GM Silbeg's Slayers: #3-01 The Frostfur Captives. (Inactive)

Game Master Silbeg

The miniature house is empty save for a small wooden chair, sized to fit a porcelain doll. In the chair, is, in fact, the doll! (see tactical map for a picture)

I will never, ever click on that MAP. There are things that I cannot unsee and God help me, that sounds like one of them.

Having read Reign of Winter, I'm aware of what this is. Arturo, however, has no idea. Desna help your poor, faithful swashbuckler!

"Don't worry guys, it's just a quite large toy hut with a porcelain doll in it!" calls Arturo, "Strange that it's been left here like this in the middle of nowhere. I'm going to go in and see if there's anything else to it."

Arturo pokes his head inside and has a rummage for secret compartments or signs of living activity within the hut.

Ophiuchus draws his flail and follows.

"Mr. Hairylips. I am sorry that it has taken me so long to follow you. I have had a most trying day hugging an Ice Troll. He smelled like what came out of the goblin's ass. It was not pleasant. Why is everything so small? Is that a cottage of small people, ready to repair our shoes?"

I played this adventure with my Paladin the day after playing another scenario with one of these! I had to do the same thing! Good luck!
Suddenly as Arturo enters the hut, the doll's eyes flare, with an evil light... it hand flares with a black, evil glow, as it reaches out to touch the rogue.

doll - ff touch attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15 negative energy!: 3d8 + 3 ⇒ (7, 5, 7) + 3 = 22
Arturo: Will: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Party is up!

The goblins start wailing in fear. Poog cries, "Save us from the Witch Queen! She can see us through its eyes!"

Ok, so how do we get 10' up, is it stairs or a ladder?

Hearing a woman's cry, Ophiuchus double times it towards the house, flail drawn.

Double move, where I am is 35 feet, so I still have 5 feet. I move up

ladder. Makes the most sense.

"Get this crazy f*cking doll off me! Yeaow!" Arturo howls in pain and steps back, opposite Ophiuchus.

+1 Scimitar, flank: 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 8 + 2 = 27
Damage, sneak attack: 1d6 + 4 + 2d6 ⇒ (2) + 4 + (2, 5) = 13

Based on the ladder climb, Ophiuchus the a Mighty can on have either his shield or flail out. Please let me know ASAP.

"Get this crazy f*cking doll off me! Yeaow!" Arturo howls in pain and steps back, opposite Ophiuchus.

[dice=+1 Scimitar, flank]1d20+8+2
[dice=Damage, sneak attack]1d6+4+2d6

Where Arturo moved will be a 10' drop, and a loss of flank (or even threaten )

Jaender jumps a little at Arturo's response. The man is generally excited to enter battle, so a response like this means something serious.

Can I see the doll from the ground? Conditional posts spoilered below for either case...

Flail, no shield

The youth runs forward, choosing to wait before drawing his hammer, all the while, each step brings him closer to the source of the commotion. Hearing Arturo's call about a crazed doll, Vox scrunches his face in a confused manner but continues on without relenting. Ahead he can see a ladder, and knows he will be unable to climb with his hands clutching the oversized weapon.

I'll be defenseless at the top of that ladder! he curses to himself, wanting nothing more than to have his weapon drawn.

"Arturo!" Vox calls on his approach. "Hold on, we're coming!" As the youth reaches the ladder, he curses again under his breath then climbs with all possible speed.

"Einhardt, guard!" Vox says, pointing to the base of the stairs and knowing the wolf will soon begin to circle the wooden shafts like a crazed, ravenous shark.

Double move to the ladder and ascend to the top (if possible)

Now for some creative GMing...
Arturo steps into the little house, rather than jumping off the ladder, as he notices that the little doll has a dagger in its hands. He realizes that his companions are not going to be able to get a flank on the now hovering doll unless they can fly. So he attacks, anyway, and hits, scratching the porcelain of the doll.

Jaender lets fly with a bolt of fire which easily hits the doll, scorching it, and Arturo sees a web of cracks appearing on the surface of the doll.

Vox realizes that he isn't going to be able to use his hammer, due to the precarious nature of fighting on a ladder. (He can draw his bow instead)

Ophiuchus gets to the foot of the ladder, but cannot ascend, yet. He also realizes that his two-handed weapon will not be that useful on the ladder (could draw a different weapon).

Strong Brute and Roudantaimi are up!

The brute, hearing Arturo's cry of pain, hurries forward, stepping to the side of the house to not crowd the ladder, should the rogue try to make a quick exit. "What has happened, Arturo? Come down here, where all can attack this foe!"

