Ditto. Good luck all, and see you around.
Search Posts
Thanks for checking in! I'm still here, also. Summers can get crazy when you have kids. I hope that's all that's going on with our GM.
Thanks Jhessa for helping to organize the loot! I'm back from my vacation. I've removed the items designated for Felix from the loot sheet and adjusted this alias accordingly. If there's anything that is currently in the Bag of Holding, please let me know so I can track that. Also, I just realized that I never added Felix' skill points for his favored class bonus. I'm adding one rank in both Profession (soldier) and Riding to reflect some of the training he's received in Kassen. I'm considering also adding a rank into Handle Animal at a later level to retroactively represent that training, also. Assuming that we can sell here in Kassen, Felix is selling the following:
Yes, I do want Felix to claim the shield. With only four of us continuing on (which I'm pleased about), I definitely want to make sure Felix' AC is strong. Plant Felix in the front to draw the hits as much as we can. I don't know if I will make use of the bashing quality of the shield, but if I do, I won't have the feats to make it really worthwhile right away. I'm not a fighter that gets a feat every time I sneeze, after all. But the +1 enchantment is immediately useful.
No worriest, GM. PbPs always slow down in the summer and around the winter holidays.
Felix is very pleased that Sir Dramott will be traveling with them on their journey. He is eager to talk with him about his decision to put aside his flail and instead focus on a more traditional sword and shield style, just like Iomedae had when she was mortal. But there will be time to discuss that on the road. Instead, he puts his empty soup bowl aside and stands to address the mayor. "I understand that getting word to Vigil is important, and I will not hesitate in that task. However, there are the remains of our fellow villagers that still lie in Kassen's Tomb, as well as others, and their remains need to be respectfully disposed of. "I can talk with anyone that can be sent for this task to tell them what to expect. There are still dangers in that crypt."
Hey gang, I'll be traveling for the next couple of weeks for a family vacation. I expect to be able to post for the most part, but there will be a couple of times that I'm off the grid. GM, feel free to bot me if my absence is holding things up.
"Yes, of course," Felix simply replies to the mayor's request to travel to Vigil. Internally, his concern over his diagnosis of zombie rot wars with his excitement of seeing the world beyond Kassen.
"Mmm, this is really good soup."
Hey DM! I figured it was something like that. One of the things I've learned about PbP campaigns is that they tend to slow down in the summer and around Thanksgiving/Christmas. That seemed counter-intuitive to me at first, but that's when schedules get turned upside down and routines like checking PbP campaigns get interrupted. No worries! I hope the camping is fun!
"Sir, you know of Asar? What about Kassen's other companions? "I think it was the taint of Bhazad Khrar's hammer that allowed him to raise as undead. Kassen's spirit said that he can still feel its pull even in death. It must be very powerful if he wants us to prevent this tribe of orcs to capture it." As the conversation is wrapping up, Felix states his intention to return soon and dispose of the skeletal remains. "In fact, there are still some hazards that remain in the tomb. Anyone from the town that want to go there should at least consult with one of us before returning." If asked immediately, Felix will relay the encounters with the shadow, the giant frogs, and the blue fungus. He gratefully accepts Father Prasst's offer of care.
Felix is thrilled to be back home, and he is self-consciously enjoying the adulation from the other townsfolk. He hugs both of his parents, doing his best to not crush his miniscule mother against his metal armor. When the mayor and other townsfolk begin to notice who is with the returning youth -- and who is not -- his smile slips. When the mayor pulls them into the temple, he indicates to his parents that he needs to go, and offers a mournful nod to his parents to indicate that things to Kassen's tomb did not go as planned, and he needs to let the mayor know. Looking with heart ache in his eyes; “Please, what happened?” Felix takes a deep breath, his weakened sate evident, and tries to summarize. "Our town's founder, Kassen, was interred in the tomb along with his slayer, a man named Asar. Members of an orc tribe called the Empty Hand invaded the tomb to steal pieces of a cursed artifact buried with Kassen and Asar. Asar's grave's disturbance caused him to rise as an unholy undead warrior. When the townsfolk that you sent ahead to prepare the tomb for us arrived, Asar was waiting for them. Dimira and Roldare are the only survivors from that encounter." Felix pauses out of his respect for his slain townsfolk. He fingers trace the symbol of Iomedae's sword and sun across his body. "When the six of us arrived to retrieve the Everflame, Asar's evil had also caused other, lesser, skeletons to rise. We encountered them, plus other dangerous animals from the area. Asar had taken Dimira prisoner, so we worked our way through the tomb to find her. When we reached the innermost depths, Asar was waiting for us. We slew him and his raised minions, but Herskor fell in that battle. "Iomedae and the other gods of Honor and Valor be with him." Felix pauses again, out of respect for his fallen friend.
