(Pathfinder) The Curse of the Crimson Throne IC

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan replies quietly, with a meaningful glance at the crowd gathered now in some semblance of order. "Agreed, Aldrin. Anyone who can afford to purposefully destroy a sailing ship, hire assassins and summon and bind demons is not a foe to be taken lightly..." He frowns for a moment, then replies with rather more volume to Rennard's question. "The others are indeed inside, speaking with the head of this temple. Shall we join them?"

[Leviathan]

The priestess of the Dawnflower addresses Atavian's questions, her voice never faltering, though she seems to be suppressing great sadness. "It appeared only very recently, in the weakest of people. There were only a few here yesterday, but today we are overwhelmed. We have some hundred beds in our temple, but you have seen those outside... And I have heard tell that there are similar crowds at the other temples. As for the afflicted, only a few have died yet, but the disease may yet be in its first stages. It has ravaged their bodies so quickly... in a few days, they may be gone. The weakest among us will succumb very quickly, and will have the worst chance of recovering without aid. It may be that healthier people are more resistant. We do not yet know, and I pray with ever breath that we never discover the truth of that question."

[Blisstake]

Aldrin walks into the room as the priestess explains the current situation. He considers the information, then asks, "About how many days does it take to kill someone, would you estimate? And do you know if there's anything we can do to help in the long-term?"

And what the hell is the purpose of this plague?

[Leviathan]

"I can only guess. Most of these poor souls will last two or three days longer. For a healthy person?" She pauses, thinking for a moment. "Perhaps seven days."

"In the long term, the city must unite! We will need all of its resources to combat this, and I fear that even then, many will die."

[Drothmal]

that's horrible! laments Reve telepathically Oh bonded, is there anything we can do?

For now, all we can do is take of the bodies to slow down the rate of contagion replies Rennard aloud, finding it more efficient to also communicate this particular though to his companions

Turning to the healer, the magus asks

Are there any efforts being devoted to investigate a cure or at least a vaccine against this disease? Considering that we are still unaffected, maybe we could help whoever would be most suited for that field of research

[Leviathan]

To Rennard, Mother Dawnflower answers: "This I could not say. I know that the Queen has called together her advisors in the Castle. With Sarenrae's grace, they will create a good plan. I cannot say who will be attempting to create a cure, if one is to be made. Perhaps you could talk to one of the Magistrates, or another official."

[Drothmal]

Thank you for your assistance replies the fencer We will go to Racker's Alley. If you need more assistance, leave word about us to either Field Marshal Kroft or Master Vencarlo Orisini.

Unless any of his companions has something to add, the magus will start heading to the aforementioned destination. It would be illogical to waste time when the disease was still in expansion

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian says as they leave, "yes, I think scanning Racker's Alley will prove more useful than heading to the Arkona family first. Let's go."

[DaedalusMkV]

"Agreed. Containing the spread of the plague must be our first priority. I believe it would be best if none of you approached the corpses too closely; my Divine gifts protect me from such maladies; you might not be so lucky." He looks around the temple, taking in the sheer number already beset by the disease. "We had best hurry regardless. Mother Dawnseeker, it is clear that the temple of Sarenrae is serving as a bastion for the Good deities here in the city. I fear I have been... Remiss in not offering my services to you earlier. I shall return when I am able, to provide what assistance I can."

[Leviathan]

"Thank you, honoured paladin," Mother Dawnflower says with a smile. She watches you go as you depart for Racker's Alley.

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The journey to Old Korvosa serves as a grim example of how bad things have become in a remarkably short span of time. Markets have quickly cleared out as word of the disease and its pock-marked carriers has spread. Now, most stalls are shuttered, the merchants departed for home. The few who remain are greeted by a few hushed shoppers who buy only the essentials. On street corners, the occasional, nervous-looking guard stands, but otherwise the city has in the span of a few hours grown deserted.

