[PBP GameDay XI] GM Silbeg's March of the Dead

Game Master Silbeg

Centuries ago, the massive Shining Crusade destroyed the Whispering Tyrant Tar-Baphon, an incredibly powerful lich. Knowing he might someday return, the Whispering Tyrant’s foes sealed his remains away under his old tower, Gallowspire, and formed the nation of Lastwall to guard his crumbling edifice for centuries… until three years ago, when the Tyrant was reborn. In a matter of weeks, the furious lich laid waste to Lastwall. The lost nation, now known as the Gravelands, is a haunted and desolate place overrun with undead while the Tyrant’s cult, the Whispering Way, operates freely. Not far outside the Gravelands, the tiny village of Fiorna’s Faith has recently fallen, another victim of this ancient conflict.

We begin!

Trunau is a lonely outpost in Belzken on the border of the Gravelands. Trunau's townsfolk have a reputation for being vicious defenders of home and hearth. Every able-bodied citizen is tasked with defending the town at a moment's notice… it's probably the main reason why it's even is still here, so close to the horrors of the Gravlands.

The most famous feature of Trunau is its palisade. The walls are made of ten-foot-high tree trunks whose tops are sharpened into wicked points and fitted so tightly that not even light passes between them; the bottom half of the wall is encased in a stone foundation. Trenches filled with smaller spikes create a deadly briar patch guarding the wall against assault. The town itself rises up a steep switchback, allowing even a handful of defenders to pick off hordes of invaders. Stone watchtowers stand in the town's higher levels as well, with fortified structures crowding between normal houses and shops.

You are very familiar with one particular shop up here on the plateau: the House of Wonder, a place filled with magical curios from far-away lands and owned by Councilwoman Agrit Staginsdar. The dwarf wizard has been giving you odd jobs in the region for months now — anything from helping her track down magical items to taking care of problems for the town council.

Art of town and Agrit on slides.

⚰ ⚰ ⚰

Earlier today a sparrow alighted on your shoulder. It chirped a message in Agrit's voice: "I've a job for you. Meet me in the House of Wonder."

Let's do some intros and a little group improv. Intro your character, and tell me about a previous job you did for Agrit. I encourage (but do not require) you to have done said job with your fellow PCs before, so feel free to include others and let them add to the tale!

Zeldana smiles and runs her hands through her hair. Checking over the many talismans and holy symbols hanging around her long pale neck she cracks a tiny smile revealing slightly pointed cainines.

Looking to Andagard Zeldana asks "Does this remind you of the time when Agrit got that weird job for the sailing guild?"

A thin and hungry looking man wanders the streets in makeshift armor, cobbled together from scraps he found lying around. He smiles as the small bird flits onto his shoulder. "Heading there now." He walks slowly, but with a bit of purpose as the only item in his hands is a simple wooden staff that thuds lightly against the ground.

Seeing Zeldana he smiles and catches up. "It does, hopefully we will not be going there again. I prefer a bit of solid footing."

Ernie is standing by Trunau's palisade, appraising its construction when the animal messenger comes to summon him. "Ah, what glorious works constructed by the hand of Man!" he says admiringly. Then when the bird speaks he looks over and laughs. "Ah, little friend! You can tell your master that Ernie is on his way!"

Ernie is a tall, muscular man with a smoothly bald head and a thick salt and pepper handlebar mustache. He grabs a heavy, clockwork contraption that was leaning up against the wall and heaves it onto his shoulder. The device resembles a polearm but is so much more. There are levers, knobs and a round hand crank along the weapon's shaft. There are also small pouches attached to the shaft filled with a variety of small tools. The blade at the end is part hammer, part cleaver and part scalpel; but there is also an auger that be spun with the hand crank at the end. With his weapon in hand, Ernie whistles cheerfully and walks over to the House of Wonder.

When he arrives he waves his hand above his head in greeting. "Greetings, most esteemed Mortals! Have you also been summoned to this place by a little bird!"

The little stuffed bear was seated on a park bench when he watches the sparrow approach, and he offers his paw out for it to perch. The bird lands and the bear receives the message. ”Ho-hum. Well, I better start making my way.” Pushing himself off and grabbing his pack, he makes the solitary march for the House of Wonder.

