[PFS] Deussu's #37 The Beggar's Pearl (Inactive)

Game Master Deussu

"Guys, Zatoma sees..." Khalos quickly describes the creatures and their position "... we will have to move quickly, that dwarf will need fast healing. Here's the plan, I'll tell Zato to sneak close quickly and attack the closest creature; then he'll try to retreat to pull them back to us. Lort and Edgar will charge in after he strikes, and Gunari or Ozren will follow them as fast as they can to stabilize the dwarf. I will hang back and try to flank them. I don't know what those creatures are but if you do now's the time to tell us; either way they could be dangerous."

Khalos will cast Resistance to both Lort and Edgar as they prepare to charge in. +1 to all saves for 1min.

Khalos Initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3
Zato Initiative: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (20) + 3 = 23

Are we in surprise round? I can't find the link to the map.

"Tell them to charge in, NOW!!!", and Khalos will do so as Zato coils up, raising his head slightly, prepared for the melee to follow.

The scenario doesn't provide a map for this encounter, and making one would, in my mind, be rather unnecessary. And yes, there is a surprise round as the enemies didn't detect Zatoma.

dwarf stabilization: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (15) + 0 = 15
It seems that the dwarf is breathing steadily.

Thaddaeus initiative: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Edgar initiative: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7
Gunari initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2
Ozren initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 1 = 19
Lort initiative: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7
blue monsters init: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 1 = 16
ant initiative: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (14) + 0 = 14

As Zatoma appears and hisses aggressively, the creatures and ants turn to look, but are too startled to act. The blue monsters are all huddled together around the dwarf's body, the ant is by the cave's entrance next to what seems to be a broken barricade.

Initiative order is as follows:
23 Zatoma
19+ Thaddaeus
19 Ozren
16 Blue monsters
14 Giant Ant
7+ Edgar
7 Lort
3 Khalos
2 Gunari
So round 1 starts with Zatoma.

Assuming these are the creatures at fault for the unconscious dwarf, Zatoma swiftly moves towards the ant, stopping far enough just within reach to spring up and bite it.

Bite Attack: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16 Magical with 10ft reach.
Bite Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

"Khalos, get them in here quickly! The dwarf looks stable but who knows if these creatures are more interested with him or me."

Sorry Thaddaeus, if I left you out of Khalos' speech, I didn't scroll up far enough to see your name when I was looking who to include.

"The game is afoot lads! Thaddaeus springs into action and charges at the closest blue monster.

Attack: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20, Damage: 1d8 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Lort moves as close as he can (if he can) during the surprise round. If he can charge, please just use that instead. Otherwise, on his turn he either moves as close as he can (up to 40ft as a double move) or charges (again, up to 40ft) whichever enemy is in range. If he has a choice, whichever enemy is closest to the unconscious dwarf.

Lort thunders towards the cave, making a few windmills with his sword to loosen his arms up while he runs.

"You will never stop me from entering battle again!" he cries as much to the skies as to his companions, "Kurgess bless us during this fight, and grant us the strength to strike down these foul creatures!"

Using power attack, and assuming I can charge an enemy this round, Lort's rolls when it's his turn are:
Attack (greatsword): 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20
Damage (greatsword): 2d6 + 9 ⇒ (1, 5) + 9 = 15

If Lort can't charge but can still attack, please just adjust that attack roll down by 2 (18 total) and I'll bump Lort's AC back up to 16.

Edgar is solemn in this moment as he learns what is in the cave. Without a word Edgar's sword is at the ready as he moves up and attacks the closest enemy with a Flurry of Blows.

1. Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17
2. Attack: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (12) + 2 = 14

1. Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9
2. Damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Zatoma's charge is successful, and the ant takes a nasty bite to its chitin caracape from the eidolon. It remains standing, however.

Thaddaeus charge from the back, making a good swing against one of the blue, ugly creatures. His taldan sword strikes true, hitting the odd monster's shoulder, wounding it direly. The creature keeps standing, barely.

Waiting for Ozren. Lort can move 80ft during a charge so that's no problem unless Ozren does something obstructive. I won't allow a full attack this turn as no one can really get next to them with a 5ft step, but that's no worry with Edgar's rolls.

If it's OK, I'd like to post my move in advance so when Ozren is done you can continue. I'm assuming Edgar's 'closest enemy' would be the ant, if so then here is my move since he moves before me and I would be able to observe him do so.

Khalos will follow close behind the hulking warriors and see his eidolon's foe stagger but steady. With Edgar charging ahead to finish it off he turns his attention to other enemies. Moving along the edge of the cave to maintain line of sight, Khalos will assist Lort by casting Acid Splash on the next blue creature still standing.

