Cynara's page

"I agree. Let's move on. Is that a second lever in this room? We could try that one."

Cynara shakes her head ruefully. "I can prepare a spell to read it tomorrow."

Cynara casts guidance and a fortune hex on herself and enters the room with the symbol.

DC 20 Fort save: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 = 12
DC 20 Fort save: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 1 = 24

With the aid of her hex, she manages to resist the waves of pain emanating from the mystic writing.

Remember that a burst spell "can't affect creatures with total cover from its point of origin (in other words, its effects don't extend around corners)." (From the Core Rulebook, p. 214.)

Cynara follows the investigator and peers past him into the room. "Hm. Do you think it's trapped? I'll see what I can find." She murmurs a quick cantrip and looks for magical auras, especially around the writing. If she doesn't see any, she'll send in her familiar to look at the writing from the wall.

"Check the door first. I suspect that having the whole room move has to have made enough noise to alert anything down here, though."

Cynara's level in Witch:

+1 BAB
+1 Will saves
+5 HP
Skills 11
Healing +1
Spellcraft +1
Knowledge (Arcana) +1
Knowledge (Local) +1
Sense Motive +1
Perception +1
Fly +1
Diplomacy +1
Stealth +1
Knowledge (Dungeoneering) +1 (from headband)
Linguistics +1 (from headband; learning Necril)

Feat: Extra Hex (Aura of Purity)
Hex: Water Lung

Spells: Enervation, Wandering Star Motes

I'll be traveling for work this coming week, and will be slow to post. Cynara will take her next level in witch; I've only updated her HP and saves so far.

Cynara holds her hand out for her familiar, who crawls up and onto her shoulder under her dress. "Well done, little one. After we open this door, though, I will have need of you again."

"Shall we, then?" Cynara indicates the dark, narrow passage ahead. "If you think it advisable, I can send Chil ahead to scout. She's quite unobtrusive, and can see in the dark."

I put us into a single-file marching order. Artegall is in front to look for traps and such, while Mirela and Whisper are rear-guard in case something comes up on us. Look reasonable?

Cynara nods. "If so, I suspect that he has no intention of letting us live. If we disappear in this labyrinth, who will come looking for us?"

Anyone else get a total Rakasasa vibe off this whole place?

*raises hand*

"That's an excellent question." Cynara checks the backside of the door before it can close and looks for switches/knobs/handles.

Sense Motive check to get a read on the man: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (5) + 16 = 21

"Thank you." I think.

The Varisian clears her throat. "Excuse me? We have been sent here by Lord Arkona and Lord Bahor to find Vencarlo--Lord Bahor told us he was down here in the labyrinth. Have you seen him?"

Diplomacy check: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16

Cynara murmurs, "Leave, or talk to them? We've got Arkona's permission to be here, after all."

Cynara keeps an ear open for approaching trouble. "We'd better see what's behind the doors before we go down. If there's something there that wants to ambush us on the way out, we should trigger it now while we're still relative strong. That said, I've used my most powerful spells for the day, so I'll mostly be relying on my hexes."

Cynara nods gratefully. "I should get one of these, though they're not exactly conducive to stealth."

"I seem to have neglected to bring a light source. Do any of you have one I can use?

Cynara touches Artegall, sending healing energy into the investigator.

Healing hex: 2d8 + 8 ⇒ (2, 8) + 8 = 18

The witch doesn't seem visibly affected by the artwork, but doesn't hesitate when it comes time to leave the room. Gods, give me honest corruption instead of whatever this is. She replies to Nargun, "Keep telling yourself it's for the best for now, but when the time comes Bahor, Arkona, and the 'Emperor' should have no place in Korvosa's future."

You look a little out of sorts, Nargun.

Cynara also hangs back behind the others, waiting calmly (at least outwardly).

"The quicker the better, I judge. We want to set the narrative." Cynara pauses, struck by a thought. "Can Arkona or any of his hangers-on read minds?"

Cynara floats down to the ground, rubbing her neck and wincing. "Thank you all. Let's keep moving after we search these things."

Perception check: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

Cynara focuses on the creature that grabbed her, willing it to fall asleep.

Slumber hex, DC 21 Will save or fall asleep.

Initiative check: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

I think you mean Cynara, not Hannah.

Cynara will likewise ferry people down as needed.

Information that would let Cynara figure out whether Pilts is a waste of oxygen who should be killed, or someone who might actually be useful to the community going forward. Right now her priority is ameliorating the constant background of terror, fear, and pain emanating from the city, so if letting Pilt live does that in the short term he becomes part of tomorrow's problems.

