Bombadil's Ravenloft PBP

Game Master Bombadil

Borracho’s keen mind ascertains that this undead priest is just the spawn of a vampire, and not a full fledged vampire itself.

The former head priest of the church snarls at the onslaught of the troupe while his wounds visibly start healing. ”Attack!", he bellows, then he springs toward the railing of the loft, provoking attacks of opportunity and leaps to the wall of the church where he clings like a spider. His head turns around at an unnatural angle and with an ugly grin he fixes his gaze on Tural. ”You, man of the cloth, must serve. Slay your friends!” From below, you hear scraping and clattering in the stairwell.

DC 15 Will save for Tural or be Dominated by the vampire spawn and attack your friends next round. Because the action is against your nature, if you are dominated you get a second save at +2 before attacking anyone in the troupe

the undead priest clings to the wall 10 feet from the ledge of the balcony on the right side. The drop to the floor below is 20 feet from his position

Flemming takes advantage of his Attack of Opportunity.
AoO Unarmed: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 2 = 25 (flank) damage: 1d8 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

He then moves to the stairs to block them, since he can’t reach the monster. Anticipating skeletons, he readies an attack on either the vampire (should he close) or any undead coming up the stairs.

"I'll hold the stairs, swat the fly!"

For future reference, is the vampire domination, enchantment, charm, or compulsion - or some combination of all three. I have different advantages depending on what applies.

Will save DC15: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Tural raises his hand at the fiend. ”Not likely beast! Time to go to your reward, or eternal punishment!”

burst of radiance damage: 4d4 ⇒ (1, 3, 3, 2) = 9 Reflex save DC16 or blind for 1d4 ⇒ 3 rounds. Save gets dazzled for the same time if that can happen.

Tural, you also get an Attack of Opportunity

Sorry. Forgot about the AoO
attack & damage: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 241d6 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Round 2

"Ah, but you are just a spawn, a weak lesser man who preys upon the innocent," Borracho intones, hefting the alchemist fire and throwing it at the wall bound spawn.

1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 5 + 1 = 25 touch to hit;
1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6 fire damage

1d6 ⇒ 6 fire damage next round

"Borracho and his many friends who love him with all their heart protect those that need protecting and entertain those that need their hearts filled with Borracho. Remember this as you burn."

Borracho’s aim is true and the flask shatters against the undead priest’s chin, knocking his head against the wall and covering him in fire. With a choking wail he slips from the stones and crashes to the floor below, lying there unmoving as he continues to burn. The scraping and clattering in the stairwells grows louder and it sounds like much more than the four skeletal creatures you witnesses earlier.

Mimi still has a full round action. Flemming is blocking the stairwell at the open door on the left side with a readied action. The door on the right side of the choir loft remains closed.

Borracho nods as the spawn falls as if he expected it as Borracho does not tolerate weaker men gladly. His left hand reaches up to twirl one of his dark locks in his fingers.

"Such is the bite of Borracho."

Round 2

Mimi approaches the burning corpse of the once-living-recently-undead-now-dead priest. "He clung to the wall..." She looks for any sign the burning body might suddenly leap up and continue to horrify them. Eventually, she turns back to the next imminent threat.

Looking at the closed door, she wonders if there's any way of preventing it from being opened. Knowing it swings towards the stairwell beyond, she considers shoving her club into the door's handle...

Move and Move Action if there's something to be done to bar the way

The burning body of the undead priest is lying on the main floor, twenty feet below the choir loft, but even from that distance Mimi feels certain that his terror has been ended. His flesh is blackening in the flame of the alchemist’s fire and there is no sign of the rapid healing you observed earlier.

The closed door sits loosely in the frame, it’s upper hinge no longer supporting it properly. Mimi wedges some of the stone fragments from her earlier dirty trick into the gap by the hinge to make it more difficult to open, but at most it will buy you an extra minute.

The clattering in the stairwells grows louder, but the surprise comes from the upper floor. Maybe set as a guard, one of the skeletal creatures comes lurching down the hall swinging a mace wildly in front of it. Flemming catches sight of it before any damage can be done and a perfectly timed strike shatters its skull and crumples the thing.

party is up!

"Downstairs. To the vampire body. It should be staked until we can be sure it is dead and not regenerating!"

He runs down the stairs to the body. Weapon ready in case the skeletons are also coming up.

