GM Bold Strider's PFS 01-53 Echoes of the Everwar, Part IV - The Faithless Dead (Subtier 10-11) (Inactive)

Game Master rpblue

"Indeed. . . I. . . am!" Faraz says between pushups. "Yes! . . . Join me!"

Flinders' smile begins to become strained as he glances sidelong at his companion's calisthenics.....

"Ain't my boat. Now go 'way." the hermit says.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (18) + 15 = 33

Now why would he lie, since everyone in town already told us it was his boat? He's certainly hiding something.

"Folks in town all say it's yours, and I can tell you're lying, Sarian," Terrill replies, his tone grim. "What're you hiding? If you're connected to the attacks in town, it's going to go badly for you unless you come clean."

Intimidate: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (6) + 18 = 24

"Fine! It's my boat, but I had to run fer it when I landed on that island full of the dead! Swam all the way across the lake, I did. Ain't tangling with them." the hermit admits.

"Island full of the dead?" Terrill asks in alarm. "Where is this island? What can you tell us about it?"

The man points off into the water. "Bout two miles off shore. Can't miss it. Place gives you the chills just being close."

"And what were you doing there? If it's so scary to get close to it, why were you so close to it?"

"Not sure why that's any of your business! Now that you got your information, go away." the hermit say grumpily.

I say we put the flames of the order to him and see what information we get. We already know he's a liar why should we trust him now?

You see the man bristle, brandishing his wood-chopping axe as more of a weapon now as Dragorin threatens him openly.

Don't be a fool! You are but one man and we are stronger and better equipped. Now tell us why you were on the island and why you didn't mention this first. If you cooperate we will consider not turning you over to the authorities when we finish with the undead.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (15) + 11 = 26

The man growls at Dragorin. "The location is convenient, however its new residents are not. Don't act high and mighty when your friend with the bow was turned and the rest of you nearly perished, cleric. If you were wise, you'd leave the island alone. I'm certainly leaving this god-forsaken place."

"He has learned the error of his ways, I think," Faraz says to his companions. "And he has been cooperative so far."

"Thank you for the information," he says to the man before turning back to the party. "Well, now we have a lead to follow and with any luck this will be their lair or base and we can strike at them where it hurts. Let's gather a larger and more secure boat and head over there as soon as we can."

Where will you find a boat?

Darn, I've been meaning to buy a feather token swan boat for ages, but hadn't gotten around to it yet.

"Have you got any other boats?" Hal asks, breaking from his attentive lookout.

”Why don’t we just use his boat?” Terrill asks. ”It got all those vampires and morhgs from the island to the village, it should be able to do the same trip going back, carrying us, right?”

How does he know about the event's in town? Would this be common knowledge by now

I assume that it took you about 12-16 hours to prepare to investigate this guy with the rest and the resurrection and such. He lives on the outskirts of town and everyone was extremely overjoyed that you handled the undead. When he came to town this morning for supplies, he heard about your success.

The oread rumbles, chiming in. "Why don't we use that boat?" He motions towards Sarian's boat? "Look good enough to me."

The boat appears good enough to cross the waters of the lake and Saurian's testament to its use would bolster this fact. As you load into the boat, you begin to row out in the direction indicated by the smuggler.

As he told you, the island lies 2 miles off shore north of Whistledown.

Even though you have directions to the island, you must still succeed at a DC 15 Knowledge (geography) check or a DC 10 Profession (sailor) check to find the island. Each time you fail one of these rolls to find the island, it adds an hour to the trip as they wander randomly about the lake.

All islands and moorings have the same shoreline, ostensibly. Within 20 feet of the shore, the water is waist deep on a Medium creature (chest or shoulders deep for a Small creature). Farther out, however, the lake quickly drops to a depth of 50 feet or more. The lake is incredibly cold this time of the year, hovering around 40 degrees Fahrenheit.

Here would be the optional encounter, but I don't feel the need for it after the insanely long first encounter!

Knowledge (Geography): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Desmond sits down near the bow of the ship, holding Sahrek tight to keep the wolf calm on the water. He scans the water, looking for any signs of a possible direction to take.

"We want to head in that direction." He points confidently.

Thank you Deadmond.

Terrill begins to laugh at the name given to Desmond, then realizes who’s said it and stifles his laughter – though not very effectively.

”Yeah, good job,” he concurs, studiously avoiding meeting Dragorin’s eye.

A few overly large anacondas slither past the boat, however they seem uninterested in the Pathfinders. After an hour of rowing, the group finds the island and a sense of dread grips their hearts.

Tall juniper trees line the shore. Huddled together, they fill the interior of this small island with dense, gloomy vegetation. An unsettling silence seems to hang over everything, broken only by the gentle lapping of the water against the side of the boat. After a wave pushes the boat around a cove, Desmond sees a dock. Tying up the boat and disembarking, the Pathfinders cautiously enter the only building they've seen.

This area still contains several crates in the northwest corner. There is also a five-foot wide well in the center of the room. A rope tied to one of the dock’s piles runs down the well, vanishing into the darkness. The rope is tied securely.

Inside the crates, you see a similar symbol on some paperwork that adorn the boat. These appear to be Sarian’s crates. The crates include five masterwork longswords, 20 daggers, three heavy crossbows, 100 bolts, and one suit of masterwork full-plate, all packed in unstamped crates.

