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Finding the Spark (Pathfinder 1E Quest)

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[X] Cast Protection from Evil and run at him, hoping he will waste the lightning on you
 
It's strange that sonic damage requires Reflex save and not Fortitude. Well, it's a question to the author of the rools.

Also, what does whisperfoot means?

[X] Cast Protection from Evil and run at him, hoping he will waste the lightning on you
@DragonParadox , can Kori see what happens in Darkness? He has See in Darkness ability.
"The creature can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness."
 
Arhin said:
It's strange that sonic damage requires Reflex save and not Fortitude. Well, it's a question to the author of the rools.

Also, what does whisperfoot means?

[X] Cast Protection from Evil and run at him, hoping he will waste the lightning on you
@DragonParadox , can Kori see what happens in Darkness? He has See in Darkness ability.
"The creature can see perfectly in darkness of any kind, including that created by deeper darkness."
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Dark Creeper, it is in the glossary on the front page.
 
Okay, let's comment on the update:

DragonParadox said:
Warty Will to be Good: 1d20 = 1 (Critical Failure)
Warty Will to resist the sleeping Hex: 1d20 = 19 (Success)
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Well, had we got the hamster, it woud have run to get itself killed. Warty will survive.

DragonParadox said:
If there had been any doubt in your mind that you fight some of your own people the banks of darkness, like clinging mist, dispel it. You can hear Cob fighting inside of one, cursing up a storm of half-understood goblin invective, but alas you do not get the chance to figure out why one's mother being a horse is such a dreadful sin as Gorok rushes out of the other end of the cloud, clawed hands outstretched as though he had been planning to push someone out with him, bleeding from the neck.
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Kori would actually see what happened inside, but this is a nice explanation fo what a regular person sees.

DragonParadox said:
Not three feet away from you, and barely seven or eight from Mina behind you, a whisperfoot in ragged patchwork garb appears from under a glamor. Far from worried at being among foes, he laughs. "You'll make such pretty lights, such pretty lively lights." He raises up a brass bottle like a weapon, finger on the wax seal... and closes his eyes.
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Lights as in being killed. Right. Bastards. I am sure some depraved Dark Folk actually even like to feed on the dying lights of other Dark Folk. Damned cannibals.

DragonParadox said:
It does not take an alchemist to recognize a bottled lighting, fire that burns not just the flesh of the one it is turned upon, but also the eyes of those unfortunate enough to look upon them.
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Being Light sensitive, I expect Dark Folk to suffer more penalties fo being exposed to this. This also means that we will get a save to not suffer an unfortunate effect.

@Goldfish , casting Guidance I feel is better. I am not so worried about the 1d8, but the potential backlash of being dazed or something like that. Dark Creepers are not really very good in combat.

DragonParadox said:
But any hope that common heritage would have him hesitate in his mad attack ends with the words upon his lisp: "Yes, yes I have seen you. She has shown you to me."
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Of course demon vampire lady who is secretly a former azlanti queen is behind this again. *sighs*
 
Tomcost said:
@Goldfish , casting Guidance I feel is better. I am not so worried about the 1d8, but the potential backlash of being dazed or something like that. Dark Creepers are not really very good in combat.
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Guidance is only good for a +1 bonus to a single check or saving throw. PfE gives a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws for 1 minute/level from all Evil attackers, plus is negates a lot of Mind-Affecting effects. The Creeper might not be Evil, but it probably is, and it might have fellow Evil accomplices, so PfE sets us up in a better position for the rest of the fight.
 
Goldfish said:
Guidance is only good for a +1 bonus to a single check or saving throw. PfE gives a +2 bonus to AC and saving throws for 1 minute/level from all Evil attackers, plus is negates a lot of Mind-Affecting effects. The Creeper might not be Evil, but it probably is, and it might have fellow Evil accomplices, so PfE sets us up in a better position for the rest of the fight.
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Oh, right. Didn't realize that.

