I think I am going to bow out.
I've pretty much managed to get some order back, but I keep hovering over the link and chickening out. This is the longest (albeit infrequent) campaign I have ever run, and I think it is something about that, but I'm not sure what.
This is a great group, and I am feeling very guilty about abandoning you, but I had a GM bow out recently, and it made me realise I should probably do the same.
I'm more than happy to hand this over to someone else, if anyone is interested, or support you if you want to advertise for someone. I have run this module close enough to the book it should be easy to pick up, and I'm happy to help out with the transition.
Alright, sorry all. While I've had a bunch of new commitments crop up thanks to work and uni, if I'm honest the issue is probably the dread I get opening up the game.
I realistically need to do this from home, and it ends up (somehow) consuming anywhere between 20 minutes and a whole night, averaging hours. Because the forum counter vanishes when I open the page I keep putting it off until I know I have enough time to start and finish a post.
This makes it worse, as I end up reading pages of posts trying to work out what I need to remember from the last time because it has been so long - and can't be a lot of fun for you either.
I'm going to try to be more in-and-out, if you're okay to keep poking me if it's been a while.
There must be a faster way to do this, but I just don't seem to be built for it.
new Map I don't think they have - while we've been at it a long time the characters have been trying to go more quickly. Uh, 10 minutes after you take a look around? "Look" your prisoner starts "I warned you about that thing, that has to count for something. Didn't even know it was here, really. We always have to bow to the stage when we go through. Gave me the creeps like everything else here, but that's why I saw it move. But I warned you, right?"
The current room
With time to look around the team has a chance to take it all in. This must have been a beautiful room - once.
Polished mahogany walls and wooden floors shift abruptly to rough, crumbling rock, giving way to the foundations of an old temple incorporated into the house’s architecture. A beautifully aged glass mosaic of a butterfly spreads it wings between weather-beaten marble columns adorned with an astrological motif.
To the west, the stout slats of the old wooden stage the creature resided on have been forcefully pried up and piled near a stone altar carved from the island’s bedrock. Looking down through these missing slats reveals winding stone steps descending into darkness - steps apparently covered by this stage at some point in the house's past.
The new room
You look carefully through the door to the new room, careful to ensure no invisible creature lurks in ambush here as well - a worry quickly put at ease when you realise the webbed mess that fills most of the room; thick tangles of iridescent webs string together debris around the room’s perimeter.
To the west, several tables littered with a complicated arrangement of flasks, alembics, and cauldrons surround a shiver still, which emits a strange, bitter smell.
With careful kneeling it is possible to look up through the webs and see exposed beams and broken timbers - indicating that the original ceiling of this large parlor fell away some time ago, creating this two-story chamber.
Knowledge Nature and Perception checks for anyone investigating the webs. Craft: Alchemy rolls to identify the alchemical gear (with a penalty for range)
As Ophelia stabs, the creature rolls to the side in an attempt to evade - even as Ophelia's illusion dissipates.
Can you please give me a to hit roll, including the bonus for Prone you will only need to hit a relative AC of 16. Any damage will kill it.
Whatever this thing is, Daria's last crossbow bolt seems to finally take the fight out of it.
The creature slumps audibly to the ground, dissolving into a whirlwind of tiny dust spirals.
Ophelia:
Opheia sees it fall, actually sees it. The creature's body slumps bonelessly to the ground.
Down, Ophelia notes. Down, but not dead.
The air is somehow too still around the slumped corpse of the creature. If she is what she thinks it is, then while its body holds any coherent form a tiny spark of life likely lingers.
Creature is Prone, and might be dead, or might be trying to lure someone onto the stage.
Daria's bolt and Isama's scimitar both pass through the creature, meeting some resistance on the way.
The invisible enemy wavers in Ophelia's sight, whatever substance making up its ethereal body breaking up... but still it holds on... just.
It's first attack on Isama fades, little more than a strong wind. As if desperate to wreak damage in its last moments, the creature attacks Isama one last time, the strike hitting home with the force of a thunderbolt.
