Granta's Wounded Wisp (Core) (Inactive)

Game Master Granta

Once the game appears in your campaign list, please delete your post so that we don't clutter up the thread.

You have been stationed at the Grand Lodge in Absalom, awaiting assignment for a mission of utmost importance. Things finally seemed in motion when Venture-Captain drandle Dreng sent out a summons for available agents. Specialized in the history of Absalom, Dreng is known for putting off-duty agents to work on sundry tasks when he finds them resting within the city limits.

As you approach the meeting place, a hooded, hunched beggar bumps into Althera and holds out his palm, "Have you any coin to spare, fine folk?"

A moment later, the figure doffs his hood and you realize this senile face must be Venture-Captain Drandle Dreng, "Sorry about that. I always like to play a little joke on agents when I stumble across them during my jaunts into town. Now, why did I summon you fine folk here . . .?"

Dreng scratches himself in several places before continuing, "Ah, yes, the Wounded Wisp! I'm undercover now and can't stray far from here, so I need someone to retrieve a bottle of wine for me from that fine, fine establishment. It's one of Absalom's most storied taverns, you know, and one that holds a special place in the hearts and lore of the Pathfinder Society.

"The bartender is a woman named Heryn Gale, a fine, fine lady who inherited the Wisp after her father passed away from--oh, bah, I'm going to break my cover giving you a history lesson! If you could just go to the Wisp and tell Heryn you're there to pick up my bottle of wine, it would be most appreciated. I'll be around here for several hours at least, but try to hurry."

You may make this check untrained.

Huratas is a handsome yet dim Halfling who carries a whip.
The holy symbol around his neck clearly identifies him as a worshiper of Calistria.

kn History: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (20) - 2 = 18

"I know we are junior Pathfinders but do you really need all of us just to pick up one bottle of wine? Is the bottle guarded? Is this Heryn a Harpy?"

Huratas will share what he remembers with the rest of the party. After we are on our way.

A young, athletic, and ruggedly-handsome Taldan man walks up, a half-smile on his face despite the drizzle. His clothes are a stylish mishmash of rumpled adventuring gear. Even soaked and obviously slept-in, he makes it work. He wears the chain shirt and massive blade across his back with comfortable ease, and he and the donkey he leads carry an array of adventuring gear.

”HA!” he laughs good-naturedly when the ‘beggar’s’ joke is revealed, ”Nice one, VC!”

Know (History): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

The young man’s pale eyes widen at mention of the Wounded Wisp. ”That place is pretty much legend in the Society. I’ve been itching to get over that way.” He flashes his grin to the assembling team, ”Maybe I’ll get a gig there. That’d be pretty awesome.” He relays what he knows of the place…

Everone feel free to read the first and second spoilers.

He gives Huratas and his concern a friendly shoulder-clap and wink, ”Ah, come on! I’m always happy to bring a warm drink in a downpour. See a part of local Society folklore? I’m in.”

He extend a hand for a friendly shake, giving the team his charmingest grin, ”I’m Jak. Looking forward to finding some trouble with you good folks.” He gives a wary, off-hand look to the donkey behind him, who seems to be chewing on the edge of Jak's jacket, "That's Norgy. He can carry stuff, but I'd watch him. He's the closest to pure evil I've ever seen."

The donkey responds by head-butting him, sending Jak sprawling a few steps. "Dumb ass."

A tall, lightly bearded man in a dark green cloak, walks up to the appointed meeting place, and grins at the only familiar face. "Jak, good to see you...guess it's just you and me from our Confirmation group..."

Momentarily startled by the Venture-Captain's disguise and sudden revelation, Gardol regains his composure and asks...

"Yessir, as you wish...is this wine of a specific vintage?"

A short woman with bright green hair skips along the alley, stopping suddenly in the middle of the road. She looks towards the group gathering near the VC and back to her letter.

Smiling from ear to ear, she skips up to you. "Aye dere. You always meet in towns? Seem ter me woods be better, but what do I know. Well, I know hair dye. Ya ever in need of some, let me know. Tishka makes the best of course. See?" she asks, pointing to her own head.

