GM Chadius presents: 4-05 & 4-10 (Inactive)

Game Master chadius

A Ratfolk in cowl and robe bows. You see a mouse perched next to his shoulder. "Nykor here. Ratfolk or ratmen. Always wondered what the surface is like, so been sent up here to find out!"

"More skull shennanigans aye? At least I learn more about magic all the time..." Nykor says.

A cloak figure of a woman is one of the newcomers, pulling off the hood she introduces herself "I'm Amiri, with two eyes." She grins, looking at the other agents as if to take stock in their physical abilities. She stands with an oversized sword sheathed on her back, obviously very fit.

An elf enters the room and smiles warmly at Nykor, Takumi, and Shinju.

"Nykor. Takumi-san, Shinju-san. I am glad to be working with you all again."

He wears a recently patched elven cloak over an embroidered tunic and chainmail, a large sword and shield slung across his back, and a number of other weapons at his belt.

He introduces himself to Kosh and Amiri. "Well met, Kosh, Amiri. I am Landon, of the Mordant Spire elves. Pleased to make your acquaintance." At Amiri's introduction he seems perplexed, and looks around at the others present in the room as if mentally counting their eyes. He glances back at the barbarian and frowns, but doesn't say anything further.

When the talking skull makes an appearance, Landon greets her with terrible humour that doesn't seem to match his normally reserved demeanor. "Alyreha! Are you ready for another adventure? Hopefully we don't get in over our heads this time."

Torrin Garr at your service... Likewise, he studies Amiri.

Are you not human? He begins by asking. Does your kind usually have one eye... or three, perhaps?

His consternation evidence that he's trying to imagine the alternatives.

"Are all men around here dumb as bricks? A M I R I. TWO EYES."

"Are all men around here dumb as bricks? A M I R I. TWO EYES."

Kosh laughs heartily at Amiri. ”Good one!”

Alyreha laughs at Landon. "Yeah, hopefully fewer numbskulls will make a mess. Don't worry Amiri, there are plenty of fellers out there who can do basic math." She giggles. "So, let's shake a leg and get out of here-"

"Wait." Sebnet sighs. "Do you have any questions for me, or for Alyreha? Make sure to equip yourselves."

To learn more about the Arclords, make a Arcana or Society check to Recall Knowledge.

You all start with 1 Hero Point. Make sure to get your >Pathfinder Provisions<

Kosh grabs a lesser healing potion.

”Just the question I asked”, he replies.

Lesser healing potion x1 for me thanks.

"Let's hope so Aly." She grins before turning to look at Sebnet "I've got to admit, I'm not much of a researcher... ya, I know, hard to believe with guns like these." She flexes impressively. "But, when the s@&$ hits the fan, me and Antonio here will lay waste to the challengers." She nods her head towards the giant sword on her back as she does so.

"Only question I have is once we're done flipping through books and checking table legs for secret hollows, where do we go to collect our purse?"

"Are all men around here dumb as bricks? A M I R I. TWO EYES."

Landon stares blankly for a few moments before his eyes light up.

What is with me and introductions? At least I didn't ask what a mouse was, this time...

He looks sheepish for only a moment before a genuine smile lights up his face. "Amiri, I do believe that Alyreha and yourself will get along famously."

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 For knowledge of Arclords

"Vast-vatom, Alyreha. Where exactly is the manor located? Do we know if it has any new occupants since Alyreha...", the elf tries to be as delicate as possible, "...transmuted?"

Nykor has s murky looking healing potion.

He stretches and ponders...

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Admonished, Torrin remains quite for a bit. Taking in all the new faces.

"Right, right... You were asking about danger?" Alyreha thinks. “Well, I mean I am an exceptionally powerful wizard so there’s all kinds of magic in my old manor. But don’t worry I haven’t let all that power,” she pauses for effect, “go to my head!” She waits for laughter, only continuing once Sebnet clears her throat.

“Anyway, I don’t expect any of that to be too much trouble to any of you. Since all memory of me was erased until recently, I suspect it’s just been abandoned all this time. The only thing I would worry about is if someone tried in break in there during all this time, there might be one or two of my magical defenses active, but there shouldn’t be too much of a problem, especially with how magically warded I made sure to keep the place.”

"It's still my house, so no one gets to move in. People did forget about me, but they also probably forgot about my house. Now, maybe someone snuck in, we'll have to deal with that."