Acid Splash ranged touch attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (10) + 1 = 11 Max range of 30ft, just tell me if I can't reach them.
Acid Splash damage: 1d3 ⇒ 3

Then he shouts, "Try to knock one unconscious! Perhaps we might be able to communicate with these creatures."

Ozren, upon picking up the party's intent to join the fray, runs along with the pack to engage the cave dwellers. He is conscious not to block the eager half-orc from the fight and moves to the nearest target doing his best to stay out of Lort's way. As he approaches the target, frost begins to form on his hands. The closer he gets to the assailant, the more enraged he becomes, yelling at the combatant in a series of low gurgling and clicking noises. He slaps his frosty hand on the foe, sending forth his chilling power through it.

Touch Attack: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (12) + 1 = 13
Wintery Touch: 1d6 ⇒ 6

Ozren will stay out of Gort's way and attempt a touch attack to the nearest target using his wintery touch special ability.

Ozren's freezing touch penetrates the ant's carapace. The icy touch has an immediate effect, the ant chirrs in agony, yet does not fall.

The blue-skinned creatures finally understand what is happening, and ferociously attack the human nearest to them, Thaddaeus.

blue monster 1 attack: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (16) + 0 = 16
blue monster 2 attack: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (8) + 0 = 8

Unsurprisingly they are misearble in their attempt to wound the eidolon. What is surprising though, is that the other wounded blue-skinned creature falls from exhaustion and blood loss.

The giant ant clicks its powerful jaws and looks at the weird serpentine creature and the icy human.

Ant chooses: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Ant attack Zatoma: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Clicking once more it and attacks, only to chomp a bit of air. It's feeble attempt to wound its foes is unsuccessful.

Edgar gets moving and advances next to the giant ant and delivers a vicious blow. The giant ant's chitin carapace shatter, oozy innards pouring out of the vermin. The ant falls and stops moving.

Lort, who's unimpressed by his foes' fighting abilities, charges towards the lonely enemy, the last blue-skinned monster. The half-orc can see a face of pure fear as the greatsword closens. With this one mighty swing Lort nearly beheads the creature, slashing a deep bleeding wound near its neck. The creature whizzes as it is about to take its last breath.

Combat's over... yeah, this is why I didn't bother with a map. :P Khalos and Gunari never had a chance to act.

That was easy... it makes me wonder what horror's Deussu is keeping for us later on. :)

Khalos carefully looks over the fallen dwarf, "I believe he's only unconscious..." pulling a wand from his pocket, he offers it up in an open hand between Ozren and Gunari. "I can't use this Wand of Cure Light Wounds myself, but I keep it to help healers reserve their strength... Feel free to use it if you wish. This may be the dwarf we're looking for, so we'd best revive him."

Though I'm tempted to rummage through his belongings before he wakes, it's a disrespectful act that I can't bear to do after leaving him to deal with these creatures alone for a full minute.

Just tell me how many charges you use by the end of the scenario. It's currently still at 50 charges.

"Khalos!" booms Lort, "Looks like my one's a little too unconscious for questioning. Maybe Ozren can question him though, in whatever language in the Seven Hells he was speaking back there!" Lort discards the head with contempt before wiping his blade on the headless corpse's clothing.

Lort tries to make the dwarf comfortable while waiting for someone to heal him. Lucky he's still alive. I just hope he's our man Torvic, or at least knows where Torvic is.

"When we speak with this dwarf, we'll have to thank him for softening these things up for us. I barely tapped mine."

I'm pretty sure both Ozren and Gunari can use that wand.

Wand still held out, he glances at Lort sideways in a stiff posture for a while.

Seeing him gently handle the dwarf, he relaxes a bit before saying, "You remind me of someone I know... He too was a half-orc but a true Barbarian. He somehow hit a thief with the intent not to kill using a two-handed sword in a past adventure; unfortunately he still killed the poor fellow."

And in his grief, he's now retrained himself to become a monk.

monster 1 stabilization: 1d20 - 10 ⇒ (20) - 10 = 10
monster 2 stabilization: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17
giant ant stabilization: 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (8) - 1 = 7

Miraculously, Lort's lethally wounded monster somehow ceases to bleed. Likewise the other creature also stops bleeding.

The ant, however, seems to oozing more of its innards onto the mountain terrain.

"Khalos, I can use the wand." Gunari takes the wand, and taps the fallen dwarf with it.
CLW Wand: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
If the dwarf wakes up, then he'll be greeted with a smile, and a full tankard, "I think you'll need this, friend. What are those creatures?"

'These Pathfinders I am with seem brutally effective in combat. I hope they'll be as effective outside of fighting as well!'

After making the dwarf comfortable, and seeing Gunari step in to heal him, Lort walks over to the near-headless blue creature. "We half-orcs can be a brutal lot," he says, addressing Khalos, "But with me, you can be assured of at least one thing: if I hit something with my sword, I intend to kill it." With that, Lort drives tip of his sword through the thing at his feet. Not like he'd be able to talk anyway, with his throat like that.

