Enzial nods. ”Please follow me, closely. I will lead you to the court.” The dryad leads the party to a cluster of birch trees, so thick not even a sparrow could fly between them. She pauses, waits for you to catch up, and turns to face the patch. The trees leap aside, creating a short path about a few dozen feet long. As you begin to walk through the path, the scenery blurs as if each step took you several miles ahead.
You emerge into a clearing surrounded by a living palisade of birch trees. At the center stands a lopsided oak tree with green leaves. Two regal fey sit atop the roots, arguing in front of a court of First World beings like dryads, pixies, satyrs and awakened animals.
The erlking Vallahk sits on the branch. His birdlike wings (but made of pine cones, not feathers) flutter against the oak. ”These kobolds are tenacious, I’ll give them that. They are overextending their reach, though. If we declare an all out war and rout them, nature can take its course.”
His portrait is on page 2 of the slides, if you are interested.
Opposite the erlking sits the hamadryad Quiselle. She brushes a flower petal off of her pine needle dress and geranium crown. ”I know the dragons will simply become hungrier over time, but… violence must be used as a last resort. Perhaps we can just slow their hunting down and they will stop overhunting.” She frowns. ”Oh, look Vallahk. Guests!” she smiles and turns to you. ”Enzial, who are these people?”
Enzial looks to you, and then back to the king and queen. ”These strangers fought the kobolds who had begun hunting my habitat. They seem to know much about the kobolds and the dragons. Perhaps we should hear their words before considering our next course of action.”
”Thank you, Enzial.” Vallahk flaps his wings a bit before turning to address you. ”Well then. Speak. Quiselle and I will listen to you now.”
You can make up to 12 skill checks here, divided evenly amongst the party members. So that’s 2 from each of you. As Enzial warned you, you will have to convince both of them to take action.
"Look Vallahk is it? there are two kinds of ... ummm 'people' in this world. Those who get in the way, and those who get stuff done. Lend us your might, it'd certainly suck to get mowed over. Stand up and be part of those who git stuff done!"
Heal(aid):1d20 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5"The best medicine is killing the enemy first."
LN Female Half elf Bard 7|DD4 Init +8 | HP 99/99 | AC 25, T15, FF22| Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +12, +2 vs ench, +4 vs bard | CMD 29 | Perception +22, Sense Motive +30
AMF:
AC18, HP44/88, F +8, R +8, W+8
Resources:
Claws 8|8; IC 13|21; LM 1/1; Reroll: Used
Spell Slots:
7/3/0/2
| Conditions: Delay Poison
If possible I will cast heroism before we enter
Chandu finds herself in her element. She steps up and bows to the two rulers. My thanks to both of you for agreeing to meet us. We are representatives of the pathfinder society, allied to the Twinhorn Tribe and seeking the resting place of the dwarven hero Ivora. We mean no disturbance to your realm but perhaps we can be of benefit to each other...
She first addresses Quiselle. My Queen, I have a little experience of dragons, having the blood of them in my veins, albeit very distant. White dragons sadly are often mean spirited, territorial and cruel. I fear that simply trying to limit them will store up problems for later. Perhaps that will work but I fear you put your trees at risk from doing so.
Turning to Vallakh she says, My King, our interests here coincide. The Twinhorns and the Pathfinders make for powerful allies in the actions against these enemies of yours. In its time the Society has confronted and defeated many powerful enemies. I myself have travelled the Gloomspires, ventured into the Worldwound and travelled the elemental planes in service to its goals. Work with us now and together we must surely prevail!
Vallahk grins as Brak and Chandu make their arguments. "Yes, we must act, and quickly. I see you are warriors!" Quiselle frowns as they appeal to Chandu's bloodlust.
Chandu turns to Giselle and appeals to her common sense. She begins to smile, clearly impressed with her words. "Yes, you are right... I must help these trees grow. Even if we must spill blood in the process." Vallahk rolls his eyes as they pander to the queen.
Vallahk: 1 success
Quiselle: 1 success
Will Hawk Seiran Leogil
Chandu
Syrak Ibaz
Brak (1 Intimidate Aid Another for Vallahk)
Brak's Aid Another has not been used yet. Conversation instructions are near the bottom of This post
My Dice hate me more it seems.
Vallak Intimidate 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
Quiselle Diplomacy 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23
Seiran steps up now and with a bow to each of them he begins.
His voice begins to echo as if speaking to a wide audience, his training in formal setting finally being put to a good use.
Vallak "Your Royal Highness, I too have the blood of dragons though mine would be closer to those of the Copper hue then white. These white dragons should be 'encouraged' to either hunt elsewhere or be denied their hunt. It's a either they cease or they will end up being a danger. You already have one of yours threatened by them. Join with us. We'll make a mighty force to be reckoned with."
