[PbP Gameday XI] GM Chadius 1-03: Escaping the Grave (Gameplay) (Inactive)

Game Master chadius

where should we head next?

Gregor searches over the body then carefully picks it up, takes it out to the cart and places it with the other remains.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Anyone know if Bryrigar Hassen or anyone else on the list had orcish ancestry? This remains mouth has large, broken-off tusk stumps."

As he gets to the cart, "Everything still clear out here? No sign of undead?"

where should we head next?

Go where you want. The number one rule was already broken...'Don't split the party'. Being a room away is usually ok because you can still get within sight but being a whole floor away can be problematic. The people who went upstairs may get in trouble if they encounter something as they may be too far away for the rest of the party downstairs to make it to them in a round. Just saying.....

Ranzak hears Gregor's question and answers, "Yes, Bryrigar Hassen is on list and may be half orc." Then Ranzak asks thoughtfully, "Where would someone hide statue to keep it safe?"

Gregor carries the body towards the well. Ranzak confirms Bryrigar Hassen is on the list. She also wonders if they'll ever find an intact statue. Maybe it's in another room?

Where will folks move, next?

130 minutes
Gregor: Well
Naple: Office
Nal: Well
Ranzak: Well
Topias: Upstairs Study Area
Harsk: Upstiars Study Area

Topias explores the dormitories.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

After a solemn moment of silence over the body that Gregor brought to the well, Nal indicates that it be put in the cart with the others. "All right. We won't find anything standing around out here. Let's clear the first floor, starting in the next room from where you were, Gregor, and working our way around systematically so we don't miss anything." Nal gets all businesslike as she ascends the steps to get back to work.

Since the rooms aren't labeled on the map, I can't call out which one we'll go to, but now you know what direction Nal would go.

Topias moves on towards the Dormitories.

These small rooms housed students who elected to not live in separate residences. Much of the furniture has fallen to disrepair over time. Topias searches one dormitory, but he doesn't see anything of value. He can search the three others, or look in a different room.

You can spend 5 minutes to search a single room, or two of them in 10 minutes.

Gregor, Ranzak and Nal decide to clear out the first floor, starting with the lounge.

The velvet-lined sofa pushed up against the north wall is caked in dust. Broken chairs rest in the southwest. A small closet and empty office, both with their doors torn off or kicked in, are to the west. Closed wooden doors lead to the east and south.

130-135 minutes
Topias: Dormitories (1/4)

130 minutes
Gregor: Lounge
Naple: Office
Nal: Lounge
Ranzak: Lounge
Harsk: Upstiars Study Area

Ranzak checks out the lounge area. Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25

"Gregor, Nal! There's someone under the sofa." Ranzak says excitedly. Then looking under the sofa, "Hello. Don't be scared. We Pathfinders."

An toned half-orc of medium build pops out from under the sofa and scrambles backward to a wall. "AAAAH! You won't take me! I won't fall for your tricks- AAAAAH!" His screams could wake the dead. Ranzak tries to calm him down.

As she mentions Pathfinders, the half-orc controls his breathing and finally stands up. "You're not here to kill me? Thank Desna. I'm Larraz Virtanne. Pathfinders cooperate, right? Okay, good. Have you seen my teammates? Gibb Potsmasher, Kailli Thimbleberry, and Osprey Pierces the Tide? We got separated, maybe a month ago."

"Oh! And Desert Wind. He's a horse." Larraz coughs. "I've been stuck in this college for a month, foraging for food when the coast was clear." He takes a deep breath. "Gods! I need to get back to Katapesh."

Gregor comes rushing in with blade drawn. Upon seeing then hearing the half-orc, he states, "We have Desert Wind safe outside. As for Gibb Potsmasher, we think we found their remains in the Chapel. We have yet to find any trace of Kalli Thimbleberry or Osprey Pierces the Tide. Can you give descriptions of them? We did find two other bodies of short stature dressed as worshippers of Iomedae as well as who we believe to be Bryrigar Hassen and his Wayfinder in the offices over there. We also found Clement Marten's Wayfinder but no remains. What can you tell us of the surroundings?"

