Because he is in a coma and unable to resist being Possessed. If he gets Possessed, not only can he fight but also give commands to Warty to have him fight or run away.
Learning Lesser Restoration at 7th level, when Kori gets another 2nd level spell, would be a good pick, IMO.
Learning it now would not help much at all and he would miss out on learning a 3rd level spell in favor of a 2nd level spell. Permanently losing access to a 3rd level spell is not great for a spontaneous caster.
Burst of Radiance does damage to evil creatures only, we should be able to damage the ghost inside Urgor whithout damaging him
Alternatively, bluff the hell away about how we are going to sacrifice it to another evil deity and hope it leaves on ita own.
Burst of Radiance does damage to evil creatures only, we should be able to damage the ghost inside Urgor whithout damaging him
Alternatively, bluff the hell away about how we are going to sacrifice it to another evil deity and hope it leaves on ita own.
Learning it now would not help much at all and he would miss out on learning a 3rd level spell in favor of a 2nd level spell. Permanently losing access to a 3rd level spell is not great for a spontaneous caster.
[X] Know when to hold them and know when to fold them...
-[X] Tightly secure Gorok to Warty's saddle. Carefully bind and gag him as well, making sure he's as comfortable as possible.
-[X] Once we're a short distance away from the abandoned ruins, Kori will cast Protection from Evil on Mina and she will use her Slumber Hex on herself, willingly failing to resist the effect. Kori will then wake her up so that she can recreate Pepper at our current location.
--[X] Depending on what Pepper can tell us about the state of the village and it's inhabitants before Mina recalled him, we will either decide to return to warn them or move to rejoin the expedition.
---[X] If it seems safe enough to return to the village we will do so, but carefully. Sirim will scout it out from the air and we won't approach far enough in to allow ourselves to be surrounded or a path of retreat to be blocked.
Unfortunately not, Malevolence is one of the most common ways for ghosts to overstep their bounds, though never for long. Long term possession tends to kill the host one way or another
I'll propose an alternative, then. The shrine has been cleared of its defenders; the demon is banished; the summoning book is with us. Whatever else the coven has, their resourses are diminished, and we must be looking pretty scary to them, to have slain so many fiends and demons alike in a span of a single day. Given sufficient intimidation (backed up by a few buffs), they might be influensed to withdraw... They will probably start elsewhere from scratch.
[x] Plan: Sleep on it
-[x] Mina will put herself to sleep with her own hex to recall Pepper, who will inform us of the happenings. You will take precautions to prevent re-possession while she sleeps.
-[x] Burn the mutated skulls of tortured beasts and men, crush the bones and scatter the remains.
-[x] Rest a bit, wait to heal and recover spells, then go back to the village. You know where the caravan is going, and you will catch up with them. Besides, they need Urgor to show them the way.
-[x] Ward yourself against evil before attempting a confrontation. You've seen enough mind control tricks for the day.
If it comes to a fight, so be it, but it might not.
I am also considering burning the shrine to the ground after we are done resting. Just in case. The Big Bad Wolf thinks we can destroy its anchor 'with relative ease', so I am willing to try easy solutions.
"Well, well, well, do you see a circle in the floor?!" Mina calls down, trying to sound the way she looks, though only managing something akin to a sore throat.
"Nothing on ground, heads with holy lick," Cob answers as he scrambles out of the hole.
I'll propose an alternative, then. The shrine has been cleared of its defenders; the demon is banished; the summoning book is with us. Whatever else the coven has, their resourses are diminished, and we must be looking pretty scary to them, to have slain so many fiends and demons alike in a span of a single day. Given sufficient intimidation (backed up by a few buffs), they might be influensed to withdraw... They will probably start elsewhere from scratch.
[x] Plan: Sleep on it
-[x] Mina will put herself to sleep with her own hex to recall Pepper, who will inform us of the happenings. You will take precautions to prevent re-possession while she sleeps.
-[x] Burn the mutated skulls of tortured beasts and men, crush the bones and scatter the remains.
-[x] Rest a bit, wait to heal and recover spells, then go back to the village. You know where the caravan is going, and you will catch up with them. Besides, they need Urgor to show them the way.
-[x] Ward yourself against evil before attempting a confrontation. You've seen enough mind control tricks for the day.
If it comes to a fight, so be it, but it might not.
Trying to setup camp anywhere in the vicinity of the village or ruins is just ridiculously dangerous right now. We don't know the terrain, the locals, the situation with the cult, etc.
