PFS 3-11 Quest for Perfection Part II: On Hostile Waters (Inactive)

Game Master Warped

"I've no love for that accursed boat, but the thought of slinking out is a tad invigorating. Color me fine with moving on."

Hyeon-ae seems to almost want to say something about the way Zephri and Gorn are talking about the local tribespeople, but seems to think better of it and remains silent on the matter. There's almost certainly a few wrinkles of consternation on her brow, however. "Yes, we might as well leave it at that. It appears the locals do not like us much at all."

"Oh we are definitely taking the hides, I am not giving these slinking cheats anything. Going back on a deal freely made makes you scum in my book," Zephri growls.

Taking the hides and spitting on their religion and hospitality, you board the ship and sail off in the darkness. Without the ability to see far, however, your progress is severely limited, and rest does not come easy. Early in the afternoon the next day, you come across something that slows your progress yet again, however.

Clumps of green lichen cling to the links of an iron chain that spans the river a few inches above the water, the chain holding several vertical, bobbing logs in place. On the north shore, the chain is bolted to a squat stone block half-buried in the ground. To the south, the chain attaches to a large metal crank handle mounted to a ruined stone wall. A short wooden dock stretches from the front of the stone wall out to the middle of the slow-flowing river. Four men stand on the dock, one of whom motions for your ship to stop and dock.

For now, you are fatigued from the lack of a decent rest. A fatigued character can neither run nor charge and takes a –2 penalty to Strength and Dexterity. Doing anything that would normally cause fatigue causes the fatigued character to become exhausted. After 8 hours of complete rest, fatigued characters are no longer fatigued.

Can we have Zephri and Ryu go through the night and then sleep while Dagat drives? That was my plan but was waiting to see if the group agreed and it was practical.

Yawning hugely Zephri eyes the men suspiciously, "You fellows speak Taldan common?" He shouts.

As long as you have someone up front keeping an eye out and someone steering, that's fine. I personally think it would be best to have Gorn up front since he has darkvision out to 60', but it's up to you guys if you just want a lookout and a pilot.

The man in the back speaks up, "Of course we do! We need access to your boat as your cargo is subject to Linghen's tariff's! I need to assess the value of whatever goods you're carrying in order to properly tax them!" His voice carries strongly across the rushing water.

Good point, I was thinking someone with a light spell, but Gorn would work to.

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

"Tariffs?" Noorzad mutters. "Nobody said anything about thrice-cursed tariffs, the last resort of the poor businessman..."

Sense Motive: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Ideally would like that as well. So only Dagat and Gorn would be fatigued? If that's fine with Gorn.

Also, remember we're trying to run from Lingshen. "Lingshen, the Successor State to the southeast, is after the relic as well." Did the route we take have to pass through their territory in the first place? I know we tried to avoid overland for that reason.

Whispering quietly to the others, Dagat whispers, "Have we hidden the incense?"

Out loud, she says to the men, "I was not aware that Lingshen had taken the river routes. Do you have proof of your authority?"

She takes notice of the men and their movements, spying also the age of the dock and chain.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 6 + 2 = 25
Additional +2 from Favored Enemy (human). Also attempting to see if this is a newfangled thing, which may indicate Lingshen did it to find us.

Gorn would be fatigued with Dagat, since Gorn would have guided with his darkvision through the night. As a note, the incense would have been hidden, with Gorn taking 20 on the check.

Gorn, looking out across the waters, is rather displeased by the sight of the chain. He gets crankier than usual, since he hadn't had a proper night's rest.

"Good 'enough fer ye, lass." Gorn replies to Dagat, when inquiring about the incense.

Gorn is going to size up the person who is thinking about a boarding action.

perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

"So, a simple riverboat trip turns into a fiasco with some locals?" Gorn prepares himself for the boarding.

No its afternoon so we had two cover us through the night then they slept, so nobody should be fatigued.

Are we meant to be stopping here? Can we just flip them the bird and sail past?

That's fine. Only Dagat and Gorn are fatigued, then.

Dagat asks Gorn about the visibility of the incense, but only gets a noncommittal answer from the dwarf, who smells exceptionally fine this afternoon for some unapparent reason.

She then asks the men about their proof of authority, and receives an answer from them, "Of course we have proof! We have been commissioned by King Huang himself!" Two men throw ropes up, expecting you to tie them off to the boat, likely to secure it to the dock.

Dagat can see that the chain is very old, but still quite sturdy. Gorn is able to determine that the man is, indeed, a person. Nobody believes him to be lying about his intentions.

"Let's just take them out, we can try to leave them alive, but its obvious their interior motive is showing," Zephri whispers, looking to his colleagues for permission to shoot.

"I'm torn - " Noorzad whispers, "- and I've little faith they'll have badges or a letter of commission to show."