[X] Cast Protection from Evil and run at him, hoping he will waste the lightning on you
 
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Arc 2 Post 6: Kindred Malice
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    • Kindred Malice ​

    The Season of Still Stone

    Fate twists, a warm tingle at the back of your mind as you charge the strangely clad whisper foot dagger raised. His hand twitches, the cap comes undone in a cacophony of light and sound bruising the senses and befuddling the mind... but leaving your body no worse off than it had been. He missed and you are going to make damn sure this is the last time the thieving shit puts a dagger at your back. You pull on one of the ragged laces hanging on either side of his neck trying to draw him into the blade but he's a slippery fuck, you barely nick him.

    Akorian is Dazzled, -1 to Attacks and Perception Based Rolls
    All Dark Creepers are Dazzled, -1 to Attack and Perception Based Rolls
    Dark Creeper One takes 2 Damage -> Now at 17/19

    "Watch out!" Mina shouts just as out of the corner of your eye you stop another foe, appearing by the same trick of sorcery where before you had seen neither blood-shadow nor form. Alas this time the enemy's aim is true and there is no dodging the dreadful flash.

    Akorian takes 8 Damage -> Now at 10/18

    So heavy is the blow you half fall, half stumble away from the foe you had been falling, gasping for breath...but a moment later you hear a heavy thud through ringing ears. Hopefully Mina's magic doing her work, but you do not have the time to look as the cytillesh-chewer in front of you screams: "Alive, we need him alive for the giving"

    Dark Creeper Three is Unconscious

    Not just thieves then, you think grimly as he shakes a piece of black cloth out of his sleeve glistening with oily beads. Oh you can well guess what's on that... no sense putting sleep-oil on a dagger when the sting will wake the victim.

    All around you the sounds of battles rage, rushing bodies and claws scrambling against stone then all at once an indescribable reek of rotting meat come upon you from the left where you know Gorok is fighting. You can only hope he is up to facing whatever flesh horror may have come upon him. Mina's voice cuts off mid-spell with a gasp, though almost in the same moment the air is filled with the screams of the fallen foe as Cob shoves a dagger though their hand

    Mina takes 3 Damage -> Now at 13/16
    Dark Creeper Three wakes; takes 4 Damage -> Now at 15/19
    Dark Creeper Three Is disarmed; takes -4 Damage from fighting Left Handed

    What do you do?

    State of the Battle
    • Dark Creeper One is trying to knock you out
    • Dark Creeper Two just stabbed Mina and managed to avoid getting hurt from Gorok coming up behind him
    • Dark Creeper Three is crippled and fighting Cob outside the bank of darkness
    [] Take advantage of the fact that the enemy is not trying to kill you (allegedly) and use your greater height and bulk to wrestle them to the ground, use their own sleep oil against them

    [] Feint to gain an advantage and then strike the enemy

    [] Cast blurred movement then try to fall back to Mina in order to protect her

    [] Heal yourself, you won't do anyone much good if you collapse from your wounds

    [] Write in

    OOC: For anyone wondering Cob tried to do something sneaky and use his dagger to literally pin the hand of the unconscious dark creeper to the stone, but since he was using improper tools in the heat of battle it was a DC 20 engineering roll to get it lodged in properly so he failed. Still managed a disarm and crippled his hand.
     
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    • I'm worried about what Gorok is fighting. Maybe it's just a Troglodyte, which could be manageable since they're not particularly scary in low numbers, but it could also be some sort of Undead. I'm sure there are other smelly potential enemies, but my brain is fried and refusing to cooperate.

    Cob should have Creeper #3 handled in short order, but #2 is operating unopposed and just stabbed Mina. That could include being poisoned, since that's a common Dark Creeper tactic. I think we should try to get back to her side so we can watch each other's backs and provide support as needed.

    [X] Cast Blurred Movement then try to fall back to Mina in order to protect her
     
    DragonParadox said:
    Queen's Tale ​

    27th of October 2006 A.D.

    As logically as Bob has laid out all the pieces, how could he not given what he is, your mind is full of questions, so is your heart. Why this way, why are the child snatching monsters the good guys, why is the world guarded by cruelty? A thousand times why for a thousand different injustices. But as you take a deep breath and collect yourself it comes to you that having so many questions means you cannot judge properly, not the fey and not... the other doubt that you do not want to judge. It's not even that you have half the puzzle, what Bob has given you with all the goodwill in the world is a single piece, a single snapshot. I will find the others, you resolve.

