Arrived at the fortress of Adamus/Karthyx to find tons of demon corpses outside, and some halfling bodies used to spell out "Karthyx is now Adamus". Seems that Adamus was able to seize control of his possessed form, signs of which were apparent from the letter Karthyx sent Ilzabet.
Inside you met Adamus, who had no idea who you were, as he was expecting Ilzabet to still be seeking revenge on him. Bored and looking for a challenge, he offered you the chance to face him if you found a secret word. There were six clues, three of which were revealed by riddles, and three of which required solving rooms these riddles unlocked.
The first room appeared to be filled with lava with floating platforms. However, this was an illusion covering up spiked rollers with a safe path through them. Ornald was able to use summoned elementals to reveal the path and get to the clue.
The next room was a garden where the clue was surrounded by statues on a chessboard. The statues fired acid at anyone who stepped a certain direction (i.e. the left statues fired if you went left). Madila, who had the best reflexes, was able to navigate these safely and get the clue.
The third room contained a powerful summoned earth elemental called a Blackrock Triskellion, which attacked. It had an illusion of mirror images on it, but this quickly lost its effect after the real one got glitterdust on it and the others were destroyed (the creature would have gotten new mirror images every time it burrowed, allowing it to repeatedly reset the puzzle, but the glitterdust would not be duplicated as it is a magical effect). This monster dragged Ornald underground to fight him alone, but Deego used Control Weather to unleash a tornado. The monster was pulled out of the ground (the party members made their reflex saves), and ended up dropped down a hole in the floor.
Finally you got all the clues, solved the secret word, and went to face Adamus. After being taunted into losing his temper he grew to his full size and attacked. A lucky hit early on left him dazed for a few rounds, but his fast healing kept him in the game and he soon turned invisible. A critical hit from the two snakes he had for an arm (one dishing out acid damage, one electricity) threatened to kill Deego, but Ornald was quick with a Delay Death spell, and Ariana managed to heal him enough that he could survive (lucky break, he was planning to chuck Deego down the hole from before, forcing you to go after him).
Eventually Adamus was slain, and as he lay dying he expressed relief that at least death would separate him from Karthyx, and he would face his eternal fate once again "pure" as a giant. However, the Marut from before turned up to claim Karthyx for his role in the jailbreak in Carceri. As Adamus was his vessel, and had accepted possession willingly, he was guilty of complicity in Karthyx's crimes and dragged off screaming to stand trial (leaving his stuff behind).
You gathered up the loot and used a Control Winds and Earthquake to demolish the fortress as you left.
XP:
* Solving the puzzles: 1000 xp each
* Blackrock Triskellion: 1500 xp each
* Adamus: 2550 xp each
* Chapter Completion reward: 3000 xp each
Treasure:
* 4580 pp, 17924 gp
* Belt of Giant Strength +6 (36000 gp)
* Amulet of Natural Armor +3 (18000 gp)
* Diamond Brooch depicting a big figure ruling smaller ones from a throne (4280 gp)
And of course the Key of Air:
Spoiler
Physical Description: a small four sided pyramid made entirely of Sapphire, about three inches on a side. The sloped sides have small grooves that may allow it to fit together with other similar shapes objects, to form a cube. The gem is deep blue, and slightly cloudy
Cosmetic Effect: When in possession of this pyramid, the wielder's hair (or equivalent) changes to resemble feathers of the same basic color and style, and their eyes change to look like those belonging to a bird of prey. This has no in-game effect, it just looks cool.
Game Effects:
* The bearer gains immunity to electricity, but vulnerability to acid.
* The bearer gains +4 dexterity, as Air is the element of speed and grace.
* The bearer's weight halves. They are treated as once size smaller for resolving bull rushes, overruns, and wind effects. However, their reduced weight gives them a +4 to Climb, Swim, Tumble, and Balance checks.
* The bearer can sprout wings as a swift action. The wings of good or neutral characters are feathered, and those of evil characters resemble bat wings. The colors of these wings reflects their ethical alignment and personality (lawful characters tend to have patterns, while chaotic ones have a mishmash of bright colors). While using these wings, the bearer gains a fly speed equal to their land speed with Good maneuverability.
