Pontia Canario's page

Incorporeal enemies suuuuck.

Unfortunately, because they're incorporeal you don't get sneak attack damage against them without a ghost touch weapon or similar.

Pontia does a quick scan with detect magic, looking for unexpected auras.

"If everyone is healed, we can move on as soon as the blade barrier spell ends."

Knowledge (Dungeoneering) check: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (13) + 18 = 31

Knowledge (Nature) check: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22

Pontia studies the two unidentified pipes, eyes wide with recognition. "The craftsmanship is marvelous, but the subject matter...I can't see it appealing to anyone we'd want to associate with. That one--" She points at the fish-frog woman. "--looks like a female skum, more properly called ulat-kini. But female ulat-kini don't exist. The race is derived from humans and the males, er. mate with human females to reproduce. As for the other pipe, it's a representation of a dark young of the Old One we've seen references to all over this place. Well, that painting is worth something at least. Let me pack everything up."

The wizard carefully rolls up the painting and puts it into her pack. It's a handy haversack, so there should be room for all of the cash loot.

Pontia eyes the spawn suspiciously for a moment, waiting for something smaller to pop out of it, but when nothing does she relaxes. "That was...something. Let's search this area and keep moving."

I was assuming it's an abomination or evil outsider; if it's undead it takes 5 more points of damage from the smite (10 if susceptible to critical hits). Are your weapons also undead bane, though?

That raises a question, which Sabola can probably answer if he hit at all: is this thing still human? The way it was described, the spawn was living inside of the vicar and popped out after the vicar died.

NB: that attack also bypasses any DR it has.

The paladin calls on Sarenrae's power to strike down the foul abomination. She closes with it, her scimitar flashing as she buries it in the creature's body!

Smite evil, close, strike.

Scimitar power attack, including smite: 1d20 + 15 - 3 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 15 - 3 + 5 = 37

Confirm, even though it probably is immune: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28

Base damage, including smite: 1d6 + 6 + 6 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 6 + 9 = 27

Crit damage, if applicable: 1d6 + 21 ⇒ (4) + 21 = 25

Due to the smite, her current AC against the spawn is 30, Touch AC 16.

Botting Selene:

The paladin concentrates, trying to determine if the Spawn is evil.

Move action; standard action will depend on the result of her detect evil.

I think the tactical situation will look rather different when Selene acts.

<stomp><stomp><clap>
<stomp><stomp><clap>

This particular segment of the AP is Lovecraftian; the others have had their own themes (haunted house in Part 1, Frankenstein in Part 2, werewolves in Part 3, and AIUI Part 5 has vampires).

Will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26

Knowledge (Dungeoneering) check: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (18) + 18 = 36

Pontia's keen interest in the creature saves her from sanity loss at the sight of it. "Fascinating! Second instar of a spawn of one of the Outer Gods, if I'm not mistaken. The same one whose symbols we saw downstairs."

If beating the DC by that much gives any additional information, start with special defenses and then special attacks.

I felt the same way when a Certain Someone tried to dispel a fog cloud, and only failed because the dice module betrayed them.

Pontia puts her hand on Selene's shoulder. "This may make you feel a little dizzy." She concentrates, and with a pop of displaced air the two women vanish and reappear on the other side of the blade barrier.

Using her dimensional steps ability; carrying Selene along will use double her teleport distance, but she's got 270 feet per day to burn.

"I suppose we should see what's upstairs. Vivian and Sabola, would you care to scout?"

If she hasn't already done so, Pontia casts mage armor on herself.

"Let's go, and get back here quickly."

"Oh, yes. Her parents must be worried sick about her, and the sooner they have her the sooner they can leave this place."

Pontia looks around the room for anything interesting, using detect magic as her initial screen.

Taking 20 on Perception for a 21 total (this is obviously not her forte).

I'll be traveling for most of the next three weeks, and will likely only be able to post from my phone.

Pontia holds off to let the serious heavy hitters finish the priest.

With little else to do that isn't overdoing, Pontia shoots another magic missile at the priest from her wand.

Force damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

DC 18 Will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Pontia is unimpressed by his bluster.

Not having a lot of things that wouldn't be overkill, the wizard advances to where she can see the enemies and uses a wand against the vicar.

Magic Missile damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

How badly hurt do the vicar and the underpriest look?

Pontia waits for the scouts' report (or for noises suggesting that the scouts found trouble).

Move on to F7, if no one objects.

Pontia leans past Vivian and examines the small crate. "You saw the Effigy in Lepidstadt, didn't you? Would it have fit in that impression in the straw?"

DC 14 Perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (17) + 1 = 18

"Hm. That looks like an abandoned saddlebag...not terribly surprising in a stable, but perhaps unusual in a room devoted to food storage." Pontia tugs it out with her staff.

Anyone interested can read the spoiler. Pontia will leave opening the saddlebag to those with more ability to find traps on it.

"If everyone is healed, shall we move on? I don't fancy going upstairs or downstairs until we've checked the main floor, hm?"

F5 next? I know DM R marked that we'd been there, but I think we checked F4 and not F5. If not, F6?

The wizard gives Sabola a quick smile. "I know little of the healing arts, but I do know that too much blood on the wrong side of your skin is a bad thing."

Knowledge (Religion) check: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 25

Pontia looks up at the symbols, muttering to herself. "...interesting, I swear I've seen something like that bef--oh. She blanches. "These look like symbols of one of the Outer Gods. I won't say the name because it's said that some of Them can hear when their names are spoken aloud."

I think they have this in hand. Pontia delays, waiting to see if her mystical abilities will be needed to put the creature down.

Figures...it's still up. Pontia invokes her conjurer's art and sends a splash of acid at the giant.

Acid dart RTA: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Acid damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

The name "Undiomede House" in the GM's post from 1/20 is a link to a Dropbox file with the map. We're not on it, as far as I can tell. The giant is in F3, while the party started outside of the building next to F4. DM RD, could you put the link in your profile header and/or at the top of the page?

Pontia is waiting on the results of Sabola's attack to act.

F3 sound good to everyone? It looks like that's the closest door to the Carriage House.

Seeing that the others have the horse well in hand, Pontia checks the saddle and tack for anything of interest.

"Agreed. The rider is probably who we want in the first place."

"As long as the bodies are out of sight, for the moment. Sonny, is there anything you can do to keep a necromancer from reanimating them?"

"You may have noticed that we're not in a big city. The whole of Ilmarsh could drop into Absalom without so much as a ripple."

"I would think that the townsfolk might take it amiss if they see bodies on the street, especially when the dead are known to them. Perhaps we should get the bodies under cover."

Did we find anything in the chapel?

Pontia blinked and missed the fight. "Well, this is the more interesting part." She casts a quick cantrip and looks around for magical auras.

Agreed.

Startled out of a long reverie, Pontia shakes her head and seems to return to herself, fixing the young couple with a somewhat defocused gaze. "Ah, you're members of the Order, then. Have you ever seen the Neighbors?"

I thought I'd posted here about my own travels this past week--I was on a business trip Sunday-Wednesday, and didn't get back until quite late. I'm still catching up on things, but should be able to review the plethora of posts that have come in soon.

Any magical auras?

How about handwaving that we split the party before the current group entered the temple--the three new PCs were following another lead that didn't pan out, and have rejoined Pontia and Vivian.