"Question that one if you like," Lort gestures to the surviving blue creature, the one that is only lightly wounded. Lort pats his sword, "Let me know when you're done."

Lort also puts the ant out of its misery, before returning to the side of the dwarf as he returns to consciousness (assuming that he does wake up, or at least that Gunari taps him again with the wand until he does). Lort waits for the dwarf to answer Gunari before saying, "You had a narrow escape. Those things were about to finish you off before we arrived on the scene. I know you're probably in some shock, but I don't suppose you know where we could find a prospector named Torvic? We have travelled a very long way to find him."

So as not to be in the way Edgar stands to the side while Gunari heals his kin. If need be he will stand ready to talk to the Dwarf in their native tongue to reassure him their intentions are noble.

One charge from the wand is enough to revive the dwarf, who lazily opens his eyes and looks around. "Who-uh, where,... th-thank you for saving me, but, who are... should I know you?" the dwarf says confused. He's eyes wander about, and he blinks slowly. Something's not right with this dwarf. He does, however, grab the tankard Gunari offers and sips from it, splashing most of the beer to his face. The dwarf doesn't seem to mind all that much.

He turns towards Lort, shuddering slightly as he seems one of orc blood, but seems to shake it off. "Yes, I'm Torvic... how do you know me?"

Edgar steps in, "Brother,"

As he speaks to Torvic he slips into Dwarven, "Я рад, что мы вас нашли, и что вы хорошо сейчас. Что здесь произошло? Кто или что это за враги, которые напали на вас?"

Looking at Lort suspiciously, Torvic turns to Edgar, holding his head. "Трудно вспомнить. Эти существа просто напал на меня. Может быть, они хотели взять меня живым? Я не знаю. Я вполне уверен, я видел этих монстров, прежде чем где-то."

He can't keep his eyes off of Lort, and addresses him as well. "Sinunkaltaisia en ole nähnyt pitkään aikaan. Keitä te oikein olette?"

"Olen vain puoli örkki, joten ei hätää. Oma ihmisen puolella pitää minun toinen puoli kurissa - kun ei taistelussa,*" replies Lort in orcish. Looking at the rest of his confused companions, and feeling a little confused himself after Edgar's conversation, "Perhaps we'd best keep it in common for the sake of our companions." I'm sure they've had enough of foreign languages after Ozren's gibberish, he adds to himself.

"We are members of the Pathfinder Society. We've come at the behest of Venture-Captain Brackett. We're here to help you uncover the secrets of Barek Triongger's Gallery of Wonders. He has provided us with a key that Barek used (most likely stolen by a man called Beggar), and thought you might either have seen it before - or know what to do with it. Perhaps you can show us to the Gallery in exchange for the key?"

Lort moves to produce the key for Torvic's inspection.

I don't think we ever decided who would carry the pearl, I'm assuming Edgar has it - in which case, Lort will gesture to Edgar to produce it. I'm also making the exchange based on my interpretation of what Brackett said earlier: "hopefully, he'll want his pearl back and will show you the way to the Gallery of Wonders"

"That is only fair. I did not mean to cause insult."

Edgar pulls the pearl from out of his robes and shows it to Torvic just out of his grasp.

"Will you help us Brother?"

Ozren takes a few more heavy breaths as the party finishes off the remainder of the foes. He attempts to speak to Gunari before he uses the wand, but all he is able to say comes out as similar garbled guttural gibberish. He stops and shakes his head and seems to calm down once the situation has become clearly non combative.

Ozren walks over to stand behind Edgar. His eyes become wide again when Edgar produces the pearl, but he averts is eyes and looks down at the cave floor in an obvious attempt not to become fixated on the object again. As the party presses the dwarf to aid them, he calmly waits for his chance to add his voice to the cause, speaking surprisingly confidently.

The Society is here to aid you Torvic. They have assembled these agents before you specifically for just that task. As you have seen, we are formidable indeed. With our assistance, there is little doubt your goal will be realized, master dwarf. Finally, you will look upon the Gallery of Wonders. We all will.

After speaking to the dwarf, he bows his head to Edgar and once again quiets himself, almost melting into the backdrop.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (10) + 8 = 18

"Aye, it is true. We're Pathfinders, tried and true.

"So, what do youz say, Torvic? You mebbe want some help from the Pathfinders? Or do youz got a problem with us?"

Aid Another on Diplomacy: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8
Gunari's a little confused. Are we supposed to be helping these dwarves, or shaking them down. That's what you get when you run with "the family" I guess.
kn: local on the blue things: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (1) + 6 = 7
Nope. Not a clue.

