in which we wrap up elle's homebrew addition to the official campaign ...
GM Elle: Okay, so before we get started, does anyone want to brag about experience advancements from last time?MSG: Well ...
Claire: Why do you look embarrassed instead of eager to share?
MSG: Because for one thing, I got a Heroic Ability because my Acrobatics went to 18, and I picked one I thought looked pretty awesome ... but it only works with a two-handed weapon, and my large club is currently broken. So I won't even get to use it this session. Also ...
Claire: Ooh, it gets even more embarrassing?
MSG: Yeah. The ability lets me add an extra die of damage to my attack, which is nice. But the name of it is "Massive Blow."
Claire: Haha!
Ariel: "Massive Blow!" That's what she said!
Sasha: Dude, I can't wait for Dolora to Massively Blow some goblin in combat.
Akane: Also, when the roll is poor, it becomes a Low Blow.
GM Elle: All right, all right. Let's get back to the adventure and next time I won't make the mistake of trying to be the GM who celebrates the characters' progression. Sir Quackenscrump and Fidu return from their strange conversation with the being in the shed. They find the rest of the group finishing up their Stretch Rest at the dead end around the corner.
MSG: Dolora will ask if they found any monsters to kill.
Ariel: No, just somebody in a shed.
Sasha: Actually, I'd say it's more like a maybe on the monster thing, but whatever it was wouldn't come out of the shed and let us get a good look at it.
Akane: Zedeja demands proper description of what happened.
Ariel: I'll tell everybody. I'll especially let Filvius know that whatever was in the shed passing us notes, it says it will trade some kind of information for magic items, which made me think of your bone mask.
Claire: I mean ... I like the idea of getting information. But I also like the idea of having a mask that protects me from enemy magic.
Ariel: But it gets stuck on your face if you use it!
Sasha: And when actually have you used it?
Claire: Well, not at all. But there haven't been too many people casting spells at us or monsters using magical attacks against us since I found it. You are making some good points, though. What kind of information is it offering?
Ariel: It said something about weaving.
Claire: Weaving.
Ariel: Yeah, but it wasn't like, information about weaving. The thing said it would do a weaving.
Claire: Which is ... ?
Ariel: Well, I don't know! I didn't want to go through all the work of asking it what exactly a weaving is if Filvius was just going to end up saying he didn't want to trade his mask anyway. It wasn't talking out loud -- we had to keep throwing this board back and forth for it to scratch messages on.
MSG: This sounds pretty sketch to Dolora.
Claire: Well of course it does. She doesn't have any magic items, so she wouldn't be getting any knowledge out of the deal anyway. Filvius is definitely intrigued enough to go ask the thing what exactly it means.
Ariel: Great! Is everybody ready to go then?
Sasha: Quackers is. There's entirely too much standing around not killing monsters going on for his tastes.
Harriet: Dilfriida inquires as to whether she might get some healing magic now that Filvius has rested. She's still down a quarter of her hit points.
Claire: Sure. But boo, I roll a 16 to cast my spell. I'll try again. Worse! 19. I'm burning through all the WP I just got back from resting.
Akane: Zedeja says healing should be saved for more worrisome wounds. Be wary in the meantime, halfling! Save your actions for dodging and hiding.
Harriet: Dilfriida says she feels like she's still banged up enough for it to qualify as worrisome. And she sticks her tongue out at Zedeja.
Claire: Out of character, I think I'd like to give these dice a rest and not push this streak of bad rolls. For an in-character justification, Filvius says he must be too interested in finding out what this weaving thing is all about, and it's distracting him from casting properly.
Sasha: Let's go, then. Sir Q will lead off, if the rest of you want to fall in line after him.
Akane: Zedeja commands each person to walk in the normal order.
GM Elle: It's not a very long walk. You take the fork in the tunnel that leads to the chamber with the shed, and find it just as Sir Quackenscrump and Fidu left it.
MSG: Dolora will call out, "Hey in there! We're here to find out what a weaving is!"
Ariel: I'll say, "It's your friends from earlier. We're back with the rest of our group to maybe trade for that information you were talking about. Er, scratching about."
GM Elle: You hear some more scratching, and then the board flies out again.
MSG: Dolora will grab it and read everything on it.
Claire: Oh, come on. I'm the one who's got something to trade.
MSG: Sure, but I'm closer because Dolora is before Filvius in the marching order.
Claire: Maybe we should draw initiative to see who grabs for it first.
GM Elle: Here are the cards.
MSG: Ha. Right off the bat, I get the 1 card.
Ariel: What!
Sasha: We never get the 1 card, and you went and wasted it racing Filvius for a message we're all going to hear in a second anyway?
MSG: I'm going for that advancement mark for giving in to my weakness.
GM Elle: Well, the board says the same things it said before, and it also says, "What magic is offered?"
Claire: I guess I'll take out my bone mask and show it. "This thing protects you from magic when you're wearing it."
Ariel: It also sticks to your face.
Claire: Shh! It doesn't need to know that.
Ariel: I'm an honest merchant. I don't like being involved with trades that aren't fair and truthful.
GM Elle: You see the rake come out and tap the ground.
MSG: Dolora isn't ready to give the board back. Can I do some kind of Languages or Myths and Legends roll to see if I know of any creatures that communicate by scratching on boards in neat handwriting?
GM Elle: Sure, Languages.
MSG: Great, I succeed on an 8.
GM Elle: You seem to recall that there are a number of different bug-like creatures that usually don't have spoken language. People tend to call them insectoids even if they're not really insects.
MSG: Hmm. And do any of these insectoids use webbing?
GM Elle: For that, try Beast Lore.
MSG: Dang, my Beast Lore stinks. Aha, but I roll a 2!
GM Elle: It does seem to you that there's a kind of insectoid called spider-kin.
MSG: I'm really glad you prefaced that by saying people use that word for things that aren't really insects.
Harriet: Me too. Although I still find it terminologically uncomfortable.
GM Elle: In the game's defense, it is translated from Swedish. Maybe whatever word they used in the Swedish version just crudely translates into "insect."
Claire: If it looks like Dolora is distracted while contemplating that, I'll grab the board away from her and put it down where the critter can get it with the rake.
MSG: Dolora looks grumpy at that but doesn't put up a fight. What do I know about these spider-kin?
GM Elle: There are rumors that they can weave webs that tell the future.
Claire: Nice! If I find that out, I'll for sure tell it I would trade this mask for information about the future.
GM Elle: Let's assume that either Dolora clues you in, or you find out quickly enough through a little back-and-forth with the creature.
Sasha: Whoa, there. If Dolora starts talking out loud about spider-kin, Sir Q is going to be suspicious that this thing might be in cahoots with the giant spider we killed.
MSG: That's why Dolora is not going to talk about spider-kin. But I will say I've heard of some kind of weaving beings that can predict the future.
Claire: Good enough for me.
GM Elle: The creature asks to inspect the mask. If it likes the feel of the magic, it will trade.
Sasha: I wouldn't trust it. On the other hand, if it keeps the mask and refuses to hold up its end of the bargain, that will give me an excuse to bust in and find out for sure whether it's a monster. So overall, I guess that's a thumbs-up from Quackers.
Claire: Filvius sets the mask down on the ground where the creature can rake it in.
GM Elle: It draws the mask into the shed. There's silence for a while, then some clicking noises, and finally some more scratching. This time, it tosses out a fresh board. The only thing scratched on this one is, "Finish your search through the statue. When you return, pass this one's dwelling and turn right. Your weaving will be down the passageway with no outlet. Only you may sit beneath the weaving and learn."
MSG: That's it?
Claire: I guess we just have to trust it for now?
Sasha: Probably it's hoping we get whacked by something else in this maze.
Akane: Does a spider that knows the future need hoping?
Harriet: Indeed. There may be a good chance it already knows whether we're going to succeed or fail in our further explorations.
Ariel: So that's good news! If it's expecting we'll come back enough that it's going to do the weaving while we're gone, that means we're probably going to be okay, right?
Sasha: Or it just said it was going to do the weaving because it knows we're already toast, and that was the quickest way to get us out of its hair and leave the mask with it.
Akane: Zedeja says there's no cause for this discussion. Our goal is the statue. If there's no more to do with a spider-kin at this time, we should proceed.
Claire: Works for Filvius. He's itching to get his hands on some future knowledge, so the sooner we go and come back, the better.
Sasha: Quackers heads on past the shed, then.
GM Elle: All right. The way curves around to your right, getting narrower for a bit before making a sharp bend that ends up in a much larger area. You seem to have found the statue's base. There's a broad dais surrounded by what look like the withered remains of rose bushes. Rising up from the dais are the enormous sculpted legs of the statue, clad in luxuriously detailed boots almost up to the knee, and what looks like chainmail above that. But everything past the knees is hidden beyond the roof of the chamber, which is supported by a couple of vaulted stone arches and a lot of wooden buttresses. It looks about like this:
MSG: What's that bit there on the right?
GM Elle: It looks like it might be a continuation of the passage you've been following. But it's either collapsed or been deliberately filled in with rocks and boulders.
