The party left the tavern just as the moon was starting to rise. The streets were clearing out and only the last few stragglers of daily business were still out and about. Between Roderic's ghost, the recent massacre, and overall tensions the townsfolk were making it a point to turn in before it became fully dark.

Thus as the party rounded a corner it was odd that there were three large figures emerging from the stable next to the inn. Almost immediately though something was off about them. They had two large long legs and very squashed torsos and no head to consider. Then the creatures came out of the shadows and into the light revealing monstrosities that were little more than amalgamations of random body parts. Whatever they were they seemed quite hostile and began charging towards the party.

Tanu assumes a ready stance with his club on his shoulder and moves to the lead.  "Dat ain't normal."  He is trying to take the first charger out.

[OOC]
16:56, Today: Tanu rolled 21 using 1d20+7 ((14)).
16:57, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d10+4 ((2)).

Phelar will cast Gravity Bow on her Light Crossbow and take a ready aim as she looks at the enemy trying to evaluate what they are looking at. "Nothing good can come from those."

[OOC: Casting Gravity Bow on Light XBow. It's damage now increases to 2d6. Spell will last two minutes.

Also, Phelar has every relevant Knowledge to figure out what things are. Which would be best to roll bossman?]

Amara drew her blades and readied an action as she stepped back cautiously, unsure about what these things could be.

Move Action: Draw Shortswords
Standard Action: Ready an attack (with the MW of course) to any enemy that comes in range.

The creatures surge forward, their legs hitting the ground with a sick wet slapping sound. They seem to emit some kind of ooze or sticky slime and leave a trail of gunk behind them as they move. One circles around the fountain to pick off Amara in the rear while the other two move up to attack Kamea and Tanu. Both warriors are able to use their weapons to keep gnashing jaws at bay.

Tanu swings his club and clobbers one to the ground but it picks itself up.

Phelar gets ready with her crossbow, Amara readies her swords. Kamea backs up and brings her glaive down bisecting the creature Tanu smashed. Vahan moves up to smash the creature with his heavy pick but it lurches to the side and avoids the strike.

Round 2
The two surviving creature continue to move up to attack. One of them tries to bite Amara, ducking around her answering strike and latching onto her arm. When its teeth sink into her there is a sudden puff of fire and her arm is scorched all along the bite mark.

OOC: Amara takes 6 pts of damage piercing damage and 4 pts of fire damage

Phelar quickly moves to the other side of the fountain and fires at the beast by Vahan. "Get away from my dwarf!"

[OOC: Move Action to E3.
Attack Action, fire at the thing at H3.

18:57, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 12,2 using 1d20+3,2d6 with rolls of 9,1,1.  Light XBox (Gravity Bow'd.).

Yup. Now all my rolls go to trash. lol]

Grunting and yelling, Tanu goes through the fountain at the second creature (E0). He swings his club in a low arc from right to left for his attack and bringing it full circle to rest on his right shoulder.

[OOC]
22:41, Today: Tanu rolled 16 using 1d20+7 ((9)).
22:42, Today: Tanu rolled 12 using 1d10+4 ((8)).

Kamea moved to support Amara in her fight against these strange creatures. She thrust her glaive from behind Amara and skewered the creature. "I got your back, Amara."

---

Move: 5' to G0
Attack: E0
rolled 17,6 using 1d20+6,1d10+4 with rolls of 11,2.  ATK/DAM

Amara left out a cry of pain, the bite was bad but the scorching heat that flared from it was worth. Gritting her teeth she tore into the creature with both blades, not in the mood to play nicely if she could help it.

"Always appreciated."

Her first strike was an obvious feint, or a bad miss, even as her offhand slammed home in the center of her foe with brutal force.

OOC: Full Attack (Miss vs AC 8 with Mc, Hit vs AC 22 with OH for 6 damage. 13 if Crit Confirms/able at 20)

01:39, Today: Amara rolled 13 using 1d6+3+1d6+3 with rolls of 3,4.  Not sure if immune to Crit.
01:38, Today: Amara rolled 20 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 18.  SS Confirm.
01:38, Today: Amara rolled 22 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 20.  Off Hand SS.
01:38, Today: Amara rolled 8 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 5.  Main Hand MW SS

Round 3
Phelar moves to fire and misses.

Tanu smashes one into the ground and Kamea and Amara slice and dice the second one. All three monsters are left dead on the road outside of the inn.

A quick look around reveals that they attacked a few horses in the stables. Someone was going to wake up the next morning with some bad news about their horse but otherwise the party is unable to find where the things had come from.

Perhaps it was unrelated to the troubles facing the town but it seemed more likely that whatever was stirring up Roderic's ghost was also behind these foul creatures emerging from the darkness.

"Well, this was not very enlightening." She said flatly as she shouldered her crossbow. She then walked back over and rejoined the others.

Amara let out a gasp and weakly sheathed her blades, only if she was sure everything was dead. Flexing her torn and cauterized arm carefully. Gods that had hurt.

Tanu grunts and nods to the stables.  In a low stance, and his club at the ready, he advances into the stables and looks around the stalls (kicking through the hay a little and looking up into the rafters).  He talks to the horses as he does, "There..there...you OK."

Vahan rushed to Amara’s side, laying his hands on her shoulder and pulling out his healer’s kit.

"Hold bloody still," he muttered.

Sacrifice Detect Evil to cast CLW: 6 damage healed.
Also rolled 26 to Heal, but that’s just flavortext.

"Don't know where these creatures are coming from. But it seems that there's been more of then recently." Kamea picked up some loose gear. She tighten the straps on her pack. "We'd better get to Roderic's Wreck and see if we can learn something. Or more creatures can turn this village into a ghost town in a few weeks."


OOC: Ready to move on

"Agreed." Phelar said nodding. "How are you holding up? Do you need healing as well?" She asked Kamea with a small nod.

"Thank you for the offer." Kamea checked her armor and body to make sure that there wasn't a hidden wound, "Seems that my armor deflected all of the attacks."

Amara flexed her arm, the burns still lingered but it would work. She had done jobs suffering from less. She flashed the dwarf a smile and a mumbled thank you, before seeming ready to get on with it.

The trail out to Roderic's Wreck is very untraveled and seems more similar to the Churlwood than not however even still it is a much shorter walk than anything they had to deal with in the nearby forest.

Approaching the house, it is immediately apparent that Roderic’s Wreck is indeed a wreck. The house slumps visibly toward the water, one corner edging dangerously into the river. Boards in the house’s walls have warped and popped free from their nails, peeling back like bark from an old tree. The front door hangs slightly ajar. The sound of buzzing insects, creaking tree branches, and the river flowing by hangs in the moist air.

The house looks to be a two-story affair built from local pine. Neglect is evident as there are signs of water damage everywhere one cares to look as it sags towards the nearby river. It looked like at one time it stood on four sturdy pylons sunk deep into the earth but erosion and the shifting of the river have carved out underneath the foundation and the whole thing looks likely to be swept away in the next flood or two.

Moss grows on the roof and clings to the walls and where the moss doesn't touch there appears to be patches of black mold springing up where the boards are starting to rot. The moss and mold have gotten so bad that the windows are covered, inside and out with big patches of it.

Doing a quick lap around the house it seems the obvious entrances are through the front door or there is a back door next to a dilapidated deck.

"I'll look for traps and tracks, give me a moment."

Amara slid forward on light feet, at home in the overgrown terrain as she sought signs of other people or traps in the area for the group to keep an eye out for.


10:05, Today: Amara rolled 28,14,24 using 1d20+8,1d20+10,1d20+8 with rolls of 20,4,16.  Stealth, Perception (+1 Traps), Survival,.
28 Stealth, 14 Perception, 24 Survival

Chuckling, "Maybe we jus push it over, brudda."

She laughed. "Tanu, I doubt that will solve what's going on."

"Traps?" Kamea gave Amara time to examine the area. "I'm more worried that the house will collapse, if we go inside. But we need to find some clue as to what is going on right. So we'll have to enter, right?" See seemed to be trying to convince herself or hoping that another alternative was possible.

"Sadly I think entering is the only option. Unless..." She considered for a moment. "...maybe we need to go under it? We found those weird ruins in that cave, right? And look how the house is leaning...  Maybe some caves under it collapsed to cause it to lean? Some of the caves in that last one looked like they may have..." She was entertaining a notion. "Of course, that means we may still have to go in."

As far as Amara can tell there don't appear to be any traps. The floorboards look old and creaky, the building seems to be totally infested with bugs and vermin and in the grass near the front step she sees the glint of something silver, likely a necklace or locket or something along those lines.

Carefully, and checking with Detect magic up, she gathers up the silver thing with a curious touch.

"No traps that I can see."

"Don't dey sometimes have a graveyard near these ol' houses?", muttering to himself as they start to mount the steps.

"I’ll get to it, then," said Vahan. He hefted weapon and shield, stepping in through the front door, keeping a wary eye.

Perception: 22.

Vahan walks up the steps and the stairs creak under his heavy boots. From under the rafters comes the flittering of tiny wings as a trio of stirges appear.

Round 1

Spitting on the ground, Tanu swings at a stirg in a large loop.

13:55, Today: Tanu rolled 25 using 1d20+7 ((18)).  To Hit
13:56, Today: Tanu rolled 13 using 1d10+4 ((9)).  To Damage

Phelar took aim at one of the stirges that Tanu did not hit and fires a crossbow bolt at it.

[OOC: Fire at stirge at Q8.

00:21, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 9,4 using 1d20+3,1d8 with rolls of 6,4.  Light XBow.
Hit: 9
Damage: 4

FML.]

Amara drew her blades cautiously and took a swipe at the Stirge, while she knew of the small things she certainly hadn't fought any before and it managed to dodge her blade due to this.

OOC:
Note: Vahan healed Amara for 6, she should be at 17 HP I believe
Move: Draw Swords
Standard: Attack Stirge at Q8 (Miss at AC 13)
14:01, Today: Amara rolled 13 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 8.  Main Hand MW SS vs Q8.

Taken aback, Vahan nearly stumbled at the appearance of the beasts. He clutched his warhammer with a white-knuckled grip and swung haphazardly as he turned toward one. The swing went wide, catching but air as the tiny creature flittered away.

"Hellsteeth, ya bloody bug hold still!"

Warhammer attack: 9.
Gonna go out on a limb and say that’s a miss.

Round 1
Tanu splatters a stirge with his club. Unfortunately the rest of the party fails to connect with the tiny flying vermin.

The stirges swoop in on Vahan and Amara. Both stirges are able to land on them, sinking their proboscises through cracks in the armor and begin drinking.

OOC: Amara and Vahan take 1 CON damage
Amara and Vahan: Make a DC 12 Fort save

The stirges seem firmly attached to the pair of them and their blood sacs are starting to fill up.

OOC: Obviously killing them will remove them. Barring that it is a standard contested grapple or escape artist check to get them off

"Ahhh...bugs."  Tanu drops his club on the stairs and pulls his dagger.  He tries grapple the stirge on Amara by the scruff.

[OOC]
Grapple a grapple?  Let me know if you are OK with this....
One-handed Grapple
17:07, Today: Tanu rolled 23 using 1d20+3 ((20)).
Dagger damage
17:09, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d4+3 ((3)).

Vahan struggled to strike the creature attacking him, grunting as he tried to reach the beast with his warhammer.

8 to hit, and 5 damage if it matters.

Kamea brandished the two-handed glaive. "Hold still. I don't want to chop off an arm or something. Stop moving!" She gave up the glaive and pulled out her dagger. She grabbed Vahan and used the much smaller blade to slice the stirge off.

---

rolled 21,5 using 1d20+5,1d4+3 with rolls of 16,2.  ATK/DAM

Phelar just held where she was, right now she would cause more harm than good if she acted and she knew it so she kept an eye out.

[OOC: Holding action.]

Amara let out a surprisingly feminine shriek at the large bug sucking her blood and she ducked so fast to get the hell away from the thing it was actually rather impressive.

