Pip Hip Hooray |
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Society to recognize the Architecture: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
"Oh, this is a pre-Cheliax style of architecture popular in Vellumis. See those columns? They're not in the imposing gothic style that was so popular in the Chelish architecture -- look at how deceptively slender they are, and how they curve. It's almost like the marble grew organically out of the floor. They really knew how to build in the old days."
Next phase
Society, Notebook: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Pip gravitates to the notebook. "See these runes and diagrams? They are research notes!"
Do I get any other information on that success?
Possible Phase Three if no one else examines the clothing
Society: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
"This dress is favored by Priests and other strict adherents of Iomedae. Again... I'm not sure this is one of our Pathfinders, unless they converted? Or were in disguise?"
Bot Buddy 2000 |
Link to skill checks that can be made on the stairs.
We still need someone to examine the clothes this round. All other checks have been done.
Tarafi |
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Tarafi, having been rather glum on their journey here, perks up at the site of the tattered clothing.
Society: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
Oh yes, yes! I recognize this. See this stitching? See how it alternates every eleventh stitch? That's to represent the Eleven Acts of Iomedae. No doubt this was a priest—or at least an adherent of the Inheritor.
GMAdrian |
The group gathers around the body on the stairs, each person identifying the details of the body. Pip senses that the notebook would have likely belonged to either a scholar or a student, as the notes have an academic bent.
Everyone up!
Pip Hip Hooray |
Pip waits until the rest of the group comes up the stairs. She looks first at the Eastern side room, wary of the bad floor.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
But as the lightest member of the party, she's also the least likely to fall through a bad patch of floor. She takes some rope and tosses it to Tarabh. "Don't let me fall through!" Once she has examined the Eastern side room at the top of the stairs, she ask Saliss, "Can you check the door of the porch for traps?'
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15
Salliss |
“Sure thing!” Salliss replies.
He moves over to the porch and begins investigating.
Has Trap Finder.
GMAdrian |
Salliss, Pip, and Tarbh head to the north, through the entrance, and into a set of musty offices. Dirty rugs, shattered desks, and smashed-in doors are what remains. Papers and long-dried inkwells are scattered among the detritus. As the group checks out the rooms, Pip, searching behind a collapsed cabinet, finds a peculiar amulet, dangling from a simple cord, and in the southernmost office, she finds in a collapsed part of the room a wayfinder, although she sees no further characteristics to identify its owner. Tarbh and Salliss don't observe much here beyond the ruined office supplies, but in the modest office to the northwest, they find a body surrounded by chunks of what appears to be dessicated zombie flesh. Heavy claw marks and deep rips mar this corpse, which lies sprawled and partially covered by the broken desk in the northwest corner. The desiccated flesh of zombies litters the floor around it. Scraps of cloth hang tattered around its mangled hands, which even now are locked into fists.
The four rooms here are all one area for the purposes of your search. Pip, I used your check from earlier to search this area. Salliss and Tarbh, you still have your actions for this round.
Trildyn and Tarafi split from the others and head to the south. A small reception room seems mostly emptied out, so they continue to the south. They enter a spacious classroom that still contains some relatively intact seating and a dusty old rug. To the west, the floor is sodden, and part of it has collapsed, revealing a hole filled with shattered bookshelves, broken chairs, and other decor. Doors exit to the north. The two begin examining the room, but as they cautiously near the hole, Trildyn notices that the soaked floorboards are about to give way to the slightest introduction of weight. Peering into the hole, Trildyn spots the glint of metal and jewel.
The hole is 10 feet deep here, and Trildyn, you can tell that stepping near it will cause the squares around the hole to cave in. You can shore up the floorboards with a DC 16 Crafting check, which takes one round. If you want to climb in and out of the hole and check out what's down there, that would take a round also.
Pip Hip Hooray: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Tarbh: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Tarafi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12
140
Trildyn Kingslake |
”Tarafi, keep an eye out for trouble. I’m going to try to reinforce these floorboards. Something is down there.”
Crafting: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Tarbh “Bullchucker” Tilgear |
Tarbh stoops and examines the body, but is too distracted as he reacts to every creak and groan of the ancient building.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Salliss |
Salliss also examines the body. Shaking his head, he admits “Everything is so torn up and mixed together, I can’t make any sense of what I’m seeing here.”
Medicine: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 T
Do we spend another round so Pip can check it while we check the cloth?
GMAdrian |
Tarbh and Salliss fail to make any headway with the body in the offices due to the dim light and the heavy damage.
Using her crafting savvy, Trildyn manages to make the ground much more stable around the hole. Tarafi, continuing to check out the room, finds nothing of further use.
You can now climb in and out of the hole safely. Everyone up!
