Male Human, LN, Investigator 4, HP 26,Init: +4, Perception +7, | HP 27/27 | AC 17 T 12 FF 15 | CMB +3, CMD +15 | F: +1, R: +6, W: +4;+2 vs Poison Inspiration (+1d6, 9/day) | | Speed 30ft | Spells: 1st: Adh Spittle(DC15),Long Arm, Shield, True Strike. 2nd:Fire Breath(DC16), Vomit Swarm | Other Things ?/? | Active conditions: None
Thadeaus approaches his team mates near the forge, eyes searching the room and finally focusing on the runes.
Perception:1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Perception to find traps:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22
Tentatively touching the runes, he then takes out his water skin and a rag he begins to gently clean the soot from the lettering. After cleaning the runes he confers with Balin to help him try to decipher the meaning.
linguistics:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29
Thad also has mw thieves tools if those would help uncover the runes.
Thadeaus begins cleaning away the soot, and the runes carved underneath start to become clear. They look to be vaguely Dwarven, but ancient and mixed with something else. However, before he is able to fully clean it off and analyze them, something else starts to happen.
The slag in the forge that was cold and hard glows brightly and spews burning metal. The people standing right next to the forge flinch away but are not harmed. However, the slag congeals on the far side of the forge and takes on a vaguely humanoid appearance.
Knowledge Planes DC 15:
You recognize this as a magma elemental. They are known to set fire to objects that touch them, though they don’t burn quite as hot as fire elementals. If you beat this DC by a significant amount I will give you additional information.
And we're back in combat! I moved the rest of you a little closer, so you aren’t penalized for not posting before this was triggered.
Male Human, LN, Investigator 4, HP 26,Init: +4, Perception +7, | HP 27/27 | AC 17 T 12 FF 15 | CMB +3, CMD +15 | F: +1, R: +6, W: +4;+2 vs Poison Inspiration (+1d6, 9/day) | | Speed 30ft | Spells: 1st: Adh Spittle(DC15),Long Arm, Shield, True Strike. 2nd:Fire Breath(DC16), Vomit Swarm | Other Things ?/? | Active conditions: None
Thadeaus shakes his head and grumbles,
"Damn! They aren't inherently evil this was probably its home and we disturbed it. I could have attempted to reason with it as I am fluent in Terran! Oh well, aggressive diplomacy it is then!"
Thadeaus flicks his left wrist again and fires the wand as he retreats from the elemental.
You also recall that magma elementals can pass through earth, stone, and lava as easily as fish does water. It may vomit up a puddle of lava in its vicinity, damaging attackers and making difficult terrain. It is immune to fire, but vulnerable to cold.
Will save:1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11
The elemental makes a dull grinding sound and recoils a little from Ashwell's spell, and then from Thadeaus's. (No AoO) It then moves forward. Its leg-like limbs glide through the stone of the floor, though it avoids the metal forge at the center. It stops 10 feet away from Kahwen and tries to slam down on him.
Attack:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30 Bludgeoning damage:1d8 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7 Kahwen needs to make a DC 14 reflex save to avoid catching on fire for a 1d6 burn.
Round 1/2 Ashwell
Thadeaus
Magma elemental (-11)
Yanda
Esmeralda
Kahwen (-7, save needed)
Balin
By the way, I'm only tracking new damage here; I haven't added it to any residual damage from the previous fight, so please pay attention to that if you weren't fully healed.
Esmeralda looks annoyed at the elemental. "Not wasting my scarf on that thing..." she mutters as she starts digging through her pack for something to use against this. After pulling her waterskin out, she calls to Thadeaus, "Thadeaus, How does this thing see? Is it like most things, with eyes in it's head region?"
With that cry, she reachs over to Balin, and puts her free hand on Balin's shoulder, granting him an mote of a trickster's luck.
Swift action - Enter Kitsune style Move action - withdraw waterskin Standard action - Blessing(Lucky Presence) on Balin
Thadeaus: You would have realized all that information together, so you can share it whenever. You can also take your next turn, since we're using block initiative and everyone gets to go once before the elemental has another turn.
The elemental shows no signs that it is paying attention to the preparations happening near the entrance to the room, and it only flinches slightly when Ash's magic bolt lands.
Round 1,2
Ashwell
Thadeaus
Magma elemental (-13)
Yanda
Esmeralda
Kahwen (-7, save needed)
Balin
After it suffers the force of another magic missile, the elemental's upper region appears to collect itself a little more substantially. The magma forms what looks like a head, complete with two eyes and a mouth that spill forth with red light. It turns to look at Balin, whose axe did not melt, but neither did it leave any mark on the crusty form.
The elemental reaches out with its long arms to slam each one of them into the dwarf.
Slam, power attack:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14Miss Slam, power attack:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24 Bludgeoning damage:1d8 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14 Reflex DC 14 vs. the 1d6 burn
One of the stony fists misses, but the second does not miss at all and knocks Balin soundly.
