Thod runs Carrion Crown - The Haunting of Harrowstone

Game Master Thod

Unless I'm confuzzled, this would be the first time that Wren has seen Mr. Hastur without his mask? Now that he's biting into rats with his bare teeth, whilst clawing them apart with his claws? I mean, the Mr. Hastur she knew was a quiet gentleman who loved to copy books!

Know(Nature) 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
Know(Planes) 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

If it helps, the way I picture it, to simulate the fact that he is dealing bludgeoning damage to the rats, I see Hastur as punching rats and head-butting them (since, although RAW, a bite does Bludgeoning damage, I fail to see how sharp teeth can Bludgeon someone...).

You also need to beat his disguise check to notice that he is anything other than a heavily-muscled, disfigured human peasant; after all, he *could* be some sort of savage monk ;-)

Today's Disguise check for Hastur: 1d20 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 10 - 2 = 26.

Ah...a bite is a bite, but no matter. I'll figure out what Mr. Hastur is someday...someday...some birdie will tell me! Or with my next detect magic a certain hat will glow...leading to some inner thoughts.

"Mr. Aldous, are you sure he's okay?! He seemed so mild mannered back in the house. "

He certainly has a savage side, doesn't he?

Galadan raises an eyebrow at Mr. Hastur's strange behaviors.

"Maybe he's hungry?"

*shrug* I agree with you, Wren, but either way, it is not immediately obvious what Hastur is; I agree, you might wonder, even have suspicions, but there is no concrete evidence available one way or the other ;-)

*I* know that the truth will eventually come out; but at present, *Aldous* knows that keeping one's secrets close to one's chest is important, so he is not going to blab the truth - he is fairly paranoid, and with good reason - not everyone is as trusting/guileless as Wren :-)

Aldous gives an apologetic half-bow.

"I am afraid that he *can* get a little worked-up at times... Still, I would trust him with my life."

Round 1 summary

Kevin throws his flask of oil with high precision straight into the swarm. Alas it seems it doesn't detonate properly as hardly any flames are seen at the place he hits.
Wren lops her flask and it goes up in a ball of flame.

Total damage 1 + 0 + 6 + 3 = 10

Galadan and Hastur step forward to pummel the still burning rats. Together the pummel lots of further rats to pulp.

The swarm - some of it still burning - disperses.

100 XP each. Investigation of the tower reveals an empty, looted tower. This one is a lot more filthy as the other two as it has been used as a base for rats for a long while.

You can follow the wall around - but nothing else will happen. Stairs down are at the northern tower or at the guard tower where you came up.

Further building features:
Extending from the tower in northeast direction is a narrow upper balcony of 40*10 feet that extends over the roof line.

Close to the most northern corner of the outer wall you spot a hole in the ground that looks like an old cesspit.

I've updated the XP to account for finishing the research on all the five prisoners as well as for the rat swarm.

With the current pace you will soon reach second level. So it might be a good idea to plan ahead how you want to upgrade your characters.

We seem to do this AP in a very methodical fashion. Not much that we left out.

Part 1: Minor business with the now open book left.
Part 2: Research - complete
Part 3: happenings in Ravengro - all done that occurred so far

One issue of Ravengro Gazetter outstanding.

Ravengro: Pretty much investigated

I'm very happy how it develops. Please leave feedback for anything I should do differently.

Shall we go down via the stairs on the northern tower, and then kip-up the stairs to the northern balcony for a quick look, before coming back down and approaching the out-building?

Thod, for the record, I am quite happy with how you have been handling things so far; I am thoroughly enjoying it :-)

Wren is happy to go anywhere, she is still happily chittering away with Andrea, who, for some reason, stands her company. The big topic of the one-sided discussion is Mr. Hastur and his hatred of rats. Also, how best not to piss him off.

Aldous

No worry - I updated the XP total. I wasn't sure if mine was absolutely correct but listing all together and recalculate was on my to do list - but a little bit lower down. So you actually saved me this work - thanks.