I agree with Zephri, nobody should be fatigued. If Gorn and Dagat take the night shift, they can sleep in the day when the rest of us get up. Since this is now afternoon, everyone will have rested.

"Well, then, would you care to show us this proof?" Hyeon-ae says evenly, hands twitching as she resists the urge to grab her bow immediately. "We have been attacked by bandits previously, and would not wish to make the same mistake. No offense intended--I am sure you are most serious," she offers them a tight-lipped smile, "but I am also sure you can understand our hesitation in this matter..."

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (6) + 5 = 11
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25

Well, she's not exactly the most convincing -- perhaps the icy tone of voice gives away her irritation -- but Hyeon-ae is fairly sure she can see right through them as well.

"I don't think they are bandits I think they are from the Kingdom that is trying to beat us to our goal," Zephri whispers.

Are we actually in their Kingdom?

"Lads, Ah believe ye are who ye say ye are. Ah dinnae believe there should be trouble 'ere."

Looking to Ryu and Dagat, he agrees with Zephri's intention of verifying what kingdom we're in.

"So, lads, when did waterways get blocked like this? Ah'm a wee foreign to yer customs an' all, but I dinnae recall waterways bein' blocked bein' part o' the customs Ah was told about."

Diplomacy: 1d20 ⇒ 18

It took you guys 8 hours total to get the incense together. You didn't leave until late night / early morning, say 2'ish. Eight hours of rest would have put wake up time at 10am. It is now between 12 and 1 o'clock (1200-1300, if that's better). I'm not sure how anyone could get enough rest between 10:00 and now and not be fatigued. The scenario expects you to have rested at the village and arrived here later in the evening the next day. Since you didn't rest at the village, I bumped the time up.

The man continues shouting over the distance between the boat and the dock, "It's common practice to block waterways that lead into and out of major settlements! And yes, I can show you proof that we are indeed patrolling the border on the orders of King Huang!" His men continue to wait for the ropes to be secured and for a plank to be lowered so that they may board.

I think I covered everyone's questions / concerns. Let me know if I missed anything. Thanks!

Zephri raises Bethany, sounding a little too cheerful at the prospect to be truly menacing, "Order your men to get your barricade out of our way or I'm going to shoot you in the face."

Intimidate: 1d20 ⇒ 5

Noorzad's fingers twitch in anticipation of calling up a spell; surely those who would hamper the free movement of goods deserve a comeuppance proportional to their offense...

...that's a lot of unprovoked hostility coming off the boat for some border guards just trying to do their job. Noorzad, you'd probably auto-succeed a check to know that tariffs and taxing imports and/or exports is not an uncommon practice in any nation.

The man doesn't appear to be too intimidated, just put off, "Are you actually threatening a civil servant of our great King? Very well, then." His men then raise their bows to attack those who break the laws of the land.

The bloodthirsty duo Zephri and Noorzad go first! The men will act on Friday unless Zephri and Noorzad post their actions before then.

Group 1
Zephri
Noorzad

Critters
Border Guards

Group 2
Hyeon-ae
Gorn
Dagat

Crud. I thought we could've bluffed our way out of here. I'll wait for other actions, and then I'll act.

Taking the knowledge local untrained roll though :)

knowledge: Local: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15

Border guards who happen to speak Taldan in a nation that does not, and we have been told are working from a Kingdom that is opposing us in the pursuit of our goal. But Zephri is a Quadiran who joined the society after finding life in his fathers pirate fleet a little too brutal - he's more or less a good guy but his emphasis in chaotic good is probably chaotic.

Zephri blasts the speaker first, before beginning to reload, "Told you!"

Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25 Damage: 1d12 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13

To be fair, only the one was speaking, the other's weren't, but otherwise those are some valid points :P

Zephri, already having his musket at the ready, fires off a shot at the official, blowing a hole through his chest. The man looks surprised, then slumps off the pier and into the water, sinking slowly to its depths.

Poor guy only had 4 hp

Noorzad, apparently stunned by the sudden turn of events, stands still, unable to decide on what to do.

The three border guards falter only momentarily as their leader falls, dead because of the devil with the boomstick, and shout in fury, "Duìyú lǐng shēn de ānquán!"

They start backing away from the ship, firing arrows towards the devil with the boomstick as they do, moving toward the ruined guard tower, likely for cover.

Border Guard 1 attack with shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Border Guard 2 attack with shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Border Guard 3 attack with shortbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

Border Guard 1 shortbow damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Border Guard 3 shortbow damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

After a vicious opening to combat, the party is up! The critters will act again on Monday unless everyone posts their actions before then.