"Gal-Gallery of Wonders?" Torvic exclaims and his eyes widen. "Oh my great ancestors built the place, magnificent it must be, filled with dwarven lore and art, the wonders are exquisite, you wouldn't believe your eyes, I know I don't! I... I'm... weren't I just in the Gallery?" Torvic raves, though quickly seems pondrous. Just as quickly his smile returns as he snaps his fingers. "I was therre! There were things there! Yes, things! I remember... something. A... woman who whispered... nightmare." The dwarf looks horrified, and panickingly looks at the pathfinders. "You mustn't sleep! Nay, never! Not here!"

Torvic turns his gaze towards the pearl Edgar holds. "You have the pearl!" he shouts in excitement. "That is essential in exploring the Gallery. Without it, I can't disarm the many traps placed inside. And deep down I'm sure I would have avoided all the afflictions cast upon me if I only had that pearl with me when I ventured there."

Upon hearing Torvic's first rant, Khalos wonders if he is under any spell. He moves casually along the perimeter of the group,

"Keep an eye deeper into the cave Zatoma, there might be more of these creatures waiting for a chance to come out."

and stops slightly out of Torvic's line of sight as he focuses on Edgar. Quickly, he casts Detect Magic, looking for any magics lingering upon the poor dwarf.

Spellcraft, if necessary: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (4) + 7 = 11

Whether he discovers something or not, he will share it with the group at a later time.

As Torvic finally finishes speaking, Khalos carefully approaches him just so as not to surprise, then says "This is good news indeed, with us working together it should be no problem to fully explore the Gallery. But before we press forward perhaps it would be better to give you some time and recall dangers you have encountered."

Diplomacy to help convince Torvic to join us: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (3) + 8 = 11

What time is it in-game Deussu? If it's night-time or near enough, Khalos will add:

Zatoma slithers forward, peering deeper into the cave, alert for any other disturbances.

"That dwarf looks funny if you ask me. You can't seem to know what he's really about... Maybe these guys pounded his head a little to hard. Also, don't forget to tie up the last blue monster alive if your done with him."

That ant didn't taste so good. I suppose giant insects aren't part of the menu in this plane.

'While Cayden teaches to trust, we should also make sure that people earn it.' sense motive - is Torvic being straight with us?: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Gunari is a little worried that the single healing spell was not enough, so he will take a moment to assess the dwarf's health:
heal check: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20

If needed, he'll expend another charge of the wand.
CLW: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

2 charges used from Khalos's wand

Edgar puts away the pearl and grabs Torvic by the shoulders.

"Torvic, where is this Gallery of Wonders and who is this woman you speak of? How can we help you help our kin retrieve our glory?

Lort furrows his brow and adds, "More to the point what will we, and the Society, get in return for the pearl and our protection? Also, what traps and enchantments did you face down there? Best we go in prepared - or at least forewarned."

The half-orc decides to give Torvic some time to reply to he and his companions' questions. At Khalos' unspoken request, Lort moves over and binds the blue creature's hands and feet.

DC to escape (20+CMB) => 25

There appears to be no magic at work. Khaloses divinations don't tell what ails him.

"I was about to say I need to come with you to the Gallery." Torvic says, smiling tiredly. "Alas, I can't say I can help you avoid the dangers now... my memories of the gallery are hazy at best. But I'm certain once I get there things will start to pop into my mind. I must. There must be a reason for my partial amnesia, and it must be in that Gallery."

Gunari doesn't notice any glibness in Torvic's speech; it seems the dwarf is just dead tired. Bags under his eyes seem to confirm this. The varisian man is rather certain sleep deprivation is causing the dwarf's peculiar manners.

Torvic nods as thanks to magical healing, his wounds slowly fading away. Facing Edgar he shrugs. "I can lead you to the entrance, that much I remember at least. But I'm unsure who the woman is. It... it feels as if I have seen her only in my dreams. Do I make sense to you?" Then Torvic smirks. "По пять царей, конечно, я помогу тебе!"

As Lort ties the last creature up, he notices the miserable creature is carrying an oddly full pouch. It is filled with uncut amethysts. The half-orc determines their value to be about 600 gold pieces.

Lort's appraise rolled in secret.

Hmmm, I sensed nothing magical upon his mind. Perhaps I'm just imagining things, but this 'nightmare' could be a problem some of us might not be able to overcome unaided.

Shrugging of his worries, Khalos smiles easily and says to Torvic,
"Well said, victory rarely eludes a team with exquisite symphony. How far away are we from this Gallery?"

"A few hours of travel by foot." Torvic answers, sitting up and looking at the group, befuddled. "Did you travel here by foot as well? All the way up the mountains?" he asks.

Lort nods, "Aye, we walked all the way. Best we get ready to depart for the Gallery of Wonders, then. If we cannot sleep, all the more reason to press on."

