The Fatal Syzygy - Saints

[KingRexII]

Spoiler

Show

...

"Now, where was I? Oh, yeah, I was telling you about how the Five would bring about the end of this world..."

A beak underneath a hood caws out, "No wait -- who in the Nine Hells are you?"

"Like the announcer said -- I am Professor Irook Dimble Inglebert Oppenheimer Turen," he says proudly. After the unimpressed silence, he mutters, "Like any of these louts would recognize a true scholar..."

"I mean where's Beedle? We can here to see The Immortal Bard himself!"

"Oh... him... Well, I just saw him before coming on here -- I think he had a previous engagement..." he sees the disappointment in the crowd and cleverly segues, "...and he wanted me to tell you this very story." The unwashed (literally) masses grumble slightly before turning their attention back to the Professor.

With the bravest voice he could muster, he starts again, "You see this prophecy tells of five emprisoned souls, taken by some unknown force. They were collecting these people, these sinners and saints, for their own terrible goals --"

"And what terrible thing was that?" the kenku interrupts.

The Professor stumbles a little, "Well... that's interesting that you should ask. Y-you see... um... we don't really know." The fickle crowd groans in disapproval. He tries to recover, "Prophecies are tricky that way -- they-they never tell the whole story. On purpose, I think. It's up to those telling and to those listening to-to fill in the gaps." He nods to himself thinking that his explanation is quite sufficient. He wipes beads of sweat on his face.

The bird-man sighs. "Then fill in the gaps already! I'm already halfway through my meal."

"Right! Right! Um... So these uh... dark, cloaked beings were... uh... using these people for uh... um... experiments. Yes -- awful painful experiments to -- uh, make them super strong. Yes, they were making an army of super strong warriors." The bargoers look mildly interested. "So from whatever prisons they were in before, the uh... Dark Cloaks -- yes that's a good name -- the Dark Cloaks gathered them together into a stark, white cell and dressed them all in simple clothing. Dresses for the women; shirt and slacks for the men. Each one was one solid color -- like they were dressed up for one big... uh... evil ritual. Although there were five present, a sixth was missing, and uh... all six were needed for this ritual. They were drugged in their sleep -- or, y'know, for those elves and whatnot out there, in their meditative state -- and taken away surreptitiously so that no one would know where they were. They were just rousing and were still groggy when there was this great rumbling noise and a subsequent explosion not far from their room. There was screaming and fighting and a wailing siren. Just then, the door magically opens..."

Two constructs sit at the bar, next to the silenced man who continues to swear wordlessly. One turns to the other and exasperatedly says "I hate Open Mike Night."

The five of you wake in a stupor in a room that you weren't in before. You lie on bedrolls all lined in a row. The room itself is just four featureless white walls, an equally featureless ceiling (~15' tall), and a flat white floor. The room is 30' x 15' and holds nothing else. You see no door, but you hear the explosion and commotion from the side where your feet were pointing.

((OOC: All right folks, just a fair warning as time is supposed to move fairly quickly here. You've got one post to give a general description of your character and maybe do or say something witty before fate starts throwing crap at you. Just so it's clear -- we're right before the 'door magically opens' part (though your characters don't know that). Once everyone has checked in, we'll get this party going.))

[Toliudar]

Bala

Waking up in a strange place, Bala instinctively rolls out of bed - and ends up at the same level, tangled in her bedroll. Her head is fuzzy with pain and a strange sense of deja vu. She glances around at the other four people lying nearby.

Let's see. Two women, a man and...oh, he's a big one. Well, deal with that soon enough.

The auburn-furred Hadozee rolls nimbly to her feet, ignoring another burst of fireworks at the base of her skull. Last thing she remembered had been a night out on the town with a few old friends from the Surfdrinker. And she certainly wasn't wearing this hideous green dress.

Seeing nothing else she could do immediately in this bare cell, Bala tore the bottom foot or so of her dress' hems, binding the front and back together into a one-piece garment more comfortable for her. And sat down to think.

