Saturday 8/30
EDIT: 1pm EST (transitional stuff leading to fighting at 2pm sharp, in case you must be late)
IRC
I think this is our best bet for a full group. Let me know if everyone can make the 1pm start time or not and I'll adjust accordingly.
With 2 hours till Sev has to leave, we can definitely get through most of the Anansiel encounter with a full group. Please go over your spells, double-check your sheets and all that goodness so we can make this as quick and fluid as possible (I have to do a bit of double checking myself).
And thanks for the cooperation. It has helped make this session possible.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Schedules
We're going to be hitting some rough waters in the coming months with scheduling. Matthias and Finduilas's schedules are going to be fluctuating weekly, on top of whatever schedules the rest of us have. I'm going to need everyone's cooperation if we're going to have any chance of finishing Winters up in the near future.
Basically, my thought is for me to make weekly schedule posts on the blog and then as soon as everyone finds out their schedules to post them in the comment section. Once everyone has responded, I'll compare and see if we can't find a common time. It's the best thing I can think of.
If this hiatus stretches beyond a month of no play, I'm going to have to continue without people. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh.
So if you could post your schedules for this week under here, that'd be great, and I'll see what we can do.
Basically, my thought is for me to make weekly schedule posts on the blog and then as soon as everyone finds out their schedules to post them in the comment section. Once everyone has responded, I'll compare and see if we can't find a common time. It's the best thing I can think of.
If this hiatus stretches beyond a month of no play, I'm going to have to continue without people. I'm sorry if that sounds harsh.
So if you could post your schedules for this week under here, that'd be great, and I'll see what we can do.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Can't Make Monday
I can't make the session Monday, guys. How's Wednesday for a makeup? I've gotten some responses and so far it's a feasible day. I need everyone to be able to make it though, seeing it's the Anansiel fight.
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Divine Group, Session 8
Reality
In crescendos of horror, the group broke out of their nightmare realms and into the unfamiliar scene of reality. In a confused and panicked series of events, the party struggled to free themselves, even as two doctors came and began strapping the dazed, freed cleric in again.
Revenge
Through some non-somatic spells and a lightning form, half the group broke free or otherwise attacked. Though the head doctor ordered his staff to subdue, Sev's electric weeping proved frightening enough to warrant the use of functioning pistols. Those group members who resisted felt searing laser beams, leaving terrible, smoking wounds.
Finduilas managed to escape her hastily-fashioned bonds and release Victoria, while Matthias snapped his bonds in a murderous rage. With death spells, glitter dust, lightning and other means, the group was able to overcome the collection of merciless scientists of Anubia.
Reanimation
After Serren discovered everyone's magic items were no longer magical and that the engine had absorbed the enchantments from them, Victoria reanimated the severed head of Doctor Nagsabet. After some intimidating, he revealed the machine could be powered off and the gear restored by simply destroying the generator. But that would shut down all the machines in the complex, including the mechanical anchor that kept all the tech and Anubians on the material plane. Victoria initially refused to allow them such an easy fate, but the doctor challenged her spite, daring the group to face Anansiel and the rest of the war without their magics. Furious, but still sane, she allowed Serren to destroy the generator once the rest of the party was unhooked from it.
With the power source extinguished, the many machines whirred to a halt and quickly began to fade away with the corpses of the Anubians and all the rest of their alien technology.
Restoration
The group reclaimed their things, though every one of them seemed but a shadow of their former selves. Taking what strength they could from them, they tried to plan ahead, but no wisdom came, just exhaustion and grim remembrances of the horrors they suffered.
Reckless
Serren scouted ahead, spurred by the discovery his cohorts had been traded to Anansiel for food. The laboratory's only exit led him to a half-flooded grotto with a submerged passage. He jumped into the water and was sucked through the passage and into a whirlpool between two portals. One portal revealed only steam and the other an ocean floor. The passing of water out of the ocean portal and into the steam portal had created a vortex, which Serren fought desperately for fear of being sucked into the steam.
Beyond the vortex he noticed a passage continuing up and out somewhere...
Rested
The remainder of the party took refuge in the emptied laboratory, needing rest and time to try and cope with their derangements. Each moved off into their own private spot to fend off the reliving of their torment. Finduilas and Matthias found a corner together and began to whisper quietly, perhaps trying to work through their pain together.
Recognized
Finduilas, amidst her own hardships, began to study the group, trying to diagnose their depravities so that she might ease those most in need of it. She quietly managed to uncover most the taints, to her alarm.
She was able to greatly lessen Matthias's muderous tendencies, as well as her own unbalance, and to a lesser extent Victoria's paranoia. That next morning, she eased Gravant's phobic mind, much to his appreciation.
Depravity:
Serren: Apathetic (lvl3 ; -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma)
Sev: Fatalistic (lvl3 ; -3 on all saves)
Victoria: Hallucinating (lvl2 ; -6 initiative)
Finduilas: Bestial (lvl1 ; -1 Charisma checks)
Matthias: Aggressive (lvl1 ; -1 AC in combat)
Gravant: Mild Phobia (lvl1)
Tasha: Craven (lvl3)
Izaki: Unknown (lvl3)
Experience: 1000
Loot: Group' s gear recovered
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa, Tazjaree, Idaasila and whoever else might be caught in Anansiel's webs.
2. Slay Anansiel!
3. Return to Ivristel and prepare for the final battle.
4. Stop Shalraza the Unmaker and her evil armies.
In crescendos of horror, the group broke out of their nightmare realms and into the unfamiliar scene of reality. In a confused and panicked series of events, the party struggled to free themselves, even as two doctors came and began strapping the dazed, freed cleric in again.
Revenge
Through some non-somatic spells and a lightning form, half the group broke free or otherwise attacked. Though the head doctor ordered his staff to subdue, Sev's electric weeping proved frightening enough to warrant the use of functioning pistols. Those group members who resisted felt searing laser beams, leaving terrible, smoking wounds.
Finduilas managed to escape her hastily-fashioned bonds and release Victoria, while Matthias snapped his bonds in a murderous rage. With death spells, glitter dust, lightning and other means, the group was able to overcome the collection of merciless scientists of Anubia.
Reanimation
After Serren discovered everyone's magic items were no longer magical and that the engine had absorbed the enchantments from them, Victoria reanimated the severed head of Doctor Nagsabet. After some intimidating, he revealed the machine could be powered off and the gear restored by simply destroying the generator. But that would shut down all the machines in the complex, including the mechanical anchor that kept all the tech and Anubians on the material plane. Victoria initially refused to allow them such an easy fate, but the doctor challenged her spite, daring the group to face Anansiel and the rest of the war without their magics. Furious, but still sane, she allowed Serren to destroy the generator once the rest of the party was unhooked from it.
With the power source extinguished, the many machines whirred to a halt and quickly began to fade away with the corpses of the Anubians and all the rest of their alien technology.
Restoration
The group reclaimed their things, though every one of them seemed but a shadow of their former selves. Taking what strength they could from them, they tried to plan ahead, but no wisdom came, just exhaustion and grim remembrances of the horrors they suffered.
