = 29 ussing a dweomer essence on SR if needed as well

and that will fizzle if he has S

Karzoug laughs at Vuvu's spell.

I am the Runelord of Greed! Your feeble enchantments have no purchase on my mind!

will save: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30

Remember Avoreal has True Seeing up atm.. Otherwise im awaiting Vars will save determination before acting..

"Bah, just a fake. "

She auto makes that.

"What, he's not real?" Trotter asks. "How anticlimactic. Can it actually hurt us? It's not a simulacrum is it? Or is it purely an illusion? If it can't hurt us, let's just ignore it and keep going."

Trotter checks whichever door is next.

Perception: 1d20 + 39 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 39 + 2 = 43

Still have a 5% chance of a 1, so please roll.

There is no such thing as a critical failure on a skill. She cannot fail.

going late in the initiative order, Duhwoo observes Vars' strike having no effect:

"Huh? Kar-zog is just a 'lusion? So we jus' gotta dis-bee-leeve, an' all this'll be over?"

a pained look comes over the hillbilly's face as he struggles to concentrate on disbelieving the illusion...

Sigh.

The illusion is no mere illusion but a projected image.

DC 30 Projected Image? Its 6th level, should be DC 21 right? Regardless..

"Its a harmless illusion programmed to speak a scertain line when triggered.. It will go away shortly.. Lets continue."

Project Image is different from Programmed Image. If this is a projected image, it can absolutely cast at us right now. If it's just a programmed image it can't do much. It sounds like you guys are talking about two different spells here. Projected Images also have to have line-of-effect to the caster, which would mean Karzoug is nearby. I have a feeling it's a programmed image and the spells are just getting mixed up.

I saw what I mean and mean what I say. It's a projected image.

Ok then. Avoreal was making it sound like a programmed image. So we *should* be worried a little.

All way above the hillbilly's head!

For his move and action, Duhwoo circles around behind the image, examining it from all angles, and when he gets to a flanking position in K-15 (it's been pretty well drilled into him to take advantage of flanking), he swings his falchion through the space -- expecting the same result Vars got. Interacting with it should help Duhwoo disbelieve!

Duhwoo: roll a Will save, DC 30, but you get + 4 to your roll.

Guys, the "projected image" is a short hand for an effect where the barrier between the Prime Material Plane and another dimension your characters really haven't heard of, even if you have 20 ranks in Knowledge (Planes).

There's really no way to exactly identify what the image since it's a)not a spell being cast where you can see it, and b)not a spell like ability. So for shorthand for our true seeing wizard I called it a projected image because that's what it works like, and put a DC on the roll so you could figure out what the heck it was - he's not really there but he can cast spells through the image itself which is why I rolled initiative.

Please keep in mind that no matter how powerful you are, and yes you're very powerful and in fact over-powered for this part of the AP, Karzoug is one of the most powerful wizards in history, reigned as an Runelord in an evil and ruthless empire for over 450 years, then detected Earthfall and survived it only to spend years planning his conquest of Varisia. He has several artifacts and built a 2,200 foot tall tower in the middle of the mountains because he's a raging egomaniac.

For perspective, the Burj Khalifa is 2,722 feet tall and doesn't have gold, silver and gems coating the interior.

One last point. The only real joy I can get in running this part of the AP, since it's the climax to a story you haven't played through, have no emotional investment in, and in some cases are almost mechanically impossible to hit is writing descriptions of events - including and especially how you do in skill rolls. When you go "I auto succeed" you take that small joy away from me and make running this a chore. I have enough chores in my life.

You may not be able to fail a skill roll but if you roll a one I can have fun describing the ludicrous, ridiculous un-reasoning you take to get the answer. So when I tell you to make a roll MAKE. THE. ROLL.

Duhwoo's Will save: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17

1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30 Vuvu pops his dispel wand out and dispels the image.

You are talking more than I am and that is just unacceptable.

Avoreal tries the same tactic as Vuvu and attempts to dispel the illusion..

