GM Zer0darkfire's Witchwar Legacy (Inactive)

Game Master zer0darkfire

The DC is 36 so both of those would have been failures where you also would have been engulfed by the ooze.

Ooof. Glad that didn't happen, then.

How many sets of tracks are there? The description implies there are two, as two statues enter and two leave on each cycle.

As seen here there are two sets of tracks.

Doing a deep-dive on the thread...

Gaius looks thoughtful.

"In reviewing that poem, and cross-referencing what we have uncovered thus far, I find it curious that one of the porcelain dolls was missing, as was one of the 27-link chains from the throne.

Given the reference to 'Ringed in steel, three loops times nine / Prized from the luckless seat / Supplicants kneel, of porcelain fine / The banished queen to meet.', I think those items might be keys to access the next 'tier' of this place? Although whether one pair for the party, or whether we each need one, is open to interpretation. I think we should err on the side of caution, and have a pair each. We probably then need to touch them to that clock, I suppose...?"

That's my best guess, at least...

We can try that. I'm also wondering if we should be taking a spot that is vacated by one of the caryatid columns when they attack, that will make the three loops times 9 - 28 figures, 2 animate leaving 26 figures, one of us takes the spot making 27 or 3x9?

TBH, I'm generally pretty bad at riddles, but happy to try things out.

I also was considering taking vacated spots but I don't think that is the intended solution.

"Could we all just rush past the golems as the door opens?"

I'll start by confirming correct guesses. The riddle is referring to the chains and the dolls. The "ringed in steel" portion is also more than simply referring to the description of the manacles.

A stitch in time saves nine,
But what loop will the witch queen heed?
In pointless slaughter
The Old Crone’s daughter
A hapless mob did lead.
Now she sits in tomb that’s frozen,
The traitors’ blood all spilled
Upon the path that she had chosen,
Enthroned with collar gild.
Ringed in steel, three loops times nine (the chains)
Prized from the luckless seat,
Supplicants kneel, of porcelain fine, (the dolls)
The banished queen to meet.
It matters not who’s dared to come
The demon’s soul to claim,
The weak shall die, the strongest live
And forever more remain

My take 10 on Linguistics is a 37 with Heroism.

If I am reading this correctly, Baba Yaga's daughter - the rebellious one - is frozen in time inside the clock. She is wearing the Torc.
To go forward, a doll needs to be placed inside the ring by each person wanting to go - animals need to do this as well if they are coming with us.
Someone will need to stay behind to act as the guardian - one must always exist. Whether we can come to a deal with the existing guardian or one of us must make the sacrifice is unclear.

Tuwo frowns.

"Apologies Rinaldo but if one of us must truly guard for eternity we should at lest test if it accepts Colwyn. And it speaks of a curse. Curses can be broken so the guarding may be temporary besides."

Rinaldo looks at Tuwo and very calmly says, "Counter suggestion. You remove your own right arm, and leave it to guard."

Despite it being a reasonable meta-game choice, Rinaldo will not under any circumstance consider leaving Colwyn behind.

Turning back to Aurelia, he asks, "Any idea who this current guardian is and where we find them?"

Gaius shrugs.

"I know that it hasn't exactly been our modus operandi, but do we need to kill the current Guardian? couldn't we just knock them out...?"

Tuwo says in all seriousness "I would if it was required. The arm can be healed."

To Gaius: "You mean so that the current guardian remains? It might work. Though after this long whatever remains as guardian is probably undead."

We need to follow the ritual to go through. The rhyme indicates time is frozen wherever the guardian is, so perhaps a pocket dimension with a vastly different rate of time? It also indicates that the current guardian is the queen who rebelled against Baba Yaga. I don't know the specifics of the curse, but I would bet that breaking a curse laid down by Baba Yaga herself would be a very small step down from trying to break a curse laid down by a god. She looks thoughtful. Do also consider whether you would be willing to take on such a task. I'll be honest, it seems much less appealing than the last similar offer I had, being stuck in the Abyss, bad generally, but becoming a demon lord, probably has it's perks.

