Chumley keeps quiet as Diri offers her observation. Well, this certainly worked out well. And I've got some dirt on Tancred Desmire and the Blackros family that might come in value to the Sovereign Court...
As the group leaves Valsin's office, he holds his hat in his hands and regards the group. "Well, chums, it's been a roight pleasure traveling with you all. Think I might be seein' what all I can wheedle out of the Blackros before adventurin' out again, but I do hope our travels have us cross paths once again on the Open Road."
Name: Michael Donley
Character name: Chumley
PFS#: 99008-4
Chron #:9
Starting PP/Fame: 11/13
Starting XP: 7
Starting gold: 1,774
(Day Job roll assumes that there was something Sovereign Court Faction I could accomplish, probably the "recruit a named NPC aristocrat" or "recover blackmail or incrimidating evidence against a named NPC...")
I'm in for Sands, probably with a different (Sages faction) character. I so rarely get to play that I'd like to try to at least go for Faction Quests when I can :)
I have played "Have what you hold" but I have my First Steps PbP I started GMing (hopefully) finishing shortly, which would put me a table or two away from another star reroll to use. Likely I'll hit my 4th star right at Thanksgiving.
Chumley was a lot of fun to play (and hopefully play with!) I did have an Osirion / SS character I'd earmarked to do Destiny of Sands, but I'd need to make sure that I didn't canabalize the GM credits for something else. I'll have to check tonight / this weekend.
Re: Character info. I posted it last night, but looks like the boards ate it? I'll try again tonight and make sure it actually posts :P
Back with the kids
Chumley watches as Xull rips out the not-Tilly's eyes in front of the two girls. Well, that was a tad dark. Cross Xull off the "Baby-sit the human-spawn" list. He dismisses his Enlarge and bows his head sadly to the girls, holding his hat behind him. "Don't you worry yourselves a bit about where you're going after this tragedy. I'll make proper sure you have a roof over your heads that won't cause such nightmares, even if I have to buy it myself."Besides, the Blackros owe us a bit after this one...
Chumley would take a look at the books too after Diri is done with them and combat isn't likely. I don't suppose we rest up and use Pooka's Will bonus? first ;) Will Save:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Also, assuming Pooka doesn't force a more reasonable claim for them, Chumley probably would adopt the two girls...
Another book-keeping thing: do any of the journals or materials we found count as "blackmail material?" We can discuss it in PMs too.
I'd be up for Destiny of the Sands, or whatever. I'll double check what characters I might have for that; I know there was one I'd planned to play through that a year ago... not sure if he's still intact though ;)
Heavy Mace, 2-handed:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25 Damage:2d6 + 10 ⇒ (6, 6) + 10 = 22 Kinda rushing, feel free to check my math!
Chumley strolls over beneath Tilly and calmly gives an underhanded swing with his mace, hoping to catch her in her little-girl-backstabbing-face.
Yeah, I've got a 10' space and a 10' reach. I can also pick up my longspear for a bit of extra reach if needed, but I'm trying to figure out which is needed currently, and if I drop my mace now to get my Longspear, if she has room to just fly up another 5 feet.
Just to be clear, did it look like Chumley's bite hit and / or did damage? Also, how high is the ceiling? And was that a spell, spell-like ability, or something unknown?
Well, that's not something you see every day.. 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13
Chumley's shock at seeing the little girl levitate off the ground apparently causes his attack with his mace to miss.
Vindication! It isn't Paranoia if the human-spawn is really out to make outsides of your innards. Although Vindication hurts. I'll settle for alive. Muttering through the pain, he comments to Xull, "...Chum, she isn't trying to shank You with a poisoned dagger, " as he calmly pulls out silver Heavy Mace and two hands it and bashes at her with the blunt side, before savaging her with his teeth.
"Well, this is certainly right ominous. Bottoms up, and it's been a pleasure thus far, Chums." Chumley gives sets his hat down safely around the corner, then takes a swig of his last extract and becomes Enlarged once more.
Minor retcon, Pooka, but if you'd prefer to save a charge or three from your wand, you can make use of Chumley's wand of infernal healing. Your choice. I also rearranged slightly to fit Chumley's Enlarged girth.
Chumley shoves the journal in his bag. "Nothing of use now Chums, unless we find the Dark Archive leader down here..." He then goes towards the rest of the group and the unknown hall, dismissing his Enlarge for the sake of the small hallway.
Chumley quickly peruses the journal to see if it's of immediate interest, scanning the first and last page in case it's relevant. "Mighta found something. Mighta not. Just a moment if you will."
Before leaving the area, he pauses to retrieve his hat and stuffs it under his (still oversized) arm.
Assuming GM allows:
Chumley sighs at the reappearance of the demon. Looks like the little Chum could use Aid from Above... or at least a higher elevation. He then moves over to the ledge, and attempts to hit the demon with his Longspear.
Long Spear:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21Possibly 22 if there's a bonus for higher ground?
The group I was GMing for rushed Krune immediately, so after dropping a Black Tentacles, he Dimension Stepped to the hallway out of sight of the Party around a corner.