Claire: If I notice Dolora peering at the rocks, I'll go over and see if there's anything interesting or knowledge to be gleaned from them.
GM Elle: You can roll Bushcraft or Crafting, your choice.
MSG: Can I roll Sneaking to see if I can get past Filvius and scope out the base of that statue while he's busy?
Claire: You stinker! Well, my Bushcraft is way better than my Crafting ... but I roll an 18, so it doesn't really matter.
GM Elle: Looks like a pile of rocks. MSG, go ahead and roll Dolora's Sneaking.
MSG: 11 would be a success if I was any good at Sneaking at all, but my skill's an 8, so I guess I'm not putting anything past Filvius.
Claire: I'll abandon this heap of rocks and go over to the statue base too.
Ariel: I bring my lamp!
GM Elle: The statue stands on a great stone platform over a meter tall and 12 meters by 24 in area. The stone here looks far less weathered than that above -- basically pristine except for a coating of dust.
MSG: Any plaques or historical markers?
Ariel: Any sign of a way in?
Sasha: What about monsters? Any of them hiding behind the legs in the shadows?
GM Elle: No, no, and no.
Harriet: Dilfriida will start searching around the base of the thing for hidden compartments or secret openings.
GM Elle: It's got a pretty substantial perimeter, so that will take you a bit. I'll let you know when you can make a roll.
Ariel: I'm going to climb up and go look around the boots to see if there's door in or something, since we know the thing is hollow.
Sasha: Do we? I thought Akane was pretty clear Zedeja didn't share what she saw while she was climbing around the thing's face outside.
Akane: Truthful. That information must be used wisely, so Zedeja entrusts it only to the wisest of the party.
Ariel: Sure, but Fidu used his Treasure Hunter ability outside and it pointed him right at the statue, so there's got to be some way in.
GM Elle: Which boot do you search first?
Ariel: Um ... oh gosh, I don't know ...
Sasha: I call left boot! Quackers climbs up and starts checking it out.
Ariel: Hey! Okay, then, I go to the right boot and search around it too.
GM Elle: Both of you can roll Spot Hidden.
Ariel: 5! That's super-easy success for me.
Sasha: 2 is an even super-easier success for Sir Q.
Ariel: Dang it!
GM Elle: Sash, you notice a seam in the stonework near the heel of the boot. Aers, you notice Sir Quackenscrump noticing something.
Ariel: Fine. I say, "Hey, what'd you find there?"
Sasha: Not sure. But stay back while I check it out in case there's a monster in there. I'll look closer at this seam and see if it's maybe a way in.
GM Elle: Tracing the edges of the seam, you find it makes the outline of what could be a large panel, about the size of a door for a dwarf or someone else relatively short. Hettie, Dilfriida can make her Spot Hidden check for the search she's doing now.
MSG: I hope this is to find a secret compartment that has the key to this heel.
Harriet: I succeed with a 3.
GM Elle: You find a very small inscription that says, "A cobbler's task is never done, so long as shoes are forced to run. Leather mend and torn toes seal, make whole the sole and heal the heel."
MSG: Damn it. I meant a literal key, not some riddle we have to figure out to get the thing open.
Claire: Psh. This one is so easy.
Akane: Yes? It sounds very puzzlesome to me.
Claire: That's because it's an in joke. My very first role-playing game character was for Dungeon Crawl Classics. Her profession was cobbler, and she leveled up as a cleric. I called her "Cobbler Claire."
MSG: Wow. That's going way way back.
Claire: I know, right? All the way before Elle stopped turning her nose up at playing rpg's.
GM Elle: I don't actually recall being asked to play in that game, but you're right, I probably would have snarked about it and said no.
Claire: Anyway, a cleric is a healer and my character now is a healer, and it says, "heal the heel," so I bet all I have to do is cast a healing spell on it and it will open. Am I right?
GM Elle: We will only know if you actually learn about the poem.
Harriet: I'm sure Dilfriida would get around to mentioning it sooner or later ... as long as Zedeja isn't the one asking.
Akane: Zedeja does not yet know of this seam.
Sasha: Well, if Quackers isn't finding a door handle or a keyhole, he'll ask if anybody's got a wedge or a shovel or something to try prying this thing open.
Akane: Good! This announcement should alert a halfling to reveal her clue discovery.
Harriet: Why? Dilfriida doesn't have a wedge or a shovel, so Quackenscrump's request doesn't seem to concern her.
Akane: What?! Is this halfling visible as we stand by giant boots needing a trick to get in?
Harriet: I'm not hiding or anything of the sort. But since the poem has nothing to do with wedges or shovels or prying, Dilfriida would probably just continue her search around the perimeter of the base for now.
GM Elle: All right. I'll have you roll Awareness though to see if you notice the others standing by the statue's heel. Zedeja can also roll Awareness to see if she notices that Dilfriida stopped and was peering at something on the side of the base.
Akane: Zedeja is Aware with a 6!
Harriet: Dilfriida gets a 17, so she's oblivious.
Akane: Halfling burglar! What are you observing there? Probably you have burglish tools that could assist in opening heels. If so, bring them!
Harriet: Can I roll against INT to see if I connect Zedeja's mention of heels with the word in the poem?
GM Elle: Sure, if you don't want to just say Dilfriida could make that kind of obvious connection.
Harriet: She could, except that it's Zedeja asking, and she's pretty set on ignoring Zedeja whenever she can. I roll a 6, though, which is under even Dilfriida's 9 Intelligence. She'll look up and say something like, "What's the deal with heels? I just found a poem that says something about fixing a heel."
Sasha: Quackenscrump rolls his eyes and says a poem isn't exactly a wedge or a shovel, now is it? Seriously, who's got some heavy tools?
MSG: Dolora points out that we've got a crowbar, a pickaxe, and a shovel in the wagon.
Ariel: Are you kidding? That's so far! Hettie, please tell us Dilfriida reads the poem.
Akane: Zedeja demands this, in fact.
Harriet: Dilfriida might have read it for someone else, but not Zedeja. She'll say, "Come read it yourself. I'm still searching this statue base."
Claire: Filvius will immediately head over to see if there's anything to be learned from the poem. Once I read it, I'll say, "Aha!" and head back and cast a healing spell on the boot where the seam is. Ugh, 16 on my first roll. I'll spend another 2 WP and try again ... 14 makes it, barely.
Ariel: You need a way higher magic skill, Claire.
Claire: I keep marking it for advancement every session! But of course, when I actually want to roll high so my score increases, I roll low instead. Anyway, does anything happen?
GM Elle: Yes. As soon as the spell takes effect, the seam widens with a grinding sound and reveals itself to be the border of a panel. When the panel recedes and slides to one side, you see a ladder inside that leads up through a hollow in the leg. Anyone taller than a dwarf will have to hunker down to get inside, but the hollow space within the leg is wide enough to accommodate any standard-sized humanoid.
Claire: Let's go, then!
Sasha: Sir Q will sling his shield over his back and put away his sword, I guess. Can we see how far this climb is going to be?
GM Elle: It extends beyond the reach of your light sources, unfortunately.
Sasha: I guess let's get climbing, then.
Akane: Hmm. Climbing up a dark ladder shaft. Seems familiar-ish.
Claire: I'm getting flashbacks to our Mothership campaign.
Ariel: Oh no! There were spiders all around that ladder shaft too! I start watching for spiders. Especially ones with holograph zombie heads on them.
Sasha: I think we're safe from those in Dragonbane.
Ariel: You can't be too sure! Those things killed my best friend!
GM Elle: Meanwhile, back in the Misty Vale ...
Ariel: Oh! Sorry.
GM Elle: After 8 or 10 meters of climbing, your lamplight reaches just far enough to reveal an opening above you. It looks like the ladder shaft comes out into a larger space there.
Sasha: I'll keep climbing, but with an ear out for monsters.
Akane: Can a duck keep ears out?
Harriet: Rather a good point there ... I don't believe fowl have external ears. Do they?
MSG: Ear openings under their feathers, I think. But nothing that protrudes enough to say they could keep one "out."
Claire: Of course, since ours are always out, does it make any more sense for humans to say it? (Or elves, in Filvius's case?)
Sasha: The point is, I'm listening extra-careful.
GM Elle: All seems quiet except for the sounds of the group climbing. When you reach the top, you find that the opening is a rectangular hole in the floor of a roughly oval chamber like this.
Ariel: Hey, wait a minute! That hole is on the right! Sash said she was looking on the left one!
GM Elle: It's to the right of the other one on the map, but it's the statue's left leg. The statue is facing the other direction than your characters were when they approached it.
Ariel: Sure, but I wasn't talking like I was the statue, I was talking like I was my character. And I bet Sash was too!
Sasha: Yeah, well, even if I was, I'm not going to admit it now so that we have to pretend everything happened the other way round.
Harriet: Does it make any sort of a compelling difference one way or another?
Ariel: It's very important to Fidu if he's the one who finds the way to the treasure.
Sasha: In that case, maybe we should rewind things, and since it's so important to Fidu, he can be the one climbing in front. You know, where he'll run into any spiders first.
