GM Fromper's First Steps Part 1 (Inactive)

Game Master Fromper

Sirius takes the blue stone key and tries it on the red lacquered chest.

Sirius puts the blue stone key in the red lacquered chest, and it finally unlocks. Inside, you see a key forged into the end of a jeweled scepter.

Davor, Sirius, and Voarima hear a slight click above them as the chest is opened. They all instinctively look up, and notice a small golden key dangling from a fine thread coming out of a slit in the ceiling. The key seems to be about 6 inches below the 15 foot high ceiling.

Remaining (bold still to be dealt with)

[1] Copper banded chest - DONE - It's an illusion!
[2] Red lacquered chest - DONE - Opened with blue stone key, contains scepter key
[3] Cube of solid steel - Examined, has a keyhole
[4] Glass jar half full of liquid - DONE - Recovered jeweled brass key, which has since crumbled to dust
[5] Covered wicker basket - DONE - Recovered blue stone key
[6] Small golden key dangling from ceiling

Gunthur looks up a the key hanging by a thread. "Anyone got a throwing axe or dagger? Someone can probably get it down in a few shots."

Sirius smiles as he looks up at the little key, then strides toward the far corner of the room. Despite the room being sealed tight, there is somehow still a palpable breeze following Sirius, which becomes all the more noticeable as he makes a leap for it.

Acrobatics to make a running jump, Following Breeze trait: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Sirius gets a running start, and demonstrates the airy lightness of a sylph, propelled by his magical breeze. He jumps roughly 7 feet straight up. Given that he's over 6 feet tall, his long arms are able to just barely touch the key hanging almost 15 feet above the ground, and the thin string snaps easily as his hand pulls at the key.

You now have the scepter key from the red chest, the small golden key from the ceiling, and the blue stone key that already opened the red chest. The steel box and the door to the room are the only keyholes left to explore.

"Well, interesting, that."

Scarcely sooner than he lands does Sirius try the new key on the enigmatic metal cube.

Inside the steel cube are a large scroll case containing the map that you came for, and small stick that might be a magic wand.

Anyone have Detect Magic and spellcraft to try and id the wand?

With only the scepter key left to try, and the door to the room to open, the party uses that key to unlock the door and exit uneventfully. The servant who led you to the room is waiting for you patiently. He nods in approval when he sees that you have what you came for, and escorts you to the exit. If you ask about seeing Amenopheus again on your way out, you're informed that he left for the day.

Where to next?

"I believe next we have to pick up a package of medicine from Ollystra Zadrin (sp?) and deliver it to an orphanage, taking the opportunity to assess whether she and her institution are deserving of such aid."

Sirius tries and fails to suppress a snicker.

"If we find it 'undeserving,' is that the part where we burn it down? I've heard stories, see...."

Dazai looks at Sirius with a concerned expression. "I hope not."

Did you take the wand with you with the map?

Arriving at the Temple of the Shining Star, you are immediately directed to Ollysta Zadrian. This paladin of Sarenrae is young in her years, but holds herself with the poise of a queen and warrior simultaneously. As she notices your arrival, she strides forward, addressing the group in a strong voice.

“Thank the light of Sarenrae you have arrived! I knew Ambrus would come through for us in the Silver Crusade. I desperately need you to bring medicine to an orphanage and let me know if the headmistress, Gilga Baltwin, is deserving of our charity. Since our quest began, the needy have clamored for our aid, and I suspect some are abusing our generosity. It may sound cruel, but there are plenty of dishonest people out in the world
eager for easy gold.”

“Do you know of the Silver Crusade? After discovering so many factions splintered the Society, a number of us banded together to proliferate the cause of charity and kindness using the Society’s resources. As it is said, ‘The Dawn brings new light’ and I’ve made it my life’s work to use our recent darkness to bring a new light to the world and to the Pathfinder Society.”

“I apologize for straying off point. Will you bring this parcel of medicine to Auntie Baltwin’s Home for Recovery in the Eastgate district?”

"aye, we'll do as you ask and report back our findings. Have you anything else to tell us of this place? Any specific suspicions, or just general curiosity and caution?"

Gunthur will have the wand if no one else does. He'll wave it around a bit, but seem frustrated when it doesn't seem to work for him. :)

"No, no specific concerns. I honestly don't know if Gilga Baltwin is honest or not, but I hope this delivery by Pathfinder agents will confirm whether the orphanage is operating on the up and up. I just ask that you be observant and report back any evidence that Baltwin isn’t worthy of the Silver Crusade’s aid."

"Ha! Now I get it - the exciting and dangerous world of non-profit espionage!"

Sirius just seems tickled pink by this whole notion - or he would be if there were any pink to speak of on his body.