"Whoa!" Larraz steps back as Gregor arrives. "So Gibb... gods..." He looks away and nods. "I got lucky."

"Like I said, we all got surrounded and separated. So many undead. If you haven't found them, they are hopefully hiding. Or dead. I hope they're not part of this terrible horde."

"There is a necromancer in this region, his name is Rathliss. He likes to patrol this area as an hunting ground. Writes his name everywhere like he owns the place. I'm good at hiding, and Desert Wind knows how to be quiet. But if someone told him you were here, he'll certain show up in a few hours."

"Now, let's see. I have made this my home for the last few days." Larraz rubs his chin. "Have you checked out the Dean's Quarters? There's a statue there, a chariot wreathed in flame. Looks important, but I never touched it, it's pretty heavy. You'd need a wagon to carry it around."

"Luckily, we have a cart. It's outside by the well with Desert Wind. It could use a bit more work on the wheel, but there's a horde working its way here and we want to make sure we don't miss anyone before we have to make ourselves scarce. If you're handy, you can give us a hand by working on it while we search the rest of the college. ... We're glad you're with us, Larraz. And thanks for the tip about the statue." Nal gives him a firm handshake and slips toward the next room, thinking: Gotta watch out for that necromancer. The corpses we have may be a liability.

I forget: are the bags we have for the dead mundane or magical? As in, would putting all the bodies in bags put them out of range of any necromantic spells?

The bags are magical and necromancer-proof.

"No problem. The Dean's Quarters is upstairs." Larraz steadies his breath as Nal pokes her head into another room. "Oh! That used to be a classroom. I haven't gone in there since the hole in the floor appeared."

This spacious classroom still contains some relatively intact seating and a dusty old rug. To the west, the floor is sodden, and part of it has collapsed, revealing a hole filled with shattered bookshelves, broken chairs, and other decor. Doors exit to the north.

If you wish to search the room, make a Perception check.

Gregor quickly scans the room.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

"We should quickly look into the other rooms down here to see if there is anything in them then get upstairs to retrieve the statue. I feel our time here is running out. You're welcome to join us, Larraz."

Topias decides to investigate Dean's quarters before returning downstairs where he heard discussion.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Gregor takes a quick look around the room. He notices the floor is very damp here. It's so damp his foot almost falls through the floorboards.

I've outlined the weak part of the floor. Your weight is enough to destroy the floorboards. You can make a Crafting check to reinforce the floor, or try a different solution.

Gregor estimates it would take 10 minutes to explore what is underneath the rotten floorboards.

---

Meanwhile, Topias travels alone to the Dean's Quarters.

The double door to this suite has been knocked off its hinges and shattered, leaving the exit open to the hallway outside. A broken four-post bed stands against the eastern wall. A circular table and an accompanying chair occupy a nook in the southwest. A large statue depicting a marble chariot wheel sporting flames of gold occupies the northeast corner.

As he enters the room, he notices the ceiling is very fragile. So fragile, in fact, it will collapse if he enters the room.

You can make a Crafting check to reinforce the ceiling.

Will Topias continue into the room.

Topias steps back from Dean's quarters and instead ventures into dormitories on other side.
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

As Gregor notices the soft floor of the classroom, Nal squints at it thoughtfully. This reminds her of some traps she's disarmed in the past. "I think I can rig this to temporarily hold our weight, if we want to spend the time. I'm getting worried that we're running out, though."

"We do need to hurry but if we can recover as much as we can that is just as equally important. Do it."

Minutes 130

In the Classroom, Nal begins repairing the floorboards near the rotten floor and taps it a few times. It seems stable enough to walk on.

It would take about 10 minutes to safely climb down the pit, search for clues, and then climb out of the pit.

Ranzak, Harsk, Naple: What will you do in the meantime?

Minutes 135-140
Topias sees the statue, but decides he doesn't want to risk the ceiling falling on him. So he backs out and searches another Dormitory. Looking under a ruined bed, he notices a dirty vial of Holy Water.

