DystopianGM's #1 Silent Tide (Inactive)

Game Master DystopianDream

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Your boots squash with fetid water as you plod through the Puddles. A thick fog hangs in the air, seeming almost to caress the flesh with an unnatural chill. As you stand outside the Soggy Piper in a foot and a half of brackish brine, you try to recall what was so damned important to demand your presence in the half-flooded slum during Absalom’s rainy season. You remember your meeting at the Lodge just a few hours earlier with your Venture-Captain, Adril Hestram.

A bear of a man with only a few teeth remaining in his head, he motioned you into the meeting hall with a casual wave of his grizzled hand. The human captain outweighs most of Absalom’s half-orcs, and though a layer of beefy blubber coats his frame, those of you who have tangled with him in the Lodge sparring ring know that beneath this thin veneer of fat lies nothing but solid, steely sinew. Adril’s wild beard wags to the ponderous shake of his massive head as he examines a scrap of ancient parchment on the table before raising his eyes to greet your
gaze and speaking:

“Come in then, friends, and thank you for answering my summons so swiftly. The society is in need. An old and quite penniless historian, a bespectacled wag-beard by the name of Yargos Gill has recently made a discovery in an old archive that we have a great interest in obtaining: an ancient codebook, left behind in the wake of one of Taldor’s many failed attempts at invasion. This several-hundred-year-old text would prove an excellent addition to our collection, and must be preserved.

“The district is the stomping ground of pimps, harlots, addicts, knifers, and hoards of unseemly derelicts. It’s never been a kind place, but recent reports reveal some new nameless terror on her waterlogged streets. Several persons claim to have seen cloaked, skeletal-like figures marching through an unnatural fog. Ill tidings indeed. Tracking down Yargos is now a priority—--lest some yellow-toothed thug cut him down, or one of these strange wraiths carry him beyond the pale. Find him, fellow Pathfinders, and find the codebook. Your exploits will be recorded in the Chronicles if you succeed.”

The memory fades as a fresh deluge of cold seawater rounds a bend in the lane and assaults your knees. After searching for Yargos at his favorite eatery, the Soggy Piper, you learned you just missed him. According to the Piper’s staff, a gang of dangerous young tattooed toughs arrived ahead of you. They grabbed Yargos and several of his friends from their dinner table and dragged them to a nearby cliff at the edge of the Puddle District. The watch was called, but they will arrive too late, as they often do in the Puddles, when they bother to venture there at all.

It is early evening, the first Wealday of the month of Desnus, an old man is about to face some awful fate at the sea cliff known as Torsen’s Maw, and you are no closer to finding the codebook Adril sent you for.

Feel free to introduce your character and ask any questions you may have had for the Venture Captain before you left.

Warren awaits outside the Soggy Piper as the fog of the streets sends a chill down his spine, causing him to reflexively pull his silk ceremonial armor around him tighter. The middle-aged man is dressed in blue silken armor, the lightweight fabric favored by wizards and the like, he clutches a heavy spelltome to his chest as he walks, his stride betraying his upperclass upbringing as he moves with purposeful, quick steps. He eyes the pathfinders who have also answered the hastily summons of the venture captain, seeing a couple of faces from the lodge that he recognizes. He faces the assembled group and introduces himself to the gathered party.."Hello fellow Pathfinders! Well met and welcome to the poorest district of Absolom, the Puddles. The name is quite fitting and the people here are most colorful. Twice on my trek through here I was solicited for vigorous copulation. Twice!" Warren laughs out loud and offers handshakes to anyone willing. "Names Warren. Warren Moon. Fresh recruit from the Dark Archive chapter, and a wizard of no small talent." He looks around waiting for the rest of the team to introduce themselves, his mind already wandering back to arcane hypothesises and theories, idly scribbling notes into his spellbook as they prepare to meet the venture captain and receive there assignment.

