New OOTS products from CafePress
New OOTS t-shirts, ornaments, mugs, bags, and more
Page 2 of 2 FirstFirst 12
Results 31 to 45 of 45
  1. - Top - End - #31
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Daemon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Frozen North
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    I was promised a journal entry...

    Last edited by curious-puzzle; 2017-09-01 at 11:42 PM.
    The Romanov Incident A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Magic! Mystery! Mind control! Murderous Demon Apes!
    The Curse of Artaith A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Heavily influenced by the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games. Featuring lots and lots of death, player (character) and otherwise!
    Dammerung(old) and Dammerung 2.0 A 5e campaign journal, ongoing. My latest kitchen sink of a campaign setting, with magic radiation storms, underground undead hordes, and elder-god worshipping vikings

  2. - Top - End - #32
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

    Join Date
    Jun 2017

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    This does seem to be conspicuously void of our last session....
    Which, considering our next game is Sunday, is cutting it a might close!
    Last edited by Tyrant_2d; 2017-09-02 at 02:17 AM.

  3. - Top - End - #33
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Wild North Yonder

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Cutting it close? Yes. And perhaps not as accurate as it might have been if I had done this sooner. I blame it on two weeks vacation and too much free time of the right kind lol. Still got it done before game tonight though!

    Spoiler: The Retcon - Missing Player?
    Show
    For the sake of ease because his player was at a wedding - Mordren is the PC who escorts Keldrin ALL the way back to the Sleepless Agency; not Falanar. His adventure is a short story unto itself and will be posted separate from the rest of the journal summary bits if you really want to read what the Witch was up to :)


    Spoiler: The Ghost
    Show
    So after Cole’s narrow and quite literal brush with death! (a dead thing) we get to leap right into initiative right at the start of the game! Cole rushes to the back of the room making high pitched and unhappy noises while Steven hides, and the big beefy unicorn loving fighter.... Retreats out of the room calling the paladin up. His player insists that without a magic weapon he’s useless in this fight - and it quite content to play cheerleader for the holy knight who is pretty much designed to take on this kind of fight. How generous *coughcough*

    Objects in the room start flying around as an emaciated looking ghost-man in a loin cloth and covered in eldritch looking tattoos flies through the wall wielding the ‘bad’ touch in his little finger that starts taking chunks out of the party’s health pool at an alarming rate... until I remember there’s a save for it and the fight goes from ACK HELP! To NOT GOOD, BUT WE CAN DO THIS!

    Until the Paladin crits on a smite.

    *book toss, table toss, dice rain*

    The ghost shrieks, turns into a sickly fleshy coloured mist, and seems to be sucked back into the ‘wall’ from whence it came. Satisfied that the creepy apparition is at least defeated for now, the party decides to finish knocking down the rest of the plastered wall, dig out the old straw behind it, and finally come to a locked wooden door with air wafting from the grate that smells like they just opened a tomb. Sure enough, inside is a naturally mummified corpse of a man with tattoos curled up in the centre of the room.

    As a Paladin of Pharasma, Sanya is quick to determine that between the claw marks at the door and curses scratched into the walls... that the man did not die well and was likely ‘buried’ alive. They will need to come back and ensure that he has a proper burial if his ghost is to be laid to rest - something they don’t have time to do at this very moment with a fort full of enemies.

    Ever the loot hunter - Cole goes to inspect the body and makes his perception check to see a strange bulge in the mummy’s throat. Curious, he starts coaxing it up the leathery throat until the clack of stone hits the back of the skull’s teeth. A bright blue and red stone falls out after giving the head a quick shake, and Cole is yet again rewarded for corpse desiccation - under the guise of ‘science.’

    Spoiler: Crit Master Mooks
    Show
    After finishing up in the basement and quite certain there are no further hidden surprises, loot, or enemies (after dispatching an ooze in the hallway near the well room where Sanya had been hiding after being mistaken for a dead corpse) the grand party of adventurers heads back upstairs to continue clearing out the fort. Side to bottom to other side to... top. They’re being thorough.

    After sitting out the ghost fight, Falanar is ready to go in guns blazing into the next room with a closed door. His attempt to kick it down with a 2 for a strength check roll; however, garners an eyeroll from Stephen who slips in, unlocks the door, turns the handle to open it slightly, and gestures for Falanar to ‘try again.’ Which he does. With great enthusiasm - into a ready wall of more Skum who have had a couple rounds to prepare for the impending invaders.

    Ghosts are above his paygrade, but Falanar is pretty certain he can take on a bunch of fish people, and he does manage to lay one to waste in a single turn, but there are eight of them - and one fighter surrounded by tridents. Even so - they have to roll 17’s to hit him.

    Even even so so - somehow three of them manage not only to hit Falanar, but CRIT as well! Their synchronized attacks spear into the fighter who’s rather perturbed at the sudden competence of creatures that the party had been mopping the basement with all of last session.

    Falanar manages to cut a path into the room so more party members can slip in and soak up some of the sheer number of attacks, and the fight is over a few rounds later. The dining room that they had entered looks like a nightmare sushi bar and smells like a fish market, but no more enemies come running. (Since they were all already there to play ‘crit greeting party’). They explore the rest of the kitchens and the courtroom (by explore I mean look for anything shiny that might count as loot), and then head up a set of stairs ON TO LEVEL 2!

