GM Harker's PFS Season 4 Campaign

Game Master Justin L. Warren

Mel casts vanish and then moves behind the creature

-Posted with Wayfinder

Please make a stealth check with an extra +20 from the invisibility, Mel.

stealth: 1d20 + 9 + 20 ⇒ (14) + 9 + 20 = 43

GM Harker are you taking into consideration the -2 on the monster's attacks from Rufus stare?

Crap, it did not work at all.
Rufus switches back to his bow.

Attk: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (5) + 9 - 2 = 12
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Attk: 1d20 + 9 - 2 ⇒ (6) + 9 - 2 = 13
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Free action: Painful Stare
Painful Stare Dmg: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

22 not hitting, that's...rough. Can i circle around and use a wand on Q without provoking, thinking not. wish I had charge on frostfur.

Rufus, I did take into account the Hypnotic Stare, but it also gets a +5 for being under attack.

Halkale, you can move to the northeast and become adjacent to Quiella without provoking, but you'll then be in reach of the monster's melee attacks.

Melufiuos casts a spell and disappears, using the advantage of invisibility to move behind the devil dog without putting himself in danger.

Rufus fires two arrows from his bow, but neither one hits.

Ophelia, Halkale, and Valik. Maybe Quiella and Frostfur if they get healed, otherwise stabilization checks will be needed.

Rufus, I did take into account the Hypnotic Stare, but it also gets a +5 for being under attack.

Ok, but I was not referring to the wand. What I meant is that the monster has a -2 on his attack rolls against us because of my stare. And takes 2 dmg every round as long as somebody hits him every round.

Yes, I've been including all those negatives as well.

Realizing he can't get close enough to help Quiella without possibly dying himself Halkale fires two arrows.

Attack, PBS, Rapid Shot, FE: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 29 Damage, if hits, PBS: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 13
Attack, PBS, Rapid Shot, FE: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 29 Damage, if hits, PBS: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 14

do i need a stabilization from Frostfur? Just in case

Stabilize FF: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (3) - 1 = 2

question for next round... If Mel casts first and then attacks, will the invisibility protect him from the aop, or will he still need to cast defensively?

-Posted with Wayfinder

Casting a spell itself won't break your invisibility, although if the results of the spell are offensive then it'll break afterwards. Attacking will break your invisibility.

Halkale shoots two more arrows into the hellish creature and they find their mark, both causing similar amounts of injury.

Ophelia and Valik

Valik, continues the assault on the creature, but in a different way. He takes a step back, and starts to inspire the others.

Work together everyone. This hellish beast will fall, but only if we can work together. Continue the assault all, else we fall to this demonic canine!

advice 1 of 8. +2 attack/damage/saves vs fear. Was hoping that could have been done at the beginning of the round to affect all allies with their actions this round. But if not, I understand

As Quiella falls, Ophelia feels her blood run cold. She hurries to the gnome's side, rolling the small figure onto her back, and places both hands on her shoulders, still clutching her holy symbol. "Pharasma, nu iau încă acest suflet; avem nevoie de viață și de lumina ei," she says, eyes shut tightly against her own pain as she pours her goddess' healing energy into the paladin.

I move three squares northeast in a straight diagonal line, and spontaneously turn dispel magic into cure moderate wounds to cast defensively on Quielle.
Concentration (cast defensively): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (14) + 14 = 28
Cure moderate wounds: 3d8 + 5 + 6 ⇒ (8, 3, 5) + 5 + 6 = 27
+6 is from Quiella's Fey Foundling feat (heal an extra 2 points per die).
Also, Quiella, since ending life link is an immediate action, you could have dropped it before you went unconscious...

Quiella, eyes cold with fury, drops her hammer and then draws her greatsword. She shouts "I will finish you in the name of Erastil!" and then swings her sword up in a strong arc from underneath the hound.

-Posted with Wayfinder

AC is only 29. Shield of faith and smite don't stack.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Anyone that didn't get the benefit of Valik's advice last round due to him going after you in initiative, gets it in the next round. Although I suspect he's going to keep on giving advice.

Valik steps away from the evil outsider and begins to dispense inspiring advice to guide his companions through the battle.

Converting one of her more powerful spells to healing, Ophelia casts it defensively and heals Quiella of some additional wounds.

