PFS 5-16 Destiny of the Sands Part 3: Sanctum of the Sages (Inactive)

Game Master TheBobJones

So I gather the group consensus is to hire camels. You have until tomorrow morning to complete purchases and update characters.

See you in the desert!

So I gather the group consensus is to hire camels. You have until tomorrow morning to complete purchases and update characters.

See you in the desert!

Would a cart work in the terrain we expect to be traveling through?

I have not seen carts in deserts before. So I'd rule no unless anyone can find anything stating otherwise. Happy to be proven wrong on this one.

I would say just on gut feeling, a wheeled cart in the sand would be bad news. I would venture a guess that it would only be allowed if specifically mentioned in the scenario as a viable option.

I mentioned it earlier and left it open for the GM to decide on the off chance it was mentioned in the scenario.

I'm fine with not being able to use carts. (says the guy who's class skill depends on his ability to ride)

As mentioned above, Warpac, you shouldn't have any issue just riding the camel. When life will get interesting is when something happens that forces a ride check. If our GM is ok with it, you and I could ride the same camel. (though I gotta fit my Pooch on there somehow too)

Yeah, not so much on the carts. Normally people go through the deserts on horses with no names, right?

Yeah, not so much on the carts. Normally people go through the deserts on horses with no names, right?

Just feels good to be out of the rain, no?

Xull wrote:

Yeah, not so much on the carts. Normally people go through the deserts on horses with no names, right?

Just feels good to be out of the rain, no?

Only someone not from a country composed mostly of desert (like Australia is) would say something as silly as that. ;-)

Pooka Bladespinner wrote:

Xull wrote:

Yeah, not so much on the carts. Normally people go through the deserts on horses with no names, right?

Just feels good to be out of the rain, no?

Only someone not from a country composed mostly of desert (like Australia is) would say something as silly as that. ;-)

This is the most unfortunate thing about this type of medium. I can't totally tell if you are playing along or not. (Since what I wrote is the next lyric in the song, and now that song is stuck in my head) I will assume you are playing along because you were clever enough to make the reference in the first place, and because I just know you are that clever anyways.

I thought the wink face ( ;-) ) said it all.

I too have had the damn song stuck in my head since I posted that. I had considered continuing on to the rain quote... but was secretly hoping someone else would. Thank you!

I thought the wink face ( ;-) ) said it all.

Also, I have had the damn song stuck in my head since I posted that also. I had considered continuing on to the rain quote... but was secretly hoping someone else would. Thank you!

Dammit! I knew I should have kept my mouth shut. Thats what I get for overthinking things.

This is also why I'll forever fail as a comedian. I always have to make sure everyone got the joke...

/sigh

We still need to put our money where our mouths are and buy the beasts. Warpac will cough up half the price of a camel (75 gp) but expects to be able to sell it back at half price after the fact, as mentioned in the gameplay thread. Note that he has not even thought of gear.

Xûll is happy to buy one for himself, but only if it will give me an advantage over my current base speed of 40ft. Sorry to get into the meta of it, but cash is cash. :-)

Oh, and either way, I'm happy to cover half the price of one for Warpac. Just let me know about the above, please GM, and I'll post about it on gameplay tomorrow.

Korasu can pay for his Camel, and possibly a second if anyone needs it. It works well with his caravan, I guess ;)

A camel does give a speed of 50', but I'm not sure if the added speed is relevant.

Riding camel is 150 gp and carries 1500 lbs. You can make an Appraise check or a Diplomacy check before and after the adventure to see if the mount will cost any money. At worse you can pay 100% and sell for 50%.

Sometimes the restrictions of PFS are chafing, sometimes they work in your favor. All a PC needs is an overland speed of 40.

Honestly, though there should be, there are no environmental rules in this scenario for crossing the desert. Weird right? So I am not posting them as the mod does not specify it.

Fun starts tomorrow morning, or mayhaps tonight if I get the energy to.

I am happy for Amarok to run through the desert, much easier for him to be 'on point' as a spotter/archer. Though if unfeasible I will spend 1pp to acquire a riding camel ^^.

Don't mind which, just whatever is easier ^^

So Toorin, Korasu, and Warpac. Do you all weight 1,500 total? You can get one camel.

As long as there are no RAW restrictions for crossing the desert on something besides a camel, Pooka can ride Luna (who has a base speed of 40 feet).

I guess for story purposes it didn't seem feasable, and in my head I worry about things like riding the poor dog across the desert then asking her to summon enough energy to charge into battle.

Maybe I should get something to counteract the exhausted condition....

Honestly, though there should be, there are no environmental rules in this scenario for crossing the desert. Weird right? So I am not posting them as the mod does not specify it.

In that case I'm swapping out Endure Elements for Deadeye Lore.

Ok - so we might be over thinking this in our effort to do what feels like it makes sense when planning a trek across the desert.

Pooka owns a heavy riding horse. (I had originally bought it to pull my light wagon, turns out you are not allowed to buy wagons or chariots or fun stuff like that in PFS)

Anyways - Not to go totally meta (which means I am about to go totally meta) - but if there are no penalties for using a horse instead of a camel, and no penalties for riding my mount instead of saving her energy, then I don't think we would need to buy a camel. The three of you can use my horse.

