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I want to extend you, my players, a special apology for having neglected you for so long; this has been an exceptionally-bad week for me, and while I had reason to hope it would specifically start improving today, it has not. Nonetheless, I'll try to get some shit done here when I can!
So, Mantis, I must've missed something: You mentioned casting barkskin, but upon whom?
There is an impromptu circus-clown act as EVERYONE rushes the door and NO ONE does a bit of good against it - save for Strafe, whose shrewd leveraging against a weak spot in the doorway's structure is too little, too late. You do hear some grinding and jostling of timber; maybe you've at least weakened the barricade some? Somewhere on the other side of the door, you hear some very faint rustling of paper....
?
Strafe (heroism, cat's grace), Seltyiel (heroism, blur, guidance), Linka (heroism, protection from Chaos), Danduun
AGAIN, very sorry for delay - but this is the home-stretch! I've PM'd Strafe; as I told him, though, I accept full responsibility for any loss of the game's momentum.
Has anyone tried knocking? Wisdom, DC 10: You are pursuing someone whom you've been told is directly responsible for all the ex-monsters you saw littering the floor above, hence for the ragged state Nigel (a Wizard of quite respectable power) had to be reduced to to take care of that, and presumably also had something to do with this damned door being blocked; knocking - AKA 'advance notice' - is certainly chivalrous, but is it really a good idea under the circumstances?
No, and definitely not.
DM Screen:
Nigel hurriedly bestows his spells and hightails it out of there. "As I said, they went down there, and Imrizade followed them," He says between incantations. "I'm not really sure what he's here for, we've been using that area for storage. It's...quite old. No telling what's down there." He finishes his magical ministrations and then bolts out the front door. "PLEASE HURRY!" He shouts back.
You make your way down the stairs until you reach a landing and a heavy door...which won't open! Something's blocking it from the other side!
?
Strafe (heroism, cat's grace), Seltyiel (heroism, blur), Linka (heroism, protection from Chaos), Danduun
holy crap 4 boons! No kidding! If you haven't already provided me with your E-mail addresses, please name them (and by all means PM them to me if you'd prefer to avoid denuding yourself before the entire site).
What I did was I contacted bigrin42 and explained the situation. He said they'd work to get the player their boon. Hopefully they did. But I'd start by sending him a PM and letting him know what happened. Yeah, sorry to interject; like I said, someone led me here, but after that, Redelia offered to take care of it in the Flaxseed Discussion if I sent her a PM, so I did (at the same time as she and I were having what I hope was a brief personality-clash).
I think you may just need to mention it in the game comments? Iono, it’s been a while. Uhh...hi? Someone linked me here after I asked a similar question, so I'm dropping in in hopes of getting a workable answer myself (my table has 3 winners!). I preemptively reported my table since it's going to go a bit long (I was told last year that it's possible to edit the reports as needed after the fact), and I saw NOTHING about Boons.
What's strange is that that's kind of what I thought LAST game I ran, but THEN someone - and of course it was someone around here - told me the reverse! Hence, the Chronicle I got from that included a Day Job roll for/by the character I gave it to; do we erase it, or grandfather in an extra payday for him? ANYWAY...
At least TWO of my players have won Boons! What must I do to make sure they get them? I stand partially corrected, make that THREE! Clearly, I need to know the answer to this!
Aaaand congratulations Linka!
At least TWO of my players have won Boons! What must I do to make sure they get them? Also, given the weird circumstances of my DM-Chronicle, how should I go about making my/his Day Job roll? Would it be permissible to use the character's current skill modifier despite it's being much higher than it would've been "at the time"?
Excellent point - and congratulations to both Strafe AND Sadaf!
Incidentally, now that the moment has passed, I'd been wondering if anyone would take Fuln up on his sherry offer - that was 100% a personal throw-in.
"I don't envy your job here Nigel..." Nigel looks down at Strafe with a sad, stoic smile. "Call it a labor of love." "Gargoyle you say? Are you sure?" He then looks up (and this way, and that way, what with the dragonfly and all) at Sirlicks. "Actually, I meant it in the sense of...oh, never mind. You'll see!...maybe." Maybe it's coincidence, or maybe someone's been cribbing, but Nigel has much the same spells to offer as Maren Fuln did: Magic weapon, protection from Chaos, cat's grace, and blur.
I'm with Redelia on this one, seems it went off/through without a hitch.
