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A large, muscular man enters, wearing a breastplate and a buckler, with a warhammer, longsword, dagger, and pouch on his belt, and a bundle of javelins strapped to his back.
Greetings, new Pathfinder friends!" he announces loudly, smiling just a little too wide to be normal. "I am Groosalugg, the brave and undefeated. As a warrior, Kurgess has gifted me with the ability to throw javelins both far and accurately, so that is where I am most effective. But if necessary, I can pull out a sword or hammer and engage with enemies up close, as well."
Actually, this PC was designed to be standard campaign, using thrown weapon feats from the Weapon Master Handbook. But he doesn't have any of that stuff yet, so everything about him will stay core until level 4, when I'll start taking some of those feats. So I figured I'd register him as core up front, and keep my options open.
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A shy half-elf enters in the room, his robes of white are immaculate, the trimming of red in contrast to the white of the robes. A pin of the longsword, making him as a devotee of the Inheritor is placed near his heart. Nodding to the fighter, the half elf will listen as his party member asks pertinent questions to their mission.
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Soryan arrives early, still in awe of the majesty of Skyreach and how short these three years of training have been. He looks more like a middle aged farmer than an adventurer at first glance, although he has many callouses that one might expect from somebody who just completed their Pathfinder training.
He nervously looks around at the other Pathfinders before meekly asking Groosalugg
"How did your previous missions go? This'll be my second real one. Oh ya, name's Soryan by the way."
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A gnomish man with scraggly blond hair and thick eyebrows joins the party. His unwashed face and dirty appearance seems to be intentional as you don't smell much foul smell coming from the gnome other than the earthy smell of soil and dirt. He wears leather armor and has a club by his side. He has various scrolls and carrying a spell component pouch.
He turns around and pets the boar beside him, talking to her. "Man, this is so much city for me. I totally love to be, like, you know, out in the wilderness and stuff. I bet you would too, huh Drootina?"
"I'm Loni! Nature lover and, like, total hippie!"
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A particularly large and stout Dwarf clomps into the room, wearing iron shod boots with a well made ancient war axe strapped across his back with a large wooden shield. Just like Groosalug before him, he's got numerous other weapons strapped or dangling from his person.
He looks up with a bit of crossed eyes as he looks around the room and snarls "I be Ironshanks, Ironshanks Magee. If any of ye got any problems with me being late you can kiss my Dwarven Arse! I just got outta that damned maze beneath the city and I still can't see straight!" He shakes his head a bit trying to clear out the cobwebs and straighten his vision.
He takes a seat rubbing his temples and groaning a bit.
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Water laps steadily at the pier as sailors, laborers, and merchants rush busily around Absalom’s port. The venture-captain’s summons called for a meeting aboard the Sixwing Drake, a sleek sailing ship. The Drake’s captain, a Varisian woman and fellow Pathfinder named Zarah Zendrani, stands at the helm of her vessel. “It’s not like Valsin to be late,” she mutters, furrowing her brow. As if on cue, a tall and meticulously groomed man pushes his way through the crowd and up the gangplank, cursing audibly. “Whoever supervises this mess of a port needs to be dumped in the sea!” he grumbles.
The tall man looks around at those gathered before him. “Just the group I requested. Perfect. I’m Venture- Captain Ambrus Valsin, and I took great care in selecting just the right Pathfinders for this assignment.” Valsin reaches into his belt pouch and withdraws a small, folded paper before continuing. “A few days ago, I received a curious note from a rather unexpected source. It’s not every day that I get a request from an agent of the Aspis Consortium.” Captain Zendrani’s eyes widen, and Valsin smiles knowingly. “But Magali Delroya does not appear to be your typical Aspis agent. As you surely know, the Aspis Consortium pursues a variety of activities across the Inner Sea that the Pathfinder Society finds abhorrent. It seems that Delroya has been working with them for some time, but can no longer stomach the snakes herself. She wants to stop a shipment of an experimental drug from leaving Diobel later this week. It’s bound for a number of locations across the Inner Sea region. According to Delroya, she can’t ask the local authorities for help, because the Aspis Consortium has already struck a deal with a faction of the Kortos Consortium, a powerful merchant collective. Her hands are tied, so she’s come to us for help. In this note, she outlines three different tasks that would help to disrupt the Aspis long enough for her to move the shipment to a secure location, out of the clutches of the consortium. Once you accomplish two of these tasks, she’s willing to meet with you, but not before.”
