The party finished clearing the servant's quarters (finding a horrifying undead-creation machine), descended into a cell block guarded by a bored, tired infernal devil-warden, and talked their way past it by promising to find its contract "in the library." Chasing a glowing message-light, they crashed into a ghoul-infested library, survived a brutal fight (Cid was KO'd by a fumble, Venris was paralyzed and nearly died), and killed a ghoul cultist. They looted, found another inactive teleportation room, and decided to barricade the library and spend hours cataloging its books before heading back to Otari.
Last session the party returned from Otari into the vault, fought ghosts that targeted feared characters, reunited with Ben Reese (Venris), dealt with a brownie who used illusions and turned hostile (casting confusion on Ben Reese after they recovered his ornate spyglass), found paintings of the place's builder and a burning city, beat a possessed puppet (controlled by a gemstone), and slew a giant blood-sucking creature that nearly killed Cid before exploding in blood.
Inside the library hall, doors barricaded with bookshelves, tables, and chairs, beginning the long cataloging effort. Books worth one bulk set aside for Morlibint. The devil's contract still unfound, the chased light still un-caught, and many vault doors still unopened.
| 00:00:08 | Pregame table chatter Off-topic table banter before play: audio/mic setup, a running joke about Speaker C's drinking, MMO/Ragnarok talk, and a rules tangent about a fast-healing spell (sustaining it up to four rounds for ~16 HP). Waiting on a fourth player (Dan/Danny) to be DM'd. Not story-relevant. [S10 · 00:00:08 · turn 0001 · scene 001] |
| 00:16:43 | Recap of last session Speaker B recaps the prior session: returning from town into the vault, a first-floor room with ghosts on a collapsed table that targeted feared characters, meeting up with Ben Reese (Venris), a brownie using illusions who wanted a shiny item recovered, a room of paintings (one a torn portrait of the place's builder, plus a burning-city/slum image), a possessed-puppet fight (loot: a gemstone behind the puppet that controlled it; the brownie's item was an ornate spyglass), the brownie turning hostile and casting confusion on Ben Reese, and a basement room with a giant blood-sucking creature that nearly killed Cid before the party slew it (it exploded in blood). [S10 · 00:16:54 · turn 0147 · scene 002] |
| 00:21:08 | Searching the servant's room and the undead-creation chamber After healing up, the party searches nearby rooms. A servant's bedroom holds an abandoned straw bed, a dresser of out-of-date servant's clothing, and a stinky barrel that turns out to be old pickles. The next room is grim: a metal table with leather straps and an iron band, plus a contraption part-spyglass, part-drill with a sparkling black gemstone (onyx) set in it. Abus (cleric) recognizes it as an abomination used to assist creating undead (drill penetrates the skull while the scope focuses necromantic energy) and refuses to enter / destroys it. Cid takes the black onyx. [S10 · 00:22:21 · turn 0183 · scene 003] |
| 00:28:08 | Descending deeper and scouting doors The party agrees to push deeper with caution, ready for a strategic retreat. Cid jokes about removing every door from its hinges (door phobia for B V, his companion). They set a marching order (Venris first, Cid second, Veve third), avoid notice, and douse their lights. Venris listens at two doors: behind one, heavy non-human/non-humanoid breathing; the other is silent. They choose the breathing door first to avoid being ambushed from behind. [S10 · 00:28:29 · turn 0255 · scene 004] |
| 00:36:03 | The bored devil warden and the cell block Behind the breathing door is a demonic-looking creature that orders them to drop their weapons; Venris identifies it (Religion) as a 5th-level infernal/war devil (a 'wardein') that can only reach this plane via a higher being's orders or contracts. The room walls bear hundreds of hash marks (counting days); an iron door with a barred window holds a skeleton in fungus. Venris plays along, surrendering, while Veve tries (and fails) to sneak up; her dropped loot hits the wall and blows her cover. The devil is bored, tired, and just wants to find its contract so it can leave. The party negotiates: they will retrieve the devil's contract from 'the library' in exchange for it letting Venris go. They leave without combat. [S10 · 00:36:56 · turn 0332 · scene 005] |