Isama takes 13 damage
Ah! Yes, the invisible... stalkery... thing should have gone. Everyone but Isama gets a go.
Growls somewhere between a whisper and far off thunder sound, and the monster strikes again - this time at Isama, though fortunately neither seem to connect.
The growls grow louder.
Roll was to determine damage; I think the critical effect is obvious :) Ophelia is unable to gauge health well enough; the mass appears to same, although the creature is decidedly skinnier than when it first attacked
Isama steps up and delivers a powerful blow - but the creature still stands.
Ophelia:
Ophelia sees the shot swing straight through the creature's head area, carving off a chunk. The creature does not seem especially bothered. Elemental Traits
She was: so 7 damage from Isama, and 7 damage for Mia. I'll even allow the designated bonus for Isama this turn for +2, so +16 damage (and 39 all up).
Daria and Isama take fast and furious vengeance for the ills done their friend. Demorialised and double designated by Daria and Ophelia, Diene's vengeance came due...
Isama and Mia's weapons miss, but Diene's blow hits home, and the creature seems to step back for a moment, hesitating.
More hesitantly now the creature strikes back - but with's Diene's protections diminished even these hesitant blows strike hard.
Diene's flurry of blows seems to bring no result, but when Ophelia lights up the area with a red blob, both Isama and Daria hit!
ooc - read please:
15 damage, partial concealment and designated.
When it moves Ophelia will have to move the illusion - I assume everyone will wait for that.
@Ophelia, going to assume you are moving the illusion, given what you said. Tell me if not.
@Diene: please check spoiler. I believe you took 10 damage.
Whatever this thing is, it can fly. Diene feels a sudden impact, a whoosh, and a moment later Ophelia's red blob lashes out, then ascends a good five feet into the air.
I'm prepared to say the image cuts concealment down to partial, but prevents precision damage. Logically you know exactly where to hit, but have to trust Ophelia has got it on target. Ophelia, you realise this thing is going to move?
Even with that, though, AC 20.
If Diene waited for Opehlia then she would have been 20% miss, but as it is is at 50%, I believe?
If it hadn't I would have retconned it.
As it was I'm not sure it would have made much difference. Arguably Diene could have halted her rush in order to carefully plan out an approach, of course.
As Ophelia rounds the corner she sees... something, perched on top of the stage and striking down at Diene.
Creature used its held attack. Pcs are up. Ophelia has LOS and can see. Diene can sense within 5ft. Isama ponders Faerie Fire (likely to be some friendly faerie fire in that, though) and Daria regrets all those beans.
Sorry Ophelia, I missed the see invisible.
That would make a significant difference as - as you've guessed - it is an invisible creature making the attack.
Sight angles mean you would not have seen it until you were almost through the doorway, but you would have seen it before it attacked.
I can't think of a good way to handle it, so I'm going to leave it.
Yes - it is invisible. Ophelia can see it fine, even make a knowledge planes roll if she likes. Once she's within 10ft her circle will kick in.
Diene knows where the creature is, both because of scent, and because she was attacked and thus knows where the blows are coming from.
Invisible creatures are visually undetectable. An invisible creature gains a +2 bonus on attack rolls against sighted opponents, and ignores its opponents’ Dexterity bonuses to AC (if any). See the invisibility special ability.
- note Diene has uncanny dodge so will not lose dex.
Diene is AC 14+4+4=22.
Both miss - both would have hit. That uncanny dodge really is uncanny.
Warned by the drug runner's shout as she enters the room past the old stage, Diene's uncanny sixth sense notes a touch of malevolence and she ducks, suddenly and for no visible cause - then steps to the side as if possessed. For no explicable reason a breeze ruffles Diene's hair as she ducks, and as she sidesteps the ground where the copper stood not a moment before cracks as if subject to some great impact.
G13 looks to be some sort of non-magical cage elevator. Makes sense Ophelia would recognise it. Presumably that was behind the door in the upstairs room.
@Isama: that is going to be surprisingly useful. The laughter lasts way more than 2 rounds, as well.
