| Current Turn? | No |  | Subject: | Skeleton in a Chair |
| Campaign: | Spelljammer | | Turn Start Date: | 4/25/606 |
| Adventure: | Citadel of Fire | | Turn End Date: | 4/25/606 |
| Adventure Number: | 6 | | Characters: | Barnas, KC , Martin Vane, Morty Crystaltouched, Pellanistra Xarann, Shaarilla, Syllivarrna Obanghall, Tyra Stellastrom |
| Turn Number: | 3.6 | | Send To: | bluemountain@championsoftheempire.com; mghaught@gmail.com |
| Greyhawk Campaign? | No | | Combat Turn? | No |
| Name | Lethal | NL | Current | END | PROT | LOW | DEF | ROF | Flash | Heal | Luck Pts | Fate Pts | |
| Barnas | 6 | 0 | 45/51 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 31 | 0 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| KC | 12 | 0 | 31/43 | /0 | 3 | 0 | 36 | 2 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Martin Vane | 16 | 0 | 34/50 | /0 | 7 | 1 | 40 | 8 | /0 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | 9 | 0 | 37/46 | /0 | 5 | 0 | 49 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Pellanistra Xarann | 24 | 0 | 31/55 | 8/8 | 4 | 0 | 60 | 10 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Shaarilla | 6 | 0 | 27/33 | /0 | 4 | 0 | 24 | 0 | 1/1 | 1/day | 2/2 | 1/1 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | 26 | 0 | 36/62 | /0 | 5 | 1 | 45 | 8 | /0 | 1/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | 29 | 3 | 39/71 | 0/6 | 7 | 1 | 63 | 12 | /0 | 2/day | 1/1 | /0 | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | |
| Mage/Psioncist Name | Psionic Pts | Spell Pts | Spell Pool | Miscellaneous Information |
| KC | / | 0/7 | 9/9 | |
| Martin Vane | / | 9/9 | 7/7 | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | / | 3/9 | 9/9 | |
| Shaarilla | / | 4/17 | 3/23 | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | / | 9/9 | 12/12 | |
| | | | |
| Barnas | Cleric Pool (6/11) |
| KC | |
| Martin Vane | |
| Morty Crystaltouched | Spell Store (Shadow Magic) |
| Pellanistra Xarann | +1 STR (60 minutes) |
| Shaarilla | |
| Syllivarrna Obanghall | |
| Tyra Stellastrom | |
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With the battle over, Tyra and KC get their torch lit and look around the room as the rest of the group comes down the spiral staircase. Finn darts past others on the staircase to walk alongside Barnas.
Tyra and KC find that they are in a shadowy room that resists the light of the torch somewhat. They find a door on the south wall that might lead into the guard tower, and a door on the north wall leading deeper into the main tower. In the southeast corner is a wooden chair on which sits the skeletal figure of a large man. It is holding a black mace in its bony grip and is wearing chain mail. Scattered around the base of the chair are hundreds of coins and a few gems.
BARNAS: When given a moment Barnas check Finn over to make sure he is ok. When done he then a gives good head/ear scratching. "I wonder what other abilities you might have. Because that teleportation trick was pretty good."
Barnas finds nothing more than a minor scratch that will heal quickly assuming that Finn heals at a relatively normal rate. Finn appreciates the head/ear scratching but makes not response to the teleportation comment.
SHAARILLA: Shaarilla will activate her Power Perception to look at the skeleton and try to determine if it’s likely to stand up and attack them. Once Power Perception is active, she looked around the room to see if there’s any spots that have more magic than what is usual in this tower.
Shaarilla burns a point and studies the skeleton in the chair as well as the chair and treasure underneath. She detects magic on the skeleton as well as the chain mail that it is wearing. The armor radiates slightly more powerful than the skeleton itself though neither are particularly strong. The mace that the skeleton holds in its hands radiates magic a bit strong still. Shaarilla also notes that one of the gems littering on the floor radiates magic at level 2 on a scale of 1 to 5.
As before, Shaarilla notes that the structure of the tower continues to radiate magic. Nothing else is magical.
GM: Those with the appropriate lores can attempt to identify the mace (weapon lore), the chain mail (armor lore) and the magical gem (artifact lore).
TYRA: Tyra will take a closer look at the skeleton's weapon and armor.
Armor Lore [rolled 81, PARTIAL SUCCESS - You know the name of the item, if applicable, but nothing more]
Weapon Lore [rolled 174, SUCCESS++ - You know the name, quite a bit of history, and 3 properties of the item. You know about 1 flaw or curse (if any).]
SHAARILLA: Shaarilla will pass on the information about what is magic.