Round 2,3 Ashwell
Thadeaus
Magma elemental (-18)
Yanda
Esmeralda
Kahwen (-7)
Balin (-14, save needed)
[Init +9, Per +19, Spd 40'] M Tengu Unchained Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout) 12th [HP 63/63, AC 30(34) |ff 19 |t 21, Fort +9, Ref +21, Will +9,] CMD 28
"Stand strong, friend Balin! I'm coming back. We'll handle this thing." Despite his words of encouragement, he is not at all pleased that the dwarf's impressive blow didn't seem to do any damage at all. They'll have to leave it up to the magic users, apparently.
He downs one of the potions looted from the pile of Duergar and hurries back into the fray.
Esmeralda winces as Balin's first attack did nothing. "Annoying little bugger," she mutters as she moves forward, drawing her whip as she does so. With a flick of the wrist, the Varisian priestess lashs out, hoping to drop it to one knee if possible.
Move- drawing whip as part of the action Standard action - Trip attempt vs. elemental
While Kahwen and Yanda focus on healing, the rest press the attack. Balin is still the only one going toe-to-toe with the elemental, and his sleeve suddenly bursts into flame.
Burn damage on that round:1d6 ⇒ 4 How many rounds?:1d4 ⇒ 2
Undeterred, the dwarf swings his weapon and this time lands a sturdy hit, although the blade catches slightly and doesn't injure the elemental as much as Balin would expect it to. (It has some DR.)
Esmeralda flings out her whip to trip the creature, but its legs are planted firmly in the earth and it manages to stay upright. Ashwell and Thadeaus both ping more magical missiles, each chipping away at the elemental. It looks significantly more damaged, but still upright and fighting!
Again it swings twice at the inviting target that just hit it the hardest.
The first fist slams into the side of his head, but the second doesn't quite manage to make it past the dwarf's sturdy armor.
Round 3,4 Ashwell
Thadeaus
Magma elemental (-40)
Yanda
Esmeralda
Kahwen (-1)
Balin (-28, once more 1d6 burn damage)
Showing the math: Balin was healed for 3, took 4 fire damage, then was hit for another 13.
[Init +9, Per +19, Spd 40'] M Tengu Unchained Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout) 12th [HP 63/63, AC 30(34) |ff 19 |t 21, Fort +9, Ref +21, Will +9,] CMD 28
"Stand strong, Friend Balin! I'm coming to help you!" Kahwen calls, rounding the forge to come at the Magma elemental from another direction.
As he draws within the thing's reach, he tucks himself into a tiny ball and rolls forward, hopefully avoiding any opportunistic attacks he takes before popping up and swinging with a cut intended as much to protect himself as hurt his foe.
Esmeralda sighs in irritation, as she drops her waterskin and steps over to Balin. With a shredding motion, she tears apart one of her divine gifts for it's energy and channels it into the dwarven warrior.
5-foot Converting Bless into a CLW to use on Balin
Balin, I'm not sure where you're getting a bard song from? Unfortunately, it also cannot be flanked so that attack is going to be a miss.
Kahwen manages to dart within the elemental's reach before it even notices that someone is approaching from the other side. However, his sword can't find purchase. Balin's attack just barely misses, and the fire on his clothes gives a final sizzle before going out.
Balin's last burn damage:1d6 ⇒ 1
Everyone else waves their wands or other magical implements to keep their front-line ally alive and their enemy suffering.
Botting Thadeaus to use another magic missile charge.
Level 3 magic missile:2d4 + 2 ⇒ (4, 1) + 2 = 7
The elemental makes a loud grinding noise and then takes a step forward to keep swinging at Balin.
[Init +9, Per +19, Spd 40'] M Tengu Unchained Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout) 12th [HP 63/63, AC 30(34) |ff 19 |t 21, Fort +9, Ref +21, Will +9,] CMD 28
Kahwen cringed with every hit Balin takes, knowing that any one of them would likely knock him out of the fight. He follows in the creative's wake but can't get a good angle to catch it off guard. So, instead, he distracts it so Balin can get in a good shot.
Aid Another (Attack):1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19
"I think we've almost got it, Companions!" he declares.
Esmeralda snarls as the lump of magma approaches her. "Fine!" she spits out as she slips forward, pulling her cooking pot out of her bag as she does so. With a bit of a jump up, the Calistrian goes to dump the pot on the 'head' of the monster, ringing it as she (hopefully) connects.
Move action - Withdraw pot 5-foot Standard action - Dirty Trick on the Elemental. Applying the Blinded and Deafened conditions if successful.
Dirty trick:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (13) + 10 = 23
Balin, I did give you the Lucky Presence Blessing at the beginning of this fight, so you can roll twice on the attack and take the better roll.
Pathfinders have claimed the Temple District!
The Seers’ District and Miners’ District are discovered.
