The spectral figure of a minotaur appears among the PCs and emits a wail of rage and anguish before vanishing again.
"Once again, with more feeling," Mittens mutters.
"What the hells was that?!" the talkative Tiefling asks.
Mits and Kitau both shrug.
"Happened once before. Prolly a ghost or something. And I'm sure we'll all be learning how to kick more butt before we're through."
The hall takes a turn to the south and Kitau carefully scouts ahead. She signals for the group to follow once she listens at the door at the end of the hall. Once together and ready for whatever silent ambush or trap lies beyond the door, Kitau opens the door.
Blood stains the floor here. Crimson trails run from a set of
double doors in the east down the corridor and into a door to
the west. A sudden chill washes over you. The cold seems to pen-
etrate your body, causing an involuntary shiver. Three spectral
figures appear faintly before you, rising out of the bloodstains.
The ghostly figures raise their hands in greeting.
quote:
Speaking with the Dead
This skill challenge comprises the PCs’ attempts to learn
information from the three spirits. As the characters enter
Location 5, the spirits greet them in Common and ask
what they seek in the Well of Demons.
For the nonplayer characters to provide assistance, the
PCs need to convince the spirits of their trustworthiness
and that their cause is just.
Complexity: Twelve successes before six failures,
though the PCs gain some information even if they fail this
challenge (see below).
Primary Skills: Arcana, Athletics, Diplomacy,
Dungeoneering.
Arcana or Dungeoneering: The characters can impress
Mendara with their knowledge of mystic lore and dungeon
environments. A PC succeeds with a DC 22 check using
either skill, and the PCs can gain any number of successes
this way.
Athletics: As a cleric of Kord, Valdrog applauds feats of
strength or athletic prowess. A PC succeeds with a DC 22
Athletics check, but the PCs can gain no more than two
successes in this way.
Diplomacy: The PCs can use the Diplomacy skill to
convince the NPCs of their good intentions. However, the
spirits believe that actions speak louder than words, so a
DC 26 Diplomacy check is necessary to succeed. The PCs
can score any number of successes this way.
Other Skills: Bluff, Intimidate, Insight.
Bluff: A character who has any ill intentions can use
Bluff in place of Diplomacy to attempt to convince the
spirits that his or her intentions are good.
Intimidate: The spirits cannot be intimidated, for they
are beyond harm. Using this skill results in an automatic
failure, and the PC making the Intimidate check takes a
–2 penalty to all other skill checks in this challenge.
Insight: During the conversation, Mendara makes
outrageous claims about the trio’s exploits. If a character
succeeds on a DC 22 Insight check, that PC realizes she is
lying. If the character questions her and attempts to learn
why she is lying, the PCs gain a success. Only one success
can be gained in this way.
OOC: Thinking of skipping the skill checks and just RPing the encounter. Up to you all, I'm torn.
