[PFS] GM kuey's Race for the Runecarved Key (#4-00), Tier 1-2 (Special) (Inactive)

Game Master kuey

Lumo looks down at the scratch on his arm. He shakes his head, takes a step backwards and laughs. "Another round? " He whispers a prayer, and his eyes turn red. "Take a taste of whence you came!" He brings his silvered Bec down onto the Orange Lemure.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 6 + 2 + 1 + 1 = 11
Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 2 + 1 ⇒ (3, 6) + 8 + 2 + 1 = 20

So many bonuses... still not good enough...

I targeted Red, if it wasnt clear

"More of them! Uh, isn't there a way to get this closed before we have four, ten, a HUNDRED OF THESE THINGS!?" Tellerin's voice rises with panic at the thought. Nevertheless, he considers his options and realizes that his best may be to simply distract the devils so his allies have a better chance of landing their own blows.

He draws his dagger and circles outside the red lemure's reach before stepping in to try to distract it with an untrained swing.

Aid Another, William's attack vs. red: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (11) + 1 = 12

Uther watches as the two holy warriors once again leap to action with truly terrifying looking swings, "Ha! No worries Tellerin, we can take a hundred easy..." He says as he draws his bow, enjoyinh the clear space that has suddenly opened in front of him, "Just think of the epic story it'll make if we did!" He lets the arrow fly, aiming for a similar spot in the fleshy mass that Jacinth did on the other devil.

Atk. Longbow; PBS, Bless, Into Combat: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (11) + 5 + 1 + 1 - 4 = 14
Dmg. Piercing; PBS: 1d8 + 0 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 0 + 1 = 8

With the lemures now much closer, Jacinth drops her bow and draws her spear before stabbing at Red. "Focus on survival first - then we can tell stories!" she remarks to Uther.

Attack vs. Red (Elven Branched Spear; Bless, Freebooter's Bane): 1d20 + 2 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (9) + 2 + 1 + 1 = 13
Damage: 1d8 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 + 1 = 5
_______

If Red is already dead by this point, Jacinth will take a 5 foot step to the south and stab at Orange instead.

To paraphrase pulp fiction... who's Red? Reds dead baby, reds dead.

William with joyful glee cleaves his blade into the lemure. Already injured by Jacinth earlier, and with Tellerin distracting the creature beside him, the blow cuts a deep gash and it collapses into a heap of blubbery mess. The remaining Pathfinders shift their focus onto the remaining one, but this one proves more resilient. Nigel, the summoned eagle, Lumo and Jacinth's attacks all fail to penetrate deep into its rolls of flesh. Only Uther's arrow manages to penetrate deep enough to cause some damage.

The remaining lemure, finding its previous target retreating, mindlessly attacks William, resulting in two more scratches across his chest.

combat map
Bold may act
-------
Round 5: Status: bless: +1 attack, save vs fear
~~~
red lemure
orange lemure (-3)
Uther
William (11/15)
Lumo (17/20)
Tellerin (14/15)
Nigel
eagle
-------
Round 6:
~~~
Jacinth

William roars his battlecry as his foe goes down in a messy splatter, the hissing in pain as he endures another scratch from the evil beast, turning on it he sweeps his blade up around and down in a powerful slash.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 5 + 1 - 1 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 1 - 1 = 9
Damage: 2d6 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (1, 6) + 6 + 3 = 16

Lumo adjusts his position, moving around the eagle. "Why must we always battle stinky, slimy piles of filth? Is it to much to ask for a nice clean earth elemental? Gorum demands some level of cleanliness in his servant's armor! " Exasperated, he attacks again.

Power Attack: 1d20 + 6 + 3 ⇒ (6) + 6 + 3 = 15
Damage: 2d6 + 8 + 2 ⇒ (4, 2) + 8 + 2 = 16

Uther is pretty sure he can just stand back and let the other two holy warriors do their thing, but he decide to fire another arrow into the devil anyway, "Ha! Now you know why I use a bow." He says as the arrow flies past Lumo's shoulder, "No need to get slimed when you have one of these."

Atk. Longbow; PBS, Bless, Into Combat: 1d20 + 5 + 1 + 1 - 4 ⇒ (16) + 5 + 1 + 1 - 4 = 19
Dmg. Piercing; PBS: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

Lumo, just noticed you've been rolling 2d6 for dmg, but should be 1d10? Doesn't really matter though but I just roll it here anyway.
1d10 + 7 + 3 ⇒ (9) + 7 + 3 = 19
Finally, with a terrible swing, Lumo slices the devil in half with his silvered weapon, like hot knife through butter!

