"Zappity indeed," Grick mumbles as he once again sits down on the floor.
For a moment lucidity returns to the pink kobold and he looks at the others, "I believe I may be dying, or undying as the case may be. Could one of you please help me to that long leg priest outside? Ugly creature but maybe her God can help."
Grick painfully clambers to his feet and begins a slow, scratching shamble out of the temple towards the hope of healing.
Grick: Your vision blurs and you're on your knees before you realize that you've fallen. Channeling that much raw power from the spirits took a lot out of you. You can barely walk. Your con mod is an additional -1. Your eyes are swollen and red, your lungs are raspy, and it hurts to think.
Grick: Your vision blurs and you're on your knees before you realize that you've fallen. Channeling that much raw power from the spirits took a lot out of you. You can barely walk. Your con mod is an additional -1. Your eyes are swollen and red, your lungs are raspy, and it hurts to think.
And he finds himself repeating "brains, brains" almost constantly.
Hegh helps Sees to stand, while glancing around the wreckage for anything that appears valuable. He hands Sees the necromancer's tome. He then picks Grick up in his arms and rushes to the entrance to the temple.
Seeing the long legs, he solemnly carries Grick to the cleric and places him on the ground when the other long legs move to bar his path. He tilts his head and speaks haltingly in a language he doesn't understand, common, as if he is repeating words being spoken to him. Death Mage is dead. Kobold is bitten. Help. Please.
There's no sign of the longlegs when you emerge from the entrance of the temple. They're gone.
Sees takes the tome to her torn pack, holding it reluctantly in folds of her clothes. She uses the cut arm straps of the pack to tie it in place. The dirge makes sure she isn't leaving anything behind, even tucking the dagger back into her belt. If she has time, she checks the necromancer's desk and surrounding area for anything Hegh missed in his haste, grabbing the scrying orb and tucking it into a large pocket in her vestments.
She lifts the pack in both arms and walks to the door upstairs. There, she gestures to the nearly bare spool of twine. "Can someone get that? I'm going to need it to mend my pack. My hands are full, I'm sorry... It marks what path we took down here. Wind it back up as we head back if you could, please. "
Nothing...
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Smoog scans the temple structures and assesses their relative stability and soundness.
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Can we hold up in here for a while and recuperate, I wonder?
These walls and pillars seem somewhat sturdy.
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He also begins a thorough search of the immediate area, noting exits, room fixtures and workmanship.
What should I be on the lookout for?
What here is useful or valuable to me?
What here is not what it appears to be?
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"I have heard of construction such as this.
Architecturally speaking I presume we can expect..."
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As well as looking for anything of value...
search for treasure
Pork grunts as he reverts back to his kobold form. Leaning on his spear, he takes the time to look around quietly for anything of note..
Hegh shakes his head, as if attempting to rid himself of a vision born of exhaustion. Finding no sign of the cleric, he picks Grick back up and carries him to the rest of the group.
The long legs are gone. Grick ... Hegh sits, helpless as to how to save his kin. What choice do I have?
Hegh takes his sword and cuts deeply into his arm, much deeper than ever before, and the blood of Gorlaug flows swiftly over Grick's body. Hegh wobbles, but stays standing long enough to finish the ritual that once served to bind a new hatchling to the honor guard. He chants, Chosen, in life, in death, bound to Gorlaug's will. Rise Blood Brother.
Hegh collapses, and closes his eyes. His breath is ragged.
Grick grabs Hegh by the arm and pulls him down close to him...
The dirge props her pack on one hip and looks down her snout at Hegh. "Hey Hegh-head! These are hardly the actions of the honor guard elite. 'Soldiers to the last; One guard, Blood-boud, to stand above and beyond judgement; Always ready, Always there.' What are you ready for? A nap? We have work to do."
At Sees remonstration, Hegh rises to one knee. He flinches when Grick grabs him, but allows himself to be drawn close. He listens with a concerned look on his face, then tilts his head, staring off in the general direction of Sees.
I promise Blood Brother. But it will not come to that. Gorlaug has decreed. You will rise again, only more powerful, to face your enemies.
