Protectors of Golarion (Wrath of the Righteous AP)

Game Master Sensen

"Certainly, unless Elliot or Thesius gets there first." Sure, Verene will scan for magic before using any missiles, if detect fiendish presence doesn't ping.

Helping his sister detect magics, Elliot then takes the cautious approach to simply shoot each armor and statue with his rarely used crossbow. "If it can't take a bolt from a nonmagical bow, it's not worthy of guarding Meri's life." The magus reasons, figuring doing it like this would test both the quality of the armor and the presence of mimics at the same time, without risking damaging the armor by magic.

Thesius notes Elliot moving up and keeps to the prior room. Providing cover should something come from behind. "They may be consolidating their power for when we head down as well."

Understood.

Elliot shoots three of the suits of armor before Verene is able to mark that one of them is magical. Presumably he stops at that point. Are you going to study the armor? They're all masterwork full plate, except for the one that's enchanted.

Nurah nods slightly at Thesius' suggestion, looking around the room again. "Probably."

Nice. I'll assume Elliot sees that it is magical before Verene does, then, since he declared he would detect magic before any shooting happens.

"Agreed — since they knew Nurah knew about the mimics, it would make more sense to move them elsewhere and try to actually surprise us, if it were possible. No fiendish presence in here. Is the magical plate simply more protective than usual, Elliot? Perhaps it would fit you, Merixia. They all look well made." Verene stays where she is until all the statues themselves have been deemed safe with a quick bolt to each. Then, with a word and gesture, she switches to the spell that lets her examine magical auras herself and approaches the magical plate to make as sure as she can that it is not cursed or otherwise trapped, in case Merixia decides to wear it.

First shooting the actual statues, not the suits of armor, then taking 10 Spellcraft for 32 to identify the magical full plate. In this case I will spend the three rounds, since Merixia might want to immediately use the armor.

"Ooh, I hope it fits!" Merixia's tail stands straight up in excitement. She follows Verene to get a better look. "Oh my gods, it even has a falling butte instead of a visor! Once I get an armorsmith to put a couple holes in the helmet, I can actually wear it!" The base of her horns sits right at her hairline, making visored helmets problematic. A falling butte, which opens down instead of sliding up, is the only way a tiefling with horns can wear a helmet with face protection.

Did I spend way too much time researching plate armor to figure out how Merixia could wear a helmet? Yes, yes I did.

Azira takes a moment to scan the room for evil auras while the others focus on the armor.

Assuming she doesn’t find any, she and Wulfric tentatively begin heading back towards the chapel to give it a quick but reverent cleaning, like they had the previous bespoiled chapels, while the others remove the armor and help get Meri into it.

Obviously, if she detects evil or something attacks she won’t leave.

Thesius will listen to the others until he notes Azira making their way back to the chapel. Upon realizing what she is about, he lends a hand. Being one room back was unlikely to be of consequence right this moment and the chapel deserved some proper respect.

Azira, fortunately, finds no indication of any evils in the room whatsoever - neither on the armor nor anywhere else.

Verene's bolts bounce off of the statues with nothing more than the spark of the metal head striking stone - no response from any potential mimics.

After spending some time examining the armor, Verene realizes that it's somewhat unique. It's armor of the pious, which means it has an Iomedaen symbol on it at the moment, but that'll change when Merixia dons it.

There is a great deal of cleaning that the Chapel itself needs, from the blood of the Keystones to other equally unsavory fluids. Fortunately, Thesius and Azira are able to make good progress while the others identify the armor.

Nurah looks over the statues, her lips twisted in a faint frown. "I wonder where they went. I'd be careful about the Sword of Valor when you find it. One of them might've been disguised as it before."

Verene cannot whistle in kobold form, but her posture grows animated. "Goodness. The enchantments on this are extensive. It is mithral, offers extra magical protection, and should attune itself to you and Ragathiel after you wear it for a little while, Merixia. But it can also become even more protective and make you more resistant to harms for a short time each day. And it has a kind of... reservoir of power within it that feels like the Wardstone's potential to me, but keyed toward divine magic. I think it is meant for paladins, but perhaps that is just because of who wore it last. You may have to try it on to see if you can access that."

