Hi all. Something has come up in RL and I'm not going to be able to finish this. I've PMed Redalia to ask for a replacement GM to finish this for you. I'm so sorry; I hope they can take over ASAP.
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The skeleton dutifully scratches The Red Reverend and Theron's names in the ledger; it's clear from the time it takes to scratch it down that the skeleton has recorded Red's full name as dictated. It then looks up at Milo--who seems closest to its default line of sight--and repeats "Welcome to the Grave Wager. Name?"
Milo finds no more traps, though when he seals the pit, Milo does find the broken body of one of the traps prior victims. While the body has nearly rotted away, a gleaming, black leather eyepatch--adorned with a ruby--remains, along with a tattered cloak. You continue to the bottom of the stairs, where a quick examination reveals no further traps on the door either. Pushing the door open, you find something unexpected: a sitting room? While the crypt architecture is clearly an antechamber, this seems to have been repurposed into a reception area. Four iron chairs, two on each side, sit against the walls. Two funeral beds--pushed together to form an "L"-shaped desk--stand in the middle of the room. Behind the desk is a gold-clad skeleton, writing furiously in a large, lined book with an ink-dipped quill. It raises its gaze to you when you enter. "Welcome to the Grave Wager. Name?"
Milo works on disabling the pit, and is able to find a failsafe that locks the pit closed so that it can be safely walked over.
As Iladora is about to venture further down the stairs, Zim stops her, noticing what looks like some kind of pit trap! Sparks fly from Menudo's wand as he misfires it; it doesn't look like it will work for him again this day!
The door emits a grinding, sorrowful howl when Menudo pushes it open. The door opens onto a long set of stone stairs that descend along a 15-foot-wide passageway, dimly lit by flaming torches set into wall sconces. The stairs descend to a small room with marble floors before descending further.
You assemble around the tomb entrance, looking at the door. Theron draws a blade as you wait for someone to open it.
It's not difficult to find your way to the cemetery. A field of arid soil the color of a rusty blade is littered with grave markers arranged in symmetrical rows. Despite the lack of water, the ground and gravestones are covered with mossy lichens, spiny cacti, and knotted, thorny brambles with pale blossoms that bloom in clumps. A few yucca trees stand between the graves, their trunks the color of bleached bone. None of the more recent, cleaner headstones show any signs of religious patronage, and many of the older headstones bear scars where religious iconography and aphorisms have been chiseled away or ground to dust. Toward the back of the cemetery stand a few cylindrical stone structures with tarnished metal doors. Perception DC 19: You notice palm prints make of gold dust smeared on one of the tomb doors. The stone walls of the tomb appear to have once been covered with ornate, carved illustrations which have now been sanded or acid-stripped away. Knowledge (religion) DC 15:
Spoiler:
You recognize that the unique shape of the building and doorway indicates that this is most likely an ancestral tomb reserved for one specific family, and that some of the residual “ghosts” of the illustrations on its outer walls could be forms associated with a deity (though it’s now impossible to tell which one).
You all spill into the streets, but there's really no physical trail to be followed. Aya appears to have disappeared. Diplomacy (gather information) DC 12: You ask around, giving descriptions of Aya and the Shard to see if anyone saw her running through the streets. While nobody can identify her, in the course of explaining what happened you describe the gold-clad necrocraft that burst in and allowed her to escape. That gets some attention, and you hear from multiple sources that a pair of "golden gargoyles" that match the necrocraft's description have been spotted multiple times near Alhanzir Cemetery over the last few weeks.
As the battle winds down, guards from the auction appear. They're shocked when they see the remains of the necrocraft in many pieces on the floor. "What happened here?" the guard captain asks. "Where's Aya; is she safe?" Continuing with urgency, he moves to the podium, looking for any of the artifacts on auction; he breathes a small sigh of relief when he sees that nothing remains. "The Pure Legion is on their way; let's make sure the scene is clean of any religious artifacts. If you bought anything, make sure it's put away!"