Character Status
Uther
William (11/15)
Lumo (17/20)
Tellerin (14/15)
Nigel
eagle
Jacinth

Meanwhile, the portal is shimmering again, flickering through different dimensions.

So, any calls to tap out? If not, you have two rounds to get ready.

Lumo, just noticed you've been rolling 2d6 for dmg, but should be 1d10?

I'm the WORSTTTTTT...

Lumo is feeling confident and shoes off his wounds instead of healing them. "Let us thank Gorum for residing within our armor and giving us protection this day. May he strengthen our arms and sharpen our steel. " He looks at his Earthbreaker for a moment. Hmmm... how do I sharpen a hammer?

Bring on wave 3, I have been savingna smite all adventure, gotta smite something!

"Well struck Lumo, truly the hordes of Hell will learn to fear this group!"

The paladin says while keeping a wary eye on the portal, wondering what next might pop through. No matter, he would stand firm against whatever it was. Such was his calling, and he would gladly lay his life down to stop such a portal. If today's earlier events served as an omen, he may do just that.

Mentally focusing on the golden cord that connected him and The Inheritor, he momentarily bathed in the power of his goddess, steeling his resolve and steadying his soul.

Ready, he grabs his wand of healing and uses it on himself and, seeing the warrior of Gorum shrugging off his wounds, heals him as well. "Don't want those paltry scratches getting infected from all that devil blood we are about to spill, stout friend." to the rest, "Hold fast, we must contain this rift until it can be closed. Such is our duty, together we cannot fail!"

CLW William: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (3) + 1 = 4
CLW Lumo: 1d8 + 1 ⇒ (7) + 1 = 8

I vote for round 3

Round three seems fine based on performance so far. Here's hoping for something that isn't fire immune.

Jacinth simply narrows her eyes as the portals continue to shimmer and flicker. She quickly retrieves her dropped longbow and takes a step back. "It takes more than a couple of ugly flesh devils to make Jacinth Renata back down," she declares.
_______

Bring it on!

"Yeah, there's no way I'm leaving 'till that portal's closed." Uther says defiantly as he grips his bow tightly, making it glow with holy golden light.

Using my final blessing on my bow. :)

Sorry for the late update. Some things have been happening and I'm a bit overwhelmed right now.

Once again, the portal stops flickering, locking into a plane that looks to be a vast wastelands under a rotten sky, perpetually cloaked in a cloying black mist and the oppressive twilight of an endless solar eclipse. And what looks like two medium-sized evil-looking hounds burst through and float in the sky.

In unison, the two hounds bay out with a bloodchilling call, which pierces right through your souls, threatening to tear your will apart!
Make 2 will DC12 save, one for each. Fail either and panicked for 2d4 rds. Don't forget the +1 from bless.