She looks around once more with detect magic while Merixia is getting the armor on.

"I suppose we expected two mimics, and two objects are missing," Verene replies to Nurah as she does so. "But I really thought the banner was magical. And a mimic would not be — right?"

"Oh my gods, this is amazing!" Merixia immediately begins stripping out of her old armor. Modesty be damned, there's divinely enchanted mithral full plate to be had! It's even gold, so once she adds her red cloak, she'll be wearing Ragathiel's colors! (The Iomedaean symbology is unfortunate, but maybe it'll change once she attunes to the armor.)

"Elliot, mind helping me put it on?" Clad only in her underwear, the cleric begins removing her new armor from the statue. "Hmm, looks like everything but the helmet should fit well enough until I can find an armorsmith to adjust it. I'll need to wrap some bandages around the base of my tail to prevent chafing though." It looks like the armor originally belonged to a man. Fortunately, Merixia has never been terribly well endowed, and she's both tall and unusually muscular for a woman. She digs around in her backpack until she finds her healing kit and pulls out a roll of bandages. Clearly this is not the first time she's had to deal with clothing or armor that isn't designed for a tail.

Thesius continues to help Azira during this time. Moving to help hasten the process with his magic, unaware of what is happening in the other room as he keeps an eye upon the entrances for any potential threats.

While Azira focuses primarily on reciting prayers and a bit of old fashioned scrubbing, Wulfric joins with Thesius in the repeated use of the prestidigitation cantrip to magically clean the chapel much faster. “Thanks, Thesius,” he randomly offers between castings. With a big smile he continues, “I know you serve Desna… or, follow her, I guess- it seems a bit looser than serving Iomedae… well, either way, you’re a Desnan but you’re in here helping us clean a chapel devoted to our Lady of Valor, so thank you.”

Thesius gives a nod of his head in acknowledgement of the appreciation as he continues to cast, but then cannot help giving a small laugh after he finishes his current casting and hears the rest of Wulfric's words. With a teasing smile he says, "So you're saying you wouldn't help clean the worship site of another god?" After another small laugh he continues in honesty, "First off, we are friends. There is no reason for me to not help you two in this endeavor that is near and dear to your heart. Secondly, I doubt either of you would turn a blind eye if I were to ask for your help in redeeming a Desnan holy site. So while the appreciation is appreciated, this pursuit was a given. You are friends."

"Elliot, mind helping me put it on?" Clad only in her underwear, the cleric begins removing her new armor from the statue.

"Of course, my love." Elliot says, finding it a bit difficult to relax just then. He was overly aware of how vulnerable Meri might be to a sudden attack dressed in only her underclothes - and of how he was supposed to both guard and help her without staring too much with everyone else around.

As was often the case, the expanse of magical knowledge that had formed in his mind since the wardstone explosion provided a solution. Delicately he drew upon its mythical powers and traced the arcane symbols in the air with his free hand, upon which the various components of the fullplate began floating around Merixia. Listening to her instructions and modifications, he directed as them gently and precisely as he could while the armor attached itself to her form.

In seconds, Merixia was fully armored in the shining mithral platemail. "It looks beautiful on you, Meri." The magus says, breath taken by the sight. "Though, you'd obviously look good in anything." The magus smiles warmly until the reality of the situation caught up on his sentiment. "Ah... we should probably get a move on, right? Make the most of the time we have with our spells intact to clear out more enemies."

Since donning a fullplate takes four minutes normally, Elliot will use Mythic Power to cast Swift Girding to bypass this and equip it instantly on Meri. RP aspects aside, 4 minutes of bufftime on everyone's spells is a lot and probably worth the cast.

Nurah shrugs in response to Verene's question. "I just know they were here. If they were magically enhanced somehow, I wasn't told."

Elliot swiftly helps Merixia into her new - enchanted - armor, which, as Verene implied it would, keeps its symbol of Iomedae. Perhaps it will change eventually.