* The Key acts as an antenna pulling in static electricity from the air around it. Once per day this energy can be discharged as a Chain Lightning spell. The Key can be combined with other Keys to produce more powerful spells, also useable once per day. The caster level for these spells is equal to the user's HD, and whichever mental stat is highest determines saving throw DCs.
* Air + Fire: Incendiary Cloud
* Air + Life: Greater Teleport
* Air + Death: Whirlwind
* Air + Fire + Life: Prismatic Deluge (Complete Mage)
* Air + Fire + Death: Deadly Sunstroke (Complete Mage)
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Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
How to Play Rogues Properly:
Spoiler
Like this:
Last edited by Starscream : 06-02-2012 at 07:54 PM.
Alright, Since we're at the end of the chapter, time to divvy the loot. In the past two months I've gone back and tracked all of the loot we've accumulated since our last divvy (on 01/29, almost a half-year). Here's the breakdown:
Item Loot (This is all at Starscream's Listed value, which I assume is full price, which means we'll get about half of that, assuming we don't keep any of it).
1,000 2x Flying Machines
4,800 Vial of Shockburst Mercury (3/day)
18,310 (2x) Short Swords +3
36,000 Pearl of Power
21,000 Rope of Entanglement
8,335 (6x) Bastard Swords +
36,000 Belt of Giant Strength
3,000 Potion of Greater Magic Weapon +5
1,100 Potion of Resist Acid
1,100 Potion of Resist Cold
1,000 Scroll of Repel Vermin
18,320 Greataxe +3
27,170 Heavy Steel Shield +3 (Sonic Resistance)
20,000 Ioun Stone (Pale Lavender)
27,000 Ring of Blinking
4,500 Wand of Knock
3,915 Wand of Magic Missile (CL 9) (29/50)
16,000 Winged Boots
750 (2x) Potions of Cure Serious Wounds
63,295 Sun Blade
36,000 Belt of Giant Strength +6
18,000 Amulet of Natural Armor +3
4,280 Diamond Brooch
--- Key of Air
righto! i'll snag one and like to claim the key of air too :o
Right. Don't forget to put in 18,000 personal cash into the pot (iirc, taking loot means you pay the sell value of it, of which 18k is 1/2 of its overall 36k value)
hrmm.. this leaves me with quite the stash of gold... may hafta look at upgrading some things c.c
Hmm... yes, me too. How many days do we have for crafting before the next adventure? I've got about 90,000 gp in gold, and lots of XP to burn. Oh, also: Does anyone have Craft Magic Arms & Armor? Ah, cohort... Perhaps a Cloistered Cleric of Obad-Hai who took the feats for it... hmm...
__________________
Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
Hmm... yes, me too. How many days do we have for crafting before the next adventure?
You have time, since you need to research where to go looking for the next Key.
Speaking of which, in order to expedite things here is what happens.
Returning to Dagger Rock, you begin the process of finding the location of your next adventure. The Black Scroll is very helpful in this, stating "The Key of Water is possessed by some nobleman who lives in the eastern mountains."
This is a fairly harsh area, with not a lot in the way of settlements, so there are not too many options. The Grand Barony of Lord Lugos, at the base of Mount Corvid, immediately presents itself as an obvious choice.
Rilath has been doing some research in your absence, and found some evidence in favor of this conclusion. In particular, when studying the nobility of the region you find a portrait of Lord Lugos himself wearing a gold amulet set with a pointy turquoise gem, which roughly matches the dimensions of the Key.
Then you find another portrait of him dated over a century earlier, and either the family resemblance is uncanny, or it's the same guy.
There is also some literature on the Barony itself, which is rather cold and rugged, and has little contact with the outside world. There is a limited amount of trade with other nations, but with a few items considered contraband and forbidden for import. These include silver, garlic, hawthorn, and wolfsbane.
Seriously, this guy isn't even trying to hide it.
__________________
Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
You have time, since you need to research where to go looking for the next Key.