Turning to Khalos (and the rest of the companions in general), Lort gestures towards the blue creature, "Do we want anything with this one? I'd like my rope back. I have more, but I don't see the point wasting it on this creature. Perhaps we can ask him what, exactly, he is before we kill him? Perhaps you would rather we let him go? Perhaps you would like to take a prisoner along? Me, I'd like to get moving and will lose no sleep over ending this one's malign existence."

The time's around noon, hard to tell. The sky is covered in a dull gray overcast.

Edgar looks from Torvic to Lort.

"What say you brother? Do we need any information from this creature? I feel torn letting Lort dispatch this creature, but him and his companions were attacking you. May Torag forgive me whatever you choose."

Ozren looks on as the party debates the fate of their captive, his expression one of passive curiosity.

With a nod to Torvic, Khalos declares "Let Torvic decide what to do with the creature, given that he was the one left nearly dying. Unless one of us can even identify it, I don't think we'd be able to communicate anyway."

But if it went my way, I would just leave it unconscious with feet bound to discourage it from following us. I would rather have Torvic follow us with boosted confidence, though. If killing this creature would do so, then so be it.

"Either way, we should arrive at the Gallery hours before dark. Plenty of time to get to the bottom of this, so we should get going."

Sensing that the party's meeting will come to a close soon, Zatoma will slither around the cave looking for anything they might have missed.

Take 20 on Perception for 33. Mage Armor should expire during the journey to the Gallery.

"My friends, perhaps we are being a bit hasty with the talk of the killing. Maybe his blue creature is just misunderstood. Maybe we could extort some information from it. Even though I will hardly ever shrink away from a fair fight, I cannot condone the killing of a helpless creature like this. We just need to persuade it to talk.

"Lort, if the issue is your rope, I have plenty we can use, or I can give it to you."

Internally in agreement with Gunari, "Then please use my wand to revive one of them. Let's see what it has to say while Torvic ponders what he wants to do."

Hopefully, we share a common tongue.

"I have no plans for that mite." Torvic says, eyeing the unconscious creature. "I'll leave that decision for you. Oh, and if you think of coercing the creature, I hope someone of you can speak undercommon. I do, but I'm no interrogator."

Zatoma spends a few minutes in the cave. It appears Torvic made a small camp - with mundane equipment - inside it as shelter, but is has been ransacked. The cave's rather small and doesn't lead anywhere.

Intimidating this creature might be more effective, especially since he's been beaten.
However I noticed that our highest skill for interrogation is thru Diplomacy +8 but none of us speaks undercommon...

Crouching down so as to face the dwarf at eye level, "Torvic, we will wake him up for a little 'chat' but only if we have your help. We shall be on-guard on any attempts this mite will make. So, will you translate for us?"

Diplomacy for request: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10

Lort turns to the Warpriest, his expression softening, "Gunari, you have a gentle heart. I will leave this thing in your care - you may keep the rope. I was trying to be practical. We can't leave it here tied up, it would be cruel. We can't let it go, it may bring others. If we take it back for trial, they would surely kill it anyway. If we take it with us, we only delay the same decision and we unduly burden ourselves in the meantime. Besides, it is my preference to rid the world of evil." Lort gently places the mite's body at Gunari's feet.

"Let me know if you change your mind."

Lort turns to Khalos, "When you have satisfied your curiosity with this thing, I will be ready to leave."

Happy to get out of here when everyone else is! Next time, I say we just leave our enemies where they lay once they get to negative hit points and save the debate. ;-)

"Uh, sure, I'll translate." Torvic answers, scratching his head as if confused.

One charge from the wand used

After a touch of the healing wand, the creature wakes up, still bound by ropes. It squeaks in an annoying voice, making even Torvic cringe. "Uh, it's just screaming 'who are you? Don't hurt me! Let me free!' Oh, in case you don't know, mites are the lowest form life, even worse than goblins. Everyone, even themselves, treat them as crap."

The mite keeps yapping in a frustrating, high-pitched voice.

I knew I should have just finished it while I had the chance. Now Kurgess punishes me for my weakness with this wailing.

Lort moves away from camp until the screaming becomes bearable and hones his greatsword with a whetstone.

+1 on Lort's next hit if he spends 15 minutes doing this... Lort really hopes it won't take that long!

"Torvic, thank you for translating. Just want to know what it thinks was happening. I am sure we'll be able to get it to talk. Lort, I could use your intimidating presence here."

Gunari will approach the mite with the wand in one hand, cold iron rapier in the other. With the tip of the rapier's blade at the creature's throat, he will heal the mite.

"Foul creature, know that your life is mine to give or take away! My blade is at your throat." Gunari applies a little pressure at the last, to drive home his point, so to speak.

