You stop some distance away from the stone circle. You look at it from different sides and Mork is looking for any symbols or presence of magic.
But he sees or senses none of it. He moves closer ... and closer. Finally, he enter the stone circle expecting the ghosts to attack him. He hears a whistling sound... an arrow flies past him!
Undead with pink scrap of the scarf, holding lance moves closer to the river and awaits there. He yells something.
The other undead reaches for the bow and sends an arrow at Mork
One of the arrows hit Mork in the back.
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BOLD IS UP!:
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Red
Pink
➤ Peter
➤ Mimi
➤ Quickblade
➤ Mork
➤ Quan
➤ Henri
Blue
Green
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♫ You only live twice
So it appears
One life for yourself
One to shoot your peers ♫
◆
◇ vs DC 19
♫ Love is a stranger
Who will turn your head
Don't Int'ract the danger
Or the illusion is dead ♫
A(n image of a) celestial appears on the rocks behind them.
"Oooh! You're in trouble now!"
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The orc winces. "Oof ... Mork feels battle upon us. But stone circle is not enemy!" Mork turns around to study the foe.
You scour your experiences and learning to identify something that might repel your foe. You retrieve an object from your esoterica with the appropriate supernatural qualities, then use your implement to stoke the remnants of its power into a blaze. Select a creature you can see and attempt an Esoteric Lore check against a standard DC for its level, as you retrieve the right object from your esoterica and use your implement to empower it. You gain the following effects until you Exploit Vulnerabilities again.
Critical Success: You remember the creature's weaknesses, and as you empower your esoterica, you have a flash of insight that grants even more knowledge about the creature. You learn all of the creature's resistances, weaknesses, and immunities, including the amounts of the resistances and weaknesses and any unusual weaknesses or vulnerabilities, such as what spells will pass through a golem's antimagic. You can exploit either the creature's mortal weakness or personal antithesis (see below). Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Success: You recall an important fact about the creature, learning its highest weakness (or one of its highest weaknesses, if it has multiple with the same value) but not its other weaknesses, resistances, or immunities. You can exploit either the creature's mortal weakness or personal antithesis. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Failure: Failing to recall a salient weakness about the creature, you instead attempt to exploit a more personal vulnerability. You can exploit only the creature's personal antithesis. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes against the creature also become magical if they weren't already.
Critical: Failure You couldn't remember the right object to use and become distracted while you rummage through your esoterica. You become flat-footed until the beginning of your next turn.
You can attempt to Exploit Vulnerabilities in one of two ways: either by invoking properties that repel that type of creature, or by attempting a more improvisational, ad-hoc method with your esoterica that can impose a custom weakness on any creature, albeit one that usually isn't as dire as a creature's existing weakness.
Mortal Weakness: After identifying a creature's weakness, you use a thematically resonant bit of esoterica to attune your attacks to your discovery. Your unarmed and weapon Strikes activate the highest weakness you discovered with Exploit Vulnerability, even though the damage type your weapon deals doesn't change. This damage affects the target of your Exploit Vulnerability, as well as any other creatures of the exact same type, but not other creatures with the same weakness. For example, when fighting a pack of werewolves you might use silver shavings or crushed moonstone to deal damage that applies their weakness to silver to your attacks against any of the werewolves, but you wouldn't apply this damage to any other monsters with a weakness to silver.
Personal Antithesis You improvise a custom weakness on a creature by forcefully presenting and empowering a piece of esoterica that repels it on an individual level; for instance, against a tyrant, you might procure a broken chain that once held a captive. This causes the target creature, and only the target creature, to gain a weakness against your unarmed and weapon Strikes equal to 2 + half your level.
After sharing what he knows of the enemies, Mork rattles his wind chimes to empower his attack, and hurls his returning trident at the nearest one.
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Mimi hears the whistling arrows and turns to see one strike home into Mork's back. She quickly turns back to where the arrows originated and spots the skeletal figures across the river. "More of de undead I beleeve. Our new friends seem a leetel on de boney side to me."
Mary, rapier still in hand, quickly moves through the forest to get closer. She then takes cover behind one of the sturdier trees and quietly waits for the creatures to approach.
Henri moves towards Morc, he takes out his weapon, and raises his shield.
Peter inspires others and summons a celestial, everyone wonders how we were able to do that.
Quan moves and takes out blowgun, wondering if those undeads are resistant to poison and if there are any who are not ...
