PFS Cyphermage Dilemma (Inactive)

Game Master Quentin Coldwater

Will be without access to the site till tomorrow late

I'm going to assume Araklifest delays as well.

The flunky pirates look at the group before them, back at their captain, and back at the group.

"Boss, they're not listenin' to your demands. What do we do? Attack them?"

"No, you fools," Alejia cuts back, "we've offered them a deal. Let's first see how they respond. Though I hate to play reactive, we have no choice. If they attack us, Gurukaza's life is forfeit. They know that, we know that. They can try to gamble everything on a madcap scheme, or listen to my very reasonable demands and get their scholar back."

The flunkies did not move, so this is the plan as far as I know

Estombra will move past the left flunky, provoke an AoO, spend 1 panache point, and will end up right from the prisoner and try to disarm the lady.

Warrin will cast Daze monster on the lady

Araklifest, Shina and Mallus move to surround her, you guys figure out who goes first and provokes.

Jio and Scamandros are free to do something, maybe an intimidate or something else that lowers the chance of being hit by an AoO?

I'm fine with Estombra's last post.
I would like to act last in our little initiative train so I can heal if someone gets hit hard bij AoO

You can only do a readied action. So maybe ready a healing bomb if someone gets hurt

To clarify that last point Estombra made: Readies go off after each other. Delays happen in initiative order. Meaning, the person to delay first can get out of delay earlier if two people want to come out of delay at the same time. A ready can still interrupt a delay.

Also, I'm sorry about the mess this combat has become. It's a tense situation, and doing this by forum doesn't have the speed you'd get in real life. I hope you're still enjoying yourself, though.

In other words, if you delay, you will take your turn after the pirate lady. If you ready, you can take 1 standard action during my turn.

Small change of plans, I will run past the guy on the right with the eyepatch. If he has readied, I can use my panache point to move into position without provoking, otherwise I will provoke from him. Limiting the number of attack on me to 1.

To make the above clear: I will go through Mallus, then two squares up until directly beneath Eyepatch Guy (17.5 foot used, 1 horizontal movement left). If he has readied, I will use the panache point to move 5 feet to end up next to the victim, with the option to move 5 feet to the north for a possible flank with Shina, at the cost of an AaO

If he has not readied, I will move 5 feet to the left, thus provoking and using this to move 5 feet up.

Araklifest will follow, with his rapier and shocking grasp readied (using Spellstrike), and end his move in the box with the '3' in it or the box above. I take a possible AoO from Eyepatch Boy to attack our Pirate Queen as soon as possible after the launching of Daze Monster.

As a ready, Mallus will move after Estombra has done her move, going up, past sir eyepatch (in case of Combat Reflexes, this provokes), to end up in the square above the Captain. If the right flunky has readied a 5ft step to block access by going down, Mallus can still move through the pillar to his left-up. Either way, Mallus will end up above the Captain, unless Estombra doesn't make it through. Then he will provide Shina with flanking to increase the odds of success our success.

Shina on the other hand will ready to move towards the Captain by going left. If the left flunky readied a 5ft step to block the road towards the north from that position, Shina can still move around to end up on the left of the Captain (from current position, left, up, up, up, left-up. Or left, left-up, right-up, up, left-up.)

Aaaaahh, online tactics!

Okay, I've lost track of who's readying what. Could everyone position themselves on the map and perform their actions? Alejia and her flunkies can't interrupt you, so you have a full round for yourselves. The only thing I can do right now is perform attacks of opportunities, which I'll roll below. Once you've all been, I'll post again with the results.

It's a difficult one to get my head around but here is the plan as I understand it and I suggest we just do this to get it over with and not further optimize it.

I'll go and heal who ever get's hit and I heard no readies for the flunkies so please Estombra go first and use your panache point to get past the eye patch guy without AoO. Set yourself on the right side of the pirate queen (bandana) and take a AoO from her. Do your attack and your done.
Than I will go stand on the right side of you and heal you (I've set myself on the map). here's the heal healing: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
Kwinten will let me know if he can make more than one AoO's.