"What were you doing here, and why were you attacking this dwarf?"
intimidate: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

Gunari is ready to thrust his blade through the creatures throat should it act in a hostile manner.
readied attack with rapier against prone mite: 1d20 + 6 + 4 ⇒ (13) + 6 + 4 = 23 for: 1d6 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 2 = 3

Lort pretends not to hear Gunari over the sound of his whetstone scraping rhythmically against his blade.

So that's a nay for mercy killing and a yay for interrogation at knife point. And humans think orcs are savages. Hmm, I guess the humans are probably right on that score, they just need to look in a mirror once in a while.

Ozren joins Gunari and watches the warpriest interrogate the foul creature. He stares at the little thing as it squirms and screeches for its life. He attempts to play a kinder role in contrast to Gunari's forward tactics, leaning on Torvic to translate. Calm yourself little creature. When one is faced with a storm, it is best to find shelter. Tell the man what you know, or I fear even the levity of the Drunken Hero will save you this time.

Diplomacy: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (15) + 8 = 23

Hopefully, it'll be OK by tomorrow. First time it happened though.

On a separate note, I'll be heading off to the UK and Spain for a bit under 3 weeks tomorrow. I will try my hardest to post at least every 24 hours, but it may be tricky - especially on days I'm flying.

Please feel free to take over my character (whether by GM or player suggestion of his actions) at any time I'm not posting promptly enough. I think we've been playing for long enough now that you know what Lort will do.

I will just ask that if it's a choice between obviously risking death and fleeing for his life (or the equivalent) that you please send me a quick email to wilmann_at_gmailcom (you know how to fix that email address if you're a human) to ask what I'd do. I should be checking email more often than the forums. Again, though, if I'm not posting quick enough - have at it. I'm fairly easy about character death.

I'm about to go on vacation myself; to be honest I thought six weeks was plenty of time to crank through a Season 1 scenario. I can try to keep up via tablet & phone but that may be difficult given our map situation.

The fastest I've seen a PbP game run was 3 months (12 weeks). That was 0-season too. The longest I've spectated lasted almost a year (Temple of Empyreal Enlightement).

I too have my vacation starting soon, but that won't hinder my updating abilities much.

I like it how Gunari's the obligatory AA-member...

Every successful Pathfinder expedition group needs an AA-member. In addition every true pathfinder agent should sport a mental illness, minor or major. :)

Hey guys, having a great holiday. Only issue is that Orange suck big, fat, hairy, sweaty... well... anyway...

I can't get data enabled on the prepaid card I bought. Rather than bang my head against the wall of Orange Mobile customer support, or spend another £10 on a prepaid card that may or may not work, I'm restricted to hotel Internet. That also means I'm restricted to posting when I have nothing else on in the evening. Shouldn't be a big issue, but expect posts every 48-72 hours rather than my usual 24 or less (much less sometimes).

It'll all be over in a week and a half (dammit!) and I'll be back to normal after that.

Also, classic double entendre on the AA-member, intended or not. AA: Automotive Association (fixes you up). AA: Alcoholics Anonymous (fixes you up with booze).

No sweat. I bet most are having their vacations now, meaning they won't be updating as frequently. :)

Dungeon map updated.

I now realized I forgot to add a scale (ABC & 123) to the tactical map. D'OH! Oh well, I'll add it to the next tactical map.

Sorry for the delays. My vacation's starting next week so there's hope in the horizon.

Also, I rolled the initiatives once, but then tried to be clever and edited the order, which of course rerolled the initiatives. I figured I want to keep the originals, and that's why the erroneous rolls are not visible.

Also also, the tactical map is going to updated around 22:00 GMT+2 (that's 10pm GMT+2).

I'm not going to be able to post as often maybe for one week. A typhoon just hit our area and we don't have power at home. FYI

The fastest I've seen a PbP game run was 3 months (12 weeks). That was 0-season too. The longest I've spectated lasted almost a year (Temple of Empyreal Enlightement).

I too have my vacation starting soon, but that won't hinder my updating abilities much.

Twelve weeks is on the long end for me...most of my PbP PFS games finish up in 6 to 8 weeks. But a year for Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment? That's absurd!

As it is I'm most likely going to step away from this table. With updates as few and far between as they have been before people (myself included) head out on vacation there's no chance of this one finishing anytime in the near future.

Deussu wrote:

The fastest I've seen a PbP game run was 3 months (12 weeks). That was 0-season too. The longest I've spectated lasted almost a year (Temple of Empyreal Enlightement).

I too have my vacation starting soon, but that won't hinder my updating abilities much.

Twelve weeks is on the long end for me...most of my PbP PFS games finish up in 6 to 8 weeks. But a year for Temple of Empyreal Enlightenment? That's absurd!

As it is I'm most likely going to step away from this table. With updates as few and far between as they have been before people (myself included) head out on vacation there's no chance of this one finishing anytime in the near future.