Grabbing a long stick from her back, containing a pointed and a rounded end, she begins twirling it as she talks. "So we's picken up wine? I spose that's fine. Might grab a drink whilst we're there, yeah? Oh! I'm Tishka. Please to meet you!"

"I'm Huratas. *shakes hands with the rest of you while avoiding the donkey* I guess if you look at it as getting a few drinks then bringing one back it's not so bad. You say your bottle, So she'll know what we mean if we ask?"

Kranzer, a stubby dwarf chewing a bar of soap, screws up his face at the mention of alcohol.

"We're gonna be fetchin' drinks?! Why can't all Pathfinder missions be like this, eh? Huratas and Tishka! Look'a that, must'a got out around tha Grand Lodge what an upstanding Pathfinder I can be after my Confirmation, so they assigned us together again!"

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”GARDOL!” Jak laughs excitedly, ”Good to see ya again. Killed any massive monster-men lately?” He briefly touches on the big hilt of the massive, well-crafted blade slung across his back, ”I felt the need to get an upgrade after that little run-in.”

He greets Tishka and Kranzer in turn, ”Sounds like this is the place to be if you’re fresh off your Confirmation.” He grins up at the sky, spreading his hands to catch the drizzling rain, ”Welp, my clothes aren’t getting any drier, and my mouth ain’t getting any wetter. I say we head to the Wisp.”

Assuming Hurata’s/Gardol’s questions have been answered regarding any specifics Dreng can give us about his desired bottle. :)

"What you need, little one," the beggar looms over Huratas before grinning at him, "is some honest work to keep you lazy gadabouts out of trouble."

Dreng nods his head to the questions, "A very special vintage indeed. The bartender will know which one."

When you're done talking to Drandle, it's a Knowledge (geography or local) check to find the Wisp.

"Oh! Huratas, Kranzer! You stuck on this run too? Good ta see ya!"

Looking around the street corner and back at her companions, she asks sheepishly, "Uh...which way? I'm not too good with towny directions..."

Know (Local): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (14) + 5 = 19

"A guy told me where it was," Jak mutters, looking up and down the street as he scratches at his untamed blond hair.

Gardol looks to Jak. "Lead on then, my friend. This would seem to be an easy mission...but then so did our last one appear to be..."

Gardol will follow Jak to the Wounded Wisp...

"Aye, lead on! Seems the locals don't take to an upstanding dwarf such as myself asking them directions. Away we go!"

-Posted with Wayfinder

You find the Wounded Wisp in the Foreign Quarter, not far from the Grand Lodge. Built from dark, discolored wood, the exterior is the image of an iconic dive bar. Stained and barred windows obscure any view of the interior, though ruddy yellow light bleeds from a window in the front hall.

Inside, the smell of smoke and spilled ale assails the senses in this wide-open area. Walls of dark-stained wood make up the sides of the Wounded Wisp, while well-used wooden tables are spread throughout the space. A raised area in the back of the establishment houses several additional tables and eating areas for groups seeking more than just a good drink. An austere bar supported by kegs instead of wooden panels commands the northern end of the room. A stained-glass cabinet stands behind the bar, its dark panes cracked in several spots, yet not so opaque as to conceal the several dozen types of hard liquor within.

There is a woman behind the bar, and lots of patrons scattered around the room, many with wayfinders visible. Who do you want to talk to?

Gardol walks up to the bartender and bows. "Heryn Gale, I presume? Venture-Captain Dreng sent us for a bottle of wine you're holding for him..."

Jak walks slowly into the Wisp, giving the walls and shabby decor a critical look. "This place is a dump." A grin splits his face, and he looks over at Tishka, "I love it."

He crosses the main room, making a small circle as he goes to really see everything, then leans against the bar. "Heryn Gale." He flashes his half-smile, with a small half-bow, "I'm Jak, and I'm thrilled to meet you. I'm here with Gardol about that wine bottle, but if you ever need some entertainment, please let me know. I'd sing in this place just for the opportunity."