    Spoiler: A Little R&R&R (Research and Rookie Regrets)
    Show
    Up the stairs they find a little records room and after locking the door that leads out onto the walls of the Fort, take some time to go through hoping to find something of interest while the beatsticks drink some potions. Cole finds his arrest record and the origin of the ghost in the basement - a doctor that had tried to poison Count Lowels the III (Current is the IV) and was sentenced to death by the Count personally after his interrogation. With more time than they feel like spending in here they could learn all sorts of dirty little town secrets, but the party is hungry for victory and there are only a few rooms that haven’t been cleared out.

    They ambush the juju zombies still patrolling the top of the wall and head towards the room above the Magistrate’s office.

    Now - this group has been a very effective murder squad, and looking at the last two encounters I already know what kind of boot stomping fish juicing is about to happen, so I make the executive decision that rather than having the two named fish people sitting in their respective rooms waiting for death - that they decided to have a little afternoon meeting together along with their shape shifting ooze. It’s not unreasonable right?

    The party enters a bedroom with a bed, fire place, and stairs that lead down to the office - and three fishy looking people, two of which look a little more like they might have names in an adventure module!

    The ranger fish person is neatly tucked into a corner to ambush the first human that comes through the door (and avoid getting flanked), the one with a headband is closer to the cold fireplace, and the regular looking but particularly dopey looking skum is watching the stairs.
    Cole manages to stun the one by the fireplace, Sanya the Paladin rushes the one at the back of the room to keep it from ganging up on the party, and Falanar squares off against the one in chainmail right by the door with Steven.

    Sanya’s player is rather irate when his smite doesn’t crit the way it should and he realizes that he’s not actually fighting a fish person, but not as table-flip unhappy as Falanar when the skum by the door full attacks and lays his health pool to waste. By the second round of full attacking Falanar is down (but not quite dead) and Cole has to spend his turn shoving a potion down his throat while Stephen keeps the creature’s attention by stabbing at him with some ninja tricks to make sure it still counts a sneak as attack - but it has a lot more health than they’re used to.

    Falanar manages to get up and take another swing thanks to Cole’s potion, but the fish person takes him down again with a single swipe of his claw and puts Stephen in the red with the other two. With Sanya tied up with the shapeshifting ooze and a sorcerer coming out of his stunned state... I begin to see poor things happening for the future of the group. Maybe my confidence was misplaced? Does the witch really contribute that much firepower?

    The sorcerer fishman vanishes - half confident that his companion can take care of the party with the help of his ‘bodyguard ooze’ and runs off down the stairs.

    Stephen drags Falanar out of the room and back onto the wall to try and keep the murder-fish from killing Falanar while he’s down, but it’s only a delay tactic. Sanya backs up to try and block the door... and grits his teeth against the oncoming onslaught... and grins as the Paladin recognizes the voice of his former companion calling for Pharasma’s favor. Winter comes running out of the records room behind them and into range to channel enough positive energy to wake Falanar up, give Sanya enough health to not fall in a single round, and keep Stephen from running away from certain death.

    Able to concentrate their fire a little better, and with a healer handy, the ooze and the fishman in chainmail fall a few rounds later.

    Spoiler: Reunion
    Show
    Everyone is rather spent, but Winter confirms that she had no trouble running through the entire fort to get to them. She is glad to see Sanya is alive, and not surprised that the Royal Accuser is still missing. She advocates that if it wasn’t for the group, former employees of the Count, that she and the others wouldn’t have escaped from the island and that thus far, they’ve proven themselves helpful and trustful... to a degree. Sanya agrees to continue working with them at Winter’s request - they’re a shadow of the force that arrived in town and the group seems interested in finding the Count and what’s going on with this town, same as them.

    Sanya agrees, and now the group has some legitimacy!

    Winter also reports that Mordren did make it back to the Sleepless Agency, but was attacked on the way back. He and Keldrin are waiting for them back at the Agency. She reluctantly insists that they lock the fort behind them and don’t tell the town what’s happened here - yet. Thrushmoore is on the edge of a panicked riot, and every agent of the agency is on one mission or another trying to alleviate fears.

    They all agree to head back to the Agency and plan their next move.

  4. - Top - End - #34
    Bugbear in the Playground
     
    Toric's Avatar

    Join Date
    Apr 2006
    Location
    Oklahoma, where the air elementals carry brooms
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    I just caught up on this journal, and it's quite entertaining. My fave thus far is Cole; I can appreciate an Alchemist player who tries to apply real chemistry, plus he's clearly the best-dressed party member.

    I haven't played this adventure, so I'm very interested in seeing how this goes. And if Falanar will ever get to pet a unicorn.
    Avatar gladly adopted from Ink!

  5. - Top - End - #35
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Wild North Yonder

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Eep! people are still here lol. I guess I'll have to catch up on the posts here soon then! Lol
    Last edited by Picanet; 2017-09-22 at 10:58 PM.

  6. - Top - End - #36
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateCaptain

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Lake Jackson, TX

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Quote Originally Posted by Picanet View Post
    Eep! people are still here lol. I guess I'll have to catch up on the posts here soon then! Lol
    Dang Skippy! We're quitely waiting at the edge of the table, begging for scraps. :)
    The beatings will continue until morale improves!

    Vaz approval for the best backstory. Villainous Competition 16: Burn Baby Burn
    http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...&postcount=114

    Honorable Mention Villainous Competition 22: I Am The Night
    http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...e-Night!/page6 Xihu Ayame

    Click my Vulpix to feed it yummy berries!

  7. - Top - End - #37
    Dwarf in the Playground
    Join Date
    Nov 2014

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Quote Originally Posted by Picanet View Post
    Eep! people are still here lol. I guess I'll have to catch up on the posts here soon then! Lol
    Yes Please. anxiously awaiting.

