GM Endless Forms' PFS 02-23 and 02-24 Shadow's Last Stand Parts I and II (Inactive)

Game Master Mike Tuholski

Everyone except Maximo is caught off guard when the stained-glass window begins to move and take on a humanoid shape!

Initiative: Surprise Round!

1. Max, Alie, Kilian, and Baz
2. Rose Window

Maximo is up!

KN: arcana: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

"Bah! It will be a tragedy to destroy something so beautiful!"

Maximo plucks a shield extract from his belt and consumes it.

Since Maximo goes before the window I think it's still considered flat-footed and therefore unable to make an attack of opportunity.

Effects:
Mutagen +4 Str +2 Natural Armor -2 Int(20 minute duration)
Shield extract (1/10 rounds)
AC 26
HP 54

Know. Arcana 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Shel calls out what she knew of the construct to the others. Please read the two spoilers in DM's last post.

Maximo drinks an extract.

---

The window slams into the Shelynite!

slam: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (16) + 15 = 31
damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (3, 6) + 3 = 12
bleed damage (on your turn): 1d8 ⇒ 7

Initiative:

[ooc]1. Max, Alie, Kilian, and Baz
2. Rose Window

You guys are up!

"'Scuse me, Alie." Kilian sidesteps past the gnome and strikes out with his guisarme, letting his momentum do some of the work. He hooks the golem's legs out from under it and sends it crashing to the floor.

Trip w/guisarme, including leaping attack bonus: 1d20 + 12 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 12 + 1 = 33

Alie casts Haste, knowing she didn't have much else to contribute.

Please remember Haste bonuses. Third 3rd level spell cast today.

Baz pronounces his Smine a bane to golems and swings his scimitar at the golem!

Attack, Haste, Bane: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 30
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 4 + (5, 3) = 17

Hasted, Haste, Bane: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 24
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + (2, 4) = 12

Crit Confirm: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 24
Crit Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

"Arh! That's sharp!" Maximo grabs the cut given by the golem and says a silent prayer to Shelyn, stemming the flow of blood. Then, taking his sword up in two hands again, he whirls it around to gain momentum and swings twice.

Lay on Hands: 3d6 ⇒ (2, 1, 1) = 4

Power Attack: 1d20 + 11 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (1) + 11 + 1 - 2 = 11
Damage: 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (2, 5) + 13 = 20

Haste Attack: 1d20 + 11 + 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 11 + 1 - 2 = 24
Damage: 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (4, 2) + 13 = 19

Effects:
Mutagen 20 minutes
Shield 2/20 rounds
Haste 1/7
AC 27
HP 54/39

Kilian trips the window and puts it on the ground. Unfortunately it does not shatter as a normal window would.

Alie hastes the party.

Baz hacks into the stained glass golem!

Maximo then heals his wounds while cutting into the glass beast.

---

The window continues to flail at Maximo from the ground!

slam: 1d20 + 15 - 4 ⇒ (12) + 15 - 4 = 23
damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 6) + 3 = 13
bleed on your turn: 1d8 ⇒ 2

slam: 1d20 + 15 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 15 - 4 = 13
damage: 2d6 + 3 ⇒ (4, 4) + 3 = 11
bleed on your turn: 1d8 ⇒ 8

Initiative:

1. Max, Alie, Kilian, and Baz
2. Rose Window

RW: 40 dmg, prone

You guys are up!

Baz hacks again with his scimitar.

Attack, Haste,Bane: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 27
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 4 + (6, 4) = 19

Hasted Attack, Haste,Bane: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 26
Damage: 1d6 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (5) + 4 + (4, 5) = 18

Alie had done really all she could do against this creature, so she held her action, hoping the others would strike it down quickly.

Leaping over one slashing glass arm and blocking the other with his sword, Maximo gives a victorious "Hah!"

Calling on Shelyn to heal his wounds, he then lays into the golem again. "Your mother was a wine glass and your father was a pair of spectacles!"

Lay on Hands: 3d6 ⇒ (6, 4, 5) = 15

Power Attack with bonus for prone opponent: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (17) + 14 = 31
Damage: 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (5, 4) + 13 = 22

Hasted Power Attack with bonus for prone opponent: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (11) + 14 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (6, 3) + 13 = 22

Effects:
Mutagen 20 minutes
Shield 3/20 rounds
Haste 2/7
AC 27
HP 54/54

Kilian follows up his successful takedown of the golem with a pair of attacks. The first glances off of the arcanely-toughened glass, but the second cracks away part of the construct. "I can't follow that up, Max. You're the witty one."

PA Guisarme to prone opponent, incl. haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 8 + 1 = 14
Hasted PA Guisarme to prone opponent, incl. haste: 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 8 + 1 = 22

PA Guisarme damage, second attack: 2d4 + 12 ⇒ (2, 2) + 12 = 16

Baz digs his blade into the creature, breaking off chunks of glass!

Max then finishes it off!

