GM Helamans - The Pallid Plague (Inactive)

Game Master Helaman

Saving throw - Fort please

Balak takes a couple slashes from the men, then retaliates by drawing his nunchaku and whips them at the weapon of the first man.

Disarm. 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25

Lars circles around the second gardener and swings his sword.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

posting tomorrow

Apologies all - weekend of kids birthday parties and sleep overs

Still needing a saving throw from the good doctor

The paladin saps #1 of the gardeners HARD! He looks woozy but is still upright, and then the gardener is disarmed by the monk and his whirling rice flail.

Lars misses with his attack... just leaving Kurast, who has a flank against #2.

#2 attacks Kurast.

1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
1d4 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Kurast post then we can start the next round.

Rapier, PA: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

The Shoanti strikes forward with his narrow blade toward the threatening flower-tender.

And it sinks home.

Back to the top of the initiative list - Heros' up.

Balak, you've been hit twice unless I am wrong by the Sickles of the gardeners, I didn't mention it earlier, but can you give me two fort saves?

Maxine continued to strike with her sap placing herself in a flanking position with one of her comrade.

Sap with power attack: 1d20 + 6 - 1 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 6 - 1 + 2 = 191d6 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 2 = 8

Fort saves
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24
1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Lars strikes again, hoping that if he does hit, his foes will not be slain immediately.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Maximes one goes down HARD and is out cold... its possible that had he been hit too much harder he'd need medical assistance.

Is #1 or #2 down? I can't tell. Assuming it's #2.

Balak steps past the gardener and aims a swing of his Nunchaku at her head.

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
1d6 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

#1 is down

1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 4 + 1 = 8 The doctor fails his saving throw and is exposed to the negative effects of the flowers as he plucks them from the garden.

Keep up your actions.

1d4 ⇒ 2

I'll speed this up some...

The final Gardner falls dead after your repeated attacks, but you still have a prisoner.

He'll need some time to come around without a CLW or similar spell.

The doctor examines the flowers and finds while the smell is pleasant enough the pollen on the stamens are distended and abnormal - much larger than expected and of irregular shape.

What questions will you ask if you bring him around and how will you rouse him?

Maxime share her wand with her comrades to heal them then with care heal the uncounscious gardener and began to ask question.

I'm sorry for your comrade Gardener and I assure you it wasn't our intentions to attack you. But your attitude oblige us.
Now, could you please answer our question to the best of your habilities ? We hope to come to a peaceful agreement between us.
What is the purpose of these flowers, who gave you orders to take care of the flowers, what these flower do ?

Diplomacy (take 10 if I can for 18): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

1 charge for Balak and one for the prisoner then.

Ha! Peace? YESSsSSss, there will peace enough soon! The power of the Pallid Princess is upon these blooms and already it is too late for you and Falcons Hollow - our plan is already in motion! Mwhahahawaaaha!

He is clearly diseased, as is his dead companion.

Know. Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Is the pallid princess Urgatoa ?

Yep :)

Iomedae ! These are the men of the godess Urgathoa, the goddess of physical excess, disease, and the undead. She is mostly worshiped by dark necromancers and the undead...

exclaimed the young woman at the gardener response.

Doctor, do you know what are these flowers exactly ?

She continued to ask question

Where is you master ? who's in charge here. Speak.

HeEehEeeeheHEeeE - that is not for you but waste all time you want with me... while my brothers and sisters will spread our blossoms of her blessings in the town, he seems perversely proud of this.

I fear not death or pain

Inor, your logger guide, starts prodding you to keep to your end of the bargain and urges you to take him to Laurel the healer in town as soon as possible.

The cultist shows glee in his affliction.

It will happen soon - tonight! and then your doctor and the whole town will be in suffering divine and feeling the caress of the Pallid Princess.

We must go to the city and call for Queen Syntira's help in this matter.
We also must submit to the authorities this man, to be held in a special cell.

Said Maxime to her comrades. She added for Inor a few words.

Of course Inor, we will keep our promises to you, you have my word.

"If there's going to be some kind of attack on Falcon's Hollow, do we have time to travel all the way to a city?" Balak asks.

Just so there is no confusion, there is no mention of the Fey Queen being in the city. From the sounds of the loggers stories, you'd imagine a sizable Fey community locally right here in the woods. Finding them is the trick... the fey may not be around or they may want you to THINK they are not around

It’s less than half a day’s travel from the fields to nearby Falcon’s Hollow.