"You don't want to cross them." the man warns "They get you in your dreams. The house is haunted, too. That cackling isn't the half of it! Look - I just run the drugs in and out of the tunn - watch out!"
This last is directed at Diene as she leads the way to the door.
Diene:
Polished mahogany walls and wooden floors shift abruptly to rough, crumbling rock, giving way to the foundations of some old building incorporated into the house’s architecture. Through the door you can see a beautifully aged glass mosaic of a butterfly spreading its wings between weather-beaten marble columns adorned with an astrological motif. To the west, the stout slats of an old wooden stage have been forcefully pried up and piled near a stone altar carved from the very bedrock.
Perception please Diene.
The laughter seems to come from a moving point within the room - but a quick swipe reveals to Isama that nothing invisible or intangible is there. The air is colder around the point. The laughter louder - but the echoes are wrong. As if it was coming for a point simultaneously futher away and right there. Perhaps... from another plane?
Lacking a better way to stop the infectious laughter Isama's spell is the best hope. A moment after she casts it Mia's laughter dies away to giggles, and then to nothing.
Ophelia's target swears "You just killed most of them. There's a few of us left from the old gang. Most of the people here are those damned, creepy cult..." he swears again, revealing a comprehensive and multilingual vocabulary.
Two cultists down then. One with Diene, one with Ophelia.
@Isama: Map is Here. Do you want to try G13 or through the door - or are you trying to pinpoint the source of the laughter?
"I dunno! Just another damn thing in this damned place" Ophelia's prone target swears.
Diene pounds away at her foe, who bends to retch on the ground just as Daria's sonic effect hits home and he drops to the floor, arms trying to simultaneously wrap around his head and vitals.
Isama's blow goes wide, but as the smirking thug starts to feel confident Ophelia's longspear slams down through him, and through the shoddy wall. He stiffens, fingers clawing at the spear as he slides backwards down the slight incline. A second later, as the spear is removed, he collapses bonelessly.
From the floor Diene's target drops his weapons and begs "Please. You can have it, you can have it all, just don't kill me!" C: prone, dazed, sickened... and surrendered
A: Dead
B: Very dead.
D: Fleeing...
The remaining rogue, miraculously untouched, panics at the sound of the surrender. He bolts across the room.
Withdraw: provokes from Ophelia (damn reach) at AC 14
DC 16 Will (Fear) save all. Look here if you fail:
This spell afflicts the subject with uncontrollable laughter. It collapses into gales of manic laughter, falling prone. The subject can take no actions while laughing, but is not considered helpless. After the spell ends, it can act normally. On the creature’s next turn, it may attempt a new saving throw to end the effect. This is a full round action that does not provoke attacks of opportunity. If this save is successful, the effect ends. If not, the creature continues laughing for the entire duration.
A strange presence seems to bleed into the area. A faint laughter can be heard, growing louder and louder until nothing else can be heard. The laughter gets into every nook, every cranny - and finally even into your mind till it is all you can do not to laugh along.
Map
One of the men steps forward, and all three produce knives. One even manages a hit on the furiously moving Diene.
attack on Dien for 3 attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21damage:1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 attack on Isama attack:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
Diene takes down A.
Isama: that means you don't have the ability to hit anyone with a 20ft move. You can't charge because it isn't straight line. What would you like to do? Move over to B or D, or cast, or something else?
Both crossbow bolt and cross guard hit the poor fool who thought he could simply tuck himself in behind a post. Somehow the man keeps his head and his footing, and even though reeling backs away from the violent Diene.
Four crossbow bolts flick through the air and into the charging Diene. Each is aimed with keen eye for her vitals; there is little doubt that had the ambush succeeded the outcome may have been much different.
As it is, only the man in front of Diene comes anywhere near hitting; though he comes very near indeed to her eye. A chorus of swearwords fill the air as soon as the crossbows land.
with take 10. per 16 stealth 19 init:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
@Diene: why do you not have a bite?
Clear mechanical description:
We have a surprise round, due to some ambushers.
Diene, Daria and Ophelia see them.
