Oops. May have forgotten that for all of you. Each of the scales is a CL 19th Minor Artifact.
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Alternately, since it has a decent duration, it isn't impossible for it to be used in the "levitate down, walk across, levitate up and out" sense. :P
Allysen scouts ahead of the group, and the group follows behind slowly so as to permit Anevia and the others to keep up. Allysen: After about 25 minutes, you come to a place in the tunnel where the floor of the tunnel has been ripped asunder. A chasm splits the tunnel, ranging from ten to twenty feet across, roughly thirty feet deep, and it opens the sides of the tunnel about thirty feet on either side of the tunnel (total 70 ft. end to end). At the edges of your vision, you can see what looks like a continuation of the tunnel some 40 feet to the right.
Reinnwulf manages to treat his own wound before the poison can take hold. Behind another pile of rubble, the cavern extends into a further passage.
The second snake goes down quickly as Weyland and Allysen slash it open. Quiet sinks into the room, with the occasional clatter as a stone falls from the ceiling above.
GM Dice:
As the first snake is vivisected, a second appears from behind one of the rubble piles and lashes out at Reinnwulf, sinking its fangs deep into his arm.
The group advances toward the place where snakes were heard, Allysen and Ozgo in the lead with Nenthil right behind. As the group moves down the small passage, the sound of hissing and slithering movements has vanished. At the end of the short passage, another chamber opens up. Several cracks cross the ceiling, and dust hangs in the air over several mounds of rubble. Like a white blur, a dun-colored snake slithers out from behind a stone and lashes out at Ozgo, but its fangs fail to penetrate his armor. GM Dice:
Anevia looks you square in the eye as she replies, "If I have kept any secrets from you all, then they are none of your business, just as your secrets are not mine." Horgus blusters, and Aravashnial remains silent.
Of the other three, only Horgus Gwermm has any kind of startled reaction. "What are you? And you, wizard? What are you that you find such kinship with a ... a ... thing like that?" At the commotion, Aravashnial turns his blind face to each of the voices in turn, trying to make out what's happening. His murmured questions of "What's wrong?" and "Is the girl some kind of leper?" go all but unnoticed in the commotion. GM Dice:
Nenthil:
Allysen:
With a boost from Reinnwulf, Allysen manages to climb high enough on the rock wall to snag the pack from overhead. She drops to the ground, and pulls the contents out of the pack to reveal to the group.
Allysen: You head down the other tunnel that heads back the way you came. It does end up meeting the original cavern you were in. You can see the corpse of the giant spider and the maggots at the edge of your vision. As you turn to head back, your eye lights upon a traveler's pack hanging from a ledge just over a dozen feet over your head.
Allysen:
As you move forward, you come to a junction between this passage and two others. One turns right from you, back in the general direction of the cavern you woke up in. The other turns left, continuing in the general direction away from the first cavern. Up ahead, you hear a hissing, and something sliding over stone. It sounds like some sort of serpent, but you can't remember if it's poisonous snakes or the kind that crush you that hiss. GM Dice:
Although uncomfortable, the noncombatants appear to be doing alright. Horgus isn't shy about making it known that he's unhappy they were left there in the dark, and Aravashnial again tries to direct the group in how to proceed.
Okay. Thanks for the heads-up.
There doesn't seem to be too much of value here. This area does once appear to have been a campsite, and it looks like the one who used it for such didn't ever vacate the premises. There is a pile of bones with what looks like the remains of chainmail scattered around it just past the torn bedroll. On or near it, Nenthil finds three stubs of candle, a bent fishhook, 10 ft. of badly frayed hempen rope, and a copper brooch of a bat with amethyst eyes perched on a mushroom.
Reinnwulf's spear thrust shreds the remaining cockroach in a burst of buggy guts. From behind, you can hear the voice of Aravashnial calling, trying to find out what happened.
Got it. Thanks for the FYI. Good luck with the move.
