Mother Hellana Vorst's page

"Anyone who can, Dispel the lich's protections!"

Durgan cannot get into the melee, so he draws and throws a flask of Holy Water at the lich.

"I might be able to do something about that... assuming we stay alive long enough for me to have a chance to." shouts Mother Vorst.

"And someone tell us how to hurt it!"

Durgan failed the Knowledge (Religion) check way way back when the illusory lich first appeared, so I don't think he gets another. But if this real lich counts as a different entity...

[ooc]I think regardless of how many different (for example) different zombies you might see you either know something about them or not, but you do have other knowledgeable people in attendance (Sandralane, Vorst, Dool and Kozen in particular) and between all of them you can suss out as a group that liches are skeletal at their core and therefore resistant to slashing or piercing attacks, but worse they are held together by powerful protective magic and therefore an assailant not only needs a club, but magical club to even begin to significantly inconvenience one (Liches have DR 15 bludgeoning and magic).

Each PC (aside from Durgan now) can ask another question regarding liches if they like, since it would have been reasonable to discuss their strengths and weakness the night before with everyone else. Mother Vorst certainly would have wanted to go in with some sort of plan of attack.

Mother Vorst invokes the power of Pharasma once more to inspire those around her to shake off their pains and fight on. "It is not yet your time, Serena."

channel positive energy: 6d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 2, 2, 6, 5) = 18

At this point the group as a whole would have following buffs in place thanks to Mother Vorst, and Sandralane: bless, and prayer

Also, before going up Mother Vorst would have pulled Durgan aside and cryptically told him to "Tread carefully. There are dangers unseen ahead of us."

Third Floor Map Updated

The enlarged party moves to the stairwell, where as suggested by Lord Varn the numbers begin to tell as his own men insist they they go up before him even as he insists he should be the one to lead. Longtooth blows out a breath and Kozen suggests that the it might be best if he stay behind since he would only get in the way. Sandralane keeps close to Serena, while Dool's hulking bodyguard stares down from around his great shield at Fergus, and Renault looks on from the far rail.

Finally, with an air of deep disapproval Mother Vorst says "So who is going first?"

"Perhaps we should take stock and form some sort of plan of attack."

{Stands apart in the hallway muttering prayers to herself}

"We came looking for him." Mother Vorst says indicating Dool who seems to swell at the attention.

"As are many others, Matheus." says the holy mother.

Mother Vorst darts past to offer encouragement and fortitude to a visibly rattled Matheus.

cure moderate wounds v Matheus: 2d8 + 11 ⇒ (7, 4) + 11 = 22

Mother Vorst rushes after Longtooth.

Mother Vorst steps in with her mace to aid the rear guard. Her iron rod bangs off of the creatures head again to the sound of ringing metal.

iron rod v red: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28 damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 hit

Morther Vorst whacks the beast on the head from behind hard with her iron symbol of office, before moving to the south.

iron rod v red (flank): 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32 damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
THREAT!
confirm?: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28 additional damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

The Hedge Maze (Large Party Edition!)

"They are in there."

**koff, koff**

The Hedge Maze (Large Party Edition!)

Mother Vorst leads the party to the manor's back lawn where they find a high hedge wall. Following the wall they come upon the entrance to a hedge maze. The fields around are sprinkled with the corpses of a few of the attendee's bodyguards and servants none of whom the party members know by looking at them.

Some characters might have other plans or abilities that might allow for other points of entrance. If anyone wants to fly over or burrow under or try to cut their way through now would be the time to say so. Otherwise I will assume everyone is at the entrance.

"They are in there." Vorst says with a sense of finality.

First floor grounds of Ser Richard Iannuchi's Manor (Serena, Durgan, Fergus and Illthir Edition!)

"Durgan! Illthir! I feared that we would never see one another again!" Serena's voice betrays her exhaustion, but the emotion is clear.

"My dear it's good to see you again. We're going to try and rescue the other attendants. You haven't seen the Lady Sandralane by any chance? Or the Lord Mayor?"

Longtooth and Kozen exit the door behind Serena. The merchant looks distracted, while Longtooth is all smiles as if he is enjoying himself.

Matheus asks the three if any of them have seen his Lord Varn.

Meanwhile.

First floor of Ser Richard Iannuchi's Manor

"So you want to find Dool?" pronouncing the wizard's name in a tone reminiscent of a what one might use to describe a filthy drain clog.

"Want is a strong way to put it ..." Illthir mutters to herself but gives Fergus a chance to weight in.

I'm not entirely sure, all this chaos has left me a bit flustered. I know I cannot properly track teleportation effects yet. Dool or stroon perhaps could.. though they likely don't have the required magic prepared today. It would be unlikely in either case.

Fergus offers what little he can for advice.

It is possible. Though unlikely I would say.

"So you're sure then? Very well." Forcing her goiter down, Mother Vorst tries to bring the contentious wizard to mind. She begins to chant an invocation to call upon second sight of the Lady of Graves.

"He's somewhere that way." she says pointing. "Round the back of the house near the orchard and maze."

