Shattered Star: The Asylum Stone [IC]

[lostsole31]

He opens the door, and sees nothing as The Scribe and Akif are too far too each side. Calling on his birthright, Sisir puts a midnight blue glow atop his helm to provide his own light.

Almost every angle in this roughly circular chamber is smooth and curved. Though its walls and 20-foot-high ceiling are flat, the flat planes all curl to meet each other—even the doors are curved, making a total lack of hard edges or corners, save for two broken sections on the western and eastern walls where long cracks have marred the perfect surface. In the center of the room rests an elaborate clockwork construct of spheres. At its heart is a barrel-sized representation of the sun, while around it, metal struts suspend much smaller metal balls. Just north of it, a smooth four-foot-tall podium rises like a stalagmite, its top bearing a small brass wheel and a lever.

[Qazgir]

Sisir will relay what he sees to the rest of the party before moving to open the door to the northeast.

[lostsole31]

Sisir passes his brother and opens the door to the northeast. He doesn't see enough of the large room within to get a solid read, though it does seem like the room is open to the night sky.

[DrK]

Akif nods at the description, ”Let us see this orrery Sisir.” Akif suggests as he walks a few steps back and advances into the room to gaze upon the mechanical contraption of sun and spheres. He’ll gaze at it trying to fathom if it’s working and what it may represent

[lostsole31]

Akif has no idea what it is, never having seen anything like this before.

[DrK]

Looking at the strange spheres and planets he looks back to the others, "Do any of you know what this might be or its purpose here?" he asks loudly

[lostsole31]

Myki and The Scribe both enter the room, standing beside Akif. They easily recognize the apparatus in the center as an orrery, a model of Golarion’s solar system. They further recognize that, though the celestial bodies are not to scale, their positions represent their relative positions in their orbits for the current date.

[Tippnick]

Iluvar looks in with interest but says, "Very interesting, an eclectic grouping of rooms. But I don't see how this brings us further to our goal."

[lostsole31]

Tunuak moves up in the corridor, but politely keeps his distance.

Do you intend to search the room with the orrery or leave it?

[Tippnick]

"Let us either do a quick search or let us move on.", Iluvar states flatly. "I can help with the former."

[DrK]

Akif shrugs, "If there is little more to be gained from the stars and planets then we can move on." he adds, pausing briefly at doorway as he leaves to gaze at the scene before following everyone else onwards

[lostsole31]

Myki is knowledgeable, but not her cup of tea. On the other hand, The Scribe is interested in checking out the orrery.

Sisir, what are your thoughts?

[Qazgir]

Sisir turns and address the party, "I see no harm in a quick search of the room, but we should press on rather than linger here. Scribe, is your interest in this orrery purely academic, or something more?"

[lostsole31]

"More than just academic," answers The Scribe. "Why an orrery belowground? Is it just a clock for the ancient denizens? or, is there more that makes this orrery. And why the meticulous lack of angles in the build of the room? No, too much effort went not only into the orrery itself, but also in the construction of the room, to ignore. We might not learn an answer here, but I think we can get useful data."

[Tippnick]

Iluvar will begin a search of the room to appease the scribe. Then he will help study the orrery.

[Qazgir]

Sisir will step into the room, nodding to the Scribe, "a good assessment, let us study the orrery, though we should not take over long if its secrets evade us." Sisir will offer to assist the Scribe however he can.

[lostsole31]

A magical detection spell will note that the entire room exudes a strong aura of transmutation. Manipulating the spheres by hand does nothing, nor does turning the wheel on its own. Once the lever is pushed, however, any planets that have been moved snap back into their current-date positions, and hidden projectors transform the walls, ceiling, and floor into a panoramic view of Kaer Maga and its surroundings, as seen from several hundred feet in the air. The illusion is picture-perfect, with the PCs, podium, and orrery appearing to float in midair, though PCs can still feel the stone floor beneath their feet and the walls under their fingers. Only the two long cracks in the wall remain visible, marring the projection.

The view is a live feed, and though PCs cannot alter their position or “zoom in,” they may recognize particular people or locations in the city. If the wheel is turned counterclockwise, the various celestial bodies move backward in their orbits, and the projected view changes accordingly, rewinding backward through time. Turning the wheel slightly causes the view to rewind slowly, while turning it all the way causes years to shoot past in seconds. Turning it clockwise causes years to progress forward at a similar rate—in this case, living creatures and some structures become translucent and flicker, representing the uncertain nature of the predictions, with the flickering spreading to more objects and becoming more erratic the farther into the future the device attempts to peer.

