You can't make any sense of the parchments so far, and so are pretty sure you need the third one first.
Anything else before we go to the third location?
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Jaervan and Svetlana?
Kahwen's hit does not injure the beetle's leg (AC too high). The contract devil's AoO does hit.
(the spell is mage armor) Two more retrievers pop out from the ground (now shown on map; that is their full turn) The retriever in the beetle bites at the contract devil.
bold may post:
You journey to the Hall of Imperial Records. Reminder of what the painting looks like: Three-foot-tall bas-reliefs circle the building’s outside walls at ground level, though they are warped and twisted in the crazed painter’s art. Derros stand atop the hall’s steps and seem to punish criminals—all of whom are wearing the robes of Taldan government officials. At the southwest corner of the building, the bas-relief glows a bright white. The same lone figure from the other paintings attempts to sooth a group of frightened children by playing a flute— the notes are actually painted above him on the canvas. You compare the painting you purchased to the actual location, and are able to find the area where the bas-relief in the painting glows. percep:
All of you find a small letter 'I' on the wall in the indicated location, just like the one on the statue's foot at the previous location. None of you are able to play the notes indicated in the painting, but it only takes a few minutes of work to find a street musician who is happy to play the tune for two silver. As soon as the tune is played, another compartment pops open, revealing another bit of parchment with a strange symbol on it. ... pausing for any reactions before we go on to the last location ...
It looks like others have provided you with some good advice. Posts here in the recruitment thread for this campaign are the standard way recruitment happens at this lodge, so it is worthwhile to add this to your list of campaigns.
You can't change a character in the middle of a game. If the final class came out in while your play test character is in the middle of a game, you would finish that game and then immediately update the character. Edit: I should clarify if by 'a game' you mean a group playing through several scenarios together, you would need to update between scenarios.
Since the team suspects that magic might open the compartment, they start out by trying their spells that aren't limited use (cantrips and orisons). Neri's stabilize spell opens the compartment, revealing a rolled up piece of parchment containing a few strange drawings.
The Hive Mind (the worm that walks) and its fake at the mouth of the beetle mouth both appear to be casting a spell. The contract devil gets an AoO on the Mind, since it can't get away with a 5 ft step. bold may post:
Two of the arrows shot by the erinyes hit the beetle's soft insides. They do all the expected physical damage, but no fire damage (fire resistance still applies to the inside)
I'm not sure about whether the new rules are supposed to be in addition to or instead of the existing rules. I've put in a request for clarification somewhere appropriate, and I'll share what I find out as soon as I do. And if I can't share an answer, I'll at least let everyone know that, and let you know the answer when I can. OK, unfortunate news. The new playtest rules are intended to replace the old ones. In particular, the new playtest classes cannot be made at higher level for society play. I can't point you to any public statements saying that, either. I had people try to tell me this should be 'obvious' from the blog post, but I do not find it so. However, I've shared with you the best I can find out (and I don't have any doubts it's the actual answer, even if it's not been made clear in public). Sorry if this is a bit vague, but I'm in a tight spot here in terms of sharing with everyone here. I've given you the best info I can.
Ela knows that although the compartment the team is trying to open is not exactly magical, it does seem like it might respond to magic.
I'm not sure about whether the new rules are supposed to be in addition to or instead of the existing rules. I've put in a request for clarification somewhere appropriate, and I'll share what I find out as soon as I do. And if I can't share an answer, I'll at least let everyone know that, and let you know the answer when I can.
Bagurm thinks that the fact Aroden is using divine power may be important here.
Helgar and familiar cannot see the new enemy, although the summoned devil can. The devil identifies the new enemy as a retriever, an evil construct. In addition to all the usual construct stuff, it can send out damaging magical rays from its eyes. The summoned devil really makes it appear that the beetle should rethink its snack choices... (all attacks hit) The team now has enough information to realize that the outside of the beetle, including the rays, is incredibly tough, but the inside is much more vulnerable. The devil also takes acid damage for being inside the beetle at turn start. Helgar is still up.
