To Wear the Carrion Crown (Group 2) (Inactive)

Game Master Haldhin

Initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Firavel draws his curve blade and shifts towards a flanking position.

Move action: draw Elven Curve Blade. Free 5-ft move towards a flanking position.
Flanking included in attack roll, but if he can't get into position this round, just subtract 2 from the roll.
Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 2 = 11
Meh, looks like a miss anyhow.

Init: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Leon draws his ornate Rapier and moves to block the creature's approach.

knowledge(nature): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Surprise round Sethis will use his summon natures ally ability to call forth a dog between him and centipedes (lasts one minute)

First round will be to grab his long-spear and send his summon to attack the closest centapede

dog bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7bite damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Well isn't she beautiful?" Girvin muttered to himself as the first of the large insects made it's appearance. Quickly realizing the danger the beast posed to himself and others, he called Vincent in front of him and drew his spear. Seeing the others react within the next few heartbeats, Girvin advances alongside his companion and attempts to attack.

Surprise Round:

Mithias, I assume that Perception roll was supposed to be initiative

Initiative:
21 Girvin
16 Leon
13 Mithias
12 Firavel
08 Sethis
04 Centipedes

These are "giant centipedes" but they are medium-size creatures.

Surprise Round Recap:
Girvin reacts quickly and moves forward drawing his spear, while Sethis summons a dog to his side. The centipedes move forward, reaching melee range with the dog.

Round 1 Recap:
Girvin steps to the side of the creatures and stabs out with his spear, only to have his blow deflected by the chitin along the creature's flank. His companion, however, manages to dart in and strike true, tearing out a hunk of vermin flesh in a crunch of exoskeleton and bluish-black blood.

Leon steps forward into the path of the second monster, stabbing forward quickly with Unkindness, but failing to pierce its defenses.

Mithias positions himself in a flank and brings his longspear to bear, only to have his longspear turned away as the monster writhes in pain from its wounds.

Firavel looks for an opening to move forward, but finding none, slashes at the creature, but fails to connect with his strike.

Sethis draws his longspear and sends the dog into action, and though it enthusiastically leaps into a frenzied attack, it fails to penetrate the creature's natural armor.

The first centipede attempts to bite Vincent, but it aims too high and misses.

The second centipede lashes out at Leon, biting hard into his chest as he recovers from his attack. His armor remains firm, however, and protects him from damage.

----

Girvin and Vincent are flanking Centipede 1.

Leon and Mithias are flanking Centipede 2. I rolled an attack for Leon. The summoned dog is also attacking Centipede 2.

Firavel can move behind either of the creatures next round if desired, setting up a good position for flanking.

On to Round 2!

When he finds the opportunity, Firavel moves into a flanking position and slashes at the creature.

Move behind C2 unless it's already dead by his move, in which case C1
Attack (w/flanking): 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 2 = 16
Damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Sneak damage (if flanking): 1d6 ⇒ 6

Sethis will move into a flanking position with his reach spear (hopefully with someone in front of him) and attack either centipede and his dog will attack again
"Watch out! Their bite is poisonous!"
flanking long-spear: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19damage: 1d6 ⇒ 3
dog: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Yes that was supposed to be initiative...
Round 2: Init 13
Power Attack: 1d20 + 2 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (11) + 2 + 2 - 1 = 14

Swing and a miss

Attack: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 2 = 26
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Leon thrusts again.

Crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Lame

Heeding Sethis's warning, Girvin pulls back slightly on his second stab at the beast so as to avoid over extending or losing his guard.

Round 2 Recap

Initiative:
21 Girvin
16 Leon
13 Mithias
12 Firavel
08 Sethis
04 Centipedes

Girvin slams the flat of his weapon against the centipede, but it appears to have no effect. Vincent, however, takes advantage and strikes the monster, again tearing into the tender flesh beneath the chitin along the centipede's flanks and back.

Leon lines up his target and leaps forward as soon as he sees his opening, managing to get his rapier precisely between two of the overlapping plates near the monster's head. As he withdraws his weapon, blood quickly flows out of the wound.