Can Roudi draw a line of fire to the doll after one move?

Okay, I got a bit confused because our tokens were outside of the hut when I posted, and Ophiuchus was next to me (I didn't notice he'd Cyrus'd me). To be honest, I didn't expect to be doing this alone - certainly not with everyone so far back. Disadvantage of posting so quickly, I guess.

With only 8 hp left and no flank or comrades around, is it okay if I retro Arturo's action to a full retreat? One more 22 hp damage and he's dead.

"She can float and cast spells!" cries Arturo as he jumps down the ladder, "I don't think she'll need to come down here to keep attacking us!"

Withdraw action. Deliberate fall as part of the movement. Acrobatics to avoid damage from the 10 ft fall

Acrobatics, DC 15: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (10) + 13 = 23

Arturo pulls up a safe distance behind his melee-focused companions, "Those flames seemed quite effective, Jaender! Well done."

Anyone care to make a knowledge check so we know how to fight this thing? I'm pretty sure it's knowledge (arcana).

Arturo, that's fine. One of the ways playing IRL is easier.

If someone rolls higher than that, I'll add that in later.

Know: Arcana: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Try as he might, Jaender simply does not remember reading about any evil doll creatures. Then again, he wasn't much of a reader.

Can Roudi draw a line of fire to the doll after one move?

I think GM Silbeg missed this post. Jaender got in a ranged touch attack (scorching ray), so would assume you can too!

Ah, the doll is out of the hut. Somehow I got the idea the doll was still in. Which means Roudi can shoot.

Short-legged and without mount, Roudantaimi is lagging behind the others. But looking at the speed Arturo retreated from the hut, staying behind might not be such a bad idea. The gnome sprints forwards, drawing his trusty self-crafted musket.

"Begone, creature of evil!" Roudantaimi shouts. The doll is unsettling sight, there cannot be anything good in it. Bringing the doll into his sights, the gnome prays for Shelyn's hand to smite the thing, and fires.

Smite Evil
MW Musket, DA, Smite vs Touch AC: 1d20 + 8 - 2 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 8 - 2 + 4 = 15
Damage, DA, Smite, FA : 1d10 + 4 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 3 + 4 = 16

sigh, my rolls lately...

The doll is far more nimble than anyone would have expected, and is missed by Roudantaimi's bullet, as the Strong Brute moves forward to engage.

The doll starts rising straight up, and then looks down on Arturo, and casts a spell. A thin line of fire comes out of her fingertip, going straight at Arturo. This fire looks exactly the same as the fire that Jaender just produced.
ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27 fire damage: 4d6 ⇒ (3, 2, 6, 6) = 17
The dandy rogue falls, smoldering, after the evil doll's fire burns him.

Jaender and Ophiuchus are up. Then Arturo bleeds.
Arturo stabilize: DC19: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Sorry, Arturo... following tactics. Glad that she didn't roll any higher, though.

"Poochie! Save Arturo!" panic is evident in Jaender's voice as he sees the rogue go down in a crumpled heap of flames.

"I'll show you how to make something burn!"

ranged touch scorching ray, point blank, precise shot: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

damage, fire, point blank shot: 4d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 4, 4, 3) + 1 = 17

forgot to add extra +1 to damage for point blank last time... Oops. Jaender's for natural armor is refreshed for 1d4 ⇒ 2 rounds

-Posted with Wayfinder

No problems, I can take a hit or two. You did roll pretty high, though. Ouch! Guys, let Arturo bleed. Without a good way to position, he's not much good in this fight anyway. He's got 3 rounds before he's dead. I'm sure you can drop her quick enough - provided Roudantaimi gets his aim worked out. ;-)

The brute drops his scythe as the doll-thing rises into the sky, pulling out a javelin and letting fly at the murderous thing.

Javelin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18
Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

Jaender returns fire scorching the doll even more. It looks his way, apparently not happy with what the wayang has done. The Brute's javelin bounces off of an invisible barrier between him and the doll. The nagaji, looks like he is trying to figure out how to attack a flying doll, 20' over his head, with a flail, but then chooses to cast Cure Moderate wounds for 20hp healing to Arturo. Unless there is a reason for doubling the healing, I am assuming there was just some confusion.)

Arturo wakes up to see he is still alive, and a fierce warrior wearing a tabard with an even fiercer duck on it is standing over him. Smiling.

Arturo is up (prone, weapons dropped), as are Roudi and Vox. Einhardt is readying to attack any enemy that gets close to Vox.

