H.M.Gimlord
Explorer
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To those who give us nothing, we give you winds of death
You may elude my claws for now,
but quickly you will see
that no one can escape The Sisters.
We own every tree!
Enter here, and you will face
a fall that puts you in your place,
but if you decide to look behind
another path to me you will find.[/sblock][/sblock]Sheng sends out a swirling mist of arcane energy that surrounds the two gargoyle statues flanking the dais. The mage studies the patterns in the arcane mist with a furrowed brow[sblock=Sheng]The patterns in the swirling mist reveal that the gargoyles are designed to animate when the doors to this chamber are forced. Since the doors were opened, and left that way, by the kobolds, you have no need to worry about them.[/sblock]Gensai leans over the body on the altar, almost crowding the thri-kreen's maticulous work, but doing so yields further revelation.[sblock=Gensai]The man on the altar is an ordinary human possessing not magical power.
A large presence of dark magic, however, radiates from the altar. Evidently this poor fellow was part of a ritual that transferred his life force to the dragon in residence here.
The magic, eerily enough, has a similar feel to the ambiance of the library in which you recently encountered the troll and the gargoyles. Cautiously, you look up at the statues to your right and left, clouded by Sheng's mist. These are much larger than the ones in the library.[/sblock][sblock=Tikchik]Though the man on the alter is singed, most of his clothes and distinguishing features were left intact enough to reveal that he has been robbed. The binding portion of his cape has been ripped as if a brooch was once there. He has no boots, weapons, or armor. He has no purse on his belt, and his clothes look like they were thoroughly searched before he was placed on the altar. Though his clothes are of fine make, he carries nothing of value.
In a fold below the crest on the left breast of his cape, a name is embroidered. It reads "Lars Hallmaster"[/sblock]Riardon examines the body, looking beyond the obvious cause of death.[sblock=Riardon]The cause of death is, of course, evisceration due to a single bite from a dragon. Surprisingly, the electrical burns were not enough to stop the heart. This is evident from the pattern of blood on the altar.
A large welt on the crown of the man's skull reveals that the man was hit on the back of the head, and none too gently, prior to being placed on the altar, thus Riardon concludes that this sacrifice was likely not only unwilling, but unaware of his fate.[/sblock][sblock=Skill Challenge Round 2]
[sblock=Round 1 Results]
Congratulations! You've earned yourselves some bonuses for next round!
Gensai: Arcana - 25, 2 Points+1 to next round's check
Sheng: Arcana - 25, 2 Points+1 to next round's check
Tikchik: Thievery - 30, 3 Points +2 to next round's check
Riardon: Heal - 29, 3 Points +2 to next round's check
Fenwick: Athletics - 27, 3 Points +2 to next round's check
Note: Repeating the same skill multiple rounds in a row imposes a cumulative -2 penalty.
Round Total: 13 Points: 2 Victory Points and Advantage: all PCs have a +1 cumulative bonus to skill checks during the rest skill challenge and a + 1 to diplomacy checks against the blue dragon, should you meet.
*to be clear, here, "cumulative" means that if you achieve another "Advantage" it adds to this bonus.*[/sblock]Skill challenge total: 2 Victory Points
Objectives: Find out what happened to Mervin and Rujah by collecting clues in a possibly hostile environment.
Rounds: 3
Challenge Level: 8
Round 2 Focus: Examine the scene for clues as to Mervin and Rujah's whereabouts (don't forget the hallway).
Round 2 Rules: Those who use Perception or Religion gain a +2 bonus to their skill check.
Individual Skill DCs:
- 15-: 0 points, -2 to next round's skill check
- 16-20: 1 point, -1 to next round's skill check
- 21-25: 2 points, +1 to next round's skill check
- 26+: 3 points, +2 to the next round's skill check
- Natural 1: -1 point, lose a healing surge
- Natural 20: +1 point, stumble upon treasure
[sblock=Roll Options]
- Stealth: A successful stealth check will produce points as normal, but will not provide insight toward your objective. Instead it will, in the event that the round total falls below the Disaster level(see Round Totals below), add 1 additional point to the round total. If the round total is already at Complication or above, no additional point is gained.
- Action Points: An action point may be used to roll an additional skill check in a round, though it must be different than the original check.
- Aid Another: You may take -3 on a skill check to grant someone else a reroll.
- Heroic Effort: You may spend a healing surge before a roll to gain +3 on the roll or after the roll to gain a +1 - or both for two surges.
Repeating a Skill: A cumulative penalty of -2 will be applied to a PC that uses the same skill as he/she his/her previous round. Notice that it only applies to the previous round, thus this can be avoided by going back and forth between two skills.
Round Totals (I screwed up on these last round. They were too hight. These are the corrected numbers):
- 0-4 total points: 0 victory points and Disaster: -2 cumulative penalty to all future rolls in the skill challenge and your effort draws the attention of more residents.
- 5-9 total points: 1 victory point and Complication: -1 cumulative penalty to all future rolls in the skill challenge and clues may prove misleading.
- 10-14 total points: 2 victory points and Advantage: +1 cumulative bonus to all future rolls in the skill challenge and gives each PC a +1 to diplomacy checks in any future discussions the blue dragon, should you meet.
- 15+ total points: 3 victory points and Miracle: +2 cumulative bonus to all future rolls in the skill challenge and you discover a cache of treasure.
Victory Points: Victory points represent how productive the round was. These are totaled over the course of the skill challenge to determine the level of success the party has had with the skill challenge.
Final Victory Point Totals This is a four-level measure of the outcome of the total skill challenge after 3 rounds. Descriptions are intentionally vague.
- 0-2 total points: Total Disaster
- 3-5 total points: Technical Complication
- 6-8 total points: Strategic Advantage
- 9+ total points: Overwhelming Miracle
