PFS1 The Emerald Spire: Level 2 - The Cellars by GM Colin (Inactive)

Game Master Colin_Mercer

After dealing with the goblinoids in the tower ruins, the Pathfinders regroup and resupply at Fort Inevitable before venturing into the next level of the Emerald Spire......

The steep stair descends through solid bedrock for fifty feet before ending in a stone-lined room. A large stone door stands directly south of the stair, a small alcove lies to the east, and another door to the southeast is slightly ajar. An extinguished torch rests on the floor of the alcove.

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When you're ready, please fill out the info in the second slide, and place your character token in the cyan box in the first slide.

Looks like everyone is here. Let's GO!

The room is dimly illumitaed by some kind of greenish-white, furry mold that litters the floor, just enough to fill this 20ft tall room with dim light. The doors are featureless stone slabs. A simple search reveals that the south door is locked. The extinguished torch looks like as if it has been here for some time, as a thin layer of dust covers it.

perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 Does not notice whatever it is.
Alright guys two doors, one to the east one to the south.
Checks East door for traps perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Aid Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Hm..."

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

"What do you see?"

Rouqar seems confused, because he sees TWO east door that Tusk could be referecing to.

Nevertheless, Tusk sees no trap on the southeastern door. Peeking from the door, you see a hallway lies beyond this stone door. A similar stone door sit across the hallway, and it looks like there's another door located in the middle of the hallway to the north.The hallway is emtpy, saved the bioluminescent mold. Map revealed.

Nice Rouqare, you found a secret door, but I've already checked this one for traps. Has pistol in hand. Moves 10 feet in, Ready when you all are.

Yngvarr, an Ulfen scholar who has joined the group, mutters a few words in Skald that cause his hat to start shedding light like a torch and then advances along the corridor after his allies. He will periodically stop to cast detect magic to try and spot unusual magical auras in the area.

Yngvarr will cast light on his hat and then follow the rest of the group. Using detect magic to look for any magic auras in the corridors which the party are moving along.

"There's a second eastern door?"

Tat casts detect magic and scans the first room and the eastern wall secret door for magical auras. He then moves to the already opened door, ready to move on.

The casters set up Light spell to provide better illumination and scan the area with Detect Magic. Nothing magical show up in your radar.

Does anyone would like to check out the secret door, or does everyone would like to go through the southeastern hallway?

Damn this place. Khon'Ur is a rather gloomy dwarf with an unusual grayish skin tone, which instinctively seems somewhat repulsive to other dwarves. Instead of a traditional beard, he sports a mustache, in defiance of the customs of his people. His face is adorned with several rune tattoos that seem to have mystical significance, and he bears scars from various battles all over his body. This is a middle-aged dwarf who has clearly seen some sh*t in his life. His communication style is rather rude, as he often grumbles and curses, and he's always ready to start a fight - this is evident from his behavior.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 - inspection for the traps of the secret door

Damn this bloody blasted place!! Not being completely sure whether he has found the traps or not (and having strong doubts about this, which makes him swear even more), the dwarf opens a secret door. He keeps his axe and his malice ready (just in case).

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 3 = 12

Fraxon is another dwarf, with red hair and a short, breaded beard.

He holds a magnificent dwarf waraxe, and wears a beautiful scale mail.

He seems calmer and more stoic than Khon'ur, but then, who isn't?

The place is doomed, but rich in risks and rewards.

He keeps his eyes and ears open for potential foes, instead of looking at the doors

The two dwarfs didn't find any traps around the secret door. Behind the secret door is a small compartment with......you know it, another (not so) secret door! It match the one you found. More dust, more glowing mold, no magic aura. Secret door marked as red on the map

Looks like the group is planning to go through the hallway. Middle door or the door at the end of the hallway?

Oi ye, let's all come here! After waiting for everyone to gather, Khon'Ur kicks open the next door.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20 (and of course check for traps BEFORE open)

Yngvarr follows Khon'Ur over to the door he has just opened and checks the door beyond with detect magic. If it seems clear of magic, he get ready for the door being opened.

After making sure (that he think) there is no trap on the door, the dwarf kicks the door open, reveals a big room.

A curving wall of glowing green crystal bulges out into this chamber from one corner. A stout wooden table stands along the wall opposite it. On the table lie three rotting human corpses and the remnants of a spider-like creature. One of the human corpses has had all of its extremities severed, and its torso has been opened to reveal the internal organs. Another dismembered corpse has spider leg sewn onto the stumps in place of the removed limbs, all of which are neatly arranged near the rest of the spider creature. A bucket full of reeking, old blood sits on the floor under the table, and needles with lengths of silken thread attached are stuck in a hand-sized block of bloodstained wax atop the table.

You recognize that the green crystal is none other than the Emerald Spire.

Unholy crap, I've seen stuff in Mendev, but now it's too damn much. Khon'Ur spits on the floor and looks back at his comrades, checking if everyone has come closer in case there is a meeting with this experimenter now.

"I wonder who's blood is that?"

You think you just saw the corpses on the table suddenly twitched.

Moves Straight then turns and opens the door to possibly meet up with Khon'Ur.

Oi, does anyone have an alchemical fire or something? Let's burn these pieces o' flesh from afar, otherwise we'll have ta chop them up later, I tell ye.

Hearing this Tat's eyes light up. "You need something set on fire? May I offer you my burning hands service?" He hustles to the side of Khon'Ur.

Thanks to traits, feats and bloodline arcana, Tat's burning hands deal 4d4+4 fire damage + 1 point of force damage, Reflex DC 16 for half. Should burn them quite good... :-D

Before anyone enters the room Yngvarr will check as much of the room as he can from outside with detect magic to see if anything interesting shows up.

