Moonpate's page

Phrip wrote:

Given that my character is going to be the squishiest in the group (I seem to have a knack for that), he would enjoy having any extra protection around him as possible.

I'd love to offer my services, but unfortunately I'm stuck in a pyramid down south, babysitting some chubby ex-bartender.

And a mighty fine job you do at that.

The dead man's scroll dissolves in Moonpate's hands as he reads the words upon the parchment aloud. When he completes the final phrase, a cone of silvered light flashes outwards at the ceiling. A moment later the splashy light show is over and the gloomy darkness of the corridor seeps back in.

Both Gandel and Moonpate quickly re-cast their cantrips to survey the level of success.

Both conclude there are now only three detectable auras up in the ceiling.

"Hmmm. I cannot say that I am displeased...but now what?"

The Potentate will need a Dispel check (what we used to call a caster level check, just a D20+8 for his level)

Having perhaps cast detect magic himself before hand, like Gandel, Moonpate will know there are 4 distinct auras in or above the ceiling to target. Unless they are intertwined in some way, he's likely to only dispel one with a single casting. Did you want to also pick a number between 1-4 or shall I just roll at random?

I will target one of the closer auras (let's say the one on the right side).

Dispel Check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

Gandel chuckles, "The note is from our friend Xaven reminding us not to touch anything. Still I am not sure what the enchantment magic will do if we pass the threshold. Can anyone dispel it before we proceed? Still not seeing any obvious traps from my vantage point".

"I will make the attempt."

Moonpate will step up to the area and use one of his Dispel Magic scrolls.

It is difficult to see from so far away, but each staff seems to be topped by some kind of jeweled ornament.

The rods are only 3-4 feet long and so it is possible to pass down the corridor's center without coming into contact with them.

"Four rods for four pharoahs? I wonder what they do?

The walls are unremarkable: quality stonework, but unadorned. No sign of light or sound.

Continue?

Moonpate will have his Summon Monster wand ready for use.

Question: Does use of that wand take a full round for the critter to manifest, just like the spell?

"So the Halfling turning into a firefly and being by Suekhan simultaneously killing us all does not interest anyone else? You all seem to value your lives less than I do. Karek, Breach?"

Hal will hold, if the other Dwarves fail to give chase so will Hal.

Moonpate shakes his head with frustration.

"Yeah? Well apparently you people seem think that pact entitles you to seize my stuff whenever you want, use your magic to mess with my pal's mind and threaten us repeatedly. So excuse me if I don't want to stick around for more of your abuse. So no, I tried, but enough is enough, were not in this together any more. Now scram before I leap into the . . . leap into the. . ."

"Where did the flipping fire go?!"
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Moonpate's readied action has just been triggered - he now has line of sight to Xaven. I'll just need Phrip to confirm nothing has changed and he still intends to fire that last charge.

Xaven continues to confirm that he is indeed crazy and either does not care or does not fully grasp that his life is tied to ours and going it alone jeopardizes all of us. He will attempt to zap him again.

I am going to send this on to my rules gurus and get us a blind ruling. They won't know the situation or who benefits. If they conclude its unclear, as they sometimes do, I'll flip a Paizo dice roller coin.

sounds good. I was wondering the same thing. If line of sight will be blocked then Moonpate will just stay ready with his wand for Xaven to present a target.

The Pate will move and attempt another shot (his last charge) with his wand of Hold Person on Xaven. The ring of fire was a great move to get them stopped, but that crazy halfling may still do something. We need to get him stunned, enchanted, or immobilized in some way and this time strip him of everything.

Moonpate wrote:

Moonpate will have his wand of hold person at the ready and will use it if Xaven moves another five feet.

-

Is this still current? Will Moonpate take a readied action triggered upon Xaven's movement?

Yep.

Send me your rolls, if you’re in, otherwise I’ll post the order and we’ll resolve from there.

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

As an aside, now that Moonpate has become a “wandful” as I call it, we need to address the fact that he can’t conveniently have all his wands out all the time.

Digging one out from a backpack is a full-round action (a move action for those handy haversack guys).

Moonpate can though carry one, or even two, in his hands (and wield them out without requiring any additional action). What does he want in each of his hands as his default? There’s his mystic beer stein and club as well, of course.

He could take a page from the corpse he took those wands from and wear Sceptre’s wand bandolier. That would enables him to access all of the wands as a move action, but I suspect that wand cowboy might not be the look Moonpate is trying to rock out here.

