GM Ietsuna's Call of the Copper Gate

Game Master Ietsuna

Almost to her surprise, the shaman still has her organs exactly where she left them six seconds ago. Not wanting to look a gift goblin in the mouth, she utters the final incantations and makes a wide sweeping gesture with both hands, as if tearing at reality itself.

And a tear she does make. From this this temporary wound in reality, a creature steps forth. One might mistake it for a wolf, save for the asymmetrical bulging muscles and forms wriggling beneath its stretched-thin golden hide, as if its trembling body were being piloted by a colony of parasites. The wolf-thing turns its head, the three shimmering eyeballs stuffed into one socket all focusing on one of the enemies. It lets forth a bloodcurdling howl and charges!

Satisfied that she has contributed enough to no longer qualify as an embarrassment, Oria turns her attention towards keeping the immediate threat away from her allies.

Oria summons a celestial wolf (Augment Summons stats included) that also has the advanced template thanks to her Alien Summons hex. Then she 5-foot steps up to full attack.

Wolf's Bite: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26 damage: 1d6 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 13
Wolf's Trip (on hit): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25

Oria's spiked gauntlet (fighting defensively): 1d20 + 6 - 4 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 - 4 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 24 damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 2 = 7
Oria's spiked gauntlet (haste, fighting defensively): 1d20 + 6 - 4 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 - 4 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 12 damage: 1d6 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 2 = 6

Candledark takes another crossbow-shot...

darkwood heavy crossbow, haste, bless, Courage, Seance VS Yellow Peril: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
piercing damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

...and will spend Round 4 reloading it again.

Oria, you wolf took out Yellow. Feel free to retcon your attack. Xanac, you too

The combined efforts drop Yellow to the ground and it falls motionless.

Shine's bolt strikes Red and takes some of the parts out of allignment.

Triix identifes the spell that Zarta cast as Blight

Seeing Yellow fall Red coalesces into a solid mass.

Blue advances on the group.

Combat Round 4 - Bold may act

Kaervek
Kaidynn
Zarta
Xanac
Oria
Triix
Shine
Blue
Red - 21
Yellow - Down

Kaidynn steps into the heavy undergrowth and hides!

stealth, heavy undergrowth 1d20+18+5 = 37

Readying action to attack the first golem within 5 feet

Readied action goes off against blue as he walks within range, +1 cold iron Rapier, haste, bless, IC: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 38 vs. blue golem Touch AC (Kaidynn hidden with stealth 37)

On his turn, Kaidynn continues to push the assault against blue.

1st Attack, +1 cold iron Rapier, haste, bless, IC: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 23
cold iron magic piercing dmg, IC: 1d4 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 11 + 2 = 16

Haste Attack, +1 cold iron Rapier, haste, bless, IC: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 36
cold iron magic piercing dmg, IC: 1d4 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17

=================================

Readied action CONFIRM CRIT: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 35 vs. blue golem Touch AC (Kaidynn hidden with stealth 37)
cold iron magic piercing dmg, IC: 1d4 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 11 + 2 = 17

Haste Attack, CONFIRM CRIT: 1d20 + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 14 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 19
cold iron magic piercing dmg, IC: 1d4 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 11 + 2 = 16

Triix double moves towards the red one.

Oops! The wolf's attack was originally meant for red to draw aggro from the group. But this version of events is just fine too! Let's assume Oria attacked before the wolf just to keep things smooth, since her options are somewhat limited anyway.

More and more the concept of success reintroduces itself to Oria's mind, like the memory of an old stranger's face slowly revealing itself to be the visage of a friend not seen in ages. With this rediscovered confidance, she steps forward to deliver a slightly less cowardly, if similarly soft-handed blow.

Oria's spiked gauntlet vs Blue: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 16 damage: 1d4 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 2 = 5

Likewise, her wolf begins to lay into its new target with a set of serrated teeth that seem to have worms wriggling just beneath the gums.

Wolf's bite vs Red: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 2 = 14 damage: 1d6 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 2 = 11
Wolf's trip (on hit): 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 6 + 2 = 13

Kaervek acts first in round 4, so nobody closed in on Red yet, right?

Seeing one aucturn shard golem that just turned into a solid mass (red) currently stand alone Kaervek hustles closer through heavy undergrowth and again uses his wood school ability to attack the creature.
hasted move through the vines - see map - and attack

Wooden Shortspear, Haste, Bless, IC: 1d20 + 6 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 6 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 29 :-D
Piercing Damage, IC, seance: 1d6 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 15 Nice, max damage! ^_^

OK, with a roll that high it doesn't matter if Kaervek shoots into melee or not...