combat map
Bold may act
-------
Round 8: Status: bless: +1 attack, save vs fear
~~~
red (30ft)
orange (30ft)
Jacinth (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5 rounds)
Nigel (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (2, 3) = 5 rounds)
eagle (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (1, 3) = 4 rounds)
Uther (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (3, 4) = 7 rounds)
Lumo (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (2, 1) = 3 rounds)
William (2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (4, 4) = 8 rounds)
Tellerin (14/15; 2x will DC12 or panicked for 2d4 ⇒ (1, 2) = 3 rounds)

Will #1; Bless: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (20) + 4 + 1 = 25
Will #2; Bless: 1d20 + 4 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 4 + 1 = 11 Sooo, close!

Uther covers his ears as the hounds begin to howl, his blood going cold, Not again! I can't run from another fight... Digging deep, he somehow manages to pull on some reserves of bravery he couldn't find in the tower with the ghosts. Unfortunately faced with two of the howling creatures, he still cracks, "I'm... I'm sorry!" He cries to his comrades as the follower of the god of bravery once again drops everything and flees from battle.

Direction? 1) Straight back, 2) Down side alley: 1d2 ⇒ 1
Direction? 1) Up 2) Down: 1d2 ⇒ 2
___

Good luck guys! Jacinth, if you stand firm, maybe you could possibly use the blessed bow yourself?

Will 1: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (4) + 1 + 1 = 6
Will 2: 1d20 + 1 + 1 ⇒ (16) + 1 + 1 = 18

And the paladin runs in fear again. Sigh. Thinking well have to bow out here with both me and uther out for 7 or 8 rounds each.

Overcome by a preternatural terror at the beasts emerging from the portal William drops his weapon and flees, forgetting his vows, his companions, his duty, The Inheritor, he simply flees like a coward, silently crying for his mother.

Back or down: 1d2 ⇒ 2

Down

As he runs in a panic, a small part of his rational mind remains, feeling his connection with his Goddess, once so stong and steady start to fade. The questioning, the working with immoral pathfinders, continual failure and rescue from other, now gross cowardess. His faith was only hanging by the smallest of strings. Before he could ponder this a second wave if crippling fear washes over him and he knows nothing more.

i.e. If I keep William going in PFS I don't think he'll remain a paladin

will dc 12: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (19) + 3 = 22
will dc 12: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (16) + 3 = 19

What is with the big tough people being afraid? They are just dogs.

k. planes dc 13: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (11) + 7 = 18
Resistances beyond silver... I think we already learned their special attack haha

Folks! They are yeth hounds. Use your silver to kill these puppies. Nigel moves next to his eagle and casts his last spell of the day I was planning on making more grease with this... Nigel looks awkward and clumsy as he casts the enchantment spell, a school of magic he almost never calls upon. casting magic fang on the eagle

move action to move and standard action to cast magic fang on eagles talons. I am okay if we run from this fight. Lets see how the others roll but this is going to be a tough one and I don't want anyone walking away with a dead character over some pride.

Yeah, losing Williams smite (I saved it all adventure to not use it! :P) and Uthers holy weapon for the fight is a bad start. Lumo still could turn the tide if he makes his saves, though.

The eagle, feeling its talons fill with magical power soars up to the red tinted yeth hound and attempts to rip into him with magical claws.

magic talon (bless): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (11) + 5 = 16
damage: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Move action to move and standard action to attack.

Will #1: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 1 = 14
Will #2: 1d20 + 1 ⇒ (2) + 1 = 3

Though Jacinth manages to fight off the fear that threatens to overwhelm her as the first of the hounds utters its chilling cry, the second hound's baying is simply too much.

1=West, 2=South
1d2 ⇒ 2

"No...no! I can't, I can't!" she cries as her bow falls to the pavement with a clatter and she flees down the same alley as William.

Woe, lots of pressure on these rolls! Also, I think the eagle needs to take the saves as well.

Will Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (8) + 2 = 10
Will Save: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (16) + 2 = 18

NOPE. It's for times like these that I bought a folio.

Will Save, folio reroll: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Sigh... Good luck, Nigel! Panicked for 3 rounds.

South or West: 1d2 ⇒ 1

Lumo sees the enormous dogs and had a flashback to his childhood on the peninsula. The naga overseer's dog... looked just like that... those large teeth, dripping saliva... ready to eat me if I disobeyed... He drops his Silver Bec and shouts to the heavens. "Gorum, why have you forsaken me? " He then follows after William down the alleyway.

this is us...

You are right...

will save (dc12): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (7) + 2 = 9
will save (dc12): 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

Ignore the eagles action. It is a scared'y bird.

south or west: 1d2 ⇒ 2

The eagle flies off to the west. Nigel looks at the other gnome hoping he is a bit more brave than the rest of the allies.

Not good news for poor Nigel.

