"I had forgotten about the supplies hidden in the crypt. I agree they would be useful, but I also think we should ask Father Grimburrow before taking anything from there. It would be even better if he came with us. The last thing we need, given the uproar about necromancy in the town, is for someone to see us sneaking into a crypt." Left unspoken is the fact that Tatyana, as an inquisitor of the church, is uncomfortable with the idea of taking from one of their emergency caches without permission. "I can ask him about it tomorrow morning. It shouldn't delay us much even if we want to investigate Harrowstone tomorrow. As much as I'd like more information about the prisoners, I admit it could take weeks to sort through those files. Time we may not have."
Tatyana feels the panic creeping in as the dead approach. What is happening? Why has Pharasma turned on her? No, why had she turned on Pharasma? Why had she lost her faith?
"You haven't. Now breathe."
Professor Lorrimor's voice. Tatyana feels her breathing slow, just like he had taught her. In and out. Inhale for four, hold for four, exhale for four, hold for four...
The dead vanish. The graveyard disappears. Only Professor Lorrimor remains, smiling at her. "Well done. I told you it was simple. Control your breathing and you control the fear."
"Thank you." She feels like crying and isn't sure why at first. Then she remembers. "You're dead."
"I've gone to my eternal rest, yes." The professor is still smiling. "Don't be sad. It happens to us all. Speaking of rest..." He reaches forward and passes his hand over her eyes, closing them. "You need some of your own."
Before Tatyana can think of a response she drifts back into peaceful slumber.
Henric wakes up for his watch and prepares himself a breakfast of cold bread and beer. When the others wake up, he'll ask if anyone's interested in his help researching today.
+1 bonus vs. fear
I'm using up all my good rolls early on!
As Kimberly slumbers, visions flood her mind places, faces, all are strange, yet familiar somehow.
She surrounded by death, spirits all begging her to join. They call to her as though they know her.
The confusion overtakes her, her doll Amanda leaps from her grasp, it too has joined in, trying pull her in. Amanda, what ate you doing? She cries out.
It is time Kimberly, time to join us Amanda replies.
who are you, why She tries to ask but before she can finish, the faces, the voices all suddenly become familiar, thay are all Kimberly, we are you...
Kimberly awakens suddenly at morning break, she tries to put the dream behind her, but those faces, those voices permiate her every thought. Today is not a good day.
Com8ng to breakfast Kimberly moves slow, she practically is dragging Amanda by the arm. Her hair is a mess and it looks as though she has just returned from some dungeon exploration.
She plops into a chair and drops Amanda on a chair beside her.
The doll rotates its head to look at Kimberly, and seems to have a look of concern on its face.
No breakfast is prepared this morning. There are a few loaves of bread, a half bowl of berries, and a metal pitcher that is cold to the touch filled with milk.
Valiard agrees to wait and go to see the crypt in the morning with Tatyana.
"Not a bad idea...but I do think we need a bit more haste with our explorations. If the letter left on the statue is the first letter in someone's name...and my name starts with a "V", so I am invested in figuring out what is going on...and putting a stop to it, before something horrible happens." he says, anxiety seeping into his voice.
After saying his good-evenings, Valiard returned to the inn. Once in his room, he made preparations similar to the previous night, then, waiting for the sun to set he composed another letter to his wife, discussing his day and his meeting with the apothecary Sarah Lovenstein.
Some time after the sun had set, and true darkness had taken hold of the town, Valiard made his way back to the prison. He found himself a place on the other side of the pool near the south east corner and concealed himself in a copse of trees where he could sit and watch the prison and the road for a few hours, watching for signs of life...or unlife.
After several hours of waiting, and figuring it was now after midnight, he made his way to the north side of the compound, where he scaled the mouldering stone wall, his fingers finding easy purchase as he nimbly ascended.
Valiard paused as he mounted the battlement, for the barest of moments he heard, no, felt a great rush of heat, the crackle and roar of a great conflagration, the warmth on his face and hands, and then enormous heat, as if he was being burnt alive.
Then it was gone.
Valiard shook his head. Well, I suppose that is confirmation that something is going on.
Cautiously and quietly he skulked through the compound, quietly investigating for disturbances.
Valiard awoke in the morning...lingering thoughts of some nighttime disturbance fading from his mind. He shook his head.
