GM Otha's Wonders in the Weave Series (Inactive)

Game Master Otha

Zaarah lands next to Ischell and views the reliefs on the walls

”This is not ancient Osiriani ... there are some repeating icons. The cat, the kneeling man and especially the scales... there is also always a space after 5 characters. Hmmm ... strange!“ she says and seems genuinely puzzled.

"Block the door with one of those statues! Quickly! Do you want us all to get trapped down here!?"

Poh leaps the gap, but only after making sure that either Zaarah or someone else stuffs a statue in the doorway to keep the portal from closing shut completely.

Taking 10 on acrobatics makes 23.

Zaarah takes out a statue and throws it over.

”There is also a statue still next to the door on the wall!“

The Pathfinders rush through the door and place a statue in the same fashion as when they found it...

Looking at the pool of water in the current room, you judge it to be much deeper than the entry chambers.

Phosdlon follows the group...

Acrobatics vs. DC=10: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

”I think it’s best to get the water out into the tunnel below. Maybe one of you good at swimming can go in and activate the trap door and we tie a rope around you so you don’t drop?!“ she says more to herself than to anybody else.

"A sound idea." Making nothing of the paintings, Azrael is inclined to agree with Zaarah's suggestion as he looks over into the pool.

I think Ischell has the best swim.

Zaarah is still thinking.

”Or ... hmmm ... we take a crossbow and shoot some bolts at the trap hoping it will trigger... “ she says again without looking at anybody.

Ridley has a decent disable device - can I use that to rig up something to pop the trap from a distance?

Ridley stands and watches for a few moments, surveying the scene.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 15 + 2 = 25

While you know there's a trap there, you can't see it from the stairs...the water is about 10' deep and very murky. You know the trap that was triggered by Azrael was set off by his weight...

”Or ... hmmm ... we could climb down again into the tunnel. Take the poor soul down there and throw him from here on the pit trap. Or something else hat is heavy... “ she says absentmindedly.

"Perhaps one of the Lizard corpses?"

It's going to be extremely hard to set off the trap without someone getting into the water...all that's left of the corpse Zaarah found is bones, definitely not heavy enough...the lizards together might or might not be heavy enough but tossing them in the water and hoping they land on the trap is not likely...

What if we just swim over the trap? Ischell can swim a rope out and people and navigate across without risking setting off the trap? I find it hard to believe that the weight of 10 feet of water hasn't already set off the trap anyways...

Yeah, it would seem that way...maybe since the pressure/weight of the water is spread out evenly all along that section of the floor it hasn't 'gone off' so to speak and extra weight/pressure will...who knows though, it's not written. Ridley, or anyone else with Disable Device, can trigger the trap (I'll keep his roll if he decides to) but they'd have to swim down to first locate it and then trigger it...or someone else could swim down and put pressure on it and that'd probably do it as well. The water is murky enough that you can't see to the bottom of the pool nor anything in the pool...

"Eh, we need to drain this fetid, stinking water. There might be some clue as to the meaning of all that scribble on the outer chamber walls hidden here. You think there's a trapdoor we can open? What are you waiting for then?"

I have a couple of solutions: I can produce up to 2 'small items' using a boon, which should include either Air Crystals or Potions of Touch of the Sea. Or, I have another boon with a one-time casting of Water Breathing. Happy to use either of these here.

I'll do it! gimme a sec...

Ridley is going to spend a minute brewing up an extract of touch of the sea, then tie a rope to himself to prevent himself from being dragged down, before hopping in, swimming out, and popping the trap.

Hold on to that! Don't want to get dragged down when the trap opens!

I can brew up an elixir no problem - no reason to use boons when I can do the same thing without expending a boon

Azrael will hold tightly on to the rope as Ridley descends into the unknown.

Ridley expertly brews up a potion, ties himself to the rope held by Azrael, and hops into the murky water. As he jumps into the water, and descends, looking for the trap, the ripples disturb something in the water previously unseen...the party members in the shallow water upon the stairs notice a mass of wormlike creatures in the water moving their way...

Ridley, you were submerged when the creatures appeared on the pool's surface so you currently don't know of their presence. On another note, while you're underwater, you'll need a Perception check to locate the trap and Disable Device to trigger it (you can use the Disable Device roll you made previously).

