Ith's PFS pbp (Inactive)

Game Master ithuriel

The last man standing hesitates when Alie tries to reason with him, but his eyes harden and in the end he lifts his sap to club her. He doesn't have time to do much more than that though before Sekhemre catches him with a slash across his midsection that bisects the man's leather armor and cuts deep into his abdomen. He looks down at the blood suddenly pouring from his stomach and passes out from pain and shock.

"Pathfinders? Oh thank the gods! Finally!" Rising from behind the counter where he was cowering, Senzer wipes his brow and jogs through the shop careful to jump over the pooling blood on his way to the door. He slides the deadbolt into place and flips a sign in the window around to indicate the shop is closed before moving around the shop pulling the curtains closed at each window. "I've been expecting you ever since I broke contact. My son took deadly ill months ago and none of my usual tonics or remedies had any effect on his sickness. He just kept getting weaker." Senzer shakes his head, "I was desperate and that is exactly when Lura made me an offer. She said she could get a tonic to keep my son Roald alive, but her price was an exclusive arrangement supplying her gambling den with narcotics. We agreed on those terms- I have no interest in making narcotics for money, but to save my son it wasn't even a consideration. Her cure," he spits the word, "has done exactly as promised. It has kept my son alive and nothing more. He never gets better, but he isn't getting worse either. In the meantime, Lura's demand for drugs has grown exponentially. After the first week, she sent her men to watch me day and night and I've been working 14 hours a day every day to keep getting the tonic for Roald. The same tonic, which I recently analyzed to discover she's been diluting with cheap rum to the point of being nearly worthless! The tyrant HAS a real cure. I detect trace amounts of it in the swill she's sending over here, but I can't replicate it and I can't exactly march over there to her bar and demand it."

He looks at the dead and dying bodies of the mercenaries on the floor of his shop, "She'll kill my son for this." He looks up directly at Kayluss, "I worked undercover supplying the Society for THREE YEARS! They were supposed to move me and my son to Absalom! Where have you been?! I want to help you, I really do, but you owe me. If you want any more help with that expedition I was supplying, I need that cure for my son. The real cure. And I have to know that Lura Ichon won't feed us to the crocodiles as soon as you leave town."

He wasn't going to give up or run away, but Alie's Intimidate left him shaken.

You have it right about stabilization. Both took some degree of lethal damage, but not nearly enough to require stabilization rolls. I'm not sure how long it is supposed to take to wake up from a nonlethal knock out, but one hour for Fog to naturally heal up 1 nl hp back to 0 seems like way too much to me. I say he wakes up once you spend some time outside of combat to rouse him.

Sekhemre listens to Senzer's pronouncements pensively.

"Well then. It sounds like we will need to... deal.. with this Lura, both to eliminate her threat to you and your son, and to acquire the cure for him. Where are we likely to find her?"

Fog wakes up at about the "She'll kill my son.." part, and shakes his head grog-illy.

"Have no fear my friend, as you can see, we don't take kindly to threatening behaviour, and when we are prepared, we react to it a damn site better too. We will do what we can for your son, and for getting you both away safely."

"Lura runs a bar and gambling den called The Sanguine Pit on the river docks. It's a bloodsport kind of place. She's an Aspis Trade Captain so... be careful. Lura is the one with a mind for business. She's a shark, but watch out for her bodyguard. I once saw that amazonian giantess break a table in half with a man's body for not being able to cover his bet. Then he had to fight a rabid chimp in the pit. That was one of the worst things I've ever seen in my life."

Sek

Once we clear the bodies out, I'll fire off a channel energy burst to heal any lethal damage anyone has taken, and get the non-lethal reduced down for Fog and Waldi, then we wait a few hours, do a bit of prep and go see this lady in the evening? Once that is done, I assume this man can help us with the supply lines that are our actual misson? What does everyone think?

Yes- a channel will heal lethal and non lethal at the same time. Give it a roll to see how much you managed.
What are you guys planning on doing about the bodies exactly?
This guy was part of a secondary mission for the PFS. He isn't the guy who can supply you 2 tons of food, water & supplies. Zey recommended you deal with House Cartahegn for that and you still have to find Raimondo Scevola who has been paid to put together a train of mules or horses to transport the goods to the dig site.

