From the Tome of Righteous Repose (Inactive)

Game Master LucianC

Welcome all.

It's been a really long time since I have run a PbP game on this server. So I hope I'll do ok. I'll need the standard stuff in the recruitment thread.

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This Chronicle #:
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You find yourself in Lastwall, waiting to meet with Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik in the back room of the Ace of Dreams, a gambling house that serves as the Pathfinder Society’s Uscalin Lodge.

You may take this opportunity to introduce yourselves.

Waiting in the back room is an armoured-clad woman who manages to look tall and broad-shouldered while sitting down quietly on a chair.

In fact, she looks decidedly nervous and a little out of place, with the way her right knee goes restlessly up and down like she's having some kind of anxious twitch. Her scale mail is adorned with a big (and very obvious) symbol of Iomedae on the front.

Ah. That would explain the awkwardness. Not a big fan of gambling houses, eh?

She's got a small, unconcealed dagger sheathed at her side. Perhaps security let her keep it for emotional comfort.

A dark-robed figure enters into the back room. He draws back his hood to reveal a head of deep, black hair, tanned-skin, and ashen eyes indicating he is one of the desert elves of Osirian. A bat hangs from his arm.

"Greetings," he says to the fighter. "I am Farzinel and this is Kadri," he adds pointing to the bat. "You are not here to gamble, I would gather. You are meeting with Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik, perhaps?"

"That's right," the stout woman brightens up somewhat and stands up, offering her hand to shake. "I'm Bobbie." She looks down at the tiny, upside-down face of the bat, wondering if it needs greetings of some kind, before renouncing. "Seems like it's only the two of us so far," she adds after a brain-racking moment of wondering what to say next. She hopes someone will walk in before they have to move on to discussing the weather.

Loud and raucous conversation filters through the door from the common room of the Uscalin Lodge, which doubles as the Ace of Dreams gambling house.

“I know it’s here. I had it just a moment ago.”

Venture-Captain Shevar Besnik lifts piles of papers and numerous boxes off of his desk, stacking them on various side tables and chairs in his clean but overly cluttered office. The tall, Varisian man’s face parts in a toothy grin as he lifts up a solid oak box. “Found it!” As if to punctuate his discovery, a crowd of players in the gambling hall erupts in cheers.

Distracted for a moment, Besnik stares at the closed office door that leads to the common room.

“Desna laughs. Well, she laughs at me, but she smiles on them.” The venture captain shrugs. “All they have is gold; what I have in here is far more valuable.”

Besnik opens the box’s lid painstakingly slowly, careful to keep the contents out of sight. With reverence, he lifts a large tome from the box and gently sets it on the table.

“Careful, the binding hasn’t held up well. This is one of the few Tomes of Righteous Repose left in the world. I’m pretty sure there’s one in the library of the Sancta Iomedaea in Vigil, but I’m—well, let’s just say I’m no longer welcome there. That’s a story for another time. Up until today, I’ve only skimmed the pages. I didn’t want to damage it, but now that you’re here, I can’t wait any longer. Care to plumb the depths of this most ancient and wonderful storybook? Oh, the marvelous adventures we will soon read! This tome is a collection of tales describing how various crusaders died gloriously and honorably. I’m hoping to find some clues in the text that will lead us to an as-of-yet undiscovered site or relic. Maybe we can trade a bit of what we find with the Knights of Ozem and earn ourselves some goodwill. After what happened last time, we need it. Care to peruse the pages with me?”

Erica raises an eyebrow as Besnik nonchalantly mentions his time at Sancta Iomedaea. She doesn't interrupt him, though the holy symbol of the Inheritor does seem to glint a little menacingly on her chest.

Weird that.

"This Tome belongs in a temple," she manages to sound reproachful even as she leans a little forward to get a clearer view of the lost book's front cover. She stops her hand just short of actually touching it. "How did you find it?"

An unarmored Dwarf enters the room, smiling immediately at Bobbie, Good to see you again Bobbie! Been too long! he rubs his hands over his shaved head before smoothing his beard. I'm Markus, nice to meet ya he nods at the others, before his eyes settle on the holy book in Besnik's hands. Lastwall's full of stories, I'm game to hear a few more... as he looks at Bobbie's reaction to the book.

The Venture-Captain looks towards Erica as she asks her question.

"It wasn’t very widely published, so it’s been difficult to get my hands on it." He says, adeptly dodging the question, before continuing.