The team convinces some passersby to help them. They point out that the figure who fails to help is Aroden, and that the moon images must be referring to Groetus. The painting shows the once-beautiful statue stares back transformed, her visage twisted into a demonic snarl. Derros torment cowering prisoners in the painting’s background. Brandishing a radiant holy symbol, Aroden fails to fight them off.
It looks like Furen did not move on the map. I do not think she can get all the way to the bug's mouth, though. The beetle reaches down with its mouth to try to eat the contract devil.
The contract devil is now inside the mouth, and sees both the actual worm that walks and another enemy who are inside the mouth. He is also standing in a pool of goo he strongly suspects might be acid. Two of the beetle's legs move, slaming into the ground. Kahwen and Omrax are near where the legs slam down, and must make DC 19 reflex saves or fall prone. Helgar is up.
Jaervan's arrow does not hit. (to avoid frustration, I'll let you know that was nowhere near hitting; in fact, Jaervahn's arrows could only hit a beetle leg on a roll of 20, and still would not be able to do much damage at all) Furen and Omrax buff their allies and reposition themselves. Svetlana begins to summon help.
The error was probably because of an extra space in the second 'Guide'. Copying and pasting URLs on the forums often do that...
Try the link near the bottom of the top text block here.
The team notices that something looks a little off in the area right under the letter 'I' on the statue's foot that the team discovered before. Because it's been several months, I want to remind the team of this post. You may try the two knowledge religion checks again, or use diplomacy to try to get someone around you to help you out.
poke poke...
It takes a bit of time to locate Garvin, but once you find him still at the prison, he quickly takes care of acquiring the paintings for you. To keep things moving, I will assume that you start with trying to find a clue at the statue just outside the prison. I need a perception check from everyone to look carefully at the statue. Because this check is significant, I will give you a chance to roll yourselves rather than bot it.
Kahwen notices that his dart just goes through the enemy he was shooting at. Assuming that Helgar tells everyone what he notices so that everyone else gets a bonus to their save, Kahwen knows the dart went though because the enemy he can see is an illusion. (the illusion did all the same spellcasting motions as the real one) Helgar and the Contract Devil know the enemy cast mage armor. (??? delays) bold may post:
The response above was to a completely different question. That was about being a lot she game. This recent question is about convention FCFS game. To be on the convention FCFS spreadsheet, in general we don't allow reserved seats.
Unfortunately, it's very unlikely we could get this changed. When I requested permission for us to run Bonekeep in PbP, I suggested that we use the same time limit as we do for multi table specials, but that was considered too generous. The argument I was told was that almost no in person groups do more than half the dungeon. It was difficult enough to get the permission that we have that it is very unlikely I could get more, and asking may use up more goodwill than it is worth. If it helps mitigate the problem at all, the GM can choose which rooms the team goes through, if that could lead to a better experience.
The contract devil's fireball goes off over where the chosen enemy appear to be. Both the devil and Helgar notice that the enemy is actually located 15 feet further into the beetle's mouth. That is still in range of the fireball, though.
The worm that walks makes its save and takes half damage. The beetle appears to have been damaged by the fireball inside it, also. Even where it is soft inside it appears to have fire resistance. The worm that walks casts some sort of spell on itself. Kahwen is up. status:
Helgar, I need a will save from you and from any of your minions who it makes sense to make such a save.
Based on what Anya and Neri have remembered, the team realizes that they will need to bring the actual paintings with them to the locations.
When you go talk to the painter again, he tells you that Garver, the man Hestia sent with you, can aquire the paintings from prison authorities for 1 GP each.
The team is unable to find any clues at any of the locations.
Helgar, with his scorpion's help, figures out that the creature is the 'brains' of the symbiotic thing you are fighting. It's a human worm that walks with wizard levels. It has strong damage reduction, is immune to critical hits, disease, flanking, paralysis, poison, and sleep. Helgar is still up.