Nykor and Landon recall a bit of information about Arclords in general. Since many arclords are involved in politics, they are known to have a tradition of being overly cautious with their living spaces, covering them with wards, alarms and many kinds of magical defenses to keep themselves and especially their research secrets safe.

vash-vatom Sebnet perks up at Amiri's question. "You know how it goes. Complete the mission, receive compensation, get access to some of the equipment you found. Of course Alyreha will be supervising your progress, so don't be a lazy bones about it."

Alyreha sighs. "Let me do the comedy, while you practice some more. Now, is everyone ready?"

Nykor shares what he knows about Arclords. "They like their own spaces, so expect all kinds of magical defenses. Not surprising. Must have loot to protect.."

Ready

”Roight, let’s have at it!”, declares Kosh.

Takumi finds he has little to contribute so he just listens and nods accordingly.

"I find myself curious to see the abode of an arclord," he smiles gently.

With Desmond and Eddie no longer with the party, think Takumi would take on more of the healing role. He has battle medicine, and assurance (medicine). Heal spell, of course, but summoners do have limited spell slots.

"Torrin, if you have a moment?" Sebnet turns to him. "Some of your gear is a bit old. Let's get it updated before you join the team." She turns to the rest of you. "He'll catch up."

After completing your purchases in Quantium, you proceed to Alyreha’s manor, which is on the outskirts of the city. She can direct you there easily enough, and you only walk for about half an hour.

When you reach the manor, you can see both its unusual shape and signs of active magic within. Each of its two floors is 15 feet tall, while a small section of the southern ceiling rises above into a tower shape, another 40 feet above the second floor. Flashing multicolored magical lights shine through the windows and energy visibly pulses out from the building, seeping into the surrounding area.

What's your plan of approach?

Certainly, I am but a humble warrior. Thank you, Sebnet.

Kosh turns to Alyreha. ”Dis is your turf”, he says. ”Anyfing we gotta watch out for? Traps, guards an’ such?”

He pulls and loads his crossbow.

Amiri stalks ahead of the group through the streets as they make their way to the mysterious tower everyone supposedly forgot about, but now remembers? "Holy blinding lights of Gozreh, that thing's lit up like a clear night with a hunting moon..." Amiri starts to wander around the outside of the building, doing a full tour around as she looks for anything that looks inviting, or perhaps dangerous.

"I know it looks like its magical, but do any of you skinny types throw, or maybe KNOW about magic? Is it the real deal or just all bark and no bite?" She's hoping the others know something substantial besides the obvious. Search the way around the outside, especially the 'front door'.

"I know a bit. Like we learned, could be trapped... maybe we can find another way in..." Nykor says.

He starts looking around for rats to speak to for secret and advice.

Using Ratspeak

Takumi stands outside the house for moment, studying the various magical phenomena, hoping to gain some understanding of the forces at play before the party enters.

occultism: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

Nykor notices the rodents nearby are keeping out of the manor- sometimes magic just "smells funny" and it's best to wait for it to subside.

Takumi attempts an occult analysis of the manor and realizes that it is pure arcane energy, drawn from within and refined through decades of study. He has heard of an old theory about nine schools of magic, and he notices hints of each. It wasn't until recently that a cabal of wizards declared it their own, and the world has changed rapidly to adjust to new curriculum.

Amiri walks around the perimeter, keeping her distance. Magic and such nonsense makes a big complicated show of things when a simple blade to the face is always available. Besides a manicured garden, Amiri doesn't see too much else on the first floor.

As you return, Alyreha rattles in concern, “You see that, Pathfinders? My manor was once filled with numerous magical experiments. To keep it safe from thieves and intruders I had it covered in wards, keeping all of the magic sealed with its walls. Something, or more likely someone, has broken several of the wards. Quickly now, get me inside! It’s safe to enter the building for now, but if too many more of the wards are compromised, uncontrolled magical energy could surge out into the city streets, People could die if we let that happen!”

While Nykor looks for rodent informants and Amiri circles the building, Landon tries to make sense of any active magic he sees. Using Rank 1 Detect Magic.

Sorry I wasn't able to post yesterday, I got caught in a bad snowstorm after a long day of last minute shopping...

Torrin is ready to follow the group inside once all are done, outside.

