The Gossip Board

[Anastasia]

Also, if you guys are going to follow up on any more of Nikkolai's info(Or you are Nikkolai), let me know. You can make K:P on the layer of the Abyss Balimbomb mentioned, for example.

[Sierra]

<Mari> 'kay, read up on stuff, save the bit that Zeph hasn't posted yet. 36th layer of the Abyss, eh? May as well roll on that, if there's nothing else.
<Mari> roll 1d20+13 So Hatbot, what does Mari know about floor 36 of the Abyss? Does Ragu live there?
* Hatbot --> "Mari rolls 1d20+13 So Hatbot, what does Mari know about floor 36 of the Abyss? Does Ragu live there? and gets 32."12 [1d20=19]
<Mari> Wow.

[Anastasia]

Gragolan, the 36th layer of the Abyss:

Gragolan is a wild, untamed land. Well, moreso than the normal Abyss. Most Abyssal layers have a demon prince, demon lord or God who holds some sway over it. Gragolan is currently untamed by any demon or God, the previous demon lord having been slain by Demogorgon 800 years ago. It is cracked plains that lead into deep subterranean caves without any mercy.

Of note and quite possibly related with the information you know? A bebilith named Ukyloa is said to have a deep, extensive lair below the surface of Gragolan. Why is this notable? It is half dragon, said to be the offspring of a bebilith and a black dragon. It's lair is said to have many, many, many treasures hidden within it's webs. Oh, of course getting there and getting past all the abominations is one hell of a trick! What with the demons, fiendish creatures, spiders of all types and sizes, acid rain on the surface(literal acid rain, as in OH GOD MY FLESH IS MELTING!), diseases, madnesses....

Good luck!

[Carthrat]

Good news! Faerinaal just said he'll open a portal up to the abyss instead of the prime, if we like!

...

>_>

[Anastasia]

Yes. You guys now have the option of heading to the Abyss, if you'd like to pursue the phylactery first.  You'd appear on the first layer of the Abyss and get to look for a passage to the 36th layer.

[Zephyrus]

I vote phylactery first. It would be a powerful card up our sleeve, if we don't end up destroying it out of hand.

I agree with Knight's assessment, though. We really need stuff that protects against acid.

[Anastasia]

@Dune: I need to inquire about Avernus' command structure. Specifically, I need to find out how mortals factor into it and how they come by employment there. Ok, a lot of the time it's forced slavery, but I think some bravos do it for money and power, too, so I'd like to know if there's any existing systems to help them. I'm also looking for travelogues of prior adventurers who've been there, and if there are any 'normal' or common ways mortals travel through and get around that area. For instance, I know OOC how the blood war works and how writs of passage can be granted to give mortals safe harbour in certain areas; are there any known ways to secure one, save forgery?

I think I can find this out via asking eladrin veterans or studying tactical manuals of 'how to lead crusades against Baator'.

You're right. Most mortal fighters in the Blood War are idiots suckered into it or slaves captured and pressed into service. Most don't last long until dying, sucked into Baator and becoming wretched lemures. A rare few serve on more open terms. Powerful diabolical servants, madmen, gloryhounds without care and even the rare servant of good who desires to fight demons so much that they'll tolerate devils. For them there's not much direct support. They're mustered into units, which are integrated into the great armies of Avernus.

Writs of passage can be granted if you know the right devil and have a good reason(or bribe) to get one. Alternately, forgeries do exist, though being discovered on a forgery is a capital offense. The only other exception is if you're a very high ranking servant of a God, various powers occasionally send servants who benefit from diplomatic immunity while in Hell. You'll be escorted and as safe as can be!

[Anastasia]

On Nikkolai's request, Lord Balimbomb offers the following scrolls in exchange for another two years of service:

2x Scroll of Halt Undead.
2x Scroll of Ghost Touch Armor (Libris Mortis)
2x Scroll of Command Undead.