Hey! Bala winced and modulated down. Hey, wake up.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd Gram

"The... hells...?" The half giant slowly rises to his feet, cradling his head and wincing. The man is but a few inches shy of eight feet tall, with massive shoulders and a clunky, muscular build. His blond hair is cropped close to his head, trimmed and styled neatly (though in need of a comb at the moment). He is also in need of a shave, his stubble beginning to show on his squared jaw. His blue eyes are bleary and confused at first, but as he becomes aware of his situation, they squint into an angry glare. There is a nasty, dark scar over his left eye--a dark, striking marring of otherwise light skin. Overall, one might consider him ruggedly ha

He scans the room for a door, and growls upon finding none. "By the pits, what is this!?" he yells, gritting his teeth against his pounding headache. He scans around--a monkey and three humans. His gaze hovers on the human women for a few moments longer than the rest, but that passes quickly. He turns back to the wall where the sounds of explosions are coming from and approaches the wall. "No door, huh? I'd've stayed put in jail... but this is beyond weird."

<<Entering Punishing Stance: +1d6 damage, -2 AC>>

[Dreamshifter]

Armina Amyril

The woman in the yellow dress moans, then sits. She grasps her head in both hands. "What... Where... Ugh, why does my head hurt so?" She runs her finders through her close cropped red hair, then realizes she isn't in her clothes any more. Scrambling to her feet, she looks at the bright yellow dress and then around the room.

"Ok, who put me in this?" It occurs to her as she speaks that the others are apparently in the same boat. Realizing that she has been out for a while, she focuses for a moment, then says "So, does anyone have any idea just what exactly is going on here?"

((OOC: Activating Inertial Armor, for 1 PP.))

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd looks down to the woman who'd just woke up with a sneer. His tone carries with it deep anger. "The hell kind of stupid question is that? We were knocked out, stripped, and thrown into a room with no door! You think you're gonna get any more information than that?" He spits into a corner and paces around, staring intently at the wall, apparently looking for an opening.

<<Taking 10 on a concentration check to get psionic focus.>>

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Armina returns half-giant's look without emotion."Well, no, not if no one was awake, but since I was out, how can I be sure everyone else was?" She looks around the room once more, then shrugs.

((OOC: If there is time before the door opens, Armina will also take 10 to become psionically focused.))

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

A muscular, but thin man slowly stirs from one of the bedrolls. He has long greasy black hair and stubble that has not been shaved for several days, in fact, it almost borders on a beard. He rubs his blue eyes that are placed on either side of a large pointed nose that has obviously been broken once or twice. He sits there for a few seconds as if in a daze before finally standing. His movements are fluid, if still a bit unsteady.

"Well, I certainly was out cold, for one," he replies to the woman's question. "Though this seems very odd, how did we get in here with no door? There's always the magic explanation, but there's not much I can do if that's the case." He moves over to a corner and begins moving around the room, slowly examining each of the walls, the floor and ceiling in turn for any signs of a secret exit. "I don't really expect to find anything, but might as well look."

[Toliudar]

Bala

The simian woman raises her head.

Now that's good thinking. Hey, shorty.

She points at Sigurd as she rises.

While genius here checks the walls for some way in, what say you help me check the ceiling. Mind if I climb onto your shoulders?

She extends her long arms as she ambles over to him.

Might just be able to reach.

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Mary winched whenever the distant voices tried to invade into her dreams. The intrusive words ebbed and flowed in equal parts, going loud and then quiet, slowly washing away her the dreamy visage of her tall husband and bright-eyed children. She was awake now but listless and listening. No one was speaking now and the only voice she could hear was the one of disappointment that said she that the family of her dreams didn't exist yet. She sighed.

Pushing her svelte frame up feebly to a sitting position, the brunette with eyes shut still groaned lightly. Her head was spinning slightly but she managed to keep her oval, gentle face unmoving. The sleeveless shirt she wore went with the the brown trousers that only peeked out from under the sheets she was still wrapped in.

“Children please,” she said slowly. Her sleepy, hazel eyes opened slightly. They revealed a soft, steely strength, as though the windows to her soul used simple birdsong to express an inner sonata. “Couldn't you be quiet this early in the morning?”

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon grins and nods to the simian as he continues to search.

Spoiler

Show

I realized I forgot to roll the search check. Doubt he'll find anything before something else happens, but here's the roll just in case.

