A Stoney problem(formerlyThe Cursed)

[Analogkid]

I'm available anytime after7pm pst Monday, Thursday and 7:30pm pst Friday starting in about a month. I'm also generally available Saturday nights and Sunday early mornings or evenings

[Ithildur]

((Friday mornings are an option for me, but sounds we'd lose AK and probably Mick as well. Probably best to keep it Friday nights then for now; maybe Imstrokerace will opt to finish out this plot with us before dropping out))

[Mick]

Weekend days are likely out for the foreseeable future, since we just bought a farm and there is much work to be done. Friday nights remain the best option for me, although Saturday and Sunday nights are possibilities given enough notice. Weeknights are unpredictable these days.

Arizma offers up that she is able to provide the tongues spell for as many people as might need it. Of course, this will diminish her ability to bring the aforementioned force missles to bear on the Red Death. She feels strongly that as a next step we should be making every effort to release as many of these Cursed as possible.

[Ithildur]

Kalas/Imstrokerace will be with us at least for tomorrow night.

I can think of 2 things we should decide:

1. whether to target the weaker cursed ones encountered on the surface for Remove Curse, or aim to set free the more powerful elite ones in the underground lair.

Reducing the ranks of the powerful ones would be a definite boon if we can manage it, as they're most likely going to be the personal guardians for the Red Death. Setting free the weaker ones would be much easier and less risky, and might be sufficient to convince the powerful ones IF they realize some of their lesser brethren have been set free and we can get them to parley. Setting free some elites might be more convincing (though could backfire if say, they're harder to break the curse off of and we fail miserably before their eyes) and also thin out their ranks combatwise if parley doesn't work out... given the mental state of the Cursed, successful parley even if we manage to communicate via magical means is not a given.

2. Temple of Myrkul - at this point is there critical information that we think we might be able to gain from a more thorough look? We're not heavy on skillmonkeys in the group, and Detect Magic so far has been less than useful 9 times out of 10. The tie in is that there may be reason to believe the Cursed ones may have ties to Myrkul, possibly even have been guardians of the temple a long, long time ago; clues found in the temple might reveal more about the Cursed, maybe leveraged into successful parley/negotiation.


If we could take 20 for things like unhurried search checks that would help. http://www.d20srd.org/srd/skills/usingS ... m#taking20


There's a few other loose ends/questions that are bugging Aglaril quite a bit, but I think they may have to wait.

[Mick]

Arizma suggests that we focus on whichever Cursed are encountered first. We deal with those above ground, and then we need not worry (hopefully) about those either on future forays on the surface, or when we are trying to get into the deeper area where the elites and Red Death are.

[Ithildur]

((quick links for handy reference to a couple of RP spells that may come into play tonight:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/windWall.htm
(cylinder version could trap a mist/gaseous form creature if ceiling isn't too high/no cracks in floor etc. Aglaril is capable of a cylinder 65 feet high, Kalas I believe is preparing one as well ... a horizontally formed 2nd wall could possibly serve as a 'lid' for cylinder perhaps)


http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/tongues.htm

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/telepathicBond.htm

Quite possibly this...

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/silentImage.htm



And of course, can't forget:

http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/dimensionDoor.htm ))

[Ithildur]

Note, the bones and skull are now in Kalas' possession (largely due to the fact that I'm not sure about my schedule for the next couple of weeks and I didn't want the acid bath etc. to be held up on my account)

[Ithildur]

((Still unclear whether I can be there this friday night [update, confirmed I'll be unavailable at least until very late], but would like to generally encourage some planning/discussion about what our characters might want to tackle. If Arri has some torture already planned that's dandy, but when on the DM client side of things I always appreciated and found it enjoyable dealing with players who were fairly proactive/organized and didn't always need to be spoon fed.

SO! To cop the catchphrase microsoft used to use a few years ago... any thoughts one where we want to go this friday? Some loose ends I can think of off the top of my head:

- the corpse of the Elder Doom/acid bath
- return to Macsheean and check in on things, check in with the Kelemvorite shrine, the temple of Myrkul
- check on the black Chaos Stone, find a way to better secure it - maybe resecure with new wards/glyphs/traps, or better yet (in Aglaril's opinion) find a way to destroy it.
- Temple of the Triad in Caer Callydiir apparently has a lathanderite priest (speciality undead) and priest of helm (specialty vigilance), might be worth checking in there
-attempt to scry for the Red Death (rather long shot due to lack of familiarity)
-rumors/gather info at settlements near Machsheean
-hang out at the Salmon and drink lots of ale

etc

Or perhaps go in a different direction, i.e. PCs take a 'we got rid of it, we'll deal with it if it shows up again' approach... possibly picking up a plot hook that was discussed last summer which a few of us haven't forgotten about.

Of course, an ancient red dragon could always show up and change everything))

[Analogkid]

Toby would suggest another visit to the ruins given that they should face less opposition at this point.

[orangetree]

Lunette suggests examining the book of curses found last time if it might be relevant

((unless the book was just a random drop of no plot relevance?))

[Ithildur]

((somewhat related to the resecuring of the chaos stone, would love to be able to track this spell down at some point, so much fun potential:
http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/explosiveRunes.htm))

[Analogkid]

Lunette suggests examining the book of curses found last time if it might be relevant

((unless the book was just a random drop of no plot relevance?))

((Can Toby and Lunette take 20 to study the book tonight?))

[Mick]

I am on call this weekend, so whether or not I am able to be there tomorrow night remains to be seen. That said, it is my intention and desire to be able to participate.

Arizma feels strongly that disposing of the remains should be a priority. We should definitely not return to the ruins until those remains are destroyed. Even if everyone else disagrees with this prioritization, she feels even more strongly that we should not be carrying those remains back to the ruins under any circumstances.

I must have missed the Book of Curses discussion?

[Ithildur]

((It was among the loot (found in the coffin?), a 100 lb volume on curses, emphasis on placing curses iirc. Carrying the tome apparently grants a +1 bonus to knowledge arcana checks. Other than that no other details known. The book currently is in Toby's keeping.

Btw I'm assuming everyone is done/satisfied with the distribution of loot (I was minimally involved other than IDing and delivering the dagger); if there are concerns/thoughts on handling it better next time this would be a good place to post))

Aglaril would also view dealing with the remains as high priority

[edit] Heads up in case anyone missed it: http://www.alandfaraway.info/phpBB3/vie ... &start=315

[orangetree]

Lunette studied the book. Of course a selunite should seek information on curses. She hoped it would be a key clue on resolving the mystery. "Time to be all heroic- this time"

Hours passed and Lunette persevered obsessed that there had to be something they had all missed in it. There was nothing though but superstition and supposition material of no real significance. She might as well had borrowed a book from the children's library.

"Useless useless useless garbage useless- argh I can't take it any more!" She unceremoniously lifted the weighty book and placed it on one of the huge chairs of Toby's house. She then sat on it giving herself some height to the table across. "There now it's useful!" She declared as she passed wind on the tomb.

So this wasn't the significant breakthrough she hoped. The seasoned adventurers will have more luck she was sure.