Reckless
Serren scouted ahead, spurred by the discovery his cohorts had been traded to Anansiel for food. The laboratory's only exit led him to a half-flooded grotto with a submerged passage. He jumped into the water and was sucked through the passage and into a whirlpool between two portals. One portal revealed only steam and the other an ocean floor. The passing of water out of the ocean portal and into the steam portal had created a vortex, which Serren fought desperately for fear of being sucked into the steam.
Beyond the vortex he noticed a passage continuing up and out somewhere...
Rested
The remainder of the party took refuge in the emptied laboratory, needing rest and time to try and cope with their derangements. Each moved off into their own private spot to fend off the reliving of their torment. Finduilas and Matthias found a corner together and began to whisper quietly, perhaps trying to work through their pain together.
Recognized
Finduilas, amidst her own hardships, began to study the group, trying to diagnose their depravities so that she might ease those most in need of it. She quietly managed to uncover most the taints, to her alarm.
She was able to greatly lessen Matthias's muderous tendencies, as well as her own unbalance, and to a lesser extent Victoria's paranoia. That next morning, she eased Gravant's phobic mind, much to his appreciation.
Depravity:
Serren: Apathetic (lvl3 ; -2 Wisdom, -2 Charisma)
Sev: Fatalistic (lvl3 ; -3 on all saves)
Victoria: Hallucinating (lvl2 ; -6 initiative)
Finduilas: Bestial (lvl1 ; -1 Charisma checks)
Matthias: Aggressive (lvl1 ; -1 AC in combat)
Gravant: Mild Phobia (lvl1)
Tasha: Craven (lvl3)
Izaki: Unknown (lvl3)
Experience: 1000
Loot: Group' s gear recovered
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa, Tazjaree, Idaasila and whoever else might be caught in Anansiel's webs.
2. Slay Anansiel!
3. Return to Ivristel and prepare for the final battle.
4. Stop Shalraza the Unmaker and her evil armies.
Tuesday, August 12, 2008
Divine Group, Session 7
The Angry Star Compromise
In a heated series of debates and compromises between Victoria and Serren, Sev ever the mediator, a set of guidelines was agreed upon involving to the weapon's safekeeping and the dangerous attempt at Anansiel's conversion.
Group Pow Wow
From there the group, in a difficult series of admissions of faults and willingness to cooperate, sat around a campfire and aired their grievances and concerns. During that time they formulated some basic strategies, as well as drew up a plan for tackling the remainder of the dungeon.
Itsy Bitsy Traitor
A spider creeped over to Sev, revealing the natural spiders of the complex were growing uneasy with Anansiel's treatment of the living. Though she ever provided for their care, it did not sit right with them how little she cared for anything else. The little one gave Sev what information she knew of the next level and wished him luck, quietly praising the memory of Lordanna.
Sev then shared his information with the rest, supplemented by Fin's religious knowledge of the Crawling Queen.
Behold, Beholders!
However one could only stay hidden so long in a former place of demonic and aberrant worship, and the group was faced with a pair of beholders that floated in from the far passage. They looked QUITE shocked and momentarily neutralized most casting, only to be blitzed and outdone by the meleers before getting a chance to fire off their eye beams.
The group had their teamwork to thank, much to the pleasure of all.
The Guarded Portal of Ivristel
An overzealous Victoria flew up the passage, nearly getting destroyed by a sound guard, two large ogre-shaped faces with beholders set in each of their massive sockets. Between the faces rested the guarded portal to Ivristel, its gates apparent in the reflection. Later deliberation reasoned the demons had reacquired the valley formerly won by the group during their 4 weeks of struggle, hinting at another attack upon the city. Victoria flew back and stammered a warning to the rest.
Beholder Sneak.
The group began to ponder and plot the wisest course for their next move, deciding on finishing Anansiel then returning to the city via the portal, to warn and aid them, and ultimately launch their final assault on the Ice Queen.
During the discussions, an argument broke out between Finduilas, Victoria and Serren over the fate of the Crawling Queen, one which was extremely loud and attracted an unwanted guest.
A Beholder sneaked by way of the portal room, intent on springing a surprising beam attack. Serren and Sev noticed in time,the archdruid making quick work of it and proving highly resistant to beholder rays.
Block Doors and Risen Dead
Sev got to work creating a massive stone block door in which to seal the portal room off until they could get back to it, while Victoria went about reanimating the dead beholder sneak. Both took time.
Serren's Misstep
As Serren demanded the group try and be quiet, he accidentally knocked over a half-finished stone statue, causing a deafening crash and attracting more level guards.
Iron Brothers
Two great iron golems entered the chamber from the way of the Mothers' Hall, immediately attacking. In a bold move, Matthias vaulted into the air and crashed into the first in giant form. The result knocked both automatons over. In their desperation to stand up once more, the group tore into them, nearly making them scrap before they could right themselves. And by that time it was too late, a few well-placed attacks ending them.
Sev finished the block door and the group moved on, Victoria keeping tabs as she continued to convert the dead into undead.
The Right Fork
Tasha led the way down the right fork, coming to a long, straight hallway ending in a massive iron door. Two doors rested along either side the hall, as well. All were shut tight, though noise and movement came from behind.
See You Later, Alligator
Suspecting a trap, Serren summoned a batch of fiendish crocodiles that rampaged down the hall, falling through an illusionary floor in the fifty foot span before the iron door. The drop was so deep the group never heard the animals land.
The Trouble with Mephits
Next Serren conjured fire mephits to check things out, which they did very tentatively. On the edge, they turned around and asked if it was absolutely necessary. The mage insisted, to which one peered over the drop- and was sucked in! The second flew back screaming, "Fuck that!"
The little one proceeded to make his argument as to why he shouldn't be so needlessly sacrificed and that someone with larger wings, say Finduilas, should attempt it instead. By this time Serren had had about enough and ordered the cretin down the way. He cast a wall of force over the hole, first, which Sev then slid some rations over. It seemed to be stable.
The mephit glumly walked down, finding his confidence when the force floor supported him. He began to eat the rations, just as an eyeslit open on the door, then another slot where a massive cannon was pushed through.
Cannon FIRE!
The group cleared the trajectory and the mephit slowly turned and was promptly blasted away. A red beam fired down the hall and struck the opposite wall, vaporizing a ten foot cubic block. The demons behind the door cheered and taunted, calling for the group to go on and try to approach.
Stalemate
For the next hour it took for Victoria to complete her raising ritual, the group avoided the hall and the demons behind the door celebrated, even adjusting a lense on the cannon which allowed a dispersed beam to burn everything before it.
The Sonic Disrupter
When the necromancer was nearly finished, Serren couldn't take the japes anymore and sent a sphere of raging sound down the way. By now the floor of force was no more and as the spell passed over even it was sucked down into oblivion.
In response, the demon opened a different latch and stuck a dish with a narrow pistol in the center. The demons then began to make a lot of noise, seeming to fuel a tremendous sonic beam which crashed down the hall and into the back wall, nearly breaching through the stone and into the temple.