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Old Korvosa is far worse. Here, it seems as though every house is shut tight, every tavern closed. Here and there, the occasional cart trundles by. Sometimes, the cart reeks of mortification and is guarded by hard-faced Arkona mercenaries.

Racker's Alley is a crooked street running off from one of the main routes. The high walls of the surrounding buildings give it the appearance of a canyon, its awkwardly bent cobblestones thrown into constant shadow. Although littered with garbage and filth, the refuse is not the most stomach-turning trait of this rundown sideway. Heaped against a bent wooden wall rises a pile of perhaps three dozen bodies, with blistered, flushed faces. The scent of death is heavy on the air, though none of the bodies have yet begun to rot. A small shop, its sign reading "Giotorri's Toys," is the only building facing onto the alley. Judging by the cracked glass of the storefront and the soot-covered windows, it has been abandoned for some time.

[Drothmal]

That is horrible! thinks Reve, sympathy in her voice

Indeed, this type of disposal can only help the disease spread replies the fencer, less aware of the human tragedy



Turning to his companions, Rennard brings up the task at hand

We need to dispose of the remains so the disease cannot spread further. One of the most logical methods would be to burn them with fire or dissolve them with acid.

Bonded! interrupts the rapier

Though other options might be available the magus finishes, making a compromise with the black blade

Dastan, if you are protected from contagion, it would be most efficient if you approach the bodies. If you would like, I can enhance your size, making the task of moving the corpses easier for you.

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If Dastan agrees to it, Rennard will cast Enlarge person on him.
Also, if Dastan begins to move towards the bodies, Rennard will ready Hydraulic push, should anything come attacking the paladin (I'm basing this behavior in the previous experience of having the bug come out of the corpse pile in the Grey)

[Blisstake]

"Disgusting." Aldrin comments, looking over the scene. "After cleaning it up, we'll need to restrict access to this location, and any others like it. I'll speak with Kroft to get this started; hopefully she'll trust our advice."

He looks tentatively toward the assembled corpses, and decides to keep his distance. "If Dastan won't catch the disease, then he should be the one to burn the corpses. The rest of us need protection before even thinking of appraoching those." He looks over the rest of the group, deciding how they can best use their time. "Atavian, if you can summon any fire beasts, that would assist us in disposing of the corpses. If their duration is not sufficient, we'll need to purchase alchemical fires. Jensi, Rennard, the two of you should purchase plague-protecting equipment and the fire if necesary, while I go to the Citadel to speak with Kroft. Does that sound appropriate?"

[RocketMan]

Jensi

"Alright," Jensi sniffles in response to Aldrin. "I can do that." He turns away from Aldrin, his eyes purposely avoiding the pile of plagued bodies. The youth has the peculiar appearance of nausea and profound sadness simultaneously. With watery eyes and looking slightly green, Jensi continues.

"I don't understand why the bodies are here though. Someone must have put them here, but who would do that? It's not right to dump them like this!"

[Drothmal]

Seeing the logic in Aldrin's plan, the fencer nods at the sorcerer and moves closer to the oracle.

Since there was no need to say anything, the magus remains silent.

[DaedalusMkV]

"That would be appreciated, Rennard, but first we'll need a plan for where to move them." He quickly glances around the crowded, run-down shanties of Old Korvosa. "We'll need the largest open space available for a proper pyre, and some wood and fuel to actually burn the corpses. With proper preparation, we shouldn't need to work too hard to actually dispose of them. If we had a cart, this would be much easier..." He shakes his head. "Well, we'll do what we must. Atavian, Rennard, you know this section of the city far better than I. Is there a sufficient open space to construct a pyre, or at least an area with no wooden buildings to catch fire?"

[Leviathan]

As the party discusses what to do, a sudden, feral hissing in heard, coming from above you, amidst the shadowy rooftops. Glowing red eyes, alight with a malevolent fire, glare down at you from above. Then, as one, the creatures jump down. They are humanoid, white and sinewy, obviously dead. Their thin frames mingle with strange, bloated bellies; they have clearly been feeding. They bare long, pointed fangs and show sharp claws, standing between you and the corpse pile like territorial animals. One of them speaks, its voice a low growl. "This ours! You leave now... no come back! Our food!"

