lazulin's Carrion Crown (Inactive)

Game Master lazulin

The centipede skitters passed Nasrin's blade; she connects only with the ground.

Mathias
Centipede
Nasrin
Romulus<--Currently Up
Ilystria
Katrionna

Romulus, you're up!

Rom steps gingerly around Mara, following Nasrin. He swings his earthbreaker mightily at the centipede.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 2) + 4 = 8

Meanwhile, Mara keeps nipping at the centipede.

Bite: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Mara, you okay today? I know it's early, but still...you gotta get yourself together, girl."

Romulus's earthbreaker hits the centipede right in the center of its body, smashing it flat. The centipede's arms wriggle for a moment, and then it is still.

Combat over!

"What's going on," calls out Katrionna from the back of the tomb as she shuffles towards the party. "Did you, uhh, find something?" She notices the dismembered centipedes and shivers a bit. "Oh! Guess you did. I, uhh, guess it could've been worse, right?”

Within the sarcophagus is an incredible store of sacred implements. There are about a thirty arrows--about half of which shine silver in the light or are marked with images of broken bones and torn veils--two of them are even stranger, somehow translucent under the light of Nasrin’s magic. Six sun rods are scattered among the arrows, and there are about thirteen different flasks of liquids of various colors--six of them are clear, and are marked with the sign of the whippoorwill, a holy symbol of Pharasma--undoubtedly they are holy water. Five of them contain a light blue liquid, and two are made of dark green glass. Four scrolls are tucked into the back of the sarcophagus, sitting on a thin darkwood case marked with the same scarab symbol on one of the books that Lorrimor gave you.

And this tomb, it seems, was not completely devoid of bodies, for in the sarcophagus, nestled in the center of trove of artifacts, is a single skull peering out at the party. It has no jawbone, and it is cracked all along the length of its eyes--but most strange is the veil of translucent white fabric covering it, not thick enough to hide what it is but instead to make it seem slightly ethereal.

Romulus detects magic and reels back. "Wow. Pretty much everything here's giving off an aura. Except that skull, weirdly enough. You'd think it'd be magical, but I guess not. Now then, let's see what we have here..."

"So it looks like...some cure light wounds potions, a scroll that'll let us detect undead, aaaand...some weak restoration potions, are those? Not sure about the other stuff. Hey, there's something tucked up into that skull, anyone want to go digging around in his eye socket?"

How a guy who's spent all his life living in the woods would know all this stuff...beats me! You get all sorts or weird people passing through the Shudderwood, I guess.

"Ew, eww, gross!" splutters Nasrin, wiping ichor from her face. "Blech, I think I have some in my mouth... Oh, let me see, Romulus. Wykrycie magii." (Detect Magic)

"The Coffin Groom," whispers Katrionna, glancing over the side of the sarcophagus. "This--I can't believe we didn't know any of this was here. And the unholy symbol of Menxyr--we'll have to take all of this to Father Grimburrow. He'll know what to do."

She gingerly reaches into tomb, grasping the skull with both hands, and whispers to the skull: "Pharasma judge the blasphemers. Pharasma judge those who escape the grave. Pharasma protect us from the unquiet dead. Pharasma watch over us all."

"I, uhh, hope this isn't a portent. Are you ready to go back to the temple? Grimburrow needs to hear about this."

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Knowledge (Nature): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

Ilystria flits nearer to the group at the sound of steel clashing against stone, one hand on the handle of her aspergillum, but by the time she rounds the corner of the lower chamber, the battle is over. Her blank gaze looks over her companions first, looking for any obvious wounds, before she studies the corpses leaking their ichor onto the crypt floor. "Was anyone bitten?" she asks, recognizing that the creatures are known to be venomous. Once she's satisfied that none of her new friends seem to be suffering from centipede poison, Ilystria moves to hover over the sarcophagus in the back the room. Her eyes take in all the artifacts found therein, shining prettily under the light of Nasrin's magic. At Katrionna's suggestion, Ilystria gives the acolyte an indiscernible look for a few moments too long, before finally offering a warm smile. "We will need only a few moments to gather everything. ...I can see that it is making you ill at ease, down in these crypts, so far below ground," the fey says sympathetically, gently steering the young woman back towards the stairs. "You have made your order and Father Grimburrow very proud this day, I am sure. But you need not be in discomfort any longer. Go, find fresh air outside, and we will rejoin you shortly."

Once the young woman (presumably) heads back to the entrance, the fey turns to her three companions. "I gave my word to Father Grimburrow that I would bring back what artifacts I found down here, but, as fate would have it, Romulus was the first to find them. That said, I say he should take these back to Kendra's house until we are ready to investigate the Harrowstone," Ilystria suggests, her tone surprisingly casual and airy for one discussing such duplicity.

Romulus nods as he surreptitiously shoves the items into his bag. "I like the way you think. We'll divvy these up amongst ourselves once we get back to Kendra's."

He looks at the others, as if daring them to say something. "What? You try living honestly on your own in the wilderness for nearly fifteen years. Can't be done. Grimburrow isn't going to be needing these anytime soon. If we're investigating a murderous necromantic cult...we have more use for them, therefore we can take them."

