Wynn recalls the very nearly liquid body of the shoggoth is fairly hard to damage with simple weapons and that it seems strangely resistant to all but the most powerful of magic casters.
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Peter tries to remember what he knows of the Shoggoth.
maddening cacophony of sounds
Peter summons a seductive, winged elven woman who uses her harp to ward the Pathfinders against the cacophony of sound. He calls out Molly get closer!, before moving slightly away, incase his mind blank and invisibility do work against this foe.
Peter does his best to heed Molly's warning by warding Sentry from this foe, casting Freedom of Movement on the noble steed.
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"Molly, come back! The Lillend's song will protect you!"
Sir Hendric uses Tactician to share Escape Route (swift). Molly is too far away, but it gets everybody else. You can now move through allies' adjacent squares without provoking AOOs.
Sir Hendric will not use Mounted Combat if Sentry is attacked; the warhorse can probably take a single hit if there is no threat of grappling, and Sir Hendric would rather preserve next round's swift action for a Challenge. The Shoggoth seems pretty far away (100'?), but he does not know how fast it is.
He also uses his Blood Reservoir of Physical Prowess for a +8 inherent bonus to Strength (standard, lasts until the end of his next round).
Molly runs back, away from the shoggoth, the beast apparently triggering some past traumas. She takes up a defensive position and stands at the ready daring herself to overcome any possibly maddening effects that come her way. Bubbles is still out cold from the evil auras of the linnorm and the ooze, unable to listen and not going to do anything even if he could.
Peter tries to recall all he can about the shoggoth, remembering he read aobut it once in a book of dangerous magical beasts. He remembers that the oozes like to trample over people and then grapple, constrict and finally engulf them entirely. Additionally as Molly seems to be shouting about, there's the maddening stream of noises, words, sounds and other sonic effects that can destroy a mortal's mind if they aren't careful.
As a free action, a shoggoth can give voice to sounds and words sane life was not meant to hear. All creatures in a 60-foot radius must make a DC 22 Will save or be confused for 1d6 rounds. Each round a creature is affected it takes 1d6 points of Wisdom damage. A creature that saves cannot be affected by this shoggoth’s maddening cacophony for 24 hours. This is a sonic mind-affecting effect. The save DC is Charisma-based.
Engulf (Ex)
To use this ability, the shoggoth must begin its turn grappling a creature or must trample. A shoggoth may attempt to engulf as many creatures as it grapples or tramples in a round. This ability otherwise functions as swallow whole, save that a creature that cuts is way out of a shoggoth leaves no hole in the protoplasmic creature’s body.
Additionally the shoggoth has the ability to repair itself quickly, and despite being predominately sea based creature, it can survive on land.
Hendric gives everyone a very quick tip on how to block things from attacking your moving allies and then readies to charge the thing if it comes within reach of the countersong.
The shoggoth singing some jingle about the decapatation of the baba and her children, in increasing and increasing gory detail, slings shafts of it's body forwards and then uses them to roll itself forward, getting more shafts to fly out from the top. It seems to start picking up speed, as if preparing to rush the group.
++++++++++++++++
Wynn
Gillian
Dear
Sir Hendric
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn
Molly
Peter
Shoggoth!
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Current map
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- Impressive. I've seen it in my dreams... in the icy lands far away... But then I didn't have the strength to fight it - just run away. This is a different story. Dear, step back!
As it flies away, she makes passes with her hands and says.
- You won't come near me! Stay where you are, monster. YOU SHALL NOT PASS!
Streams of powerful energy moving through you, but the sorceress herself is still invisible, only her voice resounds loudly through the ice cave.
Gillian sets up a barrier of forbiddance. The shoggoth seems to recoil slightly and stays away from the nearly invisible barrier.
Before the ooze can figure out how to get around the barrier, Sir Hendric does what he does best and charges his lance into the middle of the ooze. The ooze seems to lose over half of his mass, but still seems to be going strong. It gurgles happily having an easy target now.
Peter gives the orders to the archon to keep singing, but she changes up her tone and song, making it more inspirational sounding than before. He then adds a massive pile of glitter over the ooze, it seems to cover the exposed surfaces of the ooze especially the staring eyes, but the thing still seems able to find the location of Sentry and Hendric from the little movements they give off.
Molly stands way back and steels her spirit against the maddening sounds. She's sadly too far to hear them clearly, and sadly too far to be able to rapidly fire her weapon accurately, as she only hits with her first shot of the round and the arrow wound is shallower than she'd like and starts to heal quickly.