Making the hellish dog the target of her smite, Quiella switches weapons and swings her sword, but misjudges its arc and misses.

Sniffing the air for a moment, the creature advances 5 feet to the north and attempts to bite Quiella again, but this time her divine protection shields her from the attack.

Initiative (Rounds 3-4)
Rufus <= Up
Melufiuos <= Up
Halkale/Frostfur [H: 19 Dmg; F: 24 Dmg, Dying]<= Up
Valik [35 Dmg] <= Up
Quiella [23 dmg] <= Up
Devil Dog
Ophelia [9 Dmg; Life linked with Quiella] <= Up

Effect
Advice (Inspire Courage): +2 attack/damage/saves vs fear

Everyone is up, Frostfur will need another stabilization check unless healed.

Oh yeah. I should have added Advice last round... not that it mattered since I rolled a 1. I'm wondering if Ophelia plans to do another Channel? If she is, I'll wait until after to get the double roll thing.

Valik will continue with his advice and ask Ophelia if she needs me to move closer to her for any potential healing.

Move if needed to get within channel range, since I am already outside the 10' threat I should be okay I think?

Mel will do spell combat but not cast defensively since he is currently invisible. Cast frigid touch, take a 5' step north, and then stab the beastie in his hinny.

Rapier: 1d20 + 7 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 7 + 1 + 2 = 26
Rapier + spell damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 + 2 + 4d6 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 + 2 + (2, 2, 2, 3) = 20

Do I get any bonuses to hit cause I'm invis? and/or flanking?
Forgot to throw in -2 for spell combat, so I'm at 24

Mel, here is a basic primer on the nuances of sneak attack and invisibility. When you are invisible, you attack the creature's flat-footed AC. When you are flanking and/or invisible, you get to add your sneak attack damage when you hit. You also get a +2 for flanking. As a side note, whenever combat begins and you attack someone who hasn't acted yet, your attacks are resolved against their flat-footed AC and you get to add sneak attack damage.

Valik continues to give out advice while preparing to move to keep himself within range of any channeling.

Melufiuos casts a cold spell into his rapier and hits for great effect. Indeed, the cold seems to hurt the creature more than normal. As he turns visible, the devil dog turns to snarl at him hatefully.

Mel's Sneak Attack Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5

Ophelia, Rufus, Halkale/Frostfur, Quiella

awesome! And he's staggered for a round too? Love it :). Ooh, and it has been nice knowing you folks. I have a sneaking suspicion that Mel is about to get destroyed. :)

-Posted with Wayfinder

Following Valik's good advice Rufus fires two more arrows.
Attk: 1d20 + 9 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 9 - 2 + 2 = 20
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 3 + 2 = 6

Attk: 1d20 + 9 - 2 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 9 - 2 + 2 = 27
Dmg: 1d6 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 2 = 11

Free action: Painful Stare
Painful Stare Dmg: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Rufus' second arrow hits its mark, causing the evil dog extra agony thanks to his painful stare.

Ophelia, Halkale/Frostfur, Valik

I am unsure if there is a channel coming, so I am simply waiting gir that. Sorry gir holding the round up

Actually, that was a typo. It should have said Quiella instead of Valik. My apologies.

ha ha. Valik posted exactly what I would say.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Sorry for holding this up. I've had a damn stressful couple of days, followed by licking my wounds after paintball.

Ophelia staggers away from the nightmarish hound, still clutching her holy symbol tightly, and calls on Pharasma's favour again.

Channel positive energy: 3d6 ⇒ (4, 2, 3) = 9

Also, everyone, remember that the wording of Fateful Channel means you can reroll an attack roll, saving throw, etc. Not necessarily your first one.

As soon as the hound turns on Mel, Quiella regrets dropping her life link to him. "Over here, demon hound!" she shouts as she tries to cleave him in two.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Halkale fires two more arrows at the hound.

Attack, PBS, Rapid Shot, Advice: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 22 Damage, if hits, PBS: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 12
Attack, PBS, Rapid Shot, Advice: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 26 Damage, if hits, PBS: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 8

Reroll Attack 1: 1d20 + 10 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 10 + 1 + 2 = 17 Damage, if you don't take the first, just in case: 1d8 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 11 bleh

Frostfur stabilization: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17 Just in case, i think the channel healed her

Ophelia steps back and heals everyone including the devil dog. With a jerk, Frostfur comes back to consciousness.