Ariel: Never mind.
GM Elle: Does anyone want to know what you find in this room?
Sasha: Heck, yeah!
GM Elle: It appears to be a treasure vault. Let's draw 5 treasure cards to see what's there.
Claire: 5 cards! Nice!
Sasha: Don't get your hopes up. Some of those treasure cards are real stinkers, remember?
GM Elle: Yeah, the very first one is 2d6 copper coins. Welp, and I roll snake eyes.
MSG: Seriously?
GM Elle: Yeah, but that's ridiculous for treasure in an ancient king's tomb. I'm burning that one and trying again. Next one comes up ... 30 gold pieces.
Ariel: Whew!
Sasha: That's more like it.
GM Elle: Next ... a small chest with 80 gold coins in it. Then a sack of 20 silvers ... then a short sword ... and finally, a gold bracelet. You think it's worth ... another 80 gold.
Claire: Saaweet. A hundred ninety gold and twenty silver!
Akane: Hmm. Since 20 silver = the result of one card out of five, it becomes 1/5th of treasure. So if we give those to our cultist donkey-tender, it's much more than a fair share, right?
Harriet: Dilfriida's not particularly good at math, but she would probably disagree with Zedeja on general principle.
MSG: I mean, by that reasoning, if Elle had made us stick with that first card, Glinssa would end up with 2 coppers for her share.
Claire: Weren't we paying her a flat salary anyway?
Ariel: I thought it was 2 silvers a day, so unless we've been on the road for ... I don't know, a bunch of days, giving her 20 silvers would be a big raise for her.
Akane: Never mind, then. Zedeja would surely not propose such extravagance.
MSG: So what's that mark on the other side of the room from the leg ladder hole? Sort of where the spine would be?
GM Elle: It's another ladder, leading up into a shaft in the ceiling.
Sasha: Let's get climbing, then, so we can see what's up there.
MSG: What's up? Or what's ahead?
Sasha: Boo.
Harriet: That was one of your weaker ones, dear.
Sasha: Anyway, I'm climbing.
GM Elle: This shaft looks like about as much of a climb as the one in the leg, but you can see a difference right away -- there's a dimly lit space of some kind at the top.
Akane: Must be from the eyes!
Sasha: Only one way to find out ... I keep going.
GM Elle: Something strange happens as you get closer and closer to the top of the ladder. You feel like the air is getting colder with every rung. There's no draft -- it just seems like the temperature is dropping significantly.
MSG: Uh-oh.
Ariel: I mean, it doesn't sound good, but at least it also doesn't sound like spiders!
Sasha: Still climbing.
GM Elle: You reach the top. Your breath is frosting in the air. For the last few rungs, more and more of the hollow space within the head has become visible. There are faint beams of sunlight piercing the gloomy space. The ceiling appears to be a dome painted with images that remain indistinct in the poor lighting. As you come level with the floor and raise your head into the room, you see that it looks about like this.
GM Elle: It's to the right of the other one on the map, but it's the statue's left leg. The statue is facing the other direction than your characters were when they approached it.
Ariel: Sure, but I wasn't talking like I was the statue, I was talking like I was my character. And I bet Sash was too!
Sasha: Yeah, well, even if I was, I'm not going to admit it now so that we have to pretend everything happened the other way round.
Harriet: Does it make any sort of a compelling difference one way or another?
Ariel: It's very important to Fidu if he's the one who finds the way to the treasure.
Sasha: In that case, maybe we should rewind things, and since it's so important to Fidu, he can be the one climbing in front. You know, where he'll run into any spiders first.
Ariel: Never mind.
GM Elle: Does anyone want to know what you find in this room?
Sasha: Heck, yeah!
GM Elle: It appears to be a treasure vault. Let's draw 5 treasure cards to see what's there.
Claire: 5 cards! Nice!
Sasha: Don't get your hopes up. Some of those treasure cards are real stinkers, remember?
GM Elle: Yeah, the very first one is 2d6 copper coins. Welp, and I roll snake eyes.
MSG: Seriously?
GM Elle: Yeah, but that's ridiculous for treasure in an ancient king's tomb. I'm burning that one and trying again. Next one comes up ... 30 gold pieces.
Ariel: Whew!
Sasha: That's more like it.
GM Elle: Next ... a small chest with 80 gold coins in it. Then a sack of 20 silvers ... then a short sword ... and finally, a gold bracelet. You think it's worth ... another 80 gold.
Claire: Saaweet. A hundred ninety gold and twenty silver!
Akane: Hmm. Since 20 silver = the result of one card out of five, it becomes 1/5th of treasure. So if we give those to our cultist donkey-tender, it's much more than a fair share, right?
Harriet: Dilfriida's not particularly good at math, but she would probably disagree with Zedeja on general principle.
MSG: I mean, by that reasoning, if Elle had made us stick with that first card, Glinssa would end up with 2 coppers for her share.
Claire: Weren't we paying her a flat salary anyway?
Ariel: I thought it was 2 silvers a day, so unless we've been on the road for ... I don't know, a bunch of days, giving her 20 silvers would be a big raise for her.
Akane: Never mind, then. Zedeja would surely not propose such extravagance.
MSG: So what's that mark on the other side of the room from the leg ladder hole? Sort of where the spine would be?
GM Elle: It's another ladder, leading up into a shaft in the ceiling.
Sasha: Let's get climbing, then, so we can see what's up there.
MSG: What's up? Or what's ahead?
Sasha: Boo.
Harriet: That was one of your weaker ones, dear.
Sasha: Anyway, I'm climbing.
GM Elle: This shaft looks like about as much of a climb as the one in the leg, but you can see a difference right away -- there's a dimly lit space of some kind at the top.
Akane: Must be from the eyes!
Sasha: Only one way to find out ... I keep going.
GM Elle: Something strange happens as you get closer and closer to the top of the ladder. You feel like the air is getting colder with every rung. There's no draft -- it just seems like the temperature is dropping significantly.
MSG: Uh-oh.
Ariel: I mean, it doesn't sound good, but at least it also doesn't sound like spiders!
Sasha: Still climbing.
GM Elle: You reach the top. Your breath is frosting in the air. For the last few rungs, more and more of the hollow space within the head has become visible. There are faint beams of sunlight piercing the gloomy space. The ceiling appears to be a dome painted with images that remain indistinct in the poor lighting. As you come level with the floor and raise your head into the room, you see that it looks about like this.
GM Elle: The ladder comes up through that spot at the bottom. Just in front of you is a raised stone platform, about the size a person could stand on, with stairs leading up to it. It appears to be positioned right in front of one of the eyes so that a viewer could climb up and look out through the mesh screen. An exact copy of the platform stands in front of the other eye, up and to the right. There's some large stone object at the back of the room, but from your perspective, the closer of the two platforms is obscuring the view.
Sasha: I'll go ahead and draw my sword and put it on the floor right next to the top of the ladder where I can grab it once I climb up.
GM Elle: When you do, the clank of the metal blade against the stone floor echoes inside the chamber, and an eerie voice speaks from the far side of the stone platform. It says, "Whooo? Who enters the tomb of King Hanhgrav the Great?" The air suddenly feels even colder.
Ariel: Okay, bye, y'all!
Sasha: Seriously? Come on, maybe it's a trained talking owl.
Akane: Are these the words of Fidu and Quackenscrump? Wouldn't our knight be hoping for monsters, not an owl?
Sasha: A trained talking owlbear, then.
Akane: Ah! That's better for consistency.
Claire: If Fidu is actually wanting to leave, there may be a problem, since Filvius is behind him on the ladder and really wants to know what it's like to meet a ghost.
Ariel: I was mostly joking. Fidu is a lot less chickener than I am.
Sasha: Well, anyway, we were asked a question, so Sir Q will start climbing out and say, "Fearless adventurers, coming to make sure no monsters have taken over this tomb!" What do I see when I get far enough up to look over the top of this platform that's blocking me?
GM Elle: A skeleton in exquisitely crafted plate armor sits upon a carved stone throne. Both the detail work of the throne and the embellishments on the armor look stunningly designed and executed. Across the skeleton's lap lies a sheathed greatsword, its handle wrapped in pristine white leather and its pommel set with an enormous glittering ruby.
MSG: Cool. I think we're probably up for fighting a skeleton.
GM Elle: I wasn't finished. Superimposed upon the skeleton is a spectral, translucent image -- a human wearing the same armor. His face is gaunt with age, and his white beard and hair look well groomed but thinned by many decades of mortal existence. He wears a crown upon his head, and there's a matching one on the skeleton's head as well -- finely wrought of gold and gemstones.
Sasha: Nice. Pretty sure I'd consider a ghost a monster too, so we're free to whale on it and take its stuff. Can I roll Beast Lore to see if I know how to fight a ghost?
GM Elle: Sure.
Sasha: Woof. That's a Demon.
GM Elle: You're pretty sure you'd fight them just like you'd fight anything else. And since it's the ghost of a really old person, you expect that you're more than a match for it.
MSG: This is sounding bad.