"Hey, is anyone going to look at this thing before we go to the orphanage? I can't figure out how it works." Gunthur waves the wand around.

"We will do this, of course." Dazai bows to the paladin. "We should be on our way, if there is no additional concerns to relay, then."

"what kind of wand is it? If its divine, I can use it, but identifying stuff is not my bailiwick."

"I can't tell exactly what it does," Davor sighs. "Very well, we can see to this orphanage for you. Nothing will escape the sight of the Master."

Ok, free wand, but nobody knows what it does.

You travel to Auntie Baltwin's Home for Recovery at the address provided. Nearly swarming with cats and children, this fine upper-class home appears to be clean and in good condition considering the number and ages of its inhabitants. Three young boys shoot marbles in the dirt near the side porch, and inside strewn toys and more cats lie about on the floors. A few children take care of chores, while coughs and sneezes softly erupt from the children’s dormitories upstairs.

An ugly old hag, presumably Auntie Baltwin, sees you and comes to greet you.

"Who are you?" she asks curiously, and looks around your legs, as if expecting to see you bringing children in tow.

Voarima watches as the others find the map and key to get out of the room, and rolls her eyes as she finds out that Amenopheus is gone for the day.

Figures...trap us inside a damned room and than leave

She goes along and heads to the church.

So, crooked giver. Seems simple enough

Voarima looks at the woman, tries to break the tension with a smile.

We are here to deliver some medicine, may we come in?

diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Dazai bows politely to the homely woman. "The Silver Crusade sent us with this medicine. I am a cleric, might I take a look at the children who have taken ill?"

"I too am a cleric, but I'm no healer... I will let my colleague here see to the sick children. Mind if I look around a bit, you've got a wonderful home here... love all the cats. You sure the kids aren't just allergic?"

The woman's demeanor immediately changes, apparently attempting to seem friendlier.

"Oh, the medicine for the children! That will be most helpful."

Responding to Osamu and Orin, she continues, "Of course you can see the sick kids. I'm sure the cats aren't the problem - in fact, most of the kids love them. The reason we have so many sick kids is that people bring them to me that way. Some parents drop off their kids to stay with me for a few days, or sometimes weeks, while they recover from sickness. Others, of course, are orphans who are with me for much longer stays."

Dazai bows slightly to the caretaker before he heads into the orphanage to see to the children in the sick room. He takes notes of what he sees along the way.

"Greetings, children. I am sad to see you so sick."

Sorry for the delays. Between the site being down, and my own family schedule, I just haven't been able to log in and post here in a couple of days.

I also wasn't sure if anyone was going to jump in with other stuff they wanted to do in the house while you're there, or if everyone is going upstairs to where the sick kids are. Everyone feel free to jump in if there's anything else you'd like to do.

"Auntie" Baltwin leads you upstairs to the bedrooms. The sound of sniffling and coughing comes primarily from one room at the end of the hall, and she leads you in that direction. There are half a dozen sick children in beds in that room, some sleeping, while others are awake. Those who aren't sleeping look up at you when you arrive.

A little boy responds to Osamu, "Hello. Who are you?"

Feel free to ask questions, make heal checks to examine them, sense motive checks, etc. Let me know if anyone breaks off from the group to look around the rest of the house or talk to some of the non-sick kids.

Sirius goes to look at the kids playing marbles.

"Hello. May I play?"

Davor shies away from the children, but keeps a weather eye on them. More so, he watches "Auntie" Baltwin, on the lookout for anything strange about her behavior.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (12) + 10 = 22

"Dazai. Osamu Dazai," he tells the child, "I am a healer. May I take a look at you?"

Heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

While he tends to the child, he asks, "Do you get enough to eat? Do they treat you well?"

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Sirius and Osamu, give me diplomacy checks. I'm assuming if Sirius joins the marbles game that he stays downstairs with those kids and doesn't follow the rest of the group up to the bedrooms.

Osamu can tell that the boy he's talking to has an obvious fever, and is sniffling, but you're not sure exactly what's wrong with him.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

"Poor child. You are burning up," he frowns in sympathy, "It is good that we brought the medicine from the Silver Crusade."

I'm assuming if Sirius joins the marbles game that he stays downstairs with those kids and doesn't follow the rest of the group up to the bedrooms.

That's about the size of it.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17

Voarima breathes a sigh of relief as they are allowed in. She looks around as they are led through the house to the sick children.

perception, take 10 if allowed for 20 or...: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11

Such a pity...children dumped as if refuse

Orin goes upstairs and observes the rooms and conditions there, not so much the sick children, at least at first.... Eventually he turns his attentions to those who are ill... He tries to assess what they have and how best to treat it.

heal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18

"Hello small children... My name is Orin and I am a cleric of Yuelral. I am not a great healer, but I do have some little skill.. I am better at repairing things than people however." He picks up and repairs a small doll he sees abandoned by a child's bed. mending at will as his domain power "I know you have other things on your minds besides toys right now, but I can fix anything you've got that's broken. I wish I was better at fixing you, though." He repairs any broken toys they might hand him.

