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Message: <blockquote data-quote="AnotherGuy" data-source="post: 9818635" data-attributes="member: 7029930">Kelemvor intercedes, ruins Halaster's funHISTORY: Paladin of Kelemvor trapped in Undermountain where Halaster continually respawns him via the Clone spell for entertainment. Halaster has clones of almost the entire party (long story). In real-time the player has been playing an NPC, Maccath the Crimson, as their primary character now for around a year-and-a-half while their primary character has been trapped in Undermountain.CURRENT SESSION: Kelemvor, god of death and the dead, finally interceded as after a while he could no longer abide watching a follower (and Chosen) of his, the paladin Locke Lamar being a spectacle and having his Domain (Death) ridiculed for entertainment/sport. So he set up a method whereby Locke could attempt to escape his torment from the Mad Mage, Halaster Blackcloak, by requiring the paladin to return to his core belief again and likely accept some sacrifice.While in quiet contemplation between sessions of entertaining Halaster as he battled through Undermountain, Locke heard his inner voice say quite firmly Death is not a sport. Do you have what it takes?He opened his eyes to find himself in some sort of cavern where myriads of upright mirrors reflected distinct versions of himself. He was acutely aware that each Locke was beckoning him and saying something but that he had to approach the mirrors to hear their message.The mirrors, which were not positioned in any understood order, were all facing a skeletal arm bursting through the earth holding up empty scales (weight scales). This Locke recognized as the symbol of Kelemvor.He approached each mirror and heard their repetitive messages, each Locke voiced a different message. The longer he stayed at each mirror the more animated and insistent the Mirror-Locke became.The life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.I intend to live forever, or die tryingA single death is a tragedyTo the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.Death is not the opposite of life, but a part of itThe life of the dead is placed in the memory of the living.I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless lifeDeath is but a sport (this was a clue)Life and death are one thread, the same line viewed from different sidesI'm not afraid to die.None of these messages truly resonated with Locke but nevertheless he liked I would rather die a meaningful death than to live a meaningless life. There was merit in it he thought. And so he reached out and touched the mirror which was indeed solid. At that moment, the mirror's Locke stopped repeating its message and instead said Break Me!Without any sense of hesitation, Locke pulled out his weapon and smashed the mirror which shattered easily, revealing an inky black portal in its place - the animated Locke no longer.The paladin stepped through the portal only to appear once more in the centre of the room near the symbol of Kelemvor with the facing mirrors.Somewhat confused, Locke took a moment to determine what this all meant and he once more remembered his inner voice Death is not a sport. Do you have what it takes?He moved to another mirror and shattered it, and then another, and then another until only inky black portals remained, no more Lockes beckoning with messages. He was lost and so he returned to his patron's symbol in the centre of this cavern, knelt and began to pray for guidance.MECHANICS: I instructed the player to make d20 + Religion(Charisma) check. Due to his character's level and ability the modifier was +10.The DC was set at 30 with +1 for every portal he had stepped through, therefore he had DC 31.The portals were traps with the Mirror-Lockes providing death ideologies which countered/clashed that of Kelemvor's, but they were convincing due as a result of the time he had spent dying and re-cloning in Halaster's Undermountain.However, the challenge was set-up with Success, Success at a Cost or Ulitimate Failure.Result 1 - SuccessResult 2 - Success at a Cost with a modifier (costs and modifiers being cumulative)<ul> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rank 1 - Bloodied and Temporary Condition (Dazed, Hungry, Stunned, Thirsty etc), +2 modifier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rank 2 - Exhaustion Levels = number of Ranks, +3 modifier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rank 3 - Permanent Condition (Blind, Deaf, Mute etc) and Resource Depleted, +4 modifier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rank 4 - Long Term Madness, +5 modifier</li> <li data-xf-list-type="ul">Rank 5 - Unconscious and Dying (death saves), +6 modifier</li> </ul>Result 3 - Ultimate Failure, Locke is forever trapped in Halaster's game in Undermountain. Only with the help of the rest of the party can he escape.Player rolled a 22 (including his modifier), so he required rank 3 (+9 to succeed)RESULT: With the help of Kelemvor, Locke found himself back in his old room of the temple he was stationed at in the City of Splendors, Waterdeep, in the sacred alcove which had served as his sanctuary many times for Word of Recall. The room was different now, there seemed to be no trace of his belongings...he clutched his forehead, and extened an arm against the wall to steady himself.He was bloodied, disorientated, exhausted and depleted of energy. He uttered words of thanks to Kelemvor for this mighty gift returning him back to his life away from the tortorous pleasures of the Mad Mage, but even as he spoke, he heard nothing...</blockquote>

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