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At long last, the Pathfinders have reached the lost Sky Citadel Jormurdun only to find it already occupied by fiends and subterranean foes. The Society must mount an epic offense to explore the immense subterranean city while simultaneously driving off the squatters within. If they succeed, the Pathfinders may discover that the greatest prize is not the mountain fortress itself but the treasure that lies at its heart.
A voice carries out clearly over the noise of all the Pathfinders gathered in the Great Cathedral. The talk soon dies away, leaving you to hear the announcement. ”Greetings, intrepid Pathfinders! I, Master of Scrolls Kreighton Shaine, welcome you to the long-lost Sky Citadel of Jormurdun! For the upcoming operation I recommend you work in small teams, so speak with your comrades here, find a place, and check to make sure you have all your gear. I will brief you all momentarily.”
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A well-dressed elf snaps his fingers at a bear that had been studiously heeling near the elf. The bear--already paying good attention--looks up and keeps her eyes on the elf as he begins looking around for other. "Who do you imagine our team is, huh Selune?" he asks, absent-mindedly and without returning the eye contact, as he tries to determine who else at the gathering would be in his group.
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An older samsaran man walks in, an awful white wig covering his bald head. A small pet pig waddles in behind him. He walks up to Mun and promptly sticks out his hand. "Hello, there! Do you know what all this hubbub is about? The name is Barbo, by the way." The rod in his other hand appears magical, but might also be a simple walking staff.
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A bald young man dressed in a flowing pair of trousers and shirt approaches. He wears a backpack which he carries easily and in his right hand holds a staff that has what looks like an axe blade on one end and a crescent on the other end. His hands are work hardened and calloused, especially his knuckles.
May I join your group. I am Kitajo. Do you know anything about why we are here?
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While your group is coming together, you can begin sharing any information you remember regarding the current mission.
the city.
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I know little of the dwarves. I read some texts in my novitiate though.
The sky citadels are massive fortress-cities the dwarves built millennia ago. Each one is heavily fortified and can weather the mightiest assaults. The most prevalent language in a sky citadel is likely Dwarven, so an explorer would do well to have at least some means of translating text.
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"Curious that the Society would choose an expert on Elvish lore and history for a quest to a Sky Citadel, but I will do what I can. Of course you all know that the fundamentals of dwarven religion center around Torag and his family, and you must all know of how Droskar was cast out of that family for presenting others' work as his own. Obviously his worship is mostly downright forbidden in upstanding communities." Mun couldn't seem less interested as he shares this information, as if running down bullet points from a list.
He doesn't seem to have anything else to share, though.
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After you all display your diverse knowledge, a tengu explorer wearing a hooded suit of chainmail and carrying a small cage with a trio of canaries approaches your group, "Hi there fellas, what brings you all here, to the wound in the world? Are you looking for shining gems and sparkling treasuries?
"I beg you pardon! My name's Katcho, -he looks toward your still forming circle, and stretches a feathery hand towards the man from Tian Xia- I managed to overhear your name Kitajo, pleased to meet you. So, what are the rest of your names?"
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Sitting silently in the corner is a tall but lean human male. His face is mostly covered by a dark hood on a dark cloak- but what light illuminates a dark well kept beard and young eyes. He observes the gathering group quietly, only slight head movements providing acknowledgment of his hearing and understanding of the situation.
At his feet lays a large, black, cat. The light hitting it displays a gentle, almost imperceptible spotting under the black. As soon as the beam of light passes her fur recesses into its deep black color.
The cat, for her part, looks comfortable if not bored.
He stands up suddenly and approaches the others.
"Names Edmund. Spent some time in a rebellion 'gainst Cheliax and then found myself on the wrong side of some demons in the world wound. I was looking forward to a little break from the Hell's and the Abyss. But... seems like I am right back to fighten fiends 'gain. That's luck fer ya."
The black cat knowingly watches each of the others interacting with her hooman. Her tail flicks back and forth when a large yawn over takes her.
Hoomans talk too much. So many in walls. Smells like hooman too. No breeze in nose.
Distracted, a fly catches her attention and suddenly she pounces on it, in the center of the small circle that has formed by the others talking. Lifting her large paws, she notices the fly managed to escape her. She steps back toward Edmund, leans her weight up against him, and slides down into a curled up position.
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An impeccably dressed dwarf, with beard carefully oiled and groomed, smiles unctuously, almost bowing.
"A pleasure to be in your presences." He says, almost bowing. You sense the smile on his mouth is not reflected in his eyes.
"There are some fabulous seats up at the front." He suggests, still smiling. "Much better position to hear the wise words of illustrious leaders!"
Though he speaks the words, he does not seem to mean them... at least not for the others, he clearly intends to get as close to the front as he can.
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"I'm Mun, and this is my companion Selune." He indicates the bear that hasn't left his side, patiently waiting.