Nurah blinks at the speed, then shrugs again. "Anyways." She looks back at Verene, "Did you want to do anything other than this in this little journey?"

Meanwhile, the two Iomedaeans and Thesius continue to make progress on cleaning up the chapel - it's not in a good state, but it's... less offensive, at least. It'll take them at least another few minutes to make it mostly inoffensive.

Merixia lets out a surprised gasp as the armor assembles itself on her body. "Nice! Thank you, Elliot. I wish I could cast that spell." It would make her life so much easier. She rummages around in the bag of holding and comes up with the tabard she had commissioned from the tailors they saved in Kenabres. It's so pretty, she had planned to save it for special occasions. But there's a giant symbol of Iomedae on her cuirass and Merixia would really rather cover that up with her own god's symbol. She settles the garment into place and quickly dons her belt, cloak, winter coat, baldric, and backpack. "Okay, ready to go." The armor is a little tight in the hips and a little loose in the waist, and of course she'll need adjustments for her horns and tail, but it'll work in the short term.

The cleric emerges from the armor room to see Azira, Wulfric, and Thesius cleaning the chapel. "Hey everyone. Do you mind if we come back and finish this after our combat spells have worn off? I'll be happy to help, I just don't want to waste our magic."

Thesius turns hearing Merixia's approach and takes in the sight of the new armor before his attention is broken by her words. "We were doing what we could while the room as occupied. I am fine to proceed and return here later."

Verene chuffs in an admiring way, and her yellow eyes flash white as she checks to see if she could have bent the Wardstone power to a similar purpose. "It is a handy little spell, Elliot. I shall have to remember it as a possibility. And we will just keep a sharp eye out for the mimics." After claiming the other three masterwork suits of armor, and helping to collect them piecemeal into the party's magical bag, she accompanies Elliot and Merixia back out to the chapel.

She flattens out on a convenient pew her rough copy of Aron's map with the rooms they have been through already marked, and points out a route for everyone to see. "Yes, we can clean here later if we wish. I even have that handy cleaning cantrip today. But for now, to make best use of our spells, and looking at Aron's map, I think we should take this route through the unexplored part of the fortress. We have explored much of the southwest and middle area, but the southeast, northeast and that northwest tower remain unexplored. So, let us start with the southeast. I can concentrate on finding fiends, Elliot on magic, and Thesius will handle locked doors and scouting for traps. Does that sound reasonable?"

Before the armor crew arrives
A mischievous grin dances across Azira’s lips as Thesius concludes his heartfelt answer to Wulfric. “Well, for a goddess like Shelyn or Sarenrae, surely we would,” she teases, “but for one as disorderly as Desna we might require a formal request for aid.” She smiles warmly at Thesius before adding, “though we’d have to honor such a request from a friend.”

Now
Azira finishes the prayer she was reciting and then frowns a little. “Sure, fighting first then cleaning, it makes good strategic sense… though I do hope we can get back here soon to finish.” With that she wipes her hands, draws Radiance, and prepares to head in whichever direction Verene indicates.

Plausibly deniable Dot

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 17 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 17 + 2 + 2 = 30 (17 base, 2 heroism, 2 tears to wine)

(Going to hold off on giving information on those spoilers. I realized that may have been meant for Merixia in a similar fashion to the ones for Azira.)

Thesius' pointed ears perk up as a sound catches his attention. He stops momentarily signaling for the others to do the same as he tries to find the source of the sound. Was it familiar?

Verene stops too and her attention clearly goes elsewhere for a moment as the mental touch brushes across her mind. Wait! Who are you? But it is too late; the brief moment passes.

She shakes her head a little, and looks inquiringly at Thesius. "Did you feel that too?"

For later:
Knowledge (Religion) - Sword in Shadow, heightened awareness, heroism, tears to wine: 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 31

Report Lord Ragathiel You hear an angelic voice in your head, female and different from Ragathiel, addressing you as if you were Ragathiel.