"Psst psst psst. Are you two going to start exchanging courting gifts as well? You're adorable, Hegh, but I'll have to ask that you take care of your exchanges with this one in the guest quarters. I've lived with better scum than Grick, and I shoveled feces for a living."
When Smoog asks, Sees unties the tome and lets him take it. She makes sure not to touch it.
"Sees, may I look at the tome the necromancer left behind?"
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When the book is taken out of her backpack, Smoog begins frantically searching thru it for some answer to Grick's condition.
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"Who better to know about Zombie Fever and how to cure it than a Necromancer.
If it is such a dangerous hazard of the profession, there must be something in here about how to deal with or counteract it."
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Let him wear death jewel
What here is useful or valuable to me!
The increasingly pallid kobold lives up his head and looks around the room trying to find something, anything that will reverse the disease.
Yes, I know this is a dramatic moment, but I want to get looting out of the way!
Loot bonuses are at a +3 for defeating one of the adventuring party that killed your God. Let me tally up the loot rolls real quick:
Sees-Death
Thunk
Pork
Grick (I know he didn't search due to his condition, but c'mon. He gets loot too)
Smoog
Hegh didn't roll due to Grick so I'll roll for him
Thunk shiny! He says as he puts on his new cloak.
Where Fling?
Fix bumps? thunk says to sees
Grick, if nobody had thought to use the necromancer's tome, your DR roll would've highlighted it - but there's nothing else in this entrance hall to the temple that would be of any use to you right now. Your vision swims and gets fuzzy, and it gets harder and harder to focus.
Hegh's overzealous desire to help the shaman nearly brings him before the Black Gates of Hell himself. It's only Sees-Death's quick action that brought him back over the brink, sealing the worst of his wounds and slowing his heart rate back to normal. However, Grick seems to be beyond the reach of her encouraging magic, and the small kobold moans painfully from the ground where he lies.
Disregarding cautionary tales that he learned as a small kobold about carelessly flipping through spellbooks, Smoog speed-reads as quickly as he can, skimming through pages and muttering words under his breath as he flips through the un-indexed book. "Curses...using dead body parts...chili recipe...ew, that's a gross ingredient...here! Zombification!" Finding the right section, the blue-scale kobold begins quickly reading through the necromancer's notes. The book appears to be a handwritten account of the necromancer's knowledge of dark magic related to death. Smoog brushes past write-ups of the toughness of zombified flesh post-mortem, past diagrams of past vivisections that have been painstakingly recreated on the page, past indicators of zombie anatomy - to the section he was seeking. WHAT TO DO IF YOU'VE BEEN BITTEN.
Anyone watching Smoog read the tome would see all the blood drain from his face as he reads. According to the book, if the infected limb is amputated before the infection can spread to the rest of the body, the life of the victim can be spared. The book also details how one can tell if the infection has spread, and to where, giving a list of symptoms. A holy ritual performed by an ordained member of the clergy, any clergy that belongs to a religion of a God or Goddess that opposes undeath, will also do the trick if it is performed within a day of infection.
Smoog reads thru the tome quickly and when he finds the pertinent section he perks up...
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"O.K, O.K., Listen up!
Grick was wounded by the Zombie on his foot right?
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Are his toenails purple?
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Are there puffy green rings around his ankle?
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Do his knees squeak when he moves?
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COME ON GUYS, this is important!
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Do his KNEES squeak?
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Is hair growing out of his thigh scales?
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If it has gone any further.... we can't save him by limb removal.
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Pork, you should really look at this book.
Maybe you can see something more.
When Smoog says "limb removal," Hegh slowly draws his sword with a pained look on his face. He stands next to Grick, waiting.
You see the symptoms of infection above Grick's knee, but no further. Above the knee would be the most likely spot to perform an amputation, should you go that route.
Well, if there is anything akin to 'Good News' when talking about , this might qualify.
According to the Fathead Necromancer's notes, we can amputate just above the infection line; in Grick's case above his right knee; and have a fair chance of stopping the infection.
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I would like to give Pork a few minutes to search through this Grimoire to locate a better option should one exist.
Grick stirs as he listens to Smoog's words having found a reason to hope in a world where only vengeance matters.