After some time the stuffed bear makes it to the Hall and finds other adventurers already there. At least, he thinks they are adventurers. He makes his way to the others. ”Excuse me, are you all here also for Master Agrit? I haven’t seen from him since he sent me to watch over a cemetery for burglars. It wasn’t the most pleasant of jobs I’m afraid.”

Gregoth doesn't respond to the bird for a while. He stands at the top of the east watchtower, red eyes locked on something past the horizon. His skin is flushed as if burnt by wind and sun, even though the breeze is gentle enough to struggle to move the tattered cloak tied around his shoulders and the sun barely risen enough to reflect on the tear streaks running down his face and through his beard.

Eventually the tall man moves, wordlessly grabs a piece of scorched and broken wood from where it leans against the railing, begins slowly climbing down the ladder one rung at a time. If putting weight on his slightly-crooked leg causes him pain, his face doesn't show it. If the thought of Agrit asking him to spend another day crawling through the thorns of the palisade and filling in holes with daub lowered by Ernie in buckets from above causes him distress, his face doesn't show it. If he notices the stares and glances and how people shift to walk on the other side of the street when he passes, his face doesn't show it.

Councilwoman Agrit Staginsdar requested to meet in the House of Wonder, her shop in Trunau. The aptly named business specializes in magical items, its shelves chock full of simmering potions and elixirs. Upon answering the door, Agrit, a dwarven wizard, leads the way to a table in the back, at which she sits and pours herself a steaming cup of tea. “After a bandit raid some years ago, my friend Jacra Hillwren moved away from Trunau. We’d shared a passion for all things arcane, so I was sad to see her leave. Eventually, she settled in Fiorna’s Faith, a small village just outside the border of what was once Lastwall. Though Lastwall fell during the Whispering Tyrant’s rebirth, it seemed like Fiorna’s Faith managed to avoid becoming part of the Gravelands. Or so we all thought.”

She sets her mug down and brings forth a small parchment. “Jacra and I still correspond via her raven familiar, Coal—mostly personal letters and theories about magic. But then, last week, Coal arrived at my window with nothing in its talons but this single scrap of blood-stained parchment. I’ve not heard anything since, nor has anyone else.” She spreads the parchment out on her table. It reads: “I must be brief. Something terrible is happening in Fiorna’s Faith. Folk have been disappearing and I fear that I’m ne—” Here the missive is torn.

Slide #3

"Hopefully this is all just a misunderstanding, but if you could travel to Fiorna's Faith to see what happened, there will be a hefty reward in it for you. If possible, help restore communications with the town. If not, please explore the town and rescue who you can. Finally, if all is lost, please locate and return the leatherbound spellbook I lent Jacra a few months back, as it contains valuable arcane research that we have been working on together—research I hope could aid in our town’s repair."

The animated teddy bear listens to the Councilwoman Agrit's grim briefing, with what could be assumed to be baited breath. When silence falls over the room, he stands up from his seat and politely asks to see the parchment. The bear ponders out loud and not to anyone in particular, one paw on it's chin.

"Would it be more likely someone was targeting her for the research all along, or that the disappearing's are truly random and she was the next unfortunate victim.. Ho-Hum.."

"Fiorna's Faith, huh?" Ernie chuckles. "Too bad Fiorna wasn't around to help out. Guess it's going to be up to us, then!"

Ernie looks down at the stuffed bear with a bemused smile. "Some one targeting her? I assumed the town probably got overrun by undead, but I suppose we should keep an open mind. Hmmm, you've got a more wicked mind than I'd suspect from looking at you. I thought you'd be all gum drops and rainbows. Maybe burst out into song spontaneously. Glad you're proving me wrong."

Ernie breaks Knight Night out of his concentration. "Huh? Oh. Yes, I suppose I would give off that impression." The bear does a courteous saluting bow, placing one hand over his heart, which is a visible stitching under the armor. "I am Knight Night. I really don't know much about myself either, just one day woke up in a pile of dead bodies in a destroyed village near Lastwall. Had to pry myself free from a dead child's hand holding my leg tight, then ended up in a backpack and brought here."

Zeldana shakes her head "It seem more ominous to me, let us back our bags and make haste."

"Indeed, could be bandits, or anything really." Andagard leans on his staff. "Let's grab our packs and head out at once. It will be a long walk."