“Normally, I wouldn’t trust an Aspis agent at any hour of the day. But our sources in Diobel have confirmed the Aspis and Kortos consortia’s activities. Everything checks out, so we are presented with a unique opportunity. If we help Delroya, we might not only strike a financial blow against the Aspis Consortium, but we could also reveal their dealings with the Kortos Consortium—and possibly prevent their arrangement from turning into a more formal alliance. Furthermore, we hope to stop this drug from spreading across the Inner Sea region, and if we—if all of you—do a good enough job, we might even convince Delroya to join the Society. A turncoat agent would be a valuable asset in our ongoing run-ins with the Aspis Consortium.”
“Take some time to look over Delroya’s note and the tasks she has set for you. If you have any questions, now is the time to ask. Remember, the Aspis Consortium is a long-time enemy of the society, but the Kortos Consortium, while certainly suspicious, is not our enemy. It is a complex organization with many factions, and we should avoid antagonizing any of them, except when necessary to oppose the Aspis Consortium.”
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Ironshanks sits on the rail of the ship, still holding his head in his hands muttering when everyone gets introduced "Can't say I've dealt with either them groups bafore. But I've heard em talked about enough in the bars, workin tagether some lately for sure."
He then starts moaning about his bad luck "Got shanghai'd and ended up in the frozen North for my first 'mission', then I finally get back down here and some a+~%+#@ signs me up to explore a frickin' maze of all things!"
He stands up and looks around a bit more, grumbling as he does "And now it looks like a gotdamned boat ride is comin' my way. Ain't there any work to be done in Absalom city? Or how 'bout them mountains in the distance?"
Taking a quick look at the letters he hands them back to Valsin "Not sure how good I'll be with some of that sneaky spy shit, but I can knock some heads and take a punch. If that works for you then count me in... so long as this boat ride goes smooth eh?" He turns towards Zahara with a hopeful look across his bearded face.
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Groosalugg smiles a little too widely. "Do not worry, new friends. My past missions have gone very well. We seem to have a very talented and varied group here. I'm sure Venture-Captain Valsin knew what he was doing when he chose us to work together. We will serve well, and return victorious in stopping this vile Aspis scheme."
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After a day and night at sea, Captain Zendrani and the crew of the sleek Sixwing Drake steer the ship up to the massive barrier of broken war-barges, crumbling walls, and jetties of iron and wood that protect the port of Diobel just after the sun peeks above the horizon. “Well, here we are,” says the captain. “I’ll make sure everything is in order with Diobel’s inspectors and charter you a barge to the port. You aren’t carrying anything particularly valuable, so you shouldn’t draw much attention from the inspectors or pilots, so long as you don’t run your mouth. My crew and I will wait here with the ship. You can return here to rest, if you need to, but remember—there isn’t much time!”
As the Venture Captain finishes speaking, a barge comes alongside, and a port inspector and the barge captain board and has a conversation with the Captain. You see some gold exchange hands, before the Captain waves you over. "I've arranged for the barge to take you into the docks. We will remain here. Should you need to return, the barge will be waiting for you. I have made sure that the captain will await your return. We will be leaving tomorrow night."
The barge trip is a quiet one, the captain curtly refusing all conversation, and you are deposited on the docks safe and sound.
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Ironshanks eyes up the others and their less than important banter "Seein' what these notes say... two outta three 'jobs' gotta be done. We best be heading down to them sewers to pound that alchemist's face in as one of 'em. Whatever the f@%$ the rest of you want to do for the other one don't matter two shits to me."
He looks at the others with a grim smile on his face. After a few scant moments he looks up again "Well? You sneakin' on some ship that's right under our noses or you headin' to that bar to break up the meetin' 'round noon? I can start up a pretty fine bar fight if you want!"
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A Dwarf with a full braided brown beards strolls, wobbly as it may be, onboard the ship. He has two weapons, a Morningstar and a Longsword, with a heavy wooden shield strapped to his back.
Aye, sorry I be late. I got lost, what did I miss
When he hears that they will be aiding a member of the Aspis he actually spits on the deck.
Ye must be pulling my leg?! You want us to help the enemy?!
He listens to his fellow Dwarf about starting a bar fight and gives a hearty laugh. Aye, want to bet a pint on who wins should we both start it?
He looks over the "goals" once more and gives his beard a few strokes.
