GM supervillan's 5-13 Weapon in the Rift [High Tier, Gameday] (Inactive)

Game Master supervillan

Mun and Selune keep pace with Marik, keeping a few steps back as they wait for a sign from the halfling scout that something had been found.

Confident that all of the traps are spent, Marik strides forwards... but he missed one. There's a telltale click of a pressure plate, and an arrow is shot out of a hole at the eastern end of the corridor.

arrow vs Marik: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (9) + 20 = 29damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Fortunately, although it hits it doesn't cause a mortal wound. Derpi senses magic on the arrow, but the aura quickly fades, the magic spent.

Warily, the group moves forwards again. Only for Xiao Jr's dog to trigger another trap mechanism. This one fires another missile, an orb that explodes in your midst!

kaboom!: 12d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 6, 5, 4, 3, 5, 1, 1, 4, 4, 5) = 41 half fire damage, half divine damage

Marik, Riddywhipple, Xiao Jr, Pahs (the dog), Mun, Selune, and Myth all attempt a DC17 Reflex save for half; evasion abilities apply as normal. I think Riddywhipple has SR13, but that's not enough to stop a CL12 effect.

Xiao you didn't move your familiar, but I expect it would be with you and would also need to save unless in a familiar pouch.

Myth reacts quickly to the appearance of the orb…

Reflex: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20

…and is able to avoid any damage from the explosion…

reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 Riddlywhipple also has Improved Evasion.

((T-Shirt reroll, 4 stars))

reflex: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 4 = 12

Bang goes the familiar

WHAT THE HECK DID YOU DO!!!

Immediate action to use misfortune hex on the saving throw of Riddywhipple so they can reroll! Sorry for triggering! :-(

Xiao sees the orb and hears the boom and is scared!!

“Nooooo!!“ he shouts.

Khafaash familiar, has no improved evasion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

Khafaash, the Flying Fox Familiar is consumed by the fire but the figment of Xiao junior’s mind has good reflexes and is saved by the bloodstone collar it wears and Xiao feels wounds opening on his body!!

Bloodstone collar used 1/3, Familiar has only 12 hp but stabilizes at -1 and rest of damage (7) is dealt to Xiao junior.

~

Riding dog : 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22

The riding can also dodge but is immediately unconscious!

From 13 hp to -7 hp.

~

“Oh no … “

Xiao junior reflex : 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 23

Xiao junior can also dodge and although he is severely wounded, he immediately uses his wand on his bleeding riding dog …

clw riding dog : 3d8 + 3 ⇒ (5, 5, 7) + 3 = 20

… and then heals himself…

clw Self : 5d8 + 5 ⇒ (7, 3, 7, 2, 7) + 5 = 31

… and then uses the wand on his familiar who is already stable…

clw familiar : 3d8 + 3 ⇒ (5, 4, 6) + 3 = 18

ref: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9 reroll for Riddlywhipple

Would Improved Evasion save Riddlywhipple as Riddlywhipple would only take half damage on a failed save?

reflex save: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18
I'll use my re-roll on that, as while I can take the damage, I'm fairly sure some of my equipment can't even if it saves.
reflex save + GM Stars: 1d20 + 17 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 17 + 2 = 34 (Marik avoids damage due to evasion).

Marik pulls out his wand of cure light wounds to heal the damage from the arrow:
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Did Marik find anything on the bodies which he was checking and did he spot anything when he looked around the corner?

Reflex DC 17: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Reflex DC 17, GM Star reroll: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 8 + 1 = 28

Mun jumps aside, shielding his head and vitals from the worst of the blast.
Nice, using the reroll on literally the first encounter. Love that!

Reflex DC 17, shield companion: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 9 + 1 = 17 Evasion

Selune instinctively dodges any of the blast that could harm her, though patches of her unkempt hair are now singed, leaving the lingering stench of burned hair hanging in the air.

Party status

Marik, -1hp
Myth, ok
Riddywhipple, -20hp
Mun, -20hp
Selune, ok
Xiao, healed by wand
Pahs, healed by wand
Khafaash, healed by wand

The explosion rocks the forward party members, nearly killing several companion creatures. Almost immediately healing wands are put to work, especially Xiao's.

