[PFS Outpost III] GM Aldizog's CORE Godsmouth Heresy (Inactive)

Game Master Aldizog

"Amazing!!! I'm left handed now! wow!" Bleaching B Gone!! (TM): Sarzuket begins to devise a plan to charge admission to all gnomes in Golarion...

"Yeah. Great. How do you feel about puppies and rainbows and stuff?" The orc's knuckles turn slightly white as he grips his ax in preparation for a fight.

I would imagine Mechien would have waited to enter the room until he could identify any harmful effects in the magical aura.

The door slams shut and Mechien looks at the group. Did he do that? Can somebody get that back open?!

"Yeah. Great. How do you feel about puppies and rainbows and stuff?" The orc's knuckles turn slightly white as he grips his ax in preparation for a fight.

"I still think you're my new best friend Korum, even though I know you eat puppies for breakfast. Does that meet your benchmark?"

Sylvester waits with Shaggy on the safe side of the door if there is one in this crazy place. He notices the door slam shut but is at a loss at how to open it.

"Don't worry it will all work out. I am sure of it. And if not at least we are on the right side of the room. So things are looking up all the way around."

The door to the north room (the first one you went into) can easily be opened. The only difference is that Sarzuket is no longer in that room, having been teleported to the south room.

Does anybody else want to go into one of the rooms and give this a try?

If not, will move things along later.

After a moment of confusion, Mechien opens the door and bursts into the room.

And where did our friend go?

"I don't think any of us have gone anywhere; where did you go?"

Grakkahn throws the door open as quickly as he can to help Sarzucket, for surely something horrific is happening to him. Staring into an empty room, he barely has time to think What? to himself before the Gnome starts talking from behind him.

"What? But you were just- How- How?" he stutters, not sure what to make of all this. "Magic?" he asks with a shrug. Seeing Korum, a seasoned and well-equipped Pathfinder if he's ever seen one, get tense, he grips his glaive. Trouble? I'll just follow his lead.

He doesn't say anything, but is clearly resolved to back up whatever Korum decides to do next.
________
Grakkahn wants nothing to do with the room if he can help it.

You resume your explorations. Further down the hall, you hear a thunk... thunk... thunk...

Korum presumably takes the lead with his Darkvision, and at the edge of it sees a horrific sight.

A disembodied head with wings is slamming itself into a door.
Picture on the map.

Nobody else can see the creature, though with your light it might soon see you.

Actions?

Sarzuket covers his light with his cloak and backs off, hoping to stay out of the creature's darkvision. He then loads his crossbow.

"Aw Torag's fuzzy balls! What in the Hells is that?" The ranger whispers a detailed black and white description.

Dungeon: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

"Don't know. Let's shoot that thing down before it gets closer. Korum: ready that axe of yours in case it rushes us. I'll paint it with a dancing light... hopefully it's fooled by it momentarily while we shoot it," says Sarzuket, waiting for everyone to reload or ready their ranged weapons. "On my mark.... ready.... SHOOT!!!"

Sarzuket casts dancing light near the creature. one faintly glowing, vaguely humanoid shape version of the spell...

Mechien nocks and arrow and prepares to fire when chaos breaks loose.

"Sarzuket, turn the lights back on once we shoot," Grakkahn pleads, not wanting to fight a winged head in the dark.

While the others get ready, he lies on the floor ahead of them. Once the arrows fly over his head, he stands up with his glaive ready. Let's hope this works!

Sylvester draws forth his wand of magic missiles and draws a bead on this monstrosity.

Magic Missile (CL3): 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 1) + 2 = 5

Fearful of the creature Shaggy takes his master way towards the back of the party.

A bit fearful of knowing what this creature might be Sylvester thinks back to his training at the academy.

K-Any: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Riding (No Hands, fail 1 hand)DC 5: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
(Able to use his Mithril buckler this round)

Korum whispers a description.
Sylvester recognizes this as a Vargouille - a fiendish outsider native to the Lower Planes that can turn its victims into similar monsters. But this one, by the description, sounds like a zombie of such a creature. It may not have all the abilities it once had.

Sarzuket casts Dancing Lights and a ghostly figure illuminates the monstrous flying head.

Sylvester draws his wand. You only get a single action in the surprise round, but can blast it in the first full round if you wish..