Unfortunately, the magic controlling the orrery is old and failing. As the machine is being used to peer nearly 100 years past, Myki recognizes the machine is under duress and might explode. She notes the same thing if the machine is brought to more than a year in the future. The lever is used to default the machine to current exact date. That is when the party sees a dark spot forming above the city. Over the course of 3 more rounds, the spot grows steadily larger, until on the last round it suddenly splits and becomes recognizable as two horrible, long-limbed quadrupeds with toothy maws and enormous, alien eyes. The creatures emerge from the illusion and attack!

Begin Round One ...

R1T26: Iluvar, you find yourself right next to one of these strange creatures. What do you do?

[Tippnick]

"They are hostile!", Iluvar shouts.

Spoiler: assess

Show

Will assess the creatures
Spending an IP if the dire roll is 5 or higher
If he recognizes the creatures he will state what they are and also some pertinent facts

Also he will SwA bane for the creature type

Iluvar readies a series of punches, kicks and other unarmed blows.

Spoiler: attack

Show

Full round attack action, flurry of blows, risky strike, stunning fist on the first attack


First attack, stunning fist
(d20+13)[19] to hit
(d10+9)[16] unarmed damage
(2d6)[3] bane


Flurry attack
(d20+13)[15] to hit
(d10+9)[14] unarmed damage
(2d6)[8] bane


Iterative attack
(d20+8)[23] to hit
(d10+9)[14] unarmed damage
(2d6)[4] bane

[lostsole31]

R1T26: "They are hostile!" Iluvar shouts. "Hounds of Tindalos. Monsters from beyond the veil that see farther in darkness than any mortal creature. Do not touch their minds if you have the means, for their alien thoughts will surely drive you mad."

Iluvar readies a series of punches, kicks and other unarmed blows. His first punch lands heavily for 21, a kick swing around to the back flank to just catch for 24, and he knees it in its tentacled maw for 20.

R1T25: Magic fumbles as Red tries to conjure something mentally but carefully and it fails.

R1T24: Myki steps up by The Scribe to create a block and gives Red a fell look and she draws her rapier and attacks in a fluid action for 40 + blind.

R1T15: Sisir, what do you do?

[Qazgir]

Sisir will move next to Iluvar, focusing his gaze on the nearest Hound, and strikes at the beast's body with his arm.

Spoiler: Action!

Show

Swift Action: Hypnotic Stare on Blue. It takes -3 to Will Saves and Attack Rolls. If the target is immune to mind-affecting effects, then it +2 to any related saves and have a 50% chance to ignore the Stare's effect every round.

Move Action: Move 10' NE and 15' E to end adjacent to the far wall, past Iluvar.

Standard Action: Attack Blue with a Slam
Attack Roll #1: (1d20+13)[15]
Damage Roll #1: (1d8+10)[17] Bludgeoning damage and trigger the first Painful Stare of the round dealing (2d6+4)[11] Precision damage and forcing a DC 20 Will Save vs becoming Confused for 1 round, for which it rolls twice to determine its actions while confused, and I choose which roll to use.

Tricks: If anyone with Mask Misery implanted become affected by any of the following conditions activate Mask Misery: Confused, dazed, frightened, sickened. If anyone with Mesmeric Mirror is attacked or targeted by a spell which requires an attack roll, trigger Mesmeric Mirror, creating two images with each image lasting for 8 minutes or until destroyed.

Other: Should Sisir fail to trigger Painful Stare twice on his own turn, he will attempt to trigger it any time the target of his Hypnotic Stare gets hit before his next turn, up to a maximum of two time in the round. Every such activation will deal 4 precision damage, and force a DC 20 Will Save vs becoming Confused for 1 round, for which it rolls twice to determine its actions while confused, and I choose which roll to use.

Confusion Preferences In Order: attack self, do nothing, attack nearest, act normally.

[lostsole31]

R1T15: Sisir hustles to cross Iluvar, even as Blue lashes out with its creepy face to bite against his armor. Sisir then focuses his gaze on that hound.

R1T13: The Scribe picks up Xin-Rithux from where he set it against the orrery while he was operating it, and gets into a complex fighting stance before lashing out with a twisting attack for 35 + prone.

R1T10: Blue disappears from view, which in turn breaks Sisir's stare.

R1T7: Tunuak moves away from the blind hound and to the south, but looks across the way at Iluvar, nodding at him to let the monk know something is coming his way. Tunuak casts a spell that hits Iluvar, and fills him with a powerful zeal (and 4 THP).