Having a camel could be kinda cool though to be honest, and what is a measly 150 gold when you are getting half that in day job check, and chronicle gold is almost 2k?

Also: Pooka's profile is updated.

Purchased:

Toorin has a horse, so he won't need to chip in on the camel. If movies like Laurence of Arabia and Hidalgo can be trusted, horses are used as much as camels in the desert, so I don't think it matters. Toorin can chip in some for the camel if gold is short.

Just FYI - you can't actually trade or give items to other PCs beyond the scenario you are in. So if Toorin uses a charge off his wand for Amarok, Amarok can't "pay him back" by giving him a scroll, unless Toorin were to use that scroll in the same scenario. It's like forced donations. If you use an expendable (something with charges or otherwise) there is no "paying back". Hope that makes sense - and sorry to dump water on your dreams. :(

I'm not worried about that. It is like getting a wand of CLW and using it to cure people after a fight. It helps the group, so I don't mind sharing. If we have time before a battle, Toorin will use a scroll, but if we are already in melee before he can do that, it may be better to use the wand, since no AOO provoked. The rest, about paying back, etc. was just RP. Thanks for the information, however.

Questionably written 3E / Pathfinder rules time!

I've always treated Tremorsense similar to Blindsense that relied on contact with the ground instead of line-of-sight. My personal ruling is that a creature with blind/tremorsense that is attacked by an Invisible creature is denied their dex bonus and that if a creature with blind/tremorsense attacks an Invisible creature that the Invisible creature has Total concealment. Blind/tremorsense only allow the creature with the ability to automatically pinpoint the square that the Invisible creature is in without the need to make a Perception check. I spent over an hour looking up alternate rulings on Invisibility / Tremorsense / Blindsense tonight and couldn't find anything.

Ultimately it's your call; I was questioning it myself when I made my action, which is why I had the question marks and rolled sneak attack damage separately :) If this was a tabletop game I'd shrug and look it up later, but I really would like to make sure that I'm interpreting the rules correctly, which is why I bring this up.

Korasu - you are right. I will change and add in the sneak attack damage.

I especially like how the rules used the same term - pinpoint - for clarification.

Note for everyone - feel free at any time to question rulings or to post questions about rulings. This one was pretty simple (in hindsight) but there are those among us who love to debate rules. ;)

New plan: we ensure that in the future all combats take place outside, with sufficient room for Pooka to charge.

So we have a crawl (dungeon, house, castle, manor to name a few I have run/played in)- to me the most challenging aspect of PbP. I am going too outline the procedures, though Xull, Pook, and Korasu are already familiar with them and can help you out. Feel free to offer suggestions or feedback. Just don't be mean. I am sensitive and prone to fits of crying.

• Most important - you lead the way. Once two or more agree on a course of action move yourselves and delete the spoiler on the map.
• For all traps and evil things I will roll for you assuming that you are actively looking for these types of things.
• If you have something special that you'd like me to do every time you walk into a new room, let me know. We call this a SOP (standard operating procedure) i.e I cast Guidance on Warpac. Sometimes we will be in rounds and that can't happen. Say one action a character.
• It only makes sense that you have a weapon drawn so please declare which one you have.
• Some romms/scenes will call for specific actions - like read the book you found in the desk. For these special situiations, I will prompt you by asking 'Please describe what you are going' or 'Do you read the book?'
• As Painlord says keep pushing.

Hopefully this will keep the action up and we can slog through this with maximum enjoyment.

New plan: we ensure that in the future all combats take place outside, with sufficient room for Pooka to charge.

Haha! Cavaliers can be pretty B/A - its generally pretty difficult to find situations where you can actually charge. Thats why I love the outdoors :)

This new wheeling charge feat is pretty amaze-balls too. (Cities of Golarion is the source) It opens up so many more options in terms of positioning on the board.

Fun fun fun....

I'll be honest, I love my halfling cavalier, but I do often wonder what kind of havoc I could wreak with a human who doesn't have to take a strength penalty and is medium sized....

Kingmaker AP. Someday.

That all seems pretty reasonable GM, thanks for the DL ^^.

Yeah, I always liked Cavaliers as a concept but the large sized mount was a pain. I did look at the phantom one but wasn't sure. Pooka did inspire me to create a Wayang cavalier I am having a lot of fun atm!

Amarok will always have his bow in hand and his primary ammunition is cold iron unless he knows/ is told otherwise ^^

Yeah, I always liked Cavaliers as a concept but the large sized mount was a pain. I did look at the phantom one but wasn't sure. Pooka did inspire me to create a Wayang cavalier I am having a lot of fun atm!

Nice! I'm pumped that I helped inspire you! I always figured you couldn't bring a horse in a cave, but if a human can walk in, I know a dog could. I bit the halfling strength bullet because of the exclusive "order of the paw" which gave me access to a dog instead of a wolf. (not that a wolf is a bad choice) and I think I have mentioned my motivations for the dog above.

