PFS Gameday PbP 3 #4-16 Fabric of Reality by Curaigh (Inactive)

Game Master Curaigh

Fort: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (15) + 5 = 20

"I'm fine with a little rest to gather our strength before we head in."

In the morning Aram Zey is anxious to get moving. He 'patiently' waits for the Pathfinders to gather next to the tapestry by tapping his foot, pacing, fiddling with a quill, and sighing a lot. Once they are gathered
"Finally! If a you leave the demiplane," he explains, "you can only return to your companions within the Sacred Vault if you are in possession of the Abysium Codex." He ignores a pointed look from Amari Li. "Do NOT attempt to return to the Material Plane unless the entire group is prepared to leave the vault." He points at the blue-green book. "If one of you returns to Goka, at least one other must return with the codex so they can both return to the vault," he looks sideways at a sound from Amari Li. "Or, I suppose, the lone agent must bring the codex back with her."

Amara Li stands and gives him a look that says, you are ignoring protocol before she asks. "Do you have any questions before you journey to the Hao Jin Tapestry?" Zey taps his foot while she answers any questions you may have.

oops. The Fort save was not needed unless ones spends more than 24 hours with the open book. Y'all managed to complete the research in 8 hours! (default is 48 hours, so well done there Pathfinders):)
So if you have any questions please ask. Knowing your mission will be to the demi-plane that is the tapestry, let me know if you prepare other spells than you originally had prepared.

Rysalius nods at the Master of Spell's important caveat, then readies himself by casting heroism just before he enters the tapestry.

As Rysalius knows Haste, Pai will not memorize her usual two Haste spells. Instead she will memorize Fly and Summon Monster III instead.

Pai was ready to go, casting Mage Armor before she prepared to enter the tapestry.

Brother Grimdoc is ready to go. He has lucern hammer in hand, and moves up to the tapestry for entry.

"Might as well get this over with."

Considering that both tien and elven languages have been used in relation to the Codex and the Tapestry, Maximo prepares an extract to comprehend languages.

"How close to our goal will the Codex deposit us? Should we bring supplies for a journey?" Maximo counts silently on his fingers, considering the amount of wine left among his possessions.

Amara Li answers,"We don't really know its size. The shrine exists outside the demiplane’s normal geography, and is inaccessible even to those inside the Hao Jin Tapestry unless they are in possession of the Abysium Codex. It has no exterior walls that we've found. Most temples to Abadar should not be a day's worth of exploring, and this should be even smaller."

“Return here immediately," Aram Zey adds. "There is no time for a picnic! It is only a matter of time before the Aspis Consortium finds a way to access the shrine, so we need to act quickly and send reinforcements to secure the site once you’ve performed the ritual.”

I will retcon other questions if anyone has them. Who will carry the codex?

Aram Zey instructs [book's carrier] to hold the Abysium Codex and touch his/her finger to a point near the center of the tapestry, just to the right of a faded starburst design in the tapestry’s weave. He then instructs the others to touch the Abysium Codex. When the [carrier] touching the tapestry utters a trigger word provided by the Master of Spells, all of the party is instantly whisked into the tapestry.

A single glowing blue light pulses behind you. The area is otherwise dark.

EDIT: removing spoiler on account of the Baron's glowing sword. The air in this circular chamber is cold, stale, and smells of death. Seven large, dark-furred humanoids lie in a bloody heap near the wall behind you. The lone exit to the chamber is ahead.

Rysalius casts light on his mithral sword, allowing everyone to see.

Maximo will carry the Codex.

Putting the Codex away, Maximo takes a small flaming stone from his pouch, Releasing it into the air, it begins to circle his head.

"Shelyn's glaive.." He mutters upon seeing the bloody heap of humanoids. "Perhaps a nap was ill-advised. Someone has been busy here."

With a swig from his special flask, Maximo assumes his more youthful form, draws forth his sword, and gestures forward. "Let us sally forth."

Has everyone been to the tapestry before or is this a first time for anyone?

Unless otherwise noted, the shrine’s floors, walls, and ceilings are composed of perfectly square blocks of white, gold-veined marble. Chambers have 30-foot ceilings and hallways have 15-foot ceilings. The entire shrine is chilly and dark. The domed ceiling here bears a painted mural depicting a vast blue sky.

Know. Local 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (3) + 14 = 17

"These look like bugbear remains. I'm afraid Maximo might be right. Those Apsis would think nothing of slaughtering a bunch of bugbears."