Unlikely, but lets see...
Will vs. panic: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (19) + 3 + 1 = 23
Will vs. panic: 1d20 + 3 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 3 + 1 = 22
O - O!!

Tellerin, despite plenty of reason to fear these terrible creatures, somehow manages to stand his ground. Not that he was particularly inclined to stand his ground for long... with just himself and Nigel here and not even an eagle for company this was looking very dangerous.

"Nigel, no point for that spell, your eagle looks too spooked to fight! Let's run, we can't do much of anything against these monsters alone!" I hope you can revise your magic fang cast now that you know the eagle is out of commission.

Tellerin runs for it, joining his panicked allies to the south. If those demon dogs want to follow... I have one last spell. I've got to make it count.

If I had a scroll of remove fear I'd argue to stay, but as is I think we should bow out.

Yeah, not sure I will be able to hold that spell or not, but I don't think it matters much. We must be getting close to the end here. This event is supposed to end in a few days I believe.

Also who would of thought that the 2 gnome spell casters would be the only ones to make the saves against fear haha.

Tellerin waves his arms in the air and shouts "Lets go Nigel! Everyone else, keep retreating even after you stop being frightened! We'll have to leave those hounds for the other Pathfinders.!"

He extends his hands into the air, tracing out tattoo patterns with his fingertips, and calls out a quick incantation. With a flourish of sparks, a massive floating metal cage appears around the Yeth Hounds, its interior a web of jagged barbs. Casting Silent Image, DC15 Will to disbelieve on interaction

Hope the illusion delays them enough that we can get some distance and everyone can get their focus back!

Uther, finding himself all alone on the other side of the street, agrees wholeheartedly with Tellerin, "There's a fine line between bravery and stupidity, Nigel, keep on the right side and, GET OUT OF THERE!" Ruing the loss of his favourite bow, he waits nervously for Nigel to sound his retreat.

Nigel realizes that he is all alone, facing the two ugly puppies alone. This is too much for me to handle alone! Nigel turns tail and runs after the rest of the group. His little legs trying to take him as fast as they can. Help! Help! This portal has gotten out of hand. Nigel hopes that a group of more powerful Pathfinders can come make short work of the hounds.

This is a multi table special after all. I doubt we are the first to finish our portal. I am sure there some high level group could swing around and crush this fight.

Double move action

Lol! You guys might not like the rescue...

As the intrepid adventurers inadvertently turn tail (get it?) to flee, the two yeth hounds dive down to give chase! The Pathfinders turn the corner, just in time to meet their salvation! Sheila Heidmarch, together with her husband Canayven Heidmarch, is charging down the alley leading a small force of Pathfinder reinforcements.

"Get behind us! These canines are nasty!" One of her followers launches a fireball right in the midst of the two yeth hounds, charring them badly. Canayven follows almost immediately with three rapid shots of arrows. Two of them plunge through the skulls of one of the hounds, which then falls onto the ground with a sickening crunch. The other dodges the 3rd arrow and dives towards the archer. Sheila, however, calmly walks forward, interposing herself between the outsider and her husband, and as soon as the monster gets into range, launches a flurry of blows crushing it skull before it has the chance to attack.

With the source of fear put down, the terrible fear that has gripped the four dies away, and they stop fleeing. Sheila turns back to examine the party, making sure that no one is seriously injured. "You have the key? Good! Not sure if it's the real one but stay low and keep it safe! We need to go help the rest." With that, she gestures and the group continue their charge down the street towards the centre of action.

Alright, so we're now in holding pattern until the overseer calls timeout in less than 72hrs. Feel free to keep posting though, but essentially we're taking a break until the conclusion.

William watches in shame as they're rescued by none other than the immoral Shelia herself. As he watches the pair easily dispatch the beasts taht sent his whole group running like frightened children he feels something snap inside him.

All the time, the faith, the sacrifice deprivation, sweat blood and tears to result in this.

He shambles to where he dropped his great blade and picks it up, internally worried that he could only just barely feel The Inheritor in his soul, unsure if this crisis of faith was from his questioning, or his failure.

Turning to the group, he says, "I suppose we should get this key back to the lodge then, complete our mission." When the group moves he trudges on silently, deep in inner turmoil and thought.

"...Yes, you're right," Jacinth finally responds after a long moment of quiet. "We can still do that," she agrees, heading back to the scene of the battle just long enough to retrieve her bow.

"And at least we have the key," she adds. "That's the important part - that and the fact that all of us remain standing. Really, that's the most important thing of all."

