Adventure Path Reign of Winter

Game Master Almonihah

Quasit nods.

”Yeah. I’ve been going over it in my mind since we left there. At first I thought she might be a construct of some kind. You know, like a golem. But that can’t be right. That woman was desperately scared for her husband. And she was able to use a magical scroll.”

”Then I thought, well maybe she’s like one of those soul dolls? Maybe the husband somehow put her soul into an artificial body? Or someone else did, and she somehow broke free of that control, and is now living a normal life? But that doesn’t seem right either. She was too complete. Too average. And if that was an artificial wooden body that looked and moved exactly like a normal flesh one ... I mean, that seems way too amazing for a guy in a shack to have made. And if he didn’t make her, who did? Because something like that would be too valuable and amazing to just be allowed to wander off. It just doesn’t add up.”

She stretches out her legs, crossing her ankles so her bare foot rests on the booted one, and flexes her toes.

”It doesn’t matter I suppose. Whatever she was, she’s ok in my book.”

Fin nods to Quasit. "I noticed...I think she was a Sylph...but I could be mistaken...

"This weather change concerns me...let me have a look around..."

The ranger draws his bow and stealthily scouts out the area, using any foliage as cover as he looks for hidden creatures, traps, and tracks...

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (20) + 12 = 32

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

"It doesn't have to be a bad thing. Maybe we just got far enough away from a magic spell?"

"Speaking of which, I don't think Sylgja was human." says Quasit, as she finds a fallen tree to sit down on. She pulls off one of her boots and begins to rub her foot. "I think she was made of wood, actually. I had a chance to touch her hands, and whatever her hands were, they weren't flesh. I didn't say anything at the time because I didn't want to start up a whole thing, and obviously they were nice people who were actually helping us."

"Yeah, lots of nice people aren't human." Maka replied to Quasit. After a moment a realization dawned on her and she burst in to laughter. "Hahaha do you think all of her is made of wood? Poor Finngarth...Wait were did Fin go?"

the snow and the warm weather are both caused by magical means, though the warm weather doesn't last, though Fin does notice a Great Elk, and what appears to be a mated couple of worgs watching the elk.

"He does that... lets just enjoy the brief respite from this eternal winter... maybe cook up something to eat and dry out some of our belongings. Even I'm getting tired of the snow now."

as you make your way in a bit in to the warm weather, you see what Fin saw, a Great Elk, and what appears to be a mated pair of Worgs stalking it. however as the worgs notice the group they leave the immediate area

”That’s the biggest deer I’ve ever seen.” murmurs Quasit in quiet awe. She watches it with obvious reverence for a while, then murmurs again. ”You don’t suppose it could be a shape-shifted Druid, do you? Maybe it’s got something to do with this mild weather.”

”I still feel like we should just leave it alone though.”

Majority votes, Leave alone(1) anything else (0)

"Why bother it?" Hace responds to Quasit.

Only thing I could see is hunting it for more food, but it's unlikely to be the only food source in the warmer weather.

Fin uses hand signs to motion his friends that he plans to give the elk plenty of room, in addition to the worgs, and by-pass both and get back to their journey...

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (10) + 12 = 22
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (18) + 10 = 28
Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Quasit nods to Findurel, looks back at everyone else in the party, her eyes resting a moment longer on Maka, then moves off quietly to follow Findurel, giving the elk wide berth.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (20) + 10 = 30

Sakitu also watches the elk. When Quasit mentions that maybe it is a shape-shifted creature, she extends her magical energy to try to detect and aura.

Cast detect magic at it.

We could stock up on supplies... but it's quite majestic and hace didn't want to sacrifice a rabbit... Bulvi keeps his counsel and gets ready to move around the beast.