"Are we all not sons and daughters of Gorlaug, except that is for our barbarian friend. We fear no pain or injury. We have a god to avenge and slayers to punish and no time to waste. Let's waste no more time. Cut it off, cauterize the wound and get me a crutch. Remember, I'm a SHAMAN NOT A FIGHTER!!" Grick screams out the last part even as he's gesturing for Hegh to strike.
Easy Brother. There is time. Let Pork search for a better solution, but know that you will survive this, one way or another.
Hegh raises the sword high above Grick's leg, and turns to look at Pork expectantly.
"Stay your blade, Hegh. If the necromancer does not possess a solution for Grick, the flames will offer one. His life will not be taken by the curse, and if he should need to lose the leg, my flames will prevent bleeding better than your sword."
Fssst begins to contemplate what rituals he has learned as a firekeeper. Most view the flames as destructive, and they are certainly that, but fewer realize the fires are also an element of purification. Of course, any such submission to the flames would come at a price, but certainly not greater than that of destruction.
you get thump by friend.
He grips his claw ready to help him through the slice
In response to Thunk's query, the dirge produces the acorn angreal. "Once camp is set, wounds will heal. No more will come from the depths."
Sees is sitting at a distance from the commotion, busying her hands with the task of mending her pack. "Fssst, the porridge with legs is complaining again. Do you think the fires have been stoked enough to boil the sickness from his blood?"
When her pack is mended, Sees-Death looks over the drake skull helm. It looks a lot like the one Krondor wore, only newer. The bone is freshly bleached and shows little of the yellowing that comes with age. Looking on the inside, there seems to be an inscription, but the Dragontongued does not know Dwarvish. If this one is anything like Krondoor's, it...
The helm, worn by the Dwarven Commander Desmont Drakerider, was said to inspire the men that followed him into combat. Once per combat, the wearer of the helm can inspire a companion to overcome great pain in pursuit of their glory. The inspired companion does not take the damage that was most recently dealt to them. Instead, they get a debility of the helm wearer's choosing.
Fsst. You know of a ritual taught by the Ogdru Jahad, the Dragons of Revelation, that purifies the body with flames. No corruption or impurity can withstand the fire, not even the necromancy of the zombie curse. What's more, the ritual can be performed anywhere, with no special components. All it takes is the will to submit one's body to the flame-spirits. Death will claim him if he fails, but if so, he will die purified and whole, a kobold with no trace of undead sickness. If he succeeds, he will be reborn anew in the flames.
I should note that as DM, I can only tell you what is required for a ritual, and what the ritual does - the PC is in charge of what performing the ritual entails.
Hegh's face softens with relief, and he withdraws his sword.
Be brave Brother, the Song of Fire will heal you.
Hegh moves to a corner to nurse his wounds and inspect the inquisitor's lightsaber hilt and the music box.
Look at Thunk red cape. No blue cape. No green cape!
Thunk dances about with his color changing cape.
Trusting that the fire Fssst wields will cure Grick,
Smoog busies himself with a perimeter security survey.
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He had spent enough time with Falla the Trapsmith to understand what rigs and gizmos would best suit a simple access denial system.
He sets about adding a few flip traps and noise conveyors to alert and protect them from intruders coming into the temple.
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Hegh's reverie is interrupted by a loud clang. When he looks, the Drakerider's Helm is laying near his feet, and Sees is clear across the room. Her back is even turned toward him as she adjusts the acorn's setting to healing and sets it to spin on the floor. From this angle, the pair of huge vertical slashes in her ceremonial vestments (produced from sprouting wings) are clearly visible, and hardly modest, especially since the scales beneath are fresh and lustrous.
Hegh lifts the helm, grins, and replaces the dented kitchen pot. He stands and walks to Sees, his nostrils flaring at the sight of her ruined clothing. He hands her the music box. This is far too delicate to be entrusted to the Honor Guard.
He turns to find Smoog without waiting for a response. Interrupting the trapper, Hegh hands over the strange device. This looks like your machines, blue one. Do you know what it is?
Smoog's eyes widen in surprise! And a slow whistle escapes his smiling lips.
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"Well now, I have heard of these but never thought I would see one."
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Smoog takes the device from Hegh and slowly spins it over in his hands as he carefully rotates his body full circle on his heels.
