[PFS] GM Blake's 5-08: The Confirmation (Inactive)

Game Master Blake's Tiger

Apologies, I'll correct access tomorrow.

Despite his initially friendly demeanor, Gorehard has been rather quiet as they traveled, always taking third watch and being one of the first to bed. Wanting to make sure he saw the sun as it rose each day, he was the earliest of risers, getting his morning prayer and ritual done before most of the rest of the party was even up. Still, he was polite, making sure to thank Janira for the fresh water after his morning workout, as well as Sira for the hole that had been dug.

He always believed these things kept him sharp, agile-and it seemed, as the winged creatures bared down on them, his alertness paid off-though he was a hair slower than the creatures.

"Excellent-a chance to test our mettle!"

Knowledge Arcana: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

And I'm pretty much better at this point, sorry for my slow posts. Also, brief question-in the surprise round, the hippogriffs are before me, but in the initiative rounds, I'm before them?

With a creak of leather and a low rumble in his throat, Father Conflict once again prepares to enter the fray.

OK. Map link should now allow edits.
Gorehard: You're before them, my apologies. Two is apparently too many half-orcs. I'm going to have them do their thing to keep it moving.

Ironleaf and her feline companion move to engage the hippogriff on the ground. However, the hippogriff has other plans as they both take wing.

Combat! Surprise Round. Bold may act (single Standard or Move).
Ironleaf & Tiger
Gorehard
Hippogriffs (red & blue)

Combat! Round 1. Bold may act.
Sira Ulo Ako
Ironleaf & Tiger
Gorehard
Hippogriffs (red & blue)
Janira
Kyunjiro
Father Conflict

Gorehard groaned,watching the beast take flight -he hated it when creatures moved out of range of his blade. Running to behind the tree for possibly some cover, he drew his crossbow, aiming at the higher beast, before firing at it.

heavy crossbow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 171d8 ⇒ 2

Moving with my readied action, then firing with my standard.

Ironleaf stares at the creature, so high up the ground. He and Stripes both move to intercept, but wait to deal damage until the monster lowers himself to attacking height.

DELAY BOTH IRONLEAF AND STRIPES ATTACKS.

OK...if Sira moves 5 to the left and 1 diagonal, it would put him at the square above the tiger. That space is 1 diagonal and 1 left to the closest square the hippogriff occupies- 10 feet away 20 feet up. So to throw a bomb I am guessing you figure the hypotenuse of the triangle.
20x20 =400 10x10= 100 the square root of 500 is 22.3606. With the bombs range being 20' that would put the hippogriff in the second range increment...yes?

Table Variation: Call it 20 ft, Sira.
My posting will be delayed for the next 24+ hours, so I'm going to move the hippogriffs. Go ahead with Sira's bomb as if they were in the previous position.

Gorehard's quarrel strikes a glancing blow across the hippogriff's rump, but it is not enough to deter the hungry beast as it heads for the smallest among you. The roan hippogriff flies through a cloud of fire and swoops down on Kyunjiro.

Janira easily dodges the sharp beak, but the kitsune is not so lucky. The senior Pathfinder begins to tell a tale of bravery, bolstering your confidence. "This reminds me of the time that Vertigan Drusmeer encountered a pack of..."

Combat! Round 1/2. Bold may act.
Sira Ulo Ako
Ironleaf & Tiger
Gorehard
Hippogriff (red: -6 hp)
Hippogriff (blue: -2 hp)
Janira
Kyunjiro (-5 hp)
Father Conflict

Inspire Courage is in effect: +1 to hit, +1 damage

Sira moves up adjacent to Ironleaf's companion and lobs a bomb at the hippogriff...

Bomb!vs Touch AC: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19
DMG(fire!): 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 4 = 6

Ironleaf double moves, trying to get into position to assist his companion and flank.

Running back, Stripes attempts to bite the flying thing as hard as possible.

Bite: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (18) + 4 + 2 = 24(Flanking)
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Seeing his party has one of the hippogriffs heavily engaged Father Conflict decides to assist Janira. He stands firm and lashes out with his whip.

Whip, Inspire: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 1 = 16

Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (5) + 4 = 9 nonlethal

Kyunjiro winces at the gash that the hippogriff left on him, turns around and growls at the great beast. He lunges at it with his rapier to return the favor.

