Venture Captain Dreng is convinced that someone is setting up an unauthorized, and potentially harmful Pathfinder Lodge within the city of Kaer Maga. A letter from an ally, one Horis Collgardie says as much, and Dreng has asked you to investigate, locate these Pathfinders, and order them to stop immediately, or risk having all Pathfinders banned from the city. Sending you from the Grand Lodge in Absolam across the Inner Sea to Varisia, you have made it to the Halflight Path, so near the city, when a horde of goblins breaks through the wall to attack!!! Fighting your way through, you finally make your way to the city itself, only to find it is a massively crowded den of villainy and scoundrels. Locating your contacts house, you arrive to find him dead, and are immediately attacked by a group of thugs looking for his murderer.
Really tempted to say drop the words and start shooting your bow. A little damage is much better than none at all. And you can't protect Variel if your down, too. TWF Rogues kind of suck until level 2 or 3. Once you pick up Weapon Finesse (Rogue talent at 2, I think), that will help, but one of the points of TWF with short swords is to max out on Feats that affect one weapon, like Weapon Focus. Until you can start to pile those on, I would stick to one weapon, or bow until you have Weapon Finesse. Also, because Zariel is out, he does not threaten, so there is no penalty for shooting into melee.
Yeah, I might have gotten some more feats early with a human rogue, but I'm sick of playing humans. They're just the best at everything for no reason. At level 2 when I get Weapon Finesse I'll be doing alright. I could throw a dagger with my offhand and still keep my main hand if that sounds reasonable?
Witch 6 [ HP 32/32 NL 0 | AC 16 T 13 FF 13 | CMD 15 | F +4 R +6 W +6 | Init: +7 Per: +10 & bird+10]
If desperation is the name of the game...[/occ]
From the elf's robes a black and red bird flies into a charge to claw the eyes of one of the thugs.
Fly:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (4) + 12 = 16 Atk:1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 + 2 = 17
[ooc]DMG=1
From the elf's robes a black and red bird flies into a charge to claw the eyes of one of the thugs.[/ooc]
Attacks the most injured enemy.
No problem.
Alastor takes a step back, drops a sword, grabs a dagger and flings it, stabbing his target in the shoulder while out of nowhere, a tiny thrush comes out of Variel's limp body and flies up to distract the thug. Not expecting it, the thug tries to punch it while it enters the square, but misses, and it leave tiny little scratch marks on the thug's face.added to map :)
Thug 1 punches at Maldoc with the cestus, but you can tell that she might be considering fleeing now that half her team is down. Attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6 <miss>
Thug #2 does the same, trying to bat away the bird and strike at Alastor, but might flee. Attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 <Crit Threat>
Attack:1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13 <HIT, but NO CRIT>
Damage:1d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6
[I]Alastor goes down right next to Variel, but the two thugs are not sure if they can handle the rest by themselves, each takes a 5ft step away.[I]
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
I do have a wand of CLW but that's all I have available. Nothing I can do in combat.
Surrender while you can! Maldoc will yell at the thug that he is in melee with and slashes at him with his rapier, while taking a 5' step so that he can better see the rest of the room. Occupying the space with the corpse of the man we came looking for.
The ghost ofZedril fires one last firebolt at the last thug before vanishing. . .
Attack:1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23 Damage:1d6 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8 No crit, but still a nice final attack. :)
Which drops her. With both Variel and Alastor knocked out from nonlethal, it might be a while before they wake back up without some magical healing.Keep in mind that Alastor need negative energy
While Maldoc searches the thugs, he finds a note on one of them, a small purse of coins, and their gear. They have a potion of CLW (x4), a Stingchuck, Chain Shirt (x4), Cestus (x4), and a Dagger (x4).The stingchuck is that humanoid head that they threw at you. There is one left.
The Note Reads:
Boys & Girls,
Someone killed my friend Horis Collgardie. They left his body to rot inside his own house. Go there and wait. Don’t touch anything. If anyone comes back looking to toss the place or take the body and that person’s not an Ardoc, it’s most likely his killer. Kill anyone who shows up there that isn’t a member of my family—I mean anyone. You’ll be paid well.
Besel Ardoc
It looks like you have another clue. You also seem to have a now unused house if you wish to use it as a temporary HQ. But, there is also the issue of the body(s). The 4 thugs are not dead, just dying. And (only Maldoc) can attempt to save them with a Heal check, if you want.
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
Maldoc will take time to restrain the thugs and stabilize them after he takes care of his own friends first. I will use my wand of Cure Light Wounds as needed to revive whoever I can. As far as Alastor, I'm not sure what to do for him. Does he have something on him that I can use?
