New Agent Confirmation (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Muldoon

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Merrill easily becomes irritated as he clumsily walks through the wild.

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

"Maybe we should go this way?"

aiding Imani
survival: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12

Elado thanks Janira for the healing support and fills his tankard with ale. Looks good to me, Imani. Beer, anyone? We should celebrate all victories.

Kari nods sagely as the last of the snakes are driven back. As they resume travel, she attempts to pick up the pace.

Survival: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Nice roll!

Brierly points at the sky, "Sun's over there. That means our path is this way."

Imani, guided by the wisdom of Sarenrae, is able to keep you on track through the forest, despite the obstacles.

The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching 30 feet overhead.

“Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”

As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth.

“Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!”

As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.

“A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.

You see a Minotaur in front of you, and Janira, who has ordered you into the caves, running off to distract it. What do you do?

Damn! Everyone in cave. Umberto follows orders and ducks into the cave dragging Janira's bag in with him.

I must have faith that Janira will rejoin us. For now, I will heed her words. Imani enters the cave behind Umberto.

Does anyone ever fight the minotaur at this point?

Brierly follows the the Drunk Knight into the cave and immediately tries to begin a ritual. The ceremony starts with her drawing the alchemical rune for the heart on the ground with a piece of chalk.

Merrill watches in horror as Janira runs off to distract the minotaur. He follows the group and enters the cave as instructed. Be safe, Janira. That is one heroic deed you have done. We shall see each other again soon enough.

As you retreat into the caves you see the Minotaur turn and chase Janira, crashing its way through the dense underbrush. Inside the mouth of the cave, a calm quiet returns as the sounds of the minotaur fade into the distance. Inside Janira’s backpack, you find the following items (please decide who’s carrying what):

I presume I finish the ritual and summon my phantom

The spirit of a strong, tattooed humanoid comes into being. She is wearing dragonhide armor and her entire being glows a rose red color.
Brierly stands and gives the spirit a tight hug.

The spirit died wearing dragonhide armor and doesn't actually have such a thing in reality. She is simply appearing as she did before her death.

After the embrace, Brierly introduces the spirit to everyone. "This is Kryssa. She'll be helping us out."

The sailor turns her attention to the scrolls in Janira's bag by casting read magic upon herself. She reads the the names of the spells aloud while sifting through them, "Let's see... entangle, gust of wind, identify, mage armor, and obscuring mist. I'm not sure about the potions and wands."

No spellcraft
I can use mage armor, identify, and obscuring mist

Yes, sorry, you are able to finish your ritual without issue.

I went after the Minotaur in my first PbP, first PFS, first Confirmation run. I died.

Umberto is not helpful with the identification of any of these things. I can channel the gods to cast these spells but their identification is a challenge for me.

Imani studies the items, and while she has the magical knowledge, she doesn't have the ability to read the items as they are. If only I had access to spells to detect and read magic... I think I need further study, to better serve my goddess.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Spellcraft, no detect/read magic... next level ;-)

Merrill checks the potions with a baffled look on his face. As for these potions and wands, I'm afraid I don't have enough proficiency to identify them.

He takes a hold of the holy water and raises it for the group to see. Does anyone mind if I get a hold of this one?

Penthesilea does a couple taste tests, but isn't able to figure any of the potions out.
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 2 = 12
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

She used one of those wands to heal some snakebites. Anyone remember which one it was?

Seeing Penthesilea tasting the potions, Imani tries to do the same. "I'll have to remember this trick!"

Perception 1: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21
Perception 2: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Perception 3: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Perception 4: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17

I think I get potions 1 and 5?

Yep, potions 1 & 5. The taste-test DC is the same as the Spellcraft DC. I'm assuming that whatever any of you identify you share with the group, so once someone gets it you can all look at the spoiler. Identified so far: Scrolls 1-5, potions 1 & 5.

As for the wands, she actually used her own magic to heal your snakebites, but had wand #2 on her hip at the time, and patted it when she was discussing magical healing equipment with you earlier. You can infer it might be a wand of CLW, although you can't tell what caster level or how many charges it might have without detect magic and a Spellcraft check.

Penthesilea snags the flask of acid and tosses the suspected healing wand to Merrill, Always good to spread the cures around.

Well, if we're through divvying up the booty... Penthesilea will set her bow to glowing and set off down the tunnel once everyone's ready.

"By all means, let us continue on." Imani says, offering up the potions she has identified to any takers.

Kari has Read Magic! Also Detect Magic, and Spellcraft!

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

Kari grabs the scrolls and holds them up. "Entangle. Gust of Wind. Identify. Mage Armor. Obscuring Mist. Does anyone want one?"

She'll then walk through the potions. "Potion #1 is Barkskin. #4 is Feather Step. #5 is Vanish. #2 and #3 will help heal you. Takers?"

She'll move on to the wands, then shrug sheepishly. "I-I don't know what these are, but I'll take them anyways, she says.

Kari will take all of the scrolls, barring someone else wanting one.

For future reference, Kari, you should roll a separate Spellcraft for each item you wish to identify.

All of the tunnels in this area are between 3 and 10 feet wide and vary equally in height, though most are a comfortable 7 or more feet wide in each dimension. The caves are damp, which increases the DC of all Acrobatics checks by 2.

Water dripping from stalactites and the distant rushing of underground streams creates an eerie backdrop as you explore. The caves’ walls are patterned with blue-green luminescent
fungi that provide dim light (though Penthesilea is providing brighter light from her bow). Petroglyphs—most depicting marine animals or spiral shapes—periodically decorate the tunnels’ walls, becoming increasingly frequent as you progress deeper into the cave. The rough surface of the carvings provides a natural platform for the fungi, causing it to grow thicker and making the carvings glow slightly brighter than their surroundings.