You make your way to the world-(in)famous Blakros Museum; the once there, the first thing you notice is a large sign out front declaring the Museum to be "CLOSED FOR UPKEEP RENOVATION - PLEASE RETURN NEXT MONTH, WONDROUS NEW EXHIBITS AWAIT!" The sounds of crashing and explosions within, however, strike you as a license to trespass. Once inside, you find that the Museum's normally-pristine ground level presently resembles a battlefield. Scorch marks and chipped tiles mar the floor, and corpses of bloated fungi and armored crab-like monstrosities litter the foyer amid pools of acid and blood. Shards of glass lie scattered around an empty exhibit pedestal in the main hall. You follow the racket a short distance before finding the Museum's present curator, the Elf and Blakros in-law Nigel Aldain, standing tall and handsome, but quite badly injured, as he puts an end to the final remaining gaggle of fungus-things with a fatal volley of scorching rays. He whips his head in your direction with a somewhat crazed expression, but rapidly relaxes. "Pathfinders, right? Thank Fate you're here! Time is short, so I'll give you the short version," He declares as he starts marching (or at least that's what he's trying to do, but shallow-breathed limping is more like it) back toward the empty display-case, which he points to, his finger both proud and accusatory. "What used to be in there...I'd scarcely just put it in myself, when who should show up but my dear cousin-in-law Imrizade, she's become quite the adventurer herself since the, ah, incident, you might've heard of the one, Pathfinders saved her life. Anyway, she'd been pretty far abroad as far as I'd last been informed, so I was quite surprised when she showed up here! Anyway, after the incident, she'd erupted into sorcery, but with the magic came a lot of headaches and very weird dreams, and she told me they'd been getting worse and compelling her to return here. We were just about to sit down and discuss that when someone I'd never met before just barged in here - I think he was Human, of the Garundi strain if I'm not mistaken, but if so he was quite hideously malformed - and he was carrying this big lumpy sack, you know, and he - well, no, he didn't throw it, it just sailed out of his hands and crashed into my Beacon exhibit! I'm not sure what was in that sack, but it must have triggered some reaction from it, because all these creatures just came out of the woodwork and would've torn the whole place apart if Imrizade and I hadn't been prepared to stop them. That hideous man just ran downstairs-" Here he takes a break and a breath to point at a nearby narrow stairway downward. "before we could even say a word to him, and three of the creatures he'd called forth went down with him, and..." Nigel gnashes his teeth and cradles his head in his hands. ...Imrizade chased after them too when I wasn't looking." He looks up at you with an earnest expression. "I fear she threatens to grow too accustomed to owing the Pathfinder Society her life. Please save her; I have little magic left, and." He looks down at his clothes, now soaked in blood, ichor, and you-dread-to-guess what else, "Well, just look at me!" He collapses onto a bench meant for exhibit-viewers, breathing heavily. "And I don't know what that...gargoyle is up to down there, but you should probably stop him and his minions too." In a somewhat impressive shift from the moment before, Nigel stands back up and looks toward the front entrance. "I'll tell you what, you go down there, and I'll head for your Grand Lodge and ask for reinforcements...but please, please go down RIGHT NOW, I doubt I or they will make it in time to help Imrizade!"
Good, good, that was the spelling I put on the report.
"Game successfully reported"! Seltyel/Seltyiel: I regret not noticing this discrepancy sooner, but in case it matters for clerical reasons, which is the proper spelling of your name?
That oughtta do it, I think I even recognize the appearance of the form; thanks much.
