GM Ladile's TL;DR: A Pathfinder Society Campaign

Game Master Lady Ladile

Maria nods, "Just making sure everyone has at least one Effie. Alright, let's get some food, rest for the evening and be ready to go at dawn. The more time we burn, the less chance of survivors."

She will forego the endure elements in the morning and keep her expeditious retreat option available. And when they leave the keep, she will apply a pot of alchemical grease and vermin repellent (4 hour durations).

Your decision made, you spend a bit of time procuring what supplies you can from the armory and exploring the fort. Some of you in particular take note of the structure's construction and layout...

...before everyone retires to the barracks to get some well-deserved rest. After a blessedly uneventful night you rise early the next morning and ready yourselves to depart. As you load up your mounts, Sir Morgan approaches and offers a small, rolled up piece of parchment.

"A map of the area, including the river. Here," he unfurls the map and points, "is a place shallow enough for you to safely cross with your horses. Our lookout reported seeing the chained cavalrymen heading westward into the Worldwound a mile north of here, surrounded by a small group of demon guards - no more than a half dozen strong. Once you ford the river, hopefully you will be able to pick up their trail."

Sir Morgan then escorts you all back to the gate and gives you a salute. "Thank you, Pathfinders, we shall not forget your selfless deed. Godspeed!"

And so you head out of Fort Portolmaeus and towards the one place on Golarion that most reasonable people would avoid at all costs - the Worldwound. It doesn't take very long for you to reach the river and find the crossing spot indicated on the map that Sir Morgan gave you. Once on the other side, those of you with keen eyes begin looking for a trail to follow...

Knowledge: Engineering + Inspiration: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (2) + 10 + (1) = 13

The fortress seems fine...

Once across the river, she tries to help look for tracks.

Survival Aid: 1d20 ⇒ 8

Darn rain washed them all away!

Survival vs DC 10: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (17) + 8 = 25
Knowledge (planes) vs DC 18: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10

"There." The Grandfrogger points a knobby finger at the muddy riverbank. "Eight humanoids, there are - and three others." He shakes his head. "What those three are, I do not know. But haste, I would recommend."

survival: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (4) + 0 = 4

Unfortunatly, Lil" Hep is an indoor-y type of elf, seeminly seeing the Grand Exterior Wilderness from the first time ever, putting her feet right on the tracks you could have followed, losing herself around the same tree thrice, shrieking with horror when spotting a small, furry creature holding what is most probably a weapon of ancient destruction in its vicious paws (a squirrel holding a nut)

She looks at her muddy shoes with disgust

No one seems to clean down here..

I assume we're taking the stuff from the armoury as well? The potions (2 cmw, 3 shield of faith) and holy water at least. Effie will take a few flasks of holy water in case she runs out of cold iron bullets or winds up with an empty chamber when she needs to make an attack.

"I'm about ready to shoot me some demons" she says as she guides her horse towards the Worldwound.

survival: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

"I see the tracks Grandfrogger."

know.planes, diverse training: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

"See those scorched hoof marks? That's a brimorak's trail. The other two are dretches. Hey, I read a book I found at the fort last night, don't expect me to identify every trail we find!"

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Zithembe, also, finds nothing of special interest in the fort's construction.

"Only three? And the crusaders are still alive," Zithembe remarks to the ifrit. "We should be able to handle that number. Let us make haste, then."

If there's the possibility of catching sight of our prey without immediately entering into combat, I--and I think others--have some buffing to do. A 5 minute or less head start is ideal, but anything reasonably less than an hour would work for the important stuff.

"Agreed, we 'aven't ah moment tah lose!" Rumble says. "Whah do ye know abouh Dretches and Brimoraks?"

"Dretches are foul low rank demons that can summon putrid gasses and magnify fear in the hearts of those they torment," Zithembe says. "Brimoraks..."

Knowledge (planes): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27

Your comment about being sneaky and buffs is noted, Zith. Will elaborate on that further when the time comes!

As you travel along, Zithembe recalls a few things about brimoraks. Besides the usual traits that demons tend to possess, he recalls that cold iron and goodly weapons are most effective against brimoraks and that they have innate resistances to acid, cold, and even magic. On the other hand, should one manage to overcome the brimorak's natural resistance to cold...the element becomes a point of weakness.

DR 5/cold iron or cold, Resist Acid & Cold 10, SR 16, Vulnerable to Cold.

Of course there might be other things to recall as well.