Quiselle "Your Esteemed Grace, even though I have dragon blood I am still a Paladin of Shelyn. I have come here with these brave warriors of the Twinhorn tribe to discover the legacy of a Holy Warrior who left ages ago to do battle with these white dragons. They seek to find out what happened and even though I applaud your attempts to seek peaceful means, it is clear that they threaten your people and will not listen to reason. I plead with you to join with us and protect them."
Paladin 3, Sorcerer 2, DD 1 HP 42/57 | AC 20 T 13 FF 18 | F +9 R +6 W +10 | Init +4 | Perception +9* | 10ft Courage Aura
Resources:
LoH 4/4, Smite 0/1, Claws 5/6, Spells L1: 3/5
Syrak will speak to both of the leaders, first discussing all the things he's seen. with Vallahk, explaining all the signs of bloodshed and other mayhem that they saw along the way.
perception:1d20 + 9 ⇒ (3) + 9 = 12
Taking a similar approach to Seiran Syrak appeals to Quiselle. "as a paladin of Iomedae and a defender of Lastwall it is well known to us that decisive action must be taken against evil, lest is fester and grow beneath the surface."
Male Human Ranger 2/Rogue 4 | HP: 40/40| AC: 22 (16 Tch, 16 Fl) | CMD: 22/24 v disarm | F: +5, R: +12, W: +3 | Init: +3 | Perc: +9/+11 v Human, SM: +6/+8 v Human | Active conditions: none
Will bows low as he approaches Quiselle. "Of course, you are noble and right to try to take a more peaceful approach. And there is no need to go to war, but keep in mind that sometimes even noble plans fall apart. We should be prepared to use might, in case the dragons do not respond to reason."
Diplomacy:1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24
Turning to Vallakh, he nods and smiles as he says "You believe strength will be necessary, and it may well come to that. If it does, then the right move is to work together for our common goal.
And with his body language, he tries to convey that strength is the more likely necessity.
Stealth:1d20 + 12 ⇒ (5) + 12 = 17
After listening to your words, the two monarchs whisper among themselves and decide what to do. Quiselle gives you all and Enzial a sly smile and says, "Your proposal intrigues us. We shall consider giving you our blessing when your need is greatest."
She then waves her hand, causing a rush of oak leaves to fall from the tree and whirl around you. When the leaves clear, you and Enzial are back along the frozen lake's bank.
Enzial looks at you all. "It seems like you pleased the Lord and Lady of the Court. You should be proud."
Each of you have gained the use of a new benefit: Fey Allies Fey Allies: All PCs and companion creatures gain a single-use benefit they can use. As a free action on its turn, a creature can use its benefit to gain either damage reduction equal to 2 or cold resistance equal to 5 until the end of that encounter. Each PC and companion creature can select a different benefit.
"Now then, did you want to go along the hidden path Miss Chandu noticed, or perhaps the more obvious route?"
LN Female Half elf Bard 7|DD4 Init +8 | HP 99/99 | AC 25, T15, FF22| Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +12, +2 vs ench, +4 vs bard | CMD 29 | Perception +22, Sense Motive +30
AMF:
AC18, HP44/88, F +8, R +8, W+8
Resources:
Claws 8|8; IC 13|21; LM 1/1; Reroll: Used
Spell Slots:
7/3/0/2
| Conditions: Delay Poison
The path is hidden master dwarf, I don't think you need to hide yourself. Better to take the enemy by surprise from a direction they do not expect us to use surely?
You decide to climb up the smaller path towards the kobold lairs. The climb itself is not a problem, but the freezing winds are.
You need to make a DC 17 Fortitude Save against the cold. The Twinhorns gave you some thick animal furs that provide a +5 circumstance bonus to this check. Failure means you take 5 nonlethal damage and are fatigued for the next encounter.
You finally enter the entrance to the kobold caverns, and you sigh with relief at the bearable warmth while turning your nose away from the kobold stench. The tunnel sizes vary between 5 and 10 feet and are covered in natural stone
(Climb DC 15 if you want to scale them.)
The area is built for kobolds, so you anticipate a variety of small passageways, probably built for ambushes and shortcuts.
Make a Perception check DC 24 against secret doors and/or unusual stone features.
You see a variety of carved petroglyphs and stylized murals, depicting significant scenes in the kobolds’ history and distant mythology. Among these are images of a humanoid with hair on her head, a blade in one hand, and patterns that suggest armor covering her body.
Brak recognizes a rounded cartouche containing several Dwarven letters and words.
Dwarf or Knowledge(Local) or Linguistics DC 20:
This is a gladdringgar, a dwarven mark carved into a cave to prove to others that a dwarf reached that point. This one identifies the carver as Ivvora, servant of Vildeis.
