The town council of Feldspar has hired you to investigate frightening goings-on that have closed mining operations. The disturbances started with strange noises and shouts in an unknown tongue. The source of these sounds could not be determined. A few days ago, the situation went from eerie to deadly. Four miners were found slain, their bodies punctured and bruised repeatedly in a most horrible fashion. The cause of the injuries remains a mystery, although one of the town healers did extract several lumps of grayish metal from various punctures.
Found near one of the bodies was the only other clue, one that raises more questions than answers, namely a dagger, the hilt of which is emblazoned with a peculiar sign:
Rested and equipped, you have arrived at the mine just outside Feldspar. The imposing Dragon's Teeth foothills dominate the view. At the moment, at least, all is quiet. The path down into the mine awaits.
With map in hand, Piedra, Jon, Sam, and Mellisande approach the mine entrance. Nothing seems amiss at first, but then the numerous hastily dropped tools become apparent. Near the entrance is a mine car full of ore. According to the map, the area in which the slain miners were found isn't too far.
Exercising all due caution, the adventurers press on. More signs of hasty departure are visible: tools, a broken lantern, a moldy half crust of bread. In short order, the map leads the quartet to the scene of the murder.
Piedra notices at once several strange pockmarks in the cavern walls, as if something had chipped out the stone at random. There are several blotches of dried blood on the floor and splatters on the walls. No other points of egress from area can be seen: one way in, one way out.
"Brr. Did it just get colder in here?" Jon says, his breath billowing into white mist.
"Brr. Did it just get colder in here?" Jon says, his breath billowing into white mist.
"It's always chilly in the mines, away from Iomedea's light." notes Sam absently, one hand stroking the silver coated monkey on his shoulder. He wanders about the room, not touching anything, trying to find something that let's him get a handle on what happened here.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
Jon looks for clues, moving slowly and carefully around the scene.
"Just thinking out loud here, but I suspect we may be dealing with cultists in some long-term scheme to summon their dark master. It's clear that robbery was not the motive. The killers probably knocked out the miners with saps or magic, made the odd wounds with a thin and pointed implement, and pushed the bits of metal inside to complete some horrid ritual."
Mellisande saunters to the middle of the chamber and peers around. She shivers a little and waves her hand through the dissipating cloud her breath makes.
"I bet there's magic in the air here," she opines. Then, to prove the point, the gnome concentrates on subtle senses beyond eyes, ears and nose and searches for evidence to back up her threadbare hypothesis.
Having left Windwalker in the care of a friendly hostler, along with enough money to keep him in the manner that he is becoming accustomed, Piedra plods slowly along the track to the mines. Anyone who knew the dwarf would not be surprised to hear him muttering under his breath. Anyone who knows dwarvish would be surprised at what he was saying "mutter,mutter, mumble, mumble. Blooming mines. Why does it always have to be mines. I hate mines. mutter,mutter, mumble, mumble."
Arriving at the mine, Piedra's whole demeanor changes. He stops muttering and his whole body becomes alert. "If no one objects I'll go first. I want to see if there any tracks" Piedra slowly walks into the mine head down examining the ground. When he gets to scene of the murder, he will visually examine the ceiling. He will then carefully search the walls and floor for secret doors.
OOC
Take 20 on Perception (Perception 24, Locate hidden doors 26)
"Just thinking out loud here, but I suspect we may be dealing with cultists in some long-term scheme to summon their dark master. It's clear that robbery was not the motive. The killers probably knocked out the miners with saps or magic, made the odd wounds with a thin and pointed implement, and pushed the bits of metal inside to complete some horrid ritual."
Sam pauses and looks worried. "You think so? Ritual magic is not my area, but don't you think it would have done something already? Or animated the bodies as undead or something? I could use a prayer to detect evil if you think it's worth it..." He looks at Piedra to see what his opinion is.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
As the party searches the area, Sam's observation about chilly mine become harder to reconcile with the cave's changing conditions. The temperature spikes noticeably downward, moving from chilly to dead-of-winter cold. A few small pools of water frost over and begin to freeze.
Piedra looks up from the faint, confused traces of tracks. Some of them are booted, but of a strange tread unlike any he's ever seen. Mellisande's keen arcane senses detect a magic aura on part of the cave's wall. While the others search, she concentrates on the aura.
Mellisande
The aura's strength is moderate. Since Mellisande doesn't have Knowledge (arcana), she can't determine school.
The piercing cold becomes accompanied by a fog. It starts as just a few wisps of slow-moving icy moisture suspended in the air, but gradually and quickly thickens. Jon is certain that the fog originates from the cave's rocky wall. He points this out, and Mellisande realizes he's pointing to the area of the magic aura.
Soon the fog will be so thick that clear vision will surely be limited to just a few feet.