Improved Evasion does indeed mean only half damage on a failed save, so Riddywhipple has 3hp remaining.

Marik finds no gear on any of the corpses in the corridor.

GM, shoudl Ash have made a save as well? He wasn’t included in the list above…

Mun reaches inward, drawing on healing energy that he's learned how to refine through his time working with the Silver Crusade. He then retrieves a wand and completes the healing.

lay on hands: 3d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 4) = 9
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

MIRACLE WORKER (4+ goals): Once per adventure, you can use the lay on hands class feature as though you were a paladin whose level equals the number of goals you have completed.

Mun has 6 goals completed on this card, and 4 goals completed on the Season 9 cards (which adds 1 to this card) for a total a 7 effective goals completed for this Reward.

Wow! I really thought Riddlywhipple bought the farm that time, but not quite

Derpi recalls her very badly singed familiar, who was looking more like a fried chicken and applies healing from her Wand of Celestial Healing.

20 charges later .....

Maybe the purchase of this wand wasn't such a good idea

Ouch, yeah; I've never been a fan of the celestial version of that spell. In a wand, it seems particularly bad....

Marik puts away his wand.

"All of these bodies make's it tricky to spot the traps, it's worth us all checking for them as we move forward, just in case one gets missed."
(Especialy if I keep rolling 1s!)

"It may also be worth detecting for magic before we move as an additional check."

The halfling will wait until everyone is ready to move on and for any detect magics to be cast. If nothing concerning is detected, he will then sneak forward again keeping an eye out for traps...
perception vs traps + HA: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 15 + 1 + 2 = 25
stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17

He will continue to keep an eye out for anything else of interest in the corridor or on the bodies...
perception + HA: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 2 = 32

When he gets to the corner, he'll cautiously take a look at what he can see beyond.

OK ... I can do that.

And she does

Ash and Derpi were outside the area of effect of the blast, so no saves needed for them.

Much more cautiously, the party advances down the corridor with Marik in the lead. None of the corpses have any gear. No further traps are found, but neither are there any further explosions.

Derpi's divination doesn't detect anything, until she turns the corner.

Flowing script of inlaid silver lines the polished walls of an octagonal chamber. A heavy-looking iron door reinforced by four thick, horizontal bars of stone blocks the way to the west. A niche in the north wall contains a glass octagonal prism clasped between a set of steel prongs. Liquid that glows with a blue-white radiance fills much of the prism’s interior. A stout lever is set into the wall next to the door.

Each of the stone bars has four dials set within it. Each dial bears numbers, from zero to nine with a further blank face, and can be rotated. Each bar also bears a unique description carved in both Common and Celestial.

See slide 3

Derpi detects magical auras from the octagonal prism and the iron door.

Party status

Marik, -1hp

spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
kn planes: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (5) + 18 = 23

Xiao junior analyzes everything and speaks up.

Please see the last two spoilers.

"The prism is an ingenious device - a kind of battery for Good or Holy energy. If sufficiently charged up, a wielder can use the prism to enhance the power of Good spells!"

Mun casts detect magic himself, then examines the door.

Spellcraft DC 21: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31

"The door has a moderately powered evocation cast on it. I would imagine that's a magical trap set to go off if we don't solve this puzzle right."

He scrunches up his brow in thought as he processes the scene. "Four bars, each with four dials. The dials can be spun to any or no numerical digit. So we have to translate these clues somehow into four different numbers. Any ideas?"

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32 Looking for help with the clues here; do any of the religious references mean anything to Mun?

Are the inscriptions the same in both Common and Celestial? Mun knows Celestial.

"It looks like each of the inscriptions is summarising a story, perhaps the stories in question have links to certain numbers?"

"I wonder if there is anything else here which provides further details?"

Marik will take a look around the room to see if he can find anything else that could help provide some additional information.
perception + HA: 1d20 + 15 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 15 + 2 = 32

"Thinking about the evocation on the door, if it is a trap, it may also be posible to disable it." muses Marik.

