[GD XII] Redelia's Academy of Secrets (Inactive)

Game Master Redelia

The air in this room smells acrid, making the eyes water—the source is a large brazier of burning incense in the corner and a curious set of glass pipes connecting two vats of bubbling liquid (one green, one red). The key-light in this room is traveling back and forth inside of the glass tube—although the light itself is yellow in color, it appears variously green or red as it swims through the fluid, looking yellow in the middle.

Aria and Daalthiel notice that the glass tube is also a trap. If it is broken, the liquids will mix and cause an explosion. Working together, they are able to easily disable the trap.

how do you get the keylight, team?

Finally, something to smash. Break a vat, no more liquid. No liquid, no mixing. No mixing, no explosion.

Thrag pulls out his adamantine hammer and smashes a hole in the bottom of one of the vats. Once the liquid inside has drained the keylight should be safe to retrieve.

Thrag finds that the keylight falls out one side of the tube and the party is easily able to collect it.

which room next, everyone? This should be the last one.

Shaping?

"That works. I am concerned however that we have not ran into any of the other contestants." Rognak said as they made their way to the Hall of Shaping. I wonder if they have given up or does the hall reset to what it started with after we leave.

"As long as it lets us out eventually, I don't really care about the metaphysics. And Shaping sounds good."

Sayna taps the flat of her sword against her shoulder. "Shaping works for me. Though I echo Rognak's concerns."

"Perhaps, Rognak, they are waiting to ambush us and take our keys.
That would be an option for those who lack the skills to solve the traps and puzzles themselves."

The Hall of Shaping is a currently unused office. The office contains three statues of scary creatures.

You notice that the keylight, which hovers near the floor in the center of the room, is warded by a trap. Arie, with help from Daathiel, easily deals with the trap.

You also notice that the statues are actually monsters. They are not currently looking threatening.

Weapon still sheathed Thrag approaches the keylight and collects it, keeping an eye on the statues.

Aria vanishes into the shadows as Thrag moves into the room. Just in case.

Daathiel activates his Ring of Blinking.

What sort of Knowledge check is it to ID the statue-monsters? He will Take 10 on the check, with an extra +4 from Heroism and Heightened Awareness.

Thrag is able to collect the key light with no ill effects.

The statues only attack if the trap is triggered...
Daalthiel, do you still want to know about them?

Unless anyone wants to know more about the statues, that's the keylights, so we are ready to move on to the next part, the Hall of Wards. Any preparations, buff spells to cast/recast, etc?

Ready to go

No worries about the statues if they are a moot point.

Daathiel still has Heroism and Heightened Awareness active. He does not cast any other spells at this time.

Aria reappears from the shadows as if nothing had happened. She grins at everyone, "So, Hall of Wards now?"

You find that you can approach the Hall of Wards with ease. Placing the key-light on the eastern entrance to the hall causes the door to creak ominously open, revealing roiling darkness. Since you have to enter one at a time, each inserting your own key light, those of you who go later see those who go earlier disappear in to the darkness.

When it is your turn, you find yourself feeling like you are falling for a brief moment, and then you find yourselves coming to in a small room.

Please place your tokens in the currently revealed room in the first map visible

This stone room is nearly empty, save a sourceless, orange ambient light and a small table full of empty, stoppered crystal vials with peeling, faded labels. The outline of a door can be faintly seen in the north wall, though the wall is solid and seamless. A heavy iron door to the south looms ominously; a man’s horribly mutilated body lies in a patch of dried blood on the ground before this exit.

any of you trained in knowledge:planes or who have an ability to try knowledge checks untrained are welcome to attempt such a check

K:Planes Amateur Investigator: 1d20 + 22 + 1d6 ⇒ (12) + 22 + (1) = 35
Perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Floating a foot off the ground, Rognak scanned the room as the mutilated body and vials caught his eyes.
Cast Shield

Thrag pulls out his black hammer. Do I need to make an exit?

Daathiel looks at the body. Knowledge (Planes), Heightened Awareness, Heroism: 1d20 + 31 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 31 + 2 + 2 = 53

"No, Thrag, I think we can puzzle our way through this instead of destroying the Academy.
That outline of a door? There may be some way to open it. Perhaps a command word."

