Apologies for my absence. Unexpected company over the holiday coupled with 48 hour stomach flu/food poisoning has kept me incommunicado. Catching up today.
Search Posts
Sorry guys. Had some unexpected come in town. Will get a post up soon. Happy New Year.
Sorry guys. Had some unexpected come in town. Will get a post up soon. Happy New Tear.
Will get updated today. Family in town and work has had me busy.
Rhyol moves to nearest crystal and smashes it with a fiery fist! The blue crystal breaks into hundreds of tiny shards and falls to the ground! It appears the cyclone lessens ever so slightly! Jamila turns and darts off after the next nearest crystal! Octaris finds another crystals and blasts it with water, destroying it as well!
Lady Mae decides her companions may need some help and scurries down the tree and heads toward Janira! Janira continues to inspire the party while she reaches into her pack and hold a flask of alchemist's fire out to Lady Mae!
As the group follows Janira's directions and enter the cave, you note that the cave entrance is only about a 5 feet wide crack that extends 20 feet into the rock before widening into a broader tunnel. Survival DC 15:
As yo move deeper into the tunnel, you notice several footprints in the soil left by a web-toed humanoid who traveled this way only hours before. As the sounds of outside fade away, you begin to notice sounds of water dripping from stalactites and from somewhere deeper in the cave, the distant rushing of underground streams The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent fungi that provide dim light. A short distance further, and you begin to notice petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls. The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies a small bundle of cloth.
Richard and Selkania examine the jury-rigged pipe, finding nothing remotely magically about it. Richard is fairly certain the cap could be removed either brute force or finesse tinkering.
Hope everyone had a Merry Christmas and nice holiday. Finally getting a chance to take breath after running around to a half dozen holiday celebrations and spending a quiet day at work sounds ironically relaxing. Hopefully it stays slow and I'll get us moving by lunch.
Sorry for the delay, holiday celebrations have kept me busy and exhausted! Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays, everyone!
Uriah finds the crawling arachnids too much for him, and gets a sickening pit in his stomach as he runs out of the swarm! Once Uriah is clear of the swarm, Genryl tosses a flask at the knot of arachnids! Once again, the toss is off target and only splashes the seething mass of spiders! The swarm of spiders continues crawling south, overrunning Kargath, crawling up his legs and biting him!
Despite several obstacles and wrong turns, the party is able to continue making good time and manage to make fair time through the forest. Eventually, the dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.” As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth. The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!” As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group. Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.
Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas, everyone! Sorry for the slowness in posting, the holiday celebrations since Friday have left me to busy/exhausted to get in front of a computer.
Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays! Sorry for the delay, half a dozen holiday gatherings kept me busy, and exhausted!
Checking the room to the south, you find it empty and may have once been used as a storeroom, but its metal shelves are now haphazardly arranged and draped with thick cloth or metal plating. The result is a claustrophobic warren of passages throughout the room. Nothing of interest is found in the room. To the west, you can see a tight corridor the leads back deeper into the warren of rooms, while nearer, you see the southernmost of the large tube-like machines protruding from the wall of rubble has been significantly damaged, but some sort of jury-rigged cover has been affixed to the twisted end. Crusty strings of some sort of glistening residue hang from the edges of the tube’s cover.
Once the party is ready, Janira leads the party through the forest. Along the way As the group continues, you find trails blocked by fallen objects,
Janira frowns in frustration, "These obstacles are slowing us down. If anyone could help up find alternative routes, it would help us travel faster."
Janira comes over and examines Traianus's wounds. "Here, let me take care of those wounds." She draws out a wand and taps it to the paladin.
Glancing up at the sun's position, she says. "As soon as everyone is ready, we need to get a move on. We're losing daylight."
Lady Mar removes herself from the fray and climbs a tree! Kargath tosses a flask, but it misses!
The bottle of acid flies long, breaking open and merely splashing a bit on the spiders! Genryl grabs a flask of his own, and cocks back his arm, ready to toss it once his companion is clear of the swarm!
Neuthro kicks and stomps at the snakes, but they slither out of the way! Makon, on the other hand, brings his axe down right in the middle of the pile of snakes, chopping several in half! The effect is immediate as the remaining snakes recoil from their dead brethren, and the swarm disperses moments later!
"Good job everyone! I must say, you all handled yourselves admirably!" Janira exclaims as the snakes slither off.
