GM Abraham's Legacy of the Stonelords [Retrocon] (Inactive)

Game Master Abraham Z.

Agate glares at Thurismund after the explosion of sound, and spends the next few minutes thinking about how best to make amends to Ghrode. But by the time the party reaches the armorers' district, her mood has recovered, and she happily translates the song.

2:45 // Out of Initiative //

Conditions: Aura of Fury (auto effect all 20' around Thurismund; +2 to melee atks, -2 to AC); Raging Song/Inspired Rage (+2 morale Str & Con, +1 morale Will, –1 AC, no casting or other concentration-based actions, must declare whether accepting each round);

Roni - dmg; 2 temp negative levels; Lucky Number 4;
Agate - dmg; Lucky Number 8;
Alaric - dmg;
Thurismund - 19 dmg; Aura of Fury; ectoplasmic; DR 5/magic, 5/slashing;
Troi - 20 dmg; 1 negative level;
Sindelle - 8 dmg; Life Link (Agate, Troi, Loxx); Compel Alacrity trick;
Loxx - dmg; DR 2/-; Deadeye's Lore (6:05); Barkskin (3:25); Lucky Number 3;
Fetch - dmg; Longstrider (6:05); torch lit: 20' normal light;

Earlier... Sindelle channels twice to heal the group. By my count, there are still some damaged party members, as noted above.

@Sindelle, yes you can just make the rolls yourself.

Just a reminder that you have a stash of healing potions that you acquired back at the start of the scenario. Feel free to use them and just update the Loot document as you do.

The singer is a male dwarf with his back to the entrance as he works at the roaring forge. His red hair is cropped short and— despite the heat—he wears plate armor, a soot-stained shirt soaked through with sweat beneath it, and rough leather pants. His song seems joyful as he hammers at the red-hot metal.

As the group enters the chamber, the dwarf turns around and takes note of you. "Eh? Visitors? Well then, no need to stand there like a buncha novice apprentices that've forgotten how to speak! I'm Garuff the Gruff, master blacksmith of Jormurdun and a former adventurer myself, as you lot are too by the look o' ya." He looks impatient. "So, out with it, lots to do here before those cursed duergar fall upon us, whatcha business?"

Alaric speaks in Dwarven: "Извините меня, лорд Гном, Мы просто скромные путешественники, проходящие с благословения вашего короля. Мы хотели бы отметить, как вы куете свои металлы на благо всех будущих гномов."

Diplomacy (Aid): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Sindelle will absorb all 20 of Troi's damage as they walk and also while drinking potions. Sindelle down 28 now. Also thanks GM, I'll mark them off the loot sheet! Knowing Thursimund's dislike of her, she'll only heal him if Alaric asks.

CSW: 3d8 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (3, 7, 7) + 5 + 6 = 28

(Wow, first the boon then this? My lucky day!

While the others are talking, Sindelle will look pretty and help if she can (auto aid diplomacy but she does't speak dwarven) and will recast Deathwatch.

Hey Garuff Troi says, extending a hand. Name's Troi. And me and the rest of these lot're Pathfinders. Seekers of knowledge.

Look, real talk? I know it's pretty weird for us to be here, but trust me: there's a lot of weird going on. Buuuuuut, you say you're trying to make some stuff to sharpen on the duergar? Well, how about some help then? We could lend a few hands in getting some of your gear in tip-top shape if you explain exactly what it is we're doing. Win-win, right?

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 26 - 1 ⇒ (8) + 26 - 1 = 33

2:45 // Out of Initiative //

Conditions: Aura of Fury (auto effect all 20' around Thurismund; +2 to melee atks, -2 to AC); Raging Song/Inspired Rage (+2 morale Str & Con, +1 morale Will, –1 AC, no casting or other concentration-based actions, must declare whether accepting each round);

Roni - dmg; 2 temp negative levels; Lucky Number 4;
Agate - dmg; Lucky Number 8;
Alaric - dmg;
Thurismund - 19 dmg; Aura of Fury; ectoplasmic; DR 5/magic, 5/slashing;
Troi - dmg; 1 negative level;
Sindelle - 8 dmg; Life Link (Agate, Troi, Loxx); Compel Alacrity trick; Deathwatch (3:45);
Loxx - dmg; DR 2/-; Deadeye's Lore (6:05); Barkskin (3:25); Lucky Number 3;
Fetch - dmg; Longstrider (6:05); torch lit: 20' normal light;

Sindelle makes sure that she and Troi are fully healed.

