You fall into a 40' pit with spikes. Should have waited for map...
JK, yeah, sorry, I have been meaning to, but that was just to explain what I meant by the door.

It looks like a cross between an operating room and an alchemist lab.

There are vials and beakers and those types of things, reasonably intact. There is an operating table with surgical type tools or torture devices.

On the floor is a shriveled corpse of what looks like a mage. Also on the floor, with an empty vial next to him is a sprite. It looks undamaged and healthy except that it is not breathing or moving.

There are books lying around, and papers. Desk. Bookshelf. Chair. A couple crates. Some bones lying around. What do you search? how do you search? Do you re-up detect magic?

Saran casts detect magix as a ritual.  Search the corpse, the shelves, the papers, the crates,  the desks.  Search by normal means, look in, on, under things, investigate magic auras, etc.  Also take a closer look at the sprite.

I also wanted to search behind the door.

Ok, you find two potions, one radiating necromantic aura and another charm.

You find books of alchemy and necromancy.

The corpse has a magic earring, though it is more like a small nail, like those old-timey t-shaped ones, you know what I mean? It is black and course, though not jagged. It radiates necromantic magic.

You also find 10pp, 25gp, and 50sp, a dark metal ring, and a small bag of cut obsidian stones (qty 7, worth <10gp).

You do not find a spellbook or scrolls.

You sense a faint aura of necromantic magic around the Sprite. You notice that the sprites clothes are somewhat rotted away/disintegrated, but his body appears to be perfectly intact. Almost healthy, if not for the not breathing thing.

Saran gently pokes the sprite to see if it wakes up or anything.  If nothing happens, he gently picks it up, and thinks he would like to take the little thing with him if he can find some suitable container for it.

Oh, yes, that is one detail I meant to include, on the floor there is some broken glass which you would guess is from a large jar. It would be perfect for holding a sprite (or a 7up, har, har). You see other similar jars, but they are all being occupied by now-liquefied brains and other body parts, which are probably better left unopened.

When you nudge the Sprite, it stirs slightly, as if in a deep sleep.

Saran attempts to gently shake the thing and talk to it loudly to see if he gets any more response.  He searches his brain to think if he's heard of any spells or methods that might wake it magically.  (Arcana check: 25 [natural 20]).

Nice.

You try to wake the sprite. He appears like someone who is heavily sedated, or in a deep sleep. It is strange because as soon as he stops stirring it he appears to be dead.

You think that dipel magic would do it. You also feel fairly confident that Command would, though you are not sure if he would fall back asleep/dead. Some restoritive spell might help. Remove Curse would probably work as well.

If you knew exaclty what spell or effect, you might be able to cancel it out with the 'opposite'.  You know there are spells that make one seem dead, but don't last a long time. You also know that there are spells that preserve dead matter, but are also limited and don't last forever. But anything is possible.

You also surmise that this sprite is indeed dead, in the sense that its body is not functioning. If it were truly undead, it would likely radiate more necromancy. It is almost like it is paused between being alive and being totally dead. It is possible that any healing might do something. It is also possible that using one of the afore mentioned spells to break the magic would cause the sprite to just die.

It is also possible that if you spend a short rest in physical contact with the sprite you may be able to discern the nature of the magic.

Saran takes everything. Is there a limit on the number of items one can identify in a short rest?

Does this include the Sprite?


One function of one item, I think. I will check. At the very least I know it is just one item.

All the properties on one item.

OK, Saran feels that his back log of items to identify is becoming large enough that he spends a couple of hours to identify the cap and the sprite.  He also does a taste test to identify potions.

Then he wonders what time it might be.

The leather cap is called the Arcanist's Cap of the Scholar (but you can call it whatever you want). When attuned, you gain a +1 to Arcana and History checks.

The Sprite is under the influence of modified versions of Feign Death, Sleep, Gentle Repose, Spare the Dying, and some unknowns. Basically, he is in a magically induced coma, which, if ended without healing him, will kill him. You suspect that magical healing may nullify most the spells, but not the Sleep spell, at least.

Remind me how many potions you have and where you got them.

Ok, you'll have to hang on for that one.

Ok, I got it, you have 3 potions plus the healing potion from the bandit.

Details to follow.

The one with purple liquid with a pink ovoid cloud is a potion of Read Thoughts. The necromantic one is Feign Death. And the charm one is Sleep.

Then the one from the bandit is Greater Healing, I think.

OK, yes, Saran takes everything including the sprite. He tries to find something to put the sprite in, but if nothing else at least wraps it in a cloth, not too tightly.  He goes back to the stairs to see if he can move the rubble (strength check: 19 (nat 20)).

OK, I take it that the stairs just go back up to the surface then.

Saran sends Spot up the well shaft to have a look see.  And to see how light it still is outside. Assuming coast is clear and that there appears to be some daylight left, he attempts to climb out of the well shaft, strength check 4 (guess he was tired after moving that big rock).
This message was last edited by the player at 20:08, Tue 14 Nov 2017.

You fall to the bottom of the well and take 4 bludgeoning damage from the fall.

OOC: Now that you are on the bottom of a hole, remind me, did you place the tokens?

Tokens have not been placed.  If memory serves, there were still some ruins above ground to be explored and I was thinking everything should be explored before deciding the best place for the coin.

Saran is upset to again be among the bones, spider bits, and dead rat. He thinks...

How does being stuck at the bottom of a well work?  Can I just roll until I succeed the DC to climb out? Or now that I’ve failed, is climbing is not an option, and I have to think of another way out?  Or if I roll and fail enough times, falling each time will it kill me?

I think this one. You have healing potions, ability to rest, etc. Bad luck may result in resource drain, or maybe you can think of something.

You are 20' down until you get to hole in wall, then another 15 or so to the surface. It is two DC 5 climb checks to get to the tunnel (last time you rolled an 18, which did it all the way, so I am calling a 15+ a double success).

It is another DC 5 climb to go the rest of the way.

I figure that you would be able to brace against the opposite wall to climb the well, and that it is pretty rough stone, hence the low DC.

Saran rests for a moment, thinking if there might be a better way out. Nothing coming immediately to mind, he thinks he could give it another try.  He climbs a little, and comes close to slipping, but figures out how brace himself on the opposite wall and finally climbs out to the surface fairly easily. (rolls 7, 14, 10).

He looks for Spot and for his staff, and tries to determine what time it is.  He tries to locate the blocked off stair well to the room below. He is also careful to try to avoid falling into any more holes.  He then turns his attention to the other ruins.

Spot is with you and you find your staff (how creepy would it be if it were missing?!).

So, it would be evident to you that the underground structure you were in is directly below the ruins (remember you made it halfway through the courtyard when you fell, the tunnel connecting well and room was 20'). So climbing out of the well, you are about 20' away from the ruins.

You search the ruins and find they are mostly collapsed. You can wriggle into an area that has a bit of a chamber type feel to it, and there is a hole in the ground that is mostly filled with creepers and underbrush. It also has a faint smell of smoke. Pushing aside some leaves, you find that there is a gap large enough for bats to fly through, though you might have to hack away at it a bit for you to fit down, if you wanted.