Shine delays, preparing to deliver healing where needed.

Oria, you wolf took out Yellow. Feel free to retcon your attack. Xanac, you too

I shoot Red Rover, then; I think you'll agree that was a pretty good roll.

Also, let's go with "Candledark"; I have mixed feelings about "Xanac" since it sounds too much like a prescription-antipsychotic drug or something and would change it if not for the damn "10 posts and you're stuck" rule.

It's an anti-depressant

It's an anti-depressant

One letter off, but Bob's your proverbial uncle, see what I mean?! >_<

Candledark reloads in irritated silence....

See above, and Discussion.

Kaidynn goes all in and demolishes Blue. Blue is done

Likewise a collective effort takes Red out.

Combat over

Apologies for the absence. I am getting married in 2 weeks and needed to travel to my fiancé who lives 6 hours away to finalize things.

Zarta moves to the glowing beacon in the north east corner and begins to inspect it. The growths seem to be emanating from this glowing area.

Kaidynn carefully inspects the orb, keeping his distances...

Kaidynn Perception, Guidance: 1d20 + 10 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 10 + 1 = 24

Unable to see a latch or anything of mechanical nature, he lets go of a magic detection cantrip and inspects the auras...

Casts detect magic

Knowledge Arcana, Guidance: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 = 22

Triix moves to help Zarta

perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

No problem, life happens. Glad to have you back. And congrats!

Oria approaches the beacon, standing close to Zarta. The girl's untrained eyes fail to notice any details of importance or insight, and despite this shortcoming she seems determined to contribute to the conversation.

"Is it... growing plants? Maybe eating it?" is about the best she can manage. One might swear that even her summoned monstrous wolf had given her a disappointed look in the moment before it dissipates.

Perception, Shadow Speaker: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

Something is nagging at Candledark, but fiddling with his crossbow has him a bit distracted yet....
SO close! I don't think anyone can aid, since I'm guessing this is a 'passive' check, but is there any way anyone could send me a +2...?

I will let this sit for a little longer to see if you can resolve before I post anything more.

Zarta continues to inspect the glowing object with a pinched look on her face.

I cannot meet the DC of this check, but if it's possible to aid, I'd like to do so:

Aid Perception, HA: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25

If it's not possible to aid, I could give Candledark 10 minutes of heightened awareness (+2 competence to perception and trained knowledge checks) - if the GM allows the buff in retrospect...

I will allow an aid. It is a perception check to notice

Perception, aid Another: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (2) + 16 = 18

Triix's roll should be an Aid

I will allow an aid. It is a perception check to notice

As good as done, then!

Something is nagging at Candledark, but fiddling with his crossbow has him a bit distracted yet....

...but finally his attention is drawn to an annoying glint in Kaervek's eye, which reflects something strange on the other side of the room.

"Zarta," He says abruptly, soft-spoken as ever, but in the awkward silence of the moment his voice has nearly the impact of a black-powder weapon.

"Beware that which shines brightly, Zarta; for a Human, you know that well. I should step away were I you."

Happy Holidays

Is anyone wanting to try to disarm this trap/

We do not have a rogue in our party. However, if it can be done with UMD, Kaervek might give it a try...

Oria continues to look at the glowing sphere and examines its features. The seconds crawl on by at a pace that would make them feel like weeks, but she shakes it off as some odd and irrelevant feeling. Deciding to take action, she gestures for the party to give her some space.

The bottom of her robes flutter, and out crawls a purple slug about a hand's length in size slips out and onto the floor. Its body is covered in lumpy spots, all of which open to reveal sightless eyes across its body. Along its back, a sinuous tendril drags behind it, several times its own body length. It crawls away from her at an agonizing pace, eventually settling behind the rest of the part.

With her familiar secure and her allies hopefully out of the way, the shaman decides to put herself to a use. She places her hand on the sphere and gives it the slightest little push to see what happens.

As the saying goes, should a lock-picker be unavailable for the job, trap duty falls on the team member with the most resilience and the fewest people who would miss them.

What IS that thing? Triix asks looking at the slug. She looks slightly creeped out from it's appearance and where it came from. Is it a parasite?

Applicable knowledges to identify?

It is a Disable Device check or you could do it via brute force.

Zarta looks around at the group.

Are any of you capable of disabling this? Would you like me to do it for you?

There is a shade of disappointment as she looks at Xanac, Kaervek, Trixx and Oria.

Triix is still staring at the slug, wondering if she should kill it. Is Oria infected by more of those things?