Salliss |
Giving up on the body, Salliss decides the scraps of cloth might give a hint. “These look like a brawlers hand wraps. Bryrigar was a gladiator, any chance the body could be his?”
Craft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16 T
Tarbh “Bullchucker” Tilgear |
Perception to examine body: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Tarbh scratches his head as he continues to examine the body. "Dunno."
Pip Hip Hooray |
Pip, momentarily confused, decides she must be next to the body. She's a curious gnome. Poking at bodies is her thing.
Medicine: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
"See those bumps on his skull, right by the jaw bone? Those are tusk-stumps. I'd say this was a half-orc, and likely Bryrigar. I can't tell though if this is an old break or nor. Perhaps Bryrigar broke them in the gladiatorial ring, but it's also possible that his killer wanted a trophy." Pip frowns at this. Then she looks up, hopefully. "Is this the first Pathfinder body we've recovered? Oh, maybe the others are nearby!"
Salliss |
Sallis face palms. “How did I miss the tusks!”
In response to Pip, he says “Second.”
Getting out another body bag, he says “Given the evidence, I do think this is Bryrigar.” Gesturing to the destroyed zombies around he adds “This sort of destruction fits his reputation.” He adds the cloth wraps in the bag along with the body.
“I believe he was a worshipper of Gorum. We should tell a priest of his last fight.”
Pip Hip Hooray |
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"Alright, second. And we'll gladly tell a priest of this fight." Pip smiles. "Preferably by banging on a shield and yelling the names at top volume." Then she frowns. "How do you call the names of unnamed zombies, anyway? Do you number them? Give them nicknames like brainless, bucket head and bungee?* Or just count the zombie corpses and have done?" Then she takes a deep breath. "I guess that's a question best left for civilization."
"Ready to head to the next room?"
____
*Why yes, that is a Plants vs Zombies reference.
Salliss |
With a shrug, Salliss suggests “Let the priest of Gorum puzzle that one out.” He doesn’t seem particularly interested beyond that Bryrigar be honored.
Tarbh “Bullchucker” Tilgear |
"Alright. Back in a sec." Tarbh hefts the corpse of Pathfinder and heads for the door, intending to set it into the cart (which I assume we hitched up to the horse and brought with us, since we went to the trouble of fixing it).
Pip Hip Hooray |
"Alright." Pip waits for Tarbh's return before continuing on the route. "Let's find some more Pathfinders."
DM Khel |
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Room 6 – Trildyn and Tarafi
With the floorboards stabilized, Trildyn easily makes her way down to the bottom of the hole. The area is covered with detritus from the floor’s collapse, but gleaming amidst the debris is an ornate, ceremonial longsword with a golden, wire-wrapped hilt and a pommel set with large rubies. With nothing else worth collecting where she is, Trildyn tucks the sword in her belt and scrambles out of the hole.
Room 4 – Tarbh, Pip and Salliss
Tarbh takes the half-orc’s body to the cart. As he loads it, he notices that the cart is in better shape than before Trildyn worked on it, but it’s still a bit rickety and might not be able to handle a heavy load.
The cart is no longer broken, but it is not fully repaired either. Another Craft check would address this, and would take ten minutes.
120
Tarbh “Bullchucker” Tilgear |
Returning from the cart, Tarbh seeks out Trildyn and Tarafi. "That cart ain't gonna hold if we find anythin' heavy. One'a y'all wanna give it another once-over?"
Trildyn Kingslake |
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Trilydyn examines the sword, once out of the hole. She holds it comfortably, and you can see the years of blacksmith training take over as she holds it this way and that.
Religion: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
"This is ceremonial, not a weapon of war. I mean, you could still swing it at someone and it would cut, but it was forged to use in some kind of religious services, most likely. The decorations look Iomedaean."
DM Khel |
Room 4 – Tarbh, Pip and Salliss
Once Tarbh returns from his errand to the cart, he joins Pip and Salliss in moving into the main hall, which they’ve only skirted so far. Perhaps once majestic, this cavernous hall now truly resembles a cave: dark and dank. Dirt and standing water obscure the once-pristine white and gray tile, and stone colonnades stretching to the ceiling are covered in grime and mold. Sweeping staircases to the northwest and southwest lead upward, as does a spiral staircase. Smashed statues and torn paintings line the walls here: the signs of a struggle.
With their mission of recovering artifacts in mind, the group spends a little time scrutinizing the statues and paintings, and finds one that has survived the ravages of whatever battle took place here. The painting is of a distinguished, handsome halfling woman dressed in pristine white finery, and is clearly a relic worthy of recovery.
Room 5 – Trildyn and Tarafi
With the valuable blade recovered and identified, Trildyn and Tarafi move to the next room, which appears to have been some sort of lounge or sitting room. The velvet-lined sofa pushed up against the north wall is caked in dust. Broken chairs rest in the southwest corner. A small closet and empty office, both with their doors torn off or kicked in, are to the west.
