[PFS] The Six(?) Seasoned Pathfinders, Episode 8: The Blakros Matrimony

Game Master Badslacker

Cody and Max double move around to the side entrance near the stage.

@Aeleth - you could jump there (onto the table) with that Acrobatics roll, but you'll take an AOO from the dretch unless you want to roll again. There's also a space between the table and stage (which is higher as well).

Round 1
Aeleth
Cody
Drunken mercenary (the red circle)
Dretch (the blue circle)
Dusklord
Serak
Stephani
Olaf

If I try to acro, I'll run out of movement before reaching the stage anyway, so I'll cop the attack of opportunity. At least the caster on stage can't take one since he does not have both hands on his halberd...

Roaring with fury as his eyes blaze with red energy, Aeleth barrels past the dretch and leaps towards the caster with a mighty swing of Olaf's axe.

acrobatics onto stage from table (unless I can swing at him from the table?): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

attack roll with greataxe and power attack, raging: 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (15) + 8 + 2 - 1 = 24
damage roll: 1d12 + 10 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 3 = 22

Aeleth rushes forward at astonishing speed, darting past the dretch which nonetheless claws at him and spills blood, ripping through Aeleth's arm. Aeleth ignores the blow and jumps on the table, continuing his jump from there onto the stage - where the formerly-drunken mercenary hisses and quickly - more than humanly possible, it seems - stabs at him with his halberd, right into Aeleth's chest. The half-elf ignores the pain and brings his axe down on the man, chopping his head off.

Dretch attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22
Dretch damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Drunken mercenary attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Drunken mercenary damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
Aeleth, please roll a Will save.

As the man expires, a dark winged form materializes above his corpse. The form flies to another corner, as another dretch materializes. The first dretch realizes it can't reach Aeleth on the stage and instead lumbers to Max and Cody and claws and tries to bite Cody.
Dretch attack, Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Dretch damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Dretch attack, Claw: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Dretch damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Dretch attack, Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Dretch damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5
Cody, Will save as well please.

Round 1
Aeleth
Cody
Demonlike figure? (the red circle)
Dretches (the blue circles)
Dusklord
Serak
Stephani
Olaf

He is still on the platform, having just finished gesturing in what must have been a magic spell. He's holding a large halberd in his other arm.

If he was only holding his halberd with one hand (having used the other hand for casting), he shouldn't be able to wield it to stab me when I provoked? Halberds being 2-handed weapons?

will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Also...I might have gone a little too deep... A caster I can melee... the dark winged form might be a little more tricky...

Stephani shakes her head at Aeleth's exuberance. Well, at least he is a brave one, I'll give him that.

Having already removed the peace bond on her sword during the last fight, Stephani enters the fray. Double move, based on the map.

Dusklord accesses the situation and decides the strange winged creature must be contained. He casts web on the southern side of the chamber.

Web, DC 16 Reflex, and 20' radius should get the entire southern part of the room, excluding Aeleth.

will save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6 (not looking good.)

Dusklord's webs fill the south part of the pavilion, obscuring the dark figure at its end. Stephani moves into the tent, turning towards the dretch that has attacked Cody.

In the meanwhile, Olaf rushes into the room and slashes at the other dretch, but misses the demon.
1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Serak, Aeleth and Cody (there's no visible effect for failing the Will save) are up!

Aeelth takes a swing at the dretch, before taking a 5ft step off the stage behind Olaf.

attack roll greataxe power attack : 1d20 + 8 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 - 1 = 29
damage: 1d12 + 10 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 10 + 3 = 18

Probably would not have charged in like that if that were the actual case. No matter. I'll let Olaf bear the brunt of the flying creature's next attack to make up for it.

Crit threat, Aeleth.

status: Cody 26-8=18, missed will save?

Cody uses a swift action for both Max and him to take on the animal aspect of the bull for more strength before both of them attack the Dretche that attacked Cody.

