GM Trex's PFS [Standard] 00-23 Tide of Morning (Inactive)

Game Master Andrew Trexler

With the magic helping make connections in his head, Kaye quickly discovers that the manuscript is is written in a pidgin shorthand combining Taldane and Druidic. The more recent passages relate that Hemzel the lorestone that is keyed to a druidic circle that lies several hours' travel north, on an island in the middle of a small lake. Further, Hemzel notes that he has assiduously avoided exposing the lorestone to sunlight, as doing so inside a druidic circle destroys a lorestone completely. Finally, the manuscript espouses some choice adjectives for a band of fey that have recently been harassing Hemzel and threatening to destroy his lorestone in this manner.

Lai realizes too late that the creature had driven the manuscript from her mind. She darts back inside to grab it, careful not to get burned again in the process. The paper is singed but intact enough to read. "Hm... Keep it out of direct sunlight? That seems like a pretty glaring design flaw, whoever made these things."

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"Yes, they'd have to hide it or keep it out of the circle, then." Kaye shrugs. "It sounds like Hemzel knew he was a target, but underestimated their resolve to destroy the stone."

Kaye readjusts his glasses. "A druidic circle across a lake? That's our next destination. Is everyone ready?"

I'd also take Perception checks on the potions for those interested.

Perception on Potion 1: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (15) + 6 = 21
Perception on Potion 2: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

Perception 1: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
Perception 2: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

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Perception 1 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20
Perception 2 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (14) + 8 = 22

"Find anything interesting?"

Kaye is able to identify one potion as a potion of barkskin, and Stonegrin determines the other to be a potion of bear's endurance.

Armed with vague knowledge of a druid circle somewhere to the north, the team steps back out the door and is surprised to see a quartet of angry-faced gnomes marching up the path toward them. "Arsonists! Thieves! What have you done to Hemzel's home, you rascals?!"

Inira holds her bow ready, in case the gnomes begin to attack. "We have put out the fire, not started it. Who are you?"

"My friends, please! We came here to visit Hemzel, as he requested a favor. The hut was already aflame when we got there." Kaye puts his hands up. "Someone we could not see tried to frighten us from entering. We entered the building to see if he could be saved but..." Kaye shakes his head.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

"Now then, my name is Kaye and we represent the Pathfinder Society, here on Hemzel's request. Who are you?"

I actually need a Bluff check for that. You're not here at Hemzel's request.

Oh yeah, we're not. I misread the introduction, but...

Bluff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6

Pffft. I hope someone else knows how to lie.

Ooh, I like that idea. "Yes, Hemzel sent us. It seems we aren't the only ones who know about the item he wants us to retrieve, because when we got here the place was ablaze and he was dead."

Bluff: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Inira, uncomfortable with lying, simply tries to keep a straight face.

Bluff aid: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (19) + 0 = 19

Stonegrin only speaks the truth or not at all. And follows the exchange with a sour mine.

"DEAD?" the lead gnome cries in shock. "He never said anything about calling the sniveling Pathfinder Society. Did you murder him when he called for help, you bastards?!"

I'll take a second check now.

Lai blinks. "What? Why would we make our own job harder? We don't even know where to look now. Plus, we aren't the only ones here; there was some kind of fey creature in there, he probably set the fire. You can look for yourselves-- he, uh, didn't make it."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26

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"Murdered him? Not only would that be bad for our reputation, but why would he call us to murder him?" They must be in shock... "As we said, the house was aflame when we got here. His journal here mentions a group of fey trying to bully him and destroy his possessions."

Diplomacy(Aid): 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19

"You stole his personal journal too?! Damned Pathfinders!!!" rages the lead gnome -- before another cuts him off.

"Boomroppel! I think they might be telling the truth... we know how Cyflymder has been..."

The gnomes enter a wary huddle for a moment before Boomroppel emerges, face twisted with begrudged distrust. "Fine. We'll let you go, and Fidwikkel here will even give you directions. But we're staying to bury our friend." He adds a comment under his breath.

The directions to the druid circle are simple, but armed with the knowledge that the lorestone will be destroyed come morning, the Pathfinders are forced to make a hurried march through the night. Eventually, the thick trees, brush, and brambles of the Verduran Forest finally give way to a glassy lake with a small tree-studded island just thirty feet offshore. An improvised bridge of mossy logs stretches toward the island from the near shore, though some of the trunks have tipped nearly vertical into the water, leaving gaps along the makeshift bridge.

Inira and Stonegrin stop the others before they step onto the bridge, pointing out two rope snares coiled among the logs.

The logs are slippery, so I'll take an Acrobatics check to move across them.

"A trap, you say? I'll be sure to be caref-"

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Kaye faceplants almost immediately.

Kaye promptly slips off the log into the water. The snakes hiding in the tree above seize the opportunity.

One of the snakes splashes down into the water and swims lazily in Kaye's direction... while the other slithers along the logs in the direction of the other prey Pathfinders.

Note: lake waters are calm and the pre-dawn gloom provides dim light.

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Laiashi, Inira
2. Snakes
3. Kaye, Stonegrin

Inira aims at the snake in the water and fires a few arrows at it.

Attack Flurry Point Blank Deadly Aim: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 12
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Attack Flurry Point Blank Deadly Aim: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Inira's arrows splash harmlessly into the drink!

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Laiashi, Inira
2. Snakes
3. Kaye, Stonegrin

The Snake soon regrets ever having considered a Dwarf food as Stonegrin swiftly whacks it with the quick one two combo.

Full Attack. Flurry with Sansetsukon. Fight devensvely. AC 20

Attack 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20 Damage 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Attack 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21 Damage 1d10 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

Lai steps forward, drawing one of the daggers at her hip, and does her best to slash down at the snake.

Dagger vs blue: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17 (vs flat-footed, since it hasn't acted)
Damage: 1d4 + 1d6 ⇒ (3) + (6) = 9

They acted in the Surprise round, but that still hits.

Laiashi cuts the thing in half and its lifeblood quickly bleeds out. The other snake calmly snaps at Kaye, injecting venom and water into his veins, before Stonegrin ends its tricks with a great splash.

Bite @ Kaye: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23 HIT Damage: 1d2 - 2 ⇒ (2) - 2 = 0 minimum 1 damage, plus a Fort save!

Out of initiative! Kaye needs a Fort save versus poison and the rest of you need to decide how to get to the island and/or deal with the traps.

Inira calms herself, and starts examining the bridge for traps.

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (5) + 15 = 20
Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (4) + 9 = 13

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (14) + 15 = 29
Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (8) + 9 = 17

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18
Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (7) + 9 = 16

Perception: 1d20 + 15 ⇒ (3) + 15 = 18
Disable Device: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15

Some pretty pathetic roles...

I'll roll for Kaye: Fort: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 4 + 2 = 25 Kaye remains unbothered by the poison, though he is quite wet.

Inira sets about handling the traps and doesn't quite cut one of the ropes all the way through. When she moves on to the next one, she's suddenly yanked ten feet in the air before the rope snaps and she falls into the water next to Kaye. The two soaked Pathfinders join their comrades on the far shore.

Suddenly, a high staccato voice cackles maniacally and calls out from the island. "Too too late, filthy intruders! All your prancing through my beautiful forest, and nothing for you remains! The beautiful, beautiful sun will do my job for me, destroy your precious lorestone as soon as it rises, and you are failures, humans are always failures, always always."

The sky is getting bright -- dawn has almost broken on the forest.

"Hurry, before the sun hits that stone!"

Double move to the altar, look for anything that might be the lorestone.
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

"Poisonous, maybe." Kaye shrugs. "I'll survive." Kaye climbs out of the river, slightly annoyed. "Ah, Inira. No need to join me here, just taking a bath. Needed after four days of travel." Kaye smiles before heading to shore.

Kaye hears the voice taunt him, and he reaches for his mutagen. "Is that true? All we have to do is pick up the lorestone and move it away. Simple enough. What are you going to do about it? Make a stupid rhyme?"

Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

That sounded tougher in my mind...sigh

"Thought you might need help to shore..." Inira mutters.

Getting out, she tries to dry off the basics before hurrying to get moving.

Laiashi sees no sign of the lorestone, nor of any creature. Then she hears faint giggling from somewhere in the air above her, moments before the grass beneath her feet rises up to ensnare her! Reflex save!

For convenience sake, we'll say that the entangle spell covers everywhere inside the druid circle.

The voice that first spoke remains disembodied, huffing and puffing to the far side of the circle, but the giggler pops out of invisibility to fire a bolt at Lai from twenty feet in the air.

Bolt @ Lai: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (17) + 5 = 22 HIT Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 4

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder, Gire
2. Stonegrin, Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp, Reflex save!)

Reflex : 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18

Lai flicks her wrist to free one of her daggers. She pulls another from her waist and throws it at the creature that attacked her.

Since the distance from me to her involves a hypotenus and so on, I'm just going to assume she's within 30 ft but not within 20.
Dagger throw, 3rd range increment: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 - 4 = 2
Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3

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@ Laiashi: yep, sounds good.

Laiashi deftly dodges the writhing grasses and flings a dagger into the air. The blade tumbles end over end into the distant trees.

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder, Gire
2. Stonegrin, Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp)

Inira shoots a cold iron arrow at the giggling fire thrower.

Attack: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9

Inira's arrow zips past the fey to follow the dagger into the forest!

Round I -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder, Gire
2. Stonegrin, Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp)

Double move. I'll be traveling the next few days so please NPC me as needed

Stonegrin stomps towards the druid circle but gets caught up in the wild growth.

Kaye ducks for cover behind one of the pillars in the druid circle, drawing his short spear along the way. He drinks his mutagen, making him a bit more limber but dulling his senses.

Move action to move and draw weapon, standard action to drink the +4 Dex, -2 Wis mutagen.

Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 14

The extremely rapid patter of feet herald the sudden appearance of a small, silver-skinned fey stabbing Stonegrin in the back before springing away, despite the grabby weeds. Stonegrin feels weary all of a sudden, but fights off the urge to nap.

Rapier @ Stonegrin: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 9 + 2 = 31 HIT Confirm: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 9 + 2 = 15 not confirmed Damage: 1d4 - 1 ⇒ (4) - 1 = 3 plus poison

Stonegrin's Fort: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 6 + 3 = 16

The weeds continue to grab at all present. Need a save from Lai.
Stonegrin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 7

The creature flying above follows her leader's lead and targets Stonegrin for her next missile.

Bolt @ Stonegrin: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 MISS

Stonegrin hustles after the small silver fey but can't do much more than reach him in the fighting grasses.

Round II -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder, Gire
2. Stonegrin, Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp, Reflex save!)

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Aw, probably not enough.
Escape Artist (1st move action): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
Escape Artist (2nd move action): 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21

Lai flicks out her other wrist-sheathed dagger (swift action), but during that valuable second the vines reach up and grab her. It takes her several second to free herself again.

Correct. DC for the entangle is 13.

Kaye runs along the perimeter of the camp and hurls a bomb directly at the nearby flying creature.

Ranged Touch, Mutagen, Point Blank Shot: 1d20 + 3 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 3 + 2 + 1 = 17
Fire Damage: 1d6 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 3 + 1 = 7
Miss Direction: 1d8 ⇒ 3
Kaye's Reflex Save if he missed and blew himself up: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
If that hit, Reflex Save DC 14 for half damage. If it missed, the bomb deals 4 damage. Swarms take an extra 50% damage from the bomb. Thanks to his Precise Bombs discovery, Kaye can exclude squares (like his own square) from the blast.

"Hehe." Kaye seems a bit less reserved than usual.

Inira fires two more cold iron arrows at the critter.

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Inira, are you targeting the flying critter or the running critter?

Sorry - same one as before, the flying one.

Apologies for the absence folks! I don't think this will last long, however.

Inira's first arrow sinks into the flying fey with ease, dropping her like a fledgling sparrow. Inira is then able to switch targets to the runner who, while soundly struck, seems only minorly inconvenienced by the blow.

With only one foe still conscious, Kaye too aims for the runner. The quick fey proves a mite too nimble for the lob and the blast both. Stonegrin gets a bit singed.

Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 7
Stonegrin: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17

"Stupid humans!" cries the fey, unhappy that Stonegrin has come so close. With blinding speed, he hustles to the far side of the circle, his legs and body a blur of speed. But there he gets stuck in the tall grasses!

Reflex: 1d20 ⇒ 1 LOL 5% of failure

Stonegrin puffs after him.

Stonegrin: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (11) + 6 = 17

Round III -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder (2 dmg), Gire
2. Stonegrin (2 dmg), Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp)

Kaye creeps along the perimeter and through the bushes, hoping to get a better shot.

Double move, I'm assuming the trees are difficult terrain.

Inira fires off 2 more cold iron arrows at the speedster.

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23
Damage: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Miss Chance: 1d100 ⇒ 30

Inira's second shot finds its mark, and the quickling coughs blood in surprise as the chill arrowhead erupts from his chest! "No! I... will... destroy it!"

Round III -- bold may act!
1. Cyflymder (6 dmg), Gire
2. Stonegrin (2 dmg), Inira, Kaye, Laiashi (6/10 hp)