[PFS] #5-04 GM Iff's The Stolen Heir (Inactive)

Game Master Iff

Shaking off the fire damage the inquisitor steps up to the one threatening the firewarden and takes a swing at him and misses him horribly

attack+bless: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 5 + 1 = 7

sorry, forgot prone could still make aoo

Cypher grits their teeth and steps slowly towards the corner.

"not.... Feeling so hot guys.... That... Really hurt..."

five foot step action only because disabled.

-Posted with Wayfinder

I could have sworn I updated my tag line. Yanda has an AC of 21 since she took her shield extract. I believe that attack missed as a result. I've definitely updated the tag line this time.

Yanda cusses under her breath and says "My appologies friends. I think I will stick to this dagger for a while."

She will attack defensively, raising her AC to 23.

To hit dagger: 1d20 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 1 - 4 = 5

She weaves a distracting dance, but doesn't even come close to hurting her opponent.

I'll get you next Cypher. I don't have selective channel and I don't feel like healing the baddies.

You're right, Yanda. That was maybe my mistake, could have misremembered your AC.

Frankie hits the prone man in red. He seems pretty wounded, but doesn't give up the fight yet. The little one tries to jump past him, but he's misjudged the height somewhat. The man raises his sword to strike, but doesn't catch the jumping halfling.

Amahl lashes out twice at his opponent, but his ringed broadsword is parried both times. "That's none of your business," he growls. "We're taking her back!" Lucky for Amahl, Shera arrives to provide backup. Her casting might have provided an opening for an attack, but lucky for her the man in red is distracted by Frankie. Casting would have provoked, but red already made an AoO this round.

Cyhper retreats, and both Farith and Yanda miss despite flanking their opponent!

Things look dire, but fortunately the Galtans also suffer from bad luck. Amahl dodges the sword directed at him, while the man in yellow feeble tries to pierce Yanda's defenses. The man on the ground raises his sword up to Shera. "Get out of there. Give them a fair fight."

--

COMBAT TRACKER - Round 5 - Bold may act
1st - Brigands: Red (-10, prone), blue (-9, prone, surrendering), Yellow, Green (-5)
2nd - Cypher (-6), Frankie (-3), Amahl (-8), Farith (-1), Yanda, Shera

ONGOING EFFECT
Bless - entire party - 2 minutes from round 1

--

Attack, bless, flanking: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 5 + 1 + 2 = 20
damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Snarling in frustration the inquisitor brings down the morningstar once more, knowing that the Firewarden was going to be in a bad spot should the galtean attack her.

Frankie looks down at the man in red as he slashes up at him "Hey I was being nice and trying not to kill you and you try to stab me!"

Seeing Yonda being helped by Helmet Head he hops back over the blue fella and stabs at Red once more with a miffed look on his face.

Acrobatics: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (20) + 8 = 28

Rapier vs Red, Flank + Bless + Prone - Defensively: 1d20 + 5 + 2 + 1 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 5 + 2 + 1 + 4 - 4 = 251d4 + 1d6 ⇒ (1) + (4) = 5

"And no I'm not sorry!"

23 AC until next turn

Yanda continues her bobbing and weaving, her unnaturally slim Sylph body surrounded by the shimmering shield spell making a difficult target.

She will attack defensively, again raising her AC to 23.

To hit dagger: 1d20 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (17) + 1 - 4 = 14

Frankie finds a good spot with his rapier. The hit leaves the man in red staggered, clutching at his side. "OK, ok. I yield," he coughs as he throws down his longsword.

The remained two look at their companions and at each other, and the fight also seems to have left them. They hold for the moment, seeing how events unfold. "Look, we're just getting paid to do this job. Enderios knows more," says the ruffian in yellow as he vaguely points at the stairs. "Yeah," his companion in green agrees. "If you let us leave for Galt, we'll never set foot in Andoran again. 'onestly."

Yanda, that would hit, especially if you add the +2 bonus from flanking.

--

COMBAT TRACKER - Round 5 - Bold may act
1st - Brigands: Red (-15, prone, disabled), blue (-9, prone, surrendering), Yellow, Green (-5)
2nd - Cypher (-6), Frankie (-3), Amahl (-8), Farith (-1), Yanda, Shera

ONGOING EFFECT
Bless - entire party - 2 minutes from round 1

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (15) - 1 = 14
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (11) + 3 = 14

Sense motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10
Slowly pulling the morning star away he regards the man for a moment before speaking up. "They speak the truth, besides... if they return here I will ensure that I will find them again and that the law will bring them to justice..."

Yanda, that would hit, especially if you add the +2 bonus from flanking.

Hmmm... That was unexpected. Then throw in dagger: 1d4 ⇒ 2 damage.

Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 8
Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21

"Downstairs? Is the girl with him - or her?"

