Search Posts
Mohok, if you drink these then it will be easy enough to walk out unnoticed, and the rest of us can bluff about your absence if anyone notices it.
Sorry my friend. I'm actually pretty new at this; I could make you drop it, or summon an animal to distract a guard with. But I know no illusions. We could try hiding Glorymane somewhere and coming back for him later carrying a decoy shield and switch then, but that seems excessively complicated and risky.
It's not mentioned on the Chronicle. I hadn't really thought about it much really, since none of the boons seemed all that useful. I figured my gnome Admixturer would get to use a free shield out of the deal, and really, I'm not sure there's any better use of the boon than "get a free masterwork weapon." (Although, with a 4PP cost, I'm not sure I'll use even that. Maybe to give my reach cleric a glaive instead of his longspear.)
What's this then? Zosimos, you should show this to the Guardian. Didn't he say he liked the idea of being on a shield?
Zherohd is quite enjoying having access to these documents; not so much because he's a great seeker of truth or history, but simply because he enjoys gossip and finding out what people really think.
remaining clues to boost research with: Magical Assistance: Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researches, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collecting documents. Clue: After the PCs roll skill checks to find documents, any of them may reroll the check before learning the result. Bibliographic References: Several relevant books have extensive indices and bibliographies that might point to even greater discoveries.
I'm pretty sure that four of the six statues match up to the portraits of Stavian that we've seen, given what that Stereogram said about "our monarch's virtues are our own". We'll still have to decide which four match, and what order to put them in the slots though. Portrait labels::
Persevere To serve Taldor, I must first learn the history of Taldor In the end, loyalty is its own reward. A cunning lie is never told twice. Statues:
One crouches as if preparing to ambush its prey. The second is roaring as it leaps at prey. The third wears a yoke that is chained to a large block that the lion strains to pull. The fourth wears a tiny pair of spectacles and reads from an ornate scroll. The fifth is draped in the flag of Taldor. Okay, that's not the flag of Taldor at all, but use your imagination. ;) The sixth sits erect and wears a crown. My guess is that the yoked statue is Perseverance, the bespectacled statue is the historian, the flag wearer is loyalty and the crouching lion is the liar. But I haven't the foggiest of what order to put them in. I wonder if the statue or the lady know... clues remaining: Taldan Cipher 1: This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backwards, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier". Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.) Taldan Cipher 3: This text contains an example of an encoded message that uses a common substitution cipher (in which each letter represents a different letter). It claims that "DQFIZ KPIED WZYWS QIVKO ZKXFW ZIMVT DQFXW CFPAF PDFZ VFTJF" translates to "The orcs of Tar-Baphon circle around the lake's western edge." Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Magical Assistance: Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researches, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collecting documents.
Bibliographic References: Several relevant books have extensive indices and bibliographies that might point to even greater discoveries.
Encarthan Maps: These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Isle of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade. A Silver Horn: This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden prophesised that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero's burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn's present location. Generals' Logbooks: These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome. Cryptic References: This text is a mess of esoteric poetry and obscure riddles. One of these entries describes a silver horn once used by Taldor, which seems to be hidden somewhere in southern Brevoy. Spending considerably more time analyzing the poem may reveal additional hints about this horn and its location.
I suspect the combination is something that a Lion Blade would know automatically. Perhaps some sort of motto of the organization that would match up to four of the statuettes? In any case, I shall entrust that Tippy and Zosimos will be able to puzzle it out. With that, Zherohd begins searching the texts, and will make use of the hand-written notes.
clues (leaving out the ones that were previously crossed off): Clue: Use this clue when you or another PC discovers a clue or text to find one additional clue or text, if any remain in the room. (If attempting to use this in a room that doesn't have any more clues, it doesn't count; this clue can be used again.)
Taldan Cipher 1: This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backwards, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier". Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.) Taldan Cipher 3: This text contains an example of an encoded message that uses a common substitution cipher (in which each letter represents a different letter). It claims that "DQFIZ KPIED WZYWS QIVKO ZKXFW ZIMVT DQFXW CFPAF PDFZ VFTJF" translates to "The orcs of Tar-Baphon circle around the lake's western edge." Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Magical Assistance: Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researches, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collecting documents.
Bibliographic References: Several relevant books have extensive indices and bibliographies that might point to even greater discoveries.
Encarthan Maps: These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Isle of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade. A Silver Horn: This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden prophesised that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero's burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn's present location. Generals' Logbooks: These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome.
clues:
Clue: Use this clue to learn how many clues or texts remain in any two rooms.
Taldan Cipher 1: This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backwards, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier". Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.) An Exciting Read: You have found several particularly engaging texts, and you find it particularly easy to concentrate on the reading.
Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Hidden Gem: Right next to one great discovery, you make another incredible find!
Magical Assistance: Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researches, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collecting documents.
Encarthan Maps: These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Isle of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade. A Silver Horn: This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden prophesised that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero's burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn's present location. Generals' Logbooks: These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome.
Anyhow, given that I know there's only one clue in the main library, and that we've already found stuff in the first couple rooms, I'll join in the search of the office and use the Hidden Gem if (when?) we find something there. I'm also going to use An Exciting Read to roll twice.
clues:
Card Catalogue: This aging card catalogue system notes where one might find various types of information. The reference is somewhat dated and inaccurate. Clue: Use this clue to learn how many clues or texts remain in any two rooms.
