Masks of the Living God: Price of Immortality

Game Master polyfrequencies

FOR: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Fort Save: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Already sick, Median decides to check the dead body before leaving. She searches it and then heads back.

Didn't move my token because not sure how long the search will take.

Garen hacks up a sickly-looking glob from his lungs, which sits inert on the ground. He still feels like there is more goop to cough up, but he's beginning to feel better.

Median meanwhile continues to feel worse, taking 1d2 ⇒ 1 Con damage, though she begins looking at the body that she has found in the water.

Median: what exactly are you looking for? Cause/time of death would be Heal, casing the body for possessions would be Perception, trying to know how much any found possessions are worth would be Appraise, etc. A cursory Heal or Perception check would be a move action, and it would take at least a move action to remove any possessions that are on the body (if there are any).

Round Seven
Silvio: 18/26
Winter: 21/34, fatigued, 1 Str dmg, 1 Dex dmg, 3 Con dmg, poisoned 1 (0/2 saves, next save in < 1 minute), poisoned 2 (1/2 saves), DC 13 Fort save
Sledge: 28/28, 3 nonlethal, 16/24 rounds of air, DC 10 Swim checks to get out
Median: 20/20, 5 nonlethal, fatigued, 3 Con dmg, poisoned (0/2 saves)
Garen: 32/32, 11 nonlethal, fatigued, 2 Con dmg, poisoned (1/2 saves)
Map

Silvio, Winter, and Sledge are up! I need more specificity (and a roll) from Median for her action.

She is searching the body for loot.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

Median sees a golden ring with a pale blue crystal on the man's right hand, and a pouch tied to his belt. He isn't wearing any armor and doesn't seem to have a weapon nearby.

The ring can be taken as a move action. The pouch can be untied and removed (a full-round action) or can be freed with an attack from a weapon that deals slashing damage (a standard action).

Median slips the ring off his finger, sliding it onto her own hand.

That's all I can do this round.

I will remind you that you can treat poison as a standard action Heal check, which grants the sufferer a +4 to their next Fort save. And if someone wants to roll another Knowledge (arcana) on the snake, you might learn some other useful things about it. You can roll again since you leveled up.

FOR: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Garen continues to beckon them to come out of the spore cloud, "We can check back in after a half hour or so. Let the spores settle in the water." he says to the two still scrabbling around in the poisonous room.

With another cough of coppery phlegm, Garen recovers from the poison ravaging his lungs. He still unfortunately feels drained from the ordeal.

Median meanwhile engages in a bit of light graverobbing. It is a fine-looking ring.

Garen is still fatigued and has 2 Con dmg but does not need to make another save next round.

I'd like to remain in rounds for now since two members of the party are still afflicted with round-by-round poisons (and others may be able to help them out). Once they either recover or the poison runs its course, we'll drop out of initiative. At that point, Winter's meal may come back to bite him, but it's a 1/minute poison rather than a 1/round poison.

Also your GM is sad that the floodslain frog was taken out before it could do its nasty thing (i.e., cause you to start drowning by hitting you).

And finally, you have earned artwork of the frog attack!

Swim: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Sledge pops out by the door from underwater gasping. "I guess swimming was easier than I thought." He looks around that his allies. "Breathe in the spores?"

Sledge, one swim gets you to the door but not yet out of danger. You can make one more check next round if you want to avoid the Fort save. If you fail the Swim check, you'll have to make the Fort save as you surface too quickly.

Swim: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14

Silvio will try to treat Winter from his spore infection.
Heal: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28
Let's see how Winter fares.
Fort save, heal bonus: 1d20 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 3 + 4 = 24

Sledge pops his head above the water to see the paladin looking down at him. They both realize that Median is still back in the poison room.

With his knowledge of medicine, even a bit of veterinary medicine, Silvio helps Winter cough up a gross gunk of goo. Winter still has to contend with his culinary misadventure but is otherwise doing much better than a few moments ago.