20:33, Today: Amara rolled 19 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 11.  Escape Artist.
20:33, Today: Amara rolled 14 using 1d20+2 with rolls of 12.  Fort Save DC12.

Amara and Tanu cut and slice the remaining stirges splattering blood around. Checking around the party sees the nest that the stirges had built under the awning of the delapidated house but for now there doesn't appear to be anything else that is a threat.

Tanu stops on the dead stirge for good measure.

squish

Blood and gore squirt out from under Tanu's shoe.

"Well.... That was nightmare inducing."

Amara felt sick from the blood loss as she took her waterskin and took a large gulp, wondering vaguely about just setting the house on fire.

Tanu puts his dagger away, and grabs his club.  "You want me to lead?"

She moved to Amara. "Will you be okay? I could see to the wound if you want."

"A bit of healing isn't a bad idea but if not I can handle it, just a bit of pain." It was admittedly more the burn then the stirge wound that was aching at her.

Vahan looked over his mostly minor wound with a frown.

"Hellsteeth, I hate those bloody things," he said. Glancing at Tanu, and to his question, the dwarf nodded. "Lead on."

"One moment." Phelar pulls out a healer's kit, and begins to works on Amara's burns and Stirge wounds.

When she was done with Amara. "Anyone else want me to look them over?"

[OOC: Phelar will take a 20 on the check since we are not under any threat right now. Which also allows me to beat the DC by 5. So if you were down HP's Amara you get back 1 per each of your levels, and you get back an additional 2 HP's for my WIS mod. :) ]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:10, Fri 20 Nov 2020.

Without moving far or fast, just biding time while people are looked over, Tanu tests the porch floor with his club; in front of the door...down to the right or left a little...looking at the over hang again.  Not moving in tell all are ready.

Kamea indicated that she was ready. "Looks like Tanu was a route inside planned. Let's follow him."

As the heroes approach the door they notice a couple of shiny items nearly hidden in the tall grass. One is a simple silver locket with a picture of a young girl inside of it.

The other is a brass key, still shiny despite lying in the mud. The key itself is fairly plain but the handle has a stylized cog with circles between the cog's teeth.



The locket appears perfectly ordinary, although possibly fairly valuable, but the key radiates magical energy and when it is picked up the keyhole on the front door of Roderick's Wreck glows brightly.
This message was last edited by the GM at 17:08, Tue 24 Nov 2020.

Amara took the locket leaving someone braver to scoop up the magical key, studying it curiously with detect magic and looking for anything hidden on it.

"Keys magical."

Amara can't detect what kind of magic is on the key but it does seem powerful.

Kamea picked up the key. Suddenly the key and the lock in the door glowed. "This is against my better judgement. But we're not going to find answers by avoiding everything." She inserted the key and turned it.

There is a brilliant flash of light that lasts for several seconds, blinding everyone. When the light dims the party finds they have been teleported to a strange place. They find themselves seated on comfortable leather chairs and couch surrounding a low wooden coffee table. The floor is tiled with dark marble and the walls appear to be finely crafted stone leading up to huge vaulted ceilings, easily over 20' tall. Floor-to-ceiling windows and giant skylights present plenty of light however the windows are opaque so it is impossible to see the landscape beyond and determine where the party has been transported to.

There are other clusters of chairs and couches forming six distinct clusters of furniture arranged equidistant in a 3x2 grid broken up and divided by rows half-wall partitions topped with the occasional potted plant. The air is cool and crisp with hints of airflow but there doesn't seem to be any open window.

At the other end of the room are two notable items. The first is a large wrap-around desk with an ancient gnome sitting behind it struggling to read a book through incredibly thick spectacles. The gnome is old beyond measure and clearly stricken by the Bleaching given his pale color.

The other note is that there are no exits to this room. Instead one of the four walls is instead made up of a giant brass circular cover, like a vault door only on a scale that is absolutely massive.

"Twelve, we have guests. Go on, get to it lad." the ancient gnome bellows out, slapping the counter where there is a small bell mechanism to give out a ring. When there isn't any movement the gnome slaps the bell a second and then a third time.

"Coming! Coming! Sorry sir!"

From behind one of the half-wall partitions comes a young gnome, barely into his teens (by gnomish equivalents) hastily tucking in the shirt of his uniform and running towards the party. He is wearing a blue shirt with an insignia on it that matches the shape of the key that Kamea is still holding in her hands. He has a small cap on as well with #12 embroidered into it with brass colored thread. The party notices that he isn't wearing any shoes, instead his feet covered with thick wool socks. A few feet away from the party the gnome lad hits a sudden stop and expertly slides along the smooth tiles in his socks to stop perfectly in front of the party's seating arrangement. He wobbles only slightly at the end and then breaks into a broad grin having stuck the landing.

"Greetings, travelers! I am #12 and I would like to cordially welcome you to the Klacken Exchange! If you'll just follow me we can get you processed and taken care of swiftly and to your utmost satisfaction!"

He holds out his hand, glancing at the key in Kamea's hand.

"If I can see your exchange key, it will help expedite the processing."

"...that...what?" Phelar asked, a bit confused. She seemed a bit lost as to what just happened.

Tanu tries to smoothly check his dagger and sword.  While looking at his compatriots, he looks for his club.  He is shocked and nervous.

"Um." Kamea opened the hand to show the key. She looked over her shoulder with confusion at her companions. "You mean this? Where are we right now?"

Amara stayed almost protectively by Kamea's side, hands on the hilts of her short swords. Her eyes where slightly widened but she had a hell of a poker face as she took in the room and area around them. This looked almost like a very advanced black market, perhaps? She didn't have much interaction with Gnomes, especially named the Klacken Exchange.

The boy nodded at Kamea, pointing at the key again.

"Yes, you're in the Klacken Exchange. We deliver magical solutions for a mutliverse of problems. That's the slogan at least. Now if I can just see that key we can get you processed and in front of a curator."

From the desk in the corner the old gnome looks up and scowls.

"Twelve! Why are you still yammering about? Get going!"

The young gnome looks over nervously at the old gnome in the desk and then gives the group an apologetic smile.

"Don't mind #1. He just tries to run a tight ship after all. We try to hurry people through arrivals and processing to avoid any intersections. Usually if two groups intersect it's fine but sometimes...well nobody likes cleaning blood out of the upholstery, do they?"

His eyes go wide when he realizes that he may have spoken too much and his grin returns wider than ever.

"But that almost never happens! Don't worry. The Klacken Exchange prides itself on complete neutrality. We deliver magical solutions, what happens afterwards is beyond us. Now I know you have a lot of questions but typically those will be answered by your curator so if you will just follow me we can get you processed and trust me, the curators know so much more than I do. I'm just the greeter. And the messenger. And the cleaner."

He nods his head towards the table which the group notes is spotless and dirt free. He gives them an earnest smile and holds out his hand for the key again.
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:43, Mon 30 Nov 2020.

Seeing that all of his things are here, Tanu calms...some.  "Hey brudda?  We still don't know what dis place is and why we here?  Can you answer that?"

In reply to Dungeon Master (msg # 61):

Kamea held out the key again. "Here it is."

Phelar looked between Kamea and the small one, still beyond all levels of confused.

"Twelve! Get going. You're risking an intersection!"

The grumpy old bleached gnome at the desk is pointing at a bowl of water next to him. It doesn't seem to be anything unusual but the young gnome lad's eyes go wide and he nods. Looking back he begins to ask for the key again but then sees that Kamea has been presenting it the whole time.

"Oh. Sorry. Right."

He snatches away the key, takes a quick look at it and then nods. He begins walking down the hallway towards the giant vault door at the far side of the room.

"As I said your curator will be able to answer your specific questions but I understand if things are a little bit disorienting. Presently you're in the Klacken Exchange, an interdimensional magical exchange, hence the name. Well I guess that isn't completely obvious. My name is Josianamus Klackencogswheel, hence the name. Originally it was the Klackencogswheel Extraplanar Magical Exchange but none of our clients seemed to like that very much so it was eventually just shortened to the Klacken Exchange."

He pauses, looking over his shoulder to make sure everyone is still following. By then the group passed by the desk with the old gnome who gives them a quick judgemental look before calling out to the young gnome, "Vault Four," before going back to studying the ripples in the bowl of water. The young gnome nods and continues leading the group down the hallway.

"The key that you handed me is what we refer to as a guest pass. Our clients can get them issued to allow select guests access to our inventory. Sometimes it is just to do some shopping for the client but many times keys are given out as rewards for services conducted. Each key is single use however. Once your needs have been satisfied, within the limits of your client's tier of course, you'll be transported right back to the exact time and place that you came from. Here we go..."

The gnome stopped about fifty feet away from the giant brass door. The door itself was covered with small engravings depicting various magical scenes. Wizards casting fireballs at dragons or reading ancient tomes or performing grand rituals. The engravings were so detailed that as the party walked forward the way the light and shadows hit the engraving caused them to appear to move. The fireballs would explore, pages would be turned, rituals circles would appear to glow. At first it looked magical but it quickly became apparent it was just expert craftsmanship and tricks of the light as the scenes just flipped back and forth over and over again.

Number Twelve, aka Josianamus, was standing next to a lever set into the marble floor. The young gnome began pulling and pushing the lever, flipping it through a complex series of positions. The ground began to rumble but instead of the giant vault door opening instead the whole wall began to rotate. Along nearly invisible seams the vault door and the wall behind it rotated clockwise so the giant brass door sank into the floor like a setting sun. As it did so on the other side of the wall opposite a new vault door came into view like a sunrise. This one was engraved with pictures of kings and rulers commanding armies and demanding loyalty from their subjects.




This door rotated up into position like the sun rising to midday but then didn't stop, it too continuing to rotate over and set, disappearing beneath the floor. A third vault door rose up and this was engraved with what looked to be heroes fighting terrible monsters or avoiding deadly traps. This time when the vault door was fully visible it locked into position. The gnome pulled the lever one more time and this time the giant vault door opened.

Through the door was what looked to be a giant warehouse filled with shelves.



Looking like library stacks but instead of books each shelf was full of boxes of varying shapes and sizes, each with a little card on the front labeling it. While the shelves themselves seem organized the overall layout is more akin to a maze and very little of the room is actually visible through the haphazard shelf layouts.

Standing on the other side of the vault are two more gnomes waiting patiently. One has a badge that says "#4" and the other has a badge that says "#8". Looking at them it would appear that the gnomes must all be related. Between #4, #8, and #12 it could easily be grandfather, father, and son.

Number Twelve runs forward, handing the key off to Number Four before heading back to man the lever, presumably to close the vault once the party had entered.

The older gnome waves the party forward.

"Greetings and welcome to the Klacken Exchange. I'm guessing by your expressions that this is your first time here and you have a multitude of questions. Come on in and have a seat and we'll make sure your every inquiry is satisfied, to the best of our ability."

He motions for the party to in and then gestures to the side where there is yet another seating area that looks remarkably like the one they just left. It was hard not to feel like the gnomes were shuffling them along like an assembly line, each one repeating a line they had spoken a hundred times before.

"Let's get the obvious questions out of the way, shall we? My name is Josianamus Klackencogswheel but you can just call me Number Four. Next to me is also Josianamus but here we call him Number Eight. I'll be your curator for your stay here and Number Eight will be assisting. Yes, every gnome here is named Josianamus and yes it is because we are all the same person. The Exchange is run by twelve versions of the same person. We're not copies or clones or anything, we are just at twelve different points in our lives. The Exchange operates under a very complicated time loop. Honestly it is a headache and a half to even begin to explain it. All you need to know is that time has effectively stopped for you while you're here. You'll be returned at the exact time and spot that you arrived from.

Now the mission behind the Exchange was to create the universe's greatest magic shop. I succeeded beyond my wildest expectations when I created not just this plane's greatest magical emporium but every plane's greatest magical emporium. We're actually connected to thousands of alternate planes or dimensions or realities or worlds, whatever language you would prefer. Rest assured that our inventory is second to none.

