GM Bret's Outpost I: The Flesh Collector (Inactive)

Game Master BretI

Chaul listens as the doctor works his idea. "This sounds more and more likely. While it is natural to want to use the wood of the island, in this case its overuse has riled the spirit of the dryad. And restoring it would seem wise. Stil - why she went after this particular book has not yet been solved.. perhaps it was penned here with wood from the forest that was."

"She only went after the one section though." Strang reminds Chaul. "It was just this part here, tacked to stump. These other sections, feel more like they were discarded."

"They did mention the paper making facilities. Perhaps it is as simple as some of the paper was made here?" He looks at the Manuscript thoughtfully.

Any difference between the pages in the various sections?

When he steps into the designated 'quiet' area, and realizes it is actually totally silent, he quickly steps back out again and says a quick arcane spell, to study the effect.

Knowledge (argana): 1d20 + 19 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 19 + 2 = 39

"Oh... a Quiet area indeed." he exclaims, pointing it out to the others. "See, this area here, up to about... there." He points to a spot up near the second balcony. "It has all be magically silenced. I'm sure for proper reflection and meditation... but see there."

He points to the same location, following the same line. "There is also a hallowed effect in place. Probably what the silence is attached to. If it was keeping the ghost at bay in the Lodge library, it might be doing the same here."

The Fleshforge Manuscript is three separate sheets of paper wound around bone scroll ends. Suggest a skill or profession that would allow you to determine if they came from the same tree. You are correct that she only wants the one section of the manuscript.

Wasn't necessarily thinking being able to tell if it was from the same tree... but possibly if it was created in the same place, or by the same process, et al. No clue what that might fall under =) Perhaps the papermakers mark their paper batches or the like!

Craft: Book Binding, Craft: Paper, Profession: Librarian, Linguistics as used in forgery.

The weight and texture would probably be a little different. I don’t really know that much about paper manufacturing myself.

Can the monks tell? They made it, possibly =)

Dr. Strang brings the three sections of the manuscript over to the two monks. They look at it and discuss it. After a few moments, they tell Dr. Strang that the lower section is definitely a different type of paper than they make. They can't tell with the other two. It is like the paper they used to make, but they don't know if it is the same.

They point out how the one section has a slightly different texture and is lighter weight than the other two sections.

So is the different section the one that was attached to the "tree" by the dryad?

Linguistics?: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

"So we have our primary mission..the text. But I cannot help but feel it will vanish again unless we put this ghost to rest. And while I could just open the gates of heaven to burn it with celestial fire... I don't think that would keep it at rest for long. We need to find this seed, plant it, and ensure that it will be looked after."

He turns to the monks. "If we can find this seed, who would be in a position to ensure that it was looked after going forward? The master of monks in the courtyard, or one of the priests? " he asks.

"You also mentioned that one of the priests was quite new, only been here a year or so. Was that the one who also carved the "thief" statue?"

Johann looks at the manuscript. Based on what the monks told him and his knowledge of documents, he thinks all three sections were from different sources. He asks the monks a few questions about their paper making process.

After careful consideration, he thinks only the middle section — the one that the entity had attached to the support pillar — is the only one of the three that could have been from here. He feels confident that the other two sections were crafted somewhere else.

Pradnyana steps forward and assures Chaul “The cause seems just. I can see to it that someone is responsible for the tree. We will only need to care for one tree?”

One of the monks says “No, it wasn’t Isa. It was Kamal, a rather gaunt and bald gentleman.” One of the men you saw in the temple matches the description.

Hmm... seems like we're spinning our wheels a bit here, waiting on a course of action...

So let us try to create one!

After spending some time in prayer, Strang finally gets up, stretching slightly.

Will learn locate object in his 5th level cleric spot, protection from evil in the 1st, and communal protection from evil in the 2nd... and will also use his pearl of power to recover the previously cast protection from evil.

"Alright, I am not sure if this will work," He admits, holding up his jackal-headed staff. "But with no other clues, perhaps this might get us close to the seed. Not many places here would have survived the thousands of years since her death and the raising of this monastery not to mention the razing of the forest here. But we know this seed must have... I'm just not sure what it might look like, there could be many of them buried beneath the soil, most of them likely very similar in appearance."

He shakes his head slightly, unhappy about the lack of information. "The wand she held though... she had that in the haunt vision... and when we saw her earlier. It must also have survived the passage of time intact, and be very close to her resting place, for it to still be in her spiritual possession today. We can only hope the two are near each other!"

OK, lets try it! Cast locate object, looking for the wand. It will have a 760' range. So will cover the entire monastery... and much of the island, I hope!
If he does not sense it, he will move to the east, hoping it comes into range before the duration (9 minutes) expires.