"WOAH! Did you see that?!" Uther says as he runs back towards the group, quickly stopping off to pick up his bow, "The Heidmarch's know their stuff. Ha! I wish I could shoot like that..." Evidently very glad to be alive, it takes a moment before Uther realises the mood of some of his fellow agents. "Hey, there's no shame in admitting when you are out matched and beating a hasty retreat. I just wish I could do it without so much screaming and crying!" He jokes, trying to lighten the mood, "Ahem... Well, anyway, Jacinth's right! We're alive and we have the key." He pats William on the back and says, "Let's get out of here, eh? I'll buy you a drink when this is all over."

Lumo watches in awe as the Venture Captains destroy the frightening enemy. Gorum, how could I doubt you? Your tactics are far greater than my own. Only through a tactful retreat could pur dagger make way for a more powerful sword. He goes over to his Warhammer and dusts it off. "I'll always come back for you, girl. You did good. " He walks back alongside the holy warrior. He puts a hand on his back and offers some consoling words. "You fought well, friend. There is no shame in retreat, as long as you return one day a stronger man. The glory of battle is fleeting, but the glory of war is everlasting. "

Nigel is himself through the ordeal. No need to be sad over something so trivial! The evil is vanquished, we have the key, and we lost no one! Pick up your broken pride friend! You will need it another day. We all joined a society because their is benefit for functioning as a group. Sometimes we need help, sometimes it comes from people we don't like but who cares! As long as your life is intact, the mission is done, and your god is not mad you. Trust me, nothing in this city gets done without a wee bit of help from others.

Nigel pauses to think a moment. Don't abandon hope in the society William. You have met the most amoral member I have ever come across. And you know what? We went against her wishes and did the right thing. You want to know the purpose of you holy folk in the society? It is to keep people like me and Sheila Heidmarch in line. Unchecked, I bet ya we would end up like those Aspis punks, just in it for the wealth. You, you inspired me to not steal money. You led us to make the moral choices. We need you people in this society to keep us afloat. I can only imagine what the struggles of being a holy warrior is like in this broken world are but I shudder to think of what we would be with those same holy warriors. So please, don't give up on us yet.

Sorry. Went on a bit long there haha procrastinating on some school work. If roleplaying a Paladin is not your cup of tea, then I think switching is a good idea, but I think paladins can add a lot to the adventure. I think you did a great job playing William in character and I think our group did the more ethical thing because you being in the group. But in the end, you should play what you have fun with. Just know, you play a damn good paladin haha

Ha, yeah thanks! Actually he was pretty fun to play. Mechanically I rarely play full martials as I like more fiddly classes, especially on PbP and usually go for hybrid arcane casters. My idea is to swap him to a melee occultist and roleplay a fallen paladin who had to turn to esoteric lore and haunted objects to try to regain his lost power. Of course that will never really work, but I think I'll have more fun with it, mechanically and RP wise.

That sounds like an interesting character to see role-played. I hope to group up with William some time later in his career and see how he turns out. I know I am a ways away from feeling comfortable enough to try a paladin in play by post. In face to face, I can because the roleplay aspect is a bit diminished but here, you need to be on point and I am not ready to play such challenging character haha. Maybe some day.

Tellerin hides in an alleyway with everyone else, looking from end to end juuuust in case another portal springs into existence. After a minute of safety he takes a breather.

"Yep, we're safe! Key in hand and all in one piece. I'll take it." He nods with Uther "They really were something! Both the Heidmarches and the other Pathfinders. I hope one day we can stand toe to toe with them, but I guess until then the stories will have to be about them rather than about us."

"Hmm, on that note... I did get some inspiration today." He clears his throat.

---------

"The Tale of Sheila the Steal-a!"

Tellerin launches into a dramatized retelling of the day's events, casting Sheila Heidmarch in the leading role as she smashes and grabs (and sometimes smashes some more) everything in sight to steal the funds needed to take the Key for her beautiful KEY COLLECTION! The daring Sheila, beating up Aspis goons under moonlight! The cunning Shiela, fooling nobles and old museum owners alike! The fierce Sheila, shouting ratfolk knaves and ancient ghosts into submission! And with every foe felled another coin for her coffer.

After each mission, Sheila the Steala says her catchphrase: "Remember kids, we’re still trying to win the auction somewhat legally!"

---------

Grinning, Tellerin interrupts his tale and says "Well, I'm still working on the ending. I'm not sure if it should be good for her or not! At least, not yet."

That sounds like an interesting character to see role-played. I hope to group up with William some time later in his career and see how he turns out. I know I am a ways away from feeling comfortable enough to try a paladin in play by post. In face to face, I can because the roleplay aspect is a bit diminished but here, you need to be on point and I am not ready to play such challenging character haha. Maybe some day.