So 160 XP more for the group.

Well, in that case...

Aldous fusses over Hastur for a little bit, making sure that he was not bitten by any of the rats, and helping him to readjust his garments and mask, before following him down the stairs from the northern tower, and then up the stairs to the northern balcony, for a better view...

I would tell them, but I doubt that they would understand...

I'm also enjoying the game. The roleplay is excellent and the whole idea of this sends chills down my spine. Of course, my character can't seem to hit the side of a barn, and most battles are over before I have a chance to participate in them (other than getting hit and almost dying). So, bad dice rolls so far. But I'm glad they're out of the way earlier in the game, than when I least need them when fighting the boss.

Three additional pictures uploaded - West Balcony

For movement purposes:
A1 is the Northwest corner of the balcony. The whole balcony spans A1-D1-D12. Hastur in photo 17 is on B3. He gets surprised from C4. If you are lurking right now - give me some 5-10 minutes to describe the scene in the next post.
I took Hastur in front as Aldous posted earlier that Hastur would move up and I was waiting for posts not to go on the balcony / someone insisting to be ahead. This will give Kevin a break as dummy for damage.

All still getting up the stairs / still at the bottom - I need a perception check.

West Balcony
A large, rectangular block of stone rests on this weather-beaten stone balcony, while ruined wooden benches line the eastern wall under a row of tiny, barred windows above. A stout wooden door sits in the wall near the northern end of the balcony.
Rumours in town told about an unlikely story. A story that this place is haunted by the Headsman's Scythe. This rumour stems from the history of this specific place.
Fifty years ago, this balcony is where the majority of the prison’s executions took place, in full view of the westernmost cells. Harrowstone’s
traditional method of execution was by the scythe, rather than the standard axe—although the result of such executions (decapitation) was the same. The use of a scythe for executions was a notorious aspect of Harrowstone, one of the many that contributed to the prison’s infamy.

Hastur feels the moment he sets his foot on the balcony that is still resonates with the hopelessness of hundreds of executed prisoners.

Moments after he steps on the balcony something even more sinister happens. Appearing as a ghostly set of spiritual arms these spirits seem not to be content to just send a chill down Hastur's spine. They rather try to take off his head from the spine - as it had been done with each of them.

In their arms they wield a rusty scythe—the same scythe once used by the headsman himself. And it is intend on Hastur's life.

Suprise round:

Headman's Scythe attack 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17 Damage 2d4 ⇒ (4, 1) = 5

Perception 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

Did my detect undead spell trigger any awareness prior, or had the spell ended before then?

Perception 1d20+7

Did my detect undead spell trigger any awareness prior, or had the spell ended before then?

Need to check if it classifies as undead. Not sure right now. And I admit - I have overlooked this part.

You notice some strange runes written on the foundation walls - but before you have time to investigate you hear a commotion upstairs.

Edit: I think it shouldn't have triggered - at least not before it manifested. The Scythe is mundane. And Haunts are some tricky beasts. My interpretation is that they are like a trap until they are triggered. So Detect Undead is probably blind to them until something triggers it. I will do some more in depth research as this situation might occur a lot more. But for this fight I will leave it as is.
On a different note - one or two members in the group should have got rumours about the Scythe and where it appears in town. Not sure who it was - but that was the reason I wanted to wait a few hours after Aldous initial post before springing this on the group.

The Scythe slashes into Hastur - leaving a deep gushing wound in his side.

Not sure if Mage Armour is active or not - doesn't matter for this round but could make a huge difference in the next ones.

Initiative:
Andrea 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Aldous 1d20 ⇒ 12
Hastur 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8
Cassandra 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 1 = 21
Galadan 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Kevin 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Wren 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Headman's Scythe 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

And I thought I give Aldous a favour to roll individually for Hastur ...

Knowledge (Religion) 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Galadan can barely hear what is going on in the balcony above him, he moves away and tries to get a better angle of perspective. Seeing the headman's scythe moving on its own, he wonders why he had not perceived something strange before.

