Anyone wanna give KNO Religion rolls to try to understand what you just saw?
After casting Consecrate, the fungus animates and tears itself free from the wall, retaining a roughly humanoid shape. It howls in a sloshy, almost human voice, then crumbles to dust.
It is as if a pall has visibly lifted from this place. While still retaining a decayed, decrepit appearance, the whole area has lost its prior feel of menace.
NOTE - the manor is no longer haunted. You can explore room by room, but it's pretty boring exploring a place that poses no threat at all. What do you think of me uploading the full maps with descriptions, and I'll reveal any treasures you may have found.
Sounds good.
Any ideas as to what was that? Seems like the crap that started all the problems in the first place
"Wasn't that part of the spell? Pretty cool effect. "
Religion + 8
Someone tried harnessing necromantic energies in order to achieve lichdom, but somehow, the ritual wasn't performed correctly. The puzzle box on the floor was the intended phylactery. Instead of containing the person's life force, the person must have been consumed instead in a storm of disease and rot, with his life force infused into the entire building.
NOTE - I'll get a detailed write up tomorrow to you for the things you've found in the house. In the meantime, please discuss what your next steps are.
"Now that this mystery is solved, it seems we should follow this lead to his townhouse in Magimar."
I'd say you're right Selia - Its been some time since I've been there
"I've always been more of a country boy. Don't know how I'd do in the big city."
Lleidr can't decide between Perform: Sing'ing Merle Haggard's classic country anthem, "Big City," or Perform: Oratory, for this little tale:
Come and listen to a story about a man named Ned
A poor ranger man, barely kept his companions fed,
And then one day he was shootin at Aldern,
When up from the floor came something that wouldn't burn.
Fungus that is, black mold, Magnimar tea.
:)
Magical treasure:
Hall: A monkey's head, with a bellpull extended from the monkey's mouth, is fixed to the wall in the hallway on the ground floor. Pulling the rope elicits a simian shriek like an Alarm spell.
Mundane treasure:
Private study: Amid miscellaneous masks and curious, a painting bears a
plaque that reads “Throwdown in Swynetown,” and in the painting, vast crowds jeer and cheer the bullfighter on, the huge bull aurochs towering over him, its cruel forward-jutting horns each the length of a spear. Dozens of bodies lie in the streets—the aurochs has clearly rampaged through them already, and although a score of brightly colored spears jut from the creature’s flanks and back, it still rages on.
There's a loose brick behind the painting.
Wine cellar: Although this basement room's floor has mounds of broken glass, Lleidr has spotted a hinged and hidden compartment in the back wall behind one of the racks.
Also, in the caverns below the house, there's a tunnel you haven't explored yet. It's in the southern half of the map.
We check the loose brick beyond the painting id Lliedr can check it for traps.
If that "Throwdown in Swynetown" is on black velvet, Lleidr is all over it.
He'll check out the loose brick for traps.
Anyone want to try Appraisal on the painting?
There are no traps you can detect.
In the wine cellar, the hinged compartment hides 8 bottles from distant Cheliax, home to a vineyard called Vigardeis. Appraisal here, too please.
The loose brick hides a compartment coated in layers of dust. It contains 3 stacks of coins (20 pp total), two empty vials stained with a foul smelling residue, and a copper key. The study also has scroll cases of maps of distant lands, but among them, you find a scroll of 'lightening bolt' and 'keen edge'.
Also, a basement kitchen contains a silver dinner set with a large silver salver and a dozen crystal decanters (Appraise please). A small clay urn hidden in a nook inside the chimney is stuffed with dried pine cones and 3 small violet garnets (Appraise again).
And, finally, a ruined workshop in the basement contains a series of iron cages, each containing a diseased, dead rat. Each cage has a small symbol of a pig with a mouthful of lock picks peering at a keyhole. There's a guildsign under the the pig with the wording 'Pug's Contraptions - Magnimar'.
You also find a similarly diseased rat trapped in a washtub, though he's alive, unable to escape and starving.
"Well, those scrolls look interesting, although it may be some time before I can safely use them."
"I assume we should just put this rat our of its misery, so it cannot spread it's disease...."
for the painting
for the bottles of wine
+20 pp=200 gp/4 of us = 50 gp each
Do the vials or the residue detect as magical or poisonous?
Lleidr's also interested in gathering up a couple or three of the more interesting looking maps. If something's valuable, he won't pass it over, but more just for his own interest. /rp off
Lleidr's in the same boat as Selia as far as the scrolls being too high a level to safely use right now. Do we want to sell them?
