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--- v2session19 [2007/10/27 13:44] – jims
+++ v2session19 [2017/05/27 18:57] (current) – external edit 127.0.0.1
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+~~NOTOC~~
 ==== V2 Session Nineteen - 26 October 2007 - "The Sinister Spire" (part 5) ====
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 ^ Player ^ Character ^ Race ^ Class ^
 | Dave | [[Freyrik]] | Human(Feytouched) | Warlock/6 |
-| Ken | [[Ash]] | Human(Aasimar) | Paladin/4 |
+| Ken | [[Ash]] | Aasimar | Paladin/4 |
 | THF | [[Líkami]] | Human | Monk/5 |
 | VW | [[Heilli]] | Human | Soulknife/5, Psion/1 |
 | Kurt | [[Ketamine]] | [[Crag Gnome]] | Barbarian/1, [[Witch]]/4 |
 | Chris | [[Yosi]] | Wood Elf | Barbarian/6 |
-| Val | [[Allie]] | Human(Aasimar) | Favored Soul/5, Ranger/1 |
+| Val | [[Allie]] | [[Lesser Aasimar]] | Favored Soul/5, Ranger/1 |
 //Note: This adventure comes from
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 hands in another) that remains flesh.
-//Area S35)// Fadheela's Lair
+They are:
+  * A drow male crouching low as if he is a hound, his ears and nose still flesh.
+  * A male duergar smith with his hammer raised. His eyes are normal, and they squirm madly within the stony sockets.
+  * A female drow holding her hands out, palms upward as if in supplication. The hands are clearly flesh.
+  * A female drow standing balanced on one foot, her flesh mouth still keening.
+  * Two drow children pointing and gazing upward as if in awe.  Their pointing fingers still wriggle.
+  * An angelic being struggling to launch itself into the air, its wings still soft with white feathers.
-In the last major room in the Spike, the party finally finds Fadheela (though
+//Area S35)// [[Fadheela]]'s Lair
-they don't know it at the time).  She turns out to be a hybrid Medusa/Yuan-Ti
-and presents a serious challenge.  Through most of the fight, the party manages
-to avoid her petrifying gaze -- but once her minions are destroyed, they must
-take more risks to take her down.  In the end, [[Freyrik]], [[Yosi]], and
-[[Líkami]] are turned to stone!  (The latter does so during his second Wisdom
-demonstration of the adventure).
-Fadheela herself is kept from dying and a bag is placed over her head so that
+{{ fadheela.jpg}}
-her gaze does not further trouble the party.
-**In a nearby storage room and a closet, the party finds the following items of
+In the last major room in the Spike, the party finally finds [[Fadheela]]
-interest:** //(In the interest of expedience, I am including game stats for the
+(though they don't know it at the time).  She turns out to be a hybrid
-magic items and prices for the treasure -- however I assume you will be spending
+Medusa/Yuan-Ti and presents a serious challenge.  Through most of the fight, the
-money for the requisite identifies and performing the appropriate Appraise
+party manages to avoid her petrifying gaze -- but once her minions are
-rolls)//
+destroyed, they must take more risks to take her down.  In the end, [[Freyrik]],
+[[Yosi]], and [[Líkami]] are turned to stone!
-  * //Elemental Gem (Air)// (from S28)
+[[Fadheela]] herself is kept from dying and a bag is placed over her head so
-  * //Elemental Gem (Fire)// (from S28)
+that her gaze does not further trouble the party.
-  * Two pieces of Art (200 gp each)
-  * A crystal goblet (25 gp)
+**In a nearby storage room and a closet, the party finds the following items of
-  * A set of gem-inset flatware (500 gp)
+interest:**
-  * A gold comb (150 gp)
+  * //[[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#elementalGem|Elemental Gem (Air)]]// (from S28)
-  * A platinum circlet (450 gp)
+  * //[[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/magicItems/wondrousItems.htm#elementalGem|Elemental Gem (Fire)]]// (from S28)
-  * Documents -- numerous papers written in Undercommon.  These papers are apparently contracts put out on various figures in Pedestal. Almost all the contracts contain a scribble in Undercommon at the bottom that reads, "Complete."