Reinforcements arrive in the Temple District wherever Pathfinders are still involved in an encounter. (GMs, please allow your players to finish any in progress encounters, but please look at the top of page 12 to see the consequences of the reinforcements)
Ashwell keeps up the attack, while Kahwen and Yanda focus on aiding Balin in the fight. Esmeralda makes a bold move forward and plants a pot directly on the elemental's head! It lands solidly with a resounding clang, blocking the creature's senses for the moment.
With a loud crack, Balin's weapon splits the elemental open, and it falls to the ground, a pile of rapidly cooling slag.
Combat is over!
With the elemental demolished, touching the forge and the metal upon it no longer appears to activate anything, and the soot and grime can be cleared away. You can now clearly see the runes underneath.
Linguistics DC 20, +5 if you know Dwarven:
The runes read:
“By our harmony, hammer, and tong
Clang of metal sings our song."
You also see the word Casadagar, which appears to be a proper name or title, and you recognize it as having Ignan roots.
Thadeaus can use your Linguistics roll from earlier, since I didn't let you finish the action before combat began.
Male Human, LN, Investigator 4, HP 26,Init: +4, Perception +7, | HP 27/27 | AC 17 T 12 FF 15 | CMB +3, CMD +15 | F: +1, R: +6, W: +4;+2 vs Poison Inspiration (+1d6, 9/day) | | Speed 30ft | Spells: 1st: Adh Spittle(DC15),Long Arm, Shield, True Strike. 2nd:Fire Breath(DC16), Vomit Swarm | Other Things ?/? | Active conditions: None
Thadeaus steps around the cooling elemental and goes back to the runes. Finishing the cleaning that was interrupted, he confers with Balin about what he can make out and asks, "Does Casadagar ring any bells? It appears to be a proper name or title with Ignan roots if I'm correct. Balin do you concer?"
Thadeaus absently pokes Balin with a Wand of Cure Light Wounds while deciphering the runes.
[Init +9, Per +19, Spd 40'] M Tengu Unchained Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout) 12th [HP 63/63, AC 30(34) |ff 19 |t 21, Fort +9, Ref +21, Will +9,] CMD 28
Kahwen is also of little help in reading and figuring things like that out. Unlike most tengu, he does not have a knack for linguistics.
He gives a cooled part of the magma elemental a little kick, as though to ensure it is truly slain before looking around at the rest of the room for anything else interesting.
Perception:1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
"Can we get the forge working again? Not that we have time to make anything, but it would be interesting if we could."
Kahwen feels quite certain that he has searched the room thoroughly but not found anything else of interest, though he does see now that it was a magical trap on the forge's metal rim that summoned a magma elemental. It is not completely disabled, and will probably become active again after enough time passes.
The forge itself looks whole enough that it could potentially be started up again, but it is not obvious how one would go about doing so. Learning more about how one of the fabled forges of Jormurdun works will probably take more involved study than you're prepared to do here today.
If there's anything else you want to do before leaving this space, you can do it now. I'll move you on to the next room later today.
Also, I'm requesting that you all add your current HP to your taglines, for example as Kahwen and Yanda have, and keep it up to date. There will be enough going on that I'm not going to be able to track your individual HP totals and damage.
[Init +9, Per +19, Spd 40'] M Tengu Unchained Rogue (Swordmaster/Scout) 12th [HP 63/63, AC 30(34) |ff 19 |t 21, Fort +9, Ref +21, Will +9,] CMD 28
"Well, that just won't do. There are other Pathfinders around and we might have to come back through this room," Kahwen says when he realizes that the elemental was summoned by a trap.
He pulls a rolled up cloth out of his backpack and whips it open with a flourish. Inside are a set of exquisitely crafted Thieves' Tools.
He kneels down next to the forge and gets to work on the trap to permanently disable it.
Esmeralda gingerly retrieves her slightly charred cookpot and abandoned waterskin and stores them again, swallowing an urge to glare at Balin. She walks over to the tengu and watches quietly for a moment, before asking, "Any Luck?"
Kahwen's nimble tools fiddle away at the trap until he notices the magical trigger fading away. It shouldn't be summoning any more elementals in the future.
Balin and Thadeaus, I still need you to add your current HP to your taglines.
*****
A short way further along the passage, you come upon the entrance to another room. The walls of this chamber are carved from rock and stained black with soot. Littering the tiled floor are hundreds of coins made of precious metal, freshly forged shields, bucklers, maces, blades, and suits of chainmail. A number of jawless skulls also lie amid the heaps of treasure, along with several open and empty ironbound oak chests. A winding path through the rich debris leads to a fifteen-foot tall statue of bronze: a muscled humanoid with the head of a bull-pig hybrid, bearing a bowl in which something shines brightly.
Knowledge (history or religion) DC 20:
The idol is of Ghrode, an obscure mythological being believed to serve Torag by inspecting the work of blacksmiths and gemcutters.
If your result is 25 or higher:
Ghrode was considered possessive, capricious, and vindictive, and those who entered his shrines only did so to leave a worthy gift.
