Wrath of the Righteous for Paladins

Game Master trawets71

It's not so much that it affects memory but more like it implants an idea that you think is your own. You would remember him saying that but while under the spell it just wasn't important. What was important is that "you" decided it was a good idea to leave. Suggestion isn't an obvious spell unless you know what to look for, ie a Spellcraft check. You might have seen the material components come out but other than that it's all verbal. These spells are mindf*s. Others may be certain what happened but the victim isn't necessarily sure. You remember him telling you to leave and you remember you decided to go and that impulse to leave faded away when dispel magic was cast.

My comment wasn't just aimed at this instance. You are dealing with demons and there is a good chance you might see this or other spells like this in the future. If someone is effected I don't want the answer to be "Yeah he put a spell on me." while under the effect of one of these type of spells or SLAs.

Does this all make sense?"

That makes sense - I just didn't want to have a long drawn-out mopey-paladin scene where he is berating himself for abandoning his duty. I think it will be good for us to find feats or items to allow rerolls, though. That was a really unfortunate Nat 1. Took me out of the game for a month IRL and was nearly a TPK.

Leothar recalls the dwarf telling him that he should leave, and then deciding to leave. And he does not recall having any doubt, any thought of leaving the party prior to that. This was not some nagging wish that had been awakened. This was not some flaw within his own character. With Aravasnial explaining that Dispel Magic removed the compulsion, it is evident to Leothar that he was under some sort of magical mind control.

"It was demonic magic, I think. Thank you for freeing me. I will endeavor to not fail again."

He does not wallow in guilt, but heads back towards the citadel.

Leothar starts to head back toward the citadel and can see the party exiting the citadel and coming back toward him.

Seeing Leothar, Dadna dropped the corpse of Staunton to the ground without ceremony and ran over to him. "Leothar, son of Rothgar!" She exclaimed, a huge grin radiating from her face. "Torag be praised, ye live! When the demonic magic hit ye, I feared the worse." Her radiant smile vanished as a thought hit her. "Is Staunton's kinsman here?" She asked, her face hopeful. Having fought a dwarven antipaladin had hit her hard, and she dearly hoped that his kinsman could be saved. "When Staunton cut me down, he dragged me to safety." She explained. "Ian held the line and Ardriel's magic hampered the foe until I could be revived, and the traitor killed." She explained, motioning to her torn armor. "Didn't see him after the fight, and was hoping that maybe he came to camp..."

Collecting the dwarves weapons, Ian tags along with Dadna and Ardriel back to the camp. Seeing Leothar Ian smiles and listens as Dadna gives the credit to Leothar's god. Dropping the weapons, Ian slaps Leothar on the shoulder, "good to see you chief."

"I'm sorry Dadna, I haven't seen any of the enemy. Why would the kinsman have switched sides like that?"

He shakes his head, trying to clear the cobwebs.

"We should make sure that at least one of us has a spell such as Protection from Evil kept in reserve, maybe on a scroll, to rescue any of us who fall prey to such evil magic in the future. I suppose more than one of us so that whoever is bewitched can be freed."

As the party speaks you suddenly hear "That wouldn't have worked." A heavy steel shield loudly clangs on the ground out of nowhere followed by a wand. Suddenly the dwarf from inside appears, disarmed, and says to Dadna, "Ye daft girly! I didn't heal you just so you could go back in there and get yourself killed! You got lucky! My brother should have been able to drop you again!" He then gets down on his knees and puts his neck out and says "If you are going to kill me do it quick and clean! That is more than those demons would have done. You owe me that at least!" This dwarf looks exhausted and at wits end. His eyes are wild and he has tremors all over. He looks close to madness.

Dadna froze in mid-sentence. She had just been about to respond to Leothar when the dwarf appeared. As he fell to his knees, she managed to regain her composure. "Kill you?" She asked, confusion written on her face. "Why would we kill you?" She reached out a hand to help him up. "I don't know why ye were there." She said. "Nor why ye followed your brother. But I do know that ye saved me life." She said this loud and clear. "If ye were not there, then Staunton would have killed me. Because ye sided with us, he is dead, and the city is one step closer to being saved. And after doing so, ye came here, to us, when ye could have fled. Your actions spoke loud today." Taking his hand in hers, she pulled him up. "Ye need rest, aye?" She asked, seeing his wild eyes and feeling him shake. "Food and drink? This we can offer. And we can talk after. The Sky Citadels were not built in a day."

