GM Deneve's The Fall of Plaguestone (PFS 2e) (Inactive)

Game Master redeux

Gamble moves across the room to grant others better access. He then invokes an occult power with meaningless words that carry a haunting ring and a strange gesture.

Stride, Cast (V, S): daze

3 mental damage, Basic Will vs. DC 17; critical fail adds Stunned 1

Daze DC 17: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

The snake shudders as it's hit with a sudden headache. It shakes its head and hisses at the party. The animal is bleeding in the pool and looks in horrendous shape. Scales peeled, broken bones, bleeding and burnt muscles. Even the rattle looks worn.

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Initiative Order - The bold may act!
Round 4 - Active Conditions: Inspire Courage - 1 round left

Kunsheng |
Pepper (-23 hp)
Blue Snake (-23hp)|
Deerslicer / Gracie
Simon (-9 hp)| Fatigued | +2 item bonus to Fort saves vs. poison, 6 hours
Sinan (-3 hp)|
Gamble (-10 hp)

Valor moves into the water to chase the snake. He will move unnaturally subtly for a cleric, and Feint.

First time I've used this, so if I'm doing it wrong LMK.

Deception vs Perception DC: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

If that succeeds, then this next attack is vs FF and he gets precision damage?

Rapier, IC vs FF?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (18) + 8 = 26
Piercing, IC, sneak?: 1d6 + 1 + 1 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 + (2) = 7

Sinan drops the pretense of using shield and repositions himself to get his scimitar at the serpent. "I don't much care for water," he intones. "Not much of it where I come from."

Stride, Strike, Strike

Scimitar: Dawn's Light+IC: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 6 + 1 = 9
Slashing Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Scimitar: Dawn's Light+IC: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 + 1 = 9
Slashing Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

just.. wow

Deerslicer drops his dog slicer and grabs his bow, scurrying around to get a shot.

Free: Drop dogslicer. Interact: Pick up bow. Stride. Strike.

Bow attack, courage: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 1 = 16
Bow damage, courage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

+1 AC vs snake from Outwit

(@Valor, that's right, though the feint failed. However...)

Deerslicer's arrow narrowly misses the creature!

Valor moves into the water, immediately sinks five feet and uses the tip of his blade to pierce the serpent in front of him. It twitches twice, then stops moving and sinks to the bottom of the pool.

Sinan dives into the water, his eyes stinging and unaware that Valor had already brought the creature down. As his billowing clothes get in his way, he finds the body of a man at the bottom. Covered in mud and lime. A half buried rapier hilt next to him.

(Encounter mode ended!)

(The party gains...

Deerslicer grabs dogslicer, then rushes over to the path out of the cavern, hoping he can find some tracks in the cavern terrain before the other pinkskins trample all over them.

Survival: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

If I can find the tracks, I will re-designate Hallod as my prey. I am not sure if I get the free Recall Knowledge roll off of the tracks.

Gamble moves to the edge of the pool to help the others climb back out once the beast is slain.

"We may need some time to recover after that fight," he says.

Assuming that we're taking at least ten minutes:

Kunsheng looks over the party and determines that the leshy is the most badly wounded. "I will try to treat your wounds."

Medicine (Craft) check to Treat Wounds: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Unfortunately, he's not familiar enough with leshy anatomy to manage it.

Deerslicer does indeed find tracks, boot tracks heading further into the cavern system.

What he knows about Hallod is the same as the others: he's a human bully who tormented Phinick, a murderer that is a possible addict to mutagens (though not necessarily through his own fault) and that he might have an accomplice.

|----|-----|----|----|

About 11 minutes prior to the battle with the serpents...

With a click, the final pin is set and the lockbox is opened. Inside the chest is a batch of 14 receipts that Simon and Sinan would know that match the logs from Bort’s ledgers, as well as a scrap of parchment that lists each transaction along with a value slightly higher than that listed on the corresponding receipt from Bort. The chest also contains 21 gp and 37 sp. On the back of the transaction list is a crude map. It depicts a cave helpfully labeled “HIDEOUT,” next to a shape that might be a pond; from there, a winding path passes through a strange V-shaped chamber before ending at what appears to be a clearing with a tree stump labeled “DROP POINT.”

