GM Endless Forms' PFS 01-55 The Infernal Vault (Inactive)

Game Master Mike Tuholski

Mohok's attack again hits nothing but armor. Quillen moves in. . .

mwk longsword power attack AoO: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 7 - 1 = 22
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 + 2 = 12

The man takes a chunk out of Quillen as the halfling runs past.

Ennoia follows up but the man is not quick enough to attack her. She fires an arrow at the man but it flies past him and out the window, nearly hitting a passerby.

Initiative:

1. Ennoia and Mohok
2. Men
3. Corrina, Quillen, and Germaine

#1: 14 dmg

Corrina and Germaine are up!

"Merde!"

Quillen hobbles somewhat, moving slower over the last few steps of his advance into the room beyond.

8/20hp.

In spite of the distraction of the fight, and his frustration at being able to connect with his last couple of blows, Mohok can't help but wonder what Quillen is trying to say, Wah-lah? Merde? What's that all mean? Maybe he's summoning something...

Corrina takes a moment to charge her longsword with magical energy and moves up next to Saint Germaine. She thrusts her sword through the doorway at the mercenary in front.

Swift action arcane pool weapon enhancement +1 for one minute
2H Attack: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 1 = 17
Damage: 1d8 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 11

Wishing these guards had taken his advice, he commits himself to the task of battle.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13
Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

If I manage to drop #1, I wanted to step into the room, taking an AoO and move forward 2 and down 2.

Corrina and Saint Germaine have as much trouble as the others breaking through the men's glowing breastplates.

The two men swing at Saint Germaine, who has presented himself in the doorway as the most direct target.

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 7 - 1 = 10
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 + 2 = 7

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 ⇒ (2) + 7 - 1 = 8
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 + 2 = 10

Initiative:

1. Ennoia and Mohok
2. Men
3. Corrina, Quillen, and Germaine

#1: 14 dmg

You guys are up!

I'll repeat the above.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Damage: 1d10 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13

@Endless: Did Quillen's 27 Intimidate demoralize #1? He missed anyway, but just making sure it wasn't missed.

Quillen, gripping his injury with a tiny hand, shakes his rapier to and fro at the two men.

"No, no, no! You will have no victory zis day! We are zeasoned veterans. Surrender now!"

Standard action to demoralize #2. Applying -2 since the men are larger than Quillen.

Intimidate: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (18) + 9 - 2 = 25

Quillen feels around in his pack and pulls out a wand after his threatening banter. (Cure light wand, move action to retrieve)

A frustrated Mohok swings again at the guard he's already wounded, but he doesn't even manage to bounce off his armor, as the man easily sidesteps Mohok's awkward attack through the doorway.

Falchion attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Falchion damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (3, 2) + 6 = 11

Surprised at the ineffectiveness of one of her better swings, Corrina decides to try a different tack. This time, she tries to use her blade to push the man off-balance against Germain's attack.

Aid another to give +2 to Germain's attack (no cover bonuses factored into attack roll): 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 2 + 1 = 13

Ennoia activates one of her wrist sheaths and suddenly, a wand is in her hand. She concentrates and taps Quilien with it, closing the swashbuckler's wounds.
CLW (Wand): 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

@Quillen: Yes! Thanks, I forgot to note it.

Saint Germaine misses while Quillen continues to speak down up to the men. Mohok again has trouble hitting but Corrina sets Mohok up for his next attack. Ennoia heals the halfling behind the action.

---

The two men continue to swing at Saint Germaine, hurling insults and swear words at the party.

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (13) + 7 - 1 - 2 = 17
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 + 2 = 9

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (14) + 7 - 1 - 2 = 18
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6

Initiative:

1. Ennoia and Mohok
2. Men
3. Corrina, Quillen, and Germaine

#1: 14 dmg, shaken 1 round
#2: shaken 2 rounds

You guys are up!

Mohok swings his blade through the doorway once again.

Falchion attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Falchion damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (4, 3) + 6 = 13

Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (18) + 9 = 27
Damage: 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14

Quillen glances up at Ennoia and nods at her administrations.

"Merci."

Satisfied he has cowled their adversaries with his chastising, the halfling aims his newly purchased wand at his own wounds, hoping to finish the healing that Ennoia started.

Use Magic Device DC20: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Still unable to get a clear line of sight to her target, Ennoia continues tapping Quilien with her wand.
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Corrina again decides that trying to shake the mercenary's defenses is the best way she can help, but this time the wall prevents her from upsetting the enemy.

Aid another to give +2 to attack: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 1 = 10

Sorry, my intent was to make a path to enter the room so everyone could contribute, but poor rolls are not letting that happen.