Strafe:
Zarta Dralneen's bizarre earlier request to you has of course not gone far from your mind; you've fulfilled her wish partway! Is there any chance you can still find something you can take captive...? Maren Fuln looks up from behind his desk, his spectacles askew and a slender book perched upside-down on his head with a cover over each ear like a steepled rooftop. "Well," he says in a meek and shaky voice, "I suppose that's that. I - I - I really...well, like I said, it was all a freak accident to begin with." He looks down at his desk and his papers and his half-spilled sherry bottle, and after a moment, his expression hardens. "Obviously, I'm not cut out for whatever's going on here; no telling what would have happened if you hadn't come along. I'll give you what help I can!" With that, he starts rummaging hamfistedly around the room until he's gathered together several arcane items which he presents to you, happily explaining whatever needs it: - a Lesser Silent Metamagic Rod
Finally, with a decisive sigh, he heads over to tall a cabinet in the far corner, bypasses whatever wards he'd sealed it with, and draws from it a set of two books are part of a set held together with a leather strap. The covers are of a shimmering and unearthly blue leather, and the spines are built of silver and iron. As he hands them over to you, you notice the books are chilly to the touch, and that staring at them induces minor vertigo. "Insights of Far-Seeing Taernis; the pride of my collection. Use it more wisely than perhaps I would have." Spellbook!:
1st— comprehend languages, disguise self, jump, mage armor, magic aura, mount, sleep, stumble gap, unseen servant
2nd— arrow eruption, daze monster, dust of twilight, fantastic reach, glitterdust, metabolize, shatter, stone call 3rd— gaseous form, greater magic weapon, magic circle against evil, sepia snake sigil, spiked pit, stinking cloud, tiny hut 4th— acid pit, black tentacles, dimensional anchor, lesser geas, phantasmal killer, solid fog 5th— contact other plane, life bubble, overland flight, teleport 6th— getaway, planar binding, summon monster VI, wall of iron A peculiar expression suddenly crosses his face. "Oh! I almost forgot!" He retrieves the Beacon he'd borrowed from its fixture, and gingerly hands it over to you as well. It would seem all that remains now is to secure the last of them; the notorious Blakros Museum awaits... [ooc]Anything you'd like to do before you arrive?[ooc]
In other news, someone please remind me how to report the game I am presently running; it's going to go long (though nowhere near as long as my last game!), but I was told last time I can report the game before "the fix is in" and edit the details after the fact if I really have to, but I need to do that ASAP and have forgotten how.
Believe it or not, the game I ran last Spring dragged out to just shy of a solid year - this is going to go a little long, but nowhere near THAT long, so don't worry! I can preemptively report it and edit the conditions if my predictions turn out wrong, so that's what I'll do. I am of course sorry for my delays.
DM Screen:
Sirlicks: 2
Linka: 3
Danduun struggles impotently against Nggilth-Tsa's grip! On the bright side, Sadaf can tell his companion's madness is starting to pass. Linka, on the other hand, sees stars! Pretty lights! Tweeting birds! Lots of things, anything to distract from the reality of the situation...until Mantis casts a spell that will spare her the madness! Strafe adds fuel to the fire, literally. Maren retreats and wards himself. Sadaf calls a tiny thunderhead into the room; it flies near Nggilth-Tsa and zaps...itself?!? The bolt of recursive fractal-energy is certainly something to see. Also somewhat confusing to watch is Nggilth-Tsa's struggle with Seltyiel, which despite initial appearances, the brave defender of Golarion gets the better of! Abadar Himself surely smiles (but also grimaces) upon what happens next: A spectacular gash down its 'trunk' that leaves a stunning mural of noisome iridescent void-monster gore across the far wall, the table, Danduun, and Seltyiel himself, with a screeching backhand across its eye-cluster for good measure! You can now literally see the entity's insides. It teeters, is momentarily surrounded by a halo of utter blackness, and there is a sudden thunderclap as Nggilth-Tsa unceremoniously vanishes back to the realm whence it came! Prettyfly babbles incoherently, but sorts itself out rather quickly. Linka is back to normal, with the help of Mantis's magic. Sirlicks? Well...he still has a few issues to work out:
First he attempts self-trepanation with his banner...
...and then he looks over at Linka and decides there isn't enough room in the air for the two of them:
Fortunately, realizing he just grazed his comrade with a bolt suffices to snap him out of it. Sirlicks (41/50, 16 nonlethal, out 1 bolt), Prettyfly (16 nonlethal)
Strafe (8 nonlethal), Seltyiel (53/58, 8 nonlethal), Linka (50/51, 16 nonlethal, unbreakable), Mantis (8 nonlethal), Danduun (16 nonlethal), Sadaf (8 nonlethal)
Sadaf (and whomever else): You did know going into this that this thing has SR, so please roll your own checks going forward. I am sorry, but it appears you are right! Dear me, that just threatened to make this fight much less interesting...!
I never noticed that clause before (admittedly, I've not often used it myself; might've REALLY changed the outcome of one adventure...)! I would appreciate it if you could all do me a favor and include hyperlinks (to whatever source you like, as long as it's accurate) to your spells or other weird/rare abilities. Anyway, it will certainly help Linka going forward, BUT not this round, as she did beat you in initiative. until I get an act normally, feel free to bot my actions. Would you like a PM when that happens?
DM Screen:
P: +2 s.t.; +2 I; +2 a.r.