Cypher coughs, holding their side.

"if someone wouldn't mind a patch up over here?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

Yanda pulls out her wand and gives Cyper a dab.

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Cypher sighs deeply and straightens up. They look at the bandits and put a hand on their hip with a smile.

"Now boys, I assure you, I'm much more pleasant than my large armored friend here. Wouldn't you mind... Spending a little time... Just to talk? About who paid you, what they told you, while my friends go get the girl to take her home?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (7) + 16 = 23

oh boy, above a 5!
-Posted with Wayfinder

The Galtan men nod gravely to Farith's threats, and wordlessly confirm that Thalia is downstairs with Enderios. Once Cypher gets them talking, they're eager to spill the beans. They turn out to be glory-hounds, elbowing each other out of the way to talk. The problem is, they really don't know all that much. "We were just taking the woman back to Galt, Miss," says the first before another butts in. "As an escaped noble, she should go back and face charges. The people of Andoran must understand that!" Another tries to shift the attention away from them. "Other than that, we don't really know much. You'll 'ave to talk with Enderios. 'e set this up. We were just supposed to wait 'ere for further instructions from our employer. But we've never seen him, 'onestly. You talk with Enderios, 'e tells you more."

They look at you as one, hoping for the word that will allow them to leave.

Frankie sheaths his rapier as he gathers up the bandits swords and tosses them down into the sink hole "Did you say escaped noble?" He scratches the back of his neck and asks "What's this girl's name anyhow?" I didn't know she was escaped from somewhere's else... Adulting is confusing work.

Assuming things are still in a state of peace, Frankie will head over and check out the stairs for anything that look like boobie traps or hazards. Perception (traps): 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 = 23

"Yea, what noble family does she belong to, or do you know? You all seem like the type that don't ask a lot of questions, and make a lot of assumptions. How do you KNOW she is a noble's brat?"

I hope the others don't take my calling her a noble's brat the wrong way.

Shera pulls out her wand, and begins to tap her companions with it while they chat. "After they answer the last of our questions. We could always take them back for trial on kidnapping charges, but until we find the ringleader it's probably not a good idea to drag them back. I'm inclined to let them go."

CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2 Frankie
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 Amahal
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8 Farith

"She's called Thalia," one of them answers Frankie. "I guess that is 'er real name, she answered to it when we found 'er." Yanda's question results in some sheepish grins. "Listen, everyone else you 'ave to ask Enderios. We're just 'ired 'elp - for the Revolution, of course." He doesn't sound too enthusiastic about the Revolution, but it's never a good idea in Galt to voice dissension on that topic.

Frankie continues scratching his head in a confused manner, ignoring their repeated mentions to talk to the boss "You found her? In Galt? What revolution? Are they having another revolution here?" Frankie leans up against the wall, feeling a bit light headed in confusion and looks around at his companions for some help straightening things out.

"No, child. The 'revolution'," she says this word with a knowing accent, "took place in a different country. I think its on the other side of the Five Mountains over there." She points to the northeast. "Those in power fell out of power and had to flee far away. This man is saying that Thalia has been fingered by Enderios as one of the losers by birth. The thing about the winners in this fight is that they want to make sure all of the losers and their entire families are dead and are willing to chase them all over the place. Winning was not enough. In any case, I'm not sure how this all ties in to whats going on here. Perhaps this Enderios is on the side of the winners and really has chased her family down here and wants to kill them all. Or maybe it was just a story to motivate these hired thugs, though I don't really think they needed any more motivation that the pay they were offered. Which leaves the probability that Thalia is, or that Enderios believes she is, a member of the Galt nobility - that's the name of the loser group. At face value it seems that we have been caught up in the revolution, all the way out here in Andoran."

The ruffians look at Frankie like he's dumb - or maybe like he's a little kid who suddenly seems out of place. They endure Yanda's explanation, shrugging at her conjecture. "That's just what we was told. So, can we go?"

Sense Motive vs ruffians: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (11) - 1 = 10 Frankie catches the men's sideways glances at his ignorance and does his best to defend himself "This is my first time this far away from Absalom, and while I can say I certainly wasn't a great student back when I was a kid, at least I didn't turn to KIDNAPPING and THUGGERY!" Now that I think about it, some of these Society adventures have some of that involved.. hmm.

Bluff to Act more Adult: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18

sighing for a moment at Frankie the Inquisitor regards the men for a brief moment. "I know your faces, be gone and never set foot here..." Turning to his companions "Let's find Enderios, these are hired thugs, nobodies who are only in it for the money and not worth our time.."

Amahl nods, allowing the brigands to leave.

"Let's get down those stairs. Farith if you don't mind could you lead the way, please? Before we go." Shera casts Bless on the party again.