Sasha: I'll hop the rest of the way up out of the ladder shaft, scoop my sword off the floor, and point it at him. Out of respect for his royal stature, I'll say, "Your majesty, it's time for you to head off to the afterlife. I challenge you to a duel in hopes of letting you rest after all these ... what, I guess centuries?"
Harriet: Do the rest of us hear this?
GM Elle: I'm pretty sure Sir Q isn't exactly whispering, so yes.
MSG: I think Dolora's quick enough to figure out this is probably a ghost. Can I roll Beast Lore too and see if I know anything more than Quackers?
Claire: Ditto for Filvius.
GM Elle: Sure. Anyone who thinks they're smart enough to make that conclusion can roll. But I'm giving you a Bane on the roll because Sir Quackenscrump seems so convinced he can defeat it alone.
MSG: I fail because of the Bane.
Claire: Dang, me too, and just barely. One of the dice was an 8 but the other was a 14, and I only have a 13 in Beast Lore. But I'm pretty sure I'd know my Banish spell would work on a ghost. I don't think it takes a Beast Lore roll to know they're undead.
Ariel: Fidu blows it too.
Akane: Zedeja also meets with no success.
Harriet: I'm not rolling for Dilfriida. She's at the back, she's not that smart, and her Beast Lore is only 5 anyway.
GM Elle: No one has the goods on how to kill a ghost, then. But the king only laughs at Sir Quackenscrump. "I am eternal and timeless. I can never fade into oblivion until I know that my fame is equally as unbounded by the ages."
MSG: I guess I'll climb up to be ready for a fight also.
Claire: I'm taking a round rest to get back some WP ... bleh, 2.
Ariel: I'm climbing up after Dolora -- but I'm also spending 2 WP to see if this ghost is lying about what he just said.
GM Elle: He is not.
Ariel: Oh. Um ... maybe I'm not climbing like, super-fast, then.
GM Elle: The ghost hasn't made any move to stand or draw his weapon, Sash. Is Quackenscrump going to attack him while he's just sitting there?
Sasha: Damn, that doesn't seem like a very knightly thing to do to a king ... even if he's a monster now.
MSG: If I'm up, I'll blow my horn to give everybody a Boon on their rolls until my next turn.
Claire: I'll climb after Fidu I guess.
Ariel: Am I up? Cause if I am and I think he really thinks he can't be killed, I want to try something.
GM Elle: You see a cold, immortal certainty in his ghostly eyes -- as cold as the chill in the room. Go ahead and try what you have in mind.
Ariel: So, what I'm going to do is hope real hard he doesn't ever get off that throne and go look out the eyes of the statue, and I'll say, "Of course your fame will last forever! Everybody in all the civilized lands knows about King Hanhgrav and his mighty deeds. People travel across the seas to visit this statue of yours! They've build a boo-koo huge plaza around it with all kinds of plaques and murals about your deeds."
Sasha: Hey, pretty good idea. Does she get a Bluffing roll on that, Elle?
GM Elle: Sure. But with a Bane that cancels out Dolora's Boon because this guy is paranoid about his historical legacy in the extreme.
Ariel: I succeed with a 3!
GM Elle: He appears heartened by this news, but doesn't just poof out of existence or anything. Instead, he leans forward eagerly and says, "Describe some of these murals and plaques. I must know if they got things right."
MSG: Okay, Dolora's catching on to Fidu's game. Can I make a Myths and Legends roll to see if I've heard any stories about this Hanhgrav?
GM Elle: You can, but with a Bane because he's so obscure, and the Dragon Emperor actually buried the bottom half of this statue to make sure nobody thought Hanhgrav was more worth remembering than Eledain himself.
MSG: Nope. A 13 blows it.
Claire: If Filvius is up, he'll wrack his brain too, in hopes of showing off some knowledge about the distant past. A 4 and a 9! Woop, but my Myths and Legends is only 8.
Ariel: Fidu says, "Gosh, there are so many of them. Is there anything you especially want to know what they said or showed about it?"
Akane: Strategic!
Harriet: I do like where you're going with this, Ariel.
GM Elle: He thinks for a moment and says, "The surrender of the Witch Queen at Vandery Field."
Ariel: Okay, so, uh, here goes nothing. I'll say that one's on a mural. So ... it shows the field, and since I'm guessing this was right after a battle, I'll say there's still all these bodies lying around, some of them that got witched to death and others that the king killed with his amazing greatsword -- which you could tell was him because they were like, totally cut in half.
GM Elle: He nods as if in remembrance and then tells you to go on.
Ariel: Um ... I'll say, "Well, and that guy is there beside you, I can never remember his name because obviously he's not as important as you ..."
GM Elle: The king prompts you with, "Gorshi."
Ariel: Okay ... so ... can I do Languages to see if I know that Gorshi sounds like a dwarf or an elf or some other race kind of name?
GM Elle: Sure.
Ariel: Okay, 7 makes it.
GM Elle: You think it's a dwarven name.
Ariel: Super. So I'll say, "Gorshi is looking up at you with all the respect you deserve from this great deed, and he's, er, running his fingers through his beard ..."
GM Elle: The king says, "Hah! He always was so stupidly proud of that beard." You can roll another Bluffing check to see if you're selling this well enough. No Bane this time.
MSG: Can I help her by butting in and adding some beard-related dwarf knowledge as a detail that's in the mural? Like, if there's a special kind of dwarven beard comb or something and the guy has it tucked in one pocket?
GM Elle: Sure. Roll Bluffing or Performance to sneak the comment in there, and you'll give Aers a Boon on her roll.
MSG: I roll a 4 against Performance of 16.
Ariel: Great! My Bluffing rolls are ... 5 and 16. Those both make it.
GM Elle: You manage to fake your way through a description of the mural that satisfies Hanhgrav. It looks like maybe his spectral image is a little fainter now. He asks you to tell him what memorial they put up for the signing of the Treaty of Trelgasque.
Ariel: Jeepers, great. Um ... I'll say they put that one right on the plaza itself, in one of those tile whatchacallits.
Harriet: Mosaic.
Ariel: Can I do Languages again or Myths and Legends to see if I have any clue what Trelgasque might be?
GM Elle: Sure. Pick one.
Ariel: I'll do Languages again since that worked out pretty good last time. 8!
GM Elle: You think it might be a place name in an unusual elven dialect.
Claire: Since I'm an elf, can I do the same thing Dolora did to help Fidu out?
GM Elle: This is a little more obscure than just knowing about dwarven grooming supplies, so you'll need to roll, but I'll let you have a Boon for being an elf.
Claire: My Myths and Legends is better ... but I roll an 18 and a 16, and it's not that much better. I'll keep my mouth shut.
Ariel: So ... I'll say ... the mosaic mostly spelled out the wording of the treaty itself. But ... ooh, I've got it! Nobody can actually read it now because that elven dialect died out! So Hanhgrav's fame actually outlasted a whole language in this case.
GM Elle: That's a very appealing notion to him. You can have a Boon on your Bluffing check.
Ariel: 3 and 12 both make it.
GM Elle: The king's shade dissipates a little further. He eagerly tells you to describe some of the plaques. "You pick which one."
Ariel: Dangit. Sheesh. Uhh ... I'll say, "So ... obviously there are several that spell out the most important laws you made, which everybody still follows, of course." Crossing my fingers here, I'll say my favorite one is the one declaring that holiday in honor of, mmm, probably this guy would make a holiday about himself, right? So I'll say in honor of his being crowned king."
GM Elle: I'm giving you a 50/50 chance of that guess being right. And the dice come up 32, so you pegged that one. He fades even more, and he says something, but it's faint and you don't quite hear it.
Ariel: I'll pretend I do hear it, and I'll start saying something about a different plaque, but I'm saying it real quiet too, only a word here and there that's clear, something about a great speech he made. But I'm gesturing a lot and looking really excited, like this speech means a lot to me.
GM Elle: Roll another Bluffing check.
Ariel: Come on come on come on ... 14 makes it!
GM Elle: He fades almost completely invisible ... but you can barely make him out -- enough to see that his eyes have closed, and it looks like he's sleeping.
MSG: Damn it.
Sasha: Oh, come on! Does that mean we can't loot his stuff or he'll wake back up and we'll be back to square one?
GM Elle: The only way you'll know is if you try looting his stuff.
Ariel: Boo! I worked really hard at that!
Harriet: Yes, genuinely an excellent job.
GM Elle: And I'm not saying you can't loot his stuff without waking him up. I'm just saying you can't tell if looting his stuff will wake him back up.
MSG: Kind of the same difference, if you ask me.
Claire: What if we just try looting his sword? It's just lying across his lap, right? Are his hands on it?
Ariel: Ooh, good question!
GM Elle: No, both of his hands are resting on the arms of the throne.
MSG: She's totally trying to tempt us into waking this ghost up, you guys.
Ariel: And it's totally working. You know what? Fidu is way too much of a treasure hunter to just walk away completely. Can I try using Sleight of Hand to lift that sword off of him without disturbing his rest?
GM Elle: Roll it.
MSG: Should I blow my horn first to give you a Boon?
Claire: No!
