[PFS_CORE_Aerondor] Bonekeep level 2 (3-7) (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

We should discuss what we want to do while the creatures are calmed. I have 6 rnds left of calm emotions. I can only take move actions. It's a standard to concentrate on the spell. Deluge, any wy for you to converse with the creatures?

Ny'a looks around as all the water elementals seem to have calmed down. "Should we, ahhh, just move on? While we can?"

I really don't want to do this, even though it sounds like a good idea. Who knows what's waiting for us on the other side of the room, or in the dark mist up that short flight of steps.

We need to discuss this. I think Deluge, being a druid, has the best chance of dealing with these elementals. However, after looking at his profile, he doesn't speak Aquan and his elemental body ability doesn't let him speak an elemental language while in that form.

Also, Deluge is going back up the stairs.

The threat of character death is very real in this event, but the potential rewards are greater as a result. You will be able to, as a table, decide to leave the event at any time should it become too deadly for you, except when engaged in combat. If this is not the type of event for you, now is the time to back out.

"Oh, no, Mister! Don't run away on us now!"

We may have to just go full-on attack with Bella dropping the calm emotions. We could even rewind the combat to the beginning.
GM Aerondor never told us what they're attacking us with. Is it a watery slam? Swords? Tentacles? Bella could've cast protection from energy on someone near the beginning of this combat if she knew with what or how they were attacking.

No offense intended, GM. There just wasn't much detail given, especially for a PbP game.

I think we need to either finish them off quickly, before more of us take further Will save penalties; or chance passing through the mist while the elementals are calmed.

I was wondering how we were supposed to deal with this whole not attacking them thing. We really have to clear them out and do so while the calm emotions is preventing confusion. I don't think they are all that dangerous without the confusion effect and if they attack back, so be it.

Unless I am not understanding things and as soon as we attack them the calm emotions effect will no longer protect us from the confusion. In which case all the spell does is allow us a respite and a chance to heal up.

The problem is the mind fog effect. We have to get out of that, because you know there are going to be plenty of Will saves ahead of us.

Thus the idea of attacking from the stairs. That might work, though only one or two can attack from the stairs at a time.

The problem is the mind fog effect. We have to get out of that, because you know there are going to be plenty of Will saves ahead of us.

I agree; I'm not a fan of continuing to take that hit every round. I also agree with Bella that drawing them into another combat isn't a good plan. I don't think we know the origin of the mind fog; if we can get out of it by drawing them out of this room, and do that without bumping into the next encounter, I'd love that.

You will still all need to make will saves each round in the room against the fog. Well, not Deluge as he is out of the mists.

Sorry, I guess we do know the origin of the effect.

Well, your characters don't necessarily. But I figured with Deluge out of the room I'd make it clear that *he* wasn't affected by it.

These elementals, just like most, are just bumping into you with their elemental energies. In this case slamming into you with their watery bodies. If they had been using some type of weapon, I'd likely have made that clear.

The stairs are a spiral set of stairs. To get a view of anything in the room, you would need to be at the bottom of the steps. If you are any higher on a spiral staircase, the walls block line of sight.

Not to be meta-gamey, but, the water creatures are attacking us from their water fountains. Move them out of their watery domain... then...

I could summon Lite-Brite, who does speak every language with its truespeak ability. Let's think, people!

This scenario was written by a guy that wanted to TPK the party. Our GM wants to kill us all. Look at your PC's abilities and find ways to use them in this situation! Do you have boons on the PC that could help? Go through those chronicle sheets! Even an extra reroll could help.

There is about a foot of water on the main floor at the moment as it flooded when they first emerged from their fountains.

Tere up on the steps by the mist curtain is out of the water, as is (ironically, given his name) Deluge on the spiral steps.

And your GM isn't that keen on killing you. Not really. I'm probably the only 4 star GM in organised play without a single player scalp to my name. But at some stage there will be a first. And Bonekeep might well be that stage.

Actually, yeah. Bonekeep wants to kill us all. I should have stated it that way.

I'm a bit worried about running away from the elementals. It'd be nice if we had a way to keep them from attacking us. I don't want to have to encounter them again if we need to make a run for the exit when we're deeper in the dungeon.

GM Aerondor, how high is that purple mist on the western side? Is it floor to ceiling? How high is the ceiling?

Waiting to see if Tere is actually able to get through the mist at this point. If he is, I guess Deleuge is going to follow Tere and Belladonna.

The ceiling is around 10' high at the top of the stairs, slightly higher where most of the group is standing. The curtain of purple mist rises to the ceiling.

Has anyone else (Bella hasn't) tried to figure out what the curtain of energy separating the room is? With detect magic or find traps? Bella has 2 rounds of concentrating on calm emotions left. It might be a good idea to see what this curtain of smoke, or whatever, is.

I'm wondering what will happen when calm emotions is over with. We may need to go back to fighting these creatures before leaving the area. I'd like to know what the curtain of energy is before exiting the room, though.

My gut says they don't follow us through the mist. I could--obviously--be wrong, but that's my instinct. I think we should target getting through the door in these two rounds that Bella's providing us, however. Putting that door between us and the elementals makes it even harder for them to follow.