I checked the rules a couple of times because I didn't believe it. It's -4 to the attack for firing into melee, and in addition it has +4 to AC because of cover from Weyland. Not the biggest fan of it being designed that way, but that was the way it worked. Even with the Bardic Music, you were at a 17. Needed one more.
Weyland moves to attack, slashing at the roach nearest to Reinnwulf while Reinnwulf stabs at the roach near Ozgo. Weyland's attack misses entirely, while Reinnwulf makes himself a rather unpleasant cockroach kebab. Ozgo, bolstered by Allysen's song, in turn smashes the cockroach before him into a gooey mess. Nenthil's crossbow twangs, but the bolt skips off of Weyland's shoulder as it tries to pass the paladin. The remaining cockroach decides to chew on the new threat, but can't quite seem to get through the armor the paladin wears.
GM Dice:
Allysen begins to sing encouragement as Reinnwulf and Nenthil try to strike the roaches, but to no avail. The roaches spread out slightly, two still trying to eat Ozgo while one follows after Reinnwulf, but none of them do much beyond scrabbling against armor. GM Dice:
Two of the roaches move toward the source of the light and try catch the one holding it in their mandibles. One succeeds, and is rewarded by a slash that crunches part of its carapace. The other misses entirely. The third buzzes through the air toward Reinnwulf. He stabs with his ranseur and Ozgo flails with his longsword, but the longsword misses entirely and the ranseur skates off the hard shell of the insect as it comes in to bite.
Nenthil:
It looks like the first estimate of their abilities is entirely accurate: these are giant cockroaches. They'll be harder to defeat than the maggots from before, possessing harder carapaces and a very limited ability to fly. You really wish you had prepared Bigby's Bug-Bashing Boots as a spell today. Two of the maggots move toward the light source and try to catch him in their mandibles. Only one manages to do so. The third buzzes through the air, landing in front of Reinnwulf and trying to do the same with him. He swings at it, but his ranseur glances off the hard carapace as the thing attacks him. The others move into better position to be able to help out for the fight. GM Dice:
There may be RL things disrupting his ability to post. He hasn't posted in my CoT game in some time, either. We can Bot him for now, and if he doesn't come back, we can run with four players. Nenthil, you get those cookies?
Reinnwulf follows Ozgo and, upon seeing what faces them, assumes a ready posture.
Ozgo walks through the passage, sword in one hand, shield in the other. He sees what looks like the long-dead remains of a fire, along with a tattered bedroll, a pile of bones, and rubble. From the rubble emerge three enormous cockroaches .
GM Dice:
Not familiar with the concept, but let me see if I understand. Spell Crits are the potential to score a critical hit when a SR check is called for? Hmm. Counter-spell crit would be interesting. Normal counterspell = negate spell, crit counter-spell = spell-turning or similar effect? Might be interesting. Mail-order suffice on cookies?
Hey, all. Tossed something up in the Campaign Info thread. I had a few houserules that I wanted to put out for consideration. Some are flavor, some are mechanical. I'd also welcome suggestions if the group has any that they wish to submit.
Allysen:
Down here, hissing like that could be anything from oversized insect/arachnid to large snake to bizarre fungus. You're leaning against fungus or snake, however. Allysen returns to view from the tunnel, moving slowly. Hearing her, the elf pipes up. "Back so soon? What did you find? You haven't found a way out, have you?"
No need to worry. You aren't too far behind.
Allysen: As you peer into the chamber, you notice what looks like the remains of a pack beyond the bedroll, near the broken armor. As you notice that, though, you hear a hissing coming from somewhere in the room.
Allysen: As you head up the left fork, the tunnel goes through a few gentle twists and turns before opening up into a small cavern. It looks like somebody used it as a campsite at one point and didn't remove any of the signs. A torn bedroll lies next to the remains of a cold fire, and just beyond them are a pile of vones, broken armor, and rubble.
