The Broken Lands of Sca-Reth IC Thread

[Fixer]

This is the in-character thread for the Broken Lands of Sca-Reth adventure (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?p=5786789#post5786789).

This is the OOC thread, for reference. (http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showthread.php?t=104970)

[Fixer]

Game Setting Background (for when people finally arrive):
Two orc NPCs I haven't been given names for yet (Neega played by Chain and Badshak played by MichielHagen) and a human (GMNPC) are meeting the rest of the group near the entrance to the new kamain with the temple on/in it. The Healer is the human (and seemingly terrified out of his skull) and introduces the two orcs as his guards. They will be greeted by Bix (played by Forum Explorer) and his NPC companions (Theg played by TheOz, leinad is playing Torgak, the other one I don't have a defined player for yet). Renegade93 will also have a character in this but that won't come until later.

Scenery:
The temple complex is roughly a half mile wide and deep and the kamain is easily 800 feet 'deep' (top to bottom). The entrance to the temple (from ground-level) is that of a huge, gaping maw on some sort of warped face (no nose, it seems to have broken off). It does not look friendly nor inviting. Except for these cosmetic changes, the temple complex structures kind of looks like this picture (http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/images/post_pics/aztec_ruins.jpg). There are other buildings on the surface of the kamain but they all appear to be either collapsed or in various stages of collapse. If you were limited to approaching this kamain from the ground you would approach through a collapsed opening in the front wall (which is closest to where the Healer is standing) and approach through the destroyed buildings to the temple on the opposite end of the complex. There is no living vegetation ANYWHERE on this kamain that you can see. Not even big roots coming from the bottom that might indicate underground vegetation.

Reminders:
This temple is within the Grand Realm (and falling towards the lower realm quickly) which means death isn't reversible after a good night's sleep as it is in the Upper Realm. Your characters have roughly a month before the kamain falls into the Lower Realm and will be lost forever.

Also, any player that doesn't respond within 24 hours when everyone is waiting on their action will be taken over by me until they return. I want to keep the story moving and you do not get to override the actions I have your character perform. Habitual absences will result in your character becoming a red shirt. :belkar:

[Ezeze]

"The others will be here soon enough, Badshak." The female orc looks the healer over appraisingly then says in a gruff voice "Why'd ya agree to come if you don't want to go in?"

[Fixer]

He looks away from the temple to look at you, and the look in his eyes is that of a man knowing he will die soon. "I h-have to do as I am t-told. I don't want to die any m-more." Then he goes back to looking at the temple.

OOC: I wanted to make his text yellow but it is just too damned hard to read on here. Imagine him yellow.

[MichielHagen]

"You're not gonna die human, not unless you quit your whining, cause then i might have to do ya." Badshak says with a threathening face, then grins and laughs at the poor man's reaction.
"No fear human, we orcs know how to handle stuff" he says confidently, "Whatever stuff it is we find in there" more softly as he follows the man's stare towards the temple. If Badshak had fear inside him, it did not show.

[Forum Explorer]

Sorry I'm late. Bix says as he touches down on the kamain. Lets get this over with. He says calmly staring at the temple without fear, well not much. He walks over to the others. and look on the bright side human, if you die down here it will be your last death. He adds on hearing the last comment

[Fixer]

OOC: I am going to assume that people fly over to the Temple kamain for a closer look now.

IC:
The Temple kamain looks like it has been abandoned for years. The buildings are in a state of decay normally only associated with buildings in the Lower Realm. There are no living thing moving among the buildings, nor even moss growing on rocks. This kamain appears barren of all life. Searching around the buildings (not the Temple entrance) you find some broken pottery, dry rotted books (unreadable), and various other miscellaneous items one would expect in a peasant's cottage. Nothing of value, though, as everything seems dry rotted or broken.

The entrance to the temple is inside the mouth of the face. It is a large set of double doors with wooden planks nailed across them, apparently in an effort to seal them shut. The braces look like they are ready to fall apart so removing them won't be difficult.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak pokes around some of the broken and rotten garbage with his sword as they move closer to the Temple. "This is worthless, i do hope whatever is in the temple is in better condition!" he speaks as he sheaths his sword.

"I am guessing this guy does not like nosey people entering his mouth" Badshak says with a smile on his face when he notices the missing facial part and the boards nailed to the door.

As he moves closer towards the door he brings out his longsword, "This shouldn't be too hard".

[Fixer]

OOC: We are back. I will give everyone until tomorrow before I move things along.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix grins at the joke and takes a step to the side, preparing in case anything happens at the opening of the door.

[Leinad]

After Nosing around the debris and ruins as most of the party was doing, Torgak noticed Badshak readying his longsword towards the door. Being fairly close to the healer already, "We're going to need you around if what's inside proves more lively than what we have seen so far." Torgak says to the healer with a grunt as he positions himself between the soon to be battered door and the healer to shield against anything that may come out of the entrance, or at the very least the splinters soon to fly from Badshak's strike upon the door.

[Ezeze]

Neega stands beside Torgak, short bow drawn. She grunts her approval, but stays near the healer as she is supposed to do.

[TheOz]

Ooc: Whoops. Sorry for not posting here yet guys. Forgetful me. Won't happen again.

Ic:
Theg jogged up to the group, having fallen behind a little ways back while sightseeing. His attention span wasn't the greatest, after all. It hadn't been difficult to find the others though, and now they seemed ready to enter the temple. His broad face broke into a smile, and he took a place near the door so that he could see inside and (hopefully) run in to join the others if there was something in there to fight once it got broken down. He forgot to pay attention to whether he was in anyone else's way though.

He drew his greatsword, careful to keep the tip away from the others as he leaned it against his shoulder, bouncing a little on the balls of his feet in anticipation.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak sticks the sword between the boards and the door, using it as a leverage. When he has pulled all boards free, he takes a final look at the party, they seem ready. He takes a firm hold on his sword then kicks in one of the doors....

[Fixer]

Kicking the doors in (and working on the boards) there is a sudden 'whump' as there is a rush of air INTO the building, taking a great deal of dust from outside in with it. For a while (two rounds) there is dust blocking the view into the temple proper. You can hear a sound of.... something coming from within the room (sounds like low growling).

OOC: We are going to be going into initiatives soon. Please post your initiative modifiers and I'll give you your combat order. You tell me what you want your character to do (narrate the action) and I'll roll the dice and narrate your results. Renegade93, you are unstoned now and find yourself surrounded by things that do not look friendly. I will give a better description to everyone after I get initiative modifiers.

[MichielHagen]

OOC:
hmm....it seems the subscibtion to this thread did not work this time.
Iniative +1


Badshak is slightly intimidated by the threatening sound and takes a step back. "What is that?". Whatever he is hearing, if it comes out of the smoke it's gonna get sliced!

[TheOz]

Initiative Mod: +1

Theg peers into the room, squinting his eyes and trying to focus his darkvision so that he can see what is making the noise. He takes a step forward as Badshak steps back, raising his greatsword a little in preparation [read as: readying an action to hit the first thing that comes into range, making a 5' step if necessary to do so].

[Ezeze]

Initiative +2
Neega stands her ground next to the healer, short bow drawn and arrow knocked. She readies an action to fire at anything attempting to attack a member of their ragtag little group.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix pulls off his goggles to prevent them from hindering his darkvision as he waits for the dust to clear. He also prepares himself for fighting by concentrating on all movement past the dustcloud.

iniative is +4, also just in case this comes up soon the spot modifer is +1

[Leinad]

Initiative is +2

With the sound of the growling Torgak continues his defensive position but grabs his axe making himself ready for whatever beast that growl may be emanating from.

[Fixer]

For the record, until what you are fighting is identified, or at least given a name, I call it a critter. If there are different kinds of critters, I describe them appropriately (flying critter, armored critter, whatever).

Initiative Order:
Neega - Chain
Bix - Forum Explorer
Critter 1 - DM
Critter 2 - DM
Scipio - Renegade93
Critter 3 - DM
Theg - TheOz
Critter 4 - DM
Healer - DM
Critter 5 - DM
Torgak - Leinad
Badshak - MichielHagan
Critter 6 - DM
Critter 7 - DM
Critter 8 - DM

Now, you describe your actions (not the results) and you may use qualifiers (like nearest, farthest) to describe targets. Feel free to use adjectives in describing your actions and your targets. They do all appear identical, however. Critters 1-6 appear ready to charge into melee. Critters 7 & 8 remain near the altar.

I doubt everyone will respond before this afternoon, so I am likely to respond to this on Monday morning. This should give you time to consider tactics. You may use the OOC thread to discuss (I will assume your characters discussed tactics while exploring the city).

The cloud settles slightly as you see eight humanoids, almost human. They appear, at first, to be undead zombies except they move faster, and have exceptionally elongated jaws compared to what a human would have. Their mottled grey skin hangs on an emaciated body wearing nothing along the lines of clothing. Their genders are indeterminate.

They are standing in the far part of the 40 feet long x 30 feet wide temple. The temple appears to be in a similar state of decay as the rest of the city, with no trappings or living things (or even fabrics of previously living things). There are pillars along both sides (5 feet from the walls) every 10 feet. At the end of the room is an altar with a man-sized figure in full plate armor and lying on it holding a halberd in front of him (pointing upwards). The critters were standing around the altar, but now seem more intent on your group. Six of them seem ready to run towards your group while two remain near the figure on the altar.

OOC: In hindsight, I guess asking for initiative was silly. Except for Bix all the characters are readying an action to hit the first unfriendly they can reach that approaches them. Therefore, attacks will be resolved in the order initiative was determined for resolving the readied actions so no one wastes a readied action.

[Ezeze]

Neega calls out "Ho there! We thought this temple was empty." She points her bow to the ground and says, as much to Badshak as the man with the halberd "We're not looking for a fight, if one can be avoided."
Assuming you're still doing our rolls? +7 to Diplomacy.

[MichielHagen]

excuse my bad english, i am not entirely sure if the figure with the halberd is lying on the altar (looking to be sacrificed) or in front of the altar.


"They don't seem like the talkative kind to me..." Badshak hisses to Neega as he continious to ready himself for any of those creatures getting near him.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix moves over to the healer and chants out a quick spell enveloping the man in darkness. Stay to the back and try not to die. Bix hisses without taking his eyes off the critters.

Darkness targeting the healer. Also could we have a map?

[Fixer]

Interior Temple Map (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)

Closest I can get to a map at the moment. I think it will do. I positioned everyone based on common sense and description of activities in previous rounds. I added comments in the boxes that have special notes.

[Ezeze]

Neega hisses back "they don't seem like the kind we'd want to fight, either."

[Leinad]

"Caution seems best, let them come to us and we'll give them our worst if they prove as hostile as they appear. After all I highly doubt that warrior bearing a halberd chose the altar as a suitable place to nap," Torgak mentioned with a scowl of determination and focus.

[Fixer]

Round 1

Neega's action: Diplomacy. You scored a 12 (with the -10 penalty for doing so as a full-round action). They complete ignored whatever you were saying.
Bix's action: Casting Darkness (you didn't specify an object you cast it upon, so given you were focusing your attention on Healer I suspect you cast it on something he was wearing). He and everyone in the darkened squares now has 20% concealment, even opponents. Darkvision doesn't help.
Badshak's ready'd action: Attack roll on critter 1. Attack roll was a hit, concealment didn't help, and damage was 9.
Theg's ready'd action: Attack roll on critter 1. Attack roll was a 1 (sorry). Just a miss, I don't play with critical fumbles unless you are severely winning and I can make it funny.
Critter 1's action: Charge action on Badshak. Attack roll was a hit, and concealment didn't prevent it. Damage is 6 points. Passed your Fortitude save.
Critter 2's action: Charge action on Theg. Attack roll was a hit, but the creature missed due to concealment from the darkness.
Scipio's action: Stands up on altar. Provokes six AOOs, all of which miss (Boy, you are SO lucky I rolled horrible here). Attacks with his halberd on Critter 3, dealing 16 damage.
Critter 3's action: Move to behind critter 1.
Theg's action: Changed to before critter 1's action.
Critter 4's action: Move to behind critter 2.
Healer's action: Panic. He moves away from the group to the location on the map, the darkness still centered on him.
Critter 5's action: Move to behind critter 3.
Torgak's action: Attack Critter 2. Attack roll was a hit. Damage is 7.
Badshak's action: Changed to before critter 1's action.
Critter 6's action: Move to behind critter 4.
Critter 7's action: Attack Scipio. Attack roll was a miss.
Critter 7's action: Attack Scipio. Attack roll was a hit. Damage is 5. Passed his Fortitude save.

End Results of Round one:
Critter 1: Damage 9
Critter 3: Damage 16
Critter 2: Damage 7
Badshak: Damage 6
Scipio: Damage 5

MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)
Neega's efforts at diplomacy seem lost on these creatures. They seem intent only on consuming your flesh, bones, or souls, whatever they happen to feed on.
Bix decides to conceal the Healer, calling upon the nether spirits to hide his comrade. The entire area becomes bathed in darkened shadows, obscuring both friend and foe from friend and foe.
Waiting for the beasts, Badshak and Theg each lay into their attacker. Badshak's weapon rips into the leathery flesh of the creature and it roars in fury before returning the favor, biting deep into Badshak's shoulder. He feels something trying to get into his blood through the creature's teeth but he quickly throws the beast back, able to fight off what little got into his blood.
Theg swings his greatsword at the beast, but his focus was disturbed by Badshak's bark of pain and he missed the creature completely.
The figure on the altar stands up despite the creatures clawing at him to keep him down. He swings his halberd strongly at one of the creatures, nearly cutting it in two, and forcing it to flee in the direction of the party. Three of the other creatures also break from the large, armored figure and move towards the party as well.
Healer, in a sense of sudden panic, yells, "NO! I don't want to die!" He then flees several paces behind the group before cowering in the fetal position on the ground away from the creatures.
Torgak, taking advantage of the cover provided by the corner between himself and the nearest creature, swings his double axe at the beast and strikes it squarely in the shoulder, causing a bit of blood to be splattered across the open door.
The two creatures remaining near the armored figure on the altar try to grab and bite at him. One of them does so, and the figure pulls his leg away just as he begins to feel the same evil feeling seep into him as Badshak felt previously.