Two Minutes of Bless

Farith leads the group downstairs, into the cellar. There is a lot of dust, but also signs that this passage has been used recently. In the cellar below sits a fair-featured human woman in her thirties with curly black hair and a fashionable sky-blue Andoren dress, who must be Thalia. She has her hands tied before her, with her captor holding the other end of the 30-foot-long rope. She's holding a book in her hands, and another is balanced on her leg.

Here captor, presumably Enderios, stands guard with his sword drawn but lowered. He is an olive-skinned young man in a long red woolen coat. "Why are you attacking?" he demands in the same thick Galtan accent as his companions. "I am detaining an escaped fugitive from the Red Revolution at the request of my employer, who 'as insisted on remaining uninvolved for security reasons. Now, explain yourselves."

There is a picture of Thalia up on the Slides document.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15
Sense Motive: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

The inquistor makes his way into the room and regarded the scene before him. Turning his head towards Tahlia a frown crossed his features for the briefest of moment before regarding Enderios. "You man attacked us first, they fired arrows and narrowly missed me. Now about the refugee, she isn't a refugee, and you are starting to understand the fact you are being used... Let's come to a feasible solution where we all walk away with what we want..."

Perception: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (4) + 5 = 9
Sense Motive Thalia: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Sense Motive Enderios: 1d20 ⇒ 17

Does everybody in Galt believe anything they're told?

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

Frankie heads down with the group still distracted by his confusion on what is going on. Everyone's saying something different, how do you now who's right and who's not?

"Thalia? Are you ok? We've come to rescue you from your kidnappers!"

"Thank you!" Thalia exclaims. She doesn't sound relieved exactly, more satisfied. "I've actually had some good discussion with Enderios here about the teachings of Darl Jubbanich. But he just wouldn't accept my explaantion of who I am. And I disagree with his interpretation of Alysande's writings", she adds somewhat smugly.

Enderios isn't mollified, although he seems happy that the encounter hasn't led to bloodshed so far. Still, he doesn't apologize either, for his men starting the fight. "All right. I don't say I believe you, mind. This might just be a ploy to get 'er away safely. Still, even if you were telling the truth, that still puts me in a 'ard spot. I won't get paid if I let 'er go, and then I can't pay my men..."

--

I'm going to need a Diplomacy check eventually.

Yanda's face registers shock and she says

"This sort of behavior might be encouraged in Galt, but here... Here it is quite illegal. You are just plain lucky we are not in the legal/illegal business and, weeing as how nobody was hurt... and seeing as Thalia actually seems to have enjoyed your company... well, I'm willing to overlook it. Your men have already slipped off and probably won't be expecting payment. You may do so as well, though we do need to know who set you up."

diplomacy aid for Cypher: 1d20 ⇒ 6

I think I just irritated him.

Amahl sighs. "I believe, Master Enderios, that you have been duped. Tell us a bit about your employer. Who are they, what do they look like, how long have you known them and where and when did they contact you?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 16 ⇒ (9) + 16 = 25 +2 with fan if allowed.

Cypher steps ahead of the group, flipping open their fan and taking a moment to choose their words carefully.

My dear fighter for the glorious revolution... please, think about this rationally for just a moment. Your men have already fled, and having abandoned their posts have forfeited any money that you owed them. You are alone with several rather heavily armed persons who have already proven that they can fight, and well.

They shrug and step forward, pointing the fan at the poor captive noble girl.

Your captive is obviously not a Galtan, and tracing her family history to prove that she is Andoran is trivial. Clearly, someone has tried to take advantage of your righteous fervor as a Galtan revolutionary! They have corrupted your good and righteous cause in an attempt to turn you into an assassin for their deeds.

They make a dramatic wave of their fan, pointing at Enderios.

Join us revolutionary! Help us stamp out the one who would corrupt the revolution to their vile needs! Give us their information and go back to Galt to warn other revolutionaries of those who would steal the glory of Galt for their vile purposes!

While Frankie doesn't follow along with quite everything Cypher says, especially the fan and batting of eyelashes, he nods along enthusiastically with what he does follow.

"No one ever gets paid for partial work. If you want to offer them something you could grab their longswords I tossed into the pit outside as a sign of good faith?"

Diplomacy Aid: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

Amahl nods along with the more eloquent human and halfling.

Enderios sighs and drops the rope holding Thalia. "Very well, This 'ole thing is a mess. But that is what the Revolution does to people. I will retrieve their weapons and join my men, even if I don't know where to, yet." Thalia stands up and starts packing up her books. Enderios sheathes his sword and retrieves a paper from a coat pocket, which he hands to you. "I met our employer outside the town. 'e was a brown-haired Taldan man who called himself Marcus. Average 'eight, lean build and clean-shaven."

The letter he hands over contains instructions on how to slip into the Andares house unnoticed, kidnap Thalia and hide her in the burned-out Sauer mansion until further notice. There are a few odd smudges on the paper.