As they enter the room and look around, Trildyn can hear faint, ragged sobs coming from beneath the sofa.
Tarafi: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
110
Pip Hip Hooray |
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Society: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
"How terrible that so much art was destroyed," Pip says sadly. Then she gets excited as she studies the painting of the Halfling woman. "Do you see the symbols of office she's wearing, and the way she holds the book in her hand? This woman was most likely a former dean of Goldenflame Academy! We should totally pack this relic!"
On that roll, do I know the Dean's name? Or anything about the Goldenflame Academy?
"Shall we go on to the next room?"
Salliss |
Question on the abstract search mechanics.
We spent time searching and found the one painting. Since Pip already identified it, could I attempt to further repair the cart or was my time this round spent in the search that found the painting?
Either way is fine with me, just want to check.
I would hate to waste time because of a misunderstanding or wrong assumption.
DM Khel |
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You could certainly have spent your ten minutes going to repair the cart, Salliss.
You recognize the dean as Lucrea Allis, who famously commissioned the beautiful stained-glass windows that used to grace Goldenflame College's main hall, and which featured a large image of Iomedae encircled by a series of panels depicting the goddess' 11 Acts. Particularly renowned was the glass image of Iomedae's Sixth Act, in which she instantly reforged her sword in mid-battle, after it had been shattered by the Whispering Tyrant, using the power of her faith to restore it and end the wizard-king's evil.
How's that?
Salliss |
Seeing that Pip has the search well in hand, Sallis tells her and Tarbh "Think I'll try my hand at repairing more of the cart."
He goes out, gets his repair kit from his donkey, and sets up.
Craft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
He reinforces the axel and tongs that Desert Wind pulls the cart by. After packing his kit, he goes back in and tells them "Did what I could. I think it will work better now."
Trildyn Kingslake |
Trildyn's eyes go wide. She waves frantically to get Tarafi's attention, and then points at the couch. She says softly, "Hello? We're Pathfinders and we're here to help."
DM Khel |
Room 3 – Tarbh, Pip and Salliss
With a few minutes of study, Pip learns a great deal about the painting, and accurately identifies it as an important relic worthy of recovery. At the same time, Saliss deftly repairs the cart and returns to join his companions. As he arrives, Tarbh, Pip and Salliss can all hear the sounds of conversation in the next room (room 5, that is).
Room 5 – Trildyn and Tarafi
Trildyn calls out softly, and nothing seems to happen. Then, after a long, long pause, a filthy, exhausted-looking half-orc peers out from under the sofa, his eyes full of fear. The rags he wears might once have been druidic robes, and on his neck can be seen a tatoo of a leaf with drops of water falling from it. ”P-p-p-p-athfinders?” he says timidly, most of his body still cowering under cover of the sofa, ”how can I be sure of that? There are so many awful…so awful…so many awful things running around here, this could be a trick.” It seems he wants desperately to believe, but his profound fear makes him very cautious.
He’ll want some sort of proof that you’re Pathfinders, or a Diplomacy check to calm him down and convince him you’re here to help.
Trildyn Kingslake |
"I haven't picked up my Wayfinder yet, but I promise, we're really Pathfinders! I've been taking classes from Marcos Farabellus, and Janira Gavix is making sure we're getting assignments, and we're all at the Grand Lodge in Absalom! Explore, Report, Cooperate?"
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
DM Khel |
As Trildyn reels off names and positions that only a Pathfinder would know, the bedraggled half-orc takes a deep, shuddering breath, then lets it out in a long sigh of relief. ”You are Pathfinders! Oh, I never thought this day would come!” He reaches out and grasps Trildyn’s muscular hand and pulls it into his own, as words begin to tumble out, ”I’ve been telling myself I never should have left Katapesh, that I’d never escape this place. The Society sent me here with other recruits on a diplomatic mission into the Lastwall countryside. But Tar-Baphon and his evil forces emerged and began their assault on Lastwall, and we were trapped. We tried to work our way back to Ustalav, and found ourselves here in Goldenflame, which had already fallen. We fought many undead, and I fled to the college when I was separated from my companions and–oh! My friends, have you seen them? They are Gibb Potsmasher, Kailli Thimbleberry, and Osprey Pierces the Tide. Or my horse, Desert Wind? I have hoped to hear her on the wind, but have heard only hordes of undead marching by.”
Pausing briefly for a breath, he continues, ”We must get out of this place, I’ll help however I can. I want only to get away from here, and to return home to Katapesh for a relief from the chaos of this horrible past month. Oh, and I am Larazz Virtanne – one forgets these common courtesies in a place like this.”