He looks at the vials closely, trying to read the writing on the labels.
Perception: 1d20 + 17 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 17 + 2 + 2 = 38

"My hunch is that the outline of the door to the north is the key somehow."

Aria moves closer to the obvious door, keeping an eye for even more traps. For no reason whatsoever. She checks the body from a distance to see why it's there.

Is it anyone we recognize?

Perception: 1d20 + 23 ⇒ (20) + 23 = 43 (+7 traps)

Rognak realizes that this is a demiplane modeled on Hell. If he thought for a few minutes, he could find out a lot more about it.

The vials on the table are all empty, and their lead stoppers are still tightly sealed. Each has a discolored piece of parchment peeling from its side; most are completely illegible. Those that can be read all contain a single name. Daalthiel finds a vial with his name on it. Further investigation of the vials turns up nothing, although if you search hard enough each of you can find a vial with your own name.

The adventure has nothing further on the vials...

The body appears to be that of one of the other contestants. He was a spellcaster named Maganrad.

”Huh. How strange.” Sayna sheathes her sword for the moment as she looks through the vials for hers. When she eventually finds it, she pockets it. ”Probably best to not leave this here for whoever made it to…do something.”

Is there a vial with Maganrad’s name?

Door with dead body, probably trapped. Maybe door on the the other wall maybe trapped too. Anyone else want to check before before I start scraping off the paint?

Thrag goes to check out the outline of a door.

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33

Before you spend any more time on it, I'll just tell you that the door outline is just unexplained window dressing. It's the metal door on the other side that is relevant.

Aria will pocket the vial with her name. <No reason to leave that behind.>

"I'm impressed that someone got here before us. Though I suppose that there was only one of him."

Did I see any traps on the door with my 43 above?

If nothing appears trapped, Aria will step up to check out the door, if it's locked or puzzled or just closed.

No, no traps noticed. The door does not appear to be locked.

You are not able to find any vials for Maganrad, but you can't find vials with your companions' names, either.

Daathiel will wait while Rognak puzzles out the mysteries of the demiplane.

Daathiel has a +35 Knowledge (Planes) and can Take 20 3/day, so if it is simply a matter of an extremely high DC let him know and he will make the attempt. But Rognak is on it for now.

No, it's not an incredibly high DC, it's just that those who meet a high DC (which Rognak did) can spend some time to figure it out.

Rognak pulled out a chunk of cheese and pondered the demiplane as he noshed on it.

Rognak realizes the following:

Divinely Morphic: The owner of this plane can alter this plane at will

Strongly Law-Aligned and Strongly Evil-Aligned:
Creatures of neither lawful nor evil alignments take a –4 circumstance penalty on all Intelligence-, Wisdom-, and Charisma-based checks. A creature with either any lawful or any evil alignment takes only a –2 penalty, while lawful evil creatures take no penalty at all.

Flowing Time: Time passes much more slowly here than it does on the Material Plane. For every hour that passes on the Material Plane, 24 hours pass on here.

Altered Magic: Magic also functions differently here than on the Material Plane: spells and spell-like abilities with the lawful or evil descriptors function as if their caster levels were 2 higher than normal. Conversely, spells and spell-like abilities with the chaotic or good descriptors require a concentration check (DC 20 + the level of the spell) to be cast. If the check fails, the spell does not function but is still lost as a prepared spell or spell slot. If the check succeeds, the spell functions normally.

Locked Plane: As this is an extraplanar prison meant to house captured souls, mortals brought there may not leave by any means save as a condition in a signed contract made with Chyvvom, after killing Chyvvom, or with a miracle or wish. This is considered the Material Plane for purposes of dismissal and banishment of creatures native to the Material Plane, but is otherwise considered an extraplanar realm from which summoned or non-native creatures may be expelled. All devils in service to the owner of this plane consider this plane their native plane.

What now, everyone?

Thrag rummaged around until he finds the vial with his own name and tucks it into his belt.

So we just open the door? Didn't seem to go well for the last guy, but I don't see another option. Unless someone had a better idea I'm opening it.