Hoping to find. Well. Maybe not that, if they only got one. They'd have to make some hard choices. "Alak Dool. He sniffed out a teleportation spell earlier." Her face turned even sourer. "Or Imeckus Stroon; he preformed the practical feat..."

She turns to the party wizard for advice, maybe he knew. Better yet; maybe he could say if teleportation-sleuthing was feasible or not. If not, then yeah, maybe not poke either of those clown. Ahem esteemed investors.

"So you want to find Dool?" pronouncing the wizard's name in a tone reminiscent of a what one might use to describe a filthy drain clog.

Out front of Ser Richard Iannuchi's Manor

Illthir peers into the hall and mumbles. "Well. This place looks like it does..." No friendlies had made it back though. With a small frown she ponders what proactive ways they had of finding them. "Can we... track the teleportation somehow? Sniff out where they went?"

"And who were you hoping to find, dear?" asks Mother Vorst clearly contemplating something. "I may be able to help one of you."

Mother Vorst has access to locate object today.

"At least there were three of them now. That though was a lot less then there had been at the start of this darn day. [b]"Have either of you seen anyone else from our company? Don't think we'll want to deal with anything like this split up. Or any other guests for that matter."

"What? No. Have you seen Sandralane? We were in the gazebo when one of the servants walked in and snapped what I took to be a human rib bone. There was a purple flash. Then I found myself here with that efreeti, Matheus, and poor Alisa here."

Durgan Far-Walker wrote:

"It has the advantage in there! Let's not go in. What sort of trickery can it do, Illthir?"

Assuming Illthir (or Mother Vorst) clues Durgan in about the Efreet's SLAs, he will cast Invisibility Purge.

** spoiler omitted **

Mother Vorst knows efreeti to be quite magical, but not to the point that she knows about (or thinks about) their powers of invisibility. Illithir came up less knowledgeable on her earlier knowledge check. So there's no real help from either of them on the topic just now.

EDIT Actually, Vorst has seen the efreeti vanish, so sure Durgan could know.

"It has the advantage in there! Let's not go in. What sort of trickery can it do, Illthir?"

Assuming Illthir (or Mother Vorst) clues Durgan in about the Efreet's SLAs, he will cast Invisibility Purge.

Mother Vorst knows efreeti to be quite magical, but not to the point that she knows about (or thinks about) their powers of invisibility. Illithir came up less knowledgeable on her earlier knowledge check. So there's no real help from either of them on the topic just now.

The Stable

"Oh, for Pharasma's sake!" grumbles the priestess.

selective healing channel: 5d6 ⇒ (1, 5, 3, 2, 1) = 12

Conditions inside
Note on cover: that the efreeti has cover because of the top of the door frame from people standing outside the door. They get cover from her as well. She's technically up a little higher than 5', but everything related to fighting spaces in Pathfinder boils down to 5' squares and cubes.
Prayer for the party.
Smoke A character who breathes heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.
Extreme heat (from the fire inside) deals lethal damage. Breathing air in these temperatures deals 1d6 points of fire damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save every 5 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Those wearing heavy clothing or any sort of armor take a –4 penalty on their saves.

Round 13! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir -18 hp
__ Efreeti
__ Durgan
__ Mother Vorst sickened
__ Matheus -22 hp
__ The fire

The Stable

Vorst offers up a healing prayer.

selective healing channel: 5d6 ⇒ (6, 6, 2, 1, 1) = 16

Conditions inside
Note on cover: that the efreeti has cover because of the top of the door frame from people standing outside the door. They get cover from her as well. She's technically up a little higher than 5', but everything related to fighting spaces in Pathfinder boils down to 5' squares and cubes.
Prayer for the party.
Smoke A character who breathes heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.
Extreme heat (from the fire inside) deals lethal damage. Breathing air in these temperatures deals 1d6 points of fire damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save every 5 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Those wearing heavy clothing or any sort of armor take a –4 penalty on their saves.

Round 12! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir -10 hp
__ Mother Vorst delay, sickened
__ Efreeti
__ Durgan (+215 lbs of encumbrance, go ahead and move Durgan and Matheus)
__ Matheus -34 hp
__ The fire

"Perhaps I have grown naive, but I did not foresee the need to for open battle at this council. From where has this evil arrived from?"

There's not much she has left spell wise to help Durgan aside from a lot of channeling and healing.

Mother Vorst offers up another prayer to Pharasma.

healing channel: 5d6 ⇒ (5, 6, 4, 4, 1) = 20

The Stable

The reflex save prompt appears on the last two post despite (I think) not walking into any new fires. Did I miss one or is it just copy pasted there :)?

Just a copy/paste error on my part.

Illthir rushes along the building and comes just far enough to see the scene inside, though without all the details. "Can you channel to heal?" If they were alive. She couldn't help but feel like a lamb by a slaughterhouse, but maybe they'll be able to get them out ...

"If the Lady permits and hasn't snuffed their candles yet."

healing channel: 5d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 1, 3, 2) = 16

Matheus begins coughing.

