Letters are sent to intrigued Pathfinder Agents and you are sent to the capital of Nirmathas - Tamran on the shores of Lake Encarthan. Directions lead you to the Forest Bounty, a sizable feast hall in the middle of town. It's not hard to find as its one of the few structures in town that looks like it has gotten it's facelift from rickety wooden structure to something that could survive a storm off the lake.
A hardy welcome greats you and most of the place seems to be filled with Ranger types. The human male motions you all to take a seat and the table is filled with a decent selection of foods.
"You've come equipped, and not from any of the companies that I know of which would be all of them. So your either travelers or the Pathfinders we hired for a bit of an investigation." He mentions still standing beside the table. "I'd eat up, its going to be a bit of a hike for you all in a bit. I'm Weslen Gavirk, one of the Rangers about these parts. We have a Garrison a bit of the ways down the river that we haven't heard of and one of your Captain's mentioned that he might have some not-quite wet behind the ears types that could help us out since were a little short handed."
"Don't let me ruin the appetite, eat up, I have a map ready to lead you on the way, and a boat that will get you as close as I can to the garrison. Introduce yourselves! Let me know if you think of anything that you need."
Male CG Half-Orc Unchained Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 6.1 | AC 21 (T 13/FF 19) | CMB +11 CMD 24 (FF 22)+2 CMB/CMD Sunder | HP 65/65 | Init +3 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +2 | Perception +5 | Darkvision 60' | Speed 30' | Orc Ferocity 1/1 | Rage 12/16 | Draw Weapon as Free Action during Surprise | +2 STR & Ignore 2 Hardness to break object+Smasher: Ignore 6 Hardness | Damage Reduction (3/-), (6/lethal) | Extreme Cold Endurance(Cold Resistance: 1)| Active Conditions:
Yaiho is a hulking, tall half-orc with extra long tusk protruding from his mouth. When he smiles, it often sends shivers down people's spin for those that don't know him. He is wearing a very elaborate and shiny breastplate that seems very much out of place for this barbarian. He carries with him an impressive maul that looks like it has taken many lives and destroyed many things but still remains intact.
After listening to Gavirk, Yaiho nods when directed to introduce himself. "Yaiho is Yaiho Crasher. Yaiho crush things. You point, Yaiho crush."
He doesn't say anymore, still not sure about this new group after being part of one Society group for so long.
Yaiho was in a dedicated group starting at creation all the way up until his last Chronicle. The group was designed to stay together until around 13th level. Unfortunately, real life happened and the GM had to break the group up. So Yaiho actually only been on missions with about 6 other Society members until now.
@ GM: It should be noted that Yaiho has a permanent DR 1 and DR 2/lethal.
In contrast to the massive hulk that is Yaiho, a small little grippli (small, even for a grippli) is... perched next to him. Rather than sitting properly in the seat, the little frog man is perched on the back of his chair. Occasionally the frog leans over, stabs a morsel of food and returns to his perch where he consumes it.
The frog is dressed in leathers with a shiny buckler strapped to his arm, but otherwise is covered from head to his tiny webbed toes all in black.
"It is nice to meet someone as big as you to join us on our quest. I may be just a Little Frog, but I will do my best."
Male CG Half-Orc Unchained Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 6.1 | AC 21 (T 13/FF 19) | CMB +11 CMD 24 (FF 22)+2 CMB/CMD Sunder | HP 65/65 | Init +3 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +2 | Perception +5 | Darkvision 60' | Speed 30' | Orc Ferocity 1/1 | Rage 12/16 | Draw Weapon as Free Action during Surprise | +2 STR & Ignore 2 Hardness to break object+Smasher: Ignore 6 Hardness | Damage Reduction (3/-), (6/lethal) | Extreme Cold Endurance(Cold Resistance: 1)| Active Conditions:
Yaiho smiles down at the Little Frog, "Yaiho not see likes of you before. But companion is companion. Yaiho looks forward to fighting beside Little Frog."
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
If anybody looks at the door they suddenly see a smiling and freezing halfling lady in robes running all alone through the door. She does not wait and enters with a wide grin.
"Oh my fellow pathfinders - I am so sorry to be too late ... or too early?! My team just returned from a mission and I was sent to join your group. I have to admit that I would have wished for better weather but at least I was told that I would able to find suitable clothes for the journey here with you."
She grins again and continues. "Oh where are my manners ... again starting to talk without even thinking."
Shaking her head in shame she looks at all of you and bows: "Enora is my name and I am a little arcanist with a taste for magical phenomena!"