Garuff seems pleased by the remarks of Troi and Alaric, but also hesitant. "The thought of leaving Jormurdun to escape the duergar disgusts me, so I've set myself to working until the invaders reach my forge, at which point I intend to fight until slain. In doing so I will also take Jormurdun’s forge secrets with me to the grave." He pauses, as if getting an idea. "I'll tell you what - as the cursed duergar claim Jormurdun’s halls, I'm willing to let a few of the sky citadel’s craft secrets go to anyone who can make my forge laugh!"

Lest you interpret this challenge metaphorically, upon hearing these words a cheerful fire elemental emerges from the midst of the forge, and looks at you all expectantly. "I'm Casadagar." he says in heavily accented Dwarven.

You can attempt a relevant Craft check, Acrobatics, Perform (comedy), or perhaps other options if you can persuade your friendly GM they are applicable.

Agate tries to remember anything she's heard about what fire elementals find amusing, to try to help out the more socially talented party members.

Knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15

...but her arcane studies haven't really included extraplanar humor.

Roni looks rather surprised as the fire elemental emerges from the forge.

"Casadagar, eh? Well met. My name is Roni - A Flame Alchemist by trade and a soldier by profession. I don't know if I can make you laugh, but perhaps I could show you an exercise I do to cultivate and strengthen my own inner fire?" He takes off his jacket, handing it to his aide. "Hold that for me, would you?

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 15 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 15 - 2 = 33
Roni takes a sturdy stance, and begins a short kata that consists of almost dance-like movements - kicks, sweeps, punches, with short but bright and hot bursts of fire mixed in between. The display ends with a blast as Roni snaps his fingers at the forge. He seems to pull and manipulate the flame of the forge itself.
Demonstrating the his mastery over the element of fire by using Draining infusion (on the forge)(Obviously not on the elemental, though) - Roni is capable of harming even beings made of pure fire, with their own flames, ignoring any immunities or resistances

Do you even need me to attempt an action here?

"Hmm...well, I heard this one from a client of mine once...

What do you call a weapons shop owned by three blacksmiths who are all dating each other?"

Profession related to pillow talk?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
or just +6 as a charisma check/perform untrained

{in Ignan} Pretty good forge joke Sindelle. Troi remarks.

He kneels a bit and squints at the forge. Ive got a few of my own, but I only like to tell them on Frydays.
perform bad comedy: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (3) + 8 - 1 = 10

The forge flares to life and seems to chuckle in amusement. Garuff shares that his forge and those of many others contain fire elementals, and he provides a few tips for binding them and securing their cooperation as partners rather than as slaves. In fact, they are both so pleased that the dwarf uses tongs to pull a pulsing red gem from the forge’s coals. He banks this in a pot of sand and gives it to Roni, saying that it is the seed from which one can ignite another elemental-fueled forge. You have achieved an exceptional success.

3:00 // Out of Initiative //

Conditions: Aura of Fury (auto effect all 20' around Thurismund; +2 to melee atks, -2 to AC); Raging Song/Inspired Rage (+2 morale Str & Con, +1 morale Will, –1 AC, no casting or other concentration-based actions, must declare whether accepting each round);
Agate - dmg; Lucky Number 8;
Roni - dmg; 2 temp negative levels; Lucky Number 4;
Alaric - dmg;
Thurismund - 19 dmg; Aura of Fury; ectoplasmic; DR 5/magic, 5/slashing;
Troi - dmg; 1 negative level;
Red - dmg;
Loxx - dmg; DR 2/-; Deadeye's Lore (6:05); Barkskin (3:25); Lucky Number 3;
Fetch - dmg; Longstrider (6:05); torch lit: 20' normal light;
Sindelle - 8 dmg; Life Link (Agate, Troi, Loxx); Compel Alacrity trick; Deathwatch (3:45);

Just then, Chiara hurries by once again. "Hey, better hurry up! I heard that Shaine thinks the temporal bubble may collapse soon. We're all supposed to make haste back to the cathedral."

It takes the pathfinders another 15 minutes to find their way back to the grand cathedral where this adventure all began. You find the place teeming with the dwarves of Jormurdun’s past evacuating the citadel at Gutheran’s request. They are ghostly, seeming to flicker in and out of sight—a sign that part of the cathedral is within the temporal bubble and the rest of it is without. The dwarves go about their urgent business. Attempts to speak with them are unsuccessful. At best a dwarf that you address looks your way without seeing you and shakes it off as though he’s hearing things.

However, as the pathfinders continue to muster to make their escape from the doomed citadel, there are yet still menaces that threaten! One of the demon horde has followed you into the cathedral and seeks revenge! A cloud of spores and a trail of feathers surrounds this twisted cross between a man and a gigantic vulture.

The bold may act!