Mohok misses again as Quillen and Ennoia play around with healing in the background. Saint Germaine, however, is able to find a weak spot in the man's armor and wound him! Unfortunately the man proves to be tough and continues to fight back against the aasimar!

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (10) + 7 - 1 - 2 = 14
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 + 2 = 6

mwk longsword power attack: 1d20 + 7 - 1 - 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 - 1 - 2 = 7
damage: 1d8 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 2 = 11

Initiative:

1. Ennoia and Mohok
2. Men
3. Corrina, Quillen, and Germaine

#1: 28 dmg
#2: shaken 1 round

You guys are up!

This time Corrina manages to time her swipe with enough distracting flair to disguise her ally's attack.

Aid another to give Germaine a +2 to hit: 1d20 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 2 + 1 = 17

Rinse and repeat, but I'm going to take a Swift Action to make my Sword +2 for 1 Round

Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (10) + 11 = 21
Damage: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Mohok nearly gives in to his frustration and smashes his head into the nearby wall, but he directs the energy instead into a powerful swing of his falchion.

Falchion attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26
Falchion damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (2, 2) + 6 = 10

Crit confirm attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24
Crit damage: 2d4 + 6 ⇒ (3, 4) + 6 = 13

If Saint Germaine has already dropped #1, Mohok will step into the room and hit #2.

Quillen nods his thanks and tucks his wand back into his belt (move action) and resumes waving his rapier at the men in the room beyond.

Standard to intimidate to demoralize the thug that's most likely to be up another round or two.

"Oh ho! Zee, you are noth-zing to mah friend Germaine, you silly warrior-type!"

Demoralize: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 - 2 = 27

Ennoia drops her wand and attempts to shoot twice at the first guard.
In the event of an early death for #1, please have me 5-ft step to the NW before full attacking.

Composite Longbow (cold iron, RS, PBS): 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 8 + 1 = 161d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7
Composite Longbow (cold iron, RS, PBS): 1d20 + 8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 8 + 1 = 121d8 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 1 = 5
Feel free to apply cover penalties, of course.

Saint Germaine takes down the man in the doorway with Corrinda's help and Mohok steps over the man's body to bring his falchion down on the next man. Quillen's words seem to wound the man but Ennoia's shots are unable to hit him.

Seeing his companion's bleeding body beneath Mohok's feet, the man throws down his sword and surrenders.

Out of combat!

Assuming the man is not dead, "If you swear to answer all of our questions, and truthfully, I'll save your buddy. If we think you are lying, I'll destroy you both. Deal?"

Mohok grunts in agreement with Saint Germaine, then adds, "That's a deal you should take, friend." He grimaces fiercely at the man before continuing, "You're guarding the way into the vaults, right? Where is the entrance? And what other guards are there?"

As Mohok waits for the man to answer, he picks up the sword the man has dropped and examines it, then turns his attention to the glowing breastplate worn by the guard's fallen companion.

If he agrees, (and again, assuming the other guy is bleeding but not actually dead), I'll cast Stabilize.

Quillen, scowling, saunters into the room waving his rapier at their captive.

"Well, well, what 'ave we 'ere?"

Circling the thug like a dictator walking around a tiny map of his armies, he looks across the bridge of his nose.

"You were wise to zurrender, as I kept saying all along. Now, it is time to spill ze beans. All of zem!"

Finally stopping his circuit, the halfling levels his weapon at the man's forehead.

"Spill!"

Ennoia attempts another approach than Quilien, playing the famed "good guard".

"I'm sorry, you'll have to excuse my friend here, he's very angry by your attempts at slitting his throat. I'm not sure I'll be able to contain his fury for long... unless you cooperate, of course. In which case we'd be more than happy to release you free, should your collaboration be fruitful enough."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (14) + 9 = 23

Corrina stops her poised sword when Germaine mentions saving the fallen thug and looks up innocently. "Oh! Okay!" She adds with a smile, "Just guarding him." As the others question the conscious survivor, she does take the fallen man's masterwork longsword and scabbard.

Will use the MW longsword for the rest of the scenario.

The other guy is not actually dead. I can roll stabilize checks if need be but I think he was only a few negative so chances are he's alright.

"Deal." the man answers Saint Germaine.

"You're guarding the way into the vaults, right? Where is the entrance? And what other guards are there?"

"Yeah, there's a trap door in the floor near the bed, that leads down there. I don't know what else is down there except the Decklands wench who hired us to guard this place. C'mon, we're just hired muscle. We'll be on our way and won't trouble you any more."

EF - Mohok was checking out the dropped sword and the unconscious guard's glowing breastplate, any word on those?