This place is either starting to get to me, or I am reliving my past in my dreams. he thought, ruefully.
After stopping with the staff at the inn to break his fast, he proceeded back to Kendra's house, where he met up with Tatyana.
"Good morning." he called out, entering the house and making his way to the dining room where they had usually gathered.
"Tatyana, are you ready to go talk to the Father about the materials stored in the crypt? I feel that we..." he trailed off, looking at the wreckage of the young woman with her doll.
"Ms. Snow...are you alright? You look as if something horrible has happened." he asked, concerned.
"If you need something to calm your nerves I can put together a nice infusion...I have chamomile, white nettle and blackberry which would be quite nice." he offered.
Tatyana gets herself a slice of bread and a few berries. When she goes to pour a glass of milk she pauses. "Still cold. Has anyone seen Kendra? She must have been here not long ago."
As she eats she nods at Valiard. "Yes. We should take Kimberly as well, they-" She cuts herself off as the girl in question appears. "Kimberly? Is everything alright?" Concerned, she fixes the girl a plate of food and, (unless Kimberly shies away), feels her forehead for any signs of a fever. "If you need to rest today you can take a nap while Valiard and I go speak to Father Grimburrow. There are always the professor's notes here in the house if you feel better later. Perhaps Henric could help too?"
An old stone tower, its wooden roof collapsed and its crumbling
walls thick with ivy, extends a further ten feet above the twentyfoot-high wall here.
While the southernmost tower is empty, the
westernmost one is infested by a swarm of particularly
large rats. Even a casual observation of the tower from
afar reveals a dozen or so of the filthy creatures watching
from nooks and crannies in the stones; their fur is
matted and filthy, their eyes dark and hungry. If anyone
approaches within 15 feet of the tower, the rats begin
reacting, chittering and squeaking ominously as more
and more clamber into view.
R3. Warden’s House
This small brick manor house is overgrown with thick sheets
of gray-green ivy. The roof sags ominously, and the front door
hangs askew.
Once the home of Warden Lyvar Hawkran and his wife
Vesorianna, this building was spared damage from the fire
of 4661, but time has not been kind to it. Looters have long
since pilfered the place of its valuables, so all that remains
is a house nearly ready to collapse.
R4. Harrowstone Facade
A two-story stone building looms in the center of the prison
grounds. Ivy and moss cling tenaciously to the walls, while
above the wooden shingles of the roof are often missing
entirely, exposing the wooden rafters of the upper structure
to the sky. Here and there, leering stone gargoyles perch on
the eaves, once functioning as drainspouts and decorations but
now seeming almost to serve a more ominous role of sentinels.
Many of these stone decorations have crumbled away and lie
in ruined piles on the soggy ground below. Windows in the
building’s facade are narrow and blocked by grills of rusty iron
bars. Stone columns support a slumping wooden balcony over
the building’s wooden front doors, both of which hang askew
and reveal dark glimpses of chambers within.
R5. The Whispering Runes
The ivy and grass have been cleared along the edge where the foundation
meets the ground, and along this edge a series of sinuous
runes has been etched and then smeared with blood. The
runes go around the entire building’s foundation save
for the northeast corner, where part of the building has
flooded and the foundation has crumbled away.
The runes themselves are written in Varisian, and
among numerous magical incantations, repeat the name
Lyvar Hawkran dozens of times.
No one has seen Kendra, though looking around you find a folded note that must have been blown onto the ground: I am still not sleeping well, please make use of the house as you will. I am trying to sleep again, maybe in the daytime I will do better. ~Kendra
Lectrum wakes with a start.
"Gods, I am so tired..."
"Do we know anything in particular about the Warden? Seems that someone who was overseeing such a house of infamy would have access to a lot of knowledge." Tendal said offhandedly.
"There was an asylum in Carrion Hill that hid a mage who was trying to open a portal to some netherworld or some such. The asylum was being used as cover for his nefarious deeds." he explained his thoughts calmly.
"Do we know anything in particular about the Warden? Seems that someone who was overseeing such a house of infamy would have access to a lot of knowledge." Tendal said offhandedly.
"There was an asylum in Carrion Hill that hid a mage who was trying to open a portal to some netherworld or some such. The asylum was being used as cover for his nefarious deeds." he explained his thoughts calmly.
"What you said about the warden makes a lot of sense. Are his records stored anywhere nearby?"