    "Are you alright there Molly?" Harry startles you from your thoughts.

    "Why wouldn't I be?" you ask confused.

    "Your central glabella is currently shinning like a baleful sun," Bob snickers. "When someone does something like that with Harry around he usually sets the room on fire or brings the roof down."

    In spite of yourself you smile. Bob is really quite charming, not that you're going to tell him anytime soon. He already has a catwalk's fill of confidence. "It's nothing, Just thinking about unknown unknowns."

    "Nasty." You have the feeling that the spirit of intellect would be making a face if he er... had a face.

    "Sorry." After a moment's pauses you add: "What do you know about Mab herself, as a person I mean..."

    Thus you discover that someone without any spit, or the need for breath can spill sputter. "Not asking the easy questions are you Your Majesty..."

    The title catches you off guard, he does not say it like Usum, obsequiously and with fervor, but he does not say it entirely in jest either, more like how you would imagine an American would greet Elizabeth the Second, not their queen and the whole concept is also not their cup of tea, but it's still a thing to other people.

    "Mab is... strong willed," Bob continues. "I know it sounds obvious, the powers of the world are not easily bent by any passing breeze, but I mean she is strong willed as herself not just as the Queen of Winter. She took on her mantle when Merlin yet walked the world, the Queen and Lady had both been slain by... something from the Outside. I have to take this from the beginning."

    Harry's dramatic sigh says everything you need to know about why he did not know about the Gates and the duties of Winter, but Bob sees fit to ignore him, glad for a more receptive audience.

    "When the Roman Empire collapsed it was not in one clean strike but a slow torturous collapse, generations of internecine wars, famine plague and barbarian invasion, each sunrise more bloody than the last, each night darker, the promises of imperial stability and prosperity a distant dream, a lie unveiled, lands were lost, won then lost again upon the edge of the sword. The Empire was their world and while in the East it endured in the West it fell to ruin and the squabbling of barbarian chiefs. Little wonder than that so many people thought the End of Days had come, and when many believe that things that would bend an ear take heed. Cults and warlock circles sprang up like wildfire. The Hermetic Circle, that's the predecessor of the White Council had long lingered in Rome and made use of the power and reach of the Empire for its own communication and enforcement of its will was ill prepared for it. That is the reason by the by why wizards do not meddle in wars anymore, Roman civil wars..."

    "Wasn't it the... Wars of Religion?" Harry cuts in. "That killed ten million people over who was top dog in Europe and they all ended up worse for it. Wizardry and national loyalty don't mix."

    Bob is in full swing now, he cackles. "Is that what they are teaching wizards these days, that the problem was a bunch of well intended patriots? Connerie!" He catches his French. "Everyone wanted to be Emperor so everyone wanted to be the Emperor's court wizard, they wanted the power to set things right from the top. Wizards don't try to swim against the passage of ages as often as mortals do because an old wizard has seem a lot more change in the world than the average mortal, but the Empire was older than all of them by then. If only they could fix it, bring order back into the countryside, they thought, then it would be well. That's why it was a wizard in Podunk Britannica who finally managed to pull things together, his enemies weren't primarily other wizards who saw things differently it was the Fomori, the Brothers of Bánánach, the Cult of the Black Goat. That last one is why the Merlin chose to call it the White Council by the way. He made a big stirring speech that ended: 'I see here men and women in robes of red and of green, of gold an ye even one of the purple, but surely we must agree that we are against the black, for the sake of our neighbors, our children and the wold they must inherit.'

    As he speaks you and Harry both lean close, as though you had both grown afraid that the words, old and little spoken, would escape back into the mists of ages if you gave them too much space.

