PFS: Emerald Spire: Level 3--Splinterden (CORE) (Inactive)

Game Master R D

At this point it's mostly academic, I'd think ... he made his save, right?

Dang it... Countersong requires Perform skills that I do not possess! Next level, I will put a few ranks into an appropriate perform skill to take advantage of my abilities... This would have been a perfect opportunity for Countersong too :(

Trip!: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 24
Knowledge: Dungeoneering: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25

Garrett shakes his head as if clearly out his confused brain. "Was I just talking about lead knives?" he starts to ask Kohi, but then realizes the rest of the group is now in the next room. Garrett rushes in just in time to see Desh try to impale Kay upon his longspear. "Desh, no! What are you doing?!" He then spots the strange mass grabbing onto Flyn. "It's a gibbering mouther!"

Garrett looks around at the battlefield and realizes things are very dire indeed. He looks at the longspear in Desh's hands.... and suddenly he lashes up with his whip, wrapping it around the half-orc's legs and yanking them out from beneath him. "Sorry, Desh, but I cannot let you kill, Kay!"

Movement - Move into position. Standard - Trip attempt on Desh. Next round I'm going to start trying to put this thing to sleep. Lullaby and then Sleep... if we can just survive for two more rounds?

I'd forgotten about Well-Versed... I think it's the first time I've ever actually have the occasion to use that ability lol, but yes, Garrett made his last save.

Kay and Garrett both know all there is to know about gibbering mouthers. They don't have any explicit weaknesses. They are immune to crits and precision damage, though. Feel free to peruse the PRD page for the mosnter.

Desh can roll the will save at the start of his next round. Heck, I s'pose we can roll it now. Desh Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7 Confusion Effect: 1d100 ⇒ 70 Next round you'll hit yourself in the head for 1d8+3 HP of damage and you're prone. :-(

Flyn is up, then the gibbering mouther goes.

What in the burning hells?!?! Desh, what are you..." Flyn's words cut off as the terrible mouths inch closer. "Get this thing off of ME!"

Break Grapple/CMB: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

If that succeeds, Flyn will 5' step back to the current point on the map.

Looking back toward the doorway, then again at the compromised half-orc, Flyn strings together a plethora of halfling expletives. "We should back out and regroup, but it's done something to Desh..."

Flyn breaks out!

The gibbering mouther:

- Free Action: Spit at Garrett: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23
- Non Action: five-foot-step forward towards Flyn
- Full attack:
Bite 1: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (18) + 7 = 25, Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Bite 2: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26, Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 2
Bite 3: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19, Miss!
Bite 4: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (9) + 7 = 16, Miss!
Bite 5: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18, Miss!
Bite 6: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (19) + 7 = 26, Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Grab: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17

And Flyn is grappled, again, as he takes 8 HP of damage.

Fort Save DC 18: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (14) + 1 = 15
Blinded: 1d4 ⇒ 3 Oh crap...

Garrett turns to Flyn to voice his agreement to make a room for it when he is suddenly hit in the eyes with some foul ichor from the mouther. "Ahhhh! It spit in my eyes, I ... By The Lucky Drunk I can't see!" He flails around, trying to wipe the substance from his face.

You can still move at half speed, when blind. :-)

Kay and Desh are up!

You've already rolled my will save, correct?

Desh, now rolling frantically on the ground, whacks himself with the haft of his longspear.

self-head-bonk damage: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 3 = 9

"I'd tell Desh not to hit it with a spear, but he's busy..."

Kay waves his hands and mutters in some long forgotten language.

Glitterdust. DC17 Will Save or that thing is blinded.

"Enjoy the blindness, beast! Friends, bludgeoning is the way to injure this thing."

He leads Garrett out of the room. "Fall back, Flyn!"

Garrett, feel free to veto that move. Desh, we'll save you ASAP!

Glitterdust. DC17 Will Save or that thing is blinded.

"Enjoy the blindness, beast! Friends, bludgeoning is the way to injure this thing."

He leads Garrett out of the room. "Fall back, Flyn!"

Will Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (2) + 5 = 7

The halfling trembles with the effort of attempting to shake off the hideous mass of teeth and eyes. "I'm... trying... to!" Flyn barks, as he reaches for his morningstar. Suddenly, he is assaulted with a stunning brightness and the room goes white.

Break Grapple/CMB: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (14) + 3 = 17
5' Step

I don't see that spell area placed on the map, Kay; Should I assume Flyn is in the thick of it?