Heal : 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (18) + 6 = 24

"And they weren't cut or hacked, but crushed by something. "

Grim will cast 'see invis' once everyone is done searching the room and bodies.

Since there is plenty of loot left without claim, before the entry, Haris will borrow the belt of incredible dexterity +2, cloak of resistance +1, amulet of natural armor +1.

Haris trails behind the group at the moment, humming a ditty to keep himself cheery, ...I'm just a lonely boy, lonely and blue...

Sry for the delay, been gone for turkey day till late last night..

Lillian follows the others, wondering what will happen next..

The exit leads to a long hallway. Longer than Brother Grimdoc can see.

I am on the road today, that is the short description. We 2 light sources, do you want to set up a matching order or other strategies?

Pai will definitely hang toward the back of the group. Probably next to last in the marching order, if that's okay.

Rysalius walks third in marching order, staying behind Brother Grimdoc and Maximo.

Proposed order: Brother Grimdoc, Maximo, Rysalius, Haris, Pai, Lilian. Does it sound good?

Sounds good to me.

Haris is perfect in that order though consider if this whole area might be trapped, Haris has Trap Spotter (Ex) Whenever you come within 10' of a trap, the GM secretly rolls for you to find it. +9

Grimdoc has see invis, darkvision and can spot trapped/secret stonework if within 10'.

Grimdoc moves forward down the hallway, trying to pierce the darkness as he moves.

Perc : 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (1) + 12 = 13 +2 vs stone

"Keep up back there. No tellin what we might see down this way. "

He says this last part while he turns back forward and runs into the wall.

" See? Wall jumped out of nowhere! Hah!"

I updated the map and placed you 60 ft. back from when Brother Grimdoc first can see the hall open into the next room. Please note yhid puts your avatars in the first room, but imagine the hall extends to where your current position is.

Once he moves a little farther Brother Grimdoc can see more of the room beyond. Virtually every inch of wall space in this chamber is covered with art or holds some work of art. Marble busts, bas relief carvings, and painted frescoes adorn the walls. Hundreds of stone shelves stretch from floor to ceiling, holding thousands of figurines, statuettes, decorative masks, and various other items. A massive pair of iron doors stand in the center of the far wall.

Grimdoc will cast prot v evil on himself

"Erastil, watch over us in this place"

He re-grips his hammer and treads forward. When the others move up, unless they are attacked in the room, he will move towards the iron doors to inspect them.

perception: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (17) + 12 = 29

Although I get the feeling he will not make it that far?

Haris watches Grimdoc slowly advance down the hall, expecting that either nothing will happen and he'll wave them over, or Illvaster will make a cameo appearance and snatch the dwarf from view.

As Grimdoc leads the party into the next room, he discovers he is partially correct. Two haggard figures stand in the corner. Upon entering they point at him and the human male shouts, "You! You must have a way out."
Sorry for the delays all. The holidays have started into my time already :)

Pai ducks behind the others, not sure about their intentions. While doing so she first casts False Life, then Mage Armor if time allows.

False Life 1d10 + 7 ⇒ (10) + 7 = 17 extra hit points

Grim looks at the pair...

"Who? Me? I ain't leaving. I just got here fellas . "

"Pardon me." Maximo says as he steps up next to Grimdoc and takes in the scene, then gives a curt bow to the two bedraggled figures. "Well met strangers! Did you ask about a way out? Do you refer to this shrine or the Tapestry? Ah, but I believe we are getting ahead of ourselves. I am Baron Maximo Interresante. This sturdy fellow is Brother Grimdoc. If you are in need of aid, perhaps we can supply it, but it would be rude not to know your names and the circumstances that have brought you here."

"Yes we need out of this cursed place," says the human. "I am Ascalar and this sturdy person is Haelvora." The dwarf nods her head. "If we could get out of the Shrine we might be able to exit the tapestry. Do you have any food? If you have an exit, you should help us get out."

Haris remains at a distance, hanging with the girls in the back.

"Haris, give them some food. We want to be sure they give us time to complete our mission. If they are eating, we'll have more time," Pai whispers to Haris in the back of the room.

Grimdoc looks up at the mention of food.

"I never turn down a chance to share a meal with a new friend...or with myself, hah! "

The rotund dwarf digs in his pack...pulling out various bits of food.

"I have some summer sausage or um...I thinh this was a donut...yes...or an ale soaked bagel. "

"That doesn't really answer the question of what you are doing here. How did you become trapped in the first place?"

Grimdoc finishes the soggy bagel (and anything else not eaten by the pair).

"Mmmm, um, munch. What's past this set of doors here to the west? Have you been through there?"

The two dig in ravenously. After a moment the man explains. "We came as anyone does. We seek knowledge. We learned of the Vault and as the center of one of the greatest stores of knowledge, we had to explore. We have been unable to pass the doors. We ran out of food a week ago and we have not even been able to find any way out."
1d20 ⇒ 13

”You came as anyone does?”, Haris looks upon the men with a dubiously, ”How is that exactly?”. He moves up to the pair waiting for answer.

Readied action: Quickdraw

"Maximo, could you check these guys out? Something seems off," Pai whispers knowing her friend's paladin abilities.

Grimdoc will listen with keen interest using his ability to discern lies.

You don't say? A week down here? "

Maximo looks into the nature of the two men.

Detect Evil

Sense Motive, heroism: 1d20 + 13 + 2 ⇒ (10) + 13 + 2 = 25

Are they lying? If so, I'll confront them with their lies.

One of the 'men' is actually a dwarf and a female one at that. Her shield has a small round piece and a long narrow piece with notches giving the appearance of a key. Considering the party is in a shrine of Abadar it is not difficult to make out that she is cleric of his. Rysalius senses no lies as they speak. & her picture is on the map :)

As Maximo casts a spell, the dwarf cries foul and casts a spell of her own. 1d20 ⇒ 20 "You have a way out. You! paladin, should take us out of here!" cries the Chelaxian male.

1d20 + 6 ⇒ (4) + 6 = 10, 1d20 - 1 ⇒ (18) - 1 = 17

While a paladin's detect evil is a spell-like ability, it isn't cast. It has the same end result, but gets there differently.
Detect Evil (Sp) : At will, a paladin can use detect evil , as the spell. A paladin can, as a move action, concentrate on a single item or individual within 60 feet and determine if it is evil, learning the strength of its aura as if having studied it for 3 rounds. While focusing on one individual or object, the paladin does not detect evil in any other object or individual within range.

That's not to say they wouldn't notice Maximo doing something, but there is no direct effect upon them and no save for them to make. Anyway, he would have focused on the non-shield wearing one first.

Also, any idea what they cast? Did both cast or just the girl? Detect evil on her in the second round.

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 5 ⇒ (5) + 5 = 10 Well Max doesn't know...

To Pai, "I believe they just attempted a spell. Did you catch what it was?"

Spellcraft, if Pai could tell a spell was cast 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (8) + 14 = 22

Spellcraft: 1d20 + 13 ⇒ (13) + 13 = 26

The dwarf's spell envelopes her and semi-transparent red cloak of arcane energy billows heroically from her back. She hasn't moved yet, but it is obvious to Lillian and Pai that Haelvora can now fly.

Spell like abilities have somatic & verbal components.* If a paladin focuses on one person/object, it is a move action that acts as if the target is studied for three rounds. Otherwise it is a standard action and goes into the normal cone, which is how I read what was written. If you'ld rather focus on one of them that is fine by me. :)
They don't know what you did, only that you used magic, (they may know, I didn't roll) Their reaction is one of startlement, as if to escape or defend themselves. *Don't they? AFIK that didn't change in PF.

The Beastiary defines them further.
Spell-Like Abilities (Sp) Spell-like abilities are magical and work just like spells (though they are not spells and so have no verbal, somatic, focus, or material components).

Max is focusing individually. Man first, woman second.

If Grimdoc does not detect any lies and does not see anything out of the ordinary about them (see invis still active), he will turn his attention back to the door.

"So have either of you seen anyone go through this door?"

The man does have the dark aura around him that you associate with evil.
They tell you they have been stuck and unable to get through the door or go back.

Grimdoc, you know how to open this door instinctively (because the codex tells you.)

"How's it goin' back there? We have time for a tea party or are we gonna open this door or something now that everyone had a nice snack.. " he shakes some crumbs out of his beard as he watches the two strangers for antsy reaction.

Waiting for a response from Max if the duo are evil or not.

He does ping as evil, next 'round' we will know about the woman, but we are not necessarily in 'rounds' unless someone wanted to react to that information in a 'round-enducing manner'.

Grimdoc on his way to the iron doors notices something.
perception check please :) (anyone in the room).