Conditions inside
Prayer for the party.
Smoke A character who breathes heavy smoke must make a Fortitude save each round (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or spend that round choking and coughing. A character who chokes for 2 consecutive rounds takes 1d6 points of nonlethal damage. Smoke obscures vision, giving concealment (20% miss chance) to characters within it.
Extreme heat (from the fire inside) deals lethal damage. Breathing air in these temperatures deals 1d6 points of fire damage per minute (no save). In addition, a character must make a Fortitude save every 5 minutes (DC 15, +1 per previous check) or take 1d4 points of nonlethal damage. Those wearing heavy clothing or any sort of armor take a –4 penalty on their saves.

Round 10! (Theme ♬)
The Bold May Act!
_________________
__ Illthir
__ Mother Vorst sickened
__ Durgan
__ Matheus -36 hp
__ The fire

The Stable

Mother Vorst prays for all of her allies inside the burning building.

Walker is burned and his mane catches on fire! The horse rears and screams.

Again the devil horse tries to trample Durgan with it's flaming hooves, and breath, but to no avail. The dwarf narrowly skirts the creatures flurry of attacks.

bite v Durgan: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22 damage: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 plus fire damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 miss
hoof v Durgan: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 plus fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1 miss
hoof v Durgan: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 plus fire damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2 miss

The Stable

Illthir gives the twig a little extra spin and this time it blows the door wholly off of its hinges and into the room, causing the flame to suddenly billow forth from around the door's frame.

Inside the main stable Mother Vorst finishes casting a spell upon Matheus with a terse "Now go!"

Matheus nods at her and Durgan and rushes toward the flame using his spear to vault through the sheets of flames out Durgans view.

"Yeah well whatever!" says a stable-hand with a really expensive looking rapid fire crossbow.

"You all may be crazy but I'm not!" she says and heads out the barn doors trailing smoke.

GM wrote:

One thing to keep in mind is that your kingdom is going to be starting from a very small population. Tombstone in the 1800's probably didn't have a Protestant church, and a Roman Catholic church, and a temple, and a mosque, AND a shrine if you get where I am going.

Aye, they may have had a small building though with several shrines. Well maybe someplace more polytheistic, where acknowledging multiple gods aren't the issue :)

I have a secret fondness for pantheons (as discussed in some of the 3.0/3.5 side books) but as you noted in discussion the concept never really translated to Golarion. I don't think I have ever seen a temple or shrine dedicated to more than one deity.

"Ah. Not here at least." the skald responds politely and smiles. "More of a concept; harmony, if you will..."

"Well do not take too long in looking. As the Shepherd might tell you; until you find your target you cannot properly aim for it." says Mother Vorst before making to move off.

Let's start with Vorst, then the shepherd and Samuel if there's time.

Sense motive checks for each please.

Mm a quick synopsis is easier to put into words at least. I'll try to do a bit of conspiratorial work as a skald :p

For the rest of the evening Illthir would like to hang around with the priestly types and see how they are. Which are open to cooperation, which of the other priests they (dis)like.

The leaders of Brevoy's religious orders are doing much the same thing that Illthir is planning on, with the various outsiders in attendance. While Sandralane and Ser Daye seem to be in deep conversation with Varn's man, the smiling Matheus.

Illthir is probably not going to be able to speak with all of them for long enough before the party breaks up so give me a general order of importance you would like to tackle them in.

We're kinda pondering if we can cram multiple religious institutions into our land, if there's a delicate way to probe that idea Illthir would love to try.

One thing to keep in mind is that your kingdom is going to be starting from a very small population. Tombstone in the 1800's probably didn't have a Protestant church, and a Roman Catholic church, and a temple, and a mosque, AND a shrine if you get where I am going.

If she sees Samuel she'd love to try some delicate probing there too to see if/what he's able to compromise on. And how hostile his hostility is ...

Sam's there... brooding. Fit him into "Illthir's list of religious personages she would like to speak with tonight."

"Looking for someone, dear?" comes the voice of Mother Vorst from over Illthir's shoulder.

Mother Hellana Vorst merely watches as events transpire from Sandralane's side.

"A pleasure."

"We won't be following Rahadoum's path at least." The skald quips, using the joke to recall what they've discussed on the issue. She could see no harm in sharing their reasoning, as best as she could remember. "All religions not hostile to civilization or fellow citizens would be welcome. It would be delightful if either of yours would like to open a shrine or temple."

"Ah, such idealism. It does my heart good to see it. You must both be young elves indeed."

In the bath house.

Most of the chat revolves around Sandralane's distant home of Rahadoum where all religion is outlawed and its practitioners are considered criminals. Mother Vorst decries the irreligious nation-state, and makes a point about how religion is the cement that binds a community together on a common path. Then she turns to the newcomers and asks "And what path will Avalon take?"

Perception checks for bath house PCs please.

The other older woman also with dark hair has not yet been met by either of the adventurers.

Upon meeting her or hearing of her, PC may roll one knowledge (nobility) check and open all the spoilers whose DC they beat below.