  8. - Top - End - #38
    Pixie in the Playground
     
    BlueKnightGuy

    Join Date
    Jun 2017

    smile Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    We will return to this game! I myself am champing at the bit for more story, but real life gotta come first

    We shall return when routine permits!

    Cheers

  9. - Top - End - #39
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Flumph

    Join Date
    Jun 2009

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Posting in this to mark it in case it ever updates again. I passed over reading too far into this when I came across it awhile back because my group was running it at basically the same time and I didn't want any potential spoilers. However we've just concluded it, so I'll be curious to see how things go in a group that I imagine will play it quite a bit differently than us for a number of reasons. Fun read so far.

  10. - Top - End - #40
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Wild North Yonder

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Quote Originally Posted by Geigan View Post
    Posting in this to mark it in case it ever updates again. I passed over reading too far into this when I came across it awhile back because my group was running it at basically the same time and I didn't want any potential spoilers. However we've just concluded it, so I'll be curious to see how things go in a group that I imagine will play it quite a bit differently than us for a number of reasons. Fun read so far.
    Lol. I do have half a write up sitting in a google doc I should post - and we will come back to this. The introduction of tiny people into our lives has shaken our old gaming schedule lol.

  11. - Top - End - #41
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    PirateCaptain

    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Lake Jackson, TX

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Quote Originally Posted by Picanet View Post
    The introduction of tiny people into our lives has shaken our old gaming schedule lol.
    And in a few years, you have even more players!
    We'll expect even more journals then.
    The beatings will continue until morale improves!

    Vaz approval for the best backstory. Villainous Competition 16: Burn Baby Burn
    http://www.giantitp.com/forums/shows...&postcount=114

    Honorable Mention Villainous Competition 22: I Am The Night
    http://www.giantitp.com/forums/showt...e-Night!/page6 Xihu Ayame

    Click my Vulpix to feed it yummy berries!

  12. - Top - End - #42
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Daemon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Frozen North
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    Quote Originally Posted by Picanet View Post
    Lol. I do have half a write up sitting in a google doc I should post -
    And haven't.

    The Romanov Incident A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Magic! Mystery! Mind control! Murderous Demon Apes!
    The Curse of Artaith A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Heavily influenced by the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games. Featuring lots and lots of death, player (character) and otherwise!
    Dammerung(old) and Dammerung 2.0 A 5e campaign journal, ongoing. My latest kitchen sink of a campaign setting, with magic radiation storms, underground undead hordes, and elder-god worshipping vikings

  13. - Top - End - #43
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Wild North Yonder

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    *Ahem*

    This is an aside part of a narrative - the 'What Happened to Mordren?' while the others were busy kicking ass and taking names. It is a longer bit, as Puzzle and I are prone to when just writing out. I have some journal writing to catch up on as the end of Artaith draws nigh.

    I'm trying to finish up a section and then the actual session that has been more than half a year in waiting will be posted - because reasons.

    Mordren's Aside

    Spoiler: A Civilized Conversation
    Show
    “Look I didn’t mean to cause you trouble, and I shouldn’t have said nuthin to them when they started asking about what you and your co workers were doing back in town.” Keldrin mumbled sheepishly as they finally cleared Fort Hailcourse and were making their way back down the road towards the heart of the city and the relative safety of the Sleepless Agency. Hopefully one of the agents could escort him home long enough for Keldrin to pack up his life and leave town - at least until things had calmed down.

    “You should come with me. You were leaving anyway -” Keldrin paused and then came to an abrupt halt as a cloaked figure appeared in the road ahead of them. The rich burgundy of the cloak was trimmed in ornate gold embroidery, and her boots were remarkably well made and clean given the amount of rain and mud around them. Actually - the raindrops were still dark on her hood - she hadn’t been out here very long.

    “Ah! Mordren Rhys. A pleasure to make your acquaintance... again sir.” The hood obscured most of her face, but enough daylight leaked through the storm to expose her amused grin. “I’m afraid I need to insist you come with us, Mellisen wishes to speak with you and it is rather urgent. We can see Mr. Keldrin the rest of the way, of course, as compensation for the inconvenience.”

    Mordren swayed to a halt as the name echoed in his ears. Rhys. Mordren...Rhys. It felt right. It felt like his name.

    And this smirking sycophant mocked him with it. Spoke it like it was part of some joke that only Mordren was missing the punchline to.

    The small patch of weeds beneath Mordren’s boot wilted and curdled as his expression hardened and eyes narrowed. He strained his ears and quickly scanned his surroundings for the woman’s unseen acquaintances. Fine clothing-knows Mellisen-knows Keldrin-clothes aren’t wet enough-appeared out of nowhere-

    -Part of the group using those symbols to teleport.

    Keldrin had already spun around to face the four robed figures that had ghosted in a short distance behind them, and Mordren caught sight of the three in navy robes just beyond the treeline - no more than thirty feet away.

    "Course they give you the courtesy of asking if you want your lights knocked out first." He grumbled under his breath.

    "Your answer Mr. Rhys? Your colleagues' courtesy only goes so far..." The first woman prodded with a gentle kind of threat normally reserved for higher society.

    Mordren sighed as he adjusted his hat, posture becoming more relaxed. When his face was obscured by his hat, though, his gaze flicked to Keldrin.

    “Stay close.” He murmured just before the hat went back on and he stared the mysterious woman in the eyes. Mordren opened his mouth as if to speak, then exerted his will.