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
Ah true, I keep thinking this is a module and not a scenario. I'll feed him one of those. CLW:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 If he needs more he can roll for the next potion(s) that he might need.
I'm truly at a loss for Alastor and the negative energy thing. I can at least stabilize him though, right?
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
I'm a Magus, not a cleric. Maybe one of the two new guys can do something like that. Considering that you are the one that needs this kind of stuff to heal I would have thought you'd have such a potion since it would be unusual for others to have one. Do you?
In any case I'll stabilize him. If need be we can see if we can go find the right type of potion and buy a couple.
Once Variel is up and about and the thugs are restrained we can revive one of them and question him. Showing him the note Maldoc will say, Easy friend, we wish you no further harm. Who is this Ardoc? It seems we have something in common as we also would like to know who killed this man. I assure you we are not the murderers.
I am one of the people joining your team, and am getting things figured out as far as PbP is concerned. I'm brining a barb 2/oracle 1 to the table. The dhampir should be fine, no worries there.
In short, though, I rebuilt a Jade Regent NPC for my Jade Regent campaign, and I like her enough to use her as a PFS character. She's a human from Kalsgrad. Blond hair, amber eyes, probably not actually named yet. Wields a mithril trident, holds a mithril shield. Wears four mirror, represents Taldane interests. Walks quickly, albeit with a limp.
I suppose I could qualify what I mean by Alastor being fine... I don't play much PFS, but I do GM a lot, so this character's nothing but a stack of GM credit. While it's totally meta-gaming, I have no issues picking up a wand of inflict and a wand of cure light. While I understand Infernal healing would take care of both, and more efficiently to boot, for RP reasons, I don't really want my NG to have a wand of Infernal on her. Should you have one, but lack the ability to activate it with any regularity, she'll have less of an issue with that, but having her buy and wield the wand is not something in character for her.
How do I die-roll?CRPA!:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 121d8 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18Okay, should be good to go at this point
Slightly late to the original briefing, Venture- Captain Drandle Dreng sends you by magical pathways to Magnimar, hoping that you will be able to meet the other Pathfinders before they enter the city. Unfortunately, you have trouble of your own, and by the time you reach the Storval Stair, you are just behind the other Pathfinder group. You hope that you can manage to find them along the Halflight Path, but in the chaos of the Goblin Attack, you find yourselves too busy defending yourselves and others, and aiding the Duskwardens to locate the other group (who had been cut off at that point).
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Tirelessly, you fended off the Goblins, and also spent hours trying to clear through the rubble afterwards, and once able to travel again, the Duskwardens asked for your assistance in herding the other travelers into the city, having taken some loses. You could not but agree, and it seemed like an easy way to be able to locate the other group, but it was not to be. Many of the travelers and merchants where fearful of another attack at any time, which kept you rather busy, and once you reached the end of the path, the mob made for the city quickly, making I very difficult to find anyone.
-------
The Duskwardens ask you to stay behind a little bit longer, asking your assistance once more to answer questions about what happened, so they can better repair the damage done and prepare to stop it from happening the next time, and after about half an hour, you are released with their thanks. Knowing to look for Horis Collgardie, they point you in that direction. you arrive just after the other team is attacked, unaware of anything going on within. Hearing a small explosion of magic within, and a flash of orange light through a crack in the curtained window, you try to rush in, but find the door locked. Inside, someone shouts"Surrender while you can!"Then you hear a thud.Please have a read through of what has happened up until now. I also have a short summary at the top of the page (and Map links) to what has gone on, a little reminder as PbP take longer than table top games, it's easy to forget things sometimes.
At this point, Maldoc has just used a Potion to try to revive Variel (for 8), and you can hear someone outside fiddling with the door.
Then the earth falls on you all. You die. No save. J/K :)
Because we have some new players, please take a moment to give a brief description of yourself. What the others would see (assuming you are up and on a normal day for a sec).
After spending the day trying to catch up to the rest of the team, Tilda stands on the opposite side of this locked door. She hears the call to surrender and the thud on the ground; unsure of that's going on, she protects herself with her shield and she holds out her trident, expecting someone to barge through the door at any second.
She calls out, in Taldane, with an unwavering, deep voice, "Mr. Collgardie? Is everything alright?"
"Mr. Collgardie, Mr. Dreng sent us; would you please say something?"
Her eyes widen with uncertainty and Tilda furrows her brow, a response to the growing anxiety in her. She tucks most of her hair into her helmet, but after the run-around today, wisps frame the sides of her face and back of her neck, plastered to her skin with precipitation. Her armor looks heavy and out of place next to her impossibly light shield and trident, but it's equally reflective as specks of light reflect off her armor and dance on the walls.
She turns to Evigail and Umaro, hissing a whisper, "Got any way to deal with this door?"