"Thanks, Poochie! Artie is back in the realm of the living!" Roudantaimi was a bit worried for a moment; his hairy-lipped friend's wounds looked really bad, and the gnome wouldnät been able to heal him immediately. Thankfully Ophiuchus got there in time... Sometimes it's easy to forget the nagaji is a capable healer as well.

"Now back to you, evil doll!" Roudantaimi shouts, and keeps moving closer. No time to start reloading the musket now, so the gnome draws his backup weapon, and aims it at the doll. All this while keeping the musket firmly in his hand.
Using deadeye deed to hit touch ac to second increment
MW Pistol, PBS, DA, Smite, range vs Touch AC: 1d20 + 8 + 1 - 2 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 8 + 1 - 2 + 4 - 2 = 18
Damage, DA, Smite, FA : 1d6 + 4 + 3 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 + 3 + 4 = 16

Roudantaimi pulls his pistol, and fires at the evil doll. His shot hits the doll, appears to hurt it. For a moment, it hovers in the air... then suddenly falls to the ground, bouncing, as the magic of its spell fails.

"Ophiuchus? Why are you looking at me like that?" mutters Arturo groggily. When he realizes he's lying on his back with the nagaji inches from his face, he adds, "Wait... we didn't... you know... did we?"

Thanks for the heal, Ophiuchus! Combat's over, I take it? Loot the hut?

Unless there is a reason for doubling the healing, I am assuming there was just some confusion.)

Fat fingers?

"Ah, Mr. hairylips. You live, how wonderful. Did you see the great beyond? Was it everything you hoped it would be? Did you see my dear departed Merian? Come much to do."

Ophiuchus moves over to the dead doll, flail prepared to attack it should it rise again.

"I did see Merian in my dreams," says Arturo, "But she rejected my advances as so many women are wont to do. I think I need some more healing, would you mind using this?"

Arturo gets up slowly and passes Ophiuchus his wand of cure light wounds.

CLW wand #1: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3 -- 14 hp
CLW wand #2: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5 -- 19 hp
CLW wand #3: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 -- 26 hp
CLW wand #4: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7 -- FULL

"Well, that was unexpected," the rogue says, shaking his head before rounding on the goblins, "You've lived here all your lives - why didn't you warn us about the guardian of this hut? I'm sure this is the sort of thing that folk from Irrisen would talk about! It's exactly the f*cked up type of thing that would come from a realm ruled by witches."

The goblins scolded, Arturo warily helps his comrades search the hut for anything useful. All this cold weather and escorting a band of goblins has made me quite grumpy, hasn't it? I need to find my happy façade once more.

Ophiuchus makes sure no goblins eat the doll.

Did I just write that and MEAN it? Yes I did!

I am reminded that I need to go back and count wand charges...

AS Ophiuchus moves towards the doll, Chuffy yells out, "They can still see us! Those things are evil, and the toys of the jadwiga! The witches can see us!"

Ophiuchus rolls the doll onto its stomach. He hits it again, to make sure that it is dead dead. He begins to dig a shallow grave in which he buries the doll, again face down. After covering the make shift cairn, he moves back towards the Pathfinders and goblins.

"It was a good thing that we found that doll first. Who knows what would have happened should a goblin have eaten that. Think of all the wondrous things the jadwiga would have seen in your digestive tracks. Come, much to do. I am sure that now that our presence is known, the jadwiga will send even more evil. Goblins, try to overcome your natural instincts. Think, 'What would I do?' and don't do that. Think 'What would Uncle Ophiuchus do?' Don't do that either come to think on it. Think 'What would Mr. Hairylips do?' Don't do that, Please don't do that." He imagines thousands of little goblins running, jumping, tumbling, humping. "Probably listen to the big man that sings."

With that he moves off to wherever we go next

10 CLW wand charges used so far all around.

Assuming the hut is now empty...

Arturo seems to calm down, "Well, so at least that marked the border of what the Jadwiga consider to be the border. Let us get as far away from here as possible. Come, good goblins, our destination draws near. Let us get away from this hut, as you suggest, and we'll stop for some food in... say, an hour? I'm sure those two goats you consumed won't sustain you forever."

Despite his sudden (and forced) cheeriness, Arturo keeps his scimitar at the ready as they set off. "It's like you goblins always say: 'Nemá zmysel vysedávaním na mieste trestného činu, keď by ste mohol byť niekde inde ... spáchania nové'*." Arturo's mastery of goblin idioms seems to have come a long way, mostly due to extended and unwanted exposure to the creatures.

Heading off towards the rendezvous point. How much longer?

"Great job staying put little goblins while that terrifying doll tried to kill us. For that, a surprise treat!"