OOC: Ok, next actions, people. Initiative remains the same except Badshak and Theg now go before critter 1.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak is surprised at the swiftness of these creatures as he swings yet again at the creature he hit before. As he does he feels his shoulder burn with pain and a slight sense of fear slips into his mind.

[Fixer]

Badshak is surprised at the swiftness of these creatures as he swings yet again at the creature he hit before. As he does he feels his shoulder burn with pain and a slight sense of fear slips into his mind.
He falls backward a step to allow the creatures through the door, hopefully giving the party a better fighting position.


That's a 5 foot step backwards

OOC: I updated the map and put the link in the spoiler. The doors are presently funneling the critters toward you two at a time. If you take a step back, they can move into that space.

[MichielHagen]

OOC: I updated the map and put the link in the spoiler. The doors are presently funneling the critters toward you two at a time. If you take a step back, they can move into that space.

OOC:
I see now, i didn't take the 2 doors itself in account forming a tunnel. Badshak would definitely notice this as an advantageous position and have changed my previous post.

[Ezeze]

Forced into battle, Neega launches an arrow at one of the creatures in the back who have not yet attacked.

[Leinad]

As the darkness falls back with the healer, Torgak is able to get a good look at the critter and swings his axe once more as he ponders it's identity.

Would he know what they are? If so, I suppose he'd shout out their identity to the rest of the group while taking that swing.

[Fixer]

OOC: None of your characters have encountered creatures like this before (i.e. one of my templates I have tested for balance over the years). They appear to be humanoid type, but their unusual jaw structure and very short claws dictate they are designed for biting opponents as opposed to scratching them. They move and strike with feral passion and purpose, if not great strength or intelligence, more akin to hungry wolves than intelligent humanoids. Their wounds do not appear to automatically heal (no DR, fast healing, or regeneration) but they do seem exceptionally hardy, despite their emaciated appearance. Unlike wolves they demonstrate no individuality nor defer to any one of them as a leader.

[TheOz]

As soon as the healer runs away and Theg gets a good look at the creature in front of him, he raises his greatsword and swings down diagonally, trying to cleave through its collarbone and chest. He leans into the swing, pulling the sword down for a powerful hit at the expense of some accuracy, as he has to turn his head away a little to put enough power into the hit.

[[Read as: Power attack against the one in front of him; attack bonus now +5, damage 2d6+7.]]

[Forum Explorer]

Calm down Bix grumbles before taking a step back. Concentrating Bix forms a small ball of eldrich energy in the palm of his hand. With a grin he flings it at the closest critter.

[Fixer]

Actions Performed:
Neega: Shoot an arrow at Critter 5, concealment causes it to miss.
Bix: Shoot an eldritch Blast at Critter 1 (shooting into melee, with a -4 to hit), concealment doesn't help. Attack hits, 4 damage.
Badshak: Attack Critter 1. Attack hits, concealment doesn't help. 14 damage. Critter 1 falls.
Theg: Attack Critter 2. Attack hits. 13 damage.
Critter 1: Dying. -5 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 2: Touch attack on Theg succeeds, concealment doesn't help, no AOO due to improved grapple. Grapple attempt succeeds. Moves 5 feet into Theg's square and begins grapple (no AOO from movement). Theg takes 3 damage from the grapple (no save needed).
Scipio: Attacks Critter 8, hit. 12 damage.
Critter 3: Moves to next to Badshak. Touch attack on Badshak succeeds, concealment doesn't help, no AOO due to improved grapple. Grapple attempt succeeds. Moves 5 feet into Badshak's square and begins grapple. No AOO because Neega & Bix are using ranged weapons, and Theg is grappled. Badshak takes 3 damage from the grapple (no save needed).
Critter 4: Moves next to Theg and delivers a bite attack and succeeds, concealment doesn't help. 5 damage. Fortitude save passes.
Healer: cower and whimper, but paying attention and looking ready to bolt.
Critter 5: Moves next to Badshak and delivers a bite attack and misses.
Torgak: Attacks critter 2 grappling with Theg. Attack hits, concealment doesn't help, deals 10 damage. Critter 2 falls. Theg no longer grappled.
Critter 6: Charges into Theg, through a friendly square, attempting to re-grapple him. Touch attack succeeds, concealment doesn't help, no AOO due to improved grapple. Grapple attempt succeeds, moves into Theg's square but not provoking AOO due to cover from Torgak (the corner) and everyone else either grappled or using ranged weapons. Theg takes 4 damage from the grapple (no save needed).
Critter 7: Attempts to grapple Scipio, touch attack succeeds but grapple attempt fails.
Critter 8: Attempts to grapple Scipio, touch attack succeeds, no AOO due to improved grapple. Grapple attempt succeeds, moves into Scipio's square. Scipio takes 6 damage from the grapple check (no save needed).

End Results from Round 2:
Critter 1: Dying (-5)
Critter 2: Dying (-6)
Critter 3: 16 damage
Critter 4: No damage
Critter 5: No damage
Critter 6: No damage
Critter 7: No damage
Critter 8: 12 damage
Badshak: 9 / 22
Theg: 12 / 22 (your HP on your character sheet is incorrect. You didn't double your first level HP.)
Scipio: 6 / 24

MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)OOC: Damn, that was a lot of rolling. I had to review all the rules on grappling again. Forum Explorer, you didn't tell me you moved so I had to give your target partial cover from you. You have to step a bit back to prevent that.

IC:
Neega's arrow shoots through the darkness but her target wasn't where she was expecting it to be and her arrow breaks against one of the columns inside the temple.
Bix attempts to help Badshak and shoots the creature in melee with him. Nearly missing the thrashing beast due to the corner, he does strike a blow to the already injured creature. It looks tired, but still hungry.
Badshak strikes through the shadows covering both himself and his opponent, striking the creature with a mighty blow, bringing it down while the last of its life bleeds from its wounds.
Theg, not wanting to be outdone by Badshak, strikes his creature and deeply wounds it. The creature, in turn, launches itself bodily at Theg, and begins wrestling with him, trying to take him to the ground and wounding Theg slightly in the effort.
The figure on the dias again swings his halberd at one of the creatures below him, again cutting it nearly in two. He cries, "What are these things?"
The creature behind the one Badshak fell leaps towards him, attempting to bring him to the ground while also trying to bite him. Badshak gets scratched in the process and the creature refuses to let him go. Another of the creatures moves towards Theg and bites him while he is otherwise occupied with wrestling another creature. Another attempting the same towards Badshak misses entirely.
Torgak, having a clear view of an opponent at last, strikes the creature wrestling Theg and finally brings it down. Theg's respite is short-lived, however, as another of the creatures leaps past his companion and continues the grapple.
The two creatures near the figure on the dias both attempt to lunge up at him and grab him. One trips in its attempt but the other manages to climb up and grab the figure, biting at his neck and clawing at his arms.

In case any of you were wondering, yes this is a very challenging encounter. I wanted to start out difficult, as opposed to tossing a couple CR 1/4 at you. There are seven of you to eight of them. Originally I had planned for more critters but decided to let you cluster**** tactics for your first combat, then challenge you more after you have coordinated better. Not all fights will be like this, this just made the most sense to have most/all of them here, where they have been feeding and trying to escape.

[MichielHagen]

OOC:

we do not have permission to see the map

[Fixer]

OOC:

we do not have permission to see the map
Whoops! That was my link to edit, not yours to view. My bad.

[MichielHagen]

As the foul creature attaches itself to Badshak, his primal senses take control and claws form out of his hands. With these claws he struggles to attack the creature. "Get OFF!"


I want to manifest "Claws of the Beast", which has a DC 21 concentration check while being grappled. I have +7 on concentration.....
If i succeed i drop my weapon and attack with the claws. If i fail the manifestation i try to escape from the grapple.
If Neega kills the creature before my turn, i will attack creature 5 with my sword, not manifesting the power at all.

[Ezeze]

Neega takes a step back and tries to shoot at critter 3.

Ug, why P-zombies? My existential dread won't work if they've got no sense of self!

[Forum Explorer]

Bix calmly takes a step back and aims at the unharmed critter near him. Focusing he creates a ball of energy on his palm which he promplty sends flying towards the critter.

Take a 5 foot step back so I can get a shot at critter 5

[Leinad]

With another seemingly clear shot, Torgak, readies his axe to put a gash in the back of the critter's head that is grappling with his brother, Theg.

Though, I did have some questions and placed them in the ooc thread. Thanks for the help in advance. Power attack, if possible.

[TheOz]

Theg grunts as he is rushed by one of the creatures, which managed to stay standing even after his hit connected. He tries to push it away, but is distracted by a bite on the arm from another one of the creatures. He aims his elbow at the creature, but does not connect, and soon has to turn his attention back to the fight at hand.

There is a short respite when the first creature drops, but Theg is soon grappled again, and snarls in the creature's face, daring it to try to take him down. Since they seem intent on attacking him in close range, he decides to do it their way. He drops his sword to the ground and attempts to pin the creature to the wall or floor - whichever would give Torgak a clear shot or two at it.

[[Drop greatsword as a free action. Attempt to pin the creature with an opposed grapple check... If Torgak's attack doesn't drop it. If it does, I'll say he attacked the nearest critter still up and fighting, and change the fluff text later.]]

[Fixer]

Actions Performed:
Neega: Shoot an arrow at Critter 3. Shooting into a grapple causes an equal chance of each participant being the target (page 151, item 3 of the table). The roll is..... Critter 3. Attack roll hits, concealment doesn't affect. Damage is 5.
Bix: Shoot an eldritch Blast at Critter 5, concealment doesn't help. Attack hits, 1 damage.
Badshak: Concentration check passed. Manifest Claws of the Beast as a swift action. Grapple check on Critter 3 to escape fails.
Theg: Grapple check to pin succeeds (lucky bugger). 6 damage.
Critter 1: Dying. -6 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 2: Dying. -7 hp. Does not stabilize.
Scipio: Grapple to escape from Critter 8. Grapple check succeeds, moves to next square on altar. Altar finally breaks, dropping Scipio and Critter 8 prone on the floor (as Scipio failed his tumble).
Critter 3: Grapple check to pin Badshak fails.
Critter 4: Attempts to bite Theg and hits, but concealment causes a miss.
Healer: In a surprising (and probably temporary) burst of courage, Healer dashes forward and touches Theg, healing 13 damage (bringing to full).
Critter 5: Attempts to bite Badshak again and misses.
Torgak: Attacks critter 6 grappling with Theg (power attack for 1, because you didn't specify the amount). Attack hits, concealment doesn't help, deals 12 damage.
Critter 6: Grapple check to pin Theg fails.
Critter 7: Attempts to grapple Scipio, touch attack succeeds but grapple attempt fails. (wow, trend forming here)
Critter 8: Move action to stand, and I seriously cannot think of something for him to do with his standard action as partial charge no longer exists.

End Results from Round 2:
Critter 1: Dying (-6)
Critter 2: Dying (-7)
Critter 3: 21 damage
Critter 4: No damage
Critter 5: 1 damage
Critter 6: 18 damage
Critter 7: No damage
Critter 8: 12 damage
Badshak: 9 / 22 damage
Theg: 0 / 22 damage
Scipio: 6 / 24 damage

MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)OOC: No one did terribly well this round.

IC:
Neega decides to risk shooting into a grapple, and her luck holds when she connects with the shoulder of the creature wrestling with Badshak. It growls in pain but seems far too intent on biting Badshak to deal with the arrow.
Bix shoots another eldritch beam from his hand, which only glances along the waist of one of the creatures in the back.
Badshak concentrates on his feral nature, manifesting claws from his hands. His efforts to escape the hold of the creature before him, however, result only in the two of them dancing around in a tug-of-war.
Theg finally gets a good grip on his opponent and pins him to the ground, wrenching his target's arm quite painfully. The beast howls in pain and tries to break free.
The figure on the altar manages to wrestle free of his adversary, only to knock the entire altar off-balance and tumble to the floor in a heap.
Torgak focuses his might on hurting his target, and his strike aims true and he rips his target a brand new orifice down his back.
Healer, in a surprisingly brave move, yells, "Don't die!" and rushes forward to touch Theg while Theg has the beast on the other side of him. Healer's rush of positive energy flows through Theg and he feels as refreshed as he did before the fight began.
The creatures, depsite their best efforts, are thwarted in all their attacks by either foul luck or the distraction caused by the darkness around them.

[Forum Explorer]

Having fun yet? Bix grins at the healer before launching another blast at the same critter.

[Ezeze]

Neega grumbles incomprehensably in frustration.

Fixer
Going to be taking advantage of the darkness hide my spell casting. Assuming you'll roll Bluff for me. Going to be targeting creatures 1-6 with a Sleep spell.

[TheOz]

Not to be a rule nazi, but you can only power attack for 1, Leinad. Power attack is 1-5, but you can only go as high as your BAB, which is 1.

Theg is distracted for a moment by the healer's bold move, and he glances back in surprise, just in time to twist away from the bite of another critter. He slams the one he is holding to the floor, pinning it down violently, and moves aside a bit to allow Torgak to cave its skull in with his axe. Thinking to repeat the exercise, he straightens and shows a tusked grin to the remaining creature that had just tried to bite him, then attempts to wrap his thick arms around it and hold it still so that Torgak can finish it off again.

[[Grapple check against critter 6; provokes attack of opportunity. Second grapple check to pin if the first succeeds.]]

[Leinad]

Seeing his brother, Theg, keeping the critter open to attacks Torgak moves in for another blow with his axe in hopes of finishing the creature off with another powerful attack.

After being confused, I return to the idea that attacking critter 4 with a normal attack is likely what Torgak will be doing.

[Fixer]

Not to be a rule nazi, but you can only power attack for 1, Leinad. Power attack is 1-5, but you can only go as high as your BAB, which is 1.
[[Grapple check against critter 6; provokes attack of opportunity. Second grapple check to pin if the first succeeds.]]Yeah, being a rule nazi is my job! :P Power attack is any amount, but only up to your BAB. It doesn't stop at 5. That would be Combat Expertise.