He turns around, looking at the customers, "Anyone interesting in here tonight?"

If we're killing time, does Jak recognize anyone?
Know (Local): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

I'm also happy to press on, if everyone's played this Scenario and doesn't feel the need to dally. :)

Looking around the dusty room, Tishka grins. "This is my type of place!"

Joining Jakwin at the bar, she giggles. "Sing? You know, I bet you'd look good with a blue color to the top there. Ever decide you's tired of your color, let me know."

Turning back to the barkeep, she inquires "Got anything for the stout of heart back there? Been a while since I had a good drink."

I'm fine with pressing on. Any patrons being overly rambunctious would catch Tishka's attention if we stick around

Kranzer surveys the scene about the Wisp.

"Ha HA. This is more like it, eh? Na some crummy cavern in the pimpled brow'a this bloody island. This is a real mission!"

He lets the others do the talking while eyeing any card or dice games going on.

I'm fine with skipping or RP'ing, either way.

We'll skip the patrons then, nobody ever uses their help anyhow.

Maps

A large, but shallow crevasse splits the room in two. Heryn crosses it very slowly, then turns back to you, ”Watch your step. We really do need a new plank.”

Mechanically, I need to know how quickly or slowly you walk across.

No need to rush. Dreng can get drunk a few minutes late.

"Surely one of your patrons can find you a new plank. They can't be that hard to come by."

Huratas will slowly walk across the plank. If it starts to wobble he'll move slower yet. Acrobatics: 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 - 2 = 4

That can't be good.

Gardol, after hearing Heryn's warning and seeing Huratas slowly walking across, decides to bypass the plank and jump over the narrow crevasse...

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Remember that you need a 10ft running start or the DC is doubled. So a 10ft jump requires a 20.

A 10 ft running start wouldn't be a problem but it shouldn't matter...the squares are 5 feet each so the crevasse is, at its widest, only 'bout 5 ft wide...and the part I jumped over (just east of the bridge) appears to be only half that...

Jak grins as Gardol jumps the gap. Not one to be outdone, Jak follows him across with an effortless jump. "Cant let you show us all up," he says with a wink.

Jak succeeds on the jump even on a roll of 1.

He looks back at the rest of the group and reaches out his hand, trying to help the team across.

Can Jak just hand out Aid Another's on the attempt to make sure we get across safely?

And once the team is successfully over (and people feel free to take a hit from Jak's CLW wand if you need it for any reason), Jak will move into the room, beginning his search.

"What was the bottle of wine, again?" he mutters as he begins looking at all the labels.

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22

" Right! Here we go then."

Kranzer moves half speed across the plank.

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Confirming her weapons are properly stowed, Tishka eyes the plank wearily. Shrugging, she slowly skips across, trying to remain as cautious as the others.

At the sound of Jakwin's question, she turns suddenly to peer across the room; still only halfway across the plank.

50/50: 1d100 ⇒ 69

Maps

Huratas and Tishka easily cross the plank, but it creaks threateningly under Kranzer's weight.

Once everyone is safely across the crack in the floor, Heryn leads you into the wine racks, "We are looking for the Barrowwood Estates Cabernet Sauvignon, 4690 AR. I think the label was dark purple."

A minute later, Jakwin shouts, "Found it!" but when he tries to take the bottle off the rack, it doesn't move. Instead, a secret door opens in the back wall. Heryn backs away in surprise, "Umm . . . I don't know what that is. You should make sure it's safe. You've been trained, right?"

After a short tunnel, you see a small room with a desk covered in papers. The room is lit by a glowing stone above the desk, with four dark tunnels leading away.

Please place your tokens.

Startled by the revelation of a secret door, Gardol will draw his bow and cover his companions as they enter the room, and keep a sharp eye out for trouble...

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Letting out a small squeal, Tishka jumps as the door slides open. Glancing around quickly, her cheeks turning crimson, she boldly announces "Uh, I knew that was going to happen..."