Round Eight
Silvio: 18/26
Winter: 21/34, fatigued, 1 Str dmg, 1 Dex dmg, 3 Con dmg, poisoned 2 (0/2 saves, next save in < 1 minute)
Sledge: 28/28, 3 nonlethal, standard or move action only
Median: 20/20, 5 nonlethal, fatigued, 3 Con dmg, poisoned (0/2 saves)
Garen: 32/32, 11 nonlethal, fatigued, 2 Con dmg
Map

We just need to deal with Median's round-by-round poison, and then we can deal with Winter's minute-by-minute poison. With difficult terrain, Median cannot make it out of the room on this round, so unless someone enters the room to meet her (and risk exposure), no one else will be able to help her with her Fort save. Median, go ahead and roll 2 saves. After that, someone may be able to help you outside of the room.

I'm also going to strongly encourage Median (and anyone else trained in the skill) to make another Knowledge (arcana) check to recall more information about the Nehushtan and then ask about, let's say, spells. In fact, go ahead and do that first. What you learn might affect your decisions.

Note that multiple competence bonuses cannot stack, so only one person can successfully provide the +4 bonus per round. If your character will not be doing anything specific for the next few rounds, you can just indicate that you are delaying or readying until a specific trigger is met.

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

As Sledge emerges from the water, he has a sudden recollection about the snake that has been riding around in Median's pack since the morning. One of Master Holgast's old books had a whole chapter dedicated to the creature. Sledge hadn't put two and two together before, but he realizes that the little snake could be very helpful to them.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19

Median cuts the bag off the man's belt and then, not wanting to go all the way back to the entrance in the middle of the cloud, tries the stuck door again.

Strength: 1d20 ⇒ 15

I think that makes it. So, still in the cloud, but hopefully able to get out of it next round through the door.

Median: with what do you cut the bag away? I assume claws. But you need to make an attack roll, AC 7.

With a burst of strength, Median wrenches the stuck door out of the way. Peering through, she sees another waterlogged passage ahead. Some of the cloud of spores drifts lazily through the door. There is a branch to the right that she assumes leads back to the room with the fungus that the avoided earlier. She cannot see too far into the passage, as the light dims and fades beyond.

The party is still up. Median needs to make an attack roll, and Sledge has the rest of his turn. Median has 1/2 saves towards recovering from the poison affecting her.

Oops, sorry. Actually, in looking more closely, my claws do not do slashing damage. They do bludgeoning and piercing. I also do not seem to have a dagger, even though I mistakenly thought I did. So, I could use the traveler's any tool and turn it into a knife (as a tool), but not into a weapon. So if the bag requires a weapon and an attack roll, then I can't do it, and I suppose I lose the action trying, and have to decide next turn whether to try untying it or just leaving.

I believe that Claws do Bludgeoning and Slashing damage, not bludgeoning and piercing. But if you point me to a reference that says otherwise, I'll abide by that.

"Magic snake cures poison." Sledge says simply.

"The fool woman is going to get herself killed playing around over there." Garen complains and watches and waits. If she goes down or is attacked by something he will intervene.

"No more frogs there, right?" asks Silvio?

Silvio focuses on the continued sicknesses of his companion, hoping to help with frog indigestion.
Heal to treat poison: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20 Giving him a +4 to the next save.

"We took care of the three, haven't seen any others." Garen replies while he watches Median.

Huh. I have it down on my sheet as Bludgeoning and Piercing, but not sure where I got that. Found lots of arguments about it... apparently different creatures do different types of damage depending on the claws, but looks like the base universal monster roles do have it as bludgeoning and slashing. My mistake. I'll correct it on my character sheet.

to attack strings on the man's pouch: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Median Claw Dmg: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Extending her eldritch claws out of the sight of her companions, Median slices through the drowned man's belt and relieves him of the pouch. She is ready to go through the now-opened door.