It probably doesn't matter, but it may be helpful to define 'cairn' in this case. A cairn is rocks piled or stacked on top of each other to act as a monument or marker. It can be as simple as one column of rocks (which is what I've been envisioning), or it can be a huge pile of thousands of stones that tunnels and chambers can be dug out of.
Felix nods at Esgean's suggestion. The plan was already to return, so he had no reason to put aside caring for himself in this case. They need to safely escort Roldare and Dimira home, after all. "I'll be fine after a few days of rest at home," he tells the others. "Rejke too!"
I have returned with numerous tick bites but alive. So there I was, in the temperate jungles of Ohio doing battle with briar, bush, and insect. Could my partner and I make it? It was questionable at times. Finding our way through the undergrowth in hopes of finding water to replenish our dwindling supply and then seeking out enough wood to bring it to a boil before consumption. Obviously, we prevailed. Any undead? Giant frogs? Did you encounter any naïve but well-intentioned holy warriors? Glad you made it back!
"Does anyone know who was buried there?" Felix asks before walking over to inspect the cairn.
Remembering his swollen ankle, and considering that he plans to come back and dispose of the skeletal corpses inside, Felix is very interested in finding a way around this path.
Thanks for the consideration, but I didn't want to hold anything up. I'm glad we're leaving the dungeon and returning to town.
Felix hands the lantern to Kevan. "Here, Sir Kevan," Felix says with a smile. "The mayor gave this to you, so people will be expecting you to bring it back now that it's lit." After Kevan takes the lantern, Felix turns and lifts Herskor's corpse. As they collect Roldare and exit the dungeon, Felix will look for a likely place to bury Herskor in the woods on the way back. If they don't have a way to dig a grave just yet, he'll wrap the corpse in Herskor's blanket with the intent to come back with a shovel. (He's already promised to return and bury the other remains they've encountered in this tomb, after all.) Dimira is anxious as she follows the group. Seeing the remains of everything that you have faced; “You… fought through all of this? You truly are the Heroes of Kassen.” looking to the wear of your equipment and your weary faces; “Thank you for not giving up on me. You had no idea that I was still alive.” "We couldn't assume that you weren't. We had to have hope that you still were, and if it turns out we were wrong, we had to end the evil that caused all this before it killed anyone else."
It's a pretty busy day for me today. I probably won't have time to make any post worthy of saying goodbye to Old Man Kassen, especially since Felix is seeing Jhessa's oath and thinking, "Oh dang, I should have done that!" So don't wait on me to have the party exit the dungeon.
Asar's sarcophagus is here too? From this post: "Moving to the western edge you see this crypt contains the resting place for some of the raiders that attacked Kassen so many years ago. The central sarcophagus has been disturbed, its lid lying broken on the ground in front of it. The corpse of an orc and half-orc laying at the base of it." I'm assuming that the central sarcophagus held Asar. Why would they be buried in the same tomb together if Asar turned against Kassen? I can only speculate. Perhaps Kassen still felt some affection for his old companion. Dimira even said, "He Arrived..." as if Asar was not initially present in the tomb. I took it to mean that Asar arrived in the room. What caused Asar to become undead - and for that matter why are there so many undead in this module? Did we ever figure that out? Again, I can only speculate. I imagine that whatever corruption the hammer had on Asar is the reason he turned undead. Even Kassen's spirit says he can still feel the pull of his fragment. And judging from the fact that the henchman skeletons collapsed when Asar died, it could be that Asar raised them, whether intentionally or not. Why is the Hammer important? It sounds like because it's dangerous? We haven't been told directly. It sounds powerful but what will happen if it is reassmebled? I feel like I'm missing the hook. I don't want to pepper Kassen with questions but I will if we don't have these answers already. He seems like he's open to dialog. Go for it.
