Sadly Nate's guess is correct. I'm sorry, folks, but I have to admit defeat on running this game. I just don't currently have the time and have no idea when/if I will :(
Thank you all for your great playing, and good luck on the boards!
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Hi all. I apologize for my recent disappearance without notice; it's incredibly inconsiderate of me. My RL circumstances aren't affording me free time at the moment, so much so that I'm withdrawing from most if not all of my PbP games as a player. I hope to be able to keep this game going, but I won't be able to update until the weekend of Aug 18th. Hopefully at that point I'll have a better handle on whether or not it's going to be feasible for me to regularly update this game going forward. Again, my sincere apologies for leaving you all high and dry (or buried and filthy) for the past few weeks :(
Luna's arrow sails (very) wide while Ten's dagger hits home, scraping a long fissure in the strange beast's hide as it sails past. Moments later Auric skewers the darkmantle with another arrow and it goes limp, its forward momentum carrying it another 10 feet before it crashes to the cavern floor.
And the long-awaited, not-particularly-exciting update is posted! Darkmantle #2 has taken 10 damage and is currently in mid-air occupying the northern square adjacent to Ten. I moved both Ten and Auric forward on the map per their posts. NPCs remain outside of cave behind Astra.
Hi folks - I should be able to update gameplay sometime tomorrow.
The remaining darkmantle is obscured but still discernible at the edge of Ten's light, lurking among the stalactites.
Yeah, my work is crazy busy as well, and probably will be all summer :( But I'm going to do my best to keep up with this game every weekday, which hopefully means between all of us we'll keep the momentum going :)
Sorry for the lapse - I'll be updating gameplay tomorrow.
Tenebris's dagger finds its mark in the darkmantle's body as Auric walks past Luna and around Astra's illusory wall, as even with her warning he's unable to will his eyes to pierce through the illusion. His rapier strikes true, and the creature lets out a cry of pain.
Will saves vs illusion: Will DC 15
Luna's follow-up shot misses low, sailing across the cave where it can be heard to shatter against some far wall.
Knowledge (arcana) DC 17:
The creature is a darkmantle, a subterranean magical beast of animal intelligence that disguises itself among stalactictes so as to drop down onto unsuspecting prey that passes beneath it. They are clumsy fliers that latch onto prey with hooked tentacles and crush them to death. Knowledge (arcana) DC 22:
Darkmantles can also summon darkness as a spell-like ability once per day. GM Rolls:
Luna's arrow finds its mark, striking the tip of the nearest questionable stalactite and deflecting off to fall to the floor. The rock definitely moves this time, flinching away from the strike. Auric's arrow swiftly finds its mark as well, sticking solidly in the "stalactite," which emits a mewling cry of pain!
Creeping forward further into the chamber, Luna's low-light vision allows her to see an occupied bedroll at the very edge of Ten's light. Perception DC 20:
The tips of two of the stalactites near the center of the chamber seem... unnatural. In fact, you'd swear one of them just twitched!
Hi folks - I'll try and get an update posted by this afternoon.
The party continues into the caverns, traveling southwards through the twisting tunnel at Venia's slow pace for over forty minutes. There are no further signs of inhabitants, demonic or otherwise, until another large cavern is reached. A turn in the tunnel brings you into a cavern from the west. Roughly 35 feet wide and stretching into darkness ahead of you, stalactites hang down from the ceiling high above. The walls of this high chamber have been carved into stone figures, life-size depictions of armor-clad crusaders staring mutely at you from the rock, their faces sad and somber.
Durn work. I'll update gameplay later tonight.
From this encounter you received the following to distribute amongst the party:
Aravash and Gwerm both nod their agreement, Gwerm obviously pleased by Auric's decision.
I'll be moving gameplay forward deeper into the caverns in about 2 hours, as I'll have the free time then. Apologies if this cuts anyone out of the scene, but I figure better to move along while we can than to get stuck waiting on me.
Gwerm harumphs and enters the main temple while Venia sheathes her sword and sits back down. A few moments later 'Fyfe' fades away, presumably back to wherever he came from. A thorough search of the rest of the temple reveals nothing further.
An examination of the main temple reveals no additional exits. Beneath the dust the altar and its immediate area are covered in soot and scorch marks. Just below the top of the altar there is a small stone drawer. In the ashen remains of the huecuva a gold ring is visible.
If you open the altar drawer: This drawer is filled with shattered glass and stained with dried liquids. In the very back there are two intact vials which are easily discerned as potions of cure light wounds with the appropriate magics.