(both using Outflank & packflank for +4 flank, +1d6 Precise Strike, -1/+2 power attack, +1/+1 bull)
+1 scimitar: 1d20 + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 = 29 to hit
if hits : 1d6 + 4 + 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 4 + (4) + 2 + 1 = 12 damage
Possible crit
To confirm: 1d20 + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 = 29 to hit
Plus if confirmed : 1d6 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 2 + 1 = 13 damage total damage 25

Brother Max attacks too!

bite: 1d20 + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 = 12 to hit
if hits : 1d4 + 3 + 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + (3) + 2 + 1 = 12 damage

claw: 1d20 + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 = 19 to hit
if hits : 1d4 + 3 + 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + (6) + 2 + 1 = 15 damage

claw: 1d20 + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 5 + 4 - 1 + 1 = 17 to hit
if hits : 1d4 + 3 + 1d6 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + (4) + 2 + 1 = 11 damage

Aeleth's blow literally splits the dretch in two, just as Cody and Max tear into their dretch. It's a bit disappointing to discover that the dretches just fade away into foggy nothing. The south part of the pavilion falls silent, and once you move to a better position to examine the area amid the remnants of Dusklord's web, you discover that the demon has disappeared. Olaf takes advantage of the mayhem to vanish, not an easy talk for such a big man.

The remainder of your stay on the island is rather depressing. As soon as it is clear that the danger has passed, Hamaria convenes all the guests in the pavilion, from which everyone is escorted by the guards towards the boats. Quite a few guests and mercenaries (and demons) died in the demon attack, and the survivors are justifiably angry at the Blakroses for not taking care of their safety. As everyone is leaving, Hamaria approaches you and thanks you for preventing the situation from getting even more out of hand, but then leaves you to go with the other guests to the ship. She then excuses herself and leaves.

You see Michellia and Damian from a distance, while there's no sign of Olaf. As you pass near the path towards the secluded beach, you notice two pairs of recent tracks leading to that direction, but it's unclear who left them.

The boat ride back is uneventful, with no sign of the merriment that happened on the way to the island. Quite a few guests approach you and thank you for your help, some offering you trinkets of some value. Even Nigel Aldain grunts a short thanks before heading out to another part of the boat.

When you get back to Absalom, you report back to the Lodge where Ambrus Valsin seems rather glad with the outcome. "It was a terrible tragedy, but thanks to your diplomatic work with the guests and successful work with that demon, the Pathfinder society gained important prestige with the elite of Absalom, while the Blakroses now owe us quite a few favors." You get the sense that he is more interested in the latter than the former.

That's it - congratulations! I hope you've enjoyed the module even though it was quite unusual. Please write down your details in the discussion thread so I can prepare your Chronicles.

Was the missed will save for Cody anything I need to get cleared up?

Short answer is no.

Serak laughs maniacally as the battle breaks out, summons a ball of fire to his hand, and then sighs mournfully when everything calms down just as quick. After giving a quick look around for Olaf, and after not seeing him (and sighing with relief), the gnome casually, and inconspicuously, drops the fireball on the corner of the tent.

Dusklord pats Serak on the shoulder. "There will be many battles left to come, my friend. Your powers are growing, and we will need you to remain fully in control of them."

The wizard prepares for a return to the university between missions.

Any problem with letting Olaf off the hook at the end there? Who sent the dretch attack?

That was indeed anti-climatic. I assume the shady winged creature was more fluff than anything else?

"Yes... growing powers. In some cases, that's more of a cause for concern," Lucien mutters as he looks sideways at Aeleth.

I think this might be one of those scenarios where there is a nice juicy story in the background that the PCs have no way to work out?

Yah, I come across a few of those...

Interesting adventure, Thanks Badslacker for GMing the Module!

Cool, thanks for the run down. It does make more sense now. Who's up in the rotation?

Thanks for the exposition on the story.

The 6 Seasoned Pathfinders {link]

Looking at the spread sheet, it looks like next up is Steven_Evil is up with 4-02 In Wrath's shadow.

Looking ahead, Crashwheeler was slotted to run The Night March of Kalkamedes. Which I've played, but then that's Ok since I believe that's the GM slot I'm replacing?

I'm still without wifi, which makes GM'ing impossible currently. I should be set after one more scenario length, however, as I'm about to move into my new place within a week or two. (Being in the hospital a couple of months ago really threw my life into a jam, I've been slowly recovering bits and pieces and am almost complete.) Could we possibly change up the order so that I can go after the next scenario? I hate to be a nuisance.

I believe Baerlie is still out.

next would be PatheticWretch with 3-19 The Icebound Outpost.

Otherwise it's me with 4-19 The Night March of Kalkamedes

I've actually played Icebound Outpost, so I'm happy to run it.

After that however, I might need to drop from the group. Being in too many pbps is starting to take a toll on me/my work. =(

You can consider it my parting gift to the group. =)

That's sad news. I really like Aeleth.

Thanks! Oddly enough, I like him too. XD

But I also like having a job, and sadly one is not too conducive to the other at the moment. =(

Shall I GM Icebound outpost then?