Mun looks at Smarmy when the dwarf arrives; no distinct expression is on his face. "Well, I guess it makes sense to have a dwarf along. I didn't catch your name, but I do like your ideas. I too, might prefer the front. Though, it seems these rest have all indicated their preference for the darkest corner in the room, so, here we are."
”I require both silence and your attention, if you please! Once more, greetings. I am Kreighton Shaine, Master of Scrolls. It is my pleasure to welcome you to Jormurdun and thank you for the parts so many of you have played in getting us here today. The entirety of a dwarven sky citadel lies before us. It is our unique privilege to explore its halls and be the first to study its millennia-old treasures. If other sky citadels are any reference, Jormurdun is immense and would take a less ambitious expedition years to catalog appropriately. Of course, other expeditions are not deep in the Worldwound, so we do not have the privilege of taking our time. Every day spent here is another day that powerful demons might learn of us and attack. Study what you find, but also take care of any hazards you come across. I can only speculate at what kinds of defenses the former occupants left to protect their city.”
Suddenly, Kreighton looks with alarm to the ceiling of the room and shouts a warning.
”Calistria’s garters, I hate being right about these things. Prepare yourselves!”
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A short (4'8") yet very muscular creature strolls in. His skin is shiny and black like onyx stone, and his eyes are like two shining green emeralds. With each step, the floorboards creak in the manner they would do with a large Ulfen man, and you feel the vibrations through your feet as he advances, hinting at a very dense body. Two greatswords are strapped on his back and his shining baldpate is circled with a silken blue sling, serving as a bandanna.
"Looks like I bought this cold iron greatsword at just the right time... Hi! my name's Jeydahvu. Nice to meet you all."
The odd-looking earth-blooded creature sits besides Edmund, and starts petting his battle cat, letting the panther smell the back of his hand several times so that his scent becomes familiar.
You have received an Aid Token. It currently has no boosts.
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The dwarf turns to Mun with with a friendly smile.
"Oh, how fortunate we are to have a child of Kyonin among us!" He exclaims, only the most sensitive able to notice the contempt hidden behind the cheerful facade. "I am Baron Smarmy of Kravenkus... though no need for such formal titles among friends, right? You may call me Smarmy."
Of course, then Kreighton starts calling his warning, and the dwarf seems to instantly go on the alert, his eyes scanning for whatever it is that the Master of Scrolls is yelling about.
You note him step towards the nearest cover as he does so, making sure someone else stands between himself and whatever it is.
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Edmund's bow quickly comes up and an arrow knocked. Kissan raises to a crouched position and emits a low, guttural growl. Her hair stands on end and her muscles ripple with anticipatory energy.
Stepping aside, he attempts to find a dark corner to shift into.
From his side, his hands flash a series of complex gestures to the cat at his side.
With the sudden shift of energy in the room, Kissan's posture immediately changes from playful to intensely focused. She looks over at Edmund just as he shifts into the shadows- her eyes following down his arm to his hands.
Something not right. Hooman looking for something. Must help
Smelling the air, she steps back into a defensive position next to Edmund in the shadows.
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Dozens of ropes fall from the ceiling, dancing in the air until dark-eyed, gray-skinned dwarves, bald headed and bearded, slide down to their dangling ends. The invaders attack with malevolent roars. Three of them are facing your group. One wearing a weathered cloak, dirty and stained, very yellow in color is wielding a crossbow, the next one has dried blood splattered on his armor, wielding a warhammer, and the last one has a green sash tied around her waist, sporting a heavy mace.
[ooc]Dice without description was to find your place in the circle, going from the top left (relative to the map, not the north.
Barbo
Kissan
Jeydahvu
Edmund
Smarmy
Duergars (G, R, Y)
Mun
Kitajo
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"Duergar." Smarmy spits out, clearly at least partially familiar with such creatures, and not in a good way.
He races across the open area, before the nearest one can move to defend itself, hauling out his battleaxe as he goes, and hacking at her as hard as he can.
, for damage.
, for an additional damage.
He mutters something to her in a strange tongue as he does so.
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Edmund closes his eyes and concentrates for only a brief moment. As his eyes open and focus at the Druegar now standing at the end of the hall, his features seem the same and yet somehow different. Hidden behind the hood of his cloak are two very small horns, and his muscle swell beyond their normal size.
Drawing his bow, he unleashes a flourish of arrows down on the yellow clothed creature.
As the last arrow leaves his bowstring, Edmund's hand flash another series of commands to the now bristling cat.
The cat bristles with energy and, following her hooman's commands, she leaps off down the hallway toward the threatening foe. Teeth first, she lunges at the creature, eyes glinting in the torch light.
"Hunt. Kill."
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Barbo
Jeydahvu - Boosts his defenses with magical energy.
Edmund - Edmund's bolts are unable to find the flesh of his enemy.