FYI I like using google translate to post language equivalents for non-Common (Taldane) speech. I'm using this language conversion list that I've shamelessly lifted from Nate, link and all.
Still reeling from the dog's savage attack, the huecuva doesn't see Auric's sword coming. The rapier pierces through the creature's spine at the base of it's skull, severing it's head, which falls screaming to the ground. A moment later the cursed dwarf immolates in green flame, and within seconds there is nothing left of it save a pile of greasy ash.
Hi everybody. For the next few weeks my work/life balance is going to be very out of whack from the norm; I'll do my best to get to this game every day, but if I miss any days, this is why. I apologize for the disruption - my hope is that by the end of June I'll regain some equilibrium and be back to my regularly scheduled posting.
Perception DC 20: You hear Gwerm's muffled shouts from the other side of the door, but can't make out his words.
I see now the many reasons to use spoilers for the results of certain checks and have players roll them, not the least of which is the amount of time it saves the GM! Going forward I'll use this device instead of making rolls for folks and spoilering each character's results.
"Aravashnial! Can you enchant weapons, even for a moment?" "I cannot!" the elf shouts above the huecuva's scream. "But that does not mean I cannot assist!" The elf takes a step backwards and grabs a small bag from his belt, using it to trace complex patterns in the air while intoning lengthy arcane syllables.
Spellcraft DC 16:
You recognize Aravash's spell as summon monster I. Or Knowledge (arcana) DC 20: You recognize Aravash's spells as being some variant of summon monster, though you can't determine what version.
Ten pushes through the thick dust coating the weapon and he feels cold metal against his fingertips. At that moment a startling shriek fills the air and a fierce gust of wind blows through the chamber, slamming shut the stone door to the entrance hall. As you recover from your momentary shock at the sudden turn of events, you see that the dust in the room remains undisturbed. You also realize the room is now lit by Tenebris's magical light rather than the strange green light. You soon notice the green light is not gone, however; it now shines out from the cowl of the dwarven corpse. The figure rises with a dry creaking, its hood falling back to reveal eyes burning with green flame that stare hatefully from desiccated flesh. The creature emits an unintelligible scream, green witch-flame engulfing it skeletal hands as it raises them into the air.
Astra:
Given the location you're fairly certain this creature is a huecuva, the risen corpse of a heretical cleric who blasphemed and renounced their faith before meeting death. Such creatures are known to possess a stronger will to resist the effects of positive energy, and to be resistant to weapons which aren't magical or silver. You have no idea why it's burning with green flame.
GM Rolls:
Initiative:
As everyone moves further into what is now obviously a temple, Venia sits on one of the benches adjacent to the door to the entrance hall while Gwerm lingers at the water basin. Aravash remains by Astra's side. Meanwhile Ten squints at the hammer and the dwarf. They are both buried too deep in dust to pick out any more details, though he's certain the dwarf hasn't moved.
Ten steps into a 20 foot by 20 foot room lined with broken stone benches, the green light of the cavern pouring in to fill it. The air is cold and stale, with thick layers of dust covering the floor, benches, and a large altar at the far end of the room. The halfling sees a stocky, hooded figure seated on one of the benches along the western wall, facing the altar. It's covered with a thick layer of dust like everything else, but by its dimensions and the wisps of grey beard hair he spies hanging from the cowl, Ten believes it was once a dwarf. He also notices the lump of an object beneath the dust on the floor in front of the altar - a warhammer.
GM Rolls:
Tenebris can find no signs of traps or locks on the interior door, and giving it a test pull it begins to open with little resistance. The three survivors huddle up behind Auric at his behest. Seeing the confines of the chamber, Gwerm remains scowling just outside the entrance. Venia eyes the bench along the wall while Aravash obviously wants to say something, but is biting his tongue.
Not sure if the Kn. Religion statement means we should roll that to know more or just that we automatically know the above information because we've invested at least one rank into the skill and it's considered common knowledge? It means you know the information due to the skill specified. If your characters are able to Take 10 on a roll and doing so would succeed, I assume success. If there are tiered levels of success that a Take 10 can't reach, then I'll roll. In the case of knowledges and tiered DC levels, if you can Take 10, you'll automatically know whatever info that gets you, and I'll roll to see if you know additional (higher DC tier) info. You can't Take 10 on a knowledge skill in combat unless you have an ability that allows you to do so. If you're engaged by any enemies when you become aware of them (basically if you couldn't initiate an ally-only surprise round if you wanted to) you can't Take 10 to determine what they are or their abilities. If creatures are peaceful, or they're not aware of you and combat hasn't been initiated, it's treated as a tiered DC Take 10 scenario. I'll always try to include reflexive skill checks for you in my posts whenever possible (and I remember to). Y'all should still feel free to make your own checks on stuff - for instance, if you want to make a knowledge check on something that your character is curious about and I haven't provided one. If I've made checks for you in a GM spoiler that have failed, I'll add that as an ooc comment to my post.