I'd like to know what the effects are from going through that curtain. Someone should detect Magic on it.

Bella will hop through just before spell expires.

@Everyone: I think we should finish off those elementals. We're going to have to pass through here to get out. I would hate to fight these things again and they could possibly be at full strength when we come back through later.

This part of the post being OOC, I decided to continue over here.

If these will ST penalties apply until we leave, I'd rather not accumulate them here before we go elsewhere. And if they wear off, it will make the confusion effect less lethal if we come back. Not sure how resting works here, but we may be able to recover the calm emotions spell before we pass though again which would make it much easier. So I think we should go on forward.

Ok. Cool. As long as I have enough spell slots, I can cast calm emotions again.

We may be fine just running past those elementals if we need to get out in a hurry later.

GM A, are the mists opaque from this side?

Moving this discussion where it belongs...

I don't really share Bella's worry about running past the elementals on our way out. We can just... run past. Worst case is they get a few AoOs on us if they're placed just right for it.

Meta:
If the scenario ends after X number of rooms, will we even need to run past them?

I suspect the mist wall would be blocked while they are agitated, but not the stairs out (as Deluge already discovered). Just a wild guess though. Now that they are all up in arms (do water elementals even have arms?) it would be a good idea to test that theory once we have secured the room.

Your protective wards were specifically warned would not last forever.

your core mental faculties. “With luck, these protections will continue to ward you against such mind magic…for a time.

The purple mist is just as opaque on this side as the other.

You do still have the will penalty.

Hi! I had a long weekend vacation, and just started a new job today--all while recovering from a broken leg--so still figuring out my posting rhythm. I forgot to post an announcement, sorry! I think it's likely I don't get a meaningful post in until tomorrow--Wed--so please bot anything you need from me in the meantime.

Thanks!

Ouch. No worries. And No hurry.

Pau's damage needs adjusting and the bleed removed. Though you posted only 11 minutes ago so maybe an edit is coming up.

This is early notice that I will be on vacation from Wed 22 Jun through Mon 27 Jun. I will be camping at a music festival, and internet has historically been inaccessible via phones most of the time during the festival due to the amount of traffic. I don't expect that I will be able to post at all.

I will try to get a reminder post in right before I leave, but I might miss that in the rush to get going. Please feel free to bot Ny'a as needed starting Tuesday PM.

Ny'a, are you going to Old Songs?

Ny'a, are you going to Old Songs?

Electric Forest

No worries, no speed hurry on this and a more relaxed pace is less likely to kill you. Maybe.

Should have posted my question here.

Are the ogres using two handed weapons and are the metal or wood?

If they are two handed I can forget about the warp wood as the weapons would be large and I could only get one of them. Probably go with flaming sphere if that happens.

Someone make a knowledge local on these things so we know what bonekeep has done to a simple ogre.

The ogres have greatclubs, so they are wooden. They are most definitely two handed.

Thank you Flank Buddy Tere!

I have to say I hate this encounter.
Hopefully some of you survive your saving throws. Remember evasion if you have it.

Do we get our save bonuses from protection vs. evil? (For Tere it won't make a difference, but it might for others.)

Sadly I don't think the PfE bonus will help with the fireballs as it is a result of a necklace of fireballs failing its saving throw and going off.

Worth asking, at least. I'm afraid that the only ones coming out of this are going to be Tere, Two Blades, and Pau.

Wait, the flaming sphere is not an area affect. It strikes ONE target not the whole area. If that is what caused the neckless to go off then I think we might be saved.

Unfortunately, the language in the item description doesn't specify area of effect:

If the necklace is being worn or carried by a character who fails her saving throw against a magical fire attack, the item must make a saving throw as well (with a save bonus of +7). If the necklace fails to save, all its remaining spheres detonate simultaneously, often with regrettable consequences for the wearer.

I'm not sure how this would interact with, say, a cleric's fire bolt ability, because that's a magical fire attack that doesn't get a save.

Yeah. This is just evil. 39d6 damage in a 7-8 dungeon.
I split it into multiple sub-saves to give the best chance of having things like fire resistance take effect and the results of a single "1" save not being quite as catastrophic. But this is still a shed load of damage in a very small room.

Deluge, you have any chronicles that might help? If you can get 11 points of damage knocked off, you can survive.

Tere hadn't taken his action yet, and he has a chronicle item that might help, although it'd be a stretch. From 10-00, The Hao Jin Cataclysm, his ruby phoenix feathers can, at his current level, be used to cast fireball as a standard action using his level as the caster level. Can he use one to try to counterspell one of the necklace fireballs?

ETA: Reading further, that probably won't work--he doesn't have the Spellcraft skill, and can't identify the fireball as it's being "cast."

portfolio reroll for third fireball: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Ugh. Not nice, dice, not nice.

Is it that close? I guess I will use my portfolio reroll on the third fireball... crossing over to gameplay...

GM, with evasion and the reroll on the third fireball, I only failed the save on the one dealing 9 damage, so I’m pretty sure that’s all I took.