Mithias attempts to imitate Leon's strike, but his aim is slightly off and the tip of his blade is deflected as it impacts against the centipede's tough chitin.

Firavel sprints behind Mithias and takes a position behind the creature, and watching the dog's attacks closely, he is able to time his swing perfectly. His curved blade slashes down on the creature's back, nearly cutting it in half. With a shudder, the centipede's legs collapse and it lies twitching in a rapidly growing pool of its own blood and viscera.

Sethis quickly takes advantage of the centipede's death and moves in behind Vincent to focus on the other one. Stabbing over the snake's head, he connects and punches a large hole in one of it's armor plates. The dog follows his lead and leaps in front of the centipede, tearing several legs off the creature.

Frustrated by the attacks on all sides and bleeding profusely, the centipede turns to attack Girvin, but misses wildly. With a strange hiss, the monster's head droops to the ground as its legs feebly attempt to move its massive bulk.

-----

The last centipede is at 0 hp, so I'm going to call it and assume somebody puts it down.

Several of you are impressed with the toughness displayed by the chitin plates on these centipedes.

The crack in the wall where the centipedes emerged leads to a narrow cave system that meanders under The Restlands. It doesn't really lead anywhere, and you don't find anything of interest inside it.

Let me know what you want to do. The acolytes are standing by the stairs, attempting to keep their pants unsoiled. It's obvious they are not part of the "martial" arm of the Pharasma church.

"What was that you were saying about not expecting violence, Sethis?" Leon said with a grin, sitting back against a stone slab to catch his breath after the short struggle.

"I stand corrected. Well partially, I said we wouldn't run into undead. From now on I'm taking Rosie everywhere we go."

Cleaning and sheathing his raven-hilted blade, Leon nodded his agreement and began to look further into the tomb where the giant bugs had come from.

"Perhaps we should look around for further surprises before we start opening tombs and searching for secret caches."

using the rest of the summoned time on my dog to get it to sniff out other threats. If its already over I'll summon another.

"Does anyone notice anything that looks out of place or some other sign about the cache or do we need to start looking through those? pointing to the sarcophagus

How about the person with the highest perception takes 10, and the rest of us try to Aid Another. That ought to do it.

Aid Another Perception, DC 15: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

"Invigorating. Well, that nice little fight has muddled any sign of which sarcophagus the Professor might have left the cache in. Best we see if any show signs of recent opening."

We should be able to take 20 and search the tomb thoroughly, unless there are any other nasty surprises left for us.

"Poor little... buggers" Girvin said, addressing the two corpses left over by their scuffle. Fighting back a smile at his word choice, he began to carefully scope the room with Vincent and Leon.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29 - with aid another
1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Vincent has scent if it at all plays into this search.

Before opening any of the caskets, the acolytes insist on performing some sacred rites, asking Pharasma for atonement for desecrating these heroic individuals laid to rest in the tomb. They select the first casket on the right and begin their work.

Several minutes pass while the (obviously inexperienced, but well-meaning) acolytes conduct their ceremony. They pray, light sticks of incense, pray some more, sprinkle holy water around the casket, and pray a third time.

Finally, after everyone is thouroughly bored of their efforts, they pronounce the casket cleansed and ready for opening. Several of you are able to find holds on the lid, and with some effort, you are able to slide it off, revealing the contents inside.

Much to everyone's dismay, especially the acolytes, the inside is empty.

After the third opening, the acolytes give up on their rites entirely, simply placing a hand on the lid and saying "Forgive us, Pharasma!" before letting you open it.

Finally, as the group opens the last casket on the right, you discover that unlike the others, it contains several wooden chests and a few heavy cotton sacks.

You find the following items inside the casket:

-----

There is nothing else in any of the caskets.

Oooo, holy water, excellent. I was meaning to acquire some more of this earlier.

I'll take all the holy water, if there is no objection. I can use them the same as bombs and get to add my Int modifier to their damage.

Firavel looks over their discovery. "Looks like the professor may have thought some of those cloudy things in the case would be useful, unless someone else had stopped by here to shop. Holy water could come in handy, I guess. Ghosts should be afraid of that, right?"