Spoiler: Contagious Zeal

Show

The target gains a +2 morale bonus on attack rolls and weapon damage rolls, 1d6 temporary hit points, and a +4 morale bonus on saving throws against fear effects and to the DC of Intimidate checks attempted against her.

Once per round, the target can select one other creature to gain this bonus as well. The chosen creature can be no farther from the target than 45', and a creature can’t be selected more than once in this way. Such allies gain only the bonuses and temporary hit points; they don’t continue to spread it to other creatures. The additional creatures’ bonuses and temporary hit points share the original spell’s duration, so when that duration ends, all affected creatures lose their bonuses and any remaining temporary hit points from this spell.

R1T4: Akif, you have your shield readied w/ a light spell, and nothing else in hand. What do you do?

Iluvar on deck, Red in the hole ...

[DrK]

Akif turns to look at the beasts and waves a hand releasing the blessings of Kerkamoth upon the party then hefts up his spear, spinning to see the strange beast and moves 5ft directly to the south deeper ino the room, twirling the spear and settling into an aggressive stance.

Spoiler: OOC

Show

Standard: Cast bless
Move: Ready spear from beside him
Swift: Enter inner sphere stance

[lostsole31]

R1T4: Akif turns to look at the beasts and waves a hand - releasing the blessings of Kerkamoth upon the party - then hefts up his spear, spinning to see the strange beast and moves 5' directly to the south deeper into the room, twirling the spear and settling into an aggressive stance.

End Round One, Begin Round 2 ...

R2T26: Iluvar, what do you do? You have bane (evil outsider) and Contagious Zeal current.

Red on deck, Myki in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

Iluvar easily moves into flanking position just North or the Hound. And nods to Myki.

Spoiler: crunch

Show

He targets Myki as the next target for Contagious Zeal
MA: 5Ft step to SE to just North of Red hound

FRA: Full round attack action
Maintain bane

Flurry of blows, risky strike

First attack, stunning fist
(d20+13)[29] to hit
(d10+9)[19] unarmed damage
(2d6)[6] bane
(d6)[1]

Flurry
(d20+13)[28] to hit
(d10+9)[10] unarmed damage
(2d6)[10] bane
(d6)[3]


Iterative attack
(d20+8)[21] to hit
(d10+9)[15] unarmed damage
(2d6)[11] bane
(d6)[2]

[lostsole31]

R2T26: Iluvar easily moves into flanking position just north of the hound and nods to Myki while completely obliterating Red.

R2T24: Myki moves around to the southwest portion of the room, ready to stab out if the second hound should reappear.

R2T15: Sisir, what do you do? Your stare ended when you could no longer see your prey.

The Scribe on deck ...

[Qazgir]

Sisir moves back towards his original position and draws his mace.

Spoiler: Action!

Show

Move Action: Move 15' W and 5' SW.

Standard Action -> Move Action: Draw mace.

[lostsole31]

R2T15: Sisir moves back towards his original position while drawing his mace (and his shield w/ light was already readied).

R2T13: The Scribe backs up against the eastern wall, changing his stance to something much quieter as he begins to scan the room. "I sense the evil, but I need more time to sense its actual position."

R2T10: A thick cloud billows out from the southwestern part of the room, and the cloud fully covers the entire room now.

R2T7: Tunuak makes his way to Iluvar, and casts a spell on Iluvar's right fist, which now brims with power. "Use that fist as often as possible in preference to your other striking surfaces."

R2T4: Akif, what do you do?

Iluvar on deck, Myki in the hole ...

[DrK]

Akif snarls a curse as the mist surrounds him. "Brother where are you?" as he readies his shield to bash an enemy that attacks

Spoiler

Show

Ready an action to sheld bash an enemy that comes wthin reach
(1d20+17)[23] dam (1d8+9)[11]

[lostsole31]

R2T4: Akif snarls a curse as the mist surrounds him. "Brother, where are you?" He readies his shield to bash an enemy that attacks.

End Round 2, Begin Round 3 ...

R3T26: Iluvar, what do you do? Contagious zeal active.

Myki on deck, Sisir in the hole ...

[Tippnick]

Iluvar takes a quick movement to the Northwest. He sees Sisir and passes the benefits of the spell to him. And readies himself for action

Spoiler: crunch

Show

FA: 5ft move to Northwest
FA: give benefits of contagious zeal to Sisir
SA: Ready a punch if the hound comes into reach
Risky
Stunning fist
(d20+13)[18]
No bane
(d10+9)[17] unarmed damage