PFS: AP: Carrion Crown (CORE!)

Game Master R D

"I can try to climb the waterfall?

back from London
Gravleon takes a good look at the tunic...then moves to catchup with his group
percepción : 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (17) + 7 = 24

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Blackheath, it would take an hour or two to clear the debris.

Yes, Grog, you can climb around on the outside of the building.

Gravleon, you notice that the barricade was setup to keep whatever's inside the building from getting out. You also notice that the trollhound's bedding suggest that they were here to guard the way--not to keep people out, but to keep something in!

With a dour expression, Blackheath listens to Gravleon's observations.
"Maybe removing the barricade isn't a good idea. I wouldn't want to free any eldritch evil... Not before supper, anyway."

He considers the waterfall and Grog's offer and sighs. "We might have to try scaling it. Do we have anything --magical or nonmagical -- that would help Grog? Perhaps we can set up some kind of rope system for the rest of us."

What is the distance that Grog will need to climb?

Depends on how far he wants to go. If you merely want to go to the "roof" of F2/F3/F4, not far. If you want to obviate the interior and climb to areas G or H, that's another matter.

Can I take 10 for an 18? To head to the roof?

Sure! Remember, this is a waterfall and the other buildings / other parts of the buildings are higher up the waterfall.

Whenever Grog is ready to begin his climb, Blackheath tries to inspire competence in his friend with a quick joke: "If you fall, remember to flap your arms. It won't do you any good but it will cheer the rest of us up immensely."

Grog, inspire competence gets you a +2 on skill checks -- and I think it should continue for as long as you can here Blackheaths voice or until his Bradic performance runs out, but hopefully you will have a few rounds of it.

Let's also tie a rope around Grog and anchor it... just in case.

It's wet and slippery atop the structure. But, Grog is able to muscle his way to the top.

In the distance, perhaps a few hours' walk, he espies the torches of the approaching mob.

Much close to the waterfall, he also see a handful of large sized creatures moving through the swamp. They have cover and concealment; it's difficult to tell what they are, exactly. But they seem to be in the path on the mob.

Both groups, the mob and the large creatures, are too far away from each other to be aware of each other... for now...

Just posting to make sure you all know I'm still around, just waiting for Grog to update the others on what he saw. :)

"Do we have any way to signal to that mob? We can't just let them blindly walk into their doom."

How fast does Sharien's cat move? Do any of you have fly or something similar? You could reconnoiter and figure out what's up with the large creatures.

Cat familiars have a move speed of 30 feet and a +6 on Climb. Wouldn't help much with getting the rest of us anywhere.

Hmm, I don't think we've got fly -- unless someone has a potion or scroll for it. I was wondering if we could send up a flare and then use an illusion or something to produce a visible warning in the air, but I don't think we have any illusion spells that would handle it.

@Sharien, if you have Monster summoning III, could you summon a lantern archon? It has flight of 60 I think -- though we would only have it for 5 rounds, I guess. It can speak, so maybe it could deliver a message to the villagers for us. I wish it could just use its teleport power but I guess summoned creatures can't.

I could, but I already used my SMIII slot for the day. Would need to rest to re-prepare. :(

I could, but I already used my SMIII slot for the day. Would need to rest to re-prepare. :(

OMG! We brought you to an evil castle without giving you time to prep spells! This could be bad. lol

@GM: I know you are traveling, so here is something to think about between stops -- If we scavenged some pieces of the barricade to provide a framework for a creatively cursive use of 100' rope to write out something like: "Ambush NW" or some such thing and then cast a light spell on the rope... well, would such an idea be feasible to make a sign that the villagers could see and if so, how long might it take to prepare?

@Blackheath: ROFL! You can totally do that.

@Sharien: You're fresh up. You had to meet with Judge Daramid on the day after the trial was over. :)

I'm traveling today. Posting from airport right now. Couple of meetings tomorrow. Then convention starts on Friday. Should be able to post tomorrow.

OH okay :) In that case:

Sharien casts a spell and summons a hound-looking outsider. Thanks to summoner's charm, it actually lasts 7 rounds... so we could theoretically have it carry each of us up, correct? Or we could send it to deliver a message. What do we think, guys?

Does the hound fly? If not, it might not be able to deliver the message -- even if it can, I'm not sure if it would reach the target in time (1 round to explain the message, 1 round to give the message to the target, leaves 5 rounds of travel time). It's your summon, Sharien, so I vote that you make the call on how you want to use it.

Blackheath will try to quickly organize the rope-writing trick to create Golarion's first "neon sign". To cut down on time to assemble, he can cast unseen servant. I'd like to give some sort of one-word message and the compass direction of the threat. Does anyone have a good idea on how to sum up "cohort of shadowy beasts heading your way" in one word?

Some combination of 0-level spells can achieve Blackheath's desired effect. Certainly, if prestidigitation can turn an entire party blue, then it can make a neon sign for a bit.

I remind you, however, that the angry mob expects trouble. They intend to be violent with the Beast.

Right, I expect that the mob will be its own problem, but, as with the villagers in part 1, we don't to have to like them to try to save them. Whatever we can do to minimize potential loss of life seems to fit with the alignment of our group. We will just have to deal with the mob on our own rather than letting a unknown danger deal with them for us. Does the group agree with that plan, before we go forward?

Blackheath finishes his rope-sign but before "lighting it up" looks to his companions.

"Those shapes that Grog saw down near the base of the waterfall -- that couldn't be the Beast, could it? But there can't be more than one Beast, right? I mean -- did he find a girlfriend? But he should already be ahead of us, not behind us. I don't want to be shifting a bloodthirsty mob onto some other innocent group."

The clown bangs his head against a rock for a minute. "Let's give both groups a warning message so that they both have a chance to hide or retreat."