Because of this we do not provide a catalog, so to speak. Instead if you tell us about your desires or interests or problems that you are facing we can provide a solution. Typically this is with a magical item but we do have a wide array of exotic materials. We have found that half the time just having the right metal or mineral is just as good, and far cheaper, than bothering with enchantments.

There are conditions, however. We do not take gold or other baubles from guests. Instead we offer an exchange. You trade us an exotic or magical item and we will return in kind. Depending on current exchange rates this can be very favorable for you. Our clientele mostly caters to wizards and rulers and they tend to put very little value on flashy swords or sturdy armor so mercenaries and adventurers such as yourselves can often get very favorable rates. So come in and have a seat while we check the credit available on your account."

Number Four pats one of the chairs before going off to the side to consult with Number Eight. Number Four pulls out a jeweler's monocole and begins reading off tiny numbers that had been engraved on the key while Number Eight has produced a small black ledger and is flipping through it, repeating the numbers. After a few moments they find the entry they are looking for and then both of them frown. Number Four comes back looking a bit apologetic.

"It appears this account was registered to a local ruler, an Aurek Roderic? Does that sound familiar? Unfortunately not only was he registered only at our entry tier but it appears his account has gone into delinquency. I'm surprised there were any keys left as we should have collected them all. We pride ourselves on satisfying all of our guests so you will still be able to benefit from the Exchange's services, just that there isn't any additional credit available. Depending on your requests we might have to get a little creative to find a satisfactory solution but never fear, Number Eight and I are used to unusual requests and creative solutions. That is why you were sent to us!"

OOC: To put this into context, don't worry about having memorized every single item in your inventory. This is just an in-game way to "upgrade" your equipment to 2nd Edition.

As a general rule of thumb at 3rd level you're expected to have 1 level 2 item and 2 level 1 items.

Some examples of 2nd level items are: +1 weapons, Hat of disguise, hand of the mage, Cold Iron or Silver weapons etc.
Some examples of 1st level items are: minor healing potions, shielding salve, acid flask, alchemist's fire etc.

Don't feel like you have to identify specific items because the point of the Exchange is to not be limited by just what is available in the core rulebook. I have bookshelves full of books from all editions of Pathfinder and D&D and so maybe a custom item is in the cards.

"Okay. I'm lost. This entire thing sounds like a hot mess wrapped in a wish spell of no fucking thank you. Too good to be true and all that. But.... I guess Roderick was a pretty big shot and dealing with some fairy tale tier magic is fitting. It'll depend what you want, and I won't accept any debts or shady offerings on my part but... A good short sword would be nice, possibly a second one too. Also any boots that help with sneaking or items that make me a bit more agile. Otherwise.... fuck it, find something to wow me. I like getting in, killing the enemy and getting out, without being stabbed. Oh, so I guess some good light armor that doesn't make noise?"

Amara is so very very lost. And a bit rambly? Yes. Lost.

The gnomes seem unfazed when Amara unloads on them a little bit. It seems they pride themselves in professionalism and, especially if they cater to adventurers, are used to suspicious attitudes. They listen intently but when Amara delivers the last sentence Number Four gives a smile and nods.

"No debt is necessary, we work entirely on bartering."

He pulls up what looks like a fat wand and waves it over Amara and her magical gear glows briefly blue. Number Four grins and walks over to the desk and pulls out a large box and puts it in front of Aamara.

"It's a little bit of a stretch given the account is empty but I think we can work something out. Eight, please pull the Shadow Teeth."

Number Eight gives a nod and disappears into the stacks. Meanwhile Number Four goes into his desk and pulls out a small token. He flicks it to the ground and a training dummy one would find in a barracks training room appears.

Suddenly from up above, Number Four comes leaping off a ladder with a pair of matched black short swords. The swords appear to be perpetually covered in darkness, absorbing the light that hits them. Number Eight scores a direct hit, sinking both short swords into the dummy. There is a brief pause and then the shadows covering the short swords expands, expanding and consuming Number Eight's form and then disappears.

The party hears the sound of running feet and from around the corner comes Number Eight again, now a little out of breath. He trots up next to Number Four and shows the swords to Amara as Number Four explains.

"The Shadow Teeth are linked to the Plane of Shadow. When you hit with both of them you can briefly teleport through the shadow plane and appear someplace else, instantly. It can't take you very far but if you want to charge in, strike, and get out then these might be the weapons for you."

OOC: Mechanically speaking they are two +1 Shortswords. If you hit with both of them as a Reaction you can teleport up to 30'. You don't need to have Line of Sight to where you teleport but you do need to have seen it before. This can be done 2/day (once per sword, basically).

The swords are paired and become non-magical if only one is held. You don't have to strike with both but if you hold only one in hand then it both looks and functionally becomes a regular sword and becomes difficult to even detect as magic.

Tanu watches what is going on, but holds his tongue.  This is more than he is used to...goblins, sharks, and other tribesmen...these he understands.  Magic he just didn't deal with much...sure healing magic...but other than the Ol' Man and Phelar, not much.

"Mmmm I don't always use both swords but I suppose even if I'm only holding one it's still as good as my current sword. They also look gorgeous. I'm not sure if I get a limited number of items I want it all on a pair of swords but...It is tempting."

Amara is obviously waffling and interested in the pair of swords, but the amount of time she doesn't use her pair to instead use a dagger for throwing is also admittedly making her wary of going all in on the swords. Perhaps it was time to give up her daggers?
This message was last edited by the player at 00:22, Sat 05 Dec 2020.

Number 4 nodded, not put off by Amara's concerns in the slightest. It seems they are used to clients taking awhile to make up their minds.

"No worries take your time. So you want to get into combat and get out again. Well we have a Fencer's Rapier we could part with. The first time you lunge with it it really sends you forward."

OOC: +1 Rapier. 1/day you can use the Fighter's Sudden Charge action

"Well, bloody hell," said Vahan, running his fingers through his hair. He felt over him for what gear he carried, then frowned with furrowed brow pondering what would be useful. Finding his warhammer, he thrust it forth to show it off.

"This here," he said. "Hellsteeth, but it’s served me well. Ya got anything like it, but better? I could use some flamin’ thing like that, and maybe if ya got something that’ll help me bloody heal us up more often. What ya got?"

Number Four tugged at his beard and his eyes looked at the holy symbols on Vahan before he turned to Eight and said. "Get the Forgehammer. And a healing stick."

Eight ran off and returned first one box and then another. Opening up the first revealed a warhammer with a thickly wrapped handle and a silvery black head. Emblazoned on the sides of the hammer were the stamp of a mountain with what looked to be a diamond or gem inside of it.

"This is a Forgehammer. It's made out of a special metal called...Dumathoin I believe. If you pray to a god of the forge or fire or crafting...broad selection really... then the head heats up. Burns your enemies or can be used to heat up metal without a forge."

The other box contained a long metallic rod wit a pronged tip on one end and a black crystal square on the other. It had a stud next to the square and when Four pushed it the black square showed a green rectangle inside of it like a magical rune and the whole thing gave off a slight hum.

"Another option is the healing stick. Don't ask how it works, it just does. Turn it on and stick someone with the prongs and it can heal their wounds. Twist the nob and it can fire darts that do the same thing and twist it the other way and it powers up and releases a cloud of healing vapors.

You can use it about once a day safely. If you use it more then that, well sometimes they get depleted and don't power back up again."

OOC: For the Forgehammer given a short rest you can convert its damage type from bludgeoning to fire. This can be done whenever you want but it takes a short rest (~10 minutes) of prayer to convert it from one to the other. When heated it'll let you craft metals as well but that is a long rest activity. Otherwise it is a +1 weapon.

The healing stick is a wand that can cast heal, just with a futuristic flair to it.

If you take the wand, that is all you're getting. If you take the forgehammer they'll probably through in a couple healing potions.

The Dwarf’s eyes lit up at the sight of the weapon.

"Foehammer it bloody is then!" he said. "A sight to make the Father of Creation himself proud."

A wicked grin plastered his face. "Many thanks to ya."

After all the discussion of healing stuff, that’s just too cool to pass up. :D

Phelar looked at what Amara wished far, and Vahan wished for, then considered for a moment. "I am an archeologist, from Sovyrian. I am also an Elementalist, and a healer." She said, considering. "Anything that can help with any of those would be good. But also, anything that can help with my defense would be good." She added. "There is this too...  Abilities like it has on either my staff, or my crossbow would be helpful too." She said with a nod as she produced the magical Goblin Dogslicer they had found, as well as giving a small list idea's to see what they come up with.

"I yield. I'll take the Teeth myself. It's like they're made for me."

Amara admitted the rapier was cool but she did so enjoy her short swords. Perhaps one day she'd trade one in, but not today, that was for sure.

Number Four's professional smile turns a shade to the smug side as the heroes' eyes light up seeing the wonders before them. As Phelar speaks, Four listens intently and gives a little chuckle at the end.

"Alright, that's a lot of avenues to look through. Alright let me think...Eight, let's just keep things simple. Pull an Trans-Elemental Orb."

Eight frowns and tugs at his own beard in the exact same mannerism that Four had done earlier.

"Do we still have any of those left?"

"Check in the way back. Sometimes the little boxes fall between the shelves."

Eight nods and pulls out a pair of goggles, putting them on his head and adjusting the lens before scanning around whispering "Trans-Elemental Orb, Trans-Elemental Orb, Trans-Elemental...ah you were right."

He pulls off the goggles and trots off into the maze of shelves again. This time he doesn't return presently, instead there is the sound of shuffling boxes and what sounds like a bookshelf toppling over accompanyied by a huge crash. Number Four winces but quickly looks at the others, waving his hand to assure them that everything is alright.

Number Eight returns a few minutes later looking like he had gone three rounds with an ogre. He drops the box on the table and picks up the healing stick, zapping himself to bind his wounds. Four just rolls his eyes and opens up the box.

Inside is an orb, perfectly spherical, that seems to glow different colors in the light. Number Four rotates it so it shifts between glowing different colors, like a rainbow viewed one color at a time.

"This is a Trans-Elemental Orb. It takes some practice getting used to it but how it works is that you prime it by casting a spell into the orb and it picks up the properties of that spell. If you cast a freezing spell at it, it becomes filled with ice. If you cast a fire spell at it, it looks like it holds red-hot lava. You get the idea. Then once it is primed if you cast another spell through it, it transforms your spell's elemental energy into the elemental type stored in the orb.

So many spells wizards have are based on rote memorization. No creativity. One plane of energy is as good as the next."

He puts the orb back into the box, nestled in a pillow to keep it protected and stationary.

OOC: Mechanically it's as described. Cast a spell with an energy type damage (e.g. acid, cold, fire, electricity, fire, negative, positive, sonic) and then the next spell cast through it switches damage type. There may be some unintended side effects. For example a cone of cold converted to fire probably won't "freeze" people in place. A lightning bolt converted probably won't "jump" from person to person etc.

This message was last edited by the player at 05:48, Thu 10 Dec 2020.

Watching the others, Tanu thinks for a second, and then speaks up.  "My Da had a shark tooth dagger.  It was short and whitish...stubby and think at the base...and wicked," he makes a rough curve with short jagged teeth(ish) moves with his had, "little teeth.  You won't have my Da's, but do you have a shark tooth dagger?  It would feel like home some.  We made a lot of things out of shark tooth...clubs, needles, hooks."  He looks around the table and gets a little excited.



[OOC]apologies...think one thing with pic and typed another.
This message was last edited by the player at 23:44, Mon 07 Dec 2020.

Number Four raises an eyebrow in surprise.

"How big of sharks are you encountering to make a sword out of? That wouldn't make any sense. Shark teeth are triangular with a wider base so a tooth large enough to use as a sword would be gigan..."

Number Eight taps him and leans over, whispering in his ear. Four nods and motions for him to go.