Channel: 1d6 ⇒ 3

Just making sure we don't go off on a tangent and get ourselves killed for no reason ;)

Sekhemre fully healed
Fog 3/10 (nonlethal damage only)
Wadi 2/9 (nonlethal damage only)

Wadi struggles to his feet, a little unsteadily as his head is still pounding. Once he has been filled in on the situation, he nods his head in agreement.

"We will help you Senzer, as it is the right thing to do. As for the bodies..." Wadi shrugs, "Do you know of a place we could dispose of them, like an alleyway or somesuch?"

"Or a tub of Alchemical reagents..." :)

"This may be Bloodcove, but dragging bodies through the street in broad daylight is still not anything I want to chance. The city guard works for the Consortium, and if they would investigate anything it would be deaths of their own members especially if they find out Pathfinders were involved. You might be long gone, but my son and I will be here and have to deal with the consequences. There is a chemical drain in my laboratory that empties into the freestanding water of the mangrove roots below. I could dissolve the flesh from their bones, but it is going to take a long time. It's too risky! If you fail, Lura will catch me red handed soaking her men in acid. No... that's no good." He stops to consider, "Help me pull the bodies into my laboratory and I'll tie and weight them. After dark they have to go into the sea. If you don't make it back I have a fisherman friend with a boat who owes me big."

"This may be Bloodcove, but dragging bodies through the street in broad daylight is still not anything I want to chance. The city guard works for the Consortium, and if they would investigate anything it would be deaths of their own members especially if they find out Pathfinders were involved. You might be long gone, but my son and I will be here and have to deal with the consequences. There is a chemical drain in my laboratory that empties into the freestanding water of the mangrove roots below. I could dissolve the flesh from their bones, but it is going to take a long time. It's too risky! If you fail, Lura will catch me red handed soaking her men in acid. No... that's no good." He stops to consider, "Help me pull the bodies into my laboratory and I'll tie and weight them. After dark they have to go into the sea. If you don't make it back I have a fisherman friend with a boat who owes me big."

"That does sound like a sensible plan."

Fog, Kayluss, Aldred:

Hear are my heal checks for Fog and Wadi to boost there hp. Useing four uses of my healer's Kit
Heal Fog:1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 + 2 = 11
Heal Wadi:1d20 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 + 2 = 8
These can either be main rolls of aids either way help is appreciated
DC 20 to heal 1hp DC25 for 3hp

We need:
- Rolls to determine if Kayluss is able to heal or help heal Fog and Wadi further with his healer's kit.
- IC consensus on where you are going next.
- Possibly some kind of action from Kayluss, Fog, and/or Aldred.
- Then when you leave this shop, everyone will need to make a Diplomacy or Appraise check to maintain your cover.

“I’d rather we didn’t go around killing anyone … else,” says Aldred, looking down sadly at the bloody bodies for a moment, before rolling up his sleeves, preparing to help move them. “But a boy’s life is in danger; we must help. I’d prefer if we could come up with a plan that didn’t involve killing this Lura. Perhaps we can convince her that continuing what she has been doing will not be in her best interests. We must be careful not to reveal ourselves as Pathfinders though. Hmmm … how long, do you think, before these three are noticed missing?”

Aid Another, Heal: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16, 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8.
I can use a scroll or potion of CLW on one of the two if needs be, but if Fog regains consciousness after a few minutes it is probably more efficient for him to do the healing.

“We’ll help you Senzer,” says Aldred. “We’ll find a way to get your son back, get the cure, and get Lura off your back. You’re right, the Society does owe you for your help in supplying potions to the Azlant Ridge site … but beyond that it is the right thing to do. However, the Society does need you to stay here for a little longer, your work has been too valuable. We’ll help you either way, but can we count on you? Now, the Sanguine Pit … what times does it operate? Will we normally find Lura there? Will we recognize her? Beyond being the person with the Amazonian giantess bodyguard that is …”

Ith, Kayless, Fog:

Heal on Myself: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19
Heal on Waldi: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (4) + 8 = 12

"It would be good if we had some leaverage to use against this Lura."