N: +2 AC Danduun: 1
N.T.'s P.E.: 19/20 Strafe and Sadaf react as quickly as they are able, pelting Nggilth-Tsa with fire and ice, respectively; both fly true, and its tree-like carapace seems to burn pretty agreeably...but the snowball makes a totally unnatural 45° turn at the last second, splatting harmlessly into the wall! Strafe's incendiary is quickly joined by an even bigger one, courtesy of Linka, and Seltyiel cordially welcomes the Tapestrial horror to Golarion at the edge of his sword - though as he does so, Nggilth-Tsa seemingly welcomes him to dance with its own long embrace...
...which merely brushes off the furious Paladin's gleaming armor! Mantis helps by drawing some potent protective magic, and Danduun helps by...umm...making noises most would not expect a dinosaur to be capable of. In the chaos, Journeyman Fuln gravitates to Sirlicks's ability to at least sound like he knows what he's doing, and to the stunning sight of Seltyiel's righteous charge, and obligingly bestows a protective illusion on the brave fool. Astonishingly, Nggilth-Tsa seems to completely ignore him. What happens next is a little less encouraging: Sirlicks has apparently gone quite mad, and smites himself on the head with his own banner.
What's worse, his companion has gone berserk! Prettyfly lunges at Mantis (offended by her name, perhaps?)...
...fortunately, she is far too well-protected.
Finding itself a tad hemmed in now, Nggilthh-Tsa lashes out against Seltyiel and Danduun with blinding speed, and with even more limbs than you'd realized it had!
Before he knows what is happening, a tentacle encircles Seltyiel from what should be an impossible angle, and he finds his midsection in a crushing tentacular deathgrip!
His movement suddenly restricted, he is unable to avoid a second tentacle, and this one gets an even stronger grip!
Another, larger limb scrabbles across his armor, but to no avail.
Given the latter's present state, Nggilth-Tsa finds poor Danduun to be easy prey. Journeyman Fuln whimpers something about "Tian woodcuts"....
Sirlicks (45/50, 16 nonlethal, CONFUSED), Prettyfly (16 nonlethal, CONFUSED)
Nggilth-Tsa (-46, immolated)
Strafe (8 nonlethal), Seltyel (47/58, 8 nonlethal, blurry, GRAPPLED!), Linka (16 nonlethal, CONFUSED, roll 1d100), Mantis (8 nonlethal), Danduun (22/42, 16 nonlethal, GRAPPLED!, CONFUSED, roll 1d100), Sadaf (8 nonlethal)
I admit, I am impressed; very Paladin of you (and jeez, you do have a crazy-butt AC, now don't you?!). That said, this had to have happened before you got blurred. The movement you are describing definitely sounds like it would call for some Acrobatics (especially in full plate, it'd be a heck of a thing to watch!), but I forget what the specifics would be, so in the interest of time, we'll go with the latter. Nice to see you, Prettyfly! I was wondering what you'd do for an avatar; nice choice. Consider adding some links in your sheet to you and your master's archetypes (that's what I always do). Mantis, would you mind putting some kind of indicator for your magic circle on the map?
OK, I very nearly have my next post composed and the next round underway, BUT one snag I don't want to resolve unilaterally (and a couple of secondary issues - help me to help you!): Seltyiel, how do you intend to go about engaging this thing in melee? It doesn't take any kind of special knowledge nor ESP to see that this thing has 10' reach and will surely use it against you if you just charge with your sword. I also notice that none of you seem to have changed your positions on the map in any way; was that intentional? Sirlicks, please make a separate avatar/sheet for Prettyfly, or at the very least a full readout of its stats. Remember: Familiars aren't just tools, they're party-members! 8)
Anyone else want to chime in?
OK, it's finally coming up on Journeyman Fuln's turn (I see no harm in telling you that helpful NPCs in this adventure all go on predestined static initiatives, regrettably no further information is provided in the event of ties and such), and Sirlicks has successfully browbeaten him into doing something other than peddling sherry. As I said before, he can offer magic weapon, protection from Chaos, blur, or cat’s grace. SO! Which do you want and on whom should he cast it!?
More involved? How strange, normally it's the opposite when comparing card to board! Sirlicks, thank you; very prompt, too.
Oh, Arkham Horror! I used to play the board-game on occasion! Sirlicks, I notice you did not include Prettyfly in the stat-block slide; I looked up its Will save this time, but please rectify that.
DM Screen:
Nggilth-Tsa lurches about for a moment, and then...
The sensation defies description. It's as though the world has turned purplevgdfkjkd pillar coffee crime desert whoolang drneckeam furistoneous gerrIamTheOlivySQUANK! ... Most of you manage to quickly regain your senses, however. Sirlicks, Prettyfly, Linka, and Danduun don't.