Yes I know :)
But we must made a choice : going in the forest to get help from the queen or travel to the city to put the gardener in prison and warn the authorities from the Urgathoa's cultist attack.
Could we be able to find the city's queen and go fro the city before nightfall ?

Doubt it - no one to guide you. You'd stumble around in the woods hoping for some fey to talk to you

I don't know Balak. Our mission is to find the origin of the plague then report to Queen Syntira to find help in her kingdom.
But If what the man said is true, doing this will let Falcon's Hollow without defense against Urgathoa's cultists !

Lars ponders the situation while his companions discuss things.

"Perhaps it would be best to return to Falcon's Hollow now. This Laurel is reputed to be a healer, no? Perhaps she can prepare some sort of remedy to this affliction. Then we'd be able to stop the plan of these foul people as well. Perhaps if we succeed we could then seek out the faerie queen."

Based on this you travel about 4 hours or to Falcons Hollow.

Fort Saves from the Doc and Maxime.

Maxime 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11
Doc Maxime 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

You are both feeling feverish and that you've both contracted something nasty... perhaps the pallid pox? Inor is looking the worse for wear.

Both of you take 1 Charisma damage and I'll make the next save for you both in the game afternoon tomorrow

The town is not large, about 1400 souls or so your guide tells you, as he leads you into it. He takes you directly to the healers place of business.

Creeping ivy and full window boxes cover the facade of this rugged-looking, two-story shop, which bears the faded sign “Roots and Remedies.” The small, mud-tracked shop smells of burnt earth and spicy incense. Bunches of dried herbs, dangling pots, and drawstring pouches hang from the ceiling, and a cauldron bubbles softly on a table next to strange presses and alchemical apparatuses.

Laurel greets you, and straight away begins looking over Inor and questioning him on the disease and his observations, as well as the Doctors. Its evident she has a strong background in this sort of thing but as it goes on she grows frustrated and a little worried.

I don't know how to treat this... I have many resources here though, and maybe with your help... Maybe we can come up with something. Will you help me? Don't worry about lack of medical training - you can help me gather reagents or review notes in my piles of old books or even just keep the fires burning.

I'll pause here for a little for you to RP then explain how this all will work

Being more and more sicker, Maxime drank her antiplague in hope it will help her to get better.

She return to the authorities their prisonner telling them he could be countagious and that the town could be this very night be attack by Urgatho's cultist so they must be prepared.

--------------

Still burning with fever she spoke to Laurel the healer.

Nice to meet you Laurel, I'm Maxime Chanteclerc, Iomedae's follower. Thanks you for helping us.
We have been send here to help taking care of this strange disease and help anyone in need. But it seems some of us are now infected...

This sickness seems to came from these flowers, our friend Dr. Jedidhia took. They seem contagious too but with care you will may be able to find some sort of cure ?

After a short pause she added

Of course, with your help I'm sure we will be able to find some solution against it ! Again thanks for your help.

Balak, seeing Maxime and the Doc begin to grow pale and feverish, stays out of arm's reach of them as much as he can. "Hey, Doc. Is this pox contagious? Like by touch or breath or anything?" he asks.

At the healer's, he nods to her. "Balak's the name." he says. "I'll help in any way I can. I'm not a knowledgeable man, but I've got a sharp eye and can be counted on to do the heavy lifting."

Does look pretty contagious... best put this over your mouth and nose to be safe, handing you a cloth that smells of apple vinegar.

Ok... Here we go.

The PCs must aid Laurel in her research, effectively removing her penalty for not understanding the disease, before she can roll a Heal check to aid them in their recovery or creation of a cure(see below).

As PCs, creatively select applicable skills and describe how you aid Laurel in her research. This should be discribed as part of a roleplay encounter in which you aid Laurel as she digs for hidden books in piles of musty tomes, searches her shelves for specific ingredients, and uses her alchemy lab to attempt to make the palepox antiplague concoction.

Once each PC selects a skill, roll that skill against the DC of the palepox (that's for me to know). For example, a rogue in Tier 1–2 might use his Perception skill to aid Laurel in finding some rare herbs hidden somewhere in her lab. If he succeeds, he adds a permanent +2 to each of Laurel’s subsequent rolls. Each PC may attempt to help using more than one skill, but may only roll a skill check once per single skill during this entire encounter. Additionally while he can take 10 on the roll, he may not take 20.