Jaender looks at the tree and the hut, breathing fire onto one of his torches and tossing it up. He steps back to watch the conflagration catch and grow.

"Shall we go?"

Jaender follows the rest of his friends as they continue towards their destination.

Arturo: Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (9) + 9 = 18
Ophiuchus: Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21
Kn: Arcana: Jaender: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

While Poochie and Arturo are "finishing off" the doll they both notice a piece of pale blue quartz inside its chest, carved into the shape of an intricate snowflake.

Kn: Arcana: Jaender: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (18) + 5 = 23

Poochie takes it out, ogling its beauty, when Jaender realizes that the snowflake is the doll's soul focus. The goblins start screaming when they see it... Ice Melts Quietly in Sunlight comes up to Roudi and says, "Boss... you can't keep that. The jadwiga will track us, and make us dead!"

The brute nods at the wisdom of Ophiuchus' suggestion to the goblins, waving for the creatures to follow him as they leave the site. Turning back, he sees Jaender and Ophiuchus fiddling with something in the doll's chest, when one of the goblins runs up, clearly quite concerned. And if it was enough to concern a goblin, it was enough to concern the large man that sings.

"Smash it, then bury it with the doll." The man offers his wisdom, such as it is, then turns his attention back to the goblins.

"I'm not one to be afraid of the odd ghost," says Arturo, "But if that is where its soul is, what will happen when we smash it?"

He rolls the thing over in his hands a few times, "Why not just bury it with the doll?"

I really don't mind what we do, happy if we smash it and move on... or discover some horrible thing that happens once the gem is smashed.

Just let me know what you all decide... and we'll move on. FYI - you do think that it

Arturo appraise: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Arturo, upon looking it over, reckons it should be worth at least 1,000 gp... more if it has magical worth.

Can someone please identify and detect magic on this?

Jaender hears the comments about the gem, and recoils. He is worried suddenly, as if touching the gem will infect him...

With a wave of his hands, he casts detect magic to see if there is anything special about the gem. Despite the risk of being traced and followed by the witches of the area, the lure of that much gold to split was tough to ignore...

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11 Oof...

Edit:

Know: Arcana to understand the purpose of the gem, as described by the goblins: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24 better...

The youth stands back while the little wayang looks over the gem. Vox is secretly glad he does not have the skill necessary to discern the gems purpose any further, and looks on fearfully, much the same as the goblins, wanting nothing to do with touching the item. While the others are looking over the remains of the doll and studying the precious stone, the youth motions to Einhardt and makes a muffled clicking sound with this jaw.

Immediately the wolf circles around the cluster of goblins, hoping to preemptively cut off any shenanigans they might think to begin. With her head slung low, a throaty growl rumbles from deep within the wolf's throat and Vox circles the opposite way to flank the creatures and keep them in line.

"Whatever you decide to do with that doll is fine with me, so long as you don't start playing with it," he says, herding the goblins along. "But it might help keep these ones in line if we destroy it, as Strong Brute said. At least then, we aren't giving them something to rebel against us for."

Think of it as a gesture of good faith on our part..."

"Are you sure you don't want to eat it?" Roudantaimi asks the goblins, chuckling at Poochie idea of intestinal scrying. But yes, the gem might be dangerous, if the goblins' word is to be trusted. The gnome concentrates and uses his ability to see evil auras in creatures and objects. If the thing is evil, then there is no question they should get rid of it.

Detect Evil

Oh, was the doll at least 2HD? i.e. do I get one grit back?

Oh, was the doll at least 2HD? i.e. do I get one grit back?

Yes it was.

So, as the party contemplates throwing their treasure away, the goblins continue to warn that the jadwiga can see them through the eyes of the doll and that 'terrible repercussions will occur' if they don't leave now, without the doll's soul focus.

The soul focus does not radiate evil.

Does it detect as magic? If not, Arturo will take it with him using sleight of hand to make it look like he's burying it. 1000gp is 1000gp! If it is magical, destined for destruction (assuming that won't negatively impact our chronicle gold!)

Arturo sleight of hand: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (16) + 11 = 27

The youth looks on as his mustachioed friend buries the last of the unsettling doll.

perception(DC=27 to spot Arturo's sleight of hand): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 25

Arturo listened to me, he thinks to himself as a smile spreads across his face. They must obviously respect my opinion after all this time. I mean, why shouldn't they?

Turning toward the gathered goblins, Vox speaks cheerfully. "See there, guys? It's all buried and secreted away. We can continue on now, with no terrible repercussions occurring for us," he says, believing his own words.