GM Debug's PbP PFS 7-06: To Judge a Soul Pt 1 (Inactive)

Game Master DebugAMP

"First things first then." Lars begins as soon as the last of the locals have left.

"Despite being outmatched. Do we help these villagers?"

"Can we come up with a way to help them other than fighting the daemons?"

Karg gives a hearty laugh at the question. "Certainly, I could help work their farms and do some chores for these people."

He is cut off by Shear snorting and a mental lecture on etiquette.

"I don't know. We could try to get someone else to help with this, but there might not be anyone left when we get back. Tell them to evacuate, we can help more there, but if those demons are coming by nightfall then we probably don't have enough time for that even if they said yes."

"Throw a weapon in the hands of every villager and just have them launch a volley when they appear, but while Shear doesn't now anything about these demons, he does know that most have a hide that will deflect most weapons unless they are made of the right metal or correct blessing."

"Fighting them is the only way I see we can help the town. I rather not be here for that if they are as tough as you say."

"Is there any way to use that ley line to help?"

"There might be something useful here in the shrine, let's check it out." Reavis suggests as he starts to look over the room. He starts with the relics, then moves to the paintings.

Appraise: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Lars holds out the gift that was given to them.
"Would this help?" holding out the Mithral Broadsword.

Viper turns to Karg.

"I would help work the farms as well."

To Lars.

"I'm sure my good dwarf it would well against the daemons."

I'm not familiar with this enemy. Can you tell me what Enora would know, or else what her companions would know and tell her if she asks? Her knowledge(planes) is +8, so I would think she should know at least something.

Go ahead and roll it along with anything you want to do to inspect the shrine.

knowledge(planes):1d20 + 8 ⇒ (6) + 8 = 14

If Enora doesn't know much about them, she asks Reavis since he was the one who figured out what they are.

Reavis, you notice that the murals depict a series of samsaran figures that appear to represent Bakten's former incarnations. The figure between Malash and Malikeen is a female silhouette shrouded in black hair with red, piercing eyes.

As for Enora, you aren't even sure if you've ever heard of the creatures being described.

Reavis's knowledge isn't very complete either. He vaguely knows of the creatures by name and their hierarchy amongst daemons, and knows of their magical abilities (fly/slow/hold). Reavis thinks that if he could actually see one he could finish narrowing down a few more of it's abilities, but his knowledge of Daemons is a bit jumbled, some by name, some by reputation, some by sight.

However, another piece of information that you do recall is about Daemons in general. Most Daemons have a wide array of immunities and resistances that make them particularly difficult to slay. Many of them can summon more of their own kind, and just about all of them can communicate with each other telepathically. As for these particular types of daemons, you don't know which traits apply. As for the sword, mithril is known to be capable of piercing the hides of many tough creatures, including many outsiders. Whether or not this will work on the Ceustodaemons is unknown, but probably a safe bet.

"Since we're here, why don't you all activate the candle so we at least can finish our job for Bakten even if we have problems dealing with the ceustodaemons. It appears he was female again in the life he doesn't remember, if I'm looking at this right."

The candle does not seem to have any particular effect on any items within the shrine.

Appraise for Enora: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Enora notices something strange while going over things with the torch. The cradle is only about 15 years old whereas it allegedly was from the time of Malikeen.

"Hey guys, this cradle can't be more than 20 years old! What is going on here?"

Yuzana seems a bit confused by the comment, but Arkar seems a bit scared.

Arkar bluff vs Yuzana: 1d20 ⇒ 20
Yuzana Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Arkar quickly regains his composure and says in Minkaian, directed both at Reavis and Yuzana "No no, the fixture is about 20 years old, 19 and a bit to be precise. That part there..." he points at the base and glowers at Enora and whispers a few words in common before continuing in Minkaian "will explain alone... is a part of the base, not the cradle. Yuzana, would you do me a favor and get the harvest status from the farmers downstairs. I haven't spoken to them in a few days on account of them being unable to make the hike back to the village easily anymore."

Yuzana nods and heads down the stairs again.

