[PFS] Tide of Twilight (Inactive)

Game Master StephNyan

Seeing the wolf man closing in on her, Oleander snaps off a pair of shots from her powerful longbow.

rapidshot1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
rapdishot2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10

The first shot is a good one.
damage: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
I assume the second misses. I'm also assuming these were human. The template above didn't say anything about changing of the creature type, so I'm still applying favoured enemy(human) bonuses to attack and damage here.

She then steps back another five feet.
map

Map Updated

Pooka's growl matches his mount's snarl as the two face off against the similarly affected wolf-man.

They are just like me, innocent in this, must control my urge to kill!

Dog and feral rider slide down to cut off any movement the wolf-man might make toward his companion, while drawing his Halberd to bear.

Luna, Sic!

Attack, bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13 for Damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Luna lunges at the man, trying to bite him, while Pooka cuts at him with the polearm.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 for Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

@Oleander: That's correct, they still count as humans :)

The dazed wolf man takes a shot in its leg from Oleander, and a bite from Luna. The wolf man howls in pain, but manages to keep standing. That is, until Pooka cuts him down with the polearm. (I'll use the gray cross to show he's unconscious, but not dead.)

The lion man moves into view, but keeps his distance.

Turn progression - round 2:
Scritch
Boar man
Sun
Ludwick
Leepo
Beads
Pooka
Oleander
Lion man

The map's updated.

Scritch is up again!

"The Lion Man is MINE!" Pooka snarls, with a bit more of a feral tone than he intended.

"We must try not to kill them outright, they can still be saved from this madness!"

Hearing Pooka's proclamation, Scritch decides to head for the boar instead. When within reach, he tries to bite the head off of the boar-man.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20
Damage: 1d6 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

Now I see why Pounce is such a cool options, although I am not sure the way to either opponent was clear enough. Maybe he'll get an AoO or more, though...

Map updated

Scitch nearly rips him apart, but the boar man survives.

The boar man then takes out his anger on Ludwick in a full attack.

Bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18 Damage: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Claw 1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 Damage: 1d3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Claw 2: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14 Damage: 1d3 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Both claws miss Ludwick, but the boar man's teeth sink deep into Ludwick's shoulder.

Turn progression - round 2:
Scritch
Boar man -10HP
Sun
Ludwick 4/10HP
Leepo
Beads
Pooka
Oleander
Lion man

Those in bold are up.

Lizzy shouts at the Boar man.

"Bad pig!"
Daze

map

Cure Light Wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

I take a 5 foot step then down my cure light wounds extract.

Will: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (20) - 1 = 19

While Ludwick steps back and heals, Beads tries to daze the boar man. Sadly, the boar man resists Beads' spell.

Turn progression - round 2:
Scritch
Boar man -10HP
Sun
Ludwick 6/10HP
Leepo
Beads
Pooka
Oleander
Lion man

Those in bold are up.

Woohoo! Charging, using Ride-by-attack! Map Updated

Pooka reaches down to his loyal mount's neck, whispering, "Now is our chance, let's end this so we can find the true threat!" He drops his Halberd while reaching for his Lance.

Then with an authentic primal howl, Dog and Rider rear back momentarily before rocketing forward at a breakneck speed, Lance drawn and tip lowered for maximum effect. Just as he reaches the sweet spot in the charge, Pooka angles the tip of the lance at the Lion-man.

Attack, Charging w/lance: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 6 + 2 = 26 for Damage (double w/ lance while charging): 1d6 + 3 + 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 + (6) + 3 = 16

The lance pierces easily through the feral human and as quickly as he strikes, the mounted warrior is gone, well past the now wounded foe. Pooka pulls on Luna's reigns to wheel her around and return, in case the job was not finished on the first pass.

Map!

Assuming the lion-man is still alive. If not this attack can just as easily be targeted at the boar man, just need to retcon the move closer to the boar man

Taking a few steps towards the Lion-man, arm out stretched the whole way Sun moves closer to the injured foe. Finally getting close enough, Sun points a single finger towards the Lion-man and the building lightning arcs out at the target.

Lightning Arc + point blank, Touch Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
lightning Arc, Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Luna charges at the lion man, and Pooka thrusts his lance into the feral man's stomach. The lion man looks like just standing there hurts, but refuses to go down.

Sun shoots a lightning arc at the lion man, but instead hits the building behind his target.

Turn progression - round 2:
Scritch
Boar man -10HP
Sun
Ludwick 6/10HP
Leepo
Beads
Pooka
Oleander
Lion man -16HP & Disabled

Leepo and Oleander are up.

Seeing a clear shot at the lion man, and confident that Scritch will take down the boar, Leepo takes a shot at the lion man with her crossbow.

Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Realising the truth of the men being, well, men, Oleander somewhat reluctantly switches to blunt arrows. Stepping to the east, she fires at Boar Man. unless he is down in which case she fires at Lion man

attack1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
attack2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
hmm, one of those may hit Maybe
damage: 1d3 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7 <= non lethal.

