Since Vashon drew his guns, he was presumably going to shoot at the golem. Both shots hit and manage to damage the golem, although not by much.

Hsang, on the other hand, manages to hit with his wakizashi but it doesn't seem to penetrate the golem's DR.

Ozrus's Grease spell also proves to be less effective than expected. He quickly realizes that it's because the golem's leg joints don't work like human leg joints; thus, its balance never shifts to the point where it puts its weight on just one foot.


A moment later, Tyrol appears in the tunnel mouth and takes in the situation.

"Tyrol!" Ozrus exclaimed excitedly as the man arrived. The druid clamored against the ceiling as he spoke. "It's an armored spikestone golem!" He took a moment to blast the pokey foe with some missiles of magic, then continued speaking to Tyrol. "You have any remedies for our current predicament?"

It seemed the golem's durable and armored body was not easily marred by conventional weapons.

---

On his turn, Ozrus is sticking to the ceiling and blasting the golem with Magic Missile. The spell deals a total of 15 magical force damage.

14:01, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 15 using 5d4+5 with rolls of 3,3,1,1,2.  Magic Missile Damage.

Taking in the situation, Tyrol exclaims, "What the hell is that thing?"

What appeared to be an animated stone statue clearly marked it as some sort of stone golem, but it looked different enough to make it an unknown. Although he wasn't an expert on golems, he was familiar with constructs as part of his alchemy training. It just wasn't a direction he had any desire to pursue.

He did know that constructs generally had some sort of resistance to damage.

Tyrol quickly put together a bomb. He didn't think a Frost Bomb would do much, but a Force or Shock Bomb seemed like they would.

Deciding on a Shock Bomb first, he threw it at the golem.

00:03, Today: Tyrol Halverschlagen rolled 25,21 using 1d20+11,5d6+5 ((14,6,1,1,2,6)).

I sure hope that's a hit!

Ozrus's Magic Missile seems to be effective, as does Tyrol's shock bomb.

Spikestone Guardian: 96hp - 15 = 81hp - 21 = 60hp.

Although the golem is rather slow and ponderous in its actions, it was constructed with the intent to be defensive, thus the 'enemy' has to come to it. On the other hand, those attacking it have initiative.

But now it's the golem's turn again. Ozrus, from his vantage point on the ceiling, sees that spikes grow out of the sarcophagus, floor, walls and ceiling whenever the creature is within 5 feet, and disappear again when it's out of range.

He, Vashon, and Hsang have to keep moving around the sarcophagus to keep out of range of the spikes that sprout from the walls.

That doesn't keep it from firing a volley of spikes at a target. This time, it targets Ozrus, probably because he's the most clearly visible.

14:32, Today: GM StarMaster rolled 19,19 using 1d20+6,2d8+9 ((13,4,6)).

That might be a hit if Ozrus's AC is still 19.

"Ah! The spikestone golem got me!" Ozrus shrieked as the golem's volley nearly pinned him to the wall. He was bleeding substantially now, but he had suffered worse in the past. Since his magical missiles had seemed effective, he sent another salvo the golem's way. He then scurried toward the tomb's entrance to try and avoid being the golem's target for a third time.

"His spikes seem to only pop up right next to him. I can throw up some webs to buy us a bit of time," Ozrus offered even as he crawled across the ceiling. At the very least, it could give him time to summon a creature or two. But the way things were going, it might prove to be unnecessary.

---

My AC was exactly 19, so it just barely hit. 69/100 hp remaining. Ozrus cast his second and final prepared Magic Missile spell at the golem.

21:47, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 22 using 5d4+5 ((4,3,3,4,3))

He had his guns drawn from the start, but he wasn't sure if they'd be effective against this stone creature... assuming he could even hit it.

It was slow, though, and only its ranged spikes proved dangerous to him and the others.

Tyrol's appearance and bomb seemed to galvanize Vashon into action.

He took aim and fired both guns at the golem.

18:56, Today: Vashon the Vigilant rolled 19,11,8,16 using 1d20+14,1d8+5,1d6+2,5d4+5 ((5,6,6,4,1,2,1,3)).

