Lia breaks free from her bonds and now able to see, begins to chase the gillmen!
Bom tries to break free again and again is unable!
Lecky swings his polearm to trip the gillman, but the man hops over the guisarme!
Ahrmisa charges toward Lecky and attacks!
She leads with her spear, but Lecky dodges out of the way.
The gillman moves toward the bar, watching his companion.
Talathel sends another arcane missile, striking Shoalo!
Lecky swings his guisarme as the gillman tries to slide under his guard.
His guisarme slices into the gillamn, bringing her down in a pool of blood.
Stullen break free and moves toward the fray!
Talathel unleashes another bolt and the last gillman falls!
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Nice job everyone! Definitely a good group to play with, but we did slow down a bit there at the end.
Now that Bom is 2nd level, with Shield Slam, I think Bom and Lecky would be some serious annoyance for NPC's with all the knock down/tripping. If this group were to add a divine caster (non-Druid), I think it would be a blast (assuming a high posting rate).
Excellent job GM Tektite. Excellent command of the rules and some clever GM techniques there. I would definitely be interested in joining any of your other games or maybe rejoining with this group if the timing works out.
Speaking of which, i'd be happy to run Kyra or Merisiel as a pre-gen for you guys if you are doing #2.
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This was my first Pathfinder Society experience and I really enjoyed it. GM Tektite I think you did a great job telling the story and adjudicating. Great fun for all.
I'm going to rebuild Stullun a bit heading to second level, but he would love to continue the fight with Bom & Co. Understand if the other game is already set, however. Keep me in mind as a companion moving forward!
PFS#: 75411-1
Fresh back from your latest mission/errand for the Society, you've only had a couple days of rest before you receive an invitation to a party being held that evening at the Lantern Lodge, the beautiful and exotic estate of the Tian venture-captain, Amara Li, in Absalom’s Petal District. Tonight, the invitation informs you, is the Snapdragon Festival, a traditional Gokan holiday featuring fireworks and rich plum wine. You are encouraged to dress to impress, and instructed to seek out the hostess and head of the Lantern Lodge, Amara Li, upon your arrival.
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A squatty robed figure slowly plods through the festival, clearly missing all the fireworks and festivities for the hood pulled low over his face. The methodical shuffling is punctuated by a tapping sound as a decorated tribal longspear serving for a walkingstaff strikes the ground with every couple of steps. As lights and explosions illuminate the night, only a sliver of his face is visible, revealing large, razor-sharp tusks jutting upward from his lower jaw. He shuffles ever onward in search of the hostess of the evening with no time for pleasantries or distractions until he arrives.
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Lecky enters the party wearing his best for the occassion, pinned on his shoulders are badges indicating his rank, and on his chest are various badges for his honorable deeds done before.
"Ah, such a fancy celebration, good thing I didn't go wearing that uniform." pointing to the weird guy at the corner.
"May I have one glass of your fine wine?" as he bows gratiously to the servers.
Alright, time to mingle.
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Talathel will visit an esteemed tailor, and have himself made a piece of clothing befitting an upstanding party such as this.
He strides into the party, and starts making conversation with just about anyone, talking about this and that, eager to learn about their culture and personal experience.
Noble's outfit (75 gp) and signet ring/jewelry (additional 100 gp)
As you enter the party and mingle, you receive complimentary nods for dressing for the occasion. After a time, you all manage, one by one to be invited into Li's private study, where you find her seated on a reed mat before a low table set with an exquisite porcelain tea set. She motions for the party to sit with her around the table, and once the door is closed behind the party and you have taken your seats, begins talking in a low, hushed voice without even the hint of a Tian accent.
“Well met, Pathfinders, and welcome to the Lantern Lodge. I hope you find the Snapdragon Festival and my hospitality worthy of your time and energy. I have not brought you here for mere pleasantries, however, and wish to ask you to partake a dangerous mission on my behalf." She slowly turns the teapot and begins pouring the steaming liquid into delicate cups. “Long ago, one of my most esteemed ancestors, who was rich in power but poor in sense, gave a gift to a foreign prince, a gift that prince did not deserve and my foolish ancestor had no right to give, a ceremonial jade katana. At the time the gift was sent, its recipient was invading this island. He laid siege to Absalom from his fortress in the foothills of the Kortos Mounts." She pauses, shaking her head sadly.
"Like those who came before him, the warlord failed to take Absalom and perished in the attempt. On the very day of his defeat, his castle crumbled to dust in a violent earthquake and has been lost to the centuries ever since. My family’s heirloom was lost with it. A recent report by a group of Pathfinders gives me hope that they have finally found the ruin, and I might finally recover my family’s treasure. I’m looking for an intrepid group to retrieve it for me, and I’m hoping that is you. The fame and wealth you will doubtlessly recover will bring you much honor within the Society, and if you deliver the katana to me, you will have my favor as you begin your careers as full agents of the Pathfinder Society.” She ends, taking a delicate drink from the teacup, while watching you closely from over the rim of the cup.
Li turns to Tortella. The Keep is located in the Cairnlands, north of the city. She then turns to address Lecky. We have already sent one group in...they have not returned. The Keep has been closed for a very long time. We do not know what is held within it's walls.
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"I will assist brave sir Lecky in his endeavour, for you mi'lady."
He bows and leaves the conversation.
"Now if yoy' excuse me, i'll finish up here and prepare for our journey.."
You can see Talathel talking too many people at the party, introducing himself and making friends. You won't see him back in the Lodge any time soon.
Li' nods, excusing the party members. As you mingle through the crowd, you are approached by man decked out in the military fineries of an Eagle Knight’s ceremonial uniform—a bright blue overcoat with polished gold buttons, gold eagle epaulets, and a fine, black felt tricorn hat. The handsome man is a charmer who clearly thinks very highly of himself. He speaks loudly and confidently, as if he wants the entire party to “overhear” his conversation with your party.
“Greetings, Pathfinders! I hear you’re headed out into the Cairnlands on official Society business. Best of luck outside the city walls, though you look like sturdy enough adventurers. Perhaps not Eagle Knight material, but qualified for the work of a Pathfinder. A word of warning, though, friends—beware the walking dead. The crumbling ruins surrounding the city are rife with them, and you’re likely to run into more than your fair share over the course of your career. He pauses to pick a piece of lint from his coat.
Undeath and the undead are more than just a physical peril, however. Undeath is the worst kind of slavery. And it should be eradicated like all servitude, whether to aristocracy or to mental control. Being enslaved to the flesh beyond when Pharasma calls one’s soul to the Boneyard is a fate I wouldn’t wish upon my greatest enemy. He reaches out an grabs a drink from a passing servant, taking a long pull before continuing.
So while you plumb the depths of Asad’s Keep, remember your solemn duty to your fellow man—both living and dead. Any undead you encounter along the way should be freed of their earthly shell. If you prove your dedication to freedom, the resources of Andoran will be at your disposal in your future endeavors.
The major slaps Lecky on the back. There's a good man! I know you'll do well. With that, he sees someone he recognizes and bids the group good luck and heads off into the crowd to schmooz with someone else.
Moments later the party is approached by the polar opposite of the of the Major. A well-dressed Keleshite man approaches the party and asks for a quick word. “Like a fast-spoken djinn, I’ll get to the quick. I know where you are going. House Damaq of Qadira claim the ruin, but we are willing to allow you access for the price of a small deed easily accomplished during your adventure. You will be wellcompensated, I assure you, for profits are most rewarding when shared. I assume treasure-seekers like yourselves are interested in such a proposition?”
Without waiting for an answer, he continues, his eyes intent and his posture rigid. “The ruin is Qadiran, which is why we claim it, and we are willing to defend it, but there are really only certain things left in Asad’s Keep we are interested in: trade agreements, of which we believe there to be many within the ruins. All we ask that you do is to turn over all trade agreements you find to us as soon as you return to Absalom, as we will be able to hold the signers to them even centuries after their signing. The satrap of Qadira—nay, the entire Padishah Empire of Kelesh—has much to offer the Pathfinder Society, and I personally have no qualms about sharing those resources with you, specifically. Shall we shake on this agreement?” He holds out his hand, toward the party, expectantly.
Your party finishes out the evening, mingling with the who's who of Pathfinder and Absalom society. You eventually make it back to your quarters at the Grand Lodge and what seems like no sooner than your head hits the pillow, the piercing beams of the rising sun is stabbing your eyes. You rise groggily and meet up in front of Skyreach before heading north out of the city.
The party finds travel to the site to be arduous; the terrain is rocky and marred with the scars of millennia of wars, making it thirsty work.
Eventually you come to a small gully. At the end of the gully, about fifteen feet above the ground on a cliff face, is an ancient, ironbound door. Its wood is dried and cracked. Directly in front of the door is a steep slope of rubble and dust-crusted debris that, as luck would have it, provides a path—albeit a rough and difficult one—right up to the door.
As the party examines their surroundings, Talathel notices rocks falling from the cliffside and the a moving humanoid shape. Suddenly a woman jumps from the cliff and lands in the midst of the party. “How long will it take you all to cure, I wonder? You seem so full of life, and I am oh so hungry.” The woman says.