The Lion's 2nd Face[Covaithe judging]

"Let's use what little advantage we may have." Ashnar nods in agreement.

ooc: that's most of you so moving on...

After healing up and cleaning off as best you can, you advance towards the entrance. Stepping down under the overhang you find relief from the rain and can clearly see the large hole and the cavern beyond. While not well lit there is enough diffused light from outside that you can see well enough inside.

There are several small tunnels going off either side of the cavern, and a larger tunnel on the opposite end. Around the edges of the cavern are many signs of habitation by the troglodytes: crude tools, broken weapons, makeshift beds, etc. However, there are no troglodytes in sight. In the center of the cavern is a loose pile of coins, likely the behir's hoard.

With no enemies in sight, you cautiously enter the cavern when a searing pain strikes at the very soul of your being:

[sblock=Charlarn, Rinaldo, Planus]Take 46 damage. Will save DC 21 for half damage (23). Let me know if anyone has Spell Resistance.[/sblock]

[sblock=Hogarth, Tenebryn]Take 25 damage. Will save DC 21 for half damage (12). Let me know if anyone has Spell Resistance.[/sblock]

[sblock=Ashnar]Lucky you, you take no damage and feel no pain. (You see your companions recoil in pain, though.) You do, however, feel a slight tingle letting you know that you have entered some spells area of influence.[/sblock]

[sblock=Spellcraft DC 26]Things are starting to make sense. The damage, the teleporting issues, you've just entered an area guarded by a Forbiddance spell. Something seems a little off, though.
[sblock=Examine spell with Detect Magic]I need to point out an oog issue here. The original DM had the Forbiddance in here, but I think he mis-remembered a few things about how this spell works when putting this together. So, to fix things, assume that this is a customized version of Forbiddance with a couple of minor changes.

A) Unless I have grossly underestimated the size of this adventure, there is no way a normal Forbiddance could cover all the area it does. So assume this has been Enlarged or otherwise expanded to cover the rest of the dungeon. Basically, from this point on, the Forbiddance will be in effect.

B) When casting Forbiddance, one can create a password to prevent people from taking damage when entering. The original DM was under the impression that the password bypassed the Teleport restriction, so we're going to say that's how this particular version works. You know there's a password that allows Teleportation, but you don't know what it is.

That's all I can think of on this. If you have any questions, let me know.[/sblock][/sblock]

Planus's spirits wilt a bit as they transition from the open sky into this dank hole in the ground. Even the rain running through his hair is better than being underground. Suddenly, his body is wracked with pain. He throws his hands to his head as he is overwhelmed.

OOC:
1d20+13=14
Um, wow. I guess his spirit really did wilt.
[sblock]
HP: 4/50, AC: 22
Spell in effect: Greater Magic Weapon (bow), Magic Vestment (shield)
Spells remaining
0 (DC 15) 6/day: Detect Magic(x2), Light(x2), Guidance(x2)
1 (DC 16) 6/day: Bless, Divine Favor (x3), Obscuring Mist, Shield of Faith
2 (DC 17) 4/day: Resist Energy x3, Silence
3 (DC 18) 4/day: Blindness, Magic Vestment, Dispel Magic(x2)
4 (DC 19) 3/day: Divine Power, Freedom of Movement, Greater Magic Weapon
Domain:1 (DC 16): Longstrider
2 (DC 17): Invisibility
3 (DC 18): Fly
4 (DC 19): Confusion
Arrows fired: 9 [/sblock]

Ashnar recoils and winces as she realizes that she's been careless. "That... appears to be the forbiddance... the sending warned of. Something is odd, though..."
She casts a quick spell to detect magic...
"Too large. It's a close variation otherwise."
[Sblock=Ashnar's spells prepared and so on]

Wand of scorching ray, CL 3 (37/50)

Spells prepared (Save DC 16 + spell level, or 17+ spell level for Evo/Nec spells; 4+1/6+1/5+1/4+1/3+1):
Link to Ashnar's custom spells
0 - Acid splash, detect magic, flare*|x3;
1st - Ashnar's markx2, Ashnar's sparkstrike*|, mage armor, magic missile*, ray of enfeeblement§, shocking grasp*;
2nd - Ashnar's athleticate augmentation, Ashnar's fiery shackles x2, Ashnar's l. pyromagical enhancement, protection from arrows, scorching ray*|;
3rd - Ashnar's shield swarm, fireball*|, dispel magic, lightning bolt*, protection from energy
4th - Dimension door, mnemonic enhancer, wall of fire*|, wall of ice*
Spells cast into necromantic nexus (see character sheet)
0 - disrupt undead§
1st - cause fear§
2nd - false life§
3rd - ray of exhaustion§
Spell cast into arcane storage amulet (see character sheet): false life§

* Evocation spell
§ Necromancy spell
| Bonus spell slot; for Evocation spells only
[/sblock]
[sblock]Did we all actually enter the cave and the area of the forbiddance spell at once? I figured that we'd all stop once the first character suffers. Then again, I figured the forbiddance wouldn't come into play until later, myself.
Anyway - Knowledge (Arcana) check (1d20+18=32)[/sblock]

will save; spellcraft (1d20+4=16, 1d20+20=34)

"That smarts. Ow~!"
"Indeed I don't know what is different but something is off with the spell covering this dungeon." replies Tenebrynn.