"If we can get the skeletons to come together I can channel holy power and destroy them all at once."

Didn't we get a couple of stakes? I didn't record taking any. ??

As Tural starts down the stairs he sees that the entire stairwell is filled with skeletal creatures swarming up towards them, already blocking the passage to the main floor. At least a dozen are visible on this side.

just a move action used, you still have a standard action. The debris on the main floor can provide all the wooden stakes you want. New map is about to go up, the wood area is the upper floor and the tile area is the main floor 20 feet below the choir loft. The map is a little wonky for showing both floors, it's open between floors at the railing of the loft only.

Seeing the crowd of skeletons ahead Tural judges range and holds up his hand with the holy symbol on it. Waiting until they are close to try and get as many as possible. "May the power of Sarenrae undo the curse of undeath on all of you!"

Channel Energy with Sun's Blessing domain power: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (3, 6) + 4 = 13
30' Radius to harm undead. Do I hear any behind me? DC15 Will Save for half damage. Channel Resistance does not apply.

Tural holds his ground as the skeletal creatures rush forward, then presents the symbol of Sarenrae and channels the power of the Dawnflower. Instead of the barrier of resistance he’s encountered previously in this land, there’s a loud pop as the positive energy surges forward, audible in the choir loft, and the entire group of skeletons crumble before him leaving the stairwell covered in bones, but clear otherwise.

Borracho, Flemming, and Mimi are up. The left stairwell is clear at the moment, you can still hear clattering in the right stairwell.

We talked about getting stakes, but haven’t done so as yet…

Flemming looks down at the burning priest and nods to Tural, ”I don’t think he’s regenerating. Maybe it’s the fire, or the fact he’s just spawn, and not, you know, full blooded.” When Tural clears the stairwell of skeletons he cheers, ”Well done!”

He double moves as the choir loft is just slightly too large to make it in one move. He goes to the doorway in front of Mimi - ready, he hopes, for the skeletons on the other side.

I can’t move on the map, but Flemming wants to go just to the east of Mimi in front of the door.

Borracho moves downstairs with Tural, examining the spawn and somewhat confused.

"I thought that it would turn to mist or something else when it was so stuck by the might of Borracho," he says, covering Tural's back as he works with the stakes and wood about. "You are full of holy might, Tural, much like Borracho."

Round 3

Mimi takes her cue from Tural, tucking her club under her arm, and moving away from the barely-wedged door holding more undead at bay. She feels much more comfortable behind the Sarenrite, given the circumstances. "You keep doing that, Tural. Keep burning down the dead, so we might find our way out of this deathtrap."

The old woman remembers her club, and brings it up, readying to strike at any stubborn skeleton trying to approach their own personal Dawnflower.

Readied Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19 for 1d6 ⇒ 6 bludgeoning damage

Tural is joined by Mimi and Borracho amid the pile of bones on the left stairwell as Flemming holds the door in the choir loft against the undead swarming in the right stairwell. The creatures claw at the door and it creaks within its frame, but holds against the onslaught for the moment. The main floor appears to be clear from other threats and nothing can be heard from the basement below.

party is up!

Round 4

Borracho moves to help Flem at the other doorway, putting his hand on his hips.

"This is a church, we should allow our guests to enter so that we might give them their eternal rest. It would be rude to do otherwise," Borracho says, casting Presidigitation to remove any bone dust or dirt from his legs and kilt.

"Let them in so we might all pray together. Borracho loves to pray and the gods love to hear Borracho's voice in their hearts."

Moving 5 east and 1 south.

Hearing the undead scratching to rip the door open Tural moves over toward Flemming. "Come over to this side Flemming. Once they break through I'll channel Sarenrae's power again once they come through."

He backs up and readies himself, holding his hand with the symbol on it high. When the door breaks open he pauses only long enough to let some of the undead in then channels the energy to harm them.... "May the Dawnflower's might destroy all undead!"

Channel Energy with Sun's Blessing domain power: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (4, 5) + 4 = 13
30' Radius to harm undead. DC15 Will Save for half damage. Channel Resistance does not apply.

Flemming backs away to give space to Tural and his religious power.

He waits idly for the skeletons to meet their doom!