Son of Cayden lashes out with his whip and lays open a few of the bigger snakes!
Ayla flings another flask at the western swarm, hitting it directly once again! The swarm takes enough casualties, it disperses!
Rhyol tries attacking the cyclone, but find it all for naught. Ember: Seeing Rhyol's ineffective attack, you think shattering the crystals will have the desired effect
KN: arcana or geography DC 30:
You believe the android's comment about the Dominion refers to the Dominion of the Black, an obscure reference to places, phenomenon, organizations, or possibly even regencies from a distant part of space. When the party searches the room the other four androids emerged from, you find this room’s shelves are relatively bare, with a few strange
Examining the tubes, you find they goo tubes. There are 155 goo tubes left here in all. The strange writing is in Androffan, and if translated the words claim the contents to be all manner of concentrated flavors—flavors that the tubes haven't preserved particularly well. The food here is still viable, it just tastes foul.
Lady Mae fires an arrow at the spiders, but finds the weapon too big to do much damage. Janira calls out, "Weapons are ineffective against so small of creatures! Use alchemical flasks or spells!" Ayla tosses a flask of acid at the western swarm, landing it almost dead center! The swarm writhes as many of the spiders are burnt to nothing! The western swarm continues to crawl closer, while the northern swarm overtakes Uriah, crawling over him and biting!
Janira continues to inspire the party!
Still need another?
While waits, the flaming snakes move forward, and attack the first foe they come to, Traianus!
Janira continues to inspire the party!
@Traianus: Yeah, for sure you can do that! Son's action economy looks spot on. @Mar: Don't worry about the 50% more damage, I'll calculate it.
Makon sees the snakes, but holds a moment to watch what his companions do! Neuthro grabs a flask and tosses it at the snakes. The glass vessel lands in the dead center of the swarm and explodes, washing flames over the creatures! Traianus beckons his familiar and gives the bird a flask of fire! Mar Leigh tosses another flask of fire and lands it among slithering snakes as well! "Well done recruits! Keep at it!" Janira calls, then begins a rousing tale about slaying a dragon! Tareal joins the fray and tosses yet another flask. This one is a little long and passes over the swarm to explode on the backside and merely splashes a bit if fire on the creatures.
Seeing the swarm, Uriah darts forward and spews a fan of flame from his hands! The spiders spread in all directions avoiding much of the fire before quickly coalescing into a single mass again! Janira begins singing a rousing ballad about courageous knights fighting a dragon!
Holiday wise I'll be pretty busy the 22nd-27th, then again the 29th-31st; may not post as actively during those periods. No worries. I suspect most of us will be spotty of the holidays.
As Rhyol opens the last door, sparks start emerging from the crystals in each room! Anyone in the main room notices a lightning pattern growing within the cyclone and a sensible charge fills the air! Within the last room dragon statuettes made of multicolored crystal hover in this room. Its walls, floors, and ceiling are covered in a hovering layer of small crystal fragments. In the center of room hovers an identical blue crystal, arcing wo1 th electricty. Once the final door is fully open, the crystals in each of the rooms of the tower buzz and hum with electricity, sending arcs into the air as spectral djinn move about the central area! Rolls:
KN: religion or Perception DC 25:
You recognize the djinn and lightning as a manifestation of some sort of haunt! You also recognize that the haunt can only be damaged at the cyclone, which is its true source.
KN: planes DC 18:
You realize this haunt is a resonant effect of Ranginori’s power rather than a remnant of tormented souls, it does not take damage from positive energy—instead, it takes damage from spells with the chaotic, earth, evil, fire, lawful, or water descriptors , as well as from the physical attacks of Ayrzul’s faithful (such as Krakos).