He wasn't counting on a Flying party member to book it around and *just* get into melee with him to disrupt his Summon
Chumley will open the desk and take out the contents if they're interesting. Looking quite comical as his large frame daintily rummages through the desk.
Is she refering to the Babau, or is there another thing that she's looking at?
Knowledge Arcana:1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 6 + (3) = 19
Chumley doesn't know what to do with the portals, but does a proper once over (abbreviated) as he looks around the room
Spellcraft:1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (6) + 6 + (2) = 14 If Chumley can discern what happened to the Babau and thinks it might have run away Chumley double moves down the hall, and peeks his head around the corner.
If Chumley doesn't know where the Babau went or what happened to it (invisibility?) he'll double move into the room.
Will delete a Chumley depending on which "choose your own adventure" happens.
Knowledge Planes:1d20 + 6 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + 6 + (1) = 12
Not knowing exactly what that thing is, but knowing it's probably not a good thing, Chumley attacks with his Enlarged reach and Longspear.
Long Spear Attack, Power Attacking:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 Long Spear Damage (if hits):2d6 + 13 ⇒ (1, 6) + 13 = 20 "I don't know what ya are, but get off my Chum!" Not sure if that has cover from me? I've always been horrible about reach and cover. If so I'd wait for Pooka's action and call out for him to move if possible.
With a surge of strength and the added adrenaline of battle, Chumley rips the portcullis upwards!
Strength Check:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27
If the portcullis looks like it'll come back down if he releases it:
This, of course, assumes a 27 gets it "Xull, Pooka! I've got the bloody gate open! Come quick, I can't hold it forever!" He continues to hold open the gate
If the portcullis is / will stay open:
"Xull, Pooka! I've got the bloody gate open!" Chumley dashes around the corner to see what his demon-blooded sight can show him.
Raaagh! Chumley smash! Really hope that does the trick. If so, you can tell he really means business because he took his top hat off.
Nope. Clarified in my post, I hope. It's one of his Extracts, which are self-only until he gets another Discovery to allow others to use them. Until they they're reflavored self-only spells.
First time actually playing an Investigatory, heh.
Alchemy (su)
Sorry, messed up the wording, Enlarge Person is one of his Investigator Extracts. Xull can't drink it. Chumley is the only one that can use them at this level, so he would have to take point. Chumley can drink his Mutagen, drink the Extract, then take point for the strength attempts. if we're good for doing a bit of ret-con. He technically has a higher threshold he can hit anyway.
So, to be absolutely clear, there is no way Xull can be Enlarged, and probably wouldn't be raging for this?
Assuming the decision is for Chumley to take point in lifting:
What's better than a scaley green tiefling? An even bigger scaley green tiefling! Chumley sets his top hat aside then mixes two of his drinks, which in addition to getting him a bit of a buzzed, also causes him to be Enlarged and strong (though slightly dumber)
Chumley's Stats: +6 Strength (+2 Size Bonus, +4 Alchemical Bonus), -2 Dex (size penalty), -2 Intelligence, for a temporary STR 24 (+7), DEX 11 (+0), CON 14 (+2), INT 14 (+2), WIS 9 (-1), CHA 5 (-3) +2 AC Natural, -1 Size Penalty to Armor, -1 Size Penalty to attacks. Will have to update stats later, but that puts his Init at +1 and his AC at 16. Lots of stats including perception are reduced by 1 by the reduction in INT.
He then moves up to the Portcullis and gives a test attempt at lifting
Strength:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Chumley looks at the gate. ""I've got a few drinks that would help me lift that if we want to give that a go. Won't help you chums or last very long, though, I'm afraid. Otherwise, Xull?"
I have a Mutagen and an Elixir of Enlarge Person. If we use them though, I'd probably want to keep shuffling down the corridor after the inevitable combat to keep them active if possible. Or Xull can rage-lift
Before descending down the rungs, Chumley drinks one of his Extracts of Heightened Awareness+2 bonus to Perception and Knowledge Checks for 30 minutes. I can dismiss the spell to give a +4 bonus to initiative
Swim Check:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 Chumley easily makes it through the water to dry land, although he does poke at the bottom some with his longspear once he's made it out of the pool. "This can't be good... shall we go the 'stealthy try to look like cultist' route or the 'kick in the door' route?"
"My vote would be for descent by a rope down the shaft; they took her father upstairs, so that disfavors the stairs. But I will yield to the rest of your decision."
Chumley points at Targath. "There was a trap that you found with your face with your rushing. If you would prefer to continue that trend, I'd be happy to oblige it and stand a carefull distance back."
Chumley surveys the area grimly, it becoming more and more clear that it's unlikely they'll find Tilly's father alive. "The descent into the Abyss seems to be our course, then." If he can get Xull or Pooka alone, he quietly informs them, "There is quite possibly a literal entry to Hell down there. If we do find Till's dad, it's unlikely it will be pretty... Anything we can do to save the kid from nightmares?"