"Deadmond? I like it! Too bad I ain't one of them Scarab Sage guys - I could get a special title..." Desmond laughs at his observation and the new nickname Dragorin's given him.

I wish I had thought of it...

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Terrill studies the boxes a moment, then says, ”I get the feeling Sarian didn’t tell us everything…” He glances at his companions and asks, ”Since we’re pretty sure we’re facing undead, are there any preparations you all would like to make before we go down that well?”

I can probably spare a heroism is someone wants it – unless Flinders plans to make it redundant with other buffs.

Ha, nice new name!

On the buff matter, won't Flinders cast good hope anyway?

"My sword is ready." simply groans Basalte.

Aye, I'll cast arm myself with some spells before we continue. Would any of the front liners like some fire resistance?

Freedom of Movement (110 min)
Cat's Crace (11 min)
AC now 31

How is your AC 31? Wouldn't it be 30 since your Full Plate has a Max Dex of +1?

"Aye." nods Basalte to Dragorin. Communication is clearly not his forte.

Yeah, forgot about that Max Dex thing.
Fire Resistance 30 on Basalte for 110 min
He'll cast it 2 more times on who ever asks using pearls of power.

Do we have anyone who could use Faraz's wand of mage armor on him? If not, he will drink a potion instead.

Also, assume his wand was used to heal him back up.

"I am as ready as ever. With Irori's guidance hopefully I will not fail again today."

I'll take Fire Resistance happily.

"Would you mind protecting Sahrek from fire, Dragorin?" Desmond asks. He quietly intones to cast barkskin and longstrider on himself.

Speed is now 40. (7 hours) AC is: 29/ 17 T / 24 FF (70 minutes)

Hal shakes his head momentarily and his pupils dilate significantly. Then he digs out some rope. "Better to use our own rope that trust that one, I think."

Infiltrator adaption for darkvision, 10 minutes or longer if I decide to use it again. I'm just going to assume I sent the bird to the forest to forage for a while.

Sure thing Deadmond, as long as he doesn't nip at me. Flinders, any chance you could cast that falling spell again? I saw a ring back in Absalom that automatically granted the wearer that spell when they fall. I"m thinking it would be a wise investment for me.

Dragorin will wait for most or the part to make their way down before jumping down the well with the aid of the spell.

"Awe, he won't bite ya, unless of course you give him a reason to."

Desmond then laughs and looks around, finally noticing the well. "Oh, we gotta head down here?" He looks over and studies the wolf and then back to the well.

"Sorry boy, you're gonna have to keep watch up here."

I don't have any way of getting him down. I need to remember to invest in some potions of fly for times like this.

Desmond - There's a rope going down the well, and Hal has one that he's going to use instead of the one provided, out of an abundance of caution. No need to blow a potion at this point.

In that case I'll save the Resist Energy for someone I'll likely fireball later.

Sorry, I was unclear in my OOC statement. Desmond is fine climbing the rope, but can't get Sahrek down. I don't have a potion of fly anyway - but I meant that I would give it to Sahrek.

But I guess I could tie my rope around Sahrek and lower him down, if the drop is 40 feet or less.

@Desmond: some oils of carry companion are handy too. I know a Mammoth Rider back in Bloomington who burns through a couple per scenario getting his huge-sized horse in and out of places.

Faraz deftly follows his companions down the rope.

Flinders can cast Good Hope. He can also cast Feather Fall a handful of times. And use Faraz's wand for him.

Flinders points to the crates. "No tax stamps on those crates....illegal goods...."

Flinders grabs the ropes and shimmies down after his companions. At the bottom, he says. "I could cast a spell, creating a sphere of invisibility, if you think it prudent."

Faraz nods to Flinders. "If you can cover everyone, that might be a good idea. Don't want to start climbing down into something nasty while some of us are still half-way up. It will give us an advantage, at least."

If everyone is ready...

As soon as Insert person with Darkvision, you see that the well isn't that deep and isn't a well, but a cover for a small tunnel, likely for smuggling goods. As the rest of you drop down, you can see into an antechamber.

This area has 30-foot-tall ceilings and is carved entirely out of the island’s volcanic bedrock. The walls, ceiling, and floor are polished black to an almost mirror finish. The room is chilly, around 45 degrees Fahrenheit, and has no source of light. The north wall has a smooth 20-footwide tunnel dug through it into area 3 and the wall itself is only 20 feet tall—the remaining 10 feet to the ceiling is a walkway open to the other areas.

Should you climb up to the ledge (DC 30 Climb check; the walls are slick, but a skilled climber could make it), you can see the next third of the area (assuming she has a light source) and can see that the walkway leads down into the last third.

Kn Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11 What is the stone?

Hal whispers a chant to himself, causing feathers to sprout from his face. Casting aspect of the falcon, 6 minutes. He scans the area with literally hawk-like eyes. Perception: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (12) + 20 = 32

I don't understand the question? It is volcanic rock, as stated.

Flinders: Did you cast Sphere of Invisibility?

Yeah, Flinders cast it.

Sorry, poorly phrased. You mentioned a 'polish,' I'm asking if this seems natural or not. Which I guess is a dumb question anyway, so nevermind. :P

"So, Terrill, or Deadmond, want some climbing equipment?" Hal asks in a hoarse whisper. I have animal aspect prepared.