While it’s up to you what skills to apply, be creative and apply some aspect of how it would help in your application. Craft (alchemy), Heal, Knowledge (nature), Survival, and so on all have obvious applications, but creative players may try other skills as well. So long as his reason for using the skill is inventive and can be *applicable* to helping Laurel find a cure, I'll allow the PC the roll to have a chance to succeed.

We'll do two "rounds" so use the format of some RP text, the skill used and the roll, then repeat again (can be in the same post) using the same method. Each round isn't specified in how long it takes but for the moment lets say 4 hours... you may have to work through the night :) For game time purposes we'll say its 4pm when you get started and I'll assume you can get a bite to eat during each 4 hour block

Balak waits for Laurel to explain what she needs, before serving as her eyes and arms, retrieving ingredients with speed and precision wherever they may be - whether on top shelves or beneath cabinets.

Try to use Acrobatics to retrieve ingredients faster than she can do herself. Taking 10 for 18 total.

Lars speaks with Laurel.

"Mistress Laurel, I have some experience in the use of herbs and natural medicines. As a knight, I spent many days in the forests of Molthune, and I am familiar with natural things. Perhaps I can help you identify useful ingredients for treatment."

Knowledge Nature: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Lars also attempts to spot hidden or obscrue items throughout the shop.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Maxime tried to help Laurel by telling her all she knows about the Pallid Princess. May be a hint of Her purpose could help her in her research.

Know. Religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20

Then she describe all what she saw on the dead and the alive when she was in the forest.

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 17

Oh, yes. A second check.

Balak tries to also spot anything else that might be useful in the shop.

Perception 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

So far so good... waiting for Doc and Kurast. I gotta say that is some good stuff people - those are all appropriate, well thought out and very flavourful. If we need to do additional rounds then you can't use those skills again

At a loss with the more arcane and scientific aspects of Laurel's research, Kurvast heads out into the town, seeking any rumors or gossip about strange afflictions among the Hollow's residents.

Passing by a tavern, he notices pair of unkempt men outside arguging and gesturing violently at one another. The towering tribesman marches over to a brawling pair and grabs one ruffian by the neck, as the other man freezes. At their feet, the tribesman notices an empty wineskin.

"This is not the place for you," he intones meaningfully, dropping the first man into the dirt. As the two drunks gaze dumbly, he directs them several blocks over to Roots and Remedies.

"There is an alchemist inside called Laurel. Aid her in anything she asks."

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Intimidate: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16

Not really what I was looking for but funny as hell! Cool, I'll take these.

Still trying to find a use for that Perform (dance).

The doc potters around the shop but being somehow more afflicted is of little use I believe he is dropping out but if he posts then groovy.

It is midnight before the healer sighs in frustration and tells everyone to take a few minutes break.

Some progress has been made but its slight and she thinks she's still a long way off.

With that in mind you guys need to get back to work...

Another 2 rounds of skill attempts - don't use the same skills as you did before.

Maxime was tired and her sickness take its best from her, nevertheless even without the knowledge to help her comrade she tried to sheer them up.

She tell stories of great heroes and good doctors to encourage her comrades in their work.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

Then, when everybodies were tired of her stories, she tried to looked at the errors they could make because of the fatigue and warn against them

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Yay

Im starting to get a hint here, the healer says.

Keep em coming

caring for his mount has given Lars insight into tending to injuries and illnesses in the animal kingdom. He speaks with Laurel and tries to see if any of these bits of knowledge are useful to treating people.

Handle Animal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Lars also speaks with local townsfolk during their break, trying to gather more information on herbs and other remedies favored by the locals.

Diplomacy (Gather Info): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

Balak begins to tire a little, but works through it, this time trying to add what little he knows of herb lore.

Survival 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

He also keeps a close watch on Laurel for signs of fatigue, stepping in to help her keep her thoughts clear and on track when he senses she is flagging or about to make a mistake.

Sense Motive 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

Lauren sighs in frustration - she is close now... She looks to Kurvast.

Though he understands none of her art, Kurvast offers some encouraging words to the alchemist, feigning confidence that she is close to the cure.

Bluff: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

His piece said, he checks about the laboratory for any ingredients or notes that may have escaped his allies' notice before.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13