"Why thank you, Kunsheng, that is-- WHY, KUNSHENG!"
Pepper steps away and blushes.
"I thought you intended to heal me, not...?!"
She shrugs, and looks around at the wounded people.
"Do you wish to press on, or rest a little bit?"
Magical Healing now - or save for later and spend time for mundane?

Sinan will draw the body out of the water and check it out. He takes a moment to give the body some last rites to the flacot or "May the Dawnflower escort you to your judgement, friend." He checks it for anything that could be a help to them, such as the rapier. "May your charity help the servants of the sun, even as you rest." Then motions Valor over.

In a softer tone for Valor only, he intones "Valor, I have only one last chance to heal with the Lady's grace. It might be wiser for me to save it for later. How are your spells?"

Valor has Assurance (Medicine) and should be able to give everyone a round of healing. I don't know how much time we want to spend, though.

10 min:
Medicine, Pepper: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 3) = 7

20 min:
Medicine, Gamble: 2d8 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10

30 min:
Medicine, Valor: 2d8 ⇒ (6, 8) = 14

40 min:
Medicine, Sinan: 2d8 ⇒ (4, 5) = 9

"Spells? I ... don't know." The cleric dedication only gives Simon cantrips.

Too late for Pepper.
She is immune for 50 more minutes.
You may switch her out of your first roll.

Oh, we know that. Does Sinan-who-thinks-you're-a-cleric?

"Thank you, Valor," Gamble says as the man bandages his leg. "This should hold me through the next fight, which hopefully doesn't spit lightning."

Sinan waves away the help, "No need, Valor. 'Tis a scratch. but turns to Pepper with some concern. "But that won't do."

Quietly, he closes his eyes. When he opens them again, they glow like the sun and light bathes Pepper as if the top of the cavern was open to the sky.

2 action Healing on Pepper: 1d10 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Deerslicer and Gracie take a nap while Simon heals people.

Since Pepper and Sinan pass on it, I assume we're only taking 20 minutes instead of 40, then?

D'oh. Just realized ... Simon is fatigued. He can't perform exploration activities, can he? He could use Battle Medicine, but not Treat Wounds.

Interesting. I always thought that it was that he can't use a default exploration activity, but I'll confess I don't know much.

"May I see the weapon that the dead man carried?"

"Sure. He will not need it any longer. In fact, he may have more we could use." Sinan takes a moment to administer whatever first aid he can.

Gamble first
Medicine: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16
Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (8, 2) = 10

Simon second
Medicine: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

Kunsheng, think you can help Simon out?

"I will try." This place has me doubting my own skills....

Medicine (Craft) check on Simon: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

OK, in five Medicine checks I've rolled a 2, a 5, a 3, a 5, and another 5. This sucks.

Valor grasps Kunsheng's shoulder.

"Be strong. It's always darkest before the dawn."

Sinan would hand Kunsheng a low-grade silver rapier. It's slightly tarnished, but still serviceable.

When Sinian's sunlight bathes Pepper, she heals up, and her leaves all open up-- and then she belches.
"Oh, thank you, I was a little hungry!
Oh?! And I am healed too... thank you for that too!"

Pepper @-13 hp

"Do we rest a bit? Or pursue?
Anyone else want to have a bite to eat? There's nice snake for you meat-eaters to fry."
Can we stop for a little while - an hour or two -, and patch up with Medecine?
If not I will use spells, but prefer to conserve what is not freely useable.

Deerslicer taps his foot impatiently, pointing at the tracks he found. "Bad bully is getting away! Hurry up. Me will protect you all ..."

Kunsheng looks over the rapier, then offers it to Valor. "You may find this useful."

"Deerslicer, I think the bully may be hiding from the partner he was apparently cheating. We may not even seem like a threat."

If we wait some--

Valor gladly accepts the silver longsword.

"Much better than an elbow to the face this time," Gamble comments dryly, though the corners of his eyes crinkle slightly in amusement. "I'm good to go."

Pepper: Can't you make berries and refocus multiple times while waiting for your Treat Wounds bolster to expire? Or did you run out of berries?