Kissan - Even when caught unaware, Kissan's bite fails to pierce the duergar's armor.
Smarmy - Before letting his foe take another breath, Smarmy finds a way to slip his battleaxe between shield and armor, hitting vital organs. The duergar's limp body now lies in this cathedral, perhaps the first of many with groups of Pathfinders beginning their own fights.
Duergars (R, Y)
Mun
Kitajo
Aid Another
A table can pass an unused Aid Token to another nearby table at any time. If the table has used an Aid Token, it can only pass it to another table after successfully completing an encounter. GMs should encourage the players to vary to whom they pass Aid Tokens, preventing a small number of tables from hoarding them.
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"Duergar, you say? Can't say that I can tell the difference...."
Mun immediately begins casting a spell, calling on Ashava to protect both he and Selune. A lightly shimmering, translucent field appears in front of each, shifting in arcs to stay interposed between each of them and their nearest threat... which currently appears to be the duergar in the blood-spattered armor.
Mun grabs Selune roughly by the scruff of her neck and pulls her in front of him, releasing her with a push towards the same duergar. "Attack!" is all he says, simply; Selune bounds off as Mun follows, drawing his longspear.
Selune roars as Mun drags her towards her target. She closes the distance in moments, standing tall on her hind legs momentarily before falling forward onto the duergar, closing her jaws on its shoulder and trying to add more blood to the already spattered armor.
The cat nimbly dodges the warhammer's blow, and leaps again at the creatures neck. An arrow flies in, striking into the creatures side just before her teeth rip into it's shoulder. Settling back, she swipes at the creature with her claws, landing a blow across its face.
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Barbo - Casts Glitterdust on the duergar with the yellow cloak, who is now blinded by the bright lights.
Kitajo - Swiftly kicks the air out of the duergar's lungs.
Random Pathfinder Bard - Starts inspiring you.
Edmund - Lands two arrows on his target, leaving him open for Kissan.
Kissan - Manages to bite and claw the blind duergar and send him to the Lady of Graves.
Smarmy - Moves to flank.
Selûne - Bites deep into the duergar's shoulder.
Duergar (R) (HP -9/?) - Tries to hit the bear back. And lands a hard blow on Selûne's side.
Duergar (Y) (HP -40) DEAD.
Jeydahvu
Barbo
Kitajo
Random Bard - Keeps Inspiring
Edmund
Kissan
Smarmy
Selûne
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With these mighty blows, the last duergar of the first wave drops to the ground.
From overhead comes the sound of breaking glass, followed by a rain of shards from the sunlight-reflecting mirrors above. Gloom floods the chamber as more of the attackers shimmy down the ropes. Fighting from the dais where he addressed the Pathfinders, Kreighton Shaine shouts, “Our assailants seem unwilling to negotiate. Someone capture one and get some answers!” You can see another trio of duergars preparing to drop close to you.
Random Bard ends his song.
Edmund
Kissan
Smarmy
Selûne
Jeydahvu
Barbo
Mun
Kitajo
Duergars Landing
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"Oh, well done!" Smarmy crows, as the last duergar falls. "You are clearly formidable allies!"
He starts moving towards where the new set of gray dwarves are dropping down.
"Those ones didn't get the chance to use their magical abilities, but watch out for that. They can easily double their size with a moments thought." Though of course, you all probably already knew that, he adds, quickly.
He then frowns slightly, looking around suspiciously. "Supposed to be able to turn invisible when they want too... probably not overly useful when they're making the big showy entrances though."
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Edmund reaches into his belt and pulls out a dull grey ioun stone, enchanted with magical fire. He places it by his head and it begins to orbit around his raised cloak- casting deep, shifting, shadows across his face.
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Barbo takes a step forward and looks up. He moves a hand to his neck, for support. "Aye, my neck! Dratted duergars keep coming in from my weak spot. Let's all just hurry this up." He waves a hand and you suddenly feel lighter. "Haste", he whispers.
The transmuted creatures move and act more quickly than normal. This extra speed has several effects.
When making a full attack action, a hasted creature may make one extra attack with one natural or manufactured weapon. The attack is made using the creature’s full base attack bonus, plus any modifiers appropriate to the situation. (This effect is not cumulative with similar effects, such as that provided by a speed weapon, nor does it actually grant an extra action, so you can’t use it to cast a second spell or otherwise take an extra action in the round.)
A hasted creature gains a +1 bonus on attack rolls and a +1 dodge bonus to AC and Reflex saves. Any condition that makes you lose your Dexterity bonus to Armor Class (if any) also makes you lose dodge bonuses.
All of the hasted creature’s modes of movement (including land movement, burrow, climb, fly, and swim) increase by 30 feet, to a maximum of twice the subject’s normal speed using that form of movement. This increase counts as an enhancement bonus, and it affects the creature’s jumping distance as normal for increased speed.