Adventure #1 - The Jolly Toad

At Talmut's request, Elodie uses the wand to heal him before they leave the room (OOC: Talmut is now healed to full health).

After she hears the ghouls respond to Jeremiah, Elodie calls, "Cursed? What kind of curse are you speaking of?"

She whispers quietly to the group, "Let's see if they have anything important to tell us...then let's finish them off!"

Elodie waits for an answer, but does not lower her guard.

"The curse? The curse? ... those who come here die horrible, horrible deaths."
- "Yes, yes! Horrible deaths! Torment ... agony ... the most painful and ... embarrassing ... deaths!"
"Embarrassing, yes ... and horrible! You should go. Really."

After Elodie whispers to her companions, the ghouls react to what she said.
OOC: Perception check = 25 (18 on the die)

"No, no ... no need to finish us off. No need."
- "We have nothing you want. We mean no harm. Just go, just go ... you don't need to finish us off."
"That's right ... we're sorry ... really sorry."
- "Sorry, yes ... t'was a misunderstanding."
"So, go ... just go ... leave while you still can ... before ... before the curse sets in."
- "Right, right ... there's still time, but not much. You must go, you must go ... as soon as you can!"

Elodie is very suspicious of how concerned these ghouls suddenly are for the well-being of the party. (OOC: Sense motives check)

Elodie is pretty sure they are just trying to save their own necks.

Fed up with the sniveling ghouls, Elodie takes a few steps into the room and raises her hands towards the ghoul on the left. "Misunderstand THIS!" she shouts, summoning a bolt of hot fire.

Cast Fire Bolt, attack=11 (10 + 1)

R & R - ROUND 1

Init 22
Having come under attack, the two ghouls rush out of the shadows and attack Elodie and Talmut ... both miss.

- Attack roll vs. Talmut = 10 (7 on the die) MISS.
- Attack roll vs. Elodie = Natural 1

Init 21 and later
- OOC: Go ahead and post your actions, starting with Elodie ...

Baring her teeth at the approaching ghoul, Elodie skips backwards and once again attempts to scorch the foul creature.

Move: 5-foot step to P5
Standard: Cast Fire Bolt, attack = 5 (4 + 1)

With the two arrows he found still in his hand, Jeremiah knocks one of them and fires....

L. Bow: 15 + 4 = 19
Damage: 1

OOC: I will fire at the one in O7, is there a penalty for firing into melee?
OOC: Finally hit and I roll a 1 for damage...


GM Edit: OOC: Not at the time you will be shooting ... not unless Maius enters its threatened area before your initiative.
Also, go ahead and roll damage, please (if you get a chance before I post the R&R).

Maius quickly draws his whip and strikes at the beast in front of him.

Move: Draw weapon
Standard: Attack enemy at N4

Attack: d20+2= 14
Damage: d3+1= 4

macksgarageusa wrote:Maius can carry only 1 lb. of 'stuff' before his encumbrance goes to Medium. I have no problem with that at all. He will carry whatever he has room for in his pack.

O.o.C.: Maius would have grabbed some of the goods that seemed to have value. There is no difference between 1 p.c. being Medium encumbered and 2. If under quick inspection all swords seemed equal, he will take 4 or 5 that look the best. Also, the backpack and the shovel.  


GM Edit: OOC: Noted

R & R - THE REST OF ROUND 1 & THE START OF ROUND 2

Init 21
Elodie steps back to give Jeremiah a clear shot and calls on the first spirits again ... but this time, he shot goes wide and misses.

Init 16
Maius draws his whip and punishes one of the wicked creatures.

Init 4
Jeremiah knocks another arrows and fires it past the retreating Elodie ... this time, his shot sinks into the rotten flesh of his enemy. The celestial Eagle tears into it's prey with its powerful beak.

Meanwhile, Talmut again summons the son of Eru-Belu.

- Cast Defensively. Concentration Check = 20 (14 on the die) vs. 17
- EB's attack rolls = 18, 13, 4 (14, 10, 1 on the die). Damage = 5

Init 22
The ghouls press the attack, with increased ferocity.

- P6's attacks = 16, 5, 16 (13, 2, 13 on the die). Damage = 6 and 7 Damage to Talmut. Talmut drops.
- Talmut's saves = 13, 4, 19, 13 (12, 3, 18, 12 on the dice). Talmut catches Ghoul Fever.

- N4's attacks = 9, 12, 7 (6, 9, 4 on the dice). Damage = 4 Damage to Elodie.
- Elodie's save = 22 and 7 (19 and 4 on the dice). Elodie is paralyzed for 2-5 rounds.

Init 22
Elodie stands there, paralyzed.

Init 16 and later
Actions, please?

Elodie stands there, teeth still bared. She worries about what her mom used to always say about her face getting stuck that way...

Hoping to inflict more damage to the ghoul in front of him, Maius continues attacking with the whip.

Standard: Attack enemy at N4

Attack: d20+2= 8 (bah!)

Jeremiah will draw his new axe and attack the ghoul he hit with the arrow. "I'll be taking that arrow back."

H. Axe: 13 + 3 = 16 +2 enhancement = 18
Damage(if applicable): 5 + 2 = 7 +2 enhancement = 9 damage

OOC: I am unsure of the stats for the magical axe, so I used the stats of a normal axe and will let you modify the rolls accordingly.
OOC2: Do I get a flanking bonus as well?