The party braces for the undead and long, tense moments pass as you watch their boney fingers clawing through the gaps in the door. Suddenly the planks shudder and burst and the skeletal creatures surge through the opening.
Easley's Skeleton through the Door, iconic art from one of the best
Tural holds forth his holy symbol and calls upon Sarenrae, and the power flows without resistance this time. The wave of skeletons shatter before the might of the Dawnflower. As the bones settle, the troupe stands in a quiet church just minutes after entering and encountering two dozen undead. No sounds disturbe the silence. A thin trail of smoke rises from the still smoldering body of the former priest turned spawn that's crumpled on the main floor below the choir loft.

Tural glances around at the piles of bone bits, then heads down the stairs. "I just want to be sure. That thing was vapor when it transferred from the lower floor. Just be sure the smoke isn't disguising things...."

Once at the body he checks to be sure it is still whole, even if it is burned. "There's still some sunlight outside. Drag the body out to the sunlight."

If it has stopped burning Tural drags the body outside. "I have to think. Killing vampires.... Sunlight. Running water. The stake through the heart doesn't kill it, but it stops them from regenerating. Cut off the head and anoint it with holy water?"

"Once we're sure about this thing we can search the rest of the church."

The troupe finds the body of the undead priest is still intact and wasting no time they drag it from the church. As it bumps down the front steps the flesh begins smoking and as they lay it on the cobbles before the steps it begins burning. Curious villagers emerge from the their homes and watch the spectacle while crossing themselves and whispering prayers. The flames burn heavily until all that remains is a pile of ash that dissipates in the breeze. As the ash drifts away the fog above the church drifts in strands and the sun pokes through at moments, the first glimpse you’ve had since arriving in this cursed land. People cry out in joy and soon a cluster of villagers gather around the church celebrating the tiny patches of fleeting sunlight and praising Sarenrae.

Borracho helps take care of the priest, dragging the trash and already seeing the church in a new light.

"Sarenrae, much like Sinashakti, and much like Borracho himself, fills the area with the joy of life, and people love to see Borracho shine," Borracho stands nobly and waves and nods to the village people, agreeing with them with this first small step toward fixing things.

When the deed is done, he will be ready to follow Flem up or down, as directions do not matter to Borracho, unless they are stage directions, in which case he might ignore them if he is on a roll.

Flemming follows Tural and also helps drag the spawn outside and into the sun. He watches it burn, shaking his head. ”Definitely need to get some stakes. Good sharp ones. Surely there’s a carpenter in town.”

When the light shines and the townspeople come to watch, he’s amazed. Did we do that, or just happenstance? Either way, it’s a moving moment for Flemming.

Eventually, he turns to the party, ”Let’s start upstairs as we originally planned. Oh, does that vampire spawn have anything of value on him? Maybe we give a little back to the people too - though money doesn’t seem to be their problem.”

He shrugs, looks around a bit, and then heads upstairs.
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

As the body of the vampire spawn burns to ash Tural notices the sun. He holds his hands up and prays. ”Sarenrae. Cleansing Light of the world. Please guide this maltreated soul to Pharasma for judgement, and ask for mercy. He didn’t ask for this curse, and his life before the affliction is what should be judged.”

Once completed he turns back to the church. ”I doubt that there will be any more undead within. The spawn seemed to be the master and the slaves would all have responded. But, there may still be dangers. And there may be logs or diaries to explain the fall. Let us enter again and fully search the place. We should also check to see if the building is safe, or if it should be burned down for safety sake.”

Classic artwork. Love it.

Mimi doesn't hesitate to follow the boys outside, spawn corpse or no. She looks down on her free hand, noticing the bone beneath the skin under a new light. The fleeting sunlight of this strange land. Gonna end up a big ole pile of them bones. She clenches her fist, lending her face a stiff, pained look for those villagers bold enough to approach the unholy grounds. Eventually. Bones, eventually.

"Very generous of you, Flem. I agree. We are not here as grave robbers. More like a tempest, come to clean out the gutters." She turns back to the church. "The vampire had to hide somewhere. We should make it difficult for a new one to take up residence." Mimi thumps her palm with the club, missing her true weapon.

Nothing remains in the ashes of the spawn, if it had items of value those must still be within the church.