"A shark tooth sword isn't something I'm familiar with but we do have a couple of options. One is a shark tooth club. They called it a 'layamono' I think. Popular among island tribes that don't have metals for a cutting edge but this one's been enchanted.



If you hit it just right the teeth actually break off into your enemy's flesh and continue to burrow in. Quite painful I'd imagine.

We also have a short sword made out of a leviathon's tooth. They have longer thinner teeth, plus are just a lot bigger overall, so you can get a 20" blade out of it easily. If you want we could put a handle on it and weight it a with an inner core and turn it into a longsword even.

Would either of those interest you?"


OOC: The sharktooth club would count as a +1 Greatclub where if you crit you inflict 1d10 persistent bleed damage on the target.

The leviathan blade is only a +1 weapon but because of the power of its source creature it could accept any level rune on it making it far more upgradable than most weapons found.

This message was last edited by the player at 13:41, Wed 09 Dec 2020.

Tanu's eyes go big when you mention the leviathan.  "You got a sword from a behemoth?  De bigger dan whales...can I see it?"

Number Four nods and sends Eight into the stacks. Eight comes back with a box that is long and thick, opening it up to reveal a large tooth with a handle crafted for it.



"We can change the handle around, that isn't really important to it. The blade is stronger than steel and as far as we can tell will always carry an edge."

It's a little short for a longsword, a little long for a shortsword and it is very broad although surprisingly light and flexible when picked up.

Moving slowly, Tanu picks it up and tests the grip and balance.  "Somebody work real hard to get this." He is marveling at the tooth.

Number Four gives a shrug.

"I could look up how we acquired it but I think you'd prefer the mystery over the reality, wouldn't you agree?"

Kamea waited and watched the others as a variety of weapons were presented. Finally she presented her glaive. "This is my weapon of choice. What would you recommend?"

Number Four gives a shrug as he looks at it.

"That all depends on what you want to do with it. We've got a Telescoping Glaive, I know that because it was added just a couple days ago. It would let you reach even farther than a typical glaive. Does that sound like something you'd like?"

OOC: It would let you have 15' reach for a few rounds.

"Hmm..." She said in thought, considering the orb for a second. "I am not sure how practical that is in combat. Especially for someone like me who is more attuned to the element of fire. But still, that's not the main reason, it's a matter of time in combat. Spells take time to cast, and you are talking about trying to basically cast two spells so you can change the element of one to another. In combat, you do not have time for that." She explained. "Waste time in a fight, you or your friends could get hurt. Vahan pulled me from a hole, saved my life. Tanu I met later. I consider them friends, and Kamea and Amara, even though I just met them, I would like to call them friends. I would hate to see them fall because I was wasting time priming spells in an orb, no matter how amazing that orb was." It was clear that she weighed heavy on the orb, and on it's abilities and definitely thought of them as very good indeed, but also saw them as a tactical disadvantage.

Number Four gave a shrug.

"I don't think it's supposed to be charged during combat. It's usually used ahead of time. It was actually created by a wizard who had a vendetta against a vampire lord and his undead legions and he wanted to be able to tap into positive energy during his fights so he would prep it ahead of time to unleash radiant energy that he knew the vampires were weak against.

Anyway we're not here to force you into anything, we're just here to help you find the best item you can from our catalog.

Let's see what else did you say? Healing? Well we already pulled the healing stick. What was the last thing you said? Defenses? How about an ion stone? We have loads of them. We have one that you can use to create a shield for yourself. That's always pretty handy, no?"

"It doesn't have to be a stone. We do have those bracers."

Number Four snaps his fingers and nods in agreement.

"That's right, we do have those braces of shielding. Those aren't bad."

OOC: The stone or bracers would let you cast the Shield cantrip as an innate spell.

In reply to Number 4 (msg # 85):

"You know. I had a hard time with this glaive of mine when we were fighting in the tunnels. Now I'm hoping that we won't be fighting in tunnels all of the time, but it made me think that I should work with a sword. What do you have in a hand-and-a-half sword?"

Anything with a bastard sword?

Number Four gave a shrug and a nod.

"Sure, we have tons of those. We have weapons of all types and styles and materials.  We have hundreds of magical swords. I can rattle off a few suggestions but it always helps if you can provide us with a bit more information. Are you looking for more offensive capabilities? Striking faster or harder? Or maybe you're looking for a more defensive oriented sword that will help you protect your fiends? Do you want to move around and get enemies out of position or carve into the ground and disrupt their footing?

Maybe you want a nice straight forward sword or maybe you want one that does something weird and unexpected, like you slam it into the ground and it knocks your opponent of their feet. Do you hate fighting the undead? We have some holy swords blessed with the blood of martyrs.

We have crystal swords, black glass swords, lucky blades.

Heck we even have a darksteel blade you can use. Throw in the oils along with it that will let you reforge it into any other shape you'd like. That's pretty neat if you're not one hundred precent certain you want to commit to one weapon or another."

"I did mention a crossbow too." She said, still looking at the orb, strongly considering it as several application for it did start to come to mind.

Number Four scratches the back of his head and then his beard again before wagging a finger at Phelar.

"You're not making this easy on me, are you. Yes we have magical crossbows. How about the Tulmanni Crossbow? If you fire a bolt out of it the bolt maintains a little bit of magical energy, a connection back to the crossbow. You cast a spell at the crossbow and it comes out of the bolt on the other side. Allows you to get some range or have spells hit from unexpected angles. The connection doesn't last long though and you have to leave a bolt on it for at least ten minutes to attune it to the crossbow. Number Three has been looking into pairing it with a magical bolt but it's been pretty low on his priority list so I doubt he'll mind if we get rid of it before he's done."

Looking at the tooth blade in his hands longingly, "How we work this out brudda?"

Number Eight brings out a large box and Number Four starts scanning the party, pointing out bits of magic here and there to be used in the exchange. They raid the party of potions as well as the magical gear looted from the goblin caves and bandit camp they broke up.

They don't take everything and even hand back a few potions in the end but overall they strip the party of most of their mastercrafted or magical gear.

"I would say it's a good thing you picked up that magical goblin sword. It's not very well made, all things considered, but genuine goblin enchanted weapons are rare enough to be collectors items."

In reply to Number 4 (msg # 89):

"Let's keep it simple. No need for something too fancy. I want to increase my ability to hit it and kill it. The glaive was good at that, but I ran into problems in tight tunnels and magic was unexpected. Yeah, magic was a big problem. One goblin chief threw several fireballs and kill off everyone in my previous party."

"Come to think of it. Magic also came into play with my first group as well. I was the only survivor." Kamea hated the fact that magic could fell the mightiest of warriors.

Number Four looked a Kamea and nodded his head, bobbing it up and down as he mentally considered one option or another.

"Well...we do have one thing. It's a bastard sword alright, but in more ways then one. It's fine if you say no but if magic is a pain point for you we could part with it. Normally it'd be out of your price range but it...well you'll see."

He turned to Number Eight and whispered something in his ear. Eight's eyes went wide in surprise at first but after another glance at Kamea he gave a shrug. He departed for quite some time and in the distance echoing through the stacks they could hear the sound of a series of locks being removed and some kind of heavy metal door being opened up. A little while later Number Eight appeared pushing a long metal box that was resting on top of a small wooden platform that had tiny wheels on the bottom. On closer inspection the metal box appeared to be made of thick lead, often used as insulation against magic.

Number Four took a moment and began stripping off various accessories. Bracers, rings, amulets, even his numbered brooch all went onto the table and once he had stripped himself of everything magical he opened up the box. Number Eight took several steps back and to the side using the desk itself as a partial barrier.

Inside the box was a truly unique sword. The blade was made of a shining steel that reflected a rainbow of colors as if it was covered in oil but as Number Four removed it from the padded lead case it shimmered and glowed trailing a short rainbow behind it as it moved. The hilt looked to be made of gold and silver and while the blade looked large, almost unwieldy Four was able to move it around quite easily.



"This...this is Yiveisairns...the Wild Sword. Dwarves crafted it in the hopes of using it to counter elven magic and it works...kind of. When it interacts with a magical spell that has been cast it triggers a reaction. Sometimes it can counter it or reflect it...but sometimes it might empower the spell. It is difficult to predict but if you're facing a fireball of death wouldn't it be better to take a chance with luck rather than face certain death.

Unfortunately your account and exchanges aren't nearly enough for proper magic resistance but something like this could help. What do you think?"

OOC: Mechanically speaking it is a +1 Bastard sword that gives you a reaction ability that you can "intercept" magic that targets you, either directly or via an AoE and it will trigger a roll on the Wild Magic chart:

https://aonprd.com/Rules.aspx?...=Spell%20Alterations

To summarize that chart, 01-58 is good (to varying degrees) for the targets of the spell, 59-80 is mostly neutral (59-64 is bad), and 80+ is bad for the party/good for the enemy caster.

It's a random roll of the dice but basically 50% to be good for random buffs/benefits, 25% chance for random weirdness, and 25% chance to be bad for the party/good for enemies. maybe.
This message was last edited by the player at 17:15, Tue 05 Jan 2021.

She considered between the crossbow and the orbs for several moments. Even holding each to see how they feel in her hands, and to see which one resonated the best with her. Eventually she would keep the orb in her hand. "Number 4 I will take the orb. It resonates with me, and after much consideration I think it may have a better tactical feel then I thought. Especially considering I have a fire spell I can cast quickly to prime it, to change some of my other element spells to fire."

Number Four nods and boxes it up while Number Eight clears away the crossbow and the other goods. All eyes end up on Kamea and her rainbow sword.

In reply to Number 4 (msg # 95):

Kamea picked up the bastard sword with one hand. She swung the blade a few times testing it. She shifted to a two-handed grip which allowed her more control. "Don't know about the idea of using magic to avoid magic." She tested the blade again for several minutes. With each passing minute, Kamea appreciated the feel of steel within her hands. "The sword has a name... Yiveisairns. I will take Yiveisairns and put it to good use. Thank you."

Number Four gives a nod and Number Eight hauls away the crate of offerings. Soon after he departs he returns with yet another gnome, this one with a badge that reads "Number Three".

Three is quite old and carries, with some difficulty, a large black tome. Four and Three have a quick chat and then Three puts the tome on the table and pulls upward on the cover. The tome grows in size, growing taller and thicker with each pull until it towers over the gnome. Three then begins rapidly flipping through it, marking notes and adding additions in rapid speed as he records what is being given away and what is being added to their inventory.

With a satisfied nod Number Three finishes up and steps forward to shake everyone's  hands.

"I hope you have enjoyed your business here at the Klacken Exchange. Number Four tells me Roderic's account is being closed out. Normally that would be that but I understand you're adventurer, correct and adventuring is dangerous business. In hopes that you survive long enough to visit us again we'll be giving you each a healing potion, on the house Truth be told we tend to end up with way too many of them anyway."

Number Eight steps forward with a small crate with five bottles that glow a soft blue inside.

"Unless you have any other questions Number Twelve will see you back to the lobby where Number One can open the portal and you can return to the exact time and place of entry."

"...uh, no, no more questions." She still seemed a bit confused at what was going on, but seemed happy with what happened.

Tanu keeps rubbing his hand down the side of the tooth; a little amazed at where it came from.

"I feel like I just got drunk off dwarven ale and woke up holding something shiny that doesn't belong to me. Ugh, this whole thing was just.... beyond me."

"That was the most confusing experience of my life. More confusing even then being dug out of the hole by Vahan." She said with a small nod.

The three gnomes wave at the group as Number Twelve leads them back to the antechamber and sets them in front of Number One. The crotchety looking old gnome just grunts at the group and holds out his hand. Once again the key is produced and transferred and the old gnome does something with it underneath the counter before pulling a lever beside him. With a rumble a section of the floor raises up revealing a door in the middle of the room. The door is freestanding, they can see both sides of it however when Number Twelve opens the door it shows the porch of the abandoned house they were just exploring, complete with the dead bodies of a few stirges.

