[AP] Iron Gods by GM Rutseg

Game Master Balacertar

Confusion 1: 1d100 ⇒ 82
Longbow on Zzvkgrogk: 1d20 + 14 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 14 + 2 = 32 (heroism)
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Confusion 2: 1d100 ⇒ 11
Confusion 3: 1d100 ⇒ 15
Confusion 4: 1d100 ⇒ 4
Confusion 5: 1d100 ⇒ 25
Yambul has some respite, which he uses to get some distance from the fight so if he attacks again, there won't be a ready target.

Confusion 6: 1d100 ⇒ 30
Confusion 7: 1d100 ⇒ 14
Confusion 8: 1d100 ⇒ 68
He rounds out his confusion by babbling quietly a time, recovering briefly, and then attacking himself again for his failure.
Damage to Self: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

He returns sheepishly to the party, his pride wounded more than his flesh. He stows his bow, picks up his chainsaw, and shrugs, "Well that could have gone better."

"Well that could have gone better."

"Just be glad you didn't have your chainsword in hand. You'd be feeling differently if you took that to your face a few times," Rhoreen growls, hoping that Ruha will regain conscious soon.

She looks over at the arrow in Zzkgrogk's back.

"I'll try to handle that when Ruha comes to. And we should prepare to destroy that creature. The ice will break easily enough and we'll want it dead. I don't trust it alive, even if trapped."

With the Dweller occupied, Rūha heads past the Dweller to get in position to guard the party against any approaching confused bulls and tieflings. "Will that ice manage to finish it off through sheer exposure? I'd rather it doesn't thaw and keep doing what it was doing..." She warily watches Yambul in the distance and waits next to Hyrsek to draw his ire if he starts seeing red.

When Yambul finally breaks out of his confusion she comments "A lot better. I need to work on my ducking and weaving, and maybe to carry a tranquilizer for you if this happens again."

"Ow." Zzvkgrogk spins in the air trying to eye the arrow sticking out of his back. "Who did that?!" He glowers at Hyrsek, his piercing beady eyes narrowed.

He agrees with Rhoreen and Rũha. "No, we can not trust it. It has powerful nasty magics. Death is too good for it, but I don't know what else we could do."

They all fly closer, hovering 5 feet over the thin layer of water.

"But... why is it still in the air? It'd be nice to put a tether around it and drag it around like an enormous ice balloon."

He dispenses with healing.

Khalia turns her full attention to Hyrsek, for what little time he has remaining under the influence of the Dweller's mind scramble. Taking Total Defense, and holding my breath.

"Fight it, Hyrsek. Unless you're enjoying this, and think you can rationalize my injuries as wholly out of your control..."

Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 63 Self damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 14
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 60 Self damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 38 "Today is yesterday blb blb"
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 19
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 46 "We dispose blue is red blb blb"
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 60 Self damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Hyrsek confusion: 1d100 ⇒ 15
Hyrsek has some fun similar to Yambul, hitting his face with the bow and saying glorious quotes before he comes back to his senses.

With that, you come over the ice queen alien and perform a combined coup-de-grace cutting, smacking, piercing and burning the thing in a sudden strike that leaves little more than motes of the darkness it was made off.

Combat is over!

Khalia: 10 damage, longstrider 8 h, barkskin 80 min, cat's grace 8 min
Rhoreen: 11 damage, flying 10', mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, overland flight 11 h, filter mask, -2 Con drain, -1 Int drain
Rūha: 62 damage, mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min
Yambul: 34 damage, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min, -3 Str penalty
Hyrsek: 19 damage, 3 Wis drain, 5 Con drain, 1 Int drain, invisible 3 min
Zzvkgrogk: 10 damage, 2 Int damage, mutagen 90 min, fly 10 min, resist energy (fire 20) 100 min, heightened awareness 90 min, barkskin 100 min

With the alien boss dispatched you have more time to examine the cavern. There is nothing of use here despite the scribbling in the walls.

When Zzvkgrogk dispenses with the healing, Yambul gets in line.

CLW: 5d8 + 5 ⇒ (2, 5, 5, 7, 6) + 5 = 30 Still down 4hp, which is fine.

