Saga of the Sages

Game Master Nathanael Love

Are the hieroglyphs Osiriani or Ancient Osiriani?

Ram enters the room cautiously expecting another Akhat to materialise, but when nothing threatens them he begins to explore the room. The dwarf runs his hand across the hieroglyphs, attempting to decipher their meaning. He chews thoughtfully on a fresh clove, going through the teachings from the temple of Horus.

know religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17 or +11 for stonework

"By the Ruby Prince, the meaning of these hieroglyphics eludes me. I am certain there is something here but..." I must go back and study the texts of Horus again

Rogarch simply keeps an eye out for danger. She keeps her hammer at the ready in case any creature decides to jump out at the party.

"Do not worry Ram. I am certain that someone in the party will know what to do."

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Helping Hand smiles warmly at Ram. He looks around protective of his new friends.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

"The pool represents a harmony of creative energies," Pirro says. "Though it is unusual for the pool to be constructed indoor."

While Roarch recovers from the fatigue of his rage, Pirro conjures Zarisha back from the place within his mind where she resides.

As you continue to the room to the south of this one. . .

D5
The southern area of this large space contains a long stone
table, two benches, and two wooden hutches. Just visible
behind a partition wall to the north is a kitchen with tables,
cabinets, and a stove in the corner. Around a corner to the
south stands a stone enclosure with a rounded top and a
hatch set in the front.

Finding little of interest you continue into the last unexplored area on this floor. . .

D4
A small shrine occupies a raised dais in the north of this room.
Two waist-high fonts stand on either side of the altar, and a
small wooden cabinet is bolted against the eastern wall. Two
rows of stone benches stand to the south of the dais. A fetid
odor permeates the room.

Two priests are here, near the altar! They look at you, and gesture at the altar as you enter, speaking in a strange tongue

Linguistics: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15 To identify that it's Ancient Osiriani?

"They are asking for our help," Pirro explains to the others.

ماذا حدث هنا؟ he asks in an ancient language. كيف يمكننا مساعدتك؟

[b]"Oh yes! We are so glad you can help! Please, over here, come closer!"[b]

Rogarch will detect evil on the two priests.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11
Sense Motive (Zarisha): 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15

Pirro takes a step toward the priests and then pauses. His lips turn down slightly.

Where are the priests? I feel like I'm already in the danger zone based on the description and matching map local.

"All aid is inevitably useless as but a minor delay in the ultimate emptiness of existence," Zarisha moans. "Your ploy will gain you no reprieve from the vast nothingness that awaits your soul--whether today or tomorrow."

Ram is surprised to see priests still observing in the tomb, he pauses when he sees them; "I greet you as strangers, holy men. This place is dangerous you best leave."

sense motive: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Be careful Pirro, something is amiss." Ram steps forward, raising his shield. He questions the priests, asking whether they felt the tomb shake with the appearance of the guardian; "This place is dangerous- have you not felt the quaking? An Akhat has been summoned and a Div attacked us, judged as guilty."

Ram raises his shield, focusing his attention on the priests infront of him.

Rogarch, the priests are detecting as evil.

Priests are added to the map.

"No, no! We mean no harm!"One of the priests desperately pleads, as the other raises his hands in what you might think to be a strange defensive posture . . .

will save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
know religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Ram's eyes narrow as he sees through the veil of the priests, seeing the fleshless, raggedy creatures instead; can Ram study targets before he attacks?
"Friends, it is a trap!

Rogarch tries to resist the illusion.

Will: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

"Guys they are not priests but evil monsters."

Will: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Will (Zarisha): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

"I see it, now," Pirro says to a question in his mind.

Turn Order:

1. Penthesilea
2. Undead
3. Rogarch
4. Drea
5. Ram
6. Pirro
7. Zarisha

Penthesilea goes before the enemies.

Round 1

Both the undead lash out at Ram, one of them moving to position himself first.

Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

One hit!

Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 DC 12 Fort save vs. disease as well

Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

1. Penthesilea
2. Undead
3. Rogarch
4. Drea
5. Ram
6. Pirro
7. Zarisha

Ram: 23/27 pending fort save

The whole party can act now

Rogarch (5') steps behind a pew as Ram is in the way of her hammer. Helping Hand touches her for luck and she attempts to bring it down on the closest skeleton.

to hit,guidance: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24
damgage,Blunt: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

fort save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Ram lets out an anguished yell of surprise as he is hit by the raking claws;
The priests are quick!

Holding his shield up for a total defence as his allies move around for an attack.
AC=24

Round 1
Rogarch hits, but her strike does less than expected.

Apologies- its Knowledge religion to identify

Ram defends, feeling the beginning of the disease taking hold! Onset: 1d3 ⇒ 2 (disease will take hold in 2 days)

1. Penthesilea
2. Undead
3. Rogarch
4. Drea
5. Ram
6. Pirro
7. Zarisha

Ram: 23/27 pending fort save

Front undead- 6 damage done

Bold can still act in round 1

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Penthesilea crinkles her nose and flicks her hand at the undead, conjuring a thin slick of grease beneath their feet! DC 13 Ref or prone

Pirro castigates the restless dead with words of spiritual power before drawing his cold iron blade.

Channel Positive to Harm Undead: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12 Will DC 11 for half.

Zarisha flows between the pews and comes to face one of the undead warriors (the front one?). She swings her fist at the creature.

Slam: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
B: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

My character's Lucerne Hammer is Cold Iron if that makes a difference to the damage inflicted.

Penthesilea- you know these are Heucava's skeletal undead whose claws carry Filth Fever, who can disguise themselves as living in daylight, and which are resistant to non-magical/non-silver weapons, and which have improved resistance to channeling.

Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Reflex: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Both keep their feet.

Will: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 2 = 14

Will: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 = 24

Zarisha hits! Does her slam count as magic?

1. Penthesilea
2. Undead
3. Rogarch
4. Drea
5. Ram
6. Pirro
7. Zarisha

Ram: 23/27 pending fort save

Front Heucava- 12 damage done

Back Heucava= 6 damage done

Penthesilea can act in round 2 before the Undead

Penthesilea scowls, "Break out the silver if you've got it! And, y'know, try not to let them claw you?"

Bow: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 - 2 + 1 = 16
Cold Iron Piercing: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 2 + 1 = 4
Bow: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 8 - 2 + 1 = 17
Cold Iron Piercing: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10

Not yet.

Round 2
both Penthesilea's arows hit, but only the second shot manages to any effect- but it was enough, with the damage done by the others, the first Heucava crumbles!

The remaining undead claws at Ram again!
Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Misses!

1. Penthesilea
2. Undead
3. Rogarch
4. Drea
5. Ram
6. Pirro
7. Zarisha

Ram: 23/27 pending fort save

Front Heucava- 14 damage done

Back Heucava= 6 damage done

The whole party can act again!

As the claws of the creature rake at him, Ram grins sourly-
"You will need to do better than that, foul spawn"

casts Inspiring Word on Penthesilea
"Penthesilea, reduce this creature to dust!

Ram keeps his eyes fixed on foe in front of him, shield raised to take the brunt of each attack.
total defence ac = 24. I made a failed fort save in an earlier post

Rogarch rushes up to help her friend. Helping Hand taps her for a lucky hit.

To Hit,Lucerne Hammer: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
damage: 1d12 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Pirro pauses in the wake of Rogarch's mighty swing.

Unable to move in to attack the undead charlatan, Drea offers their expertise from afar after moving closer.

Knowledge Religion: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Can I offer the team a bit of helpful advice with that roll, GM?

"Not that I mind being center stage, but my arrows are having a hard time hurting these nasties - maybe your other accuracy spells should go to the big gal?"

