"Horrors of the Red Cathexus!" Pathfinder Bodysnatcher campaign!

[SpiralErrant]

The scout nodded. At least it had landed itself among creative company. It was bothersome that their variety meant they lacked the synchronization and grace of a soprano swarm but perhaps this could form an advantage considering the absence of the song and the rest of the choir.

"Do you hear them, friend?" It whispered in Pigot's ear, attuning to a rhythm of encouragement. "Your ears are not made for their speech but they were made for you. Your shrine is so much more than you knew little one... your flesh called us to you... our song will call to you... stay. Stay and be rewarded for your offerings. Offer up your arms... and be made stronger." It went on, attuning to excitement as it filled the goblin's ear with vicious possibilities.

(DIPLOMACY convince Pigot the goblin to stay and serve the hijackers)

 

[Sherwood]

I'm sorry guys, but I'm finding that I just don't have the time for another game right now. Go ahead and do as you wish to my character, and I wish everyone the best of fun in the upcoming game posts.

Later, all.

 

[Silvis]

The Devourer manipulated Preet into nodding. It liked the plan now that all facets were covered. "I'll be happy to do my part in this but maker sure to leave some spider for me." Beyond that he focused on remembering what all the goblin knew, especially of the goblin gods in preparation for his role. (Knowledge local and knowledge religion)

 

[Beckoncall]

Posting ASAP! Technical difficulties!

 

[Beckoncall]

The goblin was subdued and at the mercy of it's captors – the choir could see it's song had taken root in the mind of the captive – it would serve them, at least until in the company of more goblins.



The devourer did it's best to access the memories of this host, “Preet” and learned slivers here and there of things that had been going on locally:



To the north was a place of warring humanoids – bugbears holding their own scrap of turf against a much greater number of orcs. Pugwampi were to the north as well, supposedly, but the goblins did everything they could to avoid them. East and south were unexplored lands for monsters. The west was the familiar sandy channel that was home to a couple of predators – a Crab-monster and some kind of web slinging armored spider… they travelled in numbers not to attract their attention. In the sandy river many skeletons lay in the channel and on the beach as they slowly rolled their way to the cistern of skulls, the remains of an ancient battle between two bands of orcs. Sometimes these skeletons were disturbed – or more likely roused by a more powerful haunted being the goblins knew as “Jaldon Bonemaker”



Besides this, it was learned that the goblin tribe was of significant size – about two dozen warriors and just as many non-combatants with a stable of ten or so goblin hounds. The chief, Gorfeen, was doubless a warrior of skill to keep his chaotic band in order, and enlisted the help of sargeants and lieutenants to keep what a goblin would call order.



Little was learned about the goblin heros, except the fourth hero was said to be “the hero yet to come” – and would prove his worthyness by killing in a single strike. The other heroes, long dead, wielded axes in life and in death were prayed to in order to protect the tribe – particularly from a “Barghest” which seemed to wait at the fringes of goblin territory to pick off the stragglers.



Pigot told all he could to corroborate what memories “preet” could access – it seemed the tribe, with it's few skilled personages, would be more than a match for now in direct conflict, but potentially made promising hosts if they could be captured.

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

With the new knowledge, things seemed to come together, but the overall mission seemed to be the same for now, the subjugation of this goblin tribe by might or infiltration. Still, for now, the Gluttonous One was not in a position to be of much help due to his new form as an undead orc.... perhaps if he consumed a few living goblins, he would pass off as an abnormally large goblin. But, that was merely speculation for now. There were things in this room that he was curious about. First... could they perhaps make a crude, but effective axe for the "heroes"? There were many bones around and they had access to short swords from the 5 unfortunate goblins who came to throw away their trash. Perhaps, they could put something together? (Craft Check... can this be done with what is around and in a reasonable amount of time?) Also, there was a lot of vegetation around... what were these plants? (Knowledge (Nature) Check) The Gluttonous One then remembered... the goblins came to throw things away... knowing their intelligence... he figured that they perhaps threw something away that could be valuable. He wasn't surprised if they threw away a magic crystal, thinking it was just a dumb rock. Thus, he began his search for their trash to see if there's anything salvageable. (Perception Check).