Also, you can only make as many grapple checks as you have attacks. You can spend your action to again pin the critter to deal damage (which, given your unarmed attack in armor would be lethal damage, I am saying this is lethal damage). To point out: making a grapple check does NOT provoke an AOO. The touch attack to INITIATE a grapple is what triggers an AOO and you are already past that. I should have said Critter 6 was held immobile so that's my bad. What I said he did this round will happen next round instead (unless he goes down, in which case Critter 4 will attempt to grapple you and fail.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak is surprised to see Neega point an arrow at him and flinches as the arrow barely misses him, but hitting the creature. With the creature still hanging on to him, there's no time to say "thanks". Heavily breathing with the effort Badshak tries to claw into the creatures body.


If the creature somehow dies before this i attack creature 5.
Not sure if i can make a full attack while grappled, but if possible that is my choice. If i attack creature 5 i will make a full attack also.

[Fixer]

Actions Performed:
Neega: Mutters as she lines up a shot on the creature wrestling with Badshak.
Bix: Shoot an eldritch Blast at Critter 5 again, concealment doesn't help. Attack hits, 5 damage. Critter drops with the shot.
Badshak: Grapple check with Critter 3 succeeds. 9 damage. Creature finally stops wrestling.
Theg: Grapple check to pin Critter 6 fails.
Critter 1: Dying. -7 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 2: Dying. -7 hp. Stabilized.
Scipio: Stands (Provokes AOO, which hits for 6 points, Fails fortitude save) and attacks Critter 7. Attack hits, 12 damage.
Critter 3: Dying, -7 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 4: Seems to suddenly run out of steam and falls down, unconscious.
Healer: Runs away from the fight again. Much farther back this time. (I had the center thing done wrong for the darkness effect, so I fixed that on the map.)
Critter 5: Prone.
Torgak: Attacks Critter 6 grappling with Theg. Attack roll succeeds, 11 damage. Critter 6 falls.
Critter 6: Dying, -7 hp. Does not stabilize. This square, due to the number of bodies lying in it, is considered difficult terrain now.
Critter 7: Gives up on grappling, attempts to bite Scipio and succeeds. 7 damage.
Critter 8: Moves closer to Scipio and attempts to bite. Attack fails.

End Results from Round 2:
Critter 1: Dying (-7)
Critter 2: Dying (-7) Stable.
Critter 3: Dying (-6)
Critter 4: No damage, prone, not conscious.
Critter 5: 6 damage, prone, not conscious.
Critter 6: Dying (-7)
Critter 7: 12 damage
Critter 8: 12 damage
Badshak: 9 / 22 damage
Theg: 8 / 22 damage
Scipio: 13 / 24 damage, Diseased

MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)Neega mutters something under her breath while she lines up a shot on the creature wrestling with Badshak. It doesn't end up mattering, however, because Badshak rips the face off the critter he's wrestling and it drops like a lead-lined brick.
Bix shoots the creature again, and oddly enough his blast knocks it out. Not the effect he was expecting but a fortuitous result nonetheless.
Theg's wrestling with his opponent results in nothing, except when his brother, Torgak, strikes the beast down with a well-timed attack. Theg's footing is now a bit insecure with all the blood and bodies around his feet.
The armored figure in the distance doesn't seem to be doing as well as the rest of you. He is continuing to attack his two opponents, dealing massive damage each time, but they just refuse to drop. One of them finally gets a couple good bites on him and he yells out in a language none of you understand before knocking the beast back.
Also, inexplicably, the creature that had been trying to chew on Theg from the doorway has his eyes roll back into his head and falls down prone.

[MichielHagen]

Finally free to move freely again, Badshak decides to hop between the motionless bodies between the doors and attacks creature 8. He decides to keep a distance between himself and the armored figure, not sure if the enemy of his enemy turns out not to be a friend.


I move through the square with creature 4 in it towards the square exactly beneath creature 8 and make a claw attack.

[Ezeze]

Neega instructs Badshak "Take those two out while they are down" meaning he should Coup de Grace creatures 4 and 5. She takes a step forward and from the edge of the darkness fires an arrow at creature 8.

[MichielHagen]

Roleplaying wise Badshak has not fully realised what happened to the two creatures, but they are down and not moving, thus not a threat.
While that may be the most optimal play in game, Badshak would not act as such. Besides, chances are likely that they are undead, and therefor immune to Coupes.

[Leinad]

OOC In an effort not to slow down progress I'm making this post, though I had wanted to wait until after Theg posted, since my action will depend on what he chooses to do. If Theg chooses to move past the critter in front of him and head towards the critters attacking Scipio..Torgak will kindly remove the head of the critter(utilizing coup de grace) Theg just walked by. Otherwise, Torgak will make his advance towards the critters that have been plaguing Scipio. I do plan to redo this post once Theg's action has been determined.

[Ezeze]

I know he doesn't know what happened, that is why Neega told him to act. Communication can be such a wonderful thing :smallbiggrin: and they're not undead, otherwise that wouldn't have worked.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix quickly moves up beside the closest piller and launchs another eldrich blast at one of the critters plaugeing the armoured man.

[Fixer]

I am going to have to make some judgements on how certain people are reacting, so if you have a problem with what I said this round, be more clear next round. :P

Actions Performed:
Neega: Yells at Badshak. Fires an arrow at Critter 8. Misses.
Bix: Moves into the temple and shoots an eldritch Blast at Critter 8. Attack hits, 3 damage.
Badshak: Moves to next to 8, attacks with claw. Hits, 8 damage.
Theg: Coup de Gras on Critter 4. Critter 4 deceased now.
Critter 1: Dying. -8 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 2: Dying. -7 hp. Stabilized.
Scipio: Attacks critter 7 and deals 14 damage. Critter 7 drops.
Critter 3: Dying, -8 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 4: Dead
Healer: Remains cowering outside the temple.
Critter 5: Still prone.
Torgak: Moves to coup de gras Critter 5. Critter 5 dies.
Critter 6: Dying, -8 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 7: Dying, -3 hp. Does not stabilize.
Critter 8: Attacks Badshak with a bite. Attack succeeds, 5 damage. Fortitude fails.

End Results from Round 2:
Critter 1: Dying (-8)
Critter 2: Dying (-7) Stable.
Critter 3: Dying (-8)
Critter 4: Very Dead
Critter 5: Very Dead
Critter 6: Dying (-8)
Critter 7: Dying (-3)
Critter 8: 23 damage
Badshak: 14 / 22 damage, Diseased
Theg: 8 / 22 damage
Scipio: 13 / 24 damage, Diseased

MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)The battle is obviously ending soon. Neega's shouts go ignored while the remainder of the party mops up all but the last remaining critter. That last remaining critter, however, refuses to go down without a fight and gives Badshak something to remember it by: a bite to the shoulder.

-------------------------------------------------
I rolled for the critter next round and it missed, so you guys don't bother with combat actions. You spend a round killing it (and if you want any of the dying critters left alive, tell me otherwise I assume you kill them too).

I will let you guys role-play your interactions with Scipio with me, as his player seems to have dropped out of the game. TheOz, that means you are now an active player. Any XP gained by your current NPC will be given to the PC you haven't sent me yet. If your NPC dies, then your PC will get only half the XP this NPC earns. I suggest you get me your PC quickly.

Once you have killed or captured any critters you want to keep, Healer comes back towards the rest of you and uses a burst of positive energy (Sacred Healing) enough to heal their injuries back to full. It will also partially heal any critters you left alive.

375 XP to everyone for behavior thus far.

[Ezeze]

Neega grumbles and returns her bow to its quiver, deigning to waste more arrows on what is an obviously won fight.

[MichielHagen]

Unaware that Neega was talking to him, Badshak slashes at the creature that just made him feel awful. He then slowly backs away from the creature as well as the unknown figure.


2 claws attack then a 5ft step back

[Fixer]

I guess you guys missed my second spoiler where I said we are getting out of combat actions. You guys won and earned 375XP each (except Healer, who got considerably less). You are back in RP now and have a large man with a Halberd in a defensive posture but not quite raising his weapon at you. Unfortunately his player disappeared, so I am trying to get an alternate in here to take over.Now that the battle has settled you can take a closer look at the area around you. Without moving, the temple is covered in beautiful stained glass shining light in through the faceted windows. There are scrape-marks on the floor where there must have once been pews but there is no evidence they were ever present (no sticks, lumber, or other materials the pews might have been made from). The overturned altar, now that you can see it better, is something like a funnel. It has a large, square area that slopes inward and has a one foot hole in the bottom that goes all the way through the altar. You cannot see the ground under the altar without going near the large halberd-wielding person.

Speaking of which, you can now see it (him?) a little better now. Definitely man-sized, but very tall. Nearly 7 feet tall. Decked in full plate armor and wielding a halberd the figure seems to have very little else to their name. You are thinking it is a male due to the size of the codpiece and lack of size in the chest. It says, in a language none of you understand, "Nunga Whooto Tana Weena Wat".

[Ezeze]

Neega spreads her hands and shrugs, combining a non-defensive position and a gesture of incomprehension.

[TheOz]

Ooc: My computer can't access GitP reliably any more for some odd reason... I'll still be posting during the week when I can use the college computers, but my posting on the weekends will probably be negligible. Just so everyone knows.

Bic:

Theg drops the creature he was holding, bends to retrieve his sword, and turns to fight another - careful to maintain his footing on the entrail-slickened floor - but he finds it already on the ground. With a shrug, he stabs the sword tip down through it's back a couple times, making sure he's hit spine and at least a couple organs before he's done. When all the creatures around him are still, he turns to face the figure on the altar and takes a couple steps forward off of the bodies, until he stands on a relatively clean part of the floor.

He stares at the man with the halberd, tilting his head to the side in confusion when he talks. He glances to the others, his expression quizzical. "...Didn't he speak normal before?" he asked, wondering if his ears had given him false information in combat a moment ago. But he was almost sure he'd heard him speak words he could understand a few seconds ago...

[Fixer]

OOC: He spoke Common before. You (by default) are speaking Orc as that is your House language. Unless you tell me you are speaking something else, I presume you are speaking Orc. What he just said was not in Common, but some other language none of you are familiar with. Apparently he thought you might know it.

All characters speak Common. NPCs might not, if they are exceptionally unintelligent, but otherwise everyone speaks Common. It is a trade language.

[TheOz]

Ooc: Right. He said something in common before, which Theg understood (unless you mean he only speaks Orc). Now that he switched, poor dumb little Theg is confused. The player is pretty sure they know what's going on. The character? Not so much.

EDIT: Oh wait. You were commenting on the fact that Theg was speaking Orcish also... Yeah, I'll go with that. He'd probably be even less affluent in Common than he is in Orcish, so he'll stick to what he knows and address his dear brother for now.

[TheBardling]

OOC: Hello everyone! I've been asked to step in and play an NPC. So I'll be playing the big guy with the halberd for a while. :-)

IC:
The big man sighs a little sounding somewhat of a grunt, gripping his halberd a bit tighter out of aggrivation, yet he still seems to merely be taking a defensive position. He then speaks again, this time in Common.

"Let me try this again, Who are you and why am I here?"

His eyes are in constant motion, keeping an eye on all to ensure none take a hostile approach.

[Fixer]

It is at this point that Healer moves into the center of the group and releases his burst of healing, healing the stranger as well. He states, "I mean you no harm. I am only a healer. I hope my blessing makes clear my intentions." Then Healer realizes he spoke up before anyone else and apologizes, trying to quietly hide behind one of the columns before someone gets angry with him.

[Ezeze]

Neega glares at the healer before she speaks. "This kaimen is sinking. We're here to salvage what we can before it's gone. Didn't think that would include a person."

[TheBardling]

The stranger continues in Common, "I thank you for the healing. However it would seem as my questions have still gone unanswered. So, let me start things off. I am Scipio, and I have no idea how I got here or even where here is. Now that you all know my name, might I have the same kindness returned?"

He continues to look around at the group with suspicion, yet he understands that they may not be forthcoming with information, as he's unwilling to give much more than his name. He waits as best as he can, yet patience is not one of his strong suits.

[TheOz]

Theg watches the Healer, turning his head almost owlishly as the nervous man enters the middle of the group, heals them all, and then scurries quickly out again. The man reminded Theg of a small dog, anxious but hesitant, sometimes rushing into things but more often cowering in a corner.

He turned his attention back towards the man on the altar, who had switched back to a language he recognized. He introduced himself as Scipio, and Theg was quick to answer his request for a name. "Theg. And my brother Torgak." he pointed with his chin towards his brother, then paused for a few seconds, wondering whether he should introduce the others since they didn't seem too keen on it.

Ooc EDIT: Haha! Today is my day for mistakes, it would seem. I knew which person was Theg's brother, I just mixed up the names. Blargh.

[Leinad]

Torgak accepting his brother's introduction bangs his axe upon his chest and gives Scipio a slight nod recognizing him as a fellow warrior. In common, "We are as puzzled at your presence here as we are of the critters that have now been dispatched. We are simply explorers and warriors who have taken an opportunity to search out what we can on this Kamain. As a warrior, I salute your courage and your blade; you gave those critters a good fight. Perhaps, Scipio you could tell us where you were before here?" and with this inquiry Torgak tilts his head and returns his blade to a more peaceful position.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix stepped forward, My name is Bix, as we said before we're trying to salvage what remains here before it leaves this realm. Do you know anything about this place that could be helpful? He says calmly as he dismisses the spell on the healer.

[Fixer]

OOC: I am presuming that all the bad nasties were killed off, right? None left alive? Otherwise Healer's healing surge might have unintended consequences.

IC: Healer, after scurrying off behind a column, finds his way around towards the side of the altar opposite Scipio. He looks around and announces, "Hey! A hole! A really dark hole." He then looks at everyone and realizes he was interrupting again and gets quiet... again.

EDIT: OOC: While you are at it, someone give the things a name so I can stop calling them critters.

[MichielHagen]

sorry for my short absence, life took control.
Naming the critters....uhm....Ravenous Ghouls?