Oh, I can target a 10' area that doesn't include you, Flyn. Let me mark it.

Flyn escapes.

GB Will Save: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16. It is blind!

Spit: 1d20 ⇒ 18, Miss chance, high is good: 1d100 ⇒ 72, Flyn needs a fort save.

It takes a five foot step and misses with all six bites.

1d20 ⇒ 5
1d20 ⇒ 5
1d20 ⇒ 13
1d20 ⇒ 12
1d20 ⇒ 13
1d20 ⇒ 17

The party is up!

Will Save: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (12) + 3 = 15

Is that good enough?

Yup! The tide has turned!

Desh shakes his head to clear it. "I'm fine." He looks at the retreating group and their one blind opponent. "Go or kill? I hate to leave a meal unfinished."

Delay until Desh gets an answer.

"Kill that thing!" Flyndal cries, struggling to wipe the stinging spittle from his eyes.

Fort | DC18: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (9) + 8 = 17     Yup.

Duration: 1d4 ⇒ 1

"Right. Koh, can you do that healin' wave thing without healing it, too?" Desh growls as he stands up, leaving his longspear on the ground. As he stalks around a table to get closer to the blind beast, he draws out his morningstar.

Drop longspear. stand from prone. Sneak nearly to it.
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (13) + 8 = 21

It's amorphous. Even blind, flanked, or whatever, it's never subject to precision damage. :-( Feel free to simply attack it.

I can't make an attack this round regardless ... so there's no reason to give it a free full attack, even if it is blind.

While Desh creeps carefully toward the quivering monstrosity, Flyn takes a different approach. Even though his eyes burn, the creature's odor fills his nostrils – he follows his nose to the where it hides, smashing his morningstar down on its grisly form.

Rage 1/8, Scent, Blinded 1/2
Mwk Silver Morningstar, RAGE, Power Attack: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (8) + 8 = 16
Damage 2h: 1d6 + 9 ⇒ (1) + 9 = 10

I'm a little fuzzy on whether scent bypasses the miss chance for blindness/invisibility, but to expedite, I'll roll it and assume Engle will adjudicate.
Miss Chance, high is good: 1d2 ⇒ 2

As I understand it, scent only pinpoints the square when they're within 5 feet. You still have a miss chance. Regardless, you're all set! :-)

CRUNCH! Flyn whacks the enemy good!

Kohi channels 2d6 ⇒ (6, 4) = 10 and everyone feels a lot better.

Kay and Garrett are up!

Acid Dart: 1d20 + 3 - 4 ⇒ (8) + 3 - 4 = 7
for: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 = 5

Kay's acid dart goes wide as he is careful not to hit Flyn--evidently, too careful.

"Ashes!" mutters the elf. "I shouldn't even be up here."

Garrett hears the tide begin to turn in favor of he and his companions. Even though he could not see, he could still help his friends! "Fight on, my friends! Desh, fear not the madness from the creature! Flyn, use your anger to smash it to pieces! Kay, bring forth your earthen friends! And Kohi, you beautiful cleric, heal our friends so that we may fight on!"

-1 BP. Move - Follow behind Kay out of the room. Standard - Activate Inspire Courage! +1 Attack/Damage/STs vs. Fear.

Since it is blind, the mother will try to grab on with the first attack that hits.
Bite: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (14) + 7 = 21, Miss Chance, high hits: 1d100 ⇒ 80, Damage: 1d4 ⇒ 3
Grab: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17
Flynn take 3 more points of damage and is grappled!

The party is up!

Flyndal shoves the creature back, then hobbles away through the dark. His heart races for a moment when he collides with another creature, but he quickly realizes that it must be the cleric or elf wizard.

Break Grapple/CMB | Rage, Inspire: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 = 22

Move at half speed

Rage2/8, Scent, Blinded 2/2

Desh steps in and slams his morningstar into the creature.

Including power attack and inspire courage
morningstar: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 - 1 = 21
damage: 1d8 + 4 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 3 + 1 = 14

Flyn breaks free. Desh whacks the mouther good. Kohi, Garrett, and Kay are up!

1d20 ⇒ 2, 1d20 ⇒ 13, 1d20 ⇒ 6

Out of desperation, all three (Kohi, Kay, and Garrett) rush the blinded mouther. One of them hits and does at least 1 HP of damage. That's all it had left! :)

Combat over!

There's no treasure in C6. You heal up (feel free to roll for yourselves).