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
Maldoc finishes reviving his new friend and immediately tells him to stay silent by putting a finger to his lips. Somebody is outside. Maldoc grabs his weapon and stands up, moving toward the closest window in order to get a peek at the new threat. If there is one, I can't recall.
Upon hearing Drang's name the elf suddenly seems more hopeful. Yelling out to the person who had spoken Maldoc says, Why did Drang send you here? He already sent us to seek out Mr. Collgardie. Who are you?
If you find I "push" the game too much or too fast, tell me. It's a bad habit of mine.
waits for others to speak up and should no one else say anything
"He sent us, too," Tilda replies, relaxing her tone. "Mr. Dreng met with us after sending you sense motive Maldoc:1d20 ⇒ 5; we are supposed to meet the group he already dispatched. I'm Tilda ..." diplomacy:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Assuming someone has a Wayfinder, that should be a good indicator that they are Pathfinders. Alternatively, the Society is a pretty small group, all in all, so it's fairly likely you may have at least heard of each other, if not been in the same confirmation. I'll leave that up to you guys and gals.
It may be player, not character, knowledge but after one too many bad things happening when my "dash-whatever" says, "I'm a Pathfinder!" they've all learned to hold their tongues.
Don't we first have to establish a kind of trust through the closed door before the original three unlock it?
I'm also going to do my best to remember to change my posting ID.
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
I tend to leave plenty of hooks and such in my posts so that the game moves along so be my guest and push the game! In this case, I'd like to quickly get the party together and hopefully heal our fallen teammate. I think mentioning Drang is likely more than enough.
My name is Tisbane. Maldoc Tisbane. I wasn't aware that reinforcements were being sent our way, says the elf, who then looks at the scene inside the house and continues. Of course, we could have used you just a few moments ago. Maldoc will open the door and spy the three pathfinders outside. Collgardie is dead. Quickly, come inside and lock the door behind you. Two of us have fallen but one may still yet be saved.
Maldoc will then go back to securing the thugs as they lie unconscious and update the newcomers of the situation, including showing the note that was found on one of the thugs. Seems he had a friend, though why he thought the killers would return to the house is unclear. They attacked us on sight. Perhaps someone more skilled at questioning could find out why.
AC 17 T 11 FF 16 | HP 24/24 | F +6 R +3 W +6 | Init +5 | Perc +8
Listening to the commotion from the other side of the door, Umaro tightens the grip on his spear casting a glance at the armored woman beside him and the smaller man behind.
I am Umaro. We have been sent to assist you.
Upon Tilda asking about dealing with the door, a small smile creeps across Umaro's face, his lips pulling back slightly to reveal teeth, before he whispers. Only way I have, is to break it down. Looks like a decent door though. Could take a bit.
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Tensing as the door is unlocked and opened. Umaro looks at the elf, thinking he might recognize him from the guildhall, before slipping inside and taking in the battlefield. Yes, it looks like you could have used us, but it seems like you have survived and that is most important.
Witch 6 [ HP 32/32 NL 0 | AC 16 T 13 FF 13 | CMD 15 | F +4 R +6 W +6 | Init: +7 Per: +10 & bird+10]
Hi, I am Variel Arivae. Another elf says when the newcomers enter the room. He wears light clothing and has a black and red bird nested in one of his shoulders.
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
Maldoc ushers in the others quickly. Is there anything you can do for the dhampir? He is with us but the magic needed to help revive him is beyond my means. The rather homely elf before you dons a chain shirt and carries a rapier in one hand, often using it like a stick to point out different items or areas as he describes what has happened. A longbow is worn over his shoulder as well.
Again, these thugs were here waiting for the killer of our man here to return. Why they expected them to do so is a mystery. Maldoc then points at the door near the corpse. That room has yet to be searched, in fact the entire house needs to be searched once we take care of the wounded.
As you watch the elf it seems clear that he wants somebody else to take control of the situation as he is plainly not comfortable with having a leadership role or the responsibility of the position. Whether it is due to the current situation or something else entirely is not known.
Tilda shimmies in the room, her armor clanging against the door frame. Lips curling up at the corners, Umaro, I guess it's a good thing someone got to the door before you.
Turning to Variel, Tilda nods and smiles as her eyes perform a quick once-over. She tilts her head slightly to right, eyes focused on the bird perched on Variel's shoulder, Where I'm from, those mean nothing good. I trust he's different.
What kind of person doesn't benefit from normal healing, seriously? I've some magic, and if I can't help him, maybe the local temple can. heal check:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
But coincidently I have this wand of negative energy; it should do the trick. ILW:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6ILW:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2ILW:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9Not sure how many hits to get Alastor to full, but take as many as you'll need. There's no reason why you shouldn't be at full health. Same goes for the rest of the party.