SHAARILLA: Everything lore in case it works: Chain Mail [rolled 112 (Success)], Mace [rolled 73 (Failure)], Gem [rolled 47 (Failure)]
"It's a Giant Basher," Martin says, looking at the black mace.
"Yes", Tyra agrees. "It is a basic magical weapon normally, but is a bit more effective against ogres and bugbears, even more so against ettins and trolls and most effective against true giants. It also glows," she adds. "A faint yellow around ogres and bugbears, a stronger orange around ettins and trolls, and a bright red when true giants are near."
GM: A Giant Basher is a footman's mace made of very hard, black wood. It has the following benefits.
- +1 Mace against most opponents.
- +2 vs ogres, sea ogres, ogre magi and bugbears
- +3 vs titans, ettins and trolls
- +4 vs giants
"I'm not entirely sure about the armor," Tyra says.
"I am," Shaarilla replies. "It is just your basic magical chain mail."
GM: I had already just about completed the turn when I noticed that Tyra had her great roll for the armor and not the weapon so I switched things around and used her great roll for the weapon and Shaarilla's success for the armor.
GM: Morty and Barnas can both send Artifact Lore rolls for the gem. I already made rolls for Morty and Martin for the mace and the chain mail.
BARNAS : [rolled 85, PARTIAL SUCCESS - You know the name of the item, if applicable, but nothing more]
GM: Barnas believes it is some sort of luckstone but knows nothing more.
MORTY: I limp down the stairs in pain from my numerous wounds from both the berserker alchemist and the su-monster. "Do we not have any more means to heal? Even some first aid? I think my wounds will distract me from any attempts to detect traps as we continue forward."
MORTY (OOC): We seem to be pushing forward a little fast for me, I would have liked first aid after the berserk alchemist, which would give me another chance for some first aid after the su-monsters. Also, I need to attempt to Spell Store another Shadow Magic, but I can't readily do that with wound penalties. We either need to slow down to be more careful or retreat to find a safe(r) place to rest for some hours.
GM: Tyra already did first aid after the battle with the demons and alchemist. Morty was healed 4 points by the first aid. The battle with the su-monsters just ended and Tyra has not yet performed first aid.
TYRA: "I sure wouldn't mind having that mace but I have the feeling that we can't just take it out of the skeleton's hands. Do we think it's trapped in some fashion?"
MORTY: "The first and most obvious type of 'trap' would be the skeleton animating into a powerful undead and smashing me into a pulp. Since there is magic on the skeleton itself that does seem likely, though there is some hope, perhaps I can find a way to disable that magic, let me get a look. Also, given the strength of the magic being weaker than that of the armor it seems less likely that the skeleton would be an unstoppable engine of destruction once animated...
MORTY TECH: Artifact Lore on gem [rolled 43, FAILURE - You know nothing about the item]. I will burn a point on Power Perception myself and attempt to Understand Magical Trap [rolled 66 (Failure)]. If that doesn't work perhaps simply assensing the spell on the skeleton can get me more information (Power Perception bonus 35%) [rolled 87 (Partial Success)]. If that doesn't work... I guess I can look around for mundane traps, though I am hampered by not being able to touch anything that's radiating magic... [rolled 131 (Success)]
GM: Assensing the magic on the skeleton tells Morty very little. It does not seem overly powerful but that does not mean it is not concealing a powerful undead creature. He sees no mundane traps on or around the skeleton and the chair.
MORTY (GM): This includes spending some of our recent xp award on Find Traps rank 5 (+1 rank). None of these rolls include the -10 for wound penalties, I'm hoping we can get some first aid to heal me 2 points before I make the attempt. Also, you never resolved what I took from the alchemist's lab based on my 2x luck roll, perhaps a Potion of Extra Healing was one of them ;) I suppose if it comes down to it I can spend the lion's share of my saved xp for another rank of Hit Points, but that I was hoping to avoid that for now...
GM: I went back and looked for a turn regarding your 2x LUCK roll for looking for stuff in the alchemist lab but didn't find anything. Then I vaguely recalled that you may have made the roll during our Thursday night session. I went ahead and looked at what he may have found but it really only amounted to a couple of small gems that did not radiate magic. There was nothing else that Morty would have found without a more intense search, which the group did not make.
MORTY (OOC): If none of these rolls present new information, I think my suggestion would be to get ready for combat, and I mean as ready as we can possibly get since we are being given the time to prepare and take the initiative, and then have Tyra attempt to take the Mace from him. If nothing else she's strong enough to turn it into a disarming contest if the skeleton tries to keep it... At least this time I can be far enough the hell away to not get firebombed and sneak attacked and flank attacked. But I'm not bitter ;)
LANI: "I agree with Morty in that we should at least do some first aid before doing anything more with the skeleton in the chair."