When the dwarf's voice suddenly appeared from nowhere, Ardriel had grabbed his bow and lifted an arrow, before the dwarf threw himself down and demanded a swift death. "Um...yes. We can provide you refreshment and rest." He was a little nonplussed by the Dwarf's demand for death. You would think he'd be trying to bargain with them to spare his life, not kill him.

Looking from Leothar towards the dwarf, Ian adds, "That's the dwarf we were fighting when you left. He ended up helping us." Ian shrugs a little, imperceptible through the armor. "When we defeated him, his brother threatened to kill him. That's when he decided to help us."

Turning back to the dwarf, "She may be daft, but you would have left me for dead." Realizing what he said didn't quite sound right, Ian turned to Dadna, "I don't think you daft Dadna, and your right, we shouldn't kill him." Nodding towards where he dropped the dwarfs weapon, "But I'm not sure we rearm him yet. I agree with Ardriel, let's let him stay in camp, but keep an eye on him."

The dwarf stumbles off towards a tent mumbling "Sleep. I haven't slept in days." He promptly falls asleep. His snoring can be heard from a long way away.

Dadna watched as the dwarf stumbled away and fell asleep. She let out a breath that she didn't realize that she was holding. "Yes. We need to keep an eye on him." Dadna said, still looking at the snoring man. Turning back to Ian, she said "Ye be right. His brother did threaten to kill us. But he went invisible, and he stayed behind when he could have fled. He saved me life. Dragged me out of the fire and healed me. He then came back and turned himself in." Somewhat wearily, she added "So many souls have been lost to the abyss. If souls can fall, then they can also rise. I have to believe that."

Leothar eyes Dadna.
"I am no great thinker in these matters, but from my point of view it seems much easier to fall than to rise. It takes active intent and effort to do good, but mere negligence or hubris to do ill. Many commit acts of evil thinking that they are in the right; I do not think that many do good works while believing themselves to be agents of corruption.
Still, I do not believe that he is beyond redemption... simply that the path is much harder. At least he has made a start."

"It sounds like that was a grievously difficult battle. I regret that I fell victim to the evil magic. As it is, I think we will need to rest before venturing again into the Citadel."

Chuckling at the dwarf's declaration of needing sleep, Ian realized they all were nearly at that state; being on the road, or in a war zone or in actual combat they were all tired. As his friends discussed 'falling and rising' Ian knew the path of evil wide and that of good narrow, he also knew they had better insight into the thought process of a dwarf. If they thought he not beyond redemption, than that was good enough for him.

As Leothar changed the subject to the battle, Ian shook his head, "The battle was not all that grievous, we survived, the enemy didn't. Hold no regrets chief, things happen we cannot change but we may be able to learn how to prevent them." Not really knowing, he shrugs his shoulders, but agrees with the last observation. "Since we're here, resting would be nice."

"Not all that grievous? Dadna nearly died twice, and you once. Were it not for my preference for a bow, I might have, as well. I would say that fight was quite grievous, indeed."

Smiling at Ardriel's comment, Ian hadn't realized the elf was a 'glass half empty' sort of guy. He shrugs, "We won, even with out the chief. If we were carrying one of us back to be resurrected, that would be grievous to me."

Looking back to the dwarves, "What do you think, rest a bit then head back or wait until the morning?"

”We rest.” Dadna said. ”Grevious or not, that took a lot out of all of us. Let’s head back in bright and early. With any luck, the demons and their followers will turn on each other now that their leader is dead. Might well make the rest of the cleanup easier.”

You search the body and Ariel and Aravashnial spend time identifying the magical items. You find a wand of blindness/deafness (8), +3 spiked full plate (symbol of Deskari on the helmet), +1 returning throwing axe, amulet of natural armor +2, belt of mighty constitution +4,
headband of alluring charisma +2, and his glaive, Soulshear. You found a nonmagical key as well as 68 gp.