After retrieving his dropped sword at the door Badshak is still not to sure what to think of the tall human, "My name is Badshak, but....what?" he starts as he is interrupted by the healer. He then moves over to the healer to see what he is talking about.

[Fixer]

Making your way around the stone altar, giving Scipio a wide berth, you come to the side of the tipped-over altar. You can see, underneath where the altar would have stood, is a large hole. The altar has large hinges so it can be tipped over and brought back into position without getting out of place. About an inch into the hole there is a magical darkness far more deep that what Bix had previously cast on Healer. It is pitch dark and not even your darkvision can pierce it. For all intents and purposes it is a wall of darkness.

From the design of the altar and the location of the hole, it is apparent that any offering placed in the altar would slide down the funnel of the altar and fall into the dark hole, if the offering were small enough to fit through the one-foot diameter hole in the bottom of the altar.

[TheBardling]

The tall one recognizes this group of individuals is not his enemy, and so he lowers his weapon. Continuing in common, he says, "Well met to you all. I was last in battle at Seacrest. Obviously, that is no longer the case."

The figure then shifts his gaze to the hole upon which everyone is studying. "Pretty dark down there. Are you all trying to find your way down? Because I don't think too many would be able to squeeze through that opening."

Taking a moment to think, he wonders about how deep the hole goes and what might lay at the bottom. With a quick look around, he picks up a small loose stone and holds it over the hole. "You all might want to stand back, just in case this isn't the smartest idea."

Once the group backs up, he lets go and listens as the rock disappears into the blackness, trying to guage depth. (unless one of the group stops him)

"By the way, when we find our way out of here, can someone please tell me what a Kaimen is?"

[Leinad]

As Scipio goes to drop the stone, Torgak quickly grips his arm halting his progress, "Woe there! That hole was likely meant for your blood, Scipio. Let's not disturb any blood-thirsty beast with the tossing of stones."

Critter naming suggestion: Cadaverous Mongrels

[Fixer]

At this point I can only describe stuff to you after your characters do things, or answer questions. Healer, for his part, will follow whatever the group wants. He has already demonstrated more courage than he normally possesses.

The temple is bereft of any other unblocked entrances or exits. There is a door in one back corner (left from the entrance) but it is partially off the hinges and appears to have a large pile of rocks on the other side of it. Except for the glass windows 15 feet off the ground there are no other apparent exits from the room.

[TheBardling]

Scipio looks at Torgak, "As you wish." Scipio merely shrugs and looks around, examining the hole without disturbing it. Then he looks around looking for any loose rocks that might conceal a passageway or anything of the like.

[Leinad]

Torgak takes a look over the toppled altar trying to find any marks that would identify who or what the altar was raised to. He also looks to see if he can't find any compartments or valuables upon the altar as well.

OOC note: I originally read the hole as a one-inch rather than a one-foot diameter.. may not have stopped Scipio, but what's done is done. If anyone is feeling more intrepid than Torgak feel free to continue Scipio's attempt.

[Fixer]

TheBardling specifically said he'd give anyone an opportunity to stop him, so I say you stopped him. He didn't seem hell-bent on dropping the rock.

I checked everyone's character sheets and no one present has knowledge-religion. Not even Healer has it. Given this isn't a part of Sca-Reth's history, knowledge-history won't work.The altar possesses some markings on it, heavily faded with time so as to be near-unrecognizable, but no one present possesses the necessary training to recognize their significance.

To give a simple description, though, they appear to be people at a table, cornucopia, and some people farming. The rest is too faded out to tell and these three relatively clear images are not close enough to be connected to each other. Seems a lot of scratch-marks on the altar, though, as if the ravenous ghouls (what you called them) had been climbing on the altar a great deal, or perhaps clawing at it.

[Leinad]

Baffled at the meanings behind the markings Torgak meanders towards the door covered in rubble and begins prying at the rocks with his crowbar looking to see if any will give way and make for an entrance. Perhaps even taking the door completely off the hinges if it helps. Torgak signals over to his brother Theg asking for assistance in the project.

[Ezeze]

The female orc states that her name is Neega and begins to walk slowly around the room.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix looks at the hole trying to see down it, he then inspects the rocks seeing if they could be moved saftly. Does anyone have some rope? We could try lowering it and seeing what happens.

[TheOz]

Theg is occupied cleaning the gore off of his sword until he notices the others beginning to explore the room. He looks around a bit, checking for a door the others may not have seen, before noticing Torgak waving him over. Slapping his sword into its clip on his back (it holds the hilt in place and the blade tip down near his left knee rather than actually holding the blade inside a sheath), he jogs over, slowing to a walk once he has crossed the room. He lowers his eyebrows a little into a thoughtful expression, but it looks more like a scowl coming from the tusked half-orc. He reaches Torgak and begins to tug at a rock with his thick arms, mumbling to his brother a bit sullenly, "He's taller than me..."

Str check to move one or two rocks out of the way; I'll take 10, and then take 20 if that doesn't work.

[Leinad]

hrm..I probably should have specified the Strength check, I'll echo TheOz and Take 10 and then a 20 if the 10 doesn't work

[Fixer]

It will be much easier to move the rocks with the door removed. Doing so is a fairly simple matter as the rubble already damaged the hinges.

After the door is removed (and, for the sake of argument, we'll say you lean it against the nearby wall) you begin moving rocks. There are a lot of rocks, and as you start to actually make headway, more rocks fall and nearly crush Torgak, if not for his brother quickly pulling him out of the way. (2 subdual damage, but don't bother as it'll heal quickly enough.)

Badshak and Neega wander around the edges of the room, apparently looking for more details. They discover writing on the walls but either it is too scratched up to make out or in a language no one understands. It is obvious that this room was a prison, of sorts. Those ravenous ghouls clawed at every inch of wall surrounding the room. There are no doorways or secret exits that can be found.

Bix looks into the hole and cannot see through the darkness. It seems to block darkvision as well as normal vision.Reminder, people: you can fly in this world, albiet very slowly.

[TheBardling]

OOC: As Scipio knows nothing about this new land, he doesn't yet know he can fly. So I have to play him that way.

Scipio looks at the altar examining it a bit more, he notices the writing and the pictures. A bit confused he takes more time to get more of a bearing as to what's around him. He notices the window. He hears Bix make the comment about the rope and stops to think for a minute.

"Well, the rope would be nice, however I don't believe I would lower it into the hole, I believe I'd use it to reach that window. It may be a way out. Does anyone have any rope?"

He looks at the group, wondering what to make of this whole situation.

[MichielHagen]

"All these scratches.....one could wonder if they were trapped in this room for ages. But since we are not getting anywhere here, we might want to find another entrance into the temple." and Badshak moves towards the door, then looks backward if anyone follows. He takes off upward, hoovering few feet above the temple towards the top, looking for any entrance into it.


I thought the windows let outside, if not my action will be changed.

[Fixer]

The front doors to the temple are still wide open. Scipio can see outside. It appears Scipio is on an island surrounded by other islands in the distance hovering in mid-air, some connected by bridges. Scipio knows he's not in Taladas any more. Scipio also notices Badshak literally fly up after stepping outside the temple proper.
The roof of the temple in a similar situation to the remainder of the town. Worn and decaying. You see the windows into the temple but it appears most of the rest of the temple building behind the large meeting room collapsed towards the meeting room. Almost immediately behind the temple (just after the rubble) the kamain stops.

[Leinad]

OOC: I'm a bit confused on the layout of the room or which room were in. I think it's safe to say that the door we tried to get out of is very much blocked and that will not change. According to the picture you provided the temple is in the shape of a pyramid, I assume we are on the ground floor? I too thought the windows would have leadto outside the temple, back to where we were before entering. Now it seems the windows look inwards and we can see into the room that is/was blocked by the large stones. So, are we on the ground floor of the temple or did we enter near the top? by the way is the altar made of stone, wood, or what I think we've examined it enough to know.

Torgak grunts as the rubble scratches him and thanks his brother for pulling him away from such a danger. He then hears the call for rope and thumbs through his pack before producing a bit of rope. Torgak then looks to Bix, "So you want to go fishing?" and gestures towards the more edible looking remains of the ghouls.

[Fixer]

Sorry about the lack of description, I'll start over now that you guys have dug through just about everything there is in the room.

Temple is 40 feel long by 30 feet wide and 20 feet tall, in a roughly pyramid shape. (You are standing on the base. Well, most of you.) The top 10 feet of walls are interspersed with stained glass windows looking out while the roof is flat. There are a total of six columns inside the temple, three on either side and spaced almost evenly (a little extra space on the altar end).

There is a 10 foot wide altar at the 'north' end that is very much like a funnel. It has been tipped over and a hole revealed underneath. (Although, in hindsight, the hole should be four feet wide, not two. I was reading the description of the bottom of the funnel width. My bad. GM error.) The altar has pictures of people at a table, some cornucopia, and a tilled field but otherwise cannot be determined for what or who it was an altar.

The surrounding walls at ground level have been scratched and clawed so that whatever was written or drawn on them is no longer legible. The northwest corner of the temple has a door that has now been removed from its hinges and the area behind the door is completely blocked by rubble, and you cannot see anything through the rocks when moved.

And, just to be random, a fat pink bunny hops into the room, looks at everyone funny, then disappears in a 'POP!' Yes, this is canon. No, it doesn't mean anything.

[Forum Explorer]

Great lets see what this stirs up. Bix then lowers the rope down the hole carefully.

[Fixer]

You lower the rope into the dark hole. No sounds emanate from the hole nor does the rope behave unusually.

How much rope are you putting into the hole?

[MichielHagen]

Badshak returns from outside, "Nothing outside either.......what are you doing?!?" he exclamates as he sees the others busy with the rope, thinking they are about to go in. "No way i am going in there!!"

[Leinad]

Bix has 50 ft of rope to work with, just fyi

After handing off the rope to Bix, Torgak begins to ascend towards the ceiling. He wasn't too keen on the idea of exploring the dark and mysterious hole. As he nears the ceiling he begins inspecting the room from above, looking to see if anything stands out from this vantage point. He also takes note of the different scenes/designs that have been placed within the stained glass windows, pondering how they might relate to the designs on the altar.

[Fixer]

Where did you get the idea there's a room above the temple? There is no room above the temple. There is a high roof in the temple and several feet of stone between the temple and the sky. It is more of a flat pyramind with a wide base than a tall pyramid. The top of the pyramid is flat.The glass windows are stunning and depict images of farmers, feasts, and people apparently enjoying life. In contrast to the status of the rest of the temple, and the city, these windows are perfectly intact and in full color.

The most dominant window (right above the altar) is of a woman surrounded by animals, vegetables, and with a large belly. Her face is distorted (apparently intentionally) so as not to be able to tell the true face the woman possesses.

[Leinad]

Scenery:
The temple complex is roughly a half mile wide and deep and the kamain is easily 800 feet 'deep' (top to bottom). The entrance to the temple (from ground-level) is that of a huge, gaping maw on some sort of warped face (no nose, it seems to have broken off). It does not look friendly nor inviting. Except for these cosmetic changes, the temple complex structures kind of looks like this picture (http://www-tc.pbs.org/wnet/secrets/images/post_pics/aztec_ruins.jpg). There are other buildings on the surface of the kamain but they all appear to be either collapsed or in various stages of collapse. If you were limited to approaching this kamain from the ground you would approach through a collapsed opening in the front wall (which is closest to where the Healer is standing) and approach through the destroyed buildings to the temple on the opposite end of the complex. There is no living vegetation ANYWHERE on this kamain that you can see. Not even big roots coming from the bottom that might indicate underground vegetation.

Reminders:
This temple is within the Grand Realm (and falling towards the lower realm quickly) which means death isn't reversible after a good night's sleep as it is in the Upper Realm. Your characters have roughly a month before the kamain falls into the Lower Realm and will be lost forever.


The idea came from the thought that the temple looked like the picture and we started on the ground floor- as it looks like there are four levels in the picture. Forgive my errant thought.

Also, edited the post to remove the very thought of the errant assumption.

[Fixer]

Ah, I see. The pictures were supposed to be used more for appearances than building plans. My mistake. I apologize.

[TheBardling]

Taking a look at the image of the woman in the window above the altar he thinks for a moment. "Perhaps the altar wasn't meant for blood after all. Maybe the image of this woman in the window deals with a harvest god of some sort. Anyone have any food to make an offering to see?"

As he waits for the party to respond, Scipio looks around at the party. "By the way, is there something specific you all are looking for? or simply anything that you can scavenge?"

[TheOz]

Theg snorts as moving the rocks seems to do little, and as soon as he is sure that Torgak is not seriously injured, he turns and walks over to the others, peering at the altar. Naturally, he doesn't make any more sense out of them than anyone else, and he cranes his neck to look down into the hole instead. At the mention of blood offerings or offerings of food, Theg draws his eyebrows together, looks at the altar, and bends over it to see if he can smell old blood or old food smells. Whether he does or not, he sniffs slightly, holding back a yawn, and seats himself upon the altar's edge, crossing his arms over his chest and watching the others wander around the room.

As Scipio questions the group, Theg decides to answer (since he's not doing anything else at the moment). "The house sent us to look for relics." He still wasn't quite sure what a relic was, only that it was something very old, but his brother had used the word before, so he used it now.

[Forum Explorer]

So what happened when I lowered the rope down the hole?

[Fixer]

You lower 50 feet of rope down the hole (presumably holding one end). It goes down the hole without response. Pulling the rope back up, it comes back up and appears completely undamaged and unchanged.

[Leinad]

With a snort Torgak mutters, "I'll not be offering my goods to just any god." and with that Torgak plunges himself into the darkness beneath the altar in a fit of frustration and bravery(or stupidity) hoping that like the rope he will not be damaged either.


Edit: by plunging I do mean floating down as in flying down, just with more vigour than normal

[TheBardling]

Scipio smirks at Torgak's reaction and chuckles to himself. He feels that Torgak and himself seem to think alike and he can respect a fearless man of action. He then gauges the hole to determine if he broad shoulders would fit through the hole, or if he'd be stuck should he try to follow Torgak.