The little gnome's mouth pops open in cute surprise and she rushes over to the foggy wall. "This is where the magic is!" she bleats...perhaps unnecessarily, since the -wall- is emitting -fog-. "It must be some kind of secret door that let in the ones that did all this!"
She whirls around, already starting to vanish into the haze.
"Do you think it's opening for us now? Or are they coming back?"
"Well crap. Score 1 for Jon's ritual magic theory. Now I just hope those corpses stay buried." Sam backs away from the encroaching fog and grasps the simple holy symbol he wears about his neck while he murrmurs the words for the detect evil spell.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
Uncertain as to what the fog actually is but been certain that it does not bode well for the party, Piedra moves to give himself some fighting room and readies his weapons. "I'm just a simple dwarf. Cults are beyond me." Then with a uncharacteristic flash of insight, Piedra blurts out "You don't think this fog is one of those inter-planer portal thingies that wizards are alway playing with do you."
Sam spares Piedra a glance. "What wizards have you been hanging out with?" Nonetheless he draws and nocks an arrow before he resumes concentration on his spell.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
The heroes move into action. Opinions about what is going on are exchanged in a mixture of trepidation and bravado. Sam's spell reveals no evil present within range. Weapons are readied. Jon's greatsword's regular sheen is dulled to a flat gray in the fog. The head of the arrow nocked by Sam trembles ever so slightly against the tension of the bowstring.
The cold bites. It digs like needles. Mellisande's teeth start to chatter. The moist, earthy smell of the mines becomes mixed with other scents: urine, smoke, something oily. The ground underfoot shifts from stony hardness, growing softer.
The fog thins slightly. Trees fade into view as the mines fade away. In the foreground, three men kneel at the edge of a freshly dug pit. One of them prays in a tremulous voice. Behind them are strangely uniformed men holding what seem like weapons, something similar to hand crossbows and heavy crossbows, but lacking the means to fire bolts. One of the uniformed men -- the one closest to the party -- laughs, harsh and compassionless.
Other uniformed men stand farther away. As the fog continues to thin, the moment at which the party will become visible rapidly approaches.
OOC
Initiatives and actions, please. Use Invisible Castle for your various dice rolls. We start with a surprise round, so a single standard or move action only.
The kneeling men and soldiers are 15 to 20 feet away. The men in the background are about twice that distance. The freshly dug pit is about 10 feet square. Its depth cannot be determined at this moment.
Special Considerations
The party will discover that the pull of gravity is less than normal for them. The following game effects should be remembered: +5 Str for carrying capacity, +2 on CMB checks, +2 on Acrobatics, Climb, and Swim checks, and +10 feet base speed. If applicable, work these into your posts, to include your characters' reactions to the effects.
Have I mentioned I hold a special hatred of Nazis? I know what we're looking at but I'm trying to see it through Sam's eyes. He doesn't know who's who or who has done what. He doesn't even really know what's about to happen. If he were a cleric of Iomedea I think he'd have to try and find out what's going on before acting.
But he's not. He's a cleric of the god of farmers and he's been tending a pastoral circuit his whole life. He see 3 guys who look like peasants and a bunch of guys who look like soldiers. So ... crud. I was thinking he'd shoot one in the arm, but I just remembered he still has the spell up. It really would make more sense for him to keep checking for evil.
Oh, and as a side note, he's got an arrow nocked, but not drawn. Easier to hold that way.
Sam takes a second to take in the scene in front of him then narrows his eyes in concentration as he continues detecting evil in this new world. Init roll = 14
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
As the trees fades into view, Piedra gives Sam an "I told you so" look. However, just then the people came into view and he had more important things to think about.
Piedra sees what looks like a group of thugs murdering a group of unarmed peasants. At the same time, he is not quite sure exactly what is happening. To make things even more interesting he can't afford to draw attention to the party or wait to see what transpires as the "thugs" are obviously armed with ranged weapons, even if an unknown type. To Piedra, the obvious solution is to quickly disable them before they can react.
Immediately putting is plan into action, Piedra starts to run over to the "thugs" threatening the peasants. However, he seems to be stronger and able to moving faster than normal. This catches him by surprise and only his lightening reflexes save him from stumbling.
OOC
Piedra attempts to position himself such that his opponent provides cover from the distant thugs.
Oh no, the gate dragged us in! This must be another plane! So ... are the men with the magic crossbows the cultists? We are doomed but we can take a few of them with us!
Jon moves awkwardly, feeling light headed and light bodied in this strange place, as he moves in for a surprise attack on the nearest cultist!
Mellisande stumbles woozily as the fog lifts and the cold is replaced by the warm sunlight. She holds her arms out to keep her balance, then breaks into a bright smile as she sees the blue sky above. This was better than the mine, she thought. Better to be outside and free to run around and...