Quiella, however, makes the healing of the enemy a moot point as she brings her greatsword down upon its head and the creature collapses in a pile on the floor.

Halkale finishes it off permanently with two arrows.

Out of Combat

Above the slain hell hound, hovering 20 feet off the floor, is a gibbet holding an unconscious humanoid woman. A control mechanism that looks to work the wench for the hanging cages sits on the eastern wall.

It's takes an Intelligence check to figure out how the mechanism works, although please remember the negative modifier you received earlier. If you'd rather just drop all the cages at once without regard to safety or welfare of the occupant, you can make a Disable Device check in lieu of the Int check.

Once the cage is on the ground, I'll need another Disable Device check to open it. If you don't roll high, you may need to make more than one check to open it.

"Is everyone okay? Do you need any healing?"

--

Once satisfied that everyone is alright, Quiella tries to help with the mechanism.

Intelligence, aid another: 1d20 ⇒ 4

-Posted with Wayfinder

Quiella, you should have taken a -2 to that ability check, although in this case it doesn't make a difference.

Quiella and Valik take a -2 to Int based checks, while everyone else takes a -4. This is due to the alignment restrictions of the plane you're currently located on.

Mel asks for guidance from Ophelia before attempting to work the mechanism.

Int Check: 1d20 + 3 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 3 + 1 - 4 = 15

I have a scroll of Identify, would that help me understand how to work the device? On the other hand, I have scrolls of feather fall, levitate, and floating disk. I imagine we could use them to help get the Paracountess down safely if we have to resort to brute force.

If we get far enough to try opening the cage, Mel will cast Cat's Grace on himself and ask for another Guidance from Ophelia.

+4 dex raises his dex bonus from +3 to +5 (2 points)

masterwork thief tools +1

disable device: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 12 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 18
disable device: 1d20 + 12 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 12 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 34

Int Check: 1d20 - 4 ⇒ (17) - 4 = 13

The device isn't magical, so Identify would not have helped.

Melufiuos quickly figures out how to operate the wench and carefully lowers the center cage to the ground. Although he has trouble unlocking the door initially, he manages to get it open on his second try.

Laying on the bottom of the cage is an unconscious Zarta Dralneen. Looking behind you, you can see that the portal to your plane is still open.

Halkale pulls Zarta from the cage.

"Perhaps, we should g-g-go." he says as he tries to carry Zarta over his shoulder.

Strength?

Str check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Mel pulls out his scroll of floating disk and casts it, "Put her on this."

Valik, huffs and puffs as the damned dog finally goes down.

I need to train more, I took quite a walloping. Please give me a second to heal my wounds, then I would love to get the hell out of wherever we are at

drink 2 potions of CLW: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (1, 8) + 2 = 11

We're finished with the scenario, so feel free to save your magical items.

Finding Zarta fairly light, Halkale has no issues lifting her up and carrying her out of the portal. Everyone else has also no problems following him out, and as the last person crosses the threshold between planes, the gate closes and disappears.

Similarly, the group is allowed to exit Citadel Vraid without incident, although Markus Gael tries one more impassioned plea to free him before you exit the Oubliette. As you leave, a contingent of Hellknights heading to Korvosa offers to give you a ride to the city, although if you refuse they
merely shrug and allow you to find your own means back.

When you finally arrive in Korvosa, you meet with again Venture-Captain Canayven Heidmarch at Shoreline Drinkhall. Upon seeing Dralneen in her current condition, he hastily instructs medics to whisk her away for treatment and thanks you for a job well done. At the close of the conversation, he reveals that according to the Society’s most recent intelligence, Chelish Queen Abrogail II has placed a bounty on the head of Tancred Desimire. It’s unclear whether his crime prompted this or if he angered the queen in another way.

About a week later, each of you receive a personal letter from the paracountess full of personal details you did not expect her to know about you. In addition to her profuse thanks and traditional innuendo, the letters also offers each of you a gift of up to 1600 gold in thanks for your efforts, paid out of her personal wealth.