His knowledge is quite limited when it comes to such things as magic.

”Roight”, says Kosh. ”Nuffin to it but to do it”

He heads toward the front door.

Nykor follows the others, also trying to observe what magic is about.

Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Nykor knows it is arcane magic, but the rest he isn't too certain of. Landon is almost in awe at the amount of raw arcane energies floating about. Transmutation, Abjuration, Evocation- and all the rest. It has been too long since he has met anyone with this much power to freely spend.

The front doors of the manor open up into an elegant foyer with a statue set against the far wall.

The eastern wall of this elegant foyer displays a statue of Nex, covered in a wide array of multicolored runes. Several other runes and lines of magical energy, seeming to originate from other parts of the house, coalesce in a strange magical circle surrounding the statue’s base. The statue’s left hand holds a staff that lights up in apparently random sequences of color.

Glowing runes on the rest of the walls shimmer, spin, and spill out into the adjoining rooms. Flashes of mystical lights going off in other parts of the house are visible underneath the doorways. A deep thrumming sound can be heard throughout, though its source cannot be determined.

Alyreha’s eyes glow a vibrant red and flash in disbelief at the sight before her. “Oh goodness, it’s worse in here than I thought! I don’t think I can permanently repair the wards here without significant time and a look at my old notes. However, my statue of Nex is supposed to be the focal point—as well as being a lovely bit of décor—so if you place me over there on top of it, I should be able to keep the magical bleed from getting any worse. That’ll buy you all some time to look around and find what we need! But be careful, Pathfinders, I suspect with how terrible this damage is that it may be deliberate, and someone has a trap waiting for you."

"I keep backup copies of the more important notes of my true name research around the manor, hidden by magic and defenses that only I had keys to surpass. It’s likely that all this damage to the wards has been done to reveal my hidden research. Thankfully, that shouldn’t deactivate the rest of the defenses I put into place, which was hopefully enough to scare our thieves off. But that will mean that whatever they didn’t manage to overcome, you all will have to do so, as I no longer have my relics to deactivate the defenses, and it would take more time than we have to make new ones for each room."

"I’m counting on you all to find whatever notes you can and make your way upstairs, but don’t fret if one of the challenges seems impossible for you all. I’m still a highly skilled wizard, after all. I put my notes together in such a way that not every single part is needed to piece the research back together. Oh! And feel free to take any useful items you find. You can even keep them. After all, as I am, they’re not exactly going to be any good in my hands!” She laughs at her joke before turning her focus to the wards.

You can return here at any point to talk to Alyreha to ask her about the manor defenses, or what you have already found.

When you're ready, tell me which way you want to go next: North or East. Once 2 of you agree we'll move that way.

"Start from the top? Nykor says. "Must be nasty if even the rats avoid it..."

North.

"Start from the top? Nykor says. "Must be nasty if even the rats avoid it..."

North.

Kosh smirks at Nykor, and follows along.

Landon takes several moments to appreciate the dancing magical auras and describes what he sees to anyone without the ability to sense magic.

"I guess North is as good a direction as any. Be careful what you touch, it seems like everything here has a dweomer of some sort upon it."

Landon's exploration activity will be detecting magic, if that becomes relevant.

This display room contains numerous magical weapons, jewelry items, tomes, crystals, and other baubles. To the north and south, 8 different cabinets with indentations display 8 separate items, 7 of which are surrounded by a blue orb with lines of electricity running across it. On top of the cabinet furthest to the southeast, a charred and unrecognizable item lies in place of one of the orbs.

You can understand the nature of each magical ward by succeeding at an Arcana (easy) or Nature, Occultism or Religion (moderate) check to Recall Knowledge. This will disable one ward.

A Thievery check to Disable a Device can also bypass the wards. A success opens that specific cabinet.

Who will open which cabinet? Repeated failures will have disastrous consequences on the cabinets. You need to open 5 of the cabinets to proceed.

Cabinet Red:
Cabinet Blue:
Cabinet Green:
Cabinet Yellow:
Cabinet Orange:
Cabinet Purple:

Nykor studies the wards...
Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13 (Trying Red)

Nykor soon realizes the cabinets are protected with barriers made of electricity and thunder. The slightest miscalculation can send lightning back at the user.

Electricity: 1d6 ⇒ 4

He experiences this first hand.