Stepping into the room, she glances around. "Seems ok..." she announces as she heads to the desk. "Think he knew that was gonna open?"

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11

Jak takes a retreating step back, throwing his fists up at the secret door as if it were a drunk threatening him in a tavern brawl. After a moment, he throws Gardol an excited grin.

”Now, this is more like it,” he laughs as he slings the massive blade from his back. ”Time to have some fun,” he says light-heartedly as he moves into the room.

As Tishka makes directly towards the desk, Jak can’t help but get curious about the caves themselves. He taps his arcane gift, whispering a heatless, steady light onto his blade, and moves carefully to his left, squinting down the side caverns.

”Where do you think these go? Didn’t sound like Heryn knows about them.”

Casting Light on his great sword.
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

Maps

Round Surprise
Effects none
Terrain none

• Huratas - sickened?
  
• Tishka - sickened?
  
• Red -
  
• Yellow -
  
• Kranzer - sickened?
  
• Gardol - sickened?
  
• Jakwin - surprised, sickened?

”Oh, do be carfeul,” Heryn calls out, ”What do you see back there?”

A sturdy silver chain jutting from the ceiling ends in a glowing orb that radiates yellow light across the rectangular room. A simple desk of polished wood, stacked with documents and scattered notes, shelters a pair of wooden chests against the south wall. A series of cracks along the eastern and western walls form makeshift entrances into exposed caverns.

Gardol's preparedness soons proves warranted though. As Tishka approaches the desk, two lizard-like creatures with large fangs and claws leap out of the tunnels.

Everyone must make a DC 13 Fortitude save or be sickened

Huratas and Tishka are up. Surprise action only.

'Hmm, not announcing yourself seems a tad rude.' considers the woman.

Pulling her double sided stick in anticipation, she announces, "Jumping out at people tends to get one hurt. In case you didn't know, that's not very proper."

A sudden overwhelming urge enveloping Tishka, she turns her head to the left and promptly empties her stomach on the floor. "Ugh, that tasted better going in than out!"

Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

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Fortitude: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Fort save DC 13: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

"Hurp!"

Huratas will attempt Touch of Chaos on the red creature.

melee touch vs flat-footed including Sickened: 1d20 + 5 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 5 - 2 = 12
If it touches the Lizard rolls 2d20 and keeps the lowest for all rolls until Huratas's next turn.

He will then take a 5ft step.

fort DC 13: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12; sheesh

Maps

Round Surprise - 1
Effects none
Terrain none

• Red - chaos 1/1
  
• Yellow -
  
• Kranzer - sickened?
  
• Gardol -
  
• Jakwin - surprised, sickened
  
• -----Round 1-----
  
• Huratas - 5 damage, sickened
  
• Tishka - sickened

Huratas touches the nearest lizard with crackling black electricity, which continues to arc up and down the creature's body for several seconds, causing its muscles to spasm unpredictably. Tishka draws her hooked hammer, then empties her stomach on Kranzer's boots.

Both creatures step into the room, catching the cleric between them. He manages to dodge one claw, but the other opens a wicked gash in his back.

Kranzer and Gardol may act in the surprise round (half turn only). Huratas and Tishka may take a full turn in round 1.

Not wanting to provoke from both enemies by using Touch of Chaos again and not having room to use his whip Huratas will go Total Defense.
AC of 24

"Blurp. Little help? Urrgh."

Gardol will take a free 5' acrobatic move east to avoid an AoO and fire an arrow at the red troglodyte...

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20 (vs. trog's CMD)

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

'These guys seem desperate for a fight..' she considers.

Stifling a gag, the gnome pirouette's to the corner, opposite Huratas. As she spins past the lizard-thing, she jabs at it with the rounded end. Once situated, Tishka thrusts the sharpened point towards it's belly.

Realizing her mistake after she began to spin, she sprays what little remains in her gut on the wall, nearly whacking herself with the blunt side of her hammer.

"Whoah! Uh...sorry...Stop now and lets us talk this out." she begs the creatures. "No need for you to get hurt here."