After everyone seems occupied, Gunthur goes around to talk to some of the non-sick kids who are nearby.

As Osamu talks to the boy and examines him, the kid responds to his questions, "Auntie Baltwin treats us alright." The child doesn't volunteer anything, but his statement seems honest enough.

Sirius joins the marbles game, and the kids seem to like him. "You're really tall and thin. Are you an elf?" one of them asks.

Voarima keeps her eyes open while following the others, and confirms that the house is relatively clean. The kids and cats seem to be in relatively good health, other than sick children in their own upstairs bedroom. Are you just following the others, or are you poking your head into other areas without asking to really search the place?

The kids' eyes light up at Orin's magic, and they seem to like him more than Osamu. Remember that Mending takes a few minutes to cast. Looking them over, he thinks most of them just have generic cold or flu symptoms. No life threatening diseases here, though some seem to have it worse than others.

Gunthur slips away from the group in all the activity, and approaches some of the healthier kids in another second floor bedroom. A couple of them seem scared of the big man, but one points to his horsechopper and asks, "What kind of weapon is that?"

Sirius joins the marbles game, and the kids seem to like him. "You're really tall and thin. Are you an elf?" one of them asks.

"No, you can always tell Elves by their eyes. They're like...well, that marble," Sirius replies pointing to a large solid-color specimen. "Me, I came here on the breath of the wind."

"How about you? How did you come here?" After a second he adds. "Do you like it here?"

The boy shrugs. "My mommy got sick and died, so now I live here. It's ok here, but I don't like having to do the cleaning."

"Me neither", chimes in a little girl, no more than 6 years old.

Poke my head into other rooms as we go along. I hope that makes sense.

"What's wrong with the cleaning?"

Gunthur is reminded of when he and his adopted siblings were a similar age. He smiles at the boy and pulls out his weapon in a non threatening manner. "This is called a horsechopper. It is not a very fancy weapon, but if you learn to use it properly, you can hit an enemy before they can touch you."

"I was only a bit older than you when I started learning to use such weapons. Do you not get such training here?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Davor is nothing if not forward. When out of earshot of children, he strides up to Auntie Baltwin and asks, "Why do you not want us around? And what, pray tell, is so wrong with fixing a poor child's plaything?"

Dazai is taken aback by Davor's sudden interrogation, having been largely clueless to the subtle signs and busy failing to diagnose the children.

Voarima sees more kids, cats, and toys as she pokes her head in various rooms, but nothing out of the ordinary. There are some cabinets and closets in some of the rooms, but they're all closed.

Sirius continues talking to the kids while playing marbles. The boy shrugs in response to his question. "We all have to do some cleaning to earn our share. I just don't like it." Give me another diplomacy check. Or keep talking and asking the right questions, and I'll let you take 20 on it (which you'll likely need to hit the DC with your +1 bonus).

Gunthur continues his conversation with the kids in the other upstairs bedroom. They seem fascinated by his weapons. "We don't get any weapon training. Auntie Baltwin just teaches us boring stuff that she says will help us earn our way in life."

As the group leaves the room with the sick children, Davor confronts the old lady. She seems quite stunned by this line of questioning.

"I... wha... ? What do you mean? I don't mind you coming here to provide medicine for the sick ones. But you're being quite disruptive and rude! And I don't want the kids getting attached to a...", she gestures to Orin, "a dwarf who they'll never see again."

Everyone but Sirius and Gunthur, give me a sense motive check and a heal check.

sense, heal: 1d20 ⇒ 91d20 ⇒ 11

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6
Heal: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

sense motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
heal: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

Sirius continues talking to the kids while playing marbles. The boy shrugs in response to his question. "We all have to do some cleaning to earn our share. I just don't like it." Give me another diplomacy check. Or keep talking and asking the right questions, and I'll let you take 20 on it (which you'll likely need to hit the DC with your +1 bonus).

"Nobody likes cleaning...well, except maybe Paladins. She doesn't expect you to be Paladins, does she? This house doesn't look that clean. Reach out to the gods and SMITE that dirt, I say!" He says, lowering his voice to a mock-heroic baritone and shaking his fist toward the heavens like a self-righteous holy man.

Gunthur shows off various weapons and lets the kids touch the weapons. As they do, he asks them various questions.

"Well, it's good to learn how to be on your own. Do you get treated well here? Does the Auntie do anything odd or have strange visitors?"