Status
I will be traveling for the US Thanksgiving holiday from Wednesday to Sunday and will have limited access to the boards. Botting instructions are in my profile. Generally complain, move, attack. Holiday for me too; no posts today. Will resume tomorrow or Saturday. If you're celebrating, Happy Thanksgiving!
Zim sends another blast of Abadar's healing through the room, stopping everyone's wounds from bleeding. Menudo just shuts up and swings, and it works! His blade slices easily through the necrocraft's tough natural armor and the beast falls to the ground, its already lifeless form completely un-animated now. After the necrocraft falls, all you hear is your own labored breathing from the battle. The sounds of Aya and the other bidders' retreat have long faded away. Status
Menudo tries to finish off the misshapen creature, but can't get the strike past its unpredictable moves. GM Screen:
The necrocraft follows its recent strategy of both attacking the paladin and retaliating against the most recent strike--in this case, Iladora. It easily hits Iladora, but Erastil's protection does what it needs to for Menudo, and the creature misses him. Round 4 (all may act!)
Conditions
Theron swings at the undead beast again, but can't connect. Zim uses the strength of her connection to Abadar so that he watches over Red momentarily, giving the cleric focus for his next action. Milo joins Zim's attention on Red, having seen what that scythe is capable of; he grants Red some luck on his next attack.
Iladora--no longer wobbling on upturned chairs--uses her firmer footing to deliver a powerful blow that nearly ends the fight, but the necrocraft fights on! Round 3 (bold may act!)
Conditions
The Red Reverend recognizes the creature as undead, but pretty much everyone could see that. Milo, though, knows a bit more.
Attack of Opportunity:
Iladora throws caution to the wind, scrambling over chairs and The Red Reverend to get in position. Though she fails to land a blow, spinning somewhat awkwardly and almost falling into a chair, the monster's reactive strike also fails to land. Zim reacts quickly, her connection to Abadar growing stronger as she channels more healing into the room, causing both Theron and Menudo's wounds to cease bleeding. Milo stands up and looks past the monster for the Shard; it no longer sits atop the podium where it had been during the auction. Menudo tries hitting this time, and finds that works much better as a strategy, his smite-aligned blade easily slicing through the undead creature's unholy defenses. Red, using his eyes this time, looks for a particularly important section of the creature's cobbled-together form and slices it right off! Amazingly, the creature still stands! Theron tries a finishing blow, but can't get through the unnaturally thick hide of the bone-chitin original form of the creature composing the section near him. GM Screen:
Reeling from such massive damage, the monstrosity swipes at what appears like a glowing beacon of good in its eyes, and at the source of the massive bodily loss it just experienced. Though it stumbles, missing Menudo entirely, it leans in close with Red and draws a claw down the length of the Urgathoan's arm, leaving a bloody trail that won't clot. Round 3 (all may act!)
Conditions
Zim, Milo, and The Red Reverend all get the worst of the falling glass, having glanced up for whatever reason at just the wrong time. Squeezing their eyes shut to protect them from the tiny shards all over their faces, each does what they can to help. Zim channels Abadar openly--not needing eyes to seek her god--but the connection is hard to open here in Rahadoum and the healing delivered is a mere trickle. Milo drops to the ground and blindly rummages for his healing wand, activating it openly to recover from the mess of glass embedded in his face.
Iladora, Menudo and Theron all fare better, shielding their eyes at least from the falling glass. Eyes wide open, all three get a good look at the creature. Covered in a familiar sheen of flaking gold, the monster looks like a horror out of nightmares, a mangled, mashed-up mess of various other corpses, composed of creatures too various and decayed to identify. Iladora takes a ready position and demands answers from the winged, gold-encrusted, beast. Even if it had the capability to answer, it doesn't look interested in talking.