"This is not merely an undead spirit."

Seeing the scythe coming down too late, Wren can but yell after the fact. "Oh! Mr. Hastur!"

Wren looks at herself to make sure she is not wielding nor carrying any scythes, then around the room.

Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Move action: Wren will put her crossbow to her leg.

Thod: As a Diviner, Wren can usually act in the surprise round.

Thod: As a Diviner, Wren can usually act in the surprise round.

Please remind me whenever I forget. Might happen again but I will try to remember.

Kevin leaps into action as he sees the scythe slash Hasture.

Perception:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Round 1
Init:13
AC:18
HP:12/12
Status:Normal
Free Action: Drop Cross Bow
Move Action: Move to attack position while drawing sword.
Standard Action: Power Attack

Power Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Damage: 1d8 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

"Mr. Aldous, did we bring those syphons with us? Maybe they could be useful here." Wren looks expectantly at Mr. Aldous.

Delay.

That morning Andrea had checked her healers kit was full , put on her stout wollen dress and boots and spent an agonising hour deciding what spells might be off most use in the Prison area.

She had been taken by surprise at the sudden outbreak of violence with the rats which had ended before she could react to their presence.Now again with this apparition she was slow to react in part because of the continual wittering from Wren which served as nothing but a distraction.

Spells for day

Stabilise, Resistance, Detect Magic

Burning Hands x2

Round 1:

Seeing Hastur harmed by a Scythe, Aldous lets out a cry of alarm, moves up to Hastur, and with a muttered chant, heals Hastur's wounds...

Rejuvenate Eidolon, Lesser: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7.

Hastur nods wordlessly in thanks, and then attempts to smash the scythe apart!

Claw: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 1 = 17, for 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 Magical Slashing/Bludgeoning damage.
Claw: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 = 11, for 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5 Magical Slashing/Bludgeoning damage.
Bite: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 4 + 1 = 18, for 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 Magical Piercing/Slashing/Bludgeoning damage.

I think we should conserve the Siphons for the moment, as we only have a limited number. This looks like there is a physical object involved, so I will at least try to hack it apart...

Cassandra will cast Bless on herself and her allies.
Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Does this give me any background on Haunts and how they work?

Don't know if this will do any good but..

Andrea tries to remember if she has heard anything about such hauntings before

Knowledge Arcana...1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

Spellcraft 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10 on the spell Mr. Aldous cast.

"Mr. Aldous, the syphon?" Wren says as Mr. Aldous moves away. Wren is unable to read minds, but does see that Aldous is clearly concerned for the safety and health of Mr. Hastur.

Still delaying, awaiting to see what the effects of the physical attacks have been, if any.

Perception 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Galadan frowns at the situation.

"Let us wait a few seconds, Mistress Wren. We may not need a siphon in this situation. If the scythe can be destroyed, we may deactivate the spiritual energy moving it."

Untold numbers of prisoners - waiting for their execution - were hoping against hope that the Scythe would break when severing the neck of the prisoner ahead of them. But up to the last of them - this hope never came true.
Made of sturdy metal - both the blade and shaft - Harrowstone had taken care that this never would happen.

Hitting the Scythe with his sword Kevin only manages to leave deep scratches in the rust revealing shiny metal underneath. He is sure with a good hit he might find a weaker spot and cause actual damage. But it looks bleak.

Hastur seems in even more trouble. Hitting it once with a claw guided by the bless of Pharasma he seems to do not any more harm as Kevin. His teeth bite on solid iron. He would need extrem luck to do any damage.

And worse is to come. Cassandra tells you that this haunt seems surprisingly strong. A single haunt siphon won't be enough to take it down. And undamaged as it is, even two of these might not secure destruction.

She just hopes that the haunt is unable to move away from it's current haunting place as other vice it could hunt down one member after the other - like a row of prisoners waiting for the execution.

edit: Cassandra - I hope it is okay that I don't have spoilered your knowledge Religion answer. I felt the rest of the group might need to know ahead of any decisions.