Our experimental detection magiks have picked up the calling or binding of a notable demon within a mile of your servant Lady Merixia. Said demon is judged, by intercepted infernal after-action-reports, to be the root cause for 2 significant defeats suffered by forces of Doloras and Asmodeus during set piece battles in Abbadon, against Baphometan adversaries whom the infernals outnumbered. The voice pauses.

Continue, you hear Ragathiel answer.

Total infernal casulties in the 6000 to 10000 range, including one Immolation devil captured, the voice continues.

Verifying... apparently it is a planar binding, not a call planar ally. I recommend disrupting either the binding ritual and/or whatever negotiations are ongoing. Location is subterranean, exact place unknown but within a mile of Lady Merixias current location. This concludes known facts. There is another pause.

Speculation, Lord Ragathiel, the voice adds.

The demon to be bound is... almost broadcasting this situation. As if desiring detection of the situation by the forces of good.
Which unfortunately implies that said demon is already aware of our new detection capabilities. Could be as a trap, as an invitation, or to maintain plausible deniability of her involvement, by claiming to have acted under duress due to a planar binding. The voice ends.

Few demon lords would care to obtain plausible deniability when called to war against the forces of good. That leaves... Haagenti, Nocticula? Nurgal? You hear Ragathiels voice.

The latter two are the most plausible. Intercepted infernal records did not indicate that the demon acted as a mercenary and is not Baphometan itself, the female voice speaks again.

My thanks Lady Eluvieal of the sword in shadow. You hear Ragathiel's reply.

It feels to you as if Ragathiel in a way... lets you listen in to a report he just received.

And that he trusts you enough to make your own decisions based on this.

Merixia stops short in the middle of the hallway, eyes wide. What in all the worlds just happened? She concentrates on her prayer link to Ragathiel and pushes a burst of incredulous-questioning-did Lady Eluvieal give you permission to share this with me? that way. Because she's pretty sure that that was confidential information.

But hey, if Ragathiel is going to share intel with her, she might as well share it with the rest of the group. "Uh, folks? Hold up a minute, you're going to want to hear this." She proceeds to repeat everything she heard as close to verbatim as she can get.

Knowledge: Religion: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20

"Verene, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think the Sword in Shadow refers to the empyreal lord Kelinahat. Also one of her elite squads, which must get confusing. She and Ragathiel get along well, both being military people."

With 3 demonlords being name dropped, everyone can roll one kn planes check for each of them, and if Merixia f.e. rolls a 25 on Haagenti, she gets the DC20 and the DC25 spoiler

Verene shakes her head slightly, putting the odd episode aside for now, and listens attentively to Merixia's summary.
Sense Motive DC 30, heroism, tears to wine: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 3 + 2 + 2 = 27
She can't make this even on a 20, so normally I wouldn't roll it, but just in case there might be some additional circumstance bonus I'm missing. Hm, nice.

"Verene, correct me if I'm wrong here, but I think the Sword in Shadow refers to the empyreal lord Kelinahat. Also one of her elite squads, which must get confusing. She and Ragathiel get along well, both being military people."

"Yes — Kelinahat is the archon empyreal lord of spies, scouts and intelligence gathering. Also known as She of Ebon Wings. It makes sense that she would be an ally of Ragathiel." Her spellwhisper to elaborate to the others sounds thoughtful, and she takes her Burkle out of her bag to consult if needed on the other names Merixia mentions. "So there is a greater demon being called and bound somewhere underground within a mile of here. There could be another underground complex nearby, I suppose, but let us assume for the moment it is the basement dungeon the Worldwound's forces have carved out here under Drezen. This greater demon or its Abyssal master wanted it to be public knowledge this was happening, which suggests a trap laid for us, or else opposition to being called and bound by these forces. Either way, an invitation to interfere. The demon in question has personally aided the forces of Baphomet in battle against Hell in the past. And Ragathiel believes it could be an agent of Haagenti, Nocticula, or Nurgal. Of those, Nurgal, demon lord of mercenaries, war and tactics, is personally very friendly to Baphomet and hates devils, but his individual troops have in the Crusade's recent history also turned on Baphometans and destroyed them due to internal conflicts. It is plausible one of them could object to being bound by Baphometans here to essentially provide unwilling aid."

