On what appears to be the true bottom of the colossal cavern the black stone is worked and smooth, hidden at times by a wispy cold fog. Between patches of clear air two symbols appear to be carved into the floor on the western side of the cave. The first is a two-tiered, inverted ziggurat, purplish in color, the second a flaming sun,
a deeper and darker black than the regular stone. Rising from the middle of the cave, a small thin pillar, three by two feet, fashioned of purple stone supports the black-and-violet mass of the enormous obelisk on whose surface you recently stood. On the other side of the cave, water spilling from above collects into a pool. Shadows move among the fog, one in the far corner, two closer, circling the pillar.
Chosen to be a herald and jailer does not necessarily mean you are an ally, but as it said a messenger to bear witness to his works, perhaps his coming release. Only you will recognize the token, and only you will decide if you choose to accept it. Beyond the words heard you feel no immediate sense of danger or evil. That said the words carry their own weight and the voice sounded confident and self-assured in it's assertions. As for the three entities it might be speaking about, you know of at least three, maybe four, present here in the moat house. The first priests excavating and looting religious artifacts, the ghoul priest, the mad priest rumored below, and lastly the presence of the priest Lareth elsewhere in the dungeon. Are any of these one of the three? You cannot tell. Only time and watchfulness will decide what you learn, or when. While evil might try to seduce, tempt, or coerce you, your decisions will remain yours. Only you can decide to get off the train if railroaded into the station...
Cloak of Resistance +1 and the second potion is a Potion of Magic Fang. Filnefillan assists and you determine the first vial is a Potion of Barkskin +2
You might get natural 20's Musami, so please roll for the Reflex and Will Saves. Further the effects are mitigated by level of success or failure, so the results are important.
And don't fret too much, these rolls are more story line events rather than simple disease, damage, and madness checks...
Knocking at the door. Outside stands a 3' tall toadstool in a loose white tunic, black trousers, a small green hymnal perched atop it's cap. Might I interest you in hearing the great and terrible news of our mistress of fungi and protoplasm, the fearsome She-Demon Zuggtmoy?
The day dawns warmer and brighter than it has in weeks, the air moist and thick. You quickly find yourselves sweating as you reach the crossroads near the moat house, one familiar track leading to the moat house, one overgrown path leading onward to the unknown.
The swamp is unusually quiet, the normal buzzing of insects, stray calls of water fowl, and infrequent splashes of unseen wetland beasts are absent, their absence sitting heavily upon you. It feels as though something dark, sinister, oppressive is breathing down your back, the hot dampness giving you shivers, leaving hairs standing on end. Something or someone is watching you.
Here on the doorstep of the moat house the realization that what is waiting below is waking, the darkness senses your coming, and if you don't end it now it will rise up, lash out, and all of Hommlet will bear the price of what must come.
The icon is a pendant shaped like a triangle with the gem forming the shaped reptilian looking eye. The gem is similar to the glowing stones, but more a replica than actually one of the same kind of stones. It is not magical and does not glow like the real stones you have found thus far.
Last call for ordering potions, etc. before we move forward and head back to the moat house. If Zokama is interested she can find either Elmo's home or Black Jays before leaving town.
Sorry for the absence guys, I've been down with some REALLY bad stomach bug since I saw Endgame on Friday. Will try to get something posted this evening and get us back on track.
Also, I have no problem botting Filnefillan, at least through the moat house. After that I am likely to retire him, should he survive, back to Hommlet as a researcher and investigator of the cult and associated issues.
It is late in the day before you all return to Hommlet, Braggi and Filnefillan's wounds making travel slower than anticipated.
The woodcutter is overjoyed at the news the copse of rare woods is cleared of the spider menace, confident he and his village companions can clear any smaller such vermin that might remain hidden among the remaining webs.
He provides Zokoma an ornate composite longbow, the darkwood shaft decorated in swirls and curly-que designs. He also gives her a quiver of durable greenwood arrows, 12 in all. A +1 adaptive composite longbow, the masterwork arrows can repair themselves: When damp and in contact with fertile soil, living greenwood heals damage to itself at a rate of 1 hit point per hour (arrows have 3 HP) even repairing breaks and regrowing missing pieces. If the weapon has the broken condition, it is repaired during the first hour of contact with fertile soil. Greenwood items take only one-quarter damage from fire.
More importantly everyone is that you have accrued enough experience to reach 5th level. This should give you the last boost you will need to return to the moat house, face off with Lareth and his troops, then perhaps deal with the other priest(s) that are excavating the deepest reaches of the structure.
Zokama finds nothing of interest in the den, save a messy splatter that was likely a summoned skunk.
