I'm hiding this from my campaign tabs to reduce clutter. If the GM returns and resumes gameplay, please private message me. Otherwise I might not see anything.
Cheers, all.
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It seems that way, unfortunately. Nice playing with y'all.
Hmm, yeah, it's increasingly looking like that. At first it was that Griswald went dark, but now so has the GM. I'll keep watching through until after the holidays. This time of year almost always leads to some slow-downs, whether people are in academia or industry or retired. Hope everyone is doing well.
Just waiting.
Lie sees the ground beneath him begin to crumble and leaps out of the way just in time. He swings his blade around as he skids to the side. "Wait your turn, foul creature of mud and bone," he calls out. "You'' return to the ground again soon."
The dhampir braces his shield in the enormous spider's mouth, the magical darkwood rebuffing the fangs. "My enemy is here first," he says in response as Malik draws first blood on the deathweb. Lifting his enormous blade high, Lie once again slashes at the deathweb before taking another step back.
Was traveling all day today. I should geta post up in the morning.
I hope to not need botting, but Lie will hit things as hard as he can all of the time.
Good idea. Can we do something like 24 hours to bot during weekdays and 48 hours on weekends?
Gravebound: Let's open up this pit! Bruce: My pleasure.
Lie begins rattling off what he knows about the different undead enemies as he raises his shield, disgusted with himself at his failed opening blunder.
She was prepared. We tarried too long. Lie watches the scene unfold as Griswald runs in and is promptly savaged. Meanwhile, those remaining outside begin to have problems of their own. The dhampir whirls around as an enormous spider begins working around the mausoleum towards him. Eyes spinning, he sees Malik's blows miss and concentrates for a moment. What exactly were they dealing with here?
With Malik's near miss, Lie chooses the more conservative route. Let's see what you're made of before we go all in on a single attack.
Lie takes a step back after his flurry, intuiting that being too close to the spider might spell disaster.
Finally! A worthy opponent! Our battle will be legendary!
Glad that you're feeling better! Also, unless you have abilities to augment mage hand, the spell can't typically be used to open doors. That's the domain of the open/close spell. If Malik's whip doesn't work and the GM rules that Matilda can't use mage hand, then Lie will open the door. Let's get this party started. Also, Bruce needs to move his token outside the mausoleum, or else he'll start the combat very far away. @GM: Could you wrap the Roll20 url in the campaign header [url]brackets[/url] so that it's like Roll20? Not only will that decrease the step to access the map, but it will also cut down on the text sprawl that I get when I load up my campaign tab.
I assumed that we were waiting on Matilda's actions before someone opened the door. If we have a ranged ability to open, let's use that.
Not knowing anything further about what might be lying in wait inside, nor the layout of the mausoleum, Lie chooses a relatively conservative tactic: only one spell. He envisions his blade as being denser, its cold iron core compressed together. The accompanying emotion is not one of rage, but of dedication to his cause. Within his hands, the blade feels altogether heavier, though Lie knows that the increased weight will not affect the speed with which he is able to swing. If anything, he might be even faster.
"Ready," he says, taking position but waiting for someone else to open the door.
Lie looks around from the gate. Whether these bodies were dug up or more recently interred, it was not a good sign. "If we know that something awaits us within the mausoleum, then let us prepare. We know there is already some manner of trap, but the creature beyond may itself be a trap. Remain vigilant."
"Divination is not a school of magic that I have studied," Lie admits, leaving out the fact that his psychic attunement enables him some limited divinatory prowess. "But it seems useful overall. If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle." Lie takes a breath as he watches Matilda and Griswald work separately. Fascinating. "We know little of our enemy and are still learning each other's capabilities. By contrast, our enemy is aware of us. If we aim to survive, our knowledge must grow. We know that the enemy uses divination. This is useful knowledge. If we have not wards to protect ourselves from these efforts, then we should employ other countermeasures. And we should not be afraid to use our own divinations." Nothing like a discussion of tactics early in the morning.
Before Griswald rushes off too far, Lie looks at him gravely. "Beware reading: some mages hide traps in the written word." He keeps his blade poised at the ready and looks over expectantly at Matilda for her own potential spellcasting. At Malik's question, the dhampir points out what he already saw. "Tombstones: one for each of us. As though someone has prepared for our demise." He eyes the spiritualist. "I wonder if our predecessors in the Pathfinder Society and the Prince's previous guard encountered the same thing."