He looks around the room, "What? No loot? Wow, monsters today..."

He stands guard, while the others poke about and heal. Though his chainsaw is currently off he does have it in hand.

"Loot? What would such unnatural creatures want with 'stuff'? I bet they don't even like sparkly unique things."

CLW: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (4, 5) + 2 = 11

"Thank you, Calliope."

Relieved from his agonizing (for him) pain, Zzvkgrogk looks around the room in slow spin noticing the scribbles on the walls for the first time.

"What is with all the graffiti? This is among the ugliest I have ever seen."

He shrugs and starts getting ready to move on.

CLW x11: 11d8 + 11 ⇒ (8, 4, 7, 7, 4, 2, 8, 2, 3, 2, 7) + 11 = 65

Ruha eagerly waits her turn to be healed away from the bruised and broken state she's in. Once she's restored she sighs in relief "No loot indeed. Perhaps their only loot was in the form of the brains they collected. Let's hope what we're searching for isn't buried in the muck beneath us." She looks from one side of the massive room to another "Strange place. What was the need for all this... swampiness? Is this a simulation of their native environment? The kind of space they felt most comfortable?"

Perception; searching the chamber: 1d20 + 19 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 19 + 12 = 39

"There isn't an obvious path forward from here, but I still feel we made the right choice in facing this one. I would not have liked this Dweller catching us unawares somewhere."

1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 2 = 19 Linguistics

Rhoreen who does read Aklo at the moment (thanks to the poo-poo’d comprehend languages), but *just* fails to parse the syntax of the Aklo infinite verb tense, but maybe someone will aid her.

She will look around the cavern with Detect Magic to make sure nothing of interest is missed. I know what it says above, but Rhoreen likes to know things and look around.

”What were these creatures even doing in here? It’s too bad the scribblings are just a bit more clear, we’d have our answers.”

"So what's left - through the tapestry? Shall we do that today yet, or when we're fresh. I mean, we're pretty fresh now, but I know how you spell chuckers like to replenish." he says seriously.

"I am quite wore down from all these days of alien fighting. I hope we can find Therace soon and retreat to a good health resort with the fresh money" points Hyrsek cleaning his cloak from the swamp and alien skin.

Rūha searches around but indeed cannot find anything other than the brains collected by the Dweller on its back. They sure hold a trove of information but not an easy to read one. At least for the Golarion standards.

Rhoreen scans around as well but finds no new magic auras.

Khalia: 10 damage, longstrider 8 h, barkskin 80 min, cat's grace 8 min
Rhoreen: 11 damage, flying 10', mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, overland flight 11 h, filter mask, -2 Con drain, -1 Int drain
Rūha: 62 damage, mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min
Yambul: 34 damage, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min, -3 Str penalty
Hyrsek: 19 damage, 3 Wis drain, 5 Con drain, 1 Int drain, invisible 3 min
Zzvkgrogk: 10 damage, 2 Int damage, mutagen 90 min, fly 10 min, resist energy (fire 20) 100 min, heightened awareness 90 min, barkskin 100 min

”Like I said, it’s probably just gang propaganda. Pinkies in my Warren like to practice this pointless mischief, they can not grow out of it soon enough for my tastes. Their time would be better off learning to sabotage Smiler carts and weapons.”

”I am fine with resting, but I could also go on. It looks like our next stop is the Dark Tapestry Portal. We can consider new preparations before heading in. What would be most useful?”

Zzvkgrogk thinks.

KnowArcana: 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 19 + 2 = 25

"No, nothing here it seems, and I've scanned the surfaces with these goggles, so I should have picked up anything interesting." She taps the side of her veemods. "Perhaps this place was just their meeting hall, and their true base of operations is through the portal? I was hoping we could avoid it, but it seems inevitable that we need to take that risk."

"Although I had a close call, the wand worked its wonders, so I could continue Yambul. Though I leave it to the rest of you."

"As far as preparations are concerned, if we have some teleportation magic, that might help get us back home in case we don't like where it sends us... though I hope it'll be two-way."

Rhoreen fixed her con drain with a Restoration gameday-yesterday.