Theron wastes no time, knocking chairs over as he scrambles to the aisle and rushes forward right at the creature, blade extended. He drives his sword deep into the creature's thigh, drawing a ragged, other-worldly scream from the terrifying thing! GM Screen:
Unfortunately, the wound looks like less than Theron would expect after he withdraws his blade, and the creature looms over both Theron and Menudo, wings spread wide! It returns Menudo's challenging gaze with a smiteful look of its own that almost makes the holy warrior take an involuntary step back. It brings two claws down in a sweeping cross that catches both warriors exposed. Both wounds drip with blood, some vile contaminant preventing the gashes from closing! Zim hears silence fall in the hallway behind her as footsteps fade away, both their host and the other guests having fled the museum. All three of her, Milo, and Red can safely open their eyes now, though after taking in the gold-encrusted horror at the front of the room, they may be wishing they were still innocently blinded from the sight of the thing.
Round 2 (all may act!)
Conditions
"Our strangers from up north bid 1,650; do I hear more?" Aya nods at Menudo. "Well won, and for a steal!" She motions to a golden statue of Ra. "This is an exquisite specimen, a finely detailed statue of the ancient god Ra! The bidding for this starts at 5,000 gold; do I have an opening bid?" Abbashin Borkelik waves his banner in the air. "5,000 it is; do I hear more?" The Pathfinders pass, leaving Abbashin looking positively gleeful. Aya points out the shard of The Shattered Shield of Arnisant on the podium. "And that brings us to the star of the show!" She makes an unusual thrust of her hand into the air, and glass rains down from above as a monstrous creature crashes through the skylights!
The other bidders scramble to get out of the room, rushing for the back exit. Aya uses the distraction to slip out the door beside her. Initiative:
Round 1 (bold may act)
"You do know that the Sacred Cobra is a for profit enterprise, right?" Aya asks the room with a laugh. "Very well; we'll move on: up next is this excellent set of platinum drafting tools..." Famish's bidder's banner is already in the air. "And Famish with start us off with the opening bid of fifteen hundred gold. Do I hear more?" Nobody else speaks up, and Aya's gaze rests on you.
When you don't respond, Famish squeals with glee to get his tools so cheaply. Aya continues with the auction. "Next is some incense of meditation. The bidding starts at sixteen hundred and fifty gold. Do I have an opening bid?"
With the bid only starting at 500, Menudo offers a proportional increase to 600. Abbashin counters with 700 and Menudo passes, letting it go for a steal. "700 it is; going once, twice, gone!" Abbashin gives himself a little private congrats on his win. "Moving on, we have this delightful grape trellis. From far off Casmaron, Kelksiomedes is a deity known for both his compassion and the viticulture of his people. Even here in Rahadoum gardener's revere this Iblydan deity. Bidding starts at 2500 gold!"
Madam Adenalar opens the bidding, and after a short back-and-forth in small increments with Famish Squinwhisban, Madam Adenalar wins the bidding at 3000 gold. "Up next is a minor staff of healing. Students of the divine arts know there's nothing minor about any staff, and this is a bargain at 4400 gold to open the bidding; do I have any bids?" The room is silent, and Aya's gaze falls on you.
Aya chuckles when Menudo counters with 1600. "Only one hundred gold more? You know this auction house is trying to turn a profit, right? Still, it's a legal bid. Sixteen hundred gold it is!" Pateba waves his banner in the air. "Seventeen-fifty!" "See, that's how you raise a bid!" Aya points out. "Seventeen-fifty; do I hear more?" When Menudo offers 1800 she actually does start to look a little upset. "Eighteen hundred, then, from the misers from up north...." Pateba doesn't seem to want this one to get away. "Two thousand!" he nearly screeches. "Two thousand it is, and that's a proper bid!" She scans the room, and looks back at Menudo. "Going once? Twice? Sold to Pateba for the sum of two thousand gold!" Throughout this, Theron has been studying the other bidders. Abbashin looks amused, as he doesn't seem to have an interest in this item. He's definitely enjoying himself; his sister Abeesa looks bored. Pateba--your rival for the statue of Brigh, has looked irritated every time Menudo raised the bid, but is full of glee now that he's won it. The other two bidders have been watching with interest, but aren't showing much; they seem to not have an interest in any of these first items, so the Pathfinders' bidding hasn't provoked a response in them yet. Aya moves on to the next item. "Up next is this phylactery of faithfulness. Not so unusual an item if you're out in the greater world, but we're not. This is Rahadoum; we live under rule of the First Law, and that makes this a rare item here indeed. Bidding starts at 500 gold!" Abbashin raises his banner without a word. "500 gold to the Borkaliks," Aya notes. Pateba sighs "I'm out," and stands, placing a stack of notes on Aya's podium and collecting his statue before leaving entirely. "The bid is 500 gold; do I hear more?"