She quickly sketches the rest of what she knows about each demon lord for the others. Everyone please feel free to read those spoilers, as I think Verene's rolls here are high enough to get all the information, but I don't want to rephrase it all. I hope this summary is reasonably accurate.

Knowledge (Planes) — Haagenti, heightened awareness, heroism, tears to wine, reference text: 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 32
Knowledge (Planes) — Nocticula, heightened awareness, heroism, tears to wine, reference text: 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 46
Knowledge (Planes) — Nurgal, heightened awareness, heroism, tears to wine, reference text: 1d20 + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 18 + 2 + 2 + 2 + 2 = 44
How do you feel about us taking 10 on Knowledge checks like these, GM? I would usually tend to do that when her buffs are up like this.

Yes you can take 10s, I will add some higher DC extra informations, needed to get a better idea what you boni are :)

know (nobility): 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22

Azira is slow to respond to her friends' discussion as she stands staring at Radiance's gleaming golden blade. She seems completely oblivious to their words until, finally, she asks, "A greater demon... do you know what type?"

Wrestling her eyes away from her sword, she blinks against sudden change in light and the reports, in a more usual manner, "I had a vision too. Only, in it I think I was Iomedae... not as she is now, but as she was before her ascension. We smote a beautiful succubus and forced her to surrender. I feel like, perhaps, the Inheritor has shared one of her memories with me, but I don't know why... maybe we're supposed to take the succubus that escaped alive? Or, maybe this was about the other succubus we've heard rumors of?"

"Wulfric, do you know any stories about Iomedae subduing a succubus?"

do I know any stories about this?
know (religion): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

"Hmmm... subduing a succubus..." Wulfric repeats aloud as he pulls his copy of the Acts of Iomedae from his pack and begins leafing through it.

I'm adding +2 because you usually get that from reference books, but if it doesn't apply please just treat these as 2 lower
know (religion): 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 15 + 2 = 30
know (history): 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 11 + 2 = 33

Thesius, half listening, pulls out his journal, ink, and pen, to quickly start making note of what was said. Repeating it within their head to keep it fresh as they do so. Looking for deeper meaning as he responds to the group.

"It would seem each of those effected by the wardstone may have had some kind of intervention from another being..."

He chooses his words carefully as he speaks. If Desna wished to keep their presence a mystery, he did not see point in betraying it more fully with his own words. But was it Desna...

So, do you wish to begin venturing into the underground area?

”…I can’t think of anything in the Acts about subduing a succubus,” Wulfric offers after some consideration (and page flipping). “Were there any other details that could offer clues?”

Azira’s always expressive face twists a bit as if she’s thought of something but is skeptical of her own idea. “Well…” she begins tentatively, “Iomedae seemed to be alone… and the moon was high in the sky… probably the middle of the night… and the succubus was singing…”

She hesitates for a moment before (even more tentatively) concluding, “you don’t think, perhaps, this could be the truth behind the old saying that she caught the midnight moon’s singing shadow with her blade, prior to her 9th act, do you?”

While Wulfric’s eyes widen at the prospect, her confidence grows some and she speculates, “if that’s the case, then the information she had on the vampire Basilov may have come from the succubus instead of from scouting. Perhaps the meaning of the vision, then, is that we should take one or both of the succubi we know of alive, in order to get information from them?”

Wulfric is updated and I’m all ready to venture underground whenever everyone else is. Unless we want to wait a few more days to see if Elliot responds at all?

"It would seem each of those affected by the wardstone may have had some kind of intervention from another being..."

"...Perhaps the meaning of the vision, then, is that we should take one or both of the succubi we know of alive, in order to get information from them?"