"On behalf of all of us, I hope you have enjoyed your time at the Klacken Exchange. Whenever you need magical solutions I hope you...I hope...shoot. What was the rest of it?"

The young boy turns sheepishly towards the ancient gnome having apparently forgotten the rest of his prepared speech. The old gnome just grunts.

"Doesn't matter, boy. Just get them moving before the next customer arrives."

The old gnome raises up a gnarled hand, shooing the party towards the door.

Amara stumbles out, both pleased with her new swords and highly confused. She'll count this as a win.

Walking back to on the porch, Tanu just looks behind into the exchange.

Looking back anyone who steps through the portal no longer sees anything other than the closed front door to Roderic's dilapidated house.

"...so, um, yeah. Into the house?" Phelar said, shaking the confusion from her head.

"Yes. We need to examine the house." Kamea pulled her bastard sword and tested the balance. "Let's go."

Vahan shrugged, hefting the new Warhammer.

"I’ll lead the way?" he said, doing just that.

Peering through the half-open door reveals a dark and dank looking hallway. Immediately visible are stairs going up to the second floor, one set of doors on the left side of the hallway, likely leading to some sort of under the stairs storage cupboard as well as two doors to the right. The hallway bends ninety degress to the left out of sight.

"I'd let Amara to go first. She's good at taking care of unexpected things." Kamea suggested. When the interior revealed a short hallway. "Tanu, why don't you check that open door under the stairs. While Amara checks the doors." Kamea moved into the hallway, "I'll check the hallway and look around the corner."

Kamea moves to the L intersection. Does NOT open any doors
EDIT: Players can do whatever they want. Kamea only suggested a course of action
This message was last edited by the player at 23:10, Thu 07 Jan 2021.

Vahan kept silent, moving toward the nearest door.

Going to E first, unless someone objects.

Phelar frowned at the silent tension between everyone, but said nothing as she stayed back with her crossbow keeping an eye out for danger.

Doors along the northern and eastern sides of this moldy room provide exits. The floor droops toward the south so the lowest corner of the room brushes the river as it flows by. The ceiling in the northern and eastern sides of the room is torn. The remains of a small desk lean into the northwestern corner of the room, its slim drawer hanging out.

As the party enters the room they see dozens of cockroaches that all start fleeing towards the hole in the floor, scurrying out of sight into spaces under the floorboards.

In a low voice, "Da floor don't look good.  Go slow."  With his club at he ready, Tanu steps lightly with every step before putting his foot down.

Tanu starts to make his way to the first room on the right.

Tanu makes it a few feet into the room when the floorboards start to moan and creak ominously. Suddenly a board snaps dropping him down into the mud and dirt below and out from the holes in the floor come swarms of cockroaches.

It is unclear if they are just agitated and seeking new shelter or if they are somehow aggressive and swarming towards Tanu to attack.

OOC: Combat is here!


This message was last edited by the GM at 20:56, Tue 19 Jan 2021.

"Hellsteeth, Tanu, watch out!" said Vahan, charging to aid the islander.

He took a moment to assess the situation before trying to smash the cockroaches with his hammer.

Nature 23 to identify.
Attack 15 for 5 bludgeoning damage.

 She cursed in elven before looking onward. "I have a spell that might be able to take care of them, but all of you are in my way." She began looking for other options.

[OOC: Is that a window at the border of P12/Q12? And if so can I see through it and is it broken/open? I assume I cannot see into the room directly to attack the swarms?

Yes, these questions determine my actions for this round.]

Tanu is going to try to get out of the hole, when it is his turn.

[OOC] Let me know what you want for a roll.

Amara looked absolutely disgusted at the Cockroaches and gives a full body shudder as she begins murmuring a spell quietly. A burst of acid forms in front of her and launches itself at one of the swarms.

Movement (1 Action): NW to N9
2 Actions/Spell (Acid Splash) at N12:
23:15, Today: Amara rolled 7 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 6.  Acid Splash 1d6+1 Splash, Critical 1 persistent Acid.
23:14, Today: Amara rolled 25 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 20.  Acid Splash; Spell Attack.

"Do what you must, Phelar!" Kamea shifted to follow behind Phelar. As she followed Phelar, Kamea stood ready to strike at any cockroaches that got too close.

---

A1: Move to follow next to Phelar
A2: Ready action to attack cockroach, if close enough.
rolled 30,12 using 1d20+12,1d8+4 with rolls of 18,8.  ATK/DAM
A3: 2nd attack on cockroach
rolled 18,10 using 1d20+7,1d8+4 with rolls of 11,6.  ATK/DAM

@Tanu: No roll is necessary. Remember you have three actions now.

In general if you want to "do" something like stand up, close a door, flip a table etc. it takes an action which again helps make the system a lot more straightforward as you no longer have to evaluate if it's a swift/move/standard/full-round action. Everything is an action and long/involved things like casting spells might be 2 actions.

Dropping items, talking etc. are still free so anything you can do instantly with little effort or while doing other things like moving/attacking are reasonable to assume is a freebie.

Don't be afraid about pushing boundaries. I can always correct anything too outlandish in my write ups but the appeal to me for 2e is that the 3-action system means you can do more than just stand and swing your sword every round. Flip a table, drop a chandelier, use the environment around you for bonuses and advantages.

[OOC]I fell through the floor and had pictured a drop.  So since it is just a move action to get out, my drop was not a floor so much as inches?

OOC: Somewhat. You went through the floor so you're probably at at least up to your knee or thigh but it's just a single "action" to pull yourself up and out, no roll needed. I treated it like you went prone

This message was last edited by the GM at 21:50, Thu 21 Jan 2021.

Tanu immediately gets out of the hole and backs up five feet.  He takes a swing with his club at the floor to see if he can open a gap between him and the roaches coming out of the hole he made.

[OOC] Standard attack roll?

OOC: Yep. First attack gets your first attack value. After that you start taking penalties based on your attack style and weapons.

A greatclub has "Backswing" which means if you miss with your first attack, your second attack is only at -4 instead of -5.

Phelar frowns, considering her idea with the window won't work, she quickly slides past Vahan, then past Tanu to stand in the corner of the room next to him. Then she begins to utter a small incantations and flames erupt from her hands.

[OOC: Action 1: Stride to M11 next to Tanu.
Actions 2 & 3: Cast Burning Hands at lvl 2. Make the cone swing from the N row around to the 12 column.

00:33, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 18 using 4d6 with rolls of 4,6,3,5.  Burning Hands.
Damage: 18
DC 18 Reflex save.]

Vahan recalls that as a swarm of insects mind magic would be ineffectual and that cockroaches are slightly weaker to bludgeoning damage than slashing or piercing. He walks up and smashes his hammer at the bugs. They skitter out of the way and while he catches a few it doesn't make much of a dent in the swarm.

Amara splashes acid right into the middle of the swarm. Even the ones that survive are still sprayed a bit creating a decent hole in one of the clusters of bugs.

Kamea comes in, using her sword to excellent effect, switching to slash with the flat side of the blade and with its surprising light weight it turns into an effective swatter and after a couple quick slams the swarm nearest to her looks very depelted.

As Tanu pulls himself out of the hole Phelar squeezes in and blasts both swarms with a gout of fire blasting most of the insects and sending those remaining scrambling for cover, disbanding both swarms.

Combat is over

Poking around the current room, avoiding the suspicious looking spots on the floor, reveals the broken remains of a drawer. The drawer hanging out of the slumped over desk is empty aside from a dried-out jar of ink and a few split pen nibs. However, a piece of paper is stuck to the bottom of the drawer by a film of mold. It’s jagged around the edges, as if the rest of the sheet was ripped from the remnants. The stuck and moldering page shows an “X” in the middle of some woods, and the letters “St. Hs.,

The group quickly recognizes the woods as the Churlwood (having just spent nearly a week marching back and forth through it) and the particular mark seems to coincide with the stone house the Roadkeepers had used as a base of operations.

---

Looking through the partially open door the north reveals what looks to be a dining room. A masterfully built table stands against the mold-covered windows in the room’s southeastern
wall. Aside from a layer of mold and a few patches of moss, the dining set looks to be in immaculate condition compared to the rest of the house’s furnishings.

Trying to test the floor was he wanders around, Tanu picks up one of the plates that looks so good.  He looks at both sides of the plate and the table.

[OOC]Only things in the room that are so well kept?  Utensils?  Cups?  Napkins?

Amara took her time looking for anything hidden as best she could, wary of more cockroaches and ready to summon more of her acid if required. A detect magic cantrip and a long study of the room to help find what might be hidden.

"...isn't that where we were...?" She asked looking at the map, then looked around again. "Anyone find anything you need checked for magic?"

Kamea moved to the door from which the group entered the room. "I'll watch the hallway. Take your time in the room, but remember that this entire house may fall down on us."

Amara sends out a pulse and does detect magic.

OOC: Detect magic works very differently in 2e than in 1e. In 2e the cantrip just tells you if there is magic within 30' radius, yes or no. You can ignore known magic so this does not include the items your party members are holding but it doesn't tell you where the magic is. It could be right next to you, it could be 30' away from you. It could be upstairs etc. There is no "18 seconds to find the location of every magic item around you" nonsense anymore.


As Tanu enters the room suddenly hundreds of spiders come up from under the floorboards. In a frenzied swarm they start crawling up his boots and he starts to feel dozens of tiny painful bits as they work their way under his clothing.

Combat Round 1
The spiders move to Tanu and begin biting him repeatedly.
OOC: 2 damage, must make 2 DC 14 fortitude saves or be poisoned (effects depend based on whether you pass both/fail one/fail both

Assuming this swarm works a lot like the last swarm Phelar moves rather quickly! "Sorry Tanu for what's about to happen, will help you when I'm done!" She moves past Vahan into the room, ducking to the side of the door. "I call upon the Elemental Wrath of my Sovyrian kin to burn this swarm from my path!" As she says this one could almost swear that her eyes lit up with flames, even if they didn't though her hand did as she shot flames at a section of the swarm! Then she said the phrase again!

[OOC: Action 1: Stride to L11.
Action 2: Elemental Wrath at the portion of the swarm at J13.
Action 3: Elemental Wrath at the portion of the swarm at K13.

17:36, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 18,6 using 1d20+8,1d6 with rolls of 10,6.  Elemental Wrath (Fire) Spell Attack 1.
HITS AC: 18
DAMAGE: 6 Fire, 1 Splash to all squares around.

17:36, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 22,1 using 1d20+8,1d6 with rolls of 14,1.  Elemental Wrath (Fire) Spell Attack 2.
HITS AC: 22
DAMAGE: 1 Fire, 1 Splash to all squares around.

Tanu will take 2 fire. I did not roll a crit, so not it's not persistent. :)

Phelar is hoping that Swarm's take extra from splash like the last one seemed to from area of effect. She's hoping to end this fight fast, then bandage the poor barbarian up and give him LOTS of apologies!]

[OOC]  Made first roll, failed second.

20:13, Today: Tanu rolled 9 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 4.  Fort Save #2. – 9
20:12, Today: Tanu rolled 23 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 18.  Fort Save 1. – 23

Vahan charged to Tanu’s position, splattering spiders with Foehammer.

"This place is bloody full of tiny creatures," he said, raising his shield awkwardly as it could somehow ward off the swarm of arachnids.

Critical hit (nat 20)! 8 x 2 = 16 bludgeoning damage.

Tanu is splashed with flames but Phelar blasts apart the swarm and the spiders that remain scatter back into the walls and floorboards.

OOC: Combat is over

"Gotta be honest, tempted to just burn this place down. Maybe when we're done? Eeesh."

Amara shook her head, damn Phelar was on the ball and she absolutely appreciated someone else with Elemental wraith.

She smiled at what she did. "Okay, so that worked just as well as the Burning Hands. So anything that causes splash or or covers an area should affect those swarms as we meet them." She said with a nod.

Then she looked towards Tanu. "Alright Tanu, come here. Want me to look over those burn's I caused now?"
This message was last edited by the player at 05:54, Thu 04 Feb 2021.