Back in Adril's office:

A short, frail-looking, redheaded girl leans against one of the walls, watching everyone. Despite having the build of a sickly caster, she wears leather armor. She rolls her eyes slightly when the Arcanist appears. "Bressa," is about all that she offers the others in greeting.

After the mission is announce, Bressa asks, "Are we going to rob him? It would seem to me that if someone poor enough to be forced to live in The Puddles found an ancient tome that could be worth some money, he'd bring it straight to us." She pauses, "Given that we apparently have an interest in stupid old books."

She looks suspiciously at the large males in the room. "How do I know this isn't a dirty plan to lure Kala and me into some abandoned shack where you try to force us to be part of "this week's backroom special?" (sorry, I know the Paranoid mechanic is not PFS legal, but I'm kind of attached to role playing that part of her personality right now. It'll take her a bit to warm up to the Pathfinders)

Eventully, Adril sooths her worries and she accompanies the party in search of Yargos. After learning that he was removed from the Soggy Piper, she looks to the rest of the party, "Any of you know where this cliff is?"

After introductions are made Warren heads inside Adrils "office" and listens intenly to the Captains words..

“The district is the stomping ground of pimps, harlots, addicts, knifers, and hoards of unseemly derelicts. It’s never been a kind place, but recent reports reveal some new nameless terror on her waterlogged streets. Several persons claim to have seen cloaked, skeletal-like figures marching through an unnatural fog. Ill tidings indeed. Tracking down Yargos is now a priority—--lest some yellow-toothed thug cut him down, or one of these strange wraiths carry him beyond the pale. Find him, fellow Pathfinders, and find the codebook. Your exploits will be recorded in the Chronicles if you succeed.”

"Thank you Captain Adril, we will find the codebook with haste. I would love to chat more with you on the nature of this tome and ones like it, but such talk will have to wait until our return. Thank you Captain, and gods willing may this Yargos character still be alive. I dont expect one has a long shelf life in this town.."

After the meeting Warren heads outside and chats with the group..

"How do I know this isn't a dirty plan to lure Kala and me into some abandoned shack where you try to force us to be part of "this week's backroom special?"

Backroom Special..By the gods what is she TALKING about?! the Arcanist thinks as he looks at Bressa, the expression on his face one of shock and disdian.

"B-b-bbbackkrroom Special?! My lady. I assure you I have no interest in discounted meetings of that nature in a backroom or any other for that matter. If you cant tell by the looks of it I have the physique of a middle-aged, halfling female. You have none to fear, rest assured. As for the location of this cliff, I know not where it resides but perhaps some of the local "populace" may know.

She looks suspiciously at the large males in the room. "How do I know this isn't a dirty plan to lure Kala and me into some abandoned shack where you try to force us to be part of "this week's backroom special?"

Kala snorts derisively, then half-jokes: "Ha! If they try, you hit 'em in the middle, I'll get their heads, and Stinky will rip out their Achilles tendons. But seriously, what do we know about this guy? Or these wraith things?"

Warren nods to Kala "These wraiths or skeletal figures that the captain mentioned.. could be your typical undead. I've never had the distinct pleasure of encountering one myself, but from what my friend Patros was telling us at the Lodge, the undead do have some inherent weaknesses. Holy water, divine magic, blunt weapons if there skeletal in nature. I scribbled some notes down, but it looks like that's all I got. I may have drank too much that night..."
Warren softly chuckles as he runs his hands through his long, wavy hair.
"As for what we know about our prospect in danger, Yargos. It seems like he's just a historian who hit a brief lucky streak in finding the tome. Whoever took him probaly has knowledge of his findings and wants to ransom the book. We should ask around incase one of the many street urchins decorating the fine city streets of the Puddle have seen our guy. From what I heard he was practically dragged from his dinner, someone must have saw SOMETHING, and in my experience a few gold coins usually loosens a lot of lips."

"well you're the big talker, go gather us some info.I'll cover ya.". She cracks her knuckles ominously.