Sure!

I'll be sad to see you go but I understand completely. Go ahead and run it, and I enjoyed playing with you immensely.

I would also be very sad to see Aeleth go. He has been awesome, and I've loved his companion, too. :(

I also work, but 1/day posting is not too hard!

Do we want to recruit one more? Looks like we will not be getting our dwarven inquisitor back...I just checked with her.

Dusklord: on the scenario sheet, you have a "Can't" listed for the Ice bound outpost?

I too, would be sad to see Aeleth and his familiar leave.

With Aeleth bowing out and Bearlie on extended leave. Yes, to recruiting one more.

Shoot...thanks for pointing that out, Cody. I have run through that one.

We'll either need to run something else, or I can run it now.

Bummer we are losing you, Fiddler! But I know what you mean...

Did we get chronicles and I missed it?

Otherwise, I am up for trying to recruit another, although it will be hard to get someone that fits the scenario list as we have them set. But we should give it a try.

Just a quick heads up. My piston may be scarce over the next few days. I'm moving into a new place (hopefully, fingers crossed) tomorrow, I just got made a Venture Agent in an area where my Venture Captain is two hours away and my closest Venture Lieutenant is forty five minutes away, and also trying to kick this cold that decided to come out of nowhere. I'll still be checking the boards close to twice a day if possible, though. I just wanted to let you guys know not to worry if I miss a post for a day or two.

Okay, I've opened a recruiting thread to get another player or 2.

Aeleth, can we convince you to join us for Icebound Outpost as a player if I DM that one? (there will be butts that need to be kicked for goodness).

Unfortunately, I have already played that one (and I still remember the key elements of the final encounter too...)

Have fun guys.=)

Here are season's 3 modules that are in level 3 range.

3-01 The Frostfur Captives 1-5
3-02 Sewer Dragons of Absalom 3-7
3-06 Song of the Sea Witch 3-7
3-08 Among the Gods 3-7
3-09 QfP 1: The Edge of Heaven 1-5
3-11 QfP 2: On Hostile Waters 1-5
3-13 QfP 3: Defenders of Nesting Swallow 1-5
3-18 The God's Market Gamble 1-5
3-21 The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment 1-5
3-23 The Goblinblood Dead 1-5
3-25 Storming the Diamond Gate 3-7

I haven't played any of them. Just republish the ones you can play.

I can play any of those except the Frostfut Captives and The Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment.

Taking out the ones Serak has played, here's what's left. Since I think I'm up next to DM, I guess it doesn't matter what I have played.

3-02 Sewer Dragons of Absalom 3-7
3-06 Song of the Sea Witch 3-7
3-08 Among the Gods 3-7
3-09 QfP 1: The Edge of Heaven 1-5
3-11 QfP 2: On Hostile Waters 1-5
3-13 QfP 3: Defenders of Nesting Swallow 1-5
3-18 The God's Market Gamble 1-5
3-23 The Goblinblood Dead 1-5
3-25 Storming the Diamond Gate 3-7

I can play all of those. I have played Sewer Dragons of Absalom with a core character, but still eligible for credit with Stephani.

I'm also good with all of those.

Okay, let's have our new players weigh in on the next scenario and then I'll start it up.

My vote goes for one of these four:

3-06 Song of the Sea Witch 3-7
3-08 Among the Gods 3-7
3-23 The Goblinblood Dead 1-5
3-25 Storming the Diamond Gate 3-7

I did the others unfortunately... But I can host one of them when it gets to my time on the round (I believe I can still get credit if I host, right?)

I apologize! I didn't realize I had done so many scenarios of season 3 heh :)

I prefer not to do among the gods, I have a character that has done among the living and among the dead, and would like to complete the trilogy with him. I'm fine with any of the others though.

I'm good with everything except the goblin blood dead but I have enough GM stars to burn some I can burn one if need be

If you need someone to run QFP1 in the future I can do that since that was the first one I ever played on Selerick and I have ran it a couple of times

Okay...I think I'll do Song of the Sea Witch, since I've played that one already.

I'll start getting it ready. Lyrio and Bluesman, do you mind putting a hotbar on your characters like the other characters have with all the quick stats please?

What is everyone's availability over Christmas? Does everyone want to just start, knowing it will be slow for a bit, or would everyone prefer to start after Christmas?

I'm good to start at any time.

Ready here. I saw we can start at any time... Even if we only pick the pace after the holidays.