We'll see, I'd hope to run with you again, any of you actually, every excellent group. For Paladins, I think PbP are a bit easier as you can really internalize all of their Paladiness so as to not disrupt a group so much, that's much tougher to do face to face (then again, I never usually play Good characters in any game, guess it was cutting my RPG teeth in Shadowrun) but PFS sure makes it tough so far. I've only done a handful of tier 1 and 2 for a few characters and Master of The Fallen Fortress is the only one that I think a paladin, played by RAW, would feel comfortable doing. Several, a real strict paladin wouldn't even attempt, and probably would turn in the Pathfinders to the local authorities. I'm pretty interested to see how William's new path shakes out, I really am looking forward to both playing him and the Occultist class. One of my other thoughts was to make him a Grey Paladin archetype, but it looses some of the class features and the Paladin is already pretty feature lite, and I feared I'd get bored, mechanically in a few levels. FtF I think It'd be fine as I like simpler characters real time, less paperwork at the table.

I have to try and keep in mind that the Pathfinder Society is technically a neutral organization, rather than a good one. The agents within can often DO good in the process of completing missions but it's not always the primary goal as far as the management is concerned. I do think that it's easier for NG and CG characters to work as agents than strictly LG ones - especially paladins, depending on the deity chosen.

Yep, Pathfinders, much like the Harper's I'm sure they were based on, work best away from strict lawful interpretations as they tend to be more "ends justify the means" often. Which is great, if you're not a paladin. I should have plenty of time to ponder this as I'm sure I won't find any new games any time soon with outpost starting up soon.

hmmm... I always forget that the Pathfinders are a Chaotic Neutral organization. Thanks for the reminder!

I will say, it's been a lot of fun playing alongside your Paladin. While I haven't played one yet, I always enjoy the variety they bring to the table. But, I think your occultist concept sounds pretty sweet!

***OVERSEER POST***

A fanfare of trumpets blasts loudly, breaking through the roar of the combat and ringing of clashing blades. Leading a mounted battalion of armored warriors, Sheila Heidmarch and her husband charge through the streets, driving through the waves of summoned fiends and forcing them to retreat back through their gates to the netherworlds from which they were called. In a matter of minutes, their assault is complete and the streets fall quiet.

Sheila Heidmarch strides over to Prisim – ”You have the REAL Runecarved Key” then holds it aloft signifying a Pathfinder victory!

“Today, every one of you has contributed to a triumphant victory for our Society, and you have cemented our place in Magnimar. “I’m deeply honored that you have granted me your services. While my lodge is small, you have made it feel like a kingdom. Yet our victory today is somewhat bittersweet. It seems dark forces have surfaced in Varisia—forces which, before today, I was unaware of. I’m sorry to have thrown you headlong into the middle of such chaos. I have already sent word to the Decemvirate of today’s events and await their response. When I know more, I shall contact you, for I fear this key has somehow placed all of us in danger. Still, we should go forth, for now is the time to celebrate!”

***---***---***
Highest Point scoring tables by GM:
Redelia 121
Hmm 113
Aerondor 111
Silbeg 105
***---***---***

Thank you all so much for participating!

I would also like to express my gratitude to the fantastic set of GM’s and support crew I had working with me to make this a success, it really was a pleasure running this and that is certainly due to their fantastic efforts. Thanks also to the Online Venture Crew who always show enthusiasm and help pave the way for our events, and to Tonya for the Boons and Gift Certs.

And lastly – thanks to all the players out there (you!) who came in to this with a great attitude and really played in the spirit of it all, even when the Heidmarch family showed some total moral greyness!

Welcome to my PbP game for the Race for the Runecarved Key (#4-00) Special. Hope you would have a blast!

Before we start, I would to share some of my ground rules. (In spoiler tags to not take up space.)

Getting Started
Ok with that out of the way, a few tasks before we kick off.

A. Go to the Gameplay page and dot.
B. Go to the maps and handouts page and fill out the table there. (Don’t worry about the 3 boxes below the table, i.e. token, initiative and perception. I’ll take care of that.)
C. In this Discussion thread, do your day job rolls (if any), and share whatever OOC information you would like the rest of the party to know about your character e.g. class, level, special abilities. We’ll leave character descriptions and introductions to the gameplay thread later when we are about to start.

This multi-table special is expected to start on 5 Jan 2018, so mark it on your calendar!

Fantastic!

Dotted in, will complete the rest when I get back home tomorrow afternoon.

Hey-ho, checking in! Jacinth here is a Freebooter ranger, which is basically a more ship/piratey-oriented sort of character and allows her some fun abilities to offer bonuses to her companions - and they even stack with things like Inspire Courage :)

She's got a decent spread of skills and can offer both melee and ranged support as necessary. I'll go ahead and roll her Day Job now:

