Thornkeep: Enigma Vault (Inactive)

Game Master Awenydd83

The jewels in V's mask begin to sparkle, smolder, and glow as he casts a spell, and he begins emitting small embers and wisps of fragrant smoke, then what looks like a tiny dragon of fire, cinders, and smoke bursts from his form and collides with the blue serpent, exploding in an impressive burst of mock-dragonfire!

I cast snapdragon fireworks, using my False Focus to replicate the power reagents magnesium (+1 round of duration), ginger extract (+1 to overcome spell resistance), phosphorus (+40 feet of potential range), and saltpeter (+1 damage). I launch the first one at the blue serpent, dealing fire damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 and dazzling it for 1 round. It gets a DC 16 Reflex save for half damage and no dazzling.

"Damn!" exclaims Rogar as he slashes against the snake he had just wonded

Power Attack roll: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 9 + 1 = 18
Damage roll: 2d6 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (6, 4) + 7 + 3 = 20

Another attack against snake blue

That'll do it, since they're now in the same square.

Silas rushes forward as the snake wraps itself around one of his allies, preparing to strike. "Gamin, help me!" The sword flashes with its own inner light before Silas slashes at the snake.

Round 1 longsword slash: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 1 + 1 = 24
Damage: 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11
Round 2 longsword slash: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 9 + 1 + 1 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

And Rogar, are you subtracting 1 for Power Attack?

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Bolger shoots another sling stone at the snake in front of Kyra.
Sling Stone: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 4 = 19
Damage: 1d3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

And Rogar, are you subtracting 1 for Power Attack?

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Don't need to, thanks to furious focus

The Big V sends a burst of fireworks at the Blue Constrictor
Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
It manages to dive aside and miss most of the effects, but runs right into Rogars blade which splits it in half.

Silas rushes in to save the day, surgically carving the constrictor off of Kyra and ending the fight.

Remember that there is a tunnel 20' below the bridge, and a door at the end of the bridge, as well as a lever on the far side.

"Well... that was fun..." says Rogar pointing his sword at the lever.

"What shall we do now? Open these doors or try to use the lever? he asks the others absentmindedly as he reaches the other side of the bridge

Perception check: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Rogar is able to distinguish nothing out of the ordinary.

"Hmm, you have a rather strange concept of entertainment, my friend." says Aramil as he reloads and holsters his hand crossbow.
"And I would say that a proper inspection of the room is in order before anything else."
I'll check both the lever and the door for traps of any kind.
Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
If there aren't any traps, I'll try the lever first. Assuming that's fine with everyone else, of course.

Before I tell you what happens next, I will give everyone a chance to make sure that your takes are where you want them.

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Good to go

Fine with me, I guess.

Five more fireworks, like miniature dragons, suddenly soar about and explode harmlessly in the domed darkness above.

V looks back down at Aramil. The enigmatic mocking grin carved into his mask somehow seems more noticeable now. "Entertained?"

Let's go on!

Five more fireworks, like miniature dragons, suddenly soar about and explode harmlessly in the domed darkness above.

V looks back down at Aramil. The enigmatic mocking grin carved into his mask somehow seems more noticeable now. "Entertained?"

Aramil looks up from his trap-searching just as the fireworks go off. He replies to V's remark with a smile of his own as he says "Yes, quite. However, we're comparing this against fighting off man-eating snakes. That's not setting the bar very high."

Bolger stays behind, trying to hide in the shadows.
Stealth: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34

Not at all comforted by the appearance of the snakes, Silas keeps his mithral sword drawn. "Let's go."

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As soon as Aramil throws the lever over, a great rumbling begins beneath your feet and echos through the caverns as the bridge begins to turn. It slowly revolves around a central pivot until it corkscrews down to the bottom of the cavern.

Everyone that was on the bridge is now on the bottom of the cavern. I have moved your tokens, and the yellow lines are the new bridge borders..

"Ehrm... Kyra I suspect you have better pull that lever again once the others sind a safe spot to stay on" says Rogar urging the other party members to move out of the bridge before he and Kyra throw the lever again

Btw there's a door in front of us.... do we want to explore it now or go somewhere else first?

"Prepare yourselves!" Kyra moves the lever back to the original position.