"It's time to climb the food chain..."

Rapier attack, flanking, inspired: 1d20 + 4 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 4 + 2 + 1 = 18

Rapier dmg, inspired, sneak attack: 2d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 3) + 1 = 9

Rapier sneak attack, no movement

Gorehard grinned, dropping his crossbow in favor of his scimitar, charging to help defend Janira as well, the half-orcs of similar mentality.

"Not today, vile beast!"

Scimitar +1 inspire, +2 Charge, -1 Power Attack, 2 handed: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (6) + 6 = 12

pretty sure that misses, but if it didn't, here's the damage

The tiger bounds toward the roan hippogriff and pounces onto its flank with a savage bite. The hungry hippogriff screeches it pain and turns to dislodge the striped beast. Kyunjiro takes that moment of opportunity to stab his rapier into the chimeric creature's heart. It falls from the air, dead.

Urzaia channels his faith through his weapon and leaves a wicked mark on the gray hippogriff. Gorehard tries to defend their supervising Pathfinder, but the raptor proves too agile for him. He does succeed in drawing its attention, however. It hovers in the air and attacks with full force. Gorehard dodges the bite, and his armor absorbs one of the sharp swipes of a talon. The other digs into his flesh.

Janira continues to encourage you all. "Excellent team work! It reminds me of the battle between..." She steps back and removes her crossbow and begins to load it.

Combat! Round 2/3. Bold may act.
Sira Ulo Ako
Ironleaf & Tiger
Gorehard (-2 hp)
Hippogriff (red: dead/-18 hp)
Hippogriff (blue: -2 hp, 6 nl)
Janira
Kyunjiro (-5 hp)
Father Conflict

Inspire Courage Up: +1/+1

Note on Flanking: Unlike LOS and Cover rules, the test for flanking (for small and medium creatures) draws a line from the center of your space to the center of your potential flanker rather than from the corner. It's confusing, I know. This means nobody has or had flanking with the hippogriffs as they were +5 ft above the ground and your line for test of flank did not pass through the creature. The hits still hit and the non-sneak damage was enough to kill it.

"Great job, buddy, lets get the next one!"

Ironleaf makes his way to the BLUE beast and wacks at him with his staff.

quarterstaff: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5
damage: 1d6 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

....but misses badly

Yah! More targets to bite and gnaw on!

Bite: 1d20 + 4 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 4 + 2 = 16
Damage: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (5) + 1 = 6

Sira moves up (3 diagonal 1/2-3/4-5, 1 right 6) behind Gorehard and aims a bomb at the far end of the Hippogriff. Furthest square down and to the right-eliminating any splash damage possibility on allies pending a successful hit

"The nice thing about these large-sized mobs...no back-splash!"

BOMB! vs touch (- melee penalty): 1d20 + 4 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 - 4 = 1
DMG(Fire!): 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (3) + 4 = 7

OH WOW...a 1 is a 1

Recoiling his whip Father Conflict strikes out again.

1d1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 4 + 1 = 7

And misses horrifically

Done his work, Kyunjiro steps towards the other hippogriff,preparing to end it like the other.

Rapier attack, inspired: 1d20 + 1 + 4 ⇒ (2) + 1 + 4 = 7

Still a little worried that he might get too hurt to continue for this battle, Kyunjiro whiffs.

Grunting as the beast struck him, he laughed-now it was a real fight! Swinging hard again, he swung his scimitar high, hoping to strike the flying creature.

Scimitar, Inspire, Power Attack, 2 Handed: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (11) + 4 = 15
Damage: 1d8 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

should be +8 for a total of 16, didn't do the extra bit from power attack for it being 2 handed. Wasn't sure if I should/could change it.
Also, yay max damage!

The hippogriff flaps its wings and rises out of both Kyunjiro's and Urzaia's attacks. This also places it out of the way of Sira's toss, causing him to over shoot. The bomb explodes behind the hippogriff, singing its tail.

Stripes proves the superiority of his breed and pounces on the remaining hippogriff, tearing a ragged wound in its haunch with his teeth.

