[PFS] GM Lithrac's Siege of Serpents (#6-97) - PbP Gameday IV (Inactive)

Game Master Cyril Corbaz

"On it boss!" bellows Stag as he smartly salutes Rogar the Brave and Terrible.

The bounty hunter rushes up the stairs and yells back down. "We got eight rooms up here!"

Rogar loks at Stag uncertain if he's poking fun at him but chooses to play along:"Well done private Bold Strider!" shouts the Taldan back at Stag.
"Care to check room 8? Maybe agent Osprey is still there oblivious to everything that happened..." he adds still in a loud tone to make himself heard by Stag.
Then Rogar turns to the other 2 pathfinders near him:"Considering the instructions here I've got a theory that I want to try out: what if we enter Room 8 and close it behind us? Maybe that's supposed to be also room 8A, but becomes that only once closed behind you... This place is clearly magical and I've seen stranger things happening so that's what I came up with the information at hand"

Indeed all the rooms on the second floors are private ones, which may seem to indicate the Pathfinders are off to a good start. When Rogar closes the door of room 8 behind him (assuming the rest of the group is in the same room?), he notices that the inside lock already has a key inside it.

"Mmmh... what did the instructions say? lock your door and we will see to it that you are not disturbed?" I suppose it's worth a try. Everyone's ready? No sign of Osprey? Let's see what happens when we lock the door!" says Rogar when everyone is with him inside room 8.

Close the door again and this time lock it

Stag moves into Osprey's room and leaps onto the bed, feeling it squeak beneath him. "Ugh... I'd expect a better mattress from one as experienced as Osprey. I bet he makes some good coin..." he says, casting his eye around for anything exciting.

Antonella is content to follow Rogar’s lead, following the Taldan noble into Room 8. “Looks like you’ve got this, Rogar.”

The priestess shoos Stag off the squeaky bed and begins searching the room for anything unusual or out of place. “Osprey might just be very popular with the ladies, Stag ... Oh come off it! Are you lying down again? At least help me look for clues.”

Perception: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (16) + 7 = 23

“Cally, do you have detect magic prepared today?”

Locking the door while everyone's inside has no apparent effect.

Rogar scratches his head:"Well seems like I'm freshly out of ideas. We could try to do this one at the time. Maybe it works for one person only? Otherwise the only other thing I can think of is this place seems to have a small garden equipped with a pond, since we are searching for a mirror of some kind maybe the mirror in quetion could be the pond itself?" says the taldan, not sounding all that sure about his theory.

Perception check: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19

Knowledge(dungeoneering) check: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

Rogar starts searching the room, moving the bed, opening the drawers and the wardrobe. Then muttering under his breath trying to remember anything useful about situations like this...

That's all Rogar can do folks

Kalista favors the one-at-a-time approach, shaking her head at the abstract thought of the pond. "I don't see how the garden could be this lost room thingy. It's not even a room, let alone a lost one."

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“Maybe the mirror is on the ceiling?”

If the others stare at her, Antonella smiles. “I wasn’t always a paladin you know.”

She bows to Rogar. “I think you’ve done exceedingly well, Lord Valertis. I’m happy to try one person at a time.”

Locking the door while everyone's inside has no apparent effect.

I should have emphasized it the first time. I'm giving you a clue here because the PbP format doesn't lend itself well to this kind of puzzle, especially with only two members on the job and a less-frequent poster GM.

So one at a time didn’t work either? How about one person inside and the key turned from the other side by someone else? And similar permutations on this theme ;)

The game finishes on the 20th doesn't it?

Once finished searching the room Rogar gives it a frustrated look:"Damnation! There soesn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary. Let's try this: I lock myself in the room alone and we see what happens next, ok? If that fails too... the solution may be to break things!" so saying the taldan ushers the others out of room 8 and locks it behind himself...

...aaaaaand... what happens?

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The floating tower begins to shift, tilting slightly to one side. A shower of debris rains down on the lawn and buildings below.

Stag tries the door handle after Rogar locks the door. "Hey! Have you locked it?!" he bellows into the door.

Rogar locks himself within the room, whereas his companions remain outside. Strangely enough, the door opens when Antonella tries it, but no one is in the room. Actually, the room appears to have changed a little.

Assuming the three others enter the room, what of Rogar? He is still in the "normal" room and will need to find a way to join his companions.

After a while Rogar gets bored of waiting, unlocks the door and comes out of it, when no one shows up outside he calls:"HEY! WHERE'S EVERYBODY??? COME ON! THIS IS NOT THE TIME FOR SILLY JOKES! WHERE ARE YOU PEOPLE!?!?!"

What does Rogar see? Are things any different? He will try to rejoin the others if he can do so

Antonella makes sure to speak to Rogar before the party's latest idea is trialled. “If this works, maybe just try what we did, but in reverse, Rogar?”

Wisdom: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (17) + 4 = 21

How are we doing for time?

4 days left. Can we just assume we figured it out so we can do a wave of fighting?

Whoa! There's going to be fighting?

Spoilers, Bold Strider! ;)

Rogar doesn't see anything special, the hall with the doors just appear exactly as before - it is indeed the very same.

Luckily, when he's out in the hall, Antonella opens the door from her side to give him her latest thoughts, and thanksfully is able to allow the warrior entrance into the lost room as well.