COMBAT! The bold may post!

Poh
Ischell
Azrael
Phosdlon
Zaarah
Ridley (submerged)
Wormlike Creatures

Combat Map - Slide 4

Zaarah pulls the rope as hard as she can to get Ridley out!

kn nature : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

strength : 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (7) - 3 = 4

strength if move action works too : 1d20 - 3 ⇒ (1) - 3 = -2

”Get him out!!!“ Zaarah shouts frantically.

Just to clarify...the wormlike creatures are on the surface and seem to be moving towards the stairs, not towards Ridley who's submerged...

"Fall back and lead them back towards the trap in the other room." says Phosdlon as he jumps back over the hole....

Acrobatics vs. DC=10: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Double move

Can't believe I'm going to waste my Folio re-roll for this...

Acrobatics vs. DC=10: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Just to clarify...the wormlike creatures are on the surface and seem to be moving towards the stairs, not towards Ridley who's submerged...

Ahh, ok. Thanks for informing us. Then it makes no sense to pull Ridley to us. Changing action.

Zaarah activates her flight hex and flies 10 ft into the air.

"Agreed, lead them to solid footing and we will stand a better chance at survival!" Azrael beckons as he backflips across the gap effortlessly to follow Phosdlon. At the other side, he searches his belongings for a flask filled with red liquid.

Move:Auto succeed Acrobatics, Move:Draw alchemist fire

perception: 1d20 + 9 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 + 2 + 2 = 24

Assuming that is good enough to find the hatch, and with no idea what is happening above, Ridley will swim to the trap and pop it open.

The door is only open a small gap of 15 inches from the western wall...with full gear on, it will not be easy to squeeze through, i.e., backpacks and such will need to be removed...it will take a single move action just to squeeze through the door so I've adjusted your moves accordingly. Azrael, do you still have the rope to Ridley? Considering he's 10' below the surface, the 50' rope doesn't have much slack at all...

Ridley, your Perception check is enough to locate the trap... I'll wait till everyone has posted before updating further...

Azrael will try to hold on to it., but if its beyond the rope length, Azrael may be forced to let go, keeping his current position, since he didn't think that part through.

Hmm. Our AoE alchemist is also our underwater trapfinder. Good luck Ridley!

"Back over the pit everyone!"

Poh backs up, focuses his drunken ki, then takes a jump:

acrobatics, ki speed: 1d20 + 13 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 13 + 8 = 40

Up against the doors, the drunken monk attempts to climb the slippery wall.

climb: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22

...but finds the wall just too slippery and makes no progress.

The large human takes a quick look around and sees the value in the others plan. he steps back until he reaches the pit, and then effortlessly leaps over the opening to the far side.

Acrobatics, take 10= 16. Movement 25 feet total movement (double while acrobatics)

Settling on the far side of the pit, he readies his Kama for the potential approach of the creatures.

Readied attack, 10ft range

+1 DC Kama, PA: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28
Adamantine, S, PA: 1d6 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16

Can't take 10 on combat unfortunately.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

The RNG disagrees with pathfinders rules!

The Pathfinders on the stairs flee the coming swarm while Ridley trips the trap...the swarm tries to follow its luscious blood engorged targets up the stairs, but as the water in the pool starts to drain, most of the swarm is still in the water and gets sucked down towards the pit trap that Ridley opened...

Azrael still has hold of the rope and keeps Ridley from being sucked down into the pit. However the leech swarm covers Ridley, momentarily causing him a bit of pain, as well as a gross sort of feeling, before most of the leeches are swept down into the pit...

Leech Swarm Damage + Poison: 2d6 ⇒ (6, 3) = 9

Encounter Over!

Tomb Map - Slide 4

Zaarah looks at Ridley and claps her hands laughing.

”Wow!! You are so great!! Thanks for saving us!!!“

Once the water drains from the room, Ridley and Zaarah can see that more hieroglyphs are revealed...

Under the waterline, visible only after the room is drained, is the outline of a 10-foot-square door in the northern stone wall, with the following hieroglyphs carved into its algae-covered surface:

More Heiroglyphs - Slide 3

To make it a bit easier, I put copies of the two sets of hierogylphs on the Tomb map slide so you can see them just as they are on the wall and the door, one on top of the other...