The shoggoth decides to return the favor of the lance to Hendric. Four tentacles rise up out of the mass and slam out after the cavalier, the first lands and wraps around him, starting to squeeze him closer. The next one just barely misses due to the first tentacle being in the way, the third and fourth however have no troubles slamming on home and brusing the man through his armor.
Gillian
Dear
Sir Hendric -90
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn
Molly
Peter
Shoggoth! -175
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Current map
damage
damage
damage
damage
Hendric brings his lance around for a few more hits and lands three swift hits to the mass of the thing bringing it to very nearly dead, as Wynn sends a salvo of arrows at the thing, finishing it off for good as its body starts to dissolve into a mass of goo on the floor.
Sir Hendric: -90
The treasure, only barely moved, seems to be fine glinting in the light from above. Dear tries to shift another handful of the things and nothing happens. Seems it has been left unguarded. There proves to be, with what you grabbed earlier a total of 7,670 gp, 11,800 sp, 33,250 cp in coins; 16 blue spinels worth 500 gp each; a copper snuff box (worth 15 gp) holding diamond dust worth 1,800 gp; a gold statuette of Desna with emeralds for eyes (worth an approximate 2,000 gp); a +2 bladed scarf, a ring of improved climbing, a scroll of iron body, and a scroll of [/i]sunburst[/i] (both CL 15th).
The place stays silent again, the linnorm barely registering the short but very nearly deadly shoggoth battle below.
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Well that went way better than last time.
“Ugh, that was unexpected. Nice moves Hendric, once again I’m glad to be on the friendly side of that lance.”
Molly walks over and inspects the oozing body.
“These creatures were created as a slave race for the Yith. I wonder what it’s doing here? Oh right the linnorm! Umm, yes let’s go.”
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Interesting, I wonder how they prevented it from consuming all Yith... Peter starts to pontificate before remembering there are pressing matters.
Well, it seems we can all fly, go engage that Linnorm before it sees us! Peter says as he and the Azata dump healing spells into Hendric.
Peter converts one of his spells into a healing one as well before the knight charges off into battle.
The flight through the hole leading up to the upper levels of the falls takes only a few seconds, before you emerge into the blinding sunlight of the mid-morning sun. Despite the bright light andsunny weather the place is still bone-chilling cold, or so you'd think given your Life Bubble keeps it at bay.
The hole leads to a tiny overlook giving a breath-taking view of the Crevasse Fields, the broken bits of glacier ice sprakling in the sunlight, the Cathedral of Obalas rises in the midground, and the most eagle-eyed might spy a spire or two of the regional capital of Chillblight way off in the distance. Getting closer to the edge shows another breath-taking sight, the near mile long drop off the side of the falls to the giant's war camp below.
Off the west shows two notable features. First, at the precipice of the falls, and slightly higher than anything else, two footprints mark the ice, like the tracks of a gigantic bird that apparently stood here in the flow of the water as it froze to form the great
icefall below. Gillina can barely look at them, the aura of transmutation that purveys the whole falls strongest and most concentrated here, making this where the mythic energies used to make the Veil was probably cast. Likely, Baba Yaga's infamous hut stood there while she crafted her monument, before leaving the footprints as a signature and warning.
The second is the sleeping linnorm just north of the footprints. Curled onto its back with its feet in the air, it slumbers in the sun beams peacefully a good 120 feet from the party. The dragon-esque creature rests on the frozen waves and currents of a falling waterfall, worn smooth over the years of sunbathing, but the terrain is certainly difficult to try traversing. Given most of the a party has a way to fly, though, it shouldn't be a major issue.
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Sir Hendric really wouldn't have a problem killing a sleeping dragon, if he was certain that it was evil, but he would not want to make Molly violate her principles as a champion of Kurgess.
Still, he isn't above leveraging his advantages. He uses a charge of Heightened Awareness, which he will dismiss for +4 initiative.
Senty is Air Walking and moves to within 110' of the dragon - charge range (lance has 10' reach, double move is 100').
"Molly, do you wish to call out to it?"
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Molly walks to within 40 feet of the magical beast and puts her bow away, to be nice. She then calls out in a loud voice.
“Excuse me sir, or lady, I need a few moments of your time. My friends and I are exploring this area and I want to know if you’re going to be a problem. I’ll give you a chance to leave peacefully, but this place needs to be secured.”
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Molly walks to within 40 feet of the magical beast and puts her bow away, to be nice. She then calls out in a loud voice.
“Excuse me sir, or lady, I need a few moments of your time. My friends and I are exploring this area and I want to know if you’re going to be a problem. I’ll give you a chance to leave peacefully, but this place needs to be secured.”