    Sleep

    As the woman’s eyes fluttered and rolled back, Mordren was already rushing forward, a wicked dagger flashing in one hand. He caught the slumping woman and stepped behind her, knife-blade pressed against her throat.

    “Back!” Mordren barked at the other cloaked figures. “Back or you’ll be wearing her blood!”

    Keldrin had sprinted alongside Mordren and was obviously feeling a little better about their situation than he had been a moment ago. Despite the threat; however, the four cultists that stood across from them spoke quite calmly amongst themselves.

    "You know - I think I liked him better as a gibbering paranoid mess."
    "Or a vegetable." another added helpfully
    "Well he obviously isn't either." the third scoffed - "and neither of you were around when he wasn't a madman. I have no particular interest in fighting him, personally. Remember Theodis' face?" A chorus of distasteful hisses clicked around him. "There's a reason he used to be the Count's favourite." He finally turned to face Mordren with his slumped prisoner and took a delicate step forward with empty palms.

    "No one's keen on dying today Mr. Rhys - even on orders to retrieve who we could from your little group. I'm more interested in seeing you and Mellisen square off properly. I have a thousand crown on your victory if you're finally back in proper form."

    Mordren and Keldrin continued shuffling in the direction of the Sleepless agency, knife still pressed to the throat of his hostage who already began to stir.

    “Then just keep your distance, sir.” Fine clothes, refined speech, smooth palms, exorbitant bet - aristocrat of some sort. Mordren switched over to the harsh and unnerving tongue of Aklo as his grip tightened on the woman’s hair, gaze still rapidly flicking back and forth. “<And what would Mellisen think of your treacherous little bet?>”

    The woman started to rouse from her forced slumber and quickly found both her feet and the sharp edge of the dagger before she had the chance to struggle - actually making it a lot easier to hold her upright.

    The man tucked his hands behind his back, content to follow Mordren at the shuffled and slowed pace for a little while longer, though he kept an eye on the treeline.
    "<Well hopefully she'll be more worried about your return than my 'loyalty.' She'd also have to leave the basement and her little project - unlikely given the recent breakthroughs.>"

    "Gio you bastard - take him!" The woman hissed, drawing her cloaked companion's attention.
    "Why? He'll come soon enough. Him and the others. Try not to give too much away my dear?" He smiled and might have pat her on the head if he was close enough. "One last thing Mordren, before you 'get away.’ - Tell me, have you seen the yellow sign?"

    Spoiler: Have You Seen the Yellow Sign?
    Show
    Images flashed through Mordren's mind. An underground chamber/temple, Another Star Stelae, a foreign woman with dark skin patronizing him as Mordren struggled over a passage as another migraine tore across the back of his head, and the symbol of Hastur etched across the floor in broken yellow tiles.

    Mordren reeled as the images blasted across his mind, a strangled scream forcing its way out. He staggered, his hold on the woman loosening and the dagger point drawing blood.

    After a sharp cry as the dagger nicked at her throat, the woman elbowed her way free and pulled a sap free from her belt in time to crack Mordren across the face with it (10 points non lethal damage). Keldrin's attempt to tackle her left him in the mud (yay nat 1 for a commoner!), and 'Gio' stepped in quickly to pull her away with an insistent hand on her shoulder - his gaze and tone turning slightly sour towards Mordren.

    "Well that's disappointing," he sighed. "I'd really hoped you were over those." Mordren’s response was to bare his teeth and reach out with his hand. With a twist, the witch strained his magic to seize this “Gio’s” bones and break them.

    The dull pops somewhere in Gio's chest weren't nearly as loud or as numerous as Mordren had been hoping for, but they did wreck his composure and Keldrin's who swore and scrambled to his feet as more of the cultists rushed towards them - the slick black saps all in hand, except for Gio who instinctively went for his rapier instead.

    "Shhhhhiiiiii-HELP! KIDNAPPERS!" Keldrin called towards the town and the Sleepless Agency that was so close, and yet so far away.

    Mordren gauged the distances between the pair in front of him, and the gang rushing up from the other direction. Best to strike at the apparent leader first. He cupped his hands together, summoning up a flickering flame. With a deep inhale, Mordren opened his hands and blew, sending a sheet of supernatural flame across Gio and his nearby companion. The sudden roar and hiss of heat and steam was nearly as loud as Keldrin’s shouts, and certainly brighter. As the flames slapped into the pair, Mordren hissed to Badb.

    “Get out of sight!”

    Badb pushed off from his perch and swooped down the road towards the Sleepless Agency - trying to expedite any potential help while Gio's already shallow cry from likely broken ribs was smothered in flames as he landed in the mud. Likewise, the woman shrieked and clawed the burning robe off of her. Her hair still smoldered and her skin was burnt raw as she gave Mordren a hateful look before backing away while pulling a potion from her belt and yelling at the three still blocking the fort off. "Don't just stand there!"

    The three in navy robes swooped in a moment later; the first was a little close but leaned out of Mordren's retaliatory dagger strike. The second drove her sap into Mordren's side (7 non lethal dmg) and the last hesitated slightly before he struck - missing the witch that had just roasted his companions alive.

    Keldrin took a bar-brawl swing at the third cultist and missed horribly. Somewhere in the distance Badb's urgent cawing sounded off like an alarm. Mordren gritted his teeth from the kidney shot and pivoted off to the side, keeping his guard up against more strikes. One of the three cultists met Mordren’s eyes as the witch called up his power again.

    “Go to sleep!”

