[PBP Gameday V] GM Zinou's Sky Key Solution [TIER 1-2] (Inactive)

Game Master Zinou

The wayang, positioned in the back of the party where he feels safe, loads his crossbow, takes aim, and fires it at the lizard creature with the limp. (Targeting Red. Move action to load, standard action to fire)

Lt crossbow, freebooter's bane: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 3 + 1 = 12
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 6

As he fires, he tries to identify what these creatures are.

Knowledge (local): 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9
Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21 (Knowledge skill used untrained, max result = 10)

knowledge (local): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

"DAMMIT! Here's hoping you guys got good night vision!"

greataxe (power attack): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9 damage: 1d12 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9 ... :(

Forgrim moves foward with the firm intention of putting down the limping creature before it get to attack anyone.

attack with Freebooter's Bane: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 + 1 = 9

But instead, he only manage to wave his weapon in from the creature as if unsure where to stab it.

"Dinna worry about tha light, we be good on this side."

Dewdrop moves up and to the side to try and avoid hitting Ptolomeo.
No Precise Shot yet, and possibly still a cover penalty.

Even though the Dwarf is partially blocking her line of fire, she throws a blast of air at the foe wearing green.

ranged - into combat: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 - 4 = 18
dmg: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (6) + 7 = 13

Knowledge(nature): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (9) + 5 = 14 To identify the beast.

Tenibri misses with his crossbow and can't quite put his finger on what are these creatures. Dewdrop and Agirran, however, identify them as compsognathus, little dinosaurs that are known for their nasty bites and their good reflexes.

Between the both of you, you know that their bites are poisonous and weakens their foes' strengths.

Both Agirran and Forgrim, despite Kyran's instructions, are unable to land a blow. Dewdrop, on her side, manages to blast the greenish dino into a mix of skin and entrails, ending the creature's life.

Howling for vengeance, the lizardfolk and the remaining compsognathus come into battle! The tiny dino steps inside Ptolomeo's reach and tries to bite him while the lizardman attacks Agirran with his morningstar and tries to bite him as well!
Of these attacks, only the morningstar hits, however direly.

DC vs Ptolomeo: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
L vs Agirran (M): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17 for M: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (8) + 1 = 9
L vs Agirran (B): 1d20 ⇒ 9

Beast Riders! - Round 2 - Party's up!
Agirran [13/22], Dewdrop [14/14], Forgrim [10/10], Ptolomeo [17/17], Tenibri [8/8], Kyran [12/12]
Baddies [Red@10 ; Lizardude@]

BUFFS: Freebooter's Bane on the red raptor [+1/+1]

Tenibri takes a 5' step towards the lizardman, and refocuses his attention that way. He loads and fires his crossbow another time. The battle goes our way. There's no need for my greater talents yet, I think.

Lt Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (9) + 3 - 4 = 8 (firing into melee)
Damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

If the lizardman is down before Tenibri's initiative, he will target the remaining compy with the same attack.

Tenibri misses his shot.

I rule that the first to post, in the init block, act first in the game.

Now that she has a little but more time, Dewdrop channels elemental air. Wind whips her hair, and a noisy rush of electricity and wind circles her. Thematic effect of Gather Power

Wind follows her elemental blast in a gusting rush.

ranged - into combat: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 - 4 = 7
dmg: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (3) + 7 = 10
Gusting infusion. Instantaneous gust of wind on hit. DC 15 Fort negates.

Dewdrop tries to her best to reiterate her previous success but fails to land the blow.

"Let's try this again."

Attack+Freebooter's Bane: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 + 1 = 3

Well, I'm useless

Forgrim misses as well. oh, the joys of level 1 ^^

Agirran, Ptolomeo and Kyran are still up!

Longbow, Freebooter's Bane, Point-Blank Shot, Precise Shot and Deadeye Bowman: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 261d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5

critical confirmation?: 1d20 + 4 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 4 + 1 + 1 = 13 Nope!

Karan shoots the raptor a second time.

Kyran hits well and nearly kills the best. It still stands, however!

Agirran reaches out with his hand, and a wind whips up around him as he summons them blistering cold of the north seas to clenched fist.

Supernatural ability, no Concentration needed.

[dice=Cold Blast Reflex DC 14 (save for half dam. failure = staggered 1 round)]1d6[/dice] Cold damage. I think that's the second highest roll we've had on any size die this fight. Maybe if we add them all together....

He takes a five-foot step back to survey the damage.

Ptolomeo try to connect another blow with his axe...

battleaxe + Freebooter's Bane: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (12) + 5 = 171d8 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14

Ref save L: 1d20 ⇒ 9

The lizardman can't avoid the blast and takes full damage. Slowed by the cold, he can't manage to make more than one attack but misses barely, his morningstar sliding harmlessly on Agirran's armor.
On the other side of the room, Ptolomeo kills the second dino with his axe!