Galadan

Not sure if you wanted to use Knowledge Religion on the Haunt or the writing - more info for the haunt see above thanks to Cassandra. The writing is in Varisian and you are unable to make much sense of it apart to notice that it seems to run along the foundation of the building as far as you can see in both directions.

Scythe attack on Hastur

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15 Damage 2d4 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2

Aldous - is Mage Armour up or not? I haven't seen it cast and as you move very slowly and methodically I would assume no as you other vice run the risk of it to expire much to early.

The scythe - infused by the dead prisoners intend on revenge seems to be playing rather then gong for the kill. A small slash appears on Hastur.

The knowledge check was supposed to be for the haunt, but I 'botched' it and only rolled an average result, so I made up something seemingly valuable.

Knowledge(Religion) 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

"I do not think that scythe is taking much damage. We must retreat, use the siphons, or attempt to get past it into the guard station behind."

Round 2:

No, Mage Armor has not been cast, so Hastur is still AC 13.

Noting that Hastur seems to be having little luck with this particular Haunt, Aldous swallows.

"Perhaps we should try using some of those siphons..."

So saying, he 5' steps back, and draws and opens one of them, hoping against hope to severely inconvenience the haunt at the very least...

Aldous, Haunt Siphon: 3d6 ⇒ (1, 6, 5) = 12 of positive energy damage.

..at the same time, Hastur 5' steps steps back from the scythe, draws another siphon from Aldous' belt, and opens it, as well....

Hastur, Haunt Siphon: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 6, 1) = 9 of positive energy damage.

The bony arms holding the Scythe waver when the first Haunt Siphon is opened. A scream can be heard in your head as if scores of prisoners die again.

But the scythe isn't down yet (Initiative was ahead of Hastur).

Scythe attack on Hastur 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21 Damage 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

"Ah! Our weapons do little against it. Surely, our minds can overcome what our weapons lack. Let me try this."

Move action: pull out holy water flask.

Stnd action, toss it at the corporeal scythe.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19 touch to hit;
2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5 damage, maybe.

"Do any of you know the spell that hurts the undead, disrupting their connection to this world?"

Hastur opens the second Haunt Siphon. This time the scream you hear is like the final scream of a person condemned. For a few more moments the Scythe still stays airborne as if trying to muster enough force.

But then the Haunt Siphon starts glowing and the Scythe flatters to the floor.

Wren

Your flask of holy water hits the scythe but shatters without doing any damage. It seems the scythe needs to be exorcised or destroyed.

Should Kevin or someone else through some freak dice rolling or other actions in his initiative change the outcome, then I will rewrite some of the above. But you likely need a critical to do that.

I wouldn't have used the holy water flask had I seen that Aldous was syphoning up. Y'all are a bunch of lurkers! Typin' when I'm typin'! :)

I wouldn't have used the holy water flask had I seen that Aldous was syphoning up. Y'all are a bunch of lurkers! Typin' when I'm typin'! :)

Actually a lot better that way - anyhow you would have acted ahead of Aldous. Waiting for postings in Init order would just slow down everything A LOT. I'm just surprised to see that many still online. I'm now on holiday and therefore don't need to get up that early to post ahead of breakfast.

No comment, Wren ;-) Although I will point out that it is 5pm local time where I live, at present...

Aldous breathes a sigh of relief when the scythe falls to the ground.

He immediately moves forward to recover Hastur's mask, whilst Hastur retrieves the (formerly) haunted scythe.

Other than being solid iron, is it MW? I would imagine that the Headsman's Scythe at Ustalav's most notorious jail would be :-)

Whilst he once again fusses over Hastur, Aldous notes the wounds that the scythe hewed into Hastur's shoulders, and turns to Andrea with an apologetic look upon his face.

"I noted the other day that you had a healer's touch; would you be able to look at poor Hastur's wounds?"

