Zilean's Revenge (Part 3)

I'll go with A, then D:. It doesn't really matter XD.

Aww, no slumber party.

I'll take E.

Rolling Perception...9 (1d20) + 7 = 16.
If Sharp Eyes applies, it's 19.

Inspecting their rooms, everyone finds some basic (if crude) hygiene supplies within the chests (the chests were locked, but the keys in the locks easily opened them). Rolf, Skitter and Horizon notice that mice appear to be scuttling about their rooms, hiding behind or under the furniture and squeezing under the doors. There doesn't appear to be anything dangerous in the rooms... for now.

*Extended Rest, and absolutely nothing else of note, happens*

Skitter and Zthulan are awoken by the sound of a bell ringing.

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If anyone wanted to do anything else before resting happened, let me know.

Immediately jumping out of bed the shaman stumbles his way to get dressed. Knowing that any delay could be disastrous. In short order Zthulan gathers his clothes, spear, and Koras and heads over to the main room.

Skitter awakens with a groan, gets quickly dressed, and trudges out to see what's going on.

Hey guys. Guess what today is guys.

We've been playing for 1 whole YEAR! Congratulations to us, for in that time we have successfully completed an entire day in game. Here's to us.

One day down, who knows how many more to go! Better hold on to those X/day abilities!   

Also, that is a really freaky coincidence - I honestly didn't even know we started exactly year ago.

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Nothing appears to have changed, with the exception of the piping, which has another message in it:

Scouts came back with reports. The explosion area is buzzing with activity. Defenses are being built, spells are being cast, and the cultists are transferring supplies from somewhere else. They're trying to entrench themselves. What is assumed to be Zilean is barking orders into the night, loud enough for the entire square to hear, but he has yet to be seen. There is some sort of protective spell encompassing the central construction. Whatever is inside appears to be important, but it is impossible to see within its bounds. Most of the forces in the camp appear to be cultists, either armed with thug weaponry, or casters, bolstered with a few basic undead forces: skeletons and zombies. The area surrounding the camp appears to be relatively bare of any undead or cultists.

Your mission is to infiltrate, disrupting as much of the encampment as you can in the process, and investigate what is being protected in that central building. If you discover any immediate, major threats, hinder or stop them to the best of your abilities. Avoid direct engagements with the lich if possible. If the mission allows it, intervene with the supplies being sent to the encampment, or try to track their source. Leave discreetly, and return in kind. Send a message with a report when you return.

P.S: Your new colleague, Rabiah, won't be assisting you with this mission -  she is the one that provided a majority of the information on the camp, and the scouting assignment left her far too exhausted. Her wings and natural scouting abilities serve as a unique advantage to us, one that Zilean's forces lack, and one that we badly need. She'll likely be serving as an early-warning system - if any more cultist forces try to scale the buildings or launch a coordinated attack, we'll know about it.

With good fortune
D.

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Since you still need an "assistant boon" for the mission: Do you want a "Broom Golem" assistant (made by Rolf, can be easily assembled/disassembled from clutter objects), a "scrying mirror" to keep you in contact with Nester/Damiana, or assume that Koras or Rolf's Hotness Fire Elemental are the assistants?

Skitter looks over the note, notes that not everyone is even awake yet, and skitters off to take a quick shower before anyone can think to stop him.

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Well, quite a few of us (everyone except Horizon really) have the excuse to summon things really. Like I said before, I think it'd be most interesting just to have us summon different things IC wise that just happen to have the same mechanics.

Well, you can only have one chosen utility and one boosted skill, so if they're different creatures each time, the flavoring can get weird when they do nonsensical abilities. That, and the whole group requirement / only one assistant limitation. And I can't make the assistant an expendable/immortal/easily replaced lackey, obviously, for the same reasons familiars give exp penalties when "killed".

Besides, you have to select its stuff first - let it's skills and abilities decide what it is. Everyone vote/suggest a skill to boost to 15 for the assistant, and its two utilities. Like this:

Skill: [skill]
Utility talents: [talent1], [talent2]

Except Assistants don't give xp penalties when killed in this system, so that's a non-argument. I guess I can see why you wouldn't want us to treat it as expendable but, honestly, if we're in a situation that's useful to do so.... we probably would anyway. I don't think any of us would expect you to let us summon things that wouldn't match with the mechanics we decide on.

Anyway, my vote for the mechanics is...

Skill: Athletics
Utility talents: Telepathy, Spectral Battering Ram

Edit: While the Broom Golem itself isn't an idea I'm opposed to, I don't really want to do that because we seriously already have enough "Rolf is the main character" stuff going on.

Here's an idea, how about the guy Zthulan and Jer healed (Johnny was it?) as an assistant? Damiana could send him due to his newfound strength and his combat experience.