Out of combat!

Where to now? The doors on the sides are locked.

"Looks like some breaking and entering is called for, unless any of you can pick locks."

"I'm not a locksmith. I suppose you are right, and we will have to try and force our way in. Which door do you gentlemen prefer? "

"The east. Not that it makes much difference."

STR check to force door: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

"Pity." Max toes the broken glass.

Turning to the door, he sheaths his greatsword and draws his warhammer. "Shall I?"

Damage from a two-handed power attack is 1d8+12. Afterage 15.5 per round.

If straight up bursting through is preferred, Maximo's strength bonus is +4. With an aid from Kilian and Baz he could potentially get a 28 check.

The party beats through the doors on either side of the balcony. The eastern door leads to a is a storage area, containing crates of supplies
and equipment for the lodge. There is a staircase leading up to higher levels of the tower. The second level appears to be a laboratory, filled with large glass chambers, tubes, benches, and a number of weather experiments.

The uppermost level contains an office, with an enormous oak desk littered with papers and logbooks. These notes belong to Greudemoffit, one of Telfyr’s senior apprentices, who has developed an fascination with meteorology and weather prediction. A nearby table contains a stack of books detailing magical theories of weather.

A ladder leads up to the roof, which is edged by a low crenellated wall and contains several pieces of meteorological equipment: a brass wind vane shaped like a bird in flight, a water-filled glass chamber containing a number of colorful glass bulbs (three of which float on top, one on the bottom), a rainwater gauge, and a spyglass mounted on a tripod.

---

The party then heads to the western tower. At the center of this twenty-foot-square room stand eight stout glass receptacles filled with fluids ranging from clear liquid to green jelly. Warty, fleshy blobs, resembling tiny humanoids, float inside each one. In one tube, a large black eye blinks up and down repeatedly, while in others a creature’s arms wave frantically and a strangely pretty doll-faced creature floats calmly.

Heavy wooden benches ring the room, overflowing with alembics, beakers, ovens, tubes, and alchemical equipment of all sorts. Stout doors stand along the room’s western and northern walls, and a narrow staircase leads upward along the north wall.

The middle floor contains the library’s most valuable tomes. It is especially rich in books about devil-binding and the history of magical constructs, including homunculi.

The uppermost floor contains Telfyr’s home, including both his office (a small marble table and a bookcase filled with tomes detailing the creation of homunculi and other constructs) and, hidden behind several tapestries depicting Aroden and Iomedae, his richly appointed bedchamber. The neatly made bed lies beside a nightstand stacked with several well-thumbed volumes of the Pathfinder Chronicles, with bookmarks flagging some of the more titillating passages.

---

There are also hallways leading down either side of the cathedral.

"Start with the west. Again, not sure it makes much difference in the end."

Know. Nature 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

"Ugh, no wonder I never really cared for alchemy...there's some yucky stuff in here," she groaned looking at the freaky creatures floating in the vials and tubes.

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Looking over Greudemoffit's equipment, Maximo says, "I don't always use alchemy, but when I do I prefer Thuvian techniques."

After a moment, he shrugs.

"I must admit, this is beyond my experience."

To Killian: "One way is as good as another."

As the party follows the winding corridor about, passing abandoned guest rooms and empty conference rooms, you all fail to notice that you have passed a secret door until it opens and a hobgoblin emerges behind the party! Another hobgoblin steps into the hallway in front of you, blocking your passage on either end.

Surprise round actions are opening the doors and stepping out.

Initiative:

1. Baz, Maximo, Kilian, and Alie
2. Hobgoblins

You guys are up!

Stepping forward with his greatsword at the ready, Maximo gives the hobgoblin ahead a stern look. "I grant you but one opportunity to drop your weapons and surrender!"

Intimidate to demoralize: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (7) + 13 = 20

Unable to move token. 5' step forward to melee.

Kilian follows Max up, prepared to trip the hobgoblin if he initiates hostilities.

Guisarme trip attempt, incl. soft cover: 1d20 + 12 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 12 - 4 = 23

Alie casts Hideous Laughter at the unattended hobgoblin, hoping she could overwhelm his senses.

dc 21 Will save to resist.

Baz steps to the south of Alie and fires his bow at the hobgoblin.

Attack, PBS: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 6 + 1 = 10
Damage: 1d8 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 4 + 1 = 13

Maximo seems to have made the hobgoblin think twice about its life choices.

Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Alie tells one of her classic jokes to the hobgoblin in the back, who promptly doubles over laughing.

Baz's arrow flies wide.

As the hobgoblin in front swings his mace at Max, Kilian trips him!

heavy mace, prone: 1d20 + 5 - 4 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 5 - 4 - 2 = 3
damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9

Initiative:

1. Baz, Maximo, Kilian, and Alie
2. Hobgoblins

H1: shaken 2 more rounds, prone
H2: prone, laughing 6 more rounds

You guys are up!