Morc recognizes the creatures are some variation skelton champions, they have resistance to cold 5, electricity 5 and slashing 5. They have no weaknesses, so he quickly use his mojo to make a custom one. He throws his trident in great strength, but misses.
Mimi moves and look for cover in the undergrowth and tries to hide.
Quickblade moves and takes out his mace! Quickblade wishes to earn a new name for himself: Quickmace! Or Ace of mace.
Blue skeleton turns around and raises his bow and shoots at Celestal behind them
Skeleton sends three arrows but could not hit the summoned celestial.
The other skeleton begin to climb to face it
but he fails to do so. So he takes out his lance.
Red skeleton shoots Quan
One of the arrows finds a weak spot in Ysokis armor. [ooc]Quan -4
Pink just stays there waiting.
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BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Red
Pink
➤ Peter
➤ Mimi
➤ Quickblade
➤ Mork
➤ Quan
➤ Henri
Blue
Green
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The thaumaturge remains focused on the target of his personal antithesis. He wades into the river to get within range. Even though he knows his hammer would be more effective, he doesn't have time to switch weapons...yet.
Mork rattles his wind chimes to empower his attack, and hurls his returning trident at his foe.
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Mimi watches from cover and waits for the skeletons to come to her. Unfortunately, they seem quite happy to stay on their side of the river and pepper the group with arrows. "Zut alors! Eet seems dat if de mountain vill not come to Mimi, den Mimi must go to de mountain." She breaks cover, and heads across the river towards the nearest skeleton. "My rapière ees not de best veapon for dees, but eet ees de onlee von I 'ave on 'and." Coming ashore, she does a quick twirl around the skeleton before plunging her rapier into its spine.
vs Flat-Footed
Mork moves than throws his trindet twice, hitting each time, but it is less effective against the creature.
Mimi runs through the river, and attempts to tumble through the skeleton standing there. But before she even get to them, it strikes with lance
Then Mimi tumbles through and strikes them back.
Which takes them down, and the skeleton died again... as dieing once is not enough.
Quen applies poison and shoots the blowgun at the remaining skeleton, the dart hits in the bone. But the undead seems to be resistant to poison.
Henri moves and shields himself.
Peter sustains his illusion, moves towards the river and guides Mimi.
Quickblade moves, takes out his crossbow (does he drop his mace?) and reloads.
Two bowman shoots at Mimi and Morc.
But only one arrow hits Mimi.
The other undead (green) moves in and strikes Mimi with their lance
But misses
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Red
➤ Peter
➤ Mimi
➤ Quickblade
➤ Mork
➤ Quan
➤ Henri
Blue
Green
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Mimi, satisfied that she got a good hit in with her rapier and re-killed the skeleton is nevertheless unhappy with the reduced efficiency of her weapon against these types of opponents. She drops her rapier, pulls out her slick new club and prepares to defend herself with it.
Swishing her club around to get a feel for it, she dives through the legs of the nearest skeleton to get her mojo back on.
Mork analyzes the creature then moves in, as he does the undead strikes him
Drawing more blood from the half-orc. Then he strikes back leaving similar wounds.
Mimi takes out her club and tumbles through the creature.
Peter moves across the river and his celestial attacks the undead.
Henri moves closer and tries to destroy the wounded skeleton.
Some bones fly out of the creature, but it still stands.
Quickblade shoot hits the crucial bone in the skeleton's body, and it all falls to the ground.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Red
Peter
Mimi
Quickblade
Mork
➤ Quan
Henri
Blue
Qen moves through the river, with a healing potion in his hand. Mork uses the power of his amulet to regain some of his lost health.
One of the skeletons drops its bow and strikes Morc with a glaive, the other reaches for its glaive and strikes Mimi.
Only one of the strikes hurts Mimi.
──────────
BOLD IS UP!:
──────────
Red
➤ Peter
➤ Mimi
➤ Quickblade
➤ Mork
➤ Quan
➤ Henri
Blue
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Mimi takes the first hit like a trooper but barely gets her club in the way of the second slash . She prepares herself to deflect further blows while waiting for an opening. With her mojo back in place and the help of a strange angelic flanking buddy, she decides to go all-out on one big flamboyant attack involving pushing herself off a boulder and high into the air before bringing her gloved fist smashing into the top of the skeleton's skull. She then retreats out of range to regroup.
vs Flat-Footed
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Henri gets closer to solid ground after he crosses the waters and lances positive energy against Blue this time. "How many of them are we going to deal with?!" he says as if tired of confronting undead creatures.
