[PFS - PbP Gameday 5] GM Skipper's #4-04 King of the Storval Stairs (tier 7-11) (Inactive)

Game Master SkipperD

"I'm Rova. Rova Sarini. I purchased passage with the caravan in Magnimar, thinking that there would be strength in numbers. Didn't help us against the giants and harpies though... I don't know where the King is, only that he is supposed to return soon. Unfortunately, my mistreatment at the hands of the harpies has wreaked havoc with my sense of time."

Rognak nodded in understanding. "I guess then this will serve as a place to keep an eye on the plains while we wait to see if the King is heading here. Lets set up a watch so that we may safely rest.[b]" he said before picking up one of the scrolls. "[b]If the rest do not mind, this would have come in handy when dealing with those harpies." he added taking one of the stoneskin scrolls.

Looks like you got one of the stoneskin scrolls and Marta go the other. I'm surprised they were not claimed sooner.

With the stairs secured, you now have to wait. I'll run this in 8 hour increments, and you can post what you'll do and where. For simplicity's sake, a 8 hour period spent sleeping includes time to prepare spells.
Let's start with the first 24 hours, so I'll need to know your actions and whereabouts for 3 phases.

Bizzle would be happy to take the "first watch" while helping to keep an eye out for anything that comes close to the party the rest of the time.

Marta can sleep anywhere, anytime. She will take the middle watch. While on watch she will position herself on top of the stairs. While not on watch she will join the others wherever we choose to make camp.

Did we ever enter the room to the southeast? I hate to leave an unexplored room to cause issues. Also do the two NPCs know each other and what are their reactions to each other?

Oh right! The southern room would have housed a nasty ambush, but with the way things panned out, it is empty.
The NPCs seem pretty indifferent to each other. They know the by name but not much else.

May we remove the spoiler?

Rognak looked over the area. "I would suggest that those that see well in the dark take the night watches so no campfire gives us away. I can help fight any foes but would be better off when I can sit down to study my tome." he said

"I think we should set up camp in the southeast room. I can see well in the dark so I'll be on the night watch."

Sorry for the quiet. Had a busy weekend then got hit by food poisoning last night.

Magna puts the giantess they found when they first arrived out of misery with a warhammer to the skull, as quick as she can make it. She then busies herself with taking down the impaled human bodies - giving them what kindnesses she can despite their mangling, saying a prayer to Torag over them as she straightens their limbs.

Going off the description from here, if anyone needs the description of our immediate area linked again. If we're holding this place as a defensible spot to make a stand against the giants, we ought to consider the layout. Magna's got a number of terrain-control type spells, but few of them will last long enough to be considered for eight hours out. However, we do have two available castings of 'wall of stone' - the scroll we found, and Magna's own casting of it, and W.O.S. is permanent. If we want to pick one of these structures as a structure to buttress it off as defensibly as possible, those two castings could come in handy to create a bottleneck. If dealing with giants in mass numbers, we may have to contend with probable rock hurling, as well as strength enough to probably smash through stone walls with some solid hits.

The WOS's will stretch 55 feet each, but that's only at 5-feet high, which isn't enough to really impede a giant, that's like a foot step up, haha. I'm thinking just making a ten foot side corridor with higher walls leading into the space we choose as our bulwark, to bottleneck giants? Let me know if anyone has other ideas. I'm not officially casting those yet.

Magna will happily take one of the night watches, with her darkvision etc.

Ozak is completely MIA, but I still need to hear from Sabrina.

are there more stairs to ascend?

we have no idea how long we could be here waiting. perhaps we should camp here for a night but continue on in the morning. perhaps learn more of our giant hosts.

as an after thought, I do not have any means to see in the dark, but I do have plenty of means to make light.

With the stairs secured, you now have to wait. I'll run this in 8 hour increments, and you can post what you'll do and where. For simplicity's sake, a 8 hour period spent sleeping includes time to prepare spells.

Let's start with the first 24 hours, so I'll need to know your actions and whereabouts for 3 phases.

What time of the day is the first 8 hour cycle? Is the second period night? If so Marta will spend the first and second periods awake and the third period asleep.

Moving things along...

The first 24 hours go by without incident, and you all manage to rest in shifts.

Alright, on to the next 24 hours. You are all currently well rested, so all spells and abilities have been regained.
The next three eight hour periods are as follows:
1: Day
2: Night
3: Morning/day
State your activity and location for each period.
Will anyone want Magna to fiddle around with Walls of Stone?

Suggested sleep periods:

Day: Rognak, Marta
Night: Sabrina, Bizzle
Morning: Magda

I'd like Marta to line up with Rognak so Rognak can cast mage armor on Marta at the beginning of each day. Marta will also cast Greater Magic Weapon on her fists at that time. Both using the metamagic rod of extend.