CLWx1: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6      That'll do for now.

Flyn takes a knee, catching his breath and flaring at the quivering mound of eyes and teeth, now lying still in a puddle of itself. "Let's hope those things aren't too common around here."

Desh grunts acknowledgement and spits on the beast, then looks back at Garrett, Kay, and Kohinoor. "You three alright?"

I'm not sure how much damage they've taken.

Once the crew is all healed up—and not blind anymore—Desh gives the room one more search (for secret doors or whatever).

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9; +9 vs traps.

Sheesh. Nothing in here. :/

Then, reclaiming his longspear, Desh taps Flyndal on the shoulder and takes point moving forward. "Expect them to know we're here."

Same plan. Desh will lead at about 30 feet, Stealthfully looking for traps and threats. At corners, doors or other choke points, he'll quietly look around, wave the group to join him at the corner, then continue forward.

Perception: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (19) + 8 = 27; +1 vs traps
Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (5) + 8 = 13

Garrett is down 1, I think. Kay and Kohi are full up.

Perception: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (8) + 10 = 18
Stealth: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (4) + 10 = 14

Flyndal follows Desh, wary of what other men or impossible beasts await them next...

I don't mind retroactively applying any needed healing.

Where to from here?

Kohi rubs her eyes, still feeling the sting of the creature's acid but at least able to make out shapes and light. "I will be fine, I think. Sarenrae has decreed I may keep my eyes." She follows the front-liners, applying guidance to Flyn and Desh as needed.

Desh moves up to the first door he runs across, stopping to listen at it. If he hears nothing, he checks it for locks/traps and tries to peek in.

Map position is correct. Desh is listening at that door, taking 10 for an 18 (19 vs traps).

No traps. No sounds. Though, it also occurs to you that your fight with the biggering mouther was pretty loud...

Flyn taps Desh on the shoulder, pointing to the hallway ahead on their left.

Looks like a good ambush point to me... At least, ignoring everything Flyn can't see.

Garrett eventually wipes all the spit from his face, his eyes looking like little cherries. "I cannot believe I was ill prepared for such an abomination!" he states, feeling quite remorseful for letting down his companions.

Once they begin heading further in, and Flyn points towards the hallway, Garrett nods his agreement and whispers. "Given our luck thus far, we should be wary of ambushes around every corner."

Desh nods, switches to his shield and morningstar, and moves up to the next corner.

Taking 10 on Perception/Stealth, holding shield.
Perception 18 (19 vs. traps)
Stealth 18

Still nothing.

Desh taps Flyndal's shoulder and indicates the halfling should guard their corner position while Desh investigates the room behind them.

Desh stalks to the door, checks it, listens beyond, and—assuming nothing is heard—takes a peek within.

Taking 10 on Perception/Stealth to check the door to C8.

This chamber is someone's personal quarters. A comfortable bed stands in the southwest corner. Several small keepsakes, including a couple of small leather journals, clutter the wall shelves.

The keepsakes on the shelves include a gold chess piece worth 25 gp, an ivory comb worth 40 gp, and a statuette of a woman with a lyre worth 15 gp.

Moving everyone up. Y'all good with map placement?

Flyn scoops the shinies into his back (to divy up later... probably.) He quickly flips through a few of the journals, before tossing them in with the trinkets.

Perception(?)To glean any info about the room's occupant from skimming a few journals.: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (19) + 10 = 29

Actually, I misread the 'moving everyone up' part as moving on from the room. I'll hold the corner position where Desh stuck me.

The doors to room C7 suddenly all open and enemies fire crossbows at Garrett. (Desh posted that he took a "quick peek" in there, but they were hiding behind furniture in this mess hall.)

Surprise Round
Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22, Damage: 1d8 + 1d6 ⇒ (5) + (2) = 7
Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8, Miss!
Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7, Miss!
Crossbow: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5, Miss!

Garret Fort Save vs Poison: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (11) + 2 = 13, Save is good!

Round 1
One of the enemy humans:
Free Action: Drop crossbow
Move Action: Draw sword
Non-Action: Five-foot-step
Standard Action: Attack: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (3) + 3 = 6, Miss!

Flyn is up! Then Kay, Desh, and Garrett.

"Peek" was intended to express that Desh was looking in while hiding. Did his Perception (take 10) not hit their Stealth checks to hide?

The whole point of that was trying to avoid us getting ambushed again. If they just beat my Perception, that's fin.. But if it got missed or ignored, I'm a little disappointed.