Assistant: Johnny (Walker because that's a pun, see? Because he was going to lose his leg? I'll shut up now? I'll shut up.)
Skill: Athletics
Talents:
Physical Prowess - 2/Day
On your next Athletics or Acrobatics check, you may roll 3d10 instead of 1d20 and take the total value of the three dice.
Gotcha! – 3/Day
Gain a +10 bonus to skill check made to physically restrain a character or object.

This is based on just flavour stuff, because I'm sure there are more useful talents we could want.

I was a fan of the everyone summons stuff thing- to which Horizon may or may not be able to contribute in the near future (read, in like another year or so probably). Koras- who is always present, would only be slightly confined by this, but it isn't like he's being used in any seriously conflicting ways thus far. The Sex Demon only gets summoned in combat, so having her pop up outside for this wouldn't matter. The rest of us can come up with something out of what we have, and there's nothing saying they can't all have identical mechanics, as long as we spice up the flavoring to make it fit.

Also, remind me to have Horizon read that note and point out how very much bullshit it is. Because wow, that's some bullshit.

Giving the note the quick once over, Zthulan heads over to the hallway.  "Guys, wake up.  It's showtime!"

Horizon quite pointedly rolls over and ignores him. Because sleeeeeeeep. The war outside could wait another 15 minutes...

"You'll wear a leotard, and you'll like it!" Jeraylia exclaimed suddenly, sitting up from her nap. She blinked a few times, and then hollered. "I'll be out in a sec!"

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Been taking first post for the last few pages :O.

Rolf groggily gets up, gets dressed, then steps out of his room. "Huh, at last a morning where I don't have to worry about potentially climbing ten flights of stairs." He then takes a look at the note. "...Of course, most mornings I'm not asked to infiltrate a heavily defended enemy stronghold and figure out what monstrosities they're planning....Yeah, I think I prefer the threat of stairs".

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Thought of a better way for us to get an assistant without "character monopoly." I propose that we find/are provided a mining golem. Its primary function is to do physical labor, but it also has telepathy in order to communicate with other miners in case of cave-ins....Just a thought.

It could be a bone golem and completely confuse friends and foes alike. =P

Anyone heard from Zarhon, lately? I'm getting a little worried. Hopefully he's just taking his time.

He had a super big important exam to take today (or whenever, Monday his time), so he's been studying and resting in preparation for that. He should be back in short order.

I was kinda waiting on one of you to actually do things / take initiative (whether it be mission related or your shelter related).  That, and the big exam, as Brony said.

As far as golem/assistant stuff goes, mining golem seems a bit off, mostly because it seems like something that's clunky to travel with, unless it can be made "portable" somehow. That, and it's a bit weird that it wouldn't "fight" with you in combat.

As decided by popular vote, athletics will be the skill of choice, so a "strong" assistant will do.

Hmmm... How about Rolf's cloak? It could easily do the utility roles of physical prowess / gotcha! / spectral battering ram and/or telepathy (that one is a bit of a stretch depending on how you spin it).

Make a decision between those four utilities, by the way, unless you've got other suggestions.

I did do something shelter related though.

The more I think about it, the less useful Spectral Battering Ram seems in combination with Athletics (as it'd just be a +5 bonus for our assistant). So, I'm switching that second suggestion to Spectral Steeds.

I'm not sure how you see Rolf's cloak as any better than the broom golem. Is there something wrong with us just finding a summoning ritual for something in here?

Well, the cloak is inconspicuous and much simpler to carry around, plus one can assume "rubber cartoon hand physics" when it comes to manipulation.

And a summoning book would work as well... But you'd have to find one. Any preference or idea of what to "summon" with that in mind?

And that's not quite the "initiative" I was thinking of, but okay.

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Whilst Skitter's height, compared to that of the water-pillar, certainly makes him best suited to try showering with it, it still proves somewhat difficult to do due to the slow trickling of the water. It proves much simpler to simply bathe inside of the pillar as if it were a one-humanoid-sized pool. As he submerges in it, he notices that the pillar's opening extends very deep - almost the depth of an actual swimming pool. It appears to be cut out of natural rock near the bottom, and the opening turns at a diagonal angle downwards, to who-knows-where.

Skitter, not having bathed in quite a while now, decides to take his time and thoroughly scrub and soap himself until he's sure he's gotten the grime out from under his scales. When he's done he finds something to dry off with and then dresses. (And I'm just gonna stop there as I figure people did stuff during that.)

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I did search for stuff, specifically books, just before they went to sleep. I don't know why you're "hinting" for me to take actions I already took.

I'm not entirely sure how this would explain Telepathy but, we could summon an air elemental. Or something weirder like a child umberhulk psion. =P

Horizon continues to doze...

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Did you try searching for the right ashes in the fireplace, and then reforming the ashes into the page with the transformation spell on it? Because that was obviously the hint.