"Yeah, but keep it simple. The locals prob'ly won't follow your fancy talk." Kala warns, then mutters under her breath, "Not sure I do, either."

Assuming no one in the bar was kind enough to just tell us...
Diplomacy, aid Warren Moon: 1d20 ⇒ 12

scratch that... Warren has a -2 in diplomacy. Kala, you're our front person with a +2. Bressa aids Kala. :)

(besides... men never stop to ask directions anyway! Leave it to us gals (cept I'm a guy in real life))

Warren chuckles at Kala's statement "Perhaps your right, my vocabulary may be a little...much for the less cultured denizens of the Puddle. Kala, you seem pretty charismatic, perhaps you could find out for us where the location of this cliff could possibly be?"

Diplomacy, Aid Kala: 1d20 - 2 ⇒ (12) - 2 = 10

Warren also "donates" 5gp to anyone willing to provide good info if it will help Kala with her diplo roll at all :)

Nodding in consent, Kala scans the crowd for individuals who look like they might know something.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

After choosing someone, she approaches and asks, "Hi. We need to find Yargos Gill before he...disappears forever. Can you tell us anything that could help us?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

The bartender is cleaning one of the mugs when Kala strides up and asks about the old scholar.

"Fancy you should ask that!" he booms in a big, gravelly voice. "Old Yargos is a regular here. Was eating dinner just a bit ago with some friends and then a whole bunch'a tough-looking guys burst in and grabbed him and the others, dragged em off to Pharasma-knows-where. Big guys with dog tattoos. Wouldn't wanna be him right now! Think they were heading to that cliff down the way, the one the old earthquake opened, ya know? Better hurry if you need his brain intact!"

Darius stands in the background listening to the captain. He is a man of near average height and weight. He wears leather armor, leather pants and high leather boots. Hearing the barkeep's words he steps forward, " Blast it, we better hurry and catch up with those thugs. I hate going in blind!"

Warren listens to the bartender tell of the kidnapping of Yargos, he makes notes about the gang and tries to remember if he can tell what he recalls about the local geography
I remember looking over some old maps of the city, the site of where the earthquake opened up should be easy to recall..

Knowledge(Local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18

Ah that's right! I remember now..

"If I recall correctly the cliffs shouldn't be too far from where we are now, if we hurry we should be able to catch up to the gang before its too late!" Warren motions for the others to follow as he rushes to catch up to the kidnappers

Warren listens to the bartender tell of the kidnapping of Yargos, he makes notes about the gang and tries to remember if he can tell what he recalls about the local geography

I remember looking over some old maps of the city, the site of where the earthquake opened up should be easy to recall..

Knowledge(Local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Ah that's right! I remember now..

"If I recall correctly the cliffs shouldn't be too far from where we are now, if we hurry we should be able to catch up to the gang before its too late!" Warren motions for the others to follow as he rushes to catch up to the kidnappers

"Lead the way then, as fast as you can." Kala pats her warhammer and shortbow to make sure they're still there, then strides to the door, calling for Stinky to follow. The wolverine takes one more snuff at an oblivious patron's boots before trotting after her.

Darius pauses just long enough to work his rapier in and out of the scabbard a few times for a few inches to be sure it draws smoothly if and when the time comes. He rolls his eyes at the ceiling and follows the beast.

I misread the gms post lol the knowledge check was for info pertaining to the gang. If anyone wants to read the bullet with the knowledge check as Warren will have explained it en route to cliff.

"Damm, wish you would have mentioned that before we started running through the streets," the brawler exclaims between breaths, keeping an even stride, "I would have grabbed a chunk of meat off of someone's table first." Her crossbow is loaded and ready in her hands as she splashes noisily through the streets.

Kala briefly slows to apply the Aspect of The Bear to Stinky, granting him a +2 Constitution enhancement bonus. This takes a swift action, using the Hunter class feature Animal Focus. Lengthening her stride, she quickly catches up with Warren Moon.