Soulshear is an intelligent +2 transformative glaive, is infused with a babau’s sentience and eagerness for murder. Soulshear is capable of hiding its evil nature with misdirection, and if its wielder’s alignment isn’t chaotic evil, it delights in infiltrating enemy forces to create personality conflicts with its wielder, manipulating his downfall through acts of conspiracy, betrayal, and murder. Even without dominating those who carry it, Soulshear can occasionally summon a babau demon to clandestinely carry out its will. These summonings often result in unexplained murders, or even the death of Soulshear’s owner so the glaive can pass to further victims or be returned to the devoted cultists of Baphomet.
Soulshear can use misdirection on itself three times per day, typically selecting an unaligned magic item carried by its wielder to hide its evil. Once per day, it can cast summon monster V, but only to summon a babau demon.

Joran had a wand of silence (8), +2 fire resistance banded mail, +1 heavy steel shield, +1 spell storing light hammer and 9 gp.

You were gone less than 2 hours total and have a most of a day before bedding down for the night.

Nodding in agreement with Dadna, Ian took the opportunity to clean his gear, and the new gear that they had brought back with them. When they realized the 'throwing axe' returned, Ian smiles, almost child-like, "If I use this instead of my chakrams I won't have to find them when we're done fighting."

As he cleaned the shield he recommended, "Wouldn't hurt if one of you dwarves keep the shield, just in case."

Once he was done cleaning his gear and the gear from the two dwarves, he moved around the camp trying to encourage he other troops. As the evening came he turned in reasonably early to be ready before dawn to continue.

"Yes, I think I should take the shield. Torag teaches the value of a strong defense, which I have neglected too much to date.

As to Solshear... we found an Adamantine Battleaxe in the armory, did we not? Let's give that a try at destroying this weapon."

Leothar waits for opinions before trying to smash the evil glaive.

"Aye, we should give it a try. I'll go get it..."

Later, after the axe has been used, Dadna will borrow the axe, or the shards of it, depending on whether it survives their attempt at destroying the glaive.

An army on the move, such as theirs, had the need for the tools and equipment to maintain armor. Battles such as theirs often left paladins and knights with dented and torn steel, which needed to be hammered back into shape. While there was no proper forge, there were tools needed for the bare minimum of keeping gear in useable condition. She requisitioned some for the task at hand.

Craft Armor using adamantine axe to scrape away the rune on the helmet: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

She began by taking the adamantine axe, and carefully began to scrape away at the rune of deskari. It was ugly. It was evil. And just like the champion of the horrific deity, it deserved to be erased. But never forgotten. Given the enchantments on the armor, it wasn't easy work, but she had the time to do it. Much had happened during the day, and while the wounds on her body had been healed, those in her mind still remained. The monotonous task of using the adamantine blade to remove the rune was in itself a form of meditation. She told herself that it would have been faster to have cut the helm in half, but then it would be unusable. So too was it with their foes. When needed they should do, and as with the glaive, there were those who could not be redeemed. But when it was possible? Time and effort was needed to slowly chip away at the darkness, and in time, to replace it with light.

Craft Armor to etch the Rune of Bolka onto the helmet: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Once she was done, she held the helmet up and beheld the work. It hadn't been easy, and the job wasn't perfect. But the rune was gone, and the helmet was still there. Which meant, that with the daylight that she had available, it was time to get started on the second part of her project. Replacing the rune of Deskari with that of Bolka. A clear sign that, while the dark would consume the day, light would inevitably return to banish it. It was an act of religious significance for her, as she worked towards her goal. She did not expect for the rune to be done perfectly. No, this was but the first step. For that day, she would make the outline. And in time she would fill it in, making it so that it would appear as if though it had always been there. And then? Then she would continue to work. The armor was practical, but it was ugly. She would make it beautiful. She would make it worthy of her Goddess. The blades would remain, but they would each be a work of art. She would use all of her skills, both in the crafting of armor, but also in jewelry and gem setting, to coax out the beauty that resided in all things. She smiled as she worked. And she would not stop there. Each night, so long as she had the time and the tools, she would continue to work on the armor. She would cover it in prayers. While her own patron goddess would have her rune upon the helm, all of the dwarven gods would have their place.