Kranzer looks down at his boots. "What the--! Hey Tishka, even the stuff you eat is colored differently? Wha's goin' on there?" He looks at the creatures attacking them. "But that's a story for later. Les not die, eh?"

He draws both of his short swords and readies himself for a fight.

@Gardol: A 5-ft. step doesn't provoke, no need to use Acrobatics.

@Tishka: The sickened condition also reduces damage, not just d20 rolls.

Maps

Round 1-2
Effects none
Terrain none

• Red - 8 damage
  
• Yellow -
  
• Kranzer -
  
• Gardol -
  
• Jakwin - sickened
  
• -----Round 2-----
  
• Huratas - 5 damage, sickened
  
• Tishka - sickened

Kranzer quickly shrugs off the stench and draws two small swords, while the better prepared Gardol buries a feathered shaft in the nearest troglodyte's thigh.

Cornered by the assailants, Huratas begins snapping his whip back and forth quickly, trying to deflect incoming blows. Tishka might as well be doing the same thing, as her hammer doesn't get close to the lizard's hide. The cleric's defense proves true though, as he just barely manages to get his whip in the way of a couple strikes and weaken the blows enough to avoid harm.

Everybody is up.

Really need to buy a spiked gauntlet.

"I can only hold them off for so long."

Huratas vomits on the yellow one out of spite.

Total Defense again.

Fighting to keep his own breakfast down, Jak steps into the scrap, the swings of his massive blade made awkward by the cramped space.

Gardol peels off two arrows at the red trog...

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 - 2 = 16

Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 - 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 - 2 = 21

Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Kranzer drives both swords forward in an effort to finish the fight quickly.

"Come on then, you!"

"Hrrk" escaping the gnomes mouth as it fills with even more bile.

'I don't remember eating that.. '

She tries again to connect with the lizard before her.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Maps

Round 2-3
Effects none
Terrain none

• Yellow - 8 damage
  
• Kranzer - 4 damage
  
• Gardol -
  
• Jakwin - sickened
  
• -----Round 3-----
  
• Huratas - 5 damage, sickened
  
• Tishka - sickened

Kranzer quickly lops off the cornered creature's arm at the elbow, then cuts the other one with his second sword. Gardol has a little trouble aiming around Kranzer's weaving body, but manages to plant an arrow in the remaining troglodyte.

Jakwin's swings just upsets his own stomach even more, while Huratas continues to fight for his life and Tishka fares little better than Jakwin.

The surviving enemy turns his fury on Kranzer, but the dwarf dodges most of its attacks.

Everybody is up.

Please ninja-dot the gameplay thread.

The characters for this table are:

• Jakwin Howell
  
• Gardol
  
• Huratas Pelicore
  
• Tishka Beger
  
• Kranzer Kraken-Mouth

Checked in. :)

Checking in!

Huratas hit level 2 then converted to Classic so I'll be bringing a different character. I'll play a Barbarian for now, I'll have it built and added by tonight.

Player: Edward McGee
Character: Holg Terbald
PFS ID#: 145373-18
Faction: Grand Lodge
Day Job: craft weapons: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17
Normal/Slow Track: Normal

Loni and Eveleth have gotten replaced with two of the characters from the other core table.

Dotted and ready.

Looking at the party we don't really need 3 barbarians. I'll play Huratas 2.0. No Day job though.

Player: RePete
Character Name: Tishka Beger
PFS #: 126566-11 (Core)
Faction: The Exchange
Day Job: Craft (Hair Dye): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

I'm going to do the Google Form again, so don't put your info in the thread.

Please roll your Day Job here, then fill in this form with all of your other character info.

Day Job: Perform (sing): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Looks like we're just waiting on Kranzer to complete the character info form.

Whoops, sorry about that. Thought for sure I filled it out on my phone couple days ago. Anyway, it's done now.

Oh, I totally forgot to pick up a Wayfinder for Jak. Can we assume he's made that purchase right before the Scrnario starts? Then I'll track it like an in-game purchase?

Sure.