18:57, Today: Vashon the Vigilant rolled 20,13,5,16 using 1d20+9,1d8+5,1d6+2,5d4+5 ((11,8,3,3,3,1,2,2)).

Damn! Couldn't hit it! So, still don't know if it'll take the damage.

The group's attacks have clearly damaged the golem, but not enough yet to make it ineffective.

Ozrus's spell again takes its toll.

Spikestone Guardian: 96hp - 15 = 81hp - 21 = 60hp - 22 = 38hp.


Vashon's aim was truer than he thought (OOC: numbers seemed off, so I recalculated his attack bonus--he was only adding in his BAB+Dex, not weapon attunement, Arcane Strike or Aim): he just barely hits with his first shot, but misses with the second! The damage is 19! (bullet+corrosive; Arcane Strike doesn't actually expend a spell slot and thus doesn't cast the spell).

Spikestone Guardian: 96hp - 15 = 81hp - 21 = 60hp - 22 = 38hp - 19 = 19hp.

Knowing now what the guardian's abilities are, specifically the way it attacks, allows everyone to mostly avoid it, especially by Tyrol who's still in the tunnel mouth--no walls there.

The guardian was particularly deadly here in the crypt because there was limited room to maneuver, but it could be done. Apparently, its primary attack was a slam/grapple where its spikes could be quite lethal.

So, after a moment of jockeying around, and the guardian misses Vashon with its stone spike volley, everyone can attack it again.

"Should I?" the upside down Ozrus mused while looking at the ring adorning his finger. "Probably. This guy is getting to be a nuisance." The druid-wizard called upon the power of his arcane bond and unleashed a third magical missile attack at the golem. He usually liked to save his ring for a spell with a bit more oomph, but he had little else at his disposal that would provide meaningful aid against the golem. At least not without also being considered overkill.

"Whoo!" Ozrus yelled as he nearly shredded the golem completely. "Just a bit more should do the trick now!" He was regretting not having a vial of acid to drop on the golem's spikey little head.

---

Using my ring's 1/day power to cast a third Magic Missile spell.
21:01, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 17 using 5d4+5.  Magic Missile Damage.
That should bring it down to 2 HP if I'm not mistaken.

Yes, Ozrus's Magic Missile spell did a lot of damage to the guardian, but, due to its nature, it's not affected by injury until it is completely destroyed. At least, it doesn't appear to be regenerating.

Spikestone Guardian: 19hp - 17hp = 2hp!

(OOC: Oops! Forgot all about this one!)

Seeing pieces of stone getting chipped off the Guardian by the various attacks, Tyrol gets the idea that it might be on its last legs.

He quickly prepares another bomb and tosses it at the beastie!

"HA! Take that!"

0:58, Today: Tyrol Halverschlagen rolled 10,22 using 1d20+6,5d6+5 ((4,3,4,3,5,2)).

"YIKES! Everybody watch out! I missed! It's faster than it looks!"

"Guess you'll have to do the honors, Vashon!"

Oh, crap! Has it been that long?


On the one hand, he'd expected to have done better with his guns, but, on the other hand, he half expected them to prove useless against the golem. Apparently, the magic he can infuse his bullets with was enough to get through the golem's stone skin... or however that worked.

"Well, if you three aren't going to finish it off, guess I'll have to do it!" he said, hoping it wasn't an idle boast.

15:07, Today: Vashon the Vigilant rolled 26,12,6,17 using 1d20+14,1d8+5,1d6+2,5d4+5 ((12,7,4,2,1,3,2,4)).

Better than last time, so I think he hit. That should be enough to destroy the golem. If I did that right, that's 35 points of damage!

Vashon does, indeed, hit the golem this time, and while he doesn't have the spell available for the extra damage, the magical bullet is enough to finish destroying the golem.

Everyone is now free to search the room for the armor.

It doesn't take long to realize that the armor on the slab is not the armor you are looking for, despite the green star painted on it. It appears as if that was done as a decoy.

"And the prickly porcupine guardian finally falls," Ozrus said with a sigh of relief from up on the ceiling. He allowed himself to drop to the floor where he gingerly touched the spots on his body that had been injured during the battle. He concentrated momentarily and performed the proper prayers to heal his wounds. Mostly. Then he turned toward the messy scene before them.