no the creature isn't magical

majority has it on leaving it alone

~~~~~~~~~~~~

you continue on and along the path and find some ruins -

This place was once a small town or village prior to the Winter War. Most of the buildings are little more than piles of snowcovered stones, with crumbled sections of their walls rising from the ruins. The only structure that might offer temporary shelter appears to be an old temple inside a walled circular churchyard with an arch at the entrance. The front door of the temple has rotted away, but a smooth stone circle engraved with the outline of a butterfly is mounted above the doorway.

Hace takes a look at the butterfly, "Hmm, wonder if this was a temple to Desna."

knowledge religion: 1d20 + 9 + 1d6 ⇒ (18) + 9 + (1) = 28
inspiration roll 2 take the better: 1d6 ⇒ 6 =33

The butterfly is a symbol to Desna

"Good, she probably won't mind us sleeping in her old temple." Maka said as she looked around.

(A) Are we back to winter weather? and (B) Is it late enough in the day that we need to be looking for a campsite?

A) yes its back to cold weather, and B) you have maybe an hour or so

"Let me and Fin give the place the once over, in case someone decided to booby trap it."

Quasit moves forward to investigate the old church for traps.

Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22
Perception for traps: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

Fin nods to Quasit and goes with her to check the ruins for foes, traps, and tracks...

Stealth: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (8) + 12 = 20
Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (11) + 10 = 21
Survival: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

"Could you check for soul stealing dolls to?" Maka says as she backs out of the way.

"Could you check for soul stealing dolls to?" Maka says as she backs out of the way.

Before sneaking off, Quasit pulls Maka aside and whispers to her.

"You may not want to talk about that in front of Nadya. Her daughter Thora was murdered by Nazhena and her soul was put into a doll. It's still a pretty sensitive subject."

Maka Na'Shota wrote:

"Could you check for soul stealing dolls to?" Maka says as she backs out of the way.

Before sneaking off, Quasit pulls Maka aside and whispers to her.

"You may not want to talk about that in front of Nadya. Her daughter Thora was murdered by Nazhena and her soul was put into a doll. It's still a pretty sensitive subject."

"What, that's horrible!?" Maka whispered loudly. "I thought Bulvi was just being mean and trying to scare us. Y'all were able to free her soul right?"

going to have to find a map for this part

"What, that's horrible!?" Maka whispered loudly. "I thought Bulvi was just being mean and trying to scare us. Y'all were able to free her soul right?"

Quasit pauses. She seems uncertain how to answer this. She glances instinctively at Nadya then looks down.

"I don't really know." she says quietly. "We destroyed the doll. But I don't think any of us know enough about the magic to know if there was even a real soul left to free."

Her face reddens and her lips tighten. This topic seems to really bother her. In the end she just concludes by shrugging and shaking her head.

Quasit give me knowledge religion check, and yes I will allow it untrained

Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Good thing Maka has a smart friend that she probably asks questions to all the time :P

"Yeah, see, that's the kind of thing that makes my magic worry me. Who knows if my magic will make soul dolls if I use it on you guys. I really wish I had a sign on how I got my magic or who gave it to me." Hace says as he looks up to the sky and Desnan temple and winks at the GM.

Quasit you feel like destroying that doll didn't do much for the spirit but that Sapphire eye might have her soul in it

GM, I've lost track of who is carrying the sapphire. Perhaps we never decided. Could you put it in one of our pocketses?

spins around in a circle with finger pointing outwards and magically drops the sapphire in Sakitus pocket

Map is updated, granted the red symbol is not in the church

around the courtyard are a couple of people walking around, sort of walking in a pattern but not one you can tell, though when 2 of the people approach the group Minus Quasit and Fin, they seem like they might be a little confused

"Little ones come on now, there is nothing to worry about it, run along and play" it doesn't seem at first they are saying it to you directly until its repeated a few times while looking at your faces

Quasit and Fin walk around and stop near the entrance Fin stopping cause he hears the sound of Children giggling Quasit feeling uneasy about what is around.

in that instance of the children giggling, the 2 people turn on the party

Everyone needs to give me a Will Save

~~Round 1~~
Knowledge Religion to ID
Bold to Act
Sakitu
Maka
Quasit
R
B
Bulvi
Hace
Findurel

Will Save: 1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 + 2 = 21

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Maka Na'Shota wrote:

"What, that's horrible!?" Maka whispered loudly. "I thought Bulvi was just being mean and trying to scare us. Y'all were able to free her soul right?"

Quasit pauses. She seems uncertain how to answer this. She glances instinctively at Nadya then looks down.

"I don't really know." she says quietly. "We destroyed the doll. But I don't think any of us know enough about the magic to know if there was even a real soul left to free."

Her face reddens and her lips tighten. This topic seems to really bother her. In the end she just concludes by shrugging and shaking her head.