They see Diene and Isama.
Bit confusing, so I'm going to say;
Diene; may act on the surprise round.
Isama; may not act.
Ophelia; may act. She has surprise this round, and if she attacks (somehow, past everyone on the stairway) her targets will be flat footed.
Daria; may act. She has surprise this round, and if she attacks (somehow, past everyone on the stairway) her targets will be flat footed.
Thugs; may act. May only attack Diene or (with penalties for cover) Isama.
Initiative;
Diene, Daria (standard action only)
Thugs (standard action only)
Ophelia (standard action only)
Diene, Daria and Isama (normal round)
Thugs (normal round)
All Pcs (normal round)
Thugs (normal round)
In the highly unlikely event there's another round we'll keep to the last two entries in rotation.
You can push past a friend on the stairway, but that square counts as double for movement. The restricted space means everyone not at the front has +4 cover AC, but takes a -4 penalty to hit.
As Diene slinks down the stairwell, she catches movement out of the corner of her eye; a man with a hand crossbow. Even as she notices the criminal she notes signs of others in hiding.
Diene, Daria (standard action only)
map stealth rolls, perception rolls and init rolls please (no reason...) before I go further with the description. Any precautions, and descent order.
This room hosts an impressive carved wooden stairway that descends from above. A comfortable fireplace flickers without warmth, and a moth-eaten rug hosts equally moth-eaten furniture. Rotting frames filled with tattered canvas cover the walls. The looming stone facade of the Old Wall comprises the room’s western wall.
Through the narrow doorway come glimpses of the room beyond; Polished mahogany walls and floors, a mosaic of some form on the floor. Even further can be seen another room, choked with a thick tangle of irridescent webs.
Note: there are four amulets. i.e. these cultists are apparently mass producing magic items.
Mog-Lathar:
The Dreaming Spider's cult is miniscule and - according to the notes in the book - long extinct. More Mythic Source than demigod, it span its webs in the land of dreams and had only limited impact in the waking world. It granted spells of Chaos, Evil and Trickery to its favoured worshippers, and though it sought to take more power in ages long past it was defeated. A note in the book does indicate Mog-Lathar was ascribed the ability to confer immortality, along with dominance of the Dreams and control of Spiders. "A particularly nasty and insidious evil" notes the author "It is fortunate it never managed to capture enough minds in its dream realm to attain true power."
In addition to minor bric-a-brac and equipment, Daria finds a trove of items.
trove:
4 scrolls of cure moderate wounds
4 doses of antitoxin
16 doses of vials marked with a spider symbol[1]
8 doses of vermin repellent.
4 leather armour
4 amulets shaped like a spider[2]
4 silver holy symbol [3]
4 strange sickles [4]
1 strange needle device (empty) [5]
102gp
three are also bottles of Varisian pear brandy (worth 30 gp each) stashed behind a crooked shelf in the back bar.
Items with footnotes have follow up information below.
A holy symbol of the incredibly obscure spider demigod Mog-Lathar.
feel free to make another knowledge religion roll - presumably with aid another - to make the DC to know more.
#4 Knowledge Engineering DC 15 or Craft DC 20:
This spider legged shape sickle seems to be an incredibly well crafted (masterwork) sickle - with a difference. The leather wrapped handle contains a hollow recess that can hold a single dose of poison. Once filled, the reservoir keeps the blade saturated and viable for up to 2 hours. The first successful attack made with the spider-leg sickle during this time administers and expends the dose of poison.
Filling the reservoir is a full-round action that carries the usual risks of poisoning yourself.
It appears the cultists did not take the time to fill their reservoirs before you attacked.
#5 Knowledge Engineering DC 15 Heal DC 15 or Craft Alchemy DC 10:
A cunningly made injector, consisting of a hollow needle attached to a flexible reservoir. Presumably a way of taking a potion or drug it currently stands empty.
In addition, once the room is revealed it is possible to see there is a staircase going down in the corner of the map.
The last cultist falls - silently.