Status:
| HP 27/27 + Temp. HP 0/0 | Spells 1st 5/5, 2nd 3/3 | Arcane Reservoir 5/7 | CLW wand 10/10 | Mage armor wand 5/5 | Arcane Bond 1/1 | Active Conditions: none
male Halfling gun 5 | HP 46 | AC 22; Touch 17; FF 17 | F +8; R +10; W +5 | CMB +5; CMD 20 | Speed 30 ft | Init +6 | Perc +11 | Stealth: +4 gunslinger 5
"Hi all..hi Enora and Yaiho" A halfling enters the room wearing armor and has a backpack on his back. He has musket in his hang. [b]"Evan goodbarrel. I'm good with his. He holds up his musket"
Male CG Half-Orc Unchained Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 6.1 | AC 21 (T 13/FF 19) | CMB +11 CMD 24 (FF 22)+2 CMB/CMD Sunder | HP 65/65 | Init +3 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +2 | Perception +5 | Darkvision 60' | Speed 30' | Orc Ferocity 1/1 | Rage 12/16 | Draw Weapon as Free Action during Surprise | +2 STR & Ignore 2 Hardness to break object+Smasher: Ignore 6 Hardness | Damage Reduction (3/-), (6/lethal) | Extreme Cold Endurance(Cold Resistance: 1)| Active Conditions:
Yaiho looks at another small one joining them and he wonders if he will be a giant among the entire group. He smiles down at the newcomer but looks apprehensive with noticing the musket.
"Welcome Evan. Yaiho wonders if you have other weapon besides musket. Previous companion had musket also. He missed most of the time or thing break."
hehe... Had a gunslinger in last group, he rolled a lot of 1s.
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
”Oh you are all so kind!! I am very much looking forward to working with you! Our joint assets will surely lead to tremendous synergy effects!“ she says beaming.
It might be worth sending a PM to the players that haven't checked in. They might not even realize that the gameplay thread was added. That's usually why I create the gameplay thread during recruitment, so players can dot and delete. That way the game shows up on their campaigns page.
Male CG Half-Orc Unchained Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 6.1 | AC 21 (T 13/FF 19) | CMB +11 CMD 24 (FF 22)+2 CMB/CMD Sunder | HP 65/65 | Init +3 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +2 | Perception +5 | Darkvision 60' | Speed 30' | Orc Ferocity 1/1 | Rage 12/16 | Draw Weapon as Free Action during Surprise | +2 STR & Ignore 2 Hardness to break object+Smasher: Ignore 6 Hardness | Damage Reduction (3/-), (6/lethal) | Extreme Cold Endurance(Cold Resistance: 1)| Active Conditions:
Unfortunately that doesn't always work either. I've dotted in a few gameplay threads and wasn't notified or even showed up new post on thread. If I am lucky, the GM will PM that the game has started but there have been a few times where an ALT replaced me instead of the GM PMing.
But I know two of the characters that originally signed up are still in their Gameday Session 1 game. One has posted she was dropping out because of it. The other not.
The next day you are met up with a boat that will take you down river.
The forest thins out ahead, revealing a wide river valley cleared of trees. The path descends for a quarter mile to a single stone bridge that spans the river, and then continues up a small hill. Atop this barren hill sits a small, two-story fort surrounded by a thick, partially collapsed outer wall. If you are taking time to look at it, the wall is about 15 foot high. The area immediately surrounding the keep is bare of any forest or larger plants for about 150 feet around.
Perception 20:
There are multiple humanoids figures that are moving on the upper ramparts of the keep. They also appear to be stationed at places where there are breaks in the wall. You cannot tell from this distance what type of humanoids they are.
Male CG Half-Orc Unchained Barbarian (Invulnerable Rager) 6.1 | AC 21 (T 13/FF 19) | CMB +11 CMD 24 (FF 22)+2 CMB/CMD Sunder | HP 65/65 | Init +3 | Fort +7 Ref +4 Will +2 | Perception +5 | Darkvision 60' | Speed 30' | Orc Ferocity 1/1 | Rage 12/16 | Draw Weapon as Free Action during Surprise | +2 STR & Ignore 2 Hardness to break object+Smasher: Ignore 6 Hardness | Damage Reduction (3/-), (6/lethal) | Extreme Cold Endurance(Cold Resistance: 1)| Active Conditions:
Perception DC20:1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
Enjoying the boat ride but as soon as the keep appears, he becomes all business. Yaiho quickly points out multiple figures on the ramparts of the keep, but is unable to determine what species they are.
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
”Wow! You really have very good eyes! Do we need to be worried or is that normal?“
"OK, I can probably only do this once however. It is a lot of ground to cover... Unless one of you can make me disappear for longer."
Xiao attempts to use a few wands on himself first.
wand of longstrider Use Magic Device:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19 Use Magic Device:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29
wand of heightened awareness Use Magic Device:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (2) + 10 = 12 Use Magic Device:1d20 + 10 ⇒ (17) + 10 = 27
Assuming no one else can turn him invisible, he then causes himself to disappear from view and heads toward the keep.
Round 1: Vanishing trick (4 rounds) move 40 feet. Round 2: Move 80 feet Round 3: Move 30 feet towards the wall and then up the wall 15 feet. (Climb 26) Round 4: Look around, activate vanishing trick again (4 more rounds). Round 5: Move, look around more. Round 6: Move, look around more. Round 7: drop down from the wall. Move 80 feet away. Round 8: Finish moving back toward the party.