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The combined stench of the corpses and their guardians is overwhelming. Everyone make a Fort save DC15. Failure means you are sickened for (1d6+4)[10] minutes.

Map

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[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan narrows his eyes at the foul creatures, and though he doesn't even seem to notice the overpowering stench his mouth curls in a faint grimace of disgust. "Unclean jackals. The light of the Gods will cleanse your taint from this place!" He draws his sword as he steps forwards , advancing to the goul in the centre. He brings it across in a violent arc and it seems to glow with hazy flame for a brief moment as it strikes at the Paladin's foul opponent.

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I'm making a standard Move straight forwards to put me adjacent to both G4 and G5, then activating Smite Evil targetting G5 as a Swift action and making a Standard attack with Power Attack.

Attack: (1d20+10)[21]
Damage: (1d8+16)[17]

Summary:

HP 40/40

AC 21, FF21, Touch 10 (Add 4 to all against G5)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +11
Energy Resist 5 vs. Electricity, Fire, Acid
Immune to Fear (Allies within 10 feet gain +4)
Immune to Disease
Smite Evil 1/2
Lay on Hands 6/6

[RocketMan]

Jensi

"Wha- who are you?" Jensi asks, startled. "Wait! You're undead!" he gasps. His violet eyes narrow and he brandishes his holy symbol. Hearing Dastan's indictment of their foes, he raises his voice in an attempt to imitate his companion.

"By Shelyn's grace, get back, you - umm - dirty undead things!" he calls, his voice too high and with too many pauses for it to be truly dramatic. Still, a wave of light cascades forth, crashing into the undead creatures.

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Move forward one square and cast Channel Energy: (2d6)[12] (DC 18)

[SanguinePenguin]

As Atavian's fear mounts, he begins to command through a tremulous voice, "Tallox..."

The beyonder cuts him off, "yeah, I know. Nothing that smells that foul is good." As Tallox unfurls his claws, the halfling places his hand to the outsider's thigh and mutters a blessing of protection. Once the magical barrier against evil is in place, Tallox moves forward behind Dastan and rakes as his target.

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Tallox is not biting at them because they smell bad and may carry the plague.

Atavian cast prot. evil on Tallox

Tallox move next to Dastan and attack G5
Attack R.claw: (1d20+7)[13]
Damage: (1d4+4)[7]

[Drothmal]

Berating himself for not having asked Jensi to heal the wounds sustained against the assassins, Rennard quickly examines the situation: With Dastan and Tallox already engaged in melee, what the group needed the most was to control the battlefield

Aldrin! the fencer calls to the sorcerer, knowing his preference for area spells I'll take the left, you take the right!

With those words, the magus takes a step torwards the undead creatures and raises his left hand while tracing the "ilussion" and "blindess" sigils.

From the tip of Rennard's hand, a surge of color burst forwards and envelops the enemies blocking the path to the corpses.

The spell done, the duelist retrieves Reve and lets some of his arcane powers flow into the black blade, causing the blade to faintly glow with azure light. Leveling the rapier parallel to the ground, the fencer readies himself for the fight that is sure to proceed

Actions

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Swift: Activate Arcane pool
Move: Unsheathe weapon/5ft step diagonally down and to the right
Standard: Cast Color Spray at G2, G3 and G5 (will DC 16)

Status

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HP=26/37
AC=20 (15 touch, 16 FF)
F=+5, R=+5, W=+3
Arcane Pool=6/8

[Blisstake]

Aldrin looks at the advancing creatures, and unleashes frozen magic under two of the enemies. If they were what he suspected they were, it was likely his magic wouldn't have as much of an effect as he would like.

