GM supervillan's 1-35 Voice in the Void [Gameday IX] (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

With a mighty blow of his bardiche, Sirius puts the perturbed plant out of its misery. You then dispatch the annoying shriekers in short order, though it's a certainty that anyone else within the museum heard the racket that they made.

Combat over!

As Dale and Catushlara recover themselves you take a few minutes to search the fungus-filled room. With the aid of Detect Magic spells you locate a magical backpack in one corner of the room.

I think you have enough Spellcraft between you that I can forgo spoilers

The backpack is a Handy Haversack, able to hold a great deal of gear but never weighing more than five pounds. It contains a whip feather token, a chime of opening, and scrolls of Detect Secret Doors and Gaseous Form. It also contains a scrap of paper with a single sentence written in the Common tongue: The Eye is always vigilant.

In the southeastern corner of the room you notice a trapdoor underneath the thick carpet of black fungus. The fungus also blocks a door heading back north.

Party status
Kioshi -7hp
Goe Lem -11hp

You spent 15 minutes in the scriptorium searching and studying, and you've spent 5 minutes here in the archive, for those of you counting down buff durations.

"That was a maddening scuffle between the shriekers and the gibberish of those brain fungi. Please use this to tend to your wounds." Malvic says brandishing his Wand of Cure Light Wounds.

He helps look through the backpack, "That feather token may come in handy with the next eldritch creature we encounter...shall we finish checking this floor before we climb down?"

Buffs:
Shield - dur 53 rounds
Protection blessing - dur 2 rounds - AC=24, touch=12, ff=23
earth blessing - dur 1 rounds

CLW wand 1st chg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
CLW wand 2nd chg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
CLW wand 3rd chg: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

{sigh} Well that doesn't look at all ominous. Are all of you ready to proceed?

Dale looks over their findings and smiles, describing in mind numbing detail the magical and mundane properties of the items. Sometimes he just goes overboard. "While you guys heal I'm going to go clean up a bit." He drags a bit of the fungus over to cover up his 'mess' in the other room and goes about making himself somewhat presentable again.

"We should double back around to check the other rooms on this floor. Would be a good idea to hunt up some more of those guards." He snags the scroll of gaseous form, trying to decide just where his organs would be during such a transformation.

Dale heads back to check out the door going into the large store room. Usual SOP?

Straightening up and making herself presentable Catushlara quickly agrees with the alchemist. "It would not do to leave danger behind us. Let us go search the rest of this place before we proceed any further. With the way things have been going so far I shudder to think what these mad people have stored in this museum of theirs. I don't remember it be8ng this dangerous before "

Straightening up and making herself presentable Catushlara quickly agrees with the alchemist. "It would not do to leave danger behind us. Let us go search the rest of this place before we proceed any further. With the way things have been going so far I shudder to think what these mad people have stored in this museum of theirs. I don't remember it be8ng this dangerous before "

"First time I've been allowed down in the archives myself. Usually the upper floors are safer for visitors, but I guess these things down here were swept under the rug." He plucks off a few straggling bits of fungus and seals them into a vial for his backpack for later study.

"Kioshi, what other neat arcane spells do you have up your sleeves? Its always fun to see which of Nethys's treasures someone will whip up!"

"Right, we don't want more gargoyles or those fungus blocking our way out. That and you can never be sure if you are still in the museum when you enter another room...reality loses grasp around so many artifacts." Malvic says as he gets in position for their breaching party to enter the next room.

CLW for Kioshi: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

The first priority should be closing the gateway. If more of these ... things ... come through, no one will be safe anyway. But if all of you insist, we can check the rooms quickly.

You guys really want to chance another fight with a pair of giant gargoyles? If the shriekers didn't pull them out of position, probaly nothing will except new orders. But if you walk into the room they are guarding like last time, they obviously will attack.

I was thinking more along the lines of if those rooms have anymore poor souls that can give us clues to what awaits below. We know to destroy the cylinder but who knows what else there is to it. If there are statues we can just close that door back super quickly, haha. More goodies like that Whip token are going to be a major help too.

"If there are any more researchers like in the last room, they may have some vital information but if we wish to press I won't argue." Malvic says looking between the two options.

