Redelia's Wardens of the Reborn Forge (Inactive)

Game Master Redelia

I wrote my previous post rather quickly while at work. I really don't know what you're trying to get at, Ranalus. We are still outside, in the open, with a raging mana/thunderstorm going on. From the description of the storm, I think any PC would be frightened by such a dangerous looking storm going on, which is why Arcturus is in a hurry to get inside! Maybe a mana/lightning bolt does only 1d4 damage, but, Arcturus doesn't know that. He assumes one bolt could outright kill him.

Arcturus turns to Ranalus before rushing through the main gate.
"Yes! Yes! Of course you can take your time looking through doors -when we get inside!!!"

Arcturus runs as fast as he can to the double doors set in an angled wall across the courtyard. He tries opening them.
"Feel free to remain calm in a raging storm over our heads! As for me... I'm getting inside!!!"

@Arcturus - merely that Ranalus is an adventurer of legendary status (see the Legend Lore spell) who has explored elemental planes, pocket dimensions, and all manner of insane environments. As I see it, 14th level is insanely high, closer to being a demigod than a regular mortal. He's not going to be flustered by rough weather. And especially not after this:

Once again, the team's luck holds, and you are all safely sheltered from the gate to the outpost.

Ranalus sighs. "Lead on."

Ahh haha! I missed that part that we were sheltered.

Still a bit nervous about the raging storm above, Arcturus stops at the set of double doors on the slanted wall.
"Hey, Ranalus. You want to check what's inside with your Door Sight before we go in?"

"Keep the guards off of me."

Ranalus uses Door Sight to look through the door.

Door Sight (Su): You can lay your hand upon any surface and see what is on the other side, as if using clairvoyance. Using this power takes 1 minute, during which time you must be touching the surface you want to see through. You can keep looking for as long as 10 minutes with each use of this power, but must touch the surface and take no other action the entire time. The surface cannot be thicker than 6 inches plus 1 inch per cleric level you possess. You can use this power a number of times per day equal to 3 + your Wisdom modifier.

Ranalus sees what looks like a workshop, with a brass guardian in it, hooked up to a machine of some kind.

On the roof right above the door is a lightning rod with a human body (dead a few days) skewered on it.

Arcturus glances about and happens to look up, noticing the body skewered on the lightning rod.
"Gah!!! How horrible! Any way we can get that body down so I can give it a blessing for a safe journey to the afterlife?”

"Slash! Can you fly up there to get it?"

@Arcturus, we are not in there yet.

Ranalus relays what he sees through the door.

"The brass guardian in there might animate to attack us if we open the door, or it might not. The dead body skewered to the lightning rod might animate as well. Who knows?"

He checks the door for traps.
Perception: 1d20 + 36 ⇒ (20) + 36 = 56

He will cast Resist Energy (Electricity) on himself.

Once everyone else has done any preparations they wish, he will open the door.

Might be I should have a look. Chap got himself electrocuted maybe. Could have been the storm. Could have been a trap. Note sure if the body is inside or outside. I was thinking inside but if outside: I guess the storm is still raging. Would going up on the roof above the door put Slash in storm danger? Are the winds so high that flying might be an issue?

On the roof right above the door is a lightning rod with a human body (dead a few days) skewered on it.

@Arcturus, we are not in there yet.

I know. Since it says "roof" & "lightning rod", both of which are on the outside of a building, I assumed we were still outside the door. Why would a roof & lightning rod be inside?

Right, but it was seen with the Door Sight ability and I believe is on the other side of the door. Not sure.

Hmm. So is the lightning rod on the ceiling inside the room? That wouldn't make sense; the lightning rod would be pointing downward & gravity would pull the body down. I guess we do need clarification.

Oh, I was confused too. I get it now. I think the body is outside and the brass guardian is inside.

oops, sorry that was not clear. Yes, the brass guardian is in the lab. The body on the lightning rod is outside, on the roof of the lab, right by the door. I mentioned it because Ranalus would be unable to miss it when he walked up to the door to use his ability to see through it.