| 00:56:08 | Chasing the green message-light The party shouts to the devil that they are already in the library area and backtracks toward a previously-seen green light. In a room with a tattered sofa, the south wall's green light forms a message: 'The Horror fell to the Rose Guard, but we never knew of these vaults below,' then slithers off the wall and flees. The party chases it at max speed through connecting rooms (passing already-looted areas and stairs) toward a never-opened door. They briefly debate returning to town instead but decide to open one more room first. [S10 · 00:59:21 · turn 0560 · scene 006] |
| 01:10:38 | Library ambush: combat with the ghouls Opening the door reveals a long library hall lined with stone book-shelves; the chased light continues and several ghouls (like the single stronger one fought before) are present. Initiative is rolled. One ghoul asks if they are 'here to donate flesh to the canker.' Veve opens with Courageous Anthem (+1 offense). The fight is messy: Venris's Deny Advantage rogue feature keeps him from being off-guard when flanked; a tripped Cid rolls snake-eyes and is knocked unconscious by a fumble (head hit), then revived. Multiple ghouls fumble (one bites a wall, taking attack penalties). Abus casts Forbidding Ward, Light, and heals. Ghoul bites can paralyze (Venris gets paralyzed and nearly dies but survives a fortitude save; Abus 'giga heals' him). The party grinds the ghouls down with crits, thrown books ('education'), and flanking. [S10 · 01:10:53 · turn 0622 · scene 007] |
| 02:04:23 | The ghoul cultist As the ghouls are cleared, a ghoul cultist (a 3rd-level spellcaster) emerges from the darkness, threatening that the party will be 'beset by the canker.' Abus identifies it via Religion (recall knowledge): ghouls are former humanoids turned by a cannibalism-borne fever ('ghoul fever'). The cultist hits Veve repeatedly with darkness/tendril rays and a paralysis effect, and chants a harm/pain spell. The party counters with Veve's compositions and counter-performance, Cid's snagging strike + trip combo, Venris's sneak-attack short bow, and Abus's Divine Lance. Abus also uses positive-energy Heal against the undead cultist for massive damage, and the cultist is finished off (an arrow to the back of the head). [S10 · 02:07:50 · turn 1291 · scene 008] |
| 02:44:25 | Looting the library and the adjoining ritual room Post-combat, the party loots. The cultist wore a rope necklace with two lumps of decayed flesh (non-magical); other ghouls had nothing of value. The library hall has signs over doors (work room, safety, repair storage) readable via Sakvroth. An adjoining room has divans, low tables with rotting flesh, and a twisting ribbon of pale-blue light with infected-tissue creepers (Abus warns it will cause damage like the prior light). Venris finds an ajar brick revealing yet another empty, inactive teleportation room with silver fittings; Abus cannot activate it. Society recall knowledge reminds them of Morlibint, the wizard proprietor of 'Odd Stories' library in Otari, who buys rare tomes. They take the cultist's head (the brownie/'more look' figure wanted these ghouls dealt with) and gather a bulk of potentially valuable books. [S10 · 02:56:35 · turn 1832 · scene 009] |
| 03:05:45 | Break and rules discussion on the Aid action A ~10-minute break (Cid/B away) stretches into a long out-of-game rules discussion. Speaker D (Venris's player) and Speaker A (GM) debate how the Aid action should be adjudicated, especially whether Veve can Aid using Performance instead of an attack roll, the role of the Distracting Performance feat, and skill-feat design philosophy. They review bard feat options for the upcoming level 4 (Triple Time, Rallying Anthem, Melodious Spell, Uplifting Overture, Hymn of Healing). Mostly meta/table discussion; useful for how the GM rules Aid going forward. [S10 · 03:17:53 · turn 1959 · scene 010] |
| 03:52:00 | Deciding to catalog the library (downtime setup) Back in-game, Abus and Cid set aside one bulk of interesting books. Abus explains that with a few hours' research and an 8-hour cataloging effort the party can gain a +1 bonus to regional-history / arcane / occult investigation checks in this room, and that Morlibint in Otari may buy some tomes. The party decides to barricade the library doors with bookshelves, tables, and chairs and stay to organize/catalog the books now (one or two staying awake), accepting the risk of a possible ambush. Session ends as they set up the barricade and begin. [S10 · 03:52:24 · turn 2216 · scene 011] |