DC 15 Kn. Planes to learn more about brimoraks. Already gave Zith Resistances and Weaknesses.

Certain that the demons and their captives can't be too far ahead of you you hurry on, with Effie and the Grandfrogger taking the lead as they continue to track your quarry. As you enter what could only be called a ‘field’, the air grows thick with a swirling mass of pollen in the air. Some of it lands on your clothing and bare skin and some of it you inhale, perhaps causing a few coughing fits. But it seems harmless enough...until Sir Ilivan suddenly pulls on Hannah's reins, bringing her to a halt. He cocks his head to one side, as though listening for something...and then slowly slides out of his saddle.

Everyone - make a DC 18 Will. This is an evil, mind-affecting compulsion effect for the purposes of save bonuses or potential immunities.

We are now entering into theater of the mind & quasi-rounds so please keep any actions limited to what you could reasonably do within a standard combat round!

Will DC 18: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Knowledge: Planes + Inspiration: 1d20 + 10 + 1d6 ⇒ (10) + 10 + (1) = 21

"S*@+, Rageweed Pollen! We need to get out of here and find a way around!"

Did we bring our horses with us? If so, what are their saves?

She hops off the horse and tries to lead it back the way they came.

Ride Quick Dismount: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Double Move

You are on your horses but don't worry about rolling saves for them.

Will: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (6) + 11 = 17
Will, 2-Star Re-roll: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 11 + 2 = 33
Knowledge (planes), Not Demons: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

"Ragweed? It is unpleasant, but what has you so concerned?" Zithembe asks. He taps his bronze bracers together and transforms his helmet into a balaclava.

Maria hollers as she books it, "RAGE-weed, not Ragweed, causes hallucinations, paranoia AND uncontrolled rage!"

"Oh. Yes, that is more concerning," Zithembe agrees. He looks to his other companions and Sir Ilivan. "I will stay to make sure everyone makes it out safely."

If the confusion effect (with its random roll) applies, I do have Voices in Your Head.

will vs compulsion: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 3 + 1 = 11

"What are you talking about? Rags, rage? I am NOT paranoid!" Effie snaps as she slides off her horse and draws her pistol. "I'm safe where I am! Don't you try and lead me off into an ambush, I'm wise to your tricks you crumbly old statue!"

"Crumbly?" the shabti murmurs. "My jade is pristine."

He looks toward Maria and calls out, "We have lost one."

Will vs DC 18: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Knowledge (planes) vs DC 20: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

"Correct, she is." The Grandfrogger wraps his heavy woolen cloak tightly around himself and carefully backs his grey pony away from the other riders in case she too starts to become violent. "Treatment, or a cure, you know of?"

"Jus' cause aye don' 'ave them Elfy ears, don' mean aye cannae hear ye mockin' mah beard!" Rumble shouts at Hepsubia and Maria. "Ambush?!" he continues, freeing both his Warhammers from bondage.

"AYE'LL TAKE YE WERE YE STAND, DEMON SCUM!" he roars, clanging the weapons together.
________
Will, DC 18: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11haha!

”Two now!” Zithembe shouts at Maria, not that anyone could miss Rumble’s ranting.

Will save DC 18: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

How do you DARE say that I 'm the most logical, reasonable, rational, coherent, dianoetic- I don't even know what that means, but I take it as an insult!- elf you ever met? That hurts! A lot!

says Lil" Hep to everyone

Those of you who retain your senses are quick to fall back out of the swirling pollen, mounts in tow, and cover your faces and any other bits of exposed skin. Unfortunately, those who do not remain in the cloud, angrily yelling and posturing at everyone and no one. Except for Sir Ilivan, who almost seems to be stricken with fear rather than rage. He slowly sinks to the ground and curls into a fetal position, trembling and mumbling to himself.

Quasi-Round 2

Effie, Rumble, Hepsubia - give me another DC 18 Will save.

Maria and the Grandfrogger know that there's not much to do against the pollen itself but that it might be possible to assist the others in fighting the influence it's having on their minds.

Basically if you've got anything to help someone with their Will save, you could feasibly use it.

Maria looks through her pack at all the items, ”Uh... well a cure, right. I don’t think this stuff will help and I’m not really good with words and stuff.”

She yells back into the field, ”Um, don’t get paranoid and angry? It’s just the pollen and stuff?”

The Grandfrogger guides his pony around the edges of the pollen cloud, trying to get closer to his less-fortunate companions. "Help, perhaps this will." His large red eyes close for a moment before he opens his mouth again. A long pink tongue darts out, flying towards...