You know that the trip to Fiorna’s Faith will take about 3 days, if things go well. The village is nestled in a narrow valley just inside the borders of the Hold of Belkzen, to the west of the Gravelands and the north of the Nirmathas border.

Agrit suggests you provision up and get any gear that you may need now. "Who knows what you might find on the road. If things have gotten bad in Fiorna's Faith, it is entirely possible there will be some nastiness on the way."

Please do any final purchases. Trunau is a level 3 settlement, so you can get any common items of up to 3rd level

No further purchases at this time.

Gregoth nods and heads to the inn to retrieve a threadworn pack and bedroll.

Knight Night joins Gregoth, looking to buy rations as well. Perhaps also looking to buy some thread, needles, and fabric to practice sewing.

Zeldana checks over her pack and is ready to go.

Adventurer's Pack comes with 2 weeks of rations.

Ernie picks up his massive contraption and rests it on his shoulder. "I got everything I need right here. Let's get going."

Andagard checks his pack and finds plenty of rations. "Looks like we are all ready." He taps his staff on teh ground twice and begins walking.

As you make their way down the road, you come across small farms and the occasional trapper’s cabin. When you investigate any of these sites, they find them abandoned. While one or two look like they’ve been empty for years, the dwellings closer to the village seem recently vacated, with meals left unfinished on tables, overripe crops left untended, and barn doors wide open with livestock nowhere to be seen. There’s no sign of what happened here, no clue or note left. Everyone is simply gone.

One last farmhouse stands near the pass leading down into the valley, window shutters creaking in the wind. Gregoth, Knight Night, and Zeldana all notice a foul stench coming from the building.

Zeldana whispers "I smell the stench of death ahead, arm yourselves."

as she draws her combat Grapnel and magic wand.

Gregoth nods mutely and grips the broken piece of wood so tightly his knuckles turn white.

When you enter the house you find it abandoned like all the others; well-appointed with handmade wooden furniture, but with most personal effects missing, as if they were grabbed in a hurry. The kitchen, however, contains a rather gruesome scene. In the middle of the nondescript square room lies the corpse of a dead cow, from which a trail of dried blood leads out the door to a small pen just behind the house. The poor beast’s head is crushed, and it’s hard to tell anything else due to all the cockroaches feasting on the body.

Andagard grimaces at the situation. "There is no need for such slaughter." He wanders the room. "Why kill it indoors?"

"People do such strange things, sometimes. Let me take a look at it, see how it died."

Medicine: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Knight Night, upon hearing the possibility of undead nearby, draws his sword. A symbol of a spiral is etched onto the blade above the guard. Anyone who knows the the Gods well can identify it as a symbol of Pharasma. He steps gingerly into the house.

@GM Silbeg If any undead or captive souls are within 100 feet the spiral glows. They can attempt to do a Stealth check if they are actively hiding, vs my Perception DC (18).

When inside, and seeing the dead cow, Knight Night remains guarded for any signs of hidden danger. Searching.

you'll need to move forward into the kitchen to investigate

"Come with me into the kitchen. I think we'll be better off if we stick together," the big man asks before cautiously stepping in to examine the bovine corpse.

Ernie will go in, but he will wait until at least two other teammates join him. He's more of "second row" melee guy, so he's not about to be trapizing into hazard filled rooms by himself.

Zeldana heads into the kitchen to investigate.

Knight Night also heads in, taking the right flank.

Andagard moves into the cramped kitchen, poking the cow with his staff. He gags slightly at the intense smell permeating throughout.

Suddenly, as the party moves in, the horse's corpse erupts with a swarm of cockroaches!

The swarm moves out to the highest concentration of food, and engulfs Knight Night, Gregoth, and Ernie!

Then, each is bitten by a huge number of cockroaches, twice!
piercing, DC18 basic reflex: 1d8 ⇒ 5
piercing, DC18 basic reflex: 1d8 ⇒ 3

Cockroaches are getting EVERYWHERE!
Party is/are up.
Conditions:
kn: Nature
Saves Pending:2x Each: Knight Night, Ernie, Gregoth basic reflex DC18

Reflex vs DC 18: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12
Reflex vs DC 18: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

The stinging bites prickle like midsummer sun, like arms held too close to the oven, like gravel and splinters and broken pieces of plates and bowls tumbling down on top of him and smothering him and burying him-

Gregoth cries out, and black tears begin to pour down his face. He steps out of the mass of insects, smashes the broken crossbeam in his hands to the floor.

