[Collective Game] WRATH OF THE RAIN MAKER

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Avoraciopoctules
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[Collective Game] WRATH OF THE RAIN MAKER

Post by Avoraciopoctules »

The Empire of Jormunga: Eyes in the Sky
http://www.tgdmb.com/viewtopic.php?p=302195
Lay of the Land:
Jormunga is a land of rocky hills and open, arid plains. Periods of rainfall are short and intense, often resulting in flash floods. Trees root themselves deeply into the earth, to catch every possible bit of moisture and resist being washed away. Forests of trees are rare, but cacti and flowering shrubs are common. Many predatory monsters can fly, taking advantage of the open spaces without much ground cover. Near rivers, farmers have terraced the hillsides for rice growing.

Major Cities:
Capital City
Industrial city
Ashaq’s Peak wyvern breeders

Economics:
Much of Jormunga’s wealth comes in the form of livestock. Herds of domesticated buffalo are

Law & Order:

Government:
Since the conquering Orc Lords forged Jormunga out of disparate nomad tribes and farming communities, the warrior-aristocrats have kept a tight grip on power.
A monarchy
{This is a Collective Game. There are no set players, anyone may offer suggestions for what the protagonist(s) do. Rules behind the scenes are Pathfinder with a copious serving of Magical Tea Party}

Mictlan, the Middle Era

The state of Mictlan is turning from the barbarism of the past. Stepped temples no longer run red with the blood of unwilling sacrifices. With the defeat of the Smoking Mirror by Quetzalcoatl, the Feathered Serpent, great edicts have been put forth limiting how the ancient tribal empire's people may propitiate the blood-hungry teotls they worship. Slaves have been guaranteed rights, and trade with neighboring states is beginning to boom. Some holdouts still cling to the old ways, but more and more are coming to see the benefits of peace.

It is a time of prosperity and innovation.
Image
Recent times have brought new troubles. Priests from far-off lands spread dissent among the people, using their new freedoms to call the teotls demons. Monsters stir from within the deep jungle, preying upon lone travelers and isolated villages. A few neighbors seek redress for past ravages of Mictlan's raiding armies, rattling sabers at the possible weakness this turn inwards hints at.

And now, a terror comes from the skies.
Image
In the Capital, the temple of Tlaloc (teotl of rain, fertility, and water) erupts with mystical power. Daggers of sharpened ice begin to plummet from the heavens, slicing exposed humans and livestock to ribbons. A thunderous voice booms out in the chaos, proclaiming that he, Grand Master Baviere, has taken over the temple and will raze the capital to the ground unless his demands are met. Nobody seems to be sure exactly what these demands are, though Baviere does go on to rant about how this is justice, and he is punishing Mictlan for its many sins.

As Mictlan's military is mobilized, the soldiers find that a host of ice elementals pours forth from the temple's entrance to hold them off. Like all great temples, a spell of Forbiddance wards off most extraplanar incursions, and the vicious weather makes an arial assault impractical. It is at this moment that one of Mictlan's repressed blood cults makes an overture to the reigning sky priests. The number of people that will die in the streets if this continues is unacceptable, and they have long guarded knowledge of a secret path into Tlaloc's house. This magic doorway will take one person to the heart of the treachery, right past the spell of Forbiddance. If a hero is skilled and lucky, perhaps it is possible to stop the insane "Grand Master" now, before more people die. After quick negotiation, an adventurer who sides with neither faction is settled on as the champion of Mictlan in this matter.
Image
You, hero, are the only one who can stop Mictlan from being plunged back into the Dark Ages! Who are you? Do you have what it takes to stand against the Wrath of the Rain Maker?