Who?: 1d3 ⇒ 3
To Touch (if needed): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21

...Rumble, catching the dwarf squarely on the forehead before retracting just as quickly.

Casting guidance on Rumble and using Agile Tongue to deliver the spell from 10 ft away. A shame that he did not prepare calm emotions today, as that might have been handy. XD

Will vs compulsion: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 1 = 9

This could turn nasty - gonna use my reroll.

Will vs compulsion, GM reroll: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 15

Ouch. DC18 isn't all that easy at level 3 :(

"Hey, Crumbly! Yeah, you, I'm lookin' at you Crumbly!" Effie points her pistol at Zithembe.

"'Fastest Boots' eh? You want them? Jealous are you, slow-poke? You'll have to take them off my cold, dead body!"

Maria pulls out a tanglefoot bag, ”This may get worse, prepare to disable or delay their actions if it becomes necessary.”

”If Rumble can break free of the effect, my scroll of protection versus evil might help an ally.”

"I may be able to neutralize one of them... maybe a second," Zithembe muses out loud. "There must be some way to remove the corruption. Maybe holy water..."

He considers what he has learned about medicine, both mundane and occult techniques.

Heal: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Will save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

Don't come close to me, Zith! I know what you can do, but even I don't know what I will do! I have listened to your dull sermons enough!

Hepsubia unsheath her sword

Rumble looks like he's been slapped across the face. He stares, confused, at his drawn weapons. "Whah's happenin'? Did aye miss sumthin'?" he asks. When it is clear that he should probably relocate, he does so swiftly.
________
Will (Guidance, DC 18: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 7 + 1 = 20 Thanks Froggy :)
As his mount regroups with the party, he'll stow both his weapons.

While Maria and Zithembe ready themselves to either restrain their companions or otherwise step in should things turn ugly, the Grandfrogger is able to get close enough to slap Rumble with his tongue. Strangely enough, maybe it's just what the doctor ordered as Rumble seems to snap out of his delirium and hustles to get himself and his pony away from Effie and Hepsubia - both of who continue to rant and rave and otherwise behave erratically.

As he studies the situation Zithembe does recall that certain magics to protect against turbulent emotions or evil influence might help...

Calm Emotions and Protection from Evil would work to combat the pollen's effects.

Quasi-Round 3

Effie, Hepsubia - make one last DC 18 Will.

Will save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

The lithe and little elf seems to get feral, all snarls, growls, and baring of teeth.

She even claws the air, hissing, despite the obvious sword in her hand

Anyone able to help before I roll?

I was uncertain if we could - quasi-initiative is difficult to communicate. XD

The Grandfrogger continues moving around the pollen cloud, long tongue darting out again at the juggler.

Tongue vs Effie Touch AC 13: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16

Guidance again.

I'm extrapolating from Maria's post here...

Rumble, after being reminded by Maria, pulls a scroll from the Elf's scroll box and rides over to Effie. Drawing the magic from the spell, he manages to take hold of her for a moment and push the protective magic over her mind.
________
Touch vs Effie: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
Draw/accept scroll, cast, mount moves to Effie, free action to touch. He has one prepared too, it looks like to me we will need two more casts!

will vs compulsion, guidance: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 3 + 1 + 1 = 15

Then I think, if this is a compulsion then PfE gives a new save with a +2 morale bonus.

will vs compulsion, pfe: 1d20 + 3 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 3 + 1 + 2 = 15

Well that's 4 attempts with no roll higher than a 10, so clearly the (dice) gods are against her :(

Effie snarls and growls at Rumble, bearing her teeth like a wild animal. On the plus side it does look like she's forgotten that she's holding a pistol...

Lol, admittedly, that pistol was like 80% of the reason Rumble chose you ;)

Ironically, that protects you from Zithembe trying to save you.

Though the Grandfrogger and Rumble try very hard to help Effie overcome the effects of the pollen it doesn't seem to have any effect as both she and Hepsubia continue to growl and snarl and gnash their teeth at everyone and at each other.

But then, suddenly, the rage welling up within Effie dissipates as though it were little more than a bubble that had popped. Her mind still feels a little hazy but otherwise clear of the pollen's influence.

Hepsubia, on the other hand, isn't so lucky as the demented gleam in her eyes grows murderous!

Hepsubia enters a murderous rage at the beginning of the fourth round! This rage is identical to the “attack nearest creature” effect of the Confusion spell and will last for 3 rounds. Since now the order of actions could be important we'll do a round tracker.

