GM Harrow’s Curse of the Crimson Throne - AE

Game Master GM Harrow

Quick note - Elric has Blessing of the Faithful, so his attacks resolve at +2, in case that makes a difference with any of his iteratives.

Elric did have +2 and +1 added to all his attacks, which I assumed was for Blessing of the Faithful and Motivating Display. Unfortunately the Motivating Display check didn't hit the DC to demoralize on Shrike, so she won't get the benefit even when she does get to attack again.

Between this guy's mention of the "tiresome elf" we killed, Jolistina's obsession with her "darling genius wubsy-lubsy Rolth," and Shrike's description of Rolth Lamm and why we're looking for him, it's probably pretty clear that this is him.

Ah - apologies. I wasn't sure if it had been factored in.

Elric did have +2 and +1 added to all his attacks, which I assumed was for Blessing of the Faithful and Motivating Display.

Correct - both buffs applied to all attacks. Lovely teamwork all around, much appreciated.

Technical point about the silence spell, GM. Kandru cast it on the corner of the room, not on any of the enemies.

The wording of the spell is a bit clunky, but it's my understanding that the Will save to negate only applies if the target of the spell is a person.

Once the spell is cast, the zone of silence affects anyone in the area, but they are free to speak if they move out.

Ah, thank you for pointing that out. The spell doesn't go into effect until immediately before Kandru's next turn anyway, so the enemy actions remain as posted.

That's my understanding of silence too. Will save only if the target is a person.

And he'll no doubt make it, but if what Lamm did to Pava was a spell or spell-like ability, he does need to make another concentration check to cast it defensively, or else accept provoking attacks of opportunity from Audria, Pava and Shrike. If it was some kind of item or something, that may not apply.

Since I don't know yet if Pava or Audria is able to provide flanking, I'll wait a bit for the results of that Will save.

Also, if it's a Dominate Person spell, then I think that's a 1 round cast time...

*Crosses fingers for this Phantasmal Killer* Come on you anti-climatic bringer of death!

Go Pava go!

*Munch popcorn*

Darn it, I thought that third one was a hit too, then I saw I hadn't changed the hit bonus properly for iterative.

That's what I get for posting early in the morning before my brain is fully functioning. You are all correct:
- Rolth does need a concentration check, which I forgot to make. CC, DC 25: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
- The spell he's casting does have a casting time of 1 round, so I think the silence spell means that Rolth's spell will be disrupted. Even before taking into account the absolute thrashing that Pava is giving him. :D

You know, given that he almost certainly killed Brother Theolan, he could have really rattled Audria by taunting her about it. She is wearing her holy symbol so that it's very visible on her chest.

Not that she needs much rattling since the dice seem to have decreed that she will not be a danger to this big baddie. :P

I did initially assume he was part of that, but him saying we're "too young" to be related to one of his "bloody flowers" (i.e. the Key-Lock's Killer's victims, I think) makes me think he was not actually there and the carved design we found on Brother Theolan was a deliberate ploy to make it appear that he had been killed by the Key-Lock Killer. Also, it makes more sense that we couldn't find any trace of him despite searching if he has been literally underground here the whole time in the weeks since we cleared the Dead Warrens.

Shrike isn't in investigatory mode right now and hasn't really processed what he said, but if Audria brought it up, I bet she would find out. He seems pretty proud of his exploits, in classic evil mastermind fashion. Probably would just love to either wax poetic or hear if someone had been imitating him.

So, we're just waiting on Kandru's turn, right?

Loot: On Rolth: scroll of teleport, wand of magic missile (CL 3rd, 43 charges), +1 dagger, belt of mighty constitution +2, cloak of resistance +1, headband of vast intelligence +2, ring of protection +1, unguent of timelessness (6), mwk thieves’ tools, fine mortician’s tools (worth 100 gp), 6 black onyxes (worth 150 gp), spellbook (contains all cantrips save those of the illusion and transmutation schools plus detect thoughts, grease, ice storm, magic missile, and 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (1, 1) + 2 = 4 additional spells of the necromancy and enchantment schools for each level from 1st to 4th, Shane's choice on the specifics), extensive notes on blood veil, 50 gp, 5 sp.

On the cultists: potion of cure light wounds, +1 breastplate, +1 scythe, iron key, silver holy symbol of Urgathoa.

Things Shane wants:

Let me know if anyone else also wants these? I think he's about to lose out on a lot of the monetary reward given the above beauties.

Shrike wants the ring. No rings for her yet and her AC is lagging.

Then Shrike gets the ring.

Unless some other player wants it but that'll between you and whoever. :)

I'll want an RoP at some point, but it doesn't need to be now, so Shrike's welcome too it. I could **really** use the cloak though!

Elric is happy to grab one of the +1 breastplates.

He'll take the belt of mighty constitution, if noone else wants it, but he's not exactly hurting for HP. It might be better for one of the frontliners.

Let me know if anyone else also wants these? I think he's about to lose out on a lot of the monetary reward given the above beauties.

Hm? So far, we haven't been subtracting the cost of things people claim and use from group loot from their individual share of gold from sold stuff. That would be a big headache for me, as the mathy person. Just, if you sell things on later that weren't bought from your money alone, the proceeds from that would go back in the group pot. Sound fair? Also, I don't mind rolling Shane or Pava for the ring! Just putting my intentions out there.