End of Chapter 13

Chapter 14: The Veteran's Vault

The ramshackle tenement outside of Korvosa softly echoes with the sound of light rain as Venture-Captain Sir Canayven Heidmarch begins his briefing. ”For this mission you will have to venture into the sewers beneath Korvosa. Sascha Antif-Arah,” he announces, gesturing to a haggard human woman who is past her prime but whose posture expresses confidence and experience, ”requires access to a particular vault. The society is going to help her.” Sascha eyes each Pathfinder in turn then nods to herself with some satisfaction and steps forward gracefully.

”I'd like to thank you once again for saving me, I would have never gotten out of there without your help. As for why we are here, some years ago my friends and I had made quite a name for ourselves around Korvosa, and our adventures earned us a considerable amount of gold. We stashed most of it in one of the Vaults after evicting the cult that had already claimed it.” Sascha pauses for a moment, smiles, and shakes her head as if recalling particularly amusing details of the raid. ”Anyway, I retired from the business after that, started up a shop, and lived peacefully until I got into the trouble with the Hellknights.”

”I can’t show my face in Korvosa because I don’t fancy spending anymore time in imprisonment, but I’m willing to cede my share of the loot in that Vault to you. It’s no dragon’s hoard, but it should be more than worth your time. The only thing I want from there is an old locket—nothing magical or worth fencing, but it means a lot to me. Once I have it, I’m getting out of this place and off to somewhere the Order of the Nail has no sway.”

”The entrance shouldn’t be too hard to find, assuming you know what to look for,” she remarks as she fishes several folded papers from her haversack. ”There’s an old service entrance into the sewers about a quarter mile north of my old shop in Midland; I wrote down directions that should lead you to the vault. There’s a big room inside, and I stashed my share under the flagstones in one of the small chambers nearby.”

She extracts a few more items from her bag and holds them out. ”I hope you don’t need these, but you never know. I certainly won’t be using them in my retirement. Good luck to you, Pathfinders.”

Each clearly identified, Sascha gives you all three +1 aberration bane arrows, two antitoxins, a vial of antiplague, and an alkali flask.

Knowledge (dungeoneering): The Dangers of the Korvosa Sewers (Just make one roll, you can read each spoiler your roll qualified for).

Knowledge (engineering or history): History of the Korvosa Sewers (Just make one roll, you can read each spoiler your roll qualified for. If you have both skills, you can make one roll for each skill).

We'll move forward once everyone checks in, either here or the discussion thread.

"Go into the sewers for a locket and some treasure? This seems like a straightforward task... is there something else we should know? What happened to your other companions?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

"No, that is it. I don't yet know what has happened to my companions, you don't get a lot of outside news while in a Hellknight cell."

Another sewer. Maybe this one is not like Absalon's and is empty for a change
A newcomer pathfinder joins the group in the presence of Heidmarch. He is a young tiefling in chelish clothes, light on his foot and with a strange reptilian quality to his figure. His face betrays little emotion and his cold yellow eyes watch the old lady with a snake's gaze.

Who were they, your companions? Will we meet any of them there? Were there any traps in the vault?

"If my companions were nearby, I'm sure I would've heard about it or Canayven would have had news, so it need not be a concern. There is a trap, which I've labeled on the map I'll give you before you depart."

Sam nods in silence.

K dungeon: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9
K history: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

We shall see if this mission is really that simple. For as far as I have ever known, the missions are NEVER that easy.

Valik, cannot recall what could be in the sewers, but does remember reading a book about the history of Korvosa.

There was a chapter, in the book "Korvosa History", that detailed the sewers and their inner workings. The Vaults employ a hodgepodge of architectural elements both due to staggered phases of construction and the inclusion of natural cave features. This was quite inventive and smart. Also, not all of the tunnels leading from the sewers to the sea have grates, and sometimes marine creatures work their way into the tunnels. I find this to be quite annoying, so we best be on our guard for sharks and crocodiles. Lastly, early Korvosan engineers incorporated pre-existing construction into the sewer system, including Shoanti burial mounds and unidentifiable, worked passageways. So I presume undead may also appear in our excursion into the bowels of Korvosa.

Valik, looks to Sascha, Do you know what is down there, because I cannot think of what me be down there for the life of me?

Sascha replies, "Korvosa’s sewers have lots of blackboil alligators, so I wouldn’t go for a swim unless you really have to. My group ran into some other strange creatures years ago, but our scholar usually identified them for us; I don’t remember what they were."