While waiting, Kunsheng offers to treat Deerslicer.

If accepted:

Treat Wounds Medicine (Craft) check: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Healing: 2d8 ⇒ (6, 6) = 12

I guess Kunsheng studied goblin medicine at the expense of humans and leshys.

Deerslicer shrugs and nods. "Sure. Me not wimpy complainers, like you pinkskins, but better to be healed d'en not, I guess." He smiles appreciatively at Kunsheng when the treatment is over.

"I wasn't complaining, exactly," Gamble says. "But the animals around here bite hard!"

"The boar was a natural creature, but these snakes and the wolves we faced have been warped by the profane use of external alchemy. We will probably face more animals like them here."

"Good news is d'at we waitin' so long, he probably assume we all dead, and not gonna be ready f'r us." He shrugs. "Or he been settin' up traps for da last hour. Who knows?"

When we continue, I will be using the Avoid Notice activity, with a +9 Sneak modifier versus Hallod (though only +7 against anything else we run into). That does mean we don't currently have a Scout, if someone else wants to take that over.

(Everyone get ready. Also, as a friendly reminder please make sure your HP in your tags is up-to-date as I'll be basing myself on that for your current health)

The tunnel beyond the snake’s lair twists and turns for a great distance; it takes you ten minutes to traverse the tunnel before you can detect a faint natural light up ahead, and the air becomes notably cleaner, smelling vaguely of grass. After another five minutes of travel, the tunnel opens up into a cave mouth and you can see a forest beyond it. The roots of a large tree block the middle of this entrance, as if the tree had grown into a hillside that has since eroded away. Beyond the tree is a large pond; a path around the water begins to one side beneath a curtain of moss hanging from the tree. The cave itself is piled high with two rows of neatly stacked crates and boxes. (The stacks are five-feet tall. You can climb them, but then you'd need to balance on them. Both are at DC 15)

When you enter the cave, Hallod hops up on a berm formed by the tree roots and aims his crossbow at Gamble. "I wondered when Bort's little whinny lackeys would arrive. Should have taken care of Phinick, too.", he taunts you with a wicked smile made more hideous by the scar running down his face. "Oh, well. Let’s do this! Get 'em boys!" He lets out a sharp whistle, as two familiar wolf shapes pad next to him, growling in greeting upon seeing you.

"AAAAAROOOOOOooooo!"

Hallod breaks open a vial and downs a silvery liquid down his throat. Instantly a transformation takes place. Hallod's body becomes thick and sturdy and exhibits an unnatural healthy glow. He's quiet as he aims at Gamble with the crossbow.

The bolt slams itself at the cavern wall behind Gamble, bouncing off and landing on Gracie before falling onto the ground. Hallod grunts and makes a gesture of slicing one's throat at the party, his actions bulkier.

(Interact - Strike)

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Initiative Order - The bold may act!
Round 1 - Active Conditions: None

Hallod
Deerslicer
Pepper
Gamble
---
Simon
Sinan
---
Kunsheng

Pepper frowns as Hallod shoots at Gamble--"Not nice..."
So she squeezes some of the winter out of her bark and weaves words and movements of magic, to send this frosty cold at the enemy--
Cold Damage: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 161d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8
--then she raises her little piece of oak-bark as a shield.

• 2 action casting
• 1 action Raise Shield

Blah, I posted last night, but looks like it didn't take. Was getting some error messages, but guess I missed that this one didn't post.

What sort of cover do these crates provide?

Deerslicer pauses a moment, waiting for Gamble to start playing the fight music.

Delay until after Gamble acts

Once the music begins, Deerslicer motions for Gracie to join him behind the crates. As she does so, he provides covering fire toward Hallod.

Action 1: Command Animal.
Gracie: Action 1: Stride. Action 2: Since I assume she can't Take Cover, can she Hide, since it's an untrained Stealth action? Her Dex modifier is +2 for the secret roll.
Action 2: Strike. Action 3: Take cover (unless the crates already provide greater cover, in which case I will Hide w/ +9 vs. Hallod, +7 vs. the wolves.