GM: Tyra can go ahead and send 6 first aid rolls (using the first aid macro). This will take 30 minutes.
SHAARILLA: “I think this might be as good a place as any to rest and recover, as long as we stay away from the skeleton.” From its position does the skeleton appear to be guarding anything? If so we want to stay away from that as well.
TYRA: "Yes, of course." Tyra says apologetically. "Sorry about getting caught up in this new discovery." She pulls out her first aid supplies and tends to the wounded, starting with Morty.
[rolled 77, wound bound and healed 4 points]
[rolled 84, wound bound and healed 3 points]
[rolled 104, wound bound and healed 2 points]
[rolled 60, wound bound, no healing]
[rolled 59, wound bound, no healing]
[rolled 116, wound bound and healed 2 points]
GM: I applied them in the order that they appear in the turn except that I had Morty go first since you specifically said you were starting with him.
KC: "if we are gonna rest we might as well rest enough to recover and start out fresh."
BARNAS: I do not know if the new Cleric rules are in effect yet... If they are then Barnas will spend two pool points to boost the success level of this roll.
GM: Yes they are. How many points does Barnas get?
GM: With Near Success, Barnas knows that it is a minor Luckstone, granting +1 or +2 to Luck.
MORTY: "There is a significant difference between stopping for half an hour to do first aid and recover our breath (NL damage and Endurance) and stopping for an entire 8 or more hours of restful sleep. I think we're trying to stay under the Beastmaker's radar and not get discovered, we have evidence that there are powerful guards, and that warrior was not just staying in his quarters, he was roaming around killing monsters, possibly bored and looking for things to kill... I do agree that stopping for First Aid while we are burning spell durations is probably counterproductive, but most of our spells are expiring shortly or already have, it makes sense to take a few minutes here to catch our breath. Not that I wouldn't love to hole up and get a full rest and some more healing, I just don't think it's wise at this point.
MORTY (GM): I am guessing by others' reactions that we are stopping to do first aid before I spent a spell point to examine the skeleton and throne, but after Shaarilla did, since they wanted to get some hint that the room was safe first? It looks like the first aid healed me 2 points, which is barely enough to get out of wound penalties, but at least it's enough. I don't know if you care to try to figure out the timing of things, but it sounds like Tyra did me first, and then I would rest 20 minutes to get back NL/END, then as the final first aid was being started I'd spend 1.2 minutes slow casting Spell Store and fast casting Shadow Magic, then burn the spell point on power perception with 3 minutes of first aid remaining to be done, and spend those few minutes studying the throne, skeleton, magical auras, and finally searching for traps. This would leave me with several minutes left of power perception, potentially for the next door/room.
MORTY TECH: Spell Store (1 SP as a GK, but boosted duration beyond the 1 hour base for the high mana area?), 45% cast chance [rolled 4 vs cast chance of 45 - Critical Success!!] [rolled 85 vs cast chance of 45 - Failed Cast Chance!] [rolled 63 vs cast chance of 45 - Failed Cast Chance!] [rolled 12 vs cast chance of 45 - Successful Cast Chance!]. Shadow Magic once cast, (1 SP as an SK?), [rolled 62 vs cast chance of 51 - Failed Cast Chance!] [rolled 28 vs cast chance of 51 - Successful Cast Chance!] [rolled 41 vs cast chance of 51 - Successful Cast Chance!] [rolled 29 vs cast chance of 51 - Successful Cast Chance!] [rolled 66 vs cast chance of 51 - Failed Cast Chance!]. I should have 6 spell points left right now if I read the turn correctly (after spending the 1 for power perception). If both of those go off smoothly I will probably cast another Phantasmal Force for the angels before we leave this room.
GM: The Spell Store cost 0 SP. With Critical Success, I will assume extended duration (high mana doesn't increase the duration but makes it cost 0 SP). The Shadow Magic cost 2 spell points, 1 for the failure and 1 for the success.
GM: Morty's Power Perception tells him that the magic on the skeleton is definitely separate from the magic on the chain mail and seems like low level preservation-type magic, perhaps to prevent the skeleton from collapsing.
GM: I plan to send the next turn later today or tomorrow with the assumption that Tyra, Lani and Martin will surround the skeleton in the chair and Tyra will attempt to remove the Giant Basher. Barnas might consider using one of his Augury spells.
GM: Also, Barnas can get one more CLW if he wants. He has his single class ability to pray for an additional 1st level spell which takes 2 minutes. Also, he gets an additional 1st and 2nd level spell from the Divination realm. If you want to count one of your existing Augury spells as the 2nd level Divination spell, then he can have an additional 2nd level spell from any realm.