By touching the mirror, you find yourselves transported into a different place that you instantly recognize - the floating tower of Skyreach. After exiting a first room and exploring the first floor of the tower without finding anything of note, you scale the stairs and find your way to the apex of the gravitating tower. The top floor of the tower is an open, undivided by interior walls but for the small space partitioning the stairwell. Windows large enough to step through line the exterior walls. Immense magical circles are permanently etched into the floor, their lines and curves inscribed and filled with several types of metallic powder. Faint, multi-colored mist roils within the southern circle. Two strange contraptions stand near the northwest and southwest windows. Each device is a large, red-tinted crystalline lens mounted in a frame so that they may be angled in all directions.

Two goons bars your way to their leader, which holds the Sky Key in his hands.

You had the opportunity to cast your PfE before entering the room if you wish.

The leader drinks a potion, and starts walking on the stone column next to him, climbing it as easily as a mere slope.

"The battle is lost for you, Pathfinders! See your defeat for what it is! Long live the Aspis Consortium!"

Fight for the Sky Key! - round 1
1. SS
2. Rogar
3. AB
4. Stag, Kalista, Antonella

Rogar rushes forward sword held high engaging both minions and slashing at the aspis' thug with the red hood while shouting:"I'll take care of the infantry here. Please take care of their officer!"

Charge power attack: 1d20 + 11 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 11 + 2 = 18 -> Damage roll: 2d6 + 16 + 1 ⇒ (3, 3) + 16 + 1 = 23

Rogar cuts the first goon in half, true to his efficiency so far. A natural born Aspis hunter!

His companions retaliates by swinging his greataxe at the fierce warrior, but to no avail.
Greataxe: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (10) + 5 = 151d12 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12

Fight for the Sky Key! - round 1
1. SS
2. Rogar
3. AB
4. Stag, Kalista, Antonella

Stag comes out of the stairwell and takes a swing at the man in a blue tunic. "Aspis scum have no business here!" he bellows.

Greatsword: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (19) + 6 = 25
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 5) + 4 = 10

Greatsword Confirmation: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (13) + 6 = 19
Damage: 2d6 + 4 ⇒ (1, 6) + 4 = 11

Kalista comes out of the stairwell and sees the Aspis agents. She nocks an arrow and sets it at the climbing foe! But her train of thought distracts her from the task at hand!

I really should have prepared Grease today... This is NOT my day for appropriate magicks!

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (7) + 6 = 13 for 1d8 ⇒ 2

Remembering her trick against the last Aspis spell-slinger, Antonella moves 25’ while drawing a flask of acid.

She readies an action to hurl the vial at the Aspis arcanist, if he takes a hostile action including casting a spell. The paladin figures even if she misses, the splash should hurt the man, but is too high up to affect her comrades.

Readied RTA: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (10) + 3 = 13
acid damage: 1d6 ⇒ 2

"No tricks to sorting out this encounter."

With a single strike, Stag manages to down the other goon, leaving only the magic used clinging to his stone pillar, the Sky Key in his hands.

Kalista's arrow misses him, whereas Antonella gets ready to shoot the moment she sees the wizard become hostile. That comes to pass a split-second later as the Aspis casts a spell.
Concentration: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (11) + 9 = 20
Images: 1d4 + 1 ⇒ (1) + 1 = 2

Resisting the pain of the acid, the caster now becomes many!

Fight for the Sky Key! - round 2
1. SS (2 mirror images, 2 damage)
2. Rogar, Stag, Kalista, Antonella

Stag sighs and shoulders his greatsword, drawing his shotgun. "Now's not the time for this." he mutters.

Bang!

Stag fires off a slug at one of the images.

Mirror Image: 1d3 ⇒ 3
Gunshot @ Touch: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (2) + 7 = 9

Kalista tries again, once more hoping to remove images.

Longbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (9) + 6 = 15 for 1d8 ⇒ 6

Antonella draws an alkali flask this time. As she readies for when their opponent takes a hostile action, the monk appears to be chanting a weird sutra to the Empyreal Lady Falayna (can this be right??) in her lesser known aspect as the goddess of Clean Hair.

“Wash … Rinse … Repeat …”

Readied RTA: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (18) + 3 = 21
alkali (acid) damage: 1d6 ⇒ 1

Rogar drops his sword and takes out is bow preparing to shoot the wizard on top of the column if he tries to0 cast another spell...

Readied attack roll: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (13) + 7 = 20 -> Damage roll: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

Kalista and Stag shoot both images, which vanish instantly, leaving the climbing mage undefended. The latter draws a wand and attempts to use it...

UMD DC 20: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19
... but fails, the pressure being too high. Moreover two missiles hit him, seriously wounding the man.

Fight for the Sky Key! - round 3
1. SS (10 damage)
2. Rogar, Stag, Kalista, Antonella

Stag decides to finish this. "And now you can't see me." he says as he disappears. He reloads and shoots the caster, going to drop him in one shot.

Gun @FF & Touch: 1d20 + 7 + 2 ⇒ (3) + 7 + 2 = 12
Damage + Sneak: 1d6 + 2d6 ⇒ (1) + (3, 1) = 5

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"Get down here, old crow!" shouts Rogar as he sends another arrow flying towards the man's chest...

Attack roll: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (1) + 7 = 8 -> Damage roll: 1d8 + 3 ⇒ (2) + 3 = 5

Kalista does what she can to continue peppering the foe!
Longbow: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (17) + 6 = 23
1d8 ⇒ 3

No spells left and still feeling useful getting rid of some of those mirror images! =)

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THE END: Siege of Serpents
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