1. Lamia Matriarch: A daughter of the Mother of Monsters, skilled with sword and sorcery
2. Efreet: A shapeshifting giant born of smokeless fire, capable of granting mortal wishes and wielding flame magic
3. Erinyes: An infernal, magic-resistant archer with the power to teleport and see through illusions.
{Also, feel free to ask any questions that might come up. If you want more background details, let me know}
Last edited by Avoraciopoctules on Sun Jul 06, 2014 12:23 am, edited 1 time in total.
radthemad4
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Post by radthemad4 »

Do we pick one character, or do control have a party consisting of those three? Are we going to do some sort of voting thing to decide on what action to take? Do we pick starting equipment? Will we choose what classes to advance in later on?
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

{Vote for 1 character. Once you have a chassis chosen, other decisions will come up.

You may acquire other party members later on. But you're probably only going to end up controlling one CR 8 monster from this list.

Yes, you are doing some sort of voting thing to decide what the main character does.}

EDIT: {as for class advancement, I'll probably offer a list of 3 choices when you level up but you are welcome to write-in vote a different option if you want.}
Last edited by Avoraciopoctules on Tue Jun 03, 2014 12:47 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by radthemad4 »

I vote Lamia Matriarch.

Lamia Matriarch seems to be the most versatile and can also be advanced with sorcerer levels. Will higher level cleric spells be available if advanced as a sorcerer?
Last edited by radthemad4 on Thu Jun 05, 2014 11:02 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Nebuchadnezzar »

I'm writing up something for a collective game right now, and am happy to see a non-gamebook example here (which I am also happy to see).

I vote for lamia matriarch, doubly so if later cleric spell access is available.
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Post by Dean »

Lamia Matriarch is a sexy good class chassis. Cleric spell access is available to her intrinsically and we can advance her by basically any good gish class that's available. Things like Abjurant Champion work wonders with her. Anyway she's my vote.
DSMatticus wrote:Fuck you, fuck you, fuck you, fuck you. I am filled with an unfathomable hatred.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

{Yes, you will gain access to more clerical spells later.}

You are a Lamia Matriarch, and that means you are a total fucking badass. In addition to being able to cast arcane magic mixed in with tricks only priests can usually access, you have an entirely separate grab-bag of souped-up Jedi mind tricks. And, of course, you are a half-human half-snake who can take a ballista bolt without flinching, use your long tail to aid in swimming or climbing and cut fools up with your 2 mildly magical swords. It's no surprise that you, out of all the unaligned adventurers in the Capital, were asked to take on the mission.

GRAND MARKET:
The sky is dark, and an unnatural chill hangs in the normally sweltering air. The sun-browned Mictlan warriors that flank you on either side shiver in their armor of layered cotton and copper scales. You can smell their fear. Still, these humans hang on to the poles holding up your hastily-constructed mantlet with admirable tenacity. It seems that in the lulls between the most intense downpours, a few inches of wood between you and the sky should be sufficient protection.

Throughout the great market square before you are wrecked market stalls and crumpled bodies, all encrusted with a layer of rime. The magical doorway into Tlaloc's house should be embedded in the monument at the heart of the market, but it looks like getting there may pose a problem. Suddenly, the priest in front of you stops short, gesturing for the party to halt before turning around. METZLI, a Sky Priest, has sight as keen as a bird of prey.

"I saw movement around the great monument. Great bat-winged lizards the same color as the ice around them. They don't seem bothered by the tempest at all" Another of your companions spits on the ground. "Frost Drakes. I've read about the creatures, but this is no place for them. We can only assume they are part of Tlaloc's curse. I've heard the monsters are greedy, stupid, and foul-tempered." ACATL is a Sun Priest, and also the blood cultist who can open the door.

HUETZAL, the Eagle Knight commanding your soldiers, looks troubled. "If these monsters attack us while we head for the cover of the monument, it will be bad. None of the warriors can defend themselves while they're busy shielding us from the storm. We need some kind of plan."

[out of time, will expand on choices later today. Feel free to ask questions in the meantime.]
Last edited by Avoraciopoctules on Thu Jun 05, 2014 6:22 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by radthemad4 »

What time of day is it? Any equipment besides two scimitars? Can we choose a different list of spells known?

My suggestions:

*Roll Knowledge to find out class, levels, and details about other party members.