Abruptly she realizes the others seem rather...battle-ready. The gnomette looks over and sees the strange and frightening tableau before her. Realizing trouble's brewing, she quickly says a few words in Sylvan, a'conjurin' herself a protective charm for the coming brawl.
I apologize again for the hold up. My long weekend turned to crap, to include a trip to the emergency room to be misdiagnosed.
The fog thins slightly. Trees fade into view as the mines fade away. In the foreground, three men kneel at the edge of a freshly dug pit. One of them prays in a tremulous voice. Behind them are strangely uniformed men holding what seem like weapons, something similar to hand crossbows and heavy crossbows, but lacking the means to fire bolts. One of the uniformed men -- the one closest to the party -- laughs, harsh and compassionless.
Other uniformed men stand farther away. As the fog continues to thin, the moment at which the party will become visible rapidly approaches.
As the trees fades into view, Piedra gives Sam an "I told you so" look. However, just then the people came into view and he had more important things to think about.
Piedra sees what looks like a group of thugs murdering a group of unarmed peasants. At the same time, he is not quite sure exactly what is happening. To make things even more interesting he can't afford to draw attention to the party or wait to see what transpires as the "thugs" are obviously armed with ranged weapons, even if an unknown type. To Piedra, the obvious solution is to quickly disable them before they can react.
Immediately putting his plan into action, Piedra starts to run over to the "thugs" threatening the peasants. However, he seems to be stronger and able to moving faster than normal. This catches him by surprise and only his lightning reflexes save him from stumbling.
As Piedra positions himself so the closer group of thugs is between him and the more distant group, Jon thinks Oh no, the gate dragged us in! This must be another plane! So ... are the men with the magic crossbows the cultists? We are doomed but we can take a few of them with us!
Jon moves awkwardly, feeling light headed and light bodied in this strange place, as he moves in for a surprise attack on the nearest cultist, and what a surprise it is! Jon quickly covers the intervening distance with a reckless charge. His greatsword starts high and ends low, cleaving through neck, shoulder, and ribs. The thug armed with the "hand crossbow" drops to the cold earth, blood pumping madly from the fatal wound.
Sam takes a second to take in the scene in front of him then narrows his eyes in concentration as he continues detecting evil in this new world.
For Sam
Oddly enough, Sam gets no feeling at all from the spell. He can tell the magic is still active, but also that it has somehow been suppressed.
Mellisande stumbles woozily as the fog lifts and the cold is replaced by the warm sunlight. She holds her arms out to keep her balance, then breaks into a bright smile as she sees the blue sky above. This was better than the mine, she thought. Better to be outside and free to run around and...
Abruptly she realizes the others seem rather...battle-ready. The gnomette looks over and sees the strange and frightening tableau before her. Realizing trouble's brewing, she quickly says a few words in Sylvan, a'conjurin' herself a protective charm for the coming brawl.
The three closer thugs stagger away from the ferocious Jon, swinging their strange weapons at him. Flashes of fire and smoke explode from the ends of the weapons. Jon feels something hot whiz! past his ear. The more distant group of thugs seem less panicked.
"What the hell!" one of them shouts. "Men, spread out! Stahl, put a grenade down range!"
The thugs quickly obey orders, moving into a long line, readying their weapons as they move. One of the men pulls what appears to be a smallish mallet, which he tosses toward Sam and Mellisande. The mallet hits close to target, and then explodes with fearsome power, sending clumps of earth flying in all directions.
Sam and Mellisande
Include a DC 15 Reflex save with your next action. If you succeed, take 4 points of damage. Otherwise, take 9.
Okay, let's finish round 1. All the thugs have acted. Good job keeping it in character with your reactions and character knowledge. Please post next actions with relevant dice rolls.
Sam tries to shield himself from the magical mace these cultists threw at him but was a little to slow and is badly hurt by flying bits of metal. Save vs potato masher (1d20+2=13)21 hp - 9 = 12 left.
"Rovagug Damm and Blast you fiends!" he cries and quickly fires an arrow at the one called Stahl hoping to kill him before he can throw the mace again. 1d20+4=13 However it's a poor shot as the arrow flies higher than he expected in this strange place.
Frightened by the noise and blast the monkey on his shoulder leaps away and runs towards the nearest tree.
__________________ -Andor
"Congratulations. You just invented 'negligent regicide.'" - Schlock Mercenary
Originally Piedra was going to try to intimidate or subdue the thugs. However, once the fight breaks out, he decides that the best tactics are to finish it as quickly as possible. Fighting with two weapons, a quick one-two, results in a lot of muttering, a deep cut in the nearest thug from the war axe and the mace hitting nothing but air. "mutter mutter, this will teach you to pick on someone your own size, mutter thugs mutter mutter"
![[Pathfinder] The Fog of War](http://www.enworld.org/forum/iconimages/playing-game/pathfinder-fog-war_ltr.gif)
Linear Mode
And yet another word from our sponsors