◆ Stride
◆◆ Cast a Spell, Disrupt Undead, DC 18 basic Fortitude save of Blue vs positive damage
Between all of your hits, Mimi's perfectly aimed, backfist, Peters river rock to the spine, Quickblades bolt, Morcs trident, Henris spell and Qens good intentions the skeletons fall to the ground.
You wait a moment, but no more enemies show up. As you patch yourself, you have some time to search the area.
In a small bag at the waist of one of the skeletons, there are the Pathfinder’s remaining riches (worth 10 sp) along with his wayfinder and, a grim ring. The rest of their equipment is too rusted or damaged to be useful. Hidden among the remnants of the camp is a desiccated hand bearing a large, golden signet ring (worth 2 gp).
With a bit of time, you find a path leading from the camp. You follow the path for almost an hour...
This part of the trail crosses what was once a trade road. But despite the lack of sounds of living creatures in the forest, the area is not without dangers. The forest around the crossroads seems to hold its breath, waiting to see what doom befalls you next, while in the distance, the sound of heavy cavalry on patrol echoes through the wood.
You quickly get off the road and hide in the nearby bushes. A group of heavy soldiers on horses rushes through the road. By the sound of it, there could be more than 40 of them.
When you head towards a nearby hill you spot a tower...
A rocky outcropping high above the forest floor provides a vantage point to see movements in the forest beyond. A few hilltops away, a bleak, dark tower rises defiantly above the mist. From the crenelated tower above, dark flags wave in a parody of the Lastwall heraldry they once bore. Fires within the tower glow with an eerie purple light as the sounds of undead forces create a cacophony of terror from within. Every few moments, the purple light pulses, bathing the surrounding forest in a sinister, lingering glow.
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"I hate this place. I hope we could finish this mission sooner, with all of us not undead." Henri murmurs as they proceed to their next destination.
"Strange lights. I wonder what could that be? Perhaps it strengthens the undead around it maybe? Or just a beacon?" he says, guessing whatever the light is about.
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When the last of the skeletons goes down, Mimi puts her club away and retrieves her rapier. She then looks around a little...
...and comes across a map. "Look vhat I 'ave found. A map of de surroundeeng area. Perhaps de Societee vill find eet useful." She tucks it away.
Upon reaching the tower, she says, "Dees must be de dark vatchtower full of deadlee graveknights dat ve must reconnoîter to collect sufficient information to convince Sir Cray not to attack."
She carefully examines comings and goings of the troops and the disposition of their armaments to try and figure out how many of them there are and how effective their tactics might be.
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After the battle, Mork sheathes his largely ineffective trident. When Mimi finds a new piece of the map, Mork's eyes light up as he thinks of his faction leader. "Another map fragment for glorious Calisro! Can Mork keep with others?" If Mimi hands it over, Mork tucks it safely away in his cloak with the others map fragments.
At the tower, Mork studies the surrounding area, taking advantage of his Diverse Lore.
From your position, you are able to learn a fair bit of information. You assess the structure of the tower and the number of knigths that could be within it. You determine that some of the knights are from Vigil. You genuinely believe that the tower is not an easy target.
Then you try to leave the tower be and find a path to lead you to Steadfast.
You are able to find a path that avoids getting too close to the watchtower or the knights’ patrol paths.
Despite the torches that ring the town in the ever-present gloom, Steadfast appears quite suddenly out of the mist and gloom of the Gravelands. The remnants of a dozen or so structures surround a taller, domed building that may have been a great hall or other central structure. In the fire light offered by scattered campfires in and around the ruined homes, refugee families huddle for warmth, share their food, or converse in hushed whispers. Among the population of several hundred villagers, dozens of skeleton refugees assist their living friends with packing and training with rusted weapons and farming equipment under the barked commands of a knight dressed in mismatched armor near the great hall.
As you approach, a pair of runners call out to the knight, warning of new arrivals. The knight, Sir Cray Darahan a half-elf man with mismatched armor and the facial hair of disregard, waves off a pair of skeletal farmer refugees and a burly dwarf with a notched greataxe before approaching the obviously living PCs. His hands rest on his belt, not far from the sword belted at his waist. He introduces himself as Sir Cray Darahan, Knight of Lastwall and defender of Steadfast, as he looks over the PCs with an appraising eye. With a gruff but honest voice he asks,
"Are you seeking shelter, lost, or here to help?"