Anyways, there are many solutions, but I ought to pin down how you want to handle this.

I think I had previously stated that the wand of hold person was being held, but I think I never mentioned putting it "away" after not using it on Hrokon. I probably would have kept it in hand, with club and mug clipped to belt. Once the whole mess with our grumpy "colleagues" is sorted out, I would swap the hold person wand in hand for the summon wand.

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"Alright then. You won't have to. You guys are incapable of allying. Let's go our separate ways. You want to go north, so go north. We'll get out of your way and go south. Best luck to ya - try not to get killed."

Once more Xaven and Hrokon begin to edge away from the Dunesquad, this time headed south back to the Pactstone chamber.

"See ya toots," he says to Xerissa. "Bye Muscles," he says to Karek.

"Are you mad?!? By isolating yourselves you make a very tempting target for that devil, and if you die we all die. Quit making threats and you will not only increase your chances of surviving this pact curse, but you will also likely profit considerably. Your expertise and input will be considered and respected as we get through this together."

Moonpate will have his wand of hold person at the ready and will use it if Xaven moves another five feet.

Breach, wishing he could remove the halfling's head with his axe, merely shakes his own. "I think that's a GREAT idea, Reaver. I'm really tired o' hearin' his mouth run," he says as a matter of fact while staring down the annoying halfling.

Moonpate lets out a low whistle of frustration and pats his prodigious belly.

Hal will sigh and replace his axe in the loop through his bely seeing that his desires have been rebuffed by the party. He will then reach into his Handy Haversack and hand Xaven 100 gold coins.

"There, now we are no longer robbing you".

Hal looks to Donkor and Moonpate, "Do we have any spells available that can keep prying eyes and ears away from us?"

"Alas, Master Morgrym, my talents lie elsewhere, except after a case or two of Ferm's Fermented Cheese Rinds, after which I seem to acquire talents galore."

"Better for us to have those potions now Xaven, we don't want to be doling out potions in a line if we are in a hurry to flee. I don't think we go anywhere but right here. We destroy this stone which could lead to the ruin of the world at large if it falls into the wrong hands. Imagine hordes of Orcs or Demons utilizing this magic? The consequences would be disastrous".

"Master Morgrym, your concern does you credit. However, we do not yet know enough about the Stone's power in order to effect its destruction. We must continue searching this level and uncover its secrets before we can act decisively. And, let's indeed distribute those potions now before we are further inconvenienced."

No apologies Dennis, I'm wrong at least 50%+ of the time, it seems.

With Hurgah, readied to leap, that will take us to Moonpate next.

"Hroken, what I said is true. You will not come to harm from us if you assist us in leaving this cursed place. Come back here and distribute those potions so we may all benefit."

The Pate will keep his wand out, but lowered in a non-threatening manner, and go on delay.

With the above chaos, I am a bit unclear as to whether combat is actually breaking out (or perhaps I am being lazy and should just get to it)

Hrokon is definitely attempting to bolt. That whole "Get I'm" thing has perhaps startled him.

Is there an intent to attack him?

For example, I think Moonpate means to zap him with a hold person with his new found wand. Is anyone else taking action?

I am hoping that Hrokon will listen to reason, but will be prepared to zap him if he continues to bolt.

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Gandel initiative 1d20+5

At all the commotion and crazed dwarven antics Moonpate throws up his hands in disgust.

"Stop it! Now is not the time to be banging on stones and chasing that brute. If he is idiotic enough to flee alone then the devil will surely take him. Hroken, get back here you fool! If Breach's vision isn't tainted by too much senility then we will all need each other to not only get out of here alive but to also win through whatever that witch Khymrasa has planned for us up top. We must see what this level holds and find the hidden song tubes out of here. And you, Hroken, WILL hand out those purple potions to all or your fate will be sealed shortly, either by us or the fiend watching our every move."

Moonpate brandishes his wand of hold person.

As the group approaches the archway, Hurgah signals a hold. Pointing through the arch, he turns to Xaven and asks "All right, Champ. What do your tomb raider instincts tell you about this?"

We are quite a large group now. Let's make sure we don't bunch ourselves together and that we keep a watch on our backsides.

"OK kiddies! Listen up!"

"It's kinda important that none of you die, right now."

"So I need you to all to learn to follow Xaven's Rules for pyramid survival. . ."

"Rule number 1: if it's shiny, don't touch it. If it's dull don't touch it. And if it moves, don't %&$^ touch it. In fact, if you have pockets, you might want to stuff your chubby hands in there for the duration. I'll let you know when you're needed to hit something."