Day Job - Profession: Sailor: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5
Wow. Okay then, off to a great start!

Also, I'll be spending her 2PP that she currently has to purchase a Cure wand. I think that's everything for the moment :)

Howdy folks! Uther is my first attempt at a ranged character, but I couldn't resist the feat that lets him bash bonces with his bow in melee as well. If we face any evil creatures, he can bless weapons, plus he has the usual cleric spells for buffing allies.

Unfortunately he has very few skills and even less charisma, but he should be able to spot a lie or two if needed.

Hello everyone! I am excited to run this adventure with you all! Nigel Flit is a summoner. I tend to use summoned eagles rather than eidolon but I am going to have to do some work on this character before this game starts. Just wanted to check in to make sure I posted!

Hey all!

William is a pretty standard paladin, good in a scrape, doubly so against evil or undead, only once a day for some odd reason.

He tends to be quiet and stern, conflicted with with his paladin oaths of charity and mercy vs his inner ruthless nature (Oath of Vengeance).

Point him at evil and he'll smite it happily.

Ooh, three religious types! This should be fun! Especially since we are all combat oriented ones.

Lumo is a Nagaji, dumb as a rock, but nice. He has a fervor for Gorum and protecting the innocent. However, being a cleric of Gorum, he has no qualms about working outside of the law. And, often, the ends justify the means. While he believes that fighting is the best way to end most conflicts, he is not against the occasional use of diplomacy to avoid an unwise battle.

For the party, he'll cast Bless (Looks like it will stack with Jacinth's buff) and do out-of-combat healing Channels. His role is a frontliner, and he is pretty good at it. The only DR-piercing method he lacks is Adamantine. Hopefully we won't be seeing any constructs.

I'll take 10 on my Profession check for a 18.

@Lumo - Sounds good! This should be a fun group :)

Oh and for the GM, I'm also running one of the other Tier 1-2 tables for this so I will do my best to not metagame or otherwise ruin the experience for others.

Happy New Year guys! :)

You too!

A few matters.

1. One of the players haven't checked in yet. Have pm'ed him.

2. Nigel, could you fill in your character details at this link?

3. For the game, I would also need to know (a) whether your character has a wayfinder, and if he/she has one, (b) how it is usually carried?

As of right now, Jacinth doesn't have a wayfinder.

Thanks for the prod kuey! Tellerin checking in and ready to roll.

Day Job: Perform Oratory: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20

Tellerin is a pyromancer with a side helping of illusionist against those pesky enemies that are immune to being toasted. His sole unusual feature is the feat Burning Amplification, which allows his normally flash-in-the-pan fire descriptor spells to light things (and people) on fire until they put themselves out. I've seen some variation on how GMs interpret this one when it comes to the catching on fire / putting yourself out mechanics (and it lacks an FAQ to clarify things as far as I've seen), so I figured I'd give you a heads up kuey.

Tellerin is handy with diplomacy, perception, and using magic devices. He's not too shabby with spellcraft and KN:arcana either.

Tellerin has a wayfinder and carries it in a pocket on the inside of his vest. He hasn't yet had a reason to use it, though I guess if you're asking about wayfinders maybe he'll get a chance to this game!

No wayfinder yet for William

No wayfinder yet for me either. Still way too new. :)

Lumo has a wayfinder, but keeps it tucked in his cloak. The symbol of Gorum already tells people that he's a murder-hobo, though.

Sorry I have been doing a lot of traveling this week. I putting the finishing touches on him. I really don't like the format of this characters character sheet and I am needing to spend lots of his money. Plan to have that done by the end of the night and I'll do the posting of his info then too.

My week slows on Friday so you don't need to worry about me slowing down the game.

Profession (merchant) day job: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (16) + 8 = 24

I have a wayfinder. It is in Nigel's pocket of his robe.

Ok, I would also like to work out our default marching. Assuming a two-by-two formation, what is the preference for your character below?

Front
1-2
3-4
5-6
Rear

Should we need to move to single file, it would be 1-2-3-4-5-6.

Tellerin is gonna take spot #4. He has short feet and short range with his primary offensive spell, plus as a 2nd level he has enough HP that he can take a hit or two.

1-2 for William

I'm thinking a #3 or #5 will be good for Uther, depending on where others want to be placed.

Generally I would like to be in back row so 5 or 6. Same with single line marching order.

Jacinth can be towards the front or the middle since she'll primarily be using a reach weapon or her bow. So probably 3 or 4 for her.

Also super busy here at work, will post in Gameplay later tonight.

I'll take 2, right behind/beside our Paladin.

So in summary,

1 - William
2 - Lummo
3 - Jacintha
4 - Tellerin
5 - Uther
6 - Nigel

That worked out quite well!

Huzzah! :D

Some things I think I should point that is unique for this particular special.

1. I'll be tracking the success of your various encounters via Key Points. It would be largely transparent for you in the game, but I thought you should know this. Without going into too much details that would spoil the game, the more Key Points you earn the better. (Duh!)

