[PFS_Aerondor] 05-11: The Library of the Lion PbP GameDay 3 (Inactive)

Game Master Aerondor

Put your figures in the corridor outside the door you want to open. Then let me know who is opening the door.

Helloo... anyone here? I guess it is Thanksgiving in the US, so everything slows down.

Yeah, Thanksgiving plus weekend really

Sorry, I moved Grimbli, but since he's not the most stealthy, I figured he wouldn't be doing much - he's more likely to alert the guardian.

Sorry, didn't realize my in-laws no longer have internet access.
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IIRC the corridor is north-south not east-west. But with where Grimbli and Periel moved I assume you guys want to open the door closest to the stairs. So I moved everyone there. Cathetel and Eissen if you each really want to open another door by yourselves, sorry I misunderstood and please move them back.
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Malaika motions to Kath and whispers Go ahead and open the door quietly.

Two rows of tall bookshelves flank the imposing yet beautiful
wooden desk that presides over this room. Over the door hangs
a portrait of Grand Prince Stavian III, portrayed wearing an
especially smug grin.

Search: 1d20 + 7 - 2 ⇒ (15) + 7 - 2 = 20
Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16

Done

Kath will gladly go first and open any doors needed.

Preception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (7) + 7 = 14
Stealth: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (19) + 2 = 21

Malaika moves in and searches this promising room making use of some the information already discovered.
perception: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 5 = 15
Use the Card Catalogue find to figure out how many items in this room.

general perception check: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (2) + 11 = 13

Looking at the card catalogue, Malaika realises there are probably two useful books in this room.

Cathetel notices a brass plaque on the frame of the portrait reads, “A cunning lie is never told twice.”

Grimbol checks the draws of the desk and notices two interesting bottles within. could they be magical potions? Should he take them?

Kath notices a bit of wall behind the desk looks like it might move... searching around he also finds a suspicious looking button under the desk.

But should he press it?

The team discovers two books.
Taldan cipher 3
This text contains an example of an encoded message that
uses a common substitution cipher (in which each letter
represents a different letter). It claims that “DQFIZ KPIED
WZYWS QIVKO ZKXFW ZIMVT DQFXW CFPAF PDFZ VFTJF”
translates to “The orcs of Tar-Baphon circle around the
lake’s western edge

magical assistance
Some of the bookshelves bear a minor enchantment
that aids researchers, such as briefly granting the benefits
of read languages or creating an unseen servant to aid in
collecting documents.
Clue: After the PCs roll skill checks to find documents,
any of them may reroll the check before learning the result.

45

Malaika checks the bottles and button for magic. Detect Magic

We probably shouldn't take these bottles even if they are magic. However, I would suggest you go ahead and press that button.

What did my 20 on searching find, nothing?

Cathetel officially found the button and Kath the moveable wall.

Kath presses the button!

There is a low "click" sound as some hidden lock unlocks when Kath presses the button.

Periel will be adamant to not take the bottles. But he will gladly help find the door by gently tucking at the bookshelves.

As Periel swings the door open, two darts spring out from behind - straight at him!

attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14
attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

He is not quite quick enough to deflect them, and both sink in...
damage: 2d3 ⇒ (2, 2) = 4

[ooc]And now for the nasty bit. Two fort saves, DC18[/dice]

Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
Fort: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
As to be expected booth fail.

I had my detect magic going. Was there any evidence of a magical alarm going off? Or did I see/hear anything that might be intended to alert someone?
perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

The bottles were magic, but Malaika sees no sign of any magic alarm being activated.

Dex damage: 2d2 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3
And two more Fort DC18 saves...Actually you had may as well give me ten (worst case), and we'll see how many you fail...

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (9) + 4 = 13
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (10) + 4 = 14
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

1d20 + 4 ⇒ (14) + 4 = 18
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (6) + 4 = 10
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 4 = 17
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (12) + 4 = 16
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

That is fine, you make an early one, which is good, but fail all five against the second dose of poison.
dex damage: 5d2 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 2, 2) = 7

So ten dex damage in total, for the sake of playability I'm going to call than nine so you are not paralysed and unable to contribute to the rest of the scenario. To make up for that I'll reduce your move to 5' and automatically lose any initiative that we end up rolling. You'll recover all the damage automatically between scenarios, but combat is not looking like a good option for Periel at the moment.

Periel finds himself moving slower and slower and slower. The paralysing effect of the poison almost totally overtakes his system...

I don't know if it matters, but I thought multiple poison doses just increased the DC by 2 and the duration by half. If a single save was required, he should have only taken the initial 3, and been done when he rolled the 23. Of course, if it was two saves, yeah, he's not doing well.

Seems a pretty lethal trap for a low tier game. Like wow, that would effectively take an entire player out of the scenario.

yeah, it is two darts each with the poison. If you can give me a reference to two doses of a poison raising the DC by two, that would be great.

And it does target dex, so not technically speaking lethal. Two DC18 saves does seem harsh at low level though.

Everything on poison

I thought if a stat drops to 0 you are dead?

@Periel Nope, maybe in 3.5 Con you would be though. STR you are unconscious, DEX you can't move.

@Cathetel - trust an Alchemist to know the poison rules!

So the first two saves fail (at DC18) but that nice 19 on the third save removes the poison. End result, 3 points dex damage. (so dex of 7, -2 to AC and initiative). Much lighter result.

Next moves? (map updated)

Malika steps over to Periel and the healing power of Abadar courses through him.
cure light wounds: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4 Will convert longstrider
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Then he walks into the new opening and peeks around the corner.

The corridor runs a short distance, and then stops at a door.
46

Grimbli keeps an eye out for anything unusual as he makes his way toward the door. Unfortunately, his sense of the unusual has been utterly destroyed since meeting with the lion head.