Ariel: Are you crazy?
Akane: This idea is the worst of counterproductive, MSG.
Ariel: I'm rolling. 10 is a success against my skill of 14!
GM Elle: All right, then. You lift the sword from his lap ... and no response seems to follow. The faint ghostly image of the sword remains in place, in fact.
Claire: Whew!
Sasha: Maybe taking the crown would work the same way?
Claire: This is me gritting my teeth at that.
Ariel: Yeah I don't think we should push our luck.
Akane: Hmm. But the game rules do exactly say that you can "push" when rolls are unlucky ...
Harriet: If nobody else is going for that crown, Dilfriida is going to hide behind one of those platforms by the eyes and try to pinch it after the rest of the group leaves.
GM Elle: Roll your Sneaking.
MSG: Is this going to be opposed by Awareness for the rest of us?
GM Elle: It's only an opposed role if someone is actively on the look out for whoever is sneaking. My assumption would be that all eyes are on the ghost while you're considering whether to take the crown. But if someone wants to roleplay it otherwise, just say so.
Akane: The habit of Zedeja mistrusting our halfling remains persistent. I will roll Awareness.
Harriet: My check is a 3.
Akane: Zedeja's, a 9.
GM Elle: Looks like Dilfriida's successfully hidden, then. The question is whether anyone else wants to step up and take the crown before you all head back down the ladder.
MSG: I'll skip.
Claire: Me too.
Ariel: I've already got this ritzy sword, so I'm good.
Sasha: Quackers sighs and heads over to start the climb down.
Akane: Not seeing the halfling, Zedeja will hurry in climbing to catch up to her before mischief occurs.
GM Elle: Then once they're gone, Dilfriida can roll Sleight of Hand to get the crown.
Harriet: I'll give it a bit of a wait so the ladder down is clear in case I need to run. Then my roll is ... 7.
GM Elle: As with the sword, the ghost remains unmoving, and a spectral impression of the crown stays in place when you remove the physical one.
MSG: Nice job.
Harriet: It's going in my backpack. Then I'll climb down after everyone else.
GM Elle: All right, then. The rest of the group gets to the bottom of the statue and finds no sign of Dilfriida. What are you going to do?
Akane: Zedeja asks, "Why must this halfling be so troublesome? Has she returned to the cart? Did she stay in the statue? Dilfriida! Expose yourself!"
Harriet: Dilfriida will hurry to catch up, and upon doing so will say she was searching around the bases of those observation platforms in the heads and everybody just left. Do I need to roll a Bluffing check for that?
GM Elle: I think I'd rather you guys just role-play out that kind of thing and decide for yourselves whether you buy one another's fibs. Fidu could pay Willpower points to know for sure with his Insight ability, though.
MSG: It doesn't make much difference one way or another to Dolora, since nothing happened to get us attacked by the ghost.
Claire: Filvius is already looking ahead to his fortune-telling by that spider-kin.
Ariel: Fidu doesn't have a lot of WP to spare on Insight right now.
Sasha: I'm just still aggravated about not getting to kill a monster
Akane: The eyes of Zedeja narrow greatly at this claim by an untrustable halfling. She says, "Communicate your searchings better in the future!"
Harriet: Dilfriida says something on the order of, "Yeah, whatever."
GM Elle: So, you're out of the statue but still within the burial mound. What next?
MSG: Do we want to see about shifting some of those rocks from where they're blocking that one passageway?
Ariel: You're kidding, right? I'm beat from all this ladder climbing. I want to get back to the cart and take a dognap.
Sasha: Quackers is game if Dolora really wants to. Maybe the rocks were put there to block in a monster.
Akane: On the map, these rocks appear so large -- one to two meters. It's a great expenditure of effort with uncertainty of reward. Also, our hound's treasure-seeking ability pointed up into the statue. Therefore it's probably a waste of digging.
MSG: Technically, though, Fidu's ability only points to the greatest treasure. There might be treasure behind the rocks that's worth almost as much as what was in the statue ... maybe even just a single copper piece less.
Claire: Filvius is already walking toward where that Windsilk of Five Far Eyes critter said the weaving would be.
Ariel: Fidu is with you on that.
Akane: "Look! Again, the elf divides from the group. Last time we must expend so much energy saving him from spider death! I forbid this distraction of earthen works."
MSG: Fine. I guess we can all head out.
GM Elle: You pass that old garden shed where the spider-kin seemed to be laired and come to the intersection where it told you to turn right to find the weaving. When you shine your lamp that direction, you see an intricate gossamer web, its strands reflecting the light in chromatic, glittering patterns. The weaving mostly fills the dead end there, with a small tunnel opening into it from your side and a domed space at the center where a single person could sit.
Claire: Great! I'm crawling right in.
Ariel: I'll unroll my sleeping pelt nearby and have a lie-down.
Sasha: Do we know how long this is going to take? Because Sir Q isn't keen to just sit around on his duck-bum all day.
Akane: No division of the party!
Harriet: Dilfriida says she's not excited about waiting either.
MSG: Wasn't there one more tunnel we never explored leading out of the spider lair that we got into the mound through?
Sasha: I'll go ahead and draw my sword and put it on the floor right next to the top of the ladder where I can grab it once I climb up.
GM Elle: When you do, the clank of the metal blade against the stone floor echoes inside the chamber, and an eerie voice speaks from the far side of the stone platform. It says, "Whooo? Who enters the tomb of King Hanhgrav the Great?" The air suddenly feels even colder.
Ariel: Okay, bye, y'all!
Sasha: Seriously? Come on, maybe it's a trained talking owl.
Akane: Are these the words of Fidu and Quackenscrump? Wouldn't our knight be hoping for monsters, not an owl?
Sasha: A trained talking owlbear, then.
Akane: Ah! That's better for consistency.
Claire: If Fidu is actually wanting to leave, there may be a problem, since Filvius is behind him on the ladder and really wants to know what it's like to meet a ghost.
Ariel: I was mostly joking. Fidu is a lot less chickener than I am.
Sasha: Well, anyway, we were asked a question, so Sir Q will start climbing out and say, "Fearless adventurers, coming to make sure no monsters have taken over this tomb!" What do I see when I get far enough up to look over the top of this platform that's blocking me?
GM Elle: A skeleton in exquisitely crafted plate armor sits upon a carved stone throne. Both the detail work of the throne and the embellishments on the armor look stunningly designed and executed. Across the skeleton's lap lies a sheathed greatsword, its handle wrapped in pristine white leather and its pommel set with an enormous glittering ruby.
MSG: Cool. I think we're probably up for fighting a skeleton.
GM Elle: I wasn't finished. Superimposed upon the skeleton is a spectral, translucent image -- a human wearing the same armor. His face is gaunt with age, and his white beard and hair look well groomed but thinned by many decades of mortal existence. He wears a crown upon his head, and there's a matching one on the skeleton's head as well -- finely wrought of gold and gemstones.
Sasha: Nice. Pretty sure I'd consider a ghost a monster too, so we're free to whale on it and take its stuff. Can I roll Beast Lore to see if I know how to fight a ghost?
GM Elle: Sure.
Sasha: Woof. That's a Demon.
GM Elle: You're pretty sure you'd fight them just like you'd fight anything else. And since it's the ghost of a really old person, you expect that you're more than a match for it.
MSG: This is sounding bad.
Sasha: I'll hop the rest of the way up out of the ladder shaft, scoop my sword off the floor, and point it at him. Out of respect for his royal stature, I'll say, "Your majesty, it's time for you to head off to the afterlife. I challenge you to a duel in hopes of letting you rest after all these ... what, I guess centuries?"
Harriet: Do the rest of us hear this?
GM Elle: I'm pretty sure Sir Q isn't exactly whispering, so yes.
MSG: I think Dolora's quick enough to figure out this is probably a ghost. Can I roll Beast Lore too and see if I know anything more than Quackers?
Claire: Ditto for Filvius.
GM Elle: Sure. Anyone who thinks they're smart enough to make that conclusion can roll. But I'm giving you a Bane on the roll because Sir Quackenscrump seems so convinced he can defeat it alone.
MSG: I fail because of the Bane.
Claire: Dang, me too, and just barely. One of the dice was an 8 but the other was a 14, and I only have a 13 in Beast Lore. But I'm pretty sure I'd know my Banish spell would work on a ghost. I don't think it takes a Beast Lore roll to know they're undead.
Ariel: Fidu blows it too.
Akane: Zedeja also meets with no success.
Harriet: I'm not rolling for Dilfriida. She's at the back, she's not that smart, and her Beast Lore is only 5 anyway.
GM Elle: No one has the goods on how to kill a ghost, then. But the king only laughs at Sir Quackenscrump. "I am eternal and timeless. I can never fade into oblivion until I know that my fame is equally as unbounded by the ages."
MSG: I guess I'll climb up to be ready for a fight also.
Claire: I'm taking a round rest to get back some WP ... bleh, 2.
Ariel: I'm climbing up after Dolora -- but I'm also spending 2 WP to see if this ghost is lying about what he just said.
GM Elle: He is not.
Ariel: Oh. Um ... maybe I'm not climbing like, super-fast, then.
GM Elle: The ghost hasn't made any move to stand or draw his weapon, Sash. Is Quackenscrump going to attack him while he's just sitting there?
Sasha: Damn, that doesn't seem like a very knightly thing to do to a king ... even if he's a monster now.
MSG: If I'm up, I'll blow my horn to give everybody a Boon on their rolls until my next turn.
Claire: I'll climb after Fidu I guess.
Ariel: Am I up? Cause if I am and I think he really thinks he can't be killed, I want to try something.
GM Elle: You see a cold, immortal certainty in his ghostly eyes -- as cold as the chill in the room. Go ahead and try what you have in mind.
Ariel: So, what I'm going to do is hope real hard he doesn't ever get off that throne and go look out the eyes of the statue, and I'll say, "Of course your fame will last forever! Everybody in all the civilized lands knows about King Hanhgrav and his mighty deeds. People travel across the seas to visit this statue of yours! They've build a boo-koo huge plaza around it with all kinds of plaques and murals about your deeds."
Sasha: Hey, pretty good idea. Does she get a Bluffing roll on that, Elle?
GM Elle: Sure. But with a Bane that cancels out Dolora's Boon because this guy is paranoid about his historical legacy in the extreme.
Ariel: I succeed with a 3!
GM Elle: He appears heartened by this news, but doesn't just poof out of existence or anything. Instead, he leans forward eagerly and says, "Describe some of these murals and plaques. I must know if they got things right."
MSG: Okay, Dolora's catching on to Fidu's game. Can I make a Myths and Legends roll to see if I've heard any stories about this Hanhgrav?
GM Elle: You can, but with a Bane because he's so obscure, and the Dragon Emperor actually buried the bottom half of this statue to make sure nobody thought Hanhgrav was more worth remembering than Eledain himself.
MSG: Nope. A 13 blows it.
Claire: If Filvius is up, he'll wrack his brain too, in hopes of showing off some knowledge about the distant past. A 4 and a 9! Woop, but my Myths and Legends is only 8.
Ariel: Fidu says, "Gosh, there are so many of them. Is there anything you especially want to know what they said or showed about it?"
Akane: Strategic!
Harriet: I do like where you're going with this, Ariel.
GM Elle: He thinks for a moment and says, "The surrender of the Witch Queen at Vandery Field."
Ariel: Okay, so, uh, here goes nothing. I'll say that one's on a mural. So ... it shows the field, and since I'm guessing this was right after a battle, I'll say there's still all these bodies lying around, some of them that got witched to death and others that the king killed with his amazing greatsword -- which you could tell was him because they were like, totally cut in half.
GM Elle: He nods as if in remembrance and then tells you to go on.
Ariel: Um ... I'll say, "Well, and that guy is there beside you, I can never remember his name because obviously he's not as important as you ..."
GM Elle: The king prompts you with, "Gorshi."
Ariel: Okay ... so ... can I do Languages to see if I know that Gorshi sounds like a dwarf or an elf or some other race kind of name?
GM Elle: Sure.
Ariel: Okay, 7 makes it.
GM Elle: You think it's a dwarven name.
Ariel: Super. So I'll say, "Gorshi is looking up at you with all the respect you deserve from this great deed, and he's, er, running his fingers through his beard ..."
GM Elle: The king says, "Hah! He always was so stupidly proud of that beard." You can roll another Bluffing check to see if you're selling this well enough. No Bane this time.
MSG: Can I help her by butting in and adding some beard-related dwarf knowledge as a detail that's in the mural? Like, if there's a special kind of dwarven beard comb or something and the guy has it tucked in one pocket?
GM Elle: Sure. Roll Bluffing or Performance to sneak the comment in there, and you'll give Aers a Boon on her roll.
MSG: I roll a 4 against Performance of 16.
Ariel: Great! My Bluffing rolls are ... 5 and 16. Those both make it.
GM Elle: You manage to fake your way through a description of the mural that satisfies Hanhgrav. It looks like maybe his spectral image is a little fainter now. He asks you to tell him what memorial they put up for the signing of the Treaty of Trelgasque.
Ariel: Jeepers, great. Um ... I'll say they put that one right on the plaza itself, in one of those tile whatchacallits.
Harriet: Mosaic.
Ariel: Can I do Languages again or Myths and Legends to see if I have any clue what Trelgasque might be?
GM Elle: Sure. Pick one.
Ariel: I'll do Languages again since that worked out pretty good last time. 8!
GM Elle: You think it might be a place name in an unusual elven dialect.
Claire: Since I'm an elf, can I do the same thing Dolora did to help Fidu out?
GM Elle: This is a little more obscure than just knowing about dwarven grooming supplies, so you'll need to roll, but I'll let you have a Boon for being an elf.
Claire: My Myths and Legends is better ... but I roll an 18 and a 16, and it's not that much better. I'll keep my mouth shut.
Ariel: So ... I'll say ... the mosaic mostly spelled out the wording of the treaty itself. But ... ooh, I've got it! Nobody can actually read it now because that elven dialect died out! So Hanhgrav's fame actually outlasted a whole language in this case.
GM Elle: That's a very appealing notion to him. You can have a Boon on your Bluffing check.
Ariel: 3 and 12 both make it.
GM Elle: The king's shade dissipates a little further. He eagerly tells you to describe some of the plaques. "You pick which one."
Ariel: Dangit. Sheesh. Uhh ... I'll say, "So ... obviously there are several that spell out the most important laws you made, which everybody still follows, of course." Crossing my fingers here, I'll say my favorite one is the one declaring that holiday in honor of, mmm, probably this guy would make a holiday about himself, right? So I'll say in honor of his being crowned king."
GM Elle: I'm giving you a 50/50 chance of that guess being right. And the dice come up 32, so you pegged that one. He fades even more, and he says something, but it's faint and you don't quite hear it.
Ariel: I'll pretend I do hear it, and I'll start saying something about a different plaque, but I'm saying it real quiet too, only a word here and there that's clear, something about a great speech he made. But I'm gesturing a lot and looking really excited, like this speech means a lot to me.
GM Elle: Roll another Bluffing check.
Ariel: Come on come on come on ... 14 makes it!
GM Elle: He fades almost completely invisible ... but you can barely make him out -- enough to see that his eyes have closed, and it looks like he's sleeping.
MSG: Damn it.
Sasha: Oh, come on! Does that mean we can't loot his stuff or he'll wake back up and we'll be back to square one?
GM Elle: The only way you'll know is if you try looting his stuff.
Ariel: Boo! I worked really hard at that!
Harriet: Yes, genuinely an excellent job.
GM Elle: And I'm not saying you can't loot his stuff without waking him up. I'm just saying you can't tell if looting his stuff will wake him back up.
MSG: Kind of the same difference, if you ask me.
Claire: What if we just try looting his sword? It's just lying across his lap, right? Are his hands on it?
Ariel: Ooh, good question!
GM Elle: No, both of his hands are resting on the arms of the throne.
MSG: She's totally trying to tempt us into waking this ghost up, you guys.
Ariel: And it's totally working. You know what? Fidu is way too much of a treasure hunter to just walk away completely. Can I try using Sleight of Hand to lift that sword off of him without disturbing his rest?
GM Elle: Roll it.
MSG: Should I blow my horn first to give you a Boon?
Claire: No!
Ariel: Are you crazy?
Akane: This idea is the worst of counterproductive, MSG.
Ariel: I'm rolling. 10 is a success against my skill of 14!
GM Elle: All right, then. You lift the sword from his lap ... and no response seems to follow. The faint ghostly image of the sword remains in place, in fact.
Claire: Whew!
Sasha: Maybe taking the crown would work the same way?
Claire: This is me gritting my teeth at that.
Ariel: Yeah I don't think we should push our luck.
Akane: Hmm. But the game rules do exactly say that you can "push" when rolls are unlucky ...
Harriet: If nobody else is going for that crown, Dilfriida is going to hide behind one of those platforms by the eyes and try to pinch it after the rest of the group leaves.
GM Elle: Roll your Sneaking.
MSG: Is this going to be opposed by Awareness for the rest of us?
GM Elle: It's only an opposed role if someone is actively on the look out for whoever is sneaking. My assumption would be that all eyes are on the ghost while you're considering whether to take the crown. But if someone wants to roleplay it otherwise, just say so.
Akane: The habit of Zedeja mistrusting our halfling remains persistent. I will roll Awareness.
Harriet: My check is a 3.
Akane: Zedeja's, a 9.
GM Elle: Looks like Dilfriida's successfully hidden, then. The question is whether anyone else wants to step up and take the crown before you all head back down the ladder.
MSG: I'll skip.
Claire: Me too.
Ariel: I've already got this ritzy sword, so I'm good.
Sasha: Quackers sighs and heads over to start the climb down.
Akane: Not seeing the halfling, Zedeja will hurry in climbing to catch up to her before mischief occurs.
GM Elle: Then once they're gone, Dilfriida can roll Sleight of Hand to get the crown.
Harriet: I'll give it a bit of a wait so the ladder down is clear in case I need to run. Then my roll is ... 7.
GM Elle: As with the sword, the ghost remains unmoving, and a spectral impression of the crown stays in place when you remove the physical one.
MSG: Nice job.
Harriet: It's going in my backpack. Then I'll climb down after everyone else.
GM Elle: All right, then. The rest of the group gets to the bottom of the statue and finds no sign of Dilfriida. What are you going to do?
Akane: Zedeja asks, "Why must this halfling be so troublesome? Has she returned to the cart? Did she stay in the statue? Dilfriida! Expose yourself!"
Harriet: Dilfriida will hurry to catch up, and upon doing so will say she was searching around the bases of those observation platforms in the heads and everybody just left. Do I need to roll a Bluffing check for that?
GM Elle: I think I'd rather you guys just role-play out that kind of thing and decide for yourselves whether you buy one another's fibs. Fidu could pay Willpower points to know for sure with his Insight ability, though.
MSG: It doesn't make much difference one way or another to Dolora, since nothing happened to get us attacked by the ghost.
Claire: Filvius is already looking ahead to his fortune-telling by that spider-kin.
Ariel: Fidu doesn't have a lot of WP to spare on Insight right now.
Sasha: I'm just still aggravated about not getting to kill a monster
Akane: The eyes of Zedeja narrow greatly at this claim by an untrustable halfling. She says, "Communicate your searchings better in the future!"
Harriet: Dilfriida says something on the order of, "Yeah, whatever."
GM Elle: So, you're out of the statue but still within the burial mound. What next?
MSG: Do we want to see about shifting some of those rocks from where they're blocking that one passageway?
Ariel: You're kidding, right? I'm beat from all this ladder climbing. I want to get back to the cart and take a dognap.
Sasha: Quackers is game if Dolora really wants to. Maybe the rocks were put there to block in a monster.
Akane: On the map, these rocks appear so large -- one to two meters. It's a great expenditure of effort with uncertainty of reward. Also, our hound's treasure-seeking ability pointed up into the statue. Therefore it's probably a waste of digging.
MSG: Technically, though, Fidu's ability only points to the greatest treasure. There might be treasure behind the rocks that's worth almost as much as what was in the statue ... maybe even just a single copper piece less.
Claire: Filvius is already walking toward where that Windsilk of Five Far Eyes critter said the weaving would be.
Ariel: Fidu is with you on that.
Akane: "Look! Again, the elf divides from the group. Last time we must expend so much energy saving him from spider death! I forbid this distraction of earthen works."
MSG: Fine. I guess we can all head out.
GM Elle: You pass that old garden shed where the spider-kin seemed to be laired and come to the intersection where it told you to turn right to find the weaving. When you shine your lamp that direction, you see an intricate gossamer web, its strands reflecting the light in chromatic, glittering patterns. The weaving mostly fills the dead end there, with a small tunnel opening into it from your side and a domed space at the center where a single person could sit.
Claire: Great! I'm crawling right in.
Ariel: I'll unroll my sleeping pelt nearby and have a lie-down.
Sasha: Do we know how long this is going to take? Because Sir Q isn't keen to just sit around on his duck-bum all day.
Akane: No division of the party!
Harriet: Dilfriida says she's not excited about waiting either.
MSG: Wasn't there one more tunnel we never explored leading out of the spider lair that we got into the mound through?
Sasha: Yeah! Let's check it out.
Akane: Impertinence! Zedeja will remain with the hound and elf.
Harriet: Dilfriida's definitely going, then.
GM Elle: All right, so the three who go exploring discover that the last unexplored tunnel leads up into a different part of the mound. You find yourselves in an area that looks like this:
Akane: Impertinence! Zedeja will remain with the hound and elf.
Harriet: Dilfriida's definitely going, then.
GM Elle: All right, so the three who go exploring discover that the last unexplored tunnel leads up into a different part of the mound. You find yourselves in an area that looks like this:
Over on the right is the tunnel you followed initially to get to the statue. Over on the left is what looks like the other end of the collapsed tunnel you were considering digging out from the other side.
MSG: Oof, that looks like what, 8 meters of excavation? Glad we didn't try that.
Sasha: I'm on the listen for monster sounds.
GM Elle: Roll Awareness. You can all roll.
MSG: No go.
Sasha: I get a Bane from my helmet, so I don't hear squat.
Harriet: Dilfriida misses her mark by 1 point.
GM Elle: None of you detects anything beyond the echoes of your own footsteps and the clanking or leathery squeak of your armor.
MSG: I guess let's head for that one open exit at the top there.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump takes the lead with his sword and shield at the ready.
Harriet: Dilfriida will be at the back with her lamp.
MSG: Sounds like I'm in the middle, then. My club is still busted, so I guess I have my shortsword out and my horn in the other hand.
GM Elle: The way leads up to what looks like another collapsed tunnel. This one is mostly full of earth, not many of the big boulders you saw choking that other passageway. There's another exit to the left. The air in here, by the way, is extremely stale. Much more so than the other part of the mound you explored.
Sasha: I'm on the listen for monster sounds.
GM Elle: Roll Awareness. You can all roll.
MSG: No go.
Sasha: I get a Bane from my helmet, so I don't hear squat.
Harriet: Dilfriida misses her mark by 1 point.
GM Elle: None of you detects anything beyond the echoes of your own footsteps and the clanking or leathery squeak of your armor.
MSG: I guess let's head for that one open exit at the top there.
Sasha: Sir Quackenscrump takes the lead with his sword and shield at the ready.
Harriet: Dilfriida will be at the back with her lamp.
MSG: Sounds like I'm in the middle, then. My club is still busted, so I guess I have my shortsword out and my horn in the other hand.
GM Elle: The way leads up to what looks like another collapsed tunnel. This one is mostly full of earth, not many of the big boulders you saw choking that other passageway. There's another exit to the left. The air in here, by the way, is extremely stale. Much more so than the other part of the mound you explored.
Sasha: We'll head over to that opening, then.
GM Elle: When you turn the corner, you find a macabre sight in the flickering illumination of your lamp. The ruins of what looks like a groundskeeper's cottage lie before you. The roof has mostly collapsed or rotted away. The front and side walls are mostly rubble. Past the heaps of debris, you can see the interior of the cottage, where there's a bed against the far wall, a fireplace, some other furnishings -- and nearest to you, a table and chairs at which three skeletons sit playing cards. Here's how it maps out.
GM Elle: When you turn the corner, you find a macabre sight in the flickering illumination of your lamp. The ruins of what looks like a groundskeeper's cottage lie before you. The roof has mostly collapsed or rotted away. The front and side walls are mostly rubble. Past the heaps of debris, you can see the interior of the cottage, where there's a bed against the far wall, a fireplace, some other furnishings -- and nearest to you, a table and chairs at which three skeletons sit playing cards. Here's how it maps out.
MSG: Oh, geez, are those the chairs? So they're like right there when we turn the corner.
GM Elle: Yes, but they don't seem to immediately take notice of you. Instead, they move like automatons, with their jaws clacking as though they're discussing bets. Their hands spread and reposition their cards, or move copper and silver pieces into the pot at the center of the table. The cards themselves are in tatters, some of them just scraps barely held together by narrow stretches of the original cardstock.
MSG: Can we tell if there's enough coinage in the pot to make it worth our while to fight them?
Sasha: Who cares? Skeletons are monsters, dammit, and I haven't gotten to fight a single monster this whole session. Quackers just up and attacks them.
GM Elle: You can get in a free strike on the closest one, then we'll draw initiative.
Sasha: Slash! I hit with a 15! I'm definitely paying the 3 WP for my to add an extra d8 with my Dragonslayer ability. That's 3d8 plus 1d6 for my strength ... 14 points of damage.
GM Elle: Hang on there, the book says skeletons don't count as monsters in combat, so take away that extra d8. You don't have to pay the WP either.
Sasha: Damn it! Well, it doesn't matter much -- the extra die was a 2, so that's still 12 points.
GM Elle: It shatters into a mouldering heap of bone. Initiative time.
MSG: 2.
Sasha: 7.
Harriet: 9.
GM Elle: The skeletons are on 8.
MSG: These guys don't seem all that tough, so I'll step up and slash at the next one. I kind of stink with a sword, though. A 10 misses. Maybe I should have blown my horn after all.
Sasha: Or maybe you should just stand back and watch Quackers do his thing. Ker-whack! Garrh, that's a Demon.
GM Elle: The mishap table says ... you accidentally throw your weapon d3+3 meters. I roll a total of 4. You'll have to go get it next round. Skeletons' turn. They pick up some tools that are lying nearby -- a shovel and a mining pick. The first one attacks Sir Q ... miss. The second one attacks Dolora ... also a miss. Hettie?
Harriet: I'll move in next to Dolora and spend some WP to do a Backstabbing attack. That gives me a Boon ... and I easily hit, doing 2d8 plus d6 ... 12 points of damage for me as well.
GM Elle: Another pile of bones goes down. New initiative.
MSG: 4.
Sasha: 5.
Harriet: 9. Again.
GM Elle: You're in luck though, Het, because the last skeleton gets the 10 card.
MSG: I'm blowing my horn this round, even though it doesn't seem very necessary.
Sasha: I'm not bothering to chase down my sword, just gonna smack it with my shield. I hit and do ... what do you know, 12 points again.
GM Elle: The air fills with the crunch of snapping ribs and vertebrae, accompanied by a cloud of bone dust. Then the tomb-like quiet slowly seeps back in. It's getting a little late, so I'll make this bit quick instead of going through the whole process of you guys searching everything. The skeletons, whoever they are, must already have done all that searching, because all you find is the loot in the pot or sitting beside each of the three gambler's places. It amounts to 17 copper and 6 silver pieces, plus a silver ring worth another 9 silvers.
MSG: Kind of anticlimactic as far as battles go.
Sasha: I don't care. I got to crunch some stuff, and it felt real satisfying after all the cave-exploring and ladder-climbing and ghost-negotiating.
Ariel: Neghostiating!
Sasha: Haha, sure. I guess if that's it, we head back to the spiderweb spot.
GM Elle: Claire, when Filvius crawls into the little domed space and sits there, he feels his eyelids becoming leaden and droopy. Do you fight it or do you just let them close?
Claire: I let them close. Bring on the future visions!
GM Elle: Your mind quiets. A hazy, ambiguous landscape appears before you -- as though you're looking down on the Misty Vale from a great height. You see the statue at the edge of a great marshland. Then the marshes surround you. Fog and wetland trees blur by you. The scent of muck and swampwater permeate your senses. You find yourself at a different edge of the swamp, where a high, spired tower looms ancient and decrepit over the surrounding bogs. The image of another statuette piece enters your mind -- this one is the head and one arm.
Claire: Woohoo! So there's another statue piece in that tower and apparently it's not even all that far from here.
Ariel: Well, I dunno, on the map those swamps look kinda big.
GM Elle: The vision isn't over yet, though. Your view recedes again, then glides across the Misty Vale to its far western edge. There you see the pitch-black opening of a cave, spiderwebs draping its edges. The slow, methodical scratch of spindly, hard-shelled limbs across stone enters your ears and seems to fill your head up like webbing made of sound. In the darkness you can barely see a hint of enormous, hairy fangs, dripping with green poison. You hear the voice of one of your party members as well, excitedly saying, "Look! It's another one!"
Claire: Another what?
GM Elle: The vision doesn't say ... but it does shift to the town of Outskirt, where you see the central hill by night, with the ruined temple awash in moonlight. Hiding it its shadows, you can make out the figures of Quasimund the mallard and his fellow cultists, lurking there with some clearly nefarious purpose in mind. Then you wake and find yourself back in the burial mound. Strands of silken webbing settle down over you, their colors fading as they dissipate into nothingness.
MSG: Cool ... so we got hints to at least one of the other statue piece locations, maybe two.
Claire: And we know we're heading for some kind of throw down with those cultists at some point too.
Sasha: We're gathering up these pieces to open that ruined temple, right? So maybe that was them setting up an ambush to get us and take the statuette for themselves.
Akane: Or, for us to come out of the temple after we find whatever is in it.
GM Elle: All entirely plausible interpretations. And I'm calling this game over for tonight. I definitely think you hit all five advancement marks, so go ahead and roll for advancement and we can see where you go from here next time.
MSG: Aces.
Claire: Thanks, Elle!
Ariel: I love this game!
and there you have it, at least for the time being! see you round, everyone!
GM Elle: Yes, but they don't seem to immediately take notice of you. Instead, they move like automatons, with their jaws clacking as though they're discussing bets. Their hands spread and reposition their cards, or move copper and silver pieces into the pot at the center of the table. The cards themselves are in tatters, some of them just scraps barely held together by narrow stretches of the original cardstock.
MSG: Can we tell if there's enough coinage in the pot to make it worth our while to fight them?
Sasha: Who cares? Skeletons are monsters, dammit, and I haven't gotten to fight a single monster this whole session. Quackers just up and attacks them.
GM Elle: You can get in a free strike on the closest one, then we'll draw initiative.
Sasha: Slash! I hit with a 15! I'm definitely paying the 3 WP for my to add an extra d8 with my Dragonslayer ability. That's 3d8 plus 1d6 for my strength ... 14 points of damage.
GM Elle: Hang on there, the book says skeletons don't count as monsters in combat, so take away that extra d8. You don't have to pay the WP either.
Sasha: Damn it! Well, it doesn't matter much -- the extra die was a 2, so that's still 12 points.
GM Elle: It shatters into a mouldering heap of bone. Initiative time.
MSG: 2.
Sasha: 7.
Harriet: 9.
GM Elle: The skeletons are on 8.
MSG: These guys don't seem all that tough, so I'll step up and slash at the next one. I kind of stink with a sword, though. A 10 misses. Maybe I should have blown my horn after all.
Sasha: Or maybe you should just stand back and watch Quackers do his thing. Ker-whack! Garrh, that's a Demon.
GM Elle: The mishap table says ... you accidentally throw your weapon d3+3 meters. I roll a total of 4. You'll have to go get it next round. Skeletons' turn. They pick up some tools that are lying nearby -- a shovel and a mining pick. The first one attacks Sir Q ... miss. The second one attacks Dolora ... also a miss. Hettie?
Harriet: I'll move in next to Dolora and spend some WP to do a Backstabbing attack. That gives me a Boon ... and I easily hit, doing 2d8 plus d6 ... 12 points of damage for me as well.
GM Elle: Another pile of bones goes down. New initiative.
MSG: 4.
Sasha: 5.
Harriet: 9. Again.
GM Elle: You're in luck though, Het, because the last skeleton gets the 10 card.
MSG: I'm blowing my horn this round, even though it doesn't seem very necessary.
Sasha: I'm not bothering to chase down my sword, just gonna smack it with my shield. I hit and do ... what do you know, 12 points again.
GM Elle: The air fills with the crunch of snapping ribs and vertebrae, accompanied by a cloud of bone dust. Then the tomb-like quiet slowly seeps back in. It's getting a little late, so I'll make this bit quick instead of going through the whole process of you guys searching everything. The skeletons, whoever they are, must already have done all that searching, because all you find is the loot in the pot or sitting beside each of the three gambler's places. It amounts to 17 copper and 6 silver pieces, plus a silver ring worth another 9 silvers.
MSG: Kind of anticlimactic as far as battles go.
Sasha: I don't care. I got to crunch some stuff, and it felt real satisfying after all the cave-exploring and ladder-climbing and ghost-negotiating.
Ariel: Neghostiating!
Sasha: Haha, sure. I guess if that's it, we head back to the spiderweb spot.
GM Elle: Claire, when Filvius crawls into the little domed space and sits there, he feels his eyelids becoming leaden and droopy. Do you fight it or do you just let them close?
Claire: I let them close. Bring on the future visions!
GM Elle: Your mind quiets. A hazy, ambiguous landscape appears before you -- as though you're looking down on the Misty Vale from a great height. You see the statue at the edge of a great marshland. Then the marshes surround you. Fog and wetland trees blur by you. The scent of muck and swampwater permeate your senses. You find yourself at a different edge of the swamp, where a high, spired tower looms ancient and decrepit over the surrounding bogs. The image of another statuette piece enters your mind -- this one is the head and one arm.
Claire: Woohoo! So there's another statue piece in that tower and apparently it's not even all that far from here.
Ariel: Well, I dunno, on the map those swamps look kinda big.
GM Elle: The vision isn't over yet, though. Your view recedes again, then glides across the Misty Vale to its far western edge. There you see the pitch-black opening of a cave, spiderwebs draping its edges. The slow, methodical scratch of spindly, hard-shelled limbs across stone enters your ears and seems to fill your head up like webbing made of sound. In the darkness you can barely see a hint of enormous, hairy fangs, dripping with green poison. You hear the voice of one of your party members as well, excitedly saying, "Look! It's another one!"
Claire: Another what?
GM Elle: The vision doesn't say ... but it does shift to the town of Outskirt, where you see the central hill by night, with the ruined temple awash in moonlight. Hiding it its shadows, you can make out the figures of Quasimund the mallard and his fellow cultists, lurking there with some clearly nefarious purpose in mind. Then you wake and find yourself back in the burial mound. Strands of silken webbing settle down over you, their colors fading as they dissipate into nothingness.
MSG: Cool ... so we got hints to at least one of the other statue piece locations, maybe two.
Claire: And we know we're heading for some kind of throw down with those cultists at some point too.
Sasha: We're gathering up these pieces to open that ruined temple, right? So maybe that was them setting up an ambush to get us and take the statuette for themselves.
Akane: Or, for us to come out of the temple after we find whatever is in it.
GM Elle: All entirely plausible interpretations. And I'm calling this game over for tonight. I definitely think you hit all five advancement marks, so go ahead and roll for advancement and we can see where you go from here next time.
MSG: Aces.
Claire: Thanks, Elle!
Ariel: I love this game!
and there you have it, at least for the time being! see you round, everyone!
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