His tone darkens. "Where'd you find out about this mage? Seems like something only an insider could know about. Did you find some records after all?
Noticing that so many of the other members of the group are tired, Henric brings it up at the next meal.
"I'm the one spending my evenings at the tavern, yet here all of you are looking like you haven't had a wink of sleep. Is there something goin' on I should know about? Something keeping you folks up at night?"
Kimberly almost started to doze off at the table as everyone was talking. But she tries to force herself awake.
I'll be alright, I hope, just some.... ahhh... bad dreams She says a but reluctantly.
With that Amanda looks toward Kimberly, there actually seems a bit of concern in the doll's face.
She seems a bit too out if sorts to contribute much, yet tries to keep her composure
I'll be alright, I hope, just some.... ahhh... bad dreams
"Exactly. Same." Lectrum wonders to himself if the creepy doll causes the bad dreams, but that would just be silly.
He can't possibly beat Valiard's Bluff check, so he nods until he almost nods off.
"All I've read about Warden Hawkran so far is that he and twenty-three of his guards sacrificed themselves to save the town when the prisoners broke out. There's apparently a statue to them out on the riverbank." Tatyana frowns thoughtfully. "Nothing that would suggest he was using the prison as anything other than, well, a prison. Perhaps when we investigate Harrowstone itself we'll learn more."
At the mention of bad dreams she gets a far-off look in her eyes. "I had a strange dream as well. It started badly but didn't end that way. In the end I got the rest I needed." Breakfast finished she stands and grabs her gear. "Those of you who didn't sleep well last night should take a nap now. If we do end up exploring Harrowstone this afternoon I'd prefer everyone be in their best shape. Valiard, you ready to go?"
She heads towards the temple with the goal of finding Father Grimburrow and asking him about the secret stash.
"Bad dreams, eh?"
When he has a chance to talk to Kendra, he asks her as well. "Seems that a couple of the other people here have been having bad dreams that keep them awake. You been havin' the same problem?"
Valiard, you ready to go?"
Valiard nodded and then followed the Inquisitor out the door, eager to track down the clergy and see if they could glean more information before they tackled Harrowstone.
Tatyana and Valiard make their way to the temple as most of the others attempt to get some rest. After speaking to an acolyte about a meeting with Father Grimburrow, he asks for you to wait. Soon enough the acolyte returns and states, "He will see you now, please come this way."
After you enter his private office, Father Grimburrow waves his hand and offers, "Please have a seat." After a few moments he asks, "Refreshments?"
Kimberly nods her understanding of everyone's plans and goes to her room, she leave Amanda at the table.
She tries to get some rest but the constant thoughts if her dream fill her head. She seems afraid to even try and sleep.
Meanwhile, back at the table, Amanda sits quietly staring at right ahead. But after a few minutes she falls from the chair.
The only sound is the pitter-patter of tiny feet moving away from the table.
"Just water, thank you." Tatyana sits up straighter in her chair. "Thank you for meeting with us on such short notice Father. We have a matter of some import to discuss with you."
"As you know Valiard, myself, and several other individuals are here as part of the last wishes of Professor Lorrimor, may Pharasma keep his soul. In his journal he recorded that he was investigating a group of necromancers known as the Whispering Way. He believed they had some interest in Harrowstone. However when he tried to investigate the prison he was prevented from doing so by ghosts."
Tatyana pauses. This is the delicate part. "He also wrote about a cache of supplies hidden by the church of Pharasma in a secret crypt in the Restlands. He believed those supplies would help him get past the ghosts and finish investigating the prison, but it seems he died during the attempt. We would like to continue his work, both because he was our friend and because if there are necromancers in the area they need to be stopped. Therefore we'd like to check the crypt for useful supplies before going to Harrowstone ourselves. May we have your permission to do so? Or better yet, would you be willing to come with us? You could ensure that we are showing all due respect to the dead, as well as verifying that we are using the cache for its intended purpose in fighting undead."
He takes a moment to collect his thoughts, his hands folding in front of him. Then he states, "I am skeptical but not completely dismissive—it’s certainly plausible that members of a previous hierarchy in the church hid several resources in a tomb, but there are no records of such a cache. At least not to my memory. I will look into this for my nightly studies."
then Father Grimburrow states, "I will allow your group of four or five to investigate, but I will send a pair of acolytes to go along with you."
then Father Grimburrow gives his blessing to your endeavors and, "May the items you find help you against any undead you might face."