Gorehard readies a powerful swing that would surely end the hippogriff, but it is off just enough that it glances off of the beast's thick hide. The ground beneath the monster bursts under the force of the strike, tossing dirt, moss, and rubble everywhere. The spray of dirt distracts Janira, and her shot is wild.

The hippogriff, severely wounded, tries to flee.

Everyone adjacent to the hippogriff has an Attack of Opportunity, if you desire, but it is fleeing and combat is over.

Vowing to master his whip, Father Conflict watches as the hippogriff flies away.

"Well fought, valiant beast! Next time we will dual to the death!"

Gorehard was tempted to take his slash, though as the creature was fleeing, he opted instead to sheath his sword instead. Watching it fl away, he made sure it was gone before letting go of the handle. Going over to pick up his crossbow, he reloaded it.

"Fascinating beasts-tricky to hit though, especially at that height." Then he turned to the group, then Janira. [b]"Anything you're familiar with? I assume they're local fauna, not related to the gillmen, yes?"

15 to hit missed, eh? Is that normal for a level one mission? Not used to PFS yet, sorry if that's a strange question.

Gorehard was tempted to take his slash, though as the creature was fleeing, he opted instead to sheath his sword instead. Watching it fl away, he made sure it was gone before letting go of the handle. Going over to pick up his crossbow, he reloaded it.

"Fascinating beasts-tricky to hit though, especially at that height." Then he turned to the group, then Janira. [b]"Anything you're familiar with? I assume they're local fauna, not related to the gillmen, yes?"

15 to hit missed, eh? Is that normal for a level one mission? Not used to PFS yet, sorry if that's a strange question.

It can be, 14-18 on average, depending on what you are attacking. That is why touch weapons are so nice to have!

"Good work, all of you," Janira says as she pulls off her pack and removes a wand. "You demonstrated excellent cooperation and skill. You should have very little trouble scouting the caves if you continue this level of teamwork."

The halfling Pathfinder invokes the wand and touches Kyunjiro, healing his wounds completely. She repeats the process on Gorehand with the same success.

All healed.

Once you're ready, Janira continues the march toward the cave. However, time has had its way with the route, and Janira encounters fallen trees that block her way and short cuts that she remembered have been overgrown.

"Well, this is getting tiresome," she frets. "If we don't find a short cut, we won't make it in time for the peak of the full moon."

Please roll a Survival check or an Aid Another (indicate who you're aiding) on Survival.

Sira looks for a short cut. Using the balanced education he was raised in, he channels his reflexes into his search.

SURVIVAL(untrained)/balanced education trait DEX bonus for WIS: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13

Kyunjiro thanks Janira as his wounds are healed, then looks for a short cut.

Survivial check: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7

Surival: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (10) + 9 = 19

Survival aiding Ironleaf:: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (8) + 3 = 11

"I'm assuming you have the best idea of how to get around out here."

"Not surprising, coming from a friend of Yu Khan!"

"How to get around here, no. How to lead you back to safety and abort this misadventure, sure." Ironleaf pauses, almost to serious......

...then bursts out laughing.

Gorehard thanks Janira, bowing his head in respect as she sealed his wounds, before starting to look as well, deciding to try to help Ironleaf, chuckling at the notion of turning back.

[Ooc]aid: 1d20 + 0 ⇒ (7) + 0 = 7

Though with a cloud suddenly blocking the sun for a moment, he gets a bit turned around.

Within a few minutes, Ironleaf has found the path. Janira looks aghast at the druid's comment for a moment, then her face relaxes in relief when Ironleaf starts laughing. "Oh, my, you had me fooled there for a moment," Janira says. "You all were working so well together and then to think you would give up after such a minor setback. You'll find, as you are given missions with more and more responsibility, that the setbacks--and how to deal with them--become more and more challenging."

The dense forest opens to a wide clearing at the base of a sheer cliff. Thick vines cover the surface of the cliff stretching thirty feet overhead. “Here! The cave entrance is behind those vines,” Janira says with a broad smile as she walks to the cliff’s face. She pulls back several layers of vegetation to reveal a narrow crack in the cliff’s surface. “This is where I saw the gillmen enter.”

As she motions toward the aperture, the surrounding woods come alive with the sound of small animals fleeing some unseen danger and a large creature crashing through the undergrowth. The halfling worriedly remarks, “Quick, take cover before whatever it is spots us!”