*Possibly ask the party members to wait for further instructions, then cast invisibility and scout ahead (at will mage hand and ghost sound could be useful as distractions, or instructions to party members).
Last edited by radthemad4 on Thu Jun 05, 2014 7:06 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

{At the moment, you are mostly a standard Lamia Matriarch. You may vote to swap out 1 spell of level 2, and 2 spells of level 1. Furthermore, you will be able to shuffle spells known around when you level.

You must choose a Knowledge skill in addition to Arcana.

I'll roll up some semi-random treasure}

[Inventory]
2 +1 Scimitars
Backpack
- Silk rope, 50 feet
- 4 days Rations (perishable)
- engraved silver smoking pipe
- opium, 3 doses
- blue lotus, 4 doses
- cinnamon, 5 doses
- crushed coca leaf, 3 doses
- harmal seeds, 2 doses
- nutmeg, 1 dose
Sack
- Potion of Water Breathing, 1
- Scroll of Speak With Plants, 1
- uncut topaz, 1
- finely cut amethyst, 1
- uncut diamond, 2
- noble's outfit (includes signet ring and jewelry)

It is about 2 hours after noon, when your clerics prepared their spells. At your disposal are METZLI, ACATL, HUETZAL (Fighter 4/Eagle Knight 2), and a dozen soldiers (Warrior 3).

[Arcana] Both of your priests are level 5 Theosophist Clerics, METZLI can fly, call lightning from the sky, and manipulate wind. ACATL can shoot fireballs, ward people from energy damage, and blind enemies with rays of light. Both can bless your warriors to improve combat effectiveness, heal injuries, and attempt to divine the future. HUETZAL has some kind of holy powers connected to his ceremonial feather cloak.

Advancing by yourself would certainly make it easier to avoid notice, but it would expose you to the rain of icy needles from the sky. The ground is slippery, and sometime choked with obstacles. METZLI counts 3 frost drakes in the market square. None are flying, and two are ransacking some of the wrecked merchant's stalls. The last is perched midway up the monument, chewing on a half-frozen body. ACATL stops to confer with HUETZAL for a moment. After a little debate, they indicate your forces could probably overwhelm a single drake. Fighting all 3 at once would be a very bad idea.
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Post by radthemad4 »

We've got a healer so perhaps we should swap out Cure Light Wounds. And possibly Divine Favor as well. And Death Knell. For what, I'm guessing someone with more Pathfinder knowledge than me should chime in.

I think Knowledge Religion could be useful in the scenario.

Ambushing the sole Drake sounds reasonable. Lamia Matriarchs can speak Draconic, so perhaps we should Charm Monster, interview it and then politely ask it to move away far enough so it doesn't see us attacking its friends.
Last edited by radthemad4 on Thu Jun 05, 2014 10:12 pm, edited 2 times in total.
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Post by radthemad4 »

Since we've got two caster clerics tagging along, I vote to embrace the gish. Swap Cure Light Wounds for Expeditious Retreat, Divine Favor for Enlarge person, and Death Knell for Bull's Strength.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

{There's an update under this area map.}

Image

{Your spells known are now:
3rd (4/day)—Haste
2nd (6/day)—Bull's Strength, Invisibility
1st (8/day)—Enlarge Person, Expeditious Retreat, Mage Armor, Magic Missile
0 (at will)—Dancing Lights, Daze (DC 15), Detect Magic, Ghost Sound (DC 15), Mage Hand, Mending, Prestidigitation

You have ranks in Knowledge: Religion}

You instruct your soldiers to stay back and guard the priests while you go ahead and deal with the closest drake. METZLI and ACATL cast protective spells upon you, and then you quickly slither out from cover, scattering debris with your coils as you advance northwest. Icy needles sting your exposed skin, but the damage is minimal for now.

[Perception, Initiative] The drake spots you around the same time that you get enough visibility through the storm to enchant it. Blue light shines through its teeth as it flutters around and prepares to blast you, but then you smile and whisper a few words of power.