This looked like a rough battle for everyone. Glad you're all alive. Are you in need of any other aid?
A Scald accent slips into Tilda's otherwise bemused tone, betraying her calm demeanor. We'll start looking over the the rest of the house just as soon as everyone's looking alright. How'd Mr. Collgardie go?heal check him:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
For RP reasons, no wand of inflict. It really doesn't mesh well with the whole "anti-evil-extra-planar creatures" and the worship of a LG Empyreal Lord. I appreciate the heads-up, however. All my other characters, even the Chelish paladin, pick up Infernal; it just doesn't sit well with this one.
Where I'm from, blood-feathers are evil omens; they serve dark powers. I'm sure you'll empathize with why your friend would make me a little uneasy. A wide smile appears on her face, only to quickly vanish as her eyes quickly refocus on the floor just at Variel's feet. Just uneasy. I'm sure you understand Mr. Arivae, and I'm sure your friend is fine. I'll be fine. Just uneasy is all. Tilda's voice trails while she shakes her head back and forth. Just as quickly as that mood erupted, it dissipates; she looks up, eager to return to business.
"Greetings my fellow Pathfinders. I'm sorry you find me in such a state, but that was a fierce battle. I think we should finish up here by searching for a few clues, if not some well-earned treasure. We need a trail to follow at the least if we're going to find the real murderer."
Mostly Male!Ini +0PERC: +9LN Human Cleric 7:AC: 22 t10 CMD: 14F: 6, R: 4, W: 12 HP 59
Seaweed steps in and shows a wayfinder. The green and blue robes hide the lanky form underneath, but a leaf with a drop of water, signifies a follower of Gozreh. A large hat, popular with pirates, holds a long seaweed frond instead of a feather. "Drendle said a number of you are on your first mission. We've been sent as back-up, friends. We were not far off and could get here quickly."
The cleric survey's the room. "Looks like we were not close enough. Collgardie has been long enough that they sent someone to follow up? Can I see that note?" Suddenly something occurs Seaweed. "Where am I, I suppose I should take your well-being into account first," the cleric says a little sheepishly.
Alastor, how far down are you? Tilda has offered to heal you, but will need to know how many charges. Who else needs healing. gather around for a burst if you more than one needs it.
With both Variel and Alastor knocked out from nonlethal...
Non lethal damage means you auto-stabilize, since the damage cannot kill you (barring excessive amounts). Also, if you need more healing, do tell me; I got the wand for you so feel free to use it all. To get you up to full: tap:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5, tap:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
Happens to the best of us, Mr... ? I'm Tilda, by the way. The three of us were sent out to meet you just after you all left for Magnimar and Kaer Maga.
Seeing that the unconscious gentleman is now awake, Tilda beings analyzing the room, taking 20 is possible, otherwise: perception the room:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
AC 17 T 11 FF 16 | HP 24/24 | F +6 R +3 W +6 | Init +5 | Perc +8
Umaro nods to the second elf before taking in the strange pale-skinned man, Alastor before shaking his head. I do have some healing, unfortunately it is tied to nature so I don't believe it would have the desired effect.
He moves around the room, movements reminiscent of an animal as he looks over the other wounded, but leaving the healing to other more accomplished healers. His skin, what isn't hidden under lamellar armor, is bronzed from the sun and shows a few scars. The hood of his cloak is pulled down to reveal dark stubble starting to grow back in over his recently shaved head.
Once he sees that those that need the healing are taken care of, Umaro will help with the searching of the room for any clues.
Perception:1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Male Elf Magus (Bladebound) [9.1] | HP 63/63 | AC 28 T 18 FF 22 | F +9 R +11 W +9 | CMB +7 CMD 25 | Init +8 | Perc +14 (low-light vision) | Acro/EA/Fly +8 | Climb/Swim/SM +3
After binding the thugs he'll as for one of the party members to revive one of them so they can be questioned. Once he is awake he'll ask anyone who might have a more persuasive personality to ask them why they were here and what they know about the murder, as well as ask about their employer.
Speaking to the thug himself Maldoc states, You are lucky I haven't killed you all, only this note prevented me from doing so. From what it seems we are not true enemies, just victims of circumstances. Tell me, friend, why would your employer think the killer would return?
Diplo:1d20 - 2 ⇒ (7) - 2 = 5Yep, this is why I keep asking for help in this matter, LOL.
Before Maldoc begins his questioning, Here, give him a hit of this.wand o'positive energy:1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Tilda goes back to searching the room, listening to her compatriot try to question the tied up man. While checking the bar for anything incriminating, she muses aloud to herself Because the party responsible for this mess must have left something behind, somewhere. There's no reason to come back here otherwise.
