Seeing how hard is to hit the skeleton, Gavirius decides to change tactics. After chanting some arcan words, he moves forward with one his hands sizzling with electricity and tries to touch the dragon.
I cast shocking grasp as a standard action and attack the dragon with a 5-foot step in between.
Female NG Peri-Blooded Aasimar (Emberkin) Arcanist 4 | HP 22/22 | AC 16, T 11, FF 15 | CMB +0 | CMD 11 | Fort +2, Ref +3, Will +5 | Prec +4 (Darkvision 60 ft) | Init +1 | Resist Acid 5, Cold 5, Electricity 5 | Speed 30 | Arcane Reservoir 7/7 | Consume Spells 3/3 | Active Conditions:
Valtyra curses quietly before starring at the skeletal dragon once more. With a few arcane words and her finger pointed at the skeletal dragon three blue-white arrows of pure force fly forth. Casting Magic Missile.
Spending 1 point of my Arcane Reservoir to add +1 Caster Level.
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! The skeleton dragon collapses under the impact of the magic missiles. No one is going to stop you from advancing anymore.
Combat Over!
There is one door to your left and one to your right on the hallway entrance, and a high door at the other end of this hallway:
On the left door, a sign over the door bearing bright lettering reads “Treasures of Distant Goka,” while a shadowy sign occupying the same space reads in dark, block letters “Cold Storage—Perishable Specimens Only.”
As for the right door, a large placard above the entryway to this hall reads “The Evolution of Dragonkind” in bright, elaborate script while a shadowy sign next to the door describes the room as “Pain Laboratory—Tests in Progress."
The sign above the high door in the end of the hallway reads “Biological Oddities” in clear lettering, while a dark reflection of the same sign warns that the room beyond contains a “Ritual Chamber.”
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
”The Evolution of Dragonkind? That sounds interesting. I’d say we go that way…” the Paladin perks up, reading the various signage. He pulls out his wand of CLW while the others decide their favored direction and burns of two charges.
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
Breathing a sigh of relief (but attempting to look unimpressed), Valena resets her wand in her sheathe and starts playing with Harrow cards again.
"Pain Laboratory a good deal less!" she replies to Kaztor.
"Though it seems as good a place as any to find our missing Roses, and if they're in there the sooner the better for their sakes"
After everyone heal up from the dragon fight, the Pathfinder proceed to the Pain Lab.
This room is filled with ancient tapestries of chromatic dragons besieging castles and battles between Dahak and Apsu at the dawn of time. An alabaster obelisk covered in Draconic runes occupies the far corner, surrounded by a spread of various dragonhides of all colors and thickness, and a taxidermied wyvern hangs from the ceiling above, its stinger flexed above its head. Umbral chains drop from the same ceiling on the Shadow Plane; gruesome hooks at the chains’ ends hold long- dead skeletons. The southern wall sports a massive wheel with shackles along its edge, apparently for holding writhing subjects in place during tests.
Akkina realized that you guys are not alone in here. There are three shadowy figures, also known as fetchlings to some, hiding behind the crates and displays, with their weapon drawn!
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
Kaz moves 15’ due south, then takes a 5’ step to the southwest and engages the red creature. if you would move me, please, GM.
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
Valena is annoyed at the fetching for attacking, and she focuses all her annoyance into a raging fire, and then tilts her head down and channels it through her evil gaze.
Evil Eye on AC on Red (so -2 to AC), who is just within range. 7 rounds or 1 on a successful DC 15 Will save against a Mind Affecting Effect
Watching their movements become clumsy, she lets out a full-throated belly laugh, which is most disconcerting.
Cackle, so 8 or 2 round duration depending on their earlier save
Gavirius says the same arcane words that he pronounced earlier and three projectiles of arcane energy fly toward the humanoid in the middle, impacting in different parts of his body.
Blue move acrobatically around Akkina and flank her with green, while red slashes at the dwarf. None of their swing connects, though.
And you can hear barkings from the room to the right......
Initiative, round 1
==========
Red -10, AC-2
Blue -13
Green
-----
Valtyra
Kaztor
Valena
Akkina
Gavirius
==========
Bold are up!
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
Unable to see Akkina's assailants, Valena allows herself a quiet Varisian curse and moves into the room.
Once there, she turns her dark gaze on the nearest opponent threatening her ally. In moments like this she feels a fleeting connection with something powerful and dangerous. It feels good
Evil Eye on AC on Blue (-2 to AC). 7 rounds or 1 on a successful DC 15 Will save
Not wishing to spend more spells for the moment, Gavirius moves into the room while wielding his longspear. Then stops when one of the humanoids is within range and thursts his spear.