375 gp x 2 = 750 gp/4 of us = 187.5 gp each
By the way, Zilt, that's a typo, right? It's not a spell that creates a bolt that decreases the color saturation of whatever it strikes?
for the salver and decanters
for the garnets
Lleidr agrees with Selia that the live rat should be killed, and thinks all the bodies should be burned.
Are we going to explore the tunnel in the caverns next?
"Of course, we should explore this tunnel. I wonder where IT leads?"
"Hopefully to whatever all these keys open."
The 3 garnets are 100 gp a piece.
The salver & decanters set is worth 1000 gp.
The bull fight painting is, in fact, an original work by renowned Magnimarian artist Andosalu, and is worth 600 gp.
The 8 wine bottles are worth 100 gp a piece.
The empty vials are worthless, as is the copper key (it fits the destroyed stone door in the basement), and the 8 iron cages are worth 25 cp a piece.
So, next stop is the tunnel along the southern edge of the caverns map? That's the only unexplored area of the grounds left to you.
Yes, let's explore the tunnel. Probably leads to Selia's room in the inn...
I am not keeping a party treasure list in my character description - spoiler at the top. Should work for now.
Yes, let's explore the tunnel. Probably leads to Selia's room in the inn...
I am not keeping a party treasure list in my character description - spoiler at the top. Should work for now.
You aren't keeping a list? You messing with us?
:-)
Lets go
Unless there are objections, Lleidr will take the lead, moving at the edge of the light spell that he or someone will conjure for illumination?
Selia casts light for Lleidr, but let's him have a fair lead.
We could just stay here and listen for the screams :-)
This long cave stinks of rotten meat. The source of the horrific smell is readily apparent—a swath of carcasses is strewn about the floor of this place.
Ahead, seemingly unaware of your slow, cautious approach, a massive bat creature flits along the floor scavenging among bones and bodies. This monstrously sized, undead bat has mottled, decayed flesh and eyes that smolder with an unholy green glow.
This seems like the sort of situation when Ned and Nich should take the lead...Lleidr will hold up and wait for the rest of the group to catch up.
Nicholae, trusting in his plate armour, leads the way.
any idea what it is?
Selia goes ahead and casts mage armor on herself.
In the process of rearranging yourselves, the great leathery, rotting bat shuffles deeper into its lair, but then, as the fighters move forward, it turns when hearing the sound of mail scraping on stone.
Baring its fangs, it readies a lunge towards fresh prey.
Initiative:
Nich
Lleidr
Ned
Selia
Bat
Lleidr will draw the FoE (Arcane Strike) and move up close enough to throw it at the bat as soon as he has line of sight.
Map isnt working
Nicholae casts bull strength on himself.
Selia hurls a ball of protoplasm at the bat.
Just waiting on Ned ...
(power attack, monster huunter)
Lleidr's hurled blade bounces off the creature's diseased flesh while Selia's protoplasm spatters against the cavern wall, hissing and bubbling as it runs down the naked rock.
Nich's sinews surge with divine strength.
Ned advances and his blade sinks deep into the bat's gangrenous body. Such a blow would slay most living things, but this creature snaps its head towards the ranger in anger and insatiable hunger. It's bite is a grevious strike (13 points dmg, plus I need 2 Fort saves).
Lleidr will switch to full defense (+4 AC = AC 22) and make a full move to the other side of the bat, using Acrobatics to avoid an AoO as he moves through the monster's space, and hopefully ending up in a position to flank with Ned.
"So it's like that is it..."
Ned willl designat batzilla as a favorite enemy
(power attack,monster hunter, favored enemy)
Nicholae moves up and attacks the bat abomination.
Longsword + 1 for
Selia casts magic missile.
Foxglove Manor Caverns, Round 2
Nich rushes the monstrosity, but his blade is battered aside by the flapping of one of its leathery wings.
Lleidr barely dodges the snapping jaws of the undead beast. He finds himself in a small alcove, with a shaft rising overhead, letting in rays of daylight from outside. Several half-eaten bodies litter the ground here.
Ned's sword plunges deep into the bat's belly, causing a river of greenish-black ichor to plunge onto the cave floor. Aside from a passing sense of numbness, you feel no ill effects from the bat's previous bite.
With a flash of arcane power, a fiery blue bolt flies from Selia's hand and slams into the bat.
Enraged, the bat swings its head towards Nich and tears at the cleric with its teeth (14 points dmg and I need 2 Fort saves).
Saves and
Lleidr will 5' step to the south so that he can flank with Nich and Ned, hit the FoE with Arcane Strike, and stab at the bat.
(power attack, monster hunter, fav enemy)
"Maybe a trip to the city wouldn't be that bad after all. They don't have giant zombie bats do they?"
"I don't know. I mean, you don't hear about such things, but maybe they are too common to warrant stories?"
Selia casts another magic missile.