---
Valiard joined Tatyana in the spartan office, sitting uncomfortably in the high unpadded wooden chair. The room made Valiard feel uncomfortable for some reason.
Guilty conscience for some reason? he thought, before turning his attention back to the conversation.
"He also wrote about a cache of supplies hidden by the church of Pharasma in a secret crypt in the Restlands. He believed those supplies would help him get past the ghosts and finish investigating the prison, but it seems he died during the attempt. We would like to continue his work, both because he was our friend and because if there are necromancers in the area they need to be stopped. Therefore we'd like to check the crypt for useful supplies before going to Harrowstone ourselves. May we have your permission to do so? Or better yet, would you be willing to come with us? You could ensure that we are showing all due respect to the dead, as well as verifying that we are using the cache for its intended purpose in fighting undead."
Valiard glanced at Father Grimburrow, but wasn't reassured by the look on his face. Uh, oh. He doesn't look convinced... he thought.
"Father Grimburrow, you may know Tatyana well, but I and the other folks who were here at the Professor's request are less well known to you, and I can see how that would make you have some concerns." Valiard began, leaning forward in his chair.
"I am just a merchant, a grower and purveyor of herbs and various remedies. I am not some high-fluting adventurer, here to stir up trouble. I have a child soon to be born in Caliphas, so I would like any of this unpleasantness to be figured out and put to rest as quickly, quietly and with as minimal fuss as possible. I beg you to please give us what aid you feel that you can manage so we can achieve that goal, and I can go home." he explained.
"Thank you for your assistance Father. We'll be certain to put the supplies to good use."
Once they leave Tatyana looks to Valiard. "Do you want to fetch the supplies now while the others are still sleeping or have that be part of the later excursion to Harrowstone once everyone's together?"
Lectrum, barely asleep, jolts at the sound of the patter of the little feet and slowly opens one eye to watch for them.
"Thank you for your assistance Father. We'll be certain to put the supplies to good use."
Once they leave Tatyana looks to Valiard. "Do you want to fetch the supplies now while the others are still sleeping or have that be part of the later excursion to Harrowstone once everyone's together?"
Valiard paused for a moment, thinking through everything.
"I think that we should go and get supplies right now. I can't imagine that there would be anything dangerous in a supply store. It may be disused now, but it was once a piece of the local church property. It would be silly to injure townspeople or acolytes going to get supplies." he thought aloud.
"Lets go and see what's there. We may be able to get anything important, or we may just be able to inventory and then ask the others their opinion, and collect things on the way to Harrowstone later." he suggested, pointing off towards the Restlands.
Tatyana nods. "That makes sense. Checking now also lets us know if there are any major gaps we'll want to fill before leaving. It's entirely possible the professor already took everything of actual use."
Henric stoically accompanies Tatyana and Valiard. He doesn't want to risk a fight by going to the tavern again, but he doesn't say anything about his feelings.
located in the northeast corner of the Restlands, near
the junction of the paths known as the Eversleep and
the Black Path. The crypt itself is a freestanding granite
mausoleum, the roof of which is decorated with a pair of
leering gargoyle statues. A single stone door with a rusty looking lock sits in the mausoleum’s south facade, but an
examination of the lock
Within, a flight of stone steps leads down into the
cold earth to a large crypt lined with empty niches—no
dead are interred here.
[ooc]You might see several giant centipedes scuttle into the room behind you as you find the cache. Perception DC 18.
Tatyana, Henric, and Valiard return likely with a chest.
Henric looks at the lock in the light of his everburning torch.
"Ah, damn. Looks like this lock's been melted inside the keyhole. Anyone here got a saw?"
Valiard peers at the lock as Henric holds his torch close.
"Interesting...that's odd. I would have expected the lock to be well cared for. Who would have damaged it this way?" he said, reaching out and bumping the lock, causing it to swing for a moment before it fell off the door loops, making a "thump" in the dirt as it landed.
"Rusted, or just damaged, looks like the way is open now." Valiard said.
"Since you have a torch, would you like to lead the way Mr. Torje?" he asked politely, motioning to the crypt door.
"I would guess the professor, although I do wonder why he didn't just ask Father Grimburrow for the key. Perhaps he thought it better to ask forgiveness than permission." Tatyana picks up the damaged lock and puts it in her pocket. She'll let Father Grimburrow know to replace it later.