Linguistics: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 This handwriting... Who wrote this scroll? Why leave it here?
As Lily makes her proposal, Nasrin sniggers. Oh, so the stories were true, fey are masters of the exact words. Mathias is going to have a hard time... However, now it would be inconvenient. "Had you told me this morning, I would have agreed, following what the Professor did. However, Mathias presented some good points in favor of forewarning Father Grimburrow, so we asked him for permission.
However, he does not seem to be an unreasonable man, and he worships the deity who most fervently is opposed to undeath. These objects are not liturgical implements or sacred treasures, these are weapons, weapons against the undead, and since he does not look like a fighter, it should be easy to persuade him to lend them to us."

Before Mathias has a chance to offer objection, Nasrin's words preemptively echo forth his own feelings. "Indeed, Father Grimburrow has shown us both trust and support, when he could have offered neither. All a man truly owns is his honor, I'd rather not give it away over something so trivial. Moreover, we discovered that at some point an evil cult has use the Church's own crypt to conduct nefarious deeds. Our recovery of these items not only secures their use for a just cause, but also takes them out of the hands of wouldbe grave robbers. In that action we have done the Church of Pharasma a further service. I am likewise confident that he will agree they will be put to good use in our hands."

Although Ilystria is pleased to find that Romulus sees their situation her way, she does take a minor issue to his assertion that one can't live an honest life in the wilderness. Before she can properly address that, Nasrin and Mathias speak up in opposition to her suggestion. While the possibility of having them disagree with her had not been unforeseen--mortals so rarely were able to see things from a fey's perspective--she seems hurt at the implication that she was operating less than honorably. "You need not lecture me on the importance of honor. A fey's word is her bond, and I have followed my end of the agreement to the letter," Ilystria sullenly replies.

"While I agree that Father Grimburrow has shown us trust and support, I do not find his claim over these artifacts, whose presence he would have remained unaware of if not for us, to be reasonable. But, if you are confident enough to leave our ability to solve Petros' murder to one human's whimsy, then I will waive the terms of our bargain. This one time," the fey says, leading the others back up the stairs now that the implements were secured. "I only hope that you two are better judges of mortal conduct than I."

It's not dignified to laugh in a crypt where we just found an unholy symbol. The contrast between Mathias' honorbound attitude and Lily's alien attitude, however, forces a chuckle out of Nasrin, who promptly hides it while eating a clove from her pocket.
"No one accuses you of violating your word, Lily. However, we mortals are different, and we tend to follow the spirit of the bargain rather than the letter of it. Since allies will likely be few and far, we fear that alienating the church could be harmful. Then, of course, should he prove greedy or unreasonable..."
Nasrin smirks. The Cult of the Dawnflower teaches to respect authority as far as they don't pose an obstacle to one's mission. Even when dealing with the priesthood of Sarenrae herself, the holy mission of mercy and cleansing was more important than the desires of some old curmudgeon who had grown old and averse to swift action.
"... well, the mission is paramount."

With the help of Katrionna, the party is easily able to transport the goods back to the temple.

"So, what did you find at the crypt?" asks Father Grimburrow when they return.

Nasrin does not recognize the handwriting in the note

Romulus sighs inwardly. Well...Nasrin does have a point, I suppose. Guess I can tell him about the stuff, then he at least knows we have it.

"We found some magical trinkets-potions, scrolls, a few arrows. They seemed to be placed there with the purpose in aiding in the slaying of undead. There was also an unholy symbol of a demon lord-I believe your acolyte called him Menxyr? And this scroll-maybe you recognize the handwriting? It was kind of shoved into a skull's eye socket."

He hands over the scroll they found.

Inspired by Nasrin's willingness to go against Father Grimburrow should the priest prove reluctant in parting with their newfound weapons, Ilystria follows the group back to the Temple without complaint. Still, Nasrin and Mathias' concern that her actions would have alienated them to the church does not give the fey much confidence. They seem think highly of the holy man, yet seem certain he would be upset at fulfilling his part of the bargain. Would he not be thankful to have learned to choose his words with more care in the future?

She lets Romulus tell the Father of his findings at the crypt, adding only the one detail he seems to leave out. "And bugs." At the look her comment receives, the fey clarifies by way of stretching her arms out as far as she is able to. "Really big bugs." In the moments of silence that follow, Ilystria begins to puzzle over the presence of the giant centipedes, the poorly hidden implements, and the skull that was left in the sarcophagus. "Father, to your knowledge, when was the last time a member of your faith has visited the crypt? Do all of your acolytes carry a copy of the key that unlocks the tomb?"

Father Grimburrow examines the scroll, his brow furrowed as he reads. "I do not recognize the handwriting--which is probably a blessing. I imagine whoever left the unholy symbol wrote the note as well--the followers of Menxyr have a rather--romantic view of undeath. Though why they would leave such a note among a cache of tools for fighting the undead is a mystery to me. This is all rather worrisome."

"I am the only one with access to the key. We maintain the tomb for ritual purposes--we rarely ever have need to enter it. Very strange," he says. He looks to Katrionna; she bows her head and scurries through the transept and does not return.

"Could I see the items that you found? If I could examine them perhaps we could get a little closer to solving the mystery of why they were there in the first place."

She does think quite like me, surprisingly, guess her and I will be on the same page. She nods to Nasrin before offering her own thoughts to Illystria. "Indeed, intent is the nature of things around here. And as for the letter of one's words, well those too can be twisted. I should know, I have lost... so much, because my father was not careful with his words. I share your fears, and if the Father tries to unjustly stand in our way, then I will take issue with him then. That said, we have had no cause to distrust him, yet."