Search - (1d20+9)[22]

[KingRexII]

A second, even larger explosion rattles your world. Almost simultaneously, a body comes barreling through the door to your cell. The charred flesh splinters open the door and parts of the frame with it, spraying the cell with projectile debris¹. Bala and Armina are hit hard by chunks of stone and shards of wood. They fall over from the force of the impact. Sigurd is lucky and is just out of the spray zone. Mary also goes unscathed, but just barely as a severed arm flies right above her head. It is fortunate that she is sitting down. Jaxon is not so fortunate as the explosion happens just as he finds the door. In that moment, his body instinctively tries to get out of the way².

Outside the cell, you can see two or three other body parts and one whole body trying to get up despite being engulfed in flames. The air is smokey and full of airborne debris, which is quickly filling up your room³. It smells like a mixture of earth, fire and a tinge of something else⁴.

Spoiler

Show

¹I treated this like a trap doing 1d10 damage at a +5 AB versus everyone. Damage and attack rolls were made. Bala takes 9 damage; Armina takes 10. Both are prone.
²Jaxon's special as he's just found the door. He gets 10 damage with a Reflex save, DC 20, for half. dariathalon -- please roll a Reflex save for your next post.
³Any senses that depend on sight, smell or taste have a -4 penalty to checks.
⁴Know(Dungeon) DC 15 to identify the smell:

Spoiler

Show

The smell is a gas (Suspension of belief moment -- yes, I know natural gas is odorless. Let's just say that fantasy gas smells worse.) and is extremely explosive when there is a spark and highly flammable.

[Proven_Paradox]

"****!" Sigurd raises his arms to deflect the worst of the shrapnel; most of it doesn't even pierce his thick, tough skin. Once the dust settles, his gaze quickly goes to the body. He kneels down beside it and begins looking for a melee weapon as well as any other equipment he might be able to use.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Ow.

Tumbled to the ground and with her ears ringing, Bala rises slowly and painfully. She squints into the haze to try to make out what's happening beyond the doorway. She makes out the body parts on the ground, grimaces, and goes to examine them.

Spoiler

Show

Looking for a bit of leather clothing on any of the bits of person that just blew in. She needs it as a focus for a spell.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Caught off guard, Armina is battered by the debris, and finds herself on the floor. Dripping blood from a cut on her cheek, she scrambles to her feet. She swears briefly, then wipes her cheek. "Well, I guess that's the door. Not much point in staying, I think." She moves to the doorway, watching for more explosives.

[KingRexII]

Sigurd goes through the body that was flung through the door.

Spoiler

Show

'Sigil'?

Sigurd's search comes up very fruitful.
Healing Belt (Bala)
Silvered Dagger (Jaxon)
Masterwork Warhammer (Jaxon)
Mithral Chain shirt (Jaxon)(though it'll take a little bit of time to take it off the corpse)
As he touches the items, his brain somehow knows what their magical properties are.

Bala can find bits of leather that used to be part of a cloak. On one of the hands, she finds...

Spoiler

Show

a Ring of Protection +1 (Sigurd)
the bit of leather she's looking for
As she touches the items, her brain somehow knows what their magical properties are.

Armina goes outside of the cell. The burning man screams at her, "Help me!" Looking around, this is what she can see:

Spoiler

Show

Some of the walls and parts of the ceiling are on fire. To her left, she sees some fires being extinguished by some magical forces. The hallway goes about 40' before bending to the right. To her right, there aren't any fires, but the walls are charred, dented, or destroyed. The ground is covered in wood and stone chunks. This side of the hallway goes for about another 40' before bending left. Besides the other chunks of flesh, she sees nothing else interesting through the smoke and debris.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Bala doesn't have time to figure out why or how things are happening the way they are. Enough to process what's happening. She slips the ring on and hastily completes a protective spell.

Still clutching the scorched bit of leather in her hand - the leather blending with the colour of her fur - she shambles towards the door.

Spoiler

Show

Casting Mage Armour. Out in the hallway, trying to figure out what spells are being activated to fight the fires: spellcraft (1d20+16)[33]

[KingRexII]

For Toliudar:

Spoiler

Show

Spoiler

Show

Out in the hallway, trying to figure out what spells are being activated to fight the fires: spellcraft [roll0]

Quench & Create Water

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd proceeds to strip the man of what he can, holding up the dagger and shouting, "Up for grabs if you want it!" He then proceeds to take the war hammer and begins crunching the corpse's limbs to make the stripping process go faster--a mithral shirt would be valuable even if it doesn't fit him. He'll spend as much time as he needs to get the shirt.