Kessan's and Asar's adventuring party recovered a hammer from the evil Empty Hand tribe. They dismantled the hammer into three pieces. Then Kessan and Asar (and the rest of the party) split up. Kessan took one part of the hammer, and Asar took another. I don't know what happened to the third. Perhaps we should ask. Kessan founded our PC's town. Asar -- wherever he went -- became corrupted by the evil of his hammer fragment. Asar came to Kassen to take Kassen's fragment. Both Asar and Kassen died in the ensuing battle. Kassen's townsfolk interred Asar, Kassen, and their two hammer fragments in this tomb. The Empty Hand tribe is now trying to recover the fragments, and they came to Kassen's tomb to steal the two fragments there. When they took Asar's fragment from his sarcophagus, it seems like that disturbance woke up Asar as an undead. Kassen has tasked us with recovering the pieces of the hammer that was stolen from this tomb.
Felix takes the shield and bag (admiring the shield as he does so), and places them respectfully on the ground before he reaches back up to accept his offered scale. "I do have something else to ask about: Asar's remains. Should we put them back in his sarcophagus, or should we destroy his bones? If you think it's appropriate, I can take his sword and armor with us. Perhaps using them to find the other parts of the hammer can bring some sort of redemption."
I assume nobody is going to mind if Felix claims Asar's chainmail and sword? Now that he knows that Asar used to be good (or at least non-evil), he can be convinced that those armaments can be redeemed. Plus, if we're switching to a four person group, I'm going to bump up Felix' defense a bit with a shield, so he'll start using a sword instead of the two-handed flail.
Felix jumps back in alarm at the spirt of Kassen. The various tales of demons and undead Sir Dramott have drilled into him has the young paladin immediately reaching for his flail, but further drills about not harming those who pose no threat stay his hand. Warily, his eyes follow Kassen's towards the remains of the evil skeleton the group defeated. "Asar? Who was he?"
Hey gang. I've started a Loot List for us to track treasure and items that we've found. I don't mind running it, but it's editable by anyone, and I encourage anyone to add or edit as needed. Google Drive is blocked at my work, so I'll really only have time to maintain it during my limited time in the evening. Or on my old phone with it's tiny, tiny screen. I've only added items from this final room and the newly-identified Ring of Swimming in Kevan's pocket. If there's still anything unclaimed not on the list, feel free to add it. DM, would you mind putting the link at the top of the campaign pages or on the Campaign Info tab? Thanks.
"I have it!" Felix proudly holds up the Eternal Lantern. Then he seems to remember something sad. "Um... Herskor let me carry it." With that thought in mind, Felix looks up at the Everflame above the tomb, and then reverently lifts the Eternal Lantern to see if he can capture some of the magical fire inside.
Since they are all together, Felix asks Dimira, "Do you know what is supposed to be here?" He indicates the disturbance at Kessan's remain's feet. "Or who those people are?" He indicates the orc and half-orc corpses.
Felix says a hasty, silent prayer to Iomedae over Herskor's body. "I better go with him, just in case." He pulls out his dagger. "Jhessa, can you cast your light spell on this so we can see?" Once he has a light source, Felix hustles after the wizened halfling. "Kevan! Wait up!"
Unable to stifle a light laugh, Jhessa looks at Felix with a mix of disbelief and awe. "Felix," she says with a touch of exasperation, "how did you not know that you have this amazing god-given gift? Sorry," she says, "but you have healing hands and that's... just amazing! All those bedtime stories about holy warriors and noble heroes turn out to have elements of truth to them after all!" Looking over Dimira's shoulder at Jhessa, Felix smiles sheepishly. "I'm still pretty new at this, and your healing hands have been doing such a great job!" After a moment longer, Felix extricates himself from Dimira, indicating with a nod in Kevan's direction that he's needed elsewhere. Not having found any unholy symbols or anything similar on the undead warrior, he is fine leaving the room. He asks Jhessa to help Dimira. Kneeling down, he picks up Herskor's body as respectfully as he can, and starts to carry his ally to the pool Kevan indicated.
Dealing with his own emotions over Herskor's death, Felix is happy to hug someone else, especially if it provides them comfort. "Shh. It's okay. I don't think there's anything else in here that's a danger. "Roldare is alive, but he's pretty shaken. We'll take you too him very soon. As for the others... well, we've seen a lot of bodies. I'm sorry." After she has a moment to react to that news, he asks Dimira, "Can you tell us what happened? Surely this place wasn't this dangerous the last time Mayor Uptal sent people here."
Looking up from the skeletal horror, Felix refocuses his attention to the sleeping woman. "Sir Dramott can, so maybe I can, too. I'll try." Felix kneels down next to the woman and places one hand on her forehead and the other on her shoulder. "Iomedae, I beseech you for aid," he murmurs.