GM:
The following morning before dawn, everyone meets at the city gates and heads out of the city. The first day of the journey is across the Cairnlands and is uneventful with Janira pointing out various landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the way. After a full day's travel, the party stops and makes camp for the evening. The passes pleasantly around the campfire with stories and tall tales being traded until late into the night. Rising before the dawn the following morning, the party starts off again, and soon finds yourselves entering a forested region. As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.” Most of the trees in this section of the forest have trunks that are too big for any creatures to share their space. Sporadic patches of light undergrowth provide areas for creatures to hide while restricting movement for those passing through. A large rock outcropping to the east rises nearly 20 feet above the forest floor, and a small sinkhole to the northwest drops off sharply, descending to the ground 10 feet below. Around noon, Janira stops the party to take a bearing. While she peers at the wayfinder, the party begins here to soft rustle that gradually gets louder. Looking up, you see a swarm of snakes coming your way! Rolls:
GM:
The following morning before dawn, everyone meets at the city gates and heads out of the city. The first day of the journey is across the Cairnlands and is uneventful with Janira pointing out various landmarks such as siege towers, distant mountains, or distinct flora and fauna along the way. After a full day's travel, the party stops and makes camp for the evening. The passes pleasantly around the campfire with stories and tall tales being traded until late into the night. Rising before the dawn the following morning, the party starts off again, and soon finds yourselves entering a forested region. As the party progresses deeper into the forest, the trees towering overhead begin to shield most of what remains of the day’s sun and the vegetation beneath grows denser. Janira pauses a moment and pulls out an intricate silver compass emblazoned with the Pathfinder Society logo: the Glyph of the Open Road. “I received this wayfinder when I successfully completed my Confirmation. Should we be successful on our journey, you will get your own as well.” She flips open the device and holds it in front of her; the initials J. L. are engraved into the inside of the device’s lid. After studying the compass inside for a moment, she remarks, “We’re on the right path. We need to keep heading northwest past those large rocks up ahead.” Most of the trees in this section of the forest have trunks that are too big for any creatures to share their space. Sporadic patches of light undergrowth provide areas for creatures to hide while restricting movement for those passing through. A large rock outcropping to the east rises nearly 20 feet above the forest floor, and a small sinkhole to the northwest drops off sharply, descending to the ground 10 feet below. Around noon, Janira stops the party to take a bearing. While she peers at the wayfinder, the party begins here to soft rustle that gradually gets louder. Looking up, you see two swarms of spiders coming your way! Rolls:
As the party moves to the next room, you see he shelves of this library hover and hang from the walls at a variety of artistic angles. Each shelf contains a minor magical effect that directs gravity toward its back, both preventing the contents from tumbling out, as well as preventing the books from degrading over time. Most of the knowledge contained in the volumes here is esoteric and extraordinarily specific. Volumes with titles such as Breathing, Volume XI: Concerning the Respiration of Mephits and Fruit of the Forest of Oils: A Treatise on the Safe Harvesting of Unknown Alchemical Reagents Suspended in Water are common. Among the sea of knowledge, you can find a few more basic volumes that are of more immediate use. DC 20 Perception check: You locate a ledger that indicates that the library belonged to a djinni named Pahwal ijil Ranginori, who was so devoted a servant and worshipper of a being called Ranginori that he was granted the immense honor of taking Ranginori’s name as a part of his own.
The android easily avoids the flaming ball Kharax sends at her. At the same time, her eyes widen in crazed anger as the party closes in and she sees Lewd's chainsaw. She raises her left hand, which holds a small device, to her temple and screams out , “You won’t take my mind! The Dominion can’t have my mind!” she then triggers the device, which is evidently a concussion grenade as it goes off, destroying her head and sending a shower of brains and gores raining down on Alpha and the walls! The body collapses to the floor and everything goes silent.
Her Gear:
concussion grenades (4), masterwork green scatterlight suit, timeworn zero pistol, batteries (2) Knowledge (engineering)DC 20: Looking around this ruined production lab, and the components strewn about the place someone was trying to create a one-time long-range communication device. Among the mostly ruined and useless supplies, however, can be found three timeworn commsets—all three timeworn commsets are fully charged.
Once everyone has made introduction, Janira says,.“Now, before we head out, if there aren’t any more questions, we should take a moment to go through your gear and make sure nothing important gets left out.” She then begins to go peer at everyone's gear, making suggestions and giving advice. "Sunrods can be handy.....alchemical flasks are great for swarms....rope is always good to have...." Once done, she says. "Ok, looks pretty good. We'll leave about two hours before dawn. You have until then to make any last minute purchases and preparations. Sound good?!"
Janira smiles at Son of a Cayden and says. "The area we’re heading to is controlled by a large centaur tribe. If we cross paths with any of them, they’ll see the horses as an affront and might become dangerously unfriendly. Our mission is to explore the caves and investigate the gillmen activity, not fight the local populace." Looking at everyone, she claps her hands and says. “Now, before we head out, if there aren’t any more questions, we should take a moment to go through your gear and make sure nothing important gets left out.” She nods to Makon and Son of a Cayden, "You both seem ready equipped." Glancing at everyone else's gear, she nods in appreciation. "Looks pretty good. We should be ready to head out a couple hours before dawn. You've got until then for any last minute preparations. Sound good?!"