Slash is pretty sure that he is safe to fly up to the lightning rod, because the outer wall is higher than the roof he would be on. As long as you are inside that outer wall and not up higher than the outer wall, you might be getting wet and not able to hear well from the thunder, but you are sheltered from the weird magic effects of the mana storm and from the wind.

Slash flies up and takes a look at the body and the lightning rod, casting guidance on himself from his wayfinder before doing so.

Perception: 1d20 + 26 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 26 + 1 = 42

If he finds no evidence of a trap he will bring the body down. And if trapped he will disarm, taking 10 for a 46. Can anyone tell the cause of death and how long he has been dead? he asks.

Slash does not find any traps. The woman was killed a few days ago by being skewered onto the lightning rod. He is able to bring the body down to where the others wait.

Arcturus helps bring the body down. He lays the corpse flat and folds the arms in a funerary pose and closes her wide, staring eyes.
"The poor woman. How did she fall onto the rod? Was she a wizard using a fly spell?"
Arcturus scratches his head, thoroughly confused.
"Well. Doesn't matter. Shame to leave her here without a proper burial. Maybe we'll be back this way with a bag of holding to bring her back to town."

Arcturus performs a small ritual (with the assistance of any of his teammates who would like to do so) to wish her soul a safe journey.

"This is odd. I wonder who she is?"

The group gets a strange sensation, like a dark cloud has lifted. you've permanently destroyed a haunt...

To keep things going forward, I'm going to assume that you explore the room that you already looked through the door of...

Scattered tools, machine parts, and scrap metal fill every corner of this messy workroom. In the center of the chamber, a bipedal clockwork automaton is secured to an arcane platform of wires, pipes, and twisting metal. A large bundle of wires winds upward from the platform toward and through the ceiling. Wide wooden double doors to the northwest and a humble wooden door to the east exit the workshop.

A careful search of the room does not turn up anything.

Note: this room does have a door to another room.

Slash switches to his adamantine greataxe and goes to check the door for traps and to listen at it.

Trapfinding: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (18) + 26 = 44

Perhaps a good time to remind you the Slash has the Trapspotter tallent.

Perception: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (13) + 26 = 39

That's awesome that we permanently destroyed a haunt!

"I have a feeling we should dismantle all of these wires and pipes connecting this... thing."
He says as he points at the automaton.
"These wires must power it somehow. Probably the energy from the lightning."

"Did you find any traps?" Rogar turns to Arcturus. "Yeah sounds like a good idea. Are the wires trapped?"

"Let's see if Slash can find any traps on these wires and maybe a way to sabotage them without blowing us up."

Slash does not see any traps either in the aparatus or the door.

Arcturus looks at the mass of wires and pipes. He blesses himself with touch of good.

Wondering where to start, he shrugs and then begins to unplug things.
Knowledge (engineering): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

I have 9 rounds of Touch of Good. Will wait to see if anything happens after the first round of sabotage.

Nothing happens as Arcturus unplugs the wires.

Arcturus pauses for a moment after pulling out a cable...

There's no reaction from the automaton, nor anything crawling from the shadows to stop him. He decides not to enhance himself with the "touch of good".
"Oh, good! That automaton thing didn't activate. I'll just pull out more!"
He wantonly pulls out and tears the wires and cables connected to the guardian, cackling with glee.
"Bwaaahh-haa-haaa!!! This is AwESoMe!!!"

Yes, Ranalus will use Door Sight again and report on what he sees.

"Recently ransacked. Not sure by who. Is there another group on this case? Aspis, perhaps?"

Rogar twirls his mustache.

"Aspis....hmmm..haven't run into them for ages!"

If there are no other ideas, I'll move you through the door tomorrow so we don't stall.

Arush silently covers the backs of her comrades with a bow at the ready. I've been here all this time, I just don't see much use for my skills .)