"Mine was more of an aborted mental greeting, almost with the air of a saleswoman trying to sell me an ugly hat. Not something I would take at face value even if it had been more than that brief moment," Verene replies. "In fact, I would not be surprised if came from a succubus. The idea that we might want to take the succubus Janeamine alive, instead of killing her, also seems likely to benefit no one but Janeamine. I would be very wary of any such idea being planted in our minds from an unknown source, and on guard against further mental interference. Everyone should have a protection from evil ward as we continue. Merixia, was there nothing in what you overheard about how long before this binding was complete? It would be good to know what sort of time constraint we are under if we want to prevent the completion of the spell."

I guess I would like to give Elliot a day or two more to possibly check in. Other than that, if it seems urgent we might go underground today, but bear in mind we are already low on spells. I had hoped to clear the entire top floor of threats before going below ground. But, if we don't have time for that, I guess I'm also ready to go.

"Mine was more of an aborted mental greeting, almost with the air of a saleswoman trying to sell me an ugly hat. Not something I would take at face value even if it had been more than that brief moment," Verene replies. "In fact, I would not be surprised if came from a succubus. The idea that we might want to take the succubus Janeamine alive, instead of killing her, also seems likely to benefit no one but Janeamine. I would be very wary of any such idea being planted in our minds from an unknown source, and on guard against further mental interference. Everyone should have a protection from evil ward as we continue. Merixia, was there nothing in what you overheard about how long before this binding was complete? It would be good to know what sort of time constraint we are under if we want to prevent the completion of the spell."

"I already have magic circle against evil active. And no, I didn't hear anything about a timeframe. I would be much more comfortable if we cleared the ground floor of the keep, especially the main entrance, before venturing underground. The last thing we need is to be caught in a pincer." Never leave live enemies behind you. That's just asking for trouble. And if they clear the main entrance, the rest of the army can back them up.

Verene nods. "I as well. I think we should not rush into anything, in case it is a trap."

You may wish to methodically loot and search areas already fought through on the floor you are currently on

"Hmmm...a demon interfering with us is what scares me as well," he responds while placing his writing tools away. "But we only have so much time to think about it as is with being in the middle of enemy territory. I agree that we should move forward with clearing the floor. If we can get the rest of the forces in here, we can move forward with relative safety at our backs."

"Agreed," Azira offers with a nod. "Let's finish clearing out this floor and secure the main entrance, then we can venture down below. After the rest of you are able to recover your magic."

a vision from a succubus... that's a troubling thought... it seems unlikely that one demon could effect us all at the same time... and how would it know about such an obscure chapter of Iomedae's earthly life... this will require some further consideration...

Where precisely do you want to move, I think the main options available are:
Current map

1: Methodically check already freed areas for loot
2: Reestablish non teleport connection to the rest of the crusade by taking the gatehouse
3: There are 2 areas to the south, seperated by rubble, which I labeled as South East and South West on the map, you have likely cut off demonic forces there from each other, and may opt to defeat them in detail.

Resting may have consequences (as it take significant time, and certain aspects of the current situation, such as the planar binding, or efforts by the demons to teleport in reinforcements, are time relevant), cleansing the remaining areas without taking a rest afterwards would very likely not.

I think we want to do 2, then 3. If we re-check areas we've been to before, it would just be to make sure no enemies have moved to there as a nasty surprise. Can I get another confirmation for Rule of Two?

I’m all for storming the gatehouse. Let’s go!

Map is up (in my profile link titled citadel entry) , I zoomed in on the area so I dont hurt my eyes too much on the big map.

I think the enemies in F3a, F3B and F3c already joined combat and were defeated by you, but the garrison in F1 remains, as such, place yourself in the F3a, F3B or F3c areas in any order you want, and then lets roll some initiatives.

I found the map very hard to manipulate on a phone, which is what I am using until Monday, but eventually I managed to place us all in F3a with the front liners in front and the back liners just behind them. Would you like us to be responsible for rolling our own initiatives, GM? If so:

Initiative, Verene: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (11) + 15 = 26 And Forewarned, a school power that just means she always acts in the surprise round if there is one.

Combat will start once the door is opened, you may expend additional buffs if you so desire.

Are those stairs in F3b? Might be worth seeing if we can go up and get the high ground. If I were defending that kind of entry, I'd have archers up high.