Cool. Borrowing Rilath for his Craft Magic Arms & Armor feat (Ornald paying XP/GP). Specifically:
1) Glamered on Ornald's Full Plate. 108 XP, 1,350 gp, 3 days
2) Purchase a Masterwork Light Steel Shield, enchant it to +1 Ghost Touch Heavy Fortification (+9 equivalent all told): 40,500 gp + 165 gp, 3,240 xp, 81 days
3) Add Ghost Touch to Ornald's Full Plate (bringing it from +5 equivalent to +8 equivalent): 19,500 gp, 1,560 xp, 39 days
4) Purchasing (not craftable for me) a Candle of Invocation, and using the 9th level spell access it gives me for a few hours to Miracle up Arcane Sight and Permanency for it, as well as Permanency for Tongues. 8,400 gp (candle), 1,500 xp for making Arcane Sight permanent, 1,500 xp for making Tongues permanent.
Total bill to Ornald: 69,750 gp, 7,908 xp, 123 days.
Any objections, or any interruptions while working?
Quote:
Originally Posted by Starscream
Speaking of which, in order to expedite things here is what happens.
Returning to Dagger Rock, you begin the process of finding the location of your next adventure. The Black Scroll is very helpful in this, stating "The Key of Water is possessed by some nobleman who lives in the eastern mountains."
This is a fairly harsh area, with not a lot in the way of settlements, so there are not too many options. The Grand Barony of Lord Lugos, at the base of Mount Corvid, immediately presents itself as an obvious choice.
Rilath has been doing some research in your absence, and found some evidence in favor of this conclusion. In particular, when studying the nobility of the region you find a portrait of Lord Lugos himself wearing a gold amulet set with a pointy turquoise gem, which roughly matches the dimensions of the Key.
Then you find another portrait of him dated over a century earlier, and either the family resemblance is uncanny, or it's the same guy.
There is also some literature on the Barony itself, which is rather cold and rugged, and has little contact with the outside world. There is a limited amount of trade with other nations, but with a few items considered contraband and forbidden for import. These include silver, garlic, hawthorn, and wolfsbane.
Seriously, this guy isn't even trying to hide it.
Of note for us, however, is that Wolfsbane has no effect on vampires (which Ornald would likely know, what with full ranks in Knowledge(Religion).
__________________
Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
There is a limited amount of trade with other nations, but with a few items considered contraband and forbidden for import. These include silver, garlic, hawthorn, and wolfsbane.
Seriously, this guy isn't even trying to hide it.
Oh man oh man oh man, Deego is Extatic! I mean, look, this is it, this is what he's been wanting: A town full of fantasy baddies and monsters, for him (clearly the hero of this entire tale) to fight, in the name of justice! Or something like that.
Down to brass tax, time for Deego to go shopping. I have a ton of gold left over from the last Divvy (62,812 to be exact) which, with the added 80+k, brings me to 143,055.
First thing I do is to ask of Ornald to Commune with the dead; specifically, to talk to the bones of the Heroes we found and have been caring for (the ones that died fighting the Master Brain's guardian). I want to see how many of them still wish to be Resurrected (at 10K a pop). That done, I'll take a voluntary collection from my peers. I'll cover the difference that is left over from my personal funds. Deego feels that dying against such a horrific aberration is not a natural death, and it bugs him on the druidic level. Moreover, he did give his word that he'd rez them, so his honor is at stake.
That said and done, there are items I wish to buy/improve: 20k to improve my Headband of Mental Prowess from +4 Wis to +6 Wis. 12k to improve my Gauntlets of Warning from +2 Dex to +4 Dex. 8k to improve my Animated Darkwood Shield from +1 Enchancement to +3. 3k to Improve my Bracers of Armor from AC 1 to AC 2
and finally, depending on how much money I spend on rezzing NPCs, either: 12k to Improve my Healthy Belt of Battle from +2 Con to +4 Con
or 32k to Improve my Healthy Belt of Battle from +2 Con to +6 Con
That said, all these are Market Price, and will drop if I can get party assistance in making these improvements. I can provide the XP and spells, no less.
Last edited by magotter : 06-02-2012 at 09:54 AM.
Reason: formatting
That said and done, there are items I wish to buy/improve: 20k to improve my Headband of Mental Prowess from +4 Wis to +6 Wis. 12k to improve my Gauntlets of Warning from +2 Dex to +4 Dex. 8k to improve my Animated Darkwood Shield from +1 Enchancement to +3. 3k to Improve my Bracers of Armor from AC 1 to AC 2
and finally, depending on how much money I spend on rezzing NPCs, either: 12k to Improve my Healthy Belt of Battle from +2 Con to +4 Con
or 32k to Improve my Healthy Belt of Battle from +2 Con to +6 Con
That said, all these are Market Price, and will drop if I can get party assistance in making these improvements. I can provide the XP and spells, no less.