[Success] "What are you, snake-thing!? When I look at you, the hatred pulsing in my head seems to recede." The lesser dragon's hostility seems to be gone. With a beat of its wings, the drake clears a wrecked vendor's stall and sets down on the street a little closer to you. At this distance, you notice that the ice daggers pouring from the sky actually curve around the drake to avoid impacting it.
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Post by radthemad4 »

OoC: On second thought, I think I'd prefer Glitterdust over Bull's Strength.

Perhaps some lighthearted conversation about say, the weather is in order.

"I am simply a tourist. I enjoy visiting far off lands and seeing what strangeness the world has to offer. The weather here is particularly curious. Does it often rain icy shards around here? Oh, sorry, I forgot to ask. Are you from around here? Also, why is it, that the shards of ice are going around you?"
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

The drake moves closer and holds a wing up so that the tempest stops striking you. If someone was in sword range, they'd probably be safe as well.

"My brethren and I come from a mountain 3 days flight from here, snake-thing. We normally avoid humanoid cities, for their arrows are sharp and their treasure well-protected. But a strange thing drew us here.

We saw a great storm building, and the moment we laid eyes upon it our hearts knew that we had to join the tempest. Its hatred for the people here infects us, and every time I see a human I can't help but want to tear it apart. The loot has been good, but I am worried that the witches of this stone heap will turn their magic against us soon. And yet, I cannot seem to find the will to leave.

Beware, snake-thing! I have heard legends of great living blizzards before. If you have ice in your soul, leave before it makes you its tool as well!"
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Post by radthemad4 »

Knowledge Arcana Check on living blizzards.

Do Metzli or Acatl have Protection from Evil prepared?
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

[Religion] Tlaloc is a god of rain, fertility, and water. Though he is capable of commanding or creating hailstorms, this arctic onslaught doesn't really seem his style. Generally Tlaloc shows anger by unleashing plagues, transforming major rivers, or maybe sending ahuizotl minions to drown an offender.

[Arcana] This storm is powerful ritual magic. It is held together by one or more magical anchors, and you are fairly sure that all of them are located inside Tlaloc's temple. There is probably a single load-bearing caster directing the magic, and they'll have to stay near the ritual site. However, if this master ritualist can truly influence monsters like the frost drakes, it is likely that they surrounded themselves with guardians within the temple.

[Spellcraft] If you have the Cold subtype, you will not take damage from the blizzard. However, you will be targeted by a Mind-Affecting effect at various periods.

METZLI has a single casting of Protection from Evil prepared. However, if this drake speaks the truth, it will be compelled to attack Metzli as soon as it has line of sight. Fortunately, this blizzard doesn't seem to count for the purposes of the drake's Snow Vision, and none of the 3 have yet spotted your soldiers.
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Post by radthemad4 »

"Thank you for sheltering me. So you are not in full control of yourself at the moment? Are you compelled to hate humans only, or does your hatred extend towards all humanoids?"

Can I use Major Image as a Disguise Other spell on Metzli?

Knowledge Check: What creatures and humanoids are Frost Drakes friendly with or at least tolerant of?
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

The drake is somewhat confused by your question. It isn't sure what the exact differences are between medium-sized humanoid races. Humans, elves, and orcs are basically the same to it. Maybe it has attacked multiple races? It certainly killed people with different skin colors.

[Arcana] Frost drakes live in snowy but survivable mountains, where they can use their Snow Vision and Freezing Mist Breath both effectively. The creatures love treasure and meat, and neighbors who can willingly provide them with both can generally form an alliance. Frost Giants see drakes as white dragons that don't become unmanageable as they age, and a few mages and druids of the snowy heights have developed magic to aid in winning the friendship or service of frost drakes.

[Spellcraft]This storm may be intelligent, but it isn't a micromanaging supercomputer. Odds are, it either triggers feelings of rage and hostility towards creatures without the Cold subtype or it just triggers hostility toward people the drake associates with the city it was called help destroy.

It would be possible to disguise METZLI as someone or something else, but you would have to concentrate on the spell to move it along with him.