Inside the crypt she notes the disturbed dust but can't make any sense of where the tracks might lead. "Someone was definitely in here recently. Do either of you have any idea where they might have gone?"
As Henric leads the way further in Tatyana tilts her head to one side, listening, then puts her hand on her bow. "Vermin behind us. Be ready."
Henric notices some footprints in the torchlight, and points them out to the others. "Looks like somebody was down here recently. This must be the right place."
As the party descends further into the crypt, he loses sight of the tracks. "Folks, I'm not sure we're still going the right way. Anyone else see a sign of those footprints we were following?"
The vermin don't get the jump on you...
Tatyana
Valiard
Henric
Lectrum
Kim
Vermin
INIT:
27 Tatyana
21 Vermin
11 Henric
1 Valiard
In fact Perception DC 25 and you may act in surprise round! Go Tatyana surprise round and round 1 actions. You get to determine how close they get before you act.
Tatyana whirls around as she hears the vermin scuttle closer. Within a few seconds her bow is drawn and an arrow nocked. "Giant centipedes. Shouldn't be too much of a problem."
As soon as the giant centipedes get within thirty feet Tatyana unleashes two arrows at the closest one.
The arrows pin the closest one to the ground. The others wiggle forward with amazing speed. These lengthy, large dog sized, segmented horrors writhe and twist, pulsing their venomous mandibles in search of prey.
The other five quickly cover the ground and attack!
Vs. Tatyana
(plus poison)
Vs. Henric
(plus poison)
(plus poison)
Vs. Valiard
(plus poison)
(plus poison)
Medium vermin
Init +2; Senses darkvision 60 ft.; Perception +4
Defense
AC 14, touch 12, flat-footed 12 (+2 Dex, +2 natural)
hp 5 (1d8+1)
Fort +3, Ref +2, Will +0
Immune mind-affecting effects
Offense
Speed 40 ft., climb 40 ft.
Melee bite +2 (1d6–1 plus poison)
Special Attacks poison
Statistics
Str 9, Dex 15, Con 12, Int —, Wis 10, Cha 2
Base Atk +0; CMB –1; CMD 11 (can’t be tripped)
Feats Weapon FinesseB
Skills Climb +10, Perception +4, Stealth +10; Racial Modifiers +4 Perception, +8 Stealth
Ecology
Environment temperate or warm forest or underground
Organization solitary, pair, or colony (3–6)
Treasure none
Special Abilities
Poison (EX) Bite—injury; save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Dex damage; cure 1 save. The save DC is Constitution-based and includes a +2 racial bonus.
Description
Giant centipedes attack nearly any living creatures with their poisonous jaws. These creatures adapt to many environments and feed voraciously on the local fauna, including humanoids. The coloration of giant centipedes mirrors that of normal centipedes and spans the spectrum, ranging from dull hues to bright reds and fiery oranges.
Other species of giant centipedes exist as well, some smaller but most quite a bit larger. You can adjust the stats given here by changing Hit Dice and size (changing Strength, Dexterity, and Constitution as appropriate) to represent a wide range of giant centipede species. The following table lists the most common variants.
Henric and Valiard step back and make ranged attacks as well...
A total of three of the centipedes are dead by your attacks.
Round 2
Before they kill the centipedes before them the centipedes attack,
☆☆☆
Vs. Tatyana
plus poison
Poison: save Fort DC 13; frequency 1/round for 6 rounds; effect 1d3 Dex damage; cure 1 save.
Vs. Henric
plus poison
Vs. Valiard
plus poison
Taking a step back Tatyana sends two more arrows towards the creatures. She aims first at the one attacking her, then (if a single shot kills it), the second arrow flies towards the one attacking Valiard.
already raided the cache, he didn’t take all of the
tools kept here—a fair amount of useful material
remains, including a dozen silver arrows, four sun
rods, six f lasks of holy water, 10 +1 arrows, five +1 ghost
touch arrows, two +1 undead bane arrows, five potions
of cure light wounds, two potions of lesser
restoration, a scroll of detect undead, two scrolls
of hide from undead, a scroll of protection from
evil, and a thin darkwood case decorated
with an image of a scarab with a single eye glaring from
its back—the same design that appears on the cover of the
Manual of the Order of the Palatine Eye among the books in
the professor’s collection. The darkwood case is worth 50
gp, and contains three objects of interest—a spirit board
with a brass spirit planchette, and four iron and glass vials
containing tiny, churning clouds of vapor. The vials sit
in velvet-lined indentations to the left of the spirit board
and planchette, along with six empty indentions—the
professor made off with most of the vials but left these four
behind. The six vials are all valuable magic items called
haunt siphons.