Before they depart the tomb, Mathias smiles as he draws his morningstar. "Can't be leaving around the trappings of a demon-worshipping cult, that just wouldn't be proper." Raising the morningstar over his head, he mightily swings it down in both hands, shattering the skull.

morningstar attack w/ power attack: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 4 - 1 = 19
damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 3 = 12

----------------

As they return to the temple, he once again let's Illystria step to the forefront. She certainly is skilled in her words, I will give her that.

Indeed father, it is strange that these demon cultists would turn your crypt into a private stash. They at some point likely planned to use it to do evil things, no doubt. Luckily we have recovered it and will now put it to good use against the tormented dead that walk this land. Tell me, do you think one of your acolytes is involved?"

Mathias, I believe Katrionna had carried the skull away. Also, destroying human remains in front of an acolyte of Pharasma could be... unbecoming.

"Here is what we found, Father. Holy water, sunrods, potions to heal the damages from the undead, scrolls to find them and hide from them, arrows to slay ghosts. We haven't been able to identify this scroll and these arrows. I would propose a deal, if I may, I believe that we all may agree to: we could use this items to fight the infestation of Harrowstone, then return any spare to you."

"Oh, and Lily is right. You might want to ask a craftsman to patch the walls of the crypt, there were two rather large vermins."

After leaving Grimburrow, I would head towards the schoolhouse to keep searching information about the Harrowstone, unless you have other ideas. The diplomats among us may also do a check to gather information, perhaps there will be some useful rumors.

sorry, missed the acolyte picking it up and taking it. So I guess I did not smash the unholy symbol...

"I cannot say. It is a possibility, I must admit. If the Way is truly involved in Harrowstone--I shudder to think what forces they may have called upon."

"As for the cache--anything in the Restlands belongs to the church. I understand that you all were led there by Lorrimor but I need to at least see what was left there before I agree to let you all have access to it."

Oh, sorry if I wasn't clear, I was showing them to him.

Oh, I thought Nasrin was just telling him what you found. Corrected response will be posted momentarily

Grimburrow examines each of the items in turn, not remarking on any of them--until he reaches the wooden case marked with the scarab and the eye.

"This symbol--I have seen it before. The Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye. Very interesting. It does assuage my fears about who might have been using our crypt--at least somewhat," he says, before opening up the case. Inside is a plain wooden board marked with the letters of the alphabet and a bronze planchette, as well as four strange looking jars mounted with the image of a skull opening its mouth.

"Yes, this would be their doing. A spirit board--it can be used to communicate with the unquiet dead. And these are haunt siphons--they can capture unruly spirits, if used properly. This does not explain what Menxyr's symbol was doing in the crypt--but it reassures me as to the caches' purpose, at least," he says, handing the items back to the party.

"I assume that since none of you claimed rightful ownership of these items from the beginning that none of you are members of the Order--though, they are a secretive lot. Perhaps one of you has secrets yet to be told," he says. "Under normal circumstances, I would have to claim these items as being rightful property of the church. But it seems they are not truly mine to claim. I thank you for allowing me to see them regardless."

You probably have enough time to do one more thing before dusk; where do you want to go now?

Knowledge(religion): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Knowledge(religion): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
First check to know what the Esoteric Order of the Palantine Eye is, second whether we can get some use out of the board and jars. Also, form the treasure I would just take two sunrods and a potion of cure light wounds, I can't use the rest and I already have some holy water.
"Thank you, Father. We will use them wisely."
"Alright, friends, looks like it turned out fairly well, except that there is yet another player in this craziness." she sighs "I would now like to clean myself from gravedust and ichor, then I'll..." Her face twists in a grimace. "I'll seek whether I may find some more information about the Harrowstone at the schoolhouse. Unless you have some better idea?"

"Cleaning sounds good. Going to the library...meh. Could take it or leave it."

You have not heard of the Palantine Eye before. The jars could be used against haunts who may infest Harrowstone, and the board could be used to gather information from spirits.

Mathias offers his hand to the priest. "And we appreciate your knowledge, assistance, and trust. We are set now on a course, there is something foul afoot, I am certain of it. We willing learn what it is, and by my life or death, we will set it to rest. Good day, Father Grimburrow."

As they depart and plan their next step, "I would be up for accompanying you to the schoolhouse, Nesrin. Perhaps we will find better fortune there than in the church's library. Illystria, any chance you are able to commune with the spirits of the land here, perhaps to learn more about what may be befalling this town?"

"I am in tune with the spirits of nature, among others, yes, but I cannot communicate with them in the traditional sense. If Father Grimburrow was right about the items we have recovered from the crypt, the spirit board might allow me to ask questions of them. I will return to the Lorrimor house and check in on Kendra. Perhaps she knows something about how the board works."

"Very well, then." says Nasrin heading towards what seems like a washhouse. Then her logic clicks in. "Oh, wait a second. Father Grimburrow spoke about it so naturally that I didn't think to ask him, but... Do you know what this Order of the Palantine Eye is? They may be allies or enemies, and I would like to know which one." And I did not like him talking about secrets, we have enough paranoia as it is.

Ilystria lets out a short, tittering giggle at Nasrin's question but quickly regains her composure with a shake of her head. "I have spent very little of my time in this world in the company of mortals, aside from Petros. I regret to disappoint you, but I am the least likely to be privy to the secret orders you lot form." With her fit of humor over, the fey deflates a little at the implication behind her question; in truth, she had hoped that Nasrin would have known the answer to that. It seemed that, for all their effort, they were uncovering far more questions than answers. No matter. We will keep searching for answers until those who took Petros from us face our vengeance. Addressing the others once more, Ilystria says, "I hope we find the answer soon, and that it is a favorable one. If the evil we stand against is as vile you say, we will need all the friends we can gather."

