[PFS] GM Skipper's #5–20 The Sealed Gate (Inactive)

Game Master SkipperD

Sorry for going silent on you the last couple of days; the holiday season mocks the carefully laid plans of mere men...
I can see that I've accidentally skipped a page in my notes, so I'll just make a slight rewind here.

During you search of the camp, a few surviving or abandoned items of note turn up.
You find an incomplete letter from Venture-Captain Adonai in what could very well be hiss office. Handout added to the slides.

Perception: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (17) + 11 = 28

Zeno snatches up three magical scrolls, almost as if he already knew they were there.

"What have we here? Two to renew mind, body, and spirit - nowhere near powerful enough for what's been done to Bambang, I'm sorry to say - and one to renew base matter. Whoever made this was clearly more advanced in the Art than any of us. I'd suggest saving it for something we truly prize."

I'll hold onto the make whole scroll, since Bambang's been compromised and there's nobody better; I'd nominate Periel to handle the lesser restoration scrolls.

Upon finding the scythe blade, he tries his hand at fashioning it a handle; how different can it be from a bowstave?

untrained Craft (Weapons): 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (13) + 5 = 18

Yes, Bambang with the 4 negative levels will move more to supporting role rather than direct attack. And I take it no one can cast mending to fix his broken wand of heightened awareness?

Bambang quickly calls out when the party starts to search the camp. "Hold! Don't touch anything! Allow me to examine the place. I might be able to glean some information from the remnant spirits of the objects."

Bambang moves carefully through the camp, laying his hands on object to object, catching glimpses of its inhabitants, what they were doing, their emotional states. He especially spends time to "read" Adonai's letter and the scythe blade. The images he receives are patchy but he hopes to at least get some sense of what lead to the abandonment of the camp.

Use object reading to try to piece together what happen over the last 8 days.

Zeno manages to fashion a serviceable handle for the scythe blade.

Bambang's esoteric examinations reveal that the scythe was originally forged in the dwarven enclave in Chesed.
The letter reveals something else, though. Bambang receives a foggy vision of a green eyed male half-elf in the trappings of a Sarenite warrior. He exudes fierce determination, to a worrying degree perhaps.

"Hmm, I am not getting much. Fuzzy images." He shares what he has found out.

Once satisfied there is nothing left to uncover in the camp, Bambang turns to his party. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Does this mean we're goin' to this Chesed place?" Mavarion's voice queries, sounding the tiniest bit nervous but more so aggravated by the idea. "I ain't so good around dwarves, they don't like me nor I them. Good for us they needn't know I'm around."

@Mavarion: Chesed dosen't play a role in this scenario, I just completely made that up ;)

Following the tracks, you travel north for 10 miles, transitioning from the vast plains to the foothills of the Tusk Mountains. The trail leads to a 10-foot-wide cave that descends into one of the hills.

By what means and how fast do you travel the 10 miles?

Survival 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (15) + 2 = 17

Fahd kept a steady pace as he walked the roughly ten miles. He noticed the cave and looked for anything interesting there. ”Look at those tracks. A bear’s been here recently. Best be aware.”

Periel shrugs.
"After that demon locust, trust me, a bear is very low on my worry list."

Kenji traveled the 10 miles on foot, slowing his pace if necessary, so the others could keep up... "We don't know that it was a normal bear, if it's even still here." Kenji shrugs, considering the possibility of a demonic bear in the cave.

"Bears," Mav scoffs. "I've thrown bears farther then...well, I wasn't measurin' at the time. Even some special one, we'll feed it its own claws."

"Perhaps, alternatively, we'll just leave it alone."

The entrance tunnel descends and widens into a subterranean grotto. A massive bear lies motionless in the center of the cavern, its flesh exposed by several deep gashes. A half-dozen arrows stand clustered in its chest.

Map updated. I've also updated your buff list. 5 hours have passed since you originally teleported into the base camp.

Perception 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (5) + 13 = 18

Fahd walked into the caverns and looked around for whomever slaughtered the large bear.

"Well, that's just sad... such a fine looking creature, to have been slain in its own lair and left to rot... it's not like someone even wanted the hide or flesh." Kenji, too, looks around for the killer or killers... or evidence of them.

perc: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (16) + 14 = 30

"Someone saved me ten seconds," Mavarion's voice chuckles as it proceeds into the cave. "Now, what have we here...?"

Perception: 1d20 + 17 ⇒ (11) + 17 = 28

The bear's attackers are nowhere to be seen, but Kenji and Mavarion both spot a falling block trap over the narrower passage into the larger cavern to the east. Marked on the map

So... Has anyone survived Christmas?

YUP
Periel moves deeper inside and smiles at the others. "What now?"

Sorry, I was waiting on the two that spotted the trap to call it out.

When warned about the trap, Fahd takes care to avoid the general area that it was located in. He followed Periel deeper into the cavern.

Sorry, I was waiting on the two that spotted the trap to call it out.

Me too. I was figuring I wasn't allowed to make the Knowledge check. May I or mayn't I?

"That slab'll fall on anyone who gets to close. S'all I know. Once we're done here maybe I'll huck a few rocks at it."

Sorry been down with a persistent bad cold. Finally getting better.