New Hallway Coming Up!
Convinced there was no way to make it down the hall, Sev began to burn a new one, planning to pass through two of the side rooms and from there the great room behind the iron door. In ten minutes time, he broke through to the first chamber.
Anubians
Six tall, lanky jackal men with over-sized hands and workman's clothes waited, pistols drawn from their holsters. They seemed to guard a moderately-sized mold complex, where iron golems were produced. Their leader ordered them to halt or they would be shot. Sev, in acid form, fizzled into a mist, while Serren began threatening them with powerful devils if they did not surrender. Matthias created a fearsome bellow laughter which cowed one of the six, but it was Victoria that ended negotiations.
Mr. Larry Ragnarok
In an eruption of negative energy, the beholder rose as an undead, with all its powers possessed in life. Victoria named him Larry and ordered him ahead.
Kill Now, Ask Questions Never
Hellbent, Victoria burst onto the tense Anubian scene, wielding her scepter and evoking an image all too Lazian. With no outstanding provocation, she killed the alpha Anubian with but a finger point and sent the rest yelping and whining. Larry did the rest, reducing them all to dust, stone, ash and shriveled husks.
Destruction of the Makers
After some examination of unfinished golems and the looting of odd and alien devices that easily fit in bags, the group ultimately decided it was too dangerous to leave all of this operational. After a countdown and several anxious checks, Victoria let loose Larry, who spent a good ten minutes reducing the great Makers, the machines of the Anubians, to ruin.
The Doctors' Chambers
Sev continued his acidic boring, breaching into a large chamber filled with mechanical crab arms clutching strange devices, some bits and pieces of robotic humanoids, others like mechanical turtles, one platform baring what seemed like a giant-sized mechanical hawk. All sorts of pistols lined the walls, cannons above them, and spheres above them.
Twelve Anubian doctors, dressed in white coats with goggles over the heads and black, shiny gloves stood calmly beside a black, ticking sphere. The head of them calmly asked the group to approach no further.
Questions were raised, to which the doctor answered he would reveal all in a minute's time. Victoria didn't feel like waiting that long, casting an acid fog which cut the legs from under the doctors. As the ticking continued, the Anubians wished each other well and hugged the sphere. Sensing this wasn't good, the group ran clear, leaping into Fin's hastily made sphere of magic protection as the sphere detonated.
Project Doomclock
Project Doomclock, as the lead doctor called it, emitted several low-frequency sonic bursts which grew lower and lower, ringing in the end of the level as it blew away walls, machines, and monsters. Soon everything was in ruins, even as Fin's magic and Matthias's countersong sustained the group.
Suddenly the sphere reversed course, drawing all the fragments into its center. It was a wonder the group wasn't sucked in themselves. In several roaring minutes everything on the dungeon level, from the temple to the portal, was gone.
Sole Survivors?
The group found themselves on a flat, seemingly-endless stretch of void. Sev sensed something terribly wrong with the place, something artificial, or at the very least unnatural. Hackles raised, each member turned instinctively for the comfort of others only to find himself or herself alone.
The Darkling Plain
Alone on a darkling plain, with nothing but a hollow, cold wind, each party member wandered for hours until they stumbled upon what would be their own personal torment...
Tormentors
Mutilation of loved ones, beholding the demon goddess, solitude and entrapment, money and rape, pedophilia and two hundred years of decomposing, an alternate future of failure and cowardice, the destruction of everything sacred... this and more the party suffered.
And when each awoke, they found themselves strapped to operating tables, naked, with their heads cracked and peeled open and a great many wires linking their brains to a massive, swirling machine which held their gear within it, as well as sporadic, crackling energies. Twelve Anubian doctors tended the agony matrix, studying the various alien data it blurted.
Experience:
15's: 3600
16's: 2560
17's: 2040
Loot: Two shriveled devil hearts, iron golem scraps, a beholder pet, some Anubian tools and bits of unfinished projects, and six non-functioning pistols.
Taint: Each member, having gone through some horrid events, is left permanently scarred. This manifests in several ways. For one, each of you will be plagued with nightmares for years to come. Secondly, each of you will become greatly disturbed at anything which hearkens to the scenario you suffered through, be it confined spaces, crucifixions, death from old age, The Angry Star or the like.
And thirdly, you'll each receive what is called a taint, a lasting black mark which has soiled your very soul. It can be gotten rid of over time, but for the moment, in the black heart of evil, it is a terrible symptom that must be lived with. The taints will be posted by next session:
Finduilas:
Serren:
Victoria:
Matthias:
Sev:
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa.
2. Kill Anansiel.
3. Destroy the Portal Network.
4. Return to Ivristel and Prepare for the Final Battle.
5. Kill Shalraza, Unmaker of Creation.
In a heated series of debates and compromises between Victoria and Serren, Sev ever the mediator, a set of guidelines was agreed upon involving to the weapon's safekeeping and the dangerous attempt at Anansiel's conversion.
Group Pow Wow
From there the group, in a difficult series of admissions of faults and willingness to cooperate, sat around a campfire and aired their grievances and concerns. During that time they formulated some basic strategies, as well as drew up a plan for tackling the remainder of the dungeon.
Itsy Bitsy Traitor
A spider creeped over to Sev, revealing the natural spiders of the complex were growing uneasy with Anansiel's treatment of the living. Though she ever provided for their care, it did not sit right with them how little she cared for anything else. The little one gave Sev what information she knew of the next level and wished him luck, quietly praising the memory of Lordanna.
Sev then shared his information with the rest, supplemented by Fin's religious knowledge of the Crawling Queen.
Behold, Beholders!
However one could only stay hidden so long in a former place of demonic and aberrant worship, and the group was faced with a pair of beholders that floated in from the far passage. They looked QUITE shocked and momentarily neutralized most casting, only to be blitzed and outdone by the meleers before getting a chance to fire off their eye beams.
The group had their teamwork to thank, much to the pleasure of all.
The Guarded Portal of Ivristel
An overzealous Victoria flew up the passage, nearly getting destroyed by a sound guard, two large ogre-shaped faces with beholders set in each of their massive sockets. Between the faces rested the guarded portal to Ivristel, its gates apparent in the reflection. Later deliberation reasoned the demons had reacquired the valley formerly won by the group during their 4 weeks of struggle, hinting at another attack upon the city. Victoria flew back and stammered a warning to the rest.
Beholder Sneak.
The group began to ponder and plot the wisest course for their next move, deciding on finishing Anansiel then returning to the city via the portal, to warn and aid them, and ultimately launch their final assault on the Ice Queen.
During the discussions, an argument broke out between Finduilas, Victoria and Serren over the fate of the Crawling Queen, one which was extremely loud and attracted an unwanted guest.
A Beholder sneaked by way of the portal room, intent on springing a surprising beam attack. Serren and Sev noticed in time,the archdruid making quick work of it and proving highly resistant to beholder rays.
Block Doors and Risen Dead
Sev got to work creating a massive stone block door in which to seal the portal room off until they could get back to it, while Victoria went about reanimating the dead beholder sneak. Both took time.