I'm not so much asking for a retcon as asking how I can make sure that i'm expressing my intent to you most effectively. (Or, if my roll was just not good enough—or their Stealth was that good—ignore this, I guess.)

"Peek" was intended to express that Desh was looking in while hiding. Did his Perception (take 10) not hit their Stealth checks to hide?

Nope. I didn't miss it. You took 10, so I had them take 10. You got an 18, they got higher. They are rogues hiding with cover and distance. They were behind the table at the right side of the room. If you came in, they were going to flip it on its side for total cover and shoot you. But, nobody came in. It's actually pretty cool/clever (and/or lucky!) that you forced them to come out into the open! :-)

Roger, roger. This is just not Desh's day. :(

It's all good, these 4 are mooks. You'll be done in three rounds or less. :) I mean, even with surprise, three of them missed a flat-footed PC.

Desh! Trouble!" Flyndal runs up to the nearest crossbowman, swinging in futile fury.

Mwk Silver Morningstar, Power Attack: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9
Damage 1h: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9

5' step
Attack Orange

Acrobatics to avoid AoO: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (12) + 12 = 24

Garrett grunts when he feels something suddenly slam into his leg, then looks down at the crossbow bolt protruding from his thigh. "Huh, that's odd." He looks up just in time to see the thug then rush at him with a sword drawn! The pain of his injury seems to follow as he ducks underneath the strike directed at him and quickly tumbles away. "That did not feel good, sir!" He lashes out with his whip in an attempt to pull the thug's feet out from beneath him, but Garrett's whip merely strikes the wall with a thud.

Trip on Red: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

^ All that stuff they said. ^

Hope to see you again when RL things are sorted out.

Hey all, I injured my shoulder at work tonight and will be on light-duty until I can be seen again on Monday. So, my posts will likely be on the shorter end in the meantime. I'll keep you posted.

Ouch! Hope it heals up quick!

Sorry for not posting, DM ... I never have any re-roll stuff. :/

No worries. Never know what folks pick up at the various conventions offered year round. :-)

If only it was an enchantment and not an illusion! So much for Elf Resistance...

"so pretty"

Any suggestions on how better to work Garrett as support for you guys? Right now I feel like I'm not doing a whole lot other than grant a +1 Attack/Damage now and again. Granted I've gotten in a few good Trip attempts, but my spells have not been successful much at all.

As I mentioned before, I was thinking about going into Summoning spells, but I don't want to step on Kay's toes. I know that's sort of his schtick. You guys have any suggestions on what you'd like to see more of? Specific spells? Or would you like me to focus on a specific type of Combat Maneuver?

Obviously once I get some higher level spells I'm going to focus on such spells like Haste, Good Hope, etc.

I say keep aiming for that. Maybe pick up a few alchemical doodads, until you reach that level? I dunno, I'm no bard expert.

You should definitely let me know what you're building for so I can build a bit differently. I envisioned Kohi as a "buff" cleric, so she doesn't have the wisdom for high-DC debuffs, but we can certainly make sure our available buffs stack up well.

EDIT: Any advice on gear, consumables, etc. would be great. I'm not super familiar with mid-level play, and my usual face-to-face GM tends to ignore ability damage and the like, so I wasn't ready for the early parts of this level.

Bards make great enchanters and illusionists, and those are Kay's opposition schools. Two conjurers are fine as well! Bards also debuff pretty well. Is your Charisma high? People have suggested whip + dazzling display, but I'm dubious.

Clerics (and wizards) benefit from having lots of utility scrolls. Especially since you can't account for every condition we may run across. That, and butt loads of armor.

...this is my first wizard, so it's not like I am some expert. ;)

Yah, moving forward, I'm not sure how to really find a strong niche for your bard, at least not if you're looking to get away from utility-style play.

I wouldn't discount the things you're already frustrated with. Lingering Performance means you can have Performance running 3 times as long per day. And instead of using your whip attacks to try to trip/disarm, look for opportunities to Aid Anothers (either to boost someone's attack or their AC.

It's not the most sexy, but it can actually be really, realy useful tacticaly-useful. AND it doesn't take any more investment than you already have. :)

Your Dex is high; bards make decent archers. I think spells, and face stuff, and skills are where it's at for a Core Bard, though.

So think about a set of heavy armor and a whole brace of different scrolls?