Stinky glances up at Kala in acknowledgement as he bounds chest-deep through the brackish water, splashing vigorously as he tries to keep up.

Darius makes a face as they move rapidly through the muck of the streets. He obviously finds his current environment more than a little distasteful. " Is there any way to avoid the worst of this crap enroute?', he calls out as you head out.

"Not unless you're a bird," Kala replies, eyeing some suspicious looking brown clumps as they bob on the surface across their path.

You come upon the cliff in a short amount of time, talking amongst yourselves. However, the scene before you immediately presses in, making the threat clear. Six brash young toughs covered with tattoos of vicious, snarling dogs are prodding four terrified older men off the edge of a cliff into the sea. The prisoners are shackled together in a line with heavy chains, which shall surely drag them to the sea floor in short order should they tumble from the cliff’s edge into the churning waters below.

Now is the time to act, lest these old men, one of whom you presume to be Yargos, be thrown into the sea!

In Combat!

Bold may act.
Active party buffs: none
Round 1

Kala
Warren
Darius
Korosh
Bressa
===========================
Toughs (blue, teal, green, purple, yellow, gray)
===========================

Map is up at the link above.

Drawing his rapier, Darius shouts out, " Hey! Mongrels! Why not try that with someone not helpless? Of course, you lot being cowardly curs I suppose it is too much to ask." He advances slowly towards the louts in question.

Move 30 ft, Cast Silent Image, Maintain concentration

Warren approaches the Hounders cautiously, hoping to not escalate the situation. "You should listen well to our warning! This man Yargos that you've kidnapped... Has found property that belongs to the Pathfinder Society. Release them at once and perhaps there's a chance to still save face."

Warren begins casting a spell of illusion, conjuring an image of a huge
Water Elemental. The elemental rises from the precipice of the cliff face, appearing behind the Hounders and his captors. Silent, imposing and statue-esque in appearance the "Elemental" looms over the gang.

"Old men, lay on the ground and do not move and that elemental will not hurt you!"

She aims her crossbow at them and readies an action. If any of them draw a weapon or advance toward us, she fires.

DystopianGM, how do you want to handle Stinky the wolverine's actions? Same initiative as Kala's?

"Stinky, follow me." Kala issues her command in a low voice so the thugs won't hear.

Animal Handling: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24 Of course I get a natural twenty *now*.

She then draws her warhammer and makes a beeline toward the captives, stopping near the edge of the cliff. She draws herself up to her full height and glares at the thugs, silently daring them to strike first.

Korosh charges the closest thug, drawing his axe and screaming incoherently at them.

Charge attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 131d12 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

Normally an animal companion will simply do what you tell it unless it needs to be ‘pushed’, as in, say, to do something outside its wheelhouse. Also note that to attack undead creatures, you NEED the 'attack everything' trick learned by the AC, and then have to push it to attack undead creatures. It acts on your initiative but it has its own perception, so I will include it separately when rolling your perception.

Kala moves up and draws her hammer and Stinky follows. Warren conjures a water elemental along the cliff while Darius moves up, drawing his rapier. Korosh charges the nearest thug and slices him clean in half. Bressa readies a shot. Bressa, normally I like to roll my readied attack in case it comes up in a spoiler. Also, please let me know which thug you will be attacking and under what conditions (he moves, attacks, etc.) Upon getting closer, the majority of you see that the thugs’ tattoos undulate in a specific pattern, a scene of a Nessian war hound pack fighting amongst themselves.

Slow to react, the toughs now begin to move and respond to the intruders. All their heads turn to the elemental clambering up over the cliff, then to the barbarian wreaking havoc among their ranks. The blue-garbed tough sneers at the old men and says, ”Say hello to the Lady of Graves,” and delivers a solid kick to the old man’s midsection, sending him flailing over the side of the cliff. The others chained to him lurch forward and over the side as well. Only the last of the men manages to hold on! They dangle there, 35 feet above the roiling waves, looking to fall at any moment!