 

[Beckoncall]

A bolt discharged from deep within the cistern of skulls, striking Axtis Jen dead as surely as it released her. The dark Tapestry was a fickle mistress.
Her host, turned to ash, was little more than a pile of belongings... that The gluttonous one reclaimed. Heyitsjiwon .

The plants of the chamber were special indeed. "Nor-Voth Tendrils" -- the most upper-reaching plants of the underdark, deep deep below. The power of the cathexus and the magic of the cistern enabled these plants to grow here... and the gluttonous one saw their potential. By consuming the wild power of the underdark, what little power it held here, The Gluttonous one could transform into a monster of malign plant-life -- a mandragora!

Mandragora (3pp) – d20PFSRD

...The gluttonous one also DID find somethings of potential value in the garbage of the goblins -- crude metal orbs... four of them -- with fuses. They were wet from the river, but not beyond use if they could be carefully dried. The gluttonous one looked at their casings, made to break apart into fragments... explosives.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Plop. A small round object fell from the Cathexis and into the cold water, startling its mind into action, causing it to head for the nearest dry spot. When it was out of the water, it moved it's beady red eyes across its surroundings in an attempt to figure out just exactly where it was. Its thoughts were scattered and messy but it focused to bring its knowledge of the area to the forefront of its mind. Despite its small size, its mind was large and powerful and it knew very little. It needed to know more, to know everything.

But first, it needed to be bigger. It needed to find something to latch onto. The small minds of the creatures of the area would be fine. Its best disguise was that of a ring, but it could latch onto anything it could get itself around. Still, it needed to know the right way to go and there were sure to be others like itself from the Cathexis. It wondered if it could find them based on sound or nearby tracks left behind.

(Perception and Knowledge: Local)

 

[Beckoncall]

Seraph Darkfire :

The Philomathic ring could see the other obscenities in the cistern of skulls, all around him. They infested the forms of goblins and of a large, orc zombie.

Using his senses and knowledge he could tell north of here lead to more populated areas by humanoids. The areas to the east and south were wild -- to the south the stale stench of death lingered, and to the east the river seemed to pick up speed and strength.

The ring sensed the myriad eyes of the spiders above in the cistern looking down at the party members, and the goblin slave, terrified standing amoung them.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Hmm, humanoids to the north or the spiders of the cistern. Spiders would be beneficial, their thin legs could easily be encompassed by its body and their ability to bind their prey and climb among the walls freely was preferable. Unfortunately, there were far too many creatures around to entice the spiders down, and spiders weren't much for jewelry in the first place. North it was then.

It moved quickly and quietly. Its well being depended on no one knowing what its true form looked like. It was best to be stealthy. Still, it was fortunate, creatures like Kobolds, Goblins, and various other humanoid creatures had a habit of collecting shiny objects.

(Stealth)

 

[Beckoncall]

Seraph Darkfire :

The ring-bug skittered stealthfully down the tunnel north of the cistern... the smooth rock gave way to cobblestone and brick, and before long terminated in a semi-circular guardpost beyond which there was an iron-shod door.

There at the post were two hobgoblins shooting dice at a low table where they sat on the ground, playing for coppers and silver.

Leaning beside the locked door was the burly frame of a sleeping Bugbear, occasionally allowing his eyes to drift open, remark on the hobgoblins, then drift back into slumber.

The Ring-bug would have to consider it's options carefully...

 

[Heyitsjiwon]

With a small sword and a bow from the remains of the goblin, the Gluttonous One was eagerly looking forward to the future. In addition, the foolish goblins had seemingly thrown away four explosives! Wasteful... if the Gluttonous One in charge, then a single scrap wouldn't be wasted. The Gluttonous One greedily eyed the Nor-Voth Tendrils and eagerly began his second feast of the day. After all, he needed a balanced diet and a whole lot of fiber after his large, protein breakfast.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

A Bugbear! Fascinating. Strong and stealthy, a very versatile host. Hobgoblins were useful as well though, their communities would lead him to a chieftain, enabling him to completely control the entire clan. Still, if it took a Hobgoblin and it was found out, it'd certainly not survive. The Bugbear was a stronger opponent but also a safer choice. For the moment anyway.