"Oh yes, information is powerful! Best we find as much as we can before we confront that portal." Dale concurs, followed up by a gentle throat clearing of Harold behind him.

"Oh, and maybe there will be some survivors we can save too." Definitely want to explore the remaining rooms up here first.

Looks like there's a clear majority for trying to clear this floor.

Deciding against trying to clear the fungal carpet away, you backtrack into the scriptorium and open the eastern door.

This musty storeroom is filled with boxes and crates stacked in disorganised piles, some only a few boxes high and others reaching all the way to the ceiling. Small puddles stand on the floor, and the occasional drip of water echoes in the darkness.

A horrid looking creature, a shapeless mass of eyes and mouths, sits in the room not far from where the southern door must lie. 'Sits' is not quite accurate, for the thing has no limbs to speak of. Its many eyes regard you and its many mouths babble incoherently.

Dale notices a second creature in the glimmer of the light of his ioun torch - a deep, lustrous blackness pulsates on the ceiling above the doorway.

small creature

big creature

Round 1

Malvic
Goe Lem
Catushlara
Dale
Kioshi
eyes and mouths creature
big black creature
Sirius

The bold may act!

Malvic moves around his allies to get a good look in the room before moving back. Move and Total Defense.

---

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

"More horrors await us, I see. A gibbering mouther...it could easily drive us mad if we don't crush it quickly." Malvic says prattling on about their specifics You can open the small creature spoilers. Confusion, DR/Bludgeoning, and other defenses.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

"The filth on the ceiling is a black pudding...and rather large...perhaps we can retreat and attack it from here or force it to come to us." he adds but cannot expand on any specifics for this one.

Definitely don't want to be rushing into that room! Lol.

Buffs:
Shield - dur 52 rounds
Protection blessing - dur 1 rounds - AC=24, touch=12, ff=23
Guidance - dur once during next 10 rounds

Agreed, make them come to us. Goe Lem flips a dagger at the blob on the ceiling then steps to the side to attack anything trying to come through.

dagger thrown att: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24, if hits, dagger dam: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

A look of disgust flitters across Catushlara's face at Malvic's description of what he sees. Hearing from the magus that the creatures were immune to piercing and slashing, the cleric drops her naginata and moves behind one of the tables.

"Can this thing burn?" She asked as she casts Shield of Faith on herself.

Knowledge vs DC15: 1d20 + 14 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 14 + 4 + 2 = 36
Knowledge vs DC17: 1d20 + 14 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 14 + 4 + 2 = 28

Dale's eyes go wide with excited curiousity as he spies the two creatures in the room. He immediately starts digging out a flask from his bandoleer and drinks it down. His feet slowly levitate off the ground as he rises up to the maximum height of 20 feet along the support post.

"Malvic is right on with that mouther. The other black mass on the ceiling is a Black Pudding, a huge and deadly mindless ooze. Black puddings are not harmed by slashing or piercing weapons - instead such attacks cause them to split into two identical puddings, each with half the health hp of the original. Eventually however a pudding can no longer divide itself in this way, but it still takes no damage from slashing or piercing attacks." He continues.

"A black pudding dissolves organic and metal quickly with powerful acid; this must be the creature that killed Officer Hod. Metal or wooden weapons striking a black pudding quickly corrode Reflex save avoids. The pudding grabs and constricts its prey, letting its acid work. He reaches for his bombs and hopes he's out of reach.

"For the love of Pete don't walk into that room!"

Consume extract of levitate then levitate up to 20' up. I don't remember the ceiling height in this room, but Dale is trying to get as far away from that huge arse ooze as he can!

I hope my dagger missed. Well crap! That's even worse. I knew we shouldn't have opened this door.

What have I got that I can use or sacrifice on that thing?

Dang I wish I hadn't use my spiritual weapon. I have 1 each of alchemist fire, bottled lightning, and liquid ice. After that, I'm probably taking off my gauntlets to punch it.

GM, can we run and get pieces of the busted up gargoyles to throw at the pudding. Would it do damage like a thrown rock?

Since the rest of us have already taken our turn, I would recommend Kioshi just close the door. If nothing else, it might give us a couple rounds to prepare while it eats through the door.

Kioshi just closes the door!

“What unbelievably dangerous creatures do they have in this museum?!?“ he says with a terrified look on his face.