Aura faint necromancy; CL 3rd
Slot none; Price 400 gp; Weight 1 lb.
Description
These glass vials are held within stylized cold-iron casings
etched with strange runes, necromantic designs, or other
eldritch markings. Within the vial roils a small wisp of white
vapor, churning as if caught in a miniature vortex of air.
To capture a haunt’s energies within a haunt siphon, you need
only twist the metal casing to open the vial in the same round that
the haunt manifests (a standard action)—this can be before or
after the haunt has acted. You must be within the haunt’s area of
influence to use a haunt siphon. When you activate a haunt siphon,
it deals 3d6 points of positive energy damage to a single haunt.
If it deals enough damage to the haunt to reduce the haunt’s hit
points to 0, the mist inside the haunt siphon glows green—if it
does not reduce the haunt to 0 hit points, the haunt siphon is still
expended and becomes nonmagical. It may take multiple haunt
siphons to destroy powerful haunts. A haunt that is neutralized
by a haunt siphon takes a –5 penalty on its caster level check to
manifest again after its reset time passes.
A haunt siphon that neutralizes a haunt can no longer be used
to harm haunts, but it can be used as a grenadelike splash
weapon that deals 1d6 points of negative energy damage
with a direct hit. Every creature within 5 feet of the point
where the haunt siphon hits takes 1 point of negative
energy damage from the splash.
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, cure moderate
wounds, gentle repose; Cost 200 gp
Aura moderate divination; CL 9th
Slot none; Price 4,000 gp (brass planchette),
10,000 gp (cold iron planchette), 18,000 gp
(silver planchette); Weight 5 lbs.
Description
A spirit planchette is typically found in a
wooden case along with a thin wooden
board printed with numerous letters and
numbers. Nonmagical versions of these divination tools
can be purchased in curiosity shops (typically costing 25 gp);
while these items can be used as alternative components
for augury spells, only magical spirit planchettes allow users
to communicate with the other side. Three types of spirit
planchettes exist—brass, cold iron, and silver. Each in turn
allows an increasingly potent form of divination effect to be
utilized. A spirit planchette requires a board to move upon,
but this “board” can be made up of letters scribed upon any
smooth surface—it need not be a prepared board for a spirit
planchette to work.
To use a spirit planchette, you must rest your fingers
lightly upon the planchette’s surface and then concentrate
on the planchette (as if maintaining a spell with a duration of
concentration) for 2d6 rounds while the planchette attunes
itself to the ambient spirits of the area. After this time, the
planchette begins to slowly slide in random patterns across the
board—at this point, questions may be asked of the spirits by
any of the individuals involved in the séance. The consequences
of each question asked of the spirits depends upon what type of
planchette is used for the divination, as summarized on the table
below. The spirits reply in a language understood by the character
who asked the question, but resent such contact and give only
brief answers to the questions. All questions are answered with
“yes,” “no,” or “maybe,” or by spelling out a single word from the
letters arranged on the board. The spirits answer each question
either in the same round the question is asked (in the case of a
yes, no, or maybe answer) or at a rate of one letter per round (in
the case of a single word being spelled out). A spirit planchette
may be used once per day—the maximum number of questions
you can ask with it depends on the type of planchette being used
(as detailed on the table below).
Communication with spirits can be a dangerous task, for
many spirits are jealous or hateful of the
living. Every time a spirit planchette
is used, the user must succeed on a
Will save to avoid being temporarily
possessed and harmed by the angry
spirits. In some areas where the spirits
are particularly violent or hateful (such as
in Harrowstone), this Will save takes a –2
penalty. The DC of this save depends on the
type of spirit planchette being used. Anyone who
fails the Will save becomes confused for a number
of rounds (depending on the type of planchette
being used), and no answer is received. The
spirits in the area are not omniscient—the GM
should decide whether or not the spirits would
actually know the answer to the question asked, and if they do
not, the answer granted is automatically “maybe.” If the GM
determines that the spirits are knowledgeable about the answer,
roll d% to determine whether the spirits speak truthfully or
whether they lie.