The old man looks like he can hold on for one more round. A strength check by someone adjacent to where is is required to keep him from falling.

The other thugs snap into action, brandishing big dog claws seemingly designed as weapons. They retalliate, delivering nasty cuts to both Korosh and Stinky!

Bold may act.
Active party buffs: none
Round 2
Kala (Stinky, -3)
Warren
Darius
Korosh (-3)
Bressa
===========================
Toughs (blue, teal, green, purple, yellow, gray)
===========================

Drop concentration. Use Conjurer s Focus, 1 Arcane Reservoir point. 2/4 Remaining. Summon Celestial Owl, Augmented, 1 min/per level. Command Owl to fly over and assist old men, grabbing one of the chains and helping pull up if possible.

These guys are vicious, they wasted no time in executing Yargos. No time to waste resources, now or never Warren.. the Arcanist thinks to himself. Psyching himself up for the task at hand.

Warren drops his shoulders and breaks his concentration. Suddenly the looming elemental is gone, having disappeared entirely. Warren focuses inward, drawing upon hidden arcane strength. He performs a summoning spell, a Celestial Owl appearing before him. Pure white, and somewhat bulkier than normal, the owl flaps it's wings in mid air a second before turning to its summoner, it's attention sharp. The magical beast seemingly aware of the dire need of its call..

"Sebastian! Do what you can to help those men falling off the cliff, pull them to safety!" Warren points to the old man still fighting valiantly to maintain grip on his chains.

Bressa would definitely have shot at the guy kicking the old men off the cliff... darn them for not following orders and laying on the ground!

crossbow previous round: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11
damage: 1d8 ⇒ 8

If she could fire the crossbow and then move, she would have. But since I only stated that I'd fire the crossbow, I guess that is what I'm limited to.

For this round... if Bressa were to double directly toward the old men (the yellow line), I think she can get there. BUT will she be able to grab the old man..??? Maybe dive on the ground at the last instant?

Praying for crappy DM rolls.....<gulp> all 5 of them!

Lol if all goes to hell maybe I can summon a dolphin to scoop the old geezers up haha

Alternately... Bressa could attempt to grapple the pink guy, giving Kala a better chance to get through...?

OR she can pause long enough for y'all to open a hole.. Maybe that would be better? Take out pink & green and maybe Bressa will live long enough to grab the old me and get impaled by the blue guy :)

Stinky flies into a Rage, savagely attacking the thug who injured him.

bite: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 131d4 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Throwing caution to the wind, Kala dashes between the green and purple thugs and straight to the old man.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17 Attempts to move through threatened squares without provoking an attack of opportunity

She takes a massive swing at the head of the thug beside him...

warhammer: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 211d8 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

...then grabs the old man to keep him from falling. Swift action?

strength check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Wow. Just wow. Sigh.

Korosh swings his axe at the next thug(yellow).

attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 141d12 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

Korosh will then run at the blue thug if the other one is dead and if he can make it, otherwise he will step up to the next thug.

OK, so Kala is going to run to the old men, then please let Bressa move before her. She moves up to Stinky and grapples the pink thug, hopefully preventing him from getting an aoo.

If you are holding me to my original statement of rushing through the line and braving the aoos, then here is my strength check:
strength check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

On the other hand, if you allow me to instead grapple the pink guy before Kala moves, here is my grapple roll:
grapple pink: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

@Kala: So when using acrobatics, you move at half your speed and you have to make one acrobatics check per threatened square. By my count that's 3 rolls. You can move full speed by increasing the DC by 10. If you fail you lose the move action and provoke. Alternatively, you could simply run through and eat an attack of opportunity. Let me know

@Warren: I've found that people have a separate profile (not a PFS profile) set up for summoned creatures. Then they just paste the statblock of whatever they normally use into it. Please give me the strength check for the summoned creature.

