[PFS] GM Skipper's #3-15 The Haunting of Hinojai (Inactive)

Game Master SkipperD

The skeleton's armor stops Darvik's blows, while Jakarno blasts it with an arcane bolt. Insidion steps in to the room and gets a mouth- and clawful of bones.

Combat Round 1/2
Bold may act
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Darvik (25 damage), Ennoia (12 damage)
Skeletal Samurai (32 damage)
Insidion, Galandaro, Jakarno

Galandaro focuses and sends a ray at the skeleton

Disrupt Undead vs Ranged Touch: 1d20 + 5 + 1 ⇒ (18) + 5 + 1 = 24..DMG: 1d6 + 1 ⇒ (6) + 1 = 7

Galandaro's ray of necromantic energy arches through the air and into the skeleton. It staggers for a moment, unsure about what to do, before collapsing into a heap.

-----Combat Over-----

The skeletons each have a +1 horn lamellar armor, light steel shield and masterwork katana. The rooms are sparsely furnitured, and have nothing of interest. I'll let you heal up before you open the door to the east.

Ennoia uses her wand to heal her wounds, and offers to do the same to Darvik. "Are you alright? You took quite a beating there."
CLW wand @Ennoia: 2d8 + 2 ⇒ (4, 5) + 2 = 11
CLW wand @Ennoia: 5d8 + 5 ⇒ (7, 1, 2, 3, 8) + 5 = 26

I sure did, thank you for patching me up. When everyone is ready Darvik will open the eastern door.

I assume the second line was for my healing, taking 5 charges off my wand.

Insidion regains control of himself as the skeleton is defeated. He looks fatigued.

He casts a few spells to prepare himself for whatever is in the other room.

Mirror image and then shield from my wand.

@Insidion: Remember to roll for how many images you have.

Bookshelves line the walls of this room, packed with any number of volumes, scrolls, and folios. In the center of the room and resting on a large colorful rug is a table covered with maps, papers, and writing implements. Sliding doors provide exits to the north and east.

mirror image: 1d4 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 2 = 6 Sorry, I usually do that.

Insidion looks around with a scowl and casts detect magic.

Hmph. Any of you fine folk wanna take a look at that stuff? I'll check out the doors.

Actually, Ennoia used her own wand to heal you, Darvik. You can add the charges you took from your wand.

"I'm right behind you, fear not."

Which door do you take first? North or east?

Let's go east. We're in Tian Xia after all!

Galandaro spends some time looking over the books, tomes, parchment etc...

Perception: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (15) + 9 = 24

"I will just be a moment." he says to no one in particular.

The maps depict the division of territories and nations prior to the fall of the Lung Wa empire. The papers are examples of recent attempts to practice calligraphy, as indicated by the relative freshness of the parchment and inks. Finally, the books cover a range of different topics from art and philosophy, to economics and military strategy.

Opening the door to the east, you find a spacious that room appears to be almost too large for its absent occupant. A small and rumpled futon sits in the corner, next to a low table covered dirty cups and plates. Books are casually strewn about the floor, and the entire room reeks of incense.

Ennoia motions towards the room to the north, the last remaining door available.

Insidion opens the door to the north, not wanting his protective spells to expire if there is combat.

This spacious bedroom is finely appointed, with luxurious futon in the southeastern corner. Alongside it sits a writing desk with several ledgers and record books on top of it. To the northwest sits an enormous bathtub, almost the size of a vat. The furnishings in the room are intact and of good quality, but the scent of vinegar is almost overpowering.

A lithe Minkaian woman with an ageless face awaits you patiently. She smiles seductively as a horrific scene unfolds. Her head lifts up, pulling her organs out of her body, which in turn slumps down on the floor. She speaks to you during the macabre transformation.

"Don’t presume to judge me. Countless others have done worse to secure their immortality. How many murders buy a single vial of sun orchid elixir? Or do you seek the Way of the Kirin?”

She chuckles throatily as she looks pointedly at the ledgers on the desk.

“You’ll never find it! It’s deader than I am!"

The horrific creature casts a spell, and the area beyond the door explodes with glitter.

Will, Insidion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (8) + 4 = 12
Will, Ennoia: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (5) + 9 = 14
Will, Galandaro: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (10) + 6 = 16
Will, Darvik: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (16) + 4 = 20
Will, Jakarno: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 15

Galandaro and Darvik manage to shield their eyes, but the rest of the party are blinded.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
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Minasako Himiju
Insidion (6 images, blind), Ennoia (blind), Galandaro, Darvik, Jakarno (blind)

Insidion snarls furiously as the glittery light blinds him, but stumbles into the room anyway.

