I hate to admit it but I am going to have to bail. Work isn't letting up and I just don't have the same level of free time I used to have and I don't have time for roleplaying in any form right now, and it probably is not going to get better for the foreseeable future. I hope you are able to find another GM. It's been a great ride with you guys. Congrats on completing book 1.
Icicle Wand:
This fragile-looking wand appears to be nothing more than a sharpened icicle nearly a foot in length, though it is as sturdy as any wand and the ice never melts. A combination of arcane tool and weapon, icicle wands nd frequent use among the winter witches of Irrisen, and traders have carried them as far south as the mountains of Cheliax, Andoran, and Taldor. An icicle wand functions primarily as a wand of ice spears (see page 72), granting its user the ability to create and turn icy terrain against her enemies. In addition, an icicle wand can also be wielded as a masterwork dagger that deals 1 point of cold damage with a successful attack in addition to normal dagger damage. An icicle wand with a caster level of 7th or higher functions as a +1 frost dagger instead. Elen is able to make friends with the goat and it follows her expectantly. As you wander the rest of the castle, you find rare paintings in Radosek's bedroom worth 500 gp. In Nazhena's bedroom you find an ice statue of a striking, robed woman with an owl on her shoulder. You break an icy door to reveal a vault. Several crates, urns, decanters, and storage boxes fill this small room. A mirrored vanity and chair sit next to the east window. An ice statue of a tall, imperious woman stands in the center of the room. When you take a step inside, the statue says: "The uninvited shall wither and die like the frost-covered bloom. You should never have ventured here, and you’d do well to leave before my return." The statue is otherwise motionless.
A small stone bench sits in the center of this dusty chamber. On the far wall is a faded mural depicting the hero Kassen defeating the mercenaries at the entrance to this crypt, with his blade piercing the chest of the mercenary leader. These figures stand alone in the center of a scene of carnage, with dead villagers and mercenaries all around them. Perception DC 15:
. A DC 15 Perception check notices that both Kassen and the mercenary leader are wearing golden necklaces, each made up of a simple golden chain, from which hangs an oddly shaped medallion. While not identical, the amulets look similar. You continue on to the next door. You push the door open and you see the following: A single pillar in the center of the room supports this wide, domed chamber. The pillar is surrounded by a pit, but a stone bridge crosses the pit on the south side. Dozens of arrows jut from holes in the pillar, facing every direction. Roll20 will be updated shortly.
Radosek falls with an arrow through his neck and a savage spear thrust through his heart. He gurgles "Elvanna... will..." and then dies. loot:
icicle wand (42 charges; see page 61), potions of cure moderate wounds (2), scroll of animate objects; Other Gear amulet of natural armor +1, cloak of resistance +1, ring of protection +1, spell component pouch Where to now?
As the key turns, the golem deactivates and freezes in a threatening pose, motionless. After you catch your breath, you open the door to the south. This small chamber has a table on the opposite side of the room. On top of this table are a number of items, each with a small note attached identifying its exact nature. Sweet sweet loot:
a wand of magic missile (10 charges) and a scroll of scorching ray a masterwork heavy flail and oil of magic weapon wand of mage armor (10 charges) and a scroll of web wand of cure light wounds (10 charges) and a scroll of lesser restoration Where would you like to go now?
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9 "It's a great tragedy, then, that the Black Rider killed you and all your friends before you were able to report back..." He seems quite focused on Droviz. Just as he covers his ears with his hands.
Blood leaks from his ears between his fingers and he screams in agony. Krystae's arrow goes through Radosek's robe but misses the warlock himself. Ragnar's powerful charge ends with his spear running through the back of Radosek and all the way through the other side. As Ragnar pulls his spear free, Radosek's liver remains on the spearpoint. Radosek stumbles a bit, and the cauldron lies untended, looking more and more unstable. As he stumbles to the ground, he lifts his hand to point at his savage attacker. Ragnar's vision begins to blur around the edges and fade to black, but he is able to fully resist the spell and avoid being permanently blinded.His sight fully returns immediately thereafter. Fort Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
I would love to actually play a PbP instead of GMing it, but my time scarcity is getting worse not better. I've already had to resign as VC and need to make myself available for family as much as possible right now. This campaign I will keep alive forever, because I enjoy it very much. But it has been very slow, and I apologize for that. At this point this is the only Pathfinder I am participating in at all now.
As Tecolote approaches the figure, the statue activates turns, and takes two swings at him. The figure is wielding two shields. slam: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19
One of the shields bashes Tecolote in the face, bloodying him badly. To insert the key successfully you'll have to make two consecutive grapple checks.
Krystae hears nothing at the door. The key you found doesn't seem to work on the portals in this room. Krystae opens the south door, revealing an empty hall that curves around past two unoccupied cells. Opening a second door at the end reveals a larger chamber. A long red carpet extends from the western doorway of this mirrored hall between ice sculptures of twin nymphs, ending at an open alcove to the east. Passageways continue north and south, following the contours of the tower’s outer wall, where windows look out over the open courtyard below. The key you have activates the portal in this room, which takes you to the top level.
There is one man in this room, tending the cauldron. "We have been expecting you for some time. You have proved... somewhat difficult for my men to take care of... but some things are best handled personally, wouldn't you say? Nazhena will certainly be happy I have solved her little problem..." There is a goat in the laboratory alcove.
You open the door to the south, which reveals a larger two level room. One half of this lofty chamber has a lowered floor, with stairs on either side to reach the bottom. Standing opposite the door is a tall wooden statue of Kassen grasping a gigantic wooden shield in each hand. One of the shields is inscribed with the word “home,” while the other reads “family.” Knowledge Arcana (DC 15):
You are able to tell this statue is actually a construct. Roll20 will be updated in a moment.