The shrine's defenders are dead, and so is the swaithe who counted on them. If they had anything else, they'd throw it at us by now, not after. The immediate area, at least, is secured. The coven is a problem, yes, but I find it hard to imagine them trying to attack where three ghosts, several kytons, and half a score of hungry undead have already failed.
Set up watch and take turns sleeping. Pepper will clue us in on what is happening with the locals.
I'd imagine the coven would be trying to use the villagers as meat shields, enchant them or make them hostile to us in other ways. I do not think they will come to us.
The shrine's defenders are dead, and so is the swaithe who counted on them. If they had anything else, they'd throw it at us by now, not after. The immediate area, at least, is secured. The coven is a problem, yes, but I find it hard to imagine them trying to attack where three ghosts, several kytons, and half a score of hungry undead have already failed.
Set up watch and take turns sleeping. Pepper will clue us in on what is happening with the locals.
All those Undead children we destroyed were the failures, those who rejected the offer of the cultists. How many didn't reject it? If only half rejected the offer, there could be enough cultists in the village to outnumber us twice over, and they know where the ruins are. They could bring mindfucked villagers with them to further pad their numbers.
They'll know where we would end up and how to get here. Warty is a giant frog monster. We couldn't hope to hide his trail, and Mina's Pass Without Trace SLA has already been used for the day. If they come looking for us, they're going to be able to find us, 100% guaranteed.
Setting a watch and being vigilant only goes so far in this sort of situation.
One problem I see is that if we're wrong about the village being infiltrated, or even if we're right but overestimating the amount of control the cultists have, resummoning Pepper would leave the people he's guiding lost in the woods, possibly playing into the cultist's hands.
One problem I see is that if we're wrong about the village being infiltrated, or even if we're right but overestimating the amount of control the cultists have, resummoning Pepper would leave the people he's guiding lost in the woods, possibly playing into the cultist's hands.
Adhoc vote count started by DragonParadox on Jul 11, 2024 at 1:54 AM, finished with 50 posts and 6 votes.
[X] Know when to hold them and know when to fold them... -[X] Tightly secure Gorok to Warty's saddle. Carefully bind and gag him as well, making sure he's as comfortable as possible. -[X] Once we're a short distance away from the abandoned ruins, Kori will cast Protection from Evil on Mina and she will use her Slumber Hex on herself, willingly failing to resist the effect. Kori will then wake her up so that she can recreate Pepper at our current location. --[X] Depending on what Pepper can tell us about the state of the village and it's inhabitants before Mina recalled him, we will either decide to return to warn them or move to rejoin the expedition. ---[X] If it seems safe enough to return to the village we will do so, but carefully. Sirim will scout it out from the air and we won't approach far enough in to allow ourselves to be surrounded or a path of retreat to be blocked.
[x] Plan: Sleep on it
-[x] Mina will put herself to sleep with her own hex to recall Pepper, who will inform us of the happenings. You will take precautions to prevent re-possession while she sleeps.
-[x] Burn the mutated skulls of tortured beasts and men, crush the bones and scatter the remains.
-[x] Rest a bit, wait to heal and recover spells, then go back to the village. You know where the caravan is going, and you will catch up with them. Besides, they need Urgor to show them the way.
-[x] Ward yourself against evil before attempting a confrontation. You've seen enough mind control tricks for the day.
Thinking back to Elder Rostor's reaction at young Essa's encounter with the demon on the road, his questions about the dead children knowing what you know now leads one to suspect the people of Occarin are not as blind to their 'neighbors' as it might appear. Yet the worry and grief in those torch-lit faces had been all-too real. How deep do the hooks go?
Even as you are trying to make some sense of the night's events Cob pulls bone after bone and skull after skull out of the pit and stacks them up high with firewood set all around them.
"It's getting angry, scared may be too," Urgor mutters, holding on to the sides of his head as though he's worried that the foulness is about to come pouring out of his ears.
For his part Cob has his dagger ready, eyes darting between the dwarf and bone pile, but nothing emerges as the goblin sets fire to an oiled rag and tosses it onto the small pyre with practiced skill. Yet the flames burn lower and colder than they should, as though something inside the pile is leeching out the heat. For a moment you are rooted in place, uncertain. To use or not to use the last of radiant lights with battle may be still to come?
The earth deserves its rest, the words have the feel of a well used saying, worn smooth and proven strong by the passage of seasons, though not the seasons of Nar Voth. By your resolve a star of gold burns atop the pile for a moment, dazzling in its daring. An echo of the dreadful howl that had chilled your blood rings in your ears, but just as quickly fades.