Naple joins Topias in the second floor and searches for the statue. "So how are we gonna get that thing without risking to hurt ourselves?"

Naple comes up to the second floor and notices the statue of the marble chariot wheel sporting flames of gold. Topias warns her the ceiling is unstable, and it will collapse of either of them step into the room without preparations.

You can make a Craft check to disable this hazard.

Otherwise, he could use some help searching the Dormitories. Each one takes about 5 minutes, and he plans to look through at least 2 of them.

Naple arrived at 130 minutes, and Topias will look through the 3rd and 1st rooms. Naple can choose to look through the 2nd and 4th rooms, or join up with Topias and help the search. Or she can do something else.

Gregor looks over the repairs Nal made.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

"It looks sturdy enough and looks like there is something down there. Perhaps a sword? Someone could have fallen down there and became trapped. Maybe another Pathfinder or Wayfinder. Let's set up a rope to climb down." He pulls out a climbing kit to rig up and will climb down if it is not too difficult.

Ranzak will offer to climb down and look around.

"I will let others do the disabling when they are finished searching the rooms below. I will help you search the other rooms." Naple tells Topias. She then moves to the other rooms Topias is not searching.

She starts with the second room. Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16 "Seems..." she whispers.

She also searches the fourth room. Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Minutes 130-140
Naple and Topias spend a total of 10 minutes searching the rooms.

She doesn't find anything useful in the second room, but in the forth room she notices a drawer filled with dusty jewelry. (worth about 8 sp)

Meanwhile, Gregor borrows Ranzak's rope and decides to climb down the hole. Nal's repairs manage to secure the floorboards enough so he can travel safely. He notices the gleam of metal and the shiny of jewels. He manages to pull something from the rubble.

It is an ornate, ceremonial longsword with a golden, wire-wrapped hilt and a pommel set with large rubies.

He climbs out the hole with another piece of Goldenflame history. With the combined efforts of the Pathfinders, only one room remains unchecked: the Dean's Quarters.

Harsk: Main Hall
Ranzak, Gregor, Nal: Classroom (all clear)
Topias, Naple: Dormitories (all done)

"Not quite what I was expecting but maybe it is worth something."

Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

He climbs out and shows the others what was in the hole.

"I found these jewelries, that is. Well, the Dean's Quarters need some fixing before we are able to get the statue. Anyone mind fixing it first?" Naple tells them after she returns to the first floor.

DC 16 Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Naple recognizes the sword. "Ohhh, nice sword! It's an important ceremonial item in services held by the church of Iomedae. Although its main use is for ceremonies of cultural or religious significance, it can be wielded as a nonmagical, battle-ready longsword." she shares to them. "I can bring and perhaps use that, if nobody minds. Hehe."

Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

Topias returns from upstairs after completing the search. "Do we have time to both fix ceiling of Dean's quarters and also repair the cart? We may have to leave the statue if we decide to further repair cart." Topias muses and agrees of sword's significance

Wordlessly, Nal will begin rigging the ceiling to stay aloft, unless the group agrees that she should focus on fixing the cart and redirects her efforts.

Crafting: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Harsk heads to the classroom

Society=: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

Ranzak watches Nal make the ceiling safe.

Nal takes some of the sturdier loose floorboards from the classroom and uses them to reinforce the ceiling. Naple tests the ceremonial sword, it is well suited for combat.

With the ceiling reinforced, the group is able to reach the statue without much trouble.

The statue weighs 16 Bulk. Up to 6 of you can split the load and carry it together.

"I can help carry that to the wagon." Larraz chimes in. "Then maybe we can get out of here?"

Would anyone like to do anything else in the college? Or back in town?

Religion: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

Naple takes a good look at the statue. She raises an eyebrow. "So... who is that?" she asks while ready to help others carry the statue. "How important is this for us to bring? No, not that I am complaining." he asks Larraz, unbeknownst to her of the importance of the statue.