I've also split the fighter types between the three slots and paired up low and high perception characters.

Camp could be inside the southeast building where folks sleep. If anyone has an alarm spell that would be great. I don't think anyone does though. Even better, Magda could cast a Grove of Respite if she memorizes it though we would have to sleep in the open. I think it would be worth it.

Marta will be patrolling near the top of the steps during her waking periods, using stealth to remain concealed and being in motion half the time. She's got to rest once in a while though. When she does she will rest in camp but keep a watchful eye.

Bizzle is fine with that schedule. He will naturally be very curious about anything and everything in the area, seeing if stuff is magical and the like. Since they will be sharing the same schedule, if Sabrina is doing anything even remotely interesting he'll likely tag along and offer any help he can.

I'm not sure grove of respite would be that great/worth sacking out a different 4th level spell for. The alarm spell that keys to it is just within the radius of the grove... a 40 feet area. I'd much rather trust to seeing things coming on the broad steps of the stairs then just know they're there at forty feet away, haha. Especially if the things coming are giants. How about this, though, GM permitting (I know it'd be a bit of a retcon, feel free to say no):

On that first day, Magna uses her memorized wall of stone casting to create some steps up to the 'roof' of the stone structures/hew caves we're using as shelter. The person on watch can stand guard from up there, giving them a better view from the altitude? As I recall that was 50 feet up.... but please clarify if I'm wrong, GM.

As for Sabrina's question of proceeding further up, I'm under the understanding that the cliff face is only about 400 vertical feet based on this post and that this landing/buildings are the only features interrupting the rise of the stairs. Again, if this is wrong, please correct me GM. (I.e., are we now AT the buildings mentioned in that post, as I was thinking, or is this landing just a partial stop along the way?)

That sounds good. I like the idea of hiding out in a cave with a view, though Marta will still go patrolling under stealth 50% of the time during her watches. Rognak can take the tower view.

With the group setting up camp, Rognak cleaned out one of the nests to give him a place to rest. Once he got some sleep, he spent a few minutes reading his tome and got ready for the next day.

"I was planning to fly around the area to see if the caravan was heading towards us or if there was a welcoming committee from the giants. They will think their guards are still in the area so keep a watch to see if they try making contact." Rognak said to the group.

Updated spell list. Mage armor for Rognak and Marta at the start of the day. Overland flight and invisibility to scout out the area. Going around the stairs and flying up to survey the plains for up to 10 minutes.

@Rognak
Remember that Marta bought a pearl of power so you could cast the mage armor at no cost, though that will only last 20 hours (using the lesser metamagic rod she offers) so a second casting might or might not make a difference. Up to you if you still want to memorize a second casting and give her 24 hour coverage.

without much for Sabrina to offer, proceeding further up was apparently out of the question, and not having the means of flight. Sabrina simply uses what time she has to keep her blade sharp.

Thanks Magna for the info. I didn't think anyone actually read my question. the map looked like we could continue up the stairs further.

The stairs lead up to the Storval Plateau but are fairly featureless the rest of the way.
I've added a pair of stairs to the map which allow acces to the roofs of the buildings adjacent to the square. If you want to add more via Wall of Stone spells, feel free to add it yourselves.

At the top of the stairs, Rognak gets a magnificent view over the barren plains of the Storval Plateau. If the King returns from this direction, you'd be able to spot him from afar.

Do you have anymore planning/preperation before we head on?

Other than Mage Armor, I have nothing long-term to prepare.

Nothing extra from Marta. Though Marta's stealth is not as good as I thought, particularly since she will not be able to keep heroism active. So she will park herself on top instead and let Rognak do his aerial patrols as he instructed.

Magna will create the stone walls as she had intended to do. The stone rises in a rumbling surge from the surrounding rock, forming a solid passage.

Just as you meet up after Magda has prepared her spells, Magna and Marta hear booming voices from further up the stairs. The King and his entourage has returned...

The giants are currently 240 ft away, up the stairs. The do not sound like they're aware of your presence.

Magna nudges Marta, though it's pretty plain to hear the booming voices. She casts a spell, trusting to the distance out to hide her voice from the still-far-away giants.

I'd like to cast spike stones on the map in the orange squares shown on the map, if possible (i.e., if vision conditions let me see far enough for all the squares). I'm assuming Magna is at the top of our shelter in the good vista watch point created by our stairs, etc (where I placed her token), but at the high altitude point and not at ground level. My outline for the spike stones is sort of an abstraction -- I get eleven 20-foot squares with the spell, so I have enough raw square footage, but they don't quite overlap as neatly as I drew the rectangle. I'm simplifying somewhat on the rectangle if that's okay, GM, rather than have to keep track more specifically of what squares have it and what squares don't. Note the spikes require a DC 29 Perception check for anyone to spot.