"Well, let's do what we came for. We'll figure out how to handle the curse once we're in there."

In preparation, Rinaldo casts several spells.

Recasting Good Hope, and casting Suppress Charms and Compulsions twice to get the whole party. Does anyone not have Freedom of Movement or Heroism and want it?

Suppress Charms and Compulsions +4 morale bonus to saves vs charm/compulsion for 10 minutes

Good Hope 13 creatures gain +2 morale bonus on saving throws, attack rolls, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls for 12 minutes

Looking good to me, just waiting for the green light for the next part.

Flint looks around at the others.

"Are we ready to proceed?"

"Of course."

Renewing my Heightened Awareness, then ready to go.

By all means.

Will Daosvaria need to complete the ritual as well, or does she count as part of me as a familiar?

Flint looks up at Aurelia and renews his Heightened Awareness as well from his wand.

His Shield spell has been renewed from his Staff as well and is active.

I'll say your familiar is magically attached to your soul so that it can be considered part of you for this.

When preparations are done, everyone who placed a doll inside the loop of chain sees the heretofore unmoving clock hand suddenly begin to spin wildly, and the clock face begins to glow with friction, becoming blindingly bright in only 1 round. Those characters then find themselves transported to The Frozen Cenotaph.

This chamber has featureless white stone walls and flooring beneath an equally plain forty-foot-high ceiling. A dark smudge of ash—humanoid in shape—mars one wall. Directly ahead is a throne of the same white stone, with an inscription on its base. A life-size figure of a beautiful woman carved from ice, with a twisted, rune-scribed golden collar around her neck, sits upon the throne. Before her, a crystalline sphere stands on a white stone pedestal. Opposite her is a wide circle on the wall that displays a blurry image of the cliff outside the Witch Clock.

A DC 25 Knowledge (history) or (nobility) check recognizes the ice statue as depicting Queen Tashanna, but examining the sculpture readily reveals the tool marks of its carving—it is no magically transformed woman, though the Torc of Kostchtchie resting around its neck is real enough. The inscription on the throne is in archaic Skald and states simply, “PAIN IS KNOWLEDGE.”

More importantly, you see this woman who immediately draws her two kukris and begins casting magic.

The boss cheats and her readied actions go off. First, the entire floor is greased (yes, you start on the floor from the teleportation).

Everyone needs a DC 17 reflex save or they fall prone.

Secondly, she uses her ring of the ram to slam the tiger.
bull rush: 1d20 + 17 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 17 + 2 + 4 = 42
damage: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 5, 1) = 10

Ceiling is 35ft.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Flint Firetoe
Gaius, tiger -10hp
Aurelia
Tuwo
Messa
Rinaldo
The Witch, 30ft in the air

Reflex (Gaius): 1d20 + 23 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 23 + 2 = 36.
Reflex (Sir Ambrose): 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 19 + 2 = 24.

Gaius and Sir Ambrose retain their footing.

Gaius raises an eyebrow.

"Well, if you are intent on flight..."

He then 5' steps across, and casts Quickened Ill Omen, followed by a Persistent Piercing Baleful Polymorph.

DC 25 Fort (roll thrice and take the lowest), followed by a DC 25 Will save (roll thrice and take the lowest).

Seeking to turn her into a snowy owl.

I will expend my use of Misfortune (which will be a triple roll, take the lowest deal, too) on her, if necessary, to try and make the spell stick.

She has SR, but you can't fail the check. What a doozy of a combination.

Important note; you cannot cast a swift action spell and use an immediate action on your turn. Proceed anyway without the misfortune?

