Book 2: The Skinsaw Murders

The Cleansing of Foxglove Manor

September 6, 2013 @ Crimson Castle

Day 20:

In the process of searching Foxglove Manor, the party discovered four large orbs of some sort of impenetrable force. Each orb was in a different area of the house, with an affinity for a particular member of the Foxglove family. Approaching an orb resulted in a compulsion to touch it, and when the entire party touched the orb simultaneously, they found themselves transported into an extradimensional space, where they were faced with a supernatural and hostile incarnation of the Foxglove haunts.

Traver Foxglove

The orb in Traver’s bedroom transported the party to a plane, featuring an altar and a pentagram, where they faced a huge demon. The demon Traver quickly summoned the first of several demon child in the guise of his children Zeeva, Sendeli and Aldern. While a demon child lived, demon Traver had enormous damage resistance (DR 20/-), but while there was no demon child, he would be very likely to be critically hit (15+). Though only one child would be summoned at a time, the demon child could do several things, including heal demon Traver, apply a fire vulnerability debuff allowing fire attacks to automatically crit, and inspire courage for a +2 bonus. Demon Traver could also “sacrifice” party members by immobilizing them in chains, which the party would have to destroy, or else the sacrifice would die, healing demon Traver the party member’s maximum health. Demon Traver also summoned demonic minions which cast scorching ray and could use misfortune, forcing a d20 reroll as an immediate action. With some effort, the party was able to kill the demon children and the minions to keep on top of the summoning, and wear down the vulnerable demon Traver. The party was rewarded with a Phylactery of Positive Channeling, which allowed Echo an additional 2d6 on her channeling positive energy.

Vorel Foxglove

The orb in Vorel’s workshop tranported the party to a plane where they faced a gargantuan skeletal dragon. The dragon could full attack with bites and a tail attack with knockback, or breathe nauseating foul breath in a 30′ cone, or fling filth at enemies, forcing them to move to avoid them or be nauseated. Colored orbs lay at the edges of a circle, with colored beams pointing toward the dragon. These beams conferred special powers on whatever they touched. They started out boosting the powers of the dragon, but the party swiftly commandeered them. The red beam would increase the target’s maximum health, heal it, and also draw the aggression of the dragon if intercepted. The blue beam allowed its target to crit on a 15 with a x4 multiplier. The green beam allowed its target one extra attack per round, as if under the effects of haste. In addition, no one could benefit from the same color beam two rounds in a row. For the most part, the party juggled the beams effectively, but on occasion, the positioning of the dragon resulted in him moving to attack a different target, which caused him to receive the blue and green beams which had previously been blocked. Mackintosh and Lisanji went down, but since their presence in this extradimensional space was merely a projection of consciousness, they were able to return. Draconic Vorel was very tough and lasted quite a long time, but the party was able to wear him down eventually, taking full advantage of the beams. The party was rewarded with a Ring of Transposition, which allows two party members to switch places if they had previously attuned their rings to each other.