"Maybe we should try to restore Kamal and see if he can shed any light on this mystery. And check he really is as affected as the other priests.." suggests Chaul.

To the helpful monk he says "I would ask that all trees on the island be protected and the island be allowed to be reforested once again. Surely this is the action that the ghostly dryad is after, and if the trees were only cut down to make paper, rather than to provide grazing or land for buildings... that should not be an issue. You could probably even make an agreement around limited logging so long as each felled tree was replaced."

To Dr Strange he adds "The seed didn't need to be with her. It could just as easily be the last seed from the last adult tree to be felled."

He turns to the monk once agan. "Do you know where the last tree felled stood before it was cut down?"

The Gebbite Paladin Pradnyana says “So reforest and then plant a new tree for each one felled?”

She pauses to think for a moment, then says “Yes, that seems reasonable. I willl see that it is done, We have no seeds though, at least none I am aware of.”

When asked where the last tree was felled, the woman looks to the two monks who both shake their heads no, One of them says “Such information has never been important.”

Meanwhile, Dr. Strang casts his spell. He knows that wand is almost directly to the east and slightly down from his position.

If you are just going to follow the spell, tell me and I will place you.

Doctor Strang concentrates for a moment, his eyes closed, turning his head slightly from side to side.

"The wand is definitely in range." He says finally. "Though that could be up to eight hundred feet from here."

He turns and walks to the southeast corner of the library, pausing to get a read on the direction... then walks over to the northeast corner, inside the quiet area, and senses again, trying to triangulate a possible distance.

Depending on how far it is, it might be enough to get a rough idea, if its inside or outside the monastery at least! Will be less accurate the farther out it is without a wider arc.

The fighter just stands by, listening but not really comprehending what the group is discussing. He looks at the many books, parchments, and scrolls, wondering if any are on subjects that would interest him or only boring history texts...

Not much for the non-magic-wielding fighter/hellknight to do - but it's fun for the player to read the posts =)

"Let us see if your theory about the seed is correct." says Chaul, thwarted in his attempt to find the seed using normal mechanisms.

"If we see the ghost again, I will put the suggestion to her. It maybe that the offer is acceptable. And surely if the wand is near where she fell, her spirit will want to accost us again."

Arrows placed. They are pointing about 10 or 12 degrees down.

One of the monks says “Excuse me, I have something I need to do.”

He then leaves the library.

Eventually Strang emerges from the quiet area.

"Well, I suppose it shouldn't be much of a surprise in retrospect." He says. "But even with a generous margin of error, and taking into account physical bias... my rough triangulation would put the wand somewhere in temple."

"Though I've not factored in Z-axis transitions." He adds, after a moment. "If that was indeed her original bonded tree, I suppose it would make sense she'd end up there as she died."

"Shall we go check it out?" He suggests. "While I can still detect its location. It could not be obvious, or we would have likely noticed last time"

"And Chaul's right, she might make another appearance if we go looking. She seemed rather adamant about keeping its location secret." He warns a moment later. "I will try to drop a protective spell to keep her from casting her influence on any of us... but its duration is limited so am loathe to do so just yet, as I can only cast it once."

Am ready to go look! Have another 8 minutes or so!

GM: if and when the ghost does emerge again, and if hostilities break out, Strang will dismiss the rest of his heightened awareness for the +4 to init, in hopes of being able to protect folks before she has a chance to dominate anyone.

Chaul looks a little suspiciously at the monk who leaves..
sense motive: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
"More important than saving his fellow monks and putting to rest a spirit that has been denied its rest for hundreds, or thousands of years?"

He joins the good doctor, searching for the wand, and hopefully the seed.

"Hmm... perhaps we should follow our friend and see what he is up to."

He looks at the other two priests. "I think he is being controlled by the ghost, as the others were. Can you keep an eye on him for us and let us know what he is up to. Try to avoid being seen. I'd go myself, but Dr Strange's spell will not last long."

Pradnyana frowns, then tells the other monk “Stay here!” just before she rushes after the departing monk.

It seems stealth isn’t a part of her repertoire.

Johann will follow Strang, and keep an eye out for the ghost, in case it might have gone invisible or anything like that. His See Invisibility should still be active.

Perception: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15

Grim starts to move after the monk, but decides that keeping the group together is probably a wiser course of action. He follows the others to the temple.

Sorry, I thought I had posted here to move your characters forward up to a double move! I don't see the post here, I'm not sure what happened.

Normally I would have noticed earlier, but I was at a convention all weekend. I was checking for posts and didn't see any updates.

