PFS: AP: Carrion Crown (CORE!)

Game Master R D

Blackheath: 1d20 ⇒ 19
Gravleon: 1d20 ⇒ 18
Grog: 1d20 ⇒ 10
Sharien: 1d20 ⇒ 1

It occurs to both Blackheath and Gravleon that trolls possess amazing regenerative powers, allowing them to recover from nearly any wound. They don't really fear injury. Most trolls stake out large territories as their own, and fights between rivals are quite common.

It is odd that these trolls fer something. It is even odder that they've managed to work together.

Trolls respect strength. They fear acid and fire--but, not that much. Because of their self-centered nature, diplomacy is not likely to work on them. Because of their near-fearlessness, intimidation is not likely to work on them.

They're not very smart. INT 6 You may be able to trick them. Skills like bluff or perform might work here.

Convincing them that you're stronger than whatever they fear might work, too. A display of physical prowess (str check, acrobatics, and the like) might work here.

Trolls require vast amounts of food. Bargaining with them might work, too. Skills like appraise, survival, or profession merchant might work here.

As always, clever plans and/or the creative use of alternate skills might also work.

Of course, smacking them down hard and burninating them will work too. :)

I'll let Blackheath and Gravleon come up with some ideas based on the knowledge they have. :)

I can't decide what to do continue the cycle of Oppression and take down the trolls or convince them to back off somehow or get the humans to turn around without getting the attention of the trolls

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One of the trolls whispers to another: "What if they're working for that thing by the waterfall? We can allow them to let it out. But, if we kill them, it will be very angry with us!"

The other responds: "Doesn't matter. If we kill them, they can't let it out. We'll be safe."

The third chimes in: "What if it breaks out on its own?"

At that thought, the three trolls look crestfallen and indecisive.

Sorry for the delay!

I like Gravelon's IC approach that the trolls should be given a chance. Blackheath is limited as far as what he can achieve with his diplomacy and intimidation. However, he can try to taunt the trolls and then lure them away from the mob (+11 Stealth) but that would mean splitting the party as the rest of you would need to hit the crowd... and there is always the chance that I blow my stealth and they eat me.

I actually think Gravleon and Grog should lead on this one, though. Gravleon has a strong in-character dynamic going on here, and I don't want to get in the way of that. I'd almost wonder if Gravleon could try to convert the trolls to worshipping the Dawnflower - and he will protect them from the thing in the castle if they are faithful. But I don't know how that would play out mechanically, like would it be diplomacy or religion checks?

If we are okay with the conversion attempt, then maybe Gravleon could get a chance to post a nice heart-warming speech for the trolls. and we can take it from there?

@GM: are we in a rush to get past this scene, or does Gravleon have a chance to get into some heavy roleplay here?

No rush here! :)

Go for it!

No rush here! :)

Go for it!

Awesome! So, Graveleon, if you want to try to convert them to Sarenrae and we will offer to protect them from the thing in the castle then give it a shot. The worst that can happen is that we would end up with the combat that we would probably have engaged in anyway. So no matter what happens, it will be okay.

most definitely ill think a good bit up hope to post sometime after i get off work

I am all for Gravleon trying to convert trolls to Sarenrae. :)

ok assuming grog will translate...
perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8

Gravleon walks up to the trolls scanning the area just incase something else is hiding. His hands at this sides, palms up to show no aggression but then stops picks up a nice size rock, his hand glows slightly and a small spark of fire spouts from the rock. Gravleon grins at the trolls as he crushes the rock in his hands... "good evening to you my friends I heard you are worried about those few over there. And about something in the water fall?"

diplomacy: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20
str check: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
fluffing fire blot for effect: 3d6 + 3 ⇒ (5, 4, 3) + 3 = 15

wow just realized a lot of what I can post is dependent on how they respond...

Grog moves closer to Sangre.

Grog whispers to Sangre. "I asked them what's behind the door."

1d20 ⇒ 6 Ha! :)

Clearly not expecting anyone or anything to come up on their flank, the trolls all yowl with surprise and fear: "It got out!"

In the distance, the mob can hear the not-human roaring. "What was that? Must have been the Beast. Let's get 'im!"

1d20 ⇒ 2 ROFL!

However, in their zeal to exact 'justice' their tracking skills seem to have failed them. They head in the exact opposite direction from the party and the trolls.

You've just bought yourselves an additional 30 minutes before the mob realizes their collective error and comes back to where you are now.

Back to the trolls: "Who are you? Do you serve it? If you do, we won't go down easy."