When his wakizashi hits the pressure plate, all of the statues suddenly swing their swords downward. The swords remain in place, and it looks like it is going to be tricky to get past them now, requiring an acrobatics or escape artist check DC 10 to pass without taking 1d4 damage. roll20 will be updated in a moment
Droviz keeps them distracted with the game long enough until Ragnar finds an opening, which he takes. He grabs both atomies by the neck, and smashes their heads together, leaving them in a bloody pile where their faces used to be. On one of them you find a key to operate the portal (ostensibly to take it to a different destination).
You are sure there are no traps on the door. The door opens with a creak. Behind the door is long corridor is flanked by a row of human statues, set into alcoves on each side. The statues look like Kassen, and each one holds a longsword out in front of it. The blades of roughly half the statues are wrapped in leather padding. Perception DC 20: There is a pressure plate located between the third pair of statues.
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
The atomies reappear. One of them says, "Sorry there folks, didn't recognize you. Pull up a chair! We're always ready to lighten your wallet for you. Would hate you see you overburdened with all that coin..." Both atomies begin laughing uncontrollably.
Ragnar steps onto the portal, and says the key words, "A gathering within the hall, take one, take us all." Ice then forms all over his body, until his body is completely enveloped in ice crystals. He then disappears. The rest of you do the same and arrive in the dining hall. A crescent-shaped dining table occupies this Y-shaped chamber, while two large mirrors on the north and south walls create the illusion of an even larger space. Twenty feet overhead, an immense chandelier of ice crystals hangs from the ceiling. To the east, rounded steps access a short hallway, flanked by twin ice sculptures of dryads holding ice-carved tree limbs, creating an elaborate archway. Translucent, glasslike double doors are set in the hall’s north and south walls. To the west, two alcoves stand between three windows providing an amazing view of the wintry landscape outside the tower. You see two atomies playing cards at one of the tables. When Ragnar appears, they take note of him and immediately disappear.
Nyroba steps up and checks the door (in the middle of the map). There is no doorknob, handle or visible hinges; this door appears to only be able to be opened from the other side. You all move back to the west door in the entrance hall, and open it. In the center of this room is a large pool of clear water, fed by a fountain on the wall above it. The fountain has a stone statue of a weeping maiden holding the slain body of Kassen, but his head has been broken off and is nowhere to be seen. A voice booms out from the darkness, saying, “Magic is the key.” The voice slowly fades, leaving a dreadful silence. The door to the south is locked.
The entire tower exudes a magical aura. You find the troll's stash of gold in the kennel to the southeast, totaling 500 gp. You step forward through the arch, under some icicles. Steamy air fills this inner gallery, emanating in lazy wisps from a bubbling pool recessed into the floor of a raised dais surrounded by six pillars of ice. Four foggy mirrors hang from the walls near ice sculptures of helmeted pike-wielding warriors.
Teclote recognizes the creature as a shadow, and knows that it is incorporeal, and what that means. Spoiler: An incorporeal creature has no physical body. It can be harmed only by other incorporeal creatures, magic weapons or creatures that strike as magic weapons, and spells, spell-like abilities, or supernatural abilities. It is immune to all nonmagical attack forms. Even when hit by spells or magic weapons, it takes only half damage from a corporeal source (except for channel energy). Although it is not a magical attack, holy water can affect incorporeal undead. Corporeal spells and effects that do not cause damage only have a 50% chance of affecting an incorporeal creature. Force spells and effects, such as from a magic missile, affect an incorporeal creature normally.
An incorporeal creature has no natural armor bonus but has a deflection bonus equal to its Charisma bonus (always at least +1, even if the creature’s Charisma score does not normally provide a bonus). An incorporeal creature can enter or pass through solid objects, but must remain adjacent to the object’s exterior, and so cannot pass entirely through an object whose space is larger than its own. It can sense the presence of creatures or objects within a square adjacent to its current location, but enemies have total concealment (50% miss chance) from an incorporeal creature that is inside an object. In order to see beyond the object it is in and attack normally, the incorporeal creature must emerge. An incorporeal creature inside an object has total cover, but when it attacks a creature outside the object it only has cover, so a creature outside with a readied action could strike at it as it attacks. An incorporeal creature cannot pass through a force effect. An incorporeal creature’s attacks pass through (ignore) natural armor, armor, and shields, although deflection bonuses and force effects (such as mage armor) work normally against it. Incorporeal creatures pass through and operate in water as easily as they do in air. Incorporeal creatures cannot fall or take falling damage. Incorporeal creatures cannot make trip or grapple attacks, nor can they be tripped or grappled. In fact, they cannot take any physical action that would move or manipulate an opponent or its equipment, nor are they subject to such actions. Incorporeal creatures have no weight and do not set off traps that are triggered by weight. An incorporeal creature moves silently and cannot be heard with Perception checks if it doesn’t wish to be. It has no Strength score, so its Dexterity modifier applies to its melee attacks, ranged attacks, and CMB. Nonvisual senses, such as scent and blindsight, are either ineffective or only partly effective with regard to incorporeal creatures. Incorporeal creatures have an innate sense of direction and can move at full speed even when they cannot see.
The troll finally falls after Droviz hits the beast in the back and Ragnar drives his spear through the troll's throat. As it lays on the ground, the wound on its throat immediately closes and heals. It remains unmoving on the ground. Knowledge Local DC 14: Trolls regenerate and cannot be killed permanently without fire or acid being employed.
The door opens. You move down the hallway, around a corner and see the following: The remains of a small fire smolder in the center of this broad chamber, letting off a plume of oily smoke. Fed by a heap of burning gear, debris, and more than few bones, the fire casts a flickering light across the walls of this room, partially obscured by the veil of smoke. You have not yet entered the room, and are standing at the entrance. Roll20 will be updated shortly.
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