“Well, early crusaders had amazing adventures fighting the Whispering Tyrant, orcs, and a whole host of other threats, but they don’t have very many records that aren’t as dry as an Iomedaean’s hip-flask. This tome gives us important insights into the crusaders’ adventures. Rellakarabee Fustbickle, the gnome author, interviewed dozens of crusaders and wrote about the most heroic and tragic deaths in this book. The poetry is a bit purple, too. Not really my style—but perhaps it’s something you’d be able to interpret? If there are no other questions, of course.”

Desynthia enters the room, and her smile widens as she too sees the warrior.

The whire haired young woman rushes toward Erica and hugs her

Bobby! Nice to see you again! It's been a long time!

Meanwhile, the white hair take a pink hue.

Smiling, she introduces herself to the rest of the crew, hugging everyone

Sorry, it's just that Bobby is a friend of mine. I'm Desynthia Medzen, and I'm a sorceress.

She does a curtsy at the Venture Captain
It's an honor to serve you, Venture Captain Besnik. So this is the fabled Tome?

She tries to remember any tidbits of information she might know about the Tome
Know Arcana: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13
Know Religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Craft Callygraphy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13

Maybe we could just take a look and see what's in the book? the dwarf offers.

I'm going to be using Roll20 for movement, etc. Everything else (dice, talking, etc.) will remain here. I'm just not experienced with using slides.

https://app.roll20.net/join/2701331/vxVg_g

The poem is there. Note: the damage to the manuscript comes from smeared ink. It cannot be fixed with Mending or Make Whole.

I will copy tokens from your board avatars. If anyone would prefer something different, please post in Discussion.

If you need Roll20 help, let me know.

Desynthia gives the information she recalls, mainly that Lastwall tries to stop the orcs of Belzken and to keep an eye on the Whispering Tyrant prison. They are known for being a bastion of good, mostly.

An elf slips in the door at the last minute, his face covered with glee. "Sorry I'm late, I'm doing so well out there! We should have more briefings in gambling houses... might just pay for my Pathfinder career after all; beats the pittance the Ten leave for us underlings!"

He catches himself up on all this business about the Tome, and then has a question to start. "Normally the Decemvirate sends us out to find the book. You've already got it, so what's it got to do with us?"

Knowledge (religion) DC 15: 1d20 ⇒ 16 modifier not at hand, but he's a bard, so that'll do

The Venture-Captain jolts upright. “Minkai art! Let’s see, the Minkai Empire was founded in 3619, and the empire’s first explorers didn’t reach the west coast of the continent until at least 3691 ar, which leaves only sixty years before the beginning of the Shining Crusade itself. These women could have been among the first Minkai citizens to reach the Inner Sea! Let’s see, what secrets does the poem on this page hold?”

I will also take Knowledge (Local) or Linguistics as well as History or Religion (if you have not already made a check.)

Apologies for not posting sooner guys. I got sick, and work got piled up somewhat

Erica smiles warmly at Markus (though even her warmth looks awkward), and grimaces when a certain white-haired sorcerer suddenly hugs her out of the blue, meeting her enthusiasm with a "yes, yes, it's nice to see you too Desynthia" said a little too quickly not to be an excuse to escape her Grip of Death.

Following Markus's advice, she takes a look at the book.

She wonders why poets would choose to skip syllables with apostrophes to artificially create an iamb, instead of just using other words.

She wonders whether rhyming "border" with "order" was inspired, or a sort of lazy.

She also wonders if it was an accurate representation of Minkai warriors to depict them wearing little, colourful bows at their knees and ankles. And wouldn't those tall helmets and flashy armour turn them into moving targets?

Perhaps these armours had a ceremonial purpose, then. That would explain it.

"How do you know they're women?" she asks the Venture-Captain. "They look androgynous to me."

Trying to write a whole post from the perspective of a character who has absolutely 0 skills to contribute to the task at hand is always fun.

knowledge, Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Well met again Ahmande! Hmmm I'm terrible at riddles, always remind me of the fey and that makes me nervous. But I know that's not the case here. There's something hidden in this poem, but what I cannot tell. What's the link to the Minkai? What's this Gydular mean? Seems like a place, anyone know anything about that?

Besnik smiles reassuringly. [b]“We may not be able to read every word of this poem, but what we can read is more than enough to tell us that we need to investigate this site. What is clear to me is that the poem references some sort of protection against the Whispering Tyrant. The Knights of Ozem have always been secretive about the many and varied ways they keep that old lich locked away in Gallowspire, even among themselves. It’s possible that they have no idea this particular protection exists. Whatever Gydular is, it must be important.”[b]

At this point I will take two checks:
1) (ARCANA, HISTORY OR RELIGION)
2) (HISTORY, LOCAL OR RELIGION)

Ahmande ponders the riddle and considers what he knows of the Whispering Tyrant, the Knights of Ozem, and Gallowspire, in particular.