Abbashin gives you a sneering grin. "You got your eyes on my prize?" He chuckles. "You can't rattle me so easy; we're just getting started here."
Aya notes your bid with a smile. "Ahhh, the strangers from out of town have joined the party! One thousand, two hundred, and fifty gold! That's a nice sum, there, for a nice prize!" She turns to Pateba and calls him out by name. "Pateba, are you going to let it get away so easily?" "No!" the man yells. "Fifteen hundred!" he barks with his banner in the air. "Fifteen hundred it is!" Aya exclaims. She brings her palms up and out in a questioning gesture to the room and--getting no other reply--rests her gaze on Menudo with the wordless question writ on her face.
FYI, I'm leaving for the weekend tomorrow morning (Friday); I won't be returning until Sunday, and I historically don't get much posting done after a trip. If there's something to respond to, I'll post again before I leave in the morning. We'll resume on Monday morning regardless!
"Well, this isn't going to be much fun if we don't get some action going here. The Borkalik's win these unique bracers for the starting bid, and that's a bargain, folks!" Though she's chastising you all for it, Aya seems to be having a blast regardless, really embracing the role of auction barker. "Next up we have this clockwork statue of Brigh, the god of inventors! Though not magical, it's a really innovative design that certainly celebrates its patron. We're starting the bidding for this one at 1000 gold. Do I have a bidder?" She eyes Pateba, whose banner was already being raised. "1000 gold as I expected! Do I hear more?"
Okay, chronicles are here; let me know if you need any corrections!
If we can get any sense of who is interested in what with our Diplomacy rolls? I'd like to stay away from that and get the other stuff. Madam Adenalar (a horticulturist) is most interested in the trellis. Pateba (a former adventurer) is most interested in the statue of Brigh.Abbashin Borkalik is most interested in the statue of Ra (though his sister wishes they would just leave). If someone could place a bid or bow out in Gameplay, I can proceed with the auction.
Sorry; I've low-key been waiting for Leo to report back with his chronicle info so I can do them all in a batch. I'll work on them today.
My general rule for party decisions at a full table is Rule of Three (once three people have agreed on a strategy, I push forward on it). For this auction, that seems like it could be very slow. How do you want me to handle the bidding on your behalf? Change to Rule of Two? You appoint one representative to do all the bidding? Discuss here and let me know in Gameplay? Something else? This is something that--at a table--probably goes pretty quickly. In PbP, if there's any back-and-forth with NPC bidders a single item could take days, so I want to do the best by you as I can and not have this be a total slog.
As a reminder, here are all of the items up for bid, along with their starting bid. This information was handed to you in a brochure when you arrived at the auction. You were given 10,000 gp to bid with, and your primary goal is to purchase the Shattered Shield. Secondarily, the Society would like you to come home with as many items as you can, so long as you definitely get the Shield. Items up for bid (starting bid)
After about an hour of mingling with the other bidders, the guards corral everyone into a lecture hall for the auction proper. This long and narrow room features a podium at the far end. Two columns of oak chairs with satin pillows cushioning the seats line the northern and southern walls.
A female human stands at the podium, dressed to impress. "Welcome to the Sacred Cobra Auction, everyone! I'm your host, Aya Ajiri, and I would like to start by thanking our gracious--if unknowing--hosts at the Museum for their hospitality! Let's get down to what you're all here for: the auction itself. Our first item is a set of bracers of divine range. I'm sure you've all seen bracers of archery in your day, these do the same but for divine spells! A very rare and unique item, we will start the bidding at 2,500 pieces of solid gold! Do I have a bidder?" Immediately the brother of the pair that Red spoke with raises his banner "2,500 to the Borkaliks! Do I have another?"