Malvic studies his opponents and thinks better of entering their lair.

Goe Lem tosses up a dagger. The pudding is struck, and where the blade of the dagger enters its flesh it peels apart, into two separate creatures!

Yes, you could absolutely throw chunks of rock/dead gargoyle at it - improvised weapons, or sling stones if you have a sling.

Catushlara wonders if Sarenrae's cleansing flame would save you, and Dale identifies the foes whilst levitating up to the ceiling. All ceilings on this level are 20' high.

Kioshi decides the best course of action is to close the door on the two three slimy horrors.

Combat over?

From this position, you can buff for a few rounds and then fight the creatures, or you can head down the trapdoor before the oozes eat through the door. To the best of Dale's knowledge they have no special tracking abilities so they won't follow you down.

With wary eyes Catushlara stares at the door. The gargoyles were a bit difficult but they survived. The fungus they defeated though it was a close thing. And now this?

"Should we go down and proceed with the search? We will need to be careful coming back up as those things might be able to destroy the door and get in here. Once we are done here I will petition the church of Sarenrae to cleanse this place with holy fire."

We need to close the portal before more 'things' like that come through.

"Agreed! Steel yourselves because if that climbed up here...there is no limit to the aberrations that lurk below." Malvic says as they peer down the hole. He then realizes something he should work out before heading down.

"We may need this in a hurry. Catushlara, I would like you to hold onto my wand. You could also wear my spare wrist sheath that will help keep your hands free till it is needed, with a flick of your wrist you can get retrieve the wand." the elf offers to help her strap it on, in case they need more healing in the fights to come.

Dale calls down from his perch on the ceiling "Oh those things probably aren't from the portal. They're native to our world, just usually from underground is all." He nods as the others decide its best to head downstairs.

"Guess we should be off then!" He hustles along with the others towards the downstairs.

Catushlara looks at the offered sheathe wondering why she never thought to buy one before accepting it. "Many thanks. I hope we won't be in such dire straits as needing to heal in a hurry."

Kioshi is clearly not convinced but he agrees.

”To be honest, I do not think that it is wise to leave these enemies behind us when we go down! Imagine that we have to flee the horrors which we have to face below and if we get up here need to fight these things! Potentially even alone! But I am willing to serve the majority and will accompany you down!“

A decision is made, and you hasten back to the trapdoor in the archive.

It takes several minutes work, whilst anxiously looking over your shoulders for predatory puddings, to clear the carpet of fungus and lift the heavy trapdoor.

The trapdoor reveals a circular shaft, 10 feet across and descending 40 feet to another level. A narrow flight of stone steps spirals down along the shaft’s circumference, coated with slime and mould. The walls of the shaft are also slippery with slime.

How do you descend? Acrobatics (balance) is the appropriate skill for using the stairs, the walls can also be Climbed with difficulty.

Dale peers down the hole, his ioun torch doing a somewhat piss poor job of illuminating the full depth of the shaft. "Any of you dark vision fellows see anything down there? If not, I'll follow you down with what's left of my levitation concoction." He arms himself with his wand and prepares to float downward.

Perception, heroism: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 10 + 2 = 15

Since the book shelves are3 so steady, Goe Lem anchors his grappling hook on the end of the shelves and drops his silk rope into the depths. If anyone slips on the slimy mold, you can grab the rope to not fall to your death.

Then he takes a firm grip on the rope, wraps it around his waist, and heads slowly down.
acrobatics: 1d20 - 5 ⇒ (4) - 5 = -1 Ha!

Goe Lem's rope proves invaluable, as the oread slips on the stairs and tumbles into the shaft; only the rope prevents a fall to the bottom. Whilst he dangles there, Goe Lem can see that the room beneath has a peculiar organic look to it...

The rope is a perfectly adequate safety measure to allow everyone to get to the bottom without further skill checks, it'll just take a couple of minutes.

Once you've all made it to the bottom you take stock of your surroundings. The shaft deposits you in an alcove at the far end of an antechamber, free of the riotous growths of fungi and mould that choke the shaft and archives above. The simple, clean lines of the basement’s basalt walls give way here to a disturbing, organic style of architecture that makes it seem like you are walking through the gullet of some monstrous behemoth. At the far end of the hall, a large, ornate arch that looks disconcertingly like the beast’s toothed maw stands in the wall, covered by a heavy black curtain with sickly green light from the chamber beyond shining around the edges. A plain iron box sits on the floor in the middle of the room.