"If Lura has a mind for business, she might be willing to deal. Is there anythign we have that might interest her into doing a little wheeling and dealing, to our advantage?"

Wadi looks thoughtful, "I do not think we have anything to offer her in trade, although we could offer to do her a favor. However, I think such a favor would be distasteful, at best."

"If you can GUARANTEE me that Lura won't be a problem, I'll stay until the expedition is finished. The Sanguine Pit doesn't keep normal business hours per se. As long as someone is spending the place is open. Usually closes around daybreak, opens around noon."

"You won't have any problem picking out Lura. She's short- a chunky little red head, but she's got a runic tattoo right in the middle of her forehead- glows blue. Bellu, the bodyguard, has a matching one."

Kayluss, Fog, Wadi-

Fog adjusted to 4/10

“I wonder if Lura would stick to a deal, keep her word ... say if we could challenge her to some sort of contest, with the stakes being that she gives us what we want if we win ... of course, the trick would be finding something that we know we can win but that she thinks she can.”
Aldred looks thoughtful, but obviously nothing comes immediately to mind.

“It sounds as though the woman is thoroughly evil, and we may leave the world a better place if it comes to us needing to get rid of her permanently. But I would prefer to think of other options. Going in there to assassinate her does not sit well with me ... assuming we could even survive such an attempt.”

Ith, Kayluss and Fog:

In case things move along quickly when I am off line ... as often happens ... OOC I am happy with an approach which sees us taking Lura out of the equation permanently, but being a good guy and a diplomat Aldred is trying to think of other approaches. Sounds like she is a gambler, so I am wondering if we might be able to challenge her – maybe pit some of our guys against her bodyguard or her rabid chimps or something, or some other physical challenge. I’m just not certain we could trust her word to leave our friend here alone in such a case.

For when we are ready to move on again, Diplomacy check for disguise: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Does Lura have any rivals here in Bloodcove? Someone we could either work with or frame for her death.

"Any Trade Captain could be a rival for another depending on what kind of advantage they saw in it and which way the wind was blowing that day. I wouldn't know the political lay of the land though. Try to keep my head down and go about my own business."

"You won't have any problem picking out Lura. She's short- a chunky little red head, but she's got a runic tattoo right in the middle of her forehead- glows blue. Bellu, the bodyguard, has a matching one."

What sort of knowledge check would be required to work out she is a summoner then? Perhaps that could give us a hand. Any "How to stop an Eidolon indefinitely" books out there? :)

It's a good question. Kn Arcana is the skill. Again I won't tell you the exact DC as it is based on CR and gives away too much metagame info, but hitting the base DC will give you very basic, but useful information. For every 5 you beat it by I'll reveal more and more.

At a glance that roll comes down to Alie with Aldred as a possible assist or second try if she really fails.

Arcana - assist if Alie wants to make a check, I guess it is a primary if she doesn't.1d20 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 2 = 20

"Hmmm, matching glowing tattoos you say ... that seems to ring a bell ..."

Aldred:

Know. Arcana 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9

“Ah! Lura must be a summoner – a specialised spellcaster who forms a bond with a powerful outsider – and her bodyguard is her eidolon. An eidolon is a summoned creature ... well, more sort of an arcane construct formed from borrowed essence of the summoner’s bonded outsider. It’s complicated. Anyway, that bodyguard is not human. It will be a tough warrior, it will be able to see in the dark, it won’t need to sleep ... oh, and as far as I know, killing it will merely banish it’s physical form from our plane ... for a time. Now a protection from evil spell - no! Wait, they don't work on eidolons ... hmmm, this could be tough ...”

Knowledge(Arcana): 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (1) + 10 = 11.

Sekhemre shrugs.

"From what Senzer has said, I seriously doubt we will be able to reason with Lura - I do not believe that we have anything to trade that would be worth more than Senzer's services, so I dare say the most convenient way to end her threat to Senzer once and for all would be to eliminate her."

He pauses briefly.

"However, I agree, we should probably leave that until last, as taking her out will probably attract a little too much attention. Let's see if we can sort out our other problems over the course of the day, and then head over to her place later this evening."

Diplomacy, for when we move on: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (12) + 6 = 18.