Serren's Misstep
As Serren demanded the group try and be quiet, he accidentally knocked over a half-finished stone statue, causing a deafening crash and attracting more level guards.
Iron Brothers
Two great iron golems entered the chamber from the way of the Mothers' Hall, immediately attacking. In a bold move, Matthias vaulted into the air and crashed into the first in giant form. The result knocked both automatons over. In their desperation to stand up once more, the group tore into them, nearly making them scrap before they could right themselves. And by that time it was too late, a few well-placed attacks ending them.
Sev finished the block door and the group moved on, Victoria keeping tabs as she continued to convert the dead into undead.
The Right Fork
Tasha led the way down the right fork, coming to a long, straight hallway ending in a massive iron door. Two doors rested along either side the hall, as well. All were shut tight, though noise and movement came from behind.
See You Later, Alligator
Suspecting a trap, Serren summoned a batch of fiendish crocodiles that rampaged down the hall, falling through an illusionary floor in the fifty foot span before the iron door. The drop was so deep the group never heard the animals land.
The Trouble with Mephits
Next Serren conjured fire mephits to check things out, which they did very tentatively. On the edge, they turned around and asked if it was absolutely necessary. The mage insisted, to which one peered over the drop- and was sucked in! The second flew back screaming, "Fuck that!"
The little one proceeded to make his argument as to why he shouldn't be so needlessly sacrificed and that someone with larger wings, say Finduilas, should attempt it instead. By this time Serren had had about enough and ordered the cretin down the way. He cast a wall of force over the hole, first, which Sev then slid some rations over. It seemed to be stable.
The mephit glumly walked down, finding his confidence when the force floor supported him. He began to eat the rations, just as an eyeslit open on the door, then another slot where a massive cannon was pushed through.
Cannon FIRE!
The group cleared the trajectory and the mephit slowly turned and was promptly blasted away. A red beam fired down the hall and struck the opposite wall, vaporizing a ten foot cubic block. The demons behind the door cheered and taunted, calling for the group to go on and try to approach.
Stalemate
For the next hour it took for Victoria to complete her raising ritual, the group avoided the hall and the demons behind the door celebrated, even adjusting a lense on the cannon which allowed a dispersed beam to burn everything before it.
The Sonic Disrupter
When the necromancer was nearly finished, Serren couldn't take the japes anymore and sent a sphere of raging sound down the way. By now the floor of force was no more and as the spell passed over even it was sucked down into oblivion.
In response, the demon opened a different latch and stuck a dish with a narrow pistol in the center. The demons then began to make a lot of noise, seeming to fuel a tremendous sonic beam which crashed down the hall and into the back wall, nearly breaching through the stone and into the temple.
New Hallway Coming Up!
Convinced there was no way to make it down the hall, Sev began to burn a new one, planning to pass through two of the side rooms and from there the great room behind the iron door. In ten minutes time, he broke through to the first chamber.
Anubians
Six tall, lanky jackal men with over-sized hands and workman's clothes waited, pistols drawn from their holsters. They seemed to guard a moderately-sized mold complex, where iron golems were produced. Their leader ordered them to halt or they would be shot. Sev, in acid form, fizzled into a mist, while Serren began threatening them with powerful devils if they did not surrender. Matthias created a fearsome bellow laughter which cowed one of the six, but it was Victoria that ended negotiations.
Mr. Larry Ragnarok
In an eruption of negative energy, the beholder rose as an undead, with all its powers possessed in life. Victoria named him Larry and ordered him ahead.
Kill Now, Ask Questions Never
Hellbent, Victoria burst onto the tense Anubian scene, wielding her scepter and evoking an image all too Lazian. With no outstanding provocation, she killed the alpha Anubian with but a finger point and sent the rest yelping and whining. Larry did the rest, reducing them all to dust, stone, ash and shriveled husks.
Destruction of the Makers
After some examination of unfinished golems and the looting of odd and alien devices that easily fit in bags, the group ultimately decided it was too dangerous to leave all of this operational. After a countdown and several anxious checks, Victoria let loose Larry, who spent a good ten minutes reducing the great Makers, the machines of the Anubians, to ruin.
The Doctors' Chambers
Sev continued his acidic boring, breaching into a large chamber filled with mechanical crab arms clutching strange devices, some bits and pieces of robotic humanoids, others like mechanical turtles, one platform baring what seemed like a giant-sized mechanical hawk. All sorts of pistols lined the walls, cannons above them, and spheres above them.
Twelve Anubian doctors, dressed in white coats with goggles over the heads and black, shiny gloves stood calmly beside a black, ticking sphere. The head of them calmly asked the group to approach no further.
Questions were raised, to which the doctor answered he would reveal all in a minute's time. Victoria didn't feel like waiting that long, casting an acid fog which cut the legs from under the doctors. As the ticking continued, the Anubians wished each other well and hugged the sphere. Sensing this wasn't good, the group ran clear, leaping into Fin's hastily made sphere of magic protection as the sphere detonated.
Project Doomclock
Project Doomclock, as the lead doctor called it, emitted several low-frequency sonic bursts which grew lower and lower, ringing in the end of the level as it blew away walls, machines, and monsters. Soon everything was in ruins, even as Fin's magic and Matthias's countersong sustained the group.
Suddenly the sphere reversed course, drawing all the fragments into its center. It was a wonder the group wasn't sucked in themselves. In several roaring minutes everything on the dungeon level, from the temple to the portal, was gone.
Sole Survivors?
The group found themselves on a flat, seemingly-endless stretch of void. Sev sensed something terribly wrong with the place, something artificial, or at the very least unnatural. Hackles raised, each member turned instinctively for the comfort of others only to find himself or herself alone.
The Darkling Plain
Alone on a darkling plain, with nothing but a hollow, cold wind, each party member wandered for hours until they stumbled upon what would be their own personal torment...
Tormentors
Mutilation of loved ones, beholding the demon goddess, solitude and entrapment, money and rape, pedophilia and two hundred years of decomposing, an alternate future of failure and cowardice, the destruction of everything sacred... this and more the party suffered.
And when each awoke, they found themselves strapped to operating tables, naked, with their heads cracked and peeled open and a great many wires linking their brains to a massive, swirling machine which held their gear within it, as well as sporadic, crackling energies. Twelve Anubian doctors tended the agony matrix, studying the various alien data it blurted.
Experience:
15's: 3600
16's: 2560
17's: 2040
Loot: Two shriveled devil hearts, iron golem scraps, a beholder pet, some Anubian tools and bits of unfinished projects, and six non-functioning pistols.
Taint: Each member, having gone through some horrid events, is left permanently scarred. This manifests in several ways. For one, each of you will be plagued with nightmares for years to come. Secondly, each of you will become greatly disturbed at anything which hearkens to the scenario you suffered through, be it confined spaces, crucifixions, death from old age, The Angry Star or the like.
