GM Tektite's PFS #2-16 The Flesh Collector (Inactive)

Game Master Hawkwen Agricola

Dot Collector

I can't go for dot.

Any preferences on PC of mine? I've actually got a good spread in 5-9.

Well, not Ernie - he needs to stay available for when Linnea is available. Tsusuko's always fun.

From what I recall, you guys are at the end of what she's in now; you might be done with that sooner rather than later (but don't rush it; bards are bonkers good at the finalest part, so that will be almost automatic probably.

Stealthy dot.

Grappled-pinned-stunned dot.

You have been summoned to the Cathedral of Aroden in Almas for a briefing from Venture-Captain Brackett....

Another man paces the floor as you enter, obviously agitated. As you get settled, he turns and sputters. "“Our manuscripts are sacrosanct! You must make an example of this thief!”

The voice echoes off walls where packed bookshelves compete for space with religious icons and statues. You have come to the Pathfinder Lodge in the Andoran city of Almas, a former cathedral of Aroden, now one of the Society’s foremost libraries. Wystorn Telfyr, librarian of the lodge, continues to rage. “I don’t expect you field agent types to grasp the gravity of such a theft.”

Behind Telfyr, Venture-Captain Brackett winces and tries to smile apologetically. “Somehow a thief sneaked past the wards of our reliquary,” continues the librarian, “and stole the Fleshforge Manuscript, a priceless example of the illuminator’s art, embellished in rare inks and exquisite gilt. Certain scholars of the arcane arts—myself excluded, of course—might also perhaps covet it for its content. The Fleshforge Manuscript details how Nex’s fleshforges in Ecanus supplied monstrous beasts for its ancient war with Geb. I myself have a modicum of talent for constructs.”

Telfyr gestures immodestly toward several homunculi shelving books around the library. “Yet I freely admit this manuscript has proven beyond even my comprehension.”

Venture-Captain Brackett unfurls a map on a table. “Thank you for favoring us with your presence so swiftly, fellow Pathfinders. Divination pinpoints the manuscript on a tiny island off Nex’s barren coast—the Monastery of the Unremitting Tide—here." He says, pointing, then continues. "The mission is twofold. Return the Fleshforge Manuscript safely back to the Society, and ensure this thief will never try to steal it again. Questions?”

Knowledge (history or religion) and Diplomacy/KN: local for more information along with any questions.

Know. Religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18
Know. Local: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (6) + 20 = 26

A tien man of average heigh (for a tien), olive skin, brown eyes and a wry smile on his face was standing near you.
He wears a black lacked armor with some red touch on it, a ruby symbol of Asmodeus around his neck and an insignia of one of the Hellknight order.
He was accompanied by a strange creature looking as a shapeless mist which he called Kyofuu.

He presented himself as Xian Taiko follower of the Mighty Asmodeus.

Taiko tried to remember some usefull piece of information and said

Thanks you Venture-Captain Brackett to think of us for this mission. I'm here to serve.
What do we know about the thieve and the reasons of this theft ?

"“Our manuscripts are sacrosanct! You must make an example of this thief!”

“I don’t expect you field agent types to grasp the gravity of such a theft.”

A tall bronzed half-elf wearing no shirt but displaying a branded symbol on his bare chest in the shape of a hand answers, "On the contrary, Telfyr, Irori values knowledge and manuscripts hold certain value in our religion."

Knowledge (history/religion): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19
Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12

"The Monastery of the Unremitting Tide? Do you know which god they service? It sounds like one of the many Iroran training monasteries with which I am familiar. If so, I can hope that my devotion to the faith will provide sufficient bargaining power to return the manuscript with little bloodshed. If they are true followers of Irori it was likely not a theft and there may have been a misunderstanding; we Irorans have an utmost respect for the law and never commit such a crime knowingly."

Turning to his new companions, the half-elf finally gets around to introducing himself with a bow. "Hello. My name is Faraz Aram, a devotee of the teachings of Irori. Well met."

Knowledge (Local) 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6
A previously unnoticed woman in dark red robes speaks up while taking in the people in the room. "You should probably invest in some better wards then. When this is all over I can assist you in setting things up in a more secure manner." Erin offers the librarian, before taking a look at the new crew in front of her. Her gaze halts briefly on the Tien man. "The society never learns." She thinks to herself with a small shake of her head.

Looking back to Venture-Captain Brackett, the blonde woman asks. "So, we steal the book back and kill the person who took it?"

"Not kill, necessarily," Faraz corrects Erin, "subdue."

"I suppose I have been in the company of orcs and tieflings a bit too long. I will leave the reformation of said person up to you if they are taken alive. The name is Erin by the way." Erin says in response, extending a black gloved hand in greeting.

Taiko remembers much of the history and the area, while Faraz adds a little tidbit of his own to the information.

Collectively they know:

Echoes of an ancient war with its undead neighbor Geb define Nex’s wilderness. Plant life still refuses to grow on land touched by Geb’s necromantic blight, and Nex’s own fleshforges were responsible for many of the beasts that still roam its wastelands.

The Monastery of the Unremitting Tide is a peaceful order of Vudrani monks dedicated to Irori. The order left Jalmeray for Nex 200 years ago. They revere Irori’s aspects of history and knowledge, focusing less on self-perfection and martial prowess.

The door to the reliquary was locked the morning after the theft.

The reliquary houses artifacts worth much more than the manuscript. Strangely, the thief ignored them.

Until shortly before the theft, the West Chapel had housed the manuscript. Compared to the reliquary, the chapel is virtually unwarded except for, notably, an ancient hallow spell, cast shortly after Aroden’s death by clergy of Iomedae.

That's everything that can found out by checks.

Telfyr continues, adding a bit more information. "The manuscript was one of several documents I moved down from the West Chapel into the reliquaries fifteen days ago. I noticed the scroll was missing four days ago. It is a scroll made from three sheets of paper sewn together, scribed in Osirian hieroglyphs around 150 years ago, illuminated with gold leaf, and bound to two scrimshawed rollers each carved from a human rib.”

Faraz bows his head as he shakes Erin's hand.

"A temple of Iroran monks as I suspected," Faraz intones. "They revere history and knowledge; it may be that it was not seen as a crime in their eyes and they were perhaps only recovering something they felt was rightfully theirs. But I will not try to defend their actions any further until we have investigated the matter and learned the truth. Their faith may have been corrupted for all we know now. Let us board a ship and head for the island, if you are all ready for the expedition."

A halfling of slightly below average stature for his race sits in this meeting. His hair is a light brown, and his eyes are blue. He wears blue breeches, as well as an open blue vest with gold trimming and a multicoloured butterfly embroidered on the back. Sheathed overtop it in a partial scabbard is a shortsword with part of the sheathe missing, as if to display the three notches in the blade. He carries a backpack that looks like it was built for an individual one-and-a-half-times bigger than him, as well as newer-looking burlap bag.

"I learned how to punch stuff once from a mole guy. Pretty fun." Weiman states. He looks at the chest fist symbol, "That seems like a really tough place to try to slap someone from, though!"

-Posted with Wayfinder

“I don’t expect you field agent types to grasp the gravity of such a theft.”

A middle aged man that had been listening intently while petting a large grey wolf at his feet speaks up. "Listen here, bookworm, I may have grown up on a farm, but I've seen enough to know that some lousy pieces of paper can be more dangerous than greatsword any day of the week. I think we've all been around enough to take something like this seriously."

Desmond scowls a little, but his face lightens up in a smile, creases forming at the edges of his mouth. "Human ribs, eh? That hard up for bookbinding materials? Yeah, we'll get your manuscript back and teach the fellas that took it a lesson. Wouldn't be the first time dealing with a gaggle of monks."

He glances down at Weiman, "You? Punch stuff - since when? That sure would'a been helpful when we dealing with those tarnspawn things! Jeez, Weiman..."

Brackett raises his eyebrows almost imperceptibly at Desmond's comment, but only says. "Unless you have anymore questions, you should be on your way. I have arranged for passage on a trader ship bound for Quatium. From there, you will takes a smaller sailing vessel to the monastery and be drop off on a beach nearby."

The sail across the Obari Ocean is pleasant and uneventful, while the smaller ship allows the party to drift up to a landing site, unseen and under the cover of darkness.

The island where the Monastery of the Unremitting Tide stands is only a quarter-mile across, and holds little else to interest. There is a simple ship, hove up on the island’s only sheltered shore. The monks’ crops, invasive plants they brought from Jalmeray, have long grown wild across the rest of the island, choking out native underbrush that was better suited to life in the shade of a pine forest.

In the distance, you can see the outline of the monastery against the night sky.

"Let us approach and see if they are around," Faraz suggests.

"Are we going to have to worry about these monks attacking us if we knock on the front door?" Erin asks the Irori follower as they approach the temple.

Weiman looks to the ranger, "Such foes are unworthy of my fists of rage. I only punch things that require being punched, like statues."

Weiman is purchasing a 50 gp Mask (whole monkey's head), a Monk's outfit, and a billow cape (for maximum style.) Ultimate Equipment and Advanced Race Guide, respectively. He keeps these hidden until the last day of the trip. 155 gp.

Weiman, now garbed in an open-front monk's robe, draws a full-face monkey mask/helm. Before donning it, he notes to the inquiry. "Pfft, we'll be fine. Besides, if they get uppity, we can just kung-fu them."

-Posted with Wayfinder

I could send my Friend Kyofuu to take a look on the monastery.

proposed Taiko to his comrades.

Or we can send Weiman to punch some statues

he added looking at the halfling with a hidden smile.

"If you think Kyofuu can scout above the walls without being seen, send him in and we will wait for his report before knocking on the front door. . . or breaking it in, as the case may be."

He could

Kyofuu transformed in a whirling and moved above the monastery.

stealth: 1d20 + 20 ⇒ (13) + 20 = 33
Perception (take 10/20 if I could): 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

Kyofuu flies over the monastery walls and sees a central courtyard, and sees a reflection garden in the southeastern corner. The rest of area is enclosed and the doors are shut.

MAP

"Well, there are no obvious cult-like sacrifices occurring in the open to tip us off that these are bad people, so I suggest we simply knock on the door and introduce ourselves. As a member of their faith, hopefully they will accept me and allow us to enter peacefully."

"Alright. I will follow your lead, but if it turns to violence I will be returning the favor." Erin responds to the elf.

Desmond follows closely behind the paladin. "Well, you know the religion better than probably anyone else in our group. Sahrek and I will stick close, in case things go south." Desmond sticks close to Faraz.

Kyofuu came back to its master.

Taiko said to Faraz

That's a good thing but isn't strange that all the doors are closed ? I imagine monk's monastery as a busy place with monks training in the open... or may be it's different in Jamelray than in my birth country Faraz san ?

After a short silence he added

But, we will try the peacefull solution and I will follow Erin san moto about returning the favor in case it goes wrong

I made a mistake....

As Kyofuu returns to his master, Taiko learns that there are two men sparring in the courtyard and an older man watching them.

Fendahl has been watching quietly with his lion by his side.

He readies his bow if needed.

"Hrrmm. I agree with master Taiko if negotiating is possible."

Knocking on the gate, minutes later the gate is opened by a surpirsed looking monk. "We have few visitors to the Monastery. What is it that you seek?"

"Greetings," the half-elf says with a bow, "I am Faraz Aram, a brother of the faith," he indicates the hand-shaped brand on his chest, the holy symbol of Irori, "although I am also a Pathfinder and these are my Pathfinder brothers. We come seeking knowledge, as Irori has taught us to do, about a missing manuscript that some of our superiors believe may be in your possession. Do you mind if we enter and speak with you about this?"

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Yes, monk san. We hope to be able to speak with one of your superior about this manuscript. This is a very important matter for our organisation as the Pathfinder seek Knowledge, like the Master of Master.

added Taiko bowing to the monk

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (15) + 13 = 28

The monk bows and turns, leading the party inside. Two towering edifices face each other across this meadow, one reverently decorated as a temple, the other austere as a library. Overgrown wildflowers choke former pathways between the buildings. At the center lies a sunken pool teeming with lotus flowers. An elegant tiger statue, sculpted from a single mass of banded rhyolite, crouches, preparing to pounce, beside the pool. Several doors line the courtyard—one on the south side is slightly ajar. An alcove on the western side contains a plinth holding a wooden bust, whose likeness is remarkably that of Weiman! In the northeast corner, steel glints from two weapon racks.

A man with a long white beard sits next to the weapons rack, observing two students sparring in the yard.

Know. Religion: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22
Linguistic: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8

Kn (r): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20
linguistics: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15

Weiman strides in his horrendously dorky magnificent warrior's garb.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Knowledge (religion): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21

"That is. . . foreboding," Faraz notes to the party quietly as he nods to the statue. He approaches the older man with a bow. "Greetings. As your student may have said, I am Faraz Aram, a Brother of the faith. These are my fellows; we are Pathfinders who have come in search of a lost manuscript. We thought you might know where it has gone. We are prepared to negotiate for its return; we would not deprive you of its knowledge if that is what you desire."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

Fendahl will bow in respect, but lets the others continue the conversation while had carefully watches for anything "unusual".

Desmond keeps a ready and watchful eye on the two students sparring with each other. He gives a curt nod the host, but otherwise keeps silent.

"Heel, boy," he says to Sahrek. The wolf keeps close to the ranger's side.

The old master listens to Faraz, not saying anything, but occasionally wincing as if in pain. Finally he speaks. "“The book-thieves have returned!” He yells to the sparring monks, who turn to confront the party!

Initiative:
Erin
Monk Master
Faraz
Monks
Taiko
Fendahl
Desmond
Weiman

Erin is up!

Can't see the map right now, is the master within 15 feet of Erin?

Nope; nearest mook and boss are 30 feet away.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Thanks. Holding for boss monk to do his thing.
Erin waits patiently to see what their first move will be.

The monk master moves forward and punches at Faraz!

Attack vs Faraz FF: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31
Damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Crit Confirm vs Faraz FF: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (11) + 11 = 22
Crit Damage: 1d10 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

With a lightning fast punch, astonishing for someine his age, he clocks the paladin in the chin!

Faraz is up!

Faraz shakes his head at the old master. "That was unwise. We came in peace." He then reaches out to put the man in complicated hold.

Standard action to grapple:
grapple attempt: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (12) + 18 = 30

Assuming that does it, move action to maintain/pin
grapple attempt: 1d20 + 18 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 18 + 5 = 24

Gah! Nat 1 on the maintain! He breaks free.

Swift action to enter Snapping Turtle Style. AC goes up by 2.

By the way, the AC in my banner reflects mage armor, which I obviously would have had Erin put on for me from my wand before we came here.

Seeing the paladin handling the master, Erin moves for the peons.
Attack (Main 1)1d20 + 22 ⇒ (1) + 22 = 23 (FF) (One Attack)
Damage (Main 1) 1d6 + 10 + 5d6 ⇒ (6) + 10 + (3, 5, 6, 3, 2) = 35 (FF)
Offensive Defense

A pair of ones. Lady Luck is not on our side.

By Erin putting mage armor on me I meant I'd take a potion I guess, lol. Don't know what I was thinking, must've been thinking of a different Erin who's a sorceress.

I have UMD, can still do it for you.

Check in and discuss...things.

Remember that I will be out of town until the 8th. At least I'll have the week to read over thescenario after I load it up on my tablet.

Dot.

For a 5-9, I've got a bunch of options available;
Ernest, Wizard(Conjurer)/PFS Field Agent
Xathalial, Elven Zen Archer. Likely redundant with Desmond and thematically boring by design.
Kris, Oracle of Bones, Zyphus follower and bad touch + undead control build
Tsusuko, horrible man witch; don't pick him (unless you really want to)
Weiman, you guys just played with him

[Totally not an edit]... But since this is a 7-11, you're stuck with Weiman. I totally posted the above for the next thing. Yeah, that's it.[/totally not an edit]

Desmond's got some shopping to do.

Here's his list for what he's picked for this scenario:

1 Efficient Quiver (1800 gp)

40 Cold Iron Arrows (4 gp)

1 batch of Ghost Salt Weapon Blanch (200 gp)

1 batch of silver weapon blanch (5 gp)

10 arrows of +1 Bane (monstrous humanoid) (Thank you 'Custom Order' boon from the 1st gameday! - see my character sheet for details) (1600.5 gp)

Actually, I'm not sure of the pricing for the bane arrows. Do I need to pay a masterwork cost on the arrows before magical enhancements can be placed on them?

@El Baron : it's a 7-11 ;)

@Des : yes, they must be masterwork to be magicaly enhanced, they cost 1660,2gp

Okay, thanks Taiko. I shall adjust that in my calculations.

I just finished a scenario with this guy, which is excellent because it fits well with him thematically and I really wanted to play him in this one. I had a lot of fun GMing this one a few months ago, I've been looking forward to playing it.

Also, I honestly just got bored with Aponyaye. I'll probably put a couple more GM credits on him to get him to 11.2 and then play him in one more game before retirement. I don't really intend to play him in any 12+ stuff, I've got other 12+ characters I'd rather level up.

---

Also, Custom Order is a really good boon. Small quantities of bane ammunition is really nice. I love it when small batches of arrows show up on chronicle sheets; I buy them even if that character can't use a bow, just so I can hand them to the archer when the next scenario starts.

Yeah, and monstrous humanoid seemed like a good choice - it seems quite a few scenarios have them. I may take that as my 3rd favored enemy at 10th.

Oh, and I think I've been in a scenario with Faraz, I'll have to search and try to remember which one it was.

Oh, and I think I've been in a scenario with Faraz, I'll have to search and try to remember which one it was.

Rene's Shades of Ice.

I just think of Terflynn when I see Faraz. I was confused when first checked thus thread.

Yeah, Faraz has my Reign of Winter credits so he skipped a couple levels and I did some retraining into Tetori, so he's a grapple machine now. But VERY limited on swift actions with Snapping Turtle Style, smite, ki, Stunning Pin, and Lay on Hands all taking swift.

I think this is my only 7-11 character left (that isn't my Thornkeep-specific gnone), so dotz!

-Posted with Wayfinder

Back! Thanks for you patience. I've extended an invite to a couple people, but I will get the intro post up in a little while.

Welcome back! Hope the vacation was fun. Tiring, I'm sure.

Very tiring! My wife was a drill seargent! We were going from 7:00a to 11:00p every day. The kids weathered it, but not without some meltdowns!

That'll happen with kids. That sounds a lot like our vacations, even now that our family is all grown and getting married, haha.

Tektite tossed me an invite to join you guys on this foray. I have a 7th Tank Paladin, 5th Melee/Support cleric, and a 5th Blaster Sorc available. Willing to play any, what do you guys prefer?

I don't recall if Weiman met any of them, aside from the sorceress (whom I know he hasn't met yet), so no preference (given the season of the scenario and opinions thereof.)

Oh, it is a 7-11. That will be changing the lineup a bit.

You know Erin would work so well with Weiman:

• She wouldn't have to do anything about traps other than tie the halfling to a pole and use him like a metal detector. This has happened once before, though he was tied to a pole that was tied to a horse.
  
• Haste every fight for all 3 fights.
  
• No Fear for Flanks.

EDIT: I completely forgot they were both in Weapons in the Rift together.
EDIT #2: Weiman is also 9th now.
EDIT #4: There is no EDIT #3.

dot. Need to level up to 7th with last mod I ran...then will be ready.