Unfortunately, there are no knowledge checks possible for the beetle, because it has no actual stat block. The creature standing in the beetle's mouth could have bits known from knowledge:arcana or knowledge:dungoeneering. You may try both, if desired.
The blueprints stolen from here are the only possible ones left. The gnome suggests that the paintings themselves might be the key to finding what you need. (how you would ever guess that without hints I have no idea...)
Helgar
Helgar is up first. The beetle is up in the air, so you can't just climb into its mouth. The beetle's mouth is open, and a creature is standing at the edge of that mouth. The six circles on the map are the beetle's legs. You think that it's possible damaging the legs could cause the beetle to fall over. (this won't be quite a normal encounter due to the size of the beetle.)
An enormous beetle the size of a war galley rears its insectile head in this canyon. Massive, chitinous plates cover every inch of its mighty frame, save for its gaping, toothy maw, which opens into the fleshy and tunnellike stomach of the beast.
Queck answers Neri's question about what buildings the Ismacco family were involved in the construction of. "“The construction of the entire Swift Prison was headed by Ismacco engineers and I’ve been asking the city to destroy that Groetus-festooned statue in front of the prison for years. They also built the Imperial Hall of Records, the Admiralty Citadel, and the Harbor Watch; laid the stone that makes up the square around Pharasma’s Pulpit; and built retaining walls to shore up some of the ruins at Quickfall Abbey.”
“They ransacked our guild and stole ancient city plans—not to mention
To keep things moving, I will assume that one of you asks what the Crypt of Fools is, and where it can be found. "The Crypt of Fools is a secret graveyard, long fallen from use, where traitorous families were buried, or in some cases re-buried, to scrub their stain from Taldan history. The entrance lies under an ancient fountain hidden somewhere below Old Cassomir, though the knowledge of its exact location was lost some time ago and finding it presents a bit of a problem. A legend among engineers tells of a series of hidden clues within three Cassomir monuments. These clues yield three locations which, when triangulated, give the location of the surface entrance to the Crypt of Fools; they also show the combination required to unlock the entrance. Look for old buildings built by the Ismacco family, whom we’ve long suspected used the Crypt of Fools as the base of their heinous operations after it fell from use.”
Ela, Anya, and Specter all damage the leader, who falls over, dead. The gnome engineer introduces herself as Queck Majet. She thanks you for rescuing her and the other engineers who remain in the building. She explains that about an hour ago, more cultists left with six captive engineers— the six engineers who are most knowledgeable on the subject of ancient Cassomir construction. What questions do you have for her?
The enemy is unable to resist Ela's spell. The enemy is dazed, so takes no actions. The party is up again. status: enemy -6 HP, shield of faith
After 1 hour of travel, the trail leads into a deep canyon. Along the way, you see various ways that Deskari’s death has brought ruin to his kingdom. In the distance, demonic servitors of Deskari tear each other to pieces in a battle for supremacy, paying no mind to you as you pass by. The once-mighty fortresses of the Rasping Rifts have already begun to crumble to ruin. A thick layer of insect husks blankets the floor of the canyon, crunching underfoot as you walk on the ground and leaving clear footprints like snow. Swarms of insects fill the air up above the ravine. Just in front of you is a sharp bend in the ravine. Anything particular you want to do before going around the corner? Also, please place yourself on the map we will be using after you go around the corner. It's the first map after the rolling macros; your icons need to go into the blue box that is revealed.
Ela knows the spell is Shield of Faith on herself, and can indeed shoot the remaining enemy. As noted earlier, the blue heart is the gnome who the attackers were tormenting. (on the map so you know where you could have safely used AoOs on the enemies who were nearby) The enemy does not immediately fall from the grease. Anya's acid does a little more damage. status: enemy -5 HP, Shield of Faith Ela, Neri, and Dass still to act.
Dass makes sure orange won't torment any more gnome engineers ever again. Anya, I misread something so your splash of acid does hit the enemy on the catwalk.
The only remaining enemy, who is up on the catwalk, casts a spell of some sort. The party is up again. status: red -3 HP
Anya and Bagurm miss. Dass is up. |