Greatclub: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
Bludgeoning damage, Negative damage: 1d10 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 3 = 10

Rage [A], Step [A], Strike [A]. AC 19, 5 temp hitpoints.

"Oh, that's gross." Andagard leaps over the chair and begins smashing his staff down into the roaches.

+1 Disrupting Staff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Damage (Bludgeoning): 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
Damage (Pos vs Undead): 1d6 ⇒ 2

+1 Disrupting Staff: 1d20 + 10 - 5 ⇒ (15) + 10 - 5 = 20
Damage (Bludgeoning): 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
Damage (Pos vs Undead): 1d6 ⇒ 5

Zeldana takes a moment to ponder the swarm,

esoteric lore vs Standard Lvl DC of swarm: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (12) + 11 = 23

Exploit Vulnerability
Also, Diverse Lore: Additionally, when you succeed at your check to Exploit a Vulnerability, compare the result of your Esoteric Lore check to the DC to Recall Knowledge for that creature; if that number would be a success or a critical success, you gain information as if you had succeeded at the Recall Knowledge check.

If at least a success and it has a weakness of 4+ I'll apply Mortal Weakness, and trigger it with my Strikes. If I did not get a success or it doesn't have a weakness of at least 4+ I'll apply a Personal Antithesis and give it weakness against my strikes of 3.

Unless I've learned it resists fire...
Zeldana will then ignore the weakness for a sec and shoot her wand at it.

fire damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (2, 1) + 4 = 7
Basic reflex DC 19
recharge: 1d4 ⇒ 2

Reflex Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 Success for 2
Reflex Save: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13 Fail for 3

Knight Night steps out of the reach of the swarm and begins to determine a Vulnerability to Exploit.
Esoteric Lore: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
On a Fail I can still get a Personal Antithesis to cause the swarm to gain a weakness to my weapon strikes for 3.
Going for the Personal Antithesis

Then the blade in Knight Night's paw glows as he strikes out!
+1 Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 1 = 18
+1 Longsword Damage (Imp. Emp.): 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 2 = 13

Actions; Move, Exploit Vulnerability, Strike

Fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Fort: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Ernie steps away from the swarm, then grabbing a lever he begins to tank it like crazy.

Crafting, vs standard DC: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Assuming that's a success for Overdrive, the DC is based on his level, should be 18.

As he pulls the levers the weapon whirls to life and the head spins wildly.

"Time to smash some bugs!"

Strike: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17
Bludgeoning, Overdrive: 1d10 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 3 = 16

sorry, had a post eaten and didn’t realize it.

Gregory smacks the swarm with his clubs, and bugs fly everywhere!

Andegars pounds on the bugs twice

Zeldana can look at spoiler. No immunity or weakness to fire that she knows of, though their weakness to splash attacks are 5

Zeldana stays back and uses her magic, which burns many roaches.

Knight Night learns the same
Knight Night swings his sword and cuts hard, though he does a little less than expected. However, with that, the swarm dissipates.

No target for Ernie, but still in rounds. Ernie may change his actions. .

With the bugs dead, Ernie instead moves up to Gregoth and raises his polearm towards him.

"Hold still, this might sting a bit." The weapon whirs to life, producing little arms with forceps and scalpels and spidery appendages holding gauze and balm.

Battle Medicine on Gregoth, Trained DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29
Critical Success: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 1, 7, 8) = 17

Once the machine has finished patching the barbarian up, Ernie then winces and turns the business end of his tool on himself.

Battle Medicine on Self, Trained DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

Failure!

The clockwork tool starts to smoke and sputter and it shoots out a bunch of gauze onto the ground.

Stride, and Battle Medicine twice.

Ernie patches up Gregoth and tries to patch himself.

Then from out of the corpe a giant cockroach emerges. It attacks Andagard!
mandibles vs AC21: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
piercing: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
mandibles vs AC21: 1d20 + 9 - 4 ⇒ (13) + 9 - 4 = 18

Cockroaches EVERYWHERE!
Knight Night is/are up.
Conditions:
kn: Nature
Saves Pending:

Late night post, apologies.
Knight Night steps up to the confront the roach and observes it for a weakness to take advantage of.
Esoteric Lore: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
On a Fail I can still get a Personal Antithesis to cause the Roach to gain a weakness to my weapon strikes for 3.
Going for the Personal Antithesis
Drawing upon the power in his sword again, Knight Night thrusts it into the beetle!
+1 Longsword Attack: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 8 + 1 = 25
+1 Longsword Damage (Imp. Emp.): 1d8 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 3 + 2 = 9
Actions; Move, Exploit Vulnerability, Strike

These are giant cockroaches, and as such, have no specific weaknesses.