The helm would be dedicated to Bolka, the Golden Gift. While the rune would be etched by day's end, she would fill it with gold, so that it would shine against the green backdrop. And the gorget? She decided that her neck would be protected by prayers to Folgrit, the Watchful Mother. For who better but the mother of Bolka, and all dwarves, to protect against underhanded blows that would seek to come beneath the helm?

The left gauntlet would bear the symbols of Angradd, the Forge-Fire. The fiery God would be called upon to guide her hand as she sought to close the World Wound. And the right gauntlet? Dranngvit, the Debt Minder. To temper her anger into a cold rage when facing against the unnatural creatures for whom their very world owed a grudge against. And while the gauntlets would be dedicated to anger and grudge-setting, the vambraces would be covered in the runes of Grundinnar, the Peacemaker. Brother of Bolka, the God was a reminder that while anger and war had their place, it was for a purpose. It was to make a world of diligence, unity, friendship and peace. And the pauldrons? Each would hold the runes of Trudd, the Mighty, to pray to that deity for the strength to fulfill these tasks.

The greaves would bear runes of Kols, the Oath-Keeper, as a reminder of her oaths that carried her forward. And the sabatons? They would be dedicated to Magrim, the Taskmaster, to remind her that she walked in the footsteps of her ancestors, and that she would one day be buried alongside them. And finally, the breastplate would be dedicated to Torag, the Creator God, with prayers of protection written upon them.

Such was her vow, that so long as she lived and fought, she would wear this armor. And day by day, hour by hour, she would work to improve it. Until the day came that the armor of Staunton Vhane would be redeemed, and would be known to all who looked upon it as being a sign of home restored.

Dadna spends the day trying to remove the mark of Deskari but doesn't make much progress.

This is masterwork armor and will take a proper forge to fully change. Helmets are often replaced on suits of armor. Just look at all the magical helmets. As for the armor itself there is no real game issues with it but ya know it kinda has the stink of demons and evil on it. There might be something else that could be done or others you could ask.

PS: I hate to keep saying "no" when you come up with cool things and posts.

Assuming that the adamantine axe doesn't break soulshear...and not wanting to hold us up...do we have a cleric with holy water in the Army that Dadna can coerce into buying some holy water from and doing some rites to get rid of the smell of evil from the armor? Not going to do any writeup until I know yes or no...can also do it in spoilers so that my storyline isn't leaving everyone waiting

If Soulshear is just an intelligent magic item and not a minor artifact, then hacking at it with the adamantine axe should work.

Leothar sets to work destroying the evil glaive. If he is at all ashamed at having fallen victim to an enchantment, it only shows in the ferocity of his strikes.

Leothar has no problem chopping the glaive in half.

Sosiel is one of your advisors. He is a cleric of Shelyn. Spoilering it may be good but we do have a night and next morning until you head back into the citadel.

So is Soulshear dealt with?

Soulshear is now split in two.

Ardriel studies the split halves of Soulshear, attempting to ascertain if cutting the glaive actually dulled or ended its magic.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (3) + 12 = 15

Ardriel examines Soulshear and determines that it is destroyed.

Somewhat frustrated at the short day, Leothar will make the rounds in the camp, trying to keep spirits up.

With one apparently significant enemy commander defeated, there is at least a victory to boost morale.

Are the army's supplies adequate for now?
Do they have any indication of demon reinforcements approaching?

Leothar will also take time to chat with Aron. He knows that the scout had been using Shadowblood provided by the traitor Nurah, but it has probably only been a few days since he stopped using. Leothar doesn't know much about withdrawal symptoms, though he might have known about such things as cautionary tales. "How are you, Aron? Are you holding up well? I can tell you that your map of the Citadel has been most useful, as have been the resources you gathered."

Aron smiles at Leothar as he approaches, "Yes, with Sosiel's help and am doing fine. The blessings from the gods work miracles. I am glad to hear that I have been helpful. Have there been many changes since we last held the citadel?"