Knowledge (Planes): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 23

Agate shouts to the others, then switches to a more arcane language, sending a bolt of lightning straight at the creature. Casting Lightning Bolt, DC 17.

Electrical damage: 7d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 1, 1, 6, 5, 1) = 23

Then she ducks behind one of the pillars to be out of the way of whatever else it might get blasted with...

Well if we gotta go then let's get this over with! Troi says as he one last time accelerates the party.

Casting HASTE I think Troi could get everyone except for Agate (due to dodging behind the piller). Only one unsure of is if he could have hit both Roni and Sindelle. If not, he'd've omitted Sindelle (but put himself between her and the demon)

Roni moves to the front, taking a stance against the demon.
"Spread out! And hit it with everything you got!"

Move action to gather power, ready action to blast it with an Empowered, extended range fire blast if it triest to cast a spell or use an SLA

The Blast: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22 vs touch
dmg: 4d6 + 8 ⇒ (5, 4, 1, 4) + 8 = 22 x 1.5 = 33
Vs SR if applicable: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

For when Sindelle can see/speak/act:
Knowledge planes: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Also GM Sindelle is back to full health. She was down 8, absorbed 20 from Troi then rolled 28 on the cure serious potion.

Alaric steps up to the creature, singing his song of rage.

Raging Song, moving on up. Yee-haw.

Thurismund, teeth gritted, storms up the steps to the creature. "YOU WANT SOME OF THIS DEMON? THEN TAKE IT!!!!"

Slam, PA, Raging Song (Aura of Fury), Haste: 1d20 + 10 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 1 - 2 + 2 + 1 = 30
damage: 2d6 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (2, 6) + 3 + 4 = 15

He stomps down on the creature's foot before clocking the creature in the beak.

"FIGHT ME, TURD!"

The walls, floor, and ceiling begin to tear apart, revealing
countless miniature scenes from past ages. The entire sky
citadel groans as though Jormurdun were slowly dying,
and more visible ripples—now seeming to pulse with an
impossibly slow heartbeat—wash through the halls.

Looks like red is up.

In response to the temporal oddness, word comes from Shaine for all Pathfinder teams to quickly return to the Cathedral. It appears to be a good thing, because just as the last of the Pathfinder teams makes its way in, things get even more dramatic.

Like a massive soap bubble, the temporal anomaly shudders violently, painfully distorting the portions of the sky citadel within. Energy arcs as Jormurdun fluctuates between its past grandeur and present ruin. Then, as if with a sigh of relief, the entire bubble implodes, retracting through the halls and returning Jormurdun to the present. The energy rushes over a pair of field agents sprinting from the halls below, instantly transforming the unfortunate Pathfinders into chalk statues.

For a moment, the whole city is silent. Kreighton Shaine takes a few tentative steps forward, looks about at the gathered Pathfinders, and gives a low, appreciative whistle as he holds aloft the strange device once worn by the demon Yealek-Vor.

[b]"Although we expected to find trouble in Jormurdun, the sky citadel has proven far more perilous than we had predicted. I can only speculate as to what this bizarre object accomplished, but it has given us an utterly unique glimpse into the sky citadel’s past. King Gutheran informed me that this is not the whole device but rather the largest of five pieces—the others he sent with his children who fled this place thousands of years ago. If we are to truly understand this 'Sky Key,' we may have to follow the millennia-old trails to wherever these dwarves went. But that is a task for another day. Thanks to your bravery and cleverness, we have cleansed Jormurdun of its foulest elements in only a day. With the city under the Society’s control, we can now explore at a more leisurely pace. Without a doubt there is much more to learn than we found in our hasty campaign. Before we look too far to the future, though, let us remember the past. Not all of our agents and comrades survived this expedition—lost either today or in the year of service to the Mendevian Crusade that brought us to this victory. Their names shall be recorded in the Grand Lodge to forever honor those who have fallen in the pursuit of knowledge. But for now, we can celebrate. Congratulation, Pathfinders. I am proud of your Unrivaled Accomplishment.”

Agate's bolt of electricity bounces harmlessly off the vrock demon - it appears to be immune - and Roni's blast of flame is less effective than usual. Troi speeds everyone up and Alaric sings his angry song, while Thurismund runs up the stairs and slams the creature, who merely laughs.

It clears its voice, as if to sing its own song, one that is undoubtedly vile and horrific, but before it can utter its first note, the temporal bubble finally collapses, returning the Pathfinders to their own time, and returning the Vrock demon to who-knows-where. As it fades from view, it snarls at you, "Curse you, pathfinders! My plan was perfect. And I would have gotten away with it too, if not for you meddling kids!"