Arkar looks at you, with a look of guilt, and begins. "Reavis, if you wouldn't mind translating, this subject is too sensitive for me to rely on my limited Taldan or Tien. I will make it clear that I don't like you, and don't trust you. I've dealt with your kind before and you are all just mercenaries looking for easy coin, no matter who it hurts. But now we really truely need help and perhaps it is time for me to acknowledge that, but now I can see that I can keep us from being taken advantage of. Yuzana and I have spent the better part of our lives debating the stories of Malikeen. As impressive as her deeds were, I always feared that worshipping her as a god was silly at best, dangerous at worse. She always maintained that the divine aura that surrounded the cradle was proof of her godhood, so one day I used my skills to fashion a duplicate. I hid the original in a place only I know of and planned to prove to her that the aura is part of this place, not part of the cradle. As you can all feel, the aura persists even though the cradle was moved..."[/b] he trails off noticing that none of you seem to have noticed the aura, then scowls. "Well, at least I know the type of people I'm dealing with. Accept our request, fend off these demons. The village will reward you fairly, and so long as you don't try to take advantage of us, I'll show you what it is that you seek."

I'll assume that those of you who can use detect magic at this point...

Lars and Enora can tell that the shrine seems to be consecrated by a Hallow spell. Beginning at the shrine and emanating 20 ft in all directions is a sanctified area. It is protected by a Magic Circle against Evil and has the additional feature of being warded against extra planar evil outsiders. Any of such creatures that enter the area will have their otherworldly resistances suppressed. Also, you somewhat sheepishly realize that anyone of a good alignment that was standing within the aura would have been imbued with a feeling of calm and tranquility.

How big is the shrine, and how big is the village? Could we for tonight get all the villagers to be in the shrine, thus luring the daemons here? This would protect the villagers, and also if we get the enemy here, it would be weakened.

The shrine is only about 10 ft in diameter, and even then, the wards would do little to protect farmers against a demon onslaught. It would certainly make it much easier to slay them however if you could lure them in. Their flight path crosses this area on the way to the village, so it shouldn't be too hard to get their attention.

Karg does want to argue the points of his morality, but Shear stops him short.

To the party, Karg asks, "Would it be safe to fight in the shrine. Any chance the dam will give away under our feet during the fight?"

Arkar shrugs. "We are being killed day by day. I don't know anything about dam construction, but I do know that every day 2 more villagers get taken away and killed. Yuzana has arranged payment for your services. Once you are paid, I'll show you to the real cradle and then you'll promptly leave the village. No long celebrations in the tavern, no months of training, no dungeon delving, you take your payment and your leave. Do your best and I'll hold up my end of the bargain. "

Karg again starts to protest and Shear again stops him, but this time adds his own thoughts. "Mission is to see relic. Basket. Avoid destroying reputation of Pathfinders. We will not harm village and I agree to your request."

"Bakten did not come here, but he was proud of what they did here. He does not tell me to help you, I can not hear him. But I think he want to protect what he has done."

Map is updated and includes the aura boundary. The shrine is fully enclosed and has a ceiling that is 10 ft up. The ledge on the bottom side is 40 ft down into 8 ft of water, the ledge on the top side is 10 ft down into deep water. Please don't swan dive and miss the water. It is midday now, and the daemons assault at midnight every night. Make any requests, dialogue with NPCs, preparations, etc now. Either once everyone has agreed to stake out the place and await combat or tomorrow afternoon (PST) I'll start the encounter. Arrange yourselves on the map wherever you'd like.

Was there any writing in the shrine that could be deciphered. I presume no since Reavis went through there. If there is a decent gauge of their time until arrival, Enora will get a casting of barkskin shortly before midnight. Otherwise will attempt to cast on her at first sign of the enemy.

"Brother Viper. Karg has spell to make you giant. It last a short time, but would you want it as soon as fight starts?"

Lars considers the man's words and its easy to tell his dislike of them.
"I'll require clothes from your village that can fit us. This arua you speak off is around this area and helps to protect against this creatures. You paint us with the same brush of your distrust yet we would still face creatures that outmatches us. We came here to see a relic and to be honest, if you are in danger, we'd still have helped."
He says.

Arkar nods and responds in common "Certainly, I fetch those immediately. I don't think we have anything for Reavis, but will check."

Shear's Linguistics: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (9) - 1 = 8
Lars' Linguistics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23

The remaining scrolls tell the story of Malikeen. They say that she appeared mysteriously near the village of Dallo, paralyzed from the neck down, a condition she ascribed to "the evisceration of the life before." The scrolls say that she wept for a hundred days, creating a flood that threatened to destroy the townsfolk's rice paddies. But then the child brightened and spoke with ageless wisdom, overseeing the construction of a dam that persists to this day.

Yuzana returns from her discussion with the farmers, and asks "What would you like me to do during this battle?"

She seems incredibly eager to help, however her bearing and gear indicates that while she and Arkar are likely the most capable of the villagers, neither would do much to help in a fight.