*shrug* Why not? Worst that happens, is that rather than being stylishly dealt with, she gets KO'ed with blunt arrows when the archers open up on her :-P

Ill omen has 4 charges
-1 charge

ill omen fort saves: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31
ill omen fort save: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32

Based on my reading of persistent and ill omen and a similar effect happening in my local lodge with VO imput, I beleive she has to actually roll a total of 4 times against the effect. Two separate sets of rolls, each with two sub-rolls in them.

ill omen fort save, persistant: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32
ill omen fort save, persistant: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32

Wow, well she would have passed in the previous post as well as I had previewed the rolls before I realized misfortune and a quickened spell couldn't be used, so it's not like I posted twice to avoid her failing. Although misfortune would have made her fail in the previous post with her rolling 6 sets of saves.

The witch shrugs off the baleful polymorph from Gaius.

Reflex: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 14 + 2 = 29

If it must be this way...

Aurelia casts Quickened Haste on the party, followed by Disintegrate at the witch, expending an Arcane Pool point to raise her caster level by 2.

SR Check + Arcane Pool: 1d20 + 16 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 16 + 2 = 19
Spell attack vs Touch AC: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 12 + 2 + 1 = 27

Assuming all that goes through, she needs to make a Fort Save or take

You beat her SR without the reroll; its really low SR

Ill omen has 3 charges left
-1 charge
fort save, ill omen: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (13) + 17 = 30
fort save, ill omen: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (6) + 17 = 23
Ouch

The witch loses pieces of her body but remains alive.

Just because of how rare the opportunity is and because you guys are guaranteed to win this fight in one round, I'd like to let you in on one of her abilities in case you want to willingly get hit by it. This witch has a hex called Forced Reincarnation that does pretty much what it sounds like. It immediately kills you, then reincarnates you as per the spell reincarnation. If anyone wants to be reincarnated, all you have to do is not kill her this round and tell me who to target. It was going to be her first action anyway at a random target if she got a turn anyway.

Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Flint Firetoe
Gaius, tiger -10hp
Aurelia
Tuwo
Messa
Rinaldo
The Witch, 30ft in the air, -135hp

"Pathfinders, be strong! We will take this one down as all the others before!"

As Rinaldo calls out, his voice begins harmonizing with itself, echoing in the room.

Because there's no reason not to unload:
Move action to begin Inspire Courage
Standard action to cast Virtuoso Performance
Swift action to begin Dirge of Doom.

Inspire Courage - All allies who perceive my performance gain +3 morale bonus on saving throws against charm and fear effects and a +3 competence bonus on attack and weapon damage rolls.

Discordant Voice - If you are within 30' of me and affected by my current performance, do an additional 1d6 sonic damage on each attack. If using a ranged attack, the target must also be within 30' of me.

Dirge of Doom - Enemies within 30' are shaken

reflex save vs prone: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (13) + 23 = 36

Tuwo might die and not come back, Would have to check with a dev. But I'll pass. If anyone wants to be reincarnated say so, Otherwise he shots her one shot at a time for non-lethal until she drops.

Yeah - if you Reincarnate as a non-PFS legal race, you would need to pay for a Wish (which you only have access to if you are 17th level or higher), or be considered perma-dead... So I would actually say that is an extremely dangerous ability!

We have no interest in being reincarnated. :)

I'm good staying as a Dhampir, thanks!

Tuwo shrugs and puts her down for now.

So Haste, Good Hope, and Inspire are going I think. Plus Point Blank. Tuwo will stop firing when she drops.

Tuwo drops the Witch with a handful of well-placed arrows. She didn't cast or prepare anything to deal with archers. She falls unconscious to the floor.

When preparations are done, everyone who placed a doll inside the loop of chain sees the heretofore unmoving clock hand suddenly begin to spin wildly, and the clock face begins to glow with friction, becoming blindingly bright in only 1 round. Those characters then find themselves transported to The Frozen Cenotaph.

This chamber has featureless white stone walls and flooring beneath an equally plain forty-foot-high ceiling. A dark smudge of ash—humanoid in shape—mars one wall. Directly ahead is a throne of the same white stone, with an inscription on its base. A life-size figure of a beautiful woman carved from ice, with a twisted, rune-scribed golden collar around her neck, sits upon the throne. Before her, a crystalline sphere stands on a white stone pedestal. Opposite her is a wide circle on the wall that displays a blurry image of the cliff outside the Witch Clock.