Chaul joins the general exodus heading towards the main temple.

Moved a double move on the map

Moved Johann's icon as well. While moving he'll take out a vial of holy water.

Alright, take one more move. I wanted to make sure Johann didn’t go at top speed via fly spell.

Grimaldus and Lurgh, it looks like you haven’t updated yet. If that is correct, go ahead and make three moves. Hopefully you won’t surprise me such that I need to rewind anything.

This seems an extremely awkward way to do this. Tactical movement only applies in combat. Isn't it easier to just move us towards where we're going, until we get there, or something happens... then place us?

I agree it is awkward, but even now I’m not sure I can anticipate exactly how this will go off. I want to try and avoid a retcon here if I can.

Does seem that big a thing. Just assume we're moving together, which we all said we were... and stop us, as a group, if something happens.
Be a lot quicker too. =)

Grimaldus moves to take the lead again, letting Dr. Strang guide where they go but staying in front to take care of any physical threats.

You said it would take a while to do the research so his 5 minute fly spell wore off.

@Johann, you are correct. It had slipped my mind, thank you for the reminder.
Moved everyone out into the Quad, maintaining relative positions.

As the group moves towards the Temple, you see Pradnyara moving towards one of the southern rooms that you never investigated.

You are about half-way there when you the sound of spellcasting ahead of you. As a lightning bolt comes towards the group, Jathyl appears. She says "Time to become fertilizer, meat!"

Surprise Round:
Jathyl's Lightning Bolt: 6d6 ⇒ (3, 6, 3, 1, 3, 1) = 17 DC 21 Reflex for half damage on Grimaldus, Lurgh and Johann

Jathyl then moves forward ten feet and attempts to grab Grimaldus's heart through his armor and flesh!
Corrupting Touch: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (13) + 11 = 24
Damage: 10d6 ⇒ (2, 4, 2, 3, 2, 5, 2, 1, 3, 3) = 27 DC 24 Fort for half damage

Round 1
Effects active:
Johann: See Invisibility (30/80 minutes)
Dr. Strang: Air Walk 40/90 minutes
Chaul: Magic Vestments (8 hours), Firewalker's Meditation, Rites of Bodily Purity (All day)
Johann: Antitoxin, Antiplague (40/60 minutes)

Please let me know if I missed any effects active.

Jathyl
Dr. Strang
Johann
Grimaldus
Haul
Lurgh
Pradnyana & Monk

One too many E's on my name! =)

"She does not appear content to wait then." Strang observes as he says a few arcane words of his own.

Casting haste, targeting all Pathfinders, then single move, gaining 10' elevation.

"You will rest soon." He calls to the ghost, as he moves out into the courtyard as slowly rising off the ground.

Fixed the spelling! Dang auto-correct!

Dr. Strang casts a spell and you all feel like you can move much faster!

I have a feeling that Jathyl is not going to like the full attack coming up.

Round 1
Effects active:
Johann: See Invisibility (30/80 minutes)
Dr. Strang: Air Walk 40/90 minutes
Chaul: Magic Vestments (8 hours), Firewalker's Meditation, Rites of Bodily Purity (All day)
Johann: Antitoxin, Antiplague (40/60 minutes)
All in group: Haste until round...who am I kidding! Until the battle is over.

Please let me know if I missed any effects active.

Jathyl
Dr. Strang
Johann
Grimaldus
Haul
Lurgh
Pradnyana & Monk

DC 21 Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (16) + 6 = 22
DC 24 Fort: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24
Only 21 damage total!! Time for the smack down!

Grimaldus curses in an ancient language, focusing his gaze and animosity on the fey spirit. "Your chaos taint shall be purged from this place for the rest of eternity - and I will be the one to cleanse this holy ground of your stench!" (Swift action: Smite Chaos (Su). This ability is twice as effective against outsiders with the chaotic subtype, chaotic-aligned aberrations, and fey. )

He swings the greatsword in a series of powerful and deadly attacks, aiming for the exposed head and neck of Jathyl!
Swinging for the fences: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (17) + 17 = 34
Electric Damage (bypasses DR of chaos creatures): 4d6 + 29 + 1d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 2, 2) + 29 + (6) = 45

2nd attack, same as the first!: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Electric Damage (bypasses DR of chaos creatures): 4d6 + 29 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 4, 4, 6) + 29 + (6) = 54

Haste attack - this is gonna hurt!: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (8) + 17 = 25
Electric Damage (bypasses DR of chaos creatures): 4d6 + 29 + 1d6 ⇒ (5, 5, 6, 6) + 29 + (5) = 56

Fixed the spelling! Dang auto-correct!