What do we know about Pilt? (GM, remember that in addition to whatever the party knows from their previous encounter with him, Cynara has a ridiculously high Knowledge (Local) bonus in Korvosa--+21.)

Yeah, we can't leave any witnesses who know what we did.

Incidentally, I'm thinking that we put the crown on one of the corpses, prop it up, and then Cynara will lightning-bolt it. Hopefully that renders the head unrecognizable, so when we drop it with Arkona there's no reason for him to be suspicious.

When I was creating Cynara I thought about taking the Disguise hex, but decided to take Healing instead. Since I have a way to give someone else access to one of my hexes, we could've marched Pilt out looking like someone else.

Cynara lays another potent hex on the cyan guard, trying to make them fall asleep.

"There may be a way to get more convincing proof, but we'll have to hurry--and call off the dwarf." I'm reasonably sure that one has some serious unresolved trauma.

From above, Cynara focuses her attention on the purple guard and wills them to fall asleep.

Slumber hex, DC 21 Will save or fall asleep for 8 rounds.

Sense Motive check for Artegall: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (3) + 16 = 19
Sense Motive check for Pilt: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (6) + 16 = 22

Hmmm...let's see if I can help with that.

While in Korvosa, Cynara has +16 Sense Motive. Can she roll to understand Artegall's message subtext?

The witch concentrates, invoking the power of the city and rising slowly into the air. She extends a hand to the wall and her centipede crawls up her arm under her sleeve.

Grapple check for spell: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

That should keep the riff-raff out, at least.

Cynara moans at the impact, then grits her teeth and steps back a few feet. "Artegall, take a short step west!"

If he does so, the witch casts another spell, conjuring forth a field of writhing black tentacles that avoids Whisper but includes Jabbyr and the other entrance to the throne room.

If he can't, I'll have to try something else.

Happy New Year, all!

My thought was that the enemies to the north would focus on the immediate threats to Pilt, and the guards to the south would have to go through Artegall to get to her.

"I'll get your backs." Cynara steels herself and steps into the room, slipping past the unconscious guard before casting a spell. The north doorway is suddenly filled with reeking vapors.

Casting stinking cloud in the circle marked on the map; anyone in the cloud needs to make a DC 20 Fort save or become nauseated. Anyone failing their save will be nauseated for 1d4+1 rounds after leaving the cloud. The cloud is also opaque, obscuring sight beyond 5', as fog cloud.

If either of the two guards flanking the door are still up, Cynara focuses her will on the least wounded one. The guard starts to feel drowsy....

Using slumber hex; DC 21 Will save or fall unconscious for 8 rounds.

Cynara's familiar crawls out from under her dress and scuttles past the guards before scaling the wall over the door.

What do the captions (PC goal, NPC goals, etc.) mean?

When we come in, Cynara can drop a stinking cloud on part of the room and take a bunch of people out of the fight. If you know of any spellcasters, they would be good to include in the AoE...we don’t generally have good Fort saves.

I thought we were going to the unoccupied area to form up.

OK, so it's a DC 25 Spellcraft check to translate without read magic, but Cynara has +17 Spellcraft.

The witch finishes her perusal and looks around at the others. "Whenever you're ready."

Once the word is given, she invokes a hex to give herself good fortune before reading the scroll aloud.

DC 10 caster level check (assuming that the scroll CL is the minimum for a 5th level spell): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Fortune hex reroll, just in case: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Targeting roll: 1d100 ⇒ 24

Cynara takes the scroll and studies it carefully.

Can she take 10 on the Spellcraft check to decipher it?

"If I can make this scroll work, do you want to try to teleport directly into the throne room, or into an unoccupied area so we can form up before we attack?"

"I don't like the idea of anyone with a Final Blade, especially someone as...erratic as the Emperor. Plans where you divide your forces in the face of an enemy are generally not desirable, let's say, but in this case I think that pinning down the guards in the courtyard from the air with black tentacles and stinking cloud would let Mirela do significant damage. Everyone in the place is going to respond to the attack, too, which would give the rest of you a chance to get in...wait a minute. You've all been there before. Is there any reason the rest of you would be stopped if you came back and asked to see Pilt again? That would get you closer to the action when the time came.

"Do you know if there are any spellcasters of note in the court? The only thing I'd worry about would be having someone there with a prepared dispel magic when Mirela and I start the attack."