Spoiler

Show

Dammit! That was another name I was considering for the character. Hopefully that won't happen again, but oh well if it does.

Also, can Sigurd wear the belt, or is it too small for him?

[KingRexII]

The body that Sigurd is stripping and mutilating is 'medium' sized. Its items should fit a medium sized creature just fine.

Spoiler

Show

Sigil is also my character's name in Aleval -- a game we're in together.

[Dreamshifter]

Armina

Having nothing on hand to extinguish the burning man, she tries to herd him down the hall to her left, where the fires are being put out. "This way, friend. The magic will put the flames out, I'm sure." She will grab him if he hesitates, though.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon's dodge is too slow, and he gets slammed with the full force of several pieces of debris flying toward him. "Uhff," the air escapes his lungs. He takes a moment to recompose himself, standing hunched over with his hands on his knees. Then he steps into the hall. He sniffs at the air for a moment, catching a whiff of something vaguely familiar, but shakes his head as he is unable to place it.

Seeing Sigurd has already stripped much of the body, he walks over and takes the dagger from him. "A dagger is better than no weapon at all," he says. He tucks it into his belt and moves over to help Arminia. He tries to grab the burning man in whatever means seems safe, and help pull him the way she directs.

Spoiler

Show

Failed Knowledge check and Reflex save in roll thread. Guess the evasion wouldn't have mattered anyway.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd finishes undoing the corpse's chain armor and flings it to the side, along with the belt. "Healing belt and a nice set a' chain. Too small for me." If no one moves to take them, Sigurd will scoop them up and carry them for now.

He moves out into the hallway, hardly flinching at the heat of the flames--another advantage of his giant blood. Seeing the others carrying one man to the extinguishing magic, Sigurd decides to pitch in, scooping up the other two figures (presumably corpses by now?) and lugs them none-too-gently towards the said shelter from the flames.

Spoiler

Show

...
*Checks Aleval*
*Comes back and compares names*

Heeey, you -are- the same dude! I -thought- that avatar looked familiar. Yet somehow, the connection never clicked. *Headdesk*


And I realize that as a technically medium sized creature, by the rules he's able to wear those. But they're obviously from someone else's wish list and they aren't essential to Sigurd working right (a weapon is, though, so he's keeping the hammer). Plus, the idea of a character that's so big he's almost large sized being able to wear some non-magical armor from some normal-medium sized character is just wonky.

[Toliudar]

Bala

Seeing Armina trying to help the burning man down the hallway, Bala nods approvingly as Sigurd scoops the other two.

Down the hall. Something's generating water automatically. Might help.

She decides to take an advance peek down the left-side hallway - at the very least, to get free of this infernal smoke.

Spoiler

Show

As needed, spot (1d20+1)[20] and listen (1d20+1)[8], -4 if she remains in the smoke/fog/gas.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

Jaxon glances at the chain shirt. "I might try the chain on in a bit, got my hands full at the moment though," he says as he continues to help the burning man away.

Spoiler

Show

I think it's a good idea to try IC to make sure that things eventually get to their wishlist owners. It seems only right. Can we agree to this?

In that line of thinking, I'll state that the warhammer, dagger and possibly the chain shirt were all on mine. The warhammer and a silvered dagger certainly were, and there was a Mithral Chain Shirt +1 on my list. Is that what you meant, KingRex? Or did someone else request a non-magic mithral chain shirt?

That said, I have no problem with leaving the warhammer in the heavy fighter's hands at least until he gets a better weapon. Jaxon is more of an archer anyway.

[Toliudar]

Spoiler

Show

Sounds good to me. Bala's just found a +1 ring of protection, and it wasn't on her wish list, so once we all get introduced, she'd be happy to turn it over to the "rightful owner.

[Dreamshifter]

Spoiler

Show

Makes sense. Armina's list, such as it is, is at the end of her possessions list. Really, she only needs two things, and one of those is mostly for appearances sake (that'd be the scimitar, though the deep crystal factor helps with her damage).

[Paramour Pink]

Mary

Wide eyed, ears ringing and mind more turbulent than everything and everyone around here it hit her hard somewhere between bodies flying and strangers rushing all around her that she wasn't at the orphanage. There would be no rounds today or preparing foods or talking out problems. She began to shake at that terrifying realization. When the smoke started barrelling into the room she started taking short panicked breathes. Three people that had been blasted off their feet were back on them as though this was all well within their ordinary lives. They were discussing wearing accessories wrenched from a charred corpse that had tried to give her a flaming slap earlier. A talking fur coat then said something about water.