-----

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Ilystria nods politely at Kendra's explanation of spirits, suddenly seeing much of Petros in the woman as she gives her impromptu lesson and not wishing to interrupt. The fey was no stranger to spirits; since that fateful battle at the Worldwound when she first felt the Stag Lord's presence, Ilystria has also had the spirits of her fallen fey brothers and sisters as constant companions. Although the chance to speak with them once more might be pleasant, she doubts they could have anything of value to contribute to their investigation. At Kendra's question, the fey gives the woman a long, measuring look before offering what she hopes is a sympathetic smile. "We need not try it if you are not comfortable. I was asked to commune with the spirits of the land to better understand what might be happening in this town, but from your explanation, I gather that the board is not attuned to those types of spirits," Ilystria explains, turning the box of the spirit board over in her hands.

"This symbol was on one of the books your father asked us deliver, was it not?" she asks, showing Kendra the mark of the scarab on the box.

Nasrin looks at the books on the shelves with a wide, rapt smile on her face. "Zhernet's Paralegomena to Conjuration Admixture! Vajarovitz' Hard Limits to Transmutation! And is that a first edition of Oleg Orlevskji's White Necromancy: a Controversial Theory for an Enlightened Age? I thought that only a handful of copies remained! Sir, your selection is fascinating, I envy your students! I feel like I'm back in the Arcanamirium! Oh, where are my manners? Nasrin Raissi, at your service." She bows deeply to the black-clad man.
She then rummages through her inner pockets until she finds her money purse. Lighter than I'd like. These remaining will easily last me a month, but any more expenses and I'll have to find a job.
"Here is my fee, but stand assured that I will only treat your books with the utmost respect, and, if it would impose upon you, I'd be delighted to hear anything you may tell us about the Harrowstone."
Nasrin looks at him expectantly, with childlike curiosity on her face, and secretly hoping not to have to dive among other hated history books.

Romulus stands behind Nasrin awkwardly. "Uhh...I'm Romulus. Here's my money, I guess?"

He hands over his money, sighing inwardly as he mentally counts the small amount remaining in his pocket. He wasn't sure exactly what he was supposed to do, but he was content to let Nasrin take the lead.

"Harrowstone? No. I have no interest in that sort of rabblish folklore. This is a school of serious arcane study," he says, frowning at Nasrin's question. "If you're looking for local records to pour over, I'd go to the townhall, but they don't let just anyone in. They are not nearly so open to visitors as I am."

Mathias gains a +2 circumstance bonus since he has ranks in Knowledge: Local

Nasrin Knowledge History: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Mathias Knowledge Local: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 4 + 2 = 21
Romulus Knowledge History: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (2) - 1 = 1

Despite their best efforts, Nasrin and Romulus are unable to find anything remotely connected to Harrowstone--the constant hovering presence of the schoolmaster doing them no favors, as he tsks tsks at every book they pick out to look over, occasionally overdramatically rolling his eyes, taking the book from their hands and picking out a new one. Romulus has trouble finding any books even written in Common in the first place.

Mathias, however, is more successful. In an alcove nestled towards the back of the library, he finds a shelf of dusty, unmarked books--they appear to be a series of narrative accounts written around the year that the fire destroyed Harrowstone. They detail the time leading up to the fire and the events surrounding it, though they don't go into anything to specific, as the books are mostly concerning other circumstances of life in Ravengro at the time.

According to the books, most of the criminals that were sent to Harrowstone spent only a few months there, for the prison was primarily a spot used for execution. The fire that destroyed the prison happened during a riot--the prison guards lost their lives attempting to prevent the prisoners from escaping. The author of the book does not mention any specific prisoners who were residing in the prison at the time, but she does mention something about "recent arrivals" that were causing quite a bit of gossip in town at the time.

Ilystria can tell that the thought of speaking with the dead has upset Kendra, the woman allows her facade of happiness to crack as she speaks to the fey. "I am sorry. It's just--with my father having passed away so soon--I wish that I could speak to him again. But this way--I do not know if I could bare it," she says, trying to force a smile and failing.

"It was," says Kendra, examining the mark on the box. "Father was fond of his secrets--I'm afraid I haven't seen the symbol elsewhere. If only we had the key to the book--I will look for it, but I'm not sure where he might've been keeping it."

Nasrin rises from Rise and Fall of Abjurant Champions, then falls back into her chair. "That was an illuminating read, but nothing useful about the Harrowstone. Romulus, Mathias, did you find anything we can use?"

"I understand your concerns," Ilystria assures Kendra, moving over to offer a gentle hand on her arm in what the fey understands is a gesture intended to comfort others. Unfortunately for the two of them, such a gesture is about the extent of Ilystria's skill in consoling humans. Watching as the human tries to convey a happiness she does not feel, the gathlain wishes there was more she could do to allay Kendra's suffering. Maybe a story can help?

"If your father was a fey," Ilystria begins, her eyes moving off to the side as her mind begins to paint an image. "His spirit would be in the Realm of Elysium right now. It is a land of indescribable beauty, end-to-end, a land of nature in its purest form. Unchecked by mortals. Seas of the clearest blue give way to impossibly high, green mountains, and all throughout the wild meadows in-between can be heard the everlasting music that the azata play."