Knowledge (arcana/history/religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 take your pick; they're all the same bonus
Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Venture Captain Besnick is able to provide some insight.

"Virlych is a desolate, mountainous county of Ustalav where nothing natural lives. The weather is punishing and the ground rocky. Travelers do sometimes pass through the accursed land, though.

Gallowspire is the Whispering Tyrant’s former fortress. When the Knights of Ozem imprisoned him there in 3827 ar, it marked the end of the Shining Crusade. They placed numerous secret wards and protections over his prison so that he could never escape."

Based on these clues, Knowledge: Geography, Survival, or any skill you'd care to try in their place, may tell you the location you are searching for. You may make your own check, or Aid Another, if all participants in the roll use the same skill.

"Whatever Gydular is, it must be important.”

At this point I will take two checks:
1) (ARCANA, HISTORY OR RELIGION)
2) (HISTORY, LOCAL OR RELIGION)

Intrigued by the book and more so by the words upon it, Farzinel ponders the depths of his knowledge.

"Gallowspire is the Whispering Tyrant’s former fortress. When the Knights of Ozem imprisoned him there in 3827 ar, it marked the end of the Shining Crusade. They placed numerous secret wards and protections over his prison so that he could never escape."

Based on these clues, Knowledge: Geography, Survival, or any skill you'd care to try in their place, may tell you the location you are searching for. You may make your own check, or Aid Another, if all participants in the roll use the same skill.

"I believe I have heard of a trade route often used by the Knights of Ozem that might give us an idea of where they were operating," offers the elf.

Survival to Aid, untrained: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (14) - 1 = 13

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 Bumped to 22 thanks to Farzinel's help

Ustalav and Gallowspire ring much more of a bell than Mikai did.

Knowledge (geography): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Ahmande turns his mind to the tidbits and trivia he'd learned through the years, hoping something would rise up that rings a bell. Survival is a -1 for Ahmande, so Know (geo) it is.

Farzinel shares what he recalls. "The force of Last Wall no longer have a direct presence in Gallowspire, having been expelled by cultists and the unholy presence of the Whispering Tyrant, even in dormancy."

"I would shutter to think what power they would yield if the Whispering Tyrant were ever to become active again," notes the elf. "Let us pray that it never happens."

As you prepare, Besnik gives the PCs a traveler’s any-tool, a wand of cure moderate wounds (5 charges), six flasks of holy water, one soul stimulant and a wand of protection from evil (7 charges).

Any last minute purchases, etc. should be done now. We'll assume your Survival skills are enough to forage to feed you all.

Once you have completed you preparations, you can
depart for the ruin. The journey takes 6 days, assuming a
30-foot movement speed. Halfway through their trek, they
pass by the closest major settlement, the fortress of Hammer
Rock on the border of Lastwall.

I'll move us forward late tonight. If anyone has not logged into Roll20, be sure to do so now.

Your party travels through the lifeless Hungry Mountains in Virlych toward their destination, a drizzle transforms into an ever more aggressive snowstorm, as if the weather itself were keeping them away, and strange whispers fill the air. As a small consolation, the tedious climb is shallow enough that you are not exposed to the dangers of altitude sickness. Eventually, you find a toppled obelisk on a peak marking the entrance to the underground fortress. A staircase descends 30 feet into the mountainside.

Cast any buffs you wish.

You descend a narrow flight of stairs into the cool air of the old fortress.

A maze of sprung traps obstructs this large entrance hall. Blades, spikes, blast marks, and bones litter the ground. Carved holy symbols of Aroden, Sarenrae, and Pharasma cover the walls, but many of them have been vandalized.

I am working to give everyone control of their tokens in Roll20.

Desynthia casts a protective spell over her lithe body, then conjures some magical light

Cast Mage Armor, +4 to AC for 4 hours, then cast Light on Bobby's weapon- or anyone else that want it- for 40 mn

Farzinel casts mage armor before entering. He then casts detect magic when he enters the entrance hall and sees the defaced symbols and remains lined about it.

As soon as the party steps out of Besnik's office, Erica excuses herself to stride towards the nearest library. Something in the poem's really bugging her, apparently.

The following morning, she greets her teammates at their meeting point with a book entitled A Brief History of the Hungry Mountains sticking out of her backpack, and a triumphant look on her face.

"I knew I'd read the name Gydular's Point somewhere," she explains. "It used to be one of the tallest peaks in the mountain. Best look-out post you could hope for, and it had quite the view, apparently. Crumbled in," she checks the page she had bookmarked. "4187, from an earthquake. Now it's just called the Greyshards."