As the village rejoices in the patches of sunlight, Flemming leads the way back into the church. It’s hard to believe it’s still morning and less than a half hour has passed since you last crossed the broken doors into the holy building. The atmosphere is completely different as you enter this time. The holes in the roof tiles and burned patches of the upper floor now emit shafts of sunlight that provide more illumination and add a calmness to chamber. The troupe makes their way to the stairwells and ascends to the upper floor through the strewn bones of the departed dead. The burned areas make the search slow as you take time to put down planks over the roughest patches and navigate around the worst spots. The business chambers and the living quarters of the former priests occupied the upper floor. Most of them are ruined and their partially collapsed floors have contributed to the debris in the main floor below, but a single office and bedroom appear untouched from the time of the fire.

At the end of the floor the bell tower stretches upward with a narrow set of stairs heavily damaged by the fire. The climb will be difficult without repairs, but still possible.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 Perception

"Borracho's eyes are keen, so much so that many call eagles 'Borracho-eyed'," Borracho says pulling out a hidden small locked coffer and handing it to Mimi.

"Mimi, you are clever, much like Borracho and I know your agile mind dances much like Borracho dances across the stage. Surely, you will enjoy solving this puzzle," Borracho says magnanimously, willing to share joy and exploration with others.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 Perception

Borracho wonders about the climb, thinking about who might be as brave and strong as Borracho and also likes to climb.

Living Quarters DC 20 Perception check: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (18) + 13 = 31

Tural nods when Borracho finds a coffer and hands it to Mimi.

Business Chamber DC 15 Perception check: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18

Tural finds the business calendar. "As we thought. They met with the Count. Nothing is recorded after that.

Looking up at the bell tower Tural shakes his head. "I've never been one for climbs like that. There might be something useful up there, and the bell may still work. But I don't think it would be worth the risk before repairs are made. Besides, ringing that bell would alert the Count of our activities. And I'm sure he will be aware of that soon enough without sounding the alarm!"

"Perhaps we should head downstairs now? The lair of the spawn and the large mass of skeletons was there."

Perception #1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Perception #2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

"Oooo, a coffer. Don't mind if I do." Mimi produces a hair pin, and just as quickly, tucks it back into her unkempt hair, giving the interior of the coffer a once over, before handing it to Flemming. "You foresaw a possible boon in here. I trust you know what to do with it."

Mimi has no interest in ascending to the bell tower heights, but she's patient enough to allow the young men to consider it themselves. Besides, wouldn't do to appear up there, and leave villagers to wonder how that was even remotely possible for someone her age.

"Lead the way, Tural."

With the coffer open, Borracho will majestically and magically cast Detect Magic in case anything new draws Borracho's eyes, much like the many gazes of beautiful people are drawn to his bare chest.

Flemming considers the climb but also turns it down. ”We can check out the belfry when we get a ladder. Vampires can do the whole bat thing right? So who knows what might be up there while we’re dangling from a bit of molding. No, let’s wait on that.”

He takes the pouch of gems and whatnot from Mimi. ”I’ll reserve the diamonds for now, but I’ll ask around about the other items. See if they’re missing from someone recent. We can give them back.”

He looks around, ”Basement then?” If Borracho doesn’t find anything, and the group agrees, Flemming will lead the way down the steps - though he’ll need light.

Borracho’s keen spell does detect the presence of magic. The beautiful gold ring resonates with the aura of two schools of the arcane arts.

With the treasures pocketed and the calendar confirming what you suspected, the troupe makes their way to the basement of the church. Tural and Borracho again provide their magical lights as you slowly descend the stairs. Heavy scratch marks from wooden objects trace a path down the spiral staircase. As you reach the bottom, the smell of decaying flesh combines with the sight of clumsily arranged pews that must have been dragged from the main floor to create an unholy gathering space below. Borracho’s light dance to the far wall illuminating a makeshift altar with what appears to be another skeletal creature upon it. The former instruction and crafting areas of the church basement have been repurposed for the task of animating the dead and now are littered with bone shards and soil from the graveyard. Nothing moves that you can see in the cluttered chamber.

Perception DC 15: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16

Having perused the church plans like a good little heister, Mimi points to the blanket dangled on the opposite wall.

"Someone should take that rag from the wall. It's out of place, and it's likely concealing something we should completely investigate. According to the plans, this is a church dedicated to Abadar Himself. 'Abadar' is the Varisian word for 'clinking coins kept in countinghouses'. He'd be downright disappointed if one of his sacred vaults were permanently buried in a deconsecrated rubble heap."

Flemming laughs at Mimi's deconstruction of a whole religion. "I got it."