Assuming nothing else assaults the group on the balcony...

Aldous and Hastur conduct a methodical search of the balcony, and look out over the rest of the grounds, seeing if they can spot anything else...

No complaints. Question, though: If I used the flask before the syphons and to better understand my knowledge of haunts, did it have any effect?

Something that I think we should experiment with is that, since the 'Haunt Siphons' do positive energy damage, perhaps Cassandra's channels could also damage haunts...?

No complaints. Question, though: If I used the flask and to better understand my knowledge of haunts, did it have any effect?

Answer 1: you did use the flask - sratch it off or buy a new one at the temple.

Aldous:
Your reasoning makes a lot of sense. I guess it should be MW. I will give a detailed description later (make it up - guess the authors assume destruction of the scythe).

All:
I will do some reading and will give a short 101 on haunts later. You should be able to research that anyhow and it might be useful for my own handling of spontaneous posts as well.

Wren will detect magic on the scythe and then aid in the search.

She is a bit quieter now as she realizes that there are some weird things happening in here.

"Mr. Aldous, how many syphons do we have left? Mind if I held one?"

Kevin still stands in a battle stance with his sword out and facing the Scyth. "Is is over, I mean for real over, or is this thing going to jump out of Hastur's hand tomorrow and beat us within an inch of our lives again?"

How much XP was that haunt worth? :-)

Aldous glances reluctantly at Wren...

"I have two left, and there are another two that Father Grimburrow kept at the Church... We need to be careful with how we use these - they should only be used after we know other forms of attack do not work..."

As a player, I am happy to give them to one of the other players, but Aldous is not convinced that Wren specifically would handle them responsibly... I am not trying to be a pain here, really! :-/

Aldous plucks the faintly glowing flask from Hastur's hand, before turning to Kevin.

"Well, we have a significant chunk of the Haunt's essence contained within this flask, so it might be difficult for it to reform..."

The Ravengro Headman's Scythe

This rusty masterwork Scythe has a long and macabre history. Countless prisoners found their death through this Scythe. Some blades in Galt have shed less blood as this Scythe has. The Scythe is made completely from metal and is non magical. Dwarves Runes for Ravengro Prison on the shaft indicate this scythe was a custom work for the new Harrowstone Prison. A little bit hidden is a single rune of the letter 'J' to indicate the craftsman. Or in this case the craftswoman - a dwarf named Jorfa who only recently had taken residence in Ravengro and still has her own forge in town.
In Ravengro the Scythe is worthless. The suspicious folks in town know of the haunting and they rather see the Scythe destroyed as taking it for free. The last possible collector of such an item in Ravengro who would have the funds as well as understand the value of this unique item - former Professor Petro Lorrimor - recently was murdered.
The scythe could be sold as masterwork item further away where the history of the Scythe is unknown. Albeit buyers for metal Scythes are rather uncommon. It would also mean to get theScythe restoredby removing the rust and blood stains.
A more lucrative alternative would be to find a collector of the macabre. Many nobles still live in Ustalav who would value the history of the Scythe. Some might even know a relative or a former enemy who was a victim of he Scythe. Such a customer would likely pay double the price - provided the Scythe stays in it's current state.
Adding the Haunt Siphon containing the haunt that took over the Scythe would make it more difficult to find a buyer - but could double it's value again.

How much XP was that haunt worth? :-)]

It's classified as CR2 and I device by 5 - so 120 XP each.

Galadan breathes a sigh of relief as the iron scythe clatters on the floor.

"Wren, throwing about holy water like that destroys those beautiful crystal vials. It is best to sprinkle it, or splash it lightly. Silvered crystal is expensive."

He picks up the scythe for a moment, testing its weight.

"It is best I think to destroy this. The prison has seen its last and will no longer need to hold executions. I will take it off the property for now, so that no spiritual energies may attempt to use it again."

If no one objects, Galadan takes the scythe to the entrance.