The Emerald Spire emits strong magical aura without a specific school of magic, but the corpses does not detect as magical. Tusk opens the door and see the room just fine.

There's another minor spasm on the corposes, otherwise they do not react to your presence. Is there anything you guys want to do in this room? BAre you going to burn the corpses?

Keep an eye around. Those corpse moves a little. Something more might be lurking around.

perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

He turns to the pyromaniac gnome
Keep your spells for real threats.

Yngvarr can tell that there is no Necromancy aura on the corpses, and they're DEAD dead. Some of them have already starting to rot. The room seems to be used for experimenting on corpses, although there's no trace of the experimenter.

"I think these corpses are just that, dead bodies. I don't detect any necromancy on them. Perhaps the slight movement is the result of the way that they are decaying?" postulates the Yngvarr.

Knowledge (arcana): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Knowledge: Arcana t: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

"Are they going to move? There's undead of course"

Steps one foot inside the room to examine the area around him. This might give him an idea as to how these people died. perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Tusk notices that the ceiling in front of you has a hidden panel. As you look down, you see the corresponding pressure plate.(Indicated by the red square on the map) Your Pathfinder training tells you that nothing good will comes out if you step on it. It's a trap. You could try to Disable Device it

Tusk also notices that the northeastern corner of the room, there's a familiar pattern on the wall, just like the one that half of the team is passing through right now————it's another secret door!

I suggest ye just dinna waste time on a trap. It can be bypassed.

With that, Khon'Ur heads for the next door.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

If someone decides to clear the trap, Khon'Ur will leave the room and go into the corridor .)

"Let me"

The catfolk moves to disable.

DD: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

doh...

"Dank rak!"

Try again Rouqar. If I'm not mistaken you can still try as long as you haven't failed by more than 5, you don't know how much you failed by, try again.

In a valiant attempts to disable the trap, Rouqar accidently cut the wrong wire, and the ceiling panel immediately falls open, a rectangular steel cage plummets from the ceiling. Rouqar managed to roll out of the way in time to not get trapped within the cage, but not fast enough that the heavy cage smashes on Rouqar's poor tail. 4 damage to Rouqar

** spoiler omitted **

In a valiant attempts to disable the trap, Rouqar accidently cut the wrong wire, and the ceiling panel immediately falls open, a rectangular steel cage plummets from the ceiling. Rouqar managed to roll out of the way in time to not get trapped within the cage, but not fast enough that the heavy cage smashes on Rouqar's poor tail. 4 damage to Rouqar

"Rrr..ouch!"

There be six lives left. The moustached dwarf shrugs his shoulders. If ye have a healing wand, give it here, I will heal ye.

With the trap neutralised Yngvarr moves into the room and takes a look around, including investigating the corpses on the table to see if they reveal any more information up close.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

He will also scan the secret door for magic auras.

We move, now.Someone likes to play with dead bodies. We have to put an end to it.

Tusk will check all the bodies in the room for treasures on them, moving whatever he has to out of the way to search the body. If any reanimate while I'm searching them, you can put me next to that body.

"Whoa! That must have hurt."

After the trap has been triggered Tat stays 10 feet away from the corpses, ready to unleash the burn. ;-)
But when the whole party leaves he goes with them.

No magic, no trap on the secret door. The secret door reveals a short passageway that abruptly end after a right turn.

Yngvarr and Tusk start to Pathfinder the room. The corpses on the table have little worth of information, but the stuffs that are on the table though, are much more interesting:

Two potion that you guys identify as Cure Moderate Wounds are mixed with the clutter atop the worktable. A scroll tube on the table holds what Khon'Ur Read Magic as a scroll of Fireball and a scroll of Fly. Besides the spell scrolls, the scroll tube also holds a parchment with another Emerald Spire level sigil inscribed on it. The sigil is different than those that're engraved on the Spire in this room. The parchment sigil is labeled "four" in common and a language you guys do not understand. Yngvarr can tells that the sigil on the parchment and the Spire are products of Arcane Mark.

Under a bucket of blood that's beneath the table, you find a key.

Well, where do we want to head now, SouthWest?

Having studied the scrolls, Khon'Ur nods. It seems that these will be toys for Tat. An' this i'll take for myself. He takes one healing potion. Who takes the second one? Write it down in your inventory plz so you don't forget.

This kinna just be a dead end! Khon'Ur goes into a secret room and tries to find a new secret passage.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
This place was designed by some moron...

I'll show path if I have to, I'm assuming there are no more traps from where I was to where I am now.
Okay, Khon'Ur, I too wonder what is here. perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Someone should roll Rougar's healing

I'll show path if I have to, I'm assuming there are no more traps from where I was to where I am now.

Okay, Khon'Ur, I too wonder what is here. [dice=perception]1d20+6

No more trap that you can find in the room with the cage. You guys goes around checking tables and nothing bad happens.

Having studied the scrolls, Khon'Ur nods. It seems that these will be toys for Tat. An' this i'll take for myself. He takes one healing potion. Who takes the second one? Write it down in your inventory plz so you don't forget.

This is the forth time you see the same style of secret door in this level, same seam same opening mechanism same everything. Clearly whoever build or rebuild this place doesn't really care about guarding secrets with secret door. As you expect, no trap on the secret door this time as well.

Behind the 4th secret door is a room almost twice as big as the one you guys were in before. This large stone chamber contains two clusters of four stone caskets each. In the center of the room, between the two groupings, stands an empty, unlit iron brazier that is covered with soot and smells faintly of past fires. Drapes of dust-covered spider webs cling to the ceiling.

It tooks Khon'Ur and Tusk a moment to realize that, this new room lacks of luminescent moss that are presents in other part of this level. The room is dark and silent.