As if just remembering the salient point of her story, Ilystria's eyes rise to meet Kendra's once more, a soft smile on her delicate features. "Father Grimburrow told us that the board works to contact unquiet spirits. As comforting as it may be for us to think of Petros as still being with us, perhaps it is better to hope that his spirit has found rest in the afterlife."

At Kendra's offer, Ilystria rises and helps the woman search for the missing key.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Romulus buries his face in his hands. "I wasn't great at reading when I was a kid, and I haven't been to school in over a decade. I have absolutely no idea what I'm doing."

He flips the book upside down, hoping that it might make any more sense than the other way round. It doesn't.

Mathias looks at the schoolmaster doubtingly. "20 gold crowns? Many families in Ravengro won't make that in a year, yet you are asking for that much to access the texts here for one day, seems a little strange. Perhaps we can agree to a more realistic number?

diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

-----------------------------------------------

As frustration grows across his companions, Mathias seems deep in thought. A timeline, its a beginning, a point to build our investigation off of. Turning to the others, he leans back for a minute, then holds up the book. "This series of texts is a history of Ravengro from the time around the Fire at Harrowstone. It does not specifically focus on the destruction of the prison, but with some more digging in it, we could build a frame of reference for the time, and perhaps glean a few useful details from it. Though, it will likely take more research."

"Nice job, Mathias. Still, more research..." Nasrin groans and stretches. "If the folks at the townhall are really more obstructive than this guy, I won't manage another day of research. If we don't want to spend another day between books, we may try to sneakily scout the Harrowstone, see if we can find something near the ruins."
She puts the book back in its place and shuffles some notes back in her backpack. "Ah, while we're going back to Kendra's place, mind if we stop by the town square notice-board? There may be something that helps us understand the weirdness of this place." And check whether someone needs help or some work done. I could use a handful of gold pieces, spells aren't cheap.

"I suppose that 20 gold a head is a bit excessive. As long as you don't damage any of the books! If you do, I'll charge full price to replace it!" says the schoolmaster to Mathias. "But fine. 10 gold pieces for each of you. That will more than enough cover the trouble of allowing you all to peruse my library."

-------------

"Thank you," says Kendra, as she listens to Ilystria's story. "My father was not a particularly religious man--but he had a good heart. I hope--I know, that wherever he is now, his spirit is in a better place."

Try as they might, Ilystria and Kendra are able to find no trace of the key to the locked book.

-------------

With their work at the library concluded, Mathias, Romulus, and Nasrin head towards the town square. Night has fallen, and the streets are mostly empty. The party checks the messageboards, but there does not appear to be any work currently available, or anything else of interest.

Back at the Lorrimor Place, the party rests; the night is unremarkable, and they are awoken by Kendra in the morning once again.

Mathias awakes to find Kendra puttering about the house, working on breakfast for her guests. Quickly, he straightens himself up then moves to assist. "Might I help with things this morning? You need not dote on us as you would some house guest, let us take on some of the share around here." He does what he can to assist with preparing whatever meal she has started on.

----

As they gather to eat, Mathias shares more of his discovery from the day before. "It would seem that the prison itself was destroyed in a fire that occurred during a riot, which claimed the lives of both the prisoners trying to escape and the prison guards as well. There was a small mention that gossip around town alluded to some newly arrived prisoners stirring up trouble. Kendra, would there be anyone left in town who could share information from that time, even if only rumors?"

"Why not enter the Harrowstone and ask the spirits themselves?" Ilystria suggests, setting down her cup of honeyed milk to nudge the box containing the spirit board toward the center of the table. "Nasrin, you had asked if any of us had ever heard The Order of the Palatine Eye?" says the fey, disappearing into the parlor for a moment. "Still no luck there, but I did remember that this was among the books that Petros had asked us to deliver." Returning to the table with the rich purple tome, Ilystria sets it next to the box so that the identical scarab symbols face up. "I hoped that this would tell us whether we could count The Order as a potential friend or foe, but Kendra and I were unable find the key that opens it."

As the first sunray pierces the night, Nasrin stands outside, kneeling eastwards in the freezing air. "Healing Flame, Mother of Mercy, Dawnflower. I welcome this day as your gift to us, and offer all of myself as my gift to me. Let what is hidden by darkness come to light, lend me the strength to defend those in need, lend me the wit to pierce mysteries. Let there be water in the heat and flame in the frost, let there be shade in the sunlight and light in obscurity. So prays your faithful servant, for the good of mortals and for your imperishable glory."
---
"Brilliant! Great job, Lily! I guess that Jugde Daramid would be able to help us... If not for the fact that he's in Lepistadt. We could send him a letter, perhaps, provided we trust the courier. Or... we could peek inside. I believe Professor Lorrimor kept them locked up to protect others from danger, not for a desire of privacy. What is inside that book might be forbidden knowledge, or something worse. I have heard are tales of books that take control of those who read them. But I would brave the risk."

The thread for OOC discussion.

Introduce yourselves/your characters. Feel free to tweak your builds if necessary, or coordinate backstories. I will probably start the gameplay thread on Monday. You'll all be receiving PMs from me before that time with some backstory before that though.

Hello! Really glad to be here, can't wait to start the game with you guys!

Hello everyone! I'm Kat, and I'm thrilled to have been selected along with you all. My character is Ilystria; she'll be the one keeping everyone alive (hopefully). As a fey creature, my idea for her is to be curious, kindly, a bit strange, and equal parts childishly naïve and startlingly insightful. Hopefully I can do the concept justice.