For the sake of convenience, all three trolls speak Common.

Grog grimaces in the direction of the trolls.

"Serve what? What's inside the door?"

"we serve the light of day it protects us and guides us in our actions, tell me what you fear and i will show you why with the light of the Sarenrae there is nothing to fear..." gravleon adds in a calming voice

diplo: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"The light???" one asks, clearly confused.

"He means Sarenrae," the second one says.

"He means to smite us," the third one chimes in, angrily.

All three then crouch defensively, but take no overtly aggressive actions towards the party.

"smite you?, no you have done no evil act I am hear to show you the power Sarenae gives me and can grant you if you follow her. Tell me what is it your afraid of and we will stop..." gravleon adds in a change of tack "dawnflower give me the strength to show these souls your light.."

"He speaks truth, my large friends. We mean you no harm, and only wish to know what is behind the door."

"It has no face!" the first one offers.

"That's not true! It has a face, but no body!" the second one snaps.

"You're both wrong! It has a face and a body, but no skin. And it has four arms!"

No need to roll sense motive. I'll give it to you.

From the sincerity of their descriptions and the fear in their faces, it is clear that they ALL believe that they're telling the truth. But their descriptions are all mutually exclusive; they cannot ALL be true!

Unless... They all saw different things that are all in the complex at the waterfall... You might be headed towards a veritable menagerie of horrors...

Blackheath whispers to his friends: "They have not yet responded aggressively, but we still only have a short time to get them out of the way of the mob. Let's make sure they know that we will make sure that no evil escapes the castle—but for Serenrae (and us) to protect them, they will need to move deeper into the swamp for the night and avoid any groups they see. Gravleon, would your god view that as some kind of test of their faith? If they can try to be good for a night?"

The three trolls continue to argue amongst themselves about what is really on the other side of the barricade.

not sure how to play it at this point so let's just see what my RP leads me to

" look the thing that's in there or isn't there is no point arguing about what it really looks like. Show me your strength show the God of Light the strength you have by letting us take care of the humans down there. And then we will show you the strength that the dawnflower gives her followers by getting rid of what you fear in the dark" gravleon adds

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Gravleon makes a stirring speech. The trolls, confused and of simple demeanor (INT 6), stare at each other dumbfounded for a moment.

"[...] Show me your strength [...]"

Then, they begin flexing and posing like a bunch of professional wrestlers from the 1980's.

"You want to see strength, brother? We've got strength in spades. Oh, yeah!"

lol I got hulk Hogan in my head with that one ^^

gravleon nods "Yes I can see that well then want to prove how strong you are eh. Nothing can beat you three power mountains together right?! then help us get rid of what ever is behind the water after we get the humans to leave. I mean you don't want everyone to know you big strong trolls are afraid of the dark. I thought you all were suppose to be really strong and with the dawnflower backing you boom nothing could stand up to you!!"

When Gravleon mentions going to the waterfall, the three trolls seem to exude much less machismo. They seem downright afraid.

"Well... uh... yeah, we're tough! But... uh... best not to tempt fate, right?"

Then they fall back into arguing about what's there. Your sense motive checks will tell you: there's likely to be a menagerie of horrors at the Beast's "father's" home.

"Why don't you just show us this thing? We can help you defeat it!"

The BBEG of this section of the AP is crazy OP. You'll only be able to defeat it by doing some specialized investigation and prep. I'm totally willing to turn these trolls into allies. They'll even provide you with a safe place to sleep at night! :-) But in no way are capable of helping you prepare for what's to come.

thanks for the head up gm

"well then your right look we will get rid of the humans the look for a way to get rid of that thing over there, but we will need you three power houses if you want have this place all to your self. With the power of a God on our side and your impressive selves eh?"

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"While this is all well and good, we still need to find the Beast as well. My large friends, have you seen a... well, he would be small to you, but a hairy humanoid about double the size of one of us? He has the temperament of a child, and we are worried he is in danger."

The trolls are confused and afraid; they stand down. They won't go after the angry mob because you don't want them to.

They've lived in fear of the structure at the waterfall for some time. Though they're willing to help you, there are (currently) limits to what they will do.

Gravleon expressed an interest in converting them. I'm totally down with that! :-) It will take time, however. Along the way, they might make mistakes or have "behavioral lapses." After all, nobody's perfect. Even those who intend to do good are capable of errors of judgement!

For now, their alignments are Chaotic Evil with very strong tendencies towards Chaotic Neutral--mostly out of fear. Eventually you can turn that fear into something else and move their alignments even further.