Now that you have spent some time speaking with your charmed drake, you notice that it keeps glancing towards its counterpart perched on the monument. "I'm not sure how KRIKSAZN will react to you, snake-thing. She is the strongest of us, and claims to feel the storm's voice more clearly. Beware if you seek to find a way inside the stone tower, KRIKSAZN already slaughtered some human priests when they tried a ritual spell inside."
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Post by radthemad4 »

Yeah, it makes sense for all humanoids to look identical to it, as we're often guilty of the same thing when it comes to foreign cultures.

Getting Metzli to cast protection from evil might break its hold, but the leader might just order it to stick around. Trying the same trick on the leader may not work if it has a higher will save, the roll is crappy, or if it's just more belligerent by nature.

Knowledge checks: What's significance of the tower? What could the priests have been trying in there?

Also, what other spells do the priests have?
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

[Arcana] Both of your priests are level 5 Theosophist Clerics, METZLI can fly, call lightning from the sky, and manipulate wind. ACATL can shoot fireballs, ward people from energy damage, and blind enemies with rays of light. Both can bless your warriors to improve combat effectiveness, heal injuries, and attempt to divine the future. HUETZAL has some kind of holy powers connected to his ceremonial feather cloak.
The priests have not volunteered their full prepared spell lists, but those are the basics. METZLI turns out to have the same Resist Energy prepared as ACATL, and both of them have Bless prepared (it triggers special bonuses on HUEZAL). ACATL has prepared 2 healing spells, since he channels negative energy.

[Religion] The Grand Monument is a relic of Tezcatlipoca's time. It is a massive rectangular obelisk of dark stone engraved with the names of all the people sacrificed during a particular Priest-King's reign. 4 staircases lead into a few hollowed-out chambers within, the walls filled with great engravings and paintings depicting the priest-king's achievements. Normally lit by guttering torches, the structure is presently pitch-black inside. Perhaps the drakes extinguished the light when they were inside.

Perhaps the priests of Tezcatlipoca, pre-eminent during this period, decided to hide some useful magics within the spells of maintenance and protection from vandals. In your case, they've disclosed the existence of a magical door perfect for sneaking an assassin into the house of one of their religious rivals. The fact that the route collapses after one person uses it is perfect for giving some plausible deniability.

Perhaps the priests who were here before knew of some other doors, routes to hiding places or hidden treasure. Maybe they were looking for safety, or to unearth weapons that might aid in the fight against the blizzard-monsters. Then again, maybe they were just intended to secure the place before you and your escort got here, to keep monster attacks from slowing you down.
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Post by radthemad4 »

Since I've got CL 12 on Major Image, could I use the ridiculous 130 ft area to disguise everyone as ice elementals and then claim to have been drawn here by the storm? If one of the clerics has Detect Thoughts, that would be awesome as we could get the exact instructions the storm is giving, though we might be able to bluff our way through without it.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

[MAJOR IMAGE] It occurs to you that a little of the old lamia razzle-dazzle could probably circumvent a fight here, especially if the other two drakes keep flubbing their Perception rolls. A quick test is in order. With a wave of your hand, you summon illusions of a dog, a Mictlanese citizen, a frost troll, and an ice elemental. The immediate response is “Rawr! Destroy!” to all but the ice elemental, but when the troll goes “Bro! Chill! Imma frost troll.” in astonishingly smooth Draconic the drake pulls back from its bite apologetically.

Conclusion: the blizzard's mind-control is limited by the intelligence and perception of the creatures it manipulates. And this drake isn't the sharpest icicle on the ceiling, if you catch my drift. You ask the drake to close its eyes while it follows you back towards your forces, and modify your illusion once you get near them. Your scaly companion boggles a bit when you tell it that it can look now.