L vs Agirran: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

Beast Riders! - Round 3 - Party's up!
Agirran [13/22], Dewdrop [14/14], Forgrim [10/10], Ptolomeo [17/17], Tenibri [8/8], Kyran [12/12]
Baddies [Lizardude@2 and staggered for one round]

Dewdrops hustles, but her short legs don't take her very far. She stops part-way to the remaining foe, and a blunt hammer of air flies out in front of her.

ranged - into combat: 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 - 4 = 15 Probably also a +4 cover AC bonus for the enemy, given the angle.
dmg: 1d6 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 Although that was unlikely to have hit.

Ptolomeo charges against the 'Lizardude'!

battleaxe + charge: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 231d8 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

"Do you like it, dude?", the dwarf mocks the creature as his axe cuts it deeply.

AC for this round: 14.

The arcanist moves closer to the lizardman to get a better angle of attack. Dropping the crossbow to his side with one hand, he uses the other to call on arcane forces to conjure a small amount of acid, hurling it at his target.

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (15) + 3 - 4 = 14 (firing into melee)
Damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3

Dewdrop misses but Ptolomeo's charge stagger the lizardfolk. Tenibri's acid splash ends its suffering, killing it.

COMBAT OVER! You can heal up and search the bodies.

As you have more time to search the room, you may opt to make useful
notes on the beasts’ anatomy carved on the walls.

You can attempt one skill check using one of the following skills: Craft (painting), Handle Animal, Heal, Knowledge (nature), Profession (clerk, farmer, scribe, shepherd, or stable master), or Survival.

Heal: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7 Luck on combat checks, bad luck on skill checks. Sounds fair to me.

Tenibri at the conclusion of the combat, Tenibri motions with his hands to invoke more arcane power, then examines the bodies.

He then examines the carvings, attempting to note them down in a useful way.

Craft (painting): 1d20 + 4 - 2 ⇒ (16) + 4 - 2 = 18 (No tools)

Looking at the carving, Forgrim tries to make sense of it.

Heal: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

He then look around the room to see if there is anything unusual about the room.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Knowledge(nature): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (7) + 5 = 12

Dewdrop knows a little about such creatures, but likely not enough to be useful to Society archivists.

Between Forgrim and Tenibri, you manage to decipher the carvings and take good notes to report them to your mentors. 1 victory point earned, well done :)

You move forward and eventually find yourself in an enormous chamber.
Clouds of steam rise from this balmy chamber’s countless pools. Small, rocky islands abound, separated by cloudy, mineral-laden waters. Each island supports a stone plinth carved with minute glyphs and elaborate pictograms. Sliding across the floors and floating in the pools, thousands of snakes of various species and sizes slither throughout the chamber and bask in its tropical heat.

The plinths are scattered throughout the large cave, whose floor is covered almost entirely by shallow, opaque pools swimming with venomous snakes.

You face a challenge of navigating the room to get close enough to decipher the plinths, all while avoiding the serpents’ fangs.
There are five plinths total, and you must decipher their content to succeed at this challenge. Because of the steamy atmosphere, you must be within 5 feet of a plinth to decipher it.

Each plinth stands upon a small island separated from its neighbors by water. You can do the following:
1) leap from one island to another with an Acrobatics check, but it looks hard.
2) you can instead move through the water slowly making a Handle Animal, Stealth, or wild empathy check.

Guidance + Perception (take '10): 20 = 20

"Well, dudes, the snakes, except under exceptional circumstances, do not attack other serpentine creatures. The mineral content of the springs soothes the snakes within, keeping them relatively docile, but they can startle and bite nonetheless. What are we gonna do? Any ideas?"

Knowldge(nature: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (20) + 5 = 25
"Ptomolo has the right of it. He's a smart one! I've never wished to be a snake before." She grimaces. "I still don't think it would be worth it, having to slither everywhere. They're pretty, though."

What is a 'hard' check, and would you allow take 10 on Acrobatics? Without her armor, Dewdrop can muster +8

Before leaving the first area, Tenibri attempts to recover crossbow bolts. 1-50=recoverable, 51-00=not

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21

Tenibri confirms Ptolemeo's assessment of the snakes' behavior. He looks around the space, trying to get a sense of the distances that need to be covered to examine all of the plinths. He offers one idea. "Well, it's a trick that I usually prepare to use in a combat situation, but maybe it could be helpful here. If I draw on and focus the arcane energy around us right now, I can use it to make one of us larger. I would be a poor target for this, given my already small size, but if I did it to one of you," he looks to the taller among the group, "you may be able to cross between the plinths easier."

I don't see an updated map for this area, so I can't tell if enlarge person makes someone large enough to skip the Acrobatics check.

He looks again to the plinths and their layout in the room. "Failing that, I could attempt to sneak through the water without disturbing the snakes. I've been known to be sneaky when I need to but I worry about their poison. It could be a hard consequence should I fail." (Stealth +8, but Fort only +1)

I might be a bit better choice. Higher sneak skill, and a high Con, should something go wrong.

Dewdrop wriggles out of her armor, and hands it to Ptolomo. "Here, hold this."

She dances to the first island to examine a plinth.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (11) + 8 = 19

Tenibri looks grateful when he realizes that there are better options than sending him sloughing through the viper pond.