This is obviously a deviation from the original AP. :-) But, because of the party's interest, after you successfully convert them, my long-term goal with these three is to make them holy augurs. Whenever you're "stuck" or unsure what to do next, you can "consult" them and get a free augury to guide you along your way.

How do you want to deal with the angry, torch-and-pitchfork-weilding mob from Lepidstadt?

I'm having a difficult time coming up with a good way for us to deal with them. We might have to find a way to knock them all out for a while. LOL

"My large friends, have you seen a... well, he would be small to you, but a hairy humanoid about double the size of one of us? He has the temperament of a child, and we are worried he is in danger."

Whoops! I missed Sharien's previous question: the trolls have NOT seen anything that exactly matches the Beast's description. Though they have seen at least two other creatures that are similar!

I'm having a difficult time coming up with a good way for us to deal with them. We might have to find a way to knock them all out for a while. LOL

Sense Motive: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (7) - 1 = 6

Totally misreading Sharien's hesitation, the trolls offer: "If you're going to deal with the big-bad, we can lead the mob away. They can chase us. We can even play dead." (Hurray for troll regeneration!)

They're sincere. They see this as an equitable deal: you take care of their problem; they take care of yours.

"That... seems reasonable. What do you think, my friends?"

Grog nods. "That's fine.

Turning to the trolls he adds, "Just leave the people alone"

"OK"
__________

The trolls go to lead the mob away.

The party heads back to the waterfall.

What's your plan? Through the barricade? Through the roof? Something else?

I'm thinking through the roof, to surprise whatever it is in there... what do others think?

Cool beans. You head back to the waterfall. With Grog's help, everyone makes it to the roof. You all have access to the map. Where do you want to break in?

@group: Would it make sense to come down in the F tower?

I'm very happy with how the trolls have turned out. That was some nice RP Gravleon!

OK. Since nobody has chimed in, I'll presume that's what you do.

Reminder of what's there:

F1: A two-story stone gatehouse leads into the castle, topped with a crenellated tower at each corner. The main gate is closed.

F2: The gates open on a broad chamber with a vaulted roof. Two large fires burn in the room, and spiral stairways climb up in each corner toward the ceiling. The gate on the far side of the room is barricaded with timber and furniture.

F4: Each of these three towers has battlements, providing cover from attackers below. The trolls have piled large, pointed stones in all three towers to throw.

You bypass the barricade at F3.

F3: This broad stone terrace has no rails at its edge. To the north, a stone bridge arches above a waterfall that drops into the river two hundred feet below.

This next part is kind of silly. I love it!

F5: The battlements around this tower provide cover from attackers below. The trolls didn’t think to stockpile throwing stones in this tower. The trolls’ leader Grork loiters in the southwest tower, using a stolen spyglass to watch for intruders. Unfortunately, he is obsessed with the manse takes a huge penalty on Perception checks to notice anything approaching from any other direction. He's meaner than the other trolls you spoke with. He's not a likely candidate for conversion. You can totally sneak up on this creature! :)

Given that he has been watching the manse with a spyglass, he might have more accurate info about the creatures ahead, though.

Blackheath whispers to his friends: "I have manacles. Perhaps we coud surprise and grapple him, pin him, and 'cuff him. What do you think?"

Sharien whispers back "That sounds like a job for not-me..."

Sharien whispers back "That sounds like a job for not-me..."

LOL! :)

"Grog, perhaps?"

"I'll get him!"

Grog CMB: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24 Easily! :)

Grog steps up to the distracted troll and snaps the manacles on before he even realizes that the party is there.

"What?!? Aaah!" He exclaims with a shriek of surprise and fear. "You'll never take me alive. I won't be like one of those... those... things!" He squirms and squirms, but you have the drop on him.

Grog turns to the troll.

"What things?"

The troll spews out a series of seemingly nonsense descriptions. But a clever PC with a good Knowledge(Arcana) roll might be able to pull some useful nuggets of information from his rambling.

Kn.arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15 Not TOO great.

Unable to get much of a coherent picture ouf of the troll, Sharien decides to try something more magical.
Casting detect thoughts to try to get a direct mental image of the creature.

Casting detect thoughts to try to get a direct mental image of the creature.

Sharien Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (20) + 13 = 33

There you go! :-)

Here are pictures of two of the creatures that you see from the troll's thoughts: LINK

They are unique creatures, so you don't necessarily know specifics. But their base creature is some kind of construct.