Meanwhile Sir Ilivan continues to lay in a fetal position on the ground, trembling and mumbling, "nonononononononono"
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Round 4

The Grandfrogger
Rumble
Effie (Protection from Evil)
==============
Hepsubia (Confused 3rds)
==============
Maria
Zithembe

Active Conditions:

Environmental Conditions:

The Grandfrogger, Rumble and Effie are UP!

Theater of the Mind

The Grandfrogger’s eyes blink once. ”Lost to the pollen, she has become,” he states solemnly. ”Restrain her, we must.” He turns his gaze on Hepsubia. ”Resist, you must not. For your own benefit, this is.”

Using Evil Eye to give Hepsubia a -2 penalty to her AC (and CMD) for 7 rounds (Will DC 17 to reduce duration to 1 round). If we can get some folks in there to grapple her, we might prevent her from hurting herself or someone else - including the poor Sir Ilivan who’s still in the cloud with her.

"Woah, w... what happened? Where am I? Hep? HEP! What are you doing?!"

Effie regains her senses.

"Wait, don't hurt her! Let me try and distract her."

Effie juggles her pistol and a couple of colourful balls. "Watch, Hep, watch the pretty balls go round and round."

I think a Confused creature can still be Fascinated, so I'm going to try it. Effie uses Bardic Performance to Fascinate Hepsubia. DC16 Will save avoids. If Hep passes the save then Effie will use her racial Hypnotic ability to force a reroll (an immediate action for Effie).

"Remember not to threaten Hep."

Will save DC 17 vs Evil Eye: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Will save DC 16 vs Fascinate: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Hepsubia's mind is in utter chaos, even more than usual, and she has an hard time resisting her friends influence.

And anyway, the balls are really pretty.

Rumble tries to nonchalantly circle around Hep while she childishly giggles and points at the pretty balls. Once Zithembe is in position, he tries to help wrestle her to the ground.
________
Grapple (Aid, Flank) vs Zithembe: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 = 13
I'm assuming that was Effie's plan! Ideally Rumble will be 5ft away with a readied action to 5ft step and help grapple Hep from a flank. If, instead, the intent is to wait out the duration with fascinate, he'll just standby.

Whilst Effie doesn't know how long the confusion will last, she's happy to keep Hep distracted for a few rounds at least. During that time Rumble and Zith could approach Hep, as long as they don't have weapons out. If the confusion went on for more than say 4 rounds I think Effie would be saying "Grab her now!"

Maria waits with her tanglefoot bag down at her side. It appears that Hepsubia is at least distracted, maybe even fascinated. She follows Effie's request to not be immediately threatening.

"Well done, Effie! I may be able to mentally incapacitate her longer," Zithembe says. "But I would prefer to not be standing next to her when I try."

He walks to within ten feet of the mercurial elf, opposite Rumble's position.

The Grandfrogger manages to weaken Hepsubia's defenses just a little further and Effie quickly steps in and begins a juggling act that renders the elf temporarily fascinated. Rumble and Zithembe use the distraction as an opportunity to edge closer to Hepsubia, while Maria watches and waits with a tanglefoot bag in her hand.
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Round 5

The Grandfrogger
Rumble
Effie (Protection from Evil)
==============
Hepsubia (Confused 2rds, Evil Eye -2 AC/CMD 7 rds, Fascinated)
==============
Maria (Readied)
Zithembe

Active Conditions:

Environmental Conditions:

Everyone *but* Hepsubia is UP!

Theater of the Mind

"Any idea how long she's going to be that angry for? I can hold her attention for a short while but as soon as anyone makes a grab for her that'll snap her out of it."

I'm happy to keep using Performance and hold Hep fascinated.

Maria frowns, ”No clue, I just know this pollen is bad. Keep her fascinated as long as you can I say.”

”Help the knight out of the cloud, perhaps you can?” the Grandfrogger asks, continuing to stare at the confused Hepsubia. ”Weaken her will, I will.”

Evil Eye on Hepsubia again, this time giving her a -2 penalty to saving throws for 7 rounds (Will 17 to reduce duration to 1 round).

The shabti begins to speak, but his voice carries a eldritch reverberation and authority that pulls at the will to obey. "Hepsubia, you should make a complete and detailed inventory of your weapons so you are prepared to fight."

Suggestion (enchantment, compulsion, mind-affecting), DC 17
I have no idea how this will interact, but she'll probably finally roll a natural 20 here.