Than Arklifest wanted to follow, so he can set himself on the number 3 and attack. Than Mallus and Shina can do there thing.

Please move your self and post your attacks if I made any sense.

Estombra moves past the Eyepatch guy, gets attacked, but with dodging panache she manages to evade his attack.

Disarm + Shadow speaker: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 7 + 2 = 24

That should be enough.

Reacting to Estombra's movement, Shina and Mallus both make a run for it. Mallus uses the same route Estombra did, and lucks out that Eyepatch is still too bewildered that he couldn't hit Estombra (apparently no Combat Reflexes). He moves next to Estombra and closes the gaps for the Pirate Captain.

Then Shina moves towards the left, provoking from the Fancy Man. Ever the glutton for punishment, she doesn't really try to evade the attack of the flunky. He leaves a deep gash in her, but fails to deal a fatal wound. Shina then just keeps moving, closing the net around Miss Captain.

"We start with your boss, fancy man, but I'll come back for you, don't worry! We can play after I secured whatever my contractor wanted!"

That crit could have been nasty, the confirm luckily missed by 1...

im kinda lost as to what is happening. My own fault. Ill be without a computer all day. If needed you can bot me. Warrin will want to cast daze monster. The save DC is 15

Alejia Will save vs Daze Monster: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 2 = 5

Whelp. ._.

So, from what I gather, Alejia is now disarmed and dazed. That doesn't look good for her.
There are no further attacks of opportunity.
Since pretty much everyone is lost in this combat, should we call it? The boss has no weapons and lost a turn, and the flunkies aren't that threatening by themselves. I'm not necessarily rushing through it, but you've effectively neutralised the main threat and otherwise I'm just wasting everyone's time.

Is this the final combat? Because if it isn't (there is still another room), we can still get hurt here (the flunkies can crit). They are in a serious disadvantage, true, but we shouldn't just stop the combat when resources can still be depleted afterwards (healing).

If it is the final combat, then it is more your call. We took 4 days planning this insane ready-action-monster for an amazing Blitzkrieg. I am quite satisfied with how it eventually went, but wouldn't mind to continue the combat (the flunkies have a damage output, and some of us can be hit).

Fair enough. I'll give you the enjoyment of actually acting this plan out. In that case, I'll wait until everyone's posted their actual actions before continuing with my flunkies.
There's a very minor combat in the upper part left, but it's very easily skippable and unnecessary.

Araklifest has to move as part of his reading action, as does Jio, then the flunkies and dazed lady may do something, then we are again. I think we can ask for surrender now as lady has 4 people with weapons around her.

Sorry; you have to NPC Araklifest for some days as I'm completely without internet, at least till saturday. XS4all has tried for 4,5 hours in vain, now it's KPN's turn saturday morning!

Moved Araklifest into position. Moved Jio into position, Flunkies and dazed lady are

"They're attackin' the Cap'n! Protect her at all costs! She's our ticket out of this cave alive!"

Fancy Man goes after Shina, who he's slashed before, and Eyepatch goes for Araklifest, who's currently flanking Alejia. Or was Eyepatch the one getting disarmed? In that case, he grabs a light crossbow, five-foot steps back, and shoots at Estombra. His to-hit for that is one less than his cutlass.

Attack roll Fancy Man vs Shina: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

Attack roll Eyepatch vs Araklifest: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

That's... disappointing.

Alaejia is dazed until the start of Warrin's turn.

I'll bot Araklifest as well. Let's see if I roll well for him.

Araklifest initiates Spell Combat against Alejia, first casting defensively to see if his spell goes through.

Defensive Cast Shocking Grasp, DC 17: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8
The spell fizzles in his hands. Araklifest looks a bit sad, but then continues his assault.
Rapier attack, including flank: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (16) + 5 = 21
Damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (1) + 3 = 4
Hmm, the diceroller doesn't seem to like me today.

Okay, Magi confuse me. Help me see if I missed something. He has a +4 to hit: BAB +1, DEX +3. Probably a point of his arcane pool for another +1. Spell Combat gives that a -2, which is compensated by the flank. He lists his damage as 1d6+3, but with a STR of 14, that's weird. Did he already include a +1 for his arcane pool, or is he assuming he's somehow two-handing his rapier?