Moonpate arches what previously used to be a nice bushy eyebrow and addresses our newest group "addition".

"Sir Knave, your association with this justifiably dead assassin does not color you in a favorable light, and in fact makes your words as gratifying to hear as an air elemental's flatulence. Nonetheless, our fates seem bound together for the nonce, and as such we must work together. Specifically, that means you will do what we say, to our mutual benefit and profit. Such boons being defined as you leaving this place with your life. Cross us further and you will guarantee a similar fate as your despicable former colleague. We will value your stated expertise and gladly have you lead the way in investigating these side passages. Should you prove useful and honorable hence forth, and we are lucky enough to survive this thrice cursed pyramid, you might even gain profit beyond the retention of your hide. Such is my opinion. Others may differ and I will gladly hear their statements regarding what to do with you."

Pact Stone GM wrote:

If it matters, the wand rifle is presently loaded with the wand of dispel magic and the wand of scorching ray.

-

But Moonpate can load any two wands into the rifle he likes.

The problem is, use of the wand rifle requires an exotic weapon proficiency, so he's probably better off not using it until he picks up some training.

The advantage it provides is you can cycle between the two wands as a free action, and it gives a +1 bonus to ranged touch attacks.

It also has a masterwork bayonet for close-quarter stabbing.

Perhaps Gandel would be a better choice for the rifle then

+1 bracers of armor

The previously unidentified wand is a:

wand of summon monster IV (2 remaining charges)

"Hmmmm, Sceptre had some valuable items indeed!

Moonpate will grab the Wand of Summoning, Dispel, Hold Person, and the Amulet of Armor, unless others have better ideas.

Which wands are in the rifle? He should probably use that, with the rest of the wands going to Lydia.

Does he wish to employ that scroll of identify? (A re-try with a further +10 bonus)

"Hmmm, some of these items are just strange enough to confound certain identification. I will have to employ a scroll for just such an occurrence. As my master was fond of saying to his most arrogant students, "Bafflement is indeed unbecoming, but prideful refusal of aid unmasks true idiocy". He would then hit the student over their noggin with the required scroll tube. Fortunately, I have one such scroll here for our edification."

Will use his scroll of identify:
Spellcraft check: 1d20 + 17 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 17 + 10 = 39

All that's required is detect magic plus a Spellcraft check (DC unknown). As a GM sometimes I miss the days of trial and error, but as I player I do not.

Stooping with earnest over the pile of magic goods, Moonpate examines each one, beginning with the wands, to see if he recognizes their function. If he and Lydia are not able to ascertain enough, he does have a scroll of identify handy.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (6) + 17 = 23

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I keep forgetting, Moonpate lacks the ability to communicate with his most recent summons. Maybe he can pantomime and send it down a corridor and see what happens, but it's definitely beyond his ability to get it to come back and report.
Just to check:
Did you mean the corridor running east that attaches to the great circular chamber where Sceptre just collapsed in and Phato currently is?

Sorry for the delay, been travelling without access to internet. Yes, I did mean corridor to east from the great circular chamber where Sceptre was finished. I will pantomime as best as possible to get Phato off and exploring. If there are other foul things about we will then hear about it.

Moonpate will quickly move away from the shaft towards Sceptre's corpse and signal Phatotzlikal to scout towards the eastern corridor.
Before Xaven gets a chance:
"Hurgah, please secure that assassin's rifle and any other useful adjuncts you might find. I am sure we will need the extra firepower soon enough."

Welcome Phatotzlikal!

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So who is Moonpate hunting first? Just let me know whereabouts you want Phato to appear (within range).

I would like him to add some spice and variety to Sceptre's final seconds.

Ever since I reminded Moonpate that for the sake of tactics, he doesn't need to choose his summoned monster until the following round, it has had the unintended effect of leaving me in suspense for days at a time.

Time to lay it on us though! What's coming?

I sure wish I had access to an expanded summon list, but given what I have to work with, I will go with the awe inspiring augmented celestial dire bat Phatotzlikal - Fiend Hunter extraordinaire. I figure his blindsense ability will help in locating and finally destroying our nemesis, Sceptre. I will summon him as close to the last charred outline of that cad as possible, directing him to hunt. Sceptre definitely picked the wrong time to try and assassinate the Potentate and his friends.

Moonpate will move just outside of the shaft diameter and begin casting Summon III.