Enora spends a few minutes looking over her spell book, deciding if she wants to swap any spells to be prepared. Any suggestions? I think protection from evil might be good, particularly if I can cast it on someone else who can contribute without attacking.

My understanding of the aura that surrounds the shrine acts as a magic circle of against evil so everyone inside the aura should have the benefits of protection from evil. Karg has it as a known spell as well.

I can recommendation liberating command since it doesn't take one of your turns to cast it, although it would only be helpful if these creatures grapple at all.

Besides that, the spells glitterdust, vanish, and ear-piercing scream all might find effective use in the battle.

What he said

Shortly before midnight, Reavis imbibes his Dexterity mutagen, and extracts of Shield, Barkskin, and False Life

False Life Temp HP: 1d10 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

I'll update Reavis' status line to take these changes into account. In case you have the Initiatives prepared already, the mutagen will raise his Init to +5

Karg is uncomfortable while he addresses Yuzana's question. He has a several false starts as he figures how he wants to tell her to keep out of the battle. "I'm not in charge of anyone, so don't think I'm commanding you. Keep with the other villagers, make sure they stay safe. We will be here fighting those things and will have trouble getting to them if the village is hit."

"Have the villagers kept safe and together. Best if they can remain hidden. We'll dress up as villagers and stay here, getting their attention. If you have caves somewhere where you can stay in safety so be it." Lars speaks as a matter of fact even as he picks up the clothing deciding which one best fits him best.

"Brother Viper. Karg has spell to make you giant. It last a short time, but would you want it as soon as fight starts?"

"Yes thank you

Viper looks for some old clothes and covers his armor with a robe.

"I wonder if this crude disguise will work"

can we take 20 on disguise since we have time?

Yuzana and Arkar nod to Karg, and Yuzana responds, using Reavis as an interpreter. "The elders below will stay indoors and keep quiet, they are unwell and it is difficult for them to make the hike back up the hill. We will do our best to protect the village. Our thanks to you, Angels."

There are no timekeeping devices here, so you have 2 options.
1: Set a lookout and use perception to notice them coming from a distance
2: Use survival to estimate when midnight approaches

Anyone making either of these checks should be outside of the shrine (not outside of the aura, just not indoors). Feel free to use aid another and/or take 10.

As for the disguises, you'll roll a check for them if they are scrutinized since the check is not just the clothes themselves, but if you can sell the act at the key moment.

In addition to the other buffs, Viper will get a casting of barkskin before the fight, will cast enlarge person once they are inbound.

"I'm not sure they will care too much, but if we are already doing this dressing up in villager robes isn't the worst thing I have been asked to do today."

Karg dons a set of clothes and Shear is covered up to obscure any non-horse-like qualities that might be visible from a distance. Both pay special attention to hide the glowing rune on their heads.

Shear will take 10 to aid a check to determine time until the attack.

Additional note: Midnight is night. It's dark at night. It is a half-moon tonight which makes the ambient environment low-light. Everyone do me a favor and give me a list like this:

Before arrival:
11:45 - Cast x on y
11:50 - Cast x on y

Once spotted:
1 - Cast x
2 - Do thing

Then place yourselves on the map with lookouts/star-watchers outside of the temple (still in the aura is fine) and everyone else where you'd like to be. I'll roll everyone's perception/survival checks along with initiative and let you know which of your actions you successfully did and when you did them. Unless anyone has any other specific guidelines, I'll have whoever is outside with the best perception bonuses for the conditions take 10 on their check and I'll roll for everyone else to aid. I'll do the same for survival.

Before arrival:
11:50 - Karg casts barkskin on Enora and Viper.

Once spotted (and enemies are inbound, because villagers don't double in size):
1 - Begin casting enlarge person on Viper

If there are no suitable clothing to disguise Reavis' tiefling nature, he'll hide in the the shrine until the enemies show up.

Survival to tell time: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Before arrival:

11:50: Drink extract of false life, mutagen, and extract of barkskin.

Once spotted:

Drink extract of Shield, try to identify the creatures using Knowledge (planes).

Viper forgos the disguise and finds a suitable place to keep watch.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (7) + 11 = 18

to tell time.

Survival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (20) + 9 = 29

At 11:45, Enora uses her wand of mage armor (assuming this stacks with barkskin, like I think it should)

When the enemy is sighted, Enora casts vanish on herself (only good for 4 rounds) She will use this to get close and cast burning hands. Then she will get back away.

