GM Zer0darkfire's Witchwar Legacy (Inactive)

Game Master zer0darkfire

Daosvaria blinks at the lot of you conversing.
All idiots, I tell you. Just let Sir Ambrose's Samsaran talk to them. They make the best salesmen, convincing Katepeshi merchants to pay double for sand.

Tuwo frowns.

"My last experience with a giant was a lady giant beating me to death. Twice. Over the course of a few seconds. And she was a Sorcerer. Talk if you wish but I won't object to killing evil servants or cannibals."

Or kill them. I'm good either way, mostly because they're disgusting creatures. I'm just saying if we are going to talk, let the Samsaran do it.

We could try to talk to giants, but the ogres will likelypose a problem. Messa sighs. I'm generally loathe to kill creatures out of convenience, and Rinaldo and I have actually tamed winter wolves in the past... Mean old GM wouldn't let us keep them.

I recommend we target the ogres and the giant leader first, the others might be more willing to back down. And the animals will be more likely to just run away, or I can try a Calm Emotions spell.

Flint nods at Messa's comments understanding the need to try to preserve life.

"We could make more of an effort to bypass them completely. I am certain that I can sneak past them and scout out the area. Then we can either try to go around or dimension door the party past them undetected."

"Killing some of them and not others might prove problematic. So while I appreciate the logic of your argument I am not certain it will work out as planned."

@GM Zer0darkfire - Does bypassing them completely seem plausible? Without a map here I am going on a sentence of text in your post.

Well, I'll give you their camp description as well. There is no map, so I'm going off as much as you guys are. @Aurelia, I'm going to say they are spread out around 100ft of space, with the frost giants kind of in the center together, then the ogres, ad then the animals in a ring-ish fashion.

A large encampment sprawls near the base of the waterfall behind a rough ice wall. Several huge tents of poorly cured mammoth hide cluster together around a cleared space in the center, and a number of giant beasts are corralled on the camp’s outskirts. Despite the biting cold, there is no sign of any fires for warmth or cooking.

They are camped 300ft from the 'entrance' to the veil, but the terrain is basically open ice. It is possible to bypass them, although sneaking past them in broad daylight with no cover is probably out.

"Tuwo, I suggest following Messa's plan - start by targeting the leader and see if we can catch them enough by surprise to at least confuse them. If we're all in the air, they can't trample us, and if the animals aren't well trained, I might be able to get them to run away."

Whatever you are going to do, make a decision. Foolish mortals. So little time and so much of it worrying about should I do this or should I do that. Decide, do, and deal with the consequences later.

Aurelia nods at Daosvaria's words. Flying over the camp, about 200 feet up just within medium spell range of 260 feet She will use her staff to cast an inward facing, circular Wall of Fire that encloses (40ft radius, so circle 80ft across) the majority of the fire giant and ogre camps.

anyone within the wall itself: 2d6 + 16 ⇒ (3, 2) + 16 = 21
anyone inside within 10 ft of the wall: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 1) = 2
anyone inside between 10-20 ft of the wall: 1d4 ⇒ 1

holy ones, batman

I think if we are going to be taking combat actions (flying to an altitude of 200' is 400' of fly) then Aureila will not be able to take several of them in a row without the rest of the party getting their turn. I have no issue with your character deciding to attack however I think we should be putting arrows in the boss giant while you make your climb. It might not be possible to fire arrows through the wall afterwards.

Rinaldo steps up to Gaius and casts a spell. "Let's make you as amazing as possible. Go convince those giants to let us pass. We're right behind you!"

Extended Heroism. Rinaldo (riding Colwyn) will advance with Gaius, slightly behind and to one side, to indicate that Gaius is the spokesman. Colwyn will be on the ground so as not to give away the fact that he can fly.

Thanks for the list of buffs! That is really helpful for me.

Gaius clears his throat loudly, and politely addresses the Giant Horde.

"Well met! I am the Lord Tullian, Visbaronet, Baronet, Count, Landgrave, Hereditary Senator of Taldor, Gaius Plinius Secundus, fourteenth of his name, and loyal disciple of the Great God Nikolai Tesla. I know that some folks prefer bloodshed, but my illustrious colleagues and I have no quarrel with you; we simply wish to pass by peacefully. Do we have an accord?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 33 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 33 + 2 = 52.

Flint speaks a simple prayer to Irori and suddenly he is able to understand and speak Giant.

Cast Tongues, Extended with Rod. 160 minutes. He quickly stows his rod and draws his bow afterwards.

Following the ancient traditions of dwarvern-giant relations he hoots out loudly the legendary giant chieftains of old. He then favorably compares their leader to the chieftains praising his gnarled muscles and wise leadership. To finalize the brief greeting he claps twelve times to symbolize a good hunt for the entire year.

"I come in peace, mighty giants of the north. I support Gaius' claim that we wish only to pass through your land and cause no harm."

Auto Aid on Diplomacy (like it is needed).

Flying above the camp. It would be wise to listen to the words of Gaius. It would be a shame if we were not able to come to an accord.