Presuming she's able to cast this without issues of visibility/positioning/etc, Magna will inform Marta of the spike stones' presence, and the other PCs if they're awake?

Bizzle will take the time to tap himself with his wand of Mage Armor. He'll cast Comprehend Languages on himself if he has time for prep, just in case. Bizzle will also offer to cast Haste and/or Protection from Evil, Communal if the party desires.

All this depends on how many time we have to prepare.

Marta will cast Heroism on herself. If more time is available then more spells will be cast.

At the mention that the group had company, Rognak started casting a few spells to get himself ready for battle.

Already cast at the start of the day Mage Armor/Overland Flight)
Cast see invisibility on himself 1st, Mirror Image 2nd, Shield 3rd and wait to cast greater invisibility after Haste is cast by Bizzle
Mirror image: 1d4 + 3 ⇒ (4) + 3 = 7

We'll initiate combat when the first giants step on the spikes. This gives you 3 rounds to prepare.

"Everyone, onto the roof, we've got company," Magna informs the others. "Grandma Magna has some goodies to pass out."

Round 1: Communal Stoneskin, all 6 PCs, it'll last 20 minutes each with 10 minutes for Magna. I have the requisite diamond dust for components. Everyone, you have DR 10/adamantine, for 110 points worth of damage. Track your own!

"Now don't go walking on that first bit of stairs," Magna says, pointing at the area. "You might not be able to spot them, but it's sharp and pointy there and it'll tear your feet up good. So here's a way around that."

Round 2: Communal Airwalk on anyone that isn't already flying, I believe everyone except Rognak. 5 PCs = 20 minutes each, 30 for Magna.

Some of the group's concerns seen to, Magna casts a defensive spell on herself, her skin taking on a barklike hue.

Round 3: Barkskin on self. If anyone does not have a natural armor bonus and has a neck slot free, feel free to use Magna's Nat Armor +1 necklace, as it won't stack for her.

If I need to do these in different round order as PCs gather together, I'll do the Barkskin first.

"Now I'll be throwing things at the grounds they're walking on," Magna says. "Ice, lava, that sort of mess. Long as you stay airborne, shouldn't bother you none. Giants might throw back rocks, so watch yourselves. Wouldn't put it past them to have casters either. Hopefully they won't be able to fly. Ha!"

Party buffs: Communal Stoneskin, Communal Airwalk

OK, knowing that we'll go with the Mage Armor, Protection from Evil, Communal, and then Haste.

Party buffs: Protection from Evil, Haste

** spoiler omitted **

We'll initiate combat when the first giants step on the spikes. This gives you 3 rounds to prepare.

Excellent. then Marta's 3 buffs are Heroism, Shield, and Instrument of Agony on her fists.

ot much for Sabrina to do most of the time. she simply cared for any wounded or ill. but with the approaching giants things will probably pick up now.

Sabrina is a melee type, so how does this air walk affect this? should she just stay back and let the spell casters do all the work?

Air walk means you can close with them just as if you were on ground; you can walk in the air at your normal speed. That said, if you have a ranged weapon you might want to bust it out-- we can probably soften them up a fair bit with ranged before they close (if the scenario gave us awful giants with no decent ranged of their own). If the scenario gives us proper badass giants, well, play it by ear, hehe.

Several roars of pain signals that the giants "found" the stone spikes.

Grey: 1d8 ⇒ 1 Grey: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (20) + 6 = 26
Yellow: 1d8 ⇒ 6 Yellow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (13) + 2 = 15
Red: 1d8 ⇒ 8 Red: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (2) + 2 = 4
Blue: 1d8 ⇒ 2 Blue: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (6) + 2 = 8

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
Current party-wide buffs: Stoneskin, Airwalk, Protection from Evil, Haste
______________________________________
Marta
Barbarian (1 damage)
Magna, Sabrina, Bizzle, Rognak
Giants (yellow: 6 damage, half speed; red: 8 damage, half speed; blue: 2 damage, half speed)

ok I can try, I almost never use my bow as I am not very good at using it. hope I don't accidentally shoot the party

Actually, reduce Marta's initiative score by 4 since she did not have heightened awareness up. That puts her after Atga.