Anyway, I'm happy to coordinate backgrounds with anyone. Ilystria would have spent much time with the Professor over the decades she's known him, so it could be that she may have traveled alongside your character before.

Either way, I'm looking forward to playing with you all. And thank you, Iazulin!

Has everybody received their letter from Kendra?

Hello there! I'm Sapiens, I'm a 23-years-old Computer Engineering student from Italy, and this will be my first PbP campaign, though I have about five years' worth of real life roleplaying experience. I'm thrilled at this chance!
Nasrin will be foreign-looking in Ustalav, since I think that Kelesh would be like real world Persia/Iran, and will mainly take the role of frontline fighter (and maybe protector through Bodyguard) and provide a bit of arcane magic (mostly through items, though, since my spell list is mainly combat-focused). She can also Intimidate and use Knowledge (arcana, religion and planes).
About the backgrounds, I don't think that I would have had a chance to meet any of you other, unless you visited Kelesh, Absalom or Varisia.
I got the letter from Kendra and I'm replying right now.

Yep! Just got your letter.

Ilystria-It'll be fun to play with a Gathlain, I've always loved them-I'm currently playing a Gathlain sorcerer in another PbP. I was actually looking through your background, and I noticed that you spent some time with a pack of werewolves. Romulus has lived on his own for most of his life, but when he was about 15 (about 11 years ago now) he ran into a pack of werewolves and managed to bluff his way into them believing he actually was a true lycanthrope, and not just a skinwalker. Maybe our paths crossed then?

Also, I just wanted to point out that this party is a veritable wolf pack. Between mine and Ilystria's animal companions and my ability to turn into a wolf...should be fun.

@Iazulin I have, yes.

@Romulus I'm definitely excitedly to play a Gathlain. I actually hadn't heard of the race until I started planning a submission for this recruitment and took a look at the "Other Races" at Paizo. I would love to think that Romulus and Ilystria could have met back then, but unfortunately Ilystria hadn't started to live with lycanthropes until fairly recently (after she became an Oracle, which I had as a few months before the game starts). =/

But I thought the same thing in regards to the wolf pack. I think Ilystria would feel right at home with Romulus, Mara and Fenmaer. When Romulus shifts, though, does his type change or is he still considered humanoid? I ask because I'm pretty sure the next revelation I'm going to get is Friend to Animals. And I'm curious as to whether Speak with Animals would work, too.

I'm pretty sure his type changes-I took the houseruled feat that the GM made, it's identical to Bat Shape except I take the form of a wolf instead. So it's basically an at-will Beast Shape II, except I only get 1 form. As far as I can tell, I'd just become an animal, lose the humanoid type, and then get a boost to physical scores but keep my mental ones. Speak with Animals would probably work then. Which would be good, because a translator would be very useful, haha.

And that's fine, with the backstory-it could be very interesting to play out, actually. Romulus is VERY frightened of werewolves, as he's worried about actually turning into one someday. Meeting someone who's actually lived amongst them would both intrigue and freak him out, I think.

If that's the case, and those two abilities will work when he's in his wolf form, then it looks like I picked the right mystery. Lol.

I'm confused on the distinction between the two, though. What separates a Witchwolf from a werewolf?

So a witchwolf is just a kind of skinwalker. Usually skinwalkers are descendants of lycanthropes, and they can do a kind of partial shift into a more bestial form, at will. Romulus just takes it a step further-he can change into an actual wolf, but he isn't a true lycanthrope. He doesn't get the defensive abilities of a werewolf, doesn't afflict people with lycanthropy, and he doesn't involuntarily transform, like an afflicted lycanthrope. Basically, skinwalkers are pseudo-werebeasts. They have a hybrid form, like lycanthropes, but unless they actually take the feat (which I have), they can't transform into an animal form.

Oh, I see. Thanks for that, I couldn't find out the difference myself.

So I read over Rom's background; Ilystria's spent most of her time on the Material Plane avoiding human civilisations herself. If Romulus fled into the Shudderwood after Lepidstadt, maybe they could have run into each other there some time? Just spitballing. I meant it when I said I'm happy to coordinate backgrounds.

Basically, paizo has been dragging its feet for years on making monster races playable and skinwalker is the best we're ever going to get with regards to playing a werewolf. In a game with aasimar and elves as playable races wanting to be a werewolf somehow makes you a special snowflake.

@Romulus, if you want to just say your character is a werewolf while using skinwalker statistics that would be fine.

I have a soft spot in my cold black heart for werewolves so expect them to come up a lot in the campaign. We've practically got a wolf pack on our hands already.

Ooh, can Ilystria be pack alpha? She could be two feet of terror.

@Romulus, if you want to just say your character is a werewolf while using skinwalker statistics that would be fine.

Hmm, interesting. He'd be a natural werewolf, then? Because accursed ones have the whole involuntary transformation thing going on. Also, I feel like being able to spread lycanthropy would be kind of powerful, especially at these lower levels.

@Ilystria-You're definitely pack alpha, that's just a given :P And yeah, I feel like it's definitely likely that we would've run into each other at some point. Although it seems that in the Shudderwood, most of the fey would be people you try and avoid at all costs-the Worldwound seems to have really screwed them over. Rom's SUPER wary of just about everybody, for pretty good reasons. He's a werewolf (I think I might just go that way, I can't really pass up the opportunity, now can I?) who lives in a demon-infested forest. You can't really trust anyone there, can you?