The man sneers. "You do know that this is an illegal auction, right? Specifically for item you wouldn't expect to see in Rahadoum...." he trails off as he rolls his eyes at his companion. She shrugs her shoulders and gives Red an apologetic look. "Forgive him--or forgive my family for him--the inheritance went straight to his head," she finishes as she shakes her own head. "What are you here to bid on?" she asks, trying to make up for her brother's brush-off.
Well, none of it is *critical* information. We're talking about items you could have collected that could have helped with the auction (bribing someone, or tying up their funds, etc.). The auction can be successful with or without these items. I believe the scenario authors intended it to be like this. The scenario presents a scene with urgency, so you have to make quick decisions and get things done. Given no pressure, you might search every body or every nook and cranny, but there's pressure, so you compromise. You're not even handicapped, really; you just don't have a potential advantage.
OK, that just makes that whole scene at the estate even more frustrating, because if there was any indication that we should have been looking for other stuff, it was completely lost in all of our flailing about fighting the undead and the fire. Agreed. The bust was the only of the items that was even visible to you on entering the estate. The other items were all hidden and either missed by Perception checks or not searched for at all. The combat and fire definitely incentivizes you to not waste time looking for other things, and the scenario doesn't really make it clear that there even are other things to look for. There's not a lot that a GM can do to hint that there are some seeds in a dead gardener's pocket that you might want later.
"Oh yes, I'm an architect! I just love seeing and having new examples of different architectural techniques and devices. And these are so nicely crafted!" He lowers his voice to whisper. "This is really all I'm interested in, so if you'll stay away from this, I'll stay away from whatever you want. What are you bidding on?"
"Oh, indeed it is!" Famish responds excitedly, as he hovers near to the set of platinum drafting tools on display. "I would so love to have those as a part of my collection!"
Between Theron's save and Zim's other spells, it looks like we're starting out fresh!
Items up for bid (starting bid)
Bidders
The Museum of Philosophy, Logic, and Natural History is one of the most prominent buildings within Azir’s Grand Souk. The construction of the building itself was ordered by the current Keeper of the First Law, Malduoni, as a way of preserving Rahadoum’s culture, history, and influence, as well as reinforcing the positive impact of forbidding religion on Rahadoum’s development as a nation. As a purely academic and historical institution, the museum focuses on exhibits and displays related to anatomy, arcane studies, archaeology, astronomy, debate, law (including an exhibit focusing solely on the history, development, and evolution of the Laws of Man), mathematics, philosophy, science, secular history, and zoology. Constructed of three stories of stacked sandstone blocks, a prolific archway over the main entrance, and white marble columns accented with silver trim, the structure itself is already becoming an icon of the city as much as the Pure Legion patrols that often pass by its front steps. Many of Azir’s residents spend time reflecting in the museum’s main courtyard, which features a magic pool of eternally clear water surrounding a colossal, white marble statue of Kalim Onaku, author of the Laws of Man. When you first arrive at the museum, guards are posted at each of the entrances, checking each prospective entrant’s bidder’s banner--the carefully woven scarves used as both entry tokens and bidding signals during the auction. You see the guards some without bidder's banners--likely just general public--that the museum has been closed for a private lecture. Yours is recognized and you are waved in, eventually being led into the Hall of Taxidermy. This room features a horseshoe-shaped walkway featuring displays of various taxidermy animals, most either rare or of historic significance to Rahadoum. A small number of other bidders are assembled here; you can mingle with them, or sneak off and examine other parts of the museum.
I don't writes the rules....
GM Screen:
Milo lugs the overstuffed hobo bundle right out the front gate with the aid of a couple Pathfinders putting themselves in line of sight or otherwise just behaving like it's just perfectly normal. The apothecarist meets Theron at the door and listens to his tale. "Not that aurum death is it?" He takes a step back until Theron confirms it's not that. "Oh good for you; none of us been able to nothing about that, yet. Ain't got it figured out yet, nobody does."