Knight Otu said:

[sblock]Did we all actually enter the cave and the area of the forbiddance spell at once? I figured that we'd all stop once the first character suffers. Then again, I figured the forbiddance wouldn't come into play until later, myself.
Anyway - Knowledge (Arcana) check (1d20+18=32)[/sblock]

Click to expand...

[sblock]I considered that, but since everyone's got to do it I thought it would be best to throw everybody in at once and get it over with. Kind of like pulling a band-aid of quickly rather than slowly and painfully.

And I had also considered that it might not come into effect until later, but I double checked and this is where the original DM wanted it. I think he had concerns about you guys teleporting past encounters. Either way, I did want to get this part over with ASAP.

edit: Oh, and don't forget that part about the password.[/sblock]

Heckler said:

[sblock]I considered that, but since everyone's got to do it I thought it would be best to throw everybody in at once and get it over with. Kind of like pulling a band-aid of quickly rather than slowly and painfully.

And I had also considered that it might not come into effect until later, but I double checked and this is where the original DM wanted it. I think he had concerns about you guys teleporting past encounters. Either way, I did want to get this part over with ASAP.

edit: Oh, and don't forget that part about the password.[/sblock]

Click to expand...

[sblock]Makes sense. And I'm not forgetting the password bit - it just seems unlikely to come into play all that soon unless there's a convenient scroll with the password on it here in the behir cave.[/sblock]

Rinaldo takes his head. "That's hurt." Rinaldo listen to the wizards. "Forbiddance? What is that spell? I'm not familiar with that one."

Hogarth, who have been converting three spells to heal Rinaldo, Tenebrynn and himself, takes his wand and start to use it to help continue to heal them. As he does that, he explains "Forbiddance is a spell that is used to harm any heretics of the faith of the caster. It is use by clerics. It is a powerful spell that is not available to me yet, so I'm not much familiar with it."

[SBLOCK=Hogarth spell list]0: Create Water, Detect Magic(x2), Guidance(x2), Read Magic
1: Bless, Command, Divine Favor, Doom, Shield of Faith, Animate Rope(D),
2: Hold Person, Lesser Restoration, Resist Energy, Silence, Spiritual Hammer, Bull's Strength(D)
3: Magic Circle, Dispel Magic, Prayer, Protection from Energy, Magic Vestment(D)
4: Divine Power, Greater Magic Weapon, Neutralize Poison, Spell Immunity(D)
5: Flame Strike, Righteous Might(D)[/SBLOCK]

[SBLOCK=OOC]A serious hint about Ashnar alignment here...

Rinaldo save: 1d20+9=24 Takes 23 damage.
Hogarth save: 1d20+11=18 Takes 25 damage.

Hogarth convert Lesser Restoration on Rinaldo: 2d8+10=14 and use two charges: 1d8+1=7, 1d8+1=4 for a total of 25
Rinaldo should have only 3 damage left after that. (That include the damage of the combat)

Hogarth convert Doom on himself: 1d8+5=11 and use one charge: 1d8+1=5, 1d8+1=5 for a total of 21
Hogarth should have only 4 damage left after that.

Hogarth convert Resist Energy on Tenebrynn: 2d8+10=15 and use one charge: 1d8+1=9 for a total of 24
Tenebrynn should have only 1 damage left after that.

So, if we have a minute to spend healing here, it is what Hogarth will do. If we decide to spend less time (or if we are ambush), consider Hogarth will convert the three spells first then use the wand. Healing order is Rinaldo, Tenebrynn and Hogarth.[/SBLOCK]

There is nothing to interrupt the party as they recover from entering the Forbiddance. Everyone is healed as per Velmont's post. You seem to be free to explore or move on.

[sblock=current HPs]
Ashnar 55/55
Charlarn 47/56
Rinaldo 59/62
Hogarth 73/77
Planus 45/50
Tenebrynn 63/64[/sblock]

"Many thanks again Hogarth. I'm sure that we'll need yours, Charlarn's, and Planus' help as we head deeper underground. Man does it feel good to walk beside such godly folk. I remember after Charlarn stayed home before we had met you, Rinaldo, Ashnar, and I got into some serious trouble without the prayers of the gods." replies Tenebrynn.