Auto-aid on Diplomacy.

The leader of the frost giants looks up, "Did Kostchtchie send you man-of-many-names?"

Flint listens carefully to the tone and words of the frost giant.
He wonders if their leader has been "blessed" by Kostchtchie and if agreeing to this is a good idea.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 21 ⇒ (1) + 21 = 22

Good thing that skills do not autofail on a 1.

Once my character gets a read on their leader (or not) he will respond promptly.

You get the sense that it would probably be a good thing, but there is animosity as well.

Gaius shakes his head.

"We were not directly tasked here by him, but Gods do have a habit of moving in mysterious ways... Who can say whether or not reality was influenced by him to ensure our presence here?"

Tuwo doesn't speak the language so is keeping an eye out for trouble.

Flint nods knowing that the will of the gods is not always an open book to mortal man.

"Our destiny was certainly to be before you today. That is certain."

"If you don't work for Kostchtchie, then you must die!" the leader says as everyone grabs their weapons.

The animals are not moving to attack you, nor are they being encouraged to do so. The winter wolves, however, are joining in the larger pack to take down the smaller one.

Feel free to reposition yourselves around the map, although no closer than your starting point before your actual turn.
Initiative Order, Bold May Go!
Map Slide
Flint
Aurelia
Gaius
Rinaldo
Tuwo
Messa
Winter Wolves
Leader
Frost Giants
Ogres

Gaius sighs, and shakes his head.

"Pity. If you are intent on slaughter, however, by all means, kill each other..."

He then casts Blood Mist, encompassing the entire enemy camp in a 60' radius cloud of blood red mist, which pours into the eyes and mouths of its victims, enraging them!

DC 30 Fort save negates.

Gaius then sits back to watch the show.

frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (2) + 14 = 16
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (15) + 14 = 29
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (12) + 14 = 26
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (20) + 14 = 34
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (13) + 14 = 27
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (10) + 14 = 24
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 23
frost giants: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (1) + 14 = 15
leader: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (15) + 15 = 30
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
ogre: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (2) + 9 = 11
frost wolves: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Only four frost giants and the leader seem to be unaffected by the blood mist's rage! Everything else just goes to town attacking each other.

Let's see, at this point you can sit so far away from this fight that they will just kill each other without any of you being in risk. I'm willing to call this fight over already with just this since basically everything will die and it would take too long to roll everything out to see which enemies survive this. Any objections?

Just call the fight. Frankly a horde of low level monsters is not any sort of threat to this party. Especially after this spell.

Pity we couldn't save the animals. Even if a giant or two lives we can finish them off.

Tuwo observes the slaughter then glances at Gaius. "At least you tried."

By the time Rinaldo has readied his lance and shield, Gaius casts his spell. As the mist descends on the camp and the place devolves into chaos, the halfling just stares in horror at the samsaran, but says nothing.

Flint grins slightly and speaks to Gaius.

"You could have fibbed a little but still nice work. The Life Bubble should protect us while we check to see if they have anything that might help us on our journey."

@GM Zer0darkfire - My understanding is that Life Bubble would protect the party from this spell as it is now an active cloud. My character has Delay Poison up regardless but others may not.

Messa watches the group slaughter itself, then turns to Gaius. What...was...that? I've never see a spell like that.

If the Life Bubble doesn't work for some reason, Messa has Calm Emotions prepared and several scrolls of Remove Poison.

Gaius nods.

"Technically, it is an aerosolised algal bloom, but practically, it is normally a spell unique to Druidic traditions; I have access to it, because I have a special connection to Lunar Mysteries, which plump the depths of transformation and madness - surely you have heard of the maddening effects of the full moon? It seemed like a fitting way to deal with the followers of the Demon Lord of Frost Giants."

It is also the only time, *ever*, that I have found a use for that particular Mystery spell!

Interesting spell. Certainly easier than me casting a bunch of fireballs and walls. It looks like the animals were outside the affected zone, so we should make sure they disperse and see if there is anything of value amidst this mess. Likely only the leader will have items worth carrying out.

I mean, given the overwhelming effectiveness at obliterating this encounter, seems a fair trade-off. This is exactly the type of situation the spell was designed for. Cast that in the midst of an army and watch them tear each other apart. Classic forest drives men mad and they turn on each other.

If the animals did survive, Rinaldo has +32 Handle Animal to try to calm them and help them find their way out of the area.

Life bubble and delay poison would both make you immune to this spell.

The animals stood outside the mist once they saw it. All the Rhinos and Mammoths are just confused and not sure what to do. Rinaldo can easily calm them down, but what you do after that is up to you.

You can recover four barrels of fine red wine (frozen) worth 200 gp each, crates packed with 24 place settings of gold-and-enamel plates marked with the arms of Irrisen with matching silverware (worth 100 gp per setting), and a total of 15,000 gp in assorted valuables and goods. Each of the frost giants had ice rocks to throw and large greataxes.