She closes the book, and shrugs. "I don't know if it helps. But from all the military activity there's been up there, I wouldn't be surprised to find a fortress of sorts. Or maybe a watchtower. What would be left of it, of course."

"I bought some stuff too," she pulls out two wands from her backpack. One is worn-out, and a bit dirtied by what looks like dried earth and a coffee stain. The other, on the contrary, looks brand new. "I can't use them, so take your pick. Desynthia?"

Got a CLW wand (8 charges) and a wand of Disturb Undead (30 charges). Any character with UMD can borrow then, just let me know if you use them so I can mark down the spent charges :)

Later, in the fortress:

Erica takes out her shield cautiously, just in case a hidden trap might lurch some spike or magic blast at her face.

"Anyone here who knows how to disarm traps?" she asks. "Aw, thanks," she adds as her shield suddenly starts casting light on her surroundings.

Perception: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3
Knowledge (engineering): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20 Any non-magical traps that haven't been activated?

Before leaving, bought a Wand of Disrupt Undead, a Potion of Lesser Restoration, and a Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds for 6 PP.

You may only purchase 1 item with PP per adventure.

Bobbie's understanding of mechanics allows her to realize the traps’ exposed weapons make safely moving around the room difficult. Moving more than half speed could be tricky, and falling over could be very dangerous.

Markus looks to the others as they prepare, before stretching his arms and heading with the others into the darkness. Thanks Bobbie, so we just go slow and should be okay? he prepares to enter the room carefully as described.

No purchases. Markus has a nice new wand of CLW in case its needed for anyone who can activate it.

Let's continue!

Ahmande steps cautiously into the room, looking for any unsprung traps as he goes. Only moved in 15' for a single move action at half speed through the difficult terrain.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (17) + 9 = 26

Ahmande spots a glint of metal on the ground in the southern room.

Can you put the link to the map in your header, so that it's handy with each of your posts? It's a lot of extra steps to go back over to Discussion each time to find it.

Also, did you mean far eastern room, or the smaller alcove-like room?

Ahmande approaches the metal cautiously, trying to get a better look at it. He casts detect magic as he examines the metal object.

Markus follows the elf into the chamber, inspecting the metal thing, but also watching for surprises leaping from the shadows to protect the elf.

"More or less okay, yes. As long as we don't fall over." Erica proceeds through the room with caution, unsheathing her sword just in case. Moving at half-speed

A single sarcophagus dominates the east end of this room. The walls are adorned with engravings of soldiers in plate armor holding their helms reverently to their sides, eyes downcast.

Minkai writing marks the lid with the Yohanatotsu family name. The sarcophagus is ajar and empty, and a holy symbol lies on
the dusty ground nearby.

There is no magic in the room.

Knowledge (religion) DC 10: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Perception DC 17: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

"That holy symbol is of Shizuru; that's not a diety you hear of every day! And someone disturbed this tomb really recently. It looks to me like the body was carried out of here... along with whatever else was in that coffin." He picks up the holy symbol and pockets it; knowing the deity was a good deity, he didn't have concerns that the symbol might be dangerous. He looks around at the floor, seeing if there's a trail he can follow.

"Tracking isn't really my strong point, if anyone else is better at it, go ahead and take the lead."

Survival (aid another) DC 10: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10

You're used to the outdoors, if I remember well, aren't you Bobbie? Maybe you can follow the tracks..

I am afraid I will be away, probably unable to check in, until Sunday night Eastern Daylight Time

Survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8 So bumped to 10 thanks to Ahmande's help

"The outdoors, a little. Ancient, disturbed tombs..." Erica narrows her eyes. She can barely see her own feet even with Desynthia's magic light, let alone follow a trail in a room cluttered with all kinds of weapons and traps. "Not really."

If someone else can give me a successful Aid Another check, that will boost my roll to 12

Survival aid: 1d20 ⇒ 20

Desynthia points out to something in the dust, with a theatrical, grinning

Aha! Here it is!

to Bobbie

"Ask, and I shall provide". ^^

Something was dragged through the room of sprung traps. A few bits of dried cloth are stuck in several places, heading to the north west.

Red line-If you approach you will see down a hallway.

Ahmande looks to the others as he approaches the fresh hallway cautiously. "Soooo, no sprung traps because there are no traps? Or because they're not sprung yet...."

He examines the floor before he proceeds, wanting an idea of what he's walking into first.

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27

No sign of traps, but there is also little signs of dust. This place has been inhabited, and probably recently.

Niches in the walls hold stone boxes containing the bones of the dead, though many have been opened. Fragments of bone are scattered throughout the room.

With low-light vision you can see 60' forward and can tell the hallway ahead continues even further.