Maka's eyes widened in sadness as tears began to build. Sadness turned to anger as fire flicked from her clenched fists. "These witches..." she growled.

"Yeah, see, that's the kind of thing that makes my magic worry me. Who knows if my magic will make soul dolls if I use it on you guys. I really wish I had a sign on how I got my magic or who gave it to me."

Maka's anger faded at Hace's comments. "But that's why your magic is so great. You can help with all the bad stuff other people do with their magic. You would never act like these witches."

Knowledge Survival: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
Will Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13

Maka is surprised at the arrival of the newcomers. "AGH! What? I'm not little." She replied in confusion. Maka unsuccessfully attempted to interact with them before another wave of sadness brought her to tears. The newcomers took this as a signal, their bodies pulling in to an attack position. Thankfully even with her sadness, Maka was faster.

Sad Maka takes -2 penalty on attack rolls, saving throws, ability checks, skill checks, and weapon damage rolls. 5ft step, Standard Action activate Fan of Flames infusion for 1 burn against Blue.

Fan of Flames, DC 16 reflex for 1/2 damage; Elemental Overflow: 2d6 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6, 2) + 2 + 2 = 12

will save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
Hace is sad

will save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8
Issalissk is sad

Will Save: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Quasit suddenly clutches her stomach and looks over at Finduel beside her.

"What have we done?" she says bleakly, not really understanding why.

Then she sees the strange villagers moving to attack her companions. "No! This won't help!" she says weirdly, before running out, drawing her sword and stabbing at the one near Hace.

Melee Attack from flank & stealth: 1d20 + 7 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (2) + 7 + 2 - 2 = 9
Damage plus sneak: 1d6 + 4 - 2 + 2d6 ⇒ (1) + 4 - 2 + (3, 4) = 10

blech

Will Save: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

A wave of fear and despair washes over Sakitu. "Oh. This is just awful. Why are we even here?" Emotion threatens to overwhelm her but at the same time she recognizes the threat from the strangers. She steps back and then activates a magical shield to protect herself.

Five foot step then mage armor

Reflex: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Red strikes at quasit
Claw 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11 miss
Claw 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10 miss

blue strikes at maka
Claw 1: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13 miss
Claw 2: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22 hit
Damage 2: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Maka I need a Fort Save

~~Round 1~~
Knowledge Religion to ID
Bold to Act
Sakitu
Maka
Quasit
R
B -6
Bulvi
Hace
Findurel

5ft step away and order Issalissk to attack. "Issy, get these guys!"

Issy bites red.

power attack bite: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 2 = 21
damage: 1d6 + 10 - 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 - 2 = 12
grab if bite hits: 1d20 + 7 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 + 4 - 2 = 22

Fort Save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Fin moves 10' east and fires at red...

Longbow: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 1 + 1 = 31
Confirm: 1d20 + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 9 + 1 + 1 + 2 = 23
Cold Iron Damage+Crit: 3d8 + 3 + 3 ⇒ (2, 2, 8) + 3 + 3 = 18 (Only 4 if not confirmed)

Bulvi decided that Issalisk would provide enough of a distraction for Quasit to use on the one near her. He move swiftly the other one seeking to lock it down. "I think you'll find I play rough as well."

Power Attack Cold Iron Longsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12

Maka you are fine you made the DC

Bulvi you hit the creature but it doesn't seem like all of it went through, but enough did to kill the creature

Issalissk bites and grabs but also not all the damage goes through and its barely alive

Fin manages to shoot it and kill it

~~~End of Combat~~~

the haunt still resides though for those that have Knowledge religion, you think if you consecrate the ground the haunt will be removed

Hace tries to focus his magic into a consecration like effect, "Well Desna, I don't know you that well, but there are some spooks in your house that I'd like to help get rid of. Mind lending me a hand?" he says towards the butterfly symbol.

Nothing really seems to happen though.

Suddenly wish I had cleric casting instead of oracle with all these spells I need.

Still feeling the grief from the haunt, Quasit lets her arm hang and just looks down blankly at the dead creature at her feet.

"Something awful happened here. And it had nothing to do with Desna." she murmurs, mostly to herself.

After a couple minutes of melancholy, she seems to shake off her glumness and returns to searching the old church ruin.

Perception (+1 for traps): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

As the last enemy fell, all fierceness faded from Maka's face as sadness overtook her. Never a pretty crier, tears steamed down her face as snot bubbled in her nose. Hope briefly lit on her face as Hace attempted to put his magic to use, but faded again when there was no apparent effect. After several minutes the magic faded from Maka, but it did little to improve her mood. While her allies searched the area, Maka sat in a pile of snow which quickly began to melt from the heat emanating from her body.