Ith, is there anything preventing us from taking 10 on this check? You can normally take 10 on a Diplomacy check... I thought it might be worth asking :-)

Also, since we are at an Alchemist's, I think we should all buy some expensive (10gp) perfume... something that gives each of us a +2 to Diplomacy checks for the next 24 hours would be extremely useful. Although it will not help Fog or Alie (Unless they shell-out for the '100gp' perfume; I imagine that most people around here are some variety of human), the rest of us should be able to benefit... Ithuriel, will you allow us to do so?

Wadi nods at Sek's advice, "Yeah, it would seem best not to have a confrontation with her, at least not yet anyway."

Diplomacy check for disguise 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10
I would not mind taking 10 on this check either.

I'll be away all day today, and am fine with any plan we make. Here's Alie's Diplomacy roll.

Diplomacy 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14

I had to think about the taking 10 thing and solicit advice.
I'm going to say no. The awareness mechanic in this adventure is one of the things that make it interesting and unique. It is effectively a long term opposed roll which is anything but the kind of rote task that taking 10 represents. Plenty of opportunities to fumble at any turn. Bypassing the risk robs you of part of this adventure.

The perfume sounds fine though. No better place to buy some than this alchemist's shop. Only the humans of the group (Kayluss, Wadi, and Aldred as a 1/2 human) will benefit from the 10 gp vial though.

Will probably be tomorrow before I update.

“Perfume! An excellent idea Sek ... particularly in this humid climate.” Will pay 10gp for perfume and apply it for +2 bonus.

"So, if we are dealing with the fine Summoner Lady tonight, what other things do we need to get done about town first?"

Fog would also like to purchase some clothing that better fits both the locale/disguise and climate...

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 12

"Well, we need to purchase the supplies from House Cartahegn, and find out what has happened to our Caravan Master, Raimondo Scevola. I would vote for finding him first, and then going to the House - after all, if we do not have someone to transport it, there is no point in getting the supplies..."

@Ithuriel: Ah. I keep forgetting that Sekhemre is actually a full-blooded Elf; I usually never play anything except Half-Elves :-/

I agree finding Raimondo should be our first task. I'm not to sure about this stuff, causiously sniffing at vile of cologne, but if it helps us stay out of trouble I give it a shot.

Diplomacy:1d20 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 1 + 2 = 22

"Trust me, boys, that cologne will not hurt you at all. Especially after our travel and that fight. Some of you are a wee bit on the stinky side."

Wadi takes the bottle of cologne, and smells it. Wrinkling his nose a bit as it is quite strong, he dabs some on his face and his wrists.

"Is this too much?"

Alie takes a quick whiff. "Much better, Wadi. Now make sure the rest of them get to smelling nice!"

Kayluss, Fog, Aldred-

Sekhemre-

"Raimondo eh? I arranged his payment for the caravan about a month ago, but after Lura posted her guard I was never able to pass along any further information about the expedition. Used to be a Trade Captain himself you know? Pretty successful for a while there, but someone up the chain forced him out. Betrayed him and seized his caravan and assets. Whoever it was apparently can't stand the thought of him as a rival either. He put together a much smaller outfit with whatever he could beg borrow or steal, but they keep hitting him with selective 'tariffs' and underbidding him for every expedition."

"I tell you this because I want you to know why I chose Scevola to organize the expedition. Of all your choices in Bloodcove, he has an axe to grind with the Consortium. Working for the Pathfinder Society under their noses holds a certain perverse pleasure for him. He has his flaws, but you can trust that he has no interest in selling you out to the Consortium. I couldn't say that about any of the other operators in port."

"Now the bad news... He's taken to drinking and gambling since he lost everything. Trying to win it all back the fast way I suppose. That might have been a consideration, if I'd known he was going to be sitting on that money for over a month. Maybe I would have looked for someone else... He's been in a few times since then trying to get word, but with those guys here we could never talk. I don't think he'd have been coming around if he'd lost all the money though. He must be sitting on it wait for instructions. Scevola spends a lot of time in the clubs around Free Trade Square. If I were looking for him, I'd start there. He's dark skinned for a Northerner, but light for a native. Dark hair he wears pulled back in a knot. Has a kind of swooping mustache with waxed tips that reminds me of the Varisians."