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Using Frost Fall, so it hits G4 and G1. It does (2d6)[6] cold damage this round, and another (1d6)[5] for each round they remain in the area. It also staggers them initially if they fail a DC 18 fort save, but if they're undead like I think they are, they don't have to make the save.

HP: 32/34
F +3, R +3, W +3
Level 1 Spells: 5/8
Level 2 Spells: 2/4

[Leviathan]

Dastan's blazing sword slices through tainted undead flesh and bone. His holy weapon slashes cleanly through the creature's waist, leaving a wound cauterized by the same divine flame that caused it. The ghoul gasps out a shriek, clutching at itself as its pale body collapses to the ground, smoking.

Jensi steps forwards, following the paladin. Shelyn's light is manifest in the alley: a bright flash lights up the walls and sears the ghouls. They hiss in pain and anger.

Bolstered by Atavian, Tallox lashes out at the nearest of the undead. His claws, however, are unable to reach as the cunning creature jumps back.

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Since Dastan killed G5, I moved Tallox on to attack another target.

Reve is out of Rennard's sheathe in the blink of an eye. The magus sends a blast of colour towards the clustered ghouls. The horrors do not even blink, however, as the magic passes them by harmlessly.

Aldrin's hellish frost clutches at the ghouls. One of them, weakened from Jensi's holy light, falls to the ground, where the frost quickly begins to cover its motionless corpse.

The remaining ghouls surge forwards, raging and ripping with their fangs at the nearest targets, animalistically defending their territory.

One of them bites at Dastan, but flinches backwards, its face bloodied, as the paladin's shield intercepts the attack.

The other two charge towards Rennard as one. While the first ghoul is fended off, the second manages to clamp down on the duelist's arm with its jaws. Needle-like teeth tear flesh. Rennard can feel a numbness creeping out from the wound, but he shakes this off.

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5 damage to Rennard. See OOC for your saves.

Round 2

Map:

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[Blisstake]

Aldrin reaches for his obsidian wand, and releases a blast of silvery force from the tip at the ghoul that recently escaped his icy magic.

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Using my Magic Missile Wand on G1. (1d4+1)[5] damage.

HP: 32/34
F +3, R +3, W +3
Level 1 Spells: 5/8
Level 2 Spells: 2/4

[SanguinePenguin]

Atavian rushes forward and places the same protective boon on Rennard that he put on Tallox. Tallox moves around Dastan and swings his claw at one the creatures attacking Rennard.

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Atavian move to space right of Jensi and cast Prot Evil on Rennard.

Tallox move to spot left of Rennard and attack G2
Attack R Claw: (1d20+7)[11]
Damage: (1d4+4)[5]

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan gives himself an instant of satisfaction, smiling briefly at the destruction of his target, then turns to face the nearest ghoul and strides forwards with his shield up and sword ready for another strike. He quickly assesses the condition of his remaining opponents, then strikes out once more.

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Alright, I'm afraid I'm going to need some contingencies here, since whether Aldrin's Magic Missile dropped G1 heavily effects my action.

1. If G1 is down, I'll use a Move action to advance around G2 and G3 to flank them with Rennard and Tallox, then attack G2. This will provoke an AoO from G2.

2. If G1 is still active, five-foot-step directly towards G2, then attack G2.

3. If Tallox somehow managed to finish off G2 but G1 is still active, as above but attack G1.

4. If Tallox managed to finish off G2 and G1 is down, move action then attack the last remaining foe.

Probably 3 and 4 aren't terribly relevent, but I'll include them for posterity.

Attack: (1d20+8)[24] (add 2 if contingency 1 is used)
Damage: (1d8+3)[4]

Summary:

HP 40/40

AC 21, FF21, Touch 10 (Add 4 to all against G5)
Saves: Fort +10, Ref +5, Will +11
Energy Resist 5 vs. Electricity, Fire, Acid
Immune to Fear (Allies within 10 feet gain +4)
Immune to Disease
Smite Evil 0/2
Lay on Hands 5/6

Edit: Mistakes were made regarding not accounting for the fight against the assassins. These mistakes have been corrected.