As he does, the inner ring pivots and swirls aligning with some hidden force.
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"We never really needed these things what with all the piles we had even as excess from Gorlaug's cast-off coins.
You can use these to find veins of valuable ore and gems, and possibly, if attuned properly, other things as well.
I also recall that this kind of device can..."
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I am now quite certain I can replicate the Paladin Compass to find any individual I have a 'signature' for.
I must add this information to my notes later and we must certainly find a 'signature' for each of the rest of the Adventurers!
I already have signatures of each of my fellow kobolds... if I should ever need to ... find them.
Hegh smiles at the blue kobold's enthusiasm.
Such an odd one.
Yes. But powerful. You must keep him safe.
As you command.
As he turns to leave Smoog to his traps, Hegh says, It is yours Smoog. I hope it will help us slay our enemies.
Smoog: answering your rolls from before. Since you only got a 7 on Discern Realities I'll only answer your first question:
What should I be on the lookout for?
Old, ruined temples like these attract adventuring parties looking for loot like flies to a carcass. It's a good idea to keep watch tonight if you're staying in the entryway of the temple.
The traps you successfully laid at the temple's mostly-collapsed entrance will aid you there. Since the rocks fell during the assault on the temple, any invaders would have to cross a pretty tight chokepoint area to get to where you all are resting. It's a pretty defensible spot, even if the temple itself does draw attention to it.
Since you rolled a double 6 on your Spout Lore I'm going to give you some pertinent facts about this temple's construction - and then, I'll allow you to inject some worldbuilding of your own. Invent a fact about this temple and it'll be like the DM said it - it's reality.
As for the strange, tingly object - you're right on the money when you tell Hegh that it's used to detect valuables. When you dangle the object by its string and Discern Realities, you may add "Where is the nearest treasure, and how far away is it?" to your list of available questions. The device will shimmer gold for precious metals, and blue for magic items. You may also destroy the object permanently to open a portal to a random other dimension.
While Thunk, Hegh and Smoog try to take their minds off of the problem by discussing some of their loot, Pork leans in close to Grick and examines him critically. He puts his ear near to Grick's mouth as the other kobold's ragged breaths come irregularly, and feels the shaman's scales.
He grunts. "He's progressing along the way to becoming a ghoul. Not unlike one of these shamblers," he mutters, gesturing at his two remaining zombie slaves. They stand behind him, dully staring at all of you with hungry expressions. "If we get him to stop walking around and spellcasting and rest, I can give him a poultice that will slow the spread of the infection, perhaps buy us a few more hours. But we will need to decide what to do soon...either give him to the flames, seek out that long-legged cleric, or simply amputate the limb."
Fssst grips Grick roughly by a heel, drags him bodily to the center of the room, and stalks over to an altar. "The decision is already made. Grick will keep his mind. The flames will seal the poisons away. His hunger for flesh will not be...uncontrollable."
Fssst wrenches a fist-sized iron holy emblem of Enoreth, rusted to a blood red, from the altar. He turns it over in his hands, feeling the civilizing influence of the divine power within. Structured, beholden to the strictures of civilized life. This was not the way of an Immolator, but if the poisons coursing through Grick were to be turned to a new purpose, they would need a balancing power. Even a tainted Enoreth could fill that need.
The mad flame-tender walks a circle around Grick, pouring flaming oil from one of the lanterns that lit the room onto his path. "He will be born again as something...new." he said, as he leaps upon the fallen Shaman. "Call to your spirits, Shaman! Drink them down! Sate your gluttony for flesh upon those unworthy to serve you!" Fssst leans down and grips Grick's jaw tightly on one claw as he held the holy symbol of Enoreth above his mouth. Fssst whispers, with quiet glee, "Now be still. This will sting a bit."
The holy symbol burst into molten iron, pouring down onto shaman's teeth...
Do you give Grick the pendant before beginning the ritual or are we going for an unmodified Last Breath roll? :)
Well, the idea was that the actual heat and damage would be magically subsumed as part of the ritual. Fssst is "giving" Grick the holy symbol in as much as he is magically infusing it's essence into him.
The ritual is likely to be excruciatingly painful, but not actually lethal.