Anyways.. fun fun!

In the Kingmaker AP I'm starting up, I have two cavaliers :P

SOP for Warpac:
1) Wield axe and shield
2) If he has time he gets a Lucky Presence blessing on him before opening the door, entering the building, or crossing whatever threshold between safe and not so safe. If he has a LOT of time he grants one to Pooka. Gotta make his first attack count.
3) After crossing, get a Detect Magic blazing.
4) Unless mounted on a camel or grappled or any number of other conditions he tends to find himself in, cast Divine Favor on himself as a swift action using fervor and charge into battle without looking for traps or lurking creatures. Always works out in the end even if he does get a bit chewed up.
5) If it looks suspicious cast summon monster I and let a dog lead the way. Sorry Luna, no offense intended. Maybe this should be step 4?

Toorin will not have a weapon drawn. He can use his TK fist if need be and he will sometimes want to use his bow rather than his sword when opponents show up at range. So he'll just draw whichever he needs as part of a move action.

Upon entering rooms when no combat is under way, he will cast detect magic. He will attempt to identify anything magical (Spellcraft = +11 + 1d6).

If there is writing, he will detect magic on it first and if nothing dangerous is found, he will attempt to read (languages: Common, Elven, Draconic, Sylvan, Osiriani, Azlanti, Gnoll, Kelish).

No need to put in a spoiler. I would rule that snowball does damage but not the staggered effect afterwards.

Was that your turn or where you waiting on a ruling?

You can also post 2 different actions in a spoiler to indicate IF snowball works. And a IF snowball doesn't work.

At the time, Toorin was not yet up. I figured I'd resolve the question so I could move forward when my turn came. I'm at work now and don't have time to post, but I will later this evening.

So there is soooo much that is going to happen here. I am going to try and not overwhelm you, but it might be beneficial for you all to keep track of all the ancient runes you transcribe. Not to spoil anything, but you will also find out about a very cool <> that is told in flashback form. As you explore more, you learn more. If you keep track of what you learn, you should be able to piece together the story. I think that would be much cooler than me giving you a boxed text in the end.

So I have created 2 Google Docs for you to record your info. I started the one for you and I will give you the second one once you reach <> and find <>.

Expect one up this weekend.

Cool! Xûll will continue to be impressed at the work of the more studious Pathfinders. He is interested in anything pertaining to trade, however...

Magic question: Toorin has an ability linked to his school of transmutation called Telekinetic Punch, described as follows:

The telekinetic fist deals 1d4 points of bludgeoning damage + 1 for every two wizard levels you possess.

I've always assumed that this is a force effect, but the description doesn't say it is, so that makes me wonder. Would TK fist fully affect an incorporeal target as a force effect or just do half-damage because it is magic?

@ Toorin

So I did a bit reading and this is what I found. Spells with force effects would have the force descriptor, and they all seemed to be Evocation.

So I would rule the latter rather than the former in the case of Telekinetic Punch

Incorporeal creatures take half damage (50%) from magic weapons, spells, spell-like effects, and supernatural effects.

@ Everyone don't forget if you want to use the ghost salts you have to bake it in.

I love the paranoia.

I'm ok with warpac taking the ghost salts. My weapons are magical so I can at least do something if we come across incorporeal creatures. I also have oil of magic weapon if really necessary.

-Posted with Wayfinder

I'm also good for Warpac to to take the salts, I have silver arrows so don't need those salts either

@ Toorin@ Everyone don't forget if you want to use the ghost salts you have to bake it in.

Bake it huh? And here we have a forge. A little worse for the weather, pun intended, but a forge nonetheless. Is it possible to have it done here?

Cool thought, but you are against the clock remember. It would take too much time to clear things out to get the forge working.

You just need to:

When rubbed onto a weapon that is then placed over a hot flame for a full round, ghost salt melts and forms a temporary coating on the weapon.

Just need a one round fire.

Well then, since he has a Clerics kit which includes all kinds of useful stuff including torches, will that do? If so, consider the ax anointed.

Did we get a clarification on whether the Seeking Bolts are bolts or arrows?

I may not be able to post tomorrow until late evening (Eastern Time U.S.). Do whatever you need to do to keep things moving.

Kaorasu Sorry - they are bolts

My apologies for such a prolonged absence. Just did not get any time to post over the weekend. We had nothing on as a family, but the recent winter school break, my regular "cleaning day" being a further break in our school district, rainy days on the weekends and a few parties last weekend meant that the house and yard were in serious need of attention. Shattered myself getting it done, but it's done!

Again, sorry for lacking in the posting and for not letting anyone know in advance.

As always, please let me know who has what - so far I have Amarok with the bolts, and Korasu asking for them. Also did Warpac bake the salt on? You said you did but I know Xull suggested not to. Weird PbP timelines. I have a full day/night so please resolve these before we move on.

As for the pacing, I think we might be going a bit too fast if you can believe it. I am not going to poast any further actions until tomorrowish.

As they are bolts, i will pass them on to Korasu, Amarok only does arrows. I have some durable silver arrows, though if no one else is using it ill use the silver salts on the blunt arrows.