The room is splashed with red, and filled with debris. In the aftermath a fragment of wall detaches itself from the roof beam and crashes noiselessly to the floor.
Ophelia moves into position a moment before the cultist near Diene is smashed into paste.
The remaining cultist, caught between Isama and Ophelia, seems to be considering something - perhaps fleeing - when Daria's crossbow renders such thoughts moot. Silently snarling something, another wave of dark energy fills the room.
damage:2d6 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3dc 11 will to halve
@Isama; would have to step back 5 ft to cast & talk
Trapped between Ophelia and Diene the backstabber drops to the floor in seconds. Diene's lone attacker takes the opportunity to slash at Diene - but without the ongoing distraction provided by his friend does little more than bruise.
3 damage to Diene
The “invisible” cultist, wreathed in illusory fire and marked by Mia, raises something in their hand - impossible to tell what through the glare - and a wave of negative energy washes over everyone, including the companion facing Diene, who glares hatred at his erstwhile ally as he stumbles from the assault. In the aftermath any invisibility has fled.
9 damage, will dc 11 to halve
It is Silenced, so it does work. Detecting an invisible person in an area of silence is a pain in the proverbial.
That said, 5 ft step precludes other movement so yes; right now, for a very brief moment, they should be in that 5ft area. If they get another action and even just 5 ft again, your chances of finding them are terrible.
Diene demolishes the cultist in front of her as easily as she demolished the wall. Behind her Ophelia steps up and lays into her own opponent.
Meanwhile the attacker Mia and Isama attack seems warded by some magic that deflects their blows, and is miraculously unhurt.
That cultist steps back, vanishing from sight as it moves.
has gone invisible; represented with dashed border
The two cultists Diene is fighting look at each other, then step forward to attack!
In unison they swing their blades. Only the one at the end manages to hit though, the one in the middle obviously worried about Ophelia's weapon.
mechanics:
1 has flanking - and sneak attack. The one in the middle of D and O attack 1:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27dam:1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 attack 2:1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 7 + 2 = 13 confirm attack 1:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
I am, sorry. Went to visit family and somehow don't seem to be able to find time to think on things. Am using the hour before New Years to try to catch up...
@Ophelia: Put there so your circle covers. Good point on the AC.
@Isama: close enough, I think. You can step through Diene's square, but you'll need Acrobatics or something if you want to go through a cultist.
Diene bursts through the wall.
The room beyond shows how the Band comes and goes in secrecy. The house here is built directly into the Main Wall... and someone has carved a tunnel through it. Velvet curtains tied back with filthy gold cord reveal an iron portcullis cast with a webbed motif. Cobwebs drape the
forms of two carved wooden mannequins dressed as robed cultists, which flank each side of the portcullis. More robes hang from hooks, along with a plethora of paraphernalia, mostly occult.
The stone form of a fireplace here suggests this wall is harder to penetrate, but further in the walls look more like plaster.
Diene bursts through the next wall in a shower of plaster and splinters. She shouts a quip - and finds one of the most impressive entrances of her life tainted by a zone of magical silence.
Three cultists turn to look boggle eyed at the ruined wall. Unable to cast anything they raise sickles and descend on Diene. The last - not hearing the destruction, steps out into the coridoor confident his companions have his back.
giving them a surprise penalty. I'd be surprised!
Awesome, but we've had a miscommunication. Let me try a combat map. I've opened it up a bit to make it easier to see where walls are.
The X represents a best guess as to where the chanters are... and also where they are (it was a good guess. Consider yourselves at the bottom of the stairs and take your actions. You can move yourself - I've given edit permission. Xs wil AoO if you try to go past them.
Awesome, but we've had a miscommunication. Let me try a combat map. I've opened it up a bit to make it easier to see where walls are.
The X represents a best guess as to where the chanters are. Consider yourselves at the bottom of the stairs and take your actions.
The sound of chanting peaks, and stops - though no-one appears.
Okay; map. Sound of chanting came from the room 30ft east and 5 ft right of the stairs. Figure you can each count yourselves as having just come down the stairs in any order you want. PCs are up.