-----

With a savage hiss, the emerald arrow knifes into the floating assassin, knocking him off balance and into an awkward spinning cartwheel.

First round acid damage: 2d4 ⇒ (1, 4) = 5

DC17 Spellcraft check: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (16) + 17 = 33

** spoiler omitted **

Hurgah lets out a roar of triumph as the floating assassin burns even further. He turns to Moonpate, a feral grin on his face.

"Come, friend, and help us burn this coward with the flames of vengeance. He will spend his last few seconds regretting he ever crossed Moonpate the Potentate and Hurgah the Reaver!"

"Indeed!"

Witnessing the awesome explosion and the appropriately fried villain in obvious distress, Moonpate conjures an arcane bow and with a final syllable of power unleashes a sickly green arrow aimed to end the assassin's life for good.

Acid Arrow ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15 drat, probably not enough

Moonpate wrote:

And expecting exactly this kind of cowardly attack, Moonpate the Potentate has prepared for Sceptre's return.

His ringed hand out flings out, arcing its stored arcane power outward to intercept the lightning bolt.

Using his ring of counterspells: lightning bolt.

-

OK! I'll splash my thought process here.

But here's the problem. How do we know Sceptre was actually targeting Moonpate?...

I appreciate the thought process and your solution...and of course glad it worked in our favor to thwart a nemesis.

As the Dune Squad pulls back, A forked bolt of lightning rips from the shaft and blasts towards them. The bolt electrifies the walls and floor of the room, lighting everything -and everyone- completely up. For a brief moment you can actually see the glowing internal skeletons of Team Polymorph, like a hideous X-ray.

With the bolt's angle, it hits Hurgah (and Xaven). It then passes through and hits Halstadt and Moonpate.

when the Dune Squad looks to see where the bolt comes from they see a familiar face, a grim faced sniper pointing a wand rifle at them. He's floating at the bottom of the shaft.

After coming off delay and firing, Sceptre's invisibility ends. He then levitates back up the shaft an unknown height. He's now out of everyone's angle of sight.

And that ends the round. . .

And expecting exactly this kind of cowardly attack, Moonpate the Potentate has prepared for Sceptre's return.

Using his ring of counterspells: lightning bolt.

"The Neversword Rescue"

Initative for Round 1
.
.
.
Moonpate the Potentate - 13
Hrokon the Assailant - 9
The Reaving Pharaoh - 5
Halstadt 'Cricket' Morgrym - 1

More to join in the following round. . . should there be one.

"Let's get away from this shaft and force the brute to come after us!

Will go on delay.

Hmmmm...now that is one heck of a pact with some very interesting fine print. Was this thing written by a lawyer with too much imagination??? I wonder what the loop holes are.

Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Halstadt pauses for a moment. "By Angradd the Halfling is right. We cannot just tress him up and leave him to be slain by the likes of this Demon. Certainly we should knock him out and carry him with us, we would be no better than the Chelexians if we leave him to die here".

"Carrying around the dead weight of this halfling may put us in danger, nor would it better protect his sorry hide if we are attacked and he is left bound, unconscious or not. His fate should not be our concern, but I understand your reluctance to not leave him should danger come, though he would just as soon knife us all in the back and not think twice about it. Still....I have it! Let's turn him into one of those magic fireflies and stick him in a bottle. We can then carry him with ease and ease your admirable conscious at the same time. Oh, how the gen would chuckle at such a fate for this miserable mortal."

Hal will nod his head at the Halfling. "We are incapacitating you, not robbing you. I'll respect your wishes Halfling".

"Gag and blindfold the bugger too. We don't need him crying out, chewing our ears off with his yammering, or observing our actions. Stuff his ears with something unpleasant as well. Or better yet, knock him out and then gag and blindfold him. He is in league with that assassin who has been stalking us, so I have no sympathy or trust for this blackguard. When he is adequately secured we can then more freely discuss our next steps."

"Glad to hear someone here is a pragmatist."

"So what do you wanna do then? Rendezvous our two groups and coordinate a strat? After the bastards gone we can go our separate ways and everything that entails - no strings attached."

"And does your group include a surly lout with a penchant for using wands?

Xerissa rolls her eyes at the feisty halfling. "As you wish," she says to Halstadt. "But I buy none of it."

"I must agree with our fair companion. This mercenary is not to be trusted. We should search him well, tie him up good, and incentivize him not to escape. I'm sure Xerissa and Gandel can rig a bomb to keep him still. When we are finally done with the cursed tomb we can decide to be merciful and let him go...or not."