[OOC] I was waiting to see what happened with the poison???  I failed one of two....

Walking over slowly, "I hate dem spiders."

"It's okay, I'm beginning to hate all them little swarm critters. Least we know now though that a simple bit of magic like that will handle them easy." She says pulling out her medical tools and begins to patch him up.

[OOC: 12:47, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 16,6 using 1d20+6,2d8 with rolls of 10,3,3.

Tanu gets 6 hit points back.]

"How much magic do you have? Will we be able to continue?" Kamea checked the door to the next room. She checked the door before she opened it.

Door D

"I have plenty." She said with a small nod. "That ability I just did there works great against the swarms it seems, so I won't need to use my more powerful spells at all anymore. And I can throw it all day like nothing." She said, talking as if that last spell she used may not even be a spell but an ability of some sort. "We can continue."

Peeking through the doorway the group sees a back hallway. There are stairs leading up as well as the back door they spied earlier.

There doesn't seem to be anything of interest or value in this room but there is a door that leads to the space beneath the stairs that is boarded over. The doorknob is broken off and a steel spike has been driven into what used to be a lock. The boards covering it look old and rotten and would probably be easy enough for someone to break through if they wanted to.

Vahan shrugged and tried prying the boards free. Not seeming to want to move that easily, he gave a solid thump with his warhammer.

Amara was cautious and ready to throw another Elemental Wraith at the sight of anything looking like a swarm. She was definitely not enjoying this building. Vermin where fine on their own but angry swarms? No thank you.

As he progresses, Tanu is checking the floor boards with his club.  "Da boards are bad...falling thru ain't fun.  Watch where you step."

Vahan strikes down the rotten boards with ease and without a barrier the warped and rotten door pops open. Inside is a what looks to be a closet full of water. The water remains suspended filling the cavity of the space beneath the stairs before suddenly rushing out. As it leaves the small cupboard beneath the door it grows and grows, reaching all the way up to the ceiling and filling half the room. It spews out with such force it batters the party, sending broken furniture and debris swirling around battering and bruising everyone while simultaneously threatening to drown them.

OOC: Everyone make a DC 14 reflex save or be engulfed and battered by the swirling water filling half the room.

Amara & Kamea get +2 to their rolls as a bonus for spying the trap right before it springs.

Amara notices the trap pretty quickly and gets herself out of the way lest she finds herself hurt. If possible she'll help Kamea but otherwise has no desire to drown.

01:22, Today: Amara rolled 26 using 1d20+13 with rolls of 13.  Reflex Save +2.

"Bloody he—," Vahan was cut of as water rushed over him. Somehow he managed to avoid getting the worst of it.

"I dinna ken why that seemed a bloody good idea," he said. "Everyone alive?"

He tried to assess the situation as best he could with the water sloshing everything violently about.

23 to save.

"Watch out." Kamea tried to warn the others, but it was too late. She dodged most of the impact, but still got wet.

---

rolled 16 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 7.  REFLEX

[OOC]12:54, Today: Tanu rolled 23 using 1d20+5 ((18)).

[IC]Coming up swimming and alive, "I'm OK brudda."

"The hell!" She cried out as she dodged out of the way of everything! Then she sighed softly. "I am fine, but next time, let Amara look at the door first."

[OOC: Nice roll for me!

21:11, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 25 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 18.  Reflex Save.]
This message was last edited by the player at 02:14, Wed 17 Feb 2021.

The group is able to either hold on for dear life or dive out of the way of the crashing waters. It churns around the room for several seconds before draining down through the holes in the floorboards.

The waters deposited debris and detritus from the cupboard all across the floor of the hallway. Most of it is rotten and uninteresting but there are a pair of very nice looking leather slippers that seem untouched by water or rot.

Breathing heavy, "Dat was sometin odd."

"...yeah, something odd." She carefully makes her way to the slippers, and picks them up, beginning to examine them more closely.

[OOC: She'll make sure they are magical, and then begin to see what they can do.]

Phelar studies the slippers for a few minutes and discovers that not only are they super comfortable, keeping the feet inside perfectly warm and dry no matter outside conditions, but they also help improve balance and traversing difficult terrain.

OOC +1 to checks involving balance, 1/day the wearer can ignore difficult terrain for an encounter (or about 10 minutes).

"I think we should check up the stairs. It would give us time to find an exit if this building goes down." Kamea turned over a piece of debris. "I'm not so sure that there is anything that we'll find here." She looked at the others. "Alright, we'll continue. It's just that I'm not sure exactly what we're looking for."

"...oh wow, these are sweet!" She said with an ecstatic chirp!

She then got up close to Amara and got a cheesy grin on her face. "...I could see you in magic slippers. Yup!"

Amara laughed softly at Phelar's statement and nodded, glancing at the stairs with a curious look. She let out a little shudder at the thought of swarms and began to head for them, careful to check each step before putting weight on it.

"Yup. I'm good at dodging around things. Anyway i'll happily check the death trap. Might be a bit slow tho!"

03:52, Today: Amara rolled 15 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 7.  Perception if it matters.

Two sets of stairs descend to the lower floor of the home. Two doors stand along the north, west, and south walls, while a single door stands partially open along the east wall.

"Which way now?"

Phelar puts the magic slippers in her pack for now.

"Well, let's start in that door..." She said pointing (door I). "...and work our way around until we get to that one last." She said as she pointed (door C).
This message was last edited by the player at 23:05, Mon 01 Mar 2021.

The remains of a wicker cradle slumps against the wall between two cracked windows. A small wicker table in similar condition sits in the corner of the room. It appears this was originally a room designed for a young infant but has long since been abandoned. Inside the cradle there looks to be a small wrapped bundle, perhaps a doll of some sort.

"This is a big house." Kamea said as she moved to the cradle. "This room even has a cradle and a doll. This Roderic must have been a rich man to have a big house next to the water. What was said about his wealth and why he died?"

Kamea picked up the wrapped doll and began to unwrap it.


History check on Roderic.
rolled 12 using 1d20 with rolls of 12.  History

What would be the skill for history?

Amara let out a small frown, as an elf children where precious and even in her own field she refused to see children hurt if she could allow it. She only hoped the child had moved rather then passed on.

As Kamea approaches the doll it springs up and out of the cradle. Looking like an emaciated child wrapped in cobwebs and ratty clothes. For a skull it doesn't seem normal, instead elongated as if an animal skull has been put on a human body.



It opens its mouth but instead of a voice or cry the whole room seems to echo with the sobs of crying children creating an aura of despair that washes over everyone who can hear it.


OOC: Kamea make a DC 19 Will save or be effected by Stupefied 1

The doll springs out and tries to bite Kamea, latching onto her arm. Suddenly Kamea finds herself having a hard time drawing breath as if the thing latched onto her arm is somehow stealing the air from her lungs.

OOC: 8 damage. Kamea, make an additional DC 21 Will save or be Enfeebled 1

"Bloody hell!" said Vahan, trying to see if he recognized the creature. He charged forward, holding his shield up wardingly. "Are ye alright lass?" he said to Kamea.

1. Recall Knowlesge (Religion): 18.
2. Move adjacent to Creepy Doll.
3. Raise Shield.
Will use Reaction to Shield Block if attacked.

Kamea reached out for the doll when it opened its mouth. Her eyes glazed as she took another step toward the doll. When Vahan stepped in front of her, she moved her weakened arm and tried to brush him aside.

---

Kamea is Stupefied 1 and Enfeebled 1
rolled 12 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 5.  Will SAVE vs DC 19
rolled 10 using 1d20+7 with rolls of 3.  Will SAVE

Tanu steps up and swings up and away at the creature.

[OOC]15:39, Today: Tanu rolled 10 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 1.  To Hit. – 10  Yep...a 1.  My first roll, that I forgot to add my modification to, was a 19.  <sigh>

Phelar moves closer to the doorway, then tosses a spell into the room.

[OOC: Action 1: Move to G25 to see doll better.
Action 2 and 3: Cast Snowball on doll. (Let's hope I have a snowballs chance of hitting. lol)

00:21, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 14,3 using 1d20+8,2d4 with rolls of 6,1,2.  Snowball.
Hit AC: 14
Damage: 3
Other Effects: If hit they also suffer -5' movement for 1 round.]

Vahan has never heard anything that looks like this. Obviously it isn't natural but no idea if it is undead or some kind of magical construction or something else entirely. He moves up and raises his shield.

Tanu steps forward and takes two swings, clubbing it with the first but it dodges the second.
OOC: Don't worry about messed up modifiers as long as the die itself is the correct size. I focus entirely on the randomly generated number. Modifiers can be added or removed as necessary.

Kamea finds herself short of breath and overwhelmed with emotion, struggling to even stay awake.
OOC: You can still take your normal actions. All these conditions just stack penalties, not removing your actions.

Amara steps up and stabs the creature.
OOC: 9 damage

Phelar casts a snowball at it but the tiny creature dodges out of the way of the magical ball of frost.

---

Now that everyone is closer they hear the sounds of sobbing and children screaming and whimpering. This time they also hear Kamea's voice added to the mix shouting for help and crying out in pain.
OOC: Everyone except for Phelar now makes a DC 19 will save or be Stupefied 1

The creature lets go of Kamea and snaps onto Amara, biting her hard and Amara likewise suddenly finds herself gasping for breath.
<orange>OOC: Crit! 28 damage to Amara
OOC: Amara, make a DC 21 will save or be Stupefied and Fatigued


The creature moves down the line trying to get at Vahan but he blocks it expertly with his shield and the teeth bounce off his shield.
OOC: Hit! but all damage is absorbed by the shield.

Finally it snaps at Tanu, biting his ankle and he too feels the air sucked out of his lungs and struggling for breath>
OOC: 11 damage, make a DC 21 will save or be Stupefied and Fatigued

Combat Round 2

Stupefied 1
Enfeebled 1
Fatigued
This message was last edited by the GM at 16:05, Fri 05 Mar 2021.

Suddenly seeming confused and out of breath, Tanu muscles through to try to hit the THING again...but feels so much weaker which makes him angry. "GARRRAAARR! Deomon doll!"

[OOC]
14:32, Today: Tanu rolled 9 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 1.  Will Save vs DC 21. – 9
14:30, Today: Tanu rolled 13 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 5.  Will Save vs DC 19. – 13

Stupefied and Fatigued...YES!!!!

I'm away from my books, but I think I read the conditions correctly and I could still attack.
14:37, Today: Tanu rolled 18 using 1d20+9 with rolls of 9.  To Hit #1. – 18
14:39, Today: Tanu rolled 14 using 1d10+4 with rolls of 10.  Attack #1. – 14

Critical Hit -
14:37, Today: Tanu rolled 24 using 1d20+4 with rolls of 20.  To Hit #2. – 24

14:39, Today: Tanu rolled 11 using 1d10+4 with rolls of 7.  Attack #2. – 11

For a critical, do you multiple by 2, roll two dice, include strength?

"That damn thing." She looks at it a moment trying to think if she had heard of it in any of her studies. As she does this, she tries a different spell against it.

[OOC: Action 1: Recall Knowledge Arcana to figure out something about this thing.
Actions 2 and 3: Cast Disrupt Undead on it to see if it's undead. (No wasting a cantrip after all. :) )

21:31, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 25 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 15.  Recall Knowledge Arcana.

21:32, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 8 using 1d6+3 with rolls of 5.  Disrupt Undead Damage.
Damage: 8
Save DC: 18 Fort]

"I dinna ken what this bloody fiend be," said Vahan, gritting his teeth as the attack slammed against his shield.

The grievous wound Amara suffered made his eyes widen with concern. "Amara, healing!" he said, extending his emblazoned weapon to point toward her. A wave of holy light shot forth, repairing her wounds.

Will save: 24.
2 Action: Cast Heal (2nd level) for 24 HP.
1 Action: Raise Shield
Reaction: Shield Block if hit.