Um she says sheepishly. I could try tossing some Force Bolts at it and see what happens. Or I got this scroll of Dispel Magic if that's useful.

Oria reached out and touches the sphere. With a ZAP Oria begins to contort as their body folds.

damage, Non-Lethal: 2d6 ⇒ (3, 6) = 9

Oria also suffers 1 point of dex damage and1 point of con damage and has movement speed reduced by 10

Oria Fort Save to resist: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

k arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (16) + 13 = 29

Ew - That looked like it tried to fold you in the fourth spatial dimension. It's called Excruciating Deformation

Oria can see her body fold and compact as though some unseen hand was slowly folding her up to be packed away in a storage compartment. She decides to instead look at the artifact through a magical lens.

Well, she'll do that as soon as her body stops being rearranged.

Fortitude Save (assuming the spell's still active?): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Oria can always detect magic to try and see whats up with the orb. Maybe try to cast dispel magic on it.

Knowledge arcana: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (8) + 11 = 19

"I haven't heard about that spell, but it looks like it isn't over yet! Does it end by itself?" (see discussion)

Kaervek sounds concerned.

Zarta looks around at the group.

Are any of you capable of disabling this? Would you like me to do it for you?

There is a shade of disappointment as she looks at Xanac, Kaervek, Trixx and Oria.

Candledark meets Zarta's gaze with his own look of mocking reproach.

He then attempts a polite exploratory greeting in Aklo toward the purple horror on the floor.

I found it when I was researching wormholesor other ways of folding space/time. Triix explains. Was wondering if it was possible to get one from Golarion to .. erm .. Castrovel.

She then points to the purple slug.
Ah ... what's that Oria ... and ... should we kill it before it mutates into some sort of winged horror?

I have been looking to see what I can offer in terms of rolls. Came up empty

Yes Oria. The spell have another 7 rounds to go. I will put the rolls below and see how we go.

Oria continues to contort and their limbs snap and pop.

44 points of non lethal damage to Oria, a further 7 points of Con damage and 7 points of dex damage

Zarta sighs and waves her hands over the orb and the glow fades.

Zarta then approached Oria and casts a spell twice (lesser restoration).

Zarta lithely slips the wand back into the folds of her dress, her eyes darting around the blasted vault.

Nicely done. I’ll go to Ambrus and lift the lockdown. That being said, you still have work to do.

Her gaze falls upon the dormant glass sphere, its fluid contents now black and flecked with pinpricks of light.

I don’t know what caused this to happen, but I do recognize that item. The Society purchased it from the Arcanamirium a few weeks ago for further study when they told us they suspected its magic was somehow linked to the Dark Tapestry. It’s one of a set of three, and if this one malfunctioned, I anticipate the others won’t be far behind.

Zarta digs through one of the wrecked crates and emerges with three small lead boxes etched with sigils. She places the sphere into one of the boxes and fastens it shut.

At this point, our responsibility is to contain these devices before they cause any lasting damage. Get whatever supplies you need first. Once you are ready, head to the Arcanamirium, find the other two items, and place them inside these warding containers. Their magic is keyed to each other, so you shouldn’t need to disarm the other devices; just scoop them into the boxes and lock the lids. Once we have all three, we can figure out where to go from there. Do not delay, but tread carefully. The Society knows precious little about the forces of the Dark Tapestry, other than that those who deal with them haphazardly often find their sanity compromised.

Searching the room you find five pieces of +1 aberration bane arrows, six masterwork daggers, and a +1 punching dagger.

With guidance (cast by Shine*), Kaervek can Take 10 to exactly meet DC 20.

Yeah, use guidance, no issues

How much ability damage does the two lesser restorations restore? I assume she cast one for each ability?

As her party member begins to suffer Shine moves up to include her in the sphere of protection from evil, hoping to bolster the Shaman's resistance. Shine also pulls her wand, and each round of the spell, starting with round 2 she will cast Cure Light Woulds to help negate the damage.

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Cure Light from wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

29 points of healing.

Kaervek will help with 2 charges of his wand of infernal healing - but only if Oria agrees to be the willing target of an evil spell.

After the nasty spell has been dealt with:

"I'll take one of the masterwork daggers, please. Also, did you notice the fungal growths here? They are poisonous, and one can harvest the rare - and therefore valueable - poison, if one is careful. Observe!"

The wizard makes a big show of harvesting the poison.

Who has a use for the 4 doses of Nitharit? I don't need it, for me it's (just) loot.

It restores all ability damage

Triix nods. From what I do know of the Dark Tapestry by researching Ralzeros and his work, any incursion here would be very dangerous. Consider it done

She starts to take inventory of what she has.