Ten studies the basin under his magical light and divinations while the others talk amongst themselves. The water is very clear - probably due to having gone a very long time without disturbance. For some reason the otherwise ubiquitous green light doesn't seem to illuminate the basin, though neither it (nor the green light) detect as magical.
Astra, Luna, & Ten:
You know it's customary for many religions to have blessed (or cursed) water available near the entrance to their temples. Ten: Such water would not detect as magical, but would possess an alignment aura discernible to those who can perceive such things.
Apologies for the delay, I'll have a gameplay post up this morning.
Astra passes the blind elf off to Venia and moves to aid Luna. The sisters strain against the door to no initial avail; however, upon gathering themselves and making a concerted effort, they pull the reluctant stone portal open. As the strange green light floods through the doorway, the portal voices its discontent with a grinding rumble that echoes through the small antechamber revealed within. 5 feet wide and 10 feet long, this chamber has a stone bench lining the south wall. At the far east side of the room a basin of shadowy water sits atop a stone pedestal. A stone door engraved with the image of Torag's hammer stands to the north.
Luna presses her ear to the cool stone of the door but hears nothing. The door has a simple handle to pull, with no signs of a lock, though upon giving it a tug it appears to be stuck fast.
GM Rolls:
You proceed into the cavern, its ceiling rising up thirty feet above your heads. Once inside you see ruins of collapsed outbuildings - now little more than rubble - to either side of the bunker which bears Torag's hammer. The bunker and rubble almost fill the cavern, with little more than five feet of space remaining clear on either side of the structure; a stone door is visible on the west side of its front. The sickly green light that fills the cavern has no visible source, as if the air itself is luminescent. Astra:
You know that the city of Kenabres stands above several layers of underground chambers: old catacombs and sewers that riddle the rock. The city’s explosive growth during the First Crusade saw the construction of more of these tunnels than would ever see use, and today they’re rumored to be home to outcasts, pariahs, and even "mole people" - creatures that have crawled up into them from unknown depths. It may that you have found your way into a part of this largely forgotten municipal substructure, and that this building is a remnant of Kenabres's aggressive downwards expansion during the First Crusade.
Added a Party Loot spoiler to this profile and included the details for the 4 scales. I'll add the more mundane loot when I get a chance.
You travel forward along a winding route for a half hour at the best speed you can manage (given Venia's leg and Aravash's blindness) before reaching a junction. To the north, a 5-foot-wide opening in the wall leads into a cave filled with a soft but unseemly green light, while the tunnel continues south. Luna & Ten:
From the tunnel you can see the cavern holds a 20-foot-tall building, a bunker-like structure with no windows, its walls of worked stone blocks. A 10-foot-long carving of a hammer decorates the building’s facade. The source of the green light isn't evident.
Ten:
You recognize the hammer symbol as that of the god Torag, Father of Dwarvenkind - a stoic and serious god who values honor, planning, and well-made steel. GM Rolls:
Aravash nods in approval as the party begins to move forward again with Luna and Tenebris in the lead. The scouting pair advance down the passage and shortly come to another small chamber. Several mounds of rock lie in heaps in this cavern, recently fallen from the walls and ceiling. Now and then, bits of dust settle from cracks in the stone above. Amid the rubble, Ten spots a now-familiar glint of silver. Ten / Fourth Scale:
As you pick up this scale, you see yourself empowering your shortbow with your ideals of good, while uncharacteristic thoughts on the imprtance of adherence to laws tug at your mind. GM Rolls:
NPC bickering posts now complete. Feel free to respond :)
Ten returns with the party's light to find Venia waiting with a drawn dagger and Gwerm huddled in a corner. The woman nods to the halfling and sheathes her blade while Gwerm stands and straightens his attire.
A scale doesn't have to be in hand to use, just on your person. Activating one is a standard action. When I have the time I'll add a loot list with item details to either the campaign page or this GM profile.
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