Silvio starts massaging some of Winter's muscles and joints, intuiting that that should help the dog recover, whether that meant throwing up some of the contents of his stomach, or just getting blood flowing properly.

Looking into the room, neither Sledge nor Garen see any other movement in the water.

Round Nine
Silvio: 18/26
Winter: 21/34, fatigued, 1 Str dmg, 1 Dex dmg, 3 Con dmg, poisoned (0/2 saves), DC 13 Fort save with +4 bonus
Sledge: 28/28, 3 nonlethal
Median: 20/20, 5 nonlethal, fatigued, 3 Con dmg, poisoned (1/2 saves), DC 13 Fort save
Garen: 32/32, 11 nonlethal, fatigued, 2 Con dmg
Map

The party is up. Median and Winter, go ahead and roll your Fortitude saves.

Fort Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Median leaves through the open door, getting clear of the spores before breathing normally again.

Exiting the room with the spores, Median coughs once more, seeing a phlegmy, yellow-green glob expectorate with a plop into the water. She still feels tired, but doesn't seem to be in any active danger at the moment.

That takes us out of Initiative, though Winter still needs to make some saves. @Silvio: go ahead and roll both of Winter's saves. You're welcome to undertake any further action to facilitate his second heal check as well before you roll that. If anyone else wants to declare any actions, please do so.

"Well," Sledge begins. "Are we good to press on? It's been days since we got here, it would be a shame if we find Damira had been alive, but wasn't anymore." He pauses, trying to remember what resources had been used. "I'm still full up on spells. Median has a few left herself. Garen, how much of that Goddess Juice do you have left?" As he talks, he presti's himself dry. Looking over at the group, and how bedraggled they look, he decides to presti everyone else as well. "No sense in having wet socks if we're going to carry on. Don't want any trenchfoot now."

”I can heal a few more times. I just think we need to wait for the cloud to dissipate before we continue.” then he calls out to Median, ”Waiting on Winter to recover and for this cloud of spores to die down. Will come across in a moment. Don’t go too far.”

Okay! Median calls back.

Silvio focuses on helping Winter recover from his remaining poison.
Winter Fort Save, Heal bonus, Guidance: 1d20 + 3 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 4 + 1 = 13

Silvio Heal Check on Winter: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12
Silvio Heal Check on Winter: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14
Winter Fort Save, Heal bonus, guidance: 1d20 + 3 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 3 + 4 + 1 = 28

It's touch and go for a bit, but Winter does recover without significant ill-effect.

As Silvio tends to Winter, the other three monitor the state of the room with the spores. About a minute after the initial spray, it looks like the spores have essentially settled into the water, and it should be simple enough to walk through with no further threat to your lungs. Drinking the water, however, is almost certainly inadvisable, what with three, four corpses in them.

Within the pouch, Median finds twenty-four gold coins identical to those found on the corpse beside the Gray Lake from a few days ago. The golden ring seems to have a spark of magic to it.

Spellcraft or Appraise to identify the ring, if you have Detect Magic known/prepared. Anyone can also assess the human corpse in the room with a Heal check.

Spellcraft assuming Median tells us: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

When the group joins her, Median tells them about the pouch of gold and gives 6 gold each to everyone from the pouch, keeping the pouch itself and sliding it onto her own belt.

Looks like the same type of gold that we saw on the body that was beside the Gray Lake a few days ago.

She decides who to tell about the ring based on reactions. If the paladin freaks out about respecting the dead, then she'll take Sledge aside and tell him about the ring privately... but if Garen seems cool with using what the dead can't, then she just tells everyone about it.

"What kind of body was that? Another person from the village?" After he gets an answer he says, "Let's see what the dead man can tell us."

Heal assess the body: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21 I added ranks with 2nd level so I am trained.

Stuffed into the nest at the end of the chamber is the mostly devoured corpse of a human man. Garen grimly looks over the waterlogged corpse and seems confident that he died about 3 months ago. Median can relate theories about who the man by the lake was, and who this could be.