Ringbearer?: 1d20 ⇒ 1 Well now I feel someone else should take it...

As far as the belt of mighty constitution, I won't throw my hat in the ring for that one. Shrike is a bit of a glass cannon, but I'm holding out for a Dex belt like Pava's. Speaking of which, she ought to ask Shane about a use of the cat's grace wand.

Ugh, that's two real combats in a row I've forgotten to use Shrike's Frightening Ambush feat properly. Got to remember that when she acts before the enemies, she probably gets to make a free Intimidate check.

Shane did not mention the wand of magic missile, but he should grab that too. Very handy to have the ability to throw out auto-hit force damage.

That + a readied action is a good way to disrupt enemy spellcasters.

Thank you.

Downtime does not come easy, but Shane actually DOES have 'Forge Ring'. He's not that good at it yet, for example, he can only make 9 rings for mortal men tops and they are doomed to die...

Wait, wrong reference.

He might be able to make a Ring of Protection or two with the help of a cleric who casts Shield of Faith.

My thought when I took it was that he'd use it to make his arcane bonded ring magical (Not sure if that saves time or money since the ring is already made technically)

Oh, I thought if your bonded object was a ring, you could specifically make additions to it without having Forge Ring. Maybe that's wrong though. If Shane did make a ring, one that makes someone invisible would be very on-brand...

The Brightness is an elven religious concept, meaning roughly the state of enlightenment achieved by following one's highest calling. Shrike uses it here in basically the same sense but more secular, meaning his dreams of being an artist and performer.

P.S. Elric swapping out his breastplate for a magic one probably takes around 5 minutes if he does it by himself or 2.5 minutes if he has help, so we should have plenty of time for Shane to ID those items and to have this little aside with the flask.

Aside from the specific listed spells, there are 4 other spells, one for each level. So one per level, not two. Sorry if that was unclear. But yes, any of the ones are listed are fine, as long as you pick only one for each level.

GOtcha, glad I asked. I'll go with the first one for each that i mentioned.So Charm Person, Touch of Idiocy, Suggestion, and Confusion.

And THANK you :) It's a nice trove!

Ready to move on.

We can move on if everyone's ready, and we're all caught up with Rolth's identity as the Key-Lock Killer. Happy to do any more RP for this room in spoilers if the group prefers.

I vote for moving through the northwest/upper-left quadrant door first, using the same cautious methods as before.

I'll address Audria's spoiler when we do move on, since that thread is to happen at some future time and there are several other things going on concurrently.

Sorry, folks, my parents are visiting and we're doing some tours together, so I won't have much time to post this week.

Sounds fun. Have a great visit with your parents, GM!

Have fun, GM!

@Shrike: That's fine. Hopefully I won't forget. :P

I'm assuming the plan is to quietly slit their throats while they sleep.

If there's one thing we've established about Shrike, it's that she Will commit cold-blooded murder of an evil creature in its sleep or while otherwise helpless. Whether it's the King of Spiders, a vampire, a maniacal elf, or indeed some human necro-cultists. However, I don't expect that every character feels the same. There could be limits to our ruthlessness as a party and I wouldn't object as a player. Should we discuss this OOC or IC, or is everyone pretty much on the same page about killing the sleeping cultists and moving on?

Also, she wants to give the very vampire-goth satin fabrics to Majenko. I'm writing it down so I don't forget.

Need to let something for work stew for a minute, in the meantime...

Audria is conflicted about it, but I'm not. I say kill the bastards and let Pharasma sort them out.

That said, Audria is conflicted and I do want her to talk to Shrike and Elric about it after we finish clearing things out. She understands the tactical need to secure their retreat and to make sure they aren't caught in a pincer, but it's at odds with what she knows her oaths call her to do. She's supposed to help people and to redeem them, to get them to see the beauty in themselves so they can help make this world a better place. Finding a balance between doing what she feels called to do and doing what tactical necessity requires while also trying not to give into her own frustrations and anger is part of what makes her a fun character to play. She wants to do good. She wants to do right by her mentors and friends and her goddess, but she's also aware that those may not always be in alignment.

In short, I think we're good. Audria's been a fun character to explore and play, even if there are times where I fall into some bad patterns (Sorry Kandru!) or make a mess of things as I figure the pint-sized paladin out. I don't think we're at risk of going over into territory that I would not be okay with, namely executing people out of hand.

That said, she is worried about Shrike and I'm hoping for a chance for them to talk.

There are certainly situations where Pava would want a less lethal approach, even if it's someone that we're there expecting to have to kill, but oh boy not these cultists. They have zero qualms.

Ordinarily, Kandru would be against cold-blooded murder, no matter the victim's crimes - from what she saw in the previous room, though, and given how she's written up, it makes sense for her to have serious issues with necromancers on the whole and these ones in particular, so while she (probably) won't go bed to bed shooting them with her crossbow, neither will she stop Shrike or even make a counterargument for leaving them alive.

Oh man, that bad grammar in my last post is going to haunt me forever.

The halls of the great golem are littered with many posts that have been laid low by typos and bad grammar.

Don't worry, you're not alone.