And thirdly, you'll each receive what is called a taint, a lasting black mark which has soiled your very soul. It can be gotten rid of over time, but for the moment, in the black heart of evil, it is a terrible symptom that must be lived with. The taints will be posted by next session:
Finduilas:
Serren:
Victoria:
Matthias:
Sev:
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa.
2. Kill Anansiel.
3. Destroy the Portal Network.
4. Return to Ivristel and Prepare for the Final Battle.
5. Kill Shalraza, Unmaker of Creation.
Tuesday, August 5, 2008
Divine Group, Session 6
The Angry Star
Fin recognized the strange runes and complex prayers across the vector sarcophagi, markings which told of an ancient servant of light corrupted by madness, now an immortal danger to good and evil alike, a star of hatred and anger. The Angry Star once garnered a giant cult, though short lived, its twelve most important priests entombed in the non-vector sarcophagi. Powerful prayers of binding scrolled the vector's coffin latches, implying The Angry Star itself was within the box. Indeed, the party could sense a swelling hatred manifest as heat and a yearning to annihilate which caused the stone sarcophagi to steam.
With some risky examination, the cleric discovered passing under the beams was safe, just as Victoria found passing over them also was. Then what exactly was the danger...
March of the Mirror Golems
Thuds, scrapes and shifting heralded seven mirror golems out of the dark, each the height of giants, perhaps having once been giants, but for molten, reflective glass poured over them. Izaki banzai charged the nearest one, slashing hard across its midsection and shattering it. The glass fragments rained onto the fan of laser beams, bathing the entire chamber in red, burning light. It was quite apparent in that searing instant that the group could not weather many more dire radiances.
When the golems managed to enter the laser fans, their bodies reflected double the beams back on the group, and in not too long a time the room began to smell of roasted flesh... Victoria called on black tentacles, holding the golems in place but also fracturing them to the breaking point. In the process she also snagged the weretiger.
Gravant bravely went in after him, but became entangled himself, followed by Matthias not long after. As the golems formed massive cracks, Izaki pulled away, and Victoria was forced to dismiss her spell or potentially kill two of her mates. She snarled angrily for them to high tail it, but Gravant stayed, unwilling to leave "a defenseless woman" behind. A command from Finduilas finally budged the paladin, while Victoria suffered randomly-fired heat beams, until the room was clear and the golems could be safely destroyed.
Seeds of Discontent
However, the unwillingness to follow instructions grated on Victoria and she scolded Gravant, Izaki and Matthias, whatever good it did. They'd gone in without a plan and could have easily forfeit their lives.
Clover Cave
Serren mentioned a grizzly-sized spider lurking in a cave to Sev, who agreed to try and speak with it. Once there, however, the group only found a spider-shaped stalagmite. The cleric chided Serren, but the archdruid noticed massive spider prints across the floor. On a hunch, Victoria slowly looked up, finding a vaulted nexus of webs made of pure shadowstuff. Something dangled in their strands, what looked like a morningstar.
Victoria and Finduilas flew up and examined it together. The necromancer pulled the webbing free after the cleric weakened it with a douse of light. A black iron morningstar glowing a blood red tore loose, then flared with an evil light in Victoria's cold hand. The entire chamber washed red and Gravant reflexively soured.
The Angry Star Weapon
Finduilas recognized the weapon immediately, the object of rule for the Cult of the Angry Star, awarded to the high priest. It could control the red beams in the other chamber, and fire some of its own, but it was wholly chaotic and inspired such in the wielder. Gravant believed it too dangerous for anyone's hands and asked it be put back, his eye lingering long upon Victoria.
Never Look A Gift Horse In the Web
Victoria offered the weapon back up and four massive spider legs scooped it up. Half the group startled, the rest gave a knowing nod. The creature asked why she had refused the gift. It remained cryptic throughout the rest of the ordeal, explaining the weapon could unlock the vector sarcophagus. Serren questioned why it was telling them this, as this would likely complicate Anansiel's plans. It returned the weapon to Victoria and was banished abruptly, not openly answering who exactly summoned it.
You Know Laz?
Matters were made even worse when Serren, trying to justify the weapon, theorized it was from Laz. The paladin went pale, flabbergasted at the thought of the group fraternizing with the cosmically evil entity. Tempers flared, defenses were drawn, and tensions continued to build. Sev managed to diffuse the situation and Gravant stormed off, Tasha dragging Izaki after.
Victoria found the weapon drew the lasers away from the ruby eyes and onto the head, but fearing unlocking the vector, backed away. Fin then attempted to realign the ancient relic, but it hardly seemed fazed. When she moved to do it again, Victoria interjected. The women butted heads, culminating in the decision to hide the weapon and dispose of it later.
Serren disappeared and the others moved on with Gravant, Tasha and Izaki.
Secret and Safe
Victoria resigned to take the weapon and deposit in somewhere safe from ignorant wielders...
Two Paths, One Goal
The group came to the end of the hall, where a great wedge of stone separated two paths. One was a massive doorway portal leading into the Fist, specifically Jarl's throne room, while the other doorway in crude skull motifs led down wide stairs into deeper darkness.
Victoria and Serren returned soon after, where the necromancer instructed that the way to destroy a portal rested in the destruction of the keystone. The decision was made after some debate, now having a way out, but also a way for enemies to flank them. Ultimately Gravant called on the archdruid's wisdom, who decided it better destroyed, even if it meant alerting the builder of the malfunction. Matthias, Gravant and Izaki took turns trouncing the stone, magically toughened, and it eventually crumbled. The image of the throne room faded, revealing a blank wall.
The Color of a Woman's Cheek
Victoria warned that she may need to call on meat shields in these lower levels, hideous meat shields. Finduilas responded with a long list of the necromancer's past abominations. Matthias warned her not to say "abomination" one more time, which she did out of spite. Then he slapped her.
Victoria grew irate, but Finduilas assured her it was okay, nothing more than a playful tap. Luckily Gravant had been a few steps passed the entrance, or there would have been a scuffle. The group eventually laughed it all off, taking what light-hearted moments of spousal abuse they could before plunging into deeper dark.
Please Leave Our Dwarf Alone
Upon Tasha's request, Sev also called down a spider and politely requested they leave the dwarf alone. They acquiesced, always willing to help the respectful archdruid. It seemed the goblin was forming quite a friendly bond with the natural arachnids of the complex.
Mothers' Hall
Emptying out into an unfinished stone hall, the group found its length decorated with the nude corpses of pregnant mothers, nailed in X's, with their stomachs carved out and the bloody bowls filled with coagulated gore. Their eyelids, nails, teeth and hair had all been sucked clean off them, as well as their eyes. Among the dead was a raptoran from Fin's own flock.
The cleric had a bit of a breakdown, though the others were not far off. She began funerary rites for the raptoran, expanding a more general prayer for the entire lot, and hoped theirs souls might find peace. A disturbed group vowed to end whatever had caused this offense against life.