GM: I added the Cleric Pool to the character sheet. Barnas has 11 points.
TYRA: Tyra likes the idea of using Augury before trying to take the mace from the skeleton.
BARNAS: When they stop for first aid and a discussion on if they should rest the young cleric is more then willing to pray for the answer.
BARNAS: OOC: His final healing spell will depend on the answer to the Augury
BARNAS: OOC would the 1st level spell Detect Evil count as a divination? (Technically it is in All like Augury.. and if Augury is good as a divination then I think it will be too)
GM: Yes, for a Scholar Cleric, I will count Detect Evil as a Divination spell.
BARNAS: OOC: Well that is pretty clear so Barnas will pray for a healing spell. I assume it will go to Morty unless someone else had a bigger need for it [rolled 4 6 (+4)- Total: 14]
BARNAS OOC: He will have Detect Evil and Find Traps as his Divination bonus spells for 1st and 2nd Levels
KC: I wll definitely stay back a bit and try to keep an eye out behind us. My daggers are not going to do anything versus a skeleton.
SHAARILLA (OOC): I vaguely remember that Shaarilla used one of these lightning bolt spells from her wand of spell story and has not yet replaced it. Does that match what you remember? Also, how many spell points does Shaarilla have left? She is up to 17 spell points when full, +1 for Elsa.
GM: I am showing that Shaarilla still has another Lightning Bolt in the Spell Wand (along with a Wall of Ice and a Sphere of Fresh Air). She has 4 spell points remaining.
SYL: will ready her (non-magical) War Club that she carries for skeletons. If she needs a magical weapon she has her broadsword available. Will also be ready with sunburst and start fire as needed...BARNAS: OOC: Cast Augury. Question: "Is it wise to rest now to recover health and magic?"
GM: Barnas gets an unequivocal "no".
MARTIN: “Well, that’s interesting – I think we need to deal with Boney here, but perhaps we should look around the room a bit to see if there’s a different reason why we shouldn’t rest here?”
MORTY: "My take on the subject is that as I suspected, we will be discovered, either by the Beastmaker, or by something else very lethal that inhabits the tower.?? I'd love to be gone from here before resting.
Martin, Tyra and Lani surround the skeleton with others backing them up. Tyra reaches out to pull the mace away from the skeleton. The skeleton does not spring to life and Tyra is able to get the mace out of its bony grip. The three continue to keep a close eye on the skeleton as the others gather up the other treasure until only the chain mail remains. Then Tyra and Martin slowly remove the armor until the skeleton is bare. It remains somewhat rigid, making the removal difficult but they are successful in the end.
GM: My assumption is that Tyra will carry the Giant Basher. What about the chain mail and the luckstone?
With first aid complete, the group moves on. They investigate the southern door and find that it leads to the lower level of the exterior tower. There is a wooden ladder leading up to the second level. Looking through the arrow slits, the group can see occasional movement in the tower across the way - presumably the black skeletons.
The group returns to the chamber where they fought the su-monsters and carefully opens the north door. It leads to a hallway. There is a door halfway down on the right and another at the end of the hall. Wanting to avoid confrontation until they have a chance to rest and recover, they are very careful when they check out the door on the right. There is no sound beyond. They open it to reveal an ancient storage room that does not look to have been used in decades. A quick search reveals nothing of interest.
The group is equally careful when they investigate the door at the end of the hall. They do not hear anything but when they open the door, they can smell a strong, musky odor mixed with an odor of decay. KC exits and carefully scouts about being as quiet as he can. The chamber is dark and only slightly illuminated by the torchlight emanating from Lani's Flame Tongue as she waits in the doorway.
The large room is clearly an old stable. KC sees the dead body of a large dog a short distance away. It died violently. To his right, KC hears distant breathing of multiple creatures. The breathing is rhythmic indicating possible sleep. Not want to awaken whatever it is that might be sleeping, KC scouts in the opposite direction, following the wall to the left of the door. He finds a pair of massive doors closed shut that probably lead to the exit. Beyond that, he finds another, smaller door. A few feet in front of the door is another large, ugly dog, also dead by violent means.
KC listens at the door and then slowly opens it a crack. The room beyond is completely dark but KC can smell death. He signals back for Lani to come up quietly. She commands her sword to darkness after Barnas lights his lantern. When Lani arrives, she and KC enter the room and Lani commands her sword to flame.
The room is clearly a barracks that was recently used. The bodies of half a dozen orcs can be seen lying about. Something attacked and the orcs were shocked awake and tried to fight back. Perhaps some succeeded in fleeing through one of the other doors but the ones that remained were killed.