Caster Level: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (12) + 19 = 31 Should get caster level 20

If you still need spellcraft: 1d20 + 37 ⇒ (3) + 37 = 40

Avoreal's keen magical eye sees her and Vuvu's attempt to dispel the image claw at the magic and while Vuvu's wand would dispel lesser effects, only her own near-perfect magic actually disrupts the image itself.

Fools! This isn't the only place the fabric [/smaller]tears...[/smaller]

Now that you're free from the threat of Karzoug, you see the room is decorated extravagantly. Thick carpeting covers the floor and a flickering fireplace lies on the northern wall with several large nests of fine furs and cushions dot the room.

Roll Perception.

1d20 + 21 ⇒ (15) + 21 = 36 perception

1d20 + 38 ⇒ (12) + 38 = 50 oratory

Thats better, now did I ever tell you guys about the time I single handedly defeated a Wendigo after the rest of my team had fled from it? Well it all started when... The story is amazing, almost like you were all there...

Perc: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (13) + 23 = 36

"Nice place"

Avoreal and Vuvu, when moving around a small bauble catches your eye, a shining amulet buried amongst the exotic furs.

Trotter, there are three doors, but none seem trapped.

See map

perception: 1d20 + 30 ⇒ (20) + 30 = 50

"Good Gods Vuvu, not that again. We've not been in a tavern a single night without you going on about that. "

Vars notices smudges on the polished floor - lion tracks?

Roll Knowledge (Nature) - it's not really in the AP but natural 20's deserve rewards.

How about survival? Don't have knowledge nature.

survival: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

Close enough.

The tracks lead to the northwest doors - they're not lion tracks, they're subtly different.

"Should we go northwest then? The door doesn't look trapped, so lead the way!"

THIS IS YOUR COMBAT ALERT! YOU ARE NOT IN COMBAT AT THE MOMENT, PROCEED AS NORMAL!

"Looks like some tracks lead to the northwest. Might as well follow them. " and he will go and open the NW door.

Vuvu moves and follows along after identifying the amulet

1d20 + 26 ⇒ (15) + 26 = 41 spell craft and detect magic

A periapt of proof against poison. Fairly expensive trinket to leave lying around normally, but normally diamonds the size of your fist aren't used as decorative pieces in a door in sets of eighteen either.

As you enter the room you're brought up short and the lion tracks make sense.

Four lamia are waiting for you in the room.

How pleasant, guests! We haven't had guests in a long time.

We've never had guests.

We should have more guests.

But not until we're done greeting these!

THIS IS YOUR COMBAT ALERT! YOU ARE IN COMBAT AT THE MOMENT, YOU HAVE WON INITIATIVE (OF COURSE), PROCEED TO MURDER HOBO!

Vuvu begins to retell the tale of the time he single handedly saved the Society in Ustalav by stopping a murderous rampage of a werewolf.

Inspire Courage +4

Then he decides to piss DM off by casting Cacophonous call mass DC 25

take 10 on knowledge for 35 Local

Duhwoo's Perception check: 1d20 + 22 ⇒ (13) + 22 = 35

assuming Duhwoo still exists after horribly blowing his saving throw, he'll take a few rounds to top off his hit points while Vuvu describes his own heroics...

first, 2 charges from his wand of Cure Serious Wounds:

2 charges from wand of CSW: 6d8 + 10 ⇒ (3, 8, 3, 4, 3, 8) + 10 = 39

then a charge from his wand of Cure Light Wounds:

wand of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

that brings him up to one hit point short of max.

then, when Vars opens a door and Duh hears voices in the other room, he'll activate his Ring o' Blinkin'...

Vars will take a 5' step to I11 and let the lamia have it.

"Nice to meet you. "
power attack, inspire courage
to hit: 1d20 + 38 ⇒ (16) + 38 = 54 damage: 1d8 + 37 + 1d6 ⇒ (7) + 37 + (4) = 48
to hit: 1d20 + 33 ⇒ (2) + 33 = 35 damage: 1d8 + 37 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 37 + (5) = 45
to hit: 1d20 + 28 ⇒ (8) + 28 = 36 damage: 1d8 + 37 + 1d6 ⇒ (4) + 37 + (4) = 45
to hit: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (3) + 23 = 26 damage: 1d8 + 37 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 37 + (6) = 48