    The cultist's eyes fluttered, and she reeled for a moment before giving her head a shake and lashed out with her sap again - only to have it bounce off Mordren's arm instead of across his jaw. The second jabbed the witch in the stomach (4 non lethal) and the third suddenly found Keldrin's fist in the back of his head. (WOO NAT 19)

    The smug woman pulled the stopper with her teeth and vanished after downing whatever was in the potion, and the three that had begun to close in paused as Badb's alarm was peppered with the sounds of voices calling out from the south.

    “Run. Run while you’re still capable of doing so.” Mordren snarled as he glared at the cultists, locking his face in a grimace to hide the pain throbbing through his body. He readied another attempt to hex a different cultist if they didn’t break and flee.

    “Enough of this. Let’s go.” One of the three cultists thad hadn't made it into the fray hissed after looking over Gio’s still smoking ‘corpse.’ A few more nervous looks at Mordren, and the rest silently agreed and retreated as Winter and one of the Sleepless agents came around the bend with Badb overhead.

    “Halt!” Winter called in vain as the cultists began to vanish one after the other. The half elf beside her threw dark needle-like missiles at the one cultist Keldrin had cracked across the back of his head, and one stumbled briefly as she managed to throw off Mordren's hex, but by the time Winter and the agent reached Mordren - they were gone.

    “Dammit!” she hissed before dropping to a knee next to Gio and checking for a pulse. Keldrin sat down, mindless of the mud, whipped off his hat and ran his fingers over his hair breathing a shaky sigh of relief. The half elf; however, gave Mordren a congratulatory slap on the shoulder. “you good mate?”

    Mordren winced at the slap, his whole body aching from the beating he had endured. He glared half-heartedly at the mage, but nodded with unspoken thanks.

    “Look, I found one of the people responsible for the disappearances. I suspect you can look to the Count’s estate for more of the culprits.” He held an arm up for Badb to land on before looking over at Winter. “What, the bastard isn’t dead?”

    Badb flit back to his usual place; glaring at the fallen cultist.

    "Not quite." Winter confirmed as she pressed a glowing finger to Gio's forehead - the smallest bit of healing magic she could manage without actually waking him up. "Shevan, get them back to the Agency - Keldrin should be able to help you drag this one back safely."

    The half elf narrowed his eyes, "and where are you going to be?"
    "I'm going back to the fort. The rest of them might need some help."

    Mordren nodded and shuffled over towards Winter, mostly ignoring the sensation of his entire body being bruised.

    “Well, should probably get there before the whole place explodes or something like that.”

    Winter placed a gentle, but obviously blocking backhand across Mordren’s chest. “Not you. Just me. You’re a lucky hit away from being out cold, and my resources are limited as they are. Go back with Shevan and Keldrin. Get this overcooked hunk of disgrace secured somewhere his ‘friends’ can't steal him away, and try to get something useful out of him before I get back.”

    Mordren bristled, but a renewed throb from the side of his face stole the legs out from under his indignation. That, and as much as he didn’t appreciate being bossed around by the priestess, her plan made perfect sense.

    “Tch, fine. Would you like your cloak pressed and hung while we’re at it?”

    "Cold water only, gentle spin to dry. Don't want to dark brooding colour to fade." She handed him her over-cloak with a wink before scooping the dark red and rather badly singed cloak out of the mud that the woman cultist had shed before vanishing. She handed it to Shevan with an expectant eyebrow and after a sigh Shevan grabbed it, gave it a shake with a few arcane words and it looked... mostly new. Wearable at least.

    After he handed it back, she slipped it on and pulled the hood up while her features began to shift. Her hair turned brown and started to curl into waves while her pale brown eyes darkened and her face narrowed slightly - not an exact replica of the woman Mordren had almost killed, but close. "Passable? Good. Get that piece of filth behind bars. Cresedia should have some healing potions to get him on his feet. Then get your friend out of town until this is over."

    Mordren turned to Shevan and Keldrin.

    “Well, you heard her. Back to the Agency with him.”

    Spoiler: A Most Distinguished Prisoner
    Show
    *drag drag drag*

    Keldrin might have been less than selective about what rougher parts of terrain the unconscious cultist ended up bumping against as they dragged him back to the agency. Only Cresedia was there when they arrived, and while she clearly wasn't impressed by the amount of muck clinging to the trio, she didn't voice it aloud as she motioned to a door that lead to the basement.

    It was a dry and clean sort of place with low hanging beams and heavy supports to keep the main floor from falling in despite the rain. The wood floor had a couple stains, but nothing that hinted at any recent morbid activity. From a nearby locker, Shevan pulled a length of chain complete with finger locking cuffs and secured their ‘guest.’

    While the aristocrat-turned-cultist was being chained up, Mordren waved the wand of healing over himself, sighing in relief as the bruises and aches faded. Turning to Gio, he jabbed the man in the side with the wand, releasing as little healing magic as possible.

    “Wake up, Gio. I have questions for you.”

    Shevan raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything as he did a final check that everything was locked up tight and pulled the cultist's hood down before quietly padding off to the side and sitting on one of the bottom steps; observing, but certainly not intervening.

    Which left poor crispy Gio coughing as his first not-unconscious breath tore through his rather singed lungs. a good chunk of his goatee and eyebrows had been burnt clean off, but whatever he had been using to keep his hair slicked back was stubbornly adhering to the task even as he managed to get his coughing down to a sort of wheeze.
    "Oh. Now he wants to talk." Gio gave a sort of pained smile as he tried to shift into more of a sitting position than a propped-up one. Better for the back and all that. "Except I'm not the one you should be talking to." Mordren didn’t say anything in response, just stared flatly at the smug man. Phantom whispers echoed in Gio’s ears *Evil eye saves and then skill checks*

    As he finished trying to sound smug and vain the chained cultist withered under Mordren’s gaze. Trying to look away didn't help, it just made the darker corners of the basement more ominous. Gio swallowed hard as he tried to reign in some measure of composure... and failed miserably.
    “****.” he hissed under his breath as he tested the hold of the restraints on his hands and wrists to no avail.

