|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
”I don’t know what you are, but I am not interested, especially if you’re going to try playing to my sympathies. All that tells me is that you are willing to say anything to get out of fading away. Even if I did feel bad for you, my mind is my mind, and you sure as hells ain’t getting a bit of it.”
You reel as the pillar imprints itself: hundreds of years of horrific memories — mostly the torture and starvation of sentient, good beings (you see a silver dragon being slowly corrupted until it becomes the undread thing you just vanquished) — flash through your mind. Alongside these evil acts writhe thousands of strange symbols that twist like a nest of spider legs. After a moment of exquisite pain, you blink away the tears. Something has changed in your mind, and you feel ready to unlock new vistas of knowledge. You feel more powerful. But what that vista is exactly, and where it will take you, only time will tell…
----
However, it is clear that Ollysta is not undergoing this transformation. Ollysta died protected and enveloped by Sarenrae’s light. You feel that she is satisfied with this death and this purpose served, and cannot be raised.
----
|
Venture-Captain Jorsal of Lauterbury raises a banner, calling out to the expedition’s medics. “Pathfinders, the brave heroes leading the charge need your help. They cannot be allowed to fall before the Whispering Tyrant’s servants! Come with me, and let us tend to their wounds so they may fight on!”
|
A woman with calloused hands and tan skin from obvious years of outdoor work puts on a hopeful smile for her patients. "Look, I should have have run out of magical healing hours ago, but it looks like Erastil is blessing our mission. Let's hope it holds out."
She raises her hands which start to gently glow.
Healed and with heavy hearts after your pyrrhic victory, you decide to help your fellow pathfinders and prevent the loss of more life.
You move back through the darkness for several hours. As the surface grows farther away, the air becomes increasingly cloying and stale. The sheer weight of the hundreds of tons of stone above is palpable. The bones of undead hordes litter the way — it seems the pathfinders have fought their way through this place already — and a hard-fought battle it must have been.
Ahead, a dull red glow provides some illumination as the cavern expands, leading to the bottom of a deep chasm where a river of blood flows. It glows with negative energy and you think it would be a bad idea to position yourself too closely. A bridge spans the chasm 50 feet above.
Suddenly an enormous, bat-like creature swoops in from the gloom! It is shaped from utter darkness, and its eyes tiny red stars in the blackest night!
The Bat Cave: Round One
Narayan
Kirana
Lazlo
Sayna
Bat
Melody
Viognier
Lazlo makes the bat-thing glittery, but little else!
----
The treant's leaves wither and die in the negative energy, but the powerful being powers through the worst of it.
----
Narayan begins flying, as does Sayna!
----
The bat-creature flies closer and down along the cavern wall where it's difficult to flank it, then casts a spell-like ability. Lazlo easily identifies (and so do the rest of you) as the area is plunged into deeper darkness!
The Bat Cave: Round One
Narayan
Kirana
Lazlo
Sayna
Bat
Melody
Viognier
Treant - 15 HP
The Bat Cave: Round Two
Narayan
Kirana
Lazlo
Sayna
Bat
Melody
Viognier
Treant - 15 HP
|
|
Kirana completes her spellcasting and a forest drake appears! It flaps its wings 20ft above the ground and lets our a shrill cawing sound!
With the area blanketed in darkness, Kirana reaches back within herself to feel for her connection with nature. Seeking a source of nourishment for plant life, she places a hand on the clasp of her cloak and lets the bright rays of daylight radiate from the object! It's odd to see, especially since the source itself is invisible.
When the illumination returns, she call out to the drake, "Kill it!"
The drake wastes no time, swooping in to bite at the nightwing!
The treant then moves forward and around, anxious to stay clear of the river but unable to avoid getting near the nightwing.
The nightwing takes an AOO!
+
The bat-like being flexes its neck, looking around, ready to attack anyone else who enters its space!
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Narayan calls out to one of the Pathfinders battling nearby. "Crowe! How wonderful to fight by your sside again! Thiss creature vexses me by sstaying above the ground. Can your mighty arm help?"
|
|
Sayna levels her sword at the flying monstrosity, making clear her intent to challenge it to combat.
She then raises her banner high once more. ”This is just one more challenge, friends! Nothing we cannot handle. Surround and destroy!”
She then takes to the sky, flying up into melee range of the monster.
The bat snaps twice — at Narayan and Sayna! It hits Sayna once, coming close to her head but only getting her arm instead. Nevertheless it's a solid and painful strike.
+
+
----
Flying Kick!! (Heroism, Fastball Special, Haste): 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 34
Magic Lawful Good Cold Iron Silver Bludgeoning* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 13 + 6 + 2d6 ⇒ (1, 5) + 13 + 6 + (6, 4) = 35
Hit; -35
Scaly Palm Strike: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 29
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (3, 3) + 10 + 4 + (1, 3) + (1) = 25
Miss.
Shuffling Hook: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 40
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6, 8) + 10 + 4 + (3, 6) + (3) = 40
Hit; -75
Hasty Backfist: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 29
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6, 5) + 10 + 4 + (2, 3) + (5) = 35
Miss, even with +3 from Sayna. It's within 1 so double-check I'm not missing any bufffs.
Finishing Hammerblow: 1d20 + 15 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 15 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 24
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (7, 4) + 10 + 4 + (6, 3) + (4) = 38
Miss
Retreating Cuff: 1d20 + 10 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 10 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 33
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (2, 1) + 10 + 4 + (4, 1) + (1) = 23
Hit; -98
cused Driving Cross: 1d20 + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 20 + 2 + 3 + 1 = 39
MLGCISB* + Holy + Acid: 2d8 + 10 + 4 + 2d6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 4) + 10 + 4 + (4, 6) + (1) = 34
Hit; -132
The bat-like monstrosity flies back and begins chittering, pointing a claw at the lot of you! A 60-foot cone-shaped blast of ice and freezing air bursts from its fingertips!