Cackle Mad
Serren scouted ahead, following an ambient gurgling down to a fork and then to the left. However, he stepped over a spectral Sigil of Madness and succumbed to its power. His head was flooded with voices from his long, long past and he couldn't control the urge to laugh a twisted, guttural, bile-spraying laugh. Then one voice pervaded the rest, both male and female, and void of any feeling, "Yes. You understand now, animal... Welcome them... Escort them in, yes, animal. Escort the other animals in..."
The unnerving laughter made its way back to the others, followed shortly by the mad mage himself, who beckoned everyone further before creeping down into the unknown. Victoria at the head, what choice was there but to follow?
Matthias took Gravant's shoulder as he went to follow after, subtly affording Victoria time to enter first as her strategy and perhaps pride would dictate, though a few seconds later everyone went on.
Welcome, Animals
What they found was sure to haunt their ill-eased dreams for the rest of their lives:
Fin's Folly
So moved, so terrible shaken, so filled with emotion, the Rayan Spark called on an explosive burst born of the sun itself, unleashing a blinding, merciless fire across the entire area. The temple innards disintegrated, mats and murals falling to char and the glass effigy shattering and spilling forth an ignited black pudding. However the spell also burned the group's retinas out of their heads and peeled away their surface layers of flesh, worst of all Victoria.
Tasha managed to avoid the blindness during her dry heaves, and charged the ooze, dealing a terrible onslaught, but also splitting the monster into two oozes, now speaking in four emotionless voices. The first released a negative energy wave to damage the group further (besides Victoria), while the second fires a negative beam that sapped nearly a decade off the skald's life.
The Essence of Negative
Izaki slashed the ray-launcher, cutting it into even smaller, sentient oozes. Gravant did much the same, splitting the mass-inflicter into more oozes. The foul curd now stood as a collection of eight the size of dwarfs.
Victoria's study of the thing revealed it to be the essence of negative energy, and warned the group such spells would only heal it. Serren groped for some direction for his chaos flame, but held it at the behest of the group. Likewise Victoria paused, inflicting herself in the meantime and worrying over Gravant's brooding glances. But even they pales to Matthias's string of curses after being struck blind and burned.
Fall of Grgl'ublublub
Finduilas quickly corrected her error, entirely healing the group and curing their blindnesses. Tasha, feeling better than she had since entering, charged and killed one of the puddings. The remainder fired negative beams on those that it would hurt, though only Izaki and the dwarf succumbed, and even then to a lesser version of what had been unleashed on Matthias. The tiger and paladin killed two more, and the rest were splattered and diluted by a swirling water sphere.
Turmoil
In the wake of Fin's outburst, and with the threat of annihilation offset, Serren cursed clerics on the whole, Fin busy apologizing in a general stammer. Victoria looked even more furious than Serren and screamed at the top of her dry lungs about working as a team. Had luck gone a different way, the entire group might have been wiped out, yet again. No plan, and no interest in plans, seemed to be the general mood as a majority of the group occupied themselves with wishing away the grizzly memories of this place.
Serren searched the temple over and uncovered a large cache of loot behind the effigy fragments, then was drawn into Victoria's fury. They went back and forth, Sev even altering his anatomy so he no longer had ears. Matthias surprisingly moved to Serren's defense, in all likelihood just wanting the yelling to stop, but it continued to boil over until Gravant berated the lot, appalled this was creation's last hope and remaining for its sake alone.
Victoria and Matthias had heated words to say back to the paladin, but he was already storming down the next passage, confused, angry, and feeling the weight of hopelessness. Serren followed after him.
However, all the negative emotions caused a sort of resurrection of their own, the black pudding bubbling faintly, "Animals despair... good at that... yes..."
Victoria blasted the thing away as Matthias scratched a circle in the ash, what would become a campfire and hopefully a new beginning...
And I just wanted to commend everyone on their living, breathing characters. I finally feel a sense of shared history, dynamic strife, meaningful detail and realistic reflection. We are at the top of our game, which is great for the closing acts of this campaign.
Experience:
Level 15's: 4500
Level 16's: 3520
Level 17's: 2550
Loot (behind the effigy):
Staff of Healing (38 charges)
Staff of Fire (19 charges)
Pearl of Power (2 spells, levels 5 and 4)
Deep Red Ioun Stone in the likeness of a Star Burst (+2 Dexterity)
Wand of Magic Missile (cl 7, 15 charges)
Wand of Lightning Bolt (cl 6, 33 charges)
Scroll of Death Ward (l4, cl7)
Scroll of Spell Immunity (l4, cl7)
Winged Boots
Periapt of Wound Closure
And Sev's birthday gift, Goggles of the All-Knower (Every Knowledge skill becomes a class skill, +10 to every Knowledge check, Commune 1 question/day with the All-Knower, a Sphinx historian in the Garden of Knowledge near the heart of the Wild. Must be attuned to Sev in a one-hour ritual and can only be used by him.)
And Serren's birthday gift, Salakot of the Spy Lord (Persistent Undetectable Alignment on the wearer, as well as Nondetection at the wearer's caster level. Able to cast Arcane Eye 1/day at the wearer's caster level. Must be attuned to Serren in a one-hour ritual and can only be used by him.)
And Finduilas's late birthday gift, Tira's Miter. This thin leather headband stained white and encrusted with blue topaz teardrops was a favored adornment of Tira, one of the legendary Nine Heroes who protected Veluvia from the white elder dragon Khebolzeluth's madness. A powerful cleric in service of the goddess Vaness, it contains some of her holy power still, acting as a Pearl of Power level 6 (cast one extra level 6 divine spell) and also a font of wisdom (+4 Wisdom).
As well as the Angry Star weapon, wherever it may be...
Places: Clover Cave, The Chamber of Doors, Portal to the Fist, Stairwell to Deeper Dark, The Mothers' Hall, The Temple of Delilah-in-Shadow
Monsters: Umbral Widow; Mirror Golems; Grgl'ublublub, Pudding Priest of Delilah
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa.
2. Slay Anansiel.
3. Continue destroying the portal network.
4. Find and stop Shalraza, the Harbinger of Creation's End. This may involve 3 armies of undead and demons, as well as 4 demon lords... doh!
Fin recognized the strange runes and complex prayers across the vector sarcophagi, markings which told of an ancient servant of light corrupted by madness, now an immortal danger to good and evil alike, a star of hatred and anger. The Angry Star once garnered a giant cult, though short lived, its twelve most important priests entombed in the non-vector sarcophagi. Powerful prayers of binding scrolled the vector's coffin latches, implying The Angry Star itself was within the box. Indeed, the party could sense a swelling hatred manifest as heat and a yearning to annihilate which caused the stone sarcophagi to steam.
With some risky examination, the cleric discovered passing under the beams was safe, just as Victoria found passing over them also was. Then what exactly was the danger...
March of the Mirror Golems
Thuds, scrapes and shifting heralded seven mirror golems out of the dark, each the height of giants, perhaps having once been giants, but for molten, reflective glass poured over them. Izaki banzai charged the nearest one, slashing hard across its midsection and shattering it. The glass fragments rained onto the fan of laser beams, bathing the entire chamber in red, burning light. It was quite apparent in that searing instant that the group could not weather many more dire radiances.