EDIT: Assuming, of course, he succeeds. Otherwise...well, this will certainly be an interesting way to prevent him from turning into a ghoul!
Sorry, but nope. To fully burn out the zombie infection such that Grick retains his own mind, he must risk full death, even as part of the ritual.
All it takes is the will to submit one's body to the flame-spirits. Death will claim him if he fails, but if so, he will die purified and whole, a kobold with no trace of undead sickness. If he succeeds, he will be reborn anew in the flames.
That's a Last Breath roll. I apologize if I didn't make that clear enough. :)
Ahhhh, I get what you're saying. Yeah, Fssst is pretty much an all or nothing kind of guy. Unless someone is dive-tackling him at the last second, Grick will need to roll.
And yes, Fssst will be giving Grick anything he can to increase his chances of succeeding at the Last Breath roll.
I kind of assumed, I just want everyone to get in the habit of declaring every thing they want to do as they do it. It was made known to all of you that the restorative pendant helps on Last Breath rolls, and Thunk even suggested it directly, so I assumed it would be done.
Grick. Roll your Last Breath with a +2 modifier. The pendant is consumed by flames, leaving a permanent ashen mark on your chest in the shape of what it once was.
When you’re dying you catch a glimpse of what lies beyond the Black Gates of Death’s Kingdom (the GM will describe it). Then roll (just roll, +nothing—yeah, Death doesn’t care how tough or cool you are). ✴On a 10+, you’ve cheated Death—you’re in a bad spot but you’re still alive. ✴On a 7–9, Death himself will offer you a bargain. Take it and stabilize or refuse and pass beyond the Black Gates into whatever fate awaits you. ✴On 6-, your fate is sealed. You’re marked as Death’s own and you’ll cross the threshold soon. The GM will tell you when.
The Last Breath is that moment standing between life and death. Time stands still as Death appears to claim the living for his own. Even those who do not pass beyond the Black Gates catch a glimpse of the other side and what might await them—friends and enemies past, rewards or punishment for acts in life or other, stranger vistas. All are changed in some way by this moment—even those who escape.
There are three outcomes to this move. On a 10+, the Character has cheated Death in some meaningful way. He’s escaped with something that, by rights, isn’t his anymore. Death is powerless to stop this, but he remembers this slight. On a 7–9, the GM should offer a real choice with significant consequence. Think about the behaviors of the character and the things you’ve learned about him in play. Death knows and sees all and tailors his bargains accordingly. This is a trade, remember. Offer something that will be a challenge to play out but will lead the game in fun new direction. On a miss, death is inevitable. The most obvious approach is to say “Death takes you across the threshold, into his bleak kingdom.” and move on. However, sometimes Death comes slowly. You might say “you have a week to live” or “you can feel the cold hand of Death on you ” and leave it at that, for now. The player may want to give in and accept death at this point—that’s okay. Let them create a new character as normal. The key thing to remember is that a brush with death, succeed or fail, is a significant moment that should always lead to change.
Do you give Grick the pendant before beginning the ritual or are we going for an unmodified Last Breath roll? :)
YES
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Old, ruined temples like these attract adventuring parties looking for loot like flies to a carcass. It's a good idea to keep watch tonight if you're staying in the entryway of the temple.
Since you rolled a double 6 on your Spout Lore I'm going to give you some pertinent facts about this temple's construction - and then, I'll allow you to inject some worldbuilding of your own.
.
This temple has been here for a very long time, so long that the city it used to belong to is all but vanished.
Judging by the hexagonal stonework, these lava conveyor causeways, and the lack of any decorative doorways,I would guess this was built during the 6th Winging of Anchelon (we are now in the 15th Winging Era or 15WE) .
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Enoreth Time Temples like this one are intended to last eons as storehouses of culture and achievement that represent the civilization it served.
Their High Priests are experts at preservation and are rumored to even be able to encapsulate living people in some sort of time suspension so they can ‘live forever’.
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I am simply ecstatic at the prospects of finding ancient technology here.
According to the Artificers’ Almanaque, Enorethian Power Couplers are highly sought after devices capable of harnessing a wide range of power sources.
EPC technology can be found in almost every significant invention including Bun’s Tangent Diverter and Millwick & Scorff’s revolutionary Dream Harvester.