With his wand disabled until he can find someone to repair it, Bambang instead summons his spirits to grant to preternatural senses as he enters the cave.
Cast heightened awareness. Will not dismiss for init bonus in combat.

knowledge(dungeoneering), HA: 1d20 + 12 + 2 ⇒ (1) + 12 + 2 = 15 In case we could roll, but oh well...

"Yes, unless someone is skilled with disabling trap. I do not like the commotion it might cause but I see few other options." Meanwhile, however, Bambang summons the ability of arcane sight.

Cast detect magic.

You can all attempt the knowledge check. Is triggering the trap from a safe distance your plan? Oh, and happy new year :)

Thats not a trained skill for me. Can it be attempted untrained? But yes, avoiding first, or safely triggering would be Fahd’s vote.

Knowledge (Dungeoneering): 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (20) + 11 = 31

"That's no slab," Says Zeno, seemingly without even looking at it. "That's an organism. A deathtrap ooze!"

Periel eeks. "I hate oozes. I REALLY do!" as he remembers his mission to get the tome of rightous respsose.

"Seems the type to wait until we come to it, before striking," Mav notes. "Least that's how most oozes are. What say we start by pummeling it from a distance?"

”Any advice on how to hurt it? Doubt me punching it will have much luck.”

I did get an awfully good roll, DM - is there anything else I know about it?

You have 3 questions, Zeno.

Defenses/resistances? Degree of perceptive ability? Special attacks/effects of attack?

Immunity to acid, ooze traits
Perceptive ability: see ooze traits
Grab + constrict

Assuming that the above is shared with the rest

"Good going, Zeno. A trap identified is no longer a threat." Looking at the area, he continues, "Looks like to find out whatever's in that cavern, we would have to go through the ooze. I suggest we spread within the larger cavern, and once we are ready, pelt it with ranged attacks simultaneously." Bambang moves to the south, hugging the walls, buffing himself as he moves along.

How many rounds do we reasonably have to buff up?

Fahd nodded his head in agreement. That sounded like a logical plan. He pulled a javelin that was strung across his back in preparation.

Mavarion reappears, grinning. As soon as the others are ready, the dwarf takes to the air and hurls a pebble with the force of several ballistae.

Periel nods to the others and smiles."A most sensible plan. Let us start!"

@Bambang: With Zeno's knowledge of the ooze you know that you can buff up to your hearts content before initiating the fight. I'll let you factor it in retroactively.

Mavarion and Zeno pelt the ooze from a safe distance, and it starts lurching into motion.

Surprise Round
Bold may act
______________________________________
Bambang, Kenji, Mavarion, Periel, Zeno
Deathtrap Ooze (89 damage)
Fahd

Fahd tosses his javelin at the ooze.

Attack 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (18) + 11 = 29

Damage 1d6 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (4) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 13

umd wand of longstrider: 1d20 + 18 ⇒ (7) + 18 = 25
Also wand of shield and cast lead blades.

Bambang spends a few rounds activating various wands on himself, and enhancing his weapons.

Then, upon the signal, Bambang similarly lobs a javelin at the ooze.

javelin, 4 neg lvls: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (3) + 7 - 4 = 6 dmg, lead blades: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (3) + 5 = 8

Periel uses his sling to shoot a ball into the ooze.
Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (8) + 7 = 151d4 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

Fahd and Periel's projectiles fly true, while Bambang still feels the locust demon's influence and strikes the ceiling instead.

Surprise Round
Bold may act
______________________________________
Bambang, Kenji, Mavarion, Periel, Zeno
Deathtrap Ooze (111 damage)
Fahd

Botting Kenji, who may or may not have been evacuated away from a forest fire :S.

Kenji slips into one of the side tunnels and readies for the ooze's assault.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
______________________________________
Bambang, Kenji, Mavarion, Periel, Zeno
Deathtrap Ooze (111 damage)
Fahd

Fahd grabs and tosses another javelin at the ooze.

Attack 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (3) + 11 = 14

Damage 1d6 + 5 + 2 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 5 + 2 + 2 = 15

High enough in the air to (hopefully) escape the ooze's reach, Mav hucks another pebble at it.

Emp. Max. TK Blast, PBS: 1d20 + 17 + 1 ⇒ (13) + 17 + 1 = 31
6d6 ⇒ (1, 2, 3, 6, 2, 4) = 18
71 damage total.

If still necessary....

Comet, Point-Blank, Focused Shot, Deadly Aim: 1d20 + 11 ⇒ (9) + 11 = 20
damage: 1d8 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18

Bambang raises his eyebrow with admiration at Mavarion's relentless and powerful attacks. He glances askance as his javelin, but just so as to not be carrying his weight, pulls out another javelin and flings it at the ooze.

javelin, 4 neg lvls: 1d20 + 7 - 4 ⇒ (1) + 7 - 4 = 4 dmg, lead blades: 1d8 + 5 ⇒ (1) + 5 = 6

If still necessary.
Attack: 1d20 + 7 ⇒ (5) + 7 = 121d4 + 6 ⇒ (3) + 6 = 9

You splatter the ooze across the ceiling before it even has a chance to descend upon you.

----Combat Over----

The cavern beyond the oozing trap seems to have been the dead bear's lair.