There is nothing of interest inside the dire boar either, save a bit of mashed and pulpy summoned skunk.
The head, horns, tusks, and teeth may be of some small value. If you can skin the beast it's hide may be of slight value, if cured, and there are those who swear by boar testes as remedies for a variety of ailments of dubious veracity.
OOG Knowledge - The dire boar was just that, a dire boar that had grown ornery and cantankerous, likely from those deformed spiders ruining the hunting and foraging across the area.
No this does not so much seem a corruption, but rather a degeneration of species, or perhaps a monstrous predecessor of the more modern species.
Both Braggi and Zokoma land wounding blows to the beast, which serves to anger it further. Pinkish froth spews in sticky globules as it thrashes about, it's overly large hooves wrecking the earth beneath it and kicking up clods of grass and turf in the process. It bellows and spins about, trying to decide which of you is the greater threat.
Initiative Order First Group Acts
First Group: Musami, Dire Hog (Wounded)
Second Group: Braggi (Fatigued/Wounded), Zokama
The gemstone is nearly identical to the previously found stone, similar size, cut, and clarity. It radiates in a manner consistent with the other stone, and once removed from the figurine only the stone continues to possess mystic qualities.
Another option you could have chosen was the dog whistle. Summoned up a Hell Hound and have it breath unholy fire over the swarm.
Nice evil doggie, good evil doggie, burn up all the mean old spiders. No wait, bad evil doggie, bad hell-spawned doggie, spit Fil back out right now. No biting, no humping. Heel, heel, sit, oh no, not on the rug...
It is otherwise a regular swarm, so you can move from the webbing. If I use a capital W in webbing then it would represent a game mechanic and I will post the need for a save, etc. Flavor text is more to give you the willies that spiders are crawling all over, webbing is everywhere, (hair, nose, ears, mouth) and little insects are biting you in delicate places best left unmentioned. And of course laying eggs, always remember the egg laying...
Sorry guys, my ISP again failed to install my service this weekend. I have reached out to a different company, hopefully they will meet the appointment this coming Saturday.
Work has been busy and I've not had much chance to catch a few free moments to post from there. With luck this week will be better, fingers crossed.
Sorry guys, I waited all weekend and still no internetz at home. I really hate my ISP, and the only other alternative in the area costs more and has a restrictive data cap. The less restrictive cap would cost nearly twice what I currently pay.
Hopefully they will get it together this coming weekend. In the interim I will try to put something together and post it from work tomorrow.
Tomi looks at Musami angrily, yelling at him, You aren't my master, you're not my father, this isn't your shop. Leave me alone. You ruined everything. He then runs out of the shop, into Brother Smythe's cabin, and slams the door, hard. The latch is heard locking after. In Musami's hand he holds a half-finished dagger, the blade roughly 14 inches long and wavy, the tang for the hilt slightly bent.
Zokama:
There are few magic items available for sale in town, save when a caravan is in residence. Right now you are limited to what things the Church and Burne have in their inventories, though you might try an individual in town. A Gather Information check in the AM may point you to someone who might have a bow they could be persuaded to part with, providing a 25% check for availability passes.
Navith:
The thrones have been part of the room from the beginning, but were usually draped with a cloth covering which hid the ornate nature of them, befitting their lordly stations. It is likely they were uncovered while greeting foreign dignitaries.
Lord Burne looks to you, a bit taken aback at your sudden boldness. Master Kanhai I believe. I fear we have visitors at the moment, esteemed guests from Celene, gesturing to the elven woman. The council would be happy to meet with you in the morning if it can wait, several members nodding, or later this evening if it cannot. Several frown at this, the hour already passing dinner time. At the moment we are discussing conditions on our borders and the recent passing of our village elder Jaroo. His stone and it's importance are being addressed at this time. He seems to gesture to you, expecting some reply. The guards have stepped a bit closer, still not fully entering the chamber without invitation.
Braggi:
As you wish, Brother Morgan replies. I will leave you to your thoughts and return to my duties in the armory. She moves to leave the sailor alone in Terjon's parlor, then adds, I will look over what we have below, in case something might be best applied to striking at the undead. With a smile and nod she leaves the room.
Filnefillan returns to the inn, takes a quick and quiet meal alone, then retires to his room upstairs, likely intending to study his tomes and prepare himself for tomorrow.
Musami perceives little from the moldy earth smelling western tunnel. The southern moist tunnel has a hollow, cavernous sounding soft breeze and the faint dripping of water.
Navith manages to open the western and centered of the south facing doors, but the eastern passage seems to be partly swollen and stuck.