”Maybe the dragon wants to come puzzle it out. It’s beyond me, or just gibberish, like you guys think,” Rhoreen waits for others to heal up, happy that Ruha is alive again. She shouldn’t be dying. That’s Yambul’s job.

She agrees with Ruha that there is nothing more to be gained here, other than knowing that these creatures were dead which is a service unto itself.

Rhoreen is happy to go to the next section, even through the teleporter, but is also unsure how to get others past the traps without a rest.

Zzvkgrogk gives it a think and comes out with the idea of preparing some teleportation to come back in case it is a only one way portal. Preparation for whatever can be on the other side is difficult for it could be the emptiness of the Dark Tapestry for us much as you know, but most probably it is just a teleportation to some closer place because interplanar portals are a big rare thing. Thus, maybe not much overthought.

The ratfolk also remembers about using the part of one of the aliens to 'trick' the portal into opening.

Khalia: 10 damage, longstrider 8 h, barkskin 80 min, cat's grace 8 min
Rhoreen: 11 damage, flying 10', mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, overland flight 11 h, filter mask, -1 Int drain
Rūha: 62 damage, mage armor 22 h, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min
Yambul: 34 damage, heroism 210 min, barkskin 210 min, -3 Str penalty
Hyrsek: 19 damage, 3 Wis drain, 5 Con drain, 1 Int drain, invisible 3 min
Zzvkgrogk: 10 damage, 2 Int damage, mutagen 90 min, fly 10 min, resist energy (fire 20) 100 min, heightened awareness 90 min, barkskin 100 min

Khalia steps to Rhoreen's side, and offers her a couple of unrelated observations on the Aklo scribbles. Auto Assist, Aid Another(Linguistics)

When they are able to return to the only place in the Hive yet unexplored, the android secures the necessary body part for them to have at the ready for the activation of the portal.

Should the lingual assist work and not be too late…

1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 2 = 28 Will

At Zzvkgrogk's advice, Rūha picks up a frosty, dark chunk of the Dweller in case it will provide a more favorable reaction from the portal. She then starts back the way the group came, though pauses when she notices Rhor and Khalia inspecting the Aklo script on the walls.

Good will save at least! Ruha will repeat her safety anchoring like last time in getting back.

Acrobatics for getting past the pits: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (10) + 26 = 36
Acrobatics for getting past the pits: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (12) + 26 = 38

I healed the hp damage earlier, well most of it (-4hp), but still have the strength damage.

Yambul waits for the dimension door across the nasty room. When it doesn't happen, he looks at Rhoreen, "You mean we don't have a way back?"

"Rüha! Wait!"

He sets up camp...

"Rüha! Wait!" he looks at Rhoreen

"Don't look at me, Cook. You should have thought of that yourself," Rhoreen says. "*I* have ways to bypass it, but my magics are precious and only understood myself and very very few others. You should have thought of that yourself." Nevermind that her magics are brought about foolishly imbibing numerian stomach fluids or the like doesn't mean that they are not hers, nor completely understood.

Rhoreen does not object to a rest, however. "It will give me time to charge more of my magics into this Ember Staff, which is a very nice object best held and utilized by myself, of course," she explains.

In his heat resistant aura Zzvkgrogk starts flying after Rūha across the chasm towards ‘the dragon’.

”You mean we don't have a way back?"

Rhoreen wrote:

”Don't look at me, Cook. You should have thought of that yourself. *I* have ways to bypass it… You should have thought of that yourself,”

”What?! You mean we didn’t have enough space in our heads?” Zzvkgrogk flutters to the ground. ”Well, Rūha, if we want to stick together I guess it means we’re camping out here tonight.” He finds a comfy dry perch to hunker down into, pulls out his alchemy kit and starts tinkering before bedding down for the evening,

You take your time to rest and recover, meanwhile, Rhoreen approaches the wall with Khalia and tries to decipher the scribbles with a lot of effort though.

Allow me, exceptionally for this time, to take Rhoreen's voice, for I think it works better for the scene...

Rhoreen's fingers brush the cold surface of the wall, her eyes narrowing as the Aklo script begins to twist and shimmer in ways that seem to warp the very air around it. Words, no, concepts, slithered into her mind, unbidden and alien. She speaks aloud, her voice faltering with each revelation, the weight of what she translates pressing against her sanity like a storm upon a fragile ship.