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Mork looks to the team excitedly, "I believe we found Steadfast, my frriends!" He bows formally and addresses the night, "Greetings Sir Cray! We're pathfinders. We bring supplies. Claudiette speaks highly of you and sends regards."
Checking the folds of his cloak, the orc adds, "Oh, and we have keystone." He holds it out to Sir Cray.
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Mimi waves her hand to indicate that she is more than happy to let Mork have the map. Raising her eyebrow knowingly, she says, "I velcome anytheeng dat vill improve de mood of de magnifique Madame Benarree vonce ve return."
Upon arriving at Steadfast, Mimi is a little taken aback by the skeletal farmers . "Ve are Pathfinders and ve are 'ere to 'elp. Are ve quaite safe 'ere vith all deez skeletons around? Do you not fear dat dey vill attack you?"
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Henri raises an eyebrow when a half-elf man with mismatched armor and facial hair of disregard greets them. He scans the host from head to toe, but smiles back at Sir Cray, awkwardly though. He then looks at the surroundings while Morc and Mimi entertain Sir Cray. It feels weird to him that after all those hostile undead they encountered, they are now seeing skeletons helping the living. Undead helping the living... in this place. Weird." he tells himself. Seeing Quickblade is just observing, he approaches him and whispers something. "Not being, I don't know, paranoid, do you think this is normal? Like these skeletons helping the living in this place?"
"Claudiette made it! Is she with you? And you brought the keystone!"
Sir Cray listens to your tale solemnly and accepts offered supplies, he searches them first for the keystone and offers it to a skeleton refugee.
"Tomas, put this back where it belongs so we can prepare to leave. Wait until my signal before striking the final blow." Relief evident on his face, Sir Cray turns back to you. "Let me introduce myself properly, as you brought huge joy to me. I’m Sir Cray Darahan, Knight of Lastwall. Claudiette left Steadfast in my charge while she went north for help." He absently grasps the pendant of Iomedae around his neck. "Once we’ve seen these poor people safely out of the Gravelands, we can rally those that can fight to destroy that watchtower of evil and rid this land of the Tyrant’s forces. Did Claudiette find any intelligence on the tower? Is she sending Pathfinders or knights to join us?"
"Not being, I don't know, paranoid, do you think this is normal? Like these skeletons helping the living in this place?"
"Everything that dies out here comes back as undead—whether they want to or not. But some retain their own minds, especially those who die far from the tower or the evil Ivory Reaper who preys on the region. We have more than a hundred that have died over the years. Some made it back and tried to pick up where they left off. Tried." He gestures sadly to the skeleton with the keystone.
"Tomas over there was a mason in Vigil before it fell. He and his family tried to get to Caliphas, but their entire caravan fell into a ravine and was set upon by unimaginable monsters. He died of his injuries here in Steadfast, but once he came back he tried to help out wherever he could. Not everyone was willing to accept his help, him being dead and all. But he’s a good man. Claudiette was hoping there could be some kind of cure, but we’ve had no luck. Over time, we’ve all just grown accustomed to each other. We all want the same thing: to survive."
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Mimi listens to Sir Cray. "I'm afrede dat ve are de Pathfinders in question Sir Cray, and let me assure you dat attempteeng une attaque on de vatchtower vith de personnel at your deesposal vould be un act of pure suicide, even vith our aide." She then proceeds to describe what information they gleaned from their minute reconaissance of the structure of the tower and the number of knights that could be within. "So I vould suggest stronglee dat you leeve off from attaqueeng de vatchtower and concentrate on évacuateeng deez réfugiés from de Gravelands."
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Mork nods as Mimi explains about the tower. "As Mimi said, Claudiette sent us to get intelligence on scary tower." Recalling back to what the group learned about the tower, he continues, "Peter learned where forces originated. Mimi knows about battle tactics being used. I scouted area finding it well-patrolled."
The orc shrugs and says, "As much as we want tower destroyed, best to wait till time is right. You would help no one dying in valiant, but hopeless battle. Sir Cray agrees with Mork?"
Sir Cray looks at you and shakes his head "Look, Once the keystone is in place, the town will be exposed to the dead that seek us. Then we can talk strategy. Are you ready for a fight? Or do you need to rest?"