We are on Slide 3

Dale's feet land softly at the bottom of the tunnel and he gives a quick look around the room. Seeing no immediate threats he puts away his wand and gives a concerned look towards the black curtain and its green light. "I'm not one for planning too far ahead usually, but its probably a good idea." He draws and drinks an extract before taking out a metal rod, pushing a button to extend it from six inches to closer to ten feet.

"Let's have a look at this box... but from some distance!" He takes out his wayfinder and starts to scan it for magic with the pole at the ready for prodding in case it passes the tests.

Lotta actions in this one post. Extract of shield (6mins), anytool for the pole, wayfinder in the other hand for detect magic.

Perception, heroism: 1d20 + 10 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 10 + 2 = 30

Catushlara follows the others as they descend. After a few minutes she joins the others at the bottom. She readies her naginata and watches warily as Dale examines the box.

Goe Lem looks around and listens carefully while he steps to the side. Obviously expecting a trap.
perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Staying far away from the box, Malvic looks over the rest of the room while Dale handles the far too obviously placed box.

"I am sure that we are all thinking how conspicuous that box is. Careful...lest something rip through that curtain." he warns.

Dale senses magic from the chest. And both Dale and Goe Lem notice tell-tale signs of a magical trap guarding it, though they can't tell exactly what the nature of the trap is.

Spellcraft or K Arcana to ID effect?: 1d20 ⇒ 16
I always forget which is used in which instance. +18 for spellcraft, +20 for arcana.

"Oh, we got a ding on the magic meter, definitely some sort of magic trap on this thing." He resists the urge to poke it with the metal rod, instead focusing a bit to see if he can't get a more indepth read on the magic.

"Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to have someone peek behind that curtain to save time. Traps are time consuming to deal with."

What do the rest of you think about skipping the chest and checking the curtain? Or spend more time on the chest first?

Hmm... If we spread out, a lightning bolt should only get one of us. However... If it is a fireball it will fill nearly the entire room. I would suggest we just walk around it for the moment, unless one of you thinks you can deactivate it without setting it off.

Double move, while talking, to go peek into the other room.

"I have no way to disable it, that may be something I need to learn in the future." he says.

If you live that long...some horror may kill you here before the Aboleth's get their chance!

Malvic shakes his head as his whip coils tightly around his arm, "Leaving it alone may be best but be sure to give it a space...the trigger might not be just opening it." he adds while moving up behind Goe.

Catushlara moves to one of the corners of the room careful not to get too close to the chest and prepares herself for whatever may come.

Cast Resistance on self.

Carefully avoiding the iron chest, you skirt the chamber and Goe Lem peers behind the black curtain.

The sight that greets him is unsettling and bizarre:

The walls and ceiling of the chamber bulge outward, continuing the grotesque architectural style of the antechamber, as if you were standing in the leviathan’s stomach. Queer, glowing nodules protrude from the walls at seemingly random intervals, bathing the room in their sickly green glow. A tall, free-standing, almost organic-looking archway carved from a strange, glowing blue-green stone stands atop a low dais in a wide alcove at the far end of the chamber. The centre of the arch is empty, revealing the wall behind it, but the space occasionally flickers with curtains of starry darkness, as if somewhere else lies just beyond the portal. A susurrus of ghostly whispers seem to issue from the gate, their language and meaning unclear, but fraught with a sense of wrongness.

In front of the archway stands a woman - half-osirian, and clad in a dirty explorer's outfit. She gazes into the arch, her back to you. She is connected to the archway by five disgusting, pulsating umbilical cords; two joined to her at the hips, two at her shoulders, and the fifth at the base of her skull.

Atop the archway, attached to it or perhaps a part of it, is a small mithril cylinder covered in intricate glyphs.

Coiled around one leg of the arch is a strange, green-yellow plant.

Stood between the woman and you, facing the antechamber, are five men dressed in the uniforms of museum guards. Wet, green tendrils grow out of the men's bodies. Their eyes are vacant.