    "Anyway," Bob continues. "That's not the bunch that is most important to understand how Mab came to power, it wasn't even the Fomori, it was a petty lord, master of a stony hill. Druas the Cruel they called him, though better that they had named him Duras the Fool how he came to poison the rites of the solstice I don't know and to be honest I don't want to. But he did it most thoroughly, at the crossing of the lines, at the passing of the age, the Queen of Summer went mad and slew the Queen of Winter then herself. The living earth heaved in torrent and the skies bled, though few that I have known would speak of those days no matter the price paid. So it was that she who was Lady of Winter, Morgana, lover of Merlin and deep in his councils rallied her loyalists and called forth her her allies, be they Merlin's wizards, knights of mortal blood and other stranger things that still lingered in the hills and fens in those days. Together they fought their way to the foot of the Stone Table before the Boy of the Queen-who-Was could be defiled and there Morgana became the queen... she became Mab."

    He goes quiet for a long while then as you boggle at the thought of the perfect frozen queen whose gaze you had barely held as the desperate underdog. What Harry might be thinking you do not know and can't bring yourself to ask, not yet.

    "And now we come to the reason I really don't want Mab to know about me," Bob finally breaks the silence. "Once upon a time I was... reckless in playing the games of court. I wanted to know the mind of the Queen and to know the future of a thing is to know its past. so I tricked certain nobles of the Sidhe who really should have held their wine better and spoken their riddles fairer...."

    Harry suddenly looks alarmed. "Maybe you shouldn't know things that piss off Mab that badly Molly, ignorance might not be bliss, but knowledge can be dangerous if others know you know it and Mab... Mab can ferret a secret out of stone. You already know a lot more about her than I did at first meeting."

    What do you do?

    [] Insist, the fact that she wants it held secret makes it all the more valuable
    -[] Write in stunt

    [] Leave it be (Willpower Roll Required; if failed Insist will be chosen)

    OOC: I know I said we would end the arc on this update, but as I got here i realized it would be out of character for Harry to just let Molly learn such a dangerous secret. Yes he is a lot better about this then he used to be, hence agreeing to this conversation without a roll, but this is major league dangerous secrets. No rolls in this one.
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    Wrong thread, DP. :p
     
    Okay, if we are going to be poisoned into sleep at least we can stand nearby one of our allies so that they can wake us up. The thing fighting Gorok probably is an undead of some sort, and that mens that we can hurt it with our cure spells. Remember that the Vampire Queen bitch wants our head for some reason.

    Dark Creepers are fairly useless to do damage, 1d3 is almost nothing, they have already used their own tricks, one is disarmed, and the other one is currently probably going to lose a turn trying to put us to sleep, only for an aly to wake us up. The undead going against Gorok is the most important threat right now. And, incidentally, the Dark Creepers are possible information sources if we catch them alive.

    [X] Cast Blurred Movement then try to fall back to Mina in order to protect her
     
    Gentlemen, by the way, I know it is a combat turn, but we kinda need more votes so that everyone agrees on what we should do.
     
    Arc 2 Post 7: Listening Between the Screams
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    • Listening Between the Screams ​

    The Season of Still Stone

    A dagger whistles past your left ear as you turn twisted at just so as to muss you by the grace of whatever power has seen fit to grant you more than the arts common to the caligini, but as you reach the feckless, lightless raider who had turned his dagger on Mina Gorok gets to him too... and tears open his back with fang and claw. This was not the first time you had seen blood, not even the blood of one who in another life might have been kin, but the scream still cuts through even the pain of your burned flesh. It's always harder to hear it when you know the tongue they are speaking.

    Dark Creeper Two takes 9 damage -> Now at 9/18

    "Stop! No!" child screaming for the keeper when the others catch them in a corner. That is when you realize that the glass bottle at Gorok's feet is an alchemical flask, ghast reek. The kind of thing they give to traders, the kind of thing they tell you to use if you are attacked, not to attack traders on the road. But you can't stop them, you don't know what's happening, or what dark power may have driven their hand, all you can do is defend yourself... and defense is a dagger driven deep

    Dark Creeper Two takes 3 damage -> Now at 7/18

    That's when you feel the arm shaking around your side, that is when you smell the sharp scent of the sleep oil and for a moment it feels as though you are about to black out.

    "What do you want!" You are screaming now. "What do you want from me!"

    The one with the bleeding hand screams just as loud, but his answer makes no sense. "Freedom! We want to be free!"