Tomb Map - Slide 4

All of you that are on the other side of the hole in the stairs may take 10 on Acrobatics to jump back over...

I am a mathematician. ;-) These are simple equations. The answers are 8+2=10; 7-1=6; 3*3=9; 8/2=4.

”Ha ha ... these ancient guys are hilarious!“ she cackles.

”Do you trust me?!? Can I push my way through the door?!?!!!“ she asks with a crazy smile.

Azrael shrugs, "I'm at a lost with all these symbols, do as you wish."

Zaarah looks to be correct.

“Go ahead. I'm just glad my barrel of beer is intact!"

Sure enough, Master Poh takes a tankard and lifts a cunning flap in his barrel-shaped backpack to reveal a tap. He turns the tap, fills his tankard with a foamy, salty - smelling liquid, and takes a deep draught.

“Luglurch's finest!"

GM, is there a mechanism to enter the equation results?

”Hmmm ... I will try to enter my understanding of this puzzle!“

Fort Save: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 4 + 2 = 20

Owww that stings... room is clear guys!

Very impressive Zaarah! You saved me from having to write a couple of DC spoilers. I could've used a tutor like you when I was taking calculus. As far as the puzzle, you just touch the hieroglyph below each equation that represents the answer...I'll assume you automatically do that...

As Zaarah approaches the new hieroglyphs, she detects yet another pit trap, this one right in front of the puzzle door...but now familiar with it, Ridley easily rigs it to keep it from triggering...

Zaarah quickly deciphers the puzzle, figuring that each puzzle on the door is a mathematical equation. As she presses the hieroglyph that represents the answer to each equation, it lights up. After she hits the fourth hieroglyph, the door slides open to reveal...

A short stairway leads up to the center of a hallway with identical doors at either end. The floor here is barely damp. Each doorway features a simple stone handle. On the passage’s northern wall are two figures in bas-relief: to the west, a human man holding an ankh in one hand and a khopesh in the other; to the east, a jackal-headed man double-wielding twin kukris.

Zaarah walks down the hallway and looks around - and then she casts detect magic.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

Zaarah detects no magic. However, she discovers yet one more pit trap in front of the door to the west...and she finds the door to the east locked...

Ridley will head to the east door and attempt to unlock it.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 15 + 2 = 33

Ridley is able to pick the lock on the eastern door. Upon opening it, the following is revealed...

Brilliant treasure fills this room. From every angle, gold, silver, and myriad gems catch the light. While the floor is a soupy morass and mold grows up the walls, the Dog Pharaoh’s treasures sit atop shelves untouched by the grime below. An ornate sarcophagus lies on a dais at the far end of the room, mold growing up its sides.

"Ridley, you are a man of diverse talents!" she says with a giggle.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

"Ha ha ... these treasures are nothing but replicas of real treasure, false prizes apparently intended to deceive looters. Gems are cleverly cut glass, gold is pyrite, and everything else is of the same quality one might find in any Sothis curio shop... "

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24

"Oh and look here ... the mold on the south wall of the room has grown in an unusually linear pattern ... "

Then she casts detect magic in the room.

Zaarah walks carefully to the pattern and inspects it in more detail.

Can someone please move her on the map.

Phosdlon follows, arrow knocked. "Yes, we are most fortunate to have Ridley with us today. Well done."

Zaarah thinks the unusual linear pattern of mold outlines a hidden door...

Ischell listens to each of the others in turn contribute to the progression through the tomb. Man, I am glad they are here

As Zaarah notices the change in the wall, Ischell lumbers over next to her.

"Well done, dudette! No knowing what we might face behind this wall, man."

Zaarah smiles at Ischell.

”It is scary... you really look a lot like my brother... but much better... and more handsome... and nicer ... yes ... and ehhh ... well ehh sorry... “ Zaarah mumbles and opens the secret door.

With a simple push against the previously secret door it opens inward to reveal another chamber...

This long, dank hallway contains three sarcophagi arranged down the center of the floor. The floor, walls, ceiling and the sarcophagi themselves are completely covered with a layer of dull brown fuzz. A door in the eastern wall at the south end of the room provides the only exit aside from the secret door to the north. The air here is unnaturally cold.