The Pathfinders hole up in a quiet, non-descript inn, and Torvad explains about the strange cleric that accosted he and Inusi while they were examining items for the auction. "Chained us together, made Inusi swallow the key, then left us with that dagger to make a choice or burn. Inusi got me in the scuffle, but it was me that went for the blade first... can't blame her for that at all."
Status (hit points adjusted for 1 normal night of healing)
Necrotic Boils: save Fort DC 11; onset 1 day; frequency 1/day; effect 1d4 Con damage; cure 1 save
Zim can confirm the necrotic infection that Theron picked up, and that it's just that an nothing more. The woman you rescued finally speaks up. "Excuse me... Captain, is it? I'm Inusi Mendalari; this is my family estate. What happened her tonight is... I don't even know how to explain it. But if these brave folks hadn't come along, my friend and I would be dead! I can explain everything in due time, but right now my friend is injured and needs to get to an apothecary. Would you please let them take him there? Their own man is hurt, too, and if I'm not mistaken, that dagger is some evil religious item and the wound needs urgent attention! The dagger was brought here tonight by the attackers; it's not any of ours, I assure you! Please, let them go get help; I'll explain everything once they're on their way to help!" Captain Kazima nods her head and waves you off. "Yes, yes," she agrees. "Please, go; go get help." She gives you directions to an apothecary not too far away on foot. "They won't be open this time of night, but they'll respond to an urgent knock." She motions a Legionnaire to collect the dagger as she turns back to Inusi for the rest of the story.
"I don't know if trouble finds you, or you find trouble, but you're right at the beating center of a lot of strange happenings today," Kazima ponders as Zim continues to work on the bleeding man. Zim presses and holds on the wounds with a bandage pack for a bit, then peels up a corner gently; it seems the bleeding has actually stopped! Still hunched over, the man leans in towards Zim and whispers. "Thanks... You're the Pathfinders, right?" At a confirming nod from Zim he continues. "Thank goodness... the auction is at 10 tomorrow, right under their noses. Museum of Philosophy and such, in the Grand Souk. You'll need this." He surreptitiously hands over the bidding banner you need. Kazima interrupts. "Any more of those little statues involved in this one? And what about that dagger? That looked strange; I'd like to take a look at it."
"Yes, of course. The fire is what drew us; the brigade is already on the way." Kazima explains. "Please go ahead and attend to the man!" Zim cautiously extract the dagger, and she's pretty sure that she got it out without causing any further damage, though the man grunts and grimaces with pain nonetheless. "Please...." he wheezes. "It hurts so bad!!!" Heal, Knowledge (arcana), or Spellcraft DC 10:
You see that the wound left by the dagger seeps with black, ichorous blood that refuses to close or clot.
Theron hefts the bleeding man on his shoulder and half-walks/half-carries him out as the woman trails behind, still chained together. Milo finishes gathering up the items from the bed, letting Menudo dump his stash from his shield into the blanket before bundling everything together to carry out. As soon as Theron gets the man outside, he collapses to the ground, blood spewing forth around the dagger that remains protruding from his stomach. At the same time, several members of the Pure Legion arrive on the scene; you recognize Captain Kazima among them. As the Legionnaires form a perimeter around the courtyard, Kazima approaches you. "What happened here?"
Nope! Unconscious is a not a condition you need to clear. Tarka's just fine.
Iladora tries to beat down more fire, but her position from atop the loveseat makes that awkward and she can't quite get it smothered. Menudo moves to the bed and scoops up a number of the trinkets into his shield. Zim wait in the main room, ready for the other Pathfinders to join her. Round 11 (bold may act!)
That definitely sounds reasonable to me. I'd say a full round action to pull all the corners around the stuff and create a hobo knapsack around everything. It's a good quality comforter, so it'll be thick and bulky, but I wouldn't think it would be too heavy for anyone. It would be a two-handed carry for sure, though; no weapons, shields, etc, or spellcasting with S or M components while carrying it.
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