The two doors that opened appear to front solid stone walls, roughly hewn and nearly flush with the door when closed. A small trip chain pulled on the western portal, but aside from the pin clanking to the floor nothing else sounds elsewhere in the dungeon.
It would have dropped the portcullis loudly if it had not been locked into place by Zokama.
Sorry for the absence folks, the flu I caught over Thanksgiving decided to devolve into a bout of pneumonia. I am once again able to access my laptop and resume posting. Again, sorry for the disruption.
Each character has a pool of Action Points, see the link in the spoiler below.
Action and Hero Points:
Hero Points – Players will not start with any Hero Points but may earn them during the course of gameplay for particular actions or achievements. Characters are limited to a pool of One (1) Hero Point per level, up to a cap of Three (3) Hero Points. Hero Points and there use can be viewed here.
Each Player will receive Three (3) Action Points which can be used to adjust dice rolls or take additional actions as outlined below. Every even level will award the character additional Action Points equivalent to ½ the character's level, 1 at 2nd, 2 at 4th, 3 at 6th, etc.
You can spend 1 action point in a round as a Free Action to add a d6 bonus to a single d20 roll. When using an Action Point to improve a d20 roll, use must be declared prior to the GM's determination of the roll's success or failure.
Activate an Ability – A character can spend 1 action point as a Swift Action to gain another use of a class ability that has a limited number of uses per day. Examples include stunning fist, smite, channel energy, etc.
Take an Extra Attack – When taking a full attack action, a character may spend 1 action point as a Free Action to make an extra attack at the highest base attack bonus. Action points may be used in this way with either melee or ranged attacks.
Spell Boost – A character can spend 1 action point as a Swift Action to increase the effective caster level of one spell by 2. This must be decided before casting the spell, and effects all particulars of the spell as per the adjusted caster level.
Spell Recall – Spellcasters who prepare their spells in advance can spend 1 action point as a Swift Action to recall any spell just cast. The spell can be cast again later with no effect on other prepared spells. Spontaneous spellcasters can spend 1 action point as a Swift Action to cast a spell without using one of their daily spell slots. These uses of an action point can only be done in the same round that the spell is cast.
Stabilize – Any time a character is dying, they can spend 1 action point as an Immediate Action to become stable at their current hit point total.
Filnefillan's fiery blast catches the raging gnoll in the chest, burning away fur and blistering the skin below with ugly patches of pink and black. The glare in the beast's eyes turns a bit glassy, clearly it is only the thing's hate keeping it up and fighting.
Gnoll C realizes his companions are failing to hold the invaders, the band clearly having fallen for Lady Grenl's trap. He ponders the dangers of pressing his attack, firing One Last Arrow:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16 at Braggi, wounding the sailor for Damage:1d8 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10, then turns and runs back the way it came.
Gnoll F labors on against the last directive his leader gave him, Kill the Elf, and he ponderously swings his Greataxe:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 against the wizard's forceful wards, piercing it for Damage:1d12 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12 and blooding his obsession.
Initiative Order First Group Acts
First Group: Navith, Gnoll D
Second Group: Braggi, Filnefillan, Musami, Zokama, Gnoll F
Braggi overextends himself after killing Gnoll B, nearly losing grip of his blade when back-swinging at Gnoll E. With a mix of luck and skill he manages to keep hold of the blade, but fails to strike his foe in the process.
Gnoll E however takes full advantage of the distraction, hefting it's Greatclub:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 and bringing it down across his extended arm for Damage:1d10 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Initiative Order Third Group Acts
First Group: Navith, Gnolls B, D and G
Second Group: Braggi, Gnoll E
Third Group: Filnefillan, Musami, Zokama, Gnolls C and F
I almost took a job in New Braunfels outside San Antonio but had to decline after my doctor smacked me a bit. My CF would have suffered under the allergens I would have to deal with there.
Friends who live there though love it. Hope it all goes well for you.
Sorry all, I'm taking some artistic license with the descriptions of creatures and items uncovered from the dungeon, but they will adhere to the stats as appropriate to Pathfinder.
I'm not doing this to hamper the party, but to liven things up a bit. If every gnoll is a gnoll is a gnoll then things get kind of bland. But if Bristlebacks are different from Longsnouts are different from Dewlapped Howlers then gnoll tribes take on some flavor, and different types working together visually plays up the strange cohesion this cult is creating.
I also changed the image of a quasit, but it followed the racial stats as written on d20PFSRD. I felt something different looking was in order, to play up the alien and unwholesome nature of this particular cult you have discovered.