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A bit like that, but the Linnorom has real tooth and claw, both supernatural and otherwise, so, tis a fair fight. Peter agrees, recalling the Shogoth didn’t stand long after a single blow from Hendric’s lance, falling to a hail of arrows from Wynn and Molly.
The azata starts a battle song on her harp, encouraging the heroes to engage the Linnorom before she returns to the celestial realm.
The linnorm gives a small grumble and shifts as Molly starts calling out to it. After a minute or so of constant noises, the lizard finally cracks an eye and stares down at the woman.
It blinks a few times, turning over what the little woman said to it over and over in its head as it slowly starts waking up. It peers at the woman, clearly surprised by her brazenness to walk up and ask it leave it's sleeping spot. A few seconds pass as the look gets more and more infuriated. The linnorm finally decides to rise up to it's full height and glares down at the woman, but it's words are surprisingly polite sounding despite what he says,
Molly, slightly cowed by the colossal prescence in front of her doesn't realize that the linnorm is ready to bite her head off quickly, but the rest of the party had been prepared for exactly this out come.
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Wynn
Sir Hendric
Gillian
Dear
Peter
Malzrecryrth
Molly
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Current map
Gillian finds two auras surrounding the linnorm, a moderate abjuration aura and a strong divination aura. Though she also recognizes due to her times spent dispelling things that these auras are so heavily woven into the body of the linnorm they are probably impossible to dispel.
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Sir Hendric will do what he does best.
"For Honor and Justice!"
Challenge and charge (100' charge, ending up 10' away). Making it a Knight's Challenge (extra +1 to hit and damage) and using his Inspiring Rush trait (extra +1 to hit and damage, which also applies to any allies who charge within the next round).
AC is 37 against the Linnorm.
With Demanding Challenge, the linnorm will take a -2 AC against attacks made by anyone other than Sir Hendric as long as the linnorm is within Sir Hendric's threatened area.
Sir Hendric would also get a free CMB attempt to Bull Rush, Disarm, Sunder, or Trip.
Never mind.
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The Azata starts playing her harp with a battle ballard. .
Peter himself summons a Bralani and instructs him quietly. When it breaths, use your [url=https://www.d20pfsrd.com/magic/all-spells/w/wind-wall] wall of wind[/url to stop it
Gillian strips the two spell auras from the linnorm, causing it tro writhe in pain.
Sir Hendric delivers a devastating blow and angers the linnorm.
Peter recalls what he can about these creatures, knowing they have no spells they can cast, have a breath weapon and death curse, and can constrict people they catch in their coils. They also have Freedom of Movement and True Sight as the only expression of their innate magical abilities (but Gillian stripped them off the beast already) and the ability to regenerate as long as they haven't been in contact with cold iron. The breath weapon physically launches freezing ooze that rapidly solidifies into ice, so a barrier of wind wouldn't stop it. A barrier of force would, but also protect the thing from the attacks of the party.
Wynn's first and last arrows miss, the second hits but seems significantly less effective than it should have been.
The linnorm rears up, healing some from the attacks of the party, and launches a spray of freezing ooze at Molly, Hendric, and Sentry
++++++++++++++++
Molly
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Wynn
Sir Hendric
Gillian
Dear
Peter
Malzrecryrth -193
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Current map
Hendric dodges the blast of freezing ooze with aplomb, before countering with his own flurry of attacks, two more is all it takes to knock the thing down, it's blood freezing to the ice below.
However it's heart still beats and the flesh starts to knit together again.
Molly picks her way over to Sir Hendric, who keeps the linnorm unconscious with a poke form his lance every now and then.
She takes the knife from the knight and steps up to the linnorm, propped up on its arms, chest cavity open to the follower of Kurgess. The massive heart of the beast still pumps, unsteady and unrythmic, but still moving. Molly steps up to the gigantic organ, as big as herself, dodging the worst of the rapidly freezing blood that falls around her. Taking the knife that gleams a cold blued grey in the dim light reflected from the ice and snow around and stabs it into the aorta of the beast. The tree trunk thick artery slices like butter under the fey-bane blade spraying blood everywhere as the hearts stops and the last of breath of the dragon flees from the suddenly slack body.
Covered in blood, Molly has a moment of delirium. Through a curtain of red she watches the spirit of the beast detach from its body and reach out with a massive incorporeal claw and try to pierce her forehead. Molly holds strong, her will blocking and barring the claw from reaching into and cursing her mind and body.
From the outside, everyone can see the blood swarm and squirm over her, as if starting to form ice crystals. However, Molly seems to resist the effect of the freezing blood and after a tense moment or two the still liquid blood just drips down to the ice below, joining the rest of the sanguine pool forming in the hollow the linnorm had been sleeping in. The linnorm is dead and the curse resisted.