It dimly occurred to the terrified Mary that the explosions and smoke meant fire. Fire she could prevent, put out, get out. She stood on shaky knees and immediately coughed, and squinted hazel eyes against the happily stinging smoke clouds. It was hard to see. Shaking her head in disbelief she then saw a burning corpse being escorted towards water amidst all the madness. Some woman was helping. Mary hesitated, shook all over, and then realized how agonizing every step must have felt for that poor person. She hurriedly went over to them, held her hands as high and close over the man as she could, and then cast create water to try and make a fountain effect.

[KingRexII]

The burning man takes all the help he can get, and it becomes apparent that he can't walk under his own power. Armina, Jaxon help him over to the source of the magics while Sigurd works on the ones that are no longer alive. Moving the burning man is difficult, but the two manage not to get too badly hurt¹. Bala bounds ahead of them and looks around the corner².

Mary finally shakes herself from her stupor and rushes to the burning man's aid before Armina and Jaxon are able to drag him to the corner. The Create Water spells works perfectly and snuffs out the flame (and dampens Armina and Jaxon as well). The once-burning man slumps to the ground into the small pool of water created by the spell. He groans as he curls himself into a ball.

Down the hallway towards the area Bala is looking, you all hear a booming voice, "Where's Argos?!" You cannot hear the answers to his question nor anything else above the commotion.

Spoiler

Show

¹Armina and Jaxon each take 3 nonlethal damage. Hmmm... Jaxon's not looking so good.
²

Spoiler

Show

You see two metal beetles casting the spells, try to get rid of all the fires. Knowledge: Arcana DC 11:

Spoiler

Show

The beetles look like 'Clockwork Horrors', which you know to be intelligent constructs who want all the world's metal in order to replicate themselves. They can be found in metal mines where they methodically, efficiently, and unwaveringly strip everything for raw materials.

Knowledge: Arcana DC 16 (use the same roll):

Spoiler

Show

They communicate in their own language of mechanical sounds. They have a linked mind that allows for instant communication with all others within 10 miles of each other. They will ignore nonmechanical creatures unless those beings pose a threat or possess metal.

Knowledge: Arcana DC 21 (use the same roll):

Spoiler

Show

Clockwork Horrors have gems that sit on top of their heads, and their base metal shell is overlaid with a thin patina of precious or semiprecious metal. That's how you know that these aren't Clockwork Horrors -- the gem looks more like a crystal of some sort, and their chassis isn't adorned with anything. They also are acting strangely, casting spells from their maws instead of the usual buzz saw or knife that resides where their mouths ought to be. More than likely, these are modified versions of Clockwork Horrors.

After you hear the man asking a question about Argos, you also see figures off in the distance -- about 80' to 100' feet away. Maybe fighting.

[Proven_Paradox]

Sigurd drops the two corpses unceremoniously when they reach the point where the fires have been quenched. Looking to the other man, he mutters, "Yeah, you look like the sort who'd do okay with some light chain..." He passes the armor to the man when he empties his hands, then goes to stripping the corpses of any valuables or equipment that might be useful. He gives an occasional glance to the approaching figures and says, "Heads up, company approaching and they look unfriendly."

Spoiler

Show

Yeah, items from wishlists need to go to the people who asked for them when we can manage it. As soon as we get ahold of a better melee weapon (preferably a large one) Sigurd would be willing to pass that back to Jaxon. But until then, Sigurd's at a major disadvantage without a weapon. I guess I could go for disarms or grapples, but that'd still involve AoOs. His AC is currently PHALE.

[dariathalon]

Jaxon

After setting the man down, Jaxon receives the chain shirt from Sigurd. "Uh... Thanks," he says, not quite certain how to thank him for such a precious offering.

He puts the armor on as quickly as he can, but he is obviously moving more slowly from the numerous bruises and burns that he's already suffered. "Need to be more careful..." he mutters to himself. The armor seems to be a fairly good fit. He pulls the dagger from his belt at Sigurd's warning.

He looks around from face to face, pausing for a moment on each of the other prisoners and the man curled at their feet. "So, anybody here named Argos?" he asks.