DM Beckett's "The Night Marches of Kalkamedes" PbP PFS Game Day Event Game (Inactive)

Game Master Beckett

I did say whatever you want to try. Or something along those lines.

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Moll joins Angruf on the rope, dropping her Guisarme. "Well, is this thorn bush a short-cut? Or is he trying to stop himself... or is the... person? prompting him trying to kill him?" she observes.

Strength check on the rope to hold him back. 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

STR check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

"Blasted treacherous footing.. <grumple> <grump>"

We could also try falling to the ground while we are on the trail. That would make him have to make a STR check to try and pull us.

Here is a STR check if nobody wants to do that

STR: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Str Check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

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Kalkamedes tries to struggle against the three trying to hold him back.
Str: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Thankfully, Kargen's aiding Moll, and is able to hold him back for the moment. Kalkamedes seems to really be struggling, even in his dreaming mind, and looks like he will just keep going, pulling everyone with him if needs be.

Something is going to need to give, or to change. The razor brambles can be cut or burned away, though it might require Kalkamedes to be held for a while.

Does Las detect any magic within 60'?

sorry, i forgot. No, nothing in front of you and all the normal from your party.

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Thoril will give another hard yank on the rope

Str check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

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I'm going to say that only a total of 3 people can actively try to hold him at once. More than that and people just start to get in each other's way. And basically you can either do 2 things. 1.) have one person actively trying and the other two Aiding, (Make a DC 10 Str check adds +2 to the one person), or 2.) all three are trying to make their own Str check vs Kalkamedes, and he needs to beat the highest, sort of like Grappling. It's up to you guys to decide which you want, but I need to know who is actively rolling and who is trying to Aid. Without Aiding, he would have dragged you all with him last round.

dine i am in front i can try by aiding and i say we do that with the three highest str scores

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As an FYI to the party, you can Take 10 on ability checks, but not to Aid Another. So if the strongest person has at least a +3 bonus, we might try that route.

Moll has +3 Str. If we can't aid, we'll all roll and take our chances against him. Anyone got a Tanglefoot bag?

True, and technically if you want, you can take AoO's against him.

If we can take aaos then do we want to knock him out and revive him with non leathal damage

We can just have the conversation IC

"It looks like we'll either need to cut our way through the hedge, or bind him and carry him through. Yanbrel, if he were armored, would the hedge pose any risk to him?"

While most of his companions were busying themselves wrangling Kalkamedes, the bored Yanbrel had squatted by the path and begun drawing idly in the mud with a handy stick. He looks up at Las's question.

"Oh, hard to say," he sighs, sparking the stick into flame and tossing it into the bramble. "It might depend on the quality of the armor, and whether getting his toes sliced off counts as a risk."

"Kargen, in earnest - can you attempt to communicate with that mysterious voice? If it is compelling him, and compelling him into the thicket, the voice might have insight into a safer route."

Looking askance at the flaming stick Yanbrel cast into the thicket, "And the voice might be unamused if we burn the thicket..."

Angruf continues to dig in and hold Karkamedes, aiding Moll.
aid another(Str): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
<mutter> <grumble> "if, perhaps, the rope were not being held above my head?" <mutter>

"Do you think that's wise? Even if I can, the voice might not know we're following him. We would be giving ourselves away."

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Aid another: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

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for the first round you manage to hold Kalkamedes back, but he continues to struggle. Assuming that Moll is leading, and Kargen and Thoril are Aiding, everyone else has 1 rounds worth of actions.

You can try to burn or use a Slashing weapon to cut each square away. You can also try to go around it, dragging Kalkamedes at half speed, or try other things.

Round 2 Str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Thoril will try and hold him back again so the rest of party can cut away or help hold.

STR: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

"Perhaps we should tie him up and carry him through the maze. If we encounter something unfriendly, he's liable to cut himself to ribbons while we are preoccupied."

Moll struggles with the rope. "Do something fast. We can't hold him forever." she says. "Down boy! Down!"

Strength Check 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

so Ive been running this sort of like a Grapple, giving you a hidden +5 for controlling the Grapple, but even with that I think he breaks the hold and drags everyone through.

Damage: 2d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 4) + 2 = 8 to the three holding him.
For each point of AC from armor or Natural Armor, reduce the damage 1:1, as he moves every foreward 10ft.

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Would he be considered encumbered with everyone holding onto the rope and specifically stopping him from moving forward?

Sort of. He follows special rules. I mean he still moves foeward but its reduced to 10ft

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"Seems our friend he means business," Yanbrel chuckles as his three companions are dragged behind Kalkamedes into the vicious shrubbery.

"Are we sure we don't want to go with the fire plan? Much faster, probably less painful."

