New Agent Confirmation (Inactive)

Game Master Dennis Muldoon

You sense a faint divine aura from the carvings, but can't determine much more.

The soft light of the surrounding fungus mixes with the flickering glow of the nearby torches to reveal a grand chamber. A large pool of water along the chamber’s southern edge reflects the blue and green radiance to illuminate the massive stalactites that cling to the ceiling overhead. Two other tunnels branch off from this area, leading to the east and west. Kneeling in the water facing away from you is lone man (picture in the slide deck). He makes no indication that he noticed your arrival.

Penthesilea will use her mapmaking tools to take sketches of the markings they're able to decipher before following along.

He might be praying or something...

Penthesilea will walk towards the man, scuffing her feet as she goes to avoid giving the impression of sneaking up, and stops a respectful distance away.

Merrill follows Penthesilea and stops where she stops. "Excuse me, kind sir. Pardon the interruption, but is there something that we could help you with?"

The man gives no indication that he heard either Penthesilea's scuffed feet or Merrill's polite inquiry.

"Could he be dead, paralyzed, or something else?" Brierly whispers to the group. She picks up a pebble and casts light on it. Gently, the sailor tosses it into the water near the figure.

The man turns, seemingly noticing your arrival for the first time. He stares at you impassively, saying nothing.

Noticing the man's attention, Kari speaks up. "Hello? My name is Kari Blackvine. We're with the Pathfinder Society, here to explore the cave here. What's your name?"

Umberto does his best to look non-threatening. He summons a half tankard of ale while we wait.

Penthesilea will repeat Kari's greeting in a couple of other languages Giant and Kelish if the man doesn't seem to understand her.

He gives a faint smile, but does not speak. He regards you, casually, his expression conveying comprehension mixed with indifference. You can attempt to improve his attitude toward you with a diplomacy check, if you'd like. If you are making a check or attempting to aid, please tell me what you say to him to do so.

Take it easy, fella. We're just explorers.

aid diplo: 1d20 ⇒ 12

Well Taldane's still the best odds...

Penthesilea switches back to common, This place seems sacred to you. Can you tell us anything about what it is? We wouldn't want to accidentally do anything blasphemous.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

Imani backs up Penthesilea with a smile and her arms by her sides, palms forward, trying to convey friendliness.

Aid Diplomacy: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Penthesilea spots a cloak similar to the one from the pit near the gillman. She unfolds the bundle and asks, Do you know whose this is? We found it in a pit; it looks like whose-ever it was made it out though.

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (5) - 1 = 4
Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

Imani holds back, waiting for a response from the individual.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10

Brierly surveys the scene and gets distracted by looking at Kryssa.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10

The spirit of Kryssa peers at this gillman as if this situation seems vaguely familiar.

perc: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 2 = 16
sense motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

The cloak we found looks like this one here. He seems to be drawn to it. Umberto feels a pang of empathy that he may have lost someone close to him. Umberto has had his share of loss.

Seeing Penthesilea speaking, Kari decides to let her take control of the conversation. Instead, she pulls out some rations from her pack. "Would you like some food? I know I'm hungry, and I have some to share, if you would like."

aid diplomacy: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
perception: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 = 17
sense motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

He glances again at the cloak and says "I do not know who that cloak belongs to, but it was surely one of my people who lost it. The style is very distinctive. I am glad to hear that it did not accompany a corpse."

He looks up and waves his arm around the cavern, continuing. ”The waters of this place are holy to my people, and many of us make pilgrimages here. It was once a place holy to humanity as well, particularly your god Aroden, though his influence has clearly faded, as evidenced by the carvings in the last room. Soon, I suspect, it will be gone entirely.”

Now that you are closer, you can see more clearly the most unique feature of the cavern: Rising up from the pool is a column of rock with steeply sloped sides and a flat top, as if someone had sawn off the top of a massive stalagmite. A miniature city carved from this same stone occupies nearly the entire surface. Tiny trinkets such as ancient coins, polished semiprecious stones, and ornately braided loops of string are scattered throughout the diorama, and pale cave frogs clamber atop it. The smooth cavern floor is covered in gravel and pebbles along the edge of the pool, and several foot-long centipedes prowl among the gravel in their search for prey.

”You seem like kind and respectful travelers. Feel free to explore or to perform whatever rites you would like in this holy place. Be wary, though, if you plan to explore deeper down these paths. Other creatures you find in these caves may not be so welcoming.”

Knowledge (Religion): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Knowledge (Geography: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7
It's weird, it looks so familiar...

Merrill gives a polite bow to the man and pays close attention to the miniature city.

Knowledge (History): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

He points to one of the structures of the miniature. "Look here. It's the Starstone Cathedral, no doubt. It looks like a model of Absalom, but some of the structures are way off. Must be an older model."

He then turns to the group and asks, "Where to now? Janira might still be in trouble. I think we should keep moving."

Kari nods to the Gillman. "How long have these.... markings, depictions- how old are they? What more can you tell us about the caves?"

Imani speaks up. "This is a holy place. We shouldn't leave without making some sort of offering of our own, out of respect."