The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the entire width of the path and stretches ten feet ahead. At the bottom of the twenty-foot-deep pit lies a small bundle of cloth.

The tunnel here is 10 feet wide and 10 feet tall with a ceiling mostly devoid of stalactites.

Penthesilea sizes up the pit, That seems a little too regular for it to be natural, and with a running start easily clears it.

Acrobatics: 10 + 7 = 17

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 1 = 10

Eyeing the bundle of cloth, she murmurs a cantrip to see if there's anymore to it. Detect Magic

Survival: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
"I agree, Penth. Can we climb down it and walk across? I'm not the best jumper."

"Nor am I, Brierly. Furthermore, I'm curious about that bundle. Does anyone have a rope?"

Penthesilea, it does detect as magical.

Sure, I've got a rope. Ooh, while you're down there grab the bundle. There's magics afoot!

Penthesilea will look for a sturdy stalagmite to tie her rope to.

Penthesilea easily finds a sturdy pillar of rock to tie her rope to.

Brierly and Kryssa climb down the rope into the pit.

Brierly Climb: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
Kryssa Climb: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 1 = 20

Kryssa picks up the bundle and hands it to Brierly with a cute bow. The two smile at each other and wander across the pit.

Penthesilea is already on the far side. Her rope may help you get out, but someone else will have to tie one on the near side for you to climb down. Does someone else have a rope?

Let me see what's down there. Affix the rope and I'll climb down.

climb: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Umberto carefully climbs down a secured rope once one is produced.

Imani shrugs helplessly, silently rebuking herself for her lack of preparedness. Lessons learned...

I don't want to bog down here. You can get across with one rope by making clever use of tossing it back and forth. Anyone with a climb skill of -4 or better can take-ten to go up or down a rope against a wall, so I only need climb checks if your climb skill in armor is -5 or worse.

As you make your way across, the bottom of the pit you can pick up the bundle of cloth which reveals itself to be a finely made blue cloak with an unusual embroidery pattern in fine silver thread.

Just around the next bend in the cave you find a long, 3-foot-wide
wooden plank that rests against the cave’s wall.

The tunnels continue on, leading deeper beneath the Kortos Mounts until they eventually open into a large cavern. What must have once been beautifully carved reliefs and inscriptions have since weathered heavily, their features dulled and softened to the point that it is hard to distinguish what each once depicted. A wide tunnel exits the cavern on its far side, and blue-burning torches line the passageway’s walls.

Please make knowledge (history or religion), linguistics, appraise, or perception checks to decipher these carvings. You get a cumulative +2 bonus if you speak Aquan or Azlanti.

Huh, is it torn or anything? There's no body, so I gotta figure whoever dropped the cloak made it out...

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Knowledge(Religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

I can't make out any striking details, but this seems very familiar...

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (7) + 8 = 15

Brierly looks around at the carvings on the wall.

Kryssa also examines the walls as the carvings seem vaguely familiar to her.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15

Heh, two 15s.

Kari remains silent when crossing the bridge; it is only thanks to her teammates that she is able to get across. Next time I won't be so ill- prepared, she chides herself silently. She does, however, do her best to help identify the item.

spellcraft: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17

She calls out "This item will help protect you. Does anyone want it?"

Upon entering the cavern, Kari looks in upon the beautiful cavern depictions, and unwittingly begins to see her excitement bubble up. Ok, I've got this, this is amazing! she thinks to herself, running up and down the walls, before stopping to study them in detail.

knowledge(history): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18
knowledge(religion): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (8) + 5 = 13
appraise: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
peception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

These markings don't seem significant to me.

perc: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
kn religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

Umberto rounds the perimeter of the group keeping an eye out for gillpeople or any other threats.

Upon entering the cavern, Kari looks in upon the beautiful cavern depictions, and unwittingly begins to see her excitement bubble up. Ok, I've got this, this is amazing! she thinks to herself, running up and down the walls, before stopping to study them in detail.

[dice=knowledge(history)]1d20+5
[dice=knowledge(religion)]1d20+5
[dice=appraise]1d20+5
[dice=peception]1d20+1

Sorry, Kari, I wasn't clear. This was meant to be one check per person, using any of those skills. I'll use your first check.

-----

Between Kari's knowledge of the region's history and Imani's knowledge of religion, you are able to make sense of a few patches of the carvings (there's nothing more to get).

After gently brushing away luminescent fungi and careful study of the carvings, you are able to make sense of four sections that seem less thoroughly eroded than the rest. They depict parables about Aroden, in four of the twelve guises he takes on in History and Future of Humanity, the principal holy text of Arodenites. Those of you that have knowledge of that text find these parables to be slightly different than the ones you are used to, and you suspect this may be an earlier version of that work.

The four guises of Aroden you can decipher are:

Kari excitedly scrutinizes the works, fussing over them and trying to clear as much of the overgrowth as she can away, as to preserve the most clear image of the carvings. "Won't the Society be eager to see this! A slightly different retelling of the History and the Future of Humanity, possibly pre- dating recorded knowledge of said text? Imagine! a cavern full of Arodenites, once living and traveling to this very spot to worship! As soon as possible, we'll have to go back, bring a team together- maybe a cleric of Iomadae- to start work on this.... oh, what this will provide to our understanding of the Arodenites!"

Kari will cast Detect Magic on the carvings to see if there is any magical signature to it, and continue to fuss and babble on incessantly until the group is ready to leave, perhaps out the tunnel with the blue torches?