[Anastasia]

Adail, a poke about the armor. Are you interested in selling it? I was trying to give you a platform to work on selling it, not freeze you up on it. <_<

---

Any of you have any idea of SRD or items you know of that would accomplish what you desire - i.e., acid protection?

[VySaika]

I'm probably not even going to get to the stuff I already planned before Tuesday, to be honest. Dealing with the armor can be put off further. I realize it's kinda crappy of me to not have any time/energy for the game outside of Tuesday evenings, especially where we are right now, but that doesn't change the fact that I simply don't, especially right now. So it goes.

[Anastasia]

Since you're tired and lacking energy right now, I'll skip to the gist of the entire armor thing.

Gnomish Adamantine Mecha Suit Prototype: 5,000 GP.

[Carthrat]

I'll probably buy a potion and hope I only need that much.

I really would want to do some kind of gold run, though. There's a lot of specific anti-abyss stuff we... cannot get without money. :(

[Zephyrus]

That would be a good idea.

And...I'm thinking that those scrolls will *really* come in handy. Heck, I still have that scroll of knock and that scroll of transformation that Granny Tam gave me. Two years is totally worth the protection those scrolls can give us. What say you, guys?

[Carthrat]

Totally not worth it. The value of those scrolls is something like... 1,500-2000 gp all up. They're good- better than I thought at first glance- but not worth 2 years. <.<

[Dracos]

Okay, just a few comments as we plan out toward the end.  There was a long elysium discussion on things, most were there.

Kam is quite sad to see Nikki selling himself into servitude.  If asked at all on any of more selling, he'd really be bapping him on the head.  OOC you really should've abused your diplomacy skills more in negociation and seven years of your life is really a O_O trade.

I'm onboard with the abyss trip.  Kam though does not like what we're looking at right now.  What would make him like it?

A)Some plan/directions/strategy on how we're going to get from abyss layer 1 to abyss layer 36.  He'd be glad to ask anyone who might be an expert there and doesn't expect it necessarily to hold up, but going in without any ideas on how we're going to make that trip seems unnecessary and pointlessly suicidal to him.  The abyss is a dangerous place and wandering it randomly is not something that's acceptable as a plan in his eyes.

B)Some plan/directions/strategy on how we are going to get OUT of the abyss once we find what we're looking for.  We can't open a way out ourselves right now.  I understand not every demon will be aiming to kill us just for being there, but at the same time, Kam is not looking forward to wandering randomly looking for an exit.

Kam's gladly willing to suggest to the rest of the party that we find these things out promptly to the best of our ability and also willing to go ask any of the eladrin about it.  He'd also suggest tapping on Granny Tam for advice if we cannot find this information here.  He's also going to suggest we NOT spend all of our change here as we may really need currency for bribes down below and we're not the most rich on such.

 Do they have known contacts, cities that aren't as likely to wreck us for entering, demons that tend to talk first?  How do non-demons move between the abyssal planes?  What (if any) are known exits to the plane on the 36th level, and if not, what are any that we know that are close?  What is good acid rain protection gear or techniques for going along there and not slowly melting away (Does endure elements do it as I really hope)?  What are any known demon types that we should be keeping an eye out to RUN from that tend to frequent those planes?

Kam rolls his own knowledge, but obviously, he's asking a lot because he knows he knows NOTHING :P  The blood war is the story of boogeymen from another plane to him still.
<Kamvakua> roll 1d20+6
<Hatbot>
ACTION --> "Kamvakua rolls 1d20+6 and gets 7." [1d20=1]

Personally, I'm also not really on the 'get devils to wage war and ride along with it' because I don't think that they'd plausibly ignore adail and kamvakua being anywhere near that plan and would assume its a trap.  And we're pointing them at ...what?  A giant half-dragon spider demon?  Dangerous sure, but I dunno where the threat interest level comes from for the devils.  What are we going to tempt them to attack?

Extra: Kam totally doesn't have to think the plans are the most rock solid thing.  He knows no plan really survives the abyss.  But a complete lack of a travel and exit plan says 'we're not ready to even try this trip'.