"Go get him, Baz!" Alie holds her action until seeing how the boys did this round.

Maximo leaps clear of the hobgoblin's mace. "You have developed quite the skill at laying low your opponents Kilian! Perhaps you could display this skill to Bazresh. I am confident I can manage this overgrown goblin."

Charging his greatsword with arcane power, Maximo reverses the weapon and strikes down at the prone hobgoblin.

Power Attack with prone bonus: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (8) + 13 = 21
Damage + arcane strike: 2d6 + 13 ⇒ (4, 1) + 13 = 18

"Alie's got that one laid out with magic. I'll see if I can quiet him down, though." Unless its AC wasn't great to start with, Kilian is unable to connect with the writhing hobgoblin past Baz.

Guisarme PA, including soft cover penalty: 1d20 + 8 - 4 ⇒ (5) + 8 - 4 = 9

"Keep smashing them, boys! I'm going to hold off on another spell this round, while things are looking good for us!"

Alie looks around the room, making sure no one is sneaking up on them.

Perception 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Baz drops his bow and draws his scimitar, chopping at the hobgoblin!

Attack, Prone: 1d20 + 7 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 4 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Max cuts into the hobgoblin lying on the ground!

Kilian also swings but is unable to do so effectively in the tight quarters of the hallway.

Baz cuts into the laughing hobgoblin!

Initiative:

1. Baz, Maximo, Kilian, and Alie
2. Hobgoblins

H1: 18 dmg, shaken 2 more rounds, prone
H2: 7 dmg, prone, laughing 6 more rounds

Alie is up!

Seeing the situation well in hand, Alie pulls out her older dusty wand of magic missiles and uses a charge at the shaken enemy.

Damage 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

35 charges left.

Ok, they're not looking too good and in a pretty bad position with one laughing for 6 more rounds and the other having trouble hitting while prone. I think I'm going to call this one.

Alie puts a magic missile into one of the hobgoblins and the party quickly subdues them!

Out of combat!

Baz pers through the hobgoblin's gear. They were very well equipped for hobgoblins." He muses while eyeing the bow.

What's "mighty" mean for the bows?

Kilian nods. "Fine gear, there. Best we hang on to those potions, and I'm going to bring one of those bows along just in case."

"Baz, with your archery skill, it might be best for you to take the Invisibility potions. A few arrows landing before they know you are there could turn the tide in our favor in a hurry."

Baz nods to Alie and takes the potions. "Where did they come from?" Baz says, peering into the secret door.

"Where did they come from?"

"Well, Baz, when a mommy hobgoblin and a daddy hobgoblin dislike each other much less than anyone else...."

What's "mighty" mean for the bows?

I don't know, I didn't notice that before. Maybe it's a typo/holdover from 3.5? I think that's the term they used for bows with Str modifiers perhaps.

---

Where to? Heading on to the last room? What's your plan for heading that way?

"Let's go up along the other side--probably a few hobgoblin guards there, too, and we can clear them out before we reach the northern end of the temple."

"Kilian has an excellent idea." Maximo grins as he sheaths his sword, retrieves an empty vial from his pack, and begins to mix an extract. "Perhaps he and I should advance and and draw them out, then Alie and Bazresh might arrive once the trap is sprung and turn the tables on any ambush."

Taking a minute to prepare a shield extract in my open extract slot.

No guards on the other side. They are just basically on whatever side you go down because the scenario doesn't specify.

"Lets get moving that way, then. We've wasted time dealing with these distractions. We need to find our people."

At Alie's urging the party moves into the final chamber, hoping to find the missing Pathfinders.

A soft blue glow fills this room, emanating from the stained-glass windows lining three of its walls, each depicting a godlike figure in a different city. Frescoes of angels lifting Aroden to the sky cover the ceiling.

Despite its obvious design as a chapel, the room itself has no religious trappings. Instead of pews, the remnants of a large wooden table and a dozen chairs fill the chamber. Much of their wood has been cannibalized to create a makeshift wooden gallows across the chamber’s eastern end.

Behind the gallows, three low stairs ascend to a raised area with two overstuffed chairs.

A burly hobgoblin wielding a spiked chain stands before the four hostages. The four hostages are Venture-Captain Brackett, the Pathfinder wizard Wystorn Telfyr, his apprentice Greudemoffit, and a visiting Osirian advisor to the Sapphire Sage. All except Telfyr are conscious but tightly bound. Telfyr lies unconscious behind the gallows between the chairs while the other three stand upon a bench with their ropes already around their necks.

Initiative:

1. Max
2. Hagla
3. Ali, Baz, and Kilian

Baz is up!

"Villain! We will stop you!" Maximo leaps into action, dashing across the room with his greatsword in hand. However, instead of attacking the hobgoblin, he throws himself on the bench in an attempt to stop what seems eminent.

Swift action to cast the grace spell to avoid AoOs. Move action to get to the bench. Ready action to prevent the bench from being knocked over?