    “You don’t want to die, Gio. You don’t want to have your lips and eyes stitched shut, to be dressed in a tacky suit and stuffed in a wooden box. You don’t want to be buried in that shameful side corner of the graveyard because of the circumstances of your death.” Badb let out a warbling little chuckle as Mordren stepped steadily closer. “To have the worms gnaw tracks through your flesh as it swells and rots, your bones twist and bend as they soften and crumble, until there’s nothing left of you.”

    “And that’s just your body. That ragged excuse of a soul? You don’t want to be standing in line at the Boneyard, naked and shivering, awaiting the terrible Judgement you know Pharasma has in store for you.” Mordren’s hand drifted to just over Gio’s heart, hovering above without touching him. “And you know that as bleak a fate as that is, I know what tomes you’ve read, what you’ve learned. You know what awaits you if you flee that judgement, what hungers in the dark for the marrow of your spirit.” His hand curled into a fist with a soft pop.

    “You’re damned at best, or a plaything for the Old ones. You don’t want to die, Gio. So tell me what I want to know, and live longer.”

    Gio flinched away as best he could away from Mordren's hand, his skin went pale despite the fresh burns, and his breathing shuddered.

    "No I don't." He confirmed in a hybrid of a whisper and a hiss. "What do you want? I wasn't inner circle material, I've just been here longer than a lot of the others. Bringing you back was going to help with that - maybe. Mellisen doesn't really let anyone help her!"

    “The people that have been disappearing. Why?”

    “They're sacrifices.” Mordren rolled his eyes and made a ‘go-on’ gesture.

    “For what, Gio? Details, details.”

    “I-it has something to do with that thing in the basement and the other Star Stelae. It powers or recharges or something. It’s what makes us able to teleport around the city.”

    “Thing in the basement?” Badb cawed again, making Gio twitch.

    “Well you can't exactly ritually sacrifice townsfolk on public monuments. Tends to draw attention.” Mordren nodded absently, mind racing.

    “How many in your little social club? And then we need to talk about Mellisen.”

    “um...” Gio looked to the side and back again; distracted. “Maybe a dozen junior members? A handful of full initiates? Lots of Krum - you already ran into the fish people; can smell it on you.” Not taking his eyes off Gio, Mordren raised his voice briefly.

    “Shevan? Could you please check what has our friend distracted?” He gestured with his head. “Now, tell me everything you know about Mellisen.”

    Shevan got up and moved towards the side of the basement Gio had been looking at. He ran his hand along the wall, and even snapped a small light spell into existence between his fingers to check the underside of the floorboards. When his search proved unsuccessful he muttered a few words under his breath and his eyes glowed a faint blue.

    "Someone's trying to communicate with him." He frowned. "It's not like any sending spell I've seen before. It's faint, subtle." His eyes flicked back to normal. "Tied to his holy symbol under his shirt."

    Gio somehow managed to lose some translucency in his face. "I didn't answer. This wasn't part of the bargain or the plan." He almost pleaded. "Melissen was your replacement after your ... episodes started. The Count brought her in first to help, but when you kept getting worse..." He trailed off slightly before picking up his train of thought again.

    "She had most of the staff fired and then brought in this... old friend of the Count's to replace everyone with those barbarian Krum while he prepped to leave. She also called in the cells from around Ustalav - claiming she had 'unlocked' the Star Stelae."

    Mordren slowly pulled a wickedly sharp sickle out from under his jacket. Just as slowly he hooked the top of Gio’s shirt and dragged it down. “Don’t move, wouldn’t want to slip.” He cautioned as he sliced Gio’s shirt open, then hooked the holy symbol with the tip of the sickle.

    Gio obliged and even held his breath for a moment until Mordren's sickle had a firm hook on the symbol that had been painted on the foreheads of the asylum patients back at Briarstone. Instead of chalk; however, this one was made of topazes and set in gold. It was smaller - more like a charm and more easily hidden than a medallion.

    "Look." Gio's voice still shook, "I don't know what all she's doing down there, but it ramped up as soon as the Count was gone and you 'lot' were out of the way. When word got out you were back and acting strangely she had us follow you until we saw an opportunity to bring someone back for questioning."

    A firm tug parted the charm’s cord, and a stomp-twist of his boot dealt with the distasteful sign. Mordren rubbed at his neck; it felt constricted all of a sudden, like a too-tight shirt collar. What was in his other hand? Oh, the sickle was still there...Mordren thought he had put that away already. Badb clicked his beak next to Mordren’s ear, and he jolted back to awareness, sheathing the sickle.

    “They more likely to be coming to rescue you, or kill you?”

    "I don't know. Depends how busy Mellisen is." Gio replied cautiously after watching his interrogator's expression shift into a pallid shade of momentary madness.
    "Anyone loyal to the Count left with the Count or ended up in Briarstone. Melissen is in charge with her little army of Kuru barbarian thugs. Big brutes with the scarlet tattoos - can't miss them."

    “So then Mellissen is the most likely one to know where the Count went.” Mordren rolled his neck. “Any dirty tricks of Melissen’s I should know about?”