Surprise Round - Single standard or move action only
Sarzuket (casts Dancing Lights to illuminate target)
Korum
Sylvester (draws wand)
Cayden
Vargouille (does not act this round)
Grakkahn
Mechien

Round 1
Sarzuket
Korum
Sylvester
Cayden
Vargouille
Grakkahn
Mechien

The ranger tries to move up quietly. When that seems impossible, he abandons that effort and rushes straight at the undead monster.

Surprise Round
Stealth: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Round 1
Charge vs flat footed? {Favored Enemy}: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 + 2 = 16
Damage {Favored Enemy}: 1d12 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 = 9
Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

EDIT: Thank you for the reminder GM!

@Korum, don't forget you also get your Sneak Attack damage because it is flat-footed.

Sarzuket shoots his crossbow before anyone charges it! the gnome is amazed that he is now shooting with the opposite hand!

light crossbow, soft cover from allies; vs Vargouille FF AC since the crossbow bolt is coming from outside its darkvision: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 - 4 = 16
piercing dmg: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Sarzuket then reloads his crossbow.

Surprise Round:

Cay moves forward.

Round 1:

Cay hustles forward.

Double move.

Round 1 - Magic Missile the Vargouille for 5 hit points of damage and move away with Shaggy.

Mechien's readied attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Mechien puts an arrow into the flying zombie head just before Sarzuket shows off his left-handed aim.
Korum tries to sneak up before settling on GREATAXE SNEAK ATTACK as his plan, delivering a mighty blow.
The creature reels, but doesn't fall until it is blown to pieces by Sylvester's wand.

Efficiently done.

You turn the corner and see a long chamber, decorated with large carvings of religious ceremonies and priests handing down judgments to the common people. Stone benches are lined up before a podium at the southern end of the room. A single door stands in the northeastern wall.

The carvings on the walls are Pharasmin in nature, though the priests are shown wearing different vestments than those in use today.

The door that the vargouille was bashing itself against seems neither locked nor barred, but barricaded from the inside.

"Looks like a dead end from this side; let's chalk it and let's go south of Grakkahn's intersection."

Sarz sends his lady light dancing down the hall to illuminate their way forward.

Where did go on the map? IF mechien can see and target it...

welp, those are some bad rolls

UPDATE nevermind... I guess that's where it went. Sorry, I thought I'd have a little longer to post..

@Mechien, I know, I didn't give 24 hours. I did the math on the existing attacks and it was at 1 HP left... so I rolled your declared readied action.

Do I hear a second for Sarzuket's plan?

Seconded

You checked the dead end for secrets? Very well, South it is.

"Oh?" Grakkahn pushes himself slowly off the floor as his allies charge past him towards the Vargouille. Whatever works!

Seeing Sarzuket's lights head down the hallway, he stands by the Gnome.
________
Thirded!

Sylvester puts his wand away in careful reach. He rides Shaggy to catch up with the rest of the party.

"It seems like a lot of monsters and no treasure. What is the fun in that?"

An artifact-level magic teleporter/transformation device is not enough? What more do you want??

You move to the south, where a set of bronze double doors onto an immense space.

The ceiling of this cavernous chamber vaults to a height of sixty feet, forming an architectural wonder unsupported by any visible columns or buttresses. Forty feet above the floor (so at the level you are at), a wide stone bridge with an elaborately carved railing arches over the chamber from north to south, joining two sets of massive bronze doors at either end. The north one of which you just came through.

The central portion of the chamber contains an inlaid spiral symbol and is recessed into the floor, with eight staircases leading up to a wide ledge that encircles the room ten feet above. On this ledge stand bronze doors to the east and west. Eight larger-than-life statues stand upon the ledge as well, evenly spaced around the room’s circumference—seven carved from white stone, and the eighth carved from black stone.

The seven white stone statues are:

Sylvester sees if he knows something.

K-History: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

"Wait a second I remember these guys. The seven runelords."

K-Religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

"Aw crapples...that's bad, right?" He shakes his head. "I beginnin' to think that we're doin' a lot a chalkin' and not a lotta room clearin'. Not sayin' this is the room to clear, but if I was gonna expect some kinda ...somethin' ta happen, it'd be right here." Pointing toward the statues, "Well, right there, but you get the idea."

Knowledge (History): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

The elf looks down at the symbol inlaid on the ground. Pharasma...

He starts across the bridge towards the middle.