Lie stares enraptured at what he sees within the graveyard. That tombstone must be a trick of the mind. No one in this country could know he was coming. His breathing slows and shallows. He gestures towards Griswald and directs his vision to the skull. "Something for your nimble fingers to take care of, if you please." He then points his hand out towards the tombstones in the back. "What do you see there?"
Lie watches Malik's healing with dedicated focus. At the end, he looks at him. "Is that positive energy that you conjured?" he asks. Being a scholar, the inquiry strikes Malik as scholarly and curious. For Lie, it is another recognition of his status as other in this group. That was two of them who relied on positive energy. He would have to remind them not to use such methods on him should he fall. As Griswald runs ahead, Lie follows at a slower but still steady pace. "Matilda," he says once they reach the gate. "You mentioned a spell that you might use to seek out threats from afar. Now might be a reasonable time to try that." The dhampir sets up a watch, first scanning the graveyard from the gate and then maintaining his focus back from the direction that the group came. Just in case the haunt remanifested, there was no reason to be unprepared.
Lie has a wand of inflict light wounds for himself, along with the first two levels of spells known. He also wouldn't mind the infernal healing, though other members of the party might have reservations.
Frankly, it makes sense that we would have pooled our funds together to purchase a wand of cure light wounds. Currently listed, Lie has 13 gp, Malik has 42 gp, Matilda has 230 gp, Bruce has 500 gp, and Griswald has 84 gp. That's gp unspent, certainly enough to grab a 750 gp wand and have a reliable source to use outside of combat and still have room for extra supplies that we might not have put on our initial character sheet. Malik: you may already know this, but you need to drag from the sidebar (under Journal) to the map. That should drop the token on the map. (I don't have control over your character sheet, so I can't do it. I can only do it for mine.) Or if you mean that you want a circular token like I have, you can make it using Token Stamp. If you're having trouble, I can make one and then upload it to Google Drive for you.
Crazy Comic looks like Griswald.
So you're probably missing a character sheet for Ellioti/Bruce. I have placed my token.
Rather than raise on possible concerns with the others, Lie draws his sword once more. "Come on. Let's at least get to the gate. Even if that's what whoever raised the spirit wants us to do, it's what we came to do as well." Lie begins moving implacably towards the gate.
Lie rolls the stuff over, trying to make sure that it doesn't get into his nose or mouth.
"We should join Griswald promptly. I do not know how long it will take for the haunt to regenerate and return." Lie looks at the seeds, flesh, and pulp that now cover him with no small amount of disgust but wonders if they have been affected by something.
To ask about the person or the work to be finished? Lie eyes the wild ghost rider, flexing his hands, and reaches out once more, lunging out over the scythe and trying to grasp the rider's arm as positive energy once again flares in his hand.
He was not used to fighting without a blade, but he was determined to bring this restless spirit down. "What must be finished?" he cries.
"No offense taken. My father can burn in Hell," Lie says sidelong to Griswald. Mature, son. As the haunt lays into Matilda before Lie can do anything about it, he balks and shouts to the others. "If you can consecrate the ground, bury a holy weapon in it, or channel positive energy, then stand with me and prepare. Or else flee," Lie commands. He stows his blade and holds up his hand, taking a step ahead to put himself in front of the others. "Come to me, spirit," he shouts.
"We put the spirit to rest," Lie shouts back. "If you have positive energy at your disposal, or even holy water, use it!"
Lie may not be naturally fast, but he knows a haunt when he sees one. "And you shall find your eternal rest this day!" the dhampir says, clanging his nodachi against his shield. "It's a Haunt," he says to those near him. "I will study its aura to find a weakness."
"My dreams have been peaceful," Lie notes, looking from Bruce to Malik, who both confirm unpleasant dreams. "It sounds as though we may be being targeted. There are spells that can affect one in one's sleep. There are also protections that one can use, though such spells are beyond my knowledge. If we are canny today, we may have no need for sleep before we recover the artifact." Thought that was a big if. With his implements secured, Lie raises his enormous blade to point to the graveyard. "We will cleanse that which seeks to disrupt the Cycle of Souls. Onward."