FORT:1d20 + 9 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 5 = 27 Brak weathers the cold with ease.
Perception:1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 9 + 2 = 28 Ready for action, Brak keeps his eyes peeled and his axe ready.
He points out the circled runes, "This is a gladdringgar, a dwarven mark carved into a cave to prove to others that a dwarf reached that point. This one identifies the carver as Ivvora, servant of Vildeis."
Seiran tries to scale the walls as he manages to tolerate the cold winds, with thanks to the Twinhorns. Thinking to scale the walls and check for unusual stone work, he moves slowly, his burly frame not really suited for such activity.
Before entering the cave Chandu activates wands of longstrider, mage armour and shield and casts an extended mirror image on herself for 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3 images. She also tries to UMD a scroll of resist energy cold (DC23).
Local, heroism:1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 2 = 17 Take 10 on perception for 25
Chandu pulls the furs more closely around here, I do not like this cold, it never snows in my homeland. It seems we are in the right place though, let us hurry.
A narrow cavern to the east opens into a larger cave. A gently sloping ramp descends counter clockwise to an elaborately carved column of ice. A vast pile of gold, jewels, furs, and immense bones lie piled around the column.
@Table GMs: You have until April 17 to run encounter N on page 40.
The kobolds continue to mount a frustrating defense, luring Pathfinders into cramped and trap-filled tunnels and unleashing captive monsters on unsuspecting agents. Even so, the kobolds are losing ground with each battle. As another skirmish echoes from elsewhere in the caverns, a tremendous roar reverberates through the cave complex, rattling stalactites and causing snowdrifts to slide
down the outside slopes. As the sound dissipates, the voice of a massive creature booms from deep within the kobolds’ warren.
“Long ago my ancestor Grathatonhakis ruled here, and a meager dwarf challenged his might only to become his trophy. Both were fools, and both are now dead. I am neither, and your paltry attacks shall not change that. Fall back, kobolds of the Shiverscale tribe! Let these intruders die in sight of the last fool to challenge Horralydax, the master of the Tusk Mountains. Rally to me, my children. Today we dine on adventurers!”
The kobolds kowtow to the booming voice, scramble to their feet, and begin retreating deeper into the caves. For once they aren’t covering their tracks, so the way to the dragon’s lair is clear.
It's dragon time!... once I reach my next work break. It's been about 2 hours since you entered the fey court.
Most of the tunnels at this point are only 10 feet tall, except for the 30 foot tall large chambers. With the dragon's call and the tiny kobold footprints you know.. THERE be dragons!
Round 3
Dragons
Kobolds
Will Hawk (can also take round 2 actions)
Chandu (8 Damage, 26 Cold Damage, Reflex DC 20)
Syrak Brak (2 Damage, 26 Cold Damage, Reflex DC 20)
Ibaz (can also take round 2 actions)
Seiran Leogil (can also take round 2 actions)
Seiran moves up as fast as he can and takes cover a the mouth of that entrance after seeing his companions getting iced over.
He prepares himself as the battle would be intense.
LN Female Half elf Bard 7|DD4 Init +8 | HP 99/99 | AC 25, T15, FF22| Fort +13, Ref +15, Will +12, +2 vs ench, +4 vs bard | CMD 29 | Perception +22, Sense Motive +30
AMF:
AC18, HP44/88, F +8, R +8, W+8
Resources:
Claws 8|8; IC 13|21; LM 1/1; Reroll: Used
Spell Slots:
7/3/0/2
| Conditions: Delay Poison
Reflex, heroism:1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 9 + 2 = 24
Chandu saves and takes 3 damage due to cold resistance. She has 3 mirror images so the crossbow may well miss. I always take a 1 being a hit on the caster for images.
3 Mirror Images, a 1 hits me:1d4 ⇒ 4
Down to 2 images
Keeping up her inspiring rhetoric Chandu moves forward to strike the draonic enemy!
Moves, swift action for arcane strike, single attack
Syrak enlarges himself and reaches his polearm into the dragon, separating its scales like it was butter. Only a cruel twist of fate spares it from a possible quick death. Did not confirm the crit.
Brak braves the extreme cold and hacks into the beast. Chandu tries to help with her longspear but its hide proves to be much too strong.
The kobolds appear slightly worried.
Round 3
Dragon (55 damage)
Kobolds
Will Hawk (can also take round 2 actions)
Chandu (3 Damage, 2 mirror images)
Syrak (Cold Resistance 2)
Brak (32 Damage, Cold Resistance 2)
Ibaz (can also take round 2 actions)
Seiran Leogil (can also take round 2 actions)