Ranalus opens the door to the ransacked room (having relied on Slash's Trap Spotter talent to assure him there are no traps).

He looks around the room for anything the ransackers missed.
Perception: 1d20 + 36 ⇒ (19) + 36 = 55

He is in particular looking for trap doors up or down.

If he finds nothing, he will suggest moving to the large building.

Ranalus finds, hidden in the false bottom to a drawer, a heart shaped pendant cut from a gem.

Thrown on the floor is what appears to be a journal. In it, an obviously crazed hermit names Kraus recorded her scattered thoughts and personal progress reports on her work for Hrugor Gurstweld and Syckar. Within it, she frequently mentions her meetings with Gurstweld in the abandoned Megator Facient, and describes in her later entries her "growing distrust of the freakish hill giant and his mutated minions." Her increasing paranoia coincided with what she believed to be the reactivation of Megator Facient; in her last entry, she writes: "The hills have begun to stink of sulfur and dread. I fear for my own life, as well as the lives of countless others, in the shadow of this reborn forge." Her journal makes several mentions of a "minister," though she never attaches a name to the title. Scattered drawings of mechanical figures and diagrams are occasionally interrupted by seemingly random sketches, including one that appears to be a representation of a noble’s seal, similar to that one might find on a signet ring.

congratulations, you've found one significant piece of evidence as to who is behind this, and also found a clue as to where else to explore when you're done with this place.

Arush carefully studies the magazine, and then, after all the comrades have also familiarized themselves with its contents, very carefully puts it away in her belongings.

We will definitely find out who is behind all this and bring him to the law according to Alkenstar customs.

waiting in case anyone else has a response or wants to do anything... please also decide where to explore next in this place.

"I suppose we need to find the Megator Facient area mentioned in this journal... Whatever that is. We sure did get a lot of info from those notes, though. I wonder if that woman skewered on the lightning rod is Kraus, the one who penned this journal?"
He says with a shrug.

"Does anyone recognize this symbol that looks like a noble's seal?"

I suggest checking the room to the east to clear this area of the map.

Knowledge Nobility: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32 - noble’s seal

Was the body male or female?

Was the body male or female?

Female.

Arcturus, you know that Megator Facient is the other area you could see when you emerged from the mine.

Arush knows that the seal is for a member of the Sultur family. A member of that family is indeed on the High Council. You don't think you have enough evidence yet, but you have a strong suspicion who is causing the problems.

Well. There is one proof, but more is needed. Moving on? If there are no objections, then Arush goes to the next big doors in the courtyard.

Arush, there is still a door to a room to the east in the area we're in to check.

"What about this door, Arush?”
Arcturus calls Slash over to check the eastern door.

Slash checks it out, but checking for traps and listening before checking to see if it is locked.

Trapfinding: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (17) + 26 = 43

Perception to Listen: 1d20 + 26 ⇒ (18) + 26 = 44

Rogar moves behind the others and waits.

I wonder what's behind there

Ranalus will check that door with Door Sight.

The area isn't actually a room; it's more of an outdoor workshop area. Door sight and trap looking don't find anything, but neither does a careful examination of the piles of junk.

Before we move on, I do want to make sure that the long time and slow pace of a PbP game does not keep you from noticing something very important in the rooms you've just explored. The first workshop contained a brass guardian, hooked up to a machine. You're supposed to be investigating why brass guardians were misbehaving, and you found a journal that describes a person's tinkering with brass guardians.

OK, where now? It appears there is interest in going into the doorway near several of your tokens?

A lantern lights up in Arcturus' head.

"Hey, everyone. We should take a really good look at that big brass golem thing in the other room before we continue to other areas. There might be something that explains what's been going on in Alkenstar. Let's dismantle it and see what makes it tick. We might learn something."

Slash opens his set of tools and sets to the disassembly task.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 31 ⇒ (12) + 31 = 43

If anything proves too tough he will employ his adamantine axe.