Marik will check to see if the door or the area around it is a trap (if need be using his limited single item detect magic to help).
perception vs trap + HA: 1d20 + 15 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 15 + 1 + 2 = 21

spellcraft: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (3) + 17 = 20
spellcraft: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18
spellcraft: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (15) + 17 = 32

The only thing I can think of is to see if there is a number spelled out in each text line

The inscriptions are the same in both languages.

Mun recognises the significance of the inscriptions: they describe various of the Acts of Iomedae - the various deeds and miracles performed by the Goddess before her Ascension. In fact, Mun is familiar with all eleven of the Acts.

See revealed Slides 5, 6 and 7

Marik is unable to detect any trap on the door, though the presence of the evocation aura that Mun reports certainly suggests one.

Myth'll take a look at the door as well...

Perception: 1d20 + 15 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 15 + 1 = 20

...and shrugs...

[b]”It sounds like we are expected to reference the acts so Iomedae and enter them as a code on the number wheel, perhaps? It looks like the first handout references the 6th act for the first number, doesn’t it?” Ash waits before going any further, wanting to se eif the group agreed before suggesting any further.

k religion: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27

Oooh Oooooh .... I think you're right ..... lemme see[/b]

She curls up on the floor to have a long think.

How many Acts does Derpi remember?

Marik nods in agreement at the suggestion from Ash. "I think you may be on to something there."

He pulls out a piece of parchment and a pen and scribbles down the eleven acts as outlined by Mun, before examining the bars on the door.

"Looking at the last bar it references The Battle of Three Sorrows from the 5th act, followed by the cities of Eleder and Kantaria from the 2nd and 10th. So if your theory is correct, I'd guess that we would need to set the dials on the fourth bar to 5210?"

kn religion : 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21

Xiao junior nods.

"Hmm ... I am not so perfectly well versed as some of you on the Inheritor but that combination sounds right based on the findings so far!"

”That could be right,” Ash says as he begins backing away from a possibleblast zone from the obvious trap.

Derpi is also scribbling things down.

First line, Six Nine Seven? Second line, has an eight in it, Third: Something three, eleventh? Lastly, erm, Five, Two, Ten?

Marik nods in agreement.

"The bit about escaping the wound on the third bar could be linked to her first act where she cut the bodies of her circle from the beast's gullets? As for the second bar, the last part definitely links to the 8th act. The other parts are a bit less clear but could be linked to the 4th act which is the only one which hasn't been used yet."

"That would give us 6,9,7 then 4,8 then 1,3,11 and finally 5,2,10. Think we should give it a go?"

Mun spends some time going over the riddles and consulting with his recollection of the acts. After lots of consideration that involves muttering to himself, he nods his head. "That's as good a guess as I can work out. It's worth trying."

Ash keeps backing up. ”Sounds good to me!”

Between you, you know all of the 11 Acts and get all of the information on the revealed slides - which is enough to solve the puzzle.

Putting your knowledge of the Acts of Iomedae together, you work out a theory for the puzzle lock. Marik turns the dials to the expected numbers then pulls the lever...

The stone bars retract into the walls, and the door clicks open!

Well done :)

Beyond lies another chamber: the walls of this large, irregular room are bare but for a gold-capped prism socketed into a niche along the south wall and radiates blue-white light. In contrast, the floor is a mess of red and brown stains. A single iron door seals the room to the south.

Two creatures bar the way. They are humanoid, with dog-like heads. Bony spurs erupt from their skin at their joints; they have crimson eyes, and ash-gray fur. Each wields a greatsword.

"Turn back, intruders!" says one.

"Or be destroyed!" adds the second.

We are on Slide 2

k planes: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (11) + 13 = 24

Ah. They're Hound Archons bit there's something odd about them. They look sort of fiendish.

She pulls out two muffins and offers them out.

Muffin? she says hopefully.

Know. Planes 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (7) + 15 = 22

”And they look really strong for their kind too,” Ash whispers.