When the golems managed to enter the laser fans, their bodies reflected double the beams back on the group, and in not too long a time the room began to smell of roasted flesh... Victoria called on black tentacles, holding the golems in place but also fracturing them to the breaking point. In the process she also snagged the weretiger.
Gravant bravely went in after him, but became entangled himself, followed by Matthias not long after. As the golems formed massive cracks, Izaki pulled away, and Victoria was forced to dismiss her spell or potentially kill two of her mates. She snarled angrily for them to high tail it, but Gravant stayed, unwilling to leave "a defenseless woman" behind. A command from Finduilas finally budged the paladin, while Victoria suffered randomly-fired heat beams, until the room was clear and the golems could be safely destroyed.
Seeds of Discontent
However, the unwillingness to follow instructions grated on Victoria and she scolded Gravant, Izaki and Matthias, whatever good it did. They'd gone in without a plan and could have easily forfeit their lives.
Clover Cave
Serren mentioned a grizzly-sized spider lurking in a cave to Sev, who agreed to try and speak with it. Once there, however, the group only found a spider-shaped stalagmite. The cleric chided Serren, but the archdruid noticed massive spider prints across the floor. On a hunch, Victoria slowly looked up, finding a vaulted nexus of webs made of pure shadowstuff. Something dangled in their strands, what looked like a morningstar.
Victoria and Finduilas flew up and examined it together. The necromancer pulled the webbing free after the cleric weakened it with a douse of light. A black iron morningstar glowing a blood red tore loose, then flared with an evil light in Victoria's cold hand. The entire chamber washed red and Gravant reflexively soured.
The Angry Star Weapon
Finduilas recognized the weapon immediately, the object of rule for the Cult of the Angry Star, awarded to the high priest. It could control the red beams in the other chamber, and fire some of its own, but it was wholly chaotic and inspired such in the wielder. Gravant believed it too dangerous for anyone's hands and asked it be put back, his eye lingering long upon Victoria.
Never Look A Gift Horse In the Web
Victoria offered the weapon back up and four massive spider legs scooped it up. Half the group startled, the rest gave a knowing nod. The creature asked why she had refused the gift. It remained cryptic throughout the rest of the ordeal, explaining the weapon could unlock the vector sarcophagus. Serren questioned why it was telling them this, as this would likely complicate Anansiel's plans. It returned the weapon to Victoria and was banished abruptly, not openly answering who exactly summoned it.
You Know Laz?
Matters were made even worse when Serren, trying to justify the weapon, theorized it was from Laz. The paladin went pale, flabbergasted at the thought of the group fraternizing with the cosmically evil entity. Tempers flared, defenses were drawn, and tensions continued to build. Sev managed to diffuse the situation and Gravant stormed off, Tasha dragging Izaki after.
Victoria found the weapon drew the lasers away from the ruby eyes and onto the head, but fearing unlocking the vector, backed away. Fin then attempted to realign the ancient relic, but it hardly seemed fazed. When she moved to do it again, Victoria interjected. The women butted heads, culminating in the decision to hide the weapon and dispose of it later.
Serren disappeared and the others moved on with Gravant, Tasha and Izaki.
Secret and Safe
Victoria resigned to take the weapon and deposit in somewhere safe from ignorant wielders...
Two Paths, One Goal
The group came to the end of the hall, where a great wedge of stone separated two paths. One was a massive doorway portal leading into the Fist, specifically Jarl's throne room, while the other doorway in crude skull motifs led down wide stairs into deeper darkness.
Victoria and Serren returned soon after, where the necromancer instructed that the way to destroy a portal rested in the destruction of the keystone. The decision was made after some debate, now having a way out, but also a way for enemies to flank them. Ultimately Gravant called on the archdruid's wisdom, who decided it better destroyed, even if it meant alerting the builder of the malfunction. Matthias, Gravant and Izaki took turns trouncing the stone, magically toughened, and it eventually crumbled. The image of the throne room faded, revealing a blank wall.
The Color of a Woman's Cheek
Victoria warned that she may need to call on meat shields in these lower levels, hideous meat shields. Finduilas responded with a long list of the necromancer's past abominations. Matthias warned her not to say "abomination" one more time, which she did out of spite. Then he slapped her.
Victoria grew irate, but Finduilas assured her it was okay, nothing more than a playful tap. Luckily Gravant had been a few steps passed the entrance, or there would have been a scuffle. The group eventually laughed it all off, taking what light-hearted moments of spousal abuse they could before plunging into deeper dark.
Please Leave Our Dwarf Alone
Upon Tasha's request, Sev also called down a spider and politely requested they leave the dwarf alone. They acquiesced, always willing to help the respectful archdruid. It seemed the goblin was forming quite a friendly bond with the natural arachnids of the complex.
Mothers' Hall
Emptying out into an unfinished stone hall, the group found its length decorated with the nude corpses of pregnant mothers, nailed in X's, with their stomachs carved out and the bloody bowls filled with coagulated gore. Their eyelids, nails, teeth and hair had all been sucked clean off them, as well as their eyes. Among the dead was a raptoran from Fin's own flock.
The cleric had a bit of a breakdown, though the others were not far off. She began funerary rites for the raptoran, expanding a more general prayer for the entire lot, and hoped theirs souls might find peace. A disturbed group vowed to end whatever had caused this offense against life.
Cackle Mad
Serren scouted ahead, following an ambient gurgling down to a fork and then to the left. However, he stepped over a spectral Sigil of Madness and succumbed to its power. His head was flooded with voices from his long, long past and he couldn't control the urge to laugh a twisted, guttural, bile-spraying laugh. Then one voice pervaded the rest, both male and female, and void of any feeling, "Yes. You understand now, animal... Welcome them... Escort them in, yes, animal. Escort the other animals in..."
The unnerving laughter made its way back to the others, followed shortly by the mad mage himself, who beckoned everyone further before creeping down into the unknown. Victoria at the head, what choice was there but to follow?
Matthias took Gravant's shoulder as he went to follow after, subtly affording Victoria time to enter first as her strategy and perhaps pride would dictate, though a few seconds later everyone went on.
Welcome, Animals
What they found was sure to haunt their ill-eased dreams for the rest of their lives:
And Serren leads to a vaulted temple that has been completely finished, likely very high on demon priorities, as it is a place dedicated to Delilah-in-Shadow. Human skin mats scatter the crimson floor before black marble steps leading to an altar, but this is not an altar of stone, but of flesh, a pregnant human stripped and bent backward over an iron spike, with her stomach carved out and liquids you best not peer too long at floating within, liquids with baby parts. Her face is twisted in a silent scream, her eyes burned out with blackest sights. Beyond that is a huge glass likeness of the demon goddess like an obese grandmother. She is filled with black, gurgling liquid. Lining the walls and ceiling are more mothers, and daughters, and children, tacked with an obscene aesthetic to form murals. The smell is nearly unbearable.