[Fixer]

Torgak falls (controlled) down the shaft. Your darkvision is quite handy, as there is no light coming from above. You can tell the shaft goes down a full 60 feet before emptying into a room below. There are rungs along one side of the shaft, as if this was a way to normally take going down.Scipio would have little problem fitting down the shaft. However, there is no room to be swinging the halberd. Torgak has a similar problem with his weapons: no room to swing.

Also, it will take you longer to 'fly' down the shaft than it will to use the rungs. Flying speed is 5, but going down the rungs you travel at ½ your move speed, or 15.

[MichielHagen]

As Badshak watches the others around the hole pull the rope back he sits down on a large stone. He is hardly paying attention as he suddenly sees Torgak jump into the hole and Badshak jumps up in amazement. He hesitantly walks over to the others at the hole, still a bit flabbergasted at what happened.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix follows the others and uses the rungs as soon as he can see them in order to catch up.

[Leinad]

With a bit of surprise as the mystical darkness stops blocking his darkvision Torgak notices the rungs lining the shaft and as he makes his way downwards using the rungs he can see what appears to be a floor. "Rungs! Look for the rungs; they line the shaft." Torgak cries out to the others.


For future reference, would it be even faster to simply stop flying and fall until you near the bottom and stop yourself using flight just before hitting it? Though in this instance I'll still be using the rungs.

[Ezeze]

Neega looks at the healer, then calls down the hole "is there any light?"

[Fixer]

For future reference, would it be even faster to simply stop flying and fall until you near the bottom and stop yourself using flight just before hitting it? Though in this instance I'll still be using the rungs.Trying to do it more than 20 feet above the ground requires no rolls. Doing so less than 20 feet above the ground requires a Reflex Save DC 10 to try it. Failure indicates full falling damage as you mistime the right time to stop yourself and crash anyway.Upon seeing several large people go down the hole, Healer reaches into his bag and pulls out a burning torch. He then walks next to the hole, takes a deep gulp, floats over the hole and slowly floats into it. After he has disappeared from sight, his head pops back up and says, "No light but mine," and then disappears back down the hole.

To those at the bottom of the rungs: MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA) Squares are ALWAYS 5 feet in my maps, just to be clear. I want positions in spoilers from every person in the room. Healer will be floating just underneath the hole in the ceiling, so he can run if he has to. This also means he can provide light to a larger area by shining above everyone.
This is what you can see. The last 10 feet down has no ladder, but you can see a place in the roof and floor where there are holes indicating there was probably a ladder present at one time. There are frescoes on all the surrounding walls of the room and sounds coming from one hallway (indicated on the map). There are no lights but what Healer is carrying.

[MichielHagen]

As Badshak sees even the frightened healer enter the hole he decides he will follow. He looks at Neega "Ladies first...?"


Depending on Neega's reaction i will let her go first or go in first myself.
I will position myself on the right side (if room) standing on the floor.

[TheBardling]

Scipio decides to join the group down the hole, however he is still unaware of his ability to fly, so he reaches down the hole, trying to find the rungs to use on his way down. He lowers himself through the hole, dropping to the floor as soon as he's able to feel confident he won't bring injury to himself as he's doing so. Then he takes out his halberd for protection.

[Ezeze]

Neega snorts derisively and follows the others down into the hole. She lands on the ground and begins to look around curiously.

Searching the immediate area for traps. [roll0]

[Leinad]

Reaching the bottom first, Torgak, sees the frescoes but once he hears the sounds emanating from the hallway he dismisses the frescoes and heads in the direction of the sounds and begins wielding his axe once more. He hesitates and a moment waiting for the rest of the party to reach the bottom, so if there is a fight it's not him against all of them. While waiting he listens closely in order to get a guesstimate of how far away those sounds are coming from.

Torgak stands where you have placed the [2]

[Fixer]

Just for the record, I cannot see the numbers on my map. I put the actual comments in and the way you see it is with numbers. On my screen the comments actually show as a little triangle in the square. I presume, however, that you are moving to the location with the comment about the noises as that was the second comment I added.

I placed everyone else in what I believe to be a common-sense position. If you disagree, tell me where to move you in relation to everyone else. Also, I should point out that standing on and moving along the ceilings, walls, and floors are all equally easy for those of you who know how to fly so bear that in mind with your tactics. After what I say below, Scipio will be able to use the innate flight ability without issue.

The hallways are 6 feet wide by 8 feet tall, but for the sake of the 5' grid I will say they are 5' by 10'. That means that one person can walk along the ceiling and one along the ground (or two along the wall, whatever) and block the corridor.Each of you climbs down and slowly levitates down the last 10 feet to the ground easily enough. Scipio, however, climbs down to the point where he has no more footholds and figures on falling down to the ground. Even thinking about controlling his direction during falling (to twist to fall more gently) causes him to gently float down to the ground instead of falling, surprising him greatly. It appears that moving by flight takes all the same amount of thought as moving by walking.

The sounds, shortly after Torgak starts listening for them, stop. Well, either they stopped or they got so quiet that the sounds of your comrades in arms climbing down a narrow passage covered in metal armor, clanking around weapons, or announcing things like "there are rungs" and "no light but mine" drowns out what little noise the sounds might be making. Impossible to tell.

Your listen roll REALLY sucked.

[Forum Explorer]

Everyone be as quiet as possible. Bix whispers to the others I'm going to see if I can find out what those sounds were. With that Bix slinks down the corridor, hugging the shadows and trying to stay near the edge of the walls.

[Leinad]

At Bix's command for silence Torgak rises from the floor and silently hovers slowly behind him as he slinks down the hallway.

Figures on the listen roll, I'm assuming the absence of contact with the floor would be much more quiet and nearly silent. Oh, and I guess Neega was unable to spot any traps?

[TheBardling]

Scipio remains airborne seeing Torgak do so and gets ready for a fight, just in case. His eyes gaze sharply in the direction the other's attention seems to be face and he slowly follows, remaining silent as he can be.

[Fixer]

Ok, you guys are getting all tactical on me. Give me positions relative to where people are on the map right now and I'll tell you what happens.

No, Neega found nothing unusual, just the beautiful frescoes.

[Leinad]

I believe Bix has passed Torgak up down that hallway as he is slinking towards the sounds. Torgak is placed appropriately. Scipio should now be right behind Torgak or shoulder to shoulder in the same square. Neega would be wherever she ended her search. Not sure if Badshack reached bottom first or the healer since he let Neega go down first, but I guess they are in the right places unless they say otherwise. Is it possible to get grid references such as A1 on the map...so it's easier to inform you of locales? Apologies if I spoke out of turn

[Fixer]

I have added coordinates.

[MichielHagen]

With the others moving into the left corridor, Badshak silently moves over to the other hallway to take a peek.

i move to position M18 until everyone has left this "room". He will then take up rearguard behind the others. If anyone (for example the healer) lingers in the room, Badshak will say "Go on ahead, i will be right behind you."

[Fixer]

Ok, I cannot add doors to this map. I am putting a comment where the door is until I can find some other way of doing this. Gimme a minute.

And those ideas didn't work. I am going to have to use AutoRealm, aren't I? *sigh* Ok, I'll work on that this weekend.

Ok, maybe this will work (http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/ymgMwqE-uAKtGyq4eU9pfQ?feat=directlink).

I guess it seems ok. If people want to email me little pictures for your characters I can add them to the map.

[TheOz]

Ooc: Apologies for not posting in so long. I've been having some family issues lately.

Bic:
Theg walks along behind the rest of the group, keeping quiet for the most part, but keeping his blade ready. he frequently checks over his shoulder, just in case something is coming up behind them.

[Ezeze]

Neega grunts impatiently. "Well, keep goin." She nods towards the Western hallway and scowls up at the healer. "Come on, little man. I'm supposed to be protecting you."

[Fixer]

I have to go back to the old map because my AutoRealm skills suck. (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)

Healer will stay 'above' Neega in whatever square she's standing in, unless he gets into harms way.

Several seconds after everyone gets quiet again, the noises from the doorway become audible again: sounds of movement and occasional growling. There is a crack under the door but no light coming from the other side. The crack is too close to the ground to be able to get any clear view but, if it has feet near the door you can probably see them if you get close enough to look.

The door is made of stone, BTW. Don't think I mentioned that.

[MichielHagen]

This seems to become a tradition, i cannot see the map
Sorry for not posting, i was away on a long weekend

[TheBardling]

I don't have permission to view the map. :-(

Scipio moves close to the door, gripping his Halberd tightly, allowing his senses and love of the hunt to penetrate. He listens carefully, takes in any and all smells detectable to his nostrils and examines the door to find the way it opens. He doesn't open the door, just searches for how to open the door.

[Fixer]

Fixed. Also, the old link will always work, it never changes, I just update the fields.Scipio notices that there are literally no smells here. No one really noticed it before. There are no odors of any kind not coming from your group. (Note: Theg REALLY needs a bath. :smallbiggrin:) No mildew, no moisture, no rot, nothing. There is no smell of any kind.

The door has a handle with a lock in it. It is closed but you cannot tell if it is locked without trying to open it.

[TheBardling]

Scipio fimds himself a bit caught off guard by the fact that there are no smells at all. He backs away from the door allowing other members of the party a chance to examine the door (especially anyone with the training in the area of traps). He prepares for the likelihood of a fight that may ensue shortly.

[Leinad]

Torgak grins as he readies his axe and urges his companions near the door to go ahead and open it. "We'll be ready for them, just make sure to rush in there so we aren't bottled up in this hallway."

[Forum Explorer]

Right then, I'll open the door you guys rush in and kill whatever is inside. With that Bix observes the door for a second before attempting to open it and jump out of everyone's way at the same time.

[MichielHagen]

With a serious look on his face Badshak gives a nod to Bix indicating he is ready. He inches forward as much as he can towards the door.


Once the door opens Badshak will rush in regardless of what is behind it. If something is blocking the way he will try to push through with all force. If enough room is available for others to enter the room he will attack probably the enemy (if present) furthest away (but can still reach that same turn) and attack him/her/it.

[TheBardling]

Scipio prepares to help Badshak bum rush the room.

[Fixer]

Bix opens the door to a large hall (see previous map for size). There are three stone tables going across the center (there is a third table between the other two on the map, but the limitations on the map won't let me draw half-boxes.) There is only 2-3 feet of room between the tables.

On the tables are rats. Lots of rats. A quick count gives you over two dozen severely emaciated rats. They appeared to be gnawing on the stone tables before you entered the room. Now they appear hungry and looking at you. Everyone except Bix has a surprise round (Bix had an action, and it was to open the door, which was hard because he's tiny compared to the big stone door.)

Initiatives:
Bix
Badshak (who was waiting on the door being opened)
Scipio (who was waiting on the door being opened)
Neega
Torgak
Theg
Healer

Tell me where you move and what you are doing. You can move through friendly squares without hindrance.

For the sake of tradition, I will call these critters Ravenous Rats.

[TheBardling]

Scipio charges in on his turn and slashes at one of the rats on the left of the first table with his halberd to ensure not to hit anyone. They look hungry and he's not taking chances on becoming their next meal.

OOC: Attack Roll +7, dmg should he hit d10+9

[Fixer]

What you are trying to do used to be called a partial charge. Those no longer exist in 3.5 edition. (Yeah, surprised me when I found out too.) You can only take a standard action during the surprise round, which may include any number of free actions (within reason) and a 5-foot step.

(Not sure if the 5' step is RAW, but if they took away partial charges I think it makes sense to at least allow SOME movement.)

List of standard actions is here (http://www.dandwiki.com/wiki/SRD:Standard_Actions).

[Leinad]

Torgak charges into the room with a growl and heads straight for the large group of rats in the center. He swings down on the clump of rats with a snarl.

Placing Torgak at I15, allowing the others to enter the room diagonally or overhead. For the next round of actions I think I'd like to use the orcish axe as a double weapon if possible. Gives a downward and upward slash, right? But, if you're saying that we can't charge in and hit..well that's where I want to be anyhow.

[Ezeze]

Neega wont do anything. There is nothing she can do from her current position.

[TheBardling]

Wow, I can't believe they removed partial charges in 3.5. So then I'll move to J15 with a 5 foot diagonal step and then attack.

[MichielHagen]

I will move 5ft forward and ready an attack against a rat that come within range.

[Fixer]

New Initiative Order:
(Each Rat Batch is 2 rats.)
Rat Batch 1
Badshak (diseased from earlier)
Rat Batch 7 (down 1 rat)
Bix
Rat Batch 15
Rat Batch 8
Rat Batch 10
Rat Batch 17
Rat Batch 18
Rat Batch 4
Rat Batch 9
Scipio (diseased from earlier)
Rat Batch 3
Rat Batch 12
Neega
Rat Batch 13
Rat Batch 6
Rat Batch 14
Torgak
Rat Batch 2
Theg (diseased, 1 damage)
Rat Batch 5
Rat Batch 16
Healer

Bix opened the door.
Badshak nudges forward and prepares an attack should one of the little buggers get close.
Scipio moves to location J15 (roof) and attacks Rat Batch 7 at J14. Attack hits, one rat explodes from damage (i.e. dead).
Neega cursed at her companions for keeping the doorway blocked, but moves with Healer.
Torgak moves to location I15 (ground level) as a standard action.
Theg (Under GM control.. muhahaha!) moves to H15.
Healer moves to behind Badshak, trying to provide some light.

Rat Batches 1, 7, and 11 (as they go before the party) will act.

Rat Batch 1 will move into Theg's square. This move doesn't provoke from Theg, but does trigger Badshak's readied action. Badshak swings and misses (quick little bugger) and as that readied action changes Badshak's initiative order I moved him. He won't get an action this round because of the readied action. Rat Batch finally gets to attack Theg, hitting once (of two), dealing 1 point of damage. Theg failed his Fort save.
Rat Batch 7 moves into Torgak's square (again, doesn't provoke) and attacks Torgak. Attack misses.
Rat Batch 11 moves into Theg's square. This provokes AOO from Theg and Torgak. Theg hits and kills one, Torgak hits and kills the other. Rat Batch 11 ceases to exist before they get to attack.With a degree of coordination that can only be described as vaguely existent, the party bursts forth into the room and begins extermination procedures. Torgak and Theg move into the room, Torgak taking a swing at a rat and missing. Scipio moves along the roof (likely finding this new tactical situation fun) and kills a rat with one swing of his halberd. The other party members move behind, some readying attacks.