"Well, the armor in the sarcophagus wasn't what we were looking for. Nor was the armor the golem was wearing. So I suppose the next step is to search the area that the Spikestone Guardian was guarding, eh? The spot it emerged from?" Casually but cautiously, Ozrus moved forward to do exactly that. As he searched for clues, he made sure to keep himself blessed with divine Guidance, and bestowed magic sight upon himself as well.

---

Casting Cure Serious Wounds on myself. Up to 93/100 HP. Anyone else need healing?
21:12, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 24 using 3d8+10.  Cast Cure Serious Wounds on self.

Ozrus will take 20 on his search of the area the Spikestone Golem emerged from. With Guidance, that should give him a result of 42. He has Detect Magic active as well.

The spikestone guardian--in armor--had been beneath the sarcophagus, and had apparently been activated or awoken or whatever when the sarcophagus had been pushed aside. It had risen up out of the hole in the floor and then moved about the room to attack.

Ozrus now began searching the hole where it had been while the others watched, not really able to fit in the hole to help.

He takes a good 20 minutes searching, searching again, and then again, finding nothing each time.

At the end, just sitting there trying to figure out what he missed, he looks up at the others to see if they have any suggestions.

Was it a shadow? A scratch where a spike struck? Or maybe the spikes that grew out of the ceiling shifted something. Whatever it was, he saw a crack in the ceiling. It was only a small one, but it was straight. The only way for a crack to be straight was if it was man-made.

With that clue to start with, he now sees that the section of the ceiling has been plastered over. The spikes that grew out of the ceiling appears to have disrupted the work.

"Heh, clever girl," Ozrus said, mostly to himself. Then to the others more directly, he said, "I think Esmerelda purposefully drew all of our attention to this sarcophagus on the floor so that we wouldn't notice she hid our prize in the ceiling. Or at least another clue." He pointed to the spot where he had noticed the plaster. He wondered if the armor was actually hidden inside the memorial located atop this tomb.

The druidic wizard pulled out his Traveler's Any-tool device and formed it into the shape of something that would pick through plaster. He then tossed it into the air and caught it with a Mage Hand cantrip. "Let's see what happens when we chip away at the ceiling, shall we?" He backed up to what he hoped was a safe distance, then tried scraping at the plaster area with his floating Any-tool.

---

Ozrus will start chipping away at the plastered area with his Mage Hand/Any-tool combo. If nothing notable happens for a while, and it seems safe, he'll climb up onto the ceiling again to use his actual hands instead of Mage Hand to chip away at the ceiling. If something bad does happen, he has another Windy Escape spell prepared and ready to use.

Vashon went over and kicked the armor that the Spikestone Guardian had been wearing, just to make sure the pile of rocks wasn't going to animate again.

Satisfied, he then climbed up on the sarcophagus and balanced on the edges as he helped Ozrus chip away at the ceiling seam.

"It doesn't seem likely that whatever is hidden up here will come crashing down on top of us once we clear away the plaster," Vashon said, "but we should make sure we aren't under it if it does."

With Vashon's help, clearing away the concealing plaster progresses rather quickly. It's soon revealed that there are eight pins holding it in place--three along each side and two at one end. Ironically, they are more like spikes that have been driven into the ceiling at an angle to hold the 'compartment' in place, since, without any pins in one end, that is likely the end where the pivot is, meaning that it can't completely fall down, just from one end.

With the pins/spikes revealed, Vashon studies the ceiling for a bit before offering his comment.

"There are no spikes at that end down there," he says, "so I'm guessing that's where there's a pivot point, letting the whole thing swing down. While construction would have been more difficult, putting the armor in place would have been a lot easier."

"I wonder who she got to design this place..."

"I'm thinking we should pull the spikes out by the pivot end first, and the end ones last. If we do it in reverse, it'll put more stress on the last two spikes. I'm not big in the strength department. Do you think you could support the slab and lower it?"

"Of course, we don't know how thick it is. Probably about a foot thick; anything thinner would be to brittle."

"We'd better move the sarcophagus back into place so that we can stand on it to lower the slab."