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
If the red clef enemy is still standing, Kaz presses the attack. If not, he will move to flank blue with his teammate.
Female LN Human Cleric (Crusader) 5 / Death Slayer 1 - Init +3, Senses: Normal Vision, Perception +14, AC 24/ touch 13/ ff 23; hp 44/44, F+10, R+4, W+12, Speed 30 ft. | Wand IH: 45/50 | Buffs: continual flame, antitoxin, antiplague, vermin repellent; shield is worn
When the last swing from the green-scarfed assailant misses, Akkina disappears and reappears behind her.
Sudden Shift (Sp) In the blink of an eye, you can appear somewhere else. As an immediate action, after you are missed by a melee attack, you can teleport up to 10 feet to a space that you can see. This space must be inside the reach of the creature that attacked you. You can use this power 6 times per day.
Akkina then readjusts her grip upon her sword, squeezing it until her knuckles become white with the effort. Suddenly her side of the room becomes unmistakably dark and cold...
Channel Negative Energy, 30' radius, Will DC 13 for 1/2 dmg:3d6 ⇒ (4, 6, 4) = 14 pts. of dmg to living creatures.
What knowledge check is needed to get information on Fetchlings?
Knowledge Local
GM Roll:
Blue Will:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17 Blue Will:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9 Green Will:1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
The Blue tiefling collapses under the waves of negative energy from Akkina, and Gavirius's spear go right through Red's chest! He gasp for air and went down. The lonly Green tiefling eats a Ray of Frost and drops to the ground as well.
The combined damage is enough to kill them all, with PbP's group initiative. Had a terrible headache this afternoon and couldn't update in time, sorry
Combat Over!
For those who wish to Pathfinder their gears:
Combat Gear: alchemist’s fire (2), liquid ice;
Other Gear: masterwork studded leather, masterwork light wooden shield, masterwork longsword, sling with 10 bullets, manacles, 42 gp
There are two doors to your right. The northern one is double labeled, in normal and shadow text, Storage Kennel, and the barking certainly confirms the designation. The other door is labeled Bathrooms Slave Cells, and is quiet in comparison.
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
Valena nods at Valtyra and takes an Alchemist's Fire.
"Likewise."
"Agreed. Slave Cells sounds a likely place for our captives too"
The Pathfinders gather around the door, and open the door......except the door won't open. It's locked. Locking slaves up is not exactly an uncommon practice, so it isn't a huge surprise from you.
You quickly search the fetchlings' body and find the key, which is probably the key to the slave cell. Ok, let's try again.
The Pathfinders gather around the door, and open the door......Several stalls stand against the east wall of this dank, stone room. A large grate in the floor collects a steady stream of water coming from one of the stalls. The rattle of chains echoes through the chamber and the stench of frightened, unwashed bodies fills the air.
You find five slaves here, spread between the four stalls on the wall. All of them are chained to the wall with manacles. Two of them have strange runes on their forehead, and they don't response to the door opening. The other three are more lively-looking, but are still visibly scared. "Oh no! Please, no more! ......wait, you guys are different...?"
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
”We are here to free you! Look alive! What’s with those two,” he asks the three,
Sensing something off about the two nonresponsive prisoners.
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
"What's that water coming from?" Valena says to the group, but immediately turns her attention to the manacles, trying the key from the fetchlings on them, and if that doesn't work trying to find another key on them or anywhere in the rooms.
FYI, back in Season 2, slave is still legal in Absalom and many parts of Golarion
One of the more responsive slave answers, "We are slaves brough by the Blakros family. We were just brought here a few hours ago. There were five of us originally, although there are two that are finely dressed. We were seperated after we were brought in and I don't know where they are now." she explains, then turn to the two prisoners with forehead markings, "As for those two, I don't know much about them or how did they get here. It's all kinda strange, you know? When we got here, to this room, there were only the three of us. Then, there was a......I would say rippling of reality that I can't explain. It's weird. Then everything went darker and dimmer. That is when we noticed these two are here as well."
Valena quickly discover that the key you guys used to open the room does not open any of their manacles, she can't find anything around here that seems to be able to open it as well.
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
Kaz scratches his head at the explanation. ”Welp, I guess if you two want to be free, you are more than welcome to get out of here with the other three,” he shrugs, not knowing what to make of the strange forehead symbols.
The marked prisoners slowly nod their heads, acknowledging Kaztor's words, but says nothing. To put it to words, it feels like these two prisoners' sense are very dulled.
Valtyra realized that those forehead runes seems to be able to suck light toward it. She believes those are merely fancy mark of slave from the Shadow Plane.