I'd haven't had a chance to take a crack at part A. I'd be up for playing and GMing if there is enough interest.
'quick head poke' Are you full? Would you care for another?
Alpha ignores the commotion outside the room and lands a solid blow against the female android! Richard fires his stungun, hitting the android as well, but she still stands! He then steps out of the way, making room for Lewdon! Selkania again casts a spell, filling the complex with flames!
As before, all the androids within the flames fall, their mangled bodies curling into deformed balls of agony!
Janira smiles and pulls out a large leather-bound journal and opens it on the table. “Before we set out, we should all get to know each other and review our plan." She looks up and smiles. "After all, the most important factors that determine whether an expedition will be a success are cooperation and preparation! I’ll go first!” Glancing up at the ceiling, she thinks for moment, then begins. "I am the oldest of seven children and grew up in Eastgate here in Absalom. I joined the Society four years ago, right after I turned twenty summers old. Despite my family being here, the Society feels like my family!" Janira stops talking and allows everyone to relate a little about themselves. Once done. “On to the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there." “The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.” She pauses and gives everyone an appraising glance to see how much is sinking in and allow for any questions.
Janira smiles and even giggles a few times at the action and responses of the new recruits in front of her. Finally, Janira pulls out a large leather-bound journal and opens it on the table. “Before we set out, we should all get to know each other and review our plan." She looks up and smiles. "After all, the most important factors that determine whether an expedition will be a success are cooperation and preparation! I’ll go first!” Glancing up at the ceiling, she thinks for moment, then begins. "I am the oldest of seven children and grew up in Eastgate here in Absalom. I joined the Society four years ago, right after I turned twenty summers old. Despite my family being here, the Society feels like my family!" Janira stops talking and allows everyone to relate a little about themselves. Once done. “On to the details of the mission at hand,” Janira says with an eager grin. “After reviewing my mission reports personally, Master Shaine believes it is no coincidence that each time they entered the caves it was during a full moon, so it is also no coincidence that you have been called here now, just a day before the moon is full again. We both believe that tomorrow night is our best chance to find out why these caves are important and what exactly the gillmen are doing in there." “The caves we’ll be travelling to lie under the base of the Kortos Mounts. We’ll need to spend every minute of daylight possible to reach the caves by foot, crossing over the Cairnlands, taking the paths to Diobel, and finally making our way through the wilderness. With any luck we won’t run into any of the local inhabitants. Once in the caves, we’ll need to work together to explore and determine whether any gillman are present or have been recently. Keep an eye out for any other clues that might hint at the caves’ significance, too.” She pauses and gives everyone an appraising glance to see how much is sinking in and allow for any questions.
Rhyol opens the door to the next room to find a large block of black granite hovers in the air, surrounded by floating chairs. It would appear the past inhabitants of the tower used this granite ovoid prism as a meeting table. Above the table hovers an identical blue crystal.
Checking in. Need to decide who I am bringing.
As Kharax hesitates, a door to the south bursts open and four more deformed androids come spilling out to attack!
As the android rush the party, two attack Selkania and one attacks Kharax, two blows being landed!
Janira watches the exchange among yourselves with a wry smile. Once everyone has made introductions, Janira clears her throat, then asks. "Does anyone have any questions before I go on?" KN: geography DC 10:
At the center of the Isle of Kortos stand the Kortos Mounts, the points on the island. KN: geography DC 15:
Entire tribes of centaurs, harpies, and minotaurs constantly vie for territory up and around the Mounts, with harpies being the most common at higher altitudes and centaurs controlling the lower slopes and foothills. KN: history DC 15:
Also known as the Low Azlanti, the gillmen are an amphibious humanoid race believed to be the last descendants of the ancient Azlanti people. KN: history DC 20:
During Earthfall, the Starstone struck Golarion and destroyed the human empires of Thassilon and Azlant. It is said that gillmen’s ancestors survived the cataclysmic event because they received the blessing of an aquatic entity that allowed them to breath underwater. KN: history DC 25: Most scholars believe the terrifying aboleths were responsible for the gillmen’s transformation. Any alliance between them appears to have fallen apart over the millennia, however, and the gillmen are now an independent people.
|