Knight Night stabs (Please note damage types when you roll them, just in case... basing this on your descriptive text) the cockroach in the face. In reaction, it uses its carapace to try to block, but fails. It then scurries around, reducing the number that can hit it.

Then, another cockroach comes out of the horse's corpse, and attacks Knight Night! It bites the animated teddy bear, and then bites again, this time getting his throat!

mandibles vs AC19: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
piercing: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
mandibles vs AC19: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (20) + 8 - 4 = 24
piercing: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 (6 total w/ the crit)

That’ll leave a mark!
Gregoth, Zelda, Andagard, Ernie is/are up.
Conditions:
kn: Nature
Saves Pending:

Gregoth doesn’t seem to notice the doctor’s masterful application of bandages and anti-itch ointment in one convenient package as he heads back into the kitchen. His gaze flickers between the two insects before settling on the one against the wall. Broken wood rises as black tears fall.

Greatclub: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12
Bludgeoning damage, Negative damage: 1d10 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 3 = 12

Greatclub, Backswing: 1d20 + 10 - 5 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 10 - 5 + 1 = 25
Bludgeoning damage, Negative damage: 1d10 + 4 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 4 + 3 = 16

Stride [A], Strike [A], Strike [A].

Ernie bounds forward in one big step and brings his hammer down on the second giant roach attacking Knight Night.

Strike, Reach: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Bludgeoning: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Then seeing Knight Night getting ripped up, he turns the weapon on him.

"I don't know how you're anatomy exactly works, but there's a lot of similarities between tailoring and what I do. I'm just going to stitch you up a bit." One of the little appendages on Ernie's clockwork polearm is holding a curved suturing needle and the doctor/barber attempts to knit the teddy bear's wounds back together with it.

Battle Medicine, trained DC 15: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Healing, crit: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 7, 6, 8) = 22

Zeldana crosses over the dead animal to flank the horrible cockroach like creature. There she spends a moment to consider the cockroach.

Exploit Vulnerability: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18
Exploit Vulnerability
Diverse Lore possibly gives me RK info as well.

Zeldana then swings with her combat grapnel.

swing the hook vs #2 FF: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
piercing damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
If exploit vulnerability was at least a failure (Not critical failure) it's got weakness 3 vs my strikes, or if a success and it has a bigger vulnerability, I'll use that instead.

Andagard does what he can to help protect Night Knight as he swings his staff around, smashing bug after bug. Reaction: Use retributive Strike to negate5 damage from Night Knight. Please use last retributive strike as necessary.

+1 Disrupting Staff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Damage (Bludgeoning): 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Damage (Pos vs Undead): 1d6 ⇒ 5

+1 Disrupting Staff: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16
Damage (Bludgeoning): 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Damage (Pos vs Undead): 1d6 ⇒ 5

Ernie, if your weapon is a halberd, which is a 2H weapon, you need to release a hand to be able to do battle medicine (must have a hand free). It then does take an interact action to put your hand back on the weapon in order to attack with it.

Ernie has the class feat Built in Tools, which let's him store tools in his innovation, and he is considered to have the tools ready if he is wielding, wearing or adjacent to it. I read this as him being able to use his healers and crafters tools while wielding his weapon, because the tools are now actually a part of the weapon.

Built In Tools

Ernie, please see discussion. A free hand is needed.

Gregoth, please call out which target you are attacking. The tokens have numbers for that purpose. I am assuming you attack #1.

Gregoth misses with his first attack, but not the second. The bug is squashed.

Zeldana missed, but also learns the bugs don't have any weaknesses.

Ernie moves and puts his hand back on the weapon. He then stikes the bug, finishing it off.

out of combat

and perception checks

Ouch, that hurt!
Medicine DC15: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

The bear is looking beat up with its stuffing exposed, but remains cautiously guarded. No treat wounds yet.