All: I wanted to note that the damage was mistaken on the last post. Both Stinky and Korosh took 2 instead of 3.

Bressa's bolt sails past the blue-garbed tough. Stinky delivers a vicious claw to the green tough's chest. Korosh makes meat soup out of the yellow-garbed tough and Bressa is able to grapple the purple tough.

Bold may act.
Active party buffs: none
Round 2

Kala (acrobatics checks) (Stinky, -2)
Warren (Summoned Creature)
Darius
Korosh (-2)
Bressa
===========================
Toughs (blue, teal, green, purple (grappled), yellow, gray)
===========================

Ok. Thanks for catching that. Kala will skip the acrobatics check and just book it to the old men. Hopefully the aoo won't be too bad.

Minor detail: Stinky's attack was a bite, not a claw.

I'll update Stinky's HP per your note. Thanks.

No problem, put a spoiler for Sebastian down at the bottom of my profile for reference.

Sebastian flys over with haste, swooping down and latching onto the chain with both talons. Beating his wings furiously, the Celestial Owl attempts to help the old men from meeting a watery grave!

Strength Check(Sebastian): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

Also ? for Dystopian, are Stinkys claws primary attacks? Just curious as I noticed my eagles attacks are all primary and suffer no penalty and curious if the wolverines claws are same.

Yes, Stinky's attacks are all primary attacks. Most natural attacks are primary unless they say otherwise (or if you combine natural attacks with manufactured weaponry, such as a bite and a greatsword, then the bite becomes a secondary attack).

Kala moves past the tough with the teal pendant hanging around his neck, and once she opens her defenses up in a mad dash for the cliffside, he is able to deliver a wicked slash across her leg. 5 points of damage from the AoO. Once she is past her opponent, however, she runs up to the blue-garbed tough and brains him easily. She cannot, however, find purchase on the the old man's hand, the sea froth making everything along the cliffside slippery.

Warren's summoned owl bursts into action at the behest of its master. The owl is able to hang on to the chain just as the old man slips. The weight of all three men is difficult for it to hold though. Each consecutive strength check means Sebastian (or if anyone else wants to help too) can pull one old man up to safety.

Bold may act.
Active party buffs: none
Round 2

Kala (-5) (Stinky, -2)
Warren (Sebastian)
Darius
Korosh (-2)
Bressa
===========================
Toughs (blue, teal, green, purple (grappled), yellow, gray)
===========================

Darius quickly decides the others can handle the remaining thugs and runs over to assist the owl in saving the helpless old men.

Darius's strength check: 1d20 ⇒ 1

Darius is unable to help Sebastian this round. The two remaining toughs look quite nervous at the assembled opponents before them, but decide that their leader's wrath would be worse than whatever these adventurers could muster, so they press the attack. Purple attempts to break free of Bressa's hold...

Purple CMB: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

And manages to break free! He sneers at Bressa. "That all you got, pixie?!"

The teal tough carefully steps along the cliffside and attempts to attack Bressa with his dog claw.

Teal @ Bressa: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21
DMG (slashing): 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

"Ya, got her, you see that Jiffrey?!" says the teal-garbed tough.

"I see it! Keep yer eyes on the fight or Nessian'll have our hide!" the other shouts at his companion.

Bold may act.
Active party buffs: none
Round 3

Kala (-5) (Stinky, -2)
Warren (Sebastian)
Darius
Korosh (-2)
Bressa (-5)
===========================
Toughs (blue, teal, green, purple, yellow, gray)
===========================

Bressa chooses to use her Martial Flexibility to gain Power Attack for one minute. She then uses Power Attack to punch the purple thug.

unarmed to hit purple: 1d20 + 4 - 1 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 1 = 21
non-lethal damage: 1d6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 2 = 8

"I wouldn't be so quick to call me a pixie. You're friends will laugh at you even more when the find out you were flattened by a pixie"