Waedin glances at Ascaede. Well it ain't a ghost. The heck is it and how do we fight it?
Unspecific Lore: DC 16
Specific Lore: DC 13:
Sebastian watches Stepnik lob a bomb at the [I]Ghosty Dwarf Skeleton]/I]. His curiosity ceases to be fun once the Cube is discovered!
Crap! Is it too late to call in an actual ghost?
Ever present to the circumstances, the Bard begins his Courageous Anthem!
A bit distracted by the Cube just wavering and wiggling at him, Sebastian decides to Recall Knowledge, as he Strides further away and, perhaps around a corner....
Waedin channels the wrath of her god at the cube.
And raises her Shield.
Ascaede peers at the clear-ish cube for a brief moment and nods. Then pulls a six-sided die from her vestments, but fumbles it into the air, and after nearly dropping and only just catching its bouncing shape she quickly taps it against her temple blade.. Then attempts to quickly raise her shield in an overhasty preparation for the creature’s attack.
◆ ExpLoit Vulnerability ◆ Raise shield ◆ Possible Step/Stride?
You know that every creature, no matter how obscure, has a weakness. By identifying and empowering the right object, you can strike down even the most resilient of monsters.
You gain the Exploit Vulnerability action.
Exploit Vulnerability [one-action]
Esoterica, Manipulate, Thaumaturge
Frequency: once per round
Requirements: You are holding your implement.
You scour your experiences and learning to identify something that might repel your foe. You retrieve an object from your esoterica with the appropriate supernatural qualities, then use your implement to stoke the remnants of its power into a blaze. Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it. You gain the following effects until you Exploit Vulnerabilities again.
Critical Success You remember the creature's weaknesses, and as you empower your esoterica, you have a flash of insight that grants even more knowledge about the creature. You learn all of the creature's resistances, weaknesses, and immunities, including the amounts of the resistances and weaknesses and any unusual weaknesses or vulnerabilities, such as what spells will pass through a golem's antimagic. You can exploit either the creature's mortal weakness or personal antithesis (see below). Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Success You recall an important fact about the creature, learning its highest weakness (or one of its highest weaknesses, if it has multiple with the same value) but not its other weaknesses, resistances, or immunities. You can exploit either the creature's mortal weakness or personal antithesis. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Failure Failing to recall a salient weakness about the creature, you instead attempt to exploit a more personal vulnerability. You can exploit only the creature's personal antithesis. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Critical Failure You couldn't remember the right object to use and become distracted while you rummage through your esoterica. You become flat-footed until the beginning of your next turn.
You can attempt to Exploit Vulnerabilities in one of two ways: either by invoking properties that repel that type of creature, or by attempting a more improvisational, ad-hoc method with your esoterica that can impose a custom weakness on any creature, albeit one that usually isn't as dire as a creature's existing weakness:
Mortal Weakness After identifying a creature's weakness, you use a thematically resonant bit of esoterica to attune your attacks to your discovery. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes activate the highest weakness you discovered with Exploit Vulnerability, even though the damage type your weapon deals doesn't change. This damage affects the target of your Exploit Vulnerability, as well as any other creatures of the exact same type, but not other creatures with the same weakness.
For example, when fighting a pack of werewolves you might use silver shavings or crushed moonstone to deal damage that applies their weakness to silver to your attacks against any of the werewolves, but you wouldn't apply this damage to any other monsters with a weakness to silver.
Personal Antithesis You improvise a custom weakness on a creature by forcefully presenting and empowering a piece of esoterica that repels it on an individual level; for instance, against a tyrant, you might procure a broken chain that once held a captive. This causes the target creature, and only the target creature, to gain a weakness against your unarmed and weapon Strikes equal to 2 + half your level.
Sebastian shivers!
gelatinous cube! It will attempt to engulf anything and anyone in its path!
Sebastien nudges Waedin’s divine lance an inch to the left, and she finds that this massive block of gelatinous goop is rather easy to hit.
Meanwhile, Ascaede fumbles around with her accoutrements and becomes unsteady on her feet. She moves over next to Stepnik, still within arms reach of Waedin, but out of the path of the cube.
That same cube begins slowly wobbling forward, hissing along the floor, bubbling pools of acid leaking from its bottom edge. The dwarven skeleton suspended within holds a passive if not frightening countenance, a grim reminder of what fate may behold our adventurers! As it approaches the group, it starts to pick up speed, and it slams into the front line of Ustemir and Kolek.
Kolek deftly pulls backwards and avoids being engulfed, however, his dear master isn’t quite fast enough and gets pulled into the cube! Paralytic acid begins burning into his skin and shocking his nervous system. Ustemir finds himself floating in a matrix of clear gelatinous acid, being digested alive, face to face with the macabre grin of a long dead dwarf. Worst yet, his muscles fail to obey his brain’s command.
Sebastian winces as he views the new predicament that Ustemir has gotten himself into this time.
I was seen an orc wearing glasses. Not that unusual actually. Probably look good too.
The Bard then decides to Aid his friend by Inspiring Confidence !
The Bard then gives Ustemir Liberating Command !
The cube continues to burn.
Waedin grunts in frustration and starts to whack at the huge thing over and over.
Don't get eaten! We'll.. get you out!
Ascaede’s eyes grow wide as Ustemir is enveloped…swallowed entirely by the…thing-cube. Thinking quickly, the acolyte drops her shield, rummages around in her back pack and retrieves her grappling hook. Thrusting her arm in as far as she can and grimacing against the pain of being digested with acid she tries to hook it on Ustemir. Then, once hooked, she moves away from the cube, pulling with all her might…
◆ Stride
◆ Strike (Flame Vial)
Throw
Fire, +1 Persistent, +1 Splash (Using Bomber to only do splash to target).
◆ Stride (Out of the room)