Do we want to get a closer look at the statues?

Perception, traps at the base of the stairs up: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

This is amazing! All this, just languishing beneath the city! People need to be able to marvel at the magnificence of this architecture, the prowess of the craftsman of yore! Incredible statuework... Grakkahn forces himself to look beyond the artwork.

"There!" he says, pointing at the stairs to the East of the room below them. "Bet those doors are near the stars we walked past earlier," he says in response to Korum. "We could head back for a closer look at the statues, maybe checking in on some rooms we passed along the way."

The statues' bases are all about 30' below where you are. As Grakkahn concludes, going back the way you came would bring you to the corridor that leads the room's western doors.

Or you could jump or rappel off the bridge. It's about 40' down to the middle of the Cathedral floor.

So the stairs up from that floor, the ones Mechien is looking at, are 40' away. He does not see any traps.

Sylvester feels a sense of vertigo at the mere thought of jumping off the bridge. He instinctively grabs on to Shaggy tighter eliciting a soft "Woof" sound from the friendly hound.

"Well as long as we get to it in a normal way. I am a sorcerer and a musician but not a mountain climber!"

I feel my own fear of heights is playing into this but the drop must look so much further for a tiny gnome. :)

Ah, somehow I misread the statues as being *above*.

Sounds like a solid plan, Grakkahn.

Unless someone disagrees, I think we have three votes for walking around.

Grakkahn begins heading to the stairs to get a better view of the statues below.

You make your way around, descending a corridor to enter on the west side of the Cathedral.

You all move inside, and from this vantage point Cayden is easily able to see that there are secret doors behind the two nearest statues - and likely behind the others as well. There isn't room to squeeze behind (except maybe for the gnomes), so you will have to move the statue out of the way somehow.

The statue to the north of you is the voluptuous nude woman with the guisarme, and the one to the south is the wild-haired woman with the ranseur.

"Which one do you want to try first?"

Mechien steps further into the room and does a quick turning scan noting that each statue does, in fact, have a secret door.

I suppose we just start working our way around the chamber from here. Korum, Grakkahn, could you please move this first one, of the "nice lady"?

He points to the statue directly North.

Still erring on the side of caution, "And we're sure there's no hocus pocus shenanigans goin' on? I just have a sneaky suspicion somethin's gonna happen." Once he is reassured, the orc tries to slide the statue aside. Muscles and tendons flex and strain as a primal growl escapes Korum's lips.

STR: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Sylvester is impressed by the sheer manliness of Korum's actions.

"It is bold of your to attempt to move such a large statue all by yourself."

In the meanwhile the gnome is careful to position himself back a bit so that he and his trusty dog are not squished should the statue tip over.

Guess I wasn't fast enough on the draw there... Grakkahn backs Korum up after squaring himself with the statue and pushing low.
________
Strength (Aid) vs Korum: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 We've peaked Korum! We're gonna have to just T20 on the other ones at this point to keep the others convinced that we're just hella strong (assuming a 26 check is good enough...).

Okay, we can use those Strength checks when called for, but first - Korum did say he wanted to be reassured there were no hocus pocus shenanigans. So I will make an assumption here.

The various spellcasters detect a faint aura of Evocation magic coming from most of the statues, and a stronger aura of Enchantment coming from the statue of Pharasma.

LOL Grakken

Disable Device: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
As a rogue, I can disable magical traps.

ZAP!: 2d6 ⇒ (5, 2) = 7
Reflex: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

As Korum tries to disable the trap, it shocks him. He jerks his hand away, but not before taking a bit of a jolt. You failed by 5 so set it off. 3 damage.

After the trap has discharged, he easily slides the statue aside. The statues are cleverly built to be moved - but likely all trapped.

Behind the statue is a door leading to a corridor.

This one is a tight corridor. Who is in front?

In case it helps...

Hmm.. yes. Of course they would trap them. What do we have here...

The elf focuses on the first next statue trying to identify the specific effect placed on it.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

UPDATE oops, hit post after the trigger was posted.

Mechien is now pretty sure it's a Shocking Grasp trap. ;)
The others are DC 17 with weak Evocation auras.
The statue of Pharasma is something different, with a Spellcraft DC 25 to identify.

He focuses on Pharasma briefly before following them into the passageway.

I'll be along shortly...

Spellcraft, DC25: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Nevermind... coming.