You head towards the only way to enter the Veil. The steaming crater of a geyser has carved a jagged crevasse in the side of the waterfall here, creating a cathedral of dripping ice stalactites above. Barely visible through the steam to the right of the geyser spout is a secondary crevasse in which can dimly be seen a stair, rising upward into the obscuring ice.

What little map I have for this.

No items on the boss?

Nothing special; chain shirt, greataxe, ice boulders (4)

@GM Zer0darkfire - If you can let us know the time elapsed periodically that would be great for tracking buffs. I have a couple of minute/level buffs that I need to keep an eye on.

Rokgurn examines the room carefully examining for any recent activity or tracks of any kind. He also looks at the ceiling and the stability of the cave. He floats just above the surface of the ice and has his bow ready in hand.

Take 10 on Perception is 47 and he can see invisible. His take 10 on tracks is 43 and his Survival skill for environmental hazards is 39. Would KS-Nature be useful here?

Rinaldo makes sure the animals are calm and have a way to get to food and water as needed. He then joins the group approaching the Veil.

Perception is not nearly up to Flint or Tuwo, but he has See Invisibility up.

Aurelia will scan the area with a Detect Magic, and then examine the entryway with the same, taking 10 on Perception for 34 with constant See Invisibility.

Daosvaria, any other creatures here other than the animals?

Not sure if this would fall under survival or knowledge nature, probably either of them, but one of you smart people will definitely know what a geyser is.

Either from watching it happen or just from a little bit of knowing about geysers and little bit of estimation skill, you can tell that this geyser erupts anywhere between six seconds and sixty seconds.

The geyser deals massive fire damage from super heated water for anyone within about 10ft for twelve to thirty seconds. Immediately following this, the rapidly cooling water begins running down the ceiling of the stairwell and dripping down in a forest of quickly freezing icicles. This rain of freezing water affects anyone on the stairs below the geyser’s eruption and lasts for the length of the eruption and for a few seconds after as well.

Anything caught in this freezing downpour takes cold damage and is slowed by the cold rain. As something is slowed, if it doesn't quickly leave the effect, it eventually becomes encased in ice.

Twenty feet up the stair are three suspicious lumps of ice. You can easily tell that each is a frozen human corpse encased in a thin coating of ice.

Alternatively, you can fly up to various parts of the veil from here. Map Slide (you're at the bottom, area 2)

Are the listed areas open to the outside or do we need to travel up a passage within the geyser and be exposed to the water effect?

It looks like there are a couple of humanoid bodies here fairly recently encased in ice. Anyone want to try to free them? Anyone have an umbrella?

Areas 22, 21, and 16-19 are open to air travel. If you use the stairs, there is a very good chance you will be exposed to the Geyser's effects (at least the freezing water from the ceiling). There is a chance it doesn't erupt before you can travel up the stairs. If you free the bodies, you will be affected as it takes enough time that the geyser will definitely erupt.

Time taken since arrival: 2 minutes.

Flint nods at Aurelia's words.

"I can shield myself from both heat and cold and retrieve the bodies. It would not be surprised if something else were to trigger while I am trying to rescue the bodies so keep alert."

Flint looks down at his Kama recently cleaned of all wax and ink.

"Menas Red was right. You never know when you will need this."

@GM Zer0darkfire - Can I assume that the Life Bubble will keep my character dry regardless of the conditions? I really do not want to have put all my scrolls away into their waterproof boxes.

I'm not the type of GM that is going to worry about your scrolls getting wet. I'm pretty sure life bubble would keep you dry underwater, but not against like, heavy "rain" like this, although you would dry faster; basically it won't protect you from being encased in ice if enough of the freezing water falls on you.

@ GM Zer0darkfire - Can I assume that Freedom of Movement would protect against the slowing and encasing effects of the ice? It would seem logical to me but that spell is very open to GM interpretation.

@The Great Rinaldo - Would you be able to help me out with a casting of Freedom of Movement if it will work here?

Freedom of movement would prevent the slow effect from building up, which would mean you couldn't be encased in ice. So yes, freedom of movement would work here.

I have a ring of Freedom of Movement if you would like me to go in.

Just missed the edit period...

Aurelia casts Extended Resist Energy(Cold) on herself and goes into the tunnel to investigate the bodies and see how difficult it would be to free them.

Perception to look for traps: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 20 + 2 + 4 = 39

Perception to examine the bodies: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 20 + 2 + 4 = 44

Before you go in, you can tell that the ice can be cleared from a corpse with 1 minute of effort or the application of at least 15 points of fire damage (any damage exceeding this amount is applied to the corpse and its belongings). The corpses appear to be fairly recent and apparently died from extreme frostbite, based on their blackened skin.

All three are Irrisen warriors wearing scale mail and armed with battleaxes and longswords.

A DC 17 Knowledge (local) or Knowledge (nobility) check (that you automatically make) identifies the warriors as part of one of the expeditions sent by Queen Elvanna some weeks ago.

Flint gives Aurelia the nod.

"Go ahead if you like. I will keep an eye on things."

Could I use a single 15ft cone Burning Hands to clear them all at once?

Aurelia tries using a bit of fire from the staff to free the warriors' remains.