Sledge identifies the ring as a ring of swimming, which continually grants the wearer a +5 competence bonus on Swim checks.

What do you do?

Silvio is definitely perplexed. "Wait--you're telling me we found a second drowned body, with the same coins? This is getting strange. Why would some outsiders be trying to travel here? And why would they be dying, one after another?"

Probably graverobbers, but dying... not sure. I assume this one the frogs got, but not sure about the other one by the lake. Other predators, probably... or one of the frogs got him with something that took a long time to kill him?

Silvio shrugs. "It's just weird that they both died by water. Are they being drowned? A ritual sacrifice? Whatever force is creating undead in this place might have something to do with this too."

I mean, that's possible, but the other dead we found weren't drowned. Two were just bodies and that fire thing that attacked us, and then of course the skeletons, so I am not seeing a pattern so far, except of sadistic tomb-designers and evil necromancers in general perhaps.

In addition to the body by the lake on the way here, you have found a pair of horses and a trio of pones, two bodies in the entryway, a body being bothered by a beetle, the combusted creature, and now most recently this partially-eaten man. There were also six skeletons in the entryway and four skeletons that greeted you before you went down to the second floor. As a reminder, this is what Garen told you about who you expected to find.

"It's a ring that makes you better at swimming. That being said, I don't think we sacrifice several townsfolk every 4 years, just to make a more realistic challenge? Unless we do..." Sledge wracks his brain. Knowledge local suspiciously timed deaths: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

"I'm sure the mayor will kick up a huge fuss about this. After all, it's an election cycle, and dead villagers are bad for elections.. Unless he blames us. There's something suspicious going on here. Too many coincidences. Why would anyone pick me over Gretchen? Unless the fact that she's the mayor's daughter is relevant.." He shook his head. It was beginning to spin. He knew that not everyone was as paranoid and power-hungry as he was, but these events were too frequent to be a coincidence.

Thinking back, deaths in Kassen are relatively rare: the occasional wild animal attack, an illness, a hard childbirth, or an old-timer meeting Pharasma comfortably in their bed after a long life. Kassen has never been the victim of a major plague, nor any cult activity (that you know of). The last time that a large group of Kassenites died in a short amount of time was when Ekat Kassen himself was killed, 174 years ago.

"I agree. It is unlikely they have ever faced off with zombie frogs or burning undead. Some of the bodies we have found are people from our village. This one and the other with similar coin are the odd men out. It would seem they may have been coming here for something else. Grave robbing like you said or setting an ambush. I'm wondering where this flame is. We've seen signs of things being reduced in lethality but at the same time there are things which I don't think the regular bands to find the everflame would contend with. Anyway, let's see where this hall Median has uncovered leads to and hopefully find some more answers." Garen says and strides through the room headed for the door Median had opened.

Go ahead and give me a marching order and/or position yourselves on the map behind the blue line.

Ahead, Median and Garen can see into a passage--or room?--beyond, this one still flooded with stagnant water.

The water here is a little over a foot deep, which is difficult terrain for Silvio if he is not riding Winter. The rest of you can move normally. What do you do?

Hey Silvio, do you want to wear this ring of swimming? Not sure if it will help you get around more easily.

Median steps aside in the hallway to allow Garen to move past her. (She doesn't enter the sizzle room though.) Those of you that haven't moved your icons yet, remember to move through the frog room.

She intends to then move back into the line and support from the back with her bow.

Silvio nods at the offer and takes the ring, trying different fingers until one felt right. "Helps me swim, you say? That's a good idea--water's getting pretty high."

He decides to give Winter a bit more healing, using his wand.
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 9 charges remain.

Then he climbs aboard Winter's soggy back. "Sorry to ride you again buddy, but you've been a big help."

I need Sledge, at least, to move. No one can see effectively into the room from their current vantage point. What does the party do?

I'll go second