    And it makes all the sense in the world. Someone, something had promised them that the would be free if only they killed you, if only they fed your flesh from the pyre. It does not really matter what they are meant to be freed from, just that they had the desire and the same fucking fiend who had been dogging your steps since your first time out and decided to turn these people into tools, like the goblins before them, blood stuffed marionettes.

    Akorian Wisdom: 1d20 = 16 (Success)

    First goblins when a goblin held it, now caligini when one of the caligini holds it, ghouls, flesh eaters, kin stealers... the understanding flashes into your mind in an instant. In one desperate, mad throw you toss the black steel ring onto the stone floor of the cavern. It clinks, once, twice and the battle... stops.

    No one lowers their weapon, for a moment no one even speaks and you are afraid they they are about to rush for the ring, but they don't, there is no spark of recognition in any of their eyes. turning to look at the one who had been about to smother you in sleep oil you see only sudden bewilderment, anger and the spark of fanaticism suddenly guttering out.

    "What..." After that last scream the word almost makes you double over in pain from the blast. "What the hell is going on?"

    "A woman... a woman dressed in leaching light said to eat you. That we would grow strong if we... It sounds mad now."

    "The ring itself..." Mina's voice trembles as she speaks one hand pressed to her wound, but not yet daring to take her attention away from the people who had been so willing to kill you all moments before. "The ring itself is not cursed. I can't see anything."

    Akorian Knowledge History (Azlanti): 1d20 +5 = 20 (Success)

    "It draws to it those who are cursed, all those of the blood of the bearer, bother against brother, father against son, daughter against mother, until there is nothing left. She does not want anyone, anyone alive to have that ring... Zura." The word tastes bitter and oily upon your lips, foul to even consider, but through a haze of memory not your own you remember the Glutton Queen, her city, but burned, her kindred butchered yet her taint enduring among the eupatridae , or so at lest wrote the Imperial Times in its most scandalous moods.

    That is why it had been contained in the body of one of the sea-folk, none of their kin could reach this far from water to devour it and claim it for themselves.

    And yet you had found it in the temple of a dark power...

    "What... what sorcery have you worked on us?" the whisperfoot with the broken hand asks.

    What do you reply?

    [] Explain...
    -[]... what you have seen with your own eyes
    -[]... everything, including the strange memories

    [] Demand retribution for the attack, by the customs of passage you are owed some recompense for blood spilled

    [] Part ways in peace

    OOC: My internet went out while I was writing this , but it's finally done. Hope you guys enjoy. Also, you are getting close to a level up.
     
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    • Holy crap this was an incredible update

    I am inclined to explain something, so that they tell us more. I doubt that they have a lot of value to us after having spent all his consumables attacking us.
     
    [X] "A trade! Information for information. There is a common enemy we should be prepared for."
    -[X] Explain what we have seen with our own eyes, in exchange of what they saw and how they came to be cursed.
    --[X] Gauge their reaction. If they truly open up, keep explaining about the strange memories. If they don't, simply warn them that they might suffer the same fate that the Stone Gobblers faced.

    Good thing we did not put it inside Warty. Being ambushed by roaming mutant slurks would be nasty.

    Also, we really need to find a way to get rid of this ring. The cannibal spiders probably had to do with the whole queen of the undead thing. The whole tunnel is cursed, and we should find a cleric of a good aligned god to come and see this place.
     
    [X] "A trade! Information for information. There is a common enemy we should be prepared for."
    -[X] Explain what we have seen with our own eyes, in exchange of what they saw and how they came to be cursed.
    --[X] Gauge their reaction. If they truly open up, keep explaining about the strange memories. If they don't, simply warn them that they might suffer the same fate that the Stone Gobblers faced.
     
    Wow, that's an unexpected twist. Explains the mermaid corpse, too.

    Huh, it's a good thing our party was made up of different species. Would have been unfortunate for team cohesion if the ring made one of them go all Gollum on a teammate.

    [X] Tomcost
     
    I am tempted as fuck to give the ring to the Duergar, but it will probably backfire somehow.

    I can only think about clerics of Desna to handle this thing.
     
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