Purchases:

MW Studded Leather - 175 gp
MW Buckler - 155 gp
Wayfinder - 1 PP

I think you meant to post that in a different thread.

I think you meant to post that in a different thread.

Good catch! That was for the GM School table.

Regarding the mingling: On the one hand this is a nice scenario for new players partly because of the RP in the bar. On the other hand Granta is a busy guy and handling possibly several RP conversations could easily add an extra week or two to the game's length.
I have no specific plans for Huratas after this so have no objections either way.

I apologize for not posting lately. I have heat exhaustion, and it's a lot more draining in real life than in Pathfinder. I don't even have the mental energy to watch a movie without taking a nap.

The good news is that two days of rest and lots of water is all its supposed to take to recover, so I'll hopefully be back on Tuesday.

No worries,GM. Take your time and get better. Some of us flirted with heat exhaustion on our last hike in the Grand Canyon...not pleasant and we didn't have a full case of it like you. Hope you feel well soon...

Oof. I hear heat exhaustion is rough. Take care of yourself.

I lived most of my life in Arizona. We had to have PSAs about staying hydrated and ambulances got called for tourists quite often. Heat Exhaustion is no joke. Rest up and get well man.

I'm feeling better now, but couldn't quite get everything done today that I wanted. Will resume our game tomorrow morning.

sweet. Looking forward to it. :)

This is the part where I roll really well on all the checks leading up to combat, then the dice turn on me ... and Jak becomes cave-fodder. :/

Is there a way to use spell-like abilities defensively? If yes what is the DC?

@Huratas: SLAs can be cast defensively using the same rules as spells.

-Posted with Wayfinder

But what level is the SLA? Since I got it at first level is it always treated as a level 1 spell?

But what level is the SLA? Since I got it at first level is it always treated as a level 1 spell?

Answer

Ah. So defensively using SLA's is a pain. Thanks for finding that for me.

Taking today off for the holiday, will resume tomorrow.

Somebody please bot Tishka & Kranzer for this round.

Sorry for my being MIA yesterday. Work was understaffed and busy as hell. I personally dealt with 80+ 911 calls and was exhausted when I got home.

Thank you Huratas for botting me.

I personally dealt with 80+ 911 calls

I don't even want to imagine the stress of a day like that.

I had that exact same thought. God bless you, Tishka.

I recently went from working 15 hours a week to 50-60, and as you'd expect, it's forcing adjustments and sacrifices in the rest of my life. I don't really have the focus or mental energy to GM after working 10 hours, and I currently have too many games to update them all in the morning.

So for the time being, I'll probably only be updating this game 4 times a week instead of 6. However, Cosmic Captive finishes in 10 days, and that will free up more than enough time.

I apologize for the inconvenience, but promise it will be over within two weeks.

To keep the math simple Huratas will chip in 10 and everyone else can chip in 8. I hate tracking silver and copper on my sheets so I try to get my purchases to equal at least 1 gold.

Works for me. :)

There's only 5 players, so it's 10 gp each.

Simpler still.

I’ll be out of on vacation starting tomorrow morning through next Wednesday. Bot me as necessary. :)

I’ll be out of on vacation starting tomorrow morning through next Wednesday. Bot me as necessary. :)

And to everyone else, please remember that I do not bot characters as the GM.

I want to apologize for my recent (and possibly continued) absence. I'm feeling very burned out right now, but will hopefully be recharged by next week.

I played with Jakwin in the Confirmation...I can try to bot him if that's OK...

Shifty and Hmm have done a good job of scaring me about overseeing Solstice Scar, so I want to make sure that I don't fail at this responsibility. One of the things I'd like to do is delay the start of Consortium Compact.

If overseeing the special turns out to be an absolute nightmare, then I would wait to GM anything else until Solstice Scar finishes. But if it ends up being easy to manage, then we would start the next scenario just a week or two late. Either way though, I do intend to finish our next game during GameDay VI.

I'm OK with delaying Consortium till after Solstice Scar...you've had a lot on your plate, so no worries...

Yep, no problem here!

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Certainly works for me.