"Ready when you are, m'lady!" shouts Aramil as he crouches to keep his balance.

With another great rumbling and grinding, the bridge returns to its original position.

Just before Kyra throws the lever again Rogar ops on the bridge and joins the others:"Very good. Now which way? Up or down? Either direction is fine with me"

Ok, the bridge is at the top, and all but Kyra and V are on it. Would yall like to go through the doors or back down to the cross tunnel?

"Perhaps we should explore this area first. I would hate to go down only to have someone walk out these doors, flip the level and strand us below..."

Kyra listens at the door, even though it really isn't her forte.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Kyra, you hear nothing beyond the door.

"Well, we could also do that... I'm actually ok with any decision we make as long as we move away from this rotating bridge, so let's agree on a plan and let's follow it!" says Rogar to the others

"I agree. Let's see what's behind door number one, shall we?"

Aramil walks forward and opens the door to the next cavern, revealing a large cavern bisected by a 30-foot-deep chasm. A ratty looking rope bridge crosses the eastern ledge to a western one, which winds down to a hallway 20 feet lower.

Yall can move as you like.. I guess the second half of my post didn't save.

So I suppose the bridge is now back to Kyra's position right? I'd like to know if protection from evil is still working, if not I'd ask Kyra to recast it with my wand before going in, thanks

"Well.... seems like we have a plan... so let's follow it!" exclaims Rogar pointing his sword to the rope bridge"Perfect place for an ambush I must say... so... let's check it out, shall I go first?", Rogar finishes, his tone carefree as ever, although the lines of his mouth betray a certain tension as he turns and heads inside the room, swords held firmly before him

Yes, the bridge is back to its original position.. as far as the spell, lets go with another charge because although combat did not last 10 rounds, the trips up and down on the bridge did take several minutes. In order to move things on, lets assume that Kyra casts the spell for you..

As Rogar moves through the entryway into the second cavern, two skeletal dinosaurs jump out of the shadows and attack. Both claws and bites stop just short of Rogars skin, however.

Bold May Post
Rogar
Aramil
Vanzetti
Skeles
Silas
Bolger

Upon noticing Rogar's newfound "companions," The Amazing Vanzetti strides, even bounds, forth, flourishing a bone wand carved with a complex pattern of holes and decorated with exotic feathers "Here boy! DOWN boy!" He whistles elegantly.

I use my wand of command undead on one of the dinosaur skeletons! Being mindless (I'll be awfully surprised if it isn't), it gets no saving throw. Assuming it doesn't have too many HD, it's mine for up to 3 days. :)

"See? Ideal spot for an abush. Told ya!" says Rogar as he slashes reflexively at the incoming creatures

Power Attack roll: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Damage roll: 2d6 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (3, 2) + 7 + 3 = 15

I guess bless is gone as well? If not add +1 to Rogar's to hit roll, attack the first of the incoming skeletons

How about we say I command the other one, then?

Bless and Protection from evil are both 1st level wands, so that is correct. The Bless charge has already expired.

Never ceasing to amaze his audience Or his GM, the Amazing Vanzetti easily gains control of one of the creatures with a mere flick of his wand.

Rogar, meanwhile, is unable to land a hit on the other one.

The one remaining skeleton continues to attack the creature that has invaded its cavern, but is unable to beat the invisible shield of Protection.

Bold May Post
Party
Aramil x2
Skeles

hey mr Vanzetti can you use the wand to command the other one too? If so I'll try to keep it intact. 2 skeletons are better than one!

I thought about that, but from what I can tell, you can't command more than your level in HD of undead, and I have just learned, among other things, that these fine specimens have 4 HD, so it doesn't look like I can take the other one.

To the surprise of all, the one of the skeletons backs off and begins dancing in the corner, while V begins advancing on the other, this time with a crystal wand sculpted into a pair of realistic glass eyes at the end, from which emerge two volatile bursts of magical power.

magic missile: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (3, 2) + 2 = 7

Mind you, a bit of quantum gaming here: IF I am wrong about the HD limit, DM, then I take all that above back and take the second skeleton under my wing as well, because I completely agree with Rogar.