Cabinet Red: 1 Failure
Cabinet Blue:
Cabinet Green:
Cabinet Yellow:
Cabinet Orange:
Cabinet Purple:

Nykor 4 damage

"Ouch! That's nasty!" Nykor says. He checks to see if his pet mouse is okay.

Takumi moves to try the blue cabinet...

nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

... but also fails to decipher the runes.

While Nykor and Takumi examine the first two cabinets, Landon tries his luck with the green cabinet:

Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Kosh’s brow furrows as he looks over the yellow cabinet, then shrugs and tries to disable it.

Occultism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

Electricity: 1d6 ⇒ 1

A smaller arc of thunder hits Takumi as he fiddles with the magical ward.

Landon and Kosh manage to assuage the wards long enough to open the cabinets. Each cabinet contains a phrase or two noting some kind of arcane theory. Incomplete on their own. Maybe they need to open more cabinets to get the entire picture.

Torrin and Amiri look on, unsure if they should step in or wait patiently.

Cabinet Red: 1 Failure
Cabinet Blue: 1 Failure
Cabinet Green: Success
Cabinet Yellow: Success
Cabinet Orange:
Cabinet Purple:

Nykor 4 damage
Takumi 1 damage

Nykor aids Landon. "I think that cabinet sounds like some abjuration thing.. you elves are better than this yeah?"

Aid Arcane: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 15

"Thank you, Nykor," says Landon as he begins working on the orange cabinet.

Arcana: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 6 + 1 = 19 (Includes +1 for Aid)

Landon accepts Nykor's aid and is able to open another cabinet. More fragments within. The notes are starting to make sense, but you still need more information. If 2 of the remaining cabinets can be opened, it should be enough...

Cabinet Red: 1 Failure
Cabinet Blue: 1 Failure
Cabinet Green: Success
Cabinet Yellow: Success
Cabinet Orange: Success
Cabinet Purple:

Nykor 4 damage
Takumi 1 damage

Kosh takes a crack at the purple cabinet.

Occultism: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

Purple pops right open thanks to Kosh's quick work. With all the fragments compiled you are almost able to make sense of it. If you can open one more cabinet and get its contents you should be able to compile some of Alyreha's research.

Cabinet Red: 1 Failure
Cabinet Blue: 1 Failure
Cabinet Green: Success
Cabinet Yellow: Success
Cabinet Orange: Success
Cabinet Purple: Success

Nykor 4 damage
Takumi 1 damage

Finally breaking free of the fascination of all the flashing and extraordinary lights, Amiri examines one of the remaining locked cabinets with both her eyes.

Can't be that hard... could it?

"I know a thing or two that could be helpful when it comes to nature." She declares confidently.

Recall Nature vs Red: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Electricity Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1
A bright spark surges from the Red cabinet, singeing Amiri. But more importantly, the electricity fries the cabinet. Whatever contents were inside are now destroyed. Hopefully you didn't need that.

Looks like you'll need to open the final cabinet to get the research, without destroying what's inside...

Cabinet Red: Failure
Cabinet Blue: 1 Failure
Cabinet Green: Success
Cabinet Yellow: Success
Cabinet Orange: Success
Cabinet Purple: Success

Nykor 4 damage
Takumi 1 damage
Amiri 1 damage

Couldn't let you all have all the fun. But seeing as we'll fail without this next success, probably should let Landon do it and be prepared to hero point a failure.

"Well, I suppose I'll see what I can do." Landon cracks his knuckles and begins working on the blue cabinet.

Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

He almost sets off the fail-safe abjurations, but realizes his mistake just in time. "Full disclosure, the reason I was a sailor is that I lacked the magical talent to join the Spiresworn Magi..."

Hero point
Arcana: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

Landon sits down, starts tinkering with the cabinet and notices one of the sparks flaring out of control. He remembers one of his old lessons- a particularly ornery teacher- reminding him when in doubt, redirect the energy. He channels it into the already destroyed Red cabinet and renders the Blue cabinet's defenses inert.

Ah, perfect! The missing formula that completes the notes. It all makes sense now...

You have enough data from the cabinets to score 1 piece of research.

Where to next? North, South, East, West - upstairs?

Nykor 4 damage
Takumi 1 damage
Amiri 1 damage

Kosh tries to patch up Nykor.

Battle Medicine: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (7, 7) = 14