Leepo takes out the lion man with a well-aimed shot. Oleander then manages to hit the boar man with one of her arrows, and takes the last of the feral men out.

Combat's over!

All three feral men are unconscious, but stable.

Pooka sighs with relief when the last of the assailants falls. He hops down from Luna, giving her a rewarding tussle of her nape, and retrieving several treats from his saddlebags.

"This change I feel... I hope I don't turn into what these men have become." He says with worry in his voice. "Falbin said that ending the ritual will reverse these effects. I sure hope he is right... He also said that the ritual will be over in another day, and we apparently still have one more day to travel to get there. These men should be bound, and perhaps healed to ensure they don't die, and we should be on our way as quickly as possible. We are running out of time, for Ludwick and I, and all the people in this area."

Pooka, do you mind if I take a few clippings for my experiments?

"As exciting as that was, i suggest we tie them up firmly. We don't want round 2, do we?"

"Well enough done"
Agrees Oleander.

"We should quickly look around in case there are more, or if there are yet unchanged people about."

survival for tracks: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

"Erm... Yes, I suppose," He answers, eying Ludwick with a hint of suspicion. "Let's make this quick, I don't want to end up stuck like this because we were late getting to the grove to interrupt this vile ceremony."

With that, Pooka jumps back into his saddle, and spurs her forward down the road towards their destination.

"Well, I don't think we want to take these creatures with us, but if there is a chance of them reverting to their former self, we should at least give them a chance."

Leepo instructs Scritch to collect them and carry them into the building as she ties them up and bandages their wounds. Hopefully, we will resolve this quickly and be back to see how you fair.

If there is a room around that can be locked or barred from the outside, we'll put them in there as well, so no one else is harmed.

While looking for a place where you can put the men, you find a pay box containing 55 gold pieces. You also uncover an accounting ledger hidden in an office. The incriminating ledger contains obvious accounting inaccuracies and notes regarding payments made to an unnamed criminal enterprise.

Scritch leaves the feral men, neatly tied up with their own belts, in the camp's tavern.

The sun's about to set, and on Falbin's map you see there's a river you'll have to cross not too far from here.

If you leave now, you'll arrive at the river when the sun's fully set.

So, Do ve camp here of see how far we can get?

"We make it as far as we can get. Ludwick, you and I have the most to lose. I do not want to miss the opportunity to interrupt this ritual, which I believe will end this wretched change I feel in my body. I love my dogs, but I do not wish to become one. We can report the criminal activities here when we come back through."

Pooka states his opinion in such a way to leave no room for argument. With things wrapped up here, he begins to move down the road, prepared for something else to jump out from the hidden corners and shadows.

ACT 3: RIVER CROSSING

A deep, placid river interrupts the path to Briar Henge. A few large logs have been placed across the river, providing a crude bridge to access the other side. Moonlight dapples the surface of the murky water, the result of branches crisscrossing the river high overhead.

It's dark when the party arrives at the river. The moonlight won't do for everyone when crossing the river, and you've been traveling since it was morning.

You could create light sources and press on, but you'd end up reaching Briar Henge fatigued.

There's a new map.

"{b]I suggest we cross the river and then camp. That way if anyone falls in, we have a night to rest, recover and dry out.[/b]"

She looks out over the river, trying to assess how hard the crossing is likely to be.

perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

"Maybe if one of us took a rope across it would help the others?" she suggests.

Ludwick does the same

perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
survival: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

"Cross it now, cross it tomorrow morning, it does not really matter. It is dark enough out that we would have better luck staying dry in the light of the morning, but either way, it is obvious we cannot go any farther tonight. We must camp soon so we can be off as quickly as possible tomorrow morning. I will volunteer to take the middle watch in the night. Nobody likes the middle watch."

Pooka's sour mood has not lightened by the trek so far. The longer he stays in this state, the worse it gets.

Pooka starts to set up camp, determined to rest at the party's current location.

Despite the dark, Oleander and Ludwick notice a javelin trap (red dot on map) in front of the large logs that have been placed across the river. The logs themselves are also trapped with an axe trap.

Map updated.

Very well, ve shall set up camp now. Especially as there seems to be traps. I volunteer for the first vatch.

I also start setting up camp.

Leepo asks Scritch to go disable the traps, so we won't have that headache later.

Scritch Disable Javelin Device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13
Scritch Disable Axe Device: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

By "disable", will he actually tinker with it or just set it off?
I've heard of that method, hazardous, but nearly 100% success.

LOL - Actually, he has a better Disable Device than anyone else I could see, but the rolls were not so good! So I think the plan was to disable, but I fear the latter will be the effect!

Map

Holy smokes, posts everywhere!
"Let's deal with crossing in the morning," Sun suggests. "It is late and showing up tired will not help us much. I can take last watch, I enjoy watching the sun rise and feel the change come across the land.

Javelin: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21 Damage: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Fort DC18 vs giant wasp poison: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8 Dex Damage: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Scritch tries to disable the javelin trap, but instead triggers it. The poisoned javelin pierces his chest, and Scritch drops to the ground. He remains there unconscious. (He isn't slain so he doesn't go back to his home plane.)