Group 1
Zephri [5/12 HP]
Noorzad
Hyeon-ae
Gorn
Dagat

Critters
Border Guard 1
Border Guard 2
Border Guard 3

Group 2

Ooh, Border Guard 1 got a crit.

"This was not necessary," Dagat says to herself, drawing her bow and stepping back for a clear shot at one of the men.

Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 2 - 1 = 22
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Target is Border Guard 2.

I didn't even notice, thanks!

Border Guard 1 confirmation: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23
Critical shortbow damage: 2d6 + 2 ⇒ (4, 3) + 2 = 9

The first border guard's arrow is enough to stagger the demon from the waters, and the third guard's arrow drops the foul thing to the deck of the ship.

Dagat responds with an arrow of her own, striking the guard on the right squarely, making him take a step back in pain.

Group 1
Zephri [-4/12 HP]
Noorzad
Hyeon-ae
Gorn

Critters
Border Guard 1
Border Guard 2 [7/11 HP]
Border Guard 3

Group 2
Dagat

Zephri crashes to the deck and arrow jutting from his chest.

Noorzad dives to Zephri, pulling out his healing wand.

CLW for Zephri: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

"Duck for cover!"

"Ow, ugh, thanks Noorzad. I AM GOING TO MURDER YOU ALL YOU SLINKING STICK SHOOTERS!"

Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

Perhaps struck by the sudden and intense bloodshed on both sides of the battle, Hyeon-ae's shot is weak and pathetic, caught by an errant breeze and sent sailing harmlessly into the riverbank.

No, no, blaim Zephri and his sudden exclamation.

"You would not be including us in that number, would you?" Dagat says to Zephri, already preparing to shoot another 'stick'.

She sees Hyeon-ae's lacking shot and calls out to her in an attempt to strike her out of whatever daze she's in. "Hyeon-ae, perhaps you would like to practise the bow with me later?"

We have enough spare arrows lying around to do that anyway.

Dagat's suggestion causes Hyeon-ae to flush in embarrassment, and she turns away from the other woman -- but nods nevertheless. "Yes... I think that would be a good idea."

She decides not to comment on Zephri's shouting. The gunslinger was terrifying.

I think we posted at the same time, so I didn't see his outburst until just now. :P

Gorn, grumbling to himself, loops his rope and takes a 5' step towards the starboard side of the boat, trying to loop it properly on the dock. Gorn is taking care not to indicate he is drawing his axe (he has no intention of doing so).

"TORAG'S SPIT!" He exclaims loudly. "Ah'm ashamed of ye all!"

attack to toss the looped rope onto the dock's cleat hitch: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 = 11 -2 already figured in the roll

"I think your objection's a little late Gorn. How many Taldan speakers do you think live here? You think they get a lot of Taldan boaters? How many people from Avistan do you think pop over for the river tour of this continent? Of course they speak Taldan they said, I call man cow faeces. How many Taldan river officials speak Tien do you think? Either they are the unluckiest group of suspiciously bilingual river officials in Golarion or they were sent to stop us. And I didn't really mean to kill him Bethany just got over excited," Zephri retorts, the last said under his breath.

I swear everytime I mean just to knock someone out I roll max damage.

"Aye. Suspicious indeed. Unfortunately, we need to unlock the gate, which is what Ah plan on doin."

I really like Zeprhi and Gorn's disagreement overall here, and, as a player, I agree with Zeprhi on all counts for what was just said.

"Oh good point, I'm going to go with arrows in my as my excuse," Zephri replies managing a fierce pained grin.

Noorzad pulls out his wand and moves over to Zephri, hoping to be able to cure the screaming man soon (you used two move actions, so can't cure Zephri this round, as that takes a standard action). Hyeon-ae, shaken as she is, sends her arrow flying into the trees further inland, as Gorn tosses his looped rope perfectly onto the thingy that it goes onto to hold the boats in place. I think.

Zephri Stabilization roll vs DC 14: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15 (I'm going to allow Zephri to remain conscious but immobile right now, just because I'm enjoying the banter, hehe)

The three men make it to the guard tower and find cover within the ruined walls, firing at the defenders of the newly freed watery travel route of Golarion.

Border Guard 1 attack against Dagat: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Border Guard 2 attack against Dagat: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
Border Guard 3 attack against Hyeon-ae: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16

Shortbow damage against Dagat: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Most of the arrows clatter against the boats deck, but one manages to graze Dagat as she lines up her next deadly shot.

Parties up! At this point, Zephri is now healed, prone, and Bethany-less, and Noorzad has a move action left. Putting the plank down to get off the ship is a full round action, or a move action for both Gorn and Hyeon-ae if they do it together. The critters will act on Tuesday unless everyone posts their actions before then.