Damage: 1d8 ⇒ 6 Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (8) + 6 = 14
Damage: 5d8 ⇒ (5, 3, 8, 3, 5) = 24

The meanest looking giant flies into a rage and storms forward, the spikes hindering and lacerating it on the way.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
Current party-wide buffs: Stoneskin, Airwalk, Protection from Evil, Haste
______________________________________
Barbarian (31 damage, half speed)
Marta, Magna, Sabrina, Bizzle, Rognak
Giants (yellow: 6 damage, half speed; red: 8 damage, half speed; blue: 2 damage, half speed)

Bizzle will use Fleeting Glance acts like Greater Invisibility and then air walk up as high as he can go for his movement. I'm not sure how high I can go with a 40' move speed?

Magna chuckles darkly at watching the giants stumble into her field of spikes. I've had that spell memorized 11 levels... first time it's ever really been handy, haha.

She nods at the big giant bulling forward. "Think that's the king? Seems too easy. Bet he's hiding back. Well, let's see how his balance is."

She gestures and chants, and the earth splits under the giant's feet, threatening to dump him down into a pit. "Don't fight a dwarf while standin' on the earth, you overgrown lout."

Spiked Pit beneath lead giant, marked by blue square, Reflex DC 21. 50 ft deep. If failed save, take Falling + spike damage: 7d6 ⇒ (3, 1, 4, 1, 6, 3, 3) = 21. Round 1/12 for pit.

Marta casts Divine Favor on herself. Then moves behind the wall using stealth, air walking to put some distance between herself and the ground and allowing her to pop her head over the top of the wall.

Stealth: 1d20 + 8 ⇒ (12) + 8 = 20

Boy, they're having a rough time of it, but I know how hard giants can hit. I think I'll hide behind this wall for a bit in case they start throwing things.

I almost forgot her swift actions. Marta will have entered dragon stance (as per SOP mentioned previously) at the first opportunity. This round she will begin a Judgement and choose to add +2 AC (Protection) and +2 ST(Purity).

@Bizzle: A bit of trigonometry tells me that you can reach a maximum height of 25 ft by moving 25 ft forward.

Reflex: 1d20 + 6 ⇒ (5) + 6 = 11

The lead giant falls into the pit and gets impaled even further.

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
Current party-wide buffs: Stoneskin, Airwalk, Protection from Evil, Haste
______________________________________
Barbarian (52 damage, half speed, prone)
Marta, Magna, Sabrina, Bizzle, Rognak
Giants (yellow: 6 damage, half speed; red: 8 damage, half speed; blue: 2 damage, half speed)

using the speed boost granted by haste Sabrina moves out to the open with sword drawn. hovering about a foot off the ground. (air walk)

activating her armor to surround herself with a protective aura.

crusading armor to grant +2 sacred bonus to AC (+3 if they are evil outsiders of dragons - which I don't think they are)

your days of harassment of Iomedae's people has ended. face her judgement

looked at my character sheet and I do not have a bow (thought I did, but probably sold it

OK, sounds good. I just want to be able to see over all the walls and such.

Rognak grimaced as the lead giant disappeared from sight. Seeing the trio of other giants still nearby, the wizard reached into his pouch and pulled out a small pungent ball of bat droppings with some sulfur mixed in and hurled it at them.

"Humph, need to get a better supplier." the half-orc muttered to himself as the blast of fire was not as powerful as it normally was.

Fireball, DC 22 reflex for half, centered on the right hand side of the red one so all three can be hit. Way too many 1's on the damage.
fireball: 10d6 ⇒ (1, 1, 1, 6, 5, 3, 2, 4, 1, 2) = 26

Yellow: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (17) + 2 = 19
Red: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7
Blue: 1d20 + 2 ⇒ (5) + 2 = 7

Rognak blasts the giants just in time to see another giant and a human woman materialize disturbingly close. The giant wastes no time and lays into Marta with his warhammer.

Attack v Marta: 1d20 + 24 ⇒ (1) + 24 = 25

Attack v Marta: 1d20 + 19 ⇒ (18) + 19 = 37
Damage: 2d6 + 27 ⇒ (4, 2) + 27 = 33

Attack v Marta: 1d20 + 14 ⇒ (4) + 14 = 18

The blow is mercifully lessened by Magna's protective ward.

The remaining giants, emboldened by the appearance of the king, power through the spikes.

Yellow: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 5, 6, 7) = 19
Red: 4d8 ⇒ (1, 6, 4, 2) = 13
Blue: 4d8 ⇒ (7, 7, 3, 2) = 19

In the pit:
Climb: 1d20 + 12 ⇒ (16) + 12 = 28
1d6 ⇒ 3

Combat Round 1
Bold may act
Current party-wide buffs: Stoneskin, Airwalk, Protection from Evil, Haste
______________________________________
Barbarian (55 damage, half speed, climbing)
Marta (23 damage), Magna, Sabrina, Bizzle, Rognak
Giants (yellow: 51 damage, half speed; red: 47 damage, half speed; blue: 47 damage, half speed), Atga, Formoch