    “You’d know better than anyone if you hadn't lost your memory. She had to take over your work after all - and from what I heard you weren't pleased about that. Never worked with her myself.” Gio admitted.

    “All right. Last chance to tell me anything that will prolong your life, Gio.”

    “Let me go and I’ll leave. I got in over my head and I see that now; saw it awhile ago actually. I’ll leave the city and even try to convince those who came with me it’s time to leave as well if you wish. I never had any intention of acting against you Mordren. I knew better.”

    Mordren’s only response was a vicious grin, and then everything went black for Gio.

    *Slumber hex and then bag over his head* Gio slumped over and went quiet under the bag.

    Mordren turned back to Shevan.

    “He’s admitted to kidnapping and murder, by association at the least. Do what you like with him, I should catch up to Winter and the rest.”

  14. - Top - End - #44
    Dwarf in the Playground
     
    NinjaGirl

    Join Date
    Jun 2014
    Location
    Wild North Yonder

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]

    All right. Now we're back to the actual campaign as the group gets back together at the Sleepless Agency after clearing out the fort. :)

    Spoiler: Gate Crashers
    Show
    The rest of the party returns to the Sleepless Agency and Mordren catches up with their adventures while explaining what he’s learned from his captive. Most of the Agency’s agents have taken on some of the tasks around the city that the PCs have out-leveled, which leaves the party to take on the root of the problem at Iris Hill and Count Lowles’ manor. They decide to leave in the morning and take some time to heal/rest. Winter grabs the less damaged cultist cloak, and promises to do what she can to keep the cultists in town busy.

    Falanar manages to stretch three people’s worth of stew into five (Falanar’s player always likes to give his characters some sort of cooking/crafting ability) and they sleep in relative safety.

    The next morning they make their way up to Iris Hill and the gatehouse that Stephen had poked and prodded around a few days ago. The guard/cultist stationed there today; however, is either not as bright and certainly not as awake as the last one Stephen ran into (rolled a 1 on his ‘sense motive’) and readily opens the door for the crew who ‘have an appointment’ with Mellisen. He is quickly shanked to death by Stabby Stephen and the other two big brutes with sharp teeth, red tattoos, and cornrow braids dressed in chain mail ready themselves for combat.

    The gatehouse is only ten feet wide and twenty feet long, so things get crowded quickly as the melee rush in to hack and slash at the guards before either can run a warning into the estate. Things end quickly as the gate is officially crashed.

    After dispatching the guards, the group gets their ‘first’ look at Iris Hill Manor and the Grounds through the window. There are several small buildings (guesthouses and the like) besides the main building with paths leading between and a large fountain in the center. Convinced that this place is full of evil wrongdoers - instead of worrying about sneaking around the buildings and before the rest of the group can figure out where they want to start, Sanya the Paladin marches out onto the grounds issuing a challenge!

    He is somewhat surprised when the giraffe topiary responds by charging him. MORE INITIATIVE!

    Besides the Giraffe there is an octopus topiary and... I think I made the third one a camel. Being plants, they are immune to most of the group’s shenanigans with sneak attack and sleep hexes that have been ending fights alarmingly quickly. Cole’s player; however, is grinning like the mad scientist he plays. “Plant’s eh? I BET THOSE AREN’T RESISTANT TO FIRE!”

    No. No they are not. The paladin and fighter basically hold the topiaries off while the gnome alchemist runs around throwing fire bombs like an ugly little pyro fairy - cackling maniacally. Soon the living shrubberies are smoldering semblances of themselves while Cole passes his peaches can to Mordren.

    Spoiler: Dinner Party Crashers
    Show
    No one in the other houses can seem to make a spot or listen check to save their miserable lives, so after no one comes rushing out to see what the blazes (literally) is going on - the group continues to run amok. Not to the front door - nah. Those are for sissies. Stephen sneaks up to the lovely double french doors leading to a fine dining room where a handful of cultists can be seen speaking amongst themselves in front of a fireplace. They too, can’t roll above single sad digits to spot the encroaching doom. The party lines up by the doors, ready to crash in, while Stephen moves around and finds a window, opens it, and starts things off with ninja throwing star sneak attacks before vanishing as part of his ninja act.
    Distracted by the sudden assault behind them, the cultists turn their attention to the window - one of them even makes it out and begins looking around for the culprit. The other cultists inside are not so lucky as Sanya and Falanar dramatically boot the lovely french doors open and provide a nice choke point to start wacking cultists while Cole and Mordren fire upon them from outside. Besides nasty poofs of negative channeled energy, the group doesn’t suffer much in the way of injuries that a wand of healing can’t fix. Mordren does notice that they do go through a fair number of charges, but wanting to keep the element of surprise - they quickly press on ... upstairs! Why not? That seems like a good idea.

    Spoiler: OM NOM NOM Time
    Show
    The group file up the narrow staircase to a closed door to a sitting room. Cole rivals Stephen in the title of ‘sneakiest SOB’ so he cracks the door open a little and listens closely. He can hear a small amount of chittering and a soft rustling sound like dry skin brushing against dry skin.. But he can’t see what’s making the noises. His answer is to call Stephen forward.

    “Looks clear!”

    Stephen nods and prepares to sneak in. I give him one more chance to save himself from the... no? You rolled a 2 for your perception?

    Cole sees Stephen’s limbs seize as something grabs hold of him and begins chewing on his shoulder. Whatever it is... it’s big and Stephen’s pained sound of surprise is quickly snuffed out.