Aight, with experiences of far faster PbPs I can understand that.

I can slide the notion of giving you a blank chronicle sheet and just assume your character wasn't part of this. That way you have the chance of playing this again at some other table, perhaps with more haste. :)

I'm not going to be able to post as often maybe for one week. A typhoon just hit our area and we don't have power at home. FYI

Philippines were hit hard by a typhoon just yesterday. Are you in Taiwan?

Nope, I'm in the Philippines itself.

Dude, Khalos, hope it all goes well in the end for you, your family and friends. Best of luck!

I must say I'm sorry the game pace has been a lot slower than you all anticipated. I've had some time issues at home, having to take care of the baby immediately after getting home from work due to unspecified reasons, and the few hours I have to spare I've used for other recreational activities.

Also all your update speed has stunned me. This I suspect to be a result of different gaming culture. Here in Finland we started playing PbP games about two and a half years ago, and all of them have been slow compared to the start of this game. People know PbP games will take a long time, and they don't want to rush them. I don't think you want to rush them either, but some people check the game once per day or two days.

I won't penaltize you if more of you wish to step away from the game to free your character to some other scenario.

I'm playing in another PbP with a bunch of people from the US, 3 of them friends in real life. The update speed there is slower than here. That game and this one are my entire PbP experience, but the update speed is fine by me. I'm happier with a faster pace, but I'm perfectly satisfied with taking a bit more time on the scenario also.

Just a heads up. Ropecon (largest RPG convention in Finland/Nordic countries) will start tomorrow, and I will be unable to update the game while I'm there. Be back on Monday.

Completely forgot to mention I'm away in the countryside at the moment. I left on 30th of July and I'm here till at least 6th of August. Until my vacation ends there will be fewer posts.

I attempt to get behind a screen at least once a day. Before this moment it just wasn't physically possible.

FYI - I will be leaving for Gen Con on Wednesday, Aug 13, returning home the following Monday evening. As such, my access online will be extremely limited, so if you need to "bot" Gunari, please do so rather than slowing down the game.

I'll be at GenCon also, but from Friday Aug 15 until the following Monday. Same deal. Hey, if you can't take a break from PbP for GenCon, when can you take a break? ;-)

Lort, we'll have to meet up in Indy some time. I'll be spending what little off-time I have at Scotty's, with some of the other folks from the Twin Cities.

I'm there with friends, and we've got a full schedule of gaming... but we can totally try to slot something in. I'll PM you my cell.

I expect a break during Gen Con, so no sweat. :P

Both maps updated accordingly.

Cursed be my 12 hour days (8 hours of work followed by 4 hours of babysitting thanks to wife's "chores"...) and lack of free time.

No worries. I think we're almost done anyway :)

There are a crapload of areas to scavenge, yes, but I can fastforward most of the stuff if people wish so.

My service provider has been extra s#+$ty the past few days. Expect delays.

As you might have noticed, this fight is tiresome and repetitive. I offer you to give me automated control to speed things up. I refrained from moving the elf because it would have resulted in nothing but a lot of 5ft-steps.

What say you?

Automate away! Sounds great. So long as one of those automations is for Lort to ask for some healing. :-)

Also please note that Lort is no longer using power attack (so +9 total from +6 attack bonus, +1 bless, +2 flank). Damage in this mode is 2d6+6.

I'm so glad we're done with that fight. Without a power attacking heavy hitter that fight has dragged on for minutes (game time!).

Funny story: a group didn't have a heavy hitter, and were struggling to damage it. Once they finally got her below 0 hp, they kept hitting her while trying various damaging methods. Their only source of silver was... wait for it... the silver trade bars found at the beginning of the gallery.

LOL
How did they use it? Shove it down her throat?

So, now that she is defeated, what was she?

An elf with an odd template. And cleric levels, hence the channeling. I remember rolling knowledge (local) for Gunari, who failed at it.

An upcoming local event will delay responses. Except an update Sunday evening... GMT+2, of course.

I hit 'automate' switch on and carried on all the investigative stuff to the best of my ability to portray the characters as they have been, well, portrayed. Lort, being the loudest, stole the spotlight. Sorry.

Deussu, is there anything left?

If not, could we just get the closing summation, and our chrons?

Thanks!

It was merely to check that you have every prisoner healed and such.

I'm going to devise your chronicles tomorrow (expect them in within, uh 12 hours?)

Thanks for the game, Deussu! It was fun, even if a little slow at times.

Thanks also to Gunari, Khalos, Edgar and Ozren. It was great playing with you guys and I hope to see you around on PbP again soon.

Yes, thanks to all that were involved. I had a good time, and was really able to find the voice of Gunari through this scenario. Evidently, he's a bit of a lush (go figure), and definitely a "positive" influence on some adventurers.

Looking forward to the chronicles.