Feel free.

Leon looks concerned at the recovered cache. "These are weapons. Every last thing in here is a means of arming yourself against the forces of darkness. The Professor was preparing for battle."

"It is the silver arrows that concern me most. To my knowledge, the kinds of things that are vulnerable to silver are not ghostly apparitions or the risen dead, but things far more sinister."

spellcraft: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

"I can tell the vast majority of these are magical I just cant tell what enchantment lie on them.

"Well, this wasn't the professor's cache. He had merely rediscovered it. It's been here for decades," Firavel said. "It looks like the professor only took a few things for his foray to the prison. Still, it can't hurt to be prepared, in case it holds these more sinister things you mention. Something might have gotten to him other than a piece of statuary."

Leon nods. "Hmm. That makes sense."

Are you guys waiting on me? You are finished in the false crypt and can continue your investigation, or return to Father Grimburrow.

"Okay now that we have all of this should we head for Harrowstone?"

Does someone want to keep track of group loot? Maybe we should go talk to the sheriff first. If nothing else, to tell him we are going to be poking about Harrowstone.

Was everything successfully identified?

Not even close. It's going to need a take 20. We should also go and tell Grimburrow what's happened. As outsiders, we should probably be extra courteous.

Agreed

Okay, maybe we should see if Kendra knows anything about this stuff?

Sounds good. Grimburrow, Kendra (although I'm not sure what she can say about the items, we can let her know what we're up to), and perhaps the Sheriff before Harrowstone.

Agreed. That order works for me. Haldhin, unless you (or anyone else) have some specific RP you want to do with Grimburrow or Kendra, I'm sure you can just fast forward to meeting with the Sheriff.

Grimburrow
Father Grimburrow thanks all of you for discovering the false crypt, and insists that you take all of the items you found to aid you in your investigation. Additionally, he offers to identify any items you have for a donation of 10 gp to the Temple. Normally, this service would be more expensive, but in appreciation of you speaking to him before investigating The Restlands, he is willing to offer you a discount.

Father Grimburrow can identify everything from the list above

Kendra
Kendra is also more than willing to help identify items, indicating that she has some experience in the magical arts, specifically the school of divination. Unfortunately, she does not recognize many of the items, apologizing profusely.

Kendra can only identify items through DC 20 from the list above

Sheriff Caeler
You arrive at the jail, near the center of town. A man wearing chainmail stands guard at the front door. Upon your request, he enters the jail, then returns a moment later permitting you inside.

A large human man wearing chainmail and a blue tabard greets you as you enter. "Greetings, my name is Benjan Caeler and I'm the sheriff in Ravengro. First, thank you for your restraint in The Restlands. I heard about that encounter, and I'm glad that level heads prevaled. Now, how can I help you?"

You recognize these men as those who were securing the area around the monument earlier today.

"We are looking into the events surrounding the death of Professor Lorrimer. We hope to figure out what he was trying to discover. Were you the one to discover his body?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

"No, it was Vrodish, one of my deputies. We tend to stay away from Harrowstone, but we head down there every so often just to make sure nothing unusual is going on. Rumors around here say it's haunted, but honestly, my concern is the place just isn't safe. The fire took out a portion of the underground structure, and the whole building is falling in on itself. Anyway, he took one of the horses, made his way to the front gate, and saw the Professor's body. He rode back to let me know, then we all headed down there to look over the area and retrieve him."

He narrows his eyes slightly, "As for what he was trying to discover... why are you interested?"

"We're trying to find a meaning to his death and honour is memory by solving his last mystery."

"I see. Well, I liked the Professor. Was quiet, didn't cause any trouble, and willing to help whenever I had weird questions. As for his last mystery..."

He pauses and looks down at a table beside him. From the expression on his face, it's clear he is thinking about something.

He finally raises his head, "Several days before we found him, Petros came to me, inquiring about any strangers we had seen around town, specifically near Harrowstone. We had no reports of strangers, but he asked that we increase our patrols. He wouldn't tell me the reasoning behind his request, only saying that he would reveal everything if and when he confirmed his fears."