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10

Mohok considers the man's response, but isn't sure whether to believe him or not. "Maybe what you say is true," he responds in his deep bass rumble, "but you're not going anywhere until we're done down below. We won't kill you, but we're taking your weapons and tying you up."

He then turns his small, reddish eyes to his fellow Pathfinders and says, "Sound okay? Unless you can tell for sure this guy's being straight with us?"

Quillen's eyes slowly narrow at the two men.

"Zey were just doing zere jobs. I think zey have learned zere lessons."

The small halfling punctuates each sentence with a shake of his rapier.

"Zey will bother us no more. No tying up is necessary."

Advancing to the trap door, he inspects it for traps or alarm mechanisms.

Take 20 for 24.
(+1 for traps)

It is a masterwork longsword and masterwork chainmail (sorry, I was thinking of the wrong game when I described magical breastplates).

Quillen does not see any traps. The trap door next to the bed open into a small, stuffy square room that was cut from the building’s stone foundation. The room’s east wall features a large stone mosaic that shows several faceless people worshipping at the top, and others being condemned at the bottom, with no figures in the middle pattern. The mosaic contains a set of three identical circular indentations: one set within the top section, one in the empty center, and another set within the bottom section. Illuminating the room are two lit torches in sconces on the north and south walls.

"Which one of you killed the scholar?"

Sense motive (hope someone else has the skill): 1d20 ⇒ 12

Ill just watch for now, trying to look menacing. If Corina needs, I can always "Hey look, evil-doers out in the courtyard." :)

Mohok raises one tattooed eyebrow, thinking, Hmmm, hadn't thought of that, that these thugs might have killed our Pathfinder... He listens closely to any response the conscious guard gives, expecting little answer from the other.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 That'll help...

Quillen navigates the ladder down into the smaller stuffy room and takes a closer look at the mosaic while the others continue to interrogate the conscious mercenary.

Perception: Take 20 for 24 on the mosaic.

This room otherwise has no exits, so puzzling out the mosaic is required to continue on?

"It looks like the middle part of the mosaic is missing. Where is it?" she asks the defeated guards.

The guard does not know anything about the mosaic and testifies that he has never been down there.

After a few moments of inspection, Quillen detects that the mosaic puzzle is trapped.

Quillen also notices three circular stone disks stacked neatly against the east wall by the door. The stones represent a happy looking female child, a grandiose city, and a brooding devil.

I'm thinking we should just bind the guards and head on?

"Perhaps the devil would be the one fitting." suggests Ennoia, albeit she is at a loss of saying why it would be that one.

Mohok helps Saint Germaine to bind the guards, gagging them carefully but assuring them they'll come to no harm - if they behave. He then climbs down through the trap door and joins in the conversation about the mosaic, studying it carefully for a while.

"Well," says Mohok ponderously, scratching his head a bit, "there are three spots and three discs, so each spot should get a disc, right? Seems the condemned folks at the bottom should go with the devil, I'd wager. Maybe the happy little girl at the top, and the big city fills in the big blank in the middle?" He shrugs and admits, "But I'm only guessin'."

Will wait for Quillen to sort out the trap if he can, before putting the discs in anywhere.

EDIT: Sorry, misread. I understand now we have to put all three in the correct order in the indentation. Your guess should be good, surely?

I think my guess is as good as any, but we know the mosaic is trapped, so it seems to make sense to give Quillen a chance to take care of it. If you'd like to try the pattern I suggested, feel free. My second-level self is going to give it a moment. :)

Is it such that the trap goes off if the incorrect pattern is attempted? Or the trap goes off no matter what? I'd think Quillen would allow for the correct pattern to be attempted first before a Disable Device check is made, if he believes that circumvents the trap.

Quillen stands up from his inspection as the others descend into the room, gaining little height of his own in the process.

"So we 'ave three round stones and three round spots. Mohok's guess is a very good one, if we want to give it a try?"

Assuming Endless confirms the trap is triggered by an incorrect answer, I'm good with attempting that before a Disable Device. I imagine maybe not everyone wants to be in the room while it's attempted though?

"We could let one of those thugs upstairs do it for us. I still don't believe she'd hire some thugs to rough up a Pathfinder, and different thugs to guard the entrance. What are they, unionized?" She does take the precaution to stay above while someone hardier tries the trap.

Climbing down, Ill check out the area.

Are there any clues we might have missed.

Perception + Detect Magic: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Yes, the correct orientation bypasses the trap.

The party follow Mohok's suggestion and, miraculously, the door pops open without any explosion. A spiral staircase leads downwards.