In spite of the situation, Myth can’t stifle a laugh as Derpa offers treats to these likely demon dog creatures. Drawing his bow he murmurs to Derpa, ”Don’t waste your delicious muffins on these fellows; save ‘em for me after we kill ‘em…”

Well ... sometimes they stand down and decide they don't wanna fight us after all ... at least I'm hoping

kn planes : 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (8) + 18 = 26

“Noo … I have been in Heaven before. I saw your celestial passion for beauty… you have to fight the corruption that has taken hold of you! Please!! Everyone calm down so we can talk!!“ Xiao junior shouts.

“I can see that you can be saved!! You archons' might have a fiendish taint but it has not progressed so far as to change you into another outsider! Well, reversing the damage would require extended exposure to a particularly strong good-aligned plane or possibly even require atonement!! I am optimistic that we can help!!!“ he says with a warm smile.

diplomacy : 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (19) + 24 = 43

Ah .... that prism .... isn't it a source of Good aligned energy? Maybe they should soak in it for a while

Xiao junior’s eyes go wide!!

“Yes Derpi! Would you allow us to use this divine artifact that has positive and good energy stored inside on you?!“ the little Halfling asks the two celestial beings.

Pity I can't make Good aligned muffins Derpi giggled.

Marik is not an expert on the denizens of other planes, but the fact that these ones have not yet attacked is certainly a good sign.

"I agree, let's all calm down and see if we can get to the bottom of what is going on here."

The halfling turns to the archons with a friendly smile. "We really are here to help, you just surprised us."

Then realising his manners.
"Apologies, I haven't introduced myself. I'm Marik." He gives the archons a polite bow "I'm curious, why is it you believe that we are intruders?"

diplomacy to aid Xiao junior: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (2) + 19 = 21

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Mun looks uncertain of his companions' ideas about their taint, but tries to back them up nonetheless. He grips his longspear and places his other hand between Selune's shoulder-blades nonetheless.

"If you seek a way out of this fiendish transformation, we will do all that we can to help you."

Diplomacy (aid another) DC 10, fashionable: 1d20 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 16 + 1 = 26

The two archons raise their swords as Myth draws his bow. They glare intensely at Mun and seem about to strike - but somehow, something that Xiao says gets through to them. They lower their blades and listen. One of them takes a muffin.

"We were bound here to defend the tower. Only Ghalcor and his assistants were to be permitted to pass. Our agreed period of service has ended, but the tower's safeguards prevent our teleporting out."

"We are aware of the <nom...nom>, mmm, good muffin! Ahem, of the change that has come over us. It is somehow related to the prisms but we do not understand how."

You can easily and safely remove both the prism at the door, and the prism in this room.

Also, I owe you some treasure - the trapped corridor does hold two items of potential use that you recover: a suit of +1 Mithral Fullplate and a Potion of Cure Serious Wounds. - the Treasure note is two pages after the corridor trap details, after a large map, sorry about that :o

Marik looks relieved that the situation appears to have de-escalated.

"Perhaps we can help you leave the tower? We've secured the path back to the entrance, so you could leave the tower on foot. Do you think you would be able to teleport once you are away from the tower? We'd probably need to go with you to the entrance so that we can explain the situation to the crusaders outside and avoid another misunderstanding."

"If, as Xiao Junior says, your current predicament can be resolved by a good-aligned plane, would you be able to travel to such a place once you are able to teleport?"

Mun removes the prism from outside this room, and begins studying it. "If the prisms caused this... could they help heal it, too?" He casts detect magic as he examines it further.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Spellcraft, covetous, elven magic: 1d20 + 14 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 4 + 2 = 38

Mun learns that the prisms have auras of moderate Universal magic.

All may read the spoiler below - Xiao and Mun have all the information.

"Yes. Yes, if you could escort us out on foot we should be able to teleport. Thank you."

The two archons gratefully follow Marik and anyone else who goes with them out of the tower. The assembled crusaders are shocked at the appearance of the tainted, once-holy, warriors - but they are assured by your explanations. With a final, swift bow in your direction, the pair vanish.

”Well, that went better than I possibly could have expected. Good job, everyone. There’s no telling what other defenses this place still has, however…”

Heh. That's one for the Magic of Friendship