I ain't sneaky...I find it funny if ya think a Dwarf can be sneaky, as he taps his armor with his spiked gauntlet.
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"I'm not sneaky, either. But maybe if we just talk to them nicely, the ship's crew will let us on board. Or maybe my recent training at paying more attention and spotting things can help find another way? Or, we could just skip the ship and go for the other two tasks, since we're only supposed to do two, anyway."
"As I said, I'll go along with whatever the rest of you decide. I'm sure our group will easily overcome any obstacle and complete our tasks."
Groosalugg's extra wide smile and earnest over-enthusiasm might be a bit unnerving to some people.
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Ironshanks eyes the newcomer dwarf and nods "You look familiar... do I know you from somewhere?" Talk about all Dwarves look alike! He scratches his beard a bit before continuing. "You got that bet three times over fella! Sounds like maybe we should warm up in the sewers before we go start a bar fight eh?"
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Delroya’s directions lead to an isolated alley in the Bristles, and then down into the sewers beneath Diobel. The stench of sewage mixes with the sharper odors of chemical fumes and decay and permeates the damp tunnels. From this intersection, tunnels lead west and south into the darkness. A third tunnel heading east is filled with detritus, filthy beddings, food scraps, broken glass, and rotting furniture. An alcove lies beyond a collapsed portion of the tunnel’s southern wall, and further east, a statue of a giant rat rests in the dead-end passage. Countless empty flasks and discarded alchemical ingredients lie on the floor around the statue. On a nearby workbench sit several organized but empty flasks and jars.
There are four people down here, obviously malnourished and very much under the effects of some powerful substance. They hardly notice you, and react in no way to you as you enter the tunnels.
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From the bottom of the ladder, none of you see or hear anything besides the four humans that barely seem to notice you. Soryan approaches one to get a closer look, and the poor soul glances at the druid before going back to listlessly staring at the sewer walls. From where he stands, he can clearly see the other three individuals in a small alcove on the other side of the sewage flow.
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Ironshanks climbs down the ladder slowly, his armor not doing him any favors at the time. "Geezus jumpin' f+&& it reeks down here! Must be a filthy goblin warren!"
He wades down and over across the sewage to the other side to look around, hollering to the miscreant "Outta the way urchin! We've got business to deal with!"
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Ironshanks braves the wretched stench of the sewage flow and somehow manages to keep his stomach down. The dwarf approaches one of the humans slumped on the ground, but this one reacts a bit different. Hearing the slight clink of potion vials, it starts weakly grabbing at Ironshanks legs and waist, trying to found the source of the sound. "Giiiive meeeee."
Dareon takes a closer look at one of the others, and quickly deduces that they are high on some sort of drug, though he can't tell what. They are all clearly addicted to something powerful though.
But before you are able to investigate further, there is a skittering sound ahead that starts to get louder, and an insect the size of a housecat emerges from the pipe, emitting a soft glow. Wings emerge, and it slowly flies towards intruders, before releasing a burst of light.
Round 1
Beetle
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Soryan (need Fort)
Ironshanks (need Fort)
Vinhinan
Groosalugg (need Fort)
Loni
Daereon
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Ironshanks leans his head and beard back as the wretch starts grab-assing him "I said back off ye lazy slacker! Get a hair cut and get a real job! Don't be a slob!" That'd make a fine song chorus I'd say! He thinks to himself as a giant beetle flies up and half blinds him "Holy fack! We're under attack! Outta my way hippie!"
Ironshanks pushes his way forward trying to go over the crackhead in his way towards the beetle.
As a standard action, taken during your move or as part of a charge, you can attempt to overrun your target, moving through its square. You can only overrun an opponent who is no more than one size category larger than you. If you do not have the Improved Overrun feat, or a similar ability, initiating an overrun provokes an attack of opportunity from the target of your maneuver. If your overrun attempt fails, you stop in the space directly in front of the opponent, or the nearest open space in front of the creature if there are other creatures occupying that space.
When you attempt to overrun a target, it can choose to avoid you, allowing you to pass through its square without requiring an attack. If your target does not avoid you, make a combat maneuver check as normal. If your maneuver is successful, you move through the target's space. If your attack exceeds your opponent's CMD by 5 or more, you move through the target's space and the target is knocked prone. If the target has more than two legs, add +2 to the DC of the combat maneuver attack roll for each additional leg it has.