"This... this is no mere record. It's a fragment of a terrible testament. They write of Divinity, not as a thing of worship, but a vessel of knowledge and power beyond the understanding of even the stars themselves. They assaulted it, these Dominion agents, breaching the cold void of the heavens to lay their spined and chitinous hands upon its secrets. And yet..." the half-elf's voice wavers, her gaze growing distant as if gazing into the void itself "The Divinity escaped them. Not with speed, but by means of... something else. A hole in the very fabric of existence, a wound torn through the infinite tapestry of space and time. They pursued it, though few of their number survived the crossing. Those who did were transformed by the journey, their essence reshaped by forces not meant for mortal comprehension. These survivors tracked the Divinity to... to here. Golarion. It crashed. But the distance, the impossible span of the stars crossed in an instant... they could not understand it"

Rhoreen's breath hitches, and she takes a step back from the wall as the next lines glimmer with a sinister intent, the symbols moving and shifting like living things "The Dark Tapestry, it demanded. Its entities, these minds unfathomable, hungered for the secret of the Divinity's flight for their own plans of star conquest. For millennia, their agents, slow, deliberate, pursued. Until..." she pauses, as if choking on the words "Until the Dweller, this... monstrosity, was dispatched. It was the commander of their expedition, the overseer of their dread purpose. The Dominion of the Black seeks not merely conquest but understanding, the control of the Androffan technology that should never have existed. They whisper of the Divinity Drive, the engine that pierced the void"

Rhoreen's voice grows softer, trembling. Her hands grip the edges of the wall as if steadying herself against the weight of what she was saying "But this writing speaks of... of something more. The Divinity Drive is not merely a tool of traversal, not merely a wonder of science or magic. It hides... it conceals something beyond either. Something..."

Her voice breaks, and she turns to the others, her face pale, her eyes wide "Something divine. They have found a Unity agent, one who whispers the truths of this technology. And now... now they know there is something greater buried within it. Something more powerful than the Tapestry itself can fathom. A power that could unmake the stars... or birth them anew."

Her hand trembles, still tracing the wall as the alien letters shimmer with an almost taunting malice "The next part... it promises more, it offers to reveal what this... divinity truly is. But..."

She recoils, stepping back abruptly as though the wall had become aflame. She knows that to read further is... to see. To know what should not be known, to open herself to the gaze of the Tapestry. To risk... Madness. Or worse.

That is some excellent Rhoreening. Perfect.

Rhoreen pauses to admire her own brilliance, because it truly is stunning. And anyone who does not appreciate it must love goblins or something.

She takes a moment to admire her own eloquence, because it is stunning. Only those that work in kitchens or stables might miss the genius.

She takes a breath, trying to collect her thoughts.

"That's pretty dark stuff there Rhoreen. We should make sure they don't get that information huh. Sounds like that would be bad!"

Very nicely done GM Rutseg! Very nice indeed.

Yambul sleeps, when not his watch, and tries to recover his strength.

Awesome post, GMRutseg. Very Lovecraftian!

She recoils, stepping back abruptly as though the wall had become aflame.

Zzvgrogk, having just removed one of his extra long striped knee-high socks (for traversing hives invested with agents Dominion of the Black in both style and comfort) – a sock which he has been wearing for at least two days – whips it across the top of Rhoreen’s skull.

”Snap out of it, Calliope! I said these writings are nothing more than pinkie drivel! I mean, how insane did that sound to you?! Why would you believe it!? I bet it doesn’t even say anything in there about how you’re supposed to plug up this" he raises his voice a couple of octaves and waves his arms before him like a lunatic as he continues," 'wound torn through the infinite tapestry of space and time'? No," his voice returns to normal, "there mayBE a powerful drive mechanism in Unity, which we will retrieve or destroy before these evil brain collectors send reinforcements. So, even it it is true – which is not – I would’t worry about it. We’ll nab the AI core – which is in NO WAY the Techno God to which the graffiti seems to go on about – and be gone and not look back on this insane place.”

He tinkers some more in alchemy, takes his watch and rests for the trip past the hot jets in the morning.