He moves carefully to the back of the chamber and tries taking down the cloth. He's careful not to disturb the other skeleton in the event it is innocent.

Flemming moves carefully across the chamber to the far wall. He looks at the skeletal creature on the altar, it appears to just be a set of bones, perhaps the next poor soul to be animated. After a moment of looking for any strings attached, he pulls the cloth from the wall revealing a large and intricate keyhole. Mimi was correct, the vault of Abadar lies before you.

"That would be a lot easier with the Vault Key..."

Mimi reaches beneath her pantaloons, her hands now holding a set of tools that appear well-used. She approaches the keyhole, starting to hum an upbeat worksong.

Perception, Trapfinding: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 8 + 2 = 24
Disable Device: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (19) + 14 = 33

Mimi studies the lock mechanism and realizes that two keys are needed, an extra security measure so that one person alone couldn’t be compromised and provide access. In the first keyhole she easily spots the poisoned darts and disables them with enough skill to preserve the items for future use. three darts with wyvern poison The second keyhole looks more tricky, likely a magical trap of some sort.

Tural walks up by Mimi. The locks looked difficult. But, he didn't have any training with locks. "The spawn was a priest here. He might have had a key. Maybe we just need to search the room?"

He moves back over by the stairs and starts a methodical search, looking for anything, personal possessions of the people that had lived/served here?

perception to search the room: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

Tural searches diligently throughout the room, but his efforts only uncover more bone fragments and grave debris. You feel confident that you searched the rooms upstairs thoroughly as well. If the keys remain in the church, they're well hidden.

Today: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 Spellcraft

Borracho pockets the ring for the moment, and will offer a loud 'ah-ha' moment in 4 days.

* * *

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22 Perception

Borracho helps search the basement for the key, and then Prestidigitates himself clean when he is done.

"If the lock cannot be picked by Ms. Crow, then maybe its contents are not meant to be seen," Borracho ponders, trying to think of next steps.

"Maybe there is more to be searched upstairs, or yet more upstairs?"

Mimi pulls out an old handkerchief and wraps the three darts very delicately, before tucking them away, points down.

"Yes, that second keyhole was... unexpected. It's got something about it that feels like I might injure myself in the attempt to break my way through. Search away, or maybe we can inquire with the townsfolk about likely keyholders."

Mimi keeps looking back at the Vault, wondering.

Flemming pauses a moment. "Why Mimi, I've never seen you hesitate at a lock before. Must be something serious."

He shrugs, "Sure, we can ask around town, but I suspect the Count has the key if the priest became his subject. However, he might just come over here and clear it out now that his guardians are no more. So we'll have to be quick."

How much time before we need to help protect the Burgomaster? We could do a quick questioning of the townspeople (a gather information?) and get a ladder for the belfry in case the key is hidden up there for some reason.

"Maybe there is more to be searched upstairs, or yet more upstairs?"

It does occur to you that the main floor hasn't been searched and that several of the upstairs rooms partially collapsed into that area. Some lunch at the tavern and a few questions for the locals may also serve you well.

Each lock is high quality and requires five successes at DC30 to disable. With nothing to force your actions, you can take 20 on the checks and it will take around 3 to 4 hours to disable both locks. After the earlier search upstairs, it’s past lunchtime now, so you would be hard pressed to return to the burgomaster’s house before nightfall if taking 20s. If you attempt a check and fail by 5 or more then it will require taking 20 to dislodge the jammed pick without breaking it

Borracho pauses, looking upwards.

"I, Borracho, am very thorough, both in my nightly activities with my many admirers and also in my searchings of derelict churches. I think we should explore the main floor and if we can get to some of the rooms above that, we should," Borracho notes, not having too much opinion on what to do with the locked chamber.

He will proceed to the main floor and look about with his Borracho-eyed eyes.

1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13 Perception

Mimi can make a Perception check on the second lock as well without triggering the trap

Flemming joins Borracho in one last look around the place.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

While they poke about, he suggests, "Let's head back to town and have some lunch. Spend a few hours researching these keys and who might have had them."

"Then... naps! If we're going to be up tonight defending the manor, we should get some rest now so we'll be fresher."

Tural moves his search to the main floor.

perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

”There were some collapsed areas upstairs too. But I don’t think that more time here would be a good investment at this time.” Fully intended as an Abadar joke!