"Given that this plane is attuned to Hell, we should be prepared to deal with fire. As to what killed Maganrad, someone more skilled in the healing arts might be able to determine what caused his death." Rognak said as he put the chunk of cheese into his belt pouch.

Aria shrugs and pulls the door open. "I do want to get back to my own room at some point."

CN means -4 to mental checks. That is going to hurt!

Heal, Heroism: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 2 = 15

Daathiel takes a look at the body, but he has only the most rudimentary knowledge of the healing arts.

He activates his Ring of Blinking.

So, what killed him?

You can't tell what killed him, but most of the damage to the body appears to be caused after death.

He possesses a scroll of break enchantment, and also a non-magical scroll written in infernal. do any of you know infernal? If not, does anyone want to try linguistics to see what you can find out?

Aria knows Infernal.

Same for Rognak

"Lets see what we got here". Rognak said as he looked over the parchments. "This appears to be a scroll of break enchantment. Handy for removing curses and such. I had to use the spell when one of the group I was with at the Worldwound got changed into a chinchilla by a demon." he said before turning his attention to the other scroll.

Daathiel knows Common, Celestial, Draconic, Dwarven, Elven, Sylvan, Ancient Osiriani, Kelish, Azlanti, Giant, Aklo, Goblin, Aquan, Undercommon, Jistkan, Polyglot, Vudrani, Infernal, Thassilonian, Varisian, Abyssal, Tien, Ignan, Hallit, Tekritanin, Terran, Dark Folk, Sphinx, Necril, Auran, Cyclops, Halfling, Shoanti, Shory, Skald, Gnoll, and Orc.

The aasimar waits while Rognak looks over the Infernal scroll.

Putting your heads together, and using your knowledge of Infernal and your skills in linguistics, you are able to decipher the dense, complex writing. The document is a contract between Maganrad and a devil named Nagxiv. In return for bolstering his magical abilities (mostly in the school of enchantment, a soul chosen by Maganrad at the time of the contract’s signing was forfeit to Nagxiv for 101 years—although the wording of the scroll cunningly makes Maganrad’s own soul the object of the contract.

You can certainly react here, but I'm also going to move us forward into the next room.

The next room resembles an academic’s office, albeit the office of a very messy professor. Tattered books and broken furniture lie strewn across the floor. Some long-congealed dark liquid pools on the floor beneath a solid cascade of the same substance along the south wall, and what appear to be bone spurs protrude from the dark wooden wall surrounding an iron door on the opposite end of the small chamber. Bones from dozens of creatures rest in neat piles on the bookshelves, with the skull from each sitting atop its stack, staring into the room with vacant, hollow eyes. Beneath each pile of bones sits a small iron plaque engraved with a short phrase in Infernal describing the victim in enigmatic and ambiguous poetry. One of the largest has tiny writing
scrawled over its surface in swirling text. Itreads “This is no Hall of Wards but a Hell of Magic. The Breaching is a sham. Flee, if you can, before the whispers drive you mad.”

When you look around carefully, you find a small crack in the back of a bookshelf behind a pile of bones. The crevice contains a scroll of banishment.

please indicate which door you would like to open next. The doors all appear to be free of traps and unlocked.

First door on the left? And who wants the scroll?

Aria shrugs at the scroll. "I can pretend to use it, but it might be better with someone who actually can." She peers out into the hallway. "Left, then right, down the hallway? I don't like leaving untested doors behind me."

Assuming no one else has a major preference, Aria slinks down the hallway, and after checking the first door, opens it.

Floor-to-ceiling bookshelves cover the walls of this dimly lit library, with shorter stacks creating small dividers in the room’s interior. A reading table sits empty and unused in the library’s center. The shelves are a mass of fluttering pages, and books rearrange themselves and fly across the room constantly. A man, probably a wizard by his dress and mannerisms, dashes around, looking at the books, clearly searching for one particular book. He turns and looks at you when he sees you enter.

picture now visible in maps slideshow

Thrag looks around to get a better sense of the room before pointing at a random book.

Is that it?

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (1) + 17 = 18

<Oh, he looks friendly. And sane.> Aria steps out of the way so someone with better words can talk.