Those who are trained may attempt Disable Device to unlock the manacles. If such skillset is currently unavailable, then you have to seek out the key.
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
With a grunt of frustration, Valena echoes Gavirius.
"We will not leave you here, but we must seek out the keys"
To the others, she simply says "To the Storage / Kennels then?"
This one we can afford to fast forward a bit...you will see.
Shifting their focus to searching for the key, the Pathfinder turns their attention to the Storage/Kennel room. You gather in front of the door and open it...
This simple room of unadorned stone is piled from floor to ceiling with boxes and crates, with barely enough room left to allow the staff to squeeze between the towers of dusty, mothballed exhibits. A big black dog was right next to the door and unleashes a terrifyinghowl!
Most of you are merely startled, but somehow Kaztor is really afraid of this dog. Its howl scares him so much that he ran outside the room, only comes back after a minute. Others soon realized that this shadowy dog is actually chained to the wall and cannot move any further toward the door, and can't reach anyone at all if you just take a step back from the door. The angry dog barks relentlessly at the Pathfinders who it can't reach at all. The sturdy, heavy metal chains clankes and rattles.
Not going to enter initiative here since it can't reach you unless you willingly approach it and enter its reach. Any spammable cantrip / range attack / reach attack can kill it and I can handwaves the combat. Once you pass the Will save you're immune to its Panick-inducing bark for 24h. Let me know what do you guys want to do about the dog and the room.
Gavirius clenches his teeth and wields his longspear to attack from the distance once it realizes that the creature would be a serious threat, if someone happened to release it from its chain.
I should be safe with my longspear. 10 feet reach and I will save spells.
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
”Im not a big fan of those mangy animals,” Kaz grumbles, red faced and embarrassed once he made it back to the group. ”Appreciate the rest of you dealing with it…”
Gavirius dispatched the shadow mastiff for good with his longspear while other endures its barks and howls. It never got a chance to fight back.
Not sure whether it's the museum or the Shadow Plane, the kennel is surprisingly cleaner than most kennel you've seen. Either way, after searching around, the team concludes that even people from the shadow plane are not crazy enough to throw the prison key in the kennel, and you have to continue your search elsewhere.
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
”How about the left door from earlier? I’d like to find some “Treasures from Goka,” whatever that means!”
The team heads towad Treasures from Goka / Cold Storage—Perishable Specimens Only room. The door is not locked.
Cold air comes out as you open the door. Inside, dozens of mannequins dominate this room, each decorated in the trappings of distant Tian Xia. Ceremonial armor of samurai from Minkai and the silk gowns of courtly ladies catch the eye, but the delicate tea sets in long glass display cases seems out of place next to the strange shadowy figures leaning against the fan-decorated walls. Humanoid bodies encased in ice stand scattered throughout the room, and a glaze of dark rime covers the floor.
I goofed and crop the room's map without the hallway, so we have to live with the hallway and your tokens being in slide 2...for now
“Valena Imoroa” | Female N Medium Human Witch (cartomancer) 3 | HP 20/20 | AC 17 / 13 T / 14FF | CMD +0 CMD 13 | F +3, R +5, W +5 | Init +3 | Perc +2 SM +1 |Speed 30ft | Spells 1st: EPS, SG, SG; 2nd: ToI, ToI Harrow Deck 48/52 Wand Mage Armor 47/50 Wand CLW 47/50 | Active Conditions:
"Could the Blackros' have been frozen?"
Valena approaches the nearest ice figure and holds her glowing deck up to it the better to see the occupant. She tries to tell if it could be a Blackros scion.
Unless she triggers some trap or falls on the ice or is otherwise assailed of course!
Male Paladin 3 (Torag) | HP 34/34 | AC 19/10/19| F+8,R+3,W+7 (+2 to poison, spell, SLA | Init+0, Perc+1(+3 v stonework) | Speed 20 | Darkvision 60’ | CMD 15 (19 v trip and bullrush if on the ground) | Temp:
Kaz moves to support Valena, just knowing there was some evil or treachery afoot!
No, there's no trap. No, it's not evil. No, it's not shadowy. It's ICY! What looks like a humanoid encased in ice suddenly starts moving, the ice move along with it like its part of its natural body. It turns toward Valena and Kaztor! Which means......
It gets really chilly in this room, and the floor is covered in frost, making it dangerously slippery. The PCs can move at full speed with a DC 5 Acrobatics check, or at half speed with no skill check. Any PC who fails this Acrobatics check cannot move that round. Any PC who fails the Acrobatics check by 5 or more falls prone.