Karek Kogan wrote:

Donkor, peering down the hole, comments with some interest. "Karek seems to have recovered. Who's next?" He's somewhat eager to try the bug route and to heal his bestest friend Karek, but he'll wait until the cloud is out of the way.

With Donkor and Hurgah both deferring and seemingly interested in travelling by firefly, that makes Moonpate next.

Moonpate makes an undignified belly flop into the shaft and is immediately caught by a purplish Ilma-aello sphere, with a perfectly shaped concave.

Sorry for late response. Been traveling again. Thanks for handling the transport. I was going to suggest Donkor go, with Hurgah and I transformed into fireflies that Donkor could safely hold in his hands; or some such combination to get us all down at the same time.

"Lydia, let's get you down the shaft next. Please allow my great friend Ilma-aello to transport you in comfort.

Will instruct Ilma to carry Lydia down, if she is so inclined. If the purple cloud guest happens to solidify in transit...oh well.

So are we moving the party to the lower level? I am all for unifying everyone. I think the Beetle tries to split us up on purpose. But by my count there are two other rooms on this middle level that we know of. Should we leave them behind? Also Hurgah has nailed how the shaft works. Nice one. At least I think so. I'd argue Hurgah thinsk simply enough to figure it out while the rest of us over-INT's over-analyzed it.

Given that there is a big devil somewhere near that refuses to stay put and be killed like a good monster I am all for staying together, even if that means some rooms don't get explored in a timely fashion. Moonpate is far too squishy to be cavalier about checking behind every door. That's my two cents.

Meanwhile,

Moonpate appears to be engaged in a duel of sorcery. Ilma-aello's time in the material plane begins to grown short and the wizard is doing his utmost to hold her here while she continues to imprison the purple cloud of mist.

At the same time the mist appears to be trying to hang together as long as it can. Perhaps, it bears the hope that once the elemental vanishes, it can make its escape.

The room goes eerily silent, save for the dull hum caused by the continuous churning of Ilma-aello's revolving sphere of air.

I'm back. Thanks for your expert handling of the Potentate.

"Karek, Hurgah, prepare to grapple whomever this purple cloud turns out to be. It looks like it will materialize very soon and we should be prepared. Of course, we could also just have great Ilma hold it over the shaft and let it go if it turns out to be one of those devil monks. Yes, that would seem most fitting."

"Heads up everyone! A purple cloud started to come out of the tube. When I saw it, it saw me and sucked back inside. I think someone has followed us!!"

Last post bfore leaving on trip. Very interesting dev. Makes me wonder what an air elemental could do to a small purple cloud, in or out of a small tube. My guess is whatever he wanted to do and then some...

Hurt my right hand pretty bad and can't type too well. Also, will be heading to France for my sister's wedding and won't be back until the 8th...so please DM PC the Potentate for me...the more potent the better.
I was thinking of summoning an air elemental that could, if necessary, help carry folks down (or up) the shaft. Also would like the earth elemental(s) to open the double doors to the chamber where we think Lydia is.
thanks

"My friends, it seems the spider is heading away from us and so is Breach. I think our path lies below us, in any case we cannot let Breach go it alone".

Hal takes a step off of the ledge and feather falls to the bottom.

Most of Moonpate's mind is deep in concentration as he manipulates arcane energies to call forth another friend from beyond, but a small part of his brain takes in the surrounding scene and wonders if the dwarves have gone crazy.

I'm getting the sense people want to remain in initative still. I blame Mr. Exciting.

If I am right about that, technically Moonpate cannot take a move action to pass through the sand wall and rejoin Hurgah, while still casting a summon monster IV spell, which is a full round action.

He'll need to choose between the two - just let me know.

Self preservation is a powerful motivator for the Potentate. He will stay near Hurgah and stay on total defense.

Moonpate admires the handiwork of Dignon and follows the maddened Hurgah through the widened hole, only to stop short in amazed horror as he catches a glimpse of Breach jumping into the shaft. His mouth opens, but words fail him. The spectacle is then interrupted by the report of the other elemental, and now he is once more flabbergasted by the unexpected. Breach's crazed shout of triumph, followed shortly by his yell of surprise and pain, focuses Moonpate's mental faculties to immediate action.
"We must get Breach back up here quickly! Cragg-el informs me that behind the great doors there is some kind of jungle environment and a weeping female, who may well be our lost Lydia. Cover me whilst I summon more help."

Will begin another summon IV spell.