"Thanks, Larraz. Ranzak, can you go ahead of us and make sure our path is clear?" Nal suggests, thinking that the goblin's stature might make hefting the statue more difficult. "It looks like we checked everywhere in the town and here, but we didn't find all the people we were supposed to look for. Do you know where else we can look, Larraz?"

@GM chadius: Is there anything that we as players have overlooked that our characters likely wouldn't have?

Gregor follows everyone up to the second floor.

Religion: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

"I believe this is a statue significant to Iomedae's faithful. It may be the one I mentioned at the beginning of our journey. That looks very heavy.

Nal, it may be a good idea to take another look at that cart and see if it can be braced a little better. I don't know how much weight it can handle."

I do believe in the church we found a wayfinder engraved with the phrase "Gibb Potsmasher, sun lady lets me spit fire!" which was not too far from the charred body. We also packed up the charred remains whether it was Gibb or not. We could not determine.

Ranzak looks at the other Pathfinders and realizes she is a lot shorter than the others. She might be more hindrance than help with the statue.

"Okay, I make sure path is clear." Ranzak says and gives directions as needed to guide the others down the stairs and out to the wagon.

Ranzak clears the path of debris as you carefully lift the statue, carry it downstairs and outside to the wagon.

Nal repaired the wagon's axle, but you know it could be further improved. You could spend 10 minutes and make another Crafting check to further reinforce it.

It's time to lift the wheel onto the cart. Carefully.

One of you must make a DC 21 Atheltics check to load it gently onto the cart. The rest of you can aid.

"I hope we are ready to leave immediately after we got cart loaded. The undead are soon here."
Athletics to aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Ranzak will help lift the statue.
Athletics: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

While the others are straining to budge the statue, Nal casts Guidance on herself and takes another look at the repair job done on the cart.

Crafting: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 5 + 1 = 11

She shakes her head. "Hmm... I don't like it, but I don't think I can do any better with the amount of time we have." Here's hoping the statue doesn't cause the whole cart to break.

"Let me do that." Naple volunteers in loading the statue into the cart.
DC 21 Athletics: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

"I think that's better? What you all think?" she asks them after she placed the statue in supine position.

Gregor tries to lend a hand with the statue. "Harsk, would you mind lending a hand with those strong arms of yours? This statue is pretty awkward and heavy."

Athletics Aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

"Sure"

Harsk tries to help.

Athletics: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

nice

Nal spends some more time working on the axle. She wish she had more time, but if they really were spotted by the undead it's only a matter of time.

Naple lifts the statue and loads it onto the cart. The axles creak and the cart sags, but it doesn't collapse. Larraz calls Desert Wind over and attaches the wagon's straps to the horse's saddle. "Desert Wind, you can help us on this, right?" The horse nuzzles Larraz and begins pulling the cart. "Good job." The cart squeaks and creaks but it remains stable.

"Now, let's get the hell out of here. This thing is loud enough to wake the dead."

150 minutes have passed. Anything else you want to do in the college? Anything else you want to do in town? It will take 10 minutes to reach the town.

@GM chadius: Is there anything that we as players have overlooked that our characters likely wouldn't have?

I don't think there's anything obvious that you missed.

Ranzak eyes the cart nervously. She then looks around the countryside.
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"Shall we go now?" Ranzak says nervously.

Naple quickly picks up her weapon and shield after she loads the statue on the cart. "Let's go now." Naple tells the others. "Good thing we found Desert Wind. Imagine carrying that statue and one or two of us pulling the cart."

Larraz stays with Desert Wind for a moment to check the harness and test the cart. Desert Wind comes to alert. "You too, boy? The air is so... stagnant. Dead." He readies his quarterstaff. "Everyone. They are coming."

"Yoo-hoo!" A man's voice echoes across the sky. "I knew more flesh would arrive!"

A man dressed in black robes and a fiendish grin approaches you, accompanied by undead fiends. "Ralthiss the Genius at your service. My scouts warned me of your presence. I knew a rescue party would arrive for the coward and his horse."

He grins. "Soon all of you will join the army of Ralthiss. We've been waiting for you!" His undead minions move quickly.