"I'm not particularly big or strong either, but I can change that easily enough. Here, hold this." Ozrus handed off his any-tool from his perch on the ceiling, then focused his mind on a new form. Even as he hung upside down, his body erupted into the bulky physique of a large earth elemental. He then gestured with his mossy granite and obsidian arms to cast a spell upon himself as well. Ant Haul.

In a deep gravely voice, he said, "There. Now I am stronger, bigger, and can hold even more than my bulk would suggest. Hopefully it will be enough. If not, I can summon another couple of friends to assist." The wild shaped druid lowered his bulky form down off of the ceiling and got into a position where he would be the most helpful to Vashon.

---

In the form of a large earth elemental, Ozrus's strength should be up to 17. With Ant Haul, he should be able to hold 780 lbs  over his head. (Edit: I think it is actually 1560 lbs, since his size increased to large as well.) Also, "A large earth elemental is 16 feet long and weighs 6,000 pounds."
This message was last edited by the player at 19:41, Sun 11 Apr 2021.

With Ozrus's transformation, there should be no problem in being able to lower the ceiling cover.

Once he gets in place, Vashon and Hsang begin pulling out the pins, starting at the hinge end, then the opposite end, and finally along the sides working forward.

Ozrus has to push up slightly in order for them to pull out the last two pins. It turns out it's not that heavy, though the leverage would have been hard.

Once the last two pins are out, Ozrus can lower the front end down to the floor.

Fastened to the back side of the slab is a suit of armor with a green star inset in green metal in the chest.

"Is this finally it? Steelheart?" Ozrus asked, retaining his elemental shape. First he cast magical detection upon his eyes then gazed at the armor to see if it held magic potent enough to be the piece they were searching for. If it didn't turn out to be yet another decoy, the elf scrutinized it even further.

First, searching it for any remaining tricky traps from Esmerelda. Secondly, he scanned its magical auras thoroughly to try and determine the schools of its auras and gauge what sorts of abilities it might possess. His elven eyes helped him to pick out certain details others might miss.

---

What type of armor is it? Full plate? Can Ozrus tell what material it is made of?

He will take 20 on his Perception to check it for traps. With Guidance as well, that will give him a 42.

Using Guidance and Detect Magic to determine the armor's schools of magic.
22:08, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 26 using 1d20+19.  Knowledge: Arcana, with Guidance - Magic Auras.

Using Guidance, Detect Magic, and his racial bonus to help figure out what the armor does.
22:02, Today: Ozrus Wither rolled 32 using 1d20+21.  Identify magic properties of magic armor, with Guidance.

The armor is field plate, and it seems to be made of a mithril-steel alloy with a third element that Ozrus can't quite identify but he thinks it might be aurum.

The green star on the chest is not center, but shifted to the right a bit so that it is centered over the area where the heart of the person wearing it would be. In the center of the green star is an inset metal plate of steel that has an indentation in it that appears designed to hold an augment crystal.

The auras he detects are transmutation, which is consistent with the spells Fly, Bull's Strength and Mending that he can sense. He's pretty sure that these have all been enhanced, though.

He also senses something deeper and vaster within the armor that he can't quite figure out.

"This has to be what we came for," Ozrus insisted. He shared all that he had discovered with the others that were present, then said, "Due to the armor's metallic nature, I will not be wearing it. Messes with my mojo. I probably wouldn't have worn it even if it were made of rock or wood though. It is tough to cast spells with most armors on. Should we bring it back so that the others can do what they do and take a closer look? I wonder who will want to try it out first."

If nobody objected, Ozrus would carry the armor over to the hall that somehow led back to the monastery. He resumed his natural elven form as he entered the smaller space.

---

Ready to head back to the monastery. The shortcut hall still works, right?

Also, do I know what and "augment crystal" is? As a player, I do not.

OOC: First introduced in the 3.5 Magic Item Compendium, an augment crystal is a small gem, crystal, or similar object that provides a magical effect when affixed to a weapon, shield, or suit of armor. Most of them can be easily removed, so you could take it off your armor and put it on your sword for a few rounds, then put it back on the armor.

Pathfinder tweaked Ioun stones and use them in wayfinders a bit like that.