Well, I think the other group I am part of is dropping to a lower tier game so I will bring Erin over here. Double trapspotter time!

For reference, Weiman punching statues was a scene from Assault on Kingdom of the Impossible and the Taldan faction mission. His teacher was the then-legal Paladin/Synthesist/Monk who was based on a Bloody Roar character.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Quick APL calculation:

Desmond- 9
Taiko- 11
Faraz- 9
Weiman- 9
Erin- 10
Fendhal- 7

9 + 11 + 9 + 9 + 10 + 7 = 55/6=9.1666666 ~ APL 9

With six players, that's high tier.

Taiko is 10 but I don't think it change something :)

Taiko is 10 but I don't think it change something :)

My mistake, but no it doesn't change anything. 54/6=9

"A true Warrior of Justice allows his foes to strike first, thus justifying his fists of fury."

"Also, it's really hard to see out of this mask."

-Posted with Wayfinder

Sorry for the lull in activity lately. Honestly, I couldn't find where the third section of the manuscript was, after reading through the scenario a dozen times. Today I found it. It was listed in the Master's possesssions in one tier, but not the other (the one we're playing), hence my continual missing of that little nugget of info. If I hadn't had read through the old faction mission stuff, I'd probably would have still been looking for it.

What do you guys want to do now?

I Will be at PaizoCon UK this week-end. I'm not sure to be able to post before Monday.

We getting close to the finish, so if you guys want to post Day Jobs, I'll start working on chronicles.

My apologies for this one taking so long. Funny that I now stay home during the day, but seem to be busier now, than before. I'm going to hold off on running another until after GenCon, perhaps longer. I've found myself stretched too thin on my PbP's and I think my games are starting to suffer. That being said, with school starting up and our bathroom remodel nearing completion, I may have more time come Sept. Either way, I'll certainly contact to guys as new games come up.

PFS #55162-8

No Day Job

No problem and I know how you feel! I think I've been busier since we moved into our new house than I have been all year. Project after project. I spent the last four days tearing up our concrete-slab patio. I'm getting an estimate on putting in a new paver stone patio this afternoon, after which I will have to decide whether it is too expensive to hire done in which case I will be tackling that project the week after GenCon.

When you are ready to run another (especially high tier) let me know!

PFS # 9884-3

trapper : 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

Thanks for running it...even with all your side projects. Good times.

PFS# 18601-3
Day Job 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (14) + 17 = 31 (Sleight Of Hand)

Thanks for running as always Tektite. You are making a huge contribution to the PFS online community and we all appreciate it.

PFS: 64554-1

AS always, thank you for running, Tektite. And I feel you on taking a break. I may be doing the same - going to start working on my master's degree starting next month.

Day Job: Handle Animal: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (19) + 11 = 30

PFS# 22523-5
Day Job (Craft Alchemy) - take 10: 10 + 16 + 5 = 31

Yes, thanks against Tektite to GM for us :)

As always, man, thanks for running. I have no idea how you can do more than three games at a time.

craft (food): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15
shirt (can do much better): 1d20 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 8 + 2 = 30

-Posted with Wayfinder

As always, man, thanks for running. I have no idea how you can do more than three games at a time.

Not very well sometimes. The newer, more involved scenarios, I've found aren't as conducive to multi-tasking as the ealier stuff was. That's why I'm going to try to cut back a little in order to improve my quality. I hope.

I've found the same thing concerning the newer scenarios (looking at you, Scars of the Third Crusade). Some of them are straight run-throughs as usual but this latest batch of new stuff had lots of newer rules, etc.

They are great, but yes, they need more prep and more time to run it

(in my area it's a bit of problem as we are tied with time)

Heading off to GenCon and won't be able to post much for the rest of the week-weekend. I know Tek will be there too but just wanted to alert everyone that I might not be around until next week.

Just a little RP to wrap up.

This has been reported and chronicles have been sent.