It was also asleep, that would give it a much easier time in subjugating it. It moved closer, making sure not to draw any attention to itself and found the Bugbear's foot. It's body was still quite small so it couldn't aim for a larger limb. But the smallest toe of the foot should have been the right size. Still, to make sure that it didn't make a poor decision, it decided to observe the Bugbear, making sure it could wrap itself around the toe before attempting to do so.

(Perception)

 

[Beckoncall]

The ring-bug's plan was sound, and it would have no trouble forcing the bugbear to pit it's feeble will against it... still, the Philomathic ring was new to this world and it would be hard to fully control or ably maintain a creature of it's power level without... complexities...

(At level 1 only creatures up to CR 1 are stable hosts -- taking the bugbear as a host being CR 2 might make the body difficult to control, decay rapidly, or otherwise exhibit unforseen consequences... still, possessing the host was possible.)

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

As it observed the Bugbear, it found out something, the body was too much to fully possess. By the time its tendrils managed to subjugate the entire body, it would have started to fall apart. It could damage the brain in its attempts as well. Hmm..it moved around the bugbear and headed for the Hobgoblins. They were a safer bet with this new knowledge. It stopped near a light source and rolled up into its ring form. The light caught its metallic carapace and it shifted slightly to direct the flicker of light towards one of the Hobgoblins to entice it towards it.

It was simply a matter of waiting. Through its knowledge it had found that many creatures couldn't resist putting on a piece of jewelry, even if just to test it. As it grew stronger, the Philomathic Ring would be able to change the metallic structure of its carapace, making it appear more valuable to higher class subjects. But for now, it was simply a copper ring.

Enough to entice a Hobgoblin at least.

(Disguise: 10 and Bluff: 19)

 

[Beckoncall]

The creatures continued shooting dice... until that is, one of them spotted the ring.

"We'll roll for it!" one of them said, the other nodding excitedly.

It was only a matter of moments before the ring was lost and won to the hobgoblins, and the ring slipped over the finger of one of the victims.

The ring-bug subverted the will of the hobgoblin "Tildruk" -- searching it's memories and learning the name of it's associates -- The other hobgoblin was Uglur, the Bugbear Drergrir. It didn't skip a beat, and continued to play dice with the other hobgoblin as it wondered at it's next course of action... now that it had secured an adequate host...

 

[SpiralErrant]

So many options. So many options and schemes available, oh but none of it would come to be if they just stood around pondering and wondering. They had tools for their work and now it was time to get to it! The fickle nature of their path to this realm had already shown itself, blasting apart arrivals as it delivered more.

"This one will go west..." The scout said in oddly halting speech as it adjusted to a more 'native' speech pattern. "It would be easier if others followed, if not, this one will smooth a path."

And on a pirouette The Choir Scout spun on its heel and headed off in the direction of the goblin camp.

 

[Silvis]

The Devourer decided to leave the crafting and defending jobs to the others. It was aware that it wasn't diplomatic or charismatic by any means and decided to take what extra time it had while following The Choir Scout to practice it's disguise for the goblin hero. (Disguise) "I'll come with you scout."

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

Much safer. The ring tightened and shut off all senses to its main body, instead using the senses of the host body. It was a much higher and wider view than it was used to but the assimilation was quick and easy. Tildruk the creature's name was. Its skills and memories were laid before the Ring as simply as its own. Multitasking was simple, keeping the Host playing the dice game while it searched through the memories, familiarizing itself with the new body and language. It was already familiar with one of the languages, but the Goblin language was an interesting addition.

Now it had a much wider knowledge to sift through. Such as the current Hobgoblin situation, their leaders, weaknesses. This common Hobgoblin was only the first step.