Perception: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

If Kath does see anything odd on the door he will open it.

Cabinets with two tall drawers each line the east and west
walls of this room. A relief carving of a lion’s head dominates
the south wall, hanging imperiously over a low stone step.
Six freestanding statuettes of lions in various poses stand
atop the furniture.
46

Malaika checks for magical auras from the doorway before entering the room. I think from the map 2 or 3 rounds should let me pan the whole room for what is visible from the door.

Malaika sees some magical auras around the lion statues.

This hidden room seems to be likely spot. Malaika walks into the room. Searching first for traps, secrets or other oddities. Then the info they are seeking.

perception general: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (14) + 11 = 25
perception info: 1d20 + 11 - 5 ⇒ (9) + 11 - 5 = 15

If no one objects I will use the second instance of the card catalogue to find out how many things are in here.

The filing cabinets in this room house dossiers on
Lion Blade agents past and present. Examining the
documents in their entirety would take weeks, but even
a cursory search of the papers shows that Taldor’s most
infamous spies maintain a presence in nearly every
nation of the Inner Sea region and in numerous nations
that lie beyond.

Malika realises that the lion carving, while similar to that of The Guardian is actually hiding a secret door. The
stone step below the door has four shallow, cylindrical
recesses that are the same size as the base on each of the
six freestanding statuettes scattered about the room.
Finding the secret door also reveals that the step acts
as a combination lock—though rather than locking the
door, it seems ready to trigger some other device should
someone open the door without disarming it.

Each miniature lion is portrayed in a different way
to symbolize a particular virtue. One crouches as if
preparing to ambush its prey. The second is roaring as
it leaps at prey. The third wears a yoke that is chained
to a large block that the lion strains to pull. The fourth
wears a tiny pair of spectacles and reads from an ornate
scroll. The fifth is draped in the flag of Taldor. The sixth
sits erect and wears a crown.

Between his searching and the rest of the group they find a single text:
Cryptic References
This text is a mess of
esoteric poetry and obscure
riddles. One of these entries
describes a silver horn once
used by Taldor, which seems
to be hidden somewhere in
southern Brevoy. Spending
considerably more time
analyzing the poem may
reveal additional hints about
this horn and its location.

He is pretty sure there are no more useful texts in here, even without using the card catalogue.

66

Lets wing this puzzle

6 Lions = 6 Virtues.
That said, there are only 4 Slots.

We found this statement “To
serve Taldor, I must first learn the history of Taldor.”

Knowledge / History is the first virtue, since you have to learn it first, ergo, that lion should be first. Unfortunately, these statues don't really spell out "history", so I guess its the lion with the glasses? Damn stereotypes.

We saw a second carving of that said "The keenest eyes cannot see everything. Always remember to see the big picture.”

I don't know what that one means, so I'll put it to one side.

I think we have missed two further clues somewhere, so I'll have to guess. Loyalty and Cunning are Taldorian attributes, Loyalty potentially means the lion with the flag, cunning would be a lion preparing to leap at its prey, lions only roar AFTER they kill their pray, and it doesn't strike me as a particularly smart thing to Roar so your prey knows your coming. That just leaves keen eyes, which doesn't really fit with anything, so I guess it might be a red herring. I don't think its the one with the crown, or the one roaring (which I don't understand what it references), so maybe the Lion pulling something is humility or something. As far as the latter two go in terms of order, the only knowledge I have of a common saying in regards to Loyalty is "Israel First, Last, Always". I know that History is first, so maybe that makes Loyalty last, which puts humility third, and cunning as second, which strikes me as the best position for it, since cunning / planning should rank up there in terms of importance.

My Guess:

Knowledge (Lion Glasses) First
Cunning (Lion about to pounce) Second
Humility (?) (Lion with Yoke) Third
Loyalty (Lion with Flag) Fourth.

Anyone have any better ideas, this is just my attempt.

The royal lion has to see the big picture. But put the royal lion second... seems wrong to me.

Nope, I think its Cunning Second, which would mean Royal Lion would have to be third...and it doesn't fit there either. At a guess "Royalty" is a red herring since its not technically an attribute. I'm basing this off experiences with a Taldor PC, which used to give faction missions out to Taldor Faction PCs that symbolised the above attributes.

You also saw some thing engraved in the picture frame of the room you came through...

I recorded everything that was listed, If there was something engraved, then it wasn't mentioned what was engraved on it.

You also saw some thing engraved in the picture frame of the room you came through...

Cathetel notices a brass plaque on the frame of the portrait reads, “A cunning lie is never told twice.”

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...

Spending considerably more time analyzing the poem may reveal additional hints about this horn and its location.
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Can I just quickly copy the entire text? How long would that take?

The scenario is completely ambiguous about things like taking the most important books or copying them. I'm assuming the team is copying the relevant sections of the texts. Once found, you get credit for it.

Feel free to take some time and everyone be happy with statue placement, and when you are, put in a post with the ordering.

I'm happy with the ordering ^_^

Ok, let's assume I copied the whole poem thing about the horn. I'm guessing that will fufil the requirements, but I will keep my open for more.
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Can one of you tell what will be the result if we have the order wrong?
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I'm bad at riddles, so have no real opinion. I'm ok with trying Cathetel's suggestion. I moved everyone into the room on the map. If you meant to stay out in the hall, let me know.

Knowledge (Lion Glasses) First

Cunning (Lion about to pounce) Second
Humility (?) (Lion with Yoke) Third
Loyalty (Lion with Flag) Fourth.

Looks good to me

I doubt anyone has any idea Kath responds with a smile on his face.