A glance at Urgor is met with a grim shake of the head. The thing is still there. You don't say this aloud of course, but two of three isn't a bad record, and from the odd thoughtful hiss and sharp look tossed around Sirim has some idea how to deal with the third.
"I can get Pepper back," Mina says as you and Urgor are maneuvering Gorok into the saddle and securing him. "All I have to do is go to sleep."
"Well I can ward you, but..." you look back at the iruxi, who'd be an even more tempting target than a magician. "We're going to need a lot more rope."
Lying down on the grass a few dozen yards from the edge of the village Mina sings softly to herself and in a moment falls asleep. As you shake her awake Pepper fades into being, tail up and back arched until he realized where he is. "Oh good, I wasn't sure if I could keep up the lies much longer with her."
"The lies?" Mina asks concerned. "Who's 'her?'"
"Oh, well I'd best explain... but why is Gorok tied up and unconscious? We might have need of him before the night is out, you know."
"We've had our own perils and will be more than glad to share once you have explained your journeys, master cat," you interject hurriedly, drawing a tired chuckle from Urgor.
Pepper starts to lick his claws meticulously one by one as he recounts his encounters: "As the villagers were performing the rites for the dead children under the auspices of the priestess, Agtha, something unseen grabbed me from behind and stuffed my mouth such that I could not make a sound. My captor revealed herself some ways away from the gathering as one of the more common though no less loathsome forms of hag. Green was her hair and her skin, and mossy green her claws, though no less sharp for it. She was very insistent on figuring out what we were about, Mistress, especially you since she had marked you as the most skilled sorcerer of the company."
The report is briefly cut off as Mina rushes over to pick up her familiar and hug him, which Pepper accepts with what one can only describe as 'put-upon fondness'.
"So I claimed to be a minor demonic spirit of darkness in the shape of a cat, a fact borne out by my magical nature and you a servant of the Demon Lord of Shadows, Vyriavaxus. I was convincing enough at least to make her hesitate putting me to harsher questioning, as long as I was talking freely."
"You lied about me being a demon worshiper?" Mina asks somewhere between impressed and horrified.
"Of a dead Demon Lord," Pepper replies punctiliously. "Nocticula, the Queen of Night, killed Vyriavaxus the better part of a century ago and claimed his dominion over Shadow Demons. There is no danger of drawing his eye from speaking his name. Presumably my 'teleportation' was taken as proof of my true demonic nature."
Pepper Perception: 1d20+7 = 25 vs Green Hag Stealth 1d20+13 = 33 (Failure)
Grab Automatically Successful
Pepper to Bullshit, Knowledge (the Planes): 1d20+15 = 25 vs
Hag Sense Motive 1d20+9+2 (Not Using Bluff to Lie) = 23 (Success)
"What did you say we were doing?" you ask, looking at the odd little feline with new eyes, that took wits and nerves of steel.
"That we killed the kytons as part of our ongoing feud with their master over the domain of shadows and warned the village so as to ensure the souls of the murdered children would not pass into his domain."
"Clever," Sirim hisses. "We could play into the lie, declare we wish to parley with them for more information on the servants of the Umbral Court, then strike without warning, ensure no foe remains behind us."
"We would have to rest first," you cut in. "I don't know about you, but I'm all but spent."
"I'm not sure about hitting an enemy from the back," Urgor says slowly. "But these things, child-killers, Pit-stirrers... as bad as demon-elf. I'd take their heads by day or by night, and you lot are a lot better at the night it seems..." he gives a bemused look to Pepper, still busy grooming himself.
What do you do next?
[] Rest here until the morning and deal with the enemy then, you can catch up with the caravan in Carpenden
[] Your trail is covered as much as it can, get back on the road
[] Write in
OOC: Bluffing with a skill like that only works which you have 10+ in it, so a solid professional and the other side has nothing. In this case. the planes expert lying about extra-planar things to the hag with no knowledge of the subject.
If a figment ever strays more than 100 feet from its master or enters an antimagic field, or if a figment's master is unconscious or asleep, the figment disappears until the next time its master prepares spells or regains her spells per day.
No, that still happens, he is made of dreamstuff, it is just that Mina's patron thinks that a being of dreams makes a good channel for their favor which is what allows him to walks away from Mina. That said he is still made of magic not flesh so an anti-magic field makes him go poof.