+  * Two pieces of Art (200 gp each) **//(sold)//**
+  * A crystal goblet (25 gp) **//(sold)//**
+  * A set of gem-inset flatware (500 gp) **//(sold)//**
+  * A gold comb (150 gp) **//(sold)//**
+  * A platinum circlet (450 gp) **//(sold)//**
+  * Documents -- numerous papers written in Undercommon.  These papers are apparently contracts put out on various figures in Pedestal. Almost all the contracts contain a scribble in Undercommon at the bottom that reads, "Complete." **//(given to Es Sarch)//**
   * Three rolled scrolls written in Yuan-Ti.
-  * Clothing: There are numerous outfits that appear to be traveling attire or black working suits designed for Fadheela's humanoid torso.  However some of the outfits include pants or other leggings that clearly would not fit her.
+  * Clothing: There are numerous outfits that appear to be traveling attire or black working suits designed for [[Fadheela]]'s humanoid torso.  However some of the outfits include pants or other leggings that clearly would not fit her.
-  * Stone Chest containing 412 pp.((As written in the adventure, this chest also contained three vials of viscous oil which functioned as oil of //stone to flesh// -- However, since VW made such light of the predictability of pre-fab adventures, I've decided to take his advice and remove this from the treasure list.  You're welcome.))
+  * Stone Chest containing 412 pp.((As written in the adventure, this chest also contained three vials of viscous oil which functioned as oil of //stone to flesh// -- However, since this is nearly ridiculous (and VW made light of just such a cliché), I've decided to remove this from the treasure list.))
-  * //Field Provisions Box// -- This stone box is carved with runes denoting abundance.  When activated, a field provisions box produces a full day's sustenance for up to fifteen humans or five horses. It functions once per day.  Price: 2,000 gp.((You may assume you discover this one's function without requiring an Identify))
+  * //Field Provisions Box// -- This stone box is carved with runes denoting abundance.  When activated, a field provisions box produces a full day's sustenance for up to fifteen humans or five horses. It functions once per day.  Price: 2,000 gp.((You discover this one's function without requiring an Identify))
-  * //Banrhialorg//((Anyone speak "Celestial"?)) -- A finely tapered staff of ash wood shod with unblemished gold on its foot and a golden draconic head with sapphire eyes and a ruby tongue on its top.  Close examination reveals that the faint lines and veins in the wood form a sequence of arcane runes that repeat down the staff's length.  Masterwork quarterstaff that also functions as a lesser metamagic rod of "Extend Spell".((No Identify is required for this information -- including its name.  When Ketamine (and //only// Ketamine) grasps the staff, the golden head's sapphire eyes flash with lightning and its tongue burns with fire, shedding light like a candle.  She can suppress this display as a free action, but it returns when she picks up the staff anew.))
+  * //[[Banrhialorg]]//((Anyone speak "Celestial"?)) -- A finely tapered staff of ash wood shod with unblemished gold on its foot and a golden draconic head with sapphire eyes and a ruby tongue on its top.  Close examination reveals that the faint lines and veins in the wood form a sequence of arcane runes that repeat down the staff's length.  Masterwork quarterstaff that also functions as a lesser metamagic rod of "Extend Spell".((When Ketamine (and //only// Ketamine) grasps the staff, the golden head's sapphire eyes flash with lightning and its tongue burns with fire, shedding light like a candle.  She can suppress this display as a free action, but it returns when she picks up the staff anew.))
-**On Fadheela herself, the party finds:**
+**On [[Fadheela]] herself, the party finds:**
+  * //Obsidian Ring// -- This ring has a skull glyph carved inside its loop.  It allows the wearer to bypasses the trap in S2 and control the (now destroyed) bloodhulk fighter. **//(given to Es Sarch?)//**
-  * //Obsidian Ring// -- This ring has a skull glyph carved inside its loop.