Longbow (RS, PBS, Word): 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 = 29
Cold Iron Piercing: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 1 = 6
Longbow (RS, PBS, Word): 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 = 28
Cold Iron Piercing: 1d8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10

Confirm?: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 8 - 2 + 1 + 2 = 25
Cold Iron Piercing: 2d8 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (1, 3) + 4 + 2 = 10

"...Never mind."

Round 2
Rogarch's hammer smashes into the Huecava and there is a crunch of bones as its ribs crack beneath the blow.

Ram inspires Penthesilea, who fires and her arrow connects with the creature's skull, crumbling it to dust!

Ram: 23/27 contracted Filth Fever

That finishes this level of the dungeon, the stairs down are the only path forward- feel free to take any actions needed before you head for those before proceeding

treasure:The Heucava had a chalice worth 30 gold and a knife that counts as a silver dagger with th broken condition.

On the new slide 2 in area D12 once you resume- position yourselves in the room/stairs as you want.

A stone bench sits against the eastern wall of this octagonal
chamber. Black tiles line the floor, walls, and ceiling. A short
passage to the south ends at a gate of bronze bars.

"I can be of assistance here," Drea says, gliding forward to the bronze bars as they doff their armor.

Perception (for Traps): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Disable Device: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

I recognise that both of these should be secret checks; the GM can take or leave my rolls.

Helping Hand gives a friendly wave and smile at Drea's attempt.

Rogarch swears that she heard the gate opening but it may just be her imagination.

"We are good? Right? I did hear a click."

As the Heucava crumbles to dust Ram begins to cough, the cloud of noxious dust causing him to hack up phlegm. Ram spits it into the dust, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand;
It appears... I caught something from those false priests Horus watch over me
Does anyone have something- for me?

When do I start rolling saves?

"Hmmp. Not a whole huecuva lot of treasure..."

I think you've got a couple days Ram :-)

While Drea replaces their armor, Penthesilea enhances her bow for the floor to come. Gravity Bow once Drea's re-armed

Rogarch looks over Ram.

"You look fine to me."

Onset time is 1d3 days. Until then there is no game effect.

Right, I rolled 1 on the 1d3 so the next morning Ram will take the first damage from Filth Fever.

Drea examines the gate and sees no traps, then unlocks it, and easily pushes it open.

There are doors out of the room to the east and west, and a statue against the south wall.

Drea has a +9 to Knowledge Religion, so I won't bother rolling.

"That is a guardian statue attuned to Nethys," Drea warns. "It will likely attack anyone not displaying a holy symbol of the god of magic. Unless we have one of those, I think we should ready our steel."

Replacing armor. Concentrating to imbue occult mental energy to the flail.

"Sure even I recognize a grave guardian of Nethys. He is not an evil god so I have an idea. Does anyone have parchment, fabric or paper? We can fashion crude symbols and hang them with string or rope. It may not work but I think we should try to avoid rampant destruction."

Knowledge checks of 10 or less can be attempted untrained and you can take 10 when out of combat. Likewise Craft checks can be made untrained and you can take 10. If someone has an applicable craft skill we can make nicer holy symbols.

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

"Why not simply try painting half of your faces black with ash?" the phantom suggests... possibly seriously.

Ah hahahahahah! Penthesilea's superstition pays off!

"Nethys? Oh sure, I've got one of those!"

Penthesilea rustles through her holy symbols and brings out the two-toned mask of Nethys.

"How many do we need?"

"I do not have any facility with crafting false holy symbols," Drea says obtusely. She turns to Penthesilea. "I will carry one of your collection if you have a spare."

Rogarch thinks for a moment.

"Two would be ideal. You can have one person as an escort and then have the party go through in turns one at a time with the escort. Do you have two?"

"Nope... no spares... But at least we have a model to work from?"

"Oh-oh-oh! Or I can just float it back with a spell!"

She peers at the other doors in the chamber, "Once we figure out if Drea needs to unlock those at least."