--

Now that the chance for hostilities is gone, you get another look around. Damp, moldy rafters barely hold up the ceiling of this 15-foot-square cellar, and already the supports sag under the weight of the earth above. The few remaining shelves and wine racks in this room are equally decayed but still support several dozen bottles of decades-old wine of good vintage. The collapsing sinkhole has left its marks here, the sudden rush of soil having crushes the remaining supports and furniture as well as causing the surfaces of the earthen walls to crumble.

Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (2) + 6 = 8
Perception: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

With everything said and done the inquisitor goes over the paper but doesn't find anything of interest to his knowledge. After that he goes over the ambush site and finds the box, handing it over to frankie "show us how nimble your fingers are..." Depending on the outcome he turns to the rest "Let us see if we can find this marcus guy..."

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21
Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

Amahl points out the alchemical smudges on the paper, though he cannot tell what they are.

Seeing the box that Farith retrieves, he nods. "Let us put your agile fingers to good use, my cocoa-loving friend!"

Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (13) + 3 = 16
Perception: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Frankie is deep in thought of all the men he's seen so far matching that rather vague and general description. "That guy could be anyone! We must have seen half a dozen people that fit that description already today!"

Seeing Helmet Head produce a box Frankie's eyes narrow a bit more in interest "Woah, where'd you find that? I bet I can figure it out, its a puzzle right? I'm GREAT at puzzles!"

Frankie takes the locked box and gives it a look over, turning it over and over in his hands, inspecting it. Perception take 20 for traps: 24

Next he starts nimbly prodding the seams and lock with his finger nails to clean out any dirt and rust.

Disable Device: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 Use Halfling Luck Racial to add +2 for a 26, Frankie doesn't want to look like a noob!

In mere moments after studying the box Frankie pops the top open "Told ya I was good at 'puzzles'!" He proudly takes a look inside "My mom always had lots of puzzles for me to solve around the house.. where'd she hide the food today puzzle, find the last bottle of wine puzzle, don't come out of your room for the rest of the night puzzle!" He looks up "We played that one a lot. Sometimes when I got a bit older she'd even bring me home puzzles like this one to solve for her!"

Frankie doesn't spot any traps, and with a little halfling luck he opens the lockbox. It contains several silver and gold bars stamped with the insignia of a Chelish noble house. In addition, there are three carefully folded pieces of parchment: a scroll of blood biography, a scroll of seek thoughts, and a brittle contract promising aid from House Morilla of Taldor to the Sauer family in return for future favors.

Several of you have read magic, so I gave you the spells on the scrolls immediately.

"WOAH Jackpot!" Cheers Frankie as he yanks out the bars of silver and gold, passing the boring paperwork back to Helmet Head. "Steak dinners all around tonight!"

"Good job, Frankie! You have certainly earned that dinner!" He weighs the gold, and examines the scrolls, then looks at the contract. "Anyone recall anything about this? I'm afraid I've never been much of a historian."

Cypher examines the bars with interest.

"Chelish gold huh? Curious"

Spying the contract, Cypher holds out a hand and takes the contract if no one else objects.

"this could be of use to the more politically active of the societies leadership. I'll make sure it reaches them safely."

-Posted with Wayfinder

After finding out the nature of the scrolls, Yanda thinks Well, someone certainly did not like secrets. I wonder if it was an inquisitor. I hope Frankie doesn't notice the wine.

"Shall we return the girl or try to track down this Marcus."

Know History: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14

Shera studies the papers. "I'm sorry I don't know that house." She turns to Thalia "Miss Thalia are you alright? Are you injured? It seems you enjoyed your conversation with Enderios while you were waiting. Do you know who Marcus might be?"

I need to grab the wine on the way out. I do love a good bottle of wine.

"I'm all right, I guess," says Thalia. "Having to live in this cellar was about as uncomfortable as you can imagine, but they did not mistreat me. And indeed, Enderios was a good conversationalist." She thinks for a moment. "Sorry, I don't think there's anyone in Sauerton named Marcus. Name doesn't ring a bell, at least. But I'd quite like to find out who's behind all this. Can I see that note? Sir, you mentioned alchemical smudges?"

I think you missed one clue. It was a couple of posts up, in a spoiler behind a Craft (alchemy) skills check DC 12. Amahl made the check, and it would be an auto-succeed for Yanda.

Yes, I forbore having Yanda comment as Amahl already pointed out the smudges.

"Yes, it would be useful to know if there are any alchemists in this town. Particularly ones close to the family or opposed to the family."

"Indeed. Someone wrote this at an Alchemist's shop, or somewhere there is a lab at least. We ought to follow up and see what we find there." Amahl nods. "Miss Thalia, it is good to see you alive and well! You have a historian's eye, can you make heads or tails of this contract we found?"