Good shaman spells vs undead (in case you are looking for anything):
Bruce would most likely know that undead are immune to "any effect that requires a Fortitude save (unless the effect also works on objects or is harmless)", so that poisonous cloud, slowing mud, and stinking cloud would be more effective against any non-undead that we find (e.g., aberrations, outsiders, & humanoids).
Lie laughs ruefully at Malik's comment. "Worry not for my speed, Malik of No House. When I need to run, I am quick as wolf giving chase. But thank you for your concern."
Lie spends part of the morning sitting half-naked meditating with his sword, shield, and cloak in front of him. His expression twists and ripples as his implements speak to him: praising, castigating, warning. The spirits eventually quiet down, and the dhampir feels ready to press on for the day's exploration. "I look forward to seeing what each of you bring today. If someone can help me with the final straps of my armor, we can be on our way."
"Or at the very least, nothing untoward is happening during the remaining daylight," Lie comments. He shrugs. "It was a worthwhile plan. Let us get some rest and be prepared for our exploration come morning."
Excellent. I have created a token based on this image. If you create a character for me on Roll20 (associated with polyfrequencies), then I can upload it directly, or else send the .png to a location of your choice.
"Does anyone have access to magic that can arrest a fall? Just in case a flyer is targeted, it might be useful to have. Or else, if someone has experience with flying--I do not, but I am willing to try--then I am willing to fly over. I am fairly perceptive."
Lie hands the Wayfinder over to Malik. "Of course. Pathfinders have all manner of useful technology." The dhampir waits patiently for Malik to return so that he only has to explain the rules once, and also looks at the halflings to see if either of them are interested. Bruce might not--he didn't seem like the gaming type--but Griswald, perhaps? As Malik returns from his walkabout, Lie thinks a bit more on the archivist's earlier comment. "I would be inclined to show you how to use psychometric techniques. It has become like second nature to me, but really only requires that one's mind is psychically attuned." He pauses, looking between Malik and Matilda, and then over to Bruce. He focuses his comments to Malik, though since he is talking about the others he invites their comment after he finishes his spiel. "Her magic," indicating Matilda, "Is clearly arcane and innate. Or at least I have not seen her studying a spell book each morning. His magic," pointing at Bruce, "Seems to involve some sort of communion with his skunk. Might be arcane or divine. I would need to observe more. But he did suggest that he had prepared spells, and without a spellbook. Might be a witch, but more likely some sort of divine connection. And you," he nods back to Malik, "Have produced neither somatic nor verbal components for your spell work. This leads me to conclude that your mind is like mine." He nods, satisfied with his observations, with the game of mahjong now set up. "Ah, now for the rules. Mahjong is a game of strategy, skill, and perhaps most importantly, luck."
Good news! Despite being healed by negative energy and harmed by positive energy, Lie does not detect as undead! Also, I have never actually played Mahjong, so if anyone asks Lie for an explanation of the rules, I will be paraphrasing from Wikipedia.
Lie begins to explain the rules of Mahjong to Matilda. "We'll need at least one more, preferably two," he says in invitation to the others as he sets up the tiles. "Once we are there, I do wish to see what you can do," Lie says, glancing up. "Geniekin have always surprised me."
Handling the Wayfinder, Lie's eyes roll back in his head and he inhales deeply of the crisp evening air. When he comes to about a minute later, he gathers his composure and sets the device to the side. "The Pathfinder who owned this was an elf. By their choice of weapon and spell-book, I would venture they may be a magus." It would almost certainly not change Lie's preparations the next day, but it was good to know 1) what tactics had not worked in getting out alive, and 2) what sorts of enemies they might encounter within if their predecessors had been dominated or turned to undead. Lie reaches out into his bag and pulls out a large wooden board and a bag that clinks around with the sound of bamboo. He uncinches the cloth bag and pours out over a hundred painted bamboo tiles. "Would anyone like to play a game of mahjong?" he asks, waving his hand over the makeshift board.