When I first made the PC, I had intended to call him Dr. Strangelove! after the movie...

Edit: Egads, Grim... even after the half damage for incorporeal, that's a boatload!

All three of Grimaldus's attacks hit.

I assume it is a bonus of 5 damage for the smite? She is fey so it doubles.

Round 1:
Effects active:
Johann: See Invisibility (30/80 minutes)
Dr. Strang: Air Walk 40/90 minutes
Chaul: Magic Vestments (8 hours), Firewalker's Meditation, Rites of Bodily Purity (All day)
Johann: Antitoxin, Antiplague (40/60 minutes)
All in group: Haste until round...who am I kidding! Until the battle is over.
Grimaldus: Smite Fey!

Please let me know if I missed any effects active.

Jathyl -71 hp Adjusted for second and third hit being +5 too high on damage. Rounding hurts!
Dr. Strang
Johann
Grimaldus
Chaul
Lurgh
Pradnyana & Monk

Yes, the Smite Chaos would be +10 damage since she is fey - oh...only on the first damage attack. OK, so subtract 10 points of damage from the total because I added it for all of them. It also is supposed to bypass all damage reduction, so Grim did a total of 145 points of damage on his full attack with haste!!

Incorporeal isn't Damage Reduction.

Edit to add: 45/2 + 49/2 + 51/2 = 22+24+25= 71 damage. I hate how the rounding works.

I can't remember, did we learn anything about her from a combat point of view by doing knowledge checks?

"Jathyl, stop this at once. We want to help you and reforest the land, not hurt you."

Still, when facing an angry ghost, Chaul knows what to do. Pushing his arms forward he shoves as if pushing open a mighty gate. With a great heave a flood of holy energy spills out. The pathfinders are untouched, but the energy seems drawn toward the dead fey, twisting and twirling around her as if trying to convince her to return to her natural, dead state.

channel energy, no Channel Resistance, will DC 22 for half: 6d6 + 8 ⇒ (1, 2, 1, 6, 2, 4) + 8 = 24

I believe there were some knowledge rolls before when you saw her, but I can’t search for them very well right now. If someone else gets a chance, please post links. I will also allow you to roll now if you want. You can use either Religion for the Ghost part or Nature for the Fey part.

@Chaul, It doesn’t make a difference given this roll, but why did you say no Channel Resistance?
Will, Channel Resistance +4: 1d20 + 18 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 18 + 4 = 37

Jathyl is hit by Chaul’s wave of energy, but seems to resist the worst of it.

Round 1:
Effects active:
Johann: See Invisibility (30/80 minutes)
Dr. Strang: Air Walk 40/90 minutes
Chaul: Magic Vestments (8 hours), Firewalker's Meditation, Rites of Bodily Purity (All day)
Johann: Antitoxin, Antiplague (40/60 minutes)
All in group: Haste until round...who am I kidding! Until the battle is over.
Grimaldus: Smite Fey!

Please let me know if I missed any effects active.

Jathyl -83 hp
Dr. Strang
Johann
Grimaldus
Chaul
Lurgh
Pradnyana & Monk

Lurgh hangs back and blasts the fey with powerful darts of force.

empowered magic missile

Missile: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Missile: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Missile: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5
Missile: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3
Missile: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Total: 4 + 7 + 7 + 4 + 4 = 26

Lurgh hits Jathyl with his magic!

Round 1:
Effects active:
Johann: See Invisibility (30/80 minutes)
Dr. Strang: Air Walk 40/90 minutes
Chaul: Magic Vestments (8 hours), Firewalker's Meditation, Rites of Bodily Purity (All day)
Johann: Antitoxin, Antiplague (40/60 minutes)
All in group: Haste until round...who am I kidding! Until the battle is over.
Grimaldus: Smite Fey!

Please let me know if I missed any effects active.

Jathyl -109 hp
Dr. Strang
Johann
Grimaldus
Chaul
Lurgh
Pradnyana & Monk

I believe there were some knowledge rolls before when you saw her, but I can’t search for them very well right now. If someone else gets a chance, please post links.

Ya, we saw her, and there were some rolls, starting here

Johann and Chaul got some info (mostly Johann).... I just read theirs. =)

Basically, incorporeal undead... with all that that implies, and no other specific details. She's probably got class levels and such, or otherwise unique features and abilities.

"She's mad with grief and pain, like most ghosts -- we must free her! Those shield extracts I gave you will provide some measure of protection against her touch."

Johann dodges most of the lightning bolt and drinks an extract to take to the air again. Fly, this one will last 8 minutes.

Reflex: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (18) + 14 = 32