"You'll be back in the grave soon enough! I'LL REND YOU!" another voice finishes.

A cone of searing flame bursts from the dragon disciple's fingertips, covering most of the room.

burning hands: 5d4 ⇒ (1, 4, 2, 3, 1) = 11

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26

The abomination dodges som of the fire and ignores the rest.

Will, Insidion: 1d20 + 4 ⇒ (15) + 4 = 19

The glitter fades from Insidion's eyes, and he can see again.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
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Minasako Himiju
Insidion (6 images), Ennoia (blind), Galandaro, Darvik, Jakarno (blind)

What... are you? Death itself? Darvik moves in the combat the beast after avoiding the spell!

+1 Scimitar: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (6) + 9 = 15 for Damage: 1d6 + 11 ⇒ (1) + 11 = 12

Darvik charges in, but underestimates the horror's nimbleness.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
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Minasako Himiju
Insidion (6 images), Ennoia (blind), Galandaro, Darvik, Jakarno (blind)

Snowball+PBS: 1d20 + 6 + 1 ⇒ (15) + 6 + 1 = 22..DMG: 4d6 + 1 ⇒ (5, 5, 3, 2) + 1 = 16

plus DC 14 FORT save or be staggered for one round

Galandaro enters to room and does not get blinded due to others in front of him obscuring his vision... he summons a magical snowball and hurls it at the foe...

Ferris stumbles blindly towards the door, and when he guesses he's close enough, he fumbles for something in his spell component pouch. Placing the small black wad beneath his tongue, he speaks an arcane phrase and gestures around him. An invigorating cold washes over the Pathfinders, and their surroundings seem to slow down.

Cast Haste

Also, Knowledges relevant?

Galandaro hits his mark, but she dosen't seem to be as affected as he'd like.

It's a Knowledge (Religion) to identify her.

Will, Jakarno: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (20) + 7 = 27

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
Current buffs: Haste
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Minasako Himiju (6 damage)
Insidion (6 images), Ennoia (blind), Galandaro, Darvik, Jakarno

Botting Ennoia.
Feeling quite helpless without the ability to see, Ennoia tries to get the glitter out of her eyes,
Will: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21, and succeeds.

The creature moves a step back and casts another spell. A mass of writhing tentacles emerges from the floor and tries to grab hold of the party.

CMB: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (6) + 13 = 19

Galandaro and Jakarno get caught by the tentacles, which start to squish them.

Damage: 1d6 + 4 ⇒ (1) + 4 = 5

Combat Round 2
Bold may act
Current buffs: Haste
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Minasako Himiju (6 damage)
Insidion (6 images), Ennoia, Galandaro (5 damage, grappled), Darvik, Jakarno (5 damage, grappled)

Darvik takes a quick step forward out of the tentacles and attacks the enemy!

Scimitar: 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (12) + 9 = 21 for Damage: 1d6 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13
Shield: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (12) + 7 = 19 for Damage: 1d3 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

AC currently 27 with haste and Defensive Flurry.

Insidion snarls and steps out of the writhing tentacles and casts a spell. An acidic arrow streaks toward the undead monstrosity, striking her soundly.

ranged touch attack, acid arrow: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (19) + 5 = 242d4 + 2 ⇒ (2, 3) + 2 = 7

@Darvik: You have been hasted, so I'll just roll your extra attack: Attack: 1d20 + 10 ⇒ (14) + 10 = 24

Darvik thinks he swings true twice, but his scimitar hits a piece of armor made of pure force both times.

Insidion hits her with a caustic spray, and this time, the spell takes full effect.

Combat Round 2
Bold may act
Current buffs: Haste
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Minasako Himiju (13 damage, acid arrow 2/2)
Insidion (6 images), Ennoia, Galandaro (5 damage, grappled), Darvik, Jakarno (5 damage, grappled)

Dammit, I forgot the attack but remembered for AC. Thanks.

Ferris squeaks in fear as he is grabbed by the tentacles. "Get me out!" he says, trying to slip free of the grip.

Escape Artist: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (20) + 2 = 22

That actually frees me, I believe? If so, move out of the area of the spell.

As requested in Discussion, Ennoia unleashes a full attack!

+1 Composite Longbow (cold iron, RS, DA, Manyshot, PBS): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 302d8 + 26 ⇒ (5, 7) + 26 = 38
+1 Composite Longbow (cold iron, RS, DA, PBS): 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (9) + 14 = 231d8 + 13 ⇒ (2) + 13 = 15
+1 Composite Longbow (cold iron, RS, DA, PBS): 1d20 + 9 ⇒ (16) + 9 = 251d8 + 13 ⇒ (3) + 13 = 16

Thanks a lot Darvik! Also, smite evil should add +3 to hit, +2 to damage and allow to bypass any DR she has. I can't see the map, so please apply any cover modifiers for me.