The rats, however, are very fast. Their initial surprise disappears and they move quickly to attack the new food. One manages to bite into Theg's leg, harming him a little, but he feels a wave of... 'something' that gets passed along with the bite. The other rats all appear ready to move underfoot (or to the roof) to attack.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix swears as he sees the amount of rats. He quickly attempts to blast the nearest bunch of them.

[Leinad]

Torgak swings his axe through the air and misses the swift moving rats. Some of the rats skitter towards him and brush through his legs. Another enters and Torgak grunts as he smashes through him as it begins to climb up his leg. With a growl Torgak grips his double axe with both hands and swings it in two directions at the rats that are upon him.

[TheBardling]

Scipio grins a little, enjoying battle more than one really should and then repositions to slash another rat should any be in range, and if not, then he'll move to the closest rat and continue exterminating.

[Fixer]

Because of the update, I am going to give folks until this afternoon to reply with their actions. Don't worry, the number of opponents will drop soon.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak sees Torgak swarmed by rats and tries to hit the ones on the floor, smashing them on the stones.

[Fixer]

New Initiative Order:
Badshak (diseased, 1 damage)
Bix (diseased, 2 damage)
Scipio (diseased, 6 damage)
Neega
Torgak (diseased, 3 damage)
Theg (diseased, 5 damage)
Rat Swarm (16 damage)
Healer

Bix fires at one of the rats. He hits and rat Batch 7 dies.
The rats begin swarming at this point, changing from a collection of individual targets to one larger target. They will deal damage later, as the last rat is absorbed by the group.
Badshak swings at the swarm. Hit, deals 3 damage (due to swarms taking half damage from S/P weapons, rounding down).
Scipio swings his halberd at the swarm. Hit, deals 5 damage (same reason)
Neega (under GM control) readies an action if the swarm moves to try to envelope herself or Healer.
Torgak makes an attack with both ends of his weapon. Both sides hit, but the damage is negligible (5 and 3).
Theg (under GM control still) swings at the swarm and misses.
Rat Swarm moves into squares described on the map with RS. Theg takes 4 damage, Torgak takes 3 damage, Scipio takes 6 damage, Badshak takes 1 damage, and Bix takes 2 damage. Torgak and Bix both fail their Fort save.
Healer drops the torch and runs back from the swarm.Bix gets off a quick shot before more rats come crawling out of the back room. They all begin swarming together like a carpet of ravenous hunger and finally crawl all over the group, biting and scratching everyone they can reach (even those on the roof). Everyone gets some decent licks in but the swarm seems dedicated toward feeding and takes no real notice of the individual losses at this point. Healer drops his torch on the floor at Neega's feet and runs back towards the entry room.

[TheBardling]

Scipio roars in pain. His eyes intensify on his target as he charges the Rat swarm and makes a mighty swipe with his halberd against the swarm.

[Leinad]

Torgak grits his teeth as he feels a rush of disease wash over him and takes a step further into the room before raising his axe once more and taking a swing at the swarm of ravenous rats.

Moving to I14 upon the table

[TheOz]

Theg kicks the rat that bit him away, snorting, and snarls angrily when his attacks miss. He sees Torgak getting up on the table and decides to do the same, standing next to him and swinging powerfully at the grouped-together rats.

[Not sure what signifies what on the map (the yellow squares, in particular), so I'm going to assume that that makes some kind of sense...]

[Forum Explorer]

Bix grits his teeth in frustratation and pain. Taking a step back he blasts the rats agian.

[Fixer]

New Initiative Order for next round and damage:
Badshak (diseased, 4 damage)
Bix (diseased, 5 damage)
Scipio (diseased, 11 damage)
Neega (diseased, 3 damage)
Torgak (diseased, 3 damage)
Theg (diseased, 5 damage)
Rat Swarm (36 damage)
Healer

Badshak (still under GM control) swings at the swarm. Hits and deals 6 damage.
Bix attempts to take a step back, only to realize Neega was also on the ground with him so he takes to the ceiling to move back. He blasts at the swarm and deals 5 damage.
Scipio (who will not charge, because he's standing in the middle of the swarm and there's no need to charge) attacks the swarm, hits and deals 5 damage.
Neega doesn't mention any actions so, as GM, I have her delay because I cannot imagine what Chain would have her do. If she posts before the next round begins she will act according to that initiative.
Torgak moves to the table and swings at the swarm. He misses.
Theg moves to the table and swings at the swarm. Hits and deals 4 damage.
Rat Swarm moves a bit further down the hallway. They hit Scipio (5 damage), Badshak (3 damage), Bix (3 damage), and Neega (also 3 damage, my die appears stuck on 3). Neega fails her Fort save.
Healer moves a bit farther away from the rats.These rats are obviously bent on something, crawling and clawing over each other as well as the party. Nearly everyone sends dead rats skittering off with their swings, but there always seem to be more to take their place. Theg's attack, however, seems to have a visible effect. They appear to be weakening as a collective. Perhaps one more swing.
The swarm moves a bit down the hall, biting at half the party and still seeming quite intent on going down that hallway.
Healer, being down that hallway, is trying very hard to avoid the rats without going too far from the group.

[MichielHagen]

As the swarm of rats passes underneath him, Badshak tries to attack the ones in the front, in an effort to disencourage the other rats to engage further.

[TheBardling]

Scipio grunts in pain a little and then swings another mighty blow at the swarm, determined to make a dent in the number of rats they are facing. He takes a moment before his swing to shout out for a little help.

"Tell the healer we could use him up here a little."

[Leinad]

That dang healer will run off if those rats go that way, then how will I get rid of this dang disease.Torgak grips his axe with both hands once more and swings at the swarm with both ends, hoping to take as many of them as he can before giving chase after the swarm or the healer.

[Forum Explorer]

What did I say about panicking? Bix mutters to himself as he blast the swarm agian.

[Ezeze]

Neega grumbles a few choice words in orcish and goes to chase the Healer. She was brought along to make sure the git didn't kill himself, and she's going to do just that.

(ooc: Fixer, do you mind occasionally re-posting a link to the map? Sort of a pain to go flipping back through the last three pages looking for the spoiler tag that has the link to it.)

[Leinad]

Forums are slow enough without flipping through old posts-MAP (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)

[Fixer]

Thanks Leinad. If everyone wants to bookmark the map it won't be changing until this dungeon is completed. I like having just the one map.Badshak's attack breaks the swarm's cohesion and the swarm turns on itself. The rats begin attacking and feasting on each other, and with your assistance they eventually are eliminated.

Healer returns back to the group and gives another burst of fast healing (everyone back to full), but in examining the injuries that you are are beginning to complain of, using both observation and some magic, he seems at his wits end. "It isn-n't a diz-z-sease, at least n-not one I am fam-m-miliar with. It is al-also not a k-k-curse. It is magical. Wh-wh-whatever it is it is beyond m-m-my ability to h-h-heal. I am s-s-s-s-orr-rr-rr-y." And he looks at the group like he expects to be reprimanded.

Now that you have had a chance to look around the room, I have specified the unique features of the room. For those who have forgotten, the yellow areas on the map, during combat, are the areas considered to be 'well lit'. Not an issue for most of you, but for Healer and Scipio it specifies where they can see clearly, as they do not possess darkvision.

[TheBardling]

Scipio smirks at the healer. "I believe you can relax a bit, Mr. Healer. Even if your skills won't allow you to cure this disease, your skills are necessary to possibly stave off it's effects for the time being, or at the very least, keep us alive until we can reach someone who can. So, I would be willing to say that you are the most important member of a group, at least for now." Scipio grins and winks at the healer before turning to the rest of the group.

"Does anyone have a little bit more light to shed on the situation?" He looks around the room, trying to get a grip on what's going on. After all, Scipio still has no idea what's going on at the moment.

[MichielHagen]

"We know as little as you do, this kaiman recently drifted nearby and we are here to explore it. In fact, you probably know a lot more than we do, how did you end up on that table? You said you were battling in Seachest? Against whom? and where is Seachest for that matter?" Badshak replies (in a casual way, not an interrogating way) while examining the mirror (also cupping his hands around his face against the mirror in an effort to look through it if possible).

[TheBardling]

"It's the villiage of Seacrest, not chest. It's a small villiage on the shores just west of the Isles of Taladas. I take it from my current surroundings and your reaction, I am no longer even close to there. I served a member of the guard. We were being raided by a group of brigands. During the battle, I felt a shock in my back. My muscles stiffened for a moment and everything went black briefly. Then suddenly I could move again and my vision was restored. That's when I was standing on the table, facing those greyish creatures in the room above, and you all showed up."

Scipio starts to examine the murial on the wall, wondering what it means.

[Leinad]

Torgak roams towards the kitchen and looks for any traces of food as an unnatural hunger seems to have risen within him. He then takes a few steps over to the stone door and examines it closely.

Forums are slow enough without flipping through old posts-THE ONE MAP TO RULE THEM ALL! (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)

[Forum Explorer]

That's intreasting, I don't suppose you know of anyone who would benifit if you disappered? Also you should probley stick with us after this exbidition if you can't find your way home. Bix remarks overhearing Scipio's story as he searchs the room for anything of value. Of course that assumes you survive. Bix adds grinning.

[Fixer]

Badshak's comments, in proximity to the mirror, actually managed to say the activation words to its magic.

The entire room stops moving and everyone (even those in the kitchen) find the world around them change. Everything turns sort of a brownish tinge, and the rooms are no longer bare and stone but covered in food, tablecloths, and ringed with wooden benches. People are now sitting at the tables, including a few right inside where some of your characters are standing. A bit disconcerted, you move to avoid their touch only to realize they are not physically present, or you are no longer physically present.

One of the people sitting at the table shouts to Badshak, "Oh stop playing with that mirror and come join us! It is a feast to the Goddess! We must all partake of it!" Badshak then observes someone walk OUT of him, a halfling, who then says, "I want to make sure we record this, Brother Tabar. It is not enough that we just feast, we need to explain the blessings of the Goddess to others. That is why I made the mirror." All the people present then sit at the table. Scipio recognizes one of them as being the hermit who helped make him more human.

They sit around and eat and obviously enjoy themselves, then the entire scene changes, causing a bit of vertigo to everyone present. Then suddenly there is arguing. Everyone in the room is arguing, even the hermit is at an uproar. A statue you recognize as Scipio is against the wall in front of the mural. The argument appears to be a schism in the religious order: some saying that the word of the Goddess is to relish in the enjoyment of the feast she provides, while others believe it is their collective duty to the Goddess to work and till and use labor to provide a bounty for others.

The scene again changes, with ensuing vertigo, and there is a halfling arguing with a human, "No, you have to come too!" The human responds, somewhat out of breath, "Nay. I have been bitten. I cannot leave. You must bar the doors. Keep them trapped inside until their hunger forces them to consume each other. Go!" Then the human physically picks up the halfling and throws him towards the door. The halfling looks back at his human companion with hurt, then with resignation and resolution before leaving the room and closing the door behind him. (For those keeping track, Scipio still hasn't moved.)

Another scene change, without vertigo this time, and you see the human from the last scene and one of the Ravenous Ghouls picking him up and holding him against the wall with the mural. The Ghoul speaks, "Let us out!" The human, frightened, exhausted, but not broken, responds, "Tell you master it is trapped here forever. My bretheren will cast you out. You will never be free to feed." Then the Ravenous Ghoul bites the man and begins to rip him apart and feed on him. Then the world returns to the state it was before it turned brown.This is hard to write on an unstable forum.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak watches the scenes as they unfold with amazement. When it ends he mumbles, more to himself than others "...this.....I.....have been bitten...".
He then continious to stare blankly in front of him for a few moments, oblivious to his surroundings as he struggles inside himself, trying to get his thoughts together.

[TheBardling]

Scipio feels a mix of emotions as he recognizes the room where the statue of him stood as well as the hermit he thought to be his friend. Now he's uncertain of anything anymore. He begins to understand that he was truly the statue and that there's no way to know how long he's been stone, nor what has transpired since. He was going to answer the group's comments, however the visage's interuption and consequent revelations have caused a silence to fall over his imposing figure as words have left him.

[Leinad]

The questions flow forth from Torgak like an eruption, he is obviously upset. "Scipio! You know more than you've let on. They revered you, you can tell by the statue they made in your honour. What do you know about this goddess and this bite that has affected most of us? Who is the master they spoke of? Are you the master of those ghouls?"

[Fixer]

Something I forgot to mention before, the mirror goes a dull grey (non-reflective) after its little activation. It is inert now.

I am guessing you guys want to talk about this recent development, so if you have questions you can submit them here, in spoilers, or in the OOC thread.

[TheBardling]

Scipio looks at Torgak in utter shock. "I'm as shocked as you are! First of all, the only person I knew in that whole ordeal was the hermit looking guy. The one who was devoured by those ghoul-like creatures. I thought he was a friend of mine back in Seacrest. But that statue of me... strangely it was in the same position I was in. Standing right where I was standing the moment the blackness lifted and suddenly I was fighting the ghoulish things. I know nothing of this goddess or who any of those people beyond the hermit were. And as for worshipping me... I have no idea how that figure of me ended up on that table, unless somehow it WAS me and I was placed there. But that doesn't make sense. None of this makes sense. But if I was the master of those ghoul things, why would I have joined you in killing them. Wouldn't I have joined them in trying to kill you?"

Scipio's expression is one of profound confusion and utter shock.

[Ezeze]

Neega draws her bow and knocks an arrow. By way of explanation she grunts "talk of masters. It might still be here."

[Fixer]

Healer, nervous as usual, asks quite plainly, "Why are we here again? I only have to stay here as long as you are here." He looks to each of you as if to get permission to leave, preferably running and screaming in abject terror.