Finch grasps onto Matthias, her entire body shaking.Izaki destroyed the altar, as the enemy wasn't very apparent. Gravant shed holy light on the situation, praying for a means to locate his foe. The glass effigy shined a telling, golden light. Matthias emboldened his comrades to fight this evil, while Victoria tossed the cleric a vial of Vanessan Well Water.
And Serren is laughing madly all the way
"Yes, animals, come... partake... Serren understands... Understand with us, animals..."
Victoria begins to shake with rage, her eyes narrowing and glowing a bright violet. She can't seem to say anything, a silent rage building in her cold body.
"Yes, emotion... hatred.... rage... fear, yes animals, you are brimming with delicious feeling, animal smells, animal noises.... come, come in..."
Matthias would begin to shake not unlike finch, her in sorrow and he in absolute rage like Victoria. Rashness beginning to claw at the back of his mind as Finch would feel him begin to pull away toward the room.
Sev growls, growing into full Icy Sloth form."Animals indeed."
The others are just as horrified and disgusted, Tasha even wretching a bit.
Fin's Folly
So moved, so terrible shaken, so filled with emotion, the Rayan Spark called on an explosive burst born of the sun itself, unleashing a blinding, merciless fire across the entire area. The temple innards disintegrated, mats and murals falling to char and the glass effigy shattering and spilling forth an ignited black pudding. However the spell also burned the group's retinas out of their heads and peeled away their surface layers of flesh, worst of all Victoria.
Tasha managed to avoid the blindness during her dry heaves, and charged the ooze, dealing a terrible onslaught, but also splitting the monster into two oozes, now speaking in four emotionless voices. The first released a negative energy wave to damage the group further (besides Victoria), while the second fires a negative beam that sapped nearly a decade off the skald's life.
The Essence of Negative
Izaki slashed the ray-launcher, cutting it into even smaller, sentient oozes. Gravant did much the same, splitting the mass-inflicter into more oozes. The foul curd now stood as a collection of eight the size of dwarfs.
Victoria's study of the thing revealed it to be the essence of negative energy, and warned the group such spells would only heal it. Serren groped for some direction for his chaos flame, but held it at the behest of the group. Likewise Victoria paused, inflicting herself in the meantime and worrying over Gravant's brooding glances. But even they pales to Matthias's string of curses after being struck blind and burned.
Fall of Grgl'ublublub
Finduilas quickly corrected her error, entirely healing the group and curing their blindnesses. Tasha, feeling better than she had since entering, charged and killed one of the puddings. The remainder fired negative beams on those that it would hurt, though only Izaki and the dwarf succumbed, and even then to a lesser version of what had been unleashed on Matthias. The tiger and paladin killed two more, and the rest were splattered and diluted by a swirling water sphere.
Turmoil
In the wake of Fin's outburst, and with the threat of annihilation offset, Serren cursed clerics on the whole, Fin busy apologizing in a general stammer. Victoria looked even more furious than Serren and screamed at the top of her dry lungs about working as a team. Had luck gone a different way, the entire group might have been wiped out, yet again. No plan, and no interest in plans, seemed to be the general mood as a majority of the group occupied themselves with wishing away the grizzly memories of this place.
Serren searched the temple over and uncovered a large cache of loot behind the effigy fragments, then was drawn into Victoria's fury. They went back and forth, Sev even altering his anatomy so he no longer had ears. Matthias surprisingly moved to Serren's defense, in all likelihood just wanting the yelling to stop, but it continued to boil over until Gravant berated the lot, appalled this was creation's last hope and remaining for its sake alone.
Victoria and Matthias had heated words to say back to the paladin, but he was already storming down the next passage, confused, angry, and feeling the weight of hopelessness. Serren followed after him.
However, all the negative emotions caused a sort of resurrection of their own, the black pudding bubbling faintly, "Animals despair... good at that... yes..."
Victoria blasted the thing away as Matthias scratched a circle in the ash, what would become a campfire and hopefully a new beginning...
And I just wanted to commend everyone on their living, breathing characters. I finally feel a sense of shared history, dynamic strife, meaningful detail and realistic reflection. We are at the top of our game, which is great for the closing acts of this campaign.
Experience:
Level 15's: 4500
Level 16's: 3520
Level 17's: 2550
Loot (behind the effigy):
- A Perfect Rose in Temporal Stasis (3000 gp)
- Ermine-bound Book (blank) inlaid with Orichalcum (11000 gp)
- Eye Agate Miniature of Thorm set with Banded Agate (600 gp)
- Fox Fur Wand Holster set with Black Pearl (1000 gp)
- Ivory Totem of a Spider inlaid with Silver (3000 gp)
- Leopard Fur Wand Holster set with Red Garnet (2200 gp)
- Marble Amphora wreathed in Violet Continual Flame, filled with aged wine (3000 gp)
- Sable Sash wreathed in Red Continual Flame (3000 gp)
- Silver Pearl Goblet inlaid with Platinum (1700 gp)
- Tooled Leather Coat set with Aquamarine (1000 gp)
Staff of Healing (38 charges)
Staff of Fire (19 charges)
Pearl of Power (2 spells, levels 5 and 4)
Deep Red Ioun Stone in the likeness of a Star Burst (+2 Dexterity)
Wand of Magic Missile (cl 7, 15 charges)
Wand of Lightning Bolt (cl 6, 33 charges)
Scroll of Death Ward (l4, cl7)
Scroll of Spell Immunity (l4, cl7)
Winged Boots
Periapt of Wound Closure
And Sev's birthday gift, Goggles of the All-Knower (Every Knowledge skill becomes a class skill, +10 to every Knowledge check, Commune 1 question/day with the All-Knower, a Sphinx historian in the Garden of Knowledge near the heart of the Wild. Must be attuned to Sev in a one-hour ritual and can only be used by him.)
And Serren's birthday gift, Salakot of the Spy Lord (Persistent Undetectable Alignment on the wearer, as well as Nondetection at the wearer's caster level. Able to cast Arcane Eye 1/day at the wearer's caster level. Must be attuned to Serren in a one-hour ritual and can only be used by him.)
And Finduilas's late birthday gift, Tira's Miter. This thin leather headband stained white and encrusted with blue topaz teardrops was a favored adornment of Tira, one of the legendary Nine Heroes who protected Veluvia from the white elder dragon Khebolzeluth's madness. A powerful cleric in service of the goddess Vaness, it contains some of her holy power still, acting as a Pearl of Power level 6 (cast one extra level 6 divine spell) and also a font of wisdom (+4 Wisdom).
As well as the Angry Star weapon, wherever it may be...
Places: Clover Cave, The Chamber of Doors, Portal to the Fist, Stairwell to Deeper Dark, The Mothers' Hall, The Temple of Delilah-in-Shadow
Monsters: Umbral Widow; Mirror Golems; Grgl'ublublub, Pudding Priest of Delilah
Objectives:
1. Rescue Ilpa.
2. Slay Anansiel.
3. Continue destroying the portal network.
4. Find and stop Shalraza, the Harbinger of Creation's End. This may involve 3 armies of undead and demons, as well as 4 demon lords... doh!
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