+  * //Snake Key// -- This small gold rod has a head showing an opened, fanged mouth about to close over a blue agate that resembles a globe.  It activates a gate made of electricity (and is worth 200 gp).
-  * //Snake Key// -- This small gold rod has a head showing an opened, fanged mouth about to close over a blue agate that resembles a globe.
   * //Potion of Cure Moderate Wounds//
-  * //+1 studded leather//
+  * //+1 studded leather// **//(sold)//**
-  * //+1 buckler//
+  * //+1 buckler// **//(sold)//**
-  * //+1 shortbow//
+  * //+1 shortbow// **//(sold)//**
   * 15 poisoned arrows
   * Key to Storage Room
-Finally, Fadheela's lair has a functional Gargoyle Sink.  That, along with the
+**Additional treasure adjustments:**
-Field Provisions Box and the nearby lavatory means that a large group could live
+  * Cost for eight //Identify// spells: 880 gp
-here for an indefinite time.
+  * Cost for seven //Break Enchantment// spells: 3,150 gp //(see below)//
+  * **Net**: 535 gp for each of the seven characters
+Finally, [[Fadheela]]'s lair has a functional Gargoyle Sink.  That, along with
+the Field Provisions Box and the nearby lavatory means that a large group could
+live here for an indefinite time.
+Since [[Fadheela]] was not killed outright, the party opts to keep her alive
+(with a bag over her head) while they question her -- as follows:
+== ==
+**Why does Xeron want the bones?**
+//Heh.  Ask him yourself, if you wish.  He's in my museum.  You passed him on
+the way in.//
+//His job was to find the bones and the weapons and deliver them to me.  I was
+to then pass them on to the Vanguard.  But the fool showed up without all the
+pieces, claiming he was being pursued.//
+//I sent the bones and two of the items along, but kept one as protection
+against reprisal.  I will NOT be punished for the incompetence of that fool!//
+**What is your role in the House of the Circlet?**
+//The House is for the purebloods.  They like to think they serve a greater
+role, but in reality they only serve the Vanguard as liaison to the cattle.//
+**What does the House want? What is their next move?**
+//To build a new Serpent Kingdom, of course.  Their next move is to await the
+dawn of Sertrous.//
+**What do you know about [[Mosargrax]]?**
+//Very little.  She was dealt with decades ago.//
+**What is the Vanguard of Sertrous?**
+//Your future rulers.//
+**Where are you from?**
+//I am from the south - near what the cattle call [["Arela"]].  But my form made
+me an outcast, so I moved to the frontier to help with the migration.//
+**Who is/was the winged creature in the entry? Who are the rest?**
+//You like my trophies?  They are all fools who tried to oppose me.  You would
+be there, too, if circumstances were different.//
+**Why does the vanguard want the bones?**
+//To rule the world.//
+**What items were sent to the vanguard, and which did you withhold? What pieces
+were missing?**
+//That fool Xeron never found the sword.  And I kept the staff for myself.//
+**How can your victims be returned to flesh?**
+//Why would you want to do that?  Perhaps their natural state is stone?//
+**Who, or what, exactly is Sertrous?**
+//He is the Slumbering Serpent who feeds on the souls of the weak.  He walks in
+nightmares and brings madness to the chosen.  Soon, he will wake and lead my
+people to dominion over all the races of the world.//
+//Or at least that's what they say.  I, of course, won't be there to see it.//
+//I think it is time you sent me home.//
+==== ====
+With that, the party determined they had retrieved all they could from
+[[Fadheela]], so they executed her.
+The four //"survivors"// then descended the spire and returned to the Dripstone
+Inn, leaving the three petrified characters behind.  There, they discuss their
+adventure with Es Sarch and ask him to help fill in some of the gaps in their
+understanding.