As he speaks, Pip, Tarbh, and Salliss enter from the grand hall, in time to hear much of the Pathfinder’s dark tale.
Salliss |
With a slight bow, Salliss cheerfully introduces himself. “I am Salliss, pleased to meet you!”
With a gesture towards the front, he adds “We found Desert Wind. It is at the front of the College. Envi sent us to search for you and some other Pathfinders as well as any cultural relics we can recover.”
In a more sober tone, he admits “I fear we may have found the body of your friend Gibb in town.”
DM Khel |
At Salliss’ words, Larraz is joyful to the point of tears and is eager to reunite with his beloved horse, ”Hello, Salliss! You found him? He’s here?” he exclaims, his tone full of hope, ”That is the most wonderful news!” Though he’s clearly overjoyed to hear his companion animal still lives, his expression darkens somewhat at the news of Gibb’s death. On hearing him described, he solemnly and regretfully confirms that it is indeed Gibb, and goes silent for a long, respectful moment
”As to the cultural relics you mention, I have explored the college when it was quiet and I felt it was safe. I know my way around a bit, and can tell you where such things might be found. Have you been upstairs yet? There’s an enormous statue of a flaming wheel, all made of marble and gold, in one of the rooms.”
As should be clear on the map, you have checked out everything downstairs. Ready to head upstairs?
Tarbh “Bullchucker” Tilgear |
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"Eh, a big ol' statue, huh? Sounds heavy. Good thing ya saw t'the cart, huh, Salliss?" Turning to the bedraggled man, he extends a hand. "Ah'm Tarbh. Niceta meetcha."
Tarbh is ready.
Salliss |
“Depends on how large it is. If it is a choice between retrieving fellow Pathfinder bodies or the statue, we should take the bodies. The statue is less likely to move, so if it is deemed important another trip can be planned just for that.”
Looking towards Larraz, he asks “Have you found the remains of any others? We had a long list of missing Pathfinder agents.”
“The statue sounds impressive, but easier to carry relics would be nice too!”
Sallis is ready to go up.
Tarafi |
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Tarafi is struck silent by Larazz's poor condition and is visibly choked up by the Pathfinder's emotional response to news of his companions. He seems excited by the prospect of a gleaming statue, but as Sallis speaks, nods in agreement that recovering Pathfinders must take precedence.
DM Khel |
Okay, looks like we’ve got more than half of us ready to go, so we’ll head upstairs. I’ve numbered the rooms for clarity, and started the group together at the top of the stairs, but you can split up again for searching if you want. Rooms 10a to 10d are all basically the same, and because they are smaller they’ll each only take 5 minutes to search, rather than 10.
Larazz shakes Tarbh’s hand in greeting, while listening to Salliss’ thoughtful questions. ”I think we’d all agree, recovering the bodies of our fallen sisters and brothers is the most important thing. I have not found the remains of any other Pathfinders, as most of the fighting took place in the village rather than here at the college.”
He joins the party in heading up the spiral staircase, which ends in a study area. This room is lined with bookshelves and sitting mats. Two smaller rooms branch from the main hallway, serving as private study nooks.
Salliss |
Salliss asks Larraz “Where is the big statue?”
Guessing it is in Room 9
Looking around at the group, he asks “Who can best determine if we can take it, and the value of it? We might want to know that immediately.”
Pip Hip Hooray |
It's lovely to see a fellow Pathfinder alive rather than as a corpse. Pip shows Larazz her wayfinder and smiles. "I'm Pip!" She looks him over, to see if he's okay. "Are you hungry? Do you need some rations? Maybe some clean clothes?"
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
But really, she has no idea how he's feeling, so she helps search the shelves.
Bardic Lore: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
"Ooh, an Iomedean text. This should go back with us. It would be shame for a book this beautiful to be lost."
Salliss |
Chuckling, Sallis notes “Tarbh I don’t think we want you dropping it or using it as a weapon if we encounter more undead! You may have to carry it out to the cart, but hopefully no further.”
He pauses before adding “If we take it, let us know if you will want help moving it.”
When she shows off the book, Sallis gives an encouraging cheer of “Nice find, Pip!”
Sallis then says “We have enough people, think I will check one of the small study areas. Anyone who wants to is welcome to join me.”
Which one, A=1, D=4: 1d4 ⇒ 1
Going to check 10A
DM Khel |
Larazz nods eagerly at the offer of food, saying, "Oh, yes, some food would be wonderful! I'm so unused to getting enough to eat I hardly even notice any more, but I'm starving!" He accepts whatever Pip has to offer, and begins to gnaw on a bit of trail rations without even looking at them.
Salliss moves to the end of the hall and finds a small simple room with a bed and desk, clearly a student's room. What furniture there is has fallen to disrepair over time.