Group 1
Dagat [10/12 HP]
Zephri [4/12 HP]
Noorzad
Hyeon-ae
Gorn

Critters
Border Guard 1
Border Guard 2 [7/11 HP]
Border Guard 3

Group 2

Apologies re the action confusion.

Noorzad begins to summon a dog further across the pier, intending to send it harrying the bowmen.

Zephri finishes reloading and rises with gritted teeth.

Dagat hisses when the arrow grazes her side. She kneels on one knee, using the other foot to stabilize herself as she makes her shot.

Border Guard 2 again.
Kneeling gives me +2 AC against ranged!

Longbow: 1d20 + 5 + 2 - 1 ⇒ (9) + 5 + 2 - 1 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4

Gorn, holding the rope tightly, attempts to pull the boat closer to the pier, he has no intention of falling into the water.

Strength check: 1d20 + 2 - 2 ⇒ (9) + 2 - 2 = 9

Panting against the soft current of the river, Gorn grunts, failing to pull the boat close enough for an easy hop. Any of ye got a plank. Ah cannae make the jump.

I've pulled a house boat to pier personally, it's not hard, but I don't know that an exhausted character could do it alone. Honestly, I think ship's rigging (DC 10) would be a good comparison, but that's your call, GM. In any event, it appears Gorn would have failed.

Noorzad can't summon this round. That has a casting time of one round, which means it takes up his move and standard for this round, and he can only 5' step. He only has a movement action this round since he cast cure light on Zephri. So he can draw something else out of his pack, move somewhere, etc. He can't cast any spells, sing a song, or anything else that uses a standard action.

Zephri needs to grab his rifle, since it was dropped when he went to negative hit points, so he can either reload or rise. I'm guessing reload.

Gorn, I said it would take a full-round action to place the plank down, or two move actions from Hyeon-ae and you. I should have also said that the plank is right next to you. I thought that would've been implied, sorry. If you want to take back your actions, that's fine.

Dagat's arrow strikes the wall the guard is using as cover.

Yes, please. I'll set the plank down as a full-round action.

Okay, so these guards are firing at us from cover... why don't we just try and push off? Do we need to chase them down? Are we tied to the docks or something? I'm a little confused.

Hyeon-ae remains on alert, her bow raised and ready should one of the guards pop out of hiding.

Ready Attack: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
Damage: 1d8 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6

There is a block made from logs tied together across the river. So we need to cut that so we can pass it. Yes Zephri will reload.

Clumps of green lichen cling to the links of an iron chain that spans the river a few inches above the water, the chain holding several vertical, bobbing logs in place. On the north shore, the chain is bolted to a squat stone block half-buried in the ground. To the south, the chain attaches to a large metal crank handle mounted to a ruined stone wall.

Gorn lowers the plank to the dock, securing it in place while Zephri reloads his rifle, still prone. Hyeon-ae readies an attack against the guards in case one pops out of cover, which seems unlikely given the amount of ranged attacks coming from the boat.

Group 1
Noorzad [Move action]

Critters
Border Guard 1
Border Guard 2 [7/11 HP]
Border Guard 3

Group 2
Dagat [10/12 HP]
Zephri [4/12 HP]
Hyeon-ae
Gorn

Gotcha, I figured it was a full-round action, wasn't sure if we were in a "new" round, but since we aren't, we're ahead of the game :)

No need to move, and will need hands free presumably for the spellcasting the following round.

There is a block made from logs tied together across the river. So we need to cut that so we can pass it. Yes Zephri will reload.

The block is chain and logs. There is a "release" on the dock. That's what I'm going for. I'm sure the archers will attempt to harry Gorn.

The map doesn't show it very well, but the north is to the left, and the south is to the right. The chain's crank is attached to the ruined tower that the archers are currently holed up in. I will mark its position with an "X". The other side of the bank holds the squat stone block half-buried in the ground. There's little chance of breaking the block without massive damage.

The border guards continue firing on the more visible targets.

Border Guard 1 vs Gorn: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8
Border Guard 2 vs Hyeon-ae: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (15) + 3 = 18
Border Guard 3 vs Noorzad: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (17) + 3 = 20

Only one arrow finds its mark, in Noorzad's tender pink bits.

Damage to Noorzad: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

The party is up! The critters will act again on Thursday unless everyone posts their actions before then.

Group 1
Noorzad [7/12 HP]
Dagat [10/12 HP]
Zephri [4/12 HP]
Hyeon-ae
Gorn

Critters
Border Guard 1
Border Guard 2 [7/11 HP]
Border Guard 3

Group 2

Helpful note to Noorzad: Get some cover before casting a summon spell. These are intelligent enemies, just like the horsemen were, and if you're casting when they act, they'll most certainly target you to disrupt any spell you're casting. You can 5' step behind Hyeon-ae for +4 AC, or even kneel for +2 AC like Dagat's doing