+== ==
+**Do you know of any other agents of Sertrous, or members of the Vanguard, in
+town right now?**
+//Until you arrived, I had never heard of this group.  Since then, I have tried
+to glean as much information as I can -- but have found essentially nothing.//
+//My suspicion is that [[Fadheela]] was a lone agent working for this "Vanguard"
+group.  Whether she was sent here or whether they recruited her after she
+arrived in Pedestal is something we may never know.//
+//I was able to learn, though, who "Sertrous" is.  He is a demon lord revered by
+a small cult of snakemen.  Unlike "normal" demon lords, though, Sertrous
+allegedly lives on the material plane - though he has been asleep for
+millennia.//
+**Does you know who the Medusa's victims might be? The winged one, in
+particular?**
+//Again, this is an area where you have more information than I.  Despite all my
+contacts, I have *never* heard of a Celestial being in Pedestal. Perhaps it was
+a spellcaster caught in an alternate form?//
+**Do you know of someone who can de-stone the winged one and our friends? (And
+we need it as cheaply as possible.)**
+//The only spellcasters in Pedestal capable of performing this spell would be
+the drow clerics - and I **strongly** advise against approaching them.//
+//First, they care nothing about you and would charge far too much. Second, they
+have a special hatred for surface elves, so could not be persuaded to help your
+friend, Yosi - at any cost.  Third, they claim the Necromancer's Spire as their
+own.  To learn than you had infiltrated the place (killing their guards in the
+process, I presume) would be a "deal-breaker".//
+//However, there is an alternative.  If you can be patient, I can send word to a
+colleague who lives far to the north.  While she is still a drow, she has turned
+from the way of [[Lolth]] and embraced the goddess [[Eilistraee]].  It seems
+that two years ago, her enclave suffered some sort of calamity.  Most were
+asphyxiated - but she (and a few others) survived.//
+//She has been most helpful to me in the past.  I can get word to her in a day,
+but even if she agrees to help, it will take her at least a week to make the
+journey.//
+==== ====
+=== 20 September 1111 ===
+And so begins the long, uncomfortable wait in Pedestal...
+While the party waits, they find a spellcaster willing to cast //Comprehend
+Languages// on the [[fadheela_scrolls|three Yuan-Ti scrolls found in Fadheela's
+quarters]].
+=== 8 October 1111 ===
+Finally, after nearly three weeks, [[Banaud'a]], a drow cleric to [[Eilistraee]]
+arrives in Pedestal.  She turns out to be quite unlike any drow the party has
+seen so far and is not only able to help, but is also //willing// to help.
+Of course, she still expects to be paid for her services -- and since the spell
+required((//[[http://www.d20srd.org/srd/spells/breakEnchantment.htm|Break
+Enchantment]]//)) is a powerful spell, she can only cast three per day.  On her
+first day, she successfully revives the "angelic being", who turns out to be a
+male Drow Half-Celestial named "Sh'honale".  Despite her promises of further
+assistance, [[Banaud'a]] ignores the party for the remainder of the day to learn
+all she can from this strange creature.
+=== 9 October 1111 ===
+[[Banaud'a]] uses all three of her spells to cure [[Freyrik]].
+=== 10 October 1111 ===
+[[Banaud'a]] cures [[Líkami]] and [[Yosi]].
+The party is (at last) whole and reunited!
 ^ # ^ Challenge ^  CR  ^
-| 1 | Shardcaster  |  7 |
+| 1 | Shardcaster  |  7  |
-| 2 | Glass Spiders  |  3 |
+| 2 | Glass Spiders  |  3  |
-| 1 | Voidwraith  |  6 |
+| 1 | Voidwraith  |  6  |
 | 2 | Fevers (Fire Necromentals)  |  4  |
 | 1 | Bestow Curse Trap  |  5  |
-| 1 | Fadheela (Medusa/Yuan-Ti Halfblood)  |  8  |
+| 1 | [[Fadheela]] (Medusa/Yuan-Ti Halfblood)  |  8  |
 | 1 | Bloodhulk Fighter  |  4  |
-| 4 | Grimlocks  | 1 |
+| 4 | Grimlocks  |  1  |
 ^ ^ Total XP (each) ^  2,060<sup>6</sup>\\ 2,420<sup>5</sup>  ^
+[[v2session18|(Previous Session)]] [[v2#session_notes|(Back to V2 Index)]] [[v2session20|(Next Session)]]