Enora also has message, which she can use to help coordinate the attack.

Night falls, and you begin your watch. Viper is able to get a very accurate assessment of the time, and at 5 before midnight begins to sharpen his gaze on the mountain path. At 2 minutes to midnight, the hands that threaten doom can be spotted in the distance...

Kaa begins to hiss when a foul smell begins to drift downwind, and Shear helps to cover the watch. Viper's perception = 18 (his roll) +4 (aid from Shear and Kaa) +2 (Favorable conditions - you know what time and place to look) = 24

Karg Disguise: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

At the distance you are able to spot them, they take Karg's disguise at face value and decide that one ranger (Viper) and his pet (Shear) are no threat. They begin to maneuver towards the dam. They'll be on you in 4 rounds. You get all of your planned actions.

Off to run another test... will begin initiative after that, post any remaining actions for your 4 rounds

Just a normal villager making a lot motions that look like spell casting, nothing to see here.
1 - Cast enlarge person on Viper
2 - Cast magic fang on Kaa
3 - Cast magic fang on Shear (claws)
4 - Full Defense

The Ceustodaemons begin their approach, looking to pick up Karg as their prey. Once the see the spellcasting begin they fly into a murderous fury. They approach the dam, and after a few cries and feints...

Blue
Reavis
Karg
Brown
Shear
Enora
Lars

...the battle begins. Both Ceustodaemons make a low approach and swoop up to the dam. One of the daemons with amazing reflexes, fires off a spell as soon as he rises into clear view of his prey.

Karg, Shear, Viper, and Kaa need to make will saves
Slow DC 15, if you fail, you are staggered for 8 rounds

Reavis, peering out of the shrine, you begin to remember a bit more about these creatures. You recall seeing pictures of a similar creature in your studies, and they were shown to be breathing horrid blasts of harsh freezing air and ice in the illustrations.

Also, remember that when within the aura you have a +2 deflection bonus to AC and +2 resistance bonus to saving throws against these since they are certainly evil. Also remember that these bonuses are the same type as those provided by Cloak of Resistance and Ring of Protection, so if you have any of those items the Protection from Evil will not stack with them.

Reavis and Karg are up

Karg attempts to resist the magical effect.

Will save: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

And he easily shrugs it off as he yells a battle cry as he fires his crossbow at the closer daemon. "For Freedom!"

Crossbow at blue: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 2

But it does little more than fly by the looming form of the creature.

Enora casts vanish on herself just before the enemy get to us.

She also has a temporary AC of 19/touch 15/ff 17, and 21/17/17 in aura.

Shear doesn't have the strongest will, and it takes all his energy to brace himself as the magic binds his frame.

Will save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

But it was not enough and Shear was slowed.

Since the information is spread out through the thread, could you give a summary of what we know about these creatures? May I make another knowledge roll now that Reavis sees them?

Reavis moves out of the shrine to the inside edge of the protective circle, just south of the enlarged Viper. He then tosses a bomb at the nearby ceustodaemon.

Bomb: RTA Fire + PBS: 1d20 + 9 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 9 + 1 = 12
Damage: 3d6 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (1, 1, 3) + 6 + 1 = 12

I'm on my phone, could someone move me south of Viper by the inner edge of the circle?

I gave you a -5 penalty on the knowledge check to ID them from description alone, and just added the 5 to your result now that you've seen them. What you know is that they have standard Daemon resistances (cold/elec/fire), immunities (acid/death effects/disease/mind affects), and tough hides (DR/silver). You also know now that they have acidic breath weapons. The townsfolk descriptions said they use Slow and a Hold effect like Hold Person or Hold Monster. Your current knowledge indicates that they are probably powerful enough to use Hold Monster. The last piece of information you have gained is that their touch AC is greater than 12.

Reavis's bomb hurls at the creature but it's sudden change in momentum causes the trajectory to narrowly miss him.

Miss direction (clockwise, 1 is towards Reavis): 1d8 ⇒ 5

The bomb goes careening over the edge and splashes into the water below.

The second Ceustodaemon flies forward and attempts to disable the screaming half-orc who shrugged off his compatriot's spell.

Hold Monster, DC 17 Will Save (enchantment)

Blue
Reavis
Karg (Need DC17 Will v Hold Monster)
Brown
Shear (Slowed for 8 rounds)
Enora
Lars
Viper (Need DC15 Will v Slow)
Kaa

Karg will not be shackled again!

Will Save against Hold Monster: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20