Not sure how many rolls you want me to make, but my Stealth while invisible (moving at full speed) would be +31 and my Acrobatics, possibly needed while drooping down, is +12. However I do have boots of the cat and I treat falls as half as high due to the glider trait, so probably no chance of taking damage.
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
Wow! Xiao is awesome! 5 people would be better Evan.
Once you get up close and around the keep Xiao can see the humanoids on the walls do look a bit off. They have a greenish brown tint to their skin and a bit of a smished up face.
Know (local) DC 10:
These be hobgoblins. No it's not normal for them to hold a human keep.
I'd say give me 4 perception check with all the bonuses and I'll let you know what you find on the way around, one check per side pretty much if it were square.
"Hobgoblins. I don't think they are supposed to be there. I did find a hidden tunnel inside. It looks like we still have to get close to the wall though. Then again, they sent us to find out what happened, and we just did so... mission accomplished? Should we go back and report what we found? Maybe they will ask us to do something about it, but maybe no."
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
"I would definitely also try to go in and check what we find! Maybe somebody needs our help!" Enora says concerned.
She immediately starts to walk in the direction of the secret door that Xiao found.
OK, Is it even possible to sneak up on that door? I thought you had to walk out into the open where there was no cover to hide in order to reach it. What I was going to suggest is that we camp out overnight so that Enora can change her level 2 spell to invisibility. She could cast it on the 3 of you while I used my vanishing trick.
Yes* it's possible to sneak up on the door. At this level seasoned adventurers would know to go under the cover of night at least. As well as shortest distance from the wall to the forest.
You figure the number of hobgoblins to be two every 20 feet or so on the wall given the extras for where the wall is crumbling a bit.
"Hey you hear something?" One mentions. "It sounded like your stomach." Another one pipped up. "Aye, pipe down over there and quit your bickerings." From another direction.
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
"Uupps, my halfling mind to get going was a little to fast I suppose. OK! Let us wait until the sun has set!" Enora nods.
You can get to the opening, and you are led through a small tunnel. The tunnel leads out from a trap door in the middle of a hallway split going in either direction.
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
”Yes, please scout ahead! We will wait here!“ Enora says silently.
I can edit the map, I'm not certain I understand it though. Assuming we are following the walls I will start to move north? towards the curve in the walls. (Perception +10, Stealth +16).
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
”Yaiho, Xiao surely needs more space!“ Enora says silently.
"Here you are!" whispers a voice not far behind the group of pathfinders.
"I'm Zhatara. We were to met in Tamaran but when I got there I was informed you had already started the mission. I had to chase you all the way up here through the wilderness... not something I cared for to be honest! Anyway I'm here now, what's the mission's status?"
”Enora” | Female LN Small Halfling Arcanist 4 | HP 27| AC 13, T 13, FF 11 (Mage armor: AC 17, T 13, FF 15) | CMD 12 | F +4 R +5 W +5; +2 vs. fear | Init +2 | Perc +1 | Speed 30ft |
"Ah of course! Great to have you with us Zhatara! We are in the middle of the infiltration to find out what happened here. Xiao is our super scout!" Enora says smiling.
Enora casts 'false life' on herself.
False life temp. HP:1d10 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
Then she uses her wand of Mage Armor on herself.
Then she uses her arcane reservoir and her quick study exploit to memorize 'mirror image'.
Status:
| HP 27/27 + Temp. HP 14/14 | Spells 1st 5/5, 2nd 2/3 | Arcane Reservoir 4/7 | CLW wand 10/10 | Mage armor wand 4/5 | Arcane Bond 1/1 | Active Conditions: False Life (4 hours), Mage Armor (1 hour)
"We are scouting ahead then. Very well I shall help you at the best of my abilities!" says Zhatara joining her companions and touching Yaiho on the shoulder as she passes by him...
Implanted the Gift of Will mesmerist trick on Yaiho
Gift of Will:
A small portion of the mesmerist’s vast mental power buttresses his ally’s mind. The mesmerist can trigger this trick when the subject attempts a Will saving throw or a Sense Motive check, or is targeted by an Intimidate check to demoralize her. For a saving throw, the subject uses the mesmerist’s Will saving throw bonus instead of her own. For a Sense Motive check or Intimidate check, she adds the mesmerist’s Charisma bonus as a morale bonus on the check or to the DC. The mesmerist can’t implant this trick on himself.
As you walk around the ring, you do find an older white hair human man blood spattered and leaning back into a corner of the passageway. He still has his longsword in hand covered in hobgoblin blood. He holds the sword out at the sound of footsteps and calls out "Who goes there!"
"Not hobgoblins. Friends perhaps. Or at least not the kind of people willing to kill you on sight. We are pathfinders. And you are..." Zhatara says, clearly not impressed by the bloodied warrior.