You may attempt the following Knowledge checks only when you look into the room.

Seeing Goe Lem look unsettled Catushlara makes her way closer to the curtains and also takes a peek.
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

At the sight of the undead she turns to the others and mouths. "Undead ahead." She then takes out her wand of Protection from evil.

If we don't immediately rush ahead I will use my wand on everyone.

Kioshi also peers into the room.

kn religion : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

kn nature : 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

“Yes, these zombies are undead! But the plant there is dangerous! Listen ... “ Read kn nature Spoiler up to dc 22.

Moved you on the map Kioshi. Please move your tokens to reflect your posted actions folks - feel free to ask someone to move you if you're unable to for any reason, I know I have trouble moving tokens when on a mobile device.

Buffs:
shield - dur maybe 2 min left (not sure how long since started with fungi)
Hide from Undead - dur 40 min
Blessing of protection - dur 10 rounds (+1 saves and AC)

knowledge religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

Anubis protect us from the sight of those foes! They should not be able to see you while we get into position. Once we attack, the protection will go away. From what Kioshi says, we need to take that plant apart fast.

Cast Hide from Undead on Malvic, Kioshi, Catushlara, and himself. Then swift action activate Blessing of Protection.

Not sure if we've moved into a round by round init yet, if not then Dale will toss a buff on himself: expeditious retreat. If it has then he'll just double move to peek in through the curtain to see what all the fuss is about!

"Undead? A Yellow Musk Creeper? Ooooo I gotta check those out!" Dale drops his 10' pole and skirts around the chest, keeping himself at least 10' away as he makes for the curtain to see these oddities for himself.

Knowledge vs Zombies DC10: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (17) + 20 = 37
Can't fail the embedded Nature check.

Knowledge vs Plant DC12: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (10) + 20 = 30

"Oh man, check those out Harold! Fast yellow musk zombies! They're more plant than undead... fascinating!" He waffles a bit on whether the hide from undead will work or not.

"I knew I should have learned some good bombs verses this kinda stuff, oh well. Fire and cold should work good enough." He pats down his bandoleer looking for the next charge of explosives to assist.

"Do your best to avoid destruction of the woman, I'm sure she's the one we're here to find!" His eyes do linger on the magical artifact though..

Any other helpful tidbits Dale knows since he beat the top DCs by 5+?

"Quite a few of them, do not let yourself get overwhelmed. Those with the ability to strike from a distance should work on getting her free...and breaking that cylinder." Malvic suggests as he renews his Shield buff and nods at the spell from Catushlara.

Holy energy falls upon the group as Catushlara uses her wand to cast Protection from Evil and Shield of Faith on herself.

GM, I don't actually know if Hide From Undead will work on Yellow Musk Zombies. But I decided that Goe Lem thinks it will. Besides, it is worth a try and I am unlikely to have another use for the spell.

Folks, I am not much of a ranged combatant but if the group wants, I could rip down the curtain while we try to blast/shot the Creeper from a distance.

Just for clarity, we are not in initiative yet. But as soon as you start spellcasting or activating magic items the enemies will become aware.

I'm going to give you a full round of prep plus a surprise round though, and we'll go from there.

"round 0"

Goe Lem - hide from undead, protection blessing (Shield has expired)
Dale - expeditious retreat
Malvic - shield
Catushlara - either pfe OR shield of faith
Kioshi
Sirius

I'll roll initiative after Kioshi and Sirius post "round 0" actions.

Kioshi casts HASTE on the group.

“I hope Chaldira gives us luck in battle!“ he says with hope in his voice and he uses his rod of extend.

12 rounds of haste.

Since it will take more than a full round to cast pfe for everyone I'll cast pfe, communal instead as my first action.

No problem Catushlara - your spell has 5 minutes duration divided amongst the recipients in 1 minute blocks, so somebody misses out. Based on positions on the map and the Touch range of the spell, that'll be Malvic.

Siriusbot moves up to the larger group of Pathfinders, and receives Catushlara's protection spell.

Surprise round

Malvic
Catushlara
Kioshi
Sirius
zombies
Goe Lem
Dale
woman
creeper

Active effects: communal pfe, haste 11, hide from undead

The bold may act!

Surprise round - a standard or a move action each