In case it is needed:
74294-9 Gunari Maximoff (Sczarni at the time we started)
Starting Fame: 6, Starting PP 4
Starting xp: 4
Jack Brown

Day Job (none)

Yeah I'll take the blame for the seldom slowness.

I also felt that this forum is not a suitable platform to run games, at least not for me. I'm used to a wiki site which is a lot more customisable, and gives me an easy way to correct past mistakes or give more details to a description.

Thanks goes to the players for keeping each other company, and not just wait for the GM to run his next cue card.

The scenario might be more atmospheric if the fights wouldn't be so dull. I've said this times before, but this scenarios subtier 3-4 could easily be beaten with a 1-2 crowd.

Lort has no day job. Scenario #3, Player Name: Damien Wilmann, character 135100-2. My other scenarios are pre-gen credit so don't worry about filling in any of the "initial" stuff unless you really want to: 4 PP, 4 Fame, 2 XP.

I'm very lazy when it comes to auditing characters. I strongly rely to the honor system, as it is so easy to cheat I just simply trust players to have some sort of sense of justice.

Also, I have an uncanny feeling this PbP went somewhat sub-par. I welcome constructive criticism (in addition to the notion the game pace was slower than most expected; to me this was average), although it is unlikely I'll run another PbP on Paizo's messageboards another time. That means that I stick to PbP on wikisites using my native language.

Language, that's one issue. At times I was very unsure about my grammar and had to check words constantly. There are a few things I'd like to hear about:

a) Did I provide enough details describing the areas? How could have I done better?
b) The combats in the scenario are, unfortunately, very weak. Even the boss, the elf with an odd template, was merely very tough but had absolutely no way of dealing damage to you, other than those 4/day channels.
c) Did you feel I could have used Torvic a lot more? I left him out of combats on purpose, as it would have been too much of a burden for me to run as well.

Hey there, happy to take the survey. ;-)

a) Mostly, yes, you provided enough detail when describing areas. There were some occasions where I was confused as to what was going on. Mostly, though, this was filled in on the next post. I think if we're going into a room that has a description provided by the scenario, it would be good to get the pro-forma description from the scenario as well as a tactical layout description from you upon first entering the room (all in one post). That will allow maximum "moving on" potential for our posts.

b) The combats were weak, but it is fairly typical of a low level PFS scenario. They don't want to kill the characters too early in their careers. I have found scenarios to be generally quite a bit easier to "beat" than modules and adventure paths. However, I have heard hushed whispers about bone keep... but I think I'll keep my characters alive, thank you.

c) Torvic, I feel, could have been more informative. I understand, however, that you are restricted somewhat in how much you're allowed to reveal by the scenario - and also want us to experience everything anew. I don't think he needed to be involved in combat at all, though.

Great scenario, thanks for running Dessu. Fun game everyone, great job by all.

As for the survey:

a)I think descriptions were mostly fine. One thing that would aid you immensely is a better mapping solution. I highly suggest using google draw. It allows you to post maps and use moveable tokens and would aid you greatly in setting the scene.

b) Don't worry about the combat, frankly. Its been my (somewhat limited) experience that folks that play PbP are just as happy RPing their characters then itching for tons of combat. In my opinion, the combat in the scenario was fun and run well.

c)I find that running NPCs can be a mixed bag. I feel they should be left out of combat whenever possible, especially in larger groups but try to get them to interact with the party as much as possible. One way to do that is to treat the npc like a character you are running and try to have him mor her say or do something to spur action or RP every time you post. Even if it is something small or insignificant, just having the npc do something makes him feel more alive and invovled.

I had a great time with the scenario, thanks again for running it.

When describing areas I probably should have followed the rule of three senses (describing the location based on three senses chosen from sight, hearing, taste, smell, and touch).

E.g. "The room was dark, shadows moving constantly in the corner of your eyes. A repetative dripping of water echoed through the massive halls underground. A constant chilling breeze brushes the bruised faces of courageous adventurers."

I have to say the scenario had absolutely nothing to guide a GM about what Torvic could and couldn't do. I'm not sure if he knew who the elf really was, the terrors of extremely limited word count.

a) The places were described thoroughly enough for me. Going much more into detail would be demanding more from the GM than I'm comfortable with, especially since my imagination fills in the others easily.
b) Combat is very caster friendly for this one. I barely had to worry about running to cover so a modified challenge could help.
c) Torvic out of combat is fine, especially since there's a summoner in a party that could fill his blank. Good job roleplaying him though.

It has been fun playing with you guys!

I'm rolling day job for Khalos, he's doing sculptures. No one else appeared to have a day job.

Khalos day job: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19

Khalos creates a relatively nice sculpture of a spelunking dwarf, which is bought off by a haggling dwarf. Thus the profit isn't as exuberant as Khalos might have wished.