KC signals for the rest of the group to come forward as quietly as they can. KC is very mindful of the distant snoring of several large creatures at the east end of the stable. Nevertheless, everyone makes it over and Martin closes the door behind him once everyone else is in the room.
The group searches the room and find a total of seven dead orcs. They also find 87 sp and 64 cp.
The southern door almost certainly leads to the other guard tower in which Black Skeletons keep guard so the group tries the other door. It leads into another chamber with two spiral staircases. One leads up, probably to the second level where they saw the large, burly fighter descending earlier. The other staircase leads down.
GM: I will stop here to allow others to interject. My assumption is that you will head down, looking for a safe place to rest and recuperate (let me know if Barnas wants to use his second Augury spell to that effect).
SHAARILLA: Is the ancient storage room large enough for all of us to rest in? A room that no one has been in for decades seems like place where we could stay a while without being noticed.
GM: The unequivocal no that Barnas received was just next door but of course that room had a spiral staircase in it and was guarded by su-monsters. Hard to say if this room is safe or not but Barnas suspects that the answer to the last question was general to this level of the tower.
GM; This did give me another idea for the Cleric Pool. Scholar clerics can spend 3 points to gain additional information from Augury or Divination spells. I will assume that Barnas would have spent the 3 points when he cast the Augury. That being the case, his additional information is "down the whorled way and south to the pooping toad through the curtain of winter".
MORTY (GM): Does Morty or Shaarilla have their Flashes of Insight still available for April??? Can we think of a useful way to use them before they expire tonight? ;)
GM: Yes, both had their Flash of Insight available. I will assume that Morty used his on the Augury result. He is moderately certain that "the whorled way" refers to the spiral staircase. "South" seems self evident. He is not sure about "the pooping toad" or "the curtain of winter" but may understand more if the group first follows the first part of the Augury result (i.e., head down the spiral staircase and then south). I will send the next turn today or tomorrow with that assumption unless anyone else wants to interject.
GM: Also, I still need an answer on who will wear the +1 chain mail and who will carry the luckstone.
SYL: is interested in both but more so the Luck Stone since even a +1 Luck Stone will get her to 19 (Fate Point!!), whereas she would need to invest 3-3 more ranks in Manuever in Armor to easily use the Chain
MORTY (GM): Sounds good, I was hoping for more of a confirmation that our instinct that we want to get out of the tower and be on our way before we sleep is correct, but we may not have enough information to 'deduce' that.
MORTY: "I am of course interested in using the luck stone, but I have not earned it and it would probably serve someone else better, someone that's more in harm's way.
GM: One thing to keep in mind with the Luckstone is that Barnas thought this was probably a Minor Luckstone. That means that it improves your Luck but does not necessarily give you any Luck or Fate points. For example, if you have a 16 Luck (1 Luck point), and this was a +2 Minor Luckstone, it would boost your Luck to 18 but you would still only have 1 Luck point. Major Luckstones grant bonuses to Luck as well as bonus Luck and Fate points. Someone with an 18 Luck (KC, Syl and Tyra would get the most benefit from a +1 Luckstone, if that is what this is - if it's a +2 Luckstone, then everyone except Lani would benefit).
SHAARILLA (OOC): Shaarilla also has a 18 Luck. But she avoids the front rank like a plague, so better go to someone else.
GM: Shaarilla actually has a 19 LUCK now. She started with an 18 but gained a permanent +1 last year making it 19.
BARNAS: I would be interested in the chainmail but the more frontline fighters get first crack at it if they want.
MARTIN: Martin would be interested in the +1 Chain mail. He’s also interested in following the directions from the Augury.
MARTIN: “ ‘Pooping Toad’?? This I gotta see… ”
KC: Well I can not use the chain mail, the luck stone could be nice, but if someone else wants it they can have.
TYRA: "It sounds like our path is laid before us now. Though I could use the armor, I already have magical armor from the Spirit of Spelljammer so someone else should take it. I'm liking this new mace."
GM: In the treasure list, I indicated that Tyra has the Giant Basher, Martin has the +1 Chain Mail and Syl has the +1 Luckstone. Go ahead and add them to your character sheets. For Martin, he has 4 ranks of MIA and the armor has a -5 DEX modifier so he will end up with a -1 DEX (or he could use his EXP to buy another rank of MIA and have no modifier).
MARTIN: Bought up MIA so that he has a 0 dex mod with the +1 chain mail.
GM: I will send the next turn with the assumption that you head down the spiral staircase and attempt to head south from there to look for a pooping toad and a curtain of winter.
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