Lie blinks a bit at the idea of resting instead of going directly to the graveyard, but sighs and dismounts from his horse. He starts gently rubbing the muscles of his mount--he had no direct training in horse care, but he could only guess that his steed's muscles were probably about as sore as his were after a couple of long days of travel. He forgets sometimes that not everyone has such keen insight as he does. A gift from my father, may he rest in ash. "I̷͉͗ ̶̟̍ȟ̵̦e̸̱͝a̵͕̾r̷̺̓d̶̬̑ ̴͔̇t̷̲͗h̵͕͠a̶̺͂t̷̙̔,̸̧͂ ̴̧͊s̸͉̆o̴̹̿n̷̩̎.̵̩͐" comes a voice at the back of his mind. "Worry not, Sir Jud--we'll not take up your home nor trouble your generous hospitality. One of the halflings has magic to provide us with shelter for the evening." With that, he bids the old warner a good day and leads his horse off to wherever Bruce decides to set up for the evening. He assents to Bruce's idea for a flying scouting mission and offers another idea to his companions. "If you find anything, please allow me to examine it. I have ways of glimpsing what objects have seen." Object Reading, for the GM:
At 2nd level, an occultist learns how to read information from items he examines. Examining an item in this way requires him to spend 1 minute handling the item. If the item is a magic item, the occultist learns its properties and command word as if he had successfully examined the item using detect magic and succeeded at a Spellcraft check. This ability does not reveal whether the item is cursed unless the occultist’s class level is equal to or greater than the caster level of the item. If the item has any historical significance, the occultist learns one piece of information about its past (as determined by the GM). Finally, if the item was last used no longer than 1 day ago per the occultist’s class level, the occultist learns one piece of information about the last creature to use the item. This information might be a glimpse of the creature’s appearance, a brief vision of what it saw while using the item, or perhaps its emotional state when it last used the item. The GM determines what information is gained in this way. This functions like the psychometry occult skill unlock, but doesn’t require a skill check and can be used at will.
Psychometry: You can read the psychic impressions left on objects or in places by previous owners and events. Check: Action: Reading an object requires at least 1 minute of uninterrupted concentration. Try Again: Yes. Multiple readings on an object or place always give the same results unless its circumstances or ownership have changed, but additional checks might reach further back into an object’s history. You don’t reroll the saving throw to determine if a psychic imprint is false. You can still use psychometry only once per day.
"Thank you, Jud," Lie says, though the 'j' is more retroflex, more fricated than affricated, and colors the u in an interesting way. He smiles again. "I have not been told that I have much sense. But if we don't come back, then please return the horses to the estate of Prince Aduard Ordranti III rather than selling them. The other four as well. You may receive a better reward than whatever price you could get on the market" The dhampir looks at his fellow mercenaries. "Shall we?"
Three groups, then. That explained the horses without heraldry. And representatives from the Pathfinder Society at that. That was certainly not unexpected, but it was curious. "We do not intend for our bodies or souls to join those interred beyond," the dhampir says simply, knowing full well that the previous dozen probably said the same thing. But perhaps they had been unprepared for what was there. "Though I am familiar with restless spirits. I am Lie of the House of Yau in Shenmen, Land of Spiders and Ghosts, and servant of the Pale Horse. I would bring these spirits to their rest."
"And what is your name, sir?"
Lie looks into eyes that are remarkably similar to his own--pale blue to the point of near white-silver. He rides closer to the old man. "That was what we wanted to discuss with you: to at least hear your warning." He nods at the horses with the Prince's insignia. "I see that 'those others' have not returned for their horses. What did you tell them, sir? What do you know?"
Lie grins slightly, imperceptible underneath his helm except for the effect on his voice. "We'll look for one in the graveyard." --- As the halflings return from their away mission, Lie listens and blinks. "Are you all so frightened of your elders in this country that you regard them all with such suspicion?" he asks. "He is relaxing outside his domicile and smoking. Let us go and speak with him." What was the way to address male elders in this culture again? Hmph.... The dhampir removes his helmet to look less fearsome (though still admittedly armed to the teeth) and urges his horse forward to the house. About one hundred feet from the house, he takes a deep breath and calls out. "Good evening, sir," he offers formally. "May we approach you and have a chat?"
I know that fatigue. Please take care of yourself.
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