Ornald has Craft Wondrous Item. If you can provide the spells, GP, and XP, Ornald can bring the crafting feat (a couple of the spells Ornald can provide, too). Rilath has Craft Magic Arms & Armor (and is still around). Between the two, that covers all the item improvements you wish to make.
And Ornald can provide the Resurrection spells, if you can arrange for the diamonds.
__________________
Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
First thing I do is to ask of Ornald to Commune with the dead; specifically, to talk to the bones of the Heroes we found and have been caring for (the ones that died fighting the Master Brain's guardian). I want to see how many of them still wish to be Resurrected (at 10K a pop). That done, I'll take a voluntary collection from my peers. I'll cover the difference that is left over from my personal funds. Deego feels that dying against such a horrific aberration is not a natural death, and it bugs him on the druidic level. Moreover, he did give his word that he'd rez them, so his honor is at stake.
Keep in mind that the Key of Life can provide resurrection services for effectively nothing...providing you charge it up with the energy of slain undead. And you are going into a place that sounds like it might very well feature undead in abundance.
__________________
Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
posting this during game, but I'm buying the following gear. Note that I start at 168,466 GP owing to my initial amount, the Divvy after loot, and 25k in taxes Starscream told us about at the start of game:
Gear and Improvements:
Spoiler
20,000 to improve my Headband of Mental Prowess from +4 Wis to +6 Wis.
32,000 to improve my Gauntlets of Warning from +2 Dex to +6 Dex.
32,000 to improve my Animated Darkwood Shield from +1 Enchancement to +5.
15,000 to Improve my Bracers of Armor from AC 1 to AC 4
32,000 to Improve my Healthy Belt of Battle from +2 Con to +6 Con
12,000 to improve my Headband of Mental Prowess from +2 Int to +4 Int.
36,000 to add +6 Strength to my Belt of Battle
25,000 To make a Cloak of Resistance +5
40,000 To make a Ring of Freedom of Movement
24,000 To improve my Mom’s Clothes of Love from +2 Deflection AC to +4
30,000 To improve my Mom’s Clothes of Love from +1 Natural AC to +4
298,000 Total Market Cost
149,000 Creation GP Cost
11,920 Creation XP Cost
In addition, I am spending 12,000 Market Value to buy 3 Wilding Clasps, as I cannot make those. For a reason...
This knocks my XP back to just about the start of level 16. To be specific, I now have 121,135 XP and need 136,000 to level. I have also spent nearly all my money, left with only a mere pittance of 7,466 GP. Which is hardly even enough to buy me a small island!
Edit: I can't math. recalculated stuff above.
Last edited by magotter : 06-03-2012 at 09:22 AM.
Reason: formatting
Animated shields, incidentally, still have all penalties of regular shields. Should still incur a failure chance for wizard side of things.
This may be so (I don't know why, since The animated shield flies of its own accord and shouldn't logically impede my hands) by RAW, but the Arcane Hierophant class lets me ignore spell failure anyway, plus, since it's a Darkwood shield, it doesn't have any ASF% in the first place.
Hey all - car trouble; I'm going to be spending Saturday fixing my car, so I can get back and forth to work. I may or may not finish before the session starts. Sorry.
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Of course, by the time I finish this post, it will already be obsolete. C'est la vie.
I hate to do this so late, but I don't think I can play this week. Been a little under the weather, and I finally gave in and took some medicine. It turned out to be rather stronger than I expected, and now I feel like I'm on 40% brain power. I'm afraid I'm not good for much at the moment except napping.
Shoulda just dealt with the damn illness.
__________________
Terrible avatars throughout the ages! (All by me.)
By equally unwelcome serendipity, I am covering an 'on call' shift today from 8pm until 7am. what this means is, though i'd have been able to play, it would have required me to leap away from the table at a moment's notice to solve any potential resident problems
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Re: Key of Creation OOC Thread