Hmmm... it all boils down to ones interpretation of the spell. One casting of the spell commands one creature, and I cannot find any HD limit to the spell. Btw, I am using the PRD HERE to get this information. However, It seems that it would be kind of broken if I were to allow you to pick up EVERY undead between here and BBEG. Let me do some research before I give a call on this, please. V: can you link me to your info on this spell that specifies a max HD?

Ok, then Rogar will ready an attack in case the skeleton comes at him again (I suppose that by that time we'll know if we can gain control of it or not, and if he attacks again Rogar will strike before he can)

Power attack roll: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Damage roll: 2d6 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (5, 3) + 7 + 3 = 18

Round 1
With the one dinosaur no longer a threat, Aramil runs past it and swings wide, coming around to the other dinosaur's side, slashing at it with his sawtooth sabre.
Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Round 2
Aramil takes a 5-ft. step to the side, putting himself in flank with Rogar. He then lashes out with both sabres.
Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 8 - 2 + 2 = 14
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Attack: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 2 + 2 = 24
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

All righty then. So here's the ruling. The feat "Command Undead" does indeed have a HD max, but the spell does not. From what I can tell the feat and the spell are two completely separate things as the feat is based on channeling negative energy and your character build doesn't. As such, from what I have read, you may have as many undead under your command as you have charges for that spell. Since the question was raised *pun intended* before any hits were made on the second skeleton, I will allow Vanzetti the choice of a redo of his turn. If he chooses to use a second charge from his wand, that will be the end of combat, with no further damage accrued to either skeleton. If he chooses to continue as he originally posted, then we will go with the timeline as posted above. I do have one caveat, though. Unless you plan on utilizing some form of permanent control over these things, be considering what you are going to do with them if they make it all the way through this game, as we will have to resolve that at the end.

Well, they become excellent scouts for the team I'd say... we send them forward to see what waits for us and then we sweep down on the opposition... :P Also I don't think we have the means to "heal" them so they'll probably be out of service in a few encounters

Sorry for not responding-- Paizo chose not to show me that people have been posting in this thread. Silas will have run up eagerly to chop down skeletons, but I'll delay my attack until Vanzetti responds.

Do keep in mind that, as a paladin (and a devout one at that), Silas would love the irony in letting the skeletons point out other baddies-- and if they die in the process, all the better. Any other kind of arrangement and he might kill them himself. :-)

My control over them won't last more than 3 or 4 days, and Pathfinder Society has a policy where all undead created, monsters conjured, and minds controlled fall through the cracks at the end of an adventure - so that will resolve what happens to them in the end should they happen to make it that far.

Also, I was under the impression that there was an overarching rule somewhere about how many HD of undead an individual can command - if it isn't equal to the character's caster or character level, it may be equal to twice that, which is what I'm unclear on.

In the meantime, darn tootin': on Dasher, and on Blitzen! We've got ourselves a pair of vicious mine canaries!

Everything that I could find and both of the GM's that I consulted said pretty much what I typed above. This spell technically gets around all of the HD rules that normally have to be followed because you are not raising them,nor you are not channeling at them.

Both dinosaur skeletons become docile and responsive to commands from V.

Bolger double moves into the next room and prepares to hit the skeletons with his shortsword.

Silas charges forward but stops short as the skeletons begin acting strangely, as though following new commands. He looks over at Vanzetti brandishing a wand at them. "Did you do that?"

I won't attack, so if we're still on initiative I'll just hold action.

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whether or not we are in initiative still depends on Bolger. If he attacks, that breaks the spell for both of the skeletons.

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Rogar raises his hand to stop any incoming attackers who might not have noticed what happened in the room:"Don't attack! I think it's ok now. Seems like Mr Vanzetti here managed to tame our undead friends here. And just gained us soem more help to cleanse this place!" says the Taldan as he friendly pats the nearest skeleton.

Sweet, disposable flanking buddies! Retracting all previous combat posts.
Aramil raises his sabres to attack, but stops short at Rogar's call. He can't help but laugh as the fighter pets the undead horrors as if they were pets. "Well done, Master Vanzetti! Might I suggest that our new toys take point? Ah, but let's make a quick sweep of the room before moving on, shall we?"
Checking for anything of interest in the room.
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23