Everyone's turn is up!

The lady is disarmed.

Assuming I get a flank from someone.

Attack Alaejia: 1d20 + 9 + 2 ⇒ (9) + 9 + 2 = 20

Damage: 1d4 + 4 ⇒ (4) + 4 = 8

"If you want to save your captain surrender now."

Shina
Shina ignores the fancy man behind her, as she already told him she will be with him in a sec. She raises her Greataxe and drops it down on the Captain.

Greataxe to Captain: 1d20 + 5 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 5 + 2 = 22 for 1d12 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Mallus
Mallus on the other hand not only sees that Shina is wounded, she also allows some idiot to menace her without paying attention to him... He 5ft steps to the left in order to threaten the fancy man, but realizes that the captain needs to go first. So he whirls his arms around, trying to down the Captain.

If the Captain is already down, Mallus will whirl his arms around to damage the Fancy Man, but without flank.
Slam 1 to Captain: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (14) + 3 + 2 = 19 for 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9
Slam 2 to Captain: 1d20 + 3 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 3 + 2 = 10 for 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (7) + 4 = 11

Alejia goes down after Shina's hit! Mallus' first hit also knocks out Fancy Man!

Darn, slightly too late to edit. Fancy Man isn't knocked out, but he throws his weapon to the ground and yells for surrender. Eyepatch is still ready for a fight, though.

I accept your surender.
You there pirate, your the last one, out numbered and out of friends, surrender as well.

The last guy also surrenders. He stands no chance against you all.

You untie Gurukaza and he explains the whole situation. Alejia had already killed any people on board the ship that would be capable of fighting back, then staged her coup with her two flunkies. They killed everyone on board and only kept him alive. Seems like she usually tries to pry whatever information the scholars have about the Cyphergate before killing them. She'd been beating him up when he gave an answer she didn't like.

Alejia has two Potions of Cure Light on herm which Gurukaza seems like he could use right now. Both she and the flunkies aren't carrying anything else of much value on them.
The rest of the dungeon isn't that interesting. The room you're in right now seems to be some kind of lounge, as far as you can lounge in a damp cave. The part up the stairs holds a dog pit in a 10-foot drop. There are three dogs in there and they look pretty wild, with spittle foaming at their mouths. There are some human bones scattered across the pit. The flunkies explain that's where they get rid of their captives, as well as insubordinate crewmembers. There's noting of value to be found here. They're 6 HP dogs that can't get out of the pen; I'm not wasting your time on that.

If the PCs defeated Alejia-either by killing or capturing her-the assault on the Order of Cyphers ceases, and business returns to normal rather quickly for Tammerhawk and his academic associates. Word spreads quickly through Riddleport of the PCs' defeat of Alejia's gang, and the Pathfnders develop a reputation as a formidable force within the town.
Should the Pathfnders rescue Hirako Gurukaza, Venture-Captain Heidmarch expresses her thanks, as does the rescued sage. Gurukaza promises the PCs any aid he can offer should they ever be in need of his assistance in the City of Cyphers, and vows to do his best to ensure that Tammerhawk and any allied to the crime boss know the extent of the PCs' deeds.

You've completed the scenario! If you could post your character numbers, I'll make sure I'll give you your sheets soon. I'll see most of you next week anyway. Araklifest, I don't have your email address, could you PM me how I can send you your sheet?

199263-8 no day job

Yay it was fun.
Thanks Kwinten, job well done.
115375-10 day job alchemy: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (6) + 10 = 16

Still no internet at home (this is via my neighbours'). No internet at home till monday at least (KPN couldn't help as well today).

17263-1; day job could be librarian: librarian: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (19) + 4 = 23

Job well done for difficult situations; Thanks Kwinten.

The damage modifier from my rapier (1d6+3) comes from weapon finesse.

Weapon finesse is only on to-hit. There's a special feat that allows dex to damage.

133890-7

162908-13