    So Cole closes the door on Stephen and gives a ‘no good’ head shake to the party members behind him. While Stephen gets more blood sucked out of him by the large tentacled creature with claws and teeth that slowly begin to emerge into view as it slowly consumes him.

    Spoiler: Spoiler
    Show
    Cole’s player doesn’t know it, but the creature would have been invisible for the fight if it didn’t have a ‘meal’ before the fight began. Having seen only one creature enter its lair, the ‘Star Vampire’ risks exposing itself to feed. It has more hit dice now, but when the party does finally enter, they’re able to target it normally.


    Stephen doesn’t make his will save to stop being eaten alive by the Star Vampire for the rest of the fight. When Cole finally opens the door and moves in to try and help his ‘friend’ who is conveniently keeping the Star Vampire busy, the large creature’s form is outlined in blood. Stephen’s blood. The rest of the part files in and the assault begins! Cole’s frost bombs leave dark and brittle patches on its skin, Mordren’s hexes don’t leave it asleep on the ground to be coup de grace’d, but disadvantage sucks. So does lowered will saves. Witch debuffs are real. Don’t let any player tell you otherwise.

    Falanar is grazed by a sharp clawed tentacle, but valiantly begins to swing and chop away at the massive creature. Then Sanya arrives. Obviously, anything that drinks blood isn’t a ‘good’ creature, so on a hunch he designates the Star Vampire as the target of ‘smite evil.’ Max power attacks, crits, and yeah... cleaves deeply into the monster. The rest of the party’s damage is more than enough to finish it off in the next round - even with its DR and passive healing and increased hit point pool. Stephen is finally released - looking rather pale and unhappy. No one is sure what the creature is other than 'awful' and 'ugly as sin.' Now that it is dead; however, they are able to pass through the room and into the next hallway full of doors... with names upon them. Their Names.


    Spoiler: Cole's Room
    Show
    The gnome's room is less of a bedroom and more of a miniature lab; a lab that someone had ransacked and hadn't bothered to clean up. The others have difficulty moving about, but the spaces between bookshelves, tables, and his tiny bed are perfectly suited for the small alchemist. There is an awful cloying smell when the door is opened, and it takes some time before they find the source. A secret panel between the foot of his bed and a bookshelf opens to another hidden room - one with an operating table. The thing upon it is hooked up to empty tubes and hanging containers and covered with a sheet. When Cole finally gets around to pulling the sheet away that hides the subject on the table, he is rather surprised to find an exact duplicate of himself... except at least three days dead and the sorts of discoloration and swelling that goes along with being dead. He isn't sure why he had a duplicate of himself on a table, but perhaps his encrypted journal can tell him more.... once he remembers how to decipher it. oh bother.

    Spoiler: Falanar's Room
    Show
    Compared to the clutter of Cole's room, Falanar's room is downright spartan. There is a place to hang his armor and weapons, and a small cupboard with the items he'd need to maintain it. A small table with a place to wash and shave stand in another corner by a modest mirror, and his bed looks like it was tightly made and someone decided to nap on top of it. Even after breaking open the footlocker, he finds little that might hold some clue as to the person he was before he lost his memory.

    Spoiler: Mordren's Room
    Show
    Mordren has some difficulty opening the door to his room as there is no handle in the door, and is a sour smell that wafts about from the collection of mostly empty glasses with curdled white residue in their bottoms (milk). The mirror above the dresser has been smashed, and any handles to his closet, desk drawers, or even the windows have been removed. A small bookshelf contains journals similar to the washed out one he found in his pockets back at the Asylum. A brief look through them reveal research and notes on the nature, history, and examples of haunts from any place or source imaginable. Several of the journals (they are numbered) are missing.

    Spoiler: Stephen's Room
    Show
    The door to Stephen's room... locks from the outside. Or at least it would if it hadn't been broken recently. He slowly peeks in to see a rather dusty room with a barred window, children's toys scattered about in corners, a moose head with cutlery protruding from its eyes and nose, and a blonde woman snoozing comfortably in a chair in the middle of the room. Stephen manages to back out quietly enough to not wake her and call the others to alert them to her presence.

    Spoiler: Blondie
    Show
    Ugh. It's been more than half a year since this actually played out. Forgive me for forgetting details, but things basically par down to this:

    Rishi is caught unprepared because Stephen is a stealthy mofo, and she wakes up to find the group of them at the door. The blonde woman with the rapier plays her situation coolly, not wanting to die, so she is helpful, though somewhat evasive on where Mellisen is. She tells them how to get into the basement, and after stripping her of her weapons and tying her to the chair, they lock her in the room and head off down the hallway to the Count's room - where the stairway to both the attic and office are - as well as his personal office.


    Aaaaand that is where we left off. Take that Puzzle.

  15. - Top - End - #45
    Barbarian in the Playground
     
    Daemon

    Join Date
    Mar 2012
    Location
    The Frozen North
    Gender
    Male

    Default Re: Strange Aeons Campaign Journal [Pathfinder]



    This surprise update brought to you by my cruel and ruthless mockery of Picanet until she posted.

    You're welcome.
    The Romanov Incident A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Magic! Mystery! Mind control! Murderous Demon Apes!
    The Curse of Artaith A 3.5 campaign journal, complete. Heavily influenced by the Dark Souls and Bloodborne games. Featuring lots and lots of death, player (character) and otherwise!
    Dammerung(old) and Dammerung 2.0 A 5e campaign journal, ongoing. My latest kitchen sink of a campaign setting, with magic radiation storms, underground undead hordes, and elder-god worshipping vikings

Tags for this Thread

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •