*Splash*
The Commerce District of Niswan is packed with storefronts and stands populated with busy merchants and skilled artisans. The scents of spicy marinades and lush fruits mix with the smell of the sea, and the cacophony of shouts from vendors is almost overwhelming. The crowded streets wind away from the water, eventually leading to a quiet road with a view of Niswan’s famous terraced gardens. The Pathfinder Lodge sits at the end of this road. Inside the lodge, Venture-Captain Rashmivati Melipdra, a heavyset, middle-aged Vudrani woman, stacks books onto a shelf in her new office. Open boxes filled with books, weapons, unusual stones and crystals, and other knickknacks lay strewn throughout the room, and a brightly colored bird sits on a perch in one corner.
As she offers you tea and crunchy cookies, please introduce yourselves!
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A tall, pale sknned man swathed in multi coloured garundi robes over a simple breastplate enters the room. He bows to the woman and graciously accepts the tea and cookies with a smile. As he waits for his compatriots to arrive he meanders through the room, gently touching the various books, trinkets and crystals scattered throughout the room.
He closes his eyes and breathes in the ocean air mixed with spices. Your hospitality is most appreciated Venture Captain, you have quite a collection here. I trust my companions will not be too long in arriving but I admit the temptation to spend my days diving into your archive here is very strong.
He pauses, My apologies, where are my manners, my name is Ammensura Ibn Jad, also known as the Verdite Sage, although I am sure you knew that already...
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Ducking under the door frame, the large, bald northman enters the hall. He bears extensive runic facial tattoos and heavy woad on the lower part of his jaw and down his neck. He wears a fur collared cloak with a silvery metal breast plate, leaving his thick arms free of encumbrance, and his simple, yet sturdy, cloth breaches are tucked into his heavy leather boots.
Resting on his right shoulder is a massive metal earthbreaker and in his left hand he carries a large metal tankard.
he booms! Seeing only the two others present he smiles and nods to them. Catching sight of the brightly colored bird, he cocks his head slightly, never loosing his big toothy grin.
"Tea? Cookies?", he says bemusedly as he grabs a handful of cookies and shakes his head to decline the tea. "The only drink that passes these lips is either water or wine, or something I can at least pretend is wine." and at that he drops his heavy weapon to the ground and takes a small ceramic flask from a satchel at his hip and somehow fills his incredibly large tankard to the brim. He quickly stoppers the flask and returns it to the satchel before taking his first swallow. "Now that is my kind'a tea!"
"So what's the work looking like this time?" he asks with a sudden and deadly seriousness.
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A young woman wearing sensible clothing and travel-stained armor strides into the room. Her only affectation is a wide-brimmed hat, held in place by several wickly sharp hatpins. A tattered notebook is thrust into her waistband.
Her lips quirk into a grin as she sees the spread of refreshments.
"Ah, what a what a warm and thoughtful welcome! Tinkapinelle Bly, at your service, and happy to catch some solid sustancence when she can."
Looking at the other Pathfinder who have arrived, and at the collection of oddments scattered around the office, she adds:
"I can already tell this is going to make quite the story."
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A pale aasmiran woman walks into the room, her robes of scarlet and gold gives her away as a agent of Sarenrae.
"A pleasure to meet you all. I am Zavita. I am to act as your medic on this adventure."
She takes a seat and then reaches for a cup of tea and a cookie, "I do appreciate the spread Rashmivati."
Venture-Captain Melipdra smiles and pours more tea.
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A dusty dwarf with a mess of cropped blond hair takes a seat. As he does so, a very large metallic snake with razor sharp scales slithers in behind him.
"Refreshments? Why, don't mind if I do!" He grabs a couple of cookies and a cup of tea and they disappear in no time.
"Don't mind Monty there. He's not much of a conversationalist, but not a bad friend to have from time to time. He won't much care for cookies, but a nice.." Suddenly he reaches to pull the snake back from where it is coiling ready to strike. "Monty, leave that bird alone!"
Venture-Captain Melipdra reveals a polished, pale gray stone sphere covered in faint ancient writing and runes. “I bought this in the market about a month ago, from fishers who dragged it up in their nets. This is most unusual writing: a combination of ancient Vudrani and Aquan. Not all of the writing makes sense to me, but it does clearly spell out the name “Monastery of Unbreaking Waves.” When I was a student at the Monastery of Unblinking Flame, I always thought it was odd that there were schools for air, earth, and fire, but not water. And now it turns out that there once was! Finding any information about the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves was extremely difficult. I had to call in favors to get access to the private archives of the Monastery of Unblinking Flame, but I finally found mention of the Unbreaking Waves. It seems that over a thousand years ago, the school was destroyed by a magically induced tsunami that swept the buildings into the sea and killed most of the monks. The other schools determined that the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves caused its own downfall and buried most records of it to prevent a future disaster.
“With all due respect to the Houses of centuries past, something about that story isn’t sitting right with me. What could any of the Houses of Perfection have done that was so terrible as to cause such a fate? I contacted Ashasar of the Concordance of the Elements to see if perhaps the marids knew anything about what happened to the school. He learned that a few marids remembered the event, and they agreed it was unlikely that the school brought the tsunami down upon itself. They believe that it was caused by someone else, perhaps someone jealous of the monastery’s power.”
Melipdra examines the stone sphere in her hand once more before continuing. “I also spent some time studying the object itself, and I believe that it is a key. More than that, I believe that it is also trying to go somewhere. Watch.” She places the sphere on her uncluttered desk, and after a moment, it slowly but indisputably moves on its own. It very gradually picks up speed until it rolls completely off the desk, but Venture-Captain Melipdra easily catches it.
“I’d like you to take this key and find out where it is trying to go, and what it opens. See what became of the Monastery of Unbreaking Waves. I’ve carried it as far as the coast, so you’ll need to take a ship to go further. I’ve arranged for one that leaves tomorrow morning to carry you from Niswan. I suspect the key’s final destination lies beneath the water, so prepare yourselves accordingly. I have potions of water breathing for you, along with potion sponges! If you don’t need those, I also have potions of cure serious wounds.”
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"I'm sure these will come in handy. I like it when a Venture Captain knows their stuff." and with a nod Braxus takes the offered potions and sponges.
He looks over to Zavita as she prepares her potion sponge and does his best to mimic her, only instead he prepares both the water breathing and the cure serious potions into sponges.
"You know a good ship and captain to get us on our way?" he asks?
After the VC has a chance to reply...
"Well, I am sure one of you clever folk have more questions, but I am ready to go as is!" and with that he hefts his earthbreaker and takes the stone sphere from Melipdra, quickly stuffing it in a pouch.
Suddenly he looks down to his belt. "Hey! You weren't lying, this thing really wants to go!" he offers as the stone begins to pull in the direction of the coast.
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Nellie looks up from her notebook, in which she was furiously scribbling notes and quotations from the Venture-Captain.
"Lost temple, mysterious artifact, and magical disaster. Imagine how people will eat up the reports if we get to the bottom of this!"
Nellie shares what she remembers about the monasteries and the area, takes the offered water breathing potion, and prepares the potion sponge.
We'll have to watchour backs while we explore. The Obari Ocean is not the tamest body of water. I wonder if the disappearance of the monastery had something to do with rivalry between the Houses? Or perhaps a disappointed aspirant, shunned by the monastery's teachers!
Somewhat carried away by her own enthusiasm, Nellie begins jotting down several different possibile titles for their report in her notebook.
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Ammen pulls out several volumes of the pathfinder chronicles from a handy haversack and spreads them around himself, perched on the edge of a desk. Hmm, I know I remember reading something about these Monasteries...
Seems these contests between the Houses were a bit heated in days gone past. That might have had something to do with it...
Hmm, I seem to recall mention of some brine dragon lording it over the local merfolk too. We had best be on our guard once we drop beneath the waves.
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"Would you happen to have access to any texts of hydromancy or such, that I might instead learn the magic of water breathing for myself? That I would appreciate most of all," Says a strange, small, dark man in strange, dark finery in a strange, small voice. His doll-like features are wickedly sharp, almost appearing two-dimensional from the side, and even more striking than his indigo skin and intense purple eyes is his wild hair that somehow manages to be vibrant black and lambent white simultaneously. Funny that none of you seemed to have noticed his presence until now. There he is, though, a cup of tea in his spidery, doll-like hand as he and the parrot in the corner seem to be studying each other.
Melipdra responds, "I'm afraid I'm not a wizard myself, and I don't keep a spell book. One potion should be plenty though! It's not as though you'll have to swim all the way there! I've arranged for a ship: the Flawless Diamond. If none of you can sail, you might want to arrange to hire a captain. Or you can just try your luck! Pathfinders are resourceful." She sips her tea.
The parrot continues to stare at Sihir.
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"LETS GO GET OURSELVES A CAPTAIN!" Braxus says in resounding agreement.
Then he adds as an afterthought, "I mean hire a captain, not just bash one and bag one. The docks'll be a good place for finding one between ships right? Good, let's go!"
He toss the VC a grin and a nod, then ducks under the door frame and leaves.
You can find a captain named Thernalore Vamys, who is happy to take the job.
And, for reference, underwater rules!
Movement: Creatures with a swim speed can use it to move freely underwater. A creature without a swim speed that succeeds at a Swim check can move up to a quarter of its speed as a move action or half its speed as a full-round action. The DC of this check is 10 unless otherwise stated. If the creature has a surface to walk along, such as the bottom of a body of water, it can move at half speed without a check.
Melee Attacks: Natural attacks or attacks with bludgeoning and slashing weapons take a –2 penalty and deal half damage. Attacks that deal piercing damage don’t take these penalties.
Ranged Attacks: Thrown weapons are completely ineffective underwater. Attacks with ranged weapons except underwater crossbows (Pathfinder RPG Ultimate Equipment 39–40) take a –2 penalty on attack rolls for every 5 feet of water they pass through, in addition to the normal penalties from range.
Spellcasting: A creature that cannot breathe water must succeed at a concentration check (DC = 15 + spell level) to cast a spell underwater.
Fire: Nonmagical fire (including alchemist’s fire) does not burn underwater. Spells and spell-like abilities with the fire descriptor are not effective underwater unless the caster succeeds at a caster level check (DC = 20 + spell level). On a success,, the spell produces a bubble of steam instead of its usual effect but otherwise functions as described. A supernatural fire effect is not effective underwater unless its description states otherwise.
Freedom of Movement: The spell freedom of movement negates the penalty on melee attack rolls with bludgeoning and slashing weapons and allows creatures to move freely in all directions as if they had a swim speed equal to their base speed. Such creatures automatically succeed at Swim checks.
Invisibility: An invisible creature displaces water and leaves a visible, body-shaped absence of water where it is located. The creature gains concealment (20% miss chance) rather than total concealment (50% miss chance).
Off-Balance: “Off-balance” is a special state (though not technically a condition) listed in the Combat Adjustments Underwater table on page 433 of the Pathfinder RPG Core Rulebook. A creature off-balance in the water loses its Dexterity bonus to AC, its opponents gain a +2 bonus on attack rolls against it, and attacks it makes with piercing weapons are made at a –2 penalty and deal half damage. A creature typically becomes off-balance by failing a Swim check, which makes it off-balance for a round, even if it has a neutral buoyancy and doesn’t sink or rise.
”I wish I knew! You might want to prepare for a couple of days at sea.”
Captain Vamys joins you early the next morning on the deck of the Flawless Diamond. "Look at those skies. This should be a good day for sailing."
You need to do two things! Someone needs to hold the sphere and determine which direction it's pulling you. You can do this by reading the magical energies with a Spellcraft or Knowledge (arcana) check, or by sensing the small motion of the sphere with a Sleight of Hand or Dexterity check. Someone also needs to steer the ship in the right direction with a Profession (sailor) or slightly harder Survival check. (This can be Captain Vamys, with a +7 in Profession (sailor).) You may aid with any of the appropriate checks, but you can only aid on one of the two tasks, if that makes sense!
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"I know which end of a wand is up, but I'm no expert on ancient magical keys. Ammen? Sihir? What do you make of this sphere, my learned friends?"
Nellie leaves the sphere to those who may know more about it and stands at the railing with Captain Vamys.
"Seems I spend more time on a ship these days than writing up reports, which is fine by me!"
Nellie engages the Captain in a surprisingly detailed discussion of dead reckoning and the currents off Jalmeray.
Captain Vamys easily assists. Nellie, Ammen, and Vamys together can easily direct the ship.
Do we have a main roller to sense the direction of the sphere?
Both checks succeed, and the party continues along, following the pull of the mysterious stone orb. The sun shines brightly, and a steady wind fills the sails. As the ship cuts through the cerulean waves, a small island comes into view on the horizon.
Suddenly, the runes on the stone sphere light up and a powerful wave of magical energy sweeps over the area. The sea begins to roil tumultuously, as though responding to a large earthquake.
I need another round of the same checks, please! (Sensing the direction of the sphere, and steering the ship) The checks are a little harder because of the environmental conditions.
Nellie and Ammen easily steer the ship! But can the rest of the group sense the direction the orb is pulling? (Reminder: Spellcraft, Knowledge (arcana), Sleight of Hand, or Dexterity)
The group is able to deftly navigate out of the hazardous region! But this odd activity did not go unnoticed; something is approaching the ship underwater!
Nellie
Ammen
Henrick
Zavita
Braxus
Very Large Turtle
Sihir
The creature is underwater! (This blocks line of effect for spells, among other things.) It has a large turtle shell and a dragon face: some kind of...turtle dragon? Knowledge (Arcana) to know more!
Please place your icons on the ship!
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Ammen watches the approach of the giant turtle like dragon creature with a degree of horror.
He weaves a spell about himself and rises quickly into the air, out of the way of the monsters hopefully.