As if she’d summoned the creature with her words, a massive horned monstrosity emerges from the trees. Standing eight feet tall on a pair of cloven hooves and wielding a tremendous axe, the bull-headed creature roars with unbridled anger when it spots the group.

Wisely assessing that a minotaur is beyond her charges’ capabilities, Janira screams, “A minotaur! There’s little chance we can stand against it. Take this bag,” she continues, pulling off her backpack, “and head deeper into the caves. Finish your mission. I’ll lead it away from the caves, lose it in the forest, and join you as soon as I can. Now go! GO!” She heaves her backpack into the cave, casts a spell, and darts off toward the minotaur before turning to lure it away.

Know Nature: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Spellcraft: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (14) + 6 = 20

"Dang that's a big one, too...... Stripes, into the cave, lets follow her orders. She must have a plan of some kind, increasing her movement speed like that. Like she is trying to outrun it!"

"Everyone else follow Stripes into the cave, I'll cover our rear."

Father Conflict clanks his way to the cave as quickly as his armor allows.

"On it."

Kyunjiro heads into the cave, following Stripes.

"Man, that thing was big," says Kyunjiro as he looks around the cave.

Perception: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (18) + 4 = 22

and whatever help low-light vision provides here in the dark

KNO NATURE: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (2) + 8 = 10
Against his crazier instincts, Sira follows orders and ducks into the caves. He feels some bit of knowledge he should have been able to grasp, just escaped him. He sighs,
"Wish I coulda pulled a Yu Khan outta my pocket right there!"

He turns to Kyunjiro, "Yeah, that thing was big alright...but I think we could have taken it. Think we should go back and try?
He grins in a somewhat seriously insane manner.

Gorehard drew his blade at the sight of the creature before realizing everyone was running into the cave, before sighing and fleeing the others, making sure to grab the backpack Janira had thrown into the cave before catching up to the others. He friend a bit, not comfortable leaving her behind.

"I'd be more than happy to back and slay the beast, though I think Ironleaf makes a good point, and she wouldn't have dive sobering so reckless without a plan. I'm good with trusting her instincts, but also up for slaying the creature. Either way, I made sure to grab this"

He held get pack up, debating about if he should check the contents or not

"Following her orders is the best option, and honestly the only one," Ironleaf states as he makes his way into the cave, covering the groups rear. "We don't want to be kicked out for disobeying our superiors, no?"

Gorehard grunted "while i must point out there there's always another option, you're right. Assuming there's still a superior left to berate us" He grumbled before walking along with the group, looking into the bag as they went-she wouldn't have taken the time to throw it into the cave unless they needed it.

"There's always a bigger fish."

"Well let's not muck about and get to where we need to be! What's in the bag there Stoic? Check it out, there may be vital supplies in there we can fall back on later."

"I'll take a look deeper in. The darkness bothers me little."

perception, darkvision 120 ft: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (1) + 8 = 9

"It may not bother you, but I can't see in the dark..."

Cast light on my quarterstaff.

Once out of reach of the filtered sun's rays, blue-green phosphorescent moss grows in irregular patterns on the damp cave walls. The cave tunnel widens and narrows as you progress, sometimes forcing you to crawl or squeeze sideways. Periodically, you come across primitive petroglyphs on the wall. These shapes resemble spirals, waving lines, and marine animals.

Gorehand finds that Janira has neatly arranged and clearly labeled the contents of her pack.

The narrow tunnel twists and turns for several hundred feet before slowly opening to a wider passage. A large hole spans the cave’s width and stretches ten feet down the path. At the bottom of the pit lies dozens of long, sharp spikes and a small bundle of cloth between two of the spikes.

Dim Light throughout the cave system.
The damp walls add 2 to the DC of any Acrobatic checks.

"Anyone want to jump across? Or have a bow to tie a rope around to shoot across?"

"Father Conflict, you have a rope...yes? Why don't you guys lower me down in that pit slowly, and I'll see if there's anything on the other side I can latch that grappling hook on."

Gorehard nodded to Sira "I can hold this end too, let you grab whatever it is that's down there before we continue. Also, if anyone wants any of this, please-I think some of it may prove useful in the right hands.