In the first room

If no one did, Forgrim goes over the boby of the lizard man.  Trying to find any useful gear and other particuliars (ex: notes, keys, etc...)  If nothing, he at least grab the morning star.

"Always good ta have a backup weapon."

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In the next room

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23how deep is the water?

Well doesn't that look nice! Anyone got a boat?

Looking at Dewdrop jump, Forgrim regret not having the right spells ready to help. He still mumble a quick prayer to Cayden Cailean.

What is a 'hard' check....

Good question. Is there a map? At a guess I would say double the distance in feet between the plinths (because you probably can't get a running start after the first one) +2 (because they are probably slippery as all get out).

Lighting?

knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24 Any additional info?

"Snakes." Agirran says in disgust. He holds his glowing greataxe aloft to better see the room. "Why did it have to be snakes?"

Agirran can arcane bond up comprehend languages if he needs to.

Dewdrop wriggles out of her armor, and hands it to Ptolomo. "Here, hold this."

She dances to the first island to examine a plinth.

[dice=Acrobatics]1d20+8

"Sure. Be careful, huh!?", the dwarf answered as takes Dewdrop's armor.

Wild Empathy: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (16) - 1 = 15

Kyran tries to distract the snakes by making calm yet attention-grabbing motions near the water's edge, away from Dewdrop's Path.

"The Hells? Were you bit?"

Kyran smirks but otherwise ignores Agirran for the moment. He's got snakes to charm.

A strong surge of Pathfinders have overtaken the Zoological Gardens. In doing so, they have found their way to the Slave Pens!

The Zoological Gardens are now claimed, the Slave Pens are now discovered. This is reflected in the updated map.

There is no map for this encounter but I made one. No additional infos for the snakes. They are venomous, that's for sure.

You hear voices from deeper in the caverns that says "We disc..red... Pens! Co... fin...ers!"

The light here is dim, so you'll still need your sources of light such as Agirran's. As the party successfully understand what is going on with the snakes, Dewdrop chooses to jump. And yes, you can take 10 but the islands are too far away to just cross them while being large. As for the "hard", I don't want to give you the DC for the game immersion's sake :)
The gnome lands successfully before one plinth.
Kyran, on his side, sees that he distracts the snakes well and can swim harmlessly to another plinth (or the same as Dewdrop, if you wish).

Forgim, if he can find one, grab a pebble and after a short prayer, turn it into another source of light Casting light, orizon

"I have a light source for ye Kyran if ye need it"

Looking everywhere between this room and the previous for any piece of wood or furnature that could help.

"Thar have ta be somethin' we cou' use ta help gettin' those info."

How deep is the water, is it 1 or 2 feet deep or more?

Ptolomeo has darkvision.

"Are you ok?", Ptolomeo shouted to Dewdrop, from the other side.

Waist deep :)

An enlightened pebble arrives at Kyran's side, allowing him to decipher without trouble the carvings.

What about the others?

Dewdrop knows Draconic.
Decode; Know(nature), take ten: 10 + 5 = 15

Acrobatics, take ten: 10 + 8 = 18

When she's done, she unabashedly recovers her armor, and puts it back on.

What about the others?

Not sure I get the question... What others?

Also, what about pieces of wood? Is there no doors, chairs or anything in what we exlore so far?

Plinths plural. And I'm guessing it's a room straight out of Raiders of ythe Lost Ark but wetter.

"What about the others?" Agirran asks the gnome. After a beat he adds: "The plinths, I mean. There's something in the mist that's messin' with my mind I can't even remember how far I can on average jump, but you don't seem to have any problem. Maybe it's cause you're a gnome or something. Take a piece of parchment and a pen. We'll cover you."

Kyran can barely read Taldan. These sigils are just so much chicken scratch to him. He's only trying to draw the snakes away from Dewdrop.

Forgrim: I meant the other players. Don't be shy :)
Kyran: Give it a try anyway. You have to decipher the plinths.
Agirran: That's it, straight out of Indiana Jones.

Dewdrop jumps without trouble from islands to islands and succeeds in deciphering a bit of the writings on the plinths.

Remember: three checks are required to fully decipher a plinth. dewdrop can try any other check in the list, though. I made a map so that you can picture the room better.
There's nothing else to do here, so if you wish to abandon this mission, you also can walk away but that would be too bad.

Plinths state: A: 1/3 ; B: 1/3 ; C: 1/3 ; D: 1/3 ; E: 1/3

Looking intimidated by the snakes, Tenibri pulls up the hem of his cloak as he gets ready to attempt to slip through the water over to one of the plinths. (B)

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Once there, he studies the writing, taking notes as he goes.

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Tenibri has darkvision

Knowledge (nature): 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16

Tenibri walks like a shadow in the water and startles no serpent. Once he gets there, he deciphers a bit more of the plinth successfully.

Kyran, on his own plinth, does what he can to understand but only gets half of it. You only failed the knowledge nature check. :)

Plinths state: A: 2/3 ; B: 2/3 ; C: 1/3 ; D: 1/3 ; E: 1/3