[Leinad]

"Friends with the hermit. hmph? What do you know of him? At least like us he was no friend to the ghouls. Perhaps the hermit relayed some information to you that might just help. Torgak pauses for a moment and you can see the rage leave his face. Torgak leans back on what is left of the furniture in the kitchen and eyes the stone door curiously as he awaits an answer from Scipio.

[MichielHagen]

Badshak snaps out of his thoughts as he hears the healer talk about leaving. "Are we to leave at all! did you not see what happened, the hermit did not leave with the halfling for he was bitten....I am bitten, are you?!?", that last question was not directed at just the healer, Badshak looks at each and everyone. "We must take precautions, if i understood what happened just a little i have become infectious by those ghouls......maybe i will become one....". Badshak seems lost in thought for a second, then snaps out of it once more. "...whatever happens....we can NOT just leave!"

[Fixer]

Healer quickly points out, "I wasn't b-bitten! I am good-d. I can leave, then?" Shortly after he opens his mouth, though, he realizes he probably shouldn't have pointed that out. He then quickly adds, "P-P-Please don't b-b-bite me."

[Forum Explorer]

We should try to salvage this mirror. and we are not leaving. For one we havn't gained anything but Scipio, secound we can't risk being controled by this 'master'. So before we leave lets try and kill it. Best case scenario that will remove this weird curse/disease, worst case it wouldn't have any effect on the curse/disease but will keep us from being enslaved. Bix looks around at the group still confident that they'll be able to overcome whatever is effecting them.

Now next time we see one of those ghouls lets capture one and interrogate it. Oh and we should probly put a seal on that front entrance. Though I think it would be better to move fast and kill them all before they can do anything to stop us. Then when we are in a secured location we can calmly think about this. After another scan of the room for anything of value Bix begins to go down the next corrider.

[TheBardling]

Scipio looks at Torgak. "The hermit taught me how to ... fit in with people. I was what you could call, an introvert. I can assure you, he never spoke to me of these creatures or anything, nor of any master. The last of our conversations dealt with the defense of Seacrest to my recollection."

Scipio listens to the other comments.

"I agree with Bix, let us find this master and ensure that it cannot gain control over us. I for one don't wish to be a puppet at the end of anyone's strings."

Scipio lifts his halberd and follows Bix.

[Leinad]

Wishing to press forward Torgak examines the stone door carefully.

[TheOz]

Sorry for inactivity, all. I've been busy with upcoming exams and whatnot. Busy time for me...

Theg tilts his head to the side, watching the scenes with a confused look on his face. When the mirror goes dark, he looks around at the others, obviously still confused. "I... Don't understand." he says, directing his question at no one in particular as they all seemed to have moved on to exploring the rest of the area. He hefted his greatsword over his shoulder, purposefully stepping on one of the rats as he followed the rest of the group, still trying to figure out exactly what was going on.

[Fixer]

The stone door was probably a secret door once, but its edges have become apparent over time through usage. In searching the area, Torgak finds a crank in one of the cabinets that opens the door, slowly, when turned.

The door opens to a pantry, seemingly filled with food and completely untouched by the ravages of time. The smell of fresh fruits and vegetables is delicious, and all of you find yourselves EXTREMELY hungry.

((Map Updated (http://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=puyUB08YSOEFo1Rm-wY2dEA)))

[TheBardling]

Scipio scans the pantry carefully. The temptation to eat is powerfuol, yet he fights back the urge for now, not sure if the food is good for consumption or not. "I don't know about all of you, but suddenly I'm quite hungry. Does anyone have the ability to determine whether this food is good to eat or not? Afterall, from what you all have said, this temple hasn't been used in quite some time. This good shouldn't be good unless magically preserved. And magic could lead to either good or evil."

As Scipio turns to see if anyone has an answer to his question, he notices the map on the southern wall. He moves towards the map to examine it and try to get some kind of bearing.

[Ezeze]

Neega glares at Theg. "If you're bitten by a ghoul, you become a ghoul. Was a reference to their 'master.' Might be the first ghoul, might be what created the first ghoul." The orc looks at the healer, then nods at Bix "Looks like we're not leaving. you have no way of reversing this curse?"

[Forum Explorer]

No unfortanatly. Staring at the food, Bix begins to drool a little before he wipes it away. I don't think we should eat any of this stuff. For all we know its what compleates the transformation into a ghoul. However lets still take some with us, it might come in handy later.

[Fixer]

Actually, I gave everyone a chance to RP before I started rolling saves. Not one of you passed. For the next half hour in-game you will be considered sickened.The smell of the food, combined with the disease running through your veins, causes all of you to overcome your normal sense of caution and give in to the cravings to fill your belly. The larder doesn't survive the hunger intact, and your entire group (minus Healer) literally digs into the food with hands and claws to gorge yourselves. 20 minutes after you discover the larder, you finally stop eating and recover your senses enough to realize that you are very very full now. The drive to eat no longer has hold over you, but you are feeling quite a bit more portly than you normally would. A quick glance at how much you ate makes you realize this larder can survive two, possibly three more such 'control lapses'.

Now that you have regained control over yourselves again, Scipio finally rolls himself in the direction of the south wall. From a distance it looks like a map of some kind, but now that he approaches it he can see little lights on it. Six little lights appear to be in your room. After using a small amount of brainpower, you realize that those little lights are your group. There are also other lights in other rooms, which are probably other living things.

I will update the map accordingly once people give me their locations. Everyone is in the room somewhere. I will also complete the map's layout as the map on the wall will have everything the temple knows about on it.

[MichielHagen]

As Badshak regains control of himself he sees Scipio move towards the wall and only just realises there is a map on it..."Is that a map...? *burp* is that this temple?"


I will be in the middle of the room, i figured that's where i can get my hands on the most food.....FOOOD!!!!

[TheBardling]

Scipio examines the map closely, getting his bearings so that he will not become lost again. He makes sure to take note of where each of the "lights" are that do not represent party members. He begins to measure up the odds for future combat, knowing it will be high. He then turns to the part once he's committed the map to memory.

"Yes, it appears to be a map of this temple. It also seems to provide locations for not only us, but also... others. I'm not sure about the rest of you, but I feel as if we need to get out of this room. I for one didn't intend on eating any of this food. Yet something came over me, and then I ate far too much of this food. I don't believe it's a good idea for us to remain in this temptation."

Scipio only waits for a few moments for people to respond before he will leave this room and wait in the kitchen to try to remain in control of his own self as best as he can.

[Fixer]

I have updated the map with everything on the wall. The purple squares are where there are dots, including one area where there are lots of dots compacted together.

[Leinad]

Torgak raises his arm to his mouth and wipes the slop off roughly. Looking over the shoulders of the others in front of the map and hearing their words of what each dot of light represents Torgak gives a slight grunt and begins to head towards the first dot of light. Brandishing his axe on the way out, Torgak mutters, "Food, the food is mine..."

[Fixer]

If you are moving, please give me coordinates you are moving to. That is why we have them. :smalltongue:

[Leinad]

Looking to sink a battleship at G7 :belkar:

[Forum Explorer]

That was... unacceptable. Bix mutters disgusted with himself. Seeing what Scripio was looking at Bix begins to copy down the map on some parchment. He takes care to keep track of the numbers of each living thing in the rooms. As he worked Bix avoided looking at the food and wondered what it was going to do to them.

[Fixer]

I need to know where Theg is or I'll just put him in the middle of the room.

Just to let you guys know, my work has picked up as it does every quarter (I do economic analysis based on quarterly reports). The next week I am going to be busier than a one legged man in a butt-kicking contest. As a result I won't be responding as much as I normally do and I STRONGLY suggest you guys take this time to RP a bit between yourselves. So far you barely know anything about each other. If someone is being dishonest or misleading I will send PMs to the people to register the dishonesty, but otherwise I will stay out of it except for responding for Healer.

I will get to G7 later, Leinad. Give me a bit of time, please. I will say that what is in that corner is a locked cabinet, 8 feet tall, and deep enough to fit two people in (although there is only one light on the map for that location).

[TheBardling]

Scipio follows Torgak to support him as he's the only one that is seeming to leave the room, and Scipio always like to have back-up himself, he figures he'll watch Torgak's back in the next room.

I think I'll move to I8 to watch Torgak's back.

[Ezeze]

(ooc: Hahaha! I8....)

Neega follows the others out, stopping to make sure Healer is following them.

Moving to J8

[Leinad]

After seeing at a short distance in front of him a cabinet rather than a life form, Torgak suddenly drops out of his trance-like state and realizes that the others are following. He turns to them wondering what their true intentions are (the disease enhancing his greedy desires and hunger wishes to keep whatever can be found here to himself.) "What is it you all came here for anyway? and what brought you here?" Torgak inquires with a confused look upon his face. The same confused look Theg had seen on Torgak's face before after being released from the dwarven prison and just before they got sent away on this mission.


That is, if Fixer doesn't mind the enhanced greed/hunger being a side effect of the infection/disease.

[Fixer]

As RP that's actually right in line with what I thought this disease would affect you as characters. Each disease affects people differently. Some are fighting the desires, some embrace them, others are oblivious. As story goes I will have the disease 'take control' based on your behaviors and the circumstances (and the die rolls as needed). I am reluctant to tell any of you how to play your characters, which is why I haven't told any of you, "you need to act like X". I figure you will behave how you figure your character would behave under these circumstances. If I disagree, I demonstrate that through die rolls.

If anything, I believe that by not withholding on what the disease wants you are less likely to 'build up' and more likely to resist loss of control later.

[Fixer]

Ok, I am not nearly done with what I have to do but I said roughly a week and I keep my word. I will give everyone an opportunity to give me their locations on the map before I say what happens if/when Torgak opens the cabinet.

And the rest of you could try answering his question. Ya know, this is RP....

[Forum Explorer]

Wealth and power Bix replies absently as he continues to copy the map to the best of his ability.

[Fixer]

Healer, who is still standing in the hallway, says, "I w-w-was ordered t-t-to come here and s-s-serve. If you want m-me to leave I'll leave r-right now. P-P-Please tell me t-t-to leave."

[TheBardling]

Scipio's attention is first directed at Torgak, "I have no idea how or why I ended up here. I guess I'm simply along for the ride now."

He then heres the response of the Healer. His face goes a bit stern as he addresses the healer, "I fear your time for leaving isn't coming any time soon. You're in it with us all. Afterall, we're counting on your healing arts to keep this disease, curse, or whatever it is at bay as long as you are able. I'm afraid, you're presence is required."

Scipio then turns his atten back to Torgak. "Are you sure opening that thing is a good idea?"

[Leinad]

Unsatisfied with the answers he receives and the hunger pulsing inside him, Torgak scoffs at Scipio's word of caution and proceeds to the cabinet. Lifting his axe high above his head he bears down upon the cabinet with a mighty swing.

Torgak aims for the lock or the cabinet itself whichever appears to be the more susceptible material.

[TheOz]

Ooc: I do apologize for being so inactive of late. Suffice to say that lots of stuff is going on at the moment, and making me just not want to do much.

Bic:

Theg follows the others, but does not answer Torgak's question. Theg and Torgak came here together, after all; there is not much to answer to his own brother. Theg does listen to the others' brief explanations, however. He looks most notably toward the Healer, and while the others are occupied he steps up near him (M7) and lays a heavy, food-stained hand on the small human's shoulder. "Don't worry. None of us is gonna let you get hurt too bad." he said with a wide grin, his already less-than-hygenic smile peppered by small particles of food. He leaves his hand there as he looks toward Torgak, trying to see what is inside the container currently being smashed open.

[Fixer]

The lock is metal, the door is stone. I suppose stone is more vulnerable to being smacked around.

With regards to inactivity, I expect that many of you are either students or parents and with school about to get out/getting out that you are rather busy. Thus, I don't expect things to REALLY pick back up before summer starts.Torgak begins striking the stone behind the latch being held in place by the lock. One good whack, however, is enough to cause more damage than expected and the axe goes farther into the stone than expected. With a bit of effort, breaking the latch off what remains of the door isn't too hard.

Opening the door, you find a statue of a man in sitting on the floor of the cabinet with his head back and his mouth open but not in any apparently pain or anguish. He is just... sitting there. Upon examination, Scipio recognizes the man as the old hermit who transformed him. There appears to be some trash in the back part of the cabinet behind him and a small vial next to him with writing on it. (I am going to assume someone wants to read the writing on the vial.) The vial says, "If you can read this, pour the contents of this vial down my throat."

[TheBardling]

Scipio recognizes the hermit and looks at the others. "I take it all of you recognize him from the... vision we had earlier. In case you don't, this is the man I knew from Seacrest. It appears as if he has been turned to stone as well. I would guess that vial will return him to normal. As a suggestion, perhaps we should attempt it. He might be able to shed some light on this whole ordeal. Perhaps some for you, but I am sure he can shed some light on my circumstances. But we should be cautious. I am not sure if he betrayed me earlier or not. My gut just tells me caution is advised."

Scipio realizes that his loyalty to this group of adventurers may still be in question. He ensures that everyone realizes that he definately has something to gain, yet he doesn't want to endanger this group of adventurers either.

"Should none of you want to be a part of this, I would ask that you allow me to do so, even if I must wait until you all depart. But do take into account, he was obviously against those ghoulish figures, and the enemy of my enemy can be my friend, at least for a time."

[Leinad]

Torgak is somewhat surprised by the ease in which he was able to break open the stone cabinet. This surprised coupled with the statue of the hermit from the vision earlier is enough to break the embrace of greed for now. He allows Scipio to do as the note instructed, but his axe is ready to strike the statue down if it proves threatening. "Do as you wish, stone man."

[Forum Explorer]

Bix just shrugs and casts darkness on the statue just in case the hermit proved hostile. That oughta disorient him for a couple secounds. Scipio you should be the one to talk to him, he won't trust the rest of us.

[Fixer]

Casting darkness on the statue will affect a 20 foot radius. Given the only light available is from a continual flame torch, this will cause the darkness within that radius to be absolute, as there is no ambient light in the room to return to.

So, when Bix casts the darkness, Scipio can no longer see anything and will be unable to pour anything down anything's throat.