[Drothmal]

Bonded! yells Reve as the creature's teeth pierce the fencer's arm.

Rennard doesn't reply to the blade. Though most spellcasters would be terrified upon seeing one of their attacks so easily bypassed, the magus merely makes a note to himself that these creatures seem to be immune to illusions and proceeds to archive that together with all the knowledge he has accumulated both through experience and learning.

As the numbness begins to curse through his body, the duelist forces his logical mind deeply into the discipline of fencing.

Recover, parry, riposte the fencer enumerates to himself

Reaching into his arcane energies, Rennard is able to force his mind to remember the shield spell that he used against the assassins. Then, while his left hand traces once again the symbol for "shield", the duelist lunges at the creature to his right

Actions

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Swift: Use Spell Recall to recover Shield Spell
Full Round Action: Cast Shield Defensively and attack G2 using spell combat (taking -2 to attacks for a +2 on concentration)

Concentration - (1d20+11)[18] (vs DC17)

Attack - (1d20+6)[7] (add +2 if flanking with Dastan)
Damage - (1d6+3)[8] (weapon is +2, in case that affects DR)

Status

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HP=21/37
AC=24 (19 touch, 20 FF) (Add +1 against Evil creatures, This might be edited if shield works)
F=+5, R=+5, W=+3 (Add +2 against Evil effects)
Arcane Pool=5/8

[RocketMan]

Jensi

Jensi holds forth his holy symbol, which glints with light. A few distant chords of music can be heard, as if very far away, and once more white light washes over the battlefield.

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Another Channel Energy: (2d6)[9] (DC 18) on the undead!

[Leviathan]

Aldrin's wand shoots out a silvery dart, that unerring strikes its target. This, combined with Jensi's channelled energy, blasts the ghoul apart in a nova of magical force.

Dastan moves around behind the ghouls attacking Rennard. He once again hacks into the ghouls, but this time, the creature does not fall.

Rennard and Tallox are both unable to make contact with the undead horrors, claw and blade both dodged by the sinewy ghouls.

Jensi lets forth another burst of light. Immediately, the ghoul that had recently felt Dastan's sword is incinerated, and the sole remaining creature quickly falls as well.

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Technically, one ghoul wasn't quite dead. But for the sake of speed, I'm assuming you guys finished off all two hit points he had left without any difficulty.

The alley once again goes silent as all five ghouls lie slaughtered, their pale white corpses a striking contrast with the blotchy red bodies heaped in a macabre pile.

[DaedalusMkV]

Dastan sheathes his sword, still dry after the battle with the unliving ghouls, then quickly checks the others to see what sort of injuries they've sustained. Noting that Rennard still bears the wounds inflicted by the assassins in addition to new scrapes and cuts he crosses the short distance between them and places his hand on the fencer's shoulder, allowing healing energy to flow into his companion. "Well fought, everyone. Another threat to this city's people has been eliminated." He grins momentarily. "I imagine that Kroft would be pleased with this particular use of her blade. Did anyone else suffer injuries at the hands of these creatures? They have spent a great deal of time among the corpses of the plague-fallen, and there is a strong risk of infection if the wounds are not quickly dealt with."

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Lay on Hands for Rennard: (3d6)[13]

[Drothmal]

Dastan's powers mend Rennard's wounds almost completely. The fencer tests his recovery by doing a quick lunge in the air. Satisfied with the results, the fencer nods gratefully at the paladin


It seems that disposing of these bodies is more urgent that we though. We should enact Aldrin's plan at once, though some changes might need to be made considering the new data.

Dastan, Jensi and Atavian should remain together in the area and try to find for a place to burn the bodies. In case more of these creatures come, they are the best suited to deal with them. Dastan, Jensi, these creatures are outside of my area of expertise. Are any special methods required to eliminate them?

In the midtime, Aldrin and I will go to Kroft to inform her. We'll try to acquire the needed provisions on our way back