Taldan Cipher 1: This text describes a cipher in which one must read the message backwards, reading only every third letter; all other letters are ignored. The example the book provides is "RMNEB SISWD IILPL OTRSES," which means "soldier".
An Exciting Read: You have found several particularly engaging texts, and you find it particularly easy to concentrate on the reading.
Cross Reference: A book references another promising text. If only you could find where that other text is...
Hand-Written Notes: There are extensive notes scribbled in the margins of this book. These hand-written insights could be key to your next big discovery.
Prolific Author: It appears that a long-dead historian wrote more than a dozen books on the topics you're researching. Perhaps you can find other insightful books by this author.
Taldan Cipher 2: According to this text, one common cipher involves changing each consonant into the letter that comes three places after it in the alphabet and changing each vowel into the letter that comes two places before. For example, D would become G, U would become S, and Z would become C. (Since the vowels rotate backward and the consonants rotate forward, it's a particularly puzzling cipher to break.)
Encarthan Maps: These maps depict Lake Encarthan, the Isle of Terror, and the nations that surround it. Of particular interest are the hundreds of hand-drawn notes and lines showing troop movements, preserving the changing plans of the brilliant generals who orchestrated the Shining Crusade. A Silver Horn: This text describes in detail an enchanted silver horn capable of granting courage in times of need, which Taldor used for the fifth Army of Exploration and much later during the Shining Crusade, when it was shattered into several pieces. A priest of Aroden prophesised that even if re-forged, the instrument would never sound again, and it was given a hero's burial. The text mentioned nothing of the horn's present location. Hidden Gem: Right next to one great discovery, you make another incredible find!
Magical Assistance: Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment that aids researches, such as briefly granting the benefits of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in collecting documents.
Generals' Logbooks: These journals record the perspectives of Taldan generals that led various phases of the Shining Crusade. Collectively, they provide valuable insight into challenges the crusaders had to overcome. Shaking off his near death experience, Zherohd will use the hidden Gem to see if there's anything else of interest in this room before consulting the card catalogue to determine if there's anything left to find in the main room (with the lion in it)or in the lion blade's research room.
Incidentally, recall that eidolon don't naturally heal themselves, so even between scenarios Cademon WILL NOT heal back to full unless you either a) use some wand charges or b) have a spell that you can use yourself (infernal healing/lesser rejuvenate eidolon) to allow some hand-waving in between scenarios... this seems to be the consensus of threads I've read on the matter (though I could be wrong), because I was curious for my own summoner. She wound up having to take infernal healing instead of a more useful spell at 1st level just to deal with that. He won't heal on his own, but as I understand it, if he's damaged enough to dismiss him, then once he's able to be re-summoned the next day, he comes back with half health. Given his whopping four hit points, I expect to be using that as his main healing most of the time for level one. Whether he's at half or full hit points, most of the time a single hit is going to "kill" him.
Everyone has something to hide Guardian; it doesn't have to mean disrespect or deceitful intentions. Just a normal need for privacy. You're certainly an impressive creation; you mentioned modern magic - were you only constructed recently? I would have thought that such potent transmutation to have been from the height of the Taldan Empire. Will you tell us about yourself, and the library?
It's a statue, what's it going to do if it decides it doesn't like us poking around the south side of the room? Glare at us? I could have Cademon try to find whatever it doesn't want us finding. It wouldn't exactly be out of character for him to stop reading the books. Generally speaking though, I think it makes sense for us to try to get a better idea of the layout of the rest of this place before deciding how to proceed with our research.
I had expected the subject matter of this room to have more to do with Taldor's history, given that portrait's legend. Zherohd has a look at the portrait before moving onto the main library.
This is an impressive library. Hey Cademon, I know I said you don't have to read, but you do know more about many things than I do - come have a look at some of the books in here. Zherohd again focuses on the languages and age of the books, rather than the apparent subject matter to try and find ones of relevance.
In general, I agree that larger rooms may be the preferable focus of our search, I do think that we must assume that rooms that have references to the virtues of Taldan Kings to have special importance given that odd sign at the entrance. Cademon, stop getting in the way in here; keep watch in the hall to be certain that no one sneaks up on us. Zherohd will join the others in the classroom to try finding something of interest. That plaque certainly suggests that there's something of value.
Scout the hallway Cademon. Don't open any doors. And do try not to set off any traps; I'd prefer not to have you disappear on me anytime soon. Presumably what you guys are seeing is a hint of how to get past some sort of lock, or maybe how to avoid some sort of trap. But we can't spend too much time standing around thinking about it. Which door should we try first? Zherohd will follow Cademon into the hall at a safe distance.
Spoiler:
Zherohd, trusting that the others will solve the secret entrance puzzle, is trying to spot books on codes and ciphers rather than looking for hidden buttons and latches. I'm not much for finding the little clues and hidden loot I'm afraid. Since we're apparently not going to be closely watched, does anyone object to my bringing in some outside assistance? Good. Be right back. Zherohd steps between some shelves and begins the ritual to summon Cademon.
|