"There was damage from the demon assault, including a breach that we were able to use to our advantage.
The Sword of Valor has been moved from the vault where it had been kept, and a non-magical duplicate was in its place, along with some sort of animated furniture that attacked us. We don't know where the banner actually is, but I know we will find it.
The doors were still in very solid shape... before we had to start breaking them down. I regret the crudeness of our approach. It feels so base. In any event, we shall return to the keep tomorrow and continue retaking it."

Aron frowns and shakes his head "I wonder where they moved it to. How many rooms have you cleared out so far?"

Does anyone else have any questions or things they want to do?

"Maybe a third of the main floor? It's been slow going between the sturdy construction and the crafty enemies.
It is my hope that in our assaults have drawn in enemies from some of the unexplored spaces, so what we have still ahead of us will not be as heavily defended."

Aron nods his head and says "A third of the way through the citadel isn't bad especially with its commander dead. I am not surprised they moved the Sword of Valor or had other purposes for rooms."

Dadna strode up, nodding to Leothar and Aron. Thanks to the ministrations of Sosiel, she now wore the armor of the traitorous dwarf Staunton Vhane. Sans the helmet, of course. She had not yet managed to remove the profane rune from it, and she would not wear such heresy upon her head. The black and green armor, covered in spikes, was in stark contrast to the divine aura of her aasimar blessed features.

"The campaign grinds on but is that not how Torag would prefer it?" She said to the dwarven paladin. "There are no reports of cultists or demons leaving the fotress with the Sword of Valor. So that means it remains within. And while they have had time to fortify their positions, they will break. And speaking of which...I heard rumor that we will be having a scout join our ranks for this assault?" She asked, looking around. "Is there anything ye can tell us about this lad, Aron?"

Seeing Dadna and the chief speaking with Aron, Ian excused himself from the wounded paladin he was speaking with and joined them. Raising an eyebrow when she mentioned a potential scout. Getting closer to her he realized she was wearing the green and black armor. He looked to see if she had the profane helmet attached to her gear. Not seeing it, he smiles, adding, "It looks like your ready to go." Nodding towards Leothar, "Now we just need to find something else for the chief to wear so I can get that Iomedaen armor from him."

IT's no big hurry, but once Ian has wings he'll need to get mithril armor. so foreshadowing that now.

Aron looks surprised when Dadna mentions a scout. He says "I haven't heard anything about a scout. The only newcomer in camp today was the prisoner you brought in, who is snoring loudly I might add."

The next morning Irabeth as called a council of war before you head in. When you arrive you see a new face in the group. By the looks of him a tiefling of elven descent.

Once you all arrive Irabeth begins, "With word of Staunton's death spreading we are starting to see people leaving Drezen. None have left the Citadel though. It looks like you will have to clear it all out. Queen Galifrey has sent us a paladin of Sarenrae who was apparently under the Grey Garrison when the Wardstone shard was shattered and received some it's power like you did. This is Enos Flamebrother. I will let you get aquanted before you head back into the Citadel. Do you have any plans for your prisoner?"

The stranger is dressed simply, a loose white robe with a plain rope for a belt and a deep hood that he pulled back as he glided into the room almost soundlessly. With the hood down, one can see an angular, tattooed face bracketed by ram’s horns that sweep up and back from his brow, curling around his ears to point forward along his jawline.

At the introduction, he nods to the party but does not speak as he does not wish to interrupt.

"Welcome!" Dadna beamed a smile at the newcomer. The dwarf looked like a contradiction. Her features were radiant, or at least, as radiant as the squat features of a dwarf could be. Her hair was as spun gold, and her smile was warm and sincere. However, her armor was quite the opposite. It was dark green and black and was covered in spikes. The way the plates were aligned gave off the feeling of chitin.

"Ye must be Enos? It is good that ye be here! It's been bloody slow going, fighting over each inch of ground." Seeing that he was holding back from talking, perhaps out of a sense of propriety, she decided that it would be best to show that he was part of their band now, and his voice was just as important as anyone else's. "Now that ye be here, let's see what ye think." She said, looking at the paladin. "In our last foray, we fought the enemy commander. The fooker threatened to kill his brother for failing to take us out. The lad turned invisible to run. Came back and saved me life. After we killed his brother, whose armor I now be wearing, he turned himself in. Now that ye be one of us, what do ye say? What would ye do with the lad?"