Arrow: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6
Confirm Crit: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13 Damage: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 3) + 2 = 6

An arrow, shot from the bushes, hits Pooka in his chest. When you turn to see where it came from, you see a elven woman with a longbow in the bushes.

"Now!" the elf yells loudly.

Turn progression - round 1:
Ludwick 6/10HP
Leepo
Pooka 18/24HP
Scritch -4/8HP & -2 Dex (Bleeding)
Tavariel
Beads
Sun
Oleander 16/18HP
Jumblegrin

Those in bold are up, and the map's updated.

Unless Leepo dismisses him, Scritch will have to roll another DC18 Fort save or take 1d2 Dex damage. If he stays around he'll also need to make a DC10 Con roll to stabilize, treating his negative HP as a penalty.

attack,bomb: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12 damage,bomb: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5 Fire

I throw a bomb at the person who just appeared.

Too close to charge with his lance, Pooka urges Luna to step forward, drawing his heavy flail. Map Updated

Attack, Heavy Flail: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 for Bludgeoning Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

"Drop your weapons or we will show no quarter!"

Do they appear to be feral?

Yikes!

Leepo isn't quite sure what to do to help Scritch, so she dismisses him immediately.

Your opponents aren't feral. Pooka, could you adjust the HP in your stat bar to match your current HP?

Ludwick's bomb misses the elf, but it inflicts some splash damage when it lands next to her. Pooka's attack hits the elf, inflicting more damage.

"I won't, you nasty lycanthrope!" the elf yells at Pooka.

While Leepo dismisses the wounded Scritch, the elf backs away from Pooka. From below the tree she aims her longbow at Pooka, and fires a silvered arrow at him.

Arrow: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

This second arrow goes wide.

Turn progression - round 1:
Ludwick 6/10HP
Leepo
Pooka 18/24HP
Tavariel -3HP
Beads
Sun
Oleander 16/18HP
Jumblegrin

The map's updated, and those in bold are up.

"Hey, calm down lady!"

Daze

Done, sorry about that! and whew, glad that arrow didn't hit :)

Will: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 4 + 2 = 10

Despite her natural resistance against enchantments, the elf's affected by Beads' daze spell.

"Woohoo! Quickly now that she's not focused."

"Wait, she probably just thinks we are overcome by the ritual.."

And in Elven
"Stop attacking us, we are trying to stop the changes."

Reverting back to her blunt arrows, Oleander snaps off a couple of them at the other female elf.

rapdishot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24
rapdishot: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11 <= I'm guessing a miss, roll damage for me if needed (d4+3 non lethal)

crit confirm: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18 <=I'm hoping confirmed crit, reduce damage if necessary
crit damage: 3d4 + 9 ⇒ (2, 2, 4) + 9 = 17 <= non lethal.

Sun readies an action to use a usage of his lightning arc should the elf fire at us again. Speaking in elven, he directs a question to the elf.

"We are pathfinders trying to stop the changes as she said," Sun says with a wave of his free hand towards Oleander."Let's just calm down and talk this over."

@Oleander: As written in the description of blunt arrows, changing lethal to nonlethal damage gives you a -4 penalty on attack rolls. So you hit, but don't confirm. Any reason why your 1d8+3 damage roll changes to 1d4+3?

@Sun: If you ready an action, please make the rolls for the readied action in a spoiler.

I was thinking the damage was halved for blunt arrows. Don't know where I got that from. Oleander only has -3 for doing no lethal damage due to the Envoy of Peace boon from Trial by Machine - not sure if that makes a difference to the crit confirm. (AC15).
damage rerolled: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
bonus crit if it was confirmed at AC15: 2d8 + 6 ⇒ (1, 7) + 6 = 14

It would be helpful if you had such info in your character's profile.

The elf woman's dazed and currently unable to respond to what Oleander and Sun say to her. Oleander's arrow hits the elf in her shoulder.

A small crocodile comes running out of the water, and up to Pooka and Luna.

Bite: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
Confirm crit: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

The crocodile bites Luna in her side, inflicting a massive wound.

Turn progression - round 2:
Ludwick 6/10HP
Leepo
Pooka 18/24HP (Luna 6/19HP
Tavariel -3HP & 4NL (Dazed)
Beads
Sun
Oleander 16/18HP
Jumblegrin

The map's updated, and those in bold are up.

@Pooka: Natural 20 always hits, but (as per Mounted Combat) you may make a Ride check to possibly negate the crit damage to your mount.

map

attack, moringstar: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18 damage, moringstar: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

I move to flank the croc, being carful to stay out of its reach until the last moment. Then I attack it.

Luna! Pooka yells out as the Croc clamps on to her flank.

Ride Check to negate Crit confirm: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Unfortunately he is too late, and he cringes as the reptile takes a viscous bite.

Channeling his rage, he swings his heavy flail at the croc.

Attack, Flanking: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 2 = 24 for Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10