Spirit Planchettes
Planchette Type | Questions per Use | Will save | Confusion Duration | True Answer | Answer Lie
Brass | 1 | 11 | 1 round | 01–60 | 61–100
Cold Iron | 3 | 15 | 2 rounds | 01–75 | 76–100
Silver | 5 | 19 | 3 rounds | 01–90 | 91–100
Construction
Requirements Craft Wondrous Item, contact other plane, speak
with dead; Cost 2,000 gp (brass spirit planchette), 5,000 gp
(cold iron spirit planchette), 9,000 gp (silver spirit planchette)
With the centipedes dead she returns to their original task of searching for the cache. When they finally find it her eyes light up. "Oh, these will come in handy. Used up the last of my ghost touch arrows back in Hyannis and haven't had the funds to restock." She hums appreciatively over the rest of the items as well but it's clear the arrows are her main focus.
When they open the darkwood case she shrugs, having no idea what's inside. "Let's just take the whole thing and figure it out later. If it's here it's bound to be useful." Once everything's packed she starts lugging it back towards the professor's house.
Back at the house Tatyana sets a heavy chest down on the floor before going to find Kim and Lectrum. "Are you feeling any better? If the professor did raid the cache he left a lot of good stuff behind. Perfect for tackling a haunted prison, if everyone's up for trying that this afternoon."
"Yes, I got bit...nasty things...and I think I got poisoned...I feel like all my muscles are in knots! Arrrgg." he groaned, holding onto his leg.
Valiard, helps collect up everything in the cache, and then limps along with the others back to the mansion, moving very stiffly.
Valiard sets down the large sack that he was carrying gently, the contents clinking and shifting, then groaning, lowers himself into a chair.
"Anyone have anything for relief of poison damage? I got bit by a centipede in the storage crypt and now I can barely move...my muscles are like knots." he groaned as he rubbed his injured leg, then wiggled a finger through the hole where the centipede's fangs had sunk in his calf.
"Also, there are some items in the bag and the box," he waved a hand at the chest that Tatyana had carried, "That we couldn't figure out. I hope someone has the knowledge to figure them out...looks like they are important because I am guessing the Professor took some when he visited the storage."
Henric examines the items in the cache, but can't tell anything about them.
"Looks like there's some arrows here, for anyone good with a bow. I'm a much better hand with this crossbow than anything else, so that's what I'll be relying on. Let's get Valiard here patched up and be on our way."
Lectrum looks puzzled and perplexed. "What is all this? How long was I asleep? I don't think I was hibernating. What day is it?"
"Still the same day. We decided to go directly to the cache so you and Kim could sleep a bit longer." Tatyana stretches out her back with a loud pop. "As you can see it was well worth the trip, despite the centipede bites. Unfortunately basic healing is the most I can manage. Father Grimburrow might be able to help, if we want to stop by the temple again on our way to Harrowstone. Or we did just get a few potions if you'd rather use those."
In a blur of movement he is on Tatyana's shoulder. A bit crankily he peeps out, "Oh come on that was the perfect instance to say Friday, he would have thought he was asleep for four days!"
To Valiard: "Sure, just pass me the healer's kit and I can try to help."
To Tatyana: "I missed it? Bah! I have never even tried centipede bites."
To Sly: "Nah, my growling stomach would have told me. That's a dirty trick, though. You sure are a cold-blooded lizard."
He just grins showing off his pearly white teeth.
"Thank you Letrum." Valiard said, stiffly sorting through the small pile for a few moments before tossing the wrapped package to him.
He slowly stood back up from where he was squatting near the gear with a stiff groan. "If this doesn't work, then I think I will need to either try the potion or go talk to the Grimburrow. I can barely move! I don't want to slow anything down however, so I might just quaff the potion. I think its very important for us to extend the investigation to the prison as soon as possible."
So I need a 13 on the die.
If I get a bonus for the healer's kit or someone aids me, that will make it.
Does Tatyana need one also?
Tatyana shakes her head. "The fangs weren't strong enough to penetrate my armor. I didn't get bitten." When Lectrum brings out the healer's kit she tries to help by describing the centipedes so he can select the right remedies.