2. There is also a competitive element to this - at the end of the scenario, the table with the most number of Key Points wins!

I am going to assume the "dark" reputation of the Aspis Corp is well known enough that William can justify attacking a lawful caravan.

Else he's out

Or, in all honesty. Would there be a problem with retrofitting a new PFS character for me, it seems a Paladin is just not suited for this mission.

Seeing as how we know the caravan is only Aspis based on the arleady questionable reputation and word of the VC, and the caravan is as far as he knows breaking no laws, I can't even fathom William travelling with the group, let alone attacking.

"Because they are evil and might have done evil things" doesn't cut it for me.

I suppose an alternate is simply sitting out this encounter.

Thoughts?

As long as there is no needless killing, maybe he can justify taking gold from a nefarious organisation? At the very least, he can make sure we don't burn the forest down. :)

I thought about that, but even if they sre nefarious, if they aren't breaking any laws what is the justification?

Cause if it is then my Paladin can loot and pillage Chiliax at will, cause they are evil devil worshippers... right?

Playing immoral characters is much more fun!

I would wager priests of Abadar would have a problem with what amounts to banditry as well (I was gonna do a warpriest of Abadar almost for this one)

William did detect clear evil from the Aspis agent at the party. And being in the Pathfinder Society, tales would abound of the countless nefarious acts of the organisation. How William reacts to that, however, is ultimately up to you.

I thinking also that William might accompany especially to make sure no needless killing, or any killing happens. Besides, Sheila's instructions were specifically to stop the gold from reaching the Aspis, not to steal the money. You can always donate it to an orphanage after that. :) Oh simply hide it until after the auction is over, then return it.

But sorry, I can't allow changing of characters after the scenario has started.

No big, I'll work around it.

Thinking on it, gold for the auction ain't commerce (simply moving monies) and allowing the evil guy to buy the key would be bad

We can make it work.

Nigel, Grease is a super powerful spell at this level. My wizard preps it twice a day.

Double move. I also have to roll for arrow recovery, and will pick up all those I can after combat.

[dice=Recover Arrow > 50]1d100

I've been looking for the PFS ruling on arrows! Where did you find this rule?

I'm just going by the rules in the CRB since I haven't been able to find anything in the PFS rules that says it works any differently. ;)

How Lumo manages to walk without tripping on all those polearms must be a marvelous act to watch!

Somebody once told me, " It's the wizard's job to have the spell for every situation. It's the fighter's job to have the right weapon."

I like to imagine Lumo with a golf bag on his back, holding all of his giant weapons.

Ahh yes, the Casey Jones method.

Smart.

Sorry guys. Not how I imagined spending my day. Dealing with flooding. If I am the last to need to post, you may treat it as if I pass on my turn or simple botting tomorrow so I am not holding you too much up. Sorry again!

D'oh! That sucks Nigel - hang in there!

Lumo, shouldn't your attack bonus be +6-1 for the power attack, and dmg be +7+2? Doesn't matter for this attack though.

My BAB is 1, my strength is 5, my power attack is -1, my divine favor is +1. So, I was off by one, using my masterwork profile! My bad.

My strength is 5, and Power Attack is 3, Divine Favor is 1, Silver is -1. So, +7+1 is right.

Ah, sorry missed your divine favor, and power attack being +3. Thanks!

Ya, the two handed power attack is pretty amazing! Thanks for checking though, I didn't notice I was using my masterwork profile.

Hi guys. Would like to encourage more frequent posting if possible. We've got about a couple of days to finish and I think the web spell have really messed things up...

The flooding has finally been all cleaned up and a new sump pump has been purchased. That should make future posting more frequent. Sorry for that guys.

Ive been there, sorry to hear you had such a mess!

Remnar, please don't retire William just because of this scenario. Even among the GMs, we were discussing at length about how morally "grey" this scenario. For those who've played quite a bit of PFS, it is an interesting change but it is definitely not the norm. I've got a paladin myself, and haven't had any issues thus far.

Yeah, most of the scenarios I've played/GMed thus far have been much more straightforward than this; this is probably about the sketchiest I've seen the Society behave in terms of what they're asking agents to do.

It should be quite obvious that it is an incorporeal creature, so I don't think I'm giving things away by stating it here, but want to take this opportunity to clarify the rules on this. If there are newer players, you are likely not to have encountered incorporeal creatures before. Incorporeal creatures can only be damaged by magic or magical weapons. And while you are unlikely to have any magic weapons at this time, the party does right now have the ability to make your attacks magical, like Uther suggested. (And there's at least one other option I saw in the party.) However, note that smite evil does not by itself make attacks magical - so a paladin wielding a mundane weapon cannot smite an incorporeal undead. That's why there's such a thing as teamwork.