[TheBardling]

Scipio nods to the rest of the group and then things go black. "Umm, Bix... Just so you know, I can't see. Do you think that could be saved for if he does something foolish?"

Scipio waits for the lowering of the the darkness spell, then he picks up the potion, gingerly removes the stopper and slowly pours the contents into the mouth of the statue.

He waits for the potion to take effect and once the hermit returns to his normal state, Scipio gives him a sly grin as he greets him in the fashion he would be acustomed with. "Greetings Old man. I believe we have some things to talk about. Wouldn't you say so?"

[Fixer]

I am waiting on Forum Explorer to say he drops the Darkness spell

[Forum Explorer]

Darkness only makes it harder to see. So you would be able to use the potion without the spell being a big impediment. However if you still want it off then I'll take it off and ready an action to cast the spell at first sign of agression.

[Fixer]

Darkness only makes it harder to see. So you would be able to use the potion without the spell being a big impediment. However if you still want it off then I'll take it off and ready an action to cast the spell at first sign of agression. Under normal daylight conditions you would be correct. However, what your darkness spell is doing is canceling out part of the continual flame spell radiance from the torch (being equivalent in level), leaving the ambient light level remaining. Given that there is no ambient light, you shift it from being torch-lit to completely dark. That is one of the negative side effects of using magical light over natural light.

If there was any other source of natural light in the room, that light would become the ambient light. As there is no natural light in the room, however, your spell is countering the other spell thus making the area be whatever would be normal for its condition, completely dark.

Under the conditions you have specified, I am going to say you drop the spell and describe accordingly. You cannot ready actions when not in initiative rounds (per PHB), but you do gain the advantage that if Mr. Statue attempts to surprise the party, you cannot be surprised and can attempt to beat his initiative naturally during whatever surprise round there might be.Bix reluctantly drops his spell but keeps an eye on the old man.

Scipio drops the potion down the statue's throat, and the stone falls away from his skin revealing an old man in rags.

The old man seems a bit dazed at first, then looks up and sees Scipio. His first response is probably the most telling when he says, "Oh, no. Please don't kill me. I had to do it." He then looks with total fear at Scipio, as if his entire life rested in whatever Scipio does next.

[TheBardling]

Scipio's face grows a little more stern. "From your reaction, I can take a guess as to a sequence of events. Tell me if I got the how right. We were fighting in Seacrest. Somehow, you turned me to stone from behind. Stabbed me in the back as it were. Then you brought me here and did the same to yourself? But somehow, I was freed from my statue-like state. And now here we are. If I'm right, you can simply nod, but you'll have to follow that nod with an explaination as to why."

Scipio fights the anger building in him, attempting to give this man he once viewed as a friend a chance to explain himself... but the urgency in his voice tells the hermit, he best do so quickly.

[Fixer]

The old man makes no move to stand.

"A prophecy. There was a prophecy that you would be the one who would cleanse the taint of our order. Our need was too great to ask you and I was sent to collect you. Please forgive me. I didn't expect any of this to happen. You were the only one I knew!"

The old man then looks over Scipio's shoulder and sees Bix, Neega, and Torgak all looking at him. He then responds in a whisper, "Beasts that walk like men."

[TheBardling]

"Prophecy eh. Care to explain this prophecy? I believe if I am to play a role in this prophecy, I should at least have been given the curtosy of knowing what lie ahead. Instead, you turned me into a statue and forced all of this upon me."

Scipio hears the last comment. "Them? I have only known them a few short hours. But so far, they have been more of a friend to me than you have been. So, if your hand was truly forced upon you, you best give me some more information than what you have."

[Ezeze]

Neega leans to Badshak and mutters "whose he calling a beast?"

[Forum Explorer]

Bix hisses at the old man and grins before saying what is this taint your speaking of?

[Leinad]

Torgak is puzzled at the sight of stone turning to flesh and whispers to Scipio a few questions throughout the conversation, "Ask him how it is that you two were turned to stone? and if there are any others here in a similar state? what further threats can we expect within these halls or with this taint he speaks of? and where more of that lovely food can be found."

[Fixer]

The old man remains in his cabinet, obviously still scared, perhaps more so than Healer usually is.

"Our order was tainted by greed. Some refused to give the goddess her bounty and she cursed us. Some began to transform into creatures of hunger and began to feast on each other. I used my mastery of potions to seal this cabinet and lock myself within, transforming myself into the same stone I had transformed Scipio into for his journey to the Temple.

"I knew Scipio would not come willingly, and our need was great, and he could easily resist coming back with us. For what it is worth, Scipio, your village fought off the attack after I had stoned you. They heard you had fallen in their defense and they rose up and threw out the invaders. You would have been proud of them. They grew their own collective strength to match yours.

"Have you defeated the abomination beneath the Temple? Is the Temple safe?"

[TheBardling]

Scipio glares at the hermit. "So all of our friendship was a farse to get me here to fight for you. That doesn't inspire confidence or loyalty. But now you've given me no alternative. You've placed me here and I have to fight to get out of here. But is that the only reason you brought me here? Or was there more purpose to this prophecy than I yet know?"

Scipio turns his gaze off into the distance for a moment as he reflects on the words of the hermit. "Thank you for the knowledge of what happened to Seacrest. I am glad that they stood their ground. I always knew the town was stronger than they gave themselves credit for. But enough of this gazing into the past. Let's deal with the present. Tell me all that you know of this abomination. Is it the source of the taint? And how can we appease this goddess of yours so that we will not suffer the fate of your... friends."

[Leinad]

Torgak scratched himself as he listened to the human tell his tale.

[Fixer]

"I haven't seen the abomination beneath the temple. It was discovered by others, their names are all scrambled to me now. I only heard of it just before the creatures attacked and I locked myself in here. It is what has tainted this temple. It must be destroyed. You must destroy it, or it will consume everything." And with that last outburst, the old man winces in pain. "And you must destroy me. I was wounded by one of the creatures and I can feel the taint welling up inside me. This disease cannot be released into the world."

[TheBardling]

Scipio looks at the hermit. "If we defeat this abomination, will we all be cured? Or will it overtake us anyway? We have each been bitten by creatures in this temple and may possibly be infected save one of our number. Will defeating him cleanse us? Or do we need to find another way, once it has been defeated?"

Scipio is willing to release this hermit from his afliction, but he needs his questions answered first.

[Fixer]

The old hermit seems to be wincing in internal pain. "I don't know. Ugh! I know the disease takes time to take... erf... effect. I..." and with that the old man falls out of the cabinet and begins to morph into something else, grunting with pain.

[Forum Explorer]

Bix tenses up and begins to float up and backwards in order to get the best angle to fire from.

[TheBardling]

Scipio decides that is all the questions he will have answered from the old hermit and raises his halberd. With a forceful downward stroke, he slashes towards the hermit's neck with all his might, in an attempt to free his old friend from a fate he himself would not wish upon anyone.

[Leinad]

Torgak follows Scipios attack with a furious blow to the old man's torso, letting out a fearsome roar as he does so.

[Fixer]

Scipio's blow pretty much killed what the old man was changing into, and Torgak's attack cleaved what was left of the body. It doesn't even twitch after the attacks. The cabinet has a few other potion vials in it, which you couldn't notice before for the old man sitting in front of them. Two blue ones, one orange one, and 4 pink ones. (Yes, Bix, they are magical and glowing faintly.)

[TheBardling]

Scipio sighs and bows his head for a moment, placing his fist over his heart in a silent salute to the old man, a gesture of respect for his bravery in requesting an honorable death over the loss of control over who he was. After a brief pause, Scipio notices the potions.

"We should probably take these with us, they could be useful. However, does anyone have the means of discovering what these potions do? I know for one, I have no means of doing so."

[Leinad]

Landing the blow on the old man caused Torgak's blood to flow through him with a new set of aggression. A greedy glaze came over his eyes once more as he headed south back towards where they had initially entered.

Heading towards M18

[Fixer]

Sorry to have to do this folks but it seems that the number of players has dropped well below what I had hoped. I am down to three total players and that's not enough for me to keep the energy going on this.

Therefore this campaign is ending BUT, before I close it off, I am going to let anyone ask questions about the story/plot/whatever you would like. I know what it is like to have loose ends and not be able to know what the real deal with something was.

So, ask your questions here and I'll answer them. Total spoiler time.

[Sir Shadow]

(( What about the ppl on reserve... like me <<;;; ))

[Fixer]

Sorry. At this point I am frustrated, and you probably don't want to imagine what I would be like as a frustrated GM. I have fudged a couple die rolls so far not to kill some of you. ;)

This was my first attempt at running a PBEM/PBP game and I have learned quite a bit from it. I have learned what does and does not work in this sort of medium. Now that I have been on this side of things I am hoping I can be a bit more understanding when I have an opportunity to play one of these things.

Still, anyone can ask questions. I don't want to leave confused players.

[Leinad]

I was afraid of this happening and actually I was going to jump on and ask where everyone had gone. It sounded like a great story Fixer and it would have been to explore it in its entirety, but there is only so much you can do in this medium. Because of you, I found a Myth-Weavers.com and have been able to play a bit there- but the campaigns seemed to have slowed up there as well.

Thanks

[Fixer]

No problem.

No questions, huh? I figured someone would have wanted to know what the big nasty was, at least.

Oh well. ;)

[Leinad]

You're right, probably never will get to explore it later. So, what was the big nasty?

[Ezeze]

So, ask your questions here and I'll answer them. Total spoiler time.

Okay. My questions.

Previous Story:
What was Edgar, really?
What was the thing he stole?
Who ordered him to steal it?

This Story:
Was the healer evil?
What is at the bottom of this dungeon thing?
What was "Badshak" sent to get?

Oh, and Neega was actually a Grey Elf Beguiler sent to watch Badshak (who has his own set of secrets) because the Greymane house was suspicious because his house offered them whatever they wanted of the treasure minus one item. She was going to take it and disappear if she thought it would overly shift the balance of power in their favor. Go, go complicated characters with convoluted motivations masquerading as pick-up NPCs!

[Fixer]

You're right, probably never will get to explore it later. So, what was the big nasty?
One of those creatures with cleric levels. (Not a big deal, but....)

It worshiped a sphere of annihilation located below the temple. That sphere was a representation of Toldoth (Intermediate Deity, Deities and Demigods). Toldoth lives in the Underworld, and constantly tries to destroy everything 'above' him. My plan was for this to be a bit of foreshadowing to a larger campaign arc later.

Okay. My questions.

Previous Story:
What was Edgar, really?
What was the thing he stole?
Who ordered him to steal it?

This Story:
Was the healer evil?
What is at the bottom of this dungeon thing?
What was "Badshak" sent to get?
Edgar was an intelligent (17) animated Rug of Welcome with two rogue levels. He stole a signet ring, just like you were told. What you weren't told (because the Taskmaster didn't know, and the Saltmeadow clan didn't want out) was that the ring was actually an artifact.
It was ordered stolen by a member of the nobility (gnomes). They needed it for a device they were building and didn't want to negotiate for it. They charmed Edgar (variant of charm monster spell) into stealing it for them and not tell anyone. If you recall, the Greymane house sent you because it needed ingredients for a magic item. That magic item was commissioned by the gnomes as an excuse to put Edgar into position as Saltmeadow was the only source for the ingredients.

Healer was two possible things: He was either your sole source of healing, or he was my backup villain, in case you had too easy a time with the main villian. I wasn't going to decide which one he was until the last moment, so had him play both roles. He had an item which granted him a circumstance bonus to bluff, so your sense motives would always fail. Had he become the backup villian, I would have had his 'healing' have a secondary effect that would have triggered upon his betrayal (negs to attacks and spell DCs, for example).

The middle question I answered above. Badshak was sent to retreive the 'powerful item within the temple', which happened to be the sphere of annihilation. How he did that was up to him, but I expected him to fail and return and report as to WHY he failed, which would have been forgiven as he wasn't a particularly intelligent dwarf. Those things require a DC 30 intelligence check or they go towards whomever is trying to control it. I suppose he could have tried running ahead of it constantly while it chased him, which would have been REALLY funny to 'watch'.

[Ezeze]

Healer was two possible things: He was either your sole source of healing, or he was my backup villain.

Was he your backup all along, or just when I started pestering you with my suspicions in PMs?

I was really loving the game when we were playing by E-mail, but when we started being in a group the smartest thing for Chastity to do was shut up and not draw undue attention to herself, which doesn't make for an overly entertaining game. If you do start up another game on the boards, send me a PM?

[Fixer]

Was he your backup all along, or just when I started pestering you with my suspicions in PMs?

I was really loving the game when we were playing by E-mail, but when we started being in a group the smartest thing for Chastity to do was shut up and not draw undue attention to herself, which doesn't make for an overly entertaining game. If you do start up another game on the boards, send me a PM?It was my original plan. He was an important NPC that the players wanted to keep alive and had a 'mysterious background'. How could I *NOT* use him for such?

I don't believe I will start up another game on the boards, or email. They go too slowly for me. I believe I will stick to the 'everyone in the same room' style I have always done.

If I change my mind, however, I will let you know.

[Forum Explorer]

A shame this had to end. I know my posting had dropped off but this was due to Finals. What I want to know is what exactly the plague was doing to us.

[Fixer]

A shame this had to end. I know my posting had dropped off but this was due to Finals. What I want to know is what exactly the plague was doing to us.In all likelihood, nothing. It was a means of my making certain you players lost some control over your characters for brief periods of time. In that fashion I could cause you, as players, to actually get nervous and remain focused on solving the temple's puzzle instead of lazily making your way through the temple, as adventurers are wont to do. It was mostly a GM plot tool with some potential side effects later.

Now, *IF* you still had the disease at the conclusion of the adventure, and *IF* Badshak had figured out a way to get the sphere of annihilation out of the temple and back to his people, the disease would have slowly transformed you into ravenous ghouls. You would have gotten some save DC's each day, and after three days of failures you would transform. You would then be given a Will check to see if you retained your own mind or gave in to the hunger. The sphere, you see, was 'powering' the curse. If the sphere moved far enough away from your characters, the curse would have dissipated harmlessly.