Kamea swung the two-handed bastard sword but missed in her weakened state. She screamed in frustration, and missed her second attack. She continued to struggle and flailed at the doll, but wasn't even close.

---

A1: rolled 16,7 using 1d20+11,1d12+4 with rolls of 5,3.  ATK/DAM
A2: rolled 20,4 using 1d20+6,1d12+3 with rolls of 14,1 ATK/DAM
A3: rolled 12,4 using 1d20+1,1d12+3 with rolls of 11,1.  ATK/DAM

Amara cried out in pain, stupefied and in agony, before Vahan healed her with a wave of magic. Still though she was a bit wobbly and woozy from the sudden pain. Still gripping her short swords she lunged at the creature planning on tearing it apart with her blades if she could help it. This thing was going to die; horribly.

OOC: Instinctively I want to roll Sneak attack but not sure if this counts so if so add 1d6 and roll for me GM?
A1: Hits AC 15 for 10
A2: Hits AC 24 for 9
A3: Hits AC 9 for 8
03:49, Today: Amara rolled 9,8 using 1d20+2,1d6+4 with rolls of 7,4.  A3: Shadowteeth.
03:49, Today: Amara rolled 24,9 using 1d20+6,1d6+4 with rolls of 18,5.  A2: Shadowteeth.
03:49, Today: Amara rolled 15,10 using 1d20+10,1d6+4 with rolls of 5,6.  A1: Shadowteeth.

Tanu smack the doll so hard with his club the skull cracks and rotates nearly all the way around. The thing's head snaps back into position but it is clearly looking worse which is saying something.
OOC: If you really want you can roll twice but rules as written just say double the result, so 22 damage

Phelar has no idea if the thing is an undead creation or not but taking a chance she blasts it within a divine lance of energy and it seems to be "hurt" by it.

Vahan shakes off the effects of the sounds and is able to focus on healing Amara, closing up the vicious bite wounds.

Amara slips in while the creature is reeling from the attacks nad she is able to sink one of her shadowy blades in the crack between the skull and the spine and with a twist the skull pops up and the creature quickly crumbles into dust.

Immediately the sounds of crying and sorrow fade away but Kamea and Tanu still find themselves having a hard time breathing.
OOC: Stupefied goes away but Enfeebled and Fatigued conditions will remain.

Combat Round 3

Enfeebled 1
Fatigued

Vahan decided to try smashing the creature with Foehammer. He swung while keeping his shield up, weight of the hammer making an audible crunch as it impacted the tiny skeleton.


1 Action: Raise Shield
1 Action: Attack with Foehammer: 29 (nat 20) to hit, 20 bludgeoning damage.
1 Action: Attack again: 13 to hit, 9 bludgeoning damage.
Might not be close enough for a second attack, in which case use the action to move into range instead.
Reaction: Shield Block if hit.

Kamea willed her arms to swing the sword. She sliced through the doll with the first swing, but missed with the second and third. "Argh. Thank goodness that wailing stopped."

---

A1: rolled 23,8 using 1d20+9,1d8+3 with rolls of 14,5.  ATK/DAM.
A2: rolled 10,11 using 1d20+5,1d8+3 with rolls of 5,8.  ATK/DAM.
A3: rolled 19,10 using 1d20+1,1d8+3 with rolls of 18,7. ATK/DAM.

"Everyone, it's undead of some sort! My Disrupt Undead spell hurt it!" Since it worked the last time she would cast it again!

[OOC: Actions 1 and 2: Cast Disrupt Undead
Action 3: Recall Knowledge Thassilon Lore to see if there is anything there

22:49, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 13 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,5.  Disrupt Undead Damage.
Damage: 13 Positive (Enfeebled 1 as well if crit fails save.)
Save DC: 18 Fort

22:53, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 14 using 1d20+10 with rolls of 4.  Thassilon Lore.]

The party smashes and pounds the bones into dust until everyone is satisfied it is not going to rise again.

OOC: Combat is over. Apologies for not calling this out before.

Kamea smiled as the doll was smash, slashed and spelled to oblivion. "I'm going to sit here. She found a small smashed chair with the back broken off and sat on it. <blue>"I have to ask an important question here. What is our plan when we finally find Roderic's spirit? There's a very good chance that it'll attack us." She waved at the doll. "How are we going to handle this when he finally find him?"

"Depends on if it attacks us." She said simply. "Not all spirits attack, some want something done for them so that they can have peace. If he is the attacking type, we put him down. If he is the latter, we found out what he needs, and if it is something we can do, do it to put him to peace."

"Let's check the next room." Kamea lead the group and entered the room next to their current location. She opened the door slowly...

Looking in this room reveals another child's room. A set of bunk beds has fallen apart and crumpled against the south wall of this room. A wooden chest of toys is turned on its side, spilling moldy stuffed animals, wooden blocks, and neglected toys across the floor.

As Kamea enters the room out from the debris stacks threads five large centipedes however after the initial shock wears off it is clear that something is wrong with these ones as their shells seem hollow, like just the outer exoskeleton is moving and all the organs and meat have rotted away long ago.


Combat Round 1

Enfeebled 1
Fatigued

"...undead, centipedes?" She grumbled as she decided to cast a series of spells. First an elemental wrath on the central one, then followed it immediately with a Disrupt Undead.

[OOC: Action 1: Elemental Wrath, Fire, at the Ghost Centipede @ H28 so that the splash hits all surrounding ones.
Actions 2 and 3: Disrupt Undead on the same Ghost Centipede @ H28.

00:14, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 14,1 using 1d20+8,1d6 with rolls of 6,1.  Elemental Wrath (Fire) Spell Attack.
Hit AC: 14
Damage: 1 Fire
Splash: 1 Fire

00:15, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 14 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 5,6.  Disrupt Undead Damage.
Damage: 14 Positive
Save DC: 18 Fort]

Kamea rushed into the room. She circled until she was next to two of the exoskeletons. She slashed with the sword biting deep into the shell with each stroke of Yiveisairns. "Must thank those gnomes for this sword. It works great!"

---

A1: Move to F7
A2: Attack G27
rolled 18,7 using 1d20+11,1d8+3 with rolls of 7,4.  ATK/DAM
A3: Attack G27
rolled 15,7 using 1d20+6,1d8+3 with rolls of 9,4.  ATK/DAM

"Well this is absolutely horrifying."

Amara moved forward drawing one blade as she moved to help Kamea and hold off the other side of the room, a quick Draw brought out her other weapon to hopefully slash open the exoskeleton before she swung her other blade at it.

1: Move to I26
2: Quick Draw vs I27 (Hits AC 14 for 8)
3: Attack vs I27 (Hits AC 23 for 6)


13:09, Today: Amara rolled 23,6 using 1d20+10,1d6+4 with rolls of 13,2.  Shadowteeth vs I27.
13:09, Today: Amara rolled 14,8 using 1d20+10,1d6+4 with rolls of 4,4.  Shadowteeth vs I27.

Swinging from left to right and back again, Tanu tries to crush two of the 'shells'.  His first swing is strong, but is back swing goes astray.

[OOC]


13:25, Today: Tanu rolled 18 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 10.  To Hit - Strike #1.
13:25, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 3.  To Hit - Strike #2.

13:26, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 3.  Damage

Vahan charged, shield raised, and tried wiggling into the room to bash one of the giant centipede creatures.

Action 1: Move (not exactly sure if there’s an open spot adjacent to an enemy, but the nearest one if so)
Action 2: Attack: 16 to hit, 11 bludgeoning.
Action 3: Raise Shield
Reaction: Shield Block if hit.

OOC: Apologies. I could have sworn I had updated this already but it must have been eaten by the aether...

While Phelar misses with the main firey blast the fire clips all the exoskeletons. Her follow up spell blasts the thing apart.

Kamea slashes at the skeletons but she finds that without squishy meat and organs the blade isn't quite as effective as it should be.
OOC: Damage resistance reduces the damage taken to 4 damage

Likewise Amara finds her thrusts aren't very good at piercing carapaces.
OOC: DR reduces damage taken to 1

Tanu's club however is quite capable of cracking the shells of the centipedes. Same with Vanu and the two crush a centipede into dust.

The centipedes rush forward with little regard for their safety or danger. One bites Kamea and while the bite is painful thankfully without organic innards the bite lacks the infamous centipede poison.
OOC: Kamea takes 2 damage

Amara and Tanu successfully dodge and defend themselves from the undead centipedes, escaping their attacks unharmed.

Combat Round 2

Enfeebled 1
Fatigued
This message was last edited by the GM at 14:58, Thu 18 Mar 2021.

Tanu growls as he tries to smash more of the centipedes.

[OOC]
12:44, Today: Tanu rolled 10 using 1d12+8 with rolls of 2.  Attack#1.
12:44, Today: Tanu rolled 4 using 1d12+3 with rolls of 1.  Attack#2.
12:43, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 3.  Damage#1.
12:43, Today: Tanu rolled 6 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 3.  Damage#2.

Rolled it all...hit or miss....

"That’s more bloody like it!" said the Dwarf, continuing his rampage against the centipedes.

Action 1: Attack: 22 to hit, 11 bludgeoning.
Action 2: Attack: 9 to hit (miss).
Action 3: Raise Shield
Reaction: Shield Block if hit.

If the adjacent centipede is already dead, I’ll use an action to step adjacent to another instead of attacking twice.

Phelar considered for a moment, she knew the fire spell was out now but using it was pointless anyway as the centipedes were outnumbered as it was. So she simply chose one and fired her Disrupt Undead spell at it.

[OOC: Action 1 and 2: Disrupt Undead at Undead Centipede at G28.

17:06, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 10 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,5.  Disrupt Undead Damage.
Damage: 10 Positive
Save DC: 18 Fort For Half. Crit Save For None. Crit Fail also gets Enfeebled 1 for 1 round.]

Amara gathered up her magic as she braced herself against the centipedes as best she can, throwing a bolt of Acid at the creature before her and missing horribly. It's obvious she is out of practice when it comes to using spells in combat.

A1: Defensive actions if allowed?
A2/3: Elemental Wraith at I27
15:28, Today: Amara rolled 7 using 1d6+1 with rolls of 6.  Acid Splash 1d6+1 Splash.
15:28, Today: Amara rolled 9 using 1d20+5 with rolls of 4.  Acid Splash; Spell Attack.

Kamea used her strength to attack the centipede. The sword bit deeply into the creature before she yanked the blade loose.

---

A1/A2 Power Attack +1 die of damage
rolled 28 using 1d20+11 with rolls of 17.  ATK
rolled 9,2 using 1d8+4,1d8 with rolls of 5,2.  Damage
(ignore the reroll, wrong system)
A3: Attack and Missed
rolled 8,11 using 1d20+6,1d8+3 with rolls of 2,8.  ATK/DAM

Tanu slams and smashes his club but the skeletal centipedes prove to be too quick and tough to crack.

While one centipede is dodging Tanu, Vahan cracks it with his Forgehammer.

Phelar blasts one with her cantrip.

Amara splashes a few with her acid but can't land a good hit against one.

Kamea cracks one with her blade, severing it in half.

---

One of the skeletons slashes at Tanu opening a cut. The other goes for Vahan but he blocks the strike with his shield.

OOC: Tanu takes 1 damage

Combat Round 3

Enfeebled 1
Fatigued

Vahan continued his attempts to batter the carapaced creatures into oblivion, Forgehammer making a distinct crunch as it impacted.

Action 1: Attack: 20 to hit, 5 bludgeoning.
Action 2: Attack: 22 to hit, 11 bludgeoning.
Action 3: Raise Shield
Reaction: Shield Block if hit.

Roaring...

[OOC]
14:16, Today: Tanu rolled 22 using 1d20+8 with rolls of 14.  Attack #1.
14:16, Today: Tanu rolled 11 using 1d20+3 with rolls of 8.  Attack #2.
14:15, Today: Tanu rolled 7 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 4.  Damage #1.
14:15, Today: Tanu rolled 13 using 1d10+3 with rolls of 10.  Damager #2.