(Knowledge (Local): 10)

 

[Demonsoul]

Now that all the other horrors of the Cathexus have left leaving just a lone goblin, the Fleshless in its goblinoid form, and the Gluttonous One who was munching on plants, it was time. The Fleshless approached the lone goblin. In rough, goblinoid tongue that it had gained from its body template, it spoke to the remaining goblin. And from further in the body, the centipede spoke in the language of elder things. "It is time we hunt the spiders, Pigot will assist or become biomass (INTIMIDATE). We will draw out spiders with arrows, and slaughter them as they come down, so that I may take on the largest of their forms." Now that the fickle nature of the Cathexus had destroyed a companion there was no need to secure the weapons of Pigot and so Pigot may use his weapons in the hunt against the spiders.

The Fleshless pointed its bow at the central web which it knew had the giant spider. It hoped the crab spiders wouldn't also come down with the giant spider but if they did it was inevitable and it was ready to hunt.

 

[Beckoncall]

The devourer and the choir scout headed west -- up the beach and upriver following the footsteps of well... well themselves.

Bones... bones lay on either shore of this shallow river -- picked clean. Occasionally a rusted and pitted breastplate or shattered shield or weapon lay near some of the debris. Orc skeletons -- orcs had been fighting in this area, uncertain how long ago with scavengers like isopods and crabs in the water and on the beaches to pick them clean.

Along the beach-tunnel there were several offshoot caves -- both of their and the other side of the river. the ceiling opened up above them and they saw the water being "Fished" by little filaments hanging down from the darkness above.

They continued on their way up the beach until they saw some ramshackle and abandoned defenses -- really heaped rubble and junk, which revealed the outskirts of the goblin territory.

Beyond these barracades was a low wall of piled rubble the riven poured through the holes of through spraying holes.

A single goblin came out from behind a barracade with two goblin dogs in tow...

"That you Preet? Where Preet? Where the rest of us be?!" The goblin sentry barked while they were still a good ways away...

 

[Beckoncall]

Seraph Darkfire :

These were outer sentries... posted here to make sure no goblins or savage orcs crept up on the siege-camps from behind. The "Drek-Tru" Orc company -- a more civilized band of mercenaries from the surface, had come here to bring the larger tribes of savage orcs of the underground to heel and join their horde. With them, the Drek-Tru had brought Kobold and Hobgoblin/Bugbear auxillaries, of which Tildruk and others were a part of. The Savage orcs held the loyalties of the pugwampi and the goblins who were also forced to pay them tribute... the Drek-Tru had hoped with their combined arms and superior equipment, they would force the savage orcs and their followers to the table... more intricacy than this the ring could not divine...

 

[Beckoncall]

The Gluttonous one finished it's gruesome grazing on the underdark plants and by the time it was done it had taken the form of a Mandragora.

The Fleshless browbeat pigot successfully and gained it's cooperation with the hunt of the spiders. Firing into the webs did not bring the largest of the spiders down, but it did rattle the crab-spiders, who now having the advantage of numbers, descended down the walls of the slippery cistern to fight the Gluttonous one, The fleshless, and the pitiful pigot...

COMBAT! you will have attacks of opportunity as the spiders move in... but roll for initiative and declare actions to face the FIVE crab-spiders.

 

[Demonsoul]

The fleshless switched from bow to sword as the crab spiders began to close in. With 3 attacks of opportunity and an AC of 16 it was prepared to take on the spiders. Once the spiders were done closing it the fleshless would rely on its sword skills by using power attacks and taking 5 foot free steps back.

 

[Seraph Darkfire]

For a simple scout, this Hobgoblin was quite informed, though as expected he didn't know everything. Though now he knew the long term target. The leader of either the Drek-Tru company. They had access to the surface and that was where the information the Ring wanted was, they'd be its eyes and ears, going places it couldn't. Still...it needed to unite with the other members that came through and work towards a common goal. It would be unfortunate to end up against one another. It'd be easier to take control of both the Savage Orcs and the Drek-Tru and have them unite for a common cause.

So as it continued to play dice with the other Hobgoblin, it stretched its perception to the limit in an attempt to gain information further down the path it had came. It needed more information before it decided to move.

(Perception: 1)