“ 'kay, here's the story. My friends and I are all Evil Snowmen. We're here to take over whatserface's guard over the big stone thing. That way she can fly free and pillage to her heart's content. I hear the big temples have heaps of shiny gold just waiting to be stuffed into bags.” You pause a moment and regard your new legion of thermally-masked, carrot-nosed soldiers. “Still needs something.” With a waggle of your fingers, everyone now sports a sinister goatee of icycles. “Perfect”

Bored, friendly, and not too fond of the bossy frost drake alpha,, your charmed drake agrees to support the plan in exchange for one of the pouches of gold METZLI is carrying. [BLUFF]The other two drakes are a little suspicious, but they are as bored as the one you charmed and [DIPLOMACY] when you offer them some sacks to carry their loot away in they are convinced that you aren't trying to rob them. You make it up the stairs and into the darkness.

GRAND MONUMENT (INTERIOR)

As your charmed source revealed, the interior of the monument has been the location of at least one slaughter already. A small band of priests and warriors, as well as somewhat larger numbers of ordinary citizens and slaves, have all been torn by drake-sized claws. Most have been stripped of valuables and/or chewed on, and a few have been glued together by rime probably left by the drakes' frigid breath. A few shiny baubles litter the surface an elevated speaking dais, likely left from the stolen treasure horde the drakes have now removed..

METZLI begins to perform cursory funerary rites over the slain Mictlanese, and HUETZAL commands the soldiers to survey the room and take up defensive positions. ACATL climbs up a short flight of stairs and begins hosing off gore from the walls with summoned water as he looks for a particular mural.

- Do you want to help ACATL search, so you can go through the magic door at once?
- Do you want to help METZLI with the rites, and perhaps spot some treasure the drakes missed?
- Do you want to help HUETZAL, and perhaps set up a more effective defense if the drakes return?
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Post by Nebuchadnezzar »

I say snag the baubles from the dais to replace that spent by METZLI, and then assist HUETZAL in preparing for the ruse's failure.
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Post by radthemad4 »

:rofl:

Does METZLI or ACATL have Speak with Dead?

Knowledge check, what are the consequences to botched or missed funeral rites? Don't want an army of undead joining Team Cold Subtype.
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Post by Avoraciopoctules »

You decide to assist METZLI at first. He smiles thanks, and quickly explains the process. METZLI has 2 bags. One contains strips of cotton, and the other holds tiny paper parcels of bloodstained grain. With each body, he wraps a blindfold about the face and places symbolic grave goods in one hand. Once this whole fiasco is dealt with, most of the dead will be publicly cremated. Though the government will be recognizing Mictlan's collective losses, it is important that each individual is given due respect as well. Mictlan has enough of a history with malign undead spirits that the Teotls of the Underworld keep some really nasty spirits on retainer. If there's a frost wight attack on top of the other problems, someone's probably going to invoke the Wind of Knives or the Owl Archer, and even most of the blood cults agree that would be a bad thing.

METZLI passes one of the bags to you, and you work through most of the bodies in the room. From time to time, you spot something valuable or interesting the drakes left. METZLI encourages you to take anything you think might be useful, so long as everyone's grave goods are in place. He hasn't prepared Speak with Dead, but he figures that if a revenant was going to rise up and strike down desecrators it probably would have gone after the drakes.

[PERCEPTION]Including both the leftover treasure on the dais and what you find while assisting METZLI, the loot breaks down to the following:
- several obsidian daggers, one inscribed with glowing green sigils and clearly magical.
- enough coins to mostly make up for the cost of bribing the drakes
- a set of jade worship thorns intended to be worn in the ears. Mildly magical.
- several pieces of golden jewelry
- a large fan made of linked peacock feathers. Magical
- 3 ceramic potion flasks inset with images of Piltzintecuhtli, the Young Prince. Mildly magical.
- several obsidian-toothed club-swords of varying sizes, and a dozen usable spears.
- a bag of ivory dice. Mildly magical

Just as you finish with the bodies, one of the soldiers on lookout whistles to HUETZAL. The Eagle Knight hurries up to hear her report, and then hurries back, cursing. "Xolotl's teeth! There's some kind of creatures out there, like huge white-furred wolves. They're following the path we used to enter the monument, and there's at least half a dozen. Ichtaca only saw the beasts because of the part in the tempest. What should we do?"
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