Phelar once more would cast her Disrupt Undead at one of the beasties.

[OOC: Actions 1 and 2: Disrupt Undead at the Undead Centipede at I27.

23:07, Today: Phelar Dragonfeather rolled 9 using 2d6+3 with rolls of 2,4.  Disrupt Undead Damage.
Damage: 9 Positive.
Save DC: 18 Fort For Half. Crit Save For None. Crit Fail also gets Enfeebled 1 for 1 round.]

Tanu and Vahan smash the remaining skeletal centipedes into dust and any remaining pieces that so much as twitch get blasted by Phelar.

The group is allowed to catch their breath and survey their surroundings but there doesn't seem to be anything else of interest inside the room besides creeping mold and thick piles of dust.

Combat Round 3

Enfeebled 1
Fatigued

“Hating this play more and more...”

Amara was hesitant to even put her swords away at this point because sweet heavens every damned room was infested. If they weren’t looking for clues she would burn this shack down on principle.

"You and me both Amara, but at least I found a good [air of spells for this place!" She said with a small laugh.

Breathing heavy, "I don't like this house.  I still think we should burn it."

"I agree with Tanu. But we need to find clues of the ghost. The spirit of Roderic knows secrets." Kamea returned to the hallway. "Do we need to rest or can we continue?"

"So we need his library?"
He stands up straight and stretches his back.

"Let's continue to look around. We can burn it after." She said with a simple nod. agreeing with both Tanu and Kamea.

"Yup. I think its group approved to set this shithole on fire after we find what we need."

Amara let out a grunt of disgust, but knew there would be proper satisfaction after the adventure. A bonfire.

OOC: After we explore A14 Amara will suggest we explore A12. Unless we already did?

OOC: Yes those are the two rooms (both children rooms) that you have explored already.

"Roderic! Show yourself!" Kamea shouted. She turned in a circle from the center of the room. She faced each of the remaining doors one at a time... waiting.

"We are looking for Roderic's spirit. Thought it was worth a shot." Kamea pointed to the door next to the room they just examined. "There. That one's next."

Door A

Exploring the next room reveals some kind of study or work area. Off-color rectangles on the moldering walls show that there were once many frames hanging on the walls of this room. A selection of pens and brushes, as well as a silver-capped ink jar, lie on the floor amid the remains of a desk.

When Kamea calls out to Roderic's spirit the house seems to answer. Wind starts blowing through the cracks creating a wailing sound. Suddenly in the middle of the room a transparent ghost appears. Appearing like a well-dressed man but as it shifts it ages rapidly. The fine clothes turn moth-eaten and ragged. The man's fine features shift, swelling out and having the swollen bloated look of a drowned body. Water drips from him as he floats forming ghostly pools on the ground.



It looks down at the party with an angry and confused look on its face, opening its mouth and speaking in a hollow sounding voice like the wind itself was speaking for him.

"The cove. The stone house in the wood. The gauntlet. Save them. My map. The key."
This message was last edited by the GM at 22:30, Wed 07 Apr 2021.

[Language unknown: "Rat oer tic ssiond!"] The Sovyrian elf chirped out in elven looking up at the spirit! Shaking her head and regaining herself. "I should try that myself when I venture into Thassilonian ruins!"

"That is why we are... Wait...save the cove, stone house in the wood, and the gauntlet? Your map and key?" She looked towards the others.

Roderic's ghost shakes its head in anger and frustration. It opens its mouth to speak again but only water pours from its mouth splashing against the floor.

"THE COVE! THE STONE HOUSE! THE GAUNTLET! MY MAP! MY KEY!"

It seems to be getting quite agitated.

"Where can we find the map and the key?" Kamea called out the question to the spirit.

"Da key that thing from outside?  Maybe cove of the water line?  We used to call caves stone houses."  Seeming talking to nobody, Tanu chokes up on his club and moves a little to the side (left of the group?).  He doesn't make any aggressive moves.

The spirit suddenly charges forward shouting "MY MAP! MY KEY!". As it hits Tanu it explodes into a wave of water washing over everyone and soaking everyone to the bone. To make matters worse the water is foul smelling and one can imagine that it is the smell of water that had the corpse of Roderic rotting in it. As the party wipes water from their eyes they see that the ghost is gone.

With the ghost gone the party is free to look around. It seems likely this room was used for drafting maps based on the tools and desks however not a single map can be found. It is odd that it appears someone has removed paintings or maybe maps from the wall but the other rooms seem untouched. It seems that this room wasn't raided as part of some looting or scavenging but someone came here specifically for whatever was hanging on the walls.

"Please tell me someone... ugh... has a spell to clean us off.... urgh...."

Despite being a rogue, being soaked head to toe in rotting swamp water is apparently more then Amara's stomach is keen to handle.

Vahan spit out some of the filthy water. With eyes closed, he wiped the muck from his face and sighed.

"Aye, lass," he said, grumbling more under his breath.

He held forth the forgehammer, which gave off a soft orange glow, like the embers of a dying fire. One by one, their clothing and equipment was cleansed of the fetid stench and wetness.

"Best I can bloody do for now."

Stereotypical Prestidigitation clean.

"Ugh!" Kamea coughed and spat as she was washed with the foul water. "It went up my nose." Kamea bent over trying to drain the remaining water out of her nasal cavity.

She blinked her tears away when Vahan cleaned her off, "Thank you."

---

Is Kamea still Enfeebled 1, Fatigued?

"Smells like a dead fish...."  He shakes a little.  "I get hit by da ghost because I had a good idea or I moved?"

OOC: @Kamea Yes, it lasts a looong time.

"...that was just, wrong." She muttered, annoyedly.

"We've been given some things from the Spirit. But we don't have these items yet. But I think we need to find the Map and the Key." Kamea spied a room that looked like a study. "Let's keep going. Without the map and key, the words from Roderic mean nothing."

---

Room D - the Study

"Agreed. Let's do this." She said with a nod.

Amara followed after looking slightly ill, but very grateful with Vahan. More so perhaps then his previous healing. She may technically be clean but she knew she had an appointment with a bathhouse as soon as able.

Scooting forward through the group, pounding Vahan on the shoulder as he passes, Tanu starts to move onto the study.

The party goes across the hall and explores the study. A simple desk sits along the north wall of this room. A few of the boards in the wall have come loose and fallen to the ground below. A moldy puddle fills the middle of the floor, and a wet stain spreads from a crack in the ceiling.

A quick search shows nothing of value. While there are plenty of books time and weather have long since destroyed anything of note. The party does a sweep looking for any kind of maps but there is nothing of the sort to be found.

Tanu tests the floor with his club as he walks. "Watch for soft spots."

"Nothing here in this room." Kamea stated. She left the room and decided on another room. "Let's check the lounge."

---

Room C

Vahan grunted and nodded, stepping into the lounge with weapon in hand. The taste of fetid water still lingered in his mouth, and the stench on his skin, but at least his clothes and armor were clean. It was the small things.

Will lead the way, if it matters.

Phelar held back a moment and looked towards Amara as she followed along beside her. "Are you feeling okay? You just look..."

The group passes through the doorway into what appears to be a lounge. The leather of the room’s two large chairs seems mostly intact, but stuffing covers the ground beneath them and has been strewn about. Broken glass glitters on the floor, and a low table lays on its side, the drawers from a small cabinet on the ground beside it. A draft from a broken window stirs the moldy drapes, and a crooked painting of a sailing ship at sea bears a lengthy rip through the canvas.

"Nothing." Kamea announced once she saw the lounge. "Let's check the next one." She emerged from the lounge and entered the sewing room.

---

Room B

Sagging shelves, one of which has partially pulled free from the wall, line the walls of this room, set with spools of thread, boxes of needles, moldy scraps of cloth, bolts of decaying fabric, and various types of shears. A round box of soiled yarn rests on a worktable along the north wall, and a dress form lays propped in the corner.

As the party enters they hear a soft weeping sound on the edge of their hearing. Then all the items start vibrating, first subtly and then quite visibly as they start to jump and dance back and forth as if there was an earthquake that only the needles and thread could feel.

Tanu bringing up the rear with Vahan taking the lead, "More ghosts...."

"Whoa, whoooa. Easy there Sir Roderic." Kamea said in a comforting tone. "We're looking for the clues you mentioned. If you want us out of here sooner. You can hand over the map, key and everything else and we'll be out of the way."

The Dwarf held forth his hammer as it to ward off the ghost, but said nothing. He waited for anything else to manifest that required smashing, and barring that simply waited, inspecting the room for anything worthy of note.

“Yea; just because I can handle nasty jobs doesn’t mean it won’t make me feel sick.” Amara chimed to Phelar as they walked and until they stumbled into a haunted room. At least no swarms this time though it did make Amara thankful for her set of magical blades. She drew them both cautious for any surprise attacks.

She laughed a little bit at Amara's answer. "At least you are not someone who can barely perceive her own nose. Only reason I'm even here and not starved to death in the hole in the dwarven ruin I was dillying in was because Vahan heard me singing." Then she laughed again. "Out of tune too I might add. Point is, we all have our things. I'm like a squirrel when it comes to old shineys and places, so you the likelihood of me falling in a hole is well....yep."

The rattling grows louder and then like a whirlwind the objects start whipping around the room. Clouds of needles and scissors swarm all around and the party is quickly overwhelmed.

Amara takes 7 damage
Kamea takes 7 damage
Phelar takes 6 damage
Tanu takes 9 damage
Vahan takes 5 damage.



The cloud whipping around doesn't look like it is dispersing anytime soon.
This message was last edited by the GM at 15:53, Thu 29 Apr 2021.

"OWE! Who pissed off the ghost this time!" She cried out as she looked around the room.

[OOC: Detect Magic. She detect any?]

Are you staying in the room in the middle of the whirlwind of sharp objects? How long are you going to concentrate for?

Amara steps out of the room with a cry of pain, she is definitely not a fan of swirling vortex's of pain and death. She can try to detect magic from outside the room tyvm.

Tanu tries to get out quickly.

[OOC: From what I understand you only need one round to detect magic, but more to Read the Aura (I don't have that spell mind you.). Since I'm just Detecting Magic, just the one and done. Then leave.]
This message was last edited by the player at 03:51, Fri 30 Apr 2021.

Kamea took a defensive stance. But when she noticed that her companions were leaving, she rushed out after them. "Ouch, ouch, ouch."

Thankfully the storm does not follow them and once they leave it quickly dissipates. Phelar detects faint traces of necromancy before the storm disappears and with it the magical energies. Yet another spirit that has not found its final rest.

"This looks like the master bedroom." Kamea entered through the door. "I think we hit jackpot!"

---

E - appears to lead into master bedroom

"It's better then the whirlwind room I hope, I sensed faint necromancy before the storm disappeared and magic in there." She said with a soft sigh.

"Normally I'm the one stabbing people, I prefer not being on the other end. Tsk."

More and more Amara dislikes this place.

The party enters what looks to be the master bedroom. A moldering mattress lies amid a bowed wooden frame, flanked on either side by ruined tables. A dresser in the northwest corner of the room has seen most of its drawers pulled out and discarded on the floor. Remnants of moldy and animal-gnawed clothes spill from them. A hole has been hacked into the floor, near a long, slender wooden case that is open and tipped over on the floor.

Suddenly the walls start dripping water and it pools unnaturally deep along the ground.

Up from the water comes Roderic's ghost once again.



This time though he seems more controlled and more focused.

"My map. They took my map. It holds the key. To the vault. Baraket will control them. It will control you! I should have taken the gauntlets, but I fled. I was a coward. You must be brave. You must endure where I did not. The vault. It lies still in the vault. You must save my Cove. Save. My. Cove."

"So someone took your map? Who?!?" Kamea asked the ghost of Sir Roderic. She hoped that the ghost wouldn't disappear on her. She urged Roderic, "We want to help you, but we don't know who took your map."