-Posted with Wayfinder

"GET ME OUT! GET ME OUT!" Galandaro cries out as he is being crushed by the tentacles...

Escape: 1d20 + 3 ⇒ (5) + 3 = 8

Ennoia unleashes a divne barrage, and the creature is destroyed!

-----Combat Over-----

In the room you find a large collection of ledgers, maps and journals documenting the wealth, strongholds and members of the Way of the Kirin. Unfortunately the information is at least a century out of date. One of the journals stands out, as it describes the descent into madness of a woman named Minasako Himiju, her betrayal of fellow members of the Way of the Kirin and her eventual transformation into a vampire-like creature.

Do you have anymore business at the mansion?

The paladin watches the vile creature fall to her arrows, but then turns to her companions with a quizzical look. "Huuum, we were supposed to slay evil dwellers, right? What were we sent here for, again?"

-Posted with Wayfinder

"It was not to get crushed by tentacles I can assure you that."

"Oh, in that case we win, right? " she asks with a childlike, honest smile.

-Posted with Wayfinder

Insidion scowls at the undead--once again returned to the grave.

"I think we are finished WITH OUR SLAUGHTER and exploring this place. We had best get back."

Ferris, walks over and looks at the remains of the creature, then looks back to the other Pathfinders. "As long as we thoroughly examine the interior of the house and make notes. And make sure we didn't miss anything." he says.

Is there anything specific you want to do before leaving? Hint, hint, wink, wink, nudge, nudge. You are missing one thing for the secondary succes condition.
It's tricky, and we missed it as well when I played it.

"I mean, won't the Society be cross with us? Sure, we slew evil creatures and confronted dead spirits, but we didn't do the stuff the Society usually does, right? I mean, documenting, and reading, and all these things. Perhaps we should do that, though I can guarrara.... guanar... guaran..., I mean, I can tell you that my head will hurt after two pages..." suggests the Aasimar.

I'm guessing it has to do with documenting things we saw (the haunts we experienced, perhaps?), or bringing back books. So how about we document everything, and get every book, scroll, or tome contained in the house? Here's a list of the things of note that we found:

Collection of love poems, a religious treatise, and a manual on torture (to be gathered and taken)

The "LIARS" inscription (to be documented)

The broken statues (to be documented)

Old ledgers (to be gathered and taken)

The faction mission books (to be gathered and taken)

Books, scrolls, maps, etc. (to be gathered and taken)

Documents about the Way of the Kirin (to be gathered and taken)

Since we're in Tian Xia and Amara Li is involved, my money would be on the last item (the Way of the Kirin stuff), but I'm not sure a 7-int paladin would see the link.

I just re-read the secondary succes condition entry in the official pdf, and it seems I misread it the first time. It's an either/or condition, and I remembered it as an and condition. My bad. I'll wrap up the scenario.

After the slaying of Minasako Himiju, life improves in Nagura — the townsfolk no longer fear to stay out after sundown or stray too far from home. Hinojai’s haunts fade a month after Minasako’s death.
The revelations concerning the Way of the Kirin set the Pathfinder Society abuzz. The Society has compelling reasons to suspect that the Aspis Consortium stands poised to form an alliance with the Golden League. That has driven the undercurrent theme of this expedition, and the factions will be redoubling their effort to make contact. The Decemvirate makes discreet inquires about acquiring the Hinojai property as a regional base hoping to tempt the Way to initiate contact. You have a definite impression that the Way of the Kirin will be important in years to come.

That's all I have for this time! You can find you Chronicle Sheets here.
In retrospect, this scenario probably isn't the best for the PbP format, but oh well. I'll leave the game active for a few days, to let everyone get their sheets.

Just wanna copy some spells from that spellbook. I can auto-success the Spellcraft rolls. So grabbing (L4) Ice Storm, Shout, (L3) Displacement, Lightning Bolt, Wind Wall, (L2) Blur, Gust of Wind, Scorching Ray, (L1) Alarm, Burning Hands, Magic Missile, Shocking Grasp. Total 750gp.

Galandro, want to copy anything from my spellbook? And may I copy from yours?

Got the Chronicle Sheet, thanks a lot GM Skipper! I agree that not all scenarios lend themselves well to the PbP format. In my experience, Library of the Lion and The Disappeared were some of them, and Haunting of Hinojai might very well also be. In any case, I'm very grateful you chose to GM it!

Got the chronicle, thanks so much for running it! I thought it worked fine in PbP...at least not any worse than the majority I've participated in. Thanks again!!!

TY for the game. See you all around the boards.