"I actually increased the patrols for a few days, but after no sign of strangers, we returned to normal operations. The next night, a massive storm moved through, but the oddest part was that the worst of it passed south of town... around Harrowstone Prison. That was why I sent Vrodish down there the next morning. We didn't find any signs of the storm, but we did find the Professor."

Sheriff Caeler turns around and pulls a chair out from a desk. Seating himself, he places his palms together. "Now, I've given you some information. I think that's worth something in return, don't you? What has your investigation turned up?"

"Only that the Professor believed Harrowstone is haunted, and there may be forces that want it to stay that way. He intended to discover what was at the heart of the haunting and see if it could be laid to rest, but he died before he could. Now we are trying to finish what he started."

Sheriff Caeler looks at Leon for a minute before smiling, "What forces are you talking about, sir?"

"That's sort of the point of the investigation. What forces might be interested in making sure a haunted prison stays haunted?"

Unable to get a good feeling about the conversation, or the sheriff Givin contents himself to sit back and wait for things to come to an end or for his participation to be mandated by the flow of conversation.

sense motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

The sheriff seems unimpressed by your response, "Hmm. Well, that puts me in a dilemma. Petros came to warn me about strangers around Harrowstone, then he goes and dies. The official report was an accident, but given his concerns, and that freak storm... Well, it doesn't take a wizard to have some doubts about his death."

He stands up and begins pacing slowly, "Then you lot show up in town, pretty much at the same time. Claiming to be friends of the Professor, you escort his body to the grave, managing to make sure it was interred there... Then today we had the monument of Harrowstone's last warden defaced, and you show up in my office, asking about the Professor and Harrowstone."

He crosses his arms over his chest and looks at all of you, "You'll have to forgive a lawman his curiosity, but the timing of your arrival here is ... coincidental, shall we say?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 17

"I could see how this all might look a little suspect Sheriff, but I can assure you that we are only in town at the behest of the final wishes of the Professor. We were summoned to the funeral by Kendra herself, a fact she would be will to confirm, no doubt, if you ask her. The professor was very dear to us all and we intend to continue to look into the nature of his death. Hopefully with your support."

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 11

Firavel snorts, "Riiight. People showing up to a funeral and a reading of a will 'coincidentally' around the time of someone's death is veery suspicious. I don't know what it's like in little hamlets like this, but in the big city, it's pretty common for perople to attend a funeral shortly after a loved one dies."

He then sighs, rubbing the bridge of his nose. "My apologies. I guess I'm a little frustrated with the situation we find ourselves. The will, which we were explicitly named in, mind you, requested that we remain in town with Kendra for a month. If it wasn't for that, I'd have been long gone, back in the city, where I would admittedly be more comfortable. It was the professor's diary that set us on this trail, and we had thought it a courtesy to let you know what we were up to."

Diplomacy (to perhaps paste over some of what was said in the first paragraph, lol): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

"We are going to need to investigate the prison." Leon said a little curtly. "We would appropriate your cooperation. You are even welcome to join us if you like."

Local law doesn't like it when you pull rank, His uncle's words echoed in his mind. but don't ever let anyone make you forget that you are a Knight of Ravencourt, tasked with the protection of the land by the Watcher-Lord himself.

Sheriff Caeler eyes each of you before standing up. He finally walks to the door, opens it, and stands to the side.

"Well, thank you for coming to see me, and I appreciate the information you have shared with me. But now I have to beg your pardon, I have a very busy day ahead of me and no more time to spend with you at the moment. Enjoy your time in Ravengro, but leave the investigations to the professionals - and I would suggest you stay away from Harrowstone, the fire destroyed the wooden beams supporting the structure, and it could collapse at any moment. It's a death trap, and I have no desire to retrieve any more bodies from that cursed place. Good day."

He is clearly indicating the end of your meeting.

-----

Everyone gets the impression that while the sheriff is definitely trying to get you to drop your investigation (and notify him if you find anything of interest), he is sincere in warning you about the danger of Harrowstone.

"Well thanks for seeing us." With that Sethis will take his leave.

Waiting for the others to leave just outside the entrance.

"So? Where shall we go now?"