Kargen curses as he is dragged into the painful bushes. He redoubles his efforts and simply tries to push the sleeping paladin back.

Bull Rush: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

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Las turns his head sideways, a common gesture among Aasimers,

"I am never mistaken for the smartest person in the room, but I cannot help but feel we are making this harder than it should be. Maybe there something obvious we are missing..."

Las had studied spellcraft and was familiar with many arcane and divine spells.

"Ah. Does anyone know a cantrip to cast frost or acid? Perhaps we can use that to clear the path with more certainty than setting the woods on fire?"

"Unfortunately Lajas, I do not yet have the trick of either charming the bramble to let me pass, nor intimidating it into withering."

"Perhaps an alternate plan - can some of those with large shields and heavy armor stand before him, as living armor?"

A torch can be used, but will take a bit longer. Ill need to recheck, but I believe its 60ft across. To speed things up each square is 10Hp 2 Hardness. A Slashing weapon can clear a square along the path as can fire, and fire deals extra damage.

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"Well someone do something." Moll says, struggling with the rope.

Strength 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

@DM Beckett, is there a safe path for us to go around the thorn bushes? If yes, then my other questions is whether Agile Feet will allow someone to pass through the thorn bush unharmed?

Thoril will start hacking away at the bramble to clear a path.

i am assuming it is an auto hit but if not i will roll anyway

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7

damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Yanbrel fishes a dagger out of his pack. Holding the blade in an underhand grip, he steps up next to Thoril, and begins lustily hacking away at the obstinate vegetation.

Attack: 1d20 ⇒ 17
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 1

Despite the witch's enthusiasm, his blade makes barely a dent in the thick branches.

"How unsatisfying," he pouts. "Fire is still an option, we understand?"

I'm thinking this encounter just doesn't translate too well to PbP, so it might be a good idea to just move on and keep things rolling.

An hour later, Kalkamedes swerves right, again momentarily breaking free and takes you on a small trip to a swamp. At first everyone just trods through, until it becomes apparent that it is getting deeper. Thankfully Kargen's quick thinking <survival check> pieces together a small makeshift raft to keep him afloat as he presses on and finally leaves the muck. Kalkamedes’s path winds westward into a steep mountain pass that climbs several hundred feet. The surface levels out only to terminate fifty feet ahead with a precipitous drop into a thirty-foot wide canyon. If not stopped, Kalkamedes continues to walk towards the drop. . .

No map, but the canon looks to be 30ft across, with a 70ft wall on each side. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be any other way around this this far into the untamed mountains. You will need to come up with some way to climb down 70ft, and then to get back up another 70ft, with Kalkamedes who you are sure will not be particularly helpful in his sleepwalking state.

so since he goes that direction on his own all we really have to do is get him down because then he should auto climb the other side

perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Thoril will scan the area for a safe way down and back up

So is anyone injured?

"I don't suppose anyone brought a flying carpet?" Moll asks, moving to help hold Kalkamedes again while they considered this obstacle. "I suppose we can just let him walk off the edge and lower him down."

"No magic carpet, but several of us have some good stout rope. Perhaps the more agile among us can dash on ahead and run some rope from bottom to top of that opposite cliff wall while those of us tied to Kalkamedes lower him in?"

Las shrugged as if to indicate, "why not?" Las was feeling rather inadequate at dealing with the problems presented by this whole endeavor.

Las helps with knotting the ropes and tying them together as directed by others.

If you can hold Kalkamedes for about 15 seconds, getting down with 2 climb checks shouldn't be difficult. Getting up the other side as others lower him down might be a little more difficult, but not nearly impossible. It will be lifting him up, especially if he does not climb himself, or somehow causes a stink that might be the challenge. But you are Pathfinders. What isn't in your line of work?

What is the DC for scaling up/down the cliff?

With nothing, it's a DC 18. Having 100ft rope will reduce it and having 100ft of knotted rope will reduce it further, as will a things like a climber's kit.

I see that Angruf, Kargen, Moll, Thoril, and Yanbrel both have a rope, so you should be fine. Assuming you tie two together, and someone manages to launch Moll's Grappling Hook across and gets a good hold as the other begin to lower Kalkamedes down, Thoril takes 10 climbing down, just before him. Anyone that doesn't have a negative Climb check can just take 10 with the rope up and down. Everyone else, please give me a total of 4 Climb checks, (which might become more).

Yanbrel has +0 climb and a rope. Anyone want to Voltron our ropes together?

As stated, Las will help knot ropes. If for someone we can't climb knotted ropes, Las will remove his chain shirt and Take 10.

As they are preparing to lower the Paladin, Kargen cocks his head to one side as if he's listening to something.

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