@Garrett: I was going to suggest Flagbearer and the cool flag, but that's not CORE. Aid Another doesn't feel sexy, but it's got potential to be huge. Imagine Flyndal hitting 10% more often, or being hit 10% less. That being said, the archery build is also quite strong if you're looking to deal some damage.

Yah, archery could be good. And it brings a skillaet we don't have.

Imagine Flyndal hitting 10% more often, or being hit 10% less.

I like where this is going...

It seems the Paizo goblins ate my last post here... Unfortunately most of the really good bard fears are non-Core like Lingering Performance and Flagbearer, etc.

I'm not so concerned about dealing damage as I am helping out with support. Plus, I wouldn't be able to start being a decent archer until 7th or 9th level... I like the Aid Another suggestion, if only I could get the Helpful Halfling trait. I had looked at the Pathfinder Chronicler PrC to boost AA, but I hate that they lose spell casting progression. I cannot figure out what they get that would cancel out spell casting... I'll need to buff up my AC if I decide to get into the nitty-gritty of melee combat, but being a flank buddy for Desh would be good.

I've never done an illusionist before an that might be an interesting path. Any suggestions on a good way to start building him towards illusion?

Okay, so I ran across an opportunity I thought this group would be interested in.

GM Engleaktig, I hope you don’t mind me using this space for this communication, but it seemed the most effective way to get everyone’s feedback.

A DM I’ve run with before offered to run Desh through the Destiny of Sands trilogy of scenarios. I’d been trying to figure out a way to pick up some more gold for Desh in order to grab a mithral breastplate before we do much more of the Emerald Spire, and I thought this would be a good opportunity.

He’s happy to run it for this group, and he’s able to run it whenever we’re ready.

Would folks be interested in running those three scenarios with this group back-to-back-to-back before we do any more Emerald Spire? I thought it might be a fun change of pace before we continue our delve. :)

Let me know, or let me know if you have any questions.

And again, hope you don’t mind me using your Discussion thread for recruitment purposes, Engleaktig.

I do like shiny things... That works for me.

No problem! :-) I encourage you all to play Destiny of the Sands; it's great fun. I presume he's running it as a CORE game? We can totally take a break while you play the series and then come back to the Spire later.

Got room for another player? If so, I have two core characters that are in tier for that trilogy:

(1) Atrahasis is a cleric. He's very good at healing. But I think he might overlap with Kohinoor a lot.

(2) Narad is a rogue. He won't overlap with Desh as much as my cleric would overlap with Kohi. Whereas Desh is a combatant, Narad's specialty is being quiet and disabling traps. He has a +20 Disable Device and a +16 Stealth.

Yep. Core. And I'd certainly have no problem including either of those two. Whichever you'd prefer.

Thanks! :-) I'd prefer to play with Narad; he's been getting the Emerald Spire GM credit. It kind of feels like he's already been adventuring with you guys--to me, anyway. He's 5th level now.

Please let us know where to dot.

will do.

Kohinoor? Kay? Garrett? You guys up for a little change of pace? A little Osiriani suntan? (oooh, that sounds like a tasty drink with a fancy little umbrella)

:D

Sure, I'd be down for some Destiny of the Sands with Garrett. He'll be especially excited to document MYTHIC adventures!

I'd love to take a step away from the Spire for a while. Let's look at Destiny of the Sands. Also, whichever of those characters you'd like to play is fine by me, Engleaktig.

Besides, Osirion is just about home for Kohinoor!

Maybe she's how our crew got the gig! :D

Kay, how about you? I mean, at this point, you have to, right? How would we survive without our elf?

I think I have roughly 5k gold at this point. Any must-have cleric items in the CRB I should consider before I go general shopping? Also, pick 5 scrolls I should have 3 copies each of?

Naturally, I am adaptable to other environments! Such is the nature of the Elven race, as you may know. An opportunity to peruse some ancient volumes of mystic Osiriani lore would be most compelling.

You know all the Osiriani lore is just going to be endless tomes about Norgorber, right?

Cool. I'll connect with the DM and see how he wants to move things forward. I'm not sure what his thoughts on the time frame are, but I'm guessing over the next week or so, he'll want to get it rolling.

Details to come.

Thanks

Okay. Faster than expected. Everyone check in HERE.

Engleaktig, with the other game kicking off, do you have an ETA on those chronicles? :)

Id like to finalize my purchases.

Your chronicles will be posted here sometime today.

Posted! Let me know if there are changes, adjustments, or corrections. :-)

Marking this campaign as inactive, now.