Shortbow attack, inspiration: 1d20 + 7 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 7 + 1 = 16
Shortbow damage, inspiration: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

We both get whatever bonus from our relative cover, and also the Outwit bonus +1 AC versus Hallod.

(Given Deerslicer's size, I'd say Greater. Medium creatures would have Standard unless one of you is under 5 feet in height. Yes, Gracie can Hide, it would be odd for an animal not to understand the concept of hide from a predator, but yeah, Taking Cover is a bit of a stretch at least until she grows more, maybe)

"And so we find our villain," Gamble says as he ducks out of the way of the quarrel. "That was close. Anyhow, I was saying that we've discovered your murder, bypassed your traps, tamed your dogs, killed your snakes, and now we're here to exact due justice. Inevitably violently."

He makes an complicated gesture with his left hand and says, "Your pain is the breaking of the shell that encloses your understanding."

Lingering Performance (free), Inspire Courage, Phantom Pain (S,V) vs. Hallod

Performance: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23 DC 16 Lingering Performance

Mental Damage (Special Will Save DC 17): 2d4 ⇒ (3, 2) = 5
Plus persistent 1d4 damage (see below) to max duration 1 minute

"You talk too much", he sneers at Gamble, just as a sharp pain hits him! "ARGH! What did you do to me?! Why you—", Hallod yells out touching his head. He barely has time to say anything else as Pepper sends a frosty cold ray that hits one of the tree boughs behind him! "Cheeky, aren't you all?", he snarls. "I'm going to chop you into firewood!" He's once again cut short as Deerslicer shoots an arrow his way; it hits the tree behind Hallod. "Huh. Where did he go?"

The alpha wolf from two days' ago sniffs the air and growls before hunkering down, its muzzle tense with expectation, the pain on its leg reminds him of his last encounter with his prey.

(Seek - Ready an action)

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Initiative Order - The bold may act!
Round 1 - Active Conditions: Inspire Courage - 3 rounds

Hallod (-5 hp)
Deerslicer
Pepper
Gamble
Alpha Male | Readied an action
Simon
Sinan
---
Kunsheng

"Hallod," Sinan begins as he steps forward. "I offer you this one chance. Call off your dogs and surrender to us. We shall bring you before the sheriff to discuss your crimes peacefully if you will allow it."

As he steps forward, Sinan's eyes light up with the words of his spell "Afeal kama 'umirt." which he hopes is reflected in the bully's eyes. "Stay where you are," he commands (as in the spell command) "and give us your answer."

Stride, Cast (Command- 2 actions)

The DC for Sinan's command (stand in place) is 17. Yeah, meta knowledge it was probably dumb to move, but Sinan expects his target needs to see him for it to work.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Hallod grunts as he stares into Sinan's eyes, bthe words of the Qadrian sinking in. Both wolves immediately growl as Sinan not only approaches, but menaces their master.

(Sinan, you sure you want to stop there? You saw the trip line. If you do stop there I'm setting off the traps)

hmm good point. I'm out of movement, so rather then step over the line, Sinan would have noticed it then not put his foot down in the next space, hoping his friends would see why he stopped

Valor draws his rapier and rushes up!

Perception, fatigued: 1d20 + 8 - 1 ⇒ (17) + 8 - 1 = 24

He sees the tripwire.

Can he step over it as part of his move action? If not, he'll stop where he token is now. He has 5' of movement left.

Valor will Point Out the tripwire.

Actions: Interact, Stride, Point Out

(You can step over it as part of your move action once you've seen it, you just can't stop your movement on a tripwire square unless you want to trip it. Please feel free to take your remaining 5' of movement left if you wish. It's a very obvious tripwire.)

The alpha female snarls at Sinan, but then smells something else. The human who stabbed her in the back during the caravan attack. It jumps over the tripwire and snaps its jaws at Simon before scratching its body with its hind legs. Simon can see the same large fleas as before jumping on her fur.

(Seek - Stride)

|----|----|----|----|

Initiative Order - The bold may act!
Round 1 - Active Conditions: Inspire Courage - 3 rounds

Hallod (-5 hp)
Deerslicer
Pepper
Gamble
Alpha Male | Readied an action
Simon
Sinan
Alpha Female
Kunsheng