The horned elf arches an eyebrow, showing his surprise at being asked, but nods, "Yes, I am Enos. Name are important. What is the name of the prisoner?" Pause for response - I was not able to find it in a quick search, but I would use it thereafter. "So? The brother of Staunton Vhane? Which is more impressive - defeating the antipaladin or turning his brother? I kid - evil cannot sustain itself, it only consumes. One must have love and forgiveness to build great things. Turning him briefly to gain his surrender was far easier than defeating his kinsman. However, bringing him fully into the light may be even more difficult than your victory - and more fulfilling."

"For your question, I can only offer one answer. Forgive him for the errors of his ways and give him opportunity to prove that his heart has changed, that he will now serve the forces of good."

Dadna's smile only grew at his answer. "Exactly right." She said. "I like him." She added, turning to her other companions. "Keep an eye on him while we assault the fortress." Dadna said to Irabeth. "His path to redemption has begun, but it cannot be taken for granted. [b]"So, the next question before us, is how we re-enter the fortress. Cutting our way through the doors yesterday was hard work. If I were the enemy I'd fortify that entrance, but they wouldn't have had the time, or skill, to repair it. I'm of the mind to go back that way and cut down any who stand in our way. What do ye all think?"

Arriving at the morning meeting ready to go, Ian was disappointed to hear more of the 'defenders' hadn't fled the citadel. Raising an eyebrow at the announcement of another champion sent by the queen, Ian gets in line behind Dadna to greet the arrival.

Listening as Enos answers the question, Ian nods. He was pleased that Dadna liked the answer, considering it was her question. As she asked the group her second question, Ian, his right hand bound up to his shield, reaches his left-hand forwards, "Welcome Enos, I am Ian," Gesturing towards Dadna, "If she likes you." He smiles, "Then so do I."

Turning back towards Dadna, "I say we return to the breach in the wall. If they are setting up an organized defense we should find it there. It may let us learn if they are organizing a determined defense or hiding."

"I see three paths. Ascending as we did before; returning to the breach; or attacking the main gate, which we have avoided doing until now. If we have persuaded them to redeploy their forces, the main gate may be less defended.
We should at least ask Aron about any defenses that had been there before, although the demons may have changed things.
I do like the idea of keeping them off-guard by attacking from different directions as much as possible, though I can agree to going in the breach again."

Aron shrugs, "There isn't much more to the defenses than you have seen. Catapults and ballistae. It's a long hall that would confine forces with several doors to go through. The final area is taller with arrow slits on each side high up and a portcullis in the center of the room. It's a good place for an ambush. The dwarfs designed it well. What it's current defenses are I don't know. I haven't been in there to see what they might have done."

"Ian. I am honored to be asked to join you by the queen and doubly so to be so welcomed by her champions. I shall do my best to live up to the reputation I have heard among the camps."

"As for planning your next foray, what of your prisoner? Would he have insights? Would you trust what he told you? I realize he has hardly begun his path of redemption, but he might offer something of value as a sign of good faith."

Ardriel studied the newcomer. Intriguing. Elven, yet also with a...demonic bloodline? Perhaps his family has fought Treerazer, in Kyonin.

Aloud, he said, "Well met, Enos. I am Ardriel Zinro, servant of Yuelral. We appreciate your reinforcement, for I believe we need it. As for the prisoner, he has largely spent his time sleeping. I think he has been worked hard, and is fatigued. We could try speaking to him and seeing what he knows. It is a good plan."

Smiling at Enos's response, Ian nods politely but says nothing more. He'd never considered himself a Champion. It was clear to him Leothar, Dadna and Ardriel were, he just considered himself fortunate to be in their company.

Raising an eyebrow as Enos recommended they speak with 'the prisoner,' He'd not thought of that, but it sounded like a good idea. When Ardriel chimed in, Ian knew it was a good idea, as Ardriel was the smartest of them.

Turning towards Aron he asks, "Aron, would you mind fetching our guest?"