Sirlicks (Performing, Courage +3, 16 nonlethal, CONFUSED!), Prettyfly (Courage +3, 16 nonlethal, CONFUSED!)
Nggilth-Tsa
Strafe (Courage +3, 8 nonlethal), Seltyel (Courage +3, 8 nonlethal), Linka (Courage +3, 16 nonlethal, CONFUSED, roll 1d100!), Mantis (Courage +3, 8 nonlethal), Danduun (Courage +3, 16 nonlethal, CONFUSED, roll 1d100!), Sadaf (Courage +3, 8 nonlethal)
DM SCREEN:
At Strafe's words, Journeyman Fuln begins approaching him with a cup of sherry in each hand. "'Interested parties', you say? I say, it sounds like what started as a freak occurrence might be turning into quite the windf-*crackk!*AUUUUUUGHHH!!!" As he passes Nggilth-Tsa's circle, he abruptly looks toward it and drops one of his cups in horror - Nggilth-Tsa is leaving the circle of its own accord! -
Sirlicks
Nggilth-Tsa
Strafe, Seltyel, Linka, Mantis, Danduun, Sadaf
While you may not have realized it at the time, that entire exchange was also a pitched psychic tug-of-war - and you did well enough for Nggilth's Tsa's probings to have backfired, providing you with the insight sufficient to have somewhat seen this coming (especially Sirlicks), and you can intuitively sense some things about this entity; unfortunately, that is not to say it has gotten away with nothing on its own.... Journeyman Fuln is now quivering in horror in the corner; his hands are raised in what the magically versed among you recognize as the prelude to a personal defensive spell.
I play a card game based on Lovecraftian works a lot, so it sounds like a particular entity at this point when Spheres was mentioned. Especially with an infamous enemy in that game called Conglomeration of Spheres. You spelled Its name wrong - but anyway, do tell us about this card-game of yours!
DM Screen:
Nggilth-Tsa abruptly pivots its eye-cluster in the direction of, of all people, Strafe. -
Strafe: That's funny, you had kind of been wondering who built the "Gate"....
DM Screen:
"Nggilth-Tsa, could you please tell us about the gate and how to open it, and how to close it also?" - A door, a copper wall that moves. Pass fromone side to the other, and the space changes. Pass from the other side, and it squirms. Built by a man going home from home. Could not quite make it, so he brought some of home through the door—made a house beyond the void. But his guests are homesick; they want to see the worlds. Would you kill to keep your taste? - Nggilth-Tsa is fidgeting ever-more vigorously on its nether portions, while its eyes are themselves becoming painful to look at and resume shifting about the room.
"If onions make you cry, what makes onions cry?" - Me.-
"Wait," Journeyman Fuln interjects. "What did it say about a 'gate'? I must admit, you and Nggilth-Tsa gotten much further with each other than I could...but I must know! Please, that scroll wasn't cheap, and I doubt I can get a refund for reasons of force magisteure...." He nervously retreats to his desk, where he pours out a few cups of sherry and starts sipping one with a trembling hand.
I am very sorry for neglecting you; sometimes I just get tired. This is a difficult encounter to navigate and adjudicate; the Scenario itself acknowledges that, yet its advice for doing so is rather limited. I was trying to give you some room to take more "initiative" of a different sort. This is a Close Encounter of the Third Kind in the truest sense of the term; in the face of the truly Unknown, what would you actually do?
Sirlicks is aware that like a regrettably high number of higher/otherworldly entities, yangethes operate beyond nature as you know it and hence have a way of 'evading' mortal magic as one might dodge a fist or an arrow ; more plain to see is that their tough, cockroach-like carapaces would have little to fear from common blunt trauma . Linka and Sadaf are mystified; neither can recall having ever heard of such a thing as this.
Sirlicks is actually able to attach some taxonomy to Nggilth-Tsa: "Yangethe" - unsurprisingly, he doesn't know much more.
-
Journeyman Fuln approaches Mantis with a cupful of sherry and an attempt at an earnest smile, one eye still on Nggilth-Tsa. "I don't think it's a matter of poetry so much as...well, a fundamental gap in communication so perfectly the opposite of such that it comes out looking the same. Oh dear, I nearly just did it myself, didn't I...??"
As I said, try (Dungeoneering).
Niggilth-Tsa seems to be oblivious to Mantis's inquiry.
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