The most adorable alpha, right?

I'm excited to have a fey in this campaign. They're kind of underutilized on Golarion but I really liked Ilystria's backstory; lots of plot hooks. I'm hoping to incorporate some fey stuff into the adventure at some point [wicked fairy laughter]

lazulin wrote:

@Romulus, if you want to just say your character is a werewolf while using skinwalker statistics that would be fine.

Hmm, interesting. He'd be a natural werewolf, then? Because accursed ones have the whole involuntary transformation thing going on. Also, I feel like being able to spread lycanthropy would be kind of powerful, especially at these lower levels.

I meant keeping the mechanics as is but changing the flavor. Your powers would all be the same, you'd just be able to say "I'm a werewolf" instead of "I'm a skinwalker", if that makes sense.

Romulus Ebonheart wrote:

lazulin wrote:

@Romulus, if you want to just say your character is a werewolf while using skinwalker statistics that would be fine.

Hmm, interesting. He'd be a natural werewolf, then? Because accursed ones have the whole involuntary transformation thing going on. Also, I feel like being able to spread lycanthropy would be kind of powerful, especially at these lower levels.

I meant keeping the mechanics as is but changing the flavor. Your powers would all be the same, you'd just be able to say "I'm a werewolf" instead of "I'm a skinwalker", if that makes sense.

That sounds great, actually. Let's just go that way then-I'm a werewolf!

Sweet!

And I'd just like to reiterate, if anyone wants to do anything weird flavorwise with their character feel free to bring it up.

Yes, pack alpha! Oh, this is already shaping up to be a great game, and we haven't even started.

I can understand Romulus being wary of everybody; Ilystria is going to be wary of most humans initially. Maybe the two happened upon each other in the forest when they were alone (except for Mara and Fen). Maybe Romulus didn't spook because she didn't look like a twisted fey (whatever they might look like), and Ilystria didn't spook because she sensed he wasn't entirely human, what with that +5 to Knowledge (nature) and all. Unless you want Rom's new werewolf status (and congrats on that) to be harder to discern.

Thank you, thank you, Iazulin! You'll make me blush if you keep that up. =) I can't wait to see what you cook up. I'm excited to be playing a fey; I think it'll be a challenge--how does a human accurately represent something so alien, right?--but I've been doing my homework. I've been reading Fey Revisited, and what few references to fey I can find in Pathfinder Tales.

Do you have any pointers from playing your Gathlain, Rom?

Well, when he's deep in the woods Rom tends to stick to wolf form. He's a little stronger, faster, and it just makes things easier for him. So if you saw him at a distance, it might be kind of obvious that this one wolf is a lot smarter than your average wolf. Might be something that Ilystria would want to look into.

As for Gathlain-I'm kind of in the same boat as you, my campaign with Roosevelt (my sorcerer) only started a few months back on the forums. I'm trying to portray him as a kind of happy-go-lucky guy, who doesn't quite *get* the societies he travels to. He loves (absolutely LOVES) gnomes, and kind of fanboys over them whenever he meets some. Also, stuff kind of hits the fan wherever he goes. Sometimes it's his fault, sometimes it isn't. Honestly, I've kind of accidentally made him into a combination of the Doctor and the fey from the Dresden Files (which if you haven't read, is an absolutely amazing book series, and the fey in it are absolutely terrifying). He also has a pet treant named Toorg (wildblooded fey bloodline is awesome) who has more kills than anyone else in the party.

I'm so excited for this campaign, thanks so much for all the GM houserules so far-I'm having a blast already and we haven't even started yet! I just hope we can make it through Harrowstone in one piece.

Well damn, guess I am the last one to the party! Very excited to receive the email and be chosen with all of you (nice end to a long day of work). Sadly I have no animal companion, so I do not round out the wolf pack, though I am demonborn, so I am a bit of a beast.

Mathias brings a strong melee focus with a divine twist (going to multi into either Inquisitor or warpriest), as well as a broad skill set. He fills the iconic role of the Byronic hero of Gothic literature. Not a full blown antihero, Mathias is lost in his torment and balances close to the line between light and darkness.

Illystria will effectively be our 'alpha', as she has the charisma in the party.

So a demon, a fey, a werewolf, and a woman walk into a funeral...

@Romulus I was just thinking that having fey and werewolves was very Dresden File-y and then you turn out to be another reader, this is great.
I also love how we split the social skills between us, I think this will make for some seriously bizarre conversations.
Can't wait to start this wolfpack! My codename will be Desert Wolf.

Is everyone ok with using roll20?

Is everyone ok with using roll20?

For maps, right? I haven't used it yet but it's perfectly fine by me.

Yeah, I'm cool with using roll20 for maps.

I'm just wondering how the villagers are going to react when they see us. I mean, me and Nasrin could be fine-I can pass for human. But I'm not too sure about Mathias, he might at least set off some alarm bells. And well...unless we try and disguise Ilythria as a really ugly baby, there isn't much we could do to hide the fact that she's basically a plant fey. It's gonna be real interesting when we meet the simple, horribly xenophobic residents of Ustalav.

You are the bluffer, Rom, but I'd say we could pass Mathias' scaly skin for an illness and Ilystria as either a really weird gnome or someone's familiar.