Oh come on Felix, are you sure you want all that original equipment? Look how well you all did with what you were given. Just leave it behind and move on. lol Felix owns a compass! It's probably not enough to keep him from getting lost, but at least it shows he's trying! Also, a crowbar! Manacles! Many useful applications for those items that Felix may or may not think of! I hope we get to keep the masterwork backpack from the town, though.
I don't know, I quickly scanned through the fight, and we did about 40 points of damage on the guy. Our track record for attack rolls hasn't been great, but we nearly made up for it in this fight. I think every attack against the boss hit, and we even got a crit or two in! We ended it quickly, but we also got sort of lucky with those hits. I've also enjoyed everything up to this point, and I'm looking forward to returning to town (to get our original equipment back)!
Felix watches the undead collapse. He's aware of the other skeletons in the room collapsing also. He briefly checks to see if the sleeping woman (presumably, Dimira) and Herskor are being attended to. Once he is satisfied that they are not being neglected, he refocuses his attention on the skeletal horror lying at his feet. Sir Dramott had related tales of demonic or other corrupting holy symbols or artifacts that could power evils like the one they just defeated. He searches the skeleton -- none too gently -- to try and find any such thing that could drive this evil.
I looked around online before posting to see if casting defensively roll was required for spell touch attacks and could not really find anything. I also did not realize that spells qualify for crits. It's one of those 'rules of omission.' The rule for critical hits doesn't specifically talk about spells. It says that anything that has an attack roll has the potential to crit. It will deal double damage unless it specifies that it does more. There's even a rule (or an assumption based on rules, I forget) regarding crits for spells with an attack roll that don't do direct HP damage. First time running a spellcaster in Pathfinder. Thanks for your patience. No worries here!
You have to confirm it first. But it is a threat . Yes, you're right. I just got excited!
Esgean, that touch attack is a crit! You can roll another d8+2 for damage!
Desperate to get at the undead leader, Felix steps over Herskor's prone form to strike at the half-orc's attacker. "JUSTICE, FIEND!"
Oof, we should probably ignore the skeletons and focus on the big guy. That's Felix' plan, but he has to get through one more skeleton to get to the big guy.
No, Herskor is dead. He took 30 points of damage last round, which puts him at -18, assuming he was at max HP. When you reach negative HP equal to your constitution score, you're dead. Herskor's constitution is 14.
Felix should be going on about how Iomedae's judgement will be swift and righteous, but with Herskor's evisceration... "NO!" ...that's all he can get out before he steps forward and attacks the skeleton in front of him.
“So, Kassen’s heroes have come to fight me again. You will make fine minions in my army of the dead. Come and meet your fate.” "Your time of being a threat to Kassen end today! By Iomedae's Light, I swear!"
Felix steps forward and swings his flail down at the first target between him and skeletal warrior with flames in its eyes.
Feeling abashed that he set off the trap, Felix nods silently and pulls (or pushes!) on the left door while Esgean pushes on the right.
"Whoa!" Felix says after the threat is passed. He smiles at the others as his adrenaline fades. "That was close! Great idea with the rope, Esgean!"
"Smart idea as always, Esgean. Herskor, I think you had the rope?" While the rope is being passed forward, Felix points the way forward for Kevan. "Let's move to the foot of the bridge and see if anything happens just from entering the room." As they pass by, Felix looks into the pit on their side of the bridge to see what's in there.
"I think the pool is worth a try," Felix says, panting through the pain of dozens of bat wounds. He does brave the illusion pool in this room, however, as he tries to wash some of Aldmus' vomit off of his boot. "Herskor? Could you perhaps lead the way, and I'll help Aldmus make it to the fountain?"
Ineffectively shielding his face from the swarm of bats, Felix yells, "Kevan is right! Just go!" But he looks behind him and sees Aldmus spray magical flame on the bats instead. Unable to leave an ally behind, Felix backtracks into the room, waving Jhessa through the doorway as he does so. He reaches Aldmus and grab's the wizard clothing, ready to haul him into the next room. (He considers pulling them both into the pool and waiting the bats out underwater, but then he remembers the horrible visions the pool gave people when they first encountered it.) "Ready?" he asks Aldmus before turning to see what the bats do.
"I should go in first. We did well earlier when one person went in far enough to let the others in, and the rest followed quickly."
|