Anevia looks at the elf, then shrugs. "I can help him, yes." She accepts the crutch Reinnwulf handed her as she stands. After some test hobbles she indicates that she should be able to walk well enough, although not quickly. Several paces away, the elf stiffens. "Anevia? Anevia .. Tirabade?" Allysen: As you move to the far end of the cavern, the room narrows down slightly to a wide opening (rough natural arch about 50 ft. across by 20 ft. tall across the middle). There are two paths beyond the tunnel mouth, narrow passages leading to left and right. In both directions, the path seems to rise.
The woman smiles up at Ozgo. "Thanks. Well, I won't be winning any races, but I may be able to walk on it." She levers herself to her feet. The leg isn't healed completely straight, but she'll be able to hobble reasonably well. Heal DC 15:
Without something stronger, the leg will stay in it's current state. It will take reasonably powerful magic to fully repair the damage. Once the woman gets to her feet, she reaches into her pouch and pulls out several items. "Anevia Tirabade. Here. These may be of use to you all."
The elf begins to pipe up again, demanding that people tell him what's going on and what they can do to help the effort to escape this place, and the older man begins to respond demanding that you all get him home as quickly as possible.
Allysen: As you pick up the scale nearest you, you notice that there aren't any left. It seems that some chance only sent five of the small silver objects into this place with you. The scale feels like it perfectly fits your hand, and as you consider it, you feel a sense of warmth, of safety, and of sadness tinged with determination. The scale gives you the idea that, when it is needed, it can help to hide you from evil.
Guilty as charged, I'm afraid. Trying to do better about the slow part.
Weyland:
As you pick up the scale, two things flow up your arm and into your mind. Reinnwulf: As you walk over to the others, you reach down and pick up a glinting scale from the ground. The scale is the size of your palm. As you consider it, you receive a feeling of sorrow, and of determination, as if the one who was feeling it was sad it couldn't do more, but was determined to do its best. The knowledge also trickles into your head that this scale can probably help to defend you against a number of the spells demons are known to favor. Although this knowledge is most likely magical in origin, you don't feel the normal itch you normally do around magic. Instead, you feel a sense of strength, and of the warm feeling of being with comrades.
As the party talks and assesses the situation, the older man moves to stand near, but not too near, Reinnwulf. "Well, are we going? Is there a problem?" The woman who had been pinned by the rubble pile begins to try to stand, then cries out and sits down rather suddenly. She begins to murmur to herself quietly and quickly, rocking a bit as she does so. Perception DC 10: From the looks of it, it appears that her leg is broken in three places, probably from the rock that pinned it in place. In her current condition, she probably won't be able to walk unaided.
No particular force guides Ozgo's hand, so he snags the one nearest him from the rubble pile. Ozgo: As you pick up the scale, you feel a rush of sadness and determination, as if the one who wore it previously had resolved to achieve some small good in the face of death. You also gain a flash of insight into the power of the scale itself.
Allysen:
You recall hearing that during the First Crusade, Kenabres went form being a very small town indeed to the larger city it is today. During the beginnings of the First Crusade, the city underwent rapid growth, which included many systems of tunnels and catacombs dug beneath the city. Some of these connected with natural caverns, which further connected with the upper levels of the Darklands beneath. More space was created beneath the city than ever saw common use, and more space than that existed already. Today, outcasts and pariahs and all manner of underground denizens occupy the space. Nenthil: The scale does indeed look like one that might have fallen from Terendelev. Alas, you cannot tell what created this thing, unless somehow this scale, and others, were in some way housing for the dragon's innate spellcasting potential. This theory does not fit your knowledge of how draconic spellcasting normally works. The aura in question is a very strong aura of transmutative magic, which fits with the function that it appears to have of casting a spell of levitation. Further examination confirms your initial impression.
GM Dice:
Allysen:
Just after you clean Ozgo's armor for him, he does something with his holy symbol that causes a wave of warm feeling to pass through you. It feels similar to when you use healing magic. A moment later, your butterflies wink out, leaving the only light sources Ozgo's holy symbol and Reinnwulf's torch. Nenthil:
You begin to climb up the rubble pile to the nearest of the glittering silver objects that you saw before. As you do so, you surreptitiously cast your detection spell. None of the others noticed that you can see.