The Bat Cave: End of Round Two
You must make a Fort save at the end of your turn if you near the blood (within 5' of the edge or in the river, etc).
Narayan, Reflex save needed, AOO available
Kirana
Lazlo, Reflex save needed, AOO available
Sayna, -44 HP, will save needed, AOO available, then reflex save needed
Bat, -132 HP
Melody
Viognier, Reflex save needed
Treant - 15 HP, AOO available
|
|
| 1 person marked this as a favorite. |
Sayna is caught off guard by the monster's spell eating ability and is unable to prepare herself. However, her strike against the fleeing monster hits powerfully.
She is just barely able to dodge away from the worst of the blast of cold and the accompanying appropriate end for an ifrit.
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Narayan furiously lashes out, connecting strongly. Sana chops into the beast's torso — freezing-cold ichor sprays out as the creature's chittering turns into a scream of pain! The treant then slams its huge fist into the creature.
As everyone reels from the frigid blast, a frost-tipped vine bursts from the vapors. The cold black ice falls away, melted by the warm green of life itself as the leshy stabs their rapier into the undead horror's neck!
It screams silently — a pitch you cannot hear — as it dies, slowly drifting down into the river of blood like a huge, rotten leaf.
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Kirana is aghast at the force of the cone of cold. She hurries forward, using each person's curative wand to close wounds. Finally she comes to the treant, shifting back into her natural form to use her own wand.
"MISTRESS, THIS PLACE HURTS ME. WHEN CAN WE LEAVE?" the treant rumbles, shaking its head after the druid finishes healing it.
"Soon, I think. We're not long for an escape. Just a bit more though, as there are others who need us," Kirana replies, placing a hand gently on it's bark-like surface. "You have been very brave."
Each pc immediately gains the effects of a heroically boosted aid token.
You move on to a set of rooms that are lined with shelves, each with a small metal plaque and a name. Atop the shelves are crowns, diadems, and headgear of rulership with staggering diversity. It seems to be a trophy room of lands the lich conquered.
You move on into a chamber whose door is decorated with a stylized skull wearing a horned headdress marked with arcane symbols.
Oppressive dread radiates from the walls like waves of heat, and inside a coffer here is a 6-inch-tall statue of a halfling holding a shortsword with three notches cut into the blade.
PCs who recover the relic gain a +1 luck bonus on attack rolls, saving throws, and skill checks for the rest of the adventure.
|
|
At last, the ritual reaches a critical point, With the ritual’s anchoring stones disrupted and its guardians slain, the Pillar struggles in vain to stop its magic from collapsing. The Pillar trembles, and a psychic scream echoes through the minds of everyone within Gallowspire. The lasts wisps of magic drift away from the pillar’s surface, filling the room with a quiet fog. The taste of corruption fades from the air.
Utter silence falls, as if all the air in Gallowspire has been drawn away by the inhalation of some massive being. But the peace does not last for long. The stillness is broken a moment later by a titanic crack. Fissures form in the walls, and the ground shifts. Silently, a pitch-black nothingness begins to ooze forth from the newly formed cracks in the walls, floors, and ceilings. The cracks spread with supernatural speed, reaching out like grasping fingers to tear the dungeons to pieces. In the Black Caverns, small rocks begin to rain down from above. Gallowspire is falling apart!
Stalactites riddled with fingers of negative energy begin raining from the ceiling as the entire area shakes treacherously. It is clear that the time to go is now!
The ground begins shaking, pinning some nearby pathfinders under tons of volcanic rock — their screams are muffled all too quickly. You pass a room and see fellow Pathfinders being crushed alive by writing black tentacles of negative energy. Undead arms begin writing from cracks in the walls themselves, grasping blindly at fleeing Pathfinders! Friends and allies everywhere shout for help, gibber terror, cry out in righteous glory — and some fanatically continue to destroy undead, heedless of the danger around them!
|
|
| 2 people marked this as a favorite. |
Narayan hurls himself into the fray, tearing the tentacles free from his fellow pathfinders and urging them to continue in their flight, using his strength and speed to bodily carry out the wounded if needed!
"Your deathss here would do no more than add greater ssorrows to thiss placce! The greatesst victory is to live!"
|
|
| 5 people marked this as a favorite. |
While still in her air elemental form Kirana flits through at great speed, dodging bits of stone. The caverns shake and rumble, and a chunk of falling stone clips her with great force. She strikes the ground, exhaling with a gust as she's winded.
"MISTRESS, I WILL PROTECT YOU." the huge treant rumbles, standing over her fallen form. The cavern shakes, and a stone column comes careening into it. "ARGHHH!"
Kirana begins to stand. "We can make it out. I'll find some magic to make you permanent. I just need-"
"THERE IS NO TIME, MISTRESS," he replies, continuing to ward off falling debris. "PLEASE, RUN."
A lone tear rolls down the undine woman's cheek, but a look of furious determination comes over her. "No. I am Gozreh's will, and your service is not over." She waves her hand, dismissing the magic that created the treant. A momentary look of wooden surprise comes over it before it reverts back into a polished quarterstaff.
The druid is immediately buried in stone.
==========================================
On the surface, wounded Pathfinders mill about. They're the lucky ones who got out in time, though some may not live to see the morning.
The earth bubbles and roils beside a wagon, and seconds later the head of an earth elemental appears! A few nearby agents cry out in surprise, at least until the elemental begins to morph and change... into a battered undine woman holding a polished wooden staff.