A DC 25 Knowledge (history) or (nobility) check recognizes the ice statue as depicting Queen Tashanna, but examining the sculpture readily reveals the tool marks of its carving—it is no magically transformed woman, though the Torc of Kostchtchie resting around its neck is real enough. The inscription on the throne is in archaic Skald and states simply, “PAIN IS KNOWLEDGE.”

After the fight is done, Aurelia recasts Heightened Awareness and uses one of her three daily uses of Comprehend Languages SLA.
Is there some magical effect here? Says on the throne Pain is Knowledge. Any ideas? Anyone see a trap here?
Aurelia will also cast Detect Magic and inspect the statue and surrounds, including the Torc.
Perception: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 20 + 2 + 2 = 41

Tuwo investigates the room.

perception: 1d20 + 52 ⇒ (13) + 52 = 65

Aurelia sees that this entire chamber is infused heavily with magic. She can determine that this location is actually a demiplane frozen in time and that it is under the permanent effects of a dimensional anchor. Interestingly, the Torc becomes nearly invisible to your vision as you detect magical auras, almost like it is intentionally hiding from your gaze.

"I suspect someone is going to have to just go pick it up, and that it is going to hurt like hell. It's also possible it will try to exert some sort of mental influence. Who thinks they are best suited to give it a go?"

Since he can Restore himself easily Tuwo walks over and picks up the Torc.

Flint keeps a close eye on Tuwo as he reaches for the Torc.

"Be careful. It is an artifact after all."

As he says this a part of him is curious about this very dark and powerful magic.

Item Acquired: Torc of Kostchtchie.

Leaving the cenotaph requires only stepping through the blurry portal image that looks out on area 18. However, once a creature has left the chamber, it must repeat the ritual to enter again. The image shown through the portal is a moment trapped in time and does not show what is actually occurring outside the chamber.

This collar of finely wrought gold is inscribed with all manner of vile runes. It contains a piece of the demon lord Kostchtchie’s mortal soul, entrapped by the witch Baba Yaga. The torc grants its wearer immunity to cold and the ability to command frost giants at will. This ability functions as dominate person, but affects only frost giants, who take a –10 penalty on their saves. In addition, the wearer can cast giant form II three times per day. Anyone who wears the torc for 1 week also gains the ability to summon an aspect of Kostchtchie once per day. This aspect takes the form of an Abyss gigas (see Appendix 2) who faithfully serves the wearer of the torc for 1 hour. Using the torc in this way certainly alerts Kostchtchie to the torc’s whereabouts, and the demon lord will not rest until he has recovered the torc. In addition, any time one of the torc’s powers is used, there is a cumulative 5% chance the wearer goes berserk (gaining all the benefits and drawbacks of the barbarian’s rage ability), attacking the nearest non-giant creature until unconscious or dead or until no living non-giant remains within 30 feet

...So ... now what?

Gaius uses Word of Recall to take everyone back to the Grand Lodge.

I believe word of recall won't work from here. You're inside of a demiplane and the spell cannot transport you across planes.

It's also got a dimensional anchor up, so Plane Shift won't work either. Can we leave through the portal with the Torc?

Yes, you can walk on out with it.

So ... we do? I'm not sure what you're waiting for here, GM. What am I missing?

Just confirming how you're leaving this demiplane, then how you're leaving the veil. Depending on your answer, it could trigger one more encounter.

Main Question: How are you leaving the demiplane? Simply walking through the portal together?

Sorry its not super clear or climactic, but I was hoping to get this information without revealing the result too much.

I don't see anything that would lead us to believe we need to do anything special. Unless someone else does, I would expect we just walk out the way we came in.

"So ... we got the torc, and the 'guardian' is alive but napping. Shall we exit?"

Sorry, for clarification: I meant Word of Recall *after* exiting the demiplane.