Reaching for the glittering object, you retrieve what looks like a scale the size of your palm. It has a strong magical aura, and as your grasp it, you realize that you would be able to use this scale to cast a levitate spell three times per day. Unlike other spells of such nature, though, you would rise into the air on a pillar of roiling cloud-stuff, which might be able to hide somebody standing within it. Ozgo:
As you channel Iomedae's grace to heal those around you, you catch sight of the man who introduced himself as Nenthil Wardcaller. He's begun climbing into the rubble a short ways. You catch a glimpse of reflected silver light and see him pull something out of the rubble and make arcane gestures over it. Reinnwulf:
As you're cleaning off the vomit from the maggot, you feel a wave of warmth pass through you. Looking up, you see the crusader, Ozgo, lowering his holy symbol. Your skin itches slightly at the sensation. The glowing butterflies cast by the girl wink out, leaving just you and the Crusader with light sources. Weyland: As you clean the remains of the maggot from your sword, you feel the faintest brush of the Inheritor's Grace pass through you. Looking up, you see your brother-in-arms Ozgo lowering his holy symbol. Then the butterfly-shaped lights that the girl Allysen cast wink out, leaving just Ozgo's holy symbol and the Ulfen's torch as light sources for the room. The shadows leap higher and darker around the room.
Nenthil:
The elf begins to lever himself unsteadily to his feet, bracing himself against the rock behind him to compensate for his blindness. "Good, good. I suppose whatever unpleasantness was going on is now dealt with? I believe we were introducing ourselves and trying to establish our capabilities to determine our best capability of survival. My name is Aravashnial." At this, the older man sputters.
A flurry of blows from Reinnwulf and Ozgo dispatch the remaining Maggots, leaving the group energized, alone but for the three strangers, and slightly puked on in the case of Ozgo and Reinnwulf. Silence falls but for heavy breathing and the sound of small rocks settling in the pile of rubble. After a moment, the older man yells out, "A thousand golden crowns if you can get me back to the surface. I want no truck with this place. I want to go home! Keep me safe, and you'll be rewarded."
Nenthil's bolt takes the injured maggot in the ... chest? head? Hard to tell. Either way, it must have hit something important, because the Maggot keels over. His remaining fellows move to attack Ozgo and vomit on Reinnwulf, respectively. GM Dice:
As Weyland strikes the maggot in front of him, it gives a loud squelching noise and bursts open, leaking fluids as it collapses to the cave floor. Ozgo manages to daze one of those attacking him with a slash of his sword, then he retreats around the carcass of the giant spider.
Nenthil:
More disgusting than dangerous, maggots such as these are the larval form of a species of Giant Fly. Extremely slow, easy to hit, and they can barf once per day to potentially give an adjacent target a sickened condition. GM Dice:
Nenthil's crossbow bolt thuds into one of the maggots as it charges toward Weyland. It tries to bite him, but fails to connect. The other three move to surround Ozgo, all trying to bite him, but only one manages to connect.
As Ozgo strides forward, sword in hand, the spider's body bursts, disgorging four enormous maggots the size of greyhounds. The two nearest spit foul bile and fluid all over Ozgo, coating him in unthinkable gorge.
GM Dice:
As Weyland and Ozgo move toward it, the shape begins to resolve into an immense spider crouched on the ground. Perception DC 11:
There's an odd bulge in the spider's abdomen that is moving and pulsating in time with a muffled chewing sound. That's probably what made it appear the black widow was moving. The elf accepts the cloth from your hand and haltingly puts it around his eyes. "Well, that's ... um, yes. Thank you. Now, then, we'll need to get out of here. I've heard tell of all sorts of unsavory things in these warrens, so I'll need to know what everybody can do. Names, combat capabilities, experience, that sort of thing. You, girl, still here? Stick by me, you'll be my eyes." Sense Motive DC 20:
From his manner of speaking, the elf is uncomfortable with being blind, and is trying to assume control of things to help balance things out for himself.
Allysen:
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