The bird was roughly the size and shape of a marsh magpie, just over a foot in length, with a wingspan of about twice that, weighing less than a pound.
The ruined serpent nest did not have any intact eggs at the surface, though some may have survived beneath the collapsed back of the nest.
If language dependent does everyone speak Flan? J/K I assume Zokama translated the ditty into Common, though it likely loses something in translation. With the search and checking of the first floor the party will have used 10 minutes of time, 50 minutes remaining.
Also, did Zokama collect the rest of the shattered bird, or just the wing?
Zokama looks over the small gemstones, noting small occlusions and chips which would lessen their overall value, making them out to be worth maybe 3, maybe 4 plates each. They are likely more valuable as mystical components than as ornamentation or trade currency.
The necklace on the other hand appears to be a bit more intricate, older, and well crafted. The pendant does not appear to be something holy, not matching any current church icon she can recall. It is however finely made, very detailed and ornate, and of value beyond the raw materials involved, easily worth 50 plates on the market, perhaps a bit more to a collector of antiques.
As Fil reaches into the bucket to grab another handful of fresh buttery popcorn a trio of long, narrow tentacles grasp back out at him, their cold, slimy touch causing him to panic, freezing in place. The sinewy tubules wrap themselves over and around his fingers, slithering up his hand, finally lashing tightly around his wrist. Slowly the thing in the bucket begins to pull his arm deeper and deeper into the cardboard movie house bucket, to dark depths well beyond what should have been the bottom of the container...
Ostler interrupts before Zokama asks about Otis, allowing Elmo and Fennit to pass into the night and take their journey home. Miss, a word please. Good night Elmo, Fennit. Take the lane right and a right and the third right again boys.
In a lowered tone he mentions Otis no longer lives in town, or even in the area. He and his father had a disagreement two years back, pretty bad they say, and he left town. Elmo took to the bottle a bit, but is good enough otherwise, and he swings a pretty good axe when given the chance. Wiping his hands on his oft carried dish cloth, While he can talk about Otis when he's reminiscing, Elmo tends to get defensive if asked about him directly.
The innkeeper continues speaking as he closes up the desk counter for the night. Elmo hires out to caravans and such from time to time, working a spell to collect enough coin to return home and nurse his habits for a few months. Glancing at the door, He doesn't drink when he's working, and rarely gets any worse than he was tonight. And he truly cares about Hommlet as his brother did before him.
Looking at Zokama, a bit confused, Huh, what? Oh, the buggedy witch. She was already dead, so yeah can you kills what was already dead? We did her good tho, 'cept cut off her head. Otis he don't like to spoil bodies like that. Goes agin' his teachings an such. Let her stand whole before the judge, in the hereafter for all to see, he says.
Zokama detects no magic in Fennit's diseased knees. The bard is beginning to suspect the poor man is falling under the worst ailment of all, old age and infirmity. It may be that the Church, if he allows it, could cure the immediate infections, but his hard life itself has done a bit on him, and likely will continue to do so.
I edited the Loot sheet to go ahead and identify some of the items on the list.
Regarding the letters of credit/on deposit. These writs are a medieval parallel to wire transfers. Important trade coasters or merchant guilds, like the East India Company for example, will offer documents assuring payment of the pro-offered funds without having to deplete the local bank/kingdom of it's coinage or risk the transfer of such goods in distant transportation. The long list of lost treasure fleets attests to why such endeavors were risky, and that was without monsters or magical thefts. Not that I ever Dimension Doored into a tax collector's wagon and Teleported away with a couple of bags of gold and gems...
As these documents are payable to the presenter you have a few options regarding cashing them out:
1) You can appear in person to the kingdom/coaster involved and request the value offered.
2) You can attempt to present them to a similar location or organization and sell the writs to them for an equivalent amount, less a transaction fee. Many kingdoms, churches, guilds, or coasters will trade in such writs to gain leverage or influence over the guarantor.
3) You can hire an agent you trust to collect the funds on your behalf, again for a fee. Lord Burne, Canon Terjon, etc. as possible examples.
The ingots are similar to the writs, they do not actually carry a full coin value in weight, but are more tangible than a scrap of paper. If you have ever noticed in old films or stories of a person biting a coin it is to assure the item isn't plated. The same with merchants maintaining scales and government stamped weights, to alleviate shaving or plating of coinage and devaluing the currency of the realm. The above cash out options are available to ingots, as well as the below suggestions.
1) Ingots can be used as actually coinage, though at a loss of face value according to the current value of exchange, with a small transaction fee.
2) Ingots can be exchanged for more portable currencies, such as trade gems, jewelry, artwork, etc, with a small transaction fee.