He fiddles with the rope a moment before producing a sign that says: "BEWARE AMBUSH".

"If the rest of you are ready, it is time to fire this thing up."

"Well, he did mention something about 'dad', so perhaps his father is also a similar sort of creature?"

want to chime in but I don't know were I belong...

Chime in with your thoughts! :-) All contributions to the discussion are welcome.

I just got back home from PaizoCon. Sorry for the delays.

Mob Sense Motive: 1d20 ⇒ 1

*Sad trombone sound*

The angry mob hurries forward--even more resolute in their "mission" now.

"well twas a bright idea but these fools are blind to it...we must move quickly if we are to stop needless loss..." gravleon tell the group

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"Agreed. It looks like we need to get up the waterfall with some ropes and Grog's assistance. But first..."

Blackheath quickly rearranges the glowing rope until it says: BLACKHEATH LIVE IN CONCERT and in smaller text Ladies drink free after 9.

"Let's go."

LOL

Sharien cracks a small smile at Blackheath's use of glowing rope, then says "No more time to waste, we must help these creatures."

"I yes..but which ones..." gravleon grumbles

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Blackheath quickly rearranges the glowing rope until it says: BLACKHEATH LIVE IN CONCERT and in smaller text Ladies drink free after 9.

2d12 ⇒ (12, 4) = 16

16 brownies and other tiny-sized, neutral-aligned fey pop pout of the woodwork (literally) to "Ooh!" and "Ah!" about the pending performance. :-)

Whenever the party decides where to go, we'll go there.

"Okay, if we are going to try and intercept one of the groups, which should we choose? If we let the mob proceed, they may storm the castle while we are meeting the unknown group. If we focus on the mob -- well, we will never know what the shadowy group was up to and we might not be able to stop the mob short of violence. Do we intercept the mob or the shadows? Let's vote on it!"

The brownies add their voices to the vote: "Pick the big things! We haven't seen a hot mess yet today!"

"I think we should go warn the 'shadowy' group, with the assumption that the Beast is one of them. If we can get them out of harm's way, we can try to calm down the mob."

"Wheee!" the brownies all yell. :-)

The party makes their way to the large shapes in the swamp.

Suvival or Perception check to know more. (Your choice, please roll only one.)

Stealth checks optional but will be difficult, given the terrain.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (9) + 10 = 19

1d20 ⇒ 12

Once the party is about 60 feet away from the "large" things, you can tell: this is not the beast! These three large creatures are, in fact, trolls. And they're on a "collision course" with the pitchfork-wielding, torch-bearing mob.

1d20 ⇒ 20

The trolls have not spotted the party. It is clear that the trolls can hear the mob and have begun seeking them out.

Sharien's eyes widen. She speaks in a whisper to the group.
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (10) + 10 = 20... fairly effectively.
"Those are trolls. We must stop them before they attack the villagers! I have a fire spell prepared, so when we are ready, I will hit them all with it."

Sharien will use her fireball spell on the trolls as soon as everyone is ready to fight them.

Now that you've spotted them, you may attempt Sense Motive and Knowledge Local checks to know more. These do not look like typical trolls!

Blackheath readies his bow at Sharien's words, but then takes a closer look at the trolls...

Know Local: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4

Wow.

"I think I recognize them from various bars around town. I'm pretty sure I dated one of them."

Anyone else have a better knowledge local or sense motive?

sm: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18

"hang on they seem odd for trolls maybe blackheath did date one..."

The trolls seem afraid. They're clearly NOT afraid of the mob. Rather, they're afraid of whatever is behind the barricade. Remember the troll hounds that we hand-waved? Hm. What if they belonged to these trolls?

Now, trolls being trolls, they don't care much about the mob and would kill them all without a second thought. But, these guys are moving to intercept the mob--to prevent them from undoing the barricade!

What could make three trolls that afraid?

The very moment that this question crosses your minds, a clap of thunder peals across the sky. You cannot be sure if it was your imagination running wild, but each of you believes that you heard something roar while the thunder cracked. Or, perhaps the roaring was the thunder.

Either way, the thunderous noise spurs the trolls to move with a sense of urgency. They definitely intend to kill the mob!

"Okay, we've got to stop the trolls from getting to the mob, and then we need to defuse the mob situation before they unleash some eldritch evil from the castle. Shouldn't be hard at all."

@GM: about how much time do we have before the trolls collide with the mob?

@team:

1. If we can, do we want the mob to see the trolls so that they know we are rescuing them from them and thus gain some leverage when we try to tell them to go home?

2. I think we will need to hit the trolls hard, but we should also keep back any "crowd control" or nonlethal spells and attacks in case we cannot convince the mob to disperse through diplomacy. For instance, I can throw some Sleep spells, and maybe Sharien can use a glitterdust (though temporary blinding might incite them more). Gravleon could drop something like 10 gallons of water on them, but again, that might not dissaude a mob.

@GM: about how much time do we have before the trolls collide with the mob?

2d3 ⇒ (3, 3) = 6

About 6 minutes, give or take.

"Lead the way, my friend. You're the only one with a chance to stop that mob, anyway."

Feel free to arrange yourselves however you wish. Given the trolls' perception check above, the party will be able to get a surprise round. There may be additional bonuses for clever planning. :)

sorry I kinda lost track of this. What map are we on?

No map yet. It's entirely possible to do this without combat.

"Maybe we should talk to the brutes?"

Anything in particular that you'd like to say to them, Grog?

"I don't know... they don't look friendly to me. I'm actually more concerned about what has THEM scared, though."

Anyone who wishes to do so may attempt a Knowledge Local or Sense Motive check to know more about the trolls' motivations.