Going down? I was hoping to find a better place to stash Tilly, but not sure if that's an option
Failing to find anything interesting in the towers, Chumley points towards the room by the balcony with a clawed finger. "Only one room left ta go before we need to check down the creepy room."
Chumley trundles along, doing his patented Proper Once-Over.
Assuming there isn't anything of note in that room, we'll probably do the same for room 3, or even moving onto 4. Those look suspiciously like small "nothing to see here" rooms
Chumley grumbles a bit as he rolls up his sleeves to help Xull push on the door. "So, we've abandoned the pursuit of stealth and subtlety to make a right propper job of Breakin' and Enterin', it would appear?"
With a glance at the child tagging along, he adds, "Don't try this at home, Till."
Strength Check Aid :1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19 If needed Strength Check Aid :1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Strength Check Aid :1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5 Hopefully not needed. Apparently pulled a muscle
Chumley inspects the door (#1) and assuming he doesn't find any traps and ascertains that it is, in fact, locked, fishes his masterwork thieves tools out and fiddles with the door, muttering, "Shoulda worked up an Overtime schedule for bein' the sneak-thief on this expedition."
Disable Device:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22 Apparently taking 10 on this one Actually, it's a Superior lock? Just noticed that, and I wouldn't be able to open that with a 20... I'm guessing we should clear the top floor then go the Adamantine Lockpick route? Or maybe leave that for after clearing the floor and going down the shaft.
While the kid does her business, Chumley is going to take the opportunity to give a proper once over to the room she was hiding in. Pooka, she mentioned that her dad was brought upstairs, though it doesn't discount the possibility that they're down the shaft
Chamber pot and a curtain, maybe? Also, I'd like to applaud the GM in making me seriously question if this is all an elaborate ploy or really a girl that needs saving
Chumley rushes up with supernatural speed, not even breathing heavily as he comes to a halt and surveys the situation with a clinical eye.
Human-spawn, visibily unharmed. Targath, slightly bruised bully. No immediate cause for danger or concern. Who should help Till relieve herself? Probably Pooka. He looks over at the halfling that is presumably getting there around the same time, with a raised eyebrow then turns to the girl. "Till, you just scared all of us to death. Well, most, I would wager. We're trying to help find your parents." He sighs, "Though if needed, I can take you." There's a slightly haunted look in his eyes.
Don't suppose we found a chamber pot in any of the bedrooms?
I had the same thought; I was thinking it'd be about 10' (earlier the ceiling was 20' from the bottom floor...) but decided that it would almost take the same amount of time to fall as do the Extract / move and still give me versatility of what I do next.
That and landing prone in an unknown situation sounded like a bad idea.
Chumley gives a sigh of resignation as Pooka goes rushing off. That little girl will be the death of us yet. Calmly he mutters, "Bottoms up, Chums" as he seizes a mixer from his belt and drinks an Extract of Expeditious Retreat and goes bounding off at supernatural speed.
(60'movement. I think that gets me to the bottom of the steps in a single Move. Not sure if we're in combat movement or not, but it's a Standard / Move for me.)
Chumley (SOP) lumbers over to the door and gives it his "proper once over", then settles back to let the front-liners have the door, assuming there aren't any traps to be found.
There isn't anything that we can see from across the way, is there? I'm assuming there's a big room immediately to the right of the "To First Floor", but I wasn't sure if there would be anything visible from where we're at now
"But, my foul-mouthed friend, the place where there is someone or something that absolutely keeps you from lookin' at it is the place you absolutely want to look." After examining the peculiar end of the trapped(?) door "Or if the trapped room with absolutely nothin' in it..."
Don't suppose I can use an inspiration on that Perception? Having a limited pool of potentially reactive abilities is going to be hard to set a valid SOP when I'd use them. Something like "While searching a room that matters that I roll between a 15 and a 20 on a Perception check, unless I'm down to 2 or less Inpsirations..."
Chumley does take a look at the Trap, conferring to one of his ever-present books.
Disable Device:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (15) + 12 = 27 That'll do, pig. That'll do. Not using an Inspiration, though add another +2 if it's a Magical Trap
If there's nothing else that can be done for examining the rooms around us, let's move to the South. That room and the room Tilly was in have are filed for an extra once over when there's time, though.
Chumley's Knowledge Planes:1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 9 + (3) = 22 "Might be a temple to Shax behind that black door... 'hidden rooms in a grand estate' seems right up that alley." Chumley physically pauses a moment as he mulls something over. "Hidden rooms.. The closet that we found Till, did we actually search it? With all the hysterics, I can't remember, to be perfectly honest." Regarding the trap, he taps his teeth. "I can give that a proper once over to make sure it doesn't try to nick us again." Chumley can attempt to disable device, and would use an Inspiration to do so, if it looks like it's the type that resets automatically The black door makes him a bit nervous, but it's a likely place to investigate
Chumley picks out the symbol of Shax. "Well, that's not a good sign. Quite literally. Them Shax-worshippers can give us demon blood a roight bad name." Pulling back the curtain and staring at the Black door, "Somehow, that makes matters even worse."