Hey, hey, cool your jets, pal. A human baby should be lucky to look like Ilystria. =P I had the same concerns, though. Not to mention the two wolves that'll be trailing the group. Hopefully, Ilystria can be charismatic enough to convince the villagers to overlook all of that. According to the numbers on Ravengro's population, there are a few halflings, elves, half-elves and other pointy-eared races; maybe the citizens there won't be that bad. But, if they are, that's what the wolf pack is for, right?

I like that each of the character's has their own social expertise, too. Like each of us is a different part of the "face". Should be interesting if the group ever has to interrogate someone.

EDIT: I'm fine with using roll20 for combat, too.

So a demon, a fey, a werewolf, and a woman walk into a funeral...

Hopefully at least another normal height person walks into that funeral, or the punchline to that joke is going to be that the Professor's coffin has to be dragged to its final resting place. Lol.

Mathias wears a heavy overcoat with a sizeable cowl he can pull up to hide a majority of his features. While the generic ability is Scaly Skin, as written it is a thickened hide, and he has a pallid appearance (likely equally disconcerting to the superstitious folk of Ustalav), almost as though he was one of the dead....

The gameplay thread is up

Small question: how do we want to handle spells and different languages? I was thinking something like

In a flash of anger, Nasrin curses in her native language. "!ممکن است شیطان خوری که می"

Kelish:

May the demons eat you!

And in the same way

Nasrin points her hand with the palm upwards. "Świcie kwiat, oświetlić drogę!"

Spellcraft DC 15:

Dancing lights

Four bright spheres of light appear out of thin air and start orbiting around her.

I'm alright with other notations, just wanted to get in sync.

Your example is how I've usually seen it done on the boards

Kendra will reply to you all as soon as Mathias posts

I was in the process of posting an update...and paizo ate it. The next post might be slightly delayed in the meantime. Feel free to talk amongst yourselves until then

I've taken the habit of copying everything I write before previewing, Paizo hungers for words.

It really does! Usually I do that, but naturally the one time I don't I'm working on a big post and it vanishes.

Oh, that's the worse! I use liberal use of the preview button and that seems to store the post safely enough for me.

At least this gives us time to get to know each other and our characters a little better.

Could everyone join the roll20 page and tell me who they're playing:

https://app.roll20.net/join/1692314/h2_AsA

Let me know if that link doesn't work or you have any other problems joining.

I could post, but I wanted to wait for other people, I guess we're in different timezones but it feels kind of lonely...

I meant to have Ilystria give a speech, too, but migraines have a way of draining all the creativity out of me. I'll have a post up shortly-ish.

I would like to hear from Mathias and Romulus before moving on. The part of the game after the reading of the will is fairly player driven so I need active posters, at least until the part after that. I hope we have not lost two players in the first week.

Really sorry for the hold up, guys-long story short, I got a new job a few weeks ago, and I'm still in that stage where I'm trying to figure out how to juggle it with my old job. Which means that some days I get home and then just kinda collapse into bed, despite having posts at least planned out. I'll try to not let it affect my posting too much, but that's just the situation at the moment for me.

I'm just happy that the wolf pack's staying intact.

If you feel that I'm pushing too hard, stealing the spotlight or trying to "lead" the party where I want, please tell me so that I can balance my roleplaying. This is my first PbP campaign, and in my real life group we used to discuss every plan for half an hour before acting.

There is no issue, I just wanted to make sure everyone was on the same page before I moved on.

Not at all! I don't really concern myself over those kinds of issues. That said, I might be oblivious to the possibility that I could be guilty of the same now and then, so if that's the case and anyone is bothered by it, please let me know.

I'm happy either to discuss the group's plans out of character, or to let the plans develop through roleplay.

OOC, I'm fine with any of the options presented so far: graveyard stakeout (which I think would be a fun scene to roleplay anyway), going to talk to the priest, or going to bed and visiting the temple in the morning. Ilystria would be more hesitant about the graveyard, but willing to go through with it if the group feels it's necessary. She's operating on the assumption that, if the cult were going to mutilate the Professor, it would have been easier to go about it right after he was killed. She's too naïve to understand any motivations they might have to wait.

I thought about going ahead and moving on with you all staying the night, as it does seem we have a plurality in favor of that, but I didn't want it to feel like I was railroading you, and regardless of what you all choose of those three options I can work with it.

I agree that watching the graveyard could be morbidly funny, but on second thought it would be a choice of splitting the party or leaving Kendra unguarded, and I don't really like that.
Going to the priest now could be time-effective, but we would end up at night in a necromancer-infested town. One way or another, anyhow, we will need to either leave Kendra alone when we go to the tomb (and later the Harrowstone, I guess) or bring her with us. Myself, I think that going to the temple tomorrow morning, then to the crypt would be the safest bet, but narrowly dodging a TPK is one of the great things in life. In case we want to stake the graveyard out, I think we should all go and leave Kendra somewhere safe, like the temple of Pharasma or perhaps the inn. We may even leave one or both the wolves with her. Of course, then, leaving her alone this night could be harsh, so... I'm good either way, let's just not split the party.
Additionally, if Kendra can use magic, we could buy her scrolls of vanish, sanctuary and such defensive spells, in case we need to leave her alone.

I don't know if this will affect you all's decision, but Kendra is a Level 2 Diviner.

I also think going to the temple in the morning would be safest, but I'll let Romulus and Mathias weigh in on what they/their characters would like to do before I make another post, if that's alright.

Yes, let's decide together. Kendra being a wizard could be very, very useful, since my selection of spells is very narrow.