Imani will leave a small copper near the cathedral.

Imani places a coin in the city. The gillman smiles at her show of respect.

Kari nods to the Gillman. "How long have these.... markings, depictions- how old are they? What more can you tell us about the caves?"

"I do not know exactly how old the carvings are, but they seem quite ancient. They seem to be tied to this small city, which I believe to be some sort of altar, and they may give clues to the rites once performed here. There is a definite sense of divine magic about them, but it grows fainter with every passing day, it seems." Turning to look down one of the corridors leading deeper into the caves, he adds "My people avoid the rest of the cave system, and I fear it may be inhabited by the sorts of creatures that make residence underground, though I have not explored the area myself. There does seem to be some fresh air flowing from them, though, so I suspect there is another path to the outside."

kn religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Umberto kneels and offers a prayer to the gods. Thank you, sir. We'll be prepared to defend ourselves.

Based on the Gillman's comments, do I sense any divine presence here?

Brierly looks at the carving of the soldier holding the light. She grabs another pebble and casts light on it. She holds it aloft and places it into the city on the altar.

As Brierly places the glowing stone into the city, a wave of positive energy washes over the room, suffusing you all with a slight feeling of warmth that you feel might protect you for a while.

For the next 24 hours, each PC has a +1 insight bonus to AC if they have taken damage since the start of their last turn.
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Kari is filled with awe as Brierly places her token into the city. Kari quickly makes an offering herself, placing a gold coin in the city. She nods to the gillman. "Thank you, sir, for your time. It has aided us well. Thank you for your blessing in our exploration of this place. May you enjoy your stay here, and have a safe journey home."

Hmm...

Penthesilea begins shooing, or Shepherding, the frogs from the city.

Pursing her lips, Imani ponders for a moment. Then, she picks a few threads out of her robe and braids them into a small plait. She places this in the city.

Penthesilea, please give me a Handle Animal, Intimidate, or wild empathy check. Imani's small braided plait, like Kari's coin, seems to have no effect.

"...Iä-R’lyeh! Cthulhu fhtagn! Iä! Iä! No, I shall not shoot myself—I cannot be made to shoot myself!
I shall plan my cousin’s escape from that Canton madhouse, and together we shall go to marvel-shadowed Innsmouth. We shall swim out to that brooding reef in the sea and dive down through black abysses to Cyclopean and many-columned Y’ha-nthlei, and in that lair of the Deep Ones we shall dwell amidst wonder and glory for ever."

She looks expectantly at the unmoved frogs.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

Maybe I should have just shouted "Boo!"

Imani looks at her paltry attempt, and tries to Craft something better out of the pieces she has, like a small bracelet.

Craft: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"It's not much," she thinks to herself, "but it's fashioned in earnest."

Penthesilea, TOO FUNNY! :D

Imani's earnest offering is more effective, once again bathing you all in a wave of divine energy.

Completing this ritual grants you all a +1 competence bonus on Perception checks to find hidden doors and concealed objects.

Whenever you're done with the model city, please decide whether you want to go to the left or to the right. Down the left path is a foul stench, while to the right the air is frigid.

If these gillpeople are aquatic in nature, they may not sense smell as we do. Let's go to the right.

"If that's where we'll eventually need to leave the cave, shouldn't we examine other options, first? We are meant to be learning as much as we can."

Kari stops everyone. "If you could, help me scare away the frogs, before we go?" she asks. "Though if we're deciding where to go, left is best, correct?

Kari attempts to scare the frogs away as well.
Intimidate: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (17) + 0 = 17

Merrill joins Kari in scaring away the frogs. "Pesky little critters, aren't they?"

Intimidate, Aid: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (7) + 3 = 10

aid intimidate: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

MOVE!

Kari and Merrill succeed in ushering the frogs from the city. Another faint wave of positive energy flows through all of you. Completing this ritual grants each of the PCs a +2 insight bonus on a single check made to perform the aid another action in the next 24 hours.

I hear one vote for left and one for right. Next person to speak up is the tie-breaker.

1 right, 2 left
1d2 ⇒ 2
left

Left it is.

The cave’s damp air becomes increasingly stale as you continue down through this tunnel, the stench of decay growing increasingly evident. The passage turns to the east and opens into a small cavern littered with bits of broken glass, rotting pieces of paper, and other unusable detritus. The body of a humanoid creature lies facedown toward the back of the cavern. Three more humanoids in various states of decay slowly shuffle around the room. As you enter their heads turn toward you in unison and they begin to shuffle in your direction!

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Initiative

kn religion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (20) + 4 = 24

Special attacks? Resistances? Move speed?

Zombies. These must have been gillmen before their death.

knowledge religion: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Kari sees the zombies and scowls. "I hate zombies," she says, alighting her weapon with arcane power and closing on the nearest one.

Kari will spend an arcane point as a swift action to give her weapon a +1 enhancement bonus, then close and attack. Also, this whole scholar persona is really not working out haha
melee attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 61d8 + 0 ⇒ (3) + 0 = 3

You did it Kari! You hit the 6!