GMTrex's PFS [CORE] 6-10 The Wounded Wisp (Inactive)

Game Master Andrew Trexler

"A secret room! I best this is where the keep all the super powerful magic stuff. And it's probably guarded by a dragon so we should be careful" Amelie grips her bow tightly as if ready for something to jump out any moment.

Solomon scratches his head in confusion.So there no bottle? What is mission then?

Hmph, I knew that this couldn't be that easy. Fine, I guess we will have to play along with the old geezer's games than.

Once over to the other side of the pit, she looks in to the room from behind the others.

She looks around to the others, I will tell you what little girl, if there is indeed a dragon guarding whatever the hell is in there, I will buy you an ale.

She ssteps into the room internally hoping the little girl is wrong, and looks around the room real quick.

T10: 10 + 8 = 18

Satisfied if she sees nothing, or if she does she warns then others than draws her weapon.

"Well, before we go any farther..."

Tanariel pulls out a wand an touches it to Stephen. "Let's not enter into a situation with less than we need."

Wand of CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

1d6 ⇒ 4

Entorra steps into the room and trains her ears for sound coming from beyond. She hears lots of high-pitched squeaks, getting progressively louder, and quickly draws her weapon. From the crevices come flying hundreds of tiny, carnivorous bats that flood into the room!

Amelie sees Entorra drawing her weapon and reacts quickly!

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Amelie
2. Bats
3. Stephen, Entorra, Dolgrym, Tanariel, Solomon

"Oh no this doesn't look good! They're moving so fast, I don't think I can hit any but I'll try!" Not knowing what to do in the situation, Amelie does all she knows and starts loosing arrows.

Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 211d8 ⇒ 6

Amelie's arrow passes harmlessly through the swarm. It may have scored a single bat, but that's small comfort among the hundreds now whirling the room.

Eager for blood, they smash into Entorra, covering her in tiny bites.

Swarm Damage @ Entorra: 1d6 ⇒ 2 plus make a Fort save (DC 11) or be nauseated for one round

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Amelie
2. Bats
3. Stephen, Entorra (12/14 hp, Fort save), Dolgrym, Tanariel, Solomon

Not eager to become bat food, Stephen backs away.

Knowledge(Dungeoneering - Bat Swarms): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (13) + 9 = 22.

fort: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

Entorra, grimaces as all the bats bite her. There are a dozen or so bites all over her legs and arms. The mass of swirling bats makes her gag a bit, but otherwise she seems fine.

She grips her sword, in both hands and makes a mighty chop at the swarm. Seeing that her weapon is just as useless as the arrow that was just shot through it, she calls back to the others.

I say we all move back, and then I will just shut the damn door. They go in here somehow, maybe they will just leave after a few minutes?

Elven Curveblade: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14 for slash damage: 1d10 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4

wait for the spot behind me to open. Free 5' step back, than a move action to shut door.

Dolgrym heeds the elven barbarian's words, and backs up a bit further to give those ahead of him room as he draws a flask of alchemist fire. "This be the most dangerous tavern I've seen yet!"

Tanariel retreats back up the stairs. "It's either shut the door, or chastise the establishment for allowing colonies of bats to lurk in their basement. So please, Entorra, let's see if the door shuts properly. If it does, everyone back, and I'll deal with them. In any case, stand back, Solomon!"

Move action to new position.

You can't take a 5ft step and then a move action, only one or the other. Solomon will try to move away through the crowd to an open spot.Me no like bats!

You can take a move action after a 5' step if it's not an actual move. For example, you can draw a weapon--or close a door.

The bulk of the party flees and Entorra manages to slam the door shut, knocking several valuable vintages to the stone cellar floor. The bats fruitlessly slam into the door on the side.

We'll continue in initiative unless you all want to drop out of it to come up with a plan. Note that you can't ready actions out of initiative.

Round II -- bold may act!
1. Bats
2. Stephen, Entorra (12/14 hp), Dolgrym, Tanariel, Solomon, Amelie

Smirking, Tanariel looks at the situation. "Well, perhaps we should prise this bottle from the wall, and bring it back to Dreng? At the very least, he should be surprised."

"Well Mr Dreng told us to bring him his bottle of wine. We should just grab one and let him know it was the best we could find. I'm sure he'll understand!"

-Posted with Wayfinder

Seeing no actions (other than speech) posted in 24 hours, I'll pull us out of initiative.

The party pants a bit of relief in the quiet of the wine cellar. Dull thuds echo from the wine rack's secret door as the bats continue to slam into it. How do you all want to proceed?

I am okay with removing the bottle from the wall, and giving it to Dreng ;-)

"Maybe we should ask Heryn? She is the ones Mr Dreng sent us to see after all."

-Posted with Wayfinder

The druid tucks away the flask as he nods at the human's suggestion. "Aye! We have the bottle. If Heryn wants the bats dealt with, we can come back and take care of it. Else we'd best not keep the Captain waiting."

"We did pry the bottle off the...whatever it be the bottle stuck to, no?" Dolgrym scratches at his beard as he looks over where the bottle sat.

It appears my post was eaten, oh well. Mmm, we got bottle? Let me see!

Although most are eager to take the literal route and pry off the bottle, Tanariel finds that it is solidly attached. Possibly with sovereign glue.

In the interest of continuing the adventure, lol.

"I might have a few flasks o' fire upstairs that I could sell you," Heryn offers helpfully. Saving you a trip to the market.

Go ahead and roll an attack each, excepting whoever will open the door again.

Stephen, as he is on 2hp, is not going anywhere near the door, but will happily cheer from the sidelines ;-)

I healed you back up with my wand, Stephen.

Tanariel sighs. "I'll open the door. If this bottle doesn't find a way off."

He whispers to himself while cupping his face in his hands a moment, before walking over to the door.

Casting sanctuary. Will DC 14.

Entorra will buy a flask of acid if its available, and prepare to chuck it when the door is opened.

attack acid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 = 1.5 = 2!

Son of a! I cannot crit a swarm, what a wasted 20 lol

Amelie purchases a flask to help deal with the bats. "I have pretty good aim so let me give this a shot!"

Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 181d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Ah, I missed that; thanks!

Dolgrym holds his flask of acid at the ready, keeping an eye on the bats and seeing if they disperse from his companions' efforts. "Oho! Nothing like throwing gold at the problem, I always say...well, actually, I never said that...I mean...hrmph!"

Alright, let's hop back into initiative.

Tanariel opens the door and two jars of acid go flying into the swarm! Bubbling explosions of hissing acid spread through the cloud of angry bats, but they don't disperse--yet!

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Amelie, Solomon, Dolgrym, Tanariel (sanctuary), Stephen, Entorra
2. Bats (7 damage, splash x2)

@ Entorra: almost always round down in PFS, sadly, but there will be additional damage next round too.
@ Tanariel: you get to act this round too; I'm counting the door opening as a surprise round.

@GMTrex: Actually, acid flasks only deal damage for one round; it is alchemist's fire that deals an extra round of damage (which is part of the reason that it costs twice as much).

@GMTrex: Actually, acid flasks only deal damage for one round; it is alchemist's fire that deals an extra round of damage (which is part of the reason that it costs twice as much).

Huh, good to know. Thanks. Want to take an action? :)

Assuming Entorra 5ft stepped out of the waySolomon casts Color Spray[DC 15 Will Save] on the Swarm. Then he will 5ft step out of the way.

Will: 1d20 ⇒ 19 SUCCESS

The swarm seems unaffected by Solomon's colorful magicks!

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Amelie, Solomon, Dolgrym, Tanariel (sanctuary), Stephen, Entorra
2. Bats (7 damage)

Tanariel waits for Solomon's color spray to go off, holds a moment to let acid fly into the swarm, then without so much as a word, steps inside, closing the door behind him.

Hold action until after Entorra, close door, then move through the swarm toward the desk.

Seeing the bats continue to pester, the druid lofts the flask in hand into the mix!

Throw Flask: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1 Splash 1

As the flask makes its way into the mix of flying critters, Dolgrym reaches for another flask. "May be someone else should be doing the tossing..."

Dolgrym's flash does burst where he wanted it to, to his surprise, but ultimately with limited effect. Tanariel surprises his companions by stepping into the swirling cloud.

Will: 1d20 ⇒ 11 The bats break through Tanariel's spell and bite madly at his elven skin!
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 5 plus DC 11 Fort or be nauseated for 1 round

This occurs as an AoO before you take the move action to shut the door, so you can revise if desired. I'll also give Stephen one last chance to take an action before I move us on to the next round tomorrow.

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Amelie, Solomon, Dolgrym, Tanariel (3/8 hp, sanctuary), Stephen, Entorra
2. Bats (8 damage)

@GM Trex: Swarms don't have reach; can they take AoOs?

With a wince, Stephen tries throwing a vial of acid at the swarm...

Acid Flask (Ranged Touch): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16, for 1d6 ⇒ 2*1.5 = 3 Acid damage.

...and then backs away.

But my Sanctuary DC is 14... I guess they get a +3 or something...

Fort: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

@Tanariel: GM Trex only makes the d20 rolls, to prevent players meta-gaming what their opponents' bonuses are.

@ Stephen: Fair point. I made the logical assumption that they would if you stepped into their space, but the rules say otherwise. Revised:

Stephen, too, flings acid into the swarm. Tanariel surprises his companions by stepping into the swirling cloud and shutting the door.

Round II -- bold may act!
1. Amelie, Solomon, Dolgrym, Stephen, Entorra, Tanariel (3/8 hp, sanctuary)
2. Bats (11 damage)

Note: the door is shut.

@Tanariel: GM Trex only makes the d20 rolls, to prevent players meta-gaming what their opponents' bonuses are.

Correct. It makes it harder, at least. And it saves me from having to type out that pesky +X to the roll. :)

My turn changed slightly after Stephen's attack (since I held action). Hope that works?

@ Tanariel: thanks for the heads up!

Tanariel opens the door again a moment later, still bleeding but with a grin affixed to his face. The ground beneath his feet is a carpet of dead bats.

Out of combat!

Tanariel grins beneficently, pulls out his wand and touches himself with it. "There, that's better." He wipes his face.

Gesturing into the room beyond, he continues, "Shall we, then? Watch your step, there are bats all over. I doubt we have to worry about fleas, though."

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 23 charges remain.

Dolgrym shakes his head as he enters the room. "I be not sure I want to know what happened there." Once in the room, the druid moves out of the way for the others and surveys the room.

The Pathfinders take their time searching the room and its desk for secret doors and drawers, and they collect a large stack of journals, notes, and other papers that will take some time to sift through. However, it is readily apparent that this room was used by the famed Pathfinder Selmius Foster, a name that is instantly recognizable to all Pathfinders--a founder nearly as famous as Durvin Gest himself. And, while most or all of Foster's known exploits are chronicled in varying detail here, there is one heretofore unknown lead he had been pursuing before his untimely death. Two yellowed patches of paper describe Foster's investigation into a Pathfinder named Elysia. See Handouts.

"Well then - it looks like we have three leads - checking out Arkath's tomb; meeting Fimbrik; and investigating the Wall of Names. Anyone have any preferences as to which we should check out first?"

Amelie seems confused by the whole situation "If Mr. Dreng wanted us to find all this and investigate, why wouldn't he just tell us?"

"A good question! We can take down two rocs with one stone by returning the requested bottle and asking him our questions while we be at it?" The druid eyes the requested bottle suspiciously before turning and looking about for Heryn. "Perhaps we should return with a comparable bottle, since this bottle be intent on staying put?"

Tanariel pulls the hood of his cloak over his head as he chuckles. "Dreng is a liar. He cares not for the bottle. It was clearly a code to get us back here. Now, the real question is, now that we're here, what shall we do about it?"

Looking over the documents again, he turns to Stephen. "You mentioned Selmius Foster earlier, I believe. He's a founding Pathfinder, right? So all this would be quite in the past. Eylysia, Arkath, Fimbrik, Doulgonir, Mollis, Katrina Clamp... Do any of these names sound familiar to you?"