GM Edit: OOC: Added the enhancement bonuses (but the axe has other powers, yet, as well) ... but no flank. Sorry.

R & R - REST OF ROUND 2 & START OF ROUND 3

Init 16
Maius continues to crack the whip, but fails to deal any serious damage.

Init 4
Jeremiah switches to the new axe, and rushes forward ... its power feels tangible in his hands, as he cleaves the monster clean in two, from shoulder to groin ... the two halves of the ghoul fall gorily to the ground.

The Son of Eru-Belu soars in, attacking the last monster with its already bloodied beak, and ripping away the creatures eyes. The ghoul grasps at its bleeding sockets as it falls to its knees, and then topples (dead) to the ground. "Why?! Why? We would've let you leeeeee ..."

- Attack = 21 (18 on the die). Damage = 3

- Talmut's Stabilization Roll = 15 (Success) He is stable.

- OOC: End Combat.

Elodie remains paralyzed for another 6 seconds.

After she unfreezes, Elodie pulls the wand out and kneels next to Talmut. She taps him on the forehead with the wand once...he doesn't stir. A second time...he's conscious, but still wounded. Just to be safe, Elodie taps him a third time. After Talmut has been healed, she taps the wand on her own wrist.

Heals Talmut 4 hp. 
Heals Talmut 11 hp.
Heals Talmut 4 hp.
Heals Elodie 10 hp.

After she and Talmut are both fully healed, Elodie will look around the room to see if there's any other treasure...of course, someone else might have to carry it.

Jeremiah will slowly investigate the area moving slowly towards the throne.

OOC: Is the arrow lodged in the ghoul broke?
GM Edit: OOC: Nope. It's still re-usable.

Examining the hall, Elodie and Jeremiah discover several urns, placed around ten stout pillars that support the roof. The urns themselves are elaborately painted, with the scenes of glorious battles, and filled with ashes. There are twenty urns in total. Sifting through the ancient ashes, they discover a handful of coins, each minted from Augustine Platinum. There are thirty coins in total.

Talmut estimates the urns are worth about 100 gold pieces each, but they will be difficult to transport safely.

Jeremiah cautiously creeps toward the throne at the far end of the hall. A beam of sunlight illuminating the five inch dais the throne sits upon and seems to be pouring in from the outside. As he gets closer, Jeremiah can sees the rubble and dirt that must have fallen in when the ceiling collapsed, but there doesn't seem to be enough of it.

The throne is made of stone and wood and is obviously very old. The seated corpse is dressed in old formal garb; the dress uniform of an imperial officer ... except, the clothing is faded and worn out. The corpse itself has severely deteriorated, dried out from the centuries it sat here, but not nearly as rotten as it should be.

Jeremiah tries to focus on the ghoul sitting on the throne, is he moving?...

As Jeremiah looks closer, the seated corpse is definitely NOT moving.

Elodie also moves closer to the throne, trying to determine if there are any magic forces at work around the throne. She will share whatever she is able to detect with the group. 

Cast Detect Magic.

Elodie also inspects the columns--is there any way to climb up the columns to get to the hole in the ceiling, or something that the party could throw the rope over?

When Elodie concentrates, she detects a faint aura of necromancy on the body; it does not seem to be emanating from any particular item on the body, but from the body itself.

Climbing the pillars to the ceiling (some 25 feet above the floor ) is certainly possible, but whoever made such a climb would still be several yards from the hole the light is streaming through. (OOC: The hole is directly above D5 ... so the light comes in at an angle, widening as it approaches the floor ... so that it illuminates D5, D6, E5, and E6). 

There doesn't appear to be much to loop the rope over; just a dirty hole that stretches from the ceiling to the surface, maybe three yards or so above the ceiling. This situation would be perfect for a grappling hook, but nobody in the party seems to have one.

O.o.C.: Funny, I almost grabbed a hook when I was making my character. Encumbrance made that choice for me.

Maius will inspect the areas he can see for writings, symbols and names he might recognize. Or, be able to research later.

Linguistics: +8
Knowledge(History): +6
Knowledge(Local): +8
Knowledge(Geography): +6

O.o.C.2: Again, not sure if I make those rolls or GM? Amend as necessary.


GM Edit: OOC: The GM makes Knowledge checks in secret.

When Jeremiah hears that the corpse is tainted with necromancy he knocks an arrow...

L. Bow: 16 + 4 = 20
Dmg: 6

Jeremiah's arrow skewers the corpse's skull, but the corpse remains dead and doesn't move.

Maius looks around the space for symbols or writing, but doesn't find any ... he does, however, notice that the pillars are painted with narrow murals. Unfortunately, they are very faded and difficult to make out. They seem to portray important battles between the Legio Martis and other forces (each pillar telling the tale of a different battle). Maius stares at each pillar for several minutes and comes to the conclusion that four of the battles were against local "barbarians" (ancestors of the peoples of the Five Realms); two of